InterMat Staff

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- Lehigh opened up the 2009 portion of its schedule in impressive fashion, winning the first nine bouts of the evening in a 35-3 rout of West Virginia Friday night at the WVU Coliseum. The Mountain Hawks enjoyed four bonus wins, including falls from freshman Zach Rey and junior Seth Ciasulli and major decisions from freshmen Sean Bilodeau and Joe Kennedy to win their eleventh straight dual meet to start the season. "I didn't think we'd be in a position where we'd be 35-0," said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "There were a handful of matches that were very close, low scoring and could have gone either way. We'll need to do a better job of going out and scoring more points, but we're getting there in terms of going out and getting better." On a night when scoring was hard to come by Bilodeau had three of Lehigh's eight takedowns on the night in an 8-0 victory over Ryan Goodman at 157. West Virginia expected to have several of its starters back in the lineup, including Donnie Jones at 165, but Mike Galante was able to continue Lehigh's early momentum with a 4-1 victory. Sophomore Alex Caruso and junior David Craig followed with wins by decision to run the Lehigh lead to 13-0. At 197, Kennedy rolled to an 8-0 major decision over Kyle Rooney without the benefit of a takedown. Leading 1-0 at the start of the third period, Kennedy tilted Rooney for three early in the period and added another three-point near fall in the final seconds. Riding time advantage accounted for the final points. Rey picked up his second pin of the season, decking 17th-ranked Dustin Rogers in the third period. Tied 1-1 in the final period Rey converted a single leg takedown and when Rogers tried to scramble out Rey caught Rogers on his back, securing the fall in 5:58. Lehigh took the next two bouts by decision, as sophomore Mitch Berger, filling in for freshman John McDonald, held off Kyle Turnbull 2-1 at 125 and Matt Fisk mustered a 2-0 win over Tyler Oravec at 133. At 141 Ciasulli broke a string of seven straight scoreless first periods with a first period takedown of Colin Johnston. Ciasulli eventually worked Johnston over with a half-nelson and earned his second fall of the season in 2:33. The final bout of the night was the much anticipated battle between seniors Trevor Chinn and David Jauregui. Chinn scored the opening takedown and led 3-2 in the final seconds before he was penalized for stalling. The match went into the tiebreakers where each grappler mustered an escape, but Jauregui converted a takedown, the Mountaineers' only takedown of the match in the final seconds to win 6-4. The Mountain Hawks will return to the mats on Sunday when they travel to State College, Pa. for the 97th meeting in one of eastern wrestling's oldest and most intense rivalries as Lehigh faces off against No. 16 Penn State. The match gets underway at 1 p.m. and it can be seen live on Service Electric 2 Sports, Fox College Sports Pacific and online at Lehighsports.com.

TDR returns to our Brute Adidas home studios this week after 5 days on the road at The Midlands. the championships did not disappoint with its myriad of twists and turns, ups and downs. It was incredible. We witnessed the "Old Man- Chris Bono" pull one out with a championship title, we saw Brent Metcalf of Iowa and Jake Herbert of Northwestern perform like well oiled machines. Congratulations to the Hawkeyes for their 3 point advantage win. Yes it was that close. The 46 th Midlands will go down as one of the most entertaining events in my career. Special thanks to Tim Cysewski, Drew Pariano, Scott Hammer and Mr/DR. Ken Kraft and their staff for helping us through out the week. That's the way a tournament should be done. Good job by all. this week on TDR: In studio Guests- Jeff Murphy and Spartan Strength Owner Nick Rouse Our guests include the National Hall of Fame Honoree's- Ed Eichelberger- When signing an autograph, Edward Baxter Eichelberger always adds "Galatians 6:14" after his signature. It reads: But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. He was coached by a legend in high school – Billy Martin at Granby High School in Norfolk, Va. – and by another legend in college – Gerald Leeman at Lehigh. Eichelberger was undefeated his final three years of high school, winning three state titles in Virginia. His career at Lehigh included two NCAA championships and a 55-3-1 record with 37 pins. One of his losses came in the 1954 NCAA finals to Myron Roderick of Oklahoma A&M. He was named the EIWA Tournament's Outstanding Wrestler in 1955 and 1956 and the NCAA Tournament's OW in 1955. Employed by IBM since 1956, Eichelberger earned his Masters and Ph.D. from Princeton. Dennis Koslowski- A two-time Division III national champion at Minnesota-Morris, Koslowski began the transition to Greco-Roman soon after graduating in 1982. One year later, in 1983, Koslowski would win the first of his 7 USAW Greco-Roman titles. In 1987 at the World Championships in France, Koslowski earned a silver medal at 220 pounds. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, the Minneapolis resident would bring home a bronze medal, and four years later at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, the 220-pounder would earn a silver medal. He was the first to win two Greco-Roman Olympic medals for the USA, an achievement only matched by Rulon Gardner. While at Minnesota-Morris, he was also a three-time All-Conference guard on the football team and is currently the owner of Koslowski Chiropractic, Inc., in the Minneapolis area. Les Gutches- Gutches was the first athlete to win USA Wrestling national titles in all five age group levels – Cadet, Junior, Espoir, University and Senior. At South Medford High School in Oregon, Gutches won three state titles. He was also a district champion in the 400 meters for the track team. He was a two-time NCAA champion while at Oregon State, compiling a 134-10 career record. He earned the Outstanding Wrestler award at the 1996 NCAA Championships and the Dan Hodge Trophy that same season. Over his final two collegiate seasons he allowed opponents just one takedown. Gutches quickly made his mark in freestyle, winning the first of his 5 U.S. Nationals titles in 1996 and also the Olympic Trials title at 180.5 pounds. In Atlanta, he would finish seventh. However, a year later at the 1997 World Championships in Russia, Gutches would earn a gold medal at 187.25 pounds. He would also earn a bronze medal at the 1999 World Championships. Larry Gibson- The 2009 Medal of Courage honoree, Gibson has battled adversity since the age of 12 when he was hit by a drunk driver. After almost two years in the hospital and 13 surgeries his leg was amputated seven inches below the knee. He participated in both football and wrestling in high school and college, earning four letters and serving as team captain for two years at George Fox College in Oregon. A life-changing plane crash sent Gibson back to school where he received his teaching degree. He taught history and served as wrestling coach at Omak High School for 16 years. A club coach since 1972, Gibson was voted Washington's Coach of the Year in 1991. He was inducted into the Washington State Chapter of the NWHOF in 1995 and received his USA Wrestling Gold Level Coaches Certificate in 1997. Gibson has been a nationally-known motivational speaker since 1988. Arno Niemand-Niemand- the Order of Merit honoree, received the FILA Gold Star in 2008 and has provided leadership gifts for new training facilities at his high school and collegiate alma maters. He has contributed major resources to several elite national and local youth clubs around the country. He was the pioneer sponsor of USA Wrestling's Women s National freestyle team through his company, Body Bar Systems. Niemand has also support the National Wrestling Coaches Association's educational program Building Leaders for Life and the College Sports Council's advocacy against the consequences of Title IX interpretations on the sport of wrestling. He is currently writing and publishing the book Miracle on the Mat detailing Cornell College's road to the 1947 NCAA championship. Niemand is a graduate of the University of Cornell (Ithaca, N.Y.) and has been a CEO, President and Chairman of Niemand Industries and Body Bar Systems since the 1960s. Steve Silver-The founder and owner of the Steve Silver Company, an import furniture business in Dallas which employs 500 worldwide in five nations, the 2009 Outstanding American honoree has been involved in wrestling throughout his life. Silver wrestled for Spencerport High School in New York and at the University of Alabama for three years under coach Pat Milkovich. Six of Silver's seven children, including two daughters, have participated in wrestling. He founded and coached a youth wrestling club in Forney, Texas, hiring 1988 Olympic gold medalist Kenny Monday to coach the club, now known as Team Monday. Silver is also a big supporter of Bishop Lynch High, a nationally-known program. Silver has served as Team Leader for the last four U.S. Freestyle Teams including the 2008 Olympics in China where he's done business for a number of years. He was named USA Wrestling's Man of the Year in 2006 for his contributions to the sport. Chuck Yagla- A two-time NCAA champion for the University of Iowa, Yagla has been an official for 24 years. Also a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team, Yagla will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement for Officials. From 1996-07, Yagla worked the NCAA Tournament and was selected as a championship finals official five times. He's also officiated six NCAA Division II Championships along with Big Ten (1995-07) and Pac-10 (1997-07) tournaments. Yagla has worked 12 National Dual Championships and has been officiating college matches and tournaments since 1983. He was appointed Coordinator of Wrestling Officials for the Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences in July of 2008. We will also remember Peter Blair- As a senior at Granby High School in Norfolk, Va., Blair stood just 5-foot-6 and did no t wrestle on the varsity. He enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 16, and during his recruit training grew an amazing 6 inches. By the time his two years at Bainbridge Prep Academy were done that total was 7.5 inches. Blair competed at 177 pounds as a freshman and sophomore at the United States Naval Academy and moved up to 191 pounds his final two collegiate seasons where he would win back-to-back NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956. His career record was 57-5 with no losses over his final two seasons for legendary head coach Ray Swartz. Soon after beating Kenneth Leuer in the 1956 NCAA finals, Blair pinned five opponents in winning a National AAU title. Two weeks later he was the Olympic Trials champion at 192 pounds and would be elected team captain by his freestyle teammates. In Melbourne, Australia, at the 1956 Olympics, Blair would earn a bronze medal. An officer in the Navy from 1955 until his retirement in 1974, Blair served on ships and submarines and taught at the Academy. Blair died on June 29, 1994, after a brief but concentrated bout with cancer. So tune in to America's Wrestling Radio program each week on Saturday's from 9 AM to 11 AM cst. Now streaming at no cost to our listeners via our friends at Livesportsvideo.com. Visit Takedownradio.com and after you click on listen live you will be directed to register at no charge at LSV. Looking forward to hearing from you throughout the year. Email me at svideoman@aol.com

