InterMat Staff

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- The Augsburg College wrestling team, ranked No. 2 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national rankings, claimed three individual champions and eight placewinners in competition at the St. John's University North Country Open, held on Saturday at Sexton Arena. No team results were kept at the meet. Travis Lang (JR, Bismarck, N.D.), ranked No. 4 nationally at 133 pounds, improved to 31-1 on the season with an incredible performance to win his weight class. He claimed pins in 17 seconds, 52 seconds and 15 seconds to reach the finals, where he dispatched University of Minnesota wrestler (wrestling unattached) David Zilverberg in a technical-fall win, 15-0 in 3:11. Lang, who transferred to Augsburg this season from Division I Minnesota, now has a team-high 15 pins on the season, to go along with four technical falls. Twenty-one of his 31 wins (67.7 percent) this season have been bonus-point (major decision, technical fall, pin) victories. Seth Flodeen (JR, Cannon Falls, Minn.), ranked No. 4 nationally at 125 pounds, also had a strong performance to win his weight class, claiming two first-period pins to reach the finals. In the championship match, Flodeen also topped a University of Minnesota unattached wrestler, as he topped Zach Sanders 5-2. Flodeen is now 18-6 on the season. Robbie Gotreau (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS), ranked No. 6 nationally at 184, won his weight class with four victories, including two pins and a decision. Gotreau is now 23-10 on the season. Garrett Long (SO, Cedar, Minn./St. Francis HS) joined Gotreau as a placewinner at 184, finishing third. Jason Adams (SO, Coon Rapids, Minn.) placed fourth for the Auggies at 141 pounds, with a pin and major decision among his four wins. George Lynaugh (SR, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) placed fifth at 174, as did Andy Witzel (SO, Fulda, Minn.) at heavyweight and Ky Olsen (FY, Kansasville, Wis./Westosha Central HS) at 125. Paul Bjorkstrand (JR, Burnsville, Minn.) placed sixth at 133. Augsburg closes its dual-meet season on Friday (2/15), hosting No. 8-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall.

The No. 2 University of Nebraska at Omaha wrestling team won eight of 10 matches, including pinfalls from Ross Taplin and Jacob Marrs, to pull off a dominating 32-7 victory over No. 1 Minnesota State Friday night at Sapp Fieldhouse. UNO improved to 7-2 in dual meets, avenging a loss to MSU in the finals of the NWCA National Duals. Minnesota State suffered its first dual meet loss, going to 16-1-1. The meet started with a matchup of the top two 125-pound wrestlers in the country with UNO's No. 1 Cody Garcia facing MSU's No. 2 Nick Smith. Garcia dominated the match, setting a tone for the whole meet, taking a 15-3 major decision. Mario Morgan gave UNO a 7-0 lead in the team score, hanging on for a 6-5 decision over John Putman. Morgan scored a takedown and near fall in the first period. Putman scored a takedown with 1:07 left in the third, but Morgan made the escape for the deciding point. Sim Brisbieseca made it three-straight wins for UNO with a 9-4 decision over Tim Haneberg at 141 pounds. Haneberg filled in for No. 5 Travis Elg who was scratched with the flu. Brisbieseca had little trouble in the match, scoring four takedowns. At 149 pounds, UNO's Todd Meneely, ranked No. 1, handily defeated Willy Mekeel, 21-8, for a major decision and a 14-0 UNO team lead. Mekeel was subbing for No. 5-ranked Tommy Abbot, another victim of the flu. Meneely scored 10 takedowns in the match. MSU's Jason Rhoten, the top-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds, provided one of the lone highlights for his team with a 15-4 major decision over UNO's Henry Wahle. The victory was the 126th of Rhoten's career, tying him for the school's all-time lead. The 165-pound match pitted MSU's Andy Pickar, ranked No. 4, against UNO's No. 3 Aaron Denson. Pickar scored a two-point reversal early in the third, then scored a takedown with 14 seconds left to secure an 8-5 decision, making the team score 14-7 in favor of UNO. Taplin, ranked No. 4 at 174 pounds, scored the first fall of the night, pinning No. 8 Tim Matheson in 3:50. Taplin nearly scored a fall in the first period, gaining a 7-2 lead. He used a double-leg takedown in the second period, but this time was able to roll Matheson over for the pin. Brett Pankoke, named North Central Conference wrestler of the week for the second time, and the No. 2-ranked 184-pounder, clinched the meet for UNO with an 8-1 decision over Ben Becker, making the team score 23-7. Pankoke held a 2-1 lead going to the third period, putting the match away with a reversal and near fall. At 197 pounds, UNO's No. 2 Jacob Marrs made quick work of Tom Block. Marrs scored a takedown just 46 seconds into the match, securing the pin at 2:12. Marrs improved his record on the year to 25-1. Though the meet was decided, UNO's No. 6 Tony Lewis and MSU's No. 2 Brady Wilson locked up in the match of the night in the heavyweight division. The score stood tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. The overtime and first two tiebreakers produced no points. Midway through the third tiebreaker Lewis pulled off a double-leg takedown for a 3-1 decision. UNO's next meet will be Wednesday night against Augustana at Sapp Fieldhouse, starting at 7 p.m.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue senior Sean Schmaltz pulled out the biggest victory of his career to lead the Boilermakers' wrestling team to an 18-16 win over 17th-ranked visiting archrival Indiana. The win moved the Boilermakers to 10-4 in dual competition and 2-2 in the Big Ten, while the Hoosiers dropped to 14-4 (2-2 Big Ten). With a slew of implications on the line, Purdue evened up the standings in the coveted Crimson and Gold Cup at 4-4, in the annual all-sport competition between the Boilermakers and Indiana. Head coach Scott Hinkel also guaranteed himself a winning season with his 10th victory of the year, becoming just the third coach in school history to produce a winning campaign in his inaugural season alongside Don Corrigan and Fred Miller. The win was Purdue's first over the Hoosiers since 2004, snapping a three-match losing streak in the series. The Boilermakers grabbed wins in half the weight classes, most importantly by Schmaltz at 133 pounds and sophomore heavyweight Chris Kasten. Schmaltz knocked off 12th-ranked junior Andrae Hernandez in the ninth match of the night, scoring a 2-1 tie-break victory to all but seal the win for the Old Gold and Black. Schmaltz controlled the tempo the entire match, keeping the pressure on Hernandez and preventing him from mounting any offense in the match. After seven minutes of nearly scoreless action, the match went to sudden victory. As the clock wound down, Hernandez mounted a weak shot which was strongly countered with a Schmaltz inside trip. However, the referee deemed the takedown after time expired and it continued on into a tie break. Schmaltz started the first 30-second period on bottom and quickly exploded to his feet for the one-point escape. As Schmaltz took the top position in the second half, he outmuscled Hernandez for the entire 30 seconds, keeping him on the ground and escaping with the win. "This was by far the biggest win of my career," said Schmaltz. "I worked hard all week to get myself in that position to win the match and I really found a way to capitalize. This is a great win for this team and this program." Kasten's win at 285 pounds broke the back-and-forth action of the first six matches of the night as he stuck Indiana sophomore Nate Everhart with just 13 seconds left on the clock to give Purdue a 15-9 edge. Everhart scored a first-period takedown to take an early lead on Kasten, but Kasten quickly escaped and kept the score close throughout. The pair traded escapes to start the second and third frames, leaving Kasten in need of a takedown in the waning seconds to earn the win. Kasten came through, working the Hoosier to the ground and quickly on to his back for three nearfall points. However, he wasn't finished as he forced his weight on to Everhart and earned the pin to solidify Purdue's control. The other Boilermaker wins came at 149, 174 and 197 pounds as juniors Jake Patacsil and Nick Corpe and freshman Logan Brown all tallied decisions for the Old Gold and Black. Patacsil, ranked 15th in the nation at 149 pounds, raced out to a 10-0 lead on Indiana freshman Kurt Kinser in the first period. Kinser fought back, nearly scoring his 18th fall of the season with a vicious headlock in the second, but Patacsil kept his composure and righted the ship to hang on for the 15-8 win. Corpe notched a solid 5-2 win over Hoosier freshman Paul Young at 174, and Brown followed with a dominant 5-1 showing against Indiana rookie Joe Fagiano. Purdue did a great job limiting the Hoosiers' opportunities to grab bonus points, surrendering decisions to eighth-ranked 157-pounder Brandon Becker and No. 12 165-pounder Matt Coughlin, and a late major decision to second-ranked 125-pound Angel Escobedo. "Tonight was a tremendous team effort," said Hinkel. "We're all very excited about the win and the mark it puts on our season. We look to carry this enthusiasm through the rest of the season." The Boilermakers return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. against the fourth-ranked defending national champion University of Minnesota. The match will air live via webcast at www.purduesports.com Boilermaker All-Access.

AMES, Iowa -- Pins by Cyler Sanderson (157) and David Bertolino (197) highlighted a dominating performance by No. 8 Iowa State, as the Cyclones whipped Oregon State, 40-0, Friday night in Hilton Coliseum. Mitch Mueller and Jake Varner contributed major decisions at 149 and 184 pounds, respectively. ISU's record stands at 13-4, while Oregon State slips to 9-7. Underscoring its dominance, Iowa State finished the match with 32 takedowns. Oregon State had one takedown all night. "Our guys are wrestling well," said head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson. "Especially when they are on the attack and that is what we are preaching. We are still not yet where we need to be, but for the most part we didn't seem hurt by the layoff." Tonight's shut out over Oregon State marks the third time this season that the Cyclones have held an opponent scoreless. The 40-point margin of victory is the largest Iowa State has recorded against OSU. ISU now leads the all-time series against the Beavers 11-1. Sanderson picked up his third pin of his sophomore season by sticking Dan Brascetta in a quick 1:48 at 157 pounds. He notched a takedown at the 2:13 mark in the first period and followed with a three-point nearfall before getting the pin. Ranked sixth nationally, Sanderson improves to 24-3 on the year and his 24 wins currently leads the Cyclone squad. Registering the second pin of the dual was Bertolino at 197 pounds, with a 2:19 fall of Kyle Bressler. It only took the Mount Pleasant, Ohio, native 11 seconds to take down Bressler and was able to roll his shoulders to the mat to earn his third pin in his senior campaign. Currently the nations 12th-ranked grappler at 197 pounds, Bertolino pushes his mark to 18-9. Fanthorpe, ranked seventh nationally at 133 pounds, used eleven takedowns and a two-point nearfall en-route to a 26-10 (5:46) technical fall of Clifton Ivanoff. In the first period Fanthorpe took down Ivanoff five times and was awarded backpoints for a 12-4 advantage. He then scored a trio of takedowns in the second and third periods, respectively. The sophomore hailing from Naperville, Ill., holds a 23-4 record and has four technical falls on the season. "The coaches have a plan and we are following it," Fanthorpe said. "We had a little time off [after the Oklahoma State dual] and started to pick it up again later this week." At 141 pounds, Mueller scored a 13-5 major decision over Kyle Larson, recording his fifth victory by major decision in his sophomore season. Mueller extends his winning streak to four matches and improves his record to 19-8. Top-ranked Jake Varner used a first period takedown and three-point nearfall, along with a takedown in the second stanza to cruise to a 12-0 blanking of Ben Harris at 184 pounds. The sophomore All-American is 20-0 and has four major decisions. Iowa State will travel to Tempe, Ariz., for its last road dual of the season, against Arizona State (9-5) at 3 p.m. CDT Sunday. Live stats will be available on cyclones.com. ISU returns to Hilton Coliseum Feb. 17 to face Big 12 opponent, Missouri, at 2 p.m.

