InterMat Staff

Sean Boylan

Mike Duroe

J Robinson and the University of Minnesota wrestling staff will host their 2009 coaches clinic on Oct. 30, 2009. This year's program will include Bill Zadick, Rod Olson and Tim Hartung. Zadick was World Champion in 2006 after claiming both NCAA and Big Ten Championships. A four-time state champion in high school, he was twice a NCAA All-American. Olson is a former NCAA Division I Football coach and founder of the Coaches of Excellence Institute. A Minnesota native, he is also the author of the Legacy Builder Series. Hartung is one of the all-time greats in the history of Gopher Wrestling. He was J Robinson's first two-time NCAA Champion, and was a three-time Big Ten Champion. Also a three-time All-American, he was a member of the 2002 World Team. The Clinic is schedule to begin at 12:00 p.m. on Oct. 30, and registration is due by Oct. 27. For more information please contact Mack Reiter at reit0125@umn.edu or 612-626-7697.

The 3rd Annual Hudson River Fall Wrestling Clinic is set for Sunday, November 1 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Stevens Institute in Hoboken, New Jersey. The clinic will be followed by Stevens Institute team wrestle-offs at 4 p.m. Clinicians: Jerry Rinaldi, Two-time NCAA All-American at Cornell CJ Ettelson, Four-time Iowa state champ, four-time NCAA qualifier at UNI Max Meltzer, All-American at Harvard Matt Palmer, All-American at Columbia John Manarte, Stevens Assistant and NCAA qualifier at Hofstra Mike Clayton, Stevens Head Coach, 2008 NCAA Rookie Coach of the Year & NCAA qualifier at Navy The cost is $35 for wrestlers (includes free t-shirt) and free for parents and coaches.

Head coach Duane Goldman enters the his 18th season at the helm of the IU wrestling program with a large amount of ammo returning from last season's squad which finished 24th at the NCAA's. Seven former NCAA Qualifiers will don the Cream and Crimson for the 2009-10 season, including two big bullets in former All-Americans Angel Escobedo and Matt Coughlin. 125 POUNDS There is little doubt who will man the 125-lbs. slot for Indiana this season as three-time All-American and 2008 National Champion Angel Escobedo returns for his senior season. Following successful offseason surgery to repair his shoulder which forced him to wear a harness for much of last year, he looks to capture his second NCAA title in `10 and become the first four-time All-American in IU history. "Angel is really looking forward to his senior year," said Goldman. "He has a tough weight class coming back with the defending national champion returning, but he expects to regain his spot on top of the awards stand." Another fifth-year senior in Wesley Fike is prepared to fill-in at 125 pounds if needed. Fike has seen some action in the line-up at both 125 and 133 pounds, winning all three contests in the dual-match line-up. He was also the Hoosiers' 125-pound representative at last season's Las Vegas Open. Justin Brooks rounds out the 125-lbs. class. 133 POUNDS Redshirt sophomore Matt Ortega had a strong-hold on the 133-pound weight class a year ago and this season looks to be no different. Ortega, a four-time New Mexico state champion, is a bonus point-producing machine. Sixteen of his 23 wins garnered the extra points, including six major decisions and 10 pins. Geno Capezio provides quality depth in the weight class, coming off a 12-win redshirt season that saw him place in two tournmaments. "Matt gained a lot of starting experience as a freshman that should benefit him greatly this season," said Goldman. "Geno wrestled well in his redshirt competitions, and will really push Matt." 141 POUNDS This is arguably the most wide-open weight class for Indiana heading into the season. A three-man race comprising of freshmen Danny Monaco, Nick Viterisi and Max Ortega will battle it out for time in the line-up. Monaco and Viterisi are redshirt frosh while Ortega begins his first season on the Bloomington campus. Ortega is a five-time state champion from New Mexico and the younger brother of Matt Ortega. "We are going to be a little inexperienced at this weight in terms of varsity action," said Goldman. "But all three have extensive mat time competing in elite tournaments throughout their prep careers. We expect to be very competitive at 141, if not right away, then certainly down the line." 149 POUNDS Redshirt junior Alex Warren is expected to be at 149 pounds early on before fighting to keep his spot in the line-up once the 157-lbs. representative is decided. Warren has cracked the line-up before, winning five of six dual matches. "Alex has a lot of potential there having been an Indiana state champion," said Goldman. Sophomore Jacob Smith is also in the mix at 149 pounds. 