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- A pin from Clayton Foster, major decisions from Brandon Mason and Luke Silver and upset victories from Jamal Parks and Neil Erisman pushed No. 13 Oklahoma State to a 23-13 dual match win over No. 7 Minnesota at the Sports Pavilion Thursday. The Cowboys (7-2 overall) won six of the 10 bouts to seal their most impressive dual victory of the season. "I enjoyed the effort, not from top to bottom, but I enjoyed the effort and the points our team put up today," Coach John Smith said. "It was definitely a good win knowing that we've had a rocky season by our standard. It was pleasing to see us get some wins in some of the swing matches." Though Foster's pin and Mason's major decision gave the Cowboys important breathing room, it was Parks' 10-7 upset win over No. 6 Mike Thorn and unranked Neil Erisman's 6-4 win over No. 19 Tyler Safratowich that pushed OSU to its 11th dual match win in 13 tries over the Gophers in Minneapolis. With the dual starting at 157 pounds, Erisman's win over Safratowich – his first ever over a ranked opponent – was particularly important. As for Parks, his win over Thorn was his fourth victory in his last five bouts against ranked opposition. The Cowboys return to action when they host UC Davis at 2 p.m. Sunday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Former stars from major league baseball, the NFL, the NBA, professional wrestling and the Olympic Games will be on hand for a special autograph event when the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute & Museum holds its Grand Re-Opening on Friday, Jan. 9. The museum, located at 303 Jefferson St. in the center of Waterloo, was virtually destroyed by the historic flood of June 10. It has been closed for six months; work on the rebuilding began in October after FEMA announced it was obligating funds for the museum, a not-for-profit business, to get back on its feet. Scheduled to appear at the autograph session from 3-5 p.m. are Cal Eldred, who played 16 years of major league baseball (Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals), Bobby Hansen who played nine years in the NBA (Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings) and Marv Cook, who played seven seasons in the NFL (New England Patriots, Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams). All three were stars at the University of Iowa, where Gable coached the wrestling team to 15 NCAA team titles in his 21 seasons as head coach. Gable is currently an associate athletic director at Iowa. Baron Von Raschke, one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling in the 1960s and ‘70s, will also be at the event. Prior to entering pro wrestling, Jim Raschke was a standout amateur wrestler at the University of Nebraska. He also won a bronze medal at the amateur World Championships in 1963. He is a member of the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, located in the museum. Gable, 1972 Olympic champion, will be at the autograph event, as will former Olympic champions Bill Smith (1952), Doug Blubaugh (1960), Ben Peterson (1972), Ed Banach (1984) and Randy Lewis (1984). Other wrestling stars scheduled to appear are Ben Askren, 2008 Olympian and two-time NCAA champion from the University of Missouri (and a two-time winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy as the top college wrestler in the country) and Chuck Yagla, a two-time NCAA champion at Iowa and 1980 Olympian. "This is probably one of the biggest lineups of sports stars ever in the Cedar Valley area," said Kent Sesker, marketing director of the museum. "Marv, Cal and Bobby wanted to come out of respect for Coach Gable and all he has meant to sports in this state. "We are encouraging all area sports fans to come and meet these legends. We will have a special commemorative poster with photos of all these athletes on it for fans to buy and have signed, plus various sports cards and items." There will also be a silent auction at the museum, lasting all day Friday and Saturday, with items from the world of sports up for sale. The museum will open at 9 a.m. and stay open until 10 p.m. The autograph session with the stars will be from 3-5 p.m. in the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa. Admission to the museum is $6 for adults and $3 for students. The event is being co-sponsored by 1650 TheFan radio station, which carries the museum's weekly live wrestling show "On the Mat" (Wednesdays at 5 p.m.), and by MATMAN, one of the nation's leading manufacturers of wrestling attire and equipment. "This is a great event that we are bringing to the Cedar Valley, to celebrate the grand re-opening and to show our appreciation to the many groups and volunteers that helped us fight back from this natural disaster," said Mike Chapman, the museum's executive director. "The flood nearly wiped us out. It destroyed our entire gift shop inventory stored in the basement, along with much of the museum's archival information and lots of memorabilia. It also took out every wall in the display area up to the four-foot mark, and all of our carpeting and office furniture and equipment. "It's been a long, difficult fight to get back to where we were, but we will be about 90 percent back when we re-open on Jan. 9." The event is scheduled to coincide with the National Duals wrestling tournament, which is being hosted by UNI at the UNI-Dome on Jan. 10-11. 80 of the nation's top college wrestling teams will be competing in the Duals all day Saturday and Sunday. The museum will also be open on Saturday and Sunday (January 10 & 11) from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

It was a tough night. Iowa State began the championship round of the Midlands Championships with five finalists. All five were defeated, two in overtime and overall by a combined total of six points. Iowa won the team title with 156 1/2 points. Iowa State finished second with 153 1/2 points. "We learned a lot of lessons from this tournament," Iowa State head coach Cael Sanderson said. We are disapointed but we are working our way toward March. As anyone will tell you, that is when it counts." In the 197-pound final, Wisconsin's Dallas Herbst avenged a defeat from earlier this season, beating Jake Varner with a third-period reversal with 32 seconds left in the match for a 3-2 decision. The 165-pound title match between Iowa State's Jon Reader and Iowa's Ryan Morningstar was controversial. Reader had a 4-1 lead but ultimately the match came down to an official's call. The call in question was made when referee Mike Allen awarded Reader a takedown and apparent victory with just seconds left in overtime. But the call was overruled by the outside official, sending the match further into the sudden victory process. Morningstar escaped from Reader with four seconds left in the next tie-breaker period to give the Hawk a 5-4 victory. Second-seeded Brandon Precin of Northwestern scored a third-period takedown to edge ISU's fourth seeded Tyler Clark, 3-2 in the 125-pound match. Iowa's Daniel Dennis used a second-period takedown and an escape after a third-period reversal scored by Cyclone Nick Fanthorpe and prevailed 4-3 in the 133-pound title match. In the 157-pound title match, former Iowa State assistant coach Chris Bono, currently the head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga, got a takedown in overtime to beat Cyler Sanderson, 4-2. Iowa State's Nick Gallick claimed third place by medical forfeit at 141 pounds. Cyclone Dalton Jensen was pinned in his fifth-place match at 141 after a strong tournament performance. Jordan Blanton of Illinois got a takedown late in the third period to beat Iowa State's Jerome Ward, 3-2 in the fifth-place match at 184 pounds. At heavyweight, Cyclone Dave Zabriskie gained revenge for his only tournament loss by beating Dom Bradley of Missouri, 5-2 for third place. The scoring system for the Midlands is different than the NCAA Tournament. At Midlands this season, schools designated 10 individuals who would be "scorers" for the team. Teams were allowed to designate two wrestlers from one weight class and not count another weight class toward its point total. In addition, post-collegiate competitors, such as Bono are allowed to compete. Iowa State is off until the National Duals, Jan. 10-11 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Junior heavyweight Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) helped the fifth-ranked Missouri wrestling team to a third place finish (121.5 points) at the 46th annual Midlands Tournament held at the Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. One of eight Tiger grapplers to place among the top eight of their respective weight class, Ellis was the sole Missouri wrestler to compete in the championship finals, finishing the two-day tournament with a 5-0 record. Iowa captured the Midlands team title with 156.5 points, while Iowa State took second with 153.5 points. One of 11 ranked squads competing in the annual event, the Tigers were assisted in the team standings with a third place finish from senior 157 pound grappler Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) as well as fourth place showings from senior Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) at 174 pounds, junior Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) at 197 pounds and redshirt freshman Dominique Bradley (Blue Springs, Mo.) at heavyweight. Ellis advanced through the heavyweight championship bracket and battled with sixth-ranked Zach Sheaffer of Pitt in the finals. Ranked third by InterMat, Ellis held off his opponent, 2-1, to capture the title. The win was Ellis' 20th of the season and moves him to 57-24 on his career. Chandler, who finished the competition with a 6-1 mark, was forced to the consolation bracket after suffering a loss to Iowa State's fifth-ranked Cyler Sanderson. The Tiger co-captain, ranked seventh in the nation, battled back to take third at 157 pounds. Missouri's 165 pound competitor, junior Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.) took sixth in his weight class while teammates Todd Schavrien (Poway, Calif.) and Marcus Hoehn (Farmington, Mo.) took seventh at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Hoehn wrestled the most matches of his Tiger teammates, managing a 6-2 record that included a 15-7 win by major decision over Joel Trombly of Michigan State as well as a 5-2 win by decision over Indiana's Scott Kelly in the seventh place match. Askren, who notched his 70th career victory by way of a 11-6 decision over Old Dominion's Jessie Strawn, aided Missouri's team standing with three bonus point victories. As a team, the Tigers combined for 13 bonus point wins. Up next for Missouri, the Tigers will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa for the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals beginning Saturday, Jan. 10.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- On a night where plenty of hardware was passed out at Welsh-Ryan Arena, three Wildcats had career nights as junior Brandon Precin (125) and senior Jake Herbert (184) captured Midlands crowns, their first and third, respectively, while freshman Jason Welch (157) finished in fifth place in his first Midlands as a collegiate wrestler. Herbert was a unanimous selection for the Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler Award following his third Midlands championship. Eighth-seeded Zach Tanelli of Wisconsin emerged as the champion at 141 lbs., arguably the most competitive weight division at this year's tournament, and was presented the Art Kraft Champion of Champions award—voted on by his peers—after his upset win against Iowa's second-seeded Alex Tsirtsis in the finals. Hudson Taylor, Maryland's talented 197-pounder, recorded the most falls in this year's tournament (5), while Iowa's Brent Metcalf notched the most team points by any individual wrestler. Iowa led all teams with three champions—Daniel Dennis (133), Brent Metcalf (149) and Ryan Morningstar (165)—, enough to edge Iowa State in the team standings by a 156.5-153.5 margin. Missouri checked in at third with 121.5 points, followed by Wisconsin (98.5) and Northwestern (88.5). Precin took center stage in the first championship bout of the night against Tyler Clark of Iowa State. It was a low-scoring affair typical of Clark's wrestling style, with the score tied at one in the second period. But with 35 seconds remaining in the match Precin notched a reversal to jump out to a 3-1 lead and seize control of the match. The gap closed to one on a stalling point with 10 seconds left but Precin hung on for his first Midlands championship after a second-place finish in 2007. Welch, ranked No. 16 nationally, improved on his sixth-place finish as a high school senior in 2007 with a fifth-place finish in his impressive freshman campaign. His opponent in the 157-pound fifth-place match, Anthony Jones of Michigan State, forfeited the contest as Welch wrapped up this year's Midlands with a 4-2 mark. Welch's defeat in the semifinals was at the hands of the eventual champion, 34-year old Chris Bono, the current head coach of Tennessee-Chattanooga who took home his fourth Midlands championship and his first since 2000. One of the most thrilling matches came in the 174-pound championship bout between fifth-seeded Mike Miller of Central Michigan and third-seeded Mike Cannon of American. With Cannon leading 4-3, Miller appeared to have scored the winning takedown just as time ran out for the win, but the referees determined that it came after the whistle. Cannon held on to join the ranks of Midlands champions. The stage was then set for Herbert to make history by adding a third Midlands title to his already stellar wrestling resume. Taking on the nation's third-ranked 184-pounder in Iowa's Phil Keddy, Herbert opened the scoring in the first period with a takedown and three back points to build a 5-0 lead. It proved to be more than enough for Herbert, who ran his lead to 11-0 before a takedown in the third period lifted the count to 13-0. When all was said and done, Herbert's win was in the books as a 15-1 major decision. The upcoming competition doesn't get any easier for Northwestern, with the heralded Cliff Keen National Duals on tap beginning Jan. 10 followed by the start of the Big Ten season with Michigan State at home on Jan. 23.