GLENDALE, AZ -- The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won its 10th straight dual with a 36-3 win over Arizona State Friday night at Copper Canyon High School in Glendale, AZ. The Hawkeyes improved to 17-1 (5-0 Big Ten), while Arizona State fell to 9-6 (3-4 Pac-10). Iowa went 9-1 on the night, scoring bonus points in three matches. The Hawkeyes opened the dual with a 12-0 lead on wins by sophomores Dan LeClere (141), Brent Metcalf (149) and Ryan Morningstar (157). Metcalf improved to 22-1 on the season and picked up his 19th straight win with a 20-4 technical fall in 4:53 over redshirt freshman Jerrad Trulson. Arizona State put its first and only points on the board at 165 when senior Patrick Pitsch beat redshirt freshman Jake Kerr, 3-1, in sudden victory. The Hawkeyes responded with 24 unanswered points to close out the dual. Sophomore Jay Borschel (174) and senior Matt Fields (Hwt.) each picked up first-period pins, while junior Charlie Falck scored his 60th career victory with an 8-6 win over redshirt freshman Anthony Robles at 125. Iowa will face Boise State (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT) at Taco Bell Arena in Boise, ID. The Broncos, who are on a nine-match winning streak of their own, defeated Great Falls-Montana (26-12) and Montana-State Northern (38-8) Friday night in Boise, ID.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Behind a pin from Keegan Mueller at 165 pounds and three straight major decisions, North Carolina dominated the first six individual bouts en route to a 24-18 victory over NC State Friday at Reynolds Coliseum. Over their six-match win streak to open the match, the Tar Heels (8-5, 3-2 ACC) posted a 22-1 advantage in takedowns over the Wolfpack (8-8-1, 1-2 ACC). Carolina has now won two of its last three in Raleigh and has dropped just one of its last six meetings with NC State. The Tar Heels are 4-1-1 against the rival Wolfpack over this stretch. The match started at 157 pounds, and redshirt freshman Thomas Scotton got the Tar Heels off to a quick start with an 8-2 decision against Colton Palmer. The Willingboro, N.J., native broke open a tight match with a pair of third-period takedowns and added a point for riding time. Scotton moves to 15-6 and 8-2 in duals. Mueller, the reigning ACC Wrestler of the Week, followed with his second pin of the season and his 17th consecutive victory to push the UNC lead to 9-0. The 165-pounder pinned State's Jalil Dozier in 4:13 to run his record to 23-3 and a perfect 13-0 in dual action. Mueller also finishes his ACC regular season with a 5-0 record. At 174, UNC freshman Kyle Kiss, who is now 15-12 in his rookie season, took control of Ray Ward in the first period with a pair of three-point near falls and never looked back, cruising to a 16-3 major decision. Classmate Nick Tenpenny followed with a major of his own at 184, logging a 19-5 victory over the Wolfpack's Dane Coffee. Tenpenny registered eight takedowns, including four in the third period, to improve to 12-10 on the year. Delta Sophomore Dennis Drury followed with a third straight major for Carolina at 197 to increase the Tar Heel lead to 21-0. The Jenkintown, Pa., product scored a takedown in each period and added the riding time point for the 8-0 major against Mark Jahad. Drury is now 15-10 and 8-3 in duals. Nineteenth-ranked junior Justin Dobies assured the Tar Heels of no worse than a tie in the match with a 10-4 decision over State's Bobby Isola at heavyweight. His 23rd win of the season gave Carolina a 24-0 lead with just four bouts remaining. Now 23-6 and 12-1 in duals, Dobies notched four takedowns in the match. With senior Drew Forshey nursing an injured ankle, Carolina forfeited at 125 to give State its first points on the night, which trimmed the lead to 24-6. The Pack picked up its first victory on the mat at 133 when Darius Little used a takedown and a three-point near fall in the final seconds of the third period to grab a victory from UNC's Danny Lopes. State followed with its pair of top-10 wrestlers posting a decision at 141 by No. 6 Joe Caramanica and a pin from No. 9 Darrion Caldwell at 149 to close the match and cut the final score to 24-18. The Tar Heels return to action next weekend with dual matches at Ohio University and Pittsburgh.

Bethlehem, PA -- Senior Dave Tomasette posted a victory by fall and Joe Rovelli added a major decision win as the 16th-ranked Hofstra Pride cruised to a 25-11 victory over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks at Grace Hall Friday night. The Pride, who captured seven of the 10 matches, improve to 12-7 on the season while Lehigh falls to 10-12. The 13th-ranked Tomasette (27-6) opened the match with a bang, jumping on freshman Mitch Berger early and pinning the Lehigh freshman in 2:01. It is Tomasette's second win by fall this season. Sophomore Lou Ruggirello boosted the Hofstra lead to 9-0 with a 6-1 victory over sophomore Seth Ciasulli at 133 pounds. The sixth-ranked Ruggirello, who escaped two scary moments in the early going, improved to 29-5 on the year. Senior Charles Griffin made it three-in-a-row with an 11-5 victory over senior Jeff Santo. Griffin (28-3), who is ranked fifth at 141 pounds, had to settle of a three-point team win after Santo pulled out a late reversal. Lehigh got on the scoreboard at 149 as junior Trevor Chinn jumped on Pride freshman Jeff Rotella for a 21-6 tech fall to close the deficit to 12-3. But Hofstra sophomore Jonny Bonilla-Bowman pulled out a takedown in the final 30 seconds of his 157-pound match to post a 4-3 decision over senior Dave Nakasone. Bonilla-Bowman improved to 13-11 on the season. Redshirt freshman Ryan Patrovich improved to 16-10 with a 4-1 decision over sophomore Mike Galante at 165 pounds. In the only top 20 match of the night Hofstra's sixth-ranked junior Alton Lucas hung on for a 5-3 decision over Lehigh's 20th-ranked freshman Alex Caruso at 174. Lucas improved to 21-3 on the season. At 184 pounds, Lehigh notched its second win of the night as sophomore Manuel Schubert posted a 6-4 decision over Justin Danz (8-18). Pride senior Joe Rovelli tallied Hofstra's last win of the night with a 14-3 major decision over sophomore Alex Iacocca at 197 pounds. Rovelli, the eighth-ranked wrestler in the country, boosted his record to 22-3. In the final match of the night Lehigh sophomore Justin Allen was able to tie the match at 2-all at the end of regulation by posting a riding time point after riding out Tom Daddino in the third period, and then posted a takedown 42 seconds into sudden victory for a 4-2 decision. The Pride return to action on Tuesday, February 12 when they host the Dragons of Drexel University at the David S. Mack Sports Complex at 7 p.m.

Columbia, Mo. -- Competing in front of a record-setting, 6,308 Missouri fans, the No. 12 Tiger wrestling team (8-3-1, 1-1-1) held off No. 18 Oklahoma (12-4, 0-3), 23-10, at the second annual Beauty and the Beast event held in the Hearnes Center. The No. 14 Missouri women's gymnastics team, competing simultaneously on the arena floor, held off Centenary, 195.800-192.235, giving Missouri a clean sweep of its Friday night opponents. "The team is really starting to show consistent improvement," Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith said. "The team is still working hard and drilling in the room and it's good to see them out in competition taking what they've learned at practice and applying it at the dual." Senior All-American Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) pulled off an upset at 133 pounds, shutting out No. 13 Brian Shelton, 6-0. Snapping a five-dual losing streak, McCormick and Shelton were scoreless through the first period, with McCormick choosing down to start the second. A one second option escape gave the Tiger grappler a one-point advantage, which he added to in the third with an escape, two points for Sooner stalling and a takedown with 17 seconds on the clock. With the win, McCormick helped Missouri cut OU's lead to within one, 4-3. After a Tiger loss at 141 pounds, No. 15 Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.) pulled off the second Missouri upset of the dual, knocking off No. 13 Will Rowe, 10-6, at 149 pounds. With the win, Wagner improves to 2-1 in the competitive conference and 17-8 on his senior season. Wagner scored four points in both the first and third periods and tacked on 1:03 of riding time and a second period escape for the eventual win. Following Wagner's win at 149 pounds, Oklahoma was deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct on the Sooner coaching bench. Improving to a perfect 3-0 in Big 12 competition, No. 14 junior Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) collected 12 of Missouri's 14 back points on the night and earned an 18-1 win by technical fall over No. 20 Chad Terry at 157 pounds. The technical fall victory was Chandler's second of the season, the first coming Nov. 30 against Devan Velasquez of Cal State Fullerton at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Chandler is now 8-3 against ranked opponents. Carrying on Missouri's three-bout win streak, second-ranked sophomore Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.) outscored No. 20 Max Dean, 5-2, at 165 pounds. Marable's 10th, top-20 ranked opponent of the campaign, the Tiger refused to be taken down by Dean, extending his streak to eight complete weeks without being taken down. On the flip side, Marable took Dean down twice and collected his fifth point with a third period escape. Junior Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) and sophomores Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) and Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) came through for the fifth time of the season with back-to-back-to-back victories at 184, 197 and heavyweight. The trio is now 55-10 against their opponents this season. In addition to the Tiger's accomplishments on the mat, the Missouri student-athlete and Greek communities combined to raise over $900 for the Central Missouri Food Bank. A canned food drive was also held at the start of the dual, although totals are not yet available. Missouri will return to the mat Sunday, Feb. 10 in a 2 p.m. contest with Oregon State. The first 400 fans to attend the afternoon event will receive free Ben Askren bobble-head dolls. Fans are encouraged to come early and show their support of Missouri's six-member senior class. Justin Cole, Vince Demarest, McCormick, Wagner, James Williamson and Brock Wittmeyer will all be recognized prior to the start of the dual.

