InterMat Staff

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University wrestling team took down a top-ten squad Sunday night, defeating No. 10 Northwestern, 24-14, in the final Big Ten dual match of the season. No. 21 Indiana jumped out to an 18-3 lead and rode it all the way. Angel Escobedo began the night against No. 5 Brandon Precin in the 125-pound match. Escobedo, the third-ranked wrestler in the country, defeated Precin 10-3 earlier this season in the finals of the Midlands. Precin would not go down so easily this time, however, forcing a sudden victory round. Escobedo earned his 25th triumph of the year by recording a takedown with just one second remaining in the sudden victory period. No. 12 Andrae Hernandez and Scott Kelly increased the Hoosier lead to 9-0 with two wins in the 133-pound and 141-pound matches. Hernandez fell just shy of a major decision, winning 8-1 over Eric Metzler while Kelly scored a 4-1 `W' over Keith Sulzer. After the Wildcats got on the board in the 149-lb. bout, No. 4 Brandon Becker and No. 14 Matt Coughlin put the Cream and Crimson back on track in the next two contests. Becker garnered a pin at the 6:08 mark and Coughlin won 3-1 to put Indiana up 18-3. Redshirt freshman Paul Young took a 2-0 lead over No. 12 Nick Hayes in the 171-pound class with a first period takedown. Hayes proved to be too much, however, keeping Northwestern alive at 18-6 with three matches to go. Senior Marc Bennett closed the door though. The Martinsville, Ind. native made short work of Adil Kolovic, pinning his foe in the first period to guarantee an IU victory. The Wildcats were able to take the final two bouts of the night, but it was not enough as the Hoosiers arose victorious, 24-14. Next up for Indiana are the Big Ten Championships next weekend, March 8-9, in Minneapolis.

CHAMPAIGN, IL -- The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won its final dual of the 2007-08 season Sunday afternoon, defeating #11 Illinois 21-12 in Champaign. The Hawkeyes earned the Big Ten regular season title outright with the win, going 8-0 in conference competition. Iowa ended the dual meet season on a 14-match winning streak and posted a 21-1 record. Illinois fell to 13-4, 5-3 in the Big Ten. "We saw some good things today, and some not-so-good things," said Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands. "The impression we left with was positive, but we gave up the first takedown or first points in a match too many times. That can't happen. This team thrives on momentum. We are two weeks out from the Big Ten finals and we've got work to do." Iowa opened the dual at 125 pounds with junior Charlie Falck beating senior Gabe Flores, 6-4 in sudden victory. Falck, who was 0-2 against Flores in his career, trailed 4-2 in the third period, but scored a takedown with 15 seconds left in regulation to force the match to sudden victory. He scored the winning takedown with 37 seconds left in sudden victory to post his sixth-straight win and improve to 26-2. The Hawkeyes were on the losing end of the other marquee match-up of the day at 133. Iowa sophomore Joe Slaton (23-2) and Illinois sophomore Jimmy Kennedy (23-4) both entered the dual with undefeated Big Ten records and significant winning streaks. Kennedy posted the 8-4 win, handing Slaton his first conference loss and snapping the Hawkeye's 11-match winning streak. Iowa responded with wins at 141 and 149 to take an 11-3 lead. Hawkeye sophomore Dan LeClere (141) posted his 20th season and career win when he beat Illinois freshman Ryan Prater, 6-5. Iowa sophomore Brent Metcalf dominated redshirt freshman Joey Kotowski at 149, scoring an 18-3 technical fall in 4:56. Metcalf is 8-0 in Big Ten duals and is on a 23-match winning streak. He has scored team bonus points in his last nine bouts. Illinois followed with decisions at 157 and 165 to tighten the team score at 11-9, but a major decision from Iowa sophomore Jay Borschel at 174 and a decision by Hawkeye sophomore Phillip Keddy at 184 gave Iowa an 18-9 lead with two bouts remaining. Borschel picked up his 20th dual win, while Keddy scored his 35th career victory. Illinois sophomore Patrick Bond gave Illinois a chance at the team win when he scored a takedown in the first tiebreak period to beat Hawkeye sophomore Chad Beatty, 7-5, at 197. Hawkeye senior heavyweight Matt Fields ended the dual with his 7-5 win in sudden victory over Illinois junior John Wise. Fields trailed Wise, 3-1, after two periods, but tallied an escape, a takedown and a stalling point in the third period to tie the match at 5-5. Fields scored a quick takedown in sudden victory to win, 7-5, and post his 20th dual win of the season. Iowa's next competition will be March 8-9 at the 2008 Big Ten Championships Minneapolis, MN. The Hawkeyes will try for their 32nd conference title in school history at the three-session tournament at Williams Arena.