157 POUNDS The talent crop at 157 pounds is plentiful, highlighted by the colossal clash between two-time NCAA qualifers Kurt Kinser and Matt Coughlin. Kinser's 18 pins in 2008 are the second most in school history while Coughlin made his way to the All-American stand in 2007, placing seventh at 149 lbs. Each will start the season at 157 lbs. with one dropping to 149 before Big Ten action begins. "They both need to find a way into the line-up," said Goldman. "There is no doubt that they are going to have to earn their way into the line-up this season. It's going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out." Coach Goldman has three additional 157-pound options at his disposal as well. Redshirt freshman Ryan Konz is expected to push the action in that weight while true freshmen Anthony Fretwell and Ross Powell provide increased depth. Konz is a very skilled wrestler out of Tennessee. Fretwell holds the national prep record for most pins in a single season with 68 falls. 165 POUNDS Paul Young cemented himself at 165 lbs. with his strong sophomore campaign a year ago. One of three Bloomington H.S. South products on the roster, Young was the Vito Maurici Leadership Award honoree last season and has flashed noticeable offseason improvements on the mat during early practices. "Paul has set some very high goals for himself," said Goldman. "He really wants to get himself in that All-America contingent, and he has the ability to do just that." Ryan LeBlanc, a top-50 recruit nationally, will like redshirt in 2009-10, but has the necessary skills to fill-in if something were to happen to Young. 174 POUNDS Trevor Perry is set for his fourth consecutive year as Indiana's starter at 174 pounds. He is a three-time NCAA Qualifier, reaching the round of 12 at last season's national tournament. Perry has racked up 24 pins and is tied for 10th on the all-time career pins list heading into his fourth and final season as a Hoosier. "Trevor was so close to stepping on that All-American stand last year, losing a tight match" said Goldman. "He is dedicated to capping off his senior year as an All-American." True freshman Bryce Grimes is an Indiana state runner-up and will join Perry at 174 lbs. 184 POUNDS Indiana's "Most Improved Wrestler" a year ago, Eric Cameron returns at the 184-pound weight class, a starting slot he earned late in the season and converted into a trip to the NCAA's after placing sixth at the Big Ten Championships. Fellow junior Nick Avery is going to challenge him for time in the line-up. Avery has pushed himself into the varsity line-up before and had some strong showings. "Cameron scored points at the NCAA's, and gained a lot of confidence from that experience," said Goldman. "The confidence boost has been a benefit to him this offseason and should help in his quest to succeed in 2010." "Nick is going to serve as strong competition for Eric. He has been a solid performer for us for years now. 197 POUNDS Redshirt sophomore Matt Powless is likely to serve as Indiana's 197-pounder. He showed the ability to compete with "the big boys" last season, defeating several NCAA Qualifiers. His biggest victory came against Purdue's Logan Brown in the waning seconds. His foe was not only ranked No. 13 nationally at the time, but Powless's win also clinched the team triumph over the Boilermakers. He will be joined at practice by Joe Fagiano, who is redshirting this season. Fagiano is a two-time NCAA Qualifier with 40 career wins in two years on his resume. "Matt has gotten much bigger in the offseason and comes in as a more bona fide 197-pounder after starting last year at 184 lbs.," said Goldman. "He will also benefit from having Fagiano in the wrestling room each and every day." True freshman Tanner Kriss, a state champion from Kansas, will likely redshirt. 285 POUNDS Indiana has a pair of senior heavyweights to choose from. Nate Everhart is the favorite to fill the heavyweight role. He is a two-time NCAA Qualifier and notched two wins over nationally-ranked opponents last season. Everhart's offseason workouts have paid off with a big increase in overall strength and muscle mass. Kuhn, meanwhile, is a very tall wrestler who has challenged for varsity spots before at both 197 and 285 pounds. The Indianapolis, Ind., native has competed in a total of 17 duals during his Hoosier career. "Nate is very anxious to get his senior season started," said Goldman. "His confidence level and the experience he has gained over the last couple years are coming to a head." "Justin has prepared himself well to have a good senior year on the mat. We feel very condifent that he could step in for Nate if needed." Columbus North High's Jowan Gill also tips the scales at 200-plus for IU, but is a redshirt candidate for the 2009-10 season.