The fourth-ranked and defending national champion Minnesota Golden Gopher defeated the No. 11 Northwestern Wildcats 33-12 at Welsh-Ryan Arena Friday night. The win was the ninth straight for Minnesota over Northwestern, as the Gophers have not lost to the Wildcats since 1996. The Gophers won seven of 10 matches during the dual meet, which was televised live by the Big Ten Network. Seniors Gabe Dretsch, Roger Kish, Mack Reiter, Manuel Rivera and C.P. Schlatter all earned individual wins, including three pins and sophomore sensation Jayson Ness also earned his 30th straight victory at 125 pounds to snap the Gophers' two-meet losing streak. Friday's meet began at 174 pounds, and the 11th-ranked Dretsch got the Gophers off to a solid start against No. 12 Nick Hayes. Down 3-2 entering the final period, Dretsch pulled off a five-point move halfway through the third (a takedown and three-point nearfall) to grab a 7-3 lead. He held on for the 7-4 win to improve to 23-8 this year. Hayes marked the eighth ranked opponent in a row that Dretsch has faced. At 184 pounds, Minnesota enjoyed a nice bounce-back performance from the two-time All-American Kish. Kish thoroughly controlled former Division III wrestler Adil Kolovic to the tune of a 17-6 major decision. The win was the first for Kish in his last five matches, as he has struggled with injuries since early December, and improved his record to 9-6 on the season. Down 7-0, the Wildcats picked up victories at 197 pounds and heavyweight to tie the score in the dual meet. Justin Bronson had a tall order in his match against second-ranked Mike Tamillow at 197. The Gopher senior hung with Tamillow in the early going (the pair were tied at two after one period), but ended up losing an 11-2 major decision. At heavyweight, the Gopher coaching staff went with a somewhat surprising choice in redshirt freshman Joe Nord. Nord entered the meet with an 0-3 dual meet record, but performed admirably against top-ranked heavyweight Dustin Fox. Down 8-4 heading into the final minute of the match, Nord avoided late takedown and surrendered just three points (avoiding bonus points) in a 9-4 loss. Ness, the top-ranked 125-pounder in the nation, put on another show in his match against No. 5 Brandon Precin. Ness dominated from the opening whistle once again, opening up an early lead and cruising to the 12-4 major decision. It was the third-straight major decision for Ness over a ranked opponent (he majored No. 3 Charlie Falck of Iowa and No. 16 Tyler Shinn of Oklahoma State in his last two matches). Ness improved his consecutive win streak to 30 (second-longest in Division I) and has gained bonus points in 23 of his 29 matches (17 pins, six major decisions). Up 11-7 in the dual following the intermission, Reiter took to the mat at 133 pounds looking to snap a rare two-match losing streak. Reiter's opponent, Eric Metzler, surprised the senior with an early shot to take a quick 2-0 lead. But Reiter's relentless attack could not be contained, as he stormed back to gain a 6-2 advantage before pinning Metzler at the 4:28 mark. It was the second pin of the season for Reiter. Minnesota enjoyed a comfortable 17-7 lead heading into the 141-pound match between No. 3 Manuel Rivera and the Wildcats' Robert Joyce. Joyce was a surprise choice at 141 (he weighed in at 133 pounds before the meet) and didn't last long against the veteran Rivera. Rivera became the second Gopher senior in a row to pin his opponent as he took down Joyce just 2:26 into the match, his ninth fall of the season. Luke Mellmer battled in his 149-pound match, but was no match for fifth-ranked and two-time All-American Ryan Lang, losing a 18-1 technical fall. But the Gophers bounced back with wins by No. 7 C.P. Schlatter (a 15-6 major decision win over Andrew Nahdir at 157) and Tyler Safratowich (pinning Dominic Marella in 3:15 at 165) to make the final score 33-12. The pin was the third of the year for the junior. Friday's victory was the first for the Gophers on the Big Ten Network. Minnesota's two previous live telecasts (Dec. 2 vs. then-No. 2 Iowa State and Feb. 1 vs. No. 1 Iowa) resulted in close home losses for the Golden Gophers. Minnesota's three pins was the team's highest dual meet total since their 45-0 win over North Dakota State Nov. 24. The win was the most lopsided for Minnesota over Northwestern since their 41-3 win in Minneapolis on Feb. 9, 2003. Minnesota improved to 12-5 on the season (3-1 in the Big Ten) while the Wildcats dropped to 5-7 (1-3 Big Ten). The Gophers have now won 13 of the past 15 meetings between the schools. The Gophers will round out their weekend of Big Ten action Sunday, as they travel to West Lafayette, Ind. to face the unranked Purdue Boilermakers Sunday. Minnesota has won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two programs.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The seventh-ranked Ohio State wrestling team improved to 17-3 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten Conference Friday after beating Michigan State, 23-15, in Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Mich. The Buckeyes have tallied five league victories for the first time since 2001-02 when they went 5-3 in the conference and 20-4 overall. The match vs. the Spartans also featured a slightly different Buckeye lineup. Redshirt-junior Owen Schaefer of Sandusky, Ohio, received the start at 133 pounds, while senior T.J. Enright, out of Galloway, Ohio, wrestled in his second dual match of the season at 149 pounds. Schaefer faced fourth-ranked Franklin Gomez and dropped a 19-1 decision, while Enright earned his second win of the season by downing Eddie Skowneski, 10-4. Senior heavyweight J.D. Bergman garnered career-win No. 120 after dropping Alan O'Donnell in 2:16 to start the match. Bergman continues to move up the OSU career wins ladder as he now is tied for ninth. With the Buckeyes owning the early 6-0 lead, freshman Nikko Triggas added four more team points after posting an 11-2 major decision over Joel Trombly at 125 pounds. The Spartans' Gomez cut the Buckeye lead to five after his win over Schaefer. However redshirt-junior J Jaggers answered with an 8-3 decision over Micah Cater at 141 pounds to put Ohio State back up by eight (13-5). Enright then added three more points for the Buckeyes before John Fulger beat the Buckeyes' Jason Johnstone, 4-1, at 157 pounds to bring the Spartan deficit back to eight points. Freshman Colt Sponseller kept his perfect record in tact at 15-0 and gave the Buckeyes a 20-8 lead when he recorded a 29-14 major decision against Rex Kendle at 165 pounds. Ohio State earned one more win on the night after redshirt-sophomore Mike Pucillo garnered a 4-0 victory over Nick Palmieri at 184 pounds. The Buckeyes would drop 11-6 and 9-0 decisions at 174 and 197 pounds, respectively. Ohio State continues weekend action at 4 p.m. Sunday in St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio, when it hosts No. 6 Michigan. The match, a White Out, will feature Jim Tressel, Ohio State football head coach, as the honorary coach.