USAFA, Colo. -- Capturing three of the last four bouts, the Air Force wrestling team picked up a 21-12 victory over conference rival Wyoming Saturday afternoon at the Cadet East Gym. The Falcons move to 9-9 overall, 3-2 in the Western Wrestling Conference, while the Cowboys fall to 3-9, 2-3 in the WWC. On a day when Air Force honored the class of 2008, senior Zach Valdez (Parker, Colo.) got the Falcons out to a solid start, registering a 7-4 decision over Cody Grant at 125 pounds. Wyoming tied the team score with a win at 133 pounds, before senior Jake Kriegbaum (Abilene, Kan.) put the Falcons back on top with a victory at 141. Kriegbaum, who picked up a 6-0 decision over Brandon Gifford, continued his hot streak, remaining undefeated in the WWC at 5-0 and winning for the 11th time in his last 12 bouts. The two teams again traded decisions, with Wyoming picking up wins at 149 and 165 pounds, while senior Tony Dorward (Seattle, Wash.) scoring a crucial takedown in overtime to win a 3-1 decision over Cody Chipperfield at 157 pounds. With the score tied at 9-9 going into the 174-pound match, sophomore Tyler French (Malta, Mont.) was able to give the Falcons the upper-hand once more, registering a fall over Kyle Morrow in a time of 3:30. Air Force never trailed again, winning decisions at 184 and 197 pounds. Senior Jacob Devlin (Livingston, N.J.) picked up the win at 184 pounds with an 8-5 decision over Mikel Hoopes, while junior Jordan Tribble (Midwest City, Okla.) scored all three of his points in the final period in a 3-0 decision over Dan Barrone at 197. While the outcome of the dual was already decided going into the final bout, the heavyweight match between Air Force's Anthony Stegeman (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio) and Wyoming's Jason Still was tightly contested. Each wrestler was able to score an escape in regulation, with the score tied 1-1 after three periods. After a scoreless sudden victory period, Still escaped to take a 2-1 lead and held on for the win in the tiebreaker, bringing the final team score to 21-12, in favor of the Falcons. The Falcons return to action March 8, when they head to Fargo, N.D., for the 2008 NCAA West Regional, where they will compete for the opportunity to earn bids to the NCAA Championships.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -– Edinboro, ranked 14th in the USA Today/NWCA/InterMat Top 25, made it three straight EWL dual meet titles and three straight undefeated EWL seasons on Saturday night, prevailing at 23rd-ranked Pittsburgh in a showdown for first place at Fitzgerald Field House. With the victory Edinboro concluded the dual meet season with an 11-3 record and 6-0 in the EWL. Pittsburgh is 13-4 and 5-1. The Fighting Scots won their 19th straight EWL match thanks to decisions in seven matches. They got off to a fast start with wins in five of the first six bouts, highlighted by Gregor Gillespie's 5-1 decision in his showdown with Pitt's Matt Kocher. Gillespie came in ranked number one at 157 lbs. while Kocher was seventh. Gillespie took a 2-0 lead on a takedown at the 2:32 mark of the first period and rode Kocher out the rest of the period. Following a scoreless second period, Kocher was awarded a point for stalling in the third period, but Gillespie registered his second takedown for a 4-1 lead with 49 seconds remaining. He added a riding time point to improve to 29-2 on the season and 103-8 for his career. He moves into a tie for 19th place in career wins, tying Nate Yetzer. The match got underway with a 10-4 decision for Eric Morrill over Ryan Bosso, boosting the sophomore to 17-8. A takedown gave Morrill a 2-1 lead after one period, and he made it 5-1 after two periods with an escape and takedown. In a wild third period, a Bosso escape closed it to 5-2, but Morrill's third takedown of the match made it 7-2 at 1:15. Bosso would escape, but Morrill followed with his fourth takedown, with Bosso escaping again. Morrill owned riding time for another point. At 133 lbs., Ricky Deubel improved to 23-11 with a 5-2 decision over Jimmy Conroy. Conroy led 1-0 after two periods thanks to a second period escape, but Deubel enjoyed a big third period. He took down to start the third and reversed Conroy at 1:25, with a Conroy escape with a minute left knotting the score at 2-2. Deubel came up with the winning takedown with 24 seconds remaining. Pittsburgh closed the match to 6-3 as Drew Headlee won a 10-4 decision over freshman Torsten Gillespie at 141 lbs. Headlee, who is now 21-7, posted three takedowns and also had a third period reversal. Gillespie is now 17-15. Daryl Cocozzo, fresh off an upset of West Virginia's David Jauregui last night, gave Edinboro a 9-3 lead as he posted a 6-0 decision over Joe Ciampoli. The sophomore registered a takedown at 2:25 of the first period and rode out Ciampoli the rest of the period. An escape midway through the second period made it 3-0, and Cocozzo added a third period takedown and a point for riding time. He is now 28-10. After Gillespie's win made it 12-3, 15th-ranked Jarrod King avoided an upset and edged Ethan Headlee, 2-1, at 165 lbs. That gave Edinboro a 15-3 lead with wins in five of the first six matches. King registered a first period takedown (2:07) and rode out Headlee. Headlee did the same to King in the second and third periods to gain a point for riding time. King is now 27-7. In the other featured match of the evening, Pittsburgh's Keith Gavin, ranked number one at 174 lbs., remained undefeated at 26-0 with a 5-3 decision over 18th-ranked Phil Moricone. The loss dropped Moricone to 21-10, with nine of the losses to ranked grapplers. A Gavin takedown and Moricone escape made it 2-1 after one period. Moricone knotted the score at 2-2 with a second period escape, but Gavin began the third period with an escape, then made it 5-2 with a takedown with 55 seconds remaining. Moricone would escape seven seconds later but was unable to come up with the tying takedown. At 184 lbs., Chris Honeycutt snapped a two-match losing streak with an 8-2 decision over Dave Sullivan. The 18th-ranked freshman used a takedown late in the first period for a 2-0 lead, then had another in the second period for a 4-1 advantage. Honeycutt added an escape and a takedown in the third period, along with a point for riding time. Honeycutt improved to 23-7. Pat Bradshaw guaranteed the win with a 4-0 decision over Dave Crowell. The sophomore improved to 26-10 thanks to a first period takedown, an escape in the second period, and a point for riding time. Pittsburgh's Zach Sheaffer, ranked 14th, ended the match with a fall over Terry Tate at 2:35. Tate was filling in for 18th-ranked Joey Fendone. He now has a 7-6 record. Next up for the Fighting Scots is the EWL Tournament on Saturday, March 8. Pittsburgh is hosting the tournament at the Fitzgerald Field House. Edinboro seeks its sixth straight EWL Tournament crown.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Big Red wrestling team took down Harvard and Bucknell Saturday afternoon en route to completing its dual season on a eight match winstreak with a 9-5 overall record. Cornell's 31-9 victory over the Crimson earned the Big Red a perfect 5-0 Ivy mark to win its sixth-straight Ivy League title. In its last match of the season at the Friedman Wrestling Center, Cornell plowed past the Bison, 26-7. The Big Red jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after senior Mike Rodriguez won by forfeit at 125 pounds. At 133 pounds, No. 2 Mike Grey faced Tommy Picarsic. Grey took a 6-2 lead into the second period with three takedowns. Picarsic chose to start the second period down on the mat, and Grey continued to rack up riding time until he let the Crimson wrestler up with 1:17 left in the period. With 40 seconds left, Grey earned another takedown to take an 8-3 lead. Grey started the third in the down position and quickly escaped. He added two more takedowns, and with 3:53 in riding time put Cornell up 10-0 with a 14-4 major decision. Senior Nick Bridge took on Corey Jantzen at 141 pounds. Jantzen jumped out to a four point lead with a takedown and two back points midway through the first period. Bridge then came within two points with a reversal and retained control as time ticked off the clock. Jantzen chose to start the second period in the down position and Bridge held him long enough to deplete his riding time advantage to 52 seconds. Bridge started the third down and earned an escape with 1:12 left in the bout. Bridge aggressively tried to earn points going for a takedown, but Jantzen caught hold and pinned the Big Red grappler with 6:32. At 149 pounds, freshman DJ Meagher faced No. 2 ranked JP O'Connor. O'Connor earned a takedown at 1:51 of the first period and kept control for the remainder of the period. He lengthened his lead in the second with an escape from his initial down position, and earned a takedown with 44 seconds left in the period. Meagher chose to start the third down on the mat but was unable to get away from O'Connor's clutches. With 4:24 in riding time, O'Connor won a 6-0 decision to bring Harvard within a point of the Big Red. No. 8 Jordan Leen faced Craig Carpenter at 157 pounds. Leen took a 4-2 lead with two takedowns, but Carpenter escaped from both. With 52 seconds left in the match, Carpenter caught Leen to earn his first two offensive points with a takedown. Leen regained his advantage earning a point with an escape. Carpenter chose to start the second period down on the mat and escaped only to have Leen take control once again to go up 7-5. The Big Red wrestler started the third down and within seven seconds earned a reversal. He let Carpenter up to the neutral position looking to earn points. Leen made two more takedowns and earned 2:41 in riding time, but with a 14-7 decision was one point shy of a major. Senior Mike Mackie took the mat against Michael Sadler in the 165 pound weight class. Mackie charged into the first period with a takedown on Sadler with only three seconds off the clock. Mackie dominated his opponent and won by fall in 1:09 to put Cornel up, 19-9. No. 10 Steve Anceravage was up next at 174 pounds to face Patrick Ziemnik. Anceravage immediately took control in the match making four takedowns to take an 8-3 lead. The Big Red wrestler proceeded to make quick work of his opponent pinning Ziemnik in 2:13. At 184 pounds, No. 17 Josh Arnone wrestled Fred Rowsey. Arnone took a 2-0 lead in the first period with a takedown. Rowsey chose to start the second at neutral and tied the match with a takedown. Arnone escaped and regained his advantage with a takedown and three back points. The Big Red grappler started the third down and earned another point with an escape. Rowsey came within four points with two takedowns, but with eight seconds left in the bout, Arnone won a 12-6 match with a reversal. With his win, Cornell took a 28-9 lead to clinch the match and its Ivy title. At 197 pounds, Justin Kerber squared off against Bill Colgan. Colgan notched the first two points of the match with a takedown with 45 seconds off the clock, but Kerber quickly came within one with an escape. With 1:11 left in the period, Kerber recorded his first takedown, but Colgan tied the match climbing back to neutral. The Crimson wrestler chose to start the second period down and earned the only point of the period with an escape. Kerber once again tied the bout with an escape within 10 seconds in the third period. With 32 seconds left in the match, Kerber recorded the match-winning takedown and controlled Colgan for the remainder of the period to win a 6-4 decision. Cornell lengthened its lead to 31-9. At heavyweight, freshman Maciej Jochym faced the Crimson's Andrew Knapp. Jochym notched a takedown midway through the first period and worked to turn his opponent onto his back. The Big Red grappler picked up six team points winning by fall in 2:34. Rodriguez jumped out to a quick lead against Bucknell's Greg Hart at 125 pounds. With 54 seconds left in the first, he earned a takedown and three back points as time ran out on the clock. Hart notched the only point of the second period with an escape from his starting down position. Rodriguez went up 8-2 with an escape and a takedown, but Hart escaped and registered his only takedown of the match with 13 seconds left on the clock. With 2:08 in riding time, Rodriguez won a 9-4 decision. At 133 pounds, No. 2 Mike Grey faced No. 18 ranked David Marble. Grey took down Marble early in the period, but the Bison wrestler earned a point with an escape. In the second period, Grey chose to start in the bottom position and earned the only point of the period with an escape. Marble started the third down and escaped, but Grey made another takedown and earned one point for riding time to win a 6-2 decision to put Cornell up 6-0. Nick Bridge faced Luck Chohany at 141 pounds. Chohany took a 3-1 lead into the second period and lengthened it to 6-1 with an escape and a takedown. In the third Bridge chose to start at neutral and earned a takedown with 39 seconds left in the match. Bridge was in complete control of Chohany and was turning him for back points as the time ran out in the match. With a 6-3 decision, Chohany put Bucknell on the board for the first time. At 149 pounds, freshman DJ Meagher wrestled against Kevin LeVally and they were scoreless after three minutes. LeValley chose to start the second period down and earned the only point with an escape, but not before Meagher racked up 1:30 in riding time. Meagher chose to start the third at neutral and with 30 seconds left in the match earned a takedown and added three points for a nearfall with time running out in the bout. With 1:56 in riding time, Meagher won a 6-1 decision. No. 8 Jordan Leen faced Brantley Hooks in the 157 pound weight class. Leen took a 2-0 lead with a takedown and let Hooks escape looking to earn more points after racking up 1:27 in riding time. Hooks chose to start the second in the down position and Leen worked him until he earned three more points for a nearfall. In the third period, Leen was awarded a point after Hooks received his third caution before the period started. Leen added another point with a quick escape. Leen caught Hooks and had him by one leg as the Bison grappler worked to get off the mat. The Big Red captain was too much for Hooks and Leen pulled him to the center and earned two points with a takedown. Leen recorded another nearfall, and with 4:59 in riding time, won a 13-1 major decision. At 165 pounds, Bucknell's No. 19 Andy Rendos faced Cornell junior Drake Hovis. Rendos carried a 4-1 lead into the second period after making two takedowns. Hovis escaped from Rendos to start the second, but midway through the period, Rendos earned four more points with a takedown and two back points. Rendos escaped from his starting down position in the third, and with five seconds left in the match took down Hovis and also added two points for a nearfall as time ran out. Rendos earned four points for Bucknell with a 14-2 major decision. No. 10 Steve Anceravage met Shane Riccio at 174 pounds. Anceravage grabbed a two point lead with a takedown with eight seconds left in the first period. The Big Red junior chose to start the second period down and notched four more points with a reversal and two back points. Anceravage racked up the points in the third period by earning three more takedowns to grab a 13-3 major decision. Anceravage has earned bonus points for the Big Red in all of his last seven matches. No. 17 Josh Arnone and David Thompson were scoreless after the first period at 184 pounds. Thompson chose to start the second period down, but was unable to escape Arnone's clutches. Arnone escaped his starting down position in the third, and with a takedown and 2:46 in riding time won a 4-0 decision to put Cornell up 20-7. Despite moving up two weight classes during the season, freshman Justin Kerber has found a home at 197 pounds. Kerber earned the first points of the bout with a takedown in the first period, but Hahn escaped to come within a point. Hahn chose to start the second in the down position and tied the match with an escape late in the period. Kerber started the third down and quickly regained his advantage with an escape. The Big Red grappler made another takedown in the third and with 2:29 in riding time, Kerber moves to 7-0 at 197 pounds with the 6-2 decision. At heavyweight, Jochym went ahead 4-1 in the first period after taking down George Hingson and earning two back points. Hingson earned the only point of the second with an escape from his down position. Jochym made a quick escape from his starting down position in the third and with another takedown and 1:14 in riding time, he won an 8-3 decision to give Cornell a 26-7 victory over the Bison. The Big Red will take next weekend off as it prepares to defend its EIWA team title. Cornell will travel to Franklin & Marshall for the EIWA Tournament March 8-9.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa wrestling team clinched its second straight Western Wrestling Conference regular season title championship with a 44-6 victory over the North Dakota State University Bison on Sunday in the McLeod Center. The Panthers won nine of the 10 matches contested. UNI also tallied four falls and won the takedown battle, 21-5. "It's probably the best we've wrestled to date," UNI head coach Brad Penrith said. "We are a good team and we proved that today. NDSU is a good team too, but we controlled all facets of the game today. We just took them out of their game plan. We have two weeks to get ready for regionals. We are all on the same page now." Senior Alex Dolly (Mishawaka, Ind.) wrapped up his home career in quick fashion with a first-period fall over NDSU's Shannon Fettig at 174 pounds. Dolly netted two quick takedowns and then scored the pin with only 43 seconds left in the first stanza. "I wanted to close out with a big win and this felt good," Dolly said. "I cranked him over, I thought I was going to lose it, but I got him on his back for the fall. It's good to get wins in the conference and it helps us get ready for the West Regional." Redshirt freshman Andy O'Loughlin (Independence, Iowa) gave up an early takedown to NDSU's Matt Wetterling, but soon righted the ship and took it to the Bison's 184-pounder. O'Loughlin scored five takedowns including one in the final seconds of a 17-6 major decision. "I came in planning on shooting the entire time and getting as many takedowns as I could," O'Loughlin said. "If I can do that, I know I can win matches pretty easily. It's a big boost to get a conference win. We just need to step it up and wrestle our best at the end of the year." Junior Andrew Anderson (Sioux City, Iowa) kept the momentum going with a fall in the first period over the Bison's Jacob Bryce at 197 pounds. "I have wrestled him a couple of times before, he has beaten me twice, but I beat him the last time we wrestled," Anderson said. "I'm wrestling really well lately. I had a good win at Omaha and brought some of that momentum with me today." Redshirt freshman Dustin Bauman (Stratford, Wis.) pushed the Panthers' lead to 20-0 in the dual with a 10-0 major decision over NDSU's Tyler Hemmesch. The match was scoreless after one period, but Bauman scored a pair of three-point nearfalls in the second period to take a 6-0 lead on his way to the shutout victory. "I just need to be smart on my feet and not give up takedowns," Bauman said. "Since I'm light at heavyweight, I just need to get them tired out on their feet. Matches like this are huge to get wins in because it helps with seeding at the regional." The Bison cracked the scoreboard with a pin at 125 pounds when NDSU's Eric Hoffman defeated UNI's Caleb Flores (Rosemeade, Calif.) with only 26 seconds left in the third period. Flores took it Hoffman early and scored the first takedown of the match. Flores then added his second takedown of the match in the second period to knot the match at 4-4. Hoffman tallied an escape later in the second period and added a takedown in the third before he earned the fall. At 133 pounds, UNI's Josh Baldridge (Haysville, Kan.) got the Panthers back on the winning track with a 14-5 major decision against NDSU's Eric Sanders. Baldridge took it right to Sanders and opened up an 11-1 lead midway through the second period en route to the victory. "I just wanted to go out there and wrestle," Baldridge said. "We were the only two undefeated in the conference, so the winner would be the number one seed at the regional. It was a big match for me to win." Senior C.J. Ettelson (Hudson, Iowa) joined the Panthers' top-20 all-time win list with his 92nd career victory - a third-period fall over NDSU's Geoff Martin. Ettelson led 14-1 entering the third period and scored a takedown to begin the period, but used the takedown to throw Martin directly to his back and get the fall at the 5:17 mark of their 141-pound bout. "I really wanted to go out and dominate like I did," Ettelson said. "I wanted to go out and wrestle a full match and have a big win for my last home match. This was a good dual going into the regional, and it was a good dual to end the season on." Redshirt freshman Nick Pickerell (Albia, Iowa) may have had the most dominant effort of the day as he scored a 15-0 technical fall in the first period of his 149-pound bout with NDSU's Ryan Adams. Pickerell recorded a takedown 29 seconds into the match and then proceeded to five nearfalls before the match was stopped at the 2:01 mark. "I just wanted to get the match over as fast as I could," Pickerell said. "He kept giving me the tilt and I kept using it. I guess the points added up pretty fast. He was a national qualifier last year so it was good to get the win. I just need to work hard this week and see where it takes me." At 157 pounds, UNI's Tyson Reiner (Mitchell S.D.) scored a 6-4 decision over NDSU's Adam Aho. Reiner tallied the first takedown of the match and then used a late takedown in the second period to take control of the match. Reiner fended off Aho in the final seconds to record the two-point win. Junior Moza Fay (Anamosa, Iowa) wasted little time in closing out the dual with a fall at the 1:33 mark of his 165-pound match with NDSU's Vince Salminen. Fay scored first with a takedown only six seconds into the match and then worked him over for the pin later in the period. "I really didn't know a lot about my guy," Fay said. "I knew he had lost to a guy I had beaten. I knew he was a thrower, but I just went out and wrestled and that worked well for me. I'm really impressed by how our team is wrestling. I'm looking forward to nationals." UNI closed its regular season with a dual mark of 7-5-1, including a perfect 4-0 mark in the WWC. NDSU fell to 11-9 overall and 4-2 in the league. The Panthers will be in action next at the NCAA West Regional in Fargo, N.D., on March 8.