Darrion Caldwell and Joe Caramanica were NC State wrestling's 1-2 punch a year ago. Based on their dual championship at the 2008 Southern Scuffle, they will have that role once again in 2008-09. Caramanica, who made his season debut Monday at the Scuffle while recovering from a knee injury, took a 4-2 decision over Kent State's Drew Lashaway Tuesday, giving Caramanica a 5-0 start to his season and the championship at 141 pounds in this year's Southern Scuffle. Caramanica is now 78-25 for his career. Moments later, Caldwell, a 2008 All-American and the nation's third-ranked 149-pounder, pinned Navy's Bryce Saddoris, at 2:05, to improve to 20-0 in 2008-09 and win the Scuffle championshop at 149. Caldwell also was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. The pin of Saddoris was Caldwell's third of the tournament, his ninth of the season, and the 42nd of his career. Saddoris entered the tournament ranked No. 5 nationally, and Caldwell now has won all four of his bouts this season against wrestlers in the top 10, two of them by first-period pin. Caldwell's career record now stands at 76-11, an .874 winning percentage, which ranks fourth in school history. Earlier Tuesday, Kody Hamrah finished fifth at 157 pounds, and that, combined with the wins by Caramanica and Caldwell, gave NC State a 10th-place finish at the Southern Scuffle. The Wolfpack wrestling team will return to action Saturday at the NC State Duals, which will begin at noon at Reynolds Coliseum. Admission is free.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Redshirt freshman Dustin Kilgore at 184 and fifth-year senior Jermail Porter at 285 both won their second tournament championships of the year while Kent State finished third as a team with 126 points at the 2008 Southern Scuffle. Cornell won the team championship with 139 points while Edinboro finished second with a tally of 134. After the second day, head coach Jim Andrassy was pleased with how well the team fought the whole tournament. "We wrestled pretty well the second day. We still need to work on certain positions that we are not doing the best with. They did a good job and took third behind the third-ranked team in the country with Cornell and a top-20 team in Edinboro." Kilgore won his second tournament of the season with a 6-0 record at 184. During the tournament run, he recorded a tech fall, two pins in under a minute and three decisions. On Tuesday, he wrestled to a 17-2 tech fall win over Joe Budi of Old Dominion and pinned Shawn Fendone of Edinboro in 49 seconds to reach the finals. In the championship match, Kilgore defeated third-seed Josh Patterson of Binghamton 10-4. Notching his 100th win of the season Monday, Porter was not done making Golden Flashes history Tuesday. In the quarters, Porter defeated Tyler Moyer of Navy 7-1 and overpowered 11th-ranked Konrad Dudziak of Duke 8-4 in the semifinals. In the finals, Porter won by medical forfeit to claim his second consecutive tournament title. "Both of them pretty much dominated the tournament. They are both ranked in the top-10 and didn't have a close match all tournament. They are both doing the right things. Jermail is getting better and better. The additions on our coaching staff of bringing in Andrew Wolf has helped Kilgore out a lot," said Andrassy. Fifth-year senior Drew Lashaway finished second at 141. In the quarters, he claimed a 4-2 victory over Nick Nelson of Virginia. In the semis, Lashaway won a thriller over Vincent Ramirez of North Carolina 3-1 in sudden victory before dropping a 4-1 decision to Joe Caramanica of NC State in the finals. Sophomore Nic Bedelyon took third in the 125-pound weight class with a 6-1 record. His only loss came in the semifinals against Paul Donahoe by a final 9-3, the only win by the former national champion not by fall in the tournament. "Bedelyon is wrestling as good as he has ever wrestled. He had a rough start and we had to work through some things. He is wrestling very good and that was a pretty loaded weight class. He has beaten Kyle Fluke of Edinboro (4-3 at the Oklahoma Gold) who took second. He gave the returning national champion at 125 the best match of the tournament. The match was a lot closer than the score shows. He is on the right track and I am excited for him," said Andrassy. After starting the tournament 3-0, redshirt junior Danny Mitcheff finished 1-2 to claim fourth place at 133. He lost in the semis in a close bout with 10th-ranked Lou Ruggirello 3-2 before rebounding with a 3-2 win in the consolation semis. In the third-place match, Mitcheff lost another heartbreaker 7-6 to Mike Grey from Cornell. Redshirt junior Obie Simpson finished sixth at 165 pounds, also losing a one-point match in the quarterfinals. Simpson fell to Keegan Mueller of North Carolina 6-5. However, he fought to a sixth-place finish with a pair of thrilling one-point victories, the last being 1-0 over Willy Mello of Duke. After a tough loss yesterday, redshirt freshman Brendan Barlow rebounded to place seventh. He defeated Tyler Moyer of Navy 6-1 before falling to David Marone of Virginia Tech 3-1. In the seventh-place match, he defeated Zach Hammond of Cornell 3-1 in sudden victory. "Barlow beat the tenth-ranked wrestler in the country (Zach Hammond of Cornell) at this tournament and had the 7th-ranked wrestler (Mitch Monteiro) on the ropes," said Andrassy. "He gets better every time he wrestles. We are not going to miss a beat with him after Jermail Porter graduates." Kent State returns to the mats Sunday when it travels to Ohio State for their annual battle with the Buckeyes. Catch all the action on KentStateSports.com beginning at 5 p.m. with Ty Linder calling the action from Columbus.

GREENSBORO, NC -- The Edinboro wrestling team turned in an outstanding showing in the 2008 Southern Scuffle but had to settle for second place in the two-day event. Cornell, tied for third in the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Top 25, finished with 139 points to take home the team title. The Big Red had a pair of champions. Edinboro, ranked 17th, had three champions and a total of nine placewinners to finish with 134 points. Kent State was third (126 points), with Virginia Tech fourth (107.5) and North Carolina fifth (104). A total of 31 teams participated in the Southern Scuffle. Edinboro's champions included Paul Donahoe (below right) at 125 lbs., Ricky Deubel (left) at 133 lbs., and Gregor Gillespie (below left) at 157 lbs. Kyle Fluke finished second at 125 lbs., with Jarrod King second at 165 lbs. Eric Morrill, who is redshirting this year, was fourth at 125 lbs. Shawn Fendone was fourth at 184 lbs., while teammate Chris Honeycutt was sixth. Torsten Gillespie placed seventh at 149 lbs. Donahoe and Fluke squared off in the finals at 125 lbs. Donahoe, a transfer from Nebraska who was a two-time All-American and a national champion in 2007, was making his debut as a Fighting Scot. He improved to 17-0 with a technical fall over Fluke, winning 21-5. Fluke continued his recent resurgence after a slow start and is now 17-9 with the second place finish. Deubel may have been the biggest surprise of the tournament, and may have turned in the best wrestling of his career. The senior was the fifth seed, and won all five of his matches, with a pair of big upsets on Tuesday. He used a third period takedown for a 2-1 win over tenth-ranked and third-seeded Lou Ruggirello of Hofstra. In the semifinals he upset the top seed, Mike Grey of Cornell, 6-4. Deubel is now 16-8 and has a 90-46 career record. Gregor Gillespie met a familiar foe in Bloomsburg's Matt Moley. Gillespie came in as the top-ranked wrestler at 157 lbs., while Moley is ranked ninth. The two had met in the PSAC Championships earlier this month, with Gillespie prevailing 3-0. The three-time All-American captured his first Southern Scuffle title with a 5-1 decision. Gillespie is now 23-0, moving him to 134-10 for his career. He moved past Matt King and Shawn Bunch into fourth place in career wins, and is now just 12 wins shy of breaking the school record. Jarrod King just missed joining this trio as a champion and also posting one of the big upsets of the tournament. He led Cornell's Mack Lewnes, the top ranked wrestler at 165 lbs., late in the match, but Lewnes registered a late takedown for a 3-2 win. King came in ranked sixth. He defeated 19th-ranked Keegan Mueller of North Carolina, 7-4, in the semifinals. He is now 21-2 on the season. Edinboro had a pair of competitors reach the semifinals at 184 lbs. in Chris Honeycutt and Shawn Fendone. A year ago Honeycutt, a true freshman, turned in a memorable showing as he took home third place after coming in as the backup. This year's Southern Scuffle could prove memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. In his consolation semifinal he lost by injury default at 3:30 to 17th-ranked Justin Kerber of Cornell. He then gave up a medical forfeit to Tommy Spellman of Virginia Tech in the fifth place match. A long-term injury could prove very costly for the Fighting Scots with regulars Phil Moricone (174 lbs.) and Pat Bradshaw (197 lbs.) already out. Honeycutt, who came in ranked tenth, falls to 17-4. Fendone stepped up for the second time this year after previously finishing second at the Oklahoma Gold Classic. The sophomore took home fourth place, suffering a 7-2 loss to Kerber in the third place match. The match before that he handed Spellman a 12-0 defeat. Fendone is now 7-3. Morrill and Torsten Gillespie completed the group of placewinners. Morrill dropped the third place match to Kent State's Nic Bedelyon, 4-2. Gillespie placed seventh thanks to a 10-2 major decision over Frankie Gayeski of Liberty. Ranked 15th at 149 lbs., Gillespie finished 5-2 to boost his season record to 20-8. Joey Fendone failed to place while competing in a loaded heavyweight field. The senior picked up a pair of wins on Monday, but lost both of his matches on Tuesday. Ranked eighth, he dropped a 5-3 decision to 12th-ranked Scott Steele of Navy in the quarterfinals, then lost by fall in 40 seconds to Cornell's Zach Hammond, ranked 12th. Fendone is 16-3.