San Luis Obispo, Calif. -- The Stanford wrestling team picked up another conference win tonight, downing the Cal Poly Mustangs, 27-16, at Mott Gymnasium in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The Cardinal won six of ten bouts to improve to 12-3 on the year and 5-2 in the Pac-10. With 12 wins, the Cardinal continues to build on its impressive win total. The dozen wins are the most in over three decades, and mark the second best single-season total in program history. Stanford jumped out to a quick lead in the dual and never looked back. Freshman Austin Quarles (1-10) claimed a forfeit in the 125-pound bout to start off the night. Wrestling up a weight class at 133 pounds, senior Tanner Gardner (33-1) then earned a 14-2 major decision over Boris Novachkov for his 33rd win on the year. Gardner is now just three wins shy of matching Matt Gentry's career win record (138). Cal Poly answered with a win by fall at 141 pounds, as the Mustangs' top-ranked and undefeated Chad Mendes pinned freshman Max Rosefigura (12-11) in 33 seconds. The Mustangs crawled within one when Eric Maldonado edged redshirt freshman Lucas Espericueta (22-9) at 149 pounds, 5-2. Senior Josh Zupancic (31-5) prevented the Mustangs from catching up with a win at 157 pounds, extending his season-best win streak to 12 matches. The Akron, Ohio native earned his sixth pin of the year with a second period win by fall over Stephen Thalin. The win, secured in 4:48, was the 31st of the season for No. 10 Zupancic and boosted the Cardinal lead to 16-9. Wrestling in his first collegiate dual, redshirt sophomore Kyle Pubols (0-1) dropped a 9-0 major decision to Cal Poly's Ryan Williams at 165 pounds. From there, Stanford rallied to the finish. Junior Luke Feist (11-9) started a powerful three-bout rally that was capped by a decisive win by sophomore Jake Johnson (23-9). Feist earned a 9-3 decision over Mike Williams at 174 pounds, and sophomore Zack Giesen (22-6) followed with a 5-0 decision over Ernie Varela. Johnson emphatically sealed the Stanford victory, crushing Cal Poly's Arturo Basulto with an 18-2 technical fall. In the final bout of the night, Jim Powers topped Stanford senior Phillip Doerner (16-17), 6-1. Stanford returns to the mat on Sunday, when the team will face No. 24 Cal State Fullerton in Burnham Pavilion. The dual will be the last at home for the Cardinal this season. Seniors Tanner Gardner, Josh Zupancic, Phillip Doerner, Bobby Pease and Mark Shughart will all be recognized prior to the match.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- No. 10 Penn State, under the direction of head coach Troy Sunderland, posted a thrilling 20-14 win over No. 6 Michigan in front of over 4,000 fans in Rec Hall. With Penn State leading by three heading into the final bout, junior heavyweight John Laboranti (Pittston, Pa.) avoided a dual meet draw and clinched the win with a last second takedown in a 6-4 sudden victory decision. Penn State bolted out to an early lead in the dual, winning the first three bouts in exciting fashion. Senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) posted a 3-1 win at 125 and senior co-captain Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.) notched a critical 8-3 victory at 133. Then true freshman Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa.) brought over 4,000 Nittany Lion faithful to their feet with a stunning 4-3 win over No. 4 Kellen Russell of Michigan in the 141-pound bout. The three wins gave PSU and early 9-0 lead, but Michigan would come roaring back. Defending national finalist Josh Churella posted a 9-3 upset win over No. 4 Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) at 149 before Nittany Lion Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), ranked No. 2 at 157, grabbed an 8-6 win over Michigan's Jeff Marsh. Down 12-3, Michigan's three strongest weights paid dividends as the Wolverines got a major from No. 3 Steve Tannenbaum at 165 before No. 4 Steve Luke escaped with a hard-fought 3-2 win over No. 17 David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) of Penn State at 174. No. 2 Tyrel Todd then got a major at 184 and the Wolverines had roared all the way back to take a 14-12 lead. Nittany Lion All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) made Michigan's lead short-lived with a dominating 15-0 technical fall over No. 14 Anthony Biondo at 197. The five point win put Penn State up 17-14 and set up the final bout's fireworks. Laboranti took to the mat against Michigan's Chad Bleske, needing a win to secure the team victory while Bleske could force a draw in the dual with a win of his own. The bout was tied 4-4 after regulation with each wrestler getting a takedown and two escapes. With just :10 left in the sudden victory period, Laboranti gained control of Bleske's left ankle on the edge of the mat. As time wound down, Laboranti worked to pull the Wolverine into the circle and with just :03 left, pulled him in just enough to reach forward, control his right foot, and get the dual clinching takedown with just :01 left. The 6-4 sudden victory secured the 20-14 win. Penn State moves to 11-5 on the year, 3-3 in Big Ten action, while Michigan falls to 15-5, 2-2. The Nittany Lions will welcome two Big Ten teams to Rec Hall next weekend. Michigan State visits Penn State on Friday, Feb. 15, in a 7 p.m. dual that will air live to a Big Ten Network national audience. Purdue then comes to Rec Hall on Sunday, Feb. 17, for a 1 p.m. match-up. Tickets for all regular season duals are on sale now at the athletic department ticket office in the Bryce Jordan Center. Single-dual tickets are $5 for adults and seniors and $3 for students 18 and under. Penn State students with a proper student ID are admitted free! Fans can call 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 to order single-dual or season tickets. All Penn State duals will be broadcast locally on WBLF 970 AM and WKVA 920 AM and streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com. All home duals will feature a live video webcast and live scoring at www.GoPSUsports.com as well. BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Nittany Lion senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), ranked No. 10 at 125, met Michigan's Michael Watts in the dual's first bout. Watts took the first shot of the bout, but McKnight countered the effort, worked himself behind Watts and forced a stalemate at the 2:24 mark. The quick offensive effort by Watts energized McKnight, who then quickly got in on Watts' legs after the reset and, after a scramble, nearly turned the Wolverine to his back. But Watts managed a stalemate at the 1:15 mark. With :45 left in the opening period, McKnight gained control of Watts' right foot and after a brief tangle on the edge of the mat, got the takedown with :18 left to go up 2-0. McKnight then managed to keep control of Watts, riding him out to carry the 2-0 lead into the second stanza. McKnight chose bottom to begin the next period but could not break free of Watts until the :40 mark. The escape gave him a 3-0 lead but Watts had 1:00 in riding time. Watts tried to get his first points late in the period with a solid shot but McKnight moved out of trouble to keep his 3-0 lead. Watts chose down to start the third period and it was McKnight's turn to put together a strong performance on top, keeping Watts under control until only :32 remained. Watts' escape cut McKnight's lead to 3-1, but that was all the scoring there would be. McKnight's 3-1 decision gave Penn State an early 3-0 lead. 133: Senior co-captain Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.) took on Wolverine Chris Diehl in the 133 pound match-up. Haas quickly broke out to a lead with a textbook double-leg takedown at the 2:34 mark. Diehl escaped to a 2-1 deficit after Haas worked up a :44 time advantage. Haas then used a single leg on the edge of the mat to go up 4-2 with 1:06 left in the period (after another Diehl escape). Looking to build on his lead, Haas completed another single leg, then lifted Diehl up and put him down to the mat for a 6-2 lead with :22 left. Haas then rode the Wolverine out to carry that lead into the second period. Diehl chose down to start the middle stanza and quickly escaped to a 6-3 deficit. Diehl got in deep on Haas' left thigh, but the Nittany Lion senior countered, worked behind Diehl and got a takedown of his own with 1:10 left in the period. Haas then rode Diehl out and lead 8-3 with 2:48 in riding time heading into the final period. Up by five, Haas chose down to begin the final stanza. Diehl then put together a strong ride, keeping control of Haas for the entire period, trying to turn the Nittany Lion to no avail. Haas' offensive fireworks in the first two periods gave the Nittany Lion senior a hard-fought 8-3 win and put Penn State up 6-0. 141: In one of the bout's most anticipated match-ups, Penn State true freshman Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa.) met Michigan freshman Kellen Russell at 141. Russell entered the bout with a 23-3 record and ranked No. 4 nationally. The talented duo spent the first seconds looking for scoring chances and it was Russell who got the first points with a quick grab of Scott's ankles on the edge of the mat. Scott quickly escaped to a 2-1 deficit after a reset with 1:55 left in the bout. Russell shot low on Scott, nearly gained control of the Lion and Scott countered with a near throw and takedown on the edge of the mat. But action moved out of bounds with :22 left, forcing a reset, and Russell led 2-1 after one period. Scott chose down to start the second period and nearly pinned Russell while escaping to a 2-2 tie. While not getting the call for the fall, Scott's action energized a packed Rec Hall. While Scott became the aggressor, Russell was able to play defense and keep the bout tied after two periods. Russell chose down to start the third period. A decision that would come back to haunt the Wolverine. After a brief struggle, Scott turned Russell to his back for two near fall points and, after another attempt to turn Russell, the Wolverine managed to escape, cutting Scott's lead to 4-3 with 1:14 left to wrestle. Russell worked hard for a final takedown to try and grab the lead, but Scott managed to hold the Wolverine off and post a thrilling 4-3 win. The victory gave the Nittany Lions a 9-0 lead after just three bouts. 149: In another marquee match-up, Nittany Lion sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) put his No. 4 ranking at 149 on the line against defending national runner-up Josh Churella, who entered the bout ranked No. 8. Churella had the first scoring chance of the match, getting control of Jenkins' left leg and nearly completing a cradle. But Jenkins scrambled, first out of the cradle and forced a stalemate without giving up any points. A reset was called with :43 left in the opening period and Churella once again gained control of Jenkins' right leg. But the Nittany Lion sophomore was strong, breaking free on the edge of the mat and sending keeping things scoreless after one period. Churella chose down to begin the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. After Jenkins got called for a stall warning, Churella worked in for a strong double leg takedown to take a 3-0 lead. But Jenkins quickly reversed the Wolverine and cut the lead to 3-2 with :31 left. Churella escaped to up his lead to 4-2 and then, quickly took Jenkins down to push his lead to 6-2 with :22 left. The Wolverine All-American then rode Jenkins out to carry the 6-2 lead into the final period. Down by four, Jenkins chose down to begin the third period and quickly escaped to a 6-3 deficit. Needing multiple takedowns, Jenkins shot quickly on Churella. But Churella countered, moved behind Jenkins and got a takedown of his own to go up 8-3. He then kept control of Jenkins for the remaining minute-plus and posted a strong 9-3 win with the riding time point. The decision gave Michigan its first points, cutting Penn State's lead to 9-3. 157: Penn State's Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), ranked No. 2 at 157, took on Michigan's Jeff Marsh in the next bout. Vallimont was coming off his first loss to No. 1 Mike Poeta of Illinois last Sunday while Marsh was coming off an upset win over Poeta two days prior to that. Vallimont quickly turned on the offense, taking a 2-0 lead with 2:22 left with a strong double leg takedown. Marsh escaped with 2:00 left to wrestle. A minute later, Vallimont added a second takedown to up his lead to 4-2 after a Marsh escape. Down by two, Marsh chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-3 deficit. But Vallimont continued his offensive onslaught, adding another double leg takedown to lead 6-4 (after another Marsh escape). Marsh countered a Vallimont shot and got a takedown of his own with just :15 left to tie the bout at 6-6 after two periods. Vallimont chose down to start the final stanza and, after a brief tussle, escaped to a 7-6 lead with 1:20 left in the bout. After a reset, Vallimont worked to ice the bout by completing a takedown. But during the process, Marsh got called for an illegal hold and Vallimont posted a hard-fought 8-6 win. The victory put Penn State up 12-3 heading into intermission. 165: With starter Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) out with a slight injury, freshman Michael Lorenzo (Bellefonte, Pa.) made his Penn State dual meet debut at 165 against No. 3 Eric Tannenbaum. Tannenbaum looked to be the aggressor early and opened up an early lead with a takedown at the 2:29 mark. Lorenzo cut the lead to 2-1 with an escape at the 1:52 mark. Tannenbaum added another takedown at the 1:12 mark, upping his lead to 4-1. The Wolverine All-American then turned Lorenzo to his back for three near fall points before riding the Nittany Lion freshman out. Down 7-1, Lorenzo chose down to start the second period. After a minute of work, Tannenbaum turned Lorenzo again for three more back points and tried to pin the Nittany Lion, working fully for :30 to try and pin him. But Lorenzo would not go down without a fight, not giving up the fall. Up 10-1 with a bonus point assured, Tannenbaum chose neutral to begin the third period and quickly took Lorenzo down to up his lead to 12-1 with 1:30 left to wrestle. Tannenbaum need another near fall to try and grab a technical fall, but once again, Lorenzo would not allow the All-American to turn him. Lorenzo fought hard off the bottom against huge odds and gave up only a 13-1 major decision to the fourth-ranked Wolverine. The major cut Penn State's lead to 12-7. 174: Penn State sophomore David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio), ranked No. 17 at 174, met No. 4 Steve Luke. Luke broke out to an early 2-0 lead with a quick takedown at the 2:25 mark. But Erwin escaped with 1:40 left to cut the lead to 2-1 and began working for a takedown of his own. With :50 left, Erwin shot low on Luke's left ankle and gained control for a few seconds, but Luke managed to kick out of the situation and hold his lead. A furious scramble as the period ended nearly resulted in a takedown for each wrestler, but no one scored and Luke kept his 2-1 lead heading into the second period. Up by one, Luke chose down to start the middle stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Erwin was equal to look for the entire period, matching Luke's tempo and looking for an opening of his own. But neither man would give up a takedown and Luke held a 3-1 lead after two periods. Erwin chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 3-2 deficit. Luke nearly took Erwin down to up his lead to 5-2, but the Nittany Lion sophomore scrambled out of trouble and kept things close with 1:20 left in the bout. Needing one takedown to grab a stunning upset, Erwin could not break through Luke's defense over the bout's last seconds. While forcing the Wolverine into a stall warning, time ran out on Erwin's efforts and Luke escaped with a hard-fought 3-2 victory. 184: Junior Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) took to the mat at 184 against Michigan's Tyrel Todd. Bomberger entered the bout ranked No. 14 while Todd had a lofty No. 2 ranking. Bomberger broke out to an early 2-0 lead on the Michigan All-American with a strong double-leg takedown at the 2:16 mark. Todd escaped to a 2-1 deficit after a reset and then Todd took a 3-2 lead after a scramble in the middle of the mat, securing the takedown with 1:32 left in the opening period. Bomberger then escaped to a 3-3 tie with 1:04 left in the opening period and action moved back to the center circle. Bomberger shot at Todd's right thigh but Todd countered the move, worked behind Bomberger for a go-ahead takedown at the :35 mark. A ride out gave Todd a 5-3 lead with :56 in riding time after the first period. Todd chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 6-3 lead. But Todd was undaunted, getting a fourth takedown on the edge of the mat to lead 8-4 lead after letting Bomberger up. Bomberger once again shot and Todd countered the move for a 10-4 lead. Three near fall points later and Todd led 14-3 with just under 1:00 left in the second period. Todd then rode Bomberger out to carry the 14-3 lead into the final period. Down by 11, Bomberger chose down to start the final period but could not break free of Todd's strong work up top until only :25 left. Bomberger shot low for a takedown to avoid a major, but Todd once again scored off a counter move, worked behind Bomberger and got the final points as time expired. The 16-5 major decision gave Michigan its first lead of the night, a 14-12 edge heading into the final two bouts. 197: Three-time All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 197, met No. 14 Anthony Biondo of Michigan. Biondo took the first shot, but Davis countered and got the bout's first takedown with 1:56 left. With a 2-0 lead, Davis began looking for back points and, after a brief tussle, turned the ranked Wolverine for three near fall points and a 5-0 lead with 1:00 left. Then, in typical Davis fashion, the Nittany Lion finished a cradle and picked up three more points, nearly pinning Biondo in the process. Up 8-0 with nearly 2:00 in riding time, Davis chose down to start the second period. Biondo managed to maintain control of Davis for more than half the second period, keeping control of the Nittany Lion until Davis reversed the Wolverine with :25 left to take a 10- lead. Davis then rode Biondo out to hold that lead, with :54 in riding time, heading into the final period. Biondo chose top to start the third period, hoping to keep out of Davis' grasps and avoid a pin. But once again, Davis stood up, worked behind Biondo and reversed the Wolverine to take a 12-0 lead with 1:35 left. With 1:23, Davis turned Biondo once again for three near fall points and posted a 15-0 technical fall at the 5:58 mark. The five points allowed Penn State to retake the lead, 17-14, with one bout left. HWT: Penn State junior John Laboranti (Pittston, Pa.) put his No. 18 ranking on the line at HWT against Michigan's Chad Bleske. With Laboranti needing a win to secure the dual meet and Bleske needing a win (or more) to force a tie (or steal a win), it was the Nittany Lion who was the early aggressor. Laboranti nearly got a go-ahead takedown on the edge of the mat a minute in, but Bleske fought out of trouble. With 1:00 left, Laboranti shot low and Bleske's feet, but the Wolverine stepped aside and behind the Lion big man to get a takedown of his own and lead 2-1 after the Laboranti escape. Neither man scored again and the Wolverine led 2-1 after one. Bleske then chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. With 1:40 left, Laboranti got in on Bleske's right leg and forced a furious scramble. After :30 of work, Laboranti go the tying takedown with 1:05 left, knotting the score at 3-3. Bleske escaped to a 4-3 lead after a reset and action continued in the center circle. Trailing 4-3 after two periods, Laboranti quickly escaped to a 4-4 tie with :40 left and began looking for the dual clinching takedown. Laboranti forced Bleske back to the edge of the mat over the last 1:30 but could not break through the Wolverine's defense. With neither wrestler scoring, the bout remained tied after three periods and went to a sudden victory period tied 4-4. With :10 left, Laboranti worked in on Bleske's ankle on the edge of the mat and pulled the Wolverine in. Looking to get the left ankle to complete the takedown, the Nittany Lion junior pulled Bleske in and got the dual winning takedown with just :01 left. The 6-4 SV decision gave Penn State a 20-14 win over No. 6 Michigan.