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Claiming two individual champions and qualifying seven wrestlers to the upcoming national tournament, the Augsburg College wrestling team won its sixth straight NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional championship, in action Saturday at St. John's University's Sexton Arena in the Warner Palaestra. Augsburg, ranked No. 2 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national rankings, claimed eight placewinners at the meet, winning the tournament with 129.5 points. Elmhurst (Ill.), ranked No. 15 nationally, claimed three champions and qualified four individuals to the national tournament, finishing second with 116.5 points. Concordia-Moorhead placed third with 114.0 points, qualifying three individuals to the national tournament, and North Central (Ill.) was fourth with 109.0, qualifying three individuals to nationals. Host St. John's was fifth with 87.5 points, qualifying three individuals to nationals. The top two individuals at each weight class, along with three at-large entrants, qualify for the Division III national tournament, to be held March 7-8 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Augsburg's Willy Holst (SO, Prescott, Wis.), ranked No. 2 nationally at 149 pounds, dominated his weight class with four victories, including an opening 18-3, third-period technical-fall win and three major-decision wins -- 12-1 in the quarterfinals, 11-2 in the semifinals and 16-2 in the finals over No. 5-ranked Jeff Kastel of Elmhurst. Holst is now 28-2 on the year. A transfer from the University of Minnesota, Holst will be competing in his first Division III national tournament. He has a collegiate career record of 38-7. Jason Adams (SO, Coon Rapids, Minn.) also claimed four victories, including a pin and 17-0 technical-fall win, to earn the title at 141 pounds, improving to 27-8 on the season. He scored a 7-4 win over Brent Skorup of Wheaton (Ill.) in the finals to earn a trip to the national tournament for the first time. Travis Lang (JR, Bismarck, N.D.), ranked No. 1 nationally at 133 pounds, was upset in the finals by a 7-4 decision to Adam Johnson of North Central, ranked No. 3 nationally. Lang, now 35-2 on the year, reached the finals with three first-period pins -- a 42-second pin in the opener, 1:07 pin in the quarterfinals and 2:58 pin in the semifinals. He now has a team-high 19 pins on the year. A transfer from the University of Minnesota, Lang will compete in his first Division III national tournament. He has a collegiate career record of 71-21. Also finishing second for Augsburg and qualifying for the national tournament was Seth Flodeen (JR, Cannon Falls, Minn.), ranked No. 6 nationally at 125, Beau Hansen (FY, Albert Lea, Minn.) at 157 and George Lynaugh (SR, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) at 174. Lynaugh won his "true-second" match to qualify for the national meet. Robbie Gotreau (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS), ranked No. 4 nationally at 184, placed third in his weight class but qualified for the national tournament as one of the three at-large selections. Flodeen claimed a 5:30 pin in his opening match and edged Mogi Baatar of St. John's 10-8 in overtime in the semifinals, but fell 15-12 to No. 4-ranked Jake Oster of Elmhurst (Ill.) in the finals. Flodeen, an All-American and defending national runner-up at 125 last season, is now 21-7 on the season and 74-27 in his three seasons at Augsburg. Hansen won three matches before falling 8-4 to Elmhurst's Kyle Katz, ranked No. 4 nationally, in the 157-pound finals. Hansen will make his first trip to the national tournament with a 28-7 record. Lynaugh, a national tournament qualifier last season at 184 pounds, qualified this season at 174, claiming a pin among his three victories leading to the finals, where he was edged 6-4 by Concordia-Moorhead's Phil Moenkedick, ranked No. 10 nationally. He then scored a 2-1 triumph in the "true-second" match over Greg Schroeder of North Central to qualify for the national meet. Lynaugh is now 22-10 on the season and 59-20 in his Augsburg career. A two-time All-American (fourth, fifth) at 174, Gotreau qualified for his third straight national tournament. He won his opening match by a 13-4 major decision, then claimed a third-period, 16-0 technical fall in the quarterfinals before being pinned by Dustin Baxter of St. John's with seven seconds left in the third period of the semifinals. In the wrestlebacks, Gotreau claimed an 11-2, major-decision win and 10-8 triumph in the third-place match. Gotreau is now 26-11 on the season and 135-37 in his Auggie career. Augsburg heavyweight Andy Witzel (SO, Fulda, Minn.) finished third in his weight class, but was not among the at-large qualifiers. He want 3-1 on the day to finish 26-15 on the season. Wallace O'Connor (SR, Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West HS) went 1-2 on the day at 197 pounds, as did Brandon Klukow (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.) at 165.

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State 197-pound wrestler David Bertolino brought a frantic Hilton Coliseum crowd of 3,330 fans to their feet with a dramatic 7-6 tie-breaker upset of No. 6 Craig Brester of Nebraska and Nick Gallick pinned Mike Rowe at 141 pounds to lead the sixth-rated Cyclones to a 22-12 win over the No. 2 Huskers Sunday. Iowa State finished the season with a 16-4 dual record and a 3-1 mark against Big 12 opposition. A Nebraska win Sunday would have marked the first time in the 98-year history of its wrestling program that the Huskers had swept its conference opponents in dual action. Instead, the Huskers finish the season at 14-3 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 action. The Cyclones will now prepare for the Big 12 Championships March 8 in Stillwater, Okla. "It was a great way to end the season," Iowa State head coach Cael Sanderson said. "The match is more important individually than as a team score. We were in nine matches against a very good team, we were aggressive in every match and won the majority of them. This is exactly how we want to be wrestling heading into the Big 12 Championships. We will go back to work this week and get ready to go for Stillwater." ISU won six of 10 bouts, including a 14-4 major decision win by No. 12 Cyler Sanderson over Chris Oliver at 157 pounds. The Cyclones lead the all-time series 78-14-2 and have won two straight against Nebraska. In a marathon bout, the 13th-ranked Bertolino emerged victorious with an escape from Brester 10 seconds into the second tie breaker. The Cyclone senior notched a takedown in both the first and second periods for a 6-4 lead, but Brester was able to close the gap and tie the match 6-6 with a pair of escapes in the second and third periods. Neither wrestler was able to score in a 60-second sudden victory round, pushing the bout to a tie-breaker. Brester, a 2007 NCAA qualifier, chose to start the first tie-breaker from the down position, but Bertolino was able to maintain his ride, not allowing Brester to escape. Ten seconds into the second tie-breaker, Bertolino freed himself and was awarded a point for the escape that eventually won the match. Bertolino improves to 20-10 this season. Brester is 20-4. "It all came together," Bertolino said. "The crowd was really into it. It was my last match in Hilton and the pace of the match worked to my advantage. The match took like 20 minutes. Fatigue was a factor." ISU All-American Jake Varner moved to 23-0 with a 5-1 decision over No. 12 Vince Jones at 184 pounds to open the dual. The top-rated Varner used a first-period takedown and a second-period reversal en route to the win. The Bakersfield, Calif., native also racked up over five minutes of riding time. Iowa State went up 9-0 when No. 6 heavyweight David Zabriskie, a sophomore, defeated No. 16 Jon May, 3-1 on a last-second takedown. A scoreless first period led to both big men exchanging escapes in the second and third periods to even the score at 1-1. With seven seconds remaining in the match, May had a shot on Zabriskie, but the Cyclone countered and was awarded the winning takedown. The reigning Big 12 champ, Zabriskie has not dropped a match to a conference opponent in his career (12-0) and improves to 24-4. Nebraska won its first bout of the day with defending NCAA champion Paul Donahoe picking up a 5-4 decision over No. 15 Tyler Clark via 1:25 of riding time at 125 pounds. ISU added to its lead before heading into intermission on No. 7 Nick Fanthorpe's 6-4 decision over No. 9 Kenny Jordan at 133 pounds. Fanthorpe's win improves his record to 26-4. The Iowa State sophomore led the squad with 64 dual takedowns and 67 dual points scored this season. Coming out of the break, Gallick notched the second pin of his sophomore campaign with a 4:17 stick of No. 13 Mike Rowe. During the opening three minutes, Gallick struck with a takedown and rolled Rowe's shoulders on two occasions for pair of back points, a three-point and two-point nearfall, for a 7-1 advantage heading into the second period. The sophomore from Tucson, Ariz., used a spladle to get the pin. His record now stands at 20-11. "The spladle is part of my offense," the 16th-rated Gallick said. "I like it. I am good there. Now we get ready for the Big 12 Championship." Sanderson registered his eighth major decision with the victory over Oliver. The ISU sophomore notched a pair of takedowns in each period and allowed none. He now has a record of 26-4. Prior to the start of the dual, six ISU wrestling seniors were honored. The senior class includes: Bertolino, Ben Hanisch, Adam Ketcher, Aron Scott, Anthony White and Jerome Whitter. Iowa State will have two weeks off before heading to Stillwater, Okla. to defend the Big 12 title it won in 2007. Hosted by Oklahoma State, the all-day tournament will take place in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Live stats will be available throughout the day on cyclones.com.

Rev Audio: J Robinson (Minnesota) Rev Audio: Tom Ryan (Ohio State) Rev Audio: Joe Heskett (Ohio State) Rev Audio: Lance Palmer (Ohio State) It was senior day at the Sports Pavilion Sunday afternoon, and despite enduring a trying regular season up to this point, the Golden Gopher wrestling team did not disappoint in their final dual meet of the season. Four of the six Gopher seniors that started Sunday's meet picked up individual wins, as the Gophers (14-7, 5-3 Big Ten) rounded out the regular season with a 23-18 victory over Ohio State (19-4, 6-2). The Gophers' ten seniors – Mack Reiter, Manuel Rivera, C.P. Schlatter, Gabe Dretsch, Jeremy Larson, Roger Kish, Justin Bronson, Mitch Kuhlman, Dan Jackson and Jason Waidzulis – entered Minnesota as the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation and have presided over a national championship and two Big Ten team titles. Sunday, they were recognized at the Sports Pavilion with family and friends in front of an announced crowd of 2,006. On the mat, the win snapped a two-meet losing streak for the Gophers, who will now turn their attention to the 2008 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. This year's Big Ten meet will be hosted by Minnesota for the first time since 1997 and take place in Williams Arena March 8-9. Sunday's meet began at 157 pounds, and despite missing last weekend's dual meets due to an injury, senior C.P. Schlatter was hardly rusty in his match with John Johnstone of the Buckeyes. Both wrestlers are natives of Massillon, Ohio, but it was the Golden Gopher who had the upper hand Sunday. Schlatter pulled out an 8-5 win after out-scoring Johnstone 5-2 after the first period. The sixth-ranked senior rounds out the regular season with a stellar 26-2 overall record. Tyler Safratowich took on highly-touted freshman Colt Sponseller at 165 pounds. Both wrestlers entered the match ranked (Safratowich 20th, Sponseller 8th), and the battle was a tight one in the early going. The Minnesota junior scored first with a stall warning point partway through the second and jumped to a 4-0 lead after two periods with a highly-acrobatic takedown, bringing the Gopher faithful to their feet. Safratowich held off Sponseller's advances through the final frame to emerge the 4-2 victor. Sponseller becomes the third ranked opponent Safratowich has beaten this season, and the second top-ten foe he has toppled. Safratowich also beat No. 5 Jake Dieffenbach of Okalahoma State on Feb. 3. He has beaten a whopping nine ranked wrestlers during the last two seasons and improved to 25-7 this season. Another Gopher senior, 11th-ranked Dretsch, took to the mat at 174 pounds to face Alex Picazo. Dretsch had the match in hand, leading 6-2 heading into the final 30 seconds, before he was able to maneuver Picazo onto his back and gain the fall with 12 seconds remaining, to the cheers of the hometown crowd. It was the fifth pin of the season for Dretsch and allowed him to finish the regular season with a 26-9 record, including a career-best 13-6 in dual meets. With the Gophers leading 12-0 in the dual, Minnesota's coaching staff elected not to send out announced starter Roger Kish to face second-ranked Mike Pucillo at 184 pounds. Instead, senior Jeremy Larson got the call for the second time this season at 184. Larson lasted the entire seven minutes but was defeated by technical fall 25-6 to make the score 12-5 in favor of Minnesota. Justin Bronson was the fourth Gopher senior in action Sunday as he took on true freshman John Weakley of OSU. Bronson wrestled his typical close-to-the-vest match, leading 1-0 after two periods (scoring on a second period escape) before winning 2-1 on the strength of 1:27 worth of riding time. The win was a crucial one in the dual (putting the Gophers up 15-5 at the time) and allowed the Gopher senior to round out his final regular season with a career-high 17 wins, including seven in dual meets. Redshirt freshman Ben Berhow took to the mat at heavyweight following the senior day intermission ceremony, but had a tough draw in second-ranked J.D. Bergman (24-1 on the season entering Sunday). Berhow dropped a hard-fought 13-3 major decision. Minnesota led 15-9 heading into the lightweight session of the meet. Top-ranked Jayson Ness met true freshman Nikko Triggas at 125 pounds, with Ness finishing up a perfect 33-0 regular season after the 6-0 victory. Ness cruised through the first two periods with a 4-0 lead, then tacked on a reversal in the final stanza, nearly picking up his 19th pin of the season in the process. Ness will enter the Big Ten Championships as the prohibitive favorite and most likely the number one seed at 125 pounds. The Gophers held a comfortable 18-9 lead in the dual when ninth-ranked senior Reiter took to the mat at 133 pounds. The Gilbertville, Iowa native successfully shrugged off his two disappointing losses last weekend with a dominating 18-2 tech fall victory over No. 13 Reece Humphrey. Reiter came out aggressively at the whistle, earning a takedown and two-point nearfall just 42 seconds into the match and then another three-point nearfall at the end of the period. He had racked up an impressive 2:24 of riding time after just three minutes of wrestling. Reiter continued his aggressive approach over the next five minutes of action, scoring 11 more points in the final two periods of his dismantling of Humphrey. Reiter walked off the mat to a standing ovation from the Gopher crowd after picking up the tech fall and finishes his final regular season 19-6 overall. Reiter will be one of the top seeds at the upcoming Big Ten Championships. Rivera, the fifth-ranked wrestler in the country at 141 pounds, was the final Gopher senior to take the mat Sunday afternoon. Rivera lost a hard-fought match with No. 8 J Jaggers 6-4 to finish out his regular season with a 28-6 overall record. Down 5-2 heading into the final 40 seconds of the match, Rivera scored a takedown to close the gap to 5-4 but could not pick up the match-tying points in the waning seconds. Unfortunately Gopher fans were sent home with a sour taste in their mouths as No. 7 Lance Palmer pinned third-ranked Dustin Schlatter at 149 pounds in 3:19. It marked the first time Schlatter had been pinned in his collegiate career and was just the fourth loss as a Golden Gopher. The team victory was the Gophers' 13th straight over the Buckeyes, a streak that dates back to 1993. After going 0-4 in Williams Arena during the dual meet season, Minnesota finishes with a 3-0 record in the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota's focus now turns to the 2008 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which will get underway in less than two weeks. The Gophers are the two-time defending conference champions and crowned four individuals (Jayson Ness, Dustin Schlatter, C.P. Schlatter and departed heavyweight Cole Konrad) at last year's event, which was held in Ann Arbor, Mich. The first session of the championships will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 8. Approximately 4,400 all-session tickets have been sold already, with single-session tickets set to go on sale Monday, March 3.