EVANSTON, IL -- The University of Iowa wrestling team won its 20th Midlands title in school history and crowned three individual champions at the 2008 tournament in Evanston, IL, Tuesday night. The Hawkeyes tallied 156.5 points over the two-day tournament, edging out runner-up Iowa State by three points for the team title. Hawkeye juniors Daniel Dennis (133), Brent Metcalf (149) and Ryan Morningstar (165) each won individual titles, and Iowa went 7-2 in Tuesday night's final round. Metcalf received the tournament's Highest Point Total Award for scoring 27 team points during the competition, which was the most of any competitor. Dennis picked up Iowa's first title of the night and his first career Midlands title, upsetting Iowa State's Nick Fanthorpe, 4-3, at 133. Dennis, the #4 seed, scored an escape and takedown in the second period to build a 3-0 lead over the second-seeded Cyclone. Fanthorpe scored an escape and reversal to tie the score at 3-3, but Dennis scored a third period escape to secure the win. Dennis improved to 12-1 on the season with the victory. Top-seeded Metcalf won his second straight Midlands title with a 14-5 major decision over #3 Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin in the 149-pound final. The Hawkeye junior picked up his 50th career win with the victory and won his 47th straight match. He remains undefeated at 15-0 on the season. Morningstar, the third seed at 165, scored an escape with four seconds left in the first tiebreak period to beat #4 Jon Reader of Iowa State, 5-4. Reader led the match 4-2 late in the third period, but Morningstar scored a takedown with three seconds left in regulation to force the match to overtime. Morningstar picked up his first Midlands title with the win and improved to 14-1 on the season. Senior Alex Tsirtsis (141) and junior Phillip Keddy (184) were both the second seeds at their respective weight classes, and both lost their first matches of the season in the finals. Tsirtsis dropped a 10-3 decision to #8 Zach Tanelli of Wisconsin, while Keddy lost a 15-1 major decision to #1 seed Jake Herbert of Northwestern. Tsirtsis held a 3-2 lead early in the third period of his match, but took a brief injury timeout after colliding with Tanelli during an offensive flurry. After the timeout, Tanelli scored a takedown, rolled off two three-point nearfalls and secured the riding time point to win 10-3. Tsirtsis is now 11-1 this season, while Keddy is 13-1. The Hawkeyes went 4-0 in the consolation bracket Tuesday night. Junior top-seed Jay Borschel placed third at 174 with a 4-1 win over #2 Raymond Jordan of Missouri. Junior Dan Erekson (Hwt.), sophomore Jake Kerr (165) and redshirt freshman Montell Marion (133) each placed fifth for Iowa. Kerr, who was unseeded, scored a 7-3 upset over #2 seed Nick Marable of Missouri. Eighth-seeded Erekson also upset #6 Rashawn Goff, 7-3, in the fifth place match. Iowa's next competition will be Jan. 10-11 at the 2009 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The Hawkeyes are the defending Division I team champion, and will be making their 16th appearance at the two-day annual tournament. The 2009 tournament will feature 16 teams from NCAA Division I, 12 from Division II, 15 from Division III and NAIA, eight NJCAA teams, seven NCWA teams and five women's wrestling teams.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Big Red wrestling team captured its first team title at the Southern Scuffle on Tuesday night with 139 total points. Cornell was in third after day one, but individual titles by Mack Lewnes (165) and Steve Anceravage (174) led the Big Red past second place Edinboro. Also placing for Cornell were Mike Grey (Third, 133), Corey Manson (Seventh, 141), Justin Kerber (Third, 184), Cam Simaz (Fourth, 197) and Zach Hammond (Eighth, HWT). No. 1 ranked Lewnes opened his day by pinning North Carolina's Kyle Kiss in 2:55 in the quarterfinals. The sophomore earned more bonus points for the Big Red with a 13-5 major decision over Virginia Tech's Matt Epperly to advance to the finals. Lewnes won his second Southern Scuffle title in as many years with a 3-2 decision over Edinboro's Jarrod King. The Big Red was in first place heading into the finals, but the Fighting Scotts grabbed the lead after Edinboro wrestlers captured the titles at 125, 133 and 157 pounds. After Lewnes' win, the Big Red trailed by one point. No. 5 Anceravage was deadlocked with No. 11 Chris Henrich of Virginia at four points a piece after regulation in the final at 174 pounds. In overtime, each wrestler had a leg before scrambling looking for the winning takedown. Anceravage moved Henrich on to his back and the referee called a quick pin at the 7:30 mark. With his first individual title, Anceravage helped the Big Red to move back into first place and win the team title. At 133 pounds, Grey defeated Ohio's Quentin Keys by a 6-5 margin in the quarterfinals, but was edged out 6-4 SD by Ricky Deubel in the semifinals. Grey quickly bounced back to pin Will Livingston of Virginia Tech in 2:08. The Big Red sophomore captured third place with a 7-6 decision over Kent State's Danny Mitcher. At 141 pounds, sophomore Corey Manson won his seventh place match, 5-3 SD over Navy's John Majka. Sophomore DJ Meagher dropped his 149 pound quarterfinal match to the eventual champion NC State's Darrion Caldwell, and was eliminated with a 7-4 loss to Binghamton's Donnie Vinson. At 184 pounds, Kerber lost a 6-2 decision to Edinboro's Shawn Fendone in the quarterfinals to move the wrestlebacks. Kerber defeated Lock Haven's Tom Kocher by a 12-2 major decision before pinning UNC-Greensboro's Mikal McKee in 3:09. The sophomore won by injury default in 3:30 over Edinboro's Chris Honeycutt, and placed third after avenging his quarterfinal loss with a 7-2 win over Fendone. Simaz won his first match of the day in the wrestlebacks by an 11-2 major decision and followed with a 5-4 win over Duke's Dan Tulley. The freshman won a 4-3 decision over Hofstra's Joe Fagiano to advance to the third place match. Simaz took fourth after being edged out by a 3-2 decision by North Carolina's Dennis Drury. Also at 197 pounds, Josh Arnone lost in the quarterfinals before medical forfeiting out of the tournament. At heavyweight, Hammond defeated North Carolina's Ziad Haddad in 5-1 before pinning Edinboro's Joe Fendone in 0:40. The senior lost 4-1 to Garderner-Webb's Justin Porter, and finished in eighth after losing 3-1 SD to Kent State's Brendan Barlow. Cornell will return to action Jan. 10-11 when it will wrestle at the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

OVIEDO, Fla. -- Claiming titles in seven of the 10 weight classes, the Augsburg College wrestling team dominated action at its Brute/Zac Jarzynka Sunshine Wrestling Classic tournament, held Sunday and Monday at Oviedo High School. Augsburg had 19 wrestlers place in the top eight in their weight classes. No team results were kept at the open tournament, which featured five schools ranked in the top 25 in the latest Division III national rankings -- No. 7 Augsburg, No. 6 St. John's, No. 8 Ithaca (New York), No. 15 College of New Jersey and No. 24 Heidelberg (Ohio). 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 four wins -- two by first-period pins, a major decision and a 13-10 win over No. 9-ranked Mogi Baatar of St. John's in the finals -- to win his weight class. Lang, now 18-0 on the season, has recorded 16 bonus-point triumphs -- 12 pins, two major decisions and two technical falls. Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.), ranked No. 3 at heavyweight, improved to 16-1 on the season with four wins, including a 57-second pin in his opening match, to claim his weight-class title for the Auggies. Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS), ranked No. 3 nationally at 197, won five matches, including pins of 32 seconds and 4:03, to score the title in his class. Massey is now 10-0 on the year. Augsburg's Jason Adams (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.), ranked No. 9 nationally at 157, recorded four wins, including a 41-second pin in his opening match, to capture the title and improve to 17-2 on the season. Tony Valek (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) claimed two pins among his four victories to claim the title at 141 pounds, while Willy Holst (SR, Prescott, Wis.) won the title at 149 with four wins, including a first-round pin and a 13-4, major-decision win over Blaine Woszczak of Ithaca (N.Y.), ranked No. 10 nationally, in the finals. Freddie Vigil (JR, Bakersfield, Calif./South HS) claimed the title at 125 for the Auggies with a 4-0 performance, including two major decisions. Other nationally ranked wrestlers to win titles at the tournament were No. 10-ranked Justin Bonitatis of The College of New Jersey at 165 and No. 7-ranked Dustin Baxter of St. John's (Minn.) at 184. Dave Priest of Ithaca (N.Y.) won top honors at 174. Also for Augsburg, Zach Molitor scored a second-place finish at 174 pounds, and Tyson Barrett (JR, Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka HS) finished third at heavyweight. Brandon Bahr (FY, Bemidji, Minn.) placed fourth at 165, Minh Huynh (FY, Eagan, Minn./Eastview HS) placed fifth at 125; Jake Saatzer (SO, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) placed sixth at 149; Garrett Long (JR, Cedar, Minn./St. Francis HS) and Brad Baus (FY, Mukwonago, Wis.) shared seventh place at 184, as did Zach Enrico (FY, Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins HS) at 157 and Josh Kohler (FY, Monticello, Minn.) at 174; and placing eighth were Nathan Lexvold (FY, Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) at 141, Torey Stewart (FY, Jackson, Minn./Jackson County Central HS) at 149 and Brandon Klukow (SR, Albert Lea, Minn.) at 165.

Wrestling 411 Radio will host three live highlight shows this week, two from the Midlands Tournament and one from the Oklahoma State-Minnesota dual meet. On Dec. 29-30, 2008, Wrestling 411 Radio will air live highlight shows from the Midlands Tournament beginning at 4 p.m. both days. The Midlands Tournament is considered one of the most prestigious and time-honored collegiate wrestling tournaments in the country. On Jan. 1, 2008, Wrestling 411 Radio will air at 3:30 p.m., immediately following the Oklahoma State versus Minnesota dual meet in Minneapolis, Minn. These two historic programs have combined to win seven out of the past eight NCAA Wrestling Tournaments. The Oklahoma State-Minnesota dual meet begins at 2 p.m. Wrestling 411 Radio can be heard by visiting www.wrestling411.tv and clicking on the "Listen Live" link. Broadcast schedule: Monday, December 29, 2008 4 p.m. – Live highlight show from Midlands Tournament in Evanston, Ill. Tuesday, December 30, 2008 4 p.m. – Live highlight show from Midlands Tournament in Evanston, Ill. Thursday, January 1, 2009 3:30 p.m. – Live highlight show from Oklahoma State versus Minnesota dual meet in Minneapolis, Minn.