IOWA CITY, IA -- The defending Big Ten and NCAA champion University of Iowa wrestling team has announced its schedule for the 2009-10 season. The Hawkeyes are set to host seven home events, including duals with 2009 NCAA runner-up Ohio State, perennial power Oklahoma State and Big Ten foe Penn State. Three of Iowa's duals, as well as competition from the Midlands and Big Ten Championships, are scheduled to be aired on the Big Ten Network. The Hawkeyes will also have five duals streamed live and on-demand at www.bigtennetwork.com. Iowa will open the season by hosting the six-team Iowa City Duals Friday, November 20 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes will face Coe at 10:30 a.m., Cornell College at 12 p.m., Iowa Lakes at 1:30 p.m., North Carolina-Pembroke at 3 p.m. and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at 5 p.m. Two other duals will run simultaneously at 10:30, 12 and 1:30 in the round-robin event. The remainder of Iowa's home schedule includes intra-state rival Northern Iowa (Dec. 10, 7 p.m.), Oklahoma State (Jan. 16, 7 p.m.), Penn State (Jan. 29, 7 p.m.), Michigan State (Jan. 31, 6 p.m.), Northwestern (Feb. 12, 7 p.m.) and Ohio State (Feb. 19, 7 p.m.). The Oklahoma State dual will air Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, while the Ohio State dual will be aired taped-delay at 9:30 p.m. Feb. 19. Iowa's duals with Northern Iowa, Penn State, Michigan State and Northwestern will be streamed live and on-demand at www.bigtennetwork.com. The Hawkeyes will open the 2009-10 dual road season Nov. 27 at Bucknell, wrestling the Bison at 3 p.m. and Rutgers at 4:30 p.m. in Lewisburg, PA. Iowa will also face intra-state rival Iowa State (Dec. 6) in Ames before ending the calendar year at the Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30) in Evanston, IL. The Hawkeyes have won the last two Midlands titles. The Big Ten Network will air part of the Midlands tournament Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. Iowa will start 2010 at the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls Jan. 9-10, looking for its third-straight team title at that event. The Hawkeyes' dual road schedule features Big Ten rivals Michigan (Jan. 22), Purdue (Jan. 24), Minnesota (Feb. 14) and Wisconsin (Feb. 21), as well as Utah Valley in Hawkeye senior Phillip Keddy's hometown of Vernal, UT, on Feb. 6. The 2010 Big Ten Championships are scheduled for Mar. 6-7 in Ann Arbor, MI, while the 2010 NCAA Championships will be held Mar. 18-20 in Omaha, NE. The Minnesota dual and portions of the Big Ten Championships will be aired live on the Big Ten Network, while the Wisconsin dual will be streamed live and on-demand at www.bigtennetwork.com. The Big Ten Network is now available to up to 73 million homes across North America through satellite providers such as DIRECTV, DISH Network and Shaw Direct (Canada), telco companies such as Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse, and on cable in 19 of the nation’s top 20 media markets. Fans can find the channel specific to their area and provider by entering their zip code at www.bigtennetwork.com/channelfinder. Wrestling season tickets can be ordered from the UI Athletics Ticket Office, at (319) 335-9327, or online at www.hawkeyesports.com. Tickets are $60 for members of the public and $48 for UI faculty and staff. Single meet prices are $10 for adults and $5 for youth if purchased in advance for the UNI, Michigan State and Northwestern duals, and $13 for adults, $7 for youth and $2 for children ages five and under for the Oklahoma State, Penn State and Ohio State duals. The day of the meet tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for youth for the UNI, Michigan State and Northwestern duals, and $15 for adults, $8 for youth and $2 for children ages five and under for the Oklahoma State, Penn State and Ohio State duals.