KENT, Ohio -- Fourth-ranked Central Michigan scored wins in each of the final four bouts to break a 9-9 tie and claim a 25-9 win at No. 20 Kent State Friday night. The victory ensures CMU (15-2 overall, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) no less than a share of its 10th consecutive MAC title. The Chippewas can complete their fifth straight undefeated conference campaign with a victory over Ohio on Sunday. As has been the case for much of the last two seasons, the Chippewas relied on their top four weights to deliver the victory. Brandon Sinnott (174 pounds), Christian Sinnott (184), Wynn Michalak (197) and Bubba Gritter (285) closed the dual with four straight victories for CMU. Brandon Sinnott (major decision) and Michalak (fall) both scored bonus points, and the quartet improved to a combined 34-0 in conference duals over the past two seasons. CMU's Luke Smith opened the night with his 100th career victory, a 6-3 decision over Kent State's Nic Bedelyon. Smith is the third different Chippewa, joining Michalak and Brandon Sinnott, to reach the 100-win plateau this season. The Golden Flashes, however, answered with decisions at 133 and 141 pounds to take a 6-3 lead. It would be their only lead of the night, as Brandon Carter evened the score for CMU with an 8-3 decision at 149 pounds and Steve Brown earned an 8-2 decision at 157. Brown's victory put the Chippewas back in front, 9-6. Kurt Gross needed overtime to defeat Trevor Stewart, 6-4, at 165 pounds. His victory drew Kent State (14-5 overall, 4-1 MAC) even for the final time, 9-9. Brandon Sinnott broke the tie with his team-leading 24th victory of the season, a 14-6 major decision over Chris Estep. Christian Sinnott extended the CMU lead to 16-9 with a 3-2 decision over Eric Chine at 184 pounds. Michalak put the dual out of reach by pinning Michael Blackwell in the second period of their bout at 197 pounds. It was Michalak's 10th fall of the season and 47th of his career; he has now recorded at least 10 falls each of the last four seasons. The dual ended with a rematch of the 2007 MAC Tournament heavyweight final in which defending champ Gritter posted a 7-4 decision over Kent State's Jermail Porter. The win was CMU's 28th straight in a conference dual and 52nd in its last 53 MAC duals. The Chippewas improved to 6-2 this season against ranked opponents. CMU closes the regular season at home against Ohio on Sunday at 2 p.m. The dual will be televised live on the CMU Public Broadcasting Network. CMU's seven seniors will be recognized prior to the match.