Event: UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Date: December 27, 2008 In what many consider to be the best ever UFC fight card, with three headline events, UFC 92 is finally here. The UFC Monster has taken a long hard look at the oddsmaker's betting lines, and will offer up a way for readers to enjoy the fights and make a little extra holiday cash, as well. Spend it wisely, and don't forget to renew or join Rev Gold for the best wrestling coverage anywhere! Let's start with the undercard: This menu is so strong that we have Yushin OKAMI (23-4) fighting Dean "the Boogeyman" LISTER (11-5) on the undercard! Wow. Lister is a supreme wrestler with strong submission skills. Okami is all of that and is a strong striker, as well. I believe that Okama is the hungrier fighter, a step or two away from a title shot, and his take down defense and striking skills will be enough to earn a three-round decision. Take OKAMI @ �350. Antonio HARDONK (7-4) may be one of the best kickers on the planet. He can batter your leg in a heartbeat. And that is just what he will do when he meets late replacement Mike WESSEL (8-1), who's ground game is probably not enough to stop the relentless attack. Take HARDONK @ -325 to win by second-round TKO. Matt HAMILL (6-2) is one of the very best wrestlers in the UFC. He knows how to control an opponent's body and take his game away. Overcoming deafness, Hamill is a relentless attacker. His only losses were to Rich Franklin, where he didn't fight his game, and to Michael Bisping by split decision, in a fight most fans thought he got robbed by a hometown decision for his opponent. Hamill dominated, and he will do so again tonight against Reese ANDY (7-2). This is tonight's version of a bridge-jump. Take HAMILL @ -500 to win an easy decision. If Ryo CHONAN (15-8) was good enough to beat Anderson "Spider" Silva. He should be good enough to beat someone with a 13-9-1 record shouldn't he? So, why is he only -170 to do so? Maybe because he has an under-achieving, uninspiring resume? How hungry is he? Is he just another journeyman to pass through the UFC? Maybe tonight we get a clue. Take CHONAN @ -170 to earn a decision over Brad BLACKBURN. Dan "the Viking" EVENSEN (10-3) looked so bad in his UFC debut, that I told myself that I would never bet on him again! Yet here I stand in his very next fight, and I find value on betting on him as a +200 underdog. He is a much bigger man than his opponent, Pat BARRY (3-0). Will Barry get the Viking to the mat before the big man unloads a KO punch? Tghat will be the issue here. I'll give EVENSON @ +200 another try. He wins by second-round KO. … and now onto the main event card: Check KONGO (22-4-1) is a physical beast of a man with overwhelming punching power that can end a fight in no time. His opponent Mostapha AL TURK (6-3) will be looking to avoid this onslaught and roll to the mat as soon as possible. That is where we have seen Kongo look like a fish out of water. The oddsmakers think Kongo has learned enough ground skills to avoid a submission. Will Al Turk prove them wrong? The UFC Monster is throwing a dart that he the big Frenchman goes down again. Take AL TURK @ +260. CB DOLLAWAY (8-2), a former Arizona State wrestler, has looked very formidable in his short career. He not only finds himself on the main card, but as a -150 favorite, as well. His opponent, Mike "the Master of Disaster" MASSENZIO (11-2) is just that, a submission monster. Six of his eleven victories have come by submission. Will Dollaway be able to strike enough to control position, or will he be dragged to the mat for another wrestler vs. jiu-jitsu battle? I think the latter. Take MASSENZIO +130 as a slight underdog to get the money. In the first of three big headliners, we have two MMA legends going at it for the third time. Wanderlei "The Ax Murderer" SILVA (32-8-1) dominated the first two fights over Quinton "Rampage" JACKSON (28-7), destroying him with his vicious muay Thai knees, and leaving him bloodied hanging from the ropes at Pride. Tonight it is in a cage. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Rampage has not only had recent mental and emotional problems, but his unexpected loss to Forrest Griffin, led to a change in training camps, as well. Sounds like a mess to me. I think Wanderlei has his number. Take SILVA @ -130 to get the hat trick! And speaking of MMA legends, how about Antonio "Minotauro" NOGUEIRA (31-4-1)? He has fought everybody, including losing twice in epic battles with Fedor. And, like Frank MIR (11-3), he is a rare heavyweight with world-class ground skills. Most heavyweights are strikers. These guys will take it to the ground for a schooling on arm and knee bars, ankle locks, and choke holds. This is a five-round interim title fight. The winner gets the real beast, Brock Lesnar. Most fans and fighters alike see Mir's only hope as a first round, sudden KO. Once to the mat, Mir will be trying to beat a stronger version of himself. It won't work. Take NOGUEIRA @ -350 to win a boring decision. … and when will somebody beat Rashad "Sugar" EVANS (17-0-1)? Tonight maybe? The defending light-heavyweight champion is the never-say-die kid, Forrest GRIFFIN (16-4). This is a five-round title fight. We also know that Griffin is a cardio freak, who will get stronger and stronger as the fight goes on. And, Evans has a habit of being a slow starter, giving rounds away. Not good for the challenger! The UFC Monster had Evans as a big winning �dog against the Iceman in Atlanta, but tonight, I'm betting that Sugar's amazing streak of wins will end. Take GRIFFIN @ -125 to retain his belt by fourth- round submission. Wow. What a card. Let's summarize the action. Lay $140 to win $ 40 on Yushin Okami. Lay $130 to win $ 40 on Antoni Hardonk. Lay $100 to win $ 20 on a bridge-jump on Matt Hamill. Lay $ 68 to win $ 40 on Ryo Chonan. Lay $ 40 to win $ 80 on Dan Evenson. Lay $ 25 to win $ 65 on a dart throw on Mostapha Al Turk. Lay $ 80 to win $104 on Mike Massenzio. Lay $117 to win $ 90 on Wanderlei Silva. Lay $175 to win $ 50 on Minotauro Nogueira. Lay $125 to win $100 on Forrest Griffin. In all, we are laying $1000 to win $629 with our fictitious bankroll. GOOD LUCK and enjoy the fights!!! More later. The UFC Monster

LAS VEGAS, NEV. -- Sparked by 22 bonus-point victories, No. 1-ranked Wartburg College pushed its consecutive duals win streak to 36 with four wins at the 2008 Desert Duals Sunday, Dec. 21. Head coach Jim Miller's Knights, moving to 5-0 on the 2008-09 campaign, rolled past Johnson and Wales of Rhode Island 36-7, the University of Great Falls of Montana 37-5, Williams College of Massachusetts 41-12, and Cortland State of New York 41-2. The four victories also continued another impressive streak for the Orange and Black as they moved to 24-0 in the six-year history of the Desert Duals event. Individual highlights were numerous for Wartburg. They came from junior 133-pounder Matt Kelly of Dubuque winning three matches, senior 149-pounder Jacob Naig of Emmetsburg going 3-0 in his first outing of the year with three falls, senior 157-pounder Aaron Wernimont of Pocahontas upping his win streak to 59 with three wins in the form of a technical fall, forfeit and fall, senior 165-pounder Justin Hanson of Dakota City going to 3-0 with two falls and a technical fall, junior 197-pounder Nick Shandri of Urbandale winning four matches, and sophomore heavyweight John Helgerson of West Union going 3-0. Wartburg's II team also was perfect on the day, posting three wins. They defeated Ohio Northern 21-15, Elmhurst II 29-15, and the University of Chicago 40-9. The Knights return to the mat for weekend tournaments at Cornell College of Mount Vernon and Loras College of Dubuque Friday and Saturday, Jan. 2 and 3.