EUGENE, Ore. -- The No. 3 Oklahoma State wrestling team improved to 14-2-1 overall this season with a 33-3 win over Oregon at McArthur Court Friday. The win improved the Cowboys to 15-0-0 all-time against the Ducks. Top-ranked 133-pounder Coleman Scott was stunned by unranked Ryan Dunn, whose takedown with three seconds remaining in the third period fueled the 5-3 upset. The Cowboys were more than able to overcome Scott's defeat, thanks largely to Jack Jensen's pin of Marcus Myers at 184 pounds, Jared Rosholt's 23-8 technical fall win over Charlie Alexander and Neil Erisman's 12-3 major decision win over Kyle Bounds at 157 pounds. Sophomore 141-pounder Brad Neitenbach made his dual match debut for Oklahoma State Friday and used a five-point move in the second period to pick up a 9-8 win over Cody Moulton. Neitenbach stepped in for No. 2 Nathan Morgan, who was resting a leg injury but is expected to return to the lineup shortly. The Cowboys return to action at 2 p.m. Sunday when they face UC Davis at the Pavilion in Davis, Calif. The dual will be broadcast live on 93.7 KSPI FM radio in Stillwater and worldwide via the internet at www.okstate.com. Match-by-Match: 125 pounds: No. 16 Tyler Shinn got things started in the dual by claiming a 6-4 win over Joey Lucas. Shinn recorded a pair of takedowns in the first period and took a 4-1 lead into the second period. Shinn chose down to start the period and notched an escape to score the lone point of the second stanza. Lucas escaped in the third period then added a takedown in the waning moments of the bout, but it wasn't enough as Shinn had 2:08 of riding time to seal the victory. 133 pounds: Top-ranked Coleman Scott saw his 18-match winning streak snapped by Duck junior Ryan Dunn, who scored a takedown with three seconds remaining in the match to pull the upset. Scott notched a first-period takedown before cutting Dunn loose to bring the score to 2-1. An escape by Scott early in the second period increased the Cowboy senior's advantage to 3-1, but he was called for stalling later in the period to bring the score to 3-2. Dunn tied the match at 3-3 early in the third period when Scott let him loose, then with about 25 seconds left, Dunn got in on a single leg and held Scott's leg in the air. Scott bounced around on one leg until Dunn was able to score the decisive takedown with three ticks left. 141 pounds: With Nathan Morgan resting a leg injury, Brad Neitenbach made his dual match debut against Cody Moulton and won a 9-8 decision. Neitenbach stormed in for an early takedown, but Moulton followed an escape with a takedown and a two-point nearfall to take a 5-2 lead. Moulton escaped early in the second period to increase his lead to 6-2. Neitenbach notched a second takedown to bring the score to 6-4, but Moulton escaped shortly thereafter to take a 7-4 lead. Late in the second period, Neitenbach made the decisive move of the match when he caught Moulton and wrapped up his head to notch a takedown and then turned him to his back to take a 9-7 advantage. Moulton escaped early in the third period, but Neitenbach shut him out the rest of the way to pick up a 9-8 win. 149 pounds: OSU senior Ryan Freeman won his third match in his last four outings by picking up a 2-0 win over Elliott Tracy. After a scoreless first period, Freeman scored an escape early in the second period, then suffocated Tracy with a hard ride for the duration of the third period to ice the win. 157 pounds: Neil Erisman racked up his first dual match major decision when he picked up a 12-3 win over Kyle Bounds. Erisman scored five takedowns and added 1:51 of riding time to seal bonus points for the Cowboys. 165 pounds: Stepping in for regular starter Jake Dieffenbach was Kevin Wainscott, who picked up a 9-8 win over Zack Frazier. Wainscott scored two takedowns and four escapes in the bout and added 1:57 of riding time that ended up being the difference. Wainscott held a 4-2 lead going into the final period and swelled his lead to 6-3 after letting Frazier loose then taking him down. However, Frazier responded with a reversal to trim the deficit to 6-5. A Wainscott escape was followed by another Frazier takedown to tie the score at 7-7. Wainscott escaped again, but was then called for stalling to deadlock the score at 8-8 with less than 10 seconds left. With the crowd in a frenzy, Wainscott clamped down to hold a desperate Frazier scoreless for the remainder of the bout and his riding time point ended up being the difference. 174 pounds: No. 8 Brandon Mason held off an upset bid from Ron Lee to pick up a 7-5 win. Mason held a 5-3 lead after one period after scoring a pair of takedowns and getting an escape following a Lee reversal. The lone point of the second period came when Mason notched and escape to go up, 6-3. Lee chose down to open the third period and scored a reversal as Mason tried to run both legs in on him. Mason escaped shortly after the reversal for the final scoring in the bout. 184 pounds: Jack Jensen stacked up on Marcus Myers to pin the Duck senior just 1:25 into the first period. Trailing Jensen by a 2-1 margin, Myers took an ill-advised shot and got in too far on Jensen, who captured Myers' head and stacked him up for the fall. 197 pounds: True freshman Clayton Foster hit the 20-win plateau for the season with a 4-1 win over Shaun Dee. After a scoreless first period, Foster notched an early escape and followed it up with a takedown to go up, 3-0 in the second period. Dee exploded out for an escape in the third period, but that was all he could muster. Foster added 1:27 of riding time to ice the win. 285 pounds: Fueled by a pair of two-point nearfalls in the first period and a take-him-down, cut-him-loose mode of operation, No. 8 Jared Rosholt overwhelmed Charlie Alexander with a dominating 23-8 technical fall win. Rosholt scored an early takedown in the first period and rode Alexander before turning him to his back for a two-point nearfall. Alexander was able to get off his back, but could not escape Rosholt, who turned him to his back a second time before the period ended. Rosholt opened the second period with an escape and added three more takedowns to swell his lead to 13-2 after two periods. Another four Rosholt takedowns in the third period to go with 3:05 of riding time cemented his resounding win.

Sunday, Live From the Hearns Center on the Campus of the Tigers of Missouri, TDR brings to you Live wrestling coverage starting at 1:30 PM CST. Join TDR's Steve Foster, Scott Casber and Ben Askren for the color, the play by play and the excitement for this tremendous meet. Coach Jim Zalesky returns to the midwest with His Oregon Beaver Squad of the Pac-10 to face the Big 12 Powerhouse Missouri Tigers and Coach Brian Smith. With only one day off after facing the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, and a Saturday studio radio visit with the Takedown Radio Crew, the Beavers will complete this road trip in front of an electric crowd at the Hearns Center. Its always exciting to provide play by play for a meet like this and invite you to join us LIVE Sunday at Takedownradio.com starting at 1:30 PM CST.

DURHAM, N.C. -- The Duke wrestling squad will hit the road for three dual meets on Saturday at Campbell before finally returning home on Sunday to face ACC foe Virginia at 6 p.m. In Buies Creek, N.C., on Saturday, the Blue Devils will square off against Belmont Abbey at 11 a.m., UNC Pembroke at 1 p.m., and Campbell at 3 p.m. Those matches will mark the last three in a string of seven consecutive dual meets away from home and the Sunday contest will be the fourth of five ACC contests for Duke this season. The Blue Devils: Duke is 6-7 this season in duals and 0-3 in ACC action. In their only team-scored tournament of the year, the Blue Devils took 21st place out of 29 teams at the prestigious Southern Scuffle on Dec. 29 and 30 in Greensboro, N.C. Duke's most dominating wrestler at any weight this year has been 184-pound redshirt sophomore captain John Barone, who was named the ACC's wrestler of the week on Nov. 27. Barone's 11-second pin of Mike Walsh of Limestone College on Dec. 1 was the fastest fall in Duke history, breaking an 18-year-old school record. He is 28-4 with 11 falls and a 12-1 mark in duals in 2007-08. Barone is 63-20 overall as a Blue Devil, which is good for ninth place on Duke's all-time winning percentage list with a .759 clip. He is tied for 10th on Duke's single season wins list and is already tied for 20th on the career wins list. He needs seven more victories to eclipse the single season wins record, and there are eight more regular season dual meets and the ACC Tournament to go. Literally every Duke record is under assault this year by the native of Shirley, N.Y. Kellan McKeon will represent Duke at 125 pounds this weekend. The senior captain is 20-12 this season with three falls and two top-four tournament finishes. He is 7-5 in dual meets. Redshirt sophomore Michael Degli Obizzi may see some action at 149 pounds. Degli Obizzi is 15-7 this season with two pins and has a 37-29 career record as a Blue Devil. At 157 pounds, sophomore Voris Tejada will get the nod. Tejada boasts a 25-11 mark this year and is 6-2 in dual meets. He is 44-19 all-time at Duke. Junior captain Addison Nuding should get the call at 165 pounds in at least a couple of Duke's matches this weekend. Nuding is 22-7 on the year with two pins and a 9-3 dual record. He is 12-3 in his last 15 matches and has won six of his last seven. Nuding holds a 44-34 all-time record at Duke. The Opponents: Belmont Abbey is 9-7-1 this season with wins over UNC Pembroke and Kutztown highlighting its slate. UNC Pembroke holds a 5-10 mark this season. The Braves have three strong wrestlers in Joe Mavins (125/133 pounds), Mike Nash (133 pounds) and J.J. Davis (165 pounds). Mavins is 37-4 overall with three pins and a perfect 14-0 record in duals. Nash boasts a 29-6 record, three falls and holds an 11-3 dual meet mark. Davis may be the best of them all, with a 28-5 showing this year, including three pins and a 13-1 record in duals. Campbell is 2-15-1 and 1-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Camels strongest wrestler is sophomore Kelin Bidelspach, who is 19-5 overall with five pins and a 13-4 record in duals at 141 pounds. Virginia is 16-4 in 2007-08 and 1-1 in the ACC. Two of their four losses have come to teams ranked in the top 20--- Michigan and Old Dominion. The Cavaliers took sixth place with 91.5 points in the Southern Scuffle, which is the only tournament it has shared with Duke. Virginia placed fourth at the ACC Tournament in 2007 and returns its individual champion (Rocco Caponi) and both of its second-place finishers (Eric Albright and Kellan Balum). This year, Virginia has three upperweight wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in their weight class. Caponi is currently No. 13 nationally at 184 pounds, and has a 32-2 record with nine pins and a 17-1 mark in dual meets. No. 19 Chris Henrich at 174 pounds is 20-6 and 11-2 in duals on the season. 197-pound Brent Jones holds the No. 20 spot nationally and is 28-9 with 11 falls and a 15-5 showing in dual meets. Sophomore Ross Gitomer at 125 pounds ranks in the top five in the nation with 32 wins and is 15-3 in duals. Most Recent Meetings: Duke and Campbell faced off on Jan. 5 of this year, with the Blue Devils coming away with a 30-12 victory at the N.C. State Duals. Barone, Nuding and redshirt sophomore Ben Wales at 174 pounds all won their matches by fall. The last time Duke and Virginia met was on Feb. 10, 2007. The Cavaliers defeated the Blue Devils in Charlottesville, Va., 26-12. Barone won his match by pin at 174 pounds and current redshirt junior Aaron Glover earned a decision at 165 pounds.