It's been an up-and-down season, but Columbia wrestling took a major step toward a third-place finish in the Ivy League when it defeated Harvard, one of its chief competitors for that spot, 26-14, before an enthusiastic crowd at University Gym. Despite gaining a 6-0 lead when the Crimson were forced to forfeit the opening weight class, 125 pounds, Columbia fell behind early and actually trailed, 10-6, after four bouts. The margin could have been larger, but first-year Nick Standish, wrestling at 141-pounds, lost by just 9-1 to Corey Jantzen, one of the nation's top-ranked high school wrestlers last season, and senior Anthony Constantino wrestled an outstanding match at 149 pounds, losing a 5-1 regular decision to second-ranked JP O'Connor. Sophomore Matt Dunn brought Columbia into a 10-10 tie when he won a 17-7 major decision over Craig Carpenter at 157. Dunn improved his season won-loss record to 18-10. Fellow sophomore Victor Mocco then put the Lions into a lead they would not relinquish when he wrestled a textbook match in beating Michael Sadler, 11-3. Leading by 14-10, the Lions quickly saw their lead improve to 20-10 when first-year Travis Creagan shocked Patrick Ziemnik with a fall in just 2:16. The Crimson made a strong push, thanks to sophomore Fred Rowsey, who won a 14-1 major decision over Mike Pushpak at 184 pounds. Harvard was within hailing distance at 20-14, but the Lions' upper-weight men, Nick Sommerfeld and Lou Miller, quickly sealed the victory. Sommerfeld, one of eight seniors recognized before the match, fought a taut battle with fellow senior Bill Colgan. Sommerfeld scored only one point during the bout on a third-period escape, but amassed 1:51 of riding time for a 2-0 victory. Miller, a sophomore who joined the team in midseason after playing football in the fall, made an early takedown stand up in a 3-1 victory at heavyweight over Andrew Knapp. That made the final score 26-14, delighting the Homecoming crowd that had braved a major snowstorm to see the match. "It's always great to win on Homecoming," noted Brendan Buckley, the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling. "We got a big lift from Victor Mocco, Travis Creagan, and Lou Miller. This is Victor's first year as a starter, and the first time that Travis and Lou have wrestled on a college level. They looked great." Columbia will complete its dual-meet season with another key Ivy League match tomorrow (Saturday, February 23) when the Lions host the Brown Bears in University Gym. The match begins at 2 p.m.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Big Red wrestling team won its sixth-straight match with a 31-9 victory over Brown on Friday night at the Friedman Wrestling Center. Cornell won eight of the 10 matches, while earning bonus points in four. The Big Red improves to 7-5 for the season and is a perfect 4-0 against Ivy competition. The Big Red opened with senior Mike Mackie taking on Chris Musser at 165 pounds in his first dual match of the season. Musser took the lead with a little over a minute left in the period, but Mackie escaped allowing the Brown wrestler to take only a one point advantage into the second. Musser chose to start the second period in neutral, but neither wrestler was able to score. Mackie started the third period down, and with 15 seconds off the clock earned a reversal to take a 3-2 lead. The Big Red senior controlled Musser for the remainder of the match to give Cornell a 3-0 lead with the 3-2 decision. At 174 pounds, No. 10 ranked Steve Anceravage took the mat to face Kasey McCurdy. Anceravage gave up a point for an illegal hold early in the first period, but quickly regained the lead with a takedown. The junior manhandled his opponent until he won by fall in 1:46. Anceravage has pinned his last five opponents and has 14 on the season. No. 17 Josh Arnone wrestled against Matt Gevelinger at 184 pounds. The score was 2-1 after the first period with a takedown from Arnone and an escape from the Brown grappler. In the second period, Gevelinger chose to start in the down position and earned an escape 20 seconds later. Arnone made another takedown with 1:10 left on the clock but Gevelinger escaped to come within a point of Arnone going into the third. Arnone escaped quickly from Geverlinger's clutches in the final period and began to rack up points against the Brown wrestler. With two takedowns and 2:15 in riding time, Arnone won a 10-5 decision to give Cornell a 12-0 lead. Freshman Justin Kerber continued his success at 197 pounds for Cornell. Kerber took a 2-1 advantage over Leo Saniuk into the second period. Kerber chose to start the second period down but was unable to escape Saniuk allowing him to accumulate 1:43 in riding time going into the third. Saniuk quickly escaped from his down position in the last period, but Kerber went ahead 4-2 with a takedown with 1:21 left in the match. Kerber held onto Saniuk long enough to dwindle his riding time advantage before the Bears' wrestler came within a point with an escape. Kerber held his lead to win a 4-3 decision to move to 5-0 in his new weight class. Freshman Maciej Jochym faced Levon Mock in the heavyweight bout. The two wrestled to a scoreless first period. Mock started the second period in the down position and with a twist reversed Jochym. The Bears' wrestler caught Jochym with his back towards the mat and took full advantage. Mock put Brown on the board for the first time with six team points, pinning Jochym in 3:32. At 125 pounds, senior Mike Rodriguez faced Mike Piccirillo. Rodriguez jumped out to a two point lead at 2:14 of the first period, and he nearly pinned Piccirillo to earn three backpoints to take a 5-0 advantage into the second period. Rodriguez chose to start the second period in the neutral position, but neither wrestler was able to score during the two minutes. Piccirillo escaped from the down position in the third, but with 4:04 in riding time, Rodriguez won a 6-1 decision. No. 2 ranked Mike Grey met Jeff Schell at 133 pounds. Grey earned two points with a takedown with 46 seconds left in the first period and racked up riding time staying in control for the rest of the period. Grey started the second down and quickly escaped with only three seconds off the clock. The freshman took a 5-0 lead with another takedown. Schell escaped from Grey's clutches only to have the Big Red wrestler earn another takedown. Schell started the third period down, but Grey immediately let him up looking to earn more points. Grey notched two more takedowns, and with 1:58 in riding time, won a 12-3 major decision to put Cornell up 22-6 over the Bears. In the 141 pound bout, Cornell senior Nick Bridge squared off against Mark Savino. Savino earned two points with a takedown with 40 seconds left in the first period, but in a little over 15 seconds, Bridge escaped. Savino chose to start the second down and earned the only point of the period with an escape. Bridge quickly escaped from his starting down position in the third, but Savino lengthened his lead with a takedown. Bridge escaped with 50 seconds left in the match, but was unable to catch Savino losing a 5-3 decision. Freshman DJ Meagher faced Mark Bloom at 149 pounds. Meagher took a 4-1 lead into the second period with two takedowns and amassed 1:45 in riding time. Bloom chose to start the second period down and earned a point with an escape. With less than a minute left in the period, Meagher took control of Bloom earning two points with a takedown and also added two back points. In the third period, Meagher earned another point with a quick escape. With two more takedowns and 3:48 in riding time, Meagher earned four team points with a 14-3 major decision. Cornell took a 26-9 lead into the final bout of the night. At 157 pounds, No. 8 Jordan Leen took on Tom Fazio. With three takedowns and three nearfalls, Leen took a 15-3 lead into the second period. Leen chose to start the second period in the down position and continued to rack up the points with a reversal after only four seconds had ticked off the clock. With another three-point nearfall, Leen went ahead 20-3 to win by tech fall in 3:49. With Leen's five team points, Cornell won the match, 31-9. The Big Red will play host to Harvard and Bucknell in its final dual matches of the season on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Friedman Wrestling Center. Cornell will take on the Crimson at 1p.m., and square off against the Bison at 3 p.m. The Big Red will also honor its nine seniors.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A pin by rookie 149-pounder Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) in the fifth match of the evening gave the Midshipmen a lead they would not relinquish, as the Navy wrestling team captured the program's eighth-straight win over arch rival Army, 22-12, Friday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md. The Midshipmen now hold a commanding 42-5-5 advantage, including a 24-1-3 record in matches wrestled in Annapolis. Meanwhile, for the third-consecutive year, the win by Navy's wrestling team clinched the annual Star Series for the Midshipmen, as Navy claims bragging rights for the 12th-consecutive year. The Midshipmen own a 13-6 record against the Black Knights this season in all competitions, including a 12-3 advantage in Star Games with seven remaining events (men's and women's basketball, men's lacrosse, men's and women's outdoor track, tennis and baseball). "I'm really proud of our guys, the ones who won and lost," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett, who owns an 8-0 record against Army. "It was a close match throughout and both teams were fighting. We really came out and wrestled aggressively. Allan (Stein) and Joey (Breen) both put forth solid efforts, while our seniors did a nice job of leading the way. And Bryce Saddoris, did he come up big for us or what?" Before the match even began, Navy was dealt a blow when two of its starters, 125-pounder Joey Boone and 141-pounder Glenn Shober, were unable to make weight. "I've never had that happened in all my years as a coach," said an astounded Burnett. "We've had to face our share of adversity this year and this was a prime example. You often wonder how something like that happens, but you can't let your mind wander too far. Instead you have to refocus on the task. I told the guys before the match that you can't worry about the things that are not in your control and we needed to go in a take care of business on the mat." Following a prematch ceremony honoring Navy's seniors and their families, senior heavyweight Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) opened the match by facing an unfamiliar foe in junior Michael Sprigg. After a scoreless opening period, third-ranked Prendergast scored the first point by escaping to begin the second and never looked back as he gave the Mids the early lead behind a 6-3 victory. For Prendergast, it was his 30th win of the season, marking the second straight season in which he has reached the 30-win plateau. Additionally, it pushed his winning streak to 20 in a row. Army knotted the match when senior Fernando Martinez earned an 8-3 victory over Navy freshman Allan Stein (Portland, Maine) at 125 pounds. Martinez took down Stein at the 1:56 mark in the opening period and held the lead throughout the match. Stein did give Martinez a scare when he came within one to open the second period, however, Stein was hit with a second stall warning to give Martinez the wiggle room. In one of several All-Academy Championship rematches, Navy junior Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.)matched up against the Black Knights' Whitt Dunning. Baker earned a takedown at the edge of the mat to open the match, but a minute later, Dunning was able to get out of Baker's grasp. With 45 seconds left in the opening period, Baker snapped his elbows and in doing so slipped and was called for an illegal move after accidentally head-butting Dunning. With the match tied at two apiece, Dunning deferred to open the second, giving Baker the opportunity to escape and then close out the second period with a takedown for a 5-2 lead. Baker went on to win the match 10-5 with riding time and improve to 6-0 all-time against Army competitors. Army's lone nationally-ranked wrestler, 141-pounder Matt Kyler found his match against Navy rookie Joey Breen (Pasadena, Md.) more competitive than he had anticipated. At the end of one period, Breen found himself down by three, 4-1, but worked his way back into the match in the second period. Breen closed within one with an escape, but Kyler earned a single-leg takedown to take a 6-2 lead with just over a minute to go in the second. Breen, though escaped and followed up with a takedown of his own with 56 seconds to go in the period. Kyler escape to end the seconds and reversed Breen late in the third to earn a hard-fought 10-5 victory. With the match once again tied up (6-6), it would be a pair of freshmen battling it out at 149. Saddoris and Army's Casey Thome met just three weeks ago at the All-Academy Championship with Saddoris taking the title with a 6-3 win. After studying his foe both on the mat and on film, Saddoris felt comfortable heading into the match. So comfortable, in fact, it took him less than the first period to pin Thome. Saddoris shot hard at Thome's legs, knocking him off balance and earning the takedown at 2:29. Just eight seconds later, Thome's shoulders were pinned to the mat and Navy took a six-point (12-6) advantage, a lead Navy would never relinquish. "It clearly turned the momentum in our favor," said Burnett in regards to Saddoris' fall. "It got the crowd on their feet and we really focused in." "Coach Burnett prepared us well," said Saddoris, whose win Friday night gave him 30 for the year, becoming only the third Navy wrestler to win 30 or more matches in his freshman year. "I knew what to expect heading into the match. It felt great to get that win. I think it really stopped any momentum they may have built." Following Saddoris' win, the Midshipmen earned three straight victories by members of the senior class. Chattanooga, Tenn., native Spencer Manley faced Christian Snook for the second time in 2008 at 157 pounds. Snook took a 1-0 lead in the second after a scoreless opening period. Manley, though, took a 2-1 advantage with 52 seconds remaining in the second by taking Snook down. The third period began with Manley choosing the neutral position. In doing so, he set himself up for a second takedown at 1:31 in the final stanza to take a 4-1 lead. Snook was able to escape with over a minute to go, but Manley would go on to earn a 5-2 win with riding time. For senior Justin Jacobs (LeRoy, Mich.), it was his first look at Army's Chris Grill. Jacobs did not wrestle at the All-Academy Classic and entered Friday's dual match having lost both previous matches against his arch rival. Jacobs earned an early 2-0 advantage through one and had pushed his lead to five, 6-1, by the end of two periods. Despite three escapes and a takedown, Grill was unable to get any closer than four and Jacobs earned his first win over an Army foe, 11-6, with riding time. While Saddoris' pin helped push the momentum in Navy's direction, it was senior captain Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) who clinched the win for the Midshipmen. Stolpinski pinned Army sophomore Ryan Mergen at the All-Academy Championship to claim the title and he had every intention of duplicating that result. The two wrestlers took swats at one another, but it wasn't until 15 seconds remaining in the first period that Stolpinski was finally able to take a 2-0 lead. The 2008 EIWA 174-pound champion and All-American earned a pair of three-point nearfalls in the final 43 seconds of the second period to own a commanding 8-0 lead. After starting the final period in the neutral position, Stolpinski took Mergen down to the mat and was then awarded a two-point nearfall with 15 seconds remaining. Stolpinski earned a 13-0 major decision en route to picking up a team-best 34th win of 2007-08. The win gave the Midshipmen a 22-6 advantage with two matches to go and put the match out of reach for Army. The Black Knights went on to win the final two matches of the night. Senior Scott Ferguson outlasted Navy junior Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.), 5-3, while second-year standout Richard Starks held off Navy senior Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) for a 6-2 victory. The Midshipmen will use the next two weeks to prepare for the EIWA Championship held March 8-9 at Franklin & Marshall.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- No. 11 Illinois dominated Purdue, 31-6, in front of 727 fans at Huff Hall Friday, the Illini's biggest win in Big Ten action since defeating No. 19 Indiana, 37-0, on Feb. 13, 2005. Illinois had four major decisions and lost just one match on the night, moving to 13-3 overall, 5-2 in the Big Ten. No. 15 Ryan Prater earned his 20th win of the season, giving Illinois seven 20-win wrestlers for the season. No. 8 Gabe Flores (125) also set a new career high with his 22nd win of the year. "This is one of those matches that scares you as a coach," Illini head coach Mark Johnson said. "But our guys came out and performed well tonight." Starting at 125, No. 8 Gabe Flores bolted out to an early 8-0 lead after the first period with a takedown and a pair of three-point near-falls. In the second period, he got two more takedowns while allowing only a pair of escape points for a 12-2 lead. Starting down in the third period, Flores worked his way out with a reversal with 30 seconds left then gave up an escape. With nearly two minutes of riding time, Flores earned the major decision with a 15-3 margin. No. 7 Jimmy Kennedy then started fast against Sean Schmaltz at 133, notching two takedowns and a three-point near-fall before riding Schmaltz the rest of the period for a 7-1 lead with 2:16 of riding time after one period. Kennedy started down in the second and quickly got an escape, then got a stalling point for a 9-1 lead after two periods. Schmaltz started down in the third and was called for stalling once again, pushing Kennedy's lead to 10-1. With the riding time advantage point, Kennedy scored an 11-1 major decision, making Illinois' lead 8-0. At 141, No. 15 Ryan Prater and Matt Redmond wrestled most of the first period on their feet before Redmond notched a takedown with 40 seconds left and rode out Prater for the 2-0 lead. Redmond started down in the second and Prater scored a two-point near-fall with 45 seconds left to tie the bout. Prater then rode him out, racking up 1:15 of riding time. The Illini freshman started down in the third and quickly worked into a reversal for the 4-2 lead. After working furiously for the tilt, Prater finally hooked Redmond and scored a three-point near-fall. Prater rode him out for the 8-2 win, pushing the Illini margin to 11-0. Grant Paswall took on No. 10 Jake Patacsil at 149 and Paswall nearly got an early takedown and a pair of bridges on Patacsil, but the Boilermaker held on to a high crotch furiously before flipping Paswall for a takedown. Patacsil then turned the Illini rookie onto his upper shoulders and neck for the three-point near-fall before the referee stopped the bout for injury time which eventually became an injury default victory for Patacsil, cutting Illinois' lead to 11-6. At 157, No. 2 Mike Poeta countered Nick Bertucci's early shot and spun around him for a takedown and a 2-0 lead. Poeta rode him out the rest of the period for 2:16 of riding time. The Illini All-American started down in the second and quickly stuck Bertucci with a reversal before Bertucci escaped. After another failed shot by Bertucci, Poeta got in on a double-leg and planted the Boiler for the 6-1 lead after two periods. Bertucci started down in the third and Poeta quickly allowed him up. Bertucci shot once more, Poeta defended it and scampered behind him for the takedown. After another allowed escape, Poeta got another double-leg takedown and allowed Bertucci up once more. After nearly pinning Bertucci without gaining control, Poeta worked into a takedown then got a two-point near-fall. With nearly four minutes of riding time, Poeta earned the 15-4 major decision, pushing Illinois farther ahead, 15-6. Roger Smith-Bergsrud returned after missing last weekend's matches to face Justin Fraga at 165. With 45 seconds left in the first period, Fraga notched a takedown on Smith-Bergsrud and rode him out for the 2-0 lead. The Illini junior started down in the second and quickly escaped. After an extended front bulldog, Smith-Bergsrud was able to move into position for the takedown and a 3-2 lead before riding out the Boiler. Fraga started down in the third and Smith-Bergsrud rode him expertly, locking up the riding time point before Fraga escaped with 10 seconds left. Smith-Bergsrud held on for the 4-3 win, giving the Illini an 18-6 advantage. At 174, No. 17 Nick Corpe took a shot one minute into the match, but No. 15 John Dergo defended it and swung behind him for the takedown. Corpe escaped with 15 seconds left in the period, but Dergo took a 2-1 lead and a riding time advantage of 1:36 into the second period, which he started in the down position. Dergo quickly escaped for the 3-1 margin, and the duo wrestled on their feet the rest of the period. Corpe started down in the third and escaped, but not until Dergo had racked up two minutes of riding time. Just under one minute left in the match, Dergo shot and got the takedown on the edge of the mat for the 5-2 lead. Dergo then rode him out for the 6-2 win and 21-6 Illini lead. Redshirt-freshman Ben Friedl squared off against A.J. Kissel at 184. After multiple scrambles, Kissel finally scored a takedown with nine seconds left in the period. Friedl started down in the second and, after giving up 90 seconds of riding time, managed a reversal to tie the bout, 2-2, before riding out Fraga. Kissel started down in the third and Friedl managed to ride him long enough to cut the riding time advantage under 30 seconds, eliminating the point. But Kissel escaped, taking a 3-2 lead. After a stalemate, Kissel got up but did not get back to the center quickly enough, getting called for stalling once more, giving Friedl a point and tying the score, 3-3. The bout then went to sudden-victory overtime where Friedl controlled Kissel's head and grabbed his right leg. He then was able to swing around the Boiler for the takedown with 12 seconds left in sudden-victory time for the 5-3 win. At 197, No. 11 Patrick Bond notched a takedown on Logan Brown just over a minute into the match and rode him out for nearly two minutes of riding time and a 2-0 lead after a period. Bond started down in the second and got a quick escape, then scored another takedown with just over a minute left in the period. Bond let Brown escape, then after a restart Brown shot but was turned away by Bond, who slid behind him for the takedown and a 7-1 lead. Brown started down in the third and quickly was allowed to escape. Bond then controlled Brown's head and swung behind for a takedown before allowing another escape. Bond got a similar takedown with 45 seconds left and allowed an escape for an 11-3 lead plus a point for riding time. With 10 seconds left, Brown was called for stalling a second time, giving Bond another point and a 13-4 major decision win. Just 22 seconds into the match at heavyweight, No. 15 John Wise scored a takedown on Chris Kasten and ended up riding him out after repeated attempts for a tilt, ending the period with a 2-0 lead and 2:37 of riding time. Wise started down in the second and quickly got a reversal for a 4-0 lead. In the third, Kasten chose neutral and Wise scored a takedown with 42 seconds left. Kasten escaped with two seconds left, but Wise had 4:45 of riding time to seal the 7-1 win and Illinois' 31-6 victory. Up Next: The No. 11 Illini host top-ranked Iowa on Sunday at 1 p.m to finish the Big Ten dual-match season. The Hawkeyes bring a record of 20-1, 7-0 in Big Ten action, into the dual.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State wrestling team used eight decisions to top Eastern Michigan tonight, 24-6 at Jenison Field House. The Spartans, who snap a 10 match losing streak, improve to 4-12 and conclude the home portion of their 2007-08 schedule. MSU is now 11-1 all-time against the Eagles. The night began at the 149-weight class with junior Eddie Skowneski taking a 8-5 decision over David Pienaar for an early 3-0 Spartan lead. Pienaar had two takedowns, sandwiched around a Skowneski escape to lead 4-1 after the first period. EMU deferred and MSU chose down to begin the second. Skowneski took advantage with the only points of the period with a reversal 47 seconds into the second. After a neutral start to begin the third, Skowneski took down Pienaar 14 seconds in to take his first lead (5-4). An escape evened the match with 37 seconds remaining, but the Spartan junior closed it out with a takedown with 14 seconds left. One riding time point for Skowneski brought the final decision to 8-5. At 157, EMU's Cory Mancuso knocked off redshirt freshman John Fulger, 9-2, to even the match overall at three. Junior Rex Kendle won his 18th match of the season at 165. Kendle opened with a takedown in the opening minute and gathered riding time, until Justin Brandel escaped with 47 seconds left for a 2-1 tally after one. EMU deferred and Kendle started down to begin the second and would score a reversal 51 seconds in for a 4-1 edge after the initial five minutes. The lone points of the third came from a stalling point against the Spartan. A riding time point for Kendle, pushed the final to 5-2 and would give MSU a 6-3 lead that would not relinquish. In the 174-pound bout, junior John Murphy topped Derek Foore, 9-5, to improve his season record to 22-15. Murphy coverted a takedown 30 seconds in, but Foore tied the bout back up with a reversal two minutes in. With 23 seconds left in the first period, Murphy took down Foore again. MSU deferred and with Foore down, Murphy let him escape in the initial seconds. Mutphy countered with a takedown at 33 seconds and rode Foore until he escaped just over 35 seconds later. A Murphy takedown 54 second into the final stanza put the match away, as a late escape by EMU and a riding time point for MSU, led to a 9-5 final. Sophomore Nick Palmieri evened his dual record to 16-16 with a 4-1 decision over Charlie Pienaar at 184 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Pienaar deferred and MSU chose down. Palmieri escaped with 39 seconds on the clock for the first point of the bout and the only point of the period. With EMU starting down, Palmieri claimed three near fall points 32 seconds in to open up a 4-0 edge. Pienaar would escape with 50 second remaining but could score no more, as the Spartans opened a 12-3 lead at the intermission. Competing in his final match at Jenison Field House, No. 15 Joe Williams went out in style with the Spartans largest win of the night with a 8-2 decision over John McClure at 197 pounds. Wiliiams, who improved to 24-11 overall, began the bout with a takedown midway through the first period. A McClure escape late in the first and a scoreless second, brought the score to 2-1 entering the final frame. Starting down, Williams escaped 19 seconds in and would add a takedown with 45 seconds on the clock to open up a 5-1 advantage. A McClure escape was quickly followed by another Williams takedown with only eight seconds left. A point of riding time added to the 8-2 final. Eastern Michigan won its second bout of the night in the heavyweight division, as David Wade held off Alan O'Donnell, 3-1, bringing the overall total to 15-6. Senior Clint Frutiger returned to the mat for the first time since the Penn State Open in early December, to beat Andrew Novak, 8-5. In his final home bout in green and white, Frutiger began with two takedowns, followed by two EMU escapes, in the first period. A Novak escape was the lone scoring in the second, narrowing the Frutiger lead to 4-3. Novak allowed Frutiger to escape to begin the third and followed with a takedown in the first minute to grow his lead to 7-3. With two seconds remaining, EMU was awarded a reversal and MSU earned a riding point, for a 8-5 final. In the most highly-anticipated match up of the night, No. 4 Franklin Gomez narrowly beat No. 15 Sean Carter, 4-3, for his 11th-straight dual match win. Gomez, who improves to 24-1 overall, began with a takedown 1:09 in and quickly allowed Carter to escape. Starting the second neutral, Gomez added a takedown at the 57 second mark, but saw another Carter escape to keep the bout close at 4-2 entering the third. Carter started down and escaped 21 seconds in, but neither wrestler could garner any more points the rest of the way. The Spartans closed out the night with a 5-3 win at the 141 weight class by junior Jeff Wimberley over Zach Donofrio. The opening period saw Wimberley have a fast start with a takedown in the first 20 seconds. Twenty seconds later, Donofrio escaped and the two wrestlers battled to a neutral second period. Donofrio allowed Wimberley to escape to being the third and would take down the Spartan to even the bout at three with 41 seconds remaining. However, Wimberley escaped 15 seconds later and would hold off the Eagle attack for the win. An extra point of riding time brought the final to 5-3. Prior to the start of the meet, Michigan State honored its three graduating seniors - Freddie DeRamus, Frutiger and Williams. Michigan State wraps up the 2007-08 regular season on Sunday, Feb. 24 at in-state rival Michigan. The Spartans and the No. 10 Wolverines are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., live on the Big Ten Network.