HAWKEYES HEAD TO MIDLANDS The top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes (10-0) will vy for its 20th Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, IL. Iowa, the defending team champion, has won the most team titles (19) in the 45 years of the meet. All matches will be held at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the Northwestern University campus. MIDLANDS SESSION & TICKET INFORMATION Tickets can be purchased from the Northwestern University Athletic Ticket Office at (847) 491-2287 or www.nusports.com. All-session passes are $48 for reserved theater-style seats, $36 for adult bleacher general admission and $30 for student bleacher general admission. Session start times and individual session ticket prices are as follows: Session - Day - Start Time - Ticket Prices (R/AB/SB) Session I - Monday - 9:30 a.m. - NA/$8/$6 Session II - Monday - 7 p.m. - $11/$9/$7 Session III - Tuesday - Noon - $13/$10/$8 Session IV - Tuesday - 7 p.m. - $15/$12/$9 R - reserved seats, AB - adult bleachers, SB - student bleachers ON THE AIR Radio - Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time all-American Mark Ironside will call Tuesday's finals live on AM-800, KXIC. Live broadcasts from all four sessions are available on www.hawkeyesports.com using the XXL All-Access subscription ($14.95 per month or $119.95 per year). Television - The Big Ten Network will air Tuesday's finals live. Tim Johnson and Mark Massery will call the action. Internet - Press releases, tournament brackets and tournament notes will be available on the Northwestern University website, www.nusports.com. Session results and recaps will be available on the University of Iowa website, www.hawkeyesports.com. Current Hawkeye staff and student-athlete head shots can be found at pics.hawkeyesports.com. EIGHT HAWKEYES EARN MIDLANDS EARLY PRE-SEEDS Eight Hawkeye wrestlers have earned early pre-seeds for the upcoming Midlands tournament. Defending Midlands champion Brent Metcalf (149), seniors Charlie Falck (125) and Alex Tsirtsis (141) and junior Jay Borschel (174) each earned the top pre-seed at their respective weight classes. Junior Phillip Keddy (184) is seeded second, juniors Daniel Dennis (133) and Ryan Morningstar (165) are each seeded third and junior Chad Beatty (197) is seeded seventh. MIDLANDS HISTORY AND HONORS Iowa has won the most team titles (19) in the 45 years of Midlands history. The Hawkeyes won their first team title in 1974, and proceded to win nine of the next 11 tournaments. Iowa also won team titles in 1990, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2008. Other team winners include Iowa State (8), Michigan State (3), Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club (3), Illinois (3), Michigan (2), Arizona State (1), Minnesota (1), North Carolina (1) and Oklahoma State (1). Team scores were not kept at four tournaments (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995.) Seven former Hawkeyes are enshrined in the Midlands Hall of Fame. They are Ed Banach, Chris Campbell, Steve Combs, Tim Cysewski, Barry Davis, Randy Lewis and Chuck Yagla. Former Hawkeye Heach Coach Dan Gable is also a Midlands Hall of Fame member. Former Hawkeye Joe Williams holds the most individual titles in Midlands history, winning 10. Other former Hawkeyes to win at least three titles are Tim Cysweski (5), Mark Ironside (4), Royce Alger (3), Ed Banach (3), Jim Heffernan (3), Randy Lewis (3) and Chuck Yagla (3). Several Hawkeyes also hold Midlands weight class records. Ironside has the most wins (27) at 141 pounds, and he and Cysewski hold the most titles (4 each) at that weight. Jim Heffernan holds the most titles (3) at 157, while Joe Williams holds the most wins (35) and titles (6) at 174. Pat Kennedy holds the fastest fall (11 seconds) at 165. Dan Gable holds the most titles (3) and falls (13) at 149 pounds. 2007 MIDLANDS REVIEW The Hawkeyes crowned four individual champions en route to winning the 2007 Midlands team title. Iowa won its 19th team title and its first since 2002. The Hawkeyes scored 185 points to win the 45th annual tournament. Defending team champion Iowa State placed second with 139. The Hawkeyes went four-for-five in the finals with senior Mark Perry (165) and sophomores Joe Slaton (133), Dan LeClere (141) and Brent Metcalf (149) each winning titles. It was Perry's second career title and his fourth appearance in the finals. It was the first title for Slaton, LeClere and Metcalf. Slaton set the tone for Iowa in the finals with a 6-2 upset over top seed Franklin Gomez of Indiana to remain undefeated. LeClere followed with a narrow 5-4 upset over second seed Zack Bailey of Oklahoma. Metcalf won Iowa's third straight title, racking up third-period points to beat fifth seed Jake Patascil of Purdue by an 18-5 major decision. Perry made Iowa four-for-four in the finals with his 8-0 major decision over fifth seed Jonathan Reader of Iowa State. Perry led the tournament field with four pins in a total time of 8:10. Sophomore Jay Borschel wrestled above his sixth seed, but could not pull the upset over top seed Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh and lost Iowa's final championship match, 13-4. Also placing for the Hawkeyes were seniors Alex Tsirtsis (141-3rd) and Matt Fields (Hwt.-8th), junior Charlie Falck (125-3rd), and sophomores Phillip Keddy (184-4th) and Ryan Morningstar (157-5th). Tsirtsis was wrestling unattached. HAWKEYES DOWN NORTHERN IOWA, 30-12 The top-ranked Hawkeye wrestling team improved to 10-0 on the season with a 30-12 win over Northern Iowa Dec. 11 at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. A crowd of 2,315 attended the dual. Northern Iowa fell to 0-1 with the loss. The dual started with Northern Iowa heavyweight Christian Brantley's 6-2 win over Hawkeye junior Dan Erekson. The Hawkeyes then rolled off four straight wins to build an 18-3 lead. Hawkeye senior Charlie Falck pinned Caleb Flores in 4:07 at 125, followed by junior Daniel Dennis' 17-7 major decision over Josh Baldridge at 133. Senior 141-pounder Alex Tsirtsis, who was named wrestler of the week by the Big Ten and TheMat.com for his performance against Iowa State on Dec. 6, scored a 14-2 major decision over Trent Washington to give the Hawkeyes a 14-3 lead. Hawkeye junior Brent Metcalf took Iowa into the intermission scoring his 45th career victory and 42nd straight win with in a 24-9 technical fall in 6:25 over Charlie Ettelson at 149. Northern Iowa picked up wins at 157 and 165 after the intermission. Panther junior Tyson Reiner scored an 8-2 win over Iowa sophomore Matt Ballweg at 157. Then second-ranked Moza Fay fought off a late takedown attempt by Hawkeye junior Ryan Morningstar to win 3-2 at 165. Iowa junior Jay Borschel responded, at 174, with a 4:10 pin over Jarion Beets, and junior Phillip Keddy received a forfeit at 184. Northern Iowa won the final bout of the night when senior Andrew Anderson posted a 10-5 win over Rick Loera at 197. Iowa 30, Northern Iowa 12 Hwt. - Christian Brantley (UNI) dec. Dan Erekson (I), 6-2 125 - Charlie Falck (I) pinned Caleb Flores (UNI), 4:07 133 - Daniel Dennis (I) maj. dec. Josh Baldridge (UNI), 17-7 141 - Alex Tsirtsis (I) maj. dec. Trent Washington (UNI), 14-2 149 - Brent Metcalf (I) tech. fall Charlie Ettelson (UNI), 24-9 in 6:25 157 - Tyson Reiner (UNI) dec. Matt Ballweg (I), 8-2 165 - Moza Fay (UNI) dec. Ryan Morningstar (I), 3-2 174 - Jay Borschel (I) pinned Jarion Beets (UNI), 4:10 184 - Phillip Keddy (I) won by forfeit 197 - Andrew Anderson (UNI) dec. Rick Loera (I), 10-5 HAWKEYES LOOK TO EXTEND WINNING STREAKS Iowa has won its last 24 duals, and its last 20 duals away from Iowa City. The school record for overall consecutive dual wins is 42 (1994-97), and for consecutive away dual wins is 31 (1994-97). The 20 straight away duals rank second in school history. Six Hawkeyes also have their own winning streaks to extend. Junior Brent Metcalf (149) has won his last 42 bouts, while junior Jay Borschel (174) is on an 12-match streak. Senior Charlie Falck (125) and junior Phillip Keddy (184) have each won their last 10 matches, and senior Alex Tsirtsis (141) has won his last eight. HAWKEYES SET ATTENDANCE RECORD Iowa set the national collegiate dual meet attendance record of 15,955 when it hosted #2 Iowa State Dec. 6 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The previous record of 15,646 was set Feb. 1, 2002, when Minnesota hosted Iowa at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The Hawkeyes won the dual, 20-15. HAWKEYE WRESTLING TICKET INFORMATION Tickets for Iowa's five remaining home duals are on sale at the UI Athletic Ticket Office at 800-464-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com. Against Wisconsin, Illinois, Bucknell and Purdue, tickets purchased in advance are $10 for adults and $5 for youth. Tickets purchased at the meet are $12 for adults, $6 for youth. University of Iowa students and children ages five and under will be admitted free. Against Minnesota, tickets purchased in advance are $13 for adults, $7 for youth and $2 for children ages five and under. Tickets purchased at the meet are $15 for adults, $8 for youth and $2 for children ages five and under. Due to the possibility of a sellout crowd, the first 1,000 general admission University of Iowa students will be admitted free of charge after they log-in to their student account at www.hawkeyesports.com to reserve a seat and download a free paper ticket. After that allotment is sold out, students may purchase reserved seats at the youth price. IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY Iowa's overall dual meet record is 838-215-30 (.787) in 97 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 21 national titles and 32 Big Ten titles. Iowa's 49 NCAA champions have won a total of 76 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 14 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes' 101 Big Ten champions have won a total of 182 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 24 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa's 135 all-Americans have earned all-America status 273 times, including 17 four-time, 27 three-time and 33 two-time honorees. UP NEXT Top-ranked Iowa will wrestle at the 2009 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals Jan. 10-11 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The two-day annual tournament features 16 teams from NCAA Division I, 12 from Division II, 15 from Division III and NAIA, eight NJCAA teams, seven NCWA teams and five women's wrestling teams. Iowa - the defending National Duals team champion - has wrestled in the event 16 times, and has a 58-10-3 all time record at the tournament. The Hawkeyes have won the title four times, placed second three times, third six times, fifth once and sixth once. The Division I field includes eight of the top 10 ranked teams in the most recent USA Today/Intermat/NWCA coaches poll. Boise State, Buffalo, Cornell, Indiana, Iowa State, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Wyoming will battle the Hawkeyes for the title. All-session tickets are $40 for adults and $32 for seniors and students. Individual session tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors and students. Tickets may be purchased by contacting the UNI-Dome box office at 877-216-3663 or 319-273-4849.