Sean Dolan

What ever happened to UMD Wrestling? Tom YoungblomI had no idea when I asked that simple question that the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldog wrestling program would become a part of my life for the next two years. I was interviewing Tom Youngblom, Mora head wrestling coach, for a story about the Mustang wrestling program that would appear in The Guillotine later that year. We were talking about his days as a wrestler and he mentioned he wrestled for UMD in college. I knew UMD at one time had a wrestling program and innocently asked Youngblom the question that started this crazy journey. 'What ever happened to the UMD wrestling program?' His response was the first of many instances where I knew I had to tell this story. Youngblom simply said, "Now THAT would make a good story." I spent most of my college life at UMD. I met my wife while we were both living on campus. We try to go to the North Shore at least once a year and take our kids to visit the campus we both love. My wife and I both transferred to Saint Cloud State for our final year of school, but I have always told people 'I graduated from SCSU, but I went to college at UMD.' I love the city and the school. What I learned since I talked to Coach Youngblom broke my heart. When I was doing some early research for this story, I found plenty of information about what happened at UMD after the wrestling program ended, but very little about the program itself. What got lost in the fallout on the North Shore during the middle to late 1990's was the story of a remarkable program that succeeded despite having nearly every possible obstacle thrown in its way. For thirty years the Bulldog wrestling program conquered nearly every challenge -- until they finally met a foe even they could not defeat. This is the story of the University of Minnesota-Duluth wrestling program and how they changed UMD forever. The Bulldog wrestling program was founded as a club team in 1966. Some students approached former head football coach and athletic director Lloyd Peterson with the idea of starting a club team. Three years later UMD alumni Neil Ladsten was hired by the school to be the head wrestling coach and assistant football coach under head coach Jim Malosky. The year before Ladsten's arrival, the team managed only one win. In Ladsten's first two years the team went a combined 13-11-1. For such a young program, the Bulldogs were on their way. Neil LadstenThe rise to Division II prominence might have happened sooner, but Ladsten was drafted to fight in Vietnam. He enlisted and because of his position as a college teacher, he was put into a delayed entry program. From 1972-74 Ladsten was part of the Military Police and was stationed in Fort Carson Colorado. During that time he was able to take classes at the University of Denver and earn his masters degree. At the same time, the Bulldog wrestling program fell off the map. When Ladsten returned the program was in worse shape than the first time he took over. In two years without Ladsten, the program did not record a dual meet victory. After Ladsten returned, slowly but surely, the program improved. They improved even though Duluth is a hockey crazed area. Of the high schools in Duluth and the surrounding communities very few even have wrestling programs. UMD had little or no home grown talent. The community didn't know much about the sport and according to Ladsten didn't seem to want to learn. The program had no full-time assistant and had a limited budget. "Neil Ladsten had a tremendous wrestling program for not having any high school feeder programs," said former baseball coach and the only current UMD employee who agreed to talk to me, Scott Hanna. "Baseball had all kinds of feeder programs. Football, basketball -- everyone had that up here. You didn't have wrestling up here, yet he would have competitive teams every single year." "We never overspent our budget," said Ladsten. "We would sleep three or four kids to a motel room to save money," said Ladsten. Because of his football commitment and loyalty to Malosky and the football team Ladsten had a limited time to recruit athletes for wrestling. Spring football started during a peak wrestling recruiting time, and without an assistant Ladsten had to recruit on his own while honoring his football responsibilities. He would start each wrestling season later than other wrestling programs to stay with the football team, even though his contract allowed him to start earlier. Ladsten tried to get help from the administration with recruiting and opportunities to do more fund raising, but when he would go to the athletic department to ask for help he never got it. Somehow the program not only survived but it began to thrive. Seven years after he came back, Ladsten had built a conference champion. "We had a close knit group of kids," said Ladsten. "We were in it together." Over the next twelve years UMD would win five more conference championships, have over twenty Division II All-Americans and crown one national champion, Mike Hirschey, in 1987. For the outside observer, and the Bulldog wrestlers, during that time things appeared to have never been better for wrestling on the shores of Lake Superior. Behind the scenes however, things were starting to fall apart. Mike HirscheyThe