The Loras College Graber Sports Center hosted two incredibly memorable events on Thursday night. In the final dual meet of the 2007-2008, the Duhawks hosted Simpson College and defeated the Storm 35-9. Simpson forfeited the night's opening two matches at 125 and 133 pounds. They followed by winning three of the first four scored matches (141, 149, and 165) to make the score 15-9. Brandon Bauer won a slim 2-1 decision via his riding time point and set the stage for the main match of the night at 184 pounds. Senior Jay Figgins entered his match with Trent Van Dorin of Simpson College tied with Jim Brophy ('96) with 122 career wins. Just seconds into the match Figgins was in control and earned an early take down. At the 00:26 mark of the opening period Figgins pinned the freshmen and claimed the careers wins record. The crowd took time to recognize the senior on "Senior Night" and a delayed smile emerged from the Clinton, Iowa native as referee Bill Roths held his hand up in victory. The Duhawks rolled in the final two matches following Figgins' win with freshmen Alex Grafft and Jeremy Klein earning a fall and technical fall, respectively. Earlier in the night, in a ceremony at the Graber Sports Center, the Loras College community recognized former head wrestling coach Pat Flanagan (1966-1981) for his contributions to the program when they named the team's practice room for him. The hallway on the second floor of Graber now boasts a plaque recognizing the room as the Pat "Flash" Flanagan Wrestling Room. Flanagan left as the program's all time leader in coaching wins with 127.

There has been a time change on the upcoming St.Cloud State University wrestling dual match on Feb. 16, at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. The new start time will be Noon on Feb. 16. The match was originally slated to start at 2 p.m. at Mary, but has now been moved to a Noon start.

EDMOND, Okla. -- Unbeaten Minnesota State-Mankato maintained its perch atop the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches' Association poll that was released Thursday. The Mavericks, 16-0-1 in duals, reached No. 1 for the first time in the NCAA Division II rankings two weeks ago and stayed there by a slim two-point margin over Nebraska-Omaha, with those two teams set to square off Saturday night in Omaha. MSU-Mankato received five of the eight first-place votes cast in finishing with 157 points, while UNO had the remaining three first-place votes and 155 points. Adams State (Colo.) rode dual wins over defending national champion Central Oklahoma and Western State (Colo.) to move to No. 3 in the poll with 136 points, one ahead of Nebraska-Kearney. Rounding out the top 10 was Western State, UCO, Newberry (S.C.), Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.), Upper Iowa and Ashland (Ohio). MSU-Mankato has seven of its 10 individuals in the rankings, topped by No. 1 Jason Rhoten at 157 pounds. UNO also has seven ranked wrestlers, with 125 Cody Garcia and 149 Todd Meneely both No. 1. The NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships will be held March 14-15 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and hosted by Upper Iowa. The top 20 poll, with points and their last ranking: Rank School (State) Points Last Ranking 1. Minnesota State-Mankato 157 1st 2. Nebraska-Omaha 155 2nd 3. Adams State (Colo.) 136 5th 4. Nebraska-Kearney 135 4th 5. Western State (Colo.) 126 6th 6. Central Oklahoma 125 3rd 7. Newberry (S.C.) 109 10th 8. Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 107 8th 9. Upper Iowa 96 9th 10. Ashland (Ohio) 79 11th 11. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 67 16th 12. Gannon (Pa.) 66 13th 13. Indianapolis (Ind.) 62 14th 14. Minnesota State-Moorhead 59 7th 15. Mercyhurst (Pa.) 50 12th T16. Findlay (Ohio) 40 15th T16. Chadron State (Neb.) 40 17th 18. Wisconsin-Parkside 25 19th 19. Limestone (S.C.) 14 18th 20. Northern State (S.D.) 10 NR Others receiving votes: Augustana (S.D.), Central Missouri, Fort Hays State (Kan.), Shippensburg (Pa.). NCAA Division II Individual Rankings 125 Pounds 1. Cody Garcia, Nebraska-Omaha 2. Tyler Mumbulo, Upper Iowa 3. Nick Smith, Minnesota State-Mankato 4. Curtis Schurkamp, San Francisco State 5. Arsenia Barksdale, Adams State (Colo.) 6. Joe Mavins, North Carolina-Pembroke 7. Joey Morrison, Nebraska-Kearney 8. Eddie Lopez, Western State (Colo.) 133 Pounds 1. Brandon Reasy, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 2. Shane Perkey, Indianapolis (Ind.) 3. Craig DeGreef, Wisconsin-Parkside 4. Jesse Cruz, Western State (Colo.) 5. Raymond Dunning, Adams State (Colo.) 6. Tim Elliott, Central Oklahoma 7. Kelly Janke, Minnesota State-Moorhead 8. Kent Pierson, Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 141 Pounds 1. Kyle Evans, Central Oklahoma 2. Steven Fittery, Shippensburg (Pa.) 3. Jeff Rutledge, Nebraska-Kearney 4. Travis Elg, Minnesota State-Mankato 5. Matt Irwin, Indianapolis (Ind.) 6. Tony Washington, Newberry (S.C.) 7. Doug Surra, West Liberty State (W. Va.) 8. Ross Mountour, New Mexico Highlands 149 Pounds 1. Todd Meneely, Nebraska-Omaha 2. Camille DuPont, Western State (Colo.) 3. Brian Pogel, Mercyhurst (Pa.) 4. Tee Adams, Upper Iowa 5. Tommy Abbott, Minnesota State-Mankato 6. Ryan Etherton, Nebraska-Kearney 7. Shane Walton, Minnesota State-Moorhead 8. Colby Robinson, Central Oklahoma 157 Pounds 1. Jason Rhoten, Minnesota State-Mankato 2. Joe Ellenberger, Nebraska-Kearney 3. Muhammad Abdur-Rahman, Ashland (Ohio) 4. Travis Eggers, Upper Iowa 5. Noomis Jones, Adams State (Colo.) 6. Eric Pretto, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 7. Antonio Guerra, Findlay (Ohio) 8. Andy Lamancusa, Mercyhurst (Pa.) 165 Pounds 1. Zach Lee, Western State (Colo.) 2. Brett Hunter, Chadron State (Neb.) 3. Aaron Denson, Nebraska-Omaha 4. Andy Pickar, Minnesota State-Mankato 5. Kyle Becker, Wisconsin-Parkside 6. Hudson Harrison, Mercyhurst (Pa.) 7. Rockie Stavn, Minnesota State-Moorhead 8. Keenan McCurdy, Nebraska-Kearney 174 Pounds 1. Larry Wilbanks, Western State (Colo.) 2. Evan Copeland, Adams State (Colo.) 3. Marty Usman, Nebraska-Kearney 4. Ross Taplin, Nebraska-Omaha 5. Cory VanGroll, Wisconsin-Parkside 6. Tyler Tubbs, Minnesota State-Moorhead 7. Albert Miles, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 8. Tim Matheson, Minnesota State-Mankato 
184 Pounds 1. Jared Deaguero, Adams State (Colo.) 2. Brent Pankoke, Nebraska-Omaha 3. Dan Scanlan, Limestone (S.C.) 4. Mike Corcetti, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 5. Lars Lueders, Western State (Colo.) 6. Heath Jolley, Central Oklahoma 7. Beau Severtson, Augustana (S.D.) 8. Keeno Griffin, Newberry (S.C.) 197 Pounds 1. Josh Majerus, Chadron State (Neb.) 2. Jacob Marrs, Nebraska-Omaha 3. Josh Ohl, Ashland (Ohio) 4. Ty Copsey, Augustana (S.D.) 5. Donavan McMahill, Western State (Colo.) 6. Pat Walsh, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 7. Jarrett Edison, Central Oklahoma 8. Nick Wilkes, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 285 Pounds 1. Tervel Dlagnev, Nebraska-Kearney 2. Brady Wilson, Minnesota State-Mankato 3. Cy Wainwright, Newberry (S.C.) 4. Dustin Finn, Central Oklahoma 5. Dan Goodson, Upper Iowa 6. Tony Lewis, Nebraska-Omaha 7. Zach Majocha, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 8. Travis Clark, Findlay (Ohio)

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- California Baptist University Athletic Director Kevin Steele has announced the hiring of John Petty as the Lancers' first-ever head wrestling coach. John PettyPetty, who has spent the past two seasons at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, will assume his duties immediately as the Lancers prepare to start wrestling in the fall of 2008. "After completing a nationwide search for the inaugural wrestling coach at CBU, we are pleased to announce the hiring of John Petty," said Steele. "John possesses the experience, passion and character we believe will create an outstanding wrestling program and develop champions on the mat and well beyond. Young people will be challenged to excellence in all areas of their lives by a coach who models excellence on a daily basis. It is a pleasure to welcome John to the CBU family." Northwestern is currently ranked No. 10 in the NAIA and are in position to make yet another NAIA National Tournament appearance. In Petty's first year at the helm in 2006-07, the Raiders finished 15th at the national tournament, improving upon the team's 24th place showing in 2006. The Raiders, who were also Great Plains Athletic Conference runners-up, had three NAIA All-Americans, their first All-Americans since 2003 and most in one season since 1998. Northwestern also won the NAIA Champion of Character Sportsmanship Award and were ranked as high as No. 10 during the season. The Raiders had a team GPA of 3.08, which was eighth best in the nation. Prior to taking over at Northwestern, Petty spent three seasons as the head coach at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz. During his stint there from the 2003-04 season to the 2005-06 season, Petty led the Eagles to three straight Top 10 finishes at the NAIA Tournament, including a fifth place finish in 2006. During that season, the Eagles had a team GPA of 3.09. In 2005, Petty was named regional coach of the year as he led the Eagles to a regional title. The Eagles were also awarded the NAIA Champion of Character Sportsmanship Award at the national tournament that same year. In his three seasons at ERAU, he coached 15 All-Americans and six Scholar-Athletes. In addition to his coaching duties at ERAU, Petty also served as the Director of Athletic Academic Support and has been the NAIA's second vice president of the Wrestling Coaches' Association since 2005. Prior to his stint at Embry-Riddle, Petty spent two years teaching and coaching at the high school level. From 1991-96, Petty served as an aviation officer in the United States Army. "I am honored to have been chosen as the first head coach of the California Baptist University wrestling program," said Petty. "I am excited for the opportunity and look forward to building the program into what it is expected at CBU Athletics—a winner both on and off the competition surface. Character development as well as academic and athletic excellence will be the foundational pillars upon which we will build this program. The resources are here for a successful program, and I look forward to creating relationships and competing for championships here at CBU." Petty wrestled two seasons at Fresno State and then was a five-time U.S. National Open Champion in the Master's Division and a 10-time U.S. National All-American in the same division. He also wrestled two seasons at Fresno City College and was an All-American and team captain for the 1989 state champions. He received his bachelor's of business administration from Fresno State in 1991 and then earned his master's in kinesiology from Fresno Pacific in 2006. Petty and his wife, Sheila, have three daughters, Janaya, Janessa and Jada.