The two biggest high school tournaments of the season, Walsh Ironman and Beast of the East, are over and one thing is for sure: Blair Academy is the real deal. Coach Jeff Buxton's team battled two weeks ago to win the Walsh Ironman over returning national champion St. Paris Graham (Ohio), before cruising past Wyoming Seminary (Pennsylvania) to win the Beast of the East this past weekend. RevWrestling.com recaps the Walsh Ironman and Beast of the East. 103 Pounds Top-seeded Nick Brascetta of St. Paris Graham held off freshman sensation Mark Grey, 4-3, to win the championship at 103. Brascetta countered an early takedown and added two escapes to win the first of several titles for the Graham Falcons. However, Grey bounced back with a vengeance, winning the Beast of the East over Cadet Nationals runner-up Joe Orecchio of Don Bosco Prep (New Jersey), 8-0. Grey scored a big five-point move early and later added another takedown later in the match. Dominic Malone of Wyoming Seminary also placed in both tournaments as well. 112 Pounds National rankings in this weight class are certain to change after these two tournaments. Devin Carter of Christiansburg (Virginia) dominated defending Ironman champ Hunter Stieber of Monroeville (Ohio), 9-2, to win the Ironman. Carter demonstrated powerful leg attacks in beating Stieber. Carter was unable to win both tournaments though as he was knocked off in the finals by sleeper Evan Silver of Blair Academy (New Jersey). Silver defeated Cadet Nationals champ Zach Horan of Nazareth (Pennsylvania), 9-3, and defending Beast champ Sean Boylan, 3-2, before edging Carter, 3-2. 119 Pounds Jaime Clark of St. Edward(Ohio) finally has earned an Ironman crown. After two years of being a placewinner, Clark edged Sean Boyle of Blair Academy (New Jersey), 6-4. Despite surrendering the first takedown, Clark remained composed and scored on a late takedown to break a deadlocked match. Boyle, rebounded by defending his 2007 Beast championship by winning the tournament again. Boyle was not challenged throughout the tournament, defeating Shane Gentry of Colonial Forge (Virginia) who placed fourth and second in the Ironman and Beast respectively. 125 Pounds Sam White of Massillon Perry (Ohio) defeated Zach Neibert of St. Paris Graham in a wild overtime match to win the Ironman title at 125. White trailed until late in the second period when he scored on a double leg takedown. A controversial stalling call on White sent the match into overtime, where White scored soon after. Simon Kitzis of Wyoming Seminary seeded ninth was the champion at the Beast. Kitzis, who was knocked out of the Ironman, beat defending champ, Andrew Garafalo of Colonial Forge (Virginia) in the first of three over-time bouts on the day. Kitzis defeated Pat Owens of Germantown Academy (Pennsylvania) to win the championship. Garrett Frey of Blair Academy (New Jersey) placed third and sixth in the Ironman and Beast respectively. 130 Pounds Chris Villalonga of Blair Academy (New Jersey) showed why he is among the nation's best wrestlers in winning both tournaments. Villalonga went through an incredible weight class at Ironman beating freshman sensation Felipe Martinez of St. Paris Graham in the finals. Martinez had knocked off previously No. 1-ranked Tony Ramos of Glenbard North (Illinois) in the semifinals. Villalonga went on to later defend his Beast championship, winning a double overtime decision over Sam Sherlock of West Mifflin (Pennsylvania). Sherlock struck first with an early takedown, but Villalonga escaped in double overtime and rode Sherlock in the final 30 seconds for the win. 135 Pounds David Taylor of St. Paris Graham proved the doubters wrong. Taylor moved up four weight classes and still became the first four-time Ironman champ. There was a first round scare, but after that Taylor cruised to the championship majoring sleeper finalist Joe Waltko of North Allegheny (Pennsylvania). Junior National finalist Josh Kindig of Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania) was upset in the quarters, but wrestled back to third. Austin Ormsbee finished fourth at the Ironman, but rebounded to win the Beast. In the finals he met a familiar foe, Nicky Gordon of Wyoming Seminary (Pennsylvania). Ormsbee had defeated Gordon in two close bouts at the Ironman; the Beast final was not as close with Ormsbee winning, 6-2. 140 Pounds Andrew Alton of Central Mountain (Pennsylvania) showed why he is the best at 140 pounds. Alton controlled defending champ Colin Palmer of St. Edward (Ohio). Alton dominated on his feet scoring numerous takedowns, and avoided Palmer's trademark power half. This was one of the premier matches at the Ironman. New Jersey state champ Anthony Baldasarro of Eastern Regional, a Beast Runner-up in 2007, moved up one spot this year. Baldasarro scored a late takedown to win the championship over Ryan Kemmerer of Boyertown (Pennsylvania). 145 Pounds Dylan Alton of Central Mountain (Pennsylvania) was the champion at Ironman, defeating Brian Stephens of St. Paris Graham (Ohio). Alton was in control early, but Stephens score a late takedown to make it close. Joey Napoli of Cumberland Valley (Pennsylvania) was the Beast champ, but not without some drama. In the semifinals, Napoli scored a takedown over Cadet National finalist Blake Roulo of Motoaca (Virginia) with two seconds to win the bout. In the finals, unseeded finalist Bo Candelaria of Middletown (Pennsylvania) almost reversed Napoli, but referees said time had expired first thus giving Napoli the title. 152 Pounds Brandon Rolnick of Lawrenville (New Jersey) was the champ at Ironman. Rolnick went through freshman sensation Jason Luster of Woodbury Forest (Virginia) in the semifinals before defeating Nick Sulzer of St. Edward(Ohio) in a close final bout. Rolnick scored a first period takedown, and added another one in the third to clinic the final. Marshall Peppleman of Central Dauphin (Pennsylvania) repeated as a Beast champ. Peppleman dominated on top with Central Dauphin's trademark Dauphin tilt. Adam Hogue of Blair Academy (New Jersey) wrestled Peppleman very tough, losing 3-2 in the finals. Peppleman scored on an early attack, and added a late escape. For those wondering who would win between the Beast and Ironman champ, Peppleman defeated Rolnick in the finals of Super 32. 160 Pounds Ohio State Champion Zach Toal of Troy Christian (Ohio) won a wild finals match against Kyle Lang of Brecksville (Ohio). This bout was highly entertaining with numerous scrambles. Toal trailed early but pulled away late in the match. Dallas Bailey of Catoosa (OK) won the Beast championship and OW in a deep 160 weight class with numerous nationally ranked wrestlers. Bailey went though Pennsylvania state placewinner Jimmy Sheptock of Northampton (Pennsylvania) before he too faced Kyle Lang of Brecksville (Ohio). Lang upset defending champ Kenny Courts of Central Dauphin (Pennsylvania) in the semifinals. 171 Pounds Ed Ruth of Blair Academy (New Jersey) won arguably the best weight class at the Ironman. Ruth defeated defending Ironman champion Chris Phillips of Monroeville (Ohio), 3-2, before beating Junior Nationals champion Ethan Lofthouse of Mountain Crest (Utah). In the finals, Ruth scored numerous takedowns proving he is one of the best in the nation. At the Beast, Ruth lost early. In the first round, he was up 10-0 before getting pinned. Ruth wrestled back to third, spoiling a chance for fans to see Ruth wrestle Beast champion Mike Evans of Cumberland Valley (Pennsylvania). Evans dominated from the top position scoring numerous near fall points in the finals against Mason Bailey of East Fairmont (WV). 189 Pounds Max Huntley of Blair Academy accomplished the rare feat of winning both tournaments. After wrestling at Colonial Forge (Virginia) last season, Huntley enrolled at Blair, and it appears to be the difference-maker. Huntley defeated Max Thomusseit of St. Paris Graham (Ohio) to win the Ironman. Huntley scored from the neutral position in the first and final period. At the Beast, Huntley got a tough test from Joe Piro of Northampton (Pennsylvania) before rallying for the victory. In the finals, Huntley defeated Tony Dallago of Central Dauphin (Pennsylvania), 4-3, for the victory. 215Pounds Joe McMullan of Wyoming Seminary (Pennsylvania) was the champion at the Ironman. McMullan defeated Ben Krakower of Blair Academy to win the title. At the Beast, however, Krakower returned the favor scoring a last second takedown to upset McMullan in the semifinals. Jon Weber of Christiansburg (Virginia) was the sleeper of the weight class as he defeated Krakower in the final. Weber scored a takedown with under five seconds to win the title. 285 Pounds Jeremy Johnson of Brecksville (Ohio) had four falls on the way to winning the Ironman title. In the finals, he pinned Zach Cori of Central Mountain (Pennsylvania) in the first period to win the championship. However, at the Beast both Johnson and No. 1-ranked Andrew Miller of Bassett (Virginia) were upset. The final was fifth-seeded Karl Green of Mt. St. Josephs (Maryland) against 11th-seeded Bobby Telford of St. Marks (Delaware). In traditional heavyweight fashion, this bout was exciting and came down to the final seconds where Telford secured the victory.

Hello Wrestling Fans! Hope you are enjoying the season as much as I am. The Brute Adidas Studios of Takedown Radio hit the road this weekend for several great shows, Video's and Audio programming. So, with that said and our sincere Happy Holiday Wishes we bring to you the following- Saturday's Takedown Radio 9 AM to 11 AM will be Live from Wild Rose Resort in Clinton, Iowa. Maureen Roshar will join us as a special guest host. Our scheduled guests include: Eric Guerrero- Asst Head Coach of the Cowboys of Oklahoma State- Eric, will join us to discuss Cal Poly and Reno results and the season. What lies ahead? How do the Cowboys improve and how will they challenge for the championships. Milt Sherman- Author of "Wrestling Spoken Here" joins us to talk about his life in wrestling and the genesis of the book. Just read it by the way, fun read, great for kids getting interested in wrestling and it explains the sport very well. Tim Cysewski is in his 19th season as Northwestern's head wrestling coach. Under Cysewski's direction, 23 Wildcats have earned All-America honors and 73 wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA Championships. The dismantled Clarion, squeaked by Pitt and now Tim prepares for the greatest of the holiday Classics. The Randy Couture Joins us to talk about Brock and the January training Camp at XC is coming up. We now have dates set for the next Xtreme Couture Camp. The camp will be held on January 30th thru February 1st. Check back here next week for more info on guest trainers and other info relating to the camp. This camp will make a great holiday gift for the MMA fan in your life or use this opportunity to get the ball rolling on a healthy new year and keep that New Year's Resolution! When: January 30, 31, February 1, 2009 Where: Xtreme Couture MMA - Las Vegas, NV Live Video Stream: Yes Spots: Limited to 40 Cost: $450 for Xtreme Couture Members - $500 General Public ________________________________________________________________________________________ Sunday we'll stop by Sean Bormet's Overtime School of Wrestling in Naperville, IL to discover what designs he has on the world of MMA. Sean is sought after by some of the top names in the sport and happens to be one of the best coaches and corner men in the business. We'll record this visit for TDR.tv as you need to see the facility as well as hear from the man. After the Overtime Visit we'll drop by for a TDR.Tv visit to meet a great fight sponsor and MMASTOP.com Founder John Fosco. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Monday-Tuesday the mobile Brute Adidas Studios will present the Midlands Wrestling Championships LIVE from the Welsh Ryan Arena at Northwestern University. This historic event can be heard live free of charge. Tune in to Takedownradio.com for mat to mat coverage including the finals on Tuesday night. Join Steve Foster, Greg Zafros, Britt Malinsky, Scott Casber and special guests that make this old school event so very special. Happy Holidays Everyone!