beginning of the end started slowly for wrestling at UMD. Ironically, the first red flag was born out of Ladsten's desire to help UMD -- the school he graduated from, played football for and had worked for almost his entire adult life. UMD needed to upgrade its training facilities and Ladsten was given the opportunity to design a new athletic locker room as well as design and run a new weight room for the athletes. Ladsten took to the idea and even took the time to earn his strength and conditioning degree. In return, Ladsten asked UMD athletic director Ralph Romano if he could hire his wrestlers, through the work-study program, to supervise the room. He knew it would be a great recruiting tool to get athletes to wrestle in his program -- come to UMD and get paid to work and workout in a new weight room. Romano agreed and Ladsten went about helping the school get a new weight room together. The arrangement was working well for Ladsten and his wrestlers, but that would soon change. While talking to Ladsten and others who were involved in the wrestling program, everyone knew wrestling wasn't important to the athletic administration, but like Coach Youngblom said, "we (the wrestlers) didn't care because we were good." What was important were the two highest revenue and two highest profile programs -- football and at the time UMD's only Division I program, men's hockey. When Romano passed away in 1983 the university hired former UMD hockey player and product of the Iron Range, Bruce McLeod, to take over the athletic director job. McLeod's office was contacted a number of times for comment on this story, but McLeod never replied back. Ladsten and the wrestling program started to get pinched. The locker room Ladsten helped design was originally going to be for the wrestlers and the baseball team, but before long the football team had moved in and relegated the minor sports back to the old locker room. Then Ladsten was starting to get pressure from other coaches to get their kids in the weight room work study program. Soon Ladsten had lost control of who was working in the weight room and lost a great perk for his wrestlers. Even though the wrestlers were getting pushed further and further back by the athletic department, the real trouble -- for all parties involved -- was yet to come. The eventual divorce of UMD from wrestling was ultimately started between two long time co-workers and friends -- Ladsten and Malosky. Malosky's success and longevity -- he became the head coach in 1958 -- had made him sort of the Godfather in the UMD athletic department. Many people I talked to when doing research for this story claimed Malosky often times had more power over decisions than the athletic director -- especially after McLeod was hired. Ladsten played on both the offensive and defensive lines for Malosky's Bulldog football teams and was an All-Conference first team selection in 1967 and 1968. As a senior he served as one of the team captains. He had worked under Malosky as an assistant coach the entire time he was at UMD. Hanna was a freshman offensive lineman Ladsten's senior year. "Neil was a very good football player," said Hanna. "He was a real leader and a good player." In the early 1980's the Bulldogs had a great quarterback who started for three seasons. He was good enough to get a brief look in training camp with the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys. His name was Jim Malosky Jr. -- Head Coach Jim Malosky's son. After his NFL dreams died, Malosky Jr. came to work for his dad as a quarterback coach. Instead of earning the respect of the players, like the rest of the staff, Ladsten felt Malosky Jr. was getting respect by unsavory means. Basically Ladsten (and other coaches on the staff) felt Jim Jr. was getting his respect by making sure the players knew he had the undivided attention of the head coach. Feeling the younger Malosky had more power because of his dad, players felt forced to respect the coach because of an unnatural fear of playing time. Ladsten also felt Malosky Jr. was difficult to work with, was arrogant and was held up above other more experienced coaches by his father. None of this sat well with Ladsten, but to the outside world everyone was still able to get along. With Malosky senior nearing retirement, his son was being groomed to take over the head coaching duties. Ladsten, who had no desire to get the head job, felt more deserving coaches were going to be passed over and he felt there was little he could do about it. Ladsten knew he had no future -- and didn't want a future -- in football. His relationship with Malosky senior had deteriorated, and he could see where the program was headed. He wanted to get out of football to do away with what was becoming an increasingly difficult working environment. He wanted to concentrate on teaching, his responsibilities with the weight room and the wrestling team. Ladsten went to McLeod and explained what he wanted to do. McLeod said no -- Malosky wouldn't allow it. Ladsten then told McLeod about his assistant coach concerns regarding Jim Jr., but McLeod refused to do anything about it. Bruce McLeodNot able to get any help from McLeod, Ladsten went up the chain of command to McLeod's boss -- Greg Fox. He again asked to have a strength and conditioning coach to replace