Columbia, Mo. -- Fans interested in attending the 12th annual Big 12 Wrestling Championships in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, March 8, are encouraged to call the Oklahoma State box office at 1-877-255-4678 to purchase tickets. Reserved tickets for the all-day event are $20, while general admission is $15. Missouri currently has section 101 reserved in Gallagher Iba Arena, and Tiger fans are encouraged to request a seat in the Missouri section when calling to purchase tickets. "It's always great to have a big cheering section," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "Gallagher Iba can be a tough environment to compete in. Having fans there cheering you on really helps the team and provides for a great atmosphere." This marks the second time in Big 12 history that OSU has hosted the prestigious event. The Cowboys last hosted in 2001. Missouri served as host last season and tied a program high second place finish at the event. Currently, all five Big 12 wrestling programs are ranked among the top-20 in the nation, while 37 individual Big 12 grapplers are ranked among their respective weight class. A total of 38 Big 12 wrestlers will advance from tournament competition into the NCAA Championships.

The Stanford wrestling team continues Pac-10 duals this weekend, taking on the Cal Poly Mustangs on Friday and the Cal State Fullerton Titans on Sunday. Friday's match is set for 7 p.m. at Mott Gymnasium in San Luis Obispo. Sunday's match will be held on the Farm, beginning at noon in Burnham Pavilion. Sunday's dual will be the last at home for the Cardinal this season, and the last on the Farm for four seniors, Tanner Gardner, Josh Zupancic, Phillip Doerner and Bobby Pease. All four will be honored prior to the match. The Cardinal (11-3, 4-2 Pac-10) is having one of its best seasons in history. The team's 11 wins are the most in over three decades, and nine of the squad's starters enter the weekend with .500 or better records. Gardner, a two-time All-American and the nation's sixth-ranked 125-pounder, is 32-1 on the year and undefeated in duals. As the Berryton, Kans. native nears the end of his career, he is closing in on two Cardinal records. With 134 career wins, Gardner is just four short of overtaking Matt Gentry as Stanford's career win leader. He is within two pins of matching a single-season pin record set by Chris Horpel in 1975. Gardner leads the Pac-10 in both wins and pins, and is among the top-10 nationally in both categories. Zupancic (30-5), Stanford's other returning All-American and top-10 wrestler, is on a season-high 11-bout win streak. Ranked No. 10 nationally, the 157-pounder has posted four consecutive major decisions, and secured his second-straight 30-win season on Sunday. Three more Stanford wrestlers, sophomore 197-pounder Jake Johnson (22-9), sophomore 184-pounder Zack Giesen (21-6) and redshirt freshman 149-pounder Lucas Espericueta (22-8) are also having impressive seasons. All three have already reached the 20-win plateau, and the trio has racked up a combined 144 dual points. Espericueta leads the Pac-10 and is third in the nation with 11 major decisions on the year. Senior heavyweight Phillip Doerner has already more than doubled his career win total with 16 wins. Cal Poly (5-4, 4-2 Pac-10) finished fourth in the Pac-10 last season, with seven individual placers. All seven of those wrestlers return, including defending Pac-10 Champion Darrell Vasquez at 133 pounds. In addition to its five returning NCAA qualifiers, the Mustangs return Chad Mendes, a former 125-pounder who is now the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds. The night's most anticipated match will occur at 157 pounds, where Stanford's No. 10 Zupancic will look to avenge an early season loss to the Mustangs' No. 13 Chase Pami. Cal State Fullerton (9-5, 6-1 Pac-10) finished seventh in the Pac-10 last season, but is one of the strongest teams in the league this year. The Titans are the only Pac-10 team ranked in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA top-25, coming in at No. 24 nationally this week. All-American heavyweight Wade Sauer (No. 5), leads four Titans who are nationally ranked. TJ Dillashaw (No. 15 at 133 pounds) and defending Pac-10 Champion Morgan Atkinson (No. 10 at 149 pounds) both return from 2007 NCAA appearances, as does 165-pounder Bryan Tice. Senior Ian Murphy rounds out the ranked wrestlers for Fullerton at No. 12 at 184 pounds. The Cardinal wraps up the regular-season at Arizona State on Feb. 17. The team will compete for the Pac-10 Championship, Mar. 2-3 in Eugene, Ore.