EDINBORO, Pa. -– Edinboro picked up a hard-earned 21-16 win over West Virginia at McComb Fieldhouse on Friday night. The victory moved the Fighting Scots within a win of their third straight undefeated EWL season. The victory was the 18th straight against EWL competition and boosted Edinboro to 10-3 overall and 5-0 in the EWL. West Virginia is now 7-5 and 3-2 in the EWL. The Fighting Scots complete the regular season tomorrow night at Pittsburgh in a match that will decide the EWL dual meet crown. Edinboro is ranked 14th in the latest USA Today/NWCA/ InterMat Top 25 while the panthers are 23rd. Both are 5-0 in the EWL, with Pittsburgh owning a 13-3 record. Edinboro got off to a fast start against the mountaineers, winning the first two matches and six of the first seven. Eric Morrill got the night underway with a 4-2 decision over Kyle Turnbull at 125 lbs. The sophomore used a takedown in the first period for a 2-1 lead after one period. The lone score in the second was a Morrill escape to make it 3-1. Turnbull closed to 3-2 with an escape with 45 seconds remaining in the third period, but Morrill had a 1:32 riding time advantage. Morrill is now 16-8. Ricky Deubel picked up his second straight fall to give Edinboro a 9-0 lead. His win at 133 lbs. came by pin at 4:24 over Jared Garvin. Deubel led 7-1 after one period and was up 12-1 with back points coming when he ended the match to improve to 22-11. In a matchup of true freshman, West Virginia's Steve Waite posted a 10-2 major decision over Torsten Gillespie at 141 lbs., dropping Gillespie to 17-14. Waite, from nearby Fort LeBoeuf High School, scored takedowns in the first and second periods for a 4-0 lead. Gillespie came back with a third period takedown and was pressing the issue when Waite reversed him and picked up three near-fall points in the final minute. Daryl Cocozzo came back with an impressive win at 149 lbs., handing two-time national qualifier David Jauregui a 10-5 defeat. Jauregui has a win over Gregor Gillespie on his resume, one of just eight losses for the Edinboro All-American. On this night it was Cocozzo getting the better of the mountaineer, opening up a 4-0 lead after one period thanks to a quick takedown. He rode Jauregui out the rest of the period, picking up two near-fall points at the end of the period. The only scoring in the second period was a Cocozzo takedown to make it 5-0. Jauregui cut it to 5-2 with a takedown to start the third, followed by a wild sequence. Cocozzo escaped, Jauregui picked up his second takedown, then cut Cocozzo to make it 7-4. The telltale takedown came with 43 seconds remaining, giving Cocozzo the 9-4 lead. He is now 27-10. Speaking of Gillespie, the top-ranked wrestler at 157 lbs. was pushed to the limit against WVU's Zac Fryling, who is ranked 18th. The only score came on a second period escape just five seconds into the session by Gillespie for the 1-0 win. He was unable to finish on several shots. Gillespie is nopw 28-2 and 102-8 for his career. Jarrod King also picked up a one-point win as he decisioned Donnie Jones 6-5 at 165 lbs. King got off to a fast start with a takedown just eight seconds into the bout, but it would be tied at 4-4 after one period on a Jones' takedown at the buzzer. King escaped to start the second period, but a Jones escape in the third tied it up at 5-5. The difference was a 1:18 riding time advantage for the Edinboro junior. Ranked 15th, King improved to 26-7. Phil Moricone needed overtime to defeat Chase Litton at 174 lbs., winning 6-4. A sluggish Moricone struggled early, falling behind 2-0 on a takedown with 30 seconds left. He would close to 2-1 with a second period escape, but found himself trailing late in the third period when Litton picked up an escape and gained a penalty point for locked hands. Moricone responded with a quick takedown with 12 seconds left, then kept Litton down to get the riding time advantage and send the match into overtime. A renewed Moricone finished it with 16 seconds remaining with the overtime takedown. Moricone is now 21-9 and ranked 18th. That win gave Edinboro a 21-4 lead, but the Fighting Scots would lose the final three bouts. Freshman Chris Honeycutt lost an 8-5 decision to Kurt Brenner in a match that could have gone either way at 184 lbs. At one point Brenner led 5-1 in the second period, but Honeycutt used an escape and takedown to pull to within 5-4. However, Brenner escaped with two seconds left. Brenner cut Honeycutt to start the third, but with Honeycutt attacking for the winning takedown, it was Brenner doing the honors with just two seconds remaining. That left Honeycutt, ranked 18th, at 22-7, while Brenner is 13-3. At 197 lbs., an entertaining match saw Pat Bradshaw looking for an upset of 14th-ranked Jared Villers. Villers opened with a takedown, Bradshaw answered with a reversal, and then Villers led 3-2 thanks to an escape. Bradshaw would gain a 5-3 lead after two period with an escape and takedown. The match turned after a Villers escape in the third. Villers took Bradshaw down with 1:30 left, and finally won by fall at 6:23. That left Bradshaw with a 25-10 record, while Villers is now 16-2. The heavyweight match saw Dustin Rogers, ranked 19th, edge 18th-ranked Joey Fendone by a 6-5 decision. Fendone is now 14-8 while Rogers is 9-4. Rogers led 2-1 after one period, but Fendone appeared to take control with three back points in the second. Rogers knotted it at 4-4 with a reversal, then moved it to 6-4 with a takedown in the first thirty seconds of the third period.

MADISON, Wis. -- The No. 8 Wisconsin wrestling team hosted No. 10 Northwestern Friday and closed out the 2007-08 regular season with a 21-19 win in front of 1,947 fans at the UW Field House. Wisconsin junior Kyle Massey upset the top-ranked wrestler in the nation during the heavyweight bout, which was the final match of the night, to clinch the victory. Wisconsin won five matches to conclude the regular season at 14-4-1 overall and 5-3-0 in the Big Ten. Northwestern drops to 8-8 overall and 3-4 in the conference. The match began at 125 lbs. and No. 20 Collin Cudd faced No. 5 Brandon Precin from Northwestern. Neither wrestler scored in the first period but Precin scored three points in the second before pinning Cudd in 4:42 to give the Wildcats the 6-0 lead. Wisconsin got on the board though with a win of its own at 133 lbs. UW junior and current Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, Zach Tanelli, faced Eric Metzler and won in an 8-1 decision. Tanelli got out to a 4-1 lead in the first period and after neither wrestler scored in the second, the Badger grappler added four more points in the third. Northwestern then expanded its lead by winning the next two bouts. Wisconsin was without starters Kyle Ruschell (141 lbs.) and Kendall Vogel (149 lbs) and at 141 lbs., sophomore Eric Senescu started in place of Ruschell. Senescu matched up against No. 14 Keith Sulzer and fell in a 7-2 decision. At 149 lbs., sophomore Trevor Bowers started for the second time this season and faced NU's No. 11 Ryan Lang. Lang scored seven points in the third period for the 16-3 major decision win. Down 13-3, Wisconsin then looked for a win at 157 lbs. UW's two-time All-American, Craig Henning, faced Andrew Nadhir in the bout and Henning got out to a 2-0 lead in the first. In the second, Henning, who is ranked No. 5, scored another takedown for the 4-0 lead. In the third, Nadhir managed to score five points but Henning added five of his own for the 9-5 win which put the team score at 13-6. The Badgers then got a boost and were within one point (13-12) after senior Jake Donar pinned Northwestern's Dominic Marella. Donar did score a takedown before pinning Marella in 1:04. The pin was Donar's sixth of the season. The match then moved onto one of the closest bouts of the night. At 174 lbs., senior Dan Clum matched up against No. 12 Nick Hayes from NU. Clum stormed out to a 4-1 lead in the first and maintained a 5-4 lead heading into the third period. In the third, Clum had an 8-5 advantage but Hayes scored seven points in the third, including a reversal with just one second left on the clock, to tie the score at 11 at the end of three periods. The bout then went onto a sudden victory period and Hayes captured the 15-11 win by scoring four points with a takedown and nearfall points. Down 16-12, another Badger grappler stepped up with a pin to give Wisconsin its first lead of the night. Sophomore Trevor Brandvold, who is in his second match back after sitting out for an injury, faced Adil Kolovic and pinned the NU grappler in 2:10. Despite the 18-16 UW advantage, the match then moved on to two of the toughest bouts of the evening at 197 lbs. and heavyweight. At 197 lbs. Wisconsin's No. 8 Dallas Herbst met No. 2 Mike Tamillow. In the first period, Tamillo got out to a 2-0 lead with a takedown. In the second, Tamillow added three more points and had a point of riding time in the third for the 6-1 win. The loss was just the third for Herbst this season. With Northwestern leading 18-19, it all came down to the heavyweight battle which featured UW's No. 4 Kyle Massey and the undefeated, top-ranked wrestler in the country, NU's Dustin Fox. Neither wrestler scored in the first period but Massey struck first in the second with a reversal at 1:51. Fox responded with an escape at 1:16 but Massey held onto the 2-1 lead heading into the third. In the final period, Fox had an escape at 1:22 to tie the score at two but Massey scored a takedown with 46 seconds left to take the 4-2 advantage. Fox would score an escape with just 39 seconds remaining but Massey did not allow any more points and with a point of riding time, upset the top-ranked wrestler, 5-3. Even though the 2007-08 regular season is in the history books, the UW wrestling team now looks to the post season. Wisconsin will begin the post season at the 2008 Big Ten Championships, which run from March 8-9 in Minneapolis, Minn. Be sure to check back to uwbadgers.com frequently for updates on the Wisconsin wrestling team.