his football duties. Just like before, Fox and the UMD administration did nothing. Not able to get any help from his superiors, Ladsten asked to see the universities nepotism policy. The nepotism policy stated that no one could be hired to work directly under a family member, making the situation with the Maloskys against university policy. Fox heard about Ladsten's sudden interest in university policy and called McLeod, but one year later still nothing changed for Ladsten. Still without any help from his immediate superiors, Ladsten again went up the chain of command to the head of the school, university chancellor Dr. Lawrence Ianni. Ianni told Ladsten he was not the first coach to approach him about the football program and that he would find a way to get him out of football. Ianni also assured him that he need not worry about his future employment at UMD. They would find plenty of things for him to do after he left football. Ianni's promise could never be put into action because he was fired shortly after for incidences not involving the athletic programs. At the time, Ladsten was allowed to officially start his job as wrestling coach around October 15th, but with the football season still going he would stay with football for an extra week before he started his active wrestling duties. Feeling he was running out of options, Ladsten decided it was time to give his full attention to the wrestling team instead of putting it on the back burner until football wrapped up. When the first day of wrestling season came around that season, Ladsten left his football position -- when he was contractually allowed to -- and started in on the wrestling season. When Malosky found out, Ladsten said the head coach was irate. The tension between the two old friends finally had reached a boiling point. Ladsten and Malosky had a good old nose to nose no holds barred argument centered on Ladsten's commitment to the football team. Malosky questioned Ladsten's loyalty to the school and his program and told his assistant that Ladsten owed him because he hired him -- which wasn't true. After again stating his intention to get out of the football program, Ladsten said Malosky finished the argument by saying, "Okay, it's over for you. If that is the way you feel about it, it's over for you". "They maybe had a disagreement about the amount of time put in," said Hanna who in addition to being an assistant football coach, was also UMD's head baseball coach for years. "Ladsten would quit football to go with wrestling before football was over. I don't think Malosky liked that. He wanted him to finish it out. He thought that (Ladsten) didn't have his heart in it. He probably didn't -- his heart was in wrestling. Everybody knew that. It was unfortunate that we had to combine coaches like that. It just doesn't work that well. You've got your own sport and in your heart you want to make that go. I totally understand Neil's position on it." The argument did allow Ladsten to set up a meeting with Fox, who was temporally given the responsibilities of the chancellor until a permanent person was hired, McLeod, Malosky Sr. and himself to discuss getting his job description changed. After everyone laid out their case, Fox sided with Ladsten and told McLeod to change Ladsten's job description and not to touch his salary. Starting the next fall he would be teaching his classes, coaching wrestling and running the training facilities as the school's strength and conditioning coach. Finally Ladsten had been given his leave from football -- or so he thought. The following fall, Ladsten reported to campus ready to resume his duties as strength coach and wrestling coach. On the first day of fall football practice in 1994, while he was attending to his weight room duties, McLeod called him into his office. McLeod told Ladsten he was needed on the football field. Ladsten, obviously caught off-guard, went over the meeting they had had the previous year regarding his responsibilities for this season. McLeod wouldn't budge and told Ladsten that if he didn't report to the football field it would be grounds for dismissal. Ron McClureLadsten tried to call Fox to plead his case, but Fox was out of town and could not be reached. Close to retirement and all the benefits he had earned over his twenty plus years on staff at the school, Ladsten made yet another attempt to buy time and hope the administration would help him out. He went to the business manager at the school and immediately applied for and got a twenty percent leave of absence, with a twenty percent pay cut to cover the portion of his football coaching duties. Ladsten knew the leave of absence was only a one year fix. If he took another year, he would not be able to get his full-time status back. Temporally free from his football duties, Ladsten and the wrestling program had one of their best years. They had three national place winners including Ron McClure who placed second. By coincidence, the football team, who had designs on a conference championship, had its first losing season in many years. After the season wrapped up, Ladsten still had hopes that he would be allowed to stay at the school full-time, free of his football duties. Little did Ladsten know, behind the scenes, the stage was being set to axe the entire wrestling program. While