#4/4 MINNESOTA (11-5, 2-1) at #11/10 Northwestern (5-6, 1-2) Location: Evanston, Ill. Arena: Thomas Athletic Complex Date/Time: Friday, Feb. 8, 2008, 6:30 p.m. (CST) Television: Friday's dual meet will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network starting at 6:35 p.m. Tim Johnson and Mark Massery will be on the call. #4/4 MINNESOTA (11-5, 2-1) at Purdue (9-4, 1-2) Location: West Lafayette, Ind. Arena: Intercollegiate Athletic Facility Date/Time: Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008, 12:00 p.m. (CST) Live Webcast: A live webcast of the meet will be available via purduesports.cstv.com. Northwestern/Purdue Notes to Know • The fourth-ranked and defending national champion Golden Gopher wrestling team looks to rebound this weekend when they travel to 10th-ranked Northwestern (Friday) and Purdue (Sunday). Friday's tilt will get underway at 6:30 p.m., while Sunday's starts at noon (CST). • Friday night's dual meet wil mark the third time this season the Gophers will appear on the Big Ten Network, tied for the most appearances in the conference (Michigan is also scheduled to have three dual meets aired on the station). Minnesota's Dec. 2 dual with Iowa State was the network's first wrestling broadcast, and last Friday's meet with No. 1 Iowa was also televised live. Tim Johnson and Mark Massery will be on the call Friday. • Friday night, the Golden Gophers lost a tough 20-13 dual meet decision to the top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes at Williams Arena. Iowa won six of 10 matches, including upsets by No. 9 Dan LeClere (over No. 3 Manny Rivera) and No. 8 Phil Keddy over Minnesota's No. 5 Roger Kish. The win was the first in three years for the Hawkeyes in the series and drops Minnesota's dual meet record to 11-4 (2-1 in the Big Ten) • Sunday, despite picking up key upsets from Tyler Safratowich (165 pounds) and No. 11 Gabriel Dretsch (174 pounds), the Gophers could not pull off the dual meet victory in Stillwater, Okla., falling to the third-ranked Cowboys 18-14. The Gophers won four of six matches, but close losses at 133, 141 and 184 pounds doomed the reigning Big Ten champions to their second loss of the weekend. • Minnesota has been outstanding against this weekend's two opponents, the Wildcats and Boilermakers. The Gophers are 37-13-1 all-time against Northwestern (winning the last eight meetings between the two) and 42-17-2 all-time against Purdue (including 9-1 in their past 10 meetings). • Minnesota is also coming off a successful Big Ten-opening weekend in which they picked up victories over Michigan State (Jan. 25 in East Lansing) and Michigan (Jan. 26 in Ann Arbor). • Seven of Minnesota's 10 normal starters are ranked nationally in their respective weight classes currently. Jayson Ness (No. 1 at 125 pounds), Mack Reiter (No. 5 at 133 pounds), Manny Rivera (No. 3 at 141), Dustin Schlatter (No. 3 at 149 pounds), C.P. Schlatter (No. 7 at 157), Gabe Dretsch (No. 11 at 174) and Roger Kish (No. 10 at 184) all rank among the nation's best. • While the Gophers endured a tough weekend to start February, top-ranked 125-pounder Jayson Ness certainly did not. Ness earned a dominating 14-2 major decision over No. 3 Charlie Falck Friday, his fourth win in as many tries over the Apple Valley (Minn.) graduate, and followed that with another 18-5 major decision over No. 16 Tyler Shinn Sunday in Stillwater. Ness has won 29 consecutive matches (the second-longest active streak in Division I) and needs just three more pins to break current assistant head coach Marty Morgan's single-season mark for most pins by a Gopher (20, set in 1989-90). GOPHERS ENDURE ROUGH WEEKEND Ever since the 2007-08 schedule was released, everyone knew that the weekend of Feb. 1-3 would be a tough one, but few knew how tough. The Gophers lost back-to-back dual meets for the second time already this season, falling 20-14 to No. 1 Iowa Friday night and 18-14 Sunday against Oklahoma State. The Gophers have had more than one losing streak in the same season just twice since 1991-92 (the other year being 2004-05). HAWKEYES TRUMP GOPHERS AT WILLIAMS The Golden Gopher wrestling team dropped a tough 20-13 dual meet decision to the top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes Friday night at Williams Arena. Two key upsets spurred the Hawkeyes to victory in front of 7,472 spectators, giving them their first win over Minnesota in three years. Things began going awry for the Gophers after Iowa's Joe Slaton defeated Mack Reiter at 133 pounds, followed by an upset victory by Dan LeClere over Minnesota's Manuel Rivera at 141. The Gophers closed the gap to one point after the 165-pound match, but Iowa cemented the victory when No. 8 Phil Keddy upset No. 5 Roger Kish at 184 pounds. It was the first in the series for Iowa against Minnesota since 2005 and their first win at Williams Arena since the 2000 season. LONG TIME COMING The Gophers' 20-13 loss to Iowa Friday night at Williams was the program's first conference dual meet loss in nearly two years, and their first home Big Ten loss in nearly three. Minnesota was an undefeated 8-0 in the Big Ten last year en route to their national championship, and last lost in the conference on Feb. 19, 2006 (19-15 at Michigan. The Gophers' last home Big Ten loss came on February 20, 2005 vs. Illinois (24-13). ‘BOYS TOP CHAMPS IN OK Despite picking up key upsets from Tyler Safratowich (165 pounds) and No. 11 Gabriel Dretsch (174 pounds), the defending national champion Golden Gopher wrestling team could not pull off the dual meet victory Sunday afternoon in Stillwater, Okla., falling to the third-ranked Cowboys 18-14. The Gophers won four of six matches, but close losses at 133, 141 and 184 pounds doomed the reigning Big Ten champions to their second loss of the weekend. In a heated battle between the two programs that have combined to win the past seven NCAA team titles, the Cowboys got the better of J Robinson's Gophers for the first time in the last four meetings between the schools. The victory was the Cowboys' first home win over Minnesota since a 1997, and the home school has won just two dual meets between these two programs since 1998 (the other instance being Minnesota's 21-15 win over OSU last season in Williams Arena). The Gophers have still won eight of their last 12 dual meets with the Cowboys. THE SERIES VS. NORTHWESTERN Minnesota has been the toast of the Big Ten for most of this millennium, as the Gophers have won three national and five conference titles since the year 2000. They have owned a distinct advantage in the series with the Wildcats during that time – Minnesota has won the last eight meetings between the programs and 12 of the last 14 dating back to 1991. The two teams tied (18-18) in 1993. The Gophers are 37-13-1 all-time vs. Northwestern. LAST TIME VS. NORTHWESTERN (1/20/06) The top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team won seven of 10 matches in a 24-11 victory against No. 16 Northwestern in the Big Ten opener for both teams on Jan. 20, 2006. The Wildcats jumped ahead 3-0 after eighth-ranked John Velez earned a 6-0 decision against Andrew Domingues at 125 pounds. Minnesota responded with five straight victories, including third-ranked Mack Reiter's 5-2 decision over Daniel Quintela at 133 pounds. The Golden Gophers led 7-3 after Manuel Rivera scored a 14-3 major decision against Marty Gould at 141 pounds. No. 2 Dustin Schlatter put on a clinic with a 17-1 technical fall against Jimmy Kim at 149 pounds, and C.P. Schlatter followed with a 9-4 decision against Greg Hagel at 157 pounds/ Matt Nagel made the score 18-3 with a 3-1 decision against 17th-ranked Will Durkee at 165 pounds. Ninth-ranked Roger Kish defeated 10th-ranked Mike Tamillow, 6-2 at 184 pounds, and top-ranked heavyweight Cole Konrad defeated ninth-ranked Dustin Fox 4-0 to end the meet. Konrad improved his record to 25-0 on the year. THE SERIES VS. PURDUE The Boilermaker wrestling program has not ranked amongst the nation's elite in quite some time (Purdue last finished in the top-five at the Big Ten Championships in 1992), and the J Robinson-led Minnesota Gophers have taken full advantage during that span. The Gophers are 42-17-2 vs. Purdue all-time, and have won nine of the last 10 meetings between the schools. LAST TIME VS. PURDUE (1/28/07) The top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team improved to 14-1 on the season and 3-0 in the Big Ten with a convincing 32-9 victory over Purdue on Jan. 28, 2007 at the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota won seven of 10 matches on the day, earning bonus points in six, to hand the Boilermakers their fourth straight loss. Then-fourth ranked Jayson Ness earned a major decision over Brandon Tucker at 125 pounds, and Roger Kish also picked up a 23-8 technical fall. The closest match of the day was top-ranked Dustin Schlatter's 3-2 win over No. 11 Jake Patacsil at 149 pounds. NESS CONTINUES TO SHINE Although the Gophers endured a rough weekend, it was anything but for top-ranked 125-pound sophomore Jayson Ness. The Bloomington, Minn. native continued to establish himself as one of the nation's top overall wrestlers with dominating wins over No. 3 Charlie Falck of Iowa and No. 16 Tyler Shinn of OSU last weekend. Ness is still just three pins shy of the Gophers' single-season mark (he has 17 entering this weekend) and has scored bonus points in an amazing 82 percent of his matches this weekend (23 of 28). His streak of 29 consecutive wins is the second-longest active streak in Division I. Ness has beaten six ranked wrestlers already this season, including two top-five opponents (Falck and then-No. 1 Paul Donahoe of Nebraska). THE GIANT KILLER RETURNS Last season, Tyler Safratowich earned the reputation of being a giant killer after being inserted into the starting lineup at 165 pounds at Indiana on Feb. 2, 2007. Safratowich picked up the first two Big Ten wins of his career with a pair of impressive upsets over ranked opponents, knocking off No. 16 Max Dean of Indiana and No. 13 Roger Smith-Bergsrud of Illinois in his first two starts at 165. While wrestling at 157 pounds earlier that year, Safratowich also upset No. 2 Brian Stith of Arizona State on Jan. 2. Safratowich eventually earned the first NCAA qualification of his career and was just one win shy of earning All-American status, going 2-2 at nationals. This season, Safratowich began the season platooning with redshirt freshman Scott Glasser at 165 pounds, but took over the job after the start of the new year due to a Glasser injury. Since that time, the junior has been a bright spot in the Gopher lineup and broke through with a big win over No. 5 Jake Dieffenbach of Oklahoma State Sunday. Safratowich is 8-9 over the last two seasons against ranked wrestlers and has two wins over top-five opponents. Safratowich's Ranked Victories: Date Opponent (School) Result 11/18/06 #2 Trent Paulson (Iowa State) Med. For 1/2/07 #2 Brian Stith (Arizona State) D, 4-3 2/2/07 #16 Max Dean (Indiana) D, 10-4 2/4/07 #13 Roger Smith-Bergstrund (Ill.) D, 4-0 3/3/07 #17 Chris Vondruska (Ohio State) D, 6-3 3/15/07 #15 Steve Anceravage (Cornell) D, 8-4 12/30/07 #17 Chris Brown (Old Dominion) Med. For. 2/3/07 #5 Jake Dieffenbach (Okl. State) D, 5-1 OT DRETSCH'S TOUGH STRETCH Gopher senior Gabe Dretsch has put together a fine career at Minnesota, going 101-50 and qualifying for nationals three times. This season, the Frazee, Minn. native has gone 22-8 so far this season and is currently ranked 11th nationally at 174 pounds. While Dretsch is a solid 9-5 in dual meets this season, but the caliber of competition he has faced in recent weeks is second to none. Dretsch has faced a whopping 11 ranked wrestlers since Dec. 29, including seven in a row and six from the top 10. Below is a rundown of Dretsch's recent matches against ranked wrestlers: Date Opponent (School) Result 12/29 #14 Alton Lucas (Hofstra) L, 3-4 12/30 #18 Eric Decker (Virginia Tech) W, 5-2 12/30 #11 Steve Anceravage (Cornell) L, 4-7 12/30 #12 Phil Moricone (Edinboro) W, 5-3 1/12 #3 Brandon Sinnot (C. Michigan) W, 6-3 1/13 #5 Brandon Browne (Nebraska) L, 2-3 1/13 #2 Steve Luke (Michigan) L, 3-5 1/25 #2 Steve Luke (Michigan) L, 3-9 1/26 #19 John Murphy (Mich. State) W, P (0:46) 2/1 #2 Jay Borschel (Iowa) L, 3-8 2/3 #7 Brandon Mason (Okl. State) W, 5-3 MARQUEE MATCH-UPS This weekend's pair of dual meets with Northwestern and Purdue are sure to produce plenty of memorable matches, with Friday's meet against the Wildcats of particular interest. Tenth-ranked Northwestern currently boasts six ranked wrestlers, and that dual meet will feature three battles between ranked wrestlers: 125: #1 Jayson Ness (28-0) vs. #5 Brandon Precin (26-3) 141: #3 Manuel Rivera (25-4) vs. #17 Keith Sulzer (11-4) 174: #11 Gabe Dretsch (22-8) vs. #12 Nick Hayes (16-5) The Wildcats will also send out #5 Ryan Lang (149 pounds), #2 Mike Tamillow (197 pounds) and top-ranked heavyweight Dustin Fox.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -– The Rutgers wrestling program, under the guidance of first-year head coach Scott Goodale, will return to conference action when it faces American on Sunday, Feb. 10, at the College Ave. Gym, starting at noon. The Scarlet Knights (9-6, 4-2) are currently in fifth place in the EIWA, while American (3-11, 1-3) is in ninth place. The Scarlet Knights will be led by junior Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) who is 22-4 on the season at 165 pounds with four major decisions, and redshirt senior Steve Adamcsik (Chester, N.J.) who is 21-5 at 141, including a 10-2 mark in duals and a team-high nine major decisions. American will be led by Christopher Stout at 157 pounds, who is 19-10 on the season, and Mike Cannon at 165 who owns an 18-3 record on the season including a 13-1 mark in duals. RU will hold a special ceremony for former head coach John Sacchi during the match. Sacchi retired in May of 2007 after 40 years in coaching, including the past 17 years at Rutgers. He finished with an astonishing 447-162-9 career record, making him the second winningest coach in college wrestling at any level with regard to dual victories. The match between American and Rutgers will begin at noon on Sunday, Feb. 10, at the College Ave. Gym. Admission is free to the public.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Fifth-year senior David Metzler pinned two opponents and posted a major decision on his way to a third-place showing in the 141-pound weight class at the All-Academy Championships, held last Saturday at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. For his efforts, Metzler has been named Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week and VMI Athlete of the Week, it was announced on Wednesday. Metzler (Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby) pinned Jon Egan from Norwich in 1:48 and Caleb Levee from Navy in 2:06, while scoring his team-leading fifth major decision of the season with a 16-4 win against James Beshada of Merchant Marine. With his three wins, Metzler became VMI's first 20-match winner this season, currently standing at 20-12. He also moved into the top 20 in VMI career wins, now with a 72-53 career mark. Metzler is VMI's second SoCon Wrestler of the Week honoree this season, joining freshman Josh Wine, who earned the award in December. The VMI wrestling team returns to action on Friday evening, hosting SoCon foe Chattanooga at 7:30 p.m. at The Thunderdome.

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 18 Sooners (12-3, 0-2 in Big 12) resume Big 12 competition this weekend in two road duals versus No. 12 Missouri on Friday, Feb. 8, and No. 2 Nebraska on Sunday, Feb. 10. The matchup against the Tigers (7-3-1, 0-1-1 in Big 12) is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and the dual versus the Cornhuskers (11-2, 2-0 in Big 12) will begin at 2 p.m. "We are headed back into the battlefield," head coach Jack Spates said. "The Big 12 is the toughest conference in the nation and we are going to have to be hitting on all cylinders this weekend." Oklahoma is coming off an impressive beating of the Sun Devils of Arizona State last Friday night in Norman by a 31-9 final. After losing the first two matches, OU reeled off eight straight victories and 31 unanswered points to take the win. The 12 wins on the season surpass the overall win total of last year's campaign (11 wins). The Sooners boast a season-high seven wrestlers ranked in the Top 20 this week, led by seniors Joshua Weitzel at 184 pounds (No. 6) and Joel Flaggert at 197 pounds (No. 5). Zack Bailey is ranked No. 15 at 141 pounds and Brian Shelton and Will Rowe are No. 13 at 133 and 149 pounds, respectively. Chad Terry at 157 pounds and Max Dean at 165 pounds are both ranked 20th. Nick Marable leads the Tigers, ranked No. 2 at 165 pounds. Raymond Jordan at 184 pounds is ranked No. 5 and Max Askren is No. 9 at 197 pounds. Mark Ellis at heavyweight (No. 11), 125-pounder Michael Chandler (No. 14) and Josh Wagner at 149 pounds (No. 16) are also ranked among the nation's elite. Nebraska also has seven ranked in this week's poll, including five in the Top 10. Leaders for the Cornhuskers are Paul Donahoe at 125 pounds (No. 4), Brandon Browne at 175 pounds (No. 5) and 149-pounder Jordan Burroughs (No. 7). Kenny Jordan at 133 pounds and Vince Jones at 184 pounds are both No. 9. Stephen Dwyer is No. 10 at 165 pounds and Chris Oliver is No. 16 at 157 pounds. "These matches are what we have been training for and our team is eager to compete," Spates said. "It is definitely time for our guys to step up this weekend on the road." Visit SoonerSports.com for full OU wrestling coverage.