The No. 23-ranked Pitt wrestling team hosted Clarion tonight and earned a tough conference victory at Fitzgerald Field House by a count of 25-13. With the win, the Panthers are now an unblemished 5-0 in conference action. "It was an ugly win, but an ugly win is better than a great loss," said head coach Rande Stottlemyer. "It wasn't our best performance, but we'll certainly take the victory." Pitt (13-3, 5-0 EWL) captured half of the match's ten bouts, including two falls and two major decisions, but suffered a uncharacteristic loss at 157 as All-American Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) fell to Travis Uncapher by a score of 7-6. "That was definitely frustrating for Matt," commented Stottlemyer. "But he's a resilient young man and he'll bounce back on Saturday." After a hard fought overtime loss in the match's first bout at 197 pounds, No. 14-ranked heavyweight Zach Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) put the Panthers on the board with a convincing 17-7 major decision over Roman Husam. Sheaffer never trailed in the bout after striking first with a takedown in the opening period. He added two more takedowns in the second before exploding with 10 points in the third and another for riding time to get Pitt back on track. After a loss at 125, sophomore Jimmy Conroy (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) put the Panthers back in the lead with a pin of Clarion's Rob LaBrake with just under four minutes gone in the match. Conroy needed just 52 seconds in the second period to escape from LaBrake's grasp, take the Golden Eagle down and put him on his back to record his third fall of the season. All-American Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) followed Conroy's performance with a pin of his own just 3:39 into his tussle with Sal Lascari. After a scoreless first period, Lascari took down in the second, but couldn't thwart Headlee's attempts to turn him, giving up another six points and putting the Panthers in control of the match. No. 1 ranked Keith Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) continued his perfect season and elevated his record to 25-0 with a major decision against Mario Morelli. After allowing Morelli to hang around in the first two periods, Gavin unleashed a seven-point final frame that set the bout's final score at 14-6 and extended Pitt's lead to 11. Pitt's other win this evening came from Ethan Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg), who earned a 5-2 decision over Dominic Ross at 165 pounds. Headlee rode Ross for a good portion of the second period after both combatants failed to register a point in the first frame, gaining enough riding time to earn a point at the end of the third. The true freshman then used two escapes and a takedown in the third to cement the bout's outcome and the team victory. Pitt's next challenge comes in the form of Edinboro, the No. 14-ranked team in the country, on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House. Saturday also marks Senior and Alumni Night, as coach Stottlemyer and his staff will recognize this year's group of seniors and welcome back many former student-athletes. "It's going to be a knock down, drag out affair," said Stottlemyer. "If you're a fan of good college wrestling, I suggest you be there because it's going to be quite entertaining."

The Dana College Wrestling team showed the rest of the Great Plains Athletic Conference who is the dominant team in the conference. The Vikings brought home seven medals from the GPAC tournament, including five champions, on their way to claiming the GPAC crown. The Vikings finished with 93 team points, while second-place Morningside finished with 81.5 points. Leading the way for the Vikings was senior Burke Barnes (SR, Lake Stevens, Wash.). Barnes dominated his competition with a 3-0 record in the 133-pound weight class claiming the top spot as well as winning the Outstanding Wrestler Award for the tournament. Barnes defeated Briar Cliff's Micah Sheffield in the first round by technical fall in 4:00 minutes. In the semi-finals, Barnes made quick work of Dakota Wesleyan's Jordan Harer. He pinned the fourth seed in 30 seconds. Barnes capped off his title with a 16-6 major decision over Julian Gunnels of Briar Cliff. Kevin Gray (SR, Topeka, Kan.), and Jason Bilinski (SR, Pittsgrove, N.J.) were the top seeds at 125 and 157. Both went 3-0 on the day to win their respective weight classes. Other champions for the Vikings were second-seed Adam Manz (SO, Council Bluffs, Iowa) at 141 pounds and third-seed Bulla Tuzon (SO, Maui, Hawaii) at 165 pounds. Both wrestlers defeated opponents in the finals that had previously beaten them. Others wrestlers who brought home hardware for the Vikings were Tony Ponce (SR, Derby, Kan.) at 174 and Ross Milam (JR, Omaha, NE) at 197. Ponce took fourth place with a 2-2 record and Milam placed third with a 1-1 record. Head Coach Beau Vest was pleased with the Vikings' performance. "We stepped up at the right time. Our guys were able to avenge several regular season losses. Adam Manz put it all together for a great tournament and getting Burke Barnes back in the lineup gave the entire team a charge. It was a great weekend for Dana wrestling."

Vestal, N.Y. -- The American University wrestling lost to Binghamton University on Thursday, 26-16, in the team's final dual meet of the season. No. 1 Josh Glenn made his return to the mat after a three week layoff and won by pin fall at 197 lbs. but the senior's 35th consecutive win, coming in front of his hometown crowd, was not enough to propel the Eagles to victory. The loss dropped American's overall record to 3-15 while its Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association record remained at 1-5. Binghamton's overall record improved to 13-11 with the victory. Thursday's dual was the final of the season for American as its now will prepare for the EIWA Tournament in two weeks. Thursday's dual started at 125 lbs. where Jasen Borshoff returned to the mat for the first time in nearly a month. Wrestling against BU's Tyler Malmberg, Borshoff was unable to mount an effective offensive attack and lost by major decision, 7-15. After the first bout the team scores stood at 0-4 in favor of the Bearcats. Matt Mariacher and Mike Kleeman took the mat next at 133 lbs. in a match which went scoreless for the first three minutes. Beginning the second period down, Mariacher escaped from Kleeman just 10 seconds into the frame to break the tie and go ahead, 1-0. The third period began with Mariacher ahead by the same margin and on top. Maraicher effectively used a waist lock and under hook to maintain his control over Kleeman and after riding him out for the entire period, Mariacher took the decision, 2-0, with advantage time. The victory brought American to within one point of BU in the team scores, 3-4. Mariacher's victory improved his overall record to 14-12 while his dual meet record moved to 10-8. Riding a nine-match win streak into competition Thursday, 141-pounder Kyle Borshoff jumped on top of Anwar Goeres early with a takedown and near fall which put him ahead, 4-0, 40 seconds into the match. K. Borshoff scored again in the first period with a single-leg takedown and after the match's first 3:00, K. Borshoff had built himself a comfortable 6-1 lead. On top the begin the second, K. Borshoff draped himself across Goeres back and rode him out for the full length of the period. K. Borshoff chose to begin the third period down and extended his lead to 7-1 with an escape at the 5:25 mark. Goeres attempted a comeback with two takedowns in the match's final minute but K. Borshoff's lead was too much for the Bearcat to overcome and with the riding time advantage, K. Borshoff took the decision, 10-5. K. Borshoff's win also put AU ahead on the scoreboard for the first time in the dual, 6-4. Thursday's victory was K. Borshoff's 10th in as many matches and improved his overall record to 22-6. K. Borshoff has not lost in this calendar year. AU's win streak was halted at two matches as No. 18 Kyle Fried defeated Chris Clarke at 149 lbs. by a score of 11-5. The decision in favor of BU moved it back head of the Eagles in the team scores, 6-7. The Bearcats extended their lead in the team scores to 6-11 as Nate Patterson defeated Christopher Stout at 157 lbs., 13-0, to end Stout's six-match win streak. With his own nine-match win streak on the line, No. 6 Mike Cannon got on the board early with two takedowns of Brett Nelson by the 1:13 mark of their 165 lbs. match. With a 4-1 lead, Cannon used the remainder of the first period to build up advantage time and began the second period down, leading by the same margin. Nelson cut Cannon to begin the second and Cannon quickly took advantage with a double-leg takedown 18 seconds into the period to extend his lead to 7-1. Cannon scored yet another takedown before one minute had elapsed in the period and by the time the period ended, Cannon found himself ahead of Nelson, 13-4. With the team scores in mind, Cannon took down and cut Patterson four times in the third period and with his riding time advantage Cannon won the match by tech-fall, 23-8. Cannon's tech-fall brought AU to within one in the team scores, 10-11, as it was only worth four points because he did not score back points. Cannon improved his current win streak to 10 matches with the victory and remained unbeaten in the new year. The victory also improved his overall record to 22-2 and was his team leading fourth tech-fall of the season. Binghamton increased their team lead over AU with victories in the next two weight classes and all but assured them the victory. Josh Patterson earned a first period fall over Jonathon Powell at 174 lbs. and Anthony Esposito defeated Andy Semple at 184 lbs., 4-2. Glenn, who grew up in the suburbs of Binghamton, N.Y., returned to the mat at 197 lbs. for the first time since Feb. 3 and showed no ill-effects of the layoff, scoring a takedown and near fall of Corey Waite 19 seconds into the match. Glenn remained aggressive in front of his hometown crowd and by the 1:32 mark was already ahead 8-3. Leading 10-4, Glenn deferred his decision to start the second period and began on top, chopping Waite down to remain in control. After riding Waite for approximately 45 seconds, Glenn caught the Bearcat in a cradle and ended the match at the 3:59 mark with a pin. Glenn's win narrowed Binghamton's lead over AU in the team scores to 16-20. With the win, Glenn improved to 12-0 overall and 8-0 in dual meets. Glenn's current win streak extends as far back as December of 2006 as he has not lost in his last 35 matches. The victory was the 103rd of Glenn's career, moving him to within two of Chris Toth for second on AU's all-time wins list. Binghamton secured its victory with a Mike Patterson pin of Brooks Keefer in the first round of their heavyweight match. American's next action will come in two weeks at the EIWA Tournament being held this year on the campus of Franklin & Marshall College, March 7-8. American will look to crown two champions at this year's tournament as both Glenn and Cannon are expected to enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- The Rutgers wrestling team, under the guidance of first-year head coach Scott Goodale, defeated non-conference opponent Drexel 24-13 on Thursday evening at the College Ave. Gym in New Brunswick, N.J. Seven Scarlet Knights picked up victories an a night when the team honored seniors Steve Adamcsik (Chester, N.J.), Dan Hilt (Manalapan, N.J.), Jaime Lijo (Stanhope, N.J.), Robert Kaiser (Fairfield, N.J.) and Ryan Jablonski (Norristown, Pa.) for their contributions to the program. Rutgers improves to 11-7 while Drexel drops to 10-14. "I was happy that the seniors were able to go out with a victory," said Goodale. "Steve, Dan and Jaime were all able to wrestle on senior night and I know that meant a lot to them. Although Robert and Ryan couldn't wrestle because of injuries, I know this night was special for them." Rutgers' junior Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) kicked off the match with a 3-1 overtime win over Billy Haydt at 165-pounds, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. After Mike Whalen (Lake Hiawatha, N.J.) defeated Scott Hunter 8-3 at 174, Keith Dobish (Lodi, N.J.) dropped a tight 3-1 decision at 184-pounds. Junior Lamar Brown (Red Bank, N.J.) got the Scarlet Knights back on track with his third consecutive victory, a 12-3 major decision over Brian Stouffer at 197. Heavyweight Karim Mahmoud (Wallington, N.J.) earned a 10-5 decision over Kyle Frey before No. 13 Steve Mytych defeated Mike DeMarco (Lyndhurst, N.J.) 12-0 at 125-pounds to bring the Dragons to within six, at 13-7. In the most exciting bout of the night, Hilt earned a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over John McDermott at 133 to give RU a 16-7 lead. Trailing 6-5 with under 10 seconds to go in the third period, Hilt pushed hard and put McDermott on the mat to earn a takedown with three seconds left in the bout, giving him the one-point victory. Adamcsik followed with his 23rd win of the season, a 10-2 major decision over Morgan Remillard at 141, and Jack Barrett (Metuchen, N.J.) finished the scoring for the Scarlet Knights with a 10-2 major decision over Lewis Baker at 149-pounds. The nation's No. 14 157-pound wrestler, Drexel's Ryan Hluschak, pinned Lijo at 3:48 to make the final score 24-13. "Hilt did a tremendous job for us," said Goodale. "He hasn't had a come-from-behind win all season, but he really came through tonight. He got the crowd fired up and that was big for us." "I never expected my last bout at Rutgers to be that hard," said Hilt. "When it was over I turned around and saw my teammates and the crowd all standing up and cheering. It was the most memorable match I have ever had, and I know I will never forget that moment." Rutgers has two weeks off before the EIWA Championships begin on March 8, on the campus of Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pa. "The EIWA's and the National Tournament is what this sport is all about," said Goodale. "We are going to take a few days off before we start training hard for the EIWA tournament. Our season comes down to how well we do in this tournament, and our guys know that we expect them to wrestle hard."