Ladsten was away at a wrestling tournament that year, an off the record, off campus meeting took place at McLeod's home. At the meeting were McLeod, Malosky, men's basketball coach Dale Race and hockey coach Mike Sertich. The purpose of the meeting, which was against university policy because it was off campus, was to deal with the wrestling program. The four men knew Ladsten would have to leave if his pay was cut any more and decided the best way to get rid of him, was to cut one of the campuses most successful programs -- wrestling. The reason they came up with was budgetary problems. The official reason was that "wrestling was a burden on the budget". Over the years and previous to cutting wrestling, UMD has had to cut a number of programs. "They dropped swimming just before I came (to UMD)," said Hanna who now helps with fundraising for the school and is the head equipment manager. "They dropped skiing, they dropped men's tennis, and they dropped men's and women's golf." It was in fact true that UMD, like many collegiate athletic programs, could have used some financial help at the time. The costs with running athletic programs had increased dramatically since the 1970's. Wrestling was not a revenue producing sport and the hockey team -- the biggest revenue generator on campus -- had been struggling in recent years. The state government funds were not able to close the monetary gap. The money coming into the program -- on the books at least -- was not keeping up with the costs associated with a $3 million a year athletic budget. So the wheels were in motion to get rid of Ladsten and his wrestling program because the $65,000 a year budget -- less than three percent of the school's total -- was too much of a burden for the athletic department to shoulder. Tom LamphereAs the news came out that the program was being cut, UMD's athletic department thought it was in the clear and could finally rid itself of Ladsten. The one thing they did not see coming was the one thing they could not stop. They could not stop the UMD wrestling alumni and specifically Jim Paddock and Tom Lamphere. Paddock wrestled for Harding High School and was a walk-on at UMD. He became the Bulldogs first All-American wrestler in 1980. Lamphere wrestled at Robbinsdale-Cooper before enrolling at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and joined the wrestling team. For two years Lamphere was behind an All-American so after his sophomore year, he transferred to UMD. Lamphere was an All-Conference selection his senior year. When word got around that the program was going to be cut, Paddock, Lamphere and about twenty other former Bulldog wrestlers and parents traveled up to the school to meet with the athletic department to see if they could help save the program. Paddock recalled the initial meeting with McLeod to discuss saving the program. "McLeod shook his finger at a room full of teachers, doctors, and other professionals and told us 'I'm going to do what I'm going to do. I'm not afraid of any of you in here,'" Paddock said of McLeod. "'Go ahead, bring it on. I don't care what you do, I don't care who you call. You can call anyone you want -- bring it on.'" Paddock's first reaction was to wonder why McLeod was angry. Paddock and McLeod had always been on good terms, so after the meeting, walking down the hall, Paddock asked McLeod if he could see the budget. Paddock said McLeod told him, "You know what? You can't have the budget." Lamphere mentioned another incident with McLeod. "We were in Bruce's (McLeod) office and I said 'If you have any skeletons in your closet they are going to get jerked out. I remember the expression on his face was very nervous and his knees started tapping on the desk underneath. I had no idea what was going to come out. I thought just some minor stuff." The athletic department's early stonewall of the alumni's attempts to save the program raised enough red flags for Paddock and Lamphere to feel the need to dive into the issue more deeply -- much more deeply. Although they didn't get the answers they were looking for from the administration, their concerns bought the program one more year. UMD told the alumni they will keep the program running one more season to give the alumni the chance to raise enough money to cover the entire wrestling program. It also gave Paddock and Lamphere a year to look into UMD's finances to find a way to permanently save the program. The wrestlers knew raising that much money was going to be impossible, but felt if they were able to look at the athletic department's budget, maybe they could find ways to cut corners and keep the program running. Because of UMD's unwillingness to help, Paddock went on his own to the state archives and to the telephone to attempt to piece together a wrestling budget. Early on in the search it became apparent that it was not just a budget issue. Paddock would find the information and Lamphere would crunch the numbers. Paddock pulled payroll statements, expense accounts, you name it, and Paddock and Lamphere looked at it. Paddock called around to UMD employees and soon found out that the people he talked to knew about a number of under the table deals that were going on. Gifts to coaches, missing tickets, questionable mileage reports, exorbitant cell phone bills, improper