University of Minnesota sophomore Joe Nord was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week today following an upset victory over Nebraska's No. 12 Tucker Lane this weekend. Nord defeated Lane with a 6-2 decision in heavyweight bout of the Gophers' 21-18 loss to No. 3 Nebraska on Sunday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb. Nord rallied from a 1-0 deficit with a reversal in the opening seconds of the third period. A nearfall later in the final stanza helped the sophomore to gain the 6-2 victory. With the win, Nord improves his record to 8-2 this season. The Waconia, Minn. native has been splitting time with 18th-ranked teammate Ben Berhow at the heavyweight slot for the Gophers this season. This week's laurel marks the second time this season a Gopher has earned the weekly accolade. Mike Thorn was named the conference's Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 25. Nord and the Gophers open their home schedule when they welcome perennial power Oklahoma State to the Sports Pavilion on New Year's Day. Tickets still remain for Minnesota's 2:00 pm. dual with the No. 13 Cowboys and can be purchased by calling 1-800-U-GOPHER or by contacting the Gopher Ticket Office at 612-624-8080.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State junior 285-pounder Jared Rosholt was recognized as the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, the conference office announced today. Rosholt continues to dominate the opposition in 2008-09, as he ran his season record to 17-0 on the year after pinning Cal Poly's Kelan Bragg in 1:38 as part of a dual meet last Tuesday, then followed that up by toppling two ranked opponents on the way to winning the heavyweight title at the Reno Tournament of Champions last Thursday. The consensus No. 1 wrestler in the nation in his weight class, Rosholt beat No. 7 Mitch Monteiro of Cal State Bakersfield by a 13-5 major decision before handing No. 15 Konrad Dudziak of Duke a 5-4 defeat in the Reno title bout. When his 8-4 win over No. 3 Kyle Massey of Wisconsin at the NWCA All-Star Classic is added, Rosholt is a perfect 4-0 vs. ranked opponents this year, including a 3-0 mark vs. opponents ranked among the top seven in the nation. This week's honor marks the first Big 12 Wrestler of the Week recognition for Rosholt and is the first for any Cowboy wrestler this season. Both Jake Dieffenbach and Coleman Scott won the award last year. Since the inception of the Big 12 for the 1996-97 season, Cowboy wrestlers have combined to earn Big 12 Wrestler of the Week accolades a total of 30 times. Among the previous OSU winners of Big 12 Wrestler of the Week is Rosholt's older brother Jake, who was recognized in 2004 and again in 2005. Jared Rosholt and the Cowboys are back in action when they travel to Minneapolis to tangle with Minnesota on New Years Day. ----

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Senior Andrew Anderson led the University of Northern Iowa wrestling team to a 28-15 victory at George Mason on Sunday. Anderson knocked off previously undefeated and No. 6-ranked Cayle Byers at 197 pounds, 3-2. The Panthers moved to 2-2 on the season with its second win in as many days in the state of Virginia. UNI defeated No. 21 Old Dominion on Saturday, 25-15. George Mason dropped to 1-2 on the year. The dual started with George Mason scoring a forfeit victory at 141 pounds. But then the Panthers ripped off three straight wins to take a 13-6 lead in the dual. Trevor Kittleson used four two-point nearfalls and a riding time point to score a 9-0 major decision over GMU's Brandon Bucher at 149 pounds. Kittleson's win moved him to 14-4 on the season. Tyson Reiner improved to 9-4 on the year with a 19-6 major decision over GMU's Frankie McLaughlin at 157 pounds. Reiner led 10-4 after two periods and continued his assault in the third period as he gained a bonus point for the Panthers. UNI's Moza Fay returned to the mat for the first time since the Dec. 11 dual against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Fay rolled to a 17-1 technical fall over the Patriots' Aaron Keeton at 165 pounds. Fay scored a takedown two seconds into the match and added a pair of three-point nearfalls before the first period was over to take control of the matchup. Fay, who is ranked No.2 in the nation, moved to 7-0 on the season. GMU pulled to within one point, 13-12, in the dual following a third-period fall by Mendbagana Tovuujav over UNI's Jarion Beets at 174 pounds. Beets trailed 7-4 in the second period before rallying to tie the match at 9-9 in the final minute of the third period. But Tovuujav tallied a reversal and put Beets on his back for the fall with only six seconds left in the match. The Panthers' Scott Hazen stemmed the Patriots' tide with a 6-1 win over GMU's Jimmy Webb at 184 pounds. For the second straight day, Hazen scored the first takedown of the match en route to a victory. Hazen led 2-1 after he rode out Webb in the second period. Hazen closed out the win with an escape, a takedown and a riding time point in the third period. Hazen improved to 7-5 on the season, and 2-0 in dual competition. Anderson then scored his biggest win of the season to date with the 3-2 win over GMU's Cayle Byers at 197. Byers entered the match with a 10-0 record on the season. Anderson scored the only takedown of the match in the first period. Byers tied the match at 2-2 following an escape in the first period and another in the second. Anderson tallied the winning points on a third-period escape to secure the 3-2 victory. "Credit Andrew for staying in great position the entire match," head coach Brad Penrith said. "He competed hard and it was a good win for him." Redshirt freshman Christian Brantley was awarded a forfeit at heavyweight to move the UNI advantage to 25-12 with only two matches remaining. UNI's Caleb Flores moved to the lead to 28-12 following a 6-5 win over GMU's Brandon Wright at 125 pounds. Flores led the match 6-3 entering the third period and was able to hang on for the one-point victory, despite Wright scoring a two-point nearfall in the final stanza. GMU's Denny Herndon closed out the dual with a 6-5 win over UNI's Josh Baldridge at 133 pounds. Baldridge tied the match at 5-5, but Herndon scored an escape for the final margin. UNI's next action will occur on Dec. 29-30 at the Midlands championships in Evanston, Ill.

LINCOLN -- The No. 3 Nebraska wrestling team won six of its first seven matches before holding off No. 7 Minnesota for a 21-18 dual victory in front of 829 fans at the NU Coliseum on Sunday. Nebraska was led by its heavier weights, as Stephen Dwyer (165), Brandon Browne (174) and Craig Brester (197) notched major decision wins to help NU move to 4-0 in dual competition and hand Minnesota (3-1) its first loss of the season. A native of Howells, Neb., Brester wasted little time in improving his record to 13-0 on the year. The junior earned two takedowns in the first period and was constantly on the offensive against Minnesota's Gordon Bierschenk. Brester was awarded three stalling points and racked up 2:52 in riding time to post a 12-3 major decision. He has notched a bonus-point victory in every match except one this season. Browne was equally as impressive, earning a 20-8 major decision against UM's Kaleb Young. The senior scored two takedowns in each of the first two periods, but turned up the intensity and posted five takedowns in the final stanza. Browne now leads the Huskers with six major decisions on the year. Dwyer also held an early lead, but poured on the points late in his match with Minnesota's Matt Everson. Dwyer went into the third period leading 6-0 after a takedown, reversal and two stalling points. The junior notched three takedowns and a three-point nearfall to earn nine points in the final period and claim the 15-3 major decision. Nebraska's Jordan Burroughs, Vince Jones and Robert Sanders all scored victories over their Golden Gopher opponents. Burroughs completed a hat trick, as he is now 3-0 on the season against UM's Tyler Safratowich. In the only matchup of the night with two ranked wrestlers, No. 2 Burroughs scored two takedowns in the third period to pull away from No. 19 Safratwoich for a 9-4 win at 157. Jones, ranked No. 13 in the nation at 184, posted three reversals in his match to win 7-5, while Sanders scored a reversal with 14 seconds left to secure a 7-5 victory at 149. The Golden Gophers jumped out to a 6-0 lead with a pin at 141 pounds, but NU's six straight wins put the Huskers up 21-9. Minnesota scored the upset of the night at heavyweight, as unranked Joe Nord topped No. 12 Tucker Lane of Nebraska, 6-2, to close the gap. UM's Zach Sanders (125) and Jayson Ness (133) earned a technical fall and major decision, respectively, in the final matches of the day, but Minnesota still came up short. The Huskers are off for the holidays before returning to action on Jan. 4 with two duals against Northern Colorado and No. 15 Michigan. Nebraska battles the Bears at noon and faces the Wolverines at 4 p.m.

Jake Herbert will be the featured guest on Wrestling 411 Radio on Monday, December 22. This week's edition of Wrestling 411 Radio will air on Monday at 7 p.m. The show can be heard live by visiting www.wrestling411.tv. An archive of the broadcast will be available immediately following the show. There will be no show on Thursday, Dec. 25. Herbert, a senior at Northwestern University, is currently ranked second at 184 pounds in the InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Division I individual rankings. He is currently 12-0 with seven pins on the season. The Wexford, Penn., native has compiled a 113-4 career college record. Herbert was an NCAA champion at 184 pounds in 2007. He placed second in 2006 and third in 2005, both at 174 pounds. 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.

NORFOLK, Va. -- The University of Northern Iowa wrestling squad won seven of eight contested dual matches on Saturday en route to a 25-15 win at No. 21-ranked Old Dominion. The Panthers improved to 1-2 on the season with the victory in the Convocation Center. "We wrestled really well for getting in at 2 a.m. last night with all the weather-related travel troubles we had," head coach Brad Penrith said. "Josh Baldridge's win at 133 was the big win as he was trailing in his match but got the fall late for a big turnaround. You also have to give credit to Scott Hazen for getting a win in the first match of the day at 184 - that helped turn the momentum our way early." Hazen began the dual at 184 pounds with a 6-5 victory over ODU's Joe Budi. Hazen benefited from a pair of locked hands calls on Budi, and was able to finish off the win with a takedown with only 30 seconds left in the third period. Hazen rode out Budi over the final seconds to put the Panthers on top, 3-0. Senior Andrew Anderson extended the lead to 6-0 with a hard-fought 6-4 win over No. 18-ranked Jesse Strawn at 197 pounds. Anderson secured three takedowns in the match despite being ridden out in the third period. "Anderson was ridden hard in the third period, but he made Strawn work for that ride and didn't allow him to turn him," Penrith said. "That was a big win for Anderson." Redshirt freshman Christian Brantley continued the Panthers' winning way with a 9-3 victory at heavyweight over the Monarchs' Roy Dragon. After a scoreless first period, Brantley dominated the action with four takedowns to improve to 12-2 on the season. No. 4-ranked James Nicholson got the Monarchs on the board with a 10-3 victory over UNI's Caleb Flores at 125 pounds. Nicholson's win pulled ODU to within six points, 9-3. The tide swung the Panthers way at 133 pounds when senior Josh Baldridge rallied for a fall over ODU's Kyle Hutter, who is ranked No. 13 in the nation. Baldridge trailed late in the third period before catching Hutter on his back and netting the fall at the 6:21 mark. Baldridge's win stemmed the Monarch's comeback attempt as the home squad was poised to score an easy six points at 141 because of a Panther forfeit. Baldridge's win gave UNI a 15-3 dual lead. ODU's Ryan Williams earned a forfeit win at 141 after UNI's Trent Washington failed to make weight. UNI's Charlie Ettelson scored a 13-5 major decision over Joey Metzler at 149 pounds, and UNI's Tyson Reiner clinched the Panthers' first dual win of the year with a 9-3 win at 157 pounds over ODU's Dan Rivera. With the dual win clinched, Penrith decided to hold out 165-pounder Moza Fay. ODU's Chris Brown picked up a forfeit win at 165 lbs. UNI's Jarion Beets closed out the dual with a 4-1 victory over ODU's Eric Decker at 174 pounds. Beets scored a first period takedown and then tallied a late two-pointer to clinch the win. The Panthers will be in action Sunday at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., with the dual beginning at 11 a.m. (Central).