WAVERLY, IOWA -- Wartburg College crowned seven individual champions en route to its 16th consecutive Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Wrestling Championship on Thursday at Wartburg College. It was the Knights' 26th overall title as they amassed 185.5 points to win by 44 points over runner-up Coe College, which posted its best-ever finish at the IIAC Championships. Cornell senior Chris Heilman won his first individual conference title at 125-pounds and was named Dick Walker Outstanding Wrestler. After receiving a first-round bye, Heilman major decisioned Wartburg's Robert Struthers 16-6 in the semifinals and followed it up with a 9-5 decision over No. 2-seed and third-ranked Clayton Rush of Coe. Heilman is the Rams' second IIAC champion (Nick Dohrmann, 126-pounds, 1998) and the school's first IIAC Outstanding Wrestler. Wartburg senior 197-pounder T.J. Miller became the 37th wrestler to win at least three Conference titles and the 21st to accomplish the feat at the same weight class. Miller becomes the 12th wrestler in Wartburg history with at least three titles. Other individual Champions were: Wartburg senior Jacob Helvey (133-pounds), Wartburg sophomore Matt Kelly (141-pounds), Wartburg junior Jacob Naig (149-pounds), Wartburg junior Aaron Wernimont (157-pounds), Coe sophomore Tyler Burkle (165-pounds), Coe senior Tyler Jentz (174-pounds), Wartburg junior Romeo Djoumessi (184-pounds), and Wartburg senior Brian Borchers (heavyweight). Jentz was the No. 3-seed. It was Miller's third straight IIAC title and the second title each for Naig, Wernimont, and Djoumessi. Coe's John Oostendorp and Luther's Dave Mitchell were named Iowa Conference co-Coaches of the Year. Oostendorp led the Kohawks to their best overall finish (second) and most points (141.5) at the IIAC Championships since joining the league in 1997. Oostendorp was also named Coach of the Year in 2005. Mitchell led the Norse to a third-place finish with 123.5 points, their tenth consecutive top-three finish. Thirty-two wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships hosted by Coe College, Cornell College, and the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on March 7-8, at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. The top-three finishers in each of the ten weight classes along with two wildcards will represent the Conference at the National Championships. The Iowa Conference national qualifiers are: Buena Vista (3) – Jestin Hulegaard (133), Aaron Cook (149), Julian Mancha (165) Coe (5) – Clayton Rush (125), Niles Mercer (141), Tyler Burkle (165), Tyler Jentz (174), Rob Kramer (197) Cornell (5) – Chris Heilman (125), Nick Nothern (133), Pat McAuley (157), Kyle Kehrli (174), Josiah Payne (Hwt.) Dubuque (2) – Josh Terrell (157), Evan Brown (174) Loras (2) – Erik Hanson (157), Jay Figgins (184) Luther (6) – Zac Bartlett (133), Travis Grawin (141), Johanson Quist (149), Nic Barclay (184), Alec Bonander (197), John Miller (Hwt.) Wartburg (9) – Robert Struthers (125), Jacob Helvey (133), Matt Kelly (141), Jacob Naig (149), Aaron Wernimont (157), Justin Hanson (165), Romeo Djoumessi (184), T.J. Miller (197), Brian Borchers (Hwt.)

NORMAN, Okla. -- For the first time since 1995, the Oklahoma Sooners are Bedlam champs. In front of the largest crowd to view a wrestling match in Norman this season (1,734), No. 17 Oklahoma (13-5) upended the No. 3 Oklahoma State Cowboys (16-3-1) at the Howard McCasland Field House by an 18-15 final. The upset snapped a streak of 19 straight victories by the Cowboys. "This is not just another victory," head coach Jack Spates said. "It was against a great and historic program in Oklahoma State. I couldn't be prouder of the fight and the effort of our team." The dual between the in-state rivals began at 184 pounds after Oklahoma State decided to draw instead of the traditional start at 125 pounds. The opening bout could not have started better for the Sooners, as No. 6 Joshua Weitzel put six on the board with a pin over Jack Jensen. The senior needed only the first period to record the fall at 2:18. Two-time All-American Joel Flaggert, ranked ninth nationally, then posted a decision over Clayton Foster at 197 pounds. After dominating the first two periods and leading 7-2, the Choctaw, Okla., native scored two escapes in the third for a 9-6 final. Oklahoma State bounced back after the two wins by Oklahoma seniors, as No. 8 Jared Rosholt won in an 8-3 decision over Nathan Fernandez at heavyweight. After a scoreless first, Rosholt recorded three takedowns in final two periods to take the victory and inching Oklahoma State back to within six, 9-3. No. 17 Joey Fio continued his recent success with a 3-2 upset decision over No. 14 Tyler Shinn of OSU at 125 pounds. The true-freshman, who was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Feb. 11, was tied with Shinn after two periods, 2-2. After choosing down, Fio managed an escape at 1:50 and held on for the 3-2 decision. It was No. 1 Coleman Scott for the Cowboys who then took control of the 133 pound bout with a 7-2 decision over Oklahoma's Brian Shelton. Scott used two takedowns in the first to distance himself, narrowing the OU lead to 12-6. Nathan Morgan, ranked third nationally, posted another Oklahoma State win at 141 pounds with a 5-4 decision over No. 16 Zack Bailey. After a tie to begin the third, Morgan recorded a takedown and an escape to post the victory. No. 17 Will Rowe stopped OSU's momentum with a 7-2 decision over Ryan Freeman. The 149 pound match was close after two, with Rowe hanging on to a 3-2 advantage. The junior from Arlington, Texas, scored an escape, a takedown and a riding time point in the third to record the win, pushing the Sooner lead back to six, 15-9. An important match at 157 pounds pitted Oklahoma's No. 17 Chad Terry against Neil Erisman. After a scoreless first, Terry scored an escape and a takedown in the second to go up 3-0. After Erisman chose the down position to begin the third, Terry rode him out without giving up an escape to win 4-0 with the help of a riding time point. With the lead of 18-9, the Sooners simply needed to hang on to post the Big 12 upset over their arch-rival. No. 5 Jake Dieffenbach made the team score 18-12 after posting a victory at 165 pounds over senior Max Dean. The Cowboy recorded three takedowns and Dean was only able to manage escapes in the 7-3 loss. No bonus points were awarded with the decision, so Oklahoma State could only manage a tie in the match. It would take a pin at 174 pounds for Oklahoma State to tie the Sooners at 18. An unfamiliar face was wrestling for OU because of year-long starter Jeff James out for the year due to injury. It was up to the junior Chris DeVilbiss with a 7-2 record on the year to be the hero for Oklahoma and fend off OSU. DeVilbiss came through for the Sooners, keeping No. 8 Brandon Mason from recording the fall. Mason won 7-0, but the defeat was lost on the Oklahoma team, realizing the huge upset-win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys. "This is a huge, huge win," Spates said. "All of the cheers, all of the hugs--I couldn't be prouder." The Sooners will take their momentum into the postseason, as they will travel to Stillwater, Okla., on Saturday, March 8 for the Big 12 Championships.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- The No. 22 Maryland wrestling team dominated George Mason, 36-4, in non-conference action on February 21 at the Fieldhouse. The Terrapins won the first nine matches which included five major decisions and a fall. Sophomores Brendan Byrne and Steven Bell started things off with a pair of major decisions at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively, to jump start Maryland's night. Byrne won by a score of 15-3 while Bell handled his opponent, 16-8. Sophomore Jon Kohler recorded a 7-3 decision at 141 pounds to extend the lead even more before freshman Eric Medina pinned Brandon Bucher in the first period to make it 17-0. Classmate Brian Letters added three more points for the Terps with a decision at 157. The Terps rattled off four-straight major victories between 165-197 pounds. Sophomore Mike McGill led the streak off with a 16-2 win at 165 and then Mike Letts followed suit with a 15-6 win at 174. Junior Josh Haines tacked on four more points with a 11-2 win at 184 and sophomore Hudson Taylor handled Cayle Byers, ranked No. 12 at 197 pounds, with a 8-0 shutout to give Maryland its 36-0 lead. The Patriots would pick up a major decision at heavyweight in their only win of the night. Maryland (15-4) will conclude its regular season when it travels to Charlottesville to take on Virginia on Sunday, February 24.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Duke Blue Devils picked up their biggest win of the season on Wednesday night as they defeated UNC Greensboro in Fleming Gymnasium, 21-14. Four of the Blue Devils' six victories came by a total of seven points. Duke was down 6-0 and 11-3 before rallying to win five of the last six matches of the night. The Spartans had defeated Ohio, Virginia Tech and N.C. State, all of whom the Blue Devils had previously lost to in dual meets. The meet marked the final regular season road contest for Duke this season. The Blue Devils are now 11-9 overall this season and 0-5 in the ACC. "Our guys did a fantastic job," said head coach Clar Anderson. "We won every close match. I feel the guys are peaking at the right time. They have to head into the ACC Championships knowing that they just beat a team that has defeated a couple of ACC teams." Wednesday night began at 197 pounds, and redshirt junior captain Dan Tulley fought hard but lost a close decision, 6-4, to the No. 13 nationally-ranked 197-pounder in Daren Burns. Senior captain Kellan McKeon got Duke on the board with a tight 4-3 decision over Mitchell Johnson at 125 pounds. McKeon made an escape last in the third period to seal the win. He is now 25-13 this season with a 12-7 mark in duals. At 141 pounds, redshirt senior captain Bryan Gibson earned his 74th career victory with a 7-5 decision over Ben Wilmore. The win tied him for 14th place in the Duke record books for career wins. Gibson is 11-6 this year and 7-4 in duals. The key match of the night for Duke belonged to redshirt sophomore Michael Degli Obizzi, who pinned Marcus Hannah at 6:32 of their bout. It was Degli Obizzi's fifth fall of the year, which is tied for second on the team. He has posted a 20-8 record this season at 149 pounds and is 42-30 in his career in Durham. Sophomore Voris Tejada continued his roll as of late, winning his eighth straight with a 6-3 decision over Mark Ring at 157 pounds. Tejada is 32-11 in 2007-08 with a 13-2 dual mark and a 51-19 career showing. He ranks tied for 12th on Duke's career winning percentage list with a .729 mark. At 165 pounds, junior captain Addison Nuding won another close match for the Devils, this time a 4-3 decision over Byron Sigmon. That win gave Duke an 18-11 lead after having trailed 11-3. Nuding's season record stands at 27-8 and 14-4 in dual meets. Nuding is 49-35 all-time at Duke. In the final match of the night with the Blue Devils clinging to an 18-14 lead, redshirt sophomore John Barone picked up the clinching win with a 13-8 decision over Jeremy Cannon. He is now 33-6 with 13 falls and a 17-3 ledger in duals. Barone's 68-22 overall mark as a Blue Devil is good for ninth place on Duke's all-time winning percentage list with a .756 clip. He is tied for second on Duke's single season wins list and is already 19th on the career wins list. He needs one more win to tie and two more victories to eclipse the single season wins record, and has one more regular season dual meet and the ACC Tournament to go. Literally every Duke record is under assault this year by the native of Shirley, N.Y. The regular season will wrap up at home in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday at 4:30 p.m., and the Blue Devils' three seniors will be honored prior to the meet.