hiring practices and even coaches' salaries -- including Malosky Jr.'s -- that were off the university's books, were just the start. The employees were scared to tell their superiors about what they saw because they knew it would mean they would risk being fired. They were able to talk to Paddock because they knew their identity would remain secret. Once Paddock and Lamphere got going and started to get tipped off by anonymous employees, they started to find violations in seemingly every form. "All of the sudden," said Lamphere, "this didn't just become a wrestling thing; it became a whole bunch of stuff." At the center of much of the improper hiring practices was Malosky Jr. Not only was he one of the coaches being paid with money that was off the books, he didn't meet the minimum educational requirements (to coach for the University of Minnesota you need to have a college degree), and of course his hiring was against the school's nepotism policy. Football was not the only program with hiring issues. The women's basketball program had a brother working as an assistant to his sister. They found a pull tab operation called the Cloquet Connection that was supposed to be giving money to UMD that was being run illegally. They found donations that were meant to go to the wrestling program not being accounted for and not getting anywhere near the wrestling program. An assistant coach was given a $12,000 bonus from a fund raiser that was supposed to go to purchasing supplies for the department. Despite all those findings, the worst was yet to come. Jim PaddockWhen Lamphere and Paddock went to the UMD general counsel with their findings, they hoped the school would do what was necessary to clean up the problems. When the UMD administration weighed what the alumni had claimed to have found and what McLeod was claiming -- they took McLeod's side. Lamphere and Paddock told them if the administration didn't take their findings seriously, they would have to go to the press. "We really tried," said Lamphere, "we really tried in meetings with McLeod, with Fox and then with the main U to say there is a problem here, let's address it in house. They would not do it." "They got angry at us," said Paddock. "They got angry at Tom (Lamphere), they got angry at us for bringing these issues forward. They said we were renegades. We were rouges, because we were out to hurt the university and we didn't bring it to anybody (outside of the school). Then after they absolutely thumbed us and told us to get out of here, that's when we went to the press." "They were ready to play hard ball," said Lamphere. "Greg Fox said you better have a lot of money and a lot of time, because the University has deep pockets and they will stretch this thing out. The only thing that Jimmy (Paddock) and I had on our side was the truth." Eventually Star Tribune reporter Larry Oakes was contacted and spoke with the alumni. Oakes left that first meeting and told his editors that "if one third of what these guys are saying is true, we've got a story." After looking into the findings, he found out that everything Paddock and Lamphere claimed was true. This launched an investigation that uncovered more than anyone could have expected. The results of the investigation revealed money from every direction was getting funneled to hockey, football, basketball and McLeod's bank account. The most glaring misuse of funds was UMD's handling of tax payer money that was supposed to go to women's athletics. The State of Minnesota gave UMD over $5 million dollars of tax payer money over fifteen years to improve women's athletics. Paddock and Lamphere found out and the Star Tribune confirmed that most of it ended up supporting the hockey, football and men's basketball programs. According to the Star Tribune, in 1994 the state gave UMD over $600,000 to improve women's athletics. UMD's total women's athletic budget for the 1994-95 school year was just over $322,000. "(McLeod) had completely gutted it," said Paddock. "He paid hockey coaches out of it; he paid tutors out of it. He had paid for gifts and stuff out of it." Although the amount of money might not have been that much, two different sources of money, if handled the way they were intended would have made sure the wrestling program was not so much of a "burden on the budget" as originally claimed. Shortly after the conclusion of what would be the second to last (and what UMD had hoped would be the last) season of Bulldog wrestling, Ladsten and a couple of his senior wrestlers were invited to a banquet put on by a Duluth charity group called The Duluth Optimist Club. At the time the Optimists donated to many different groups around the Duluth area. Towards the end of the banquet, the Optimists were going over the minutes of the meeting and mentioned the monthly contribution of $800 dollars that was to go to the UMD wrestling program. Ladsten was shocked and embarrassed. He had never been told by the athletic department about the charitable contribution and never received the funds. Ladsten was in the uncomfortable position of trying to thank them for years of donations that he never received and therefore never bothered to thank the Optimists for. When word got around that the wrestling team was being cut and the alumni went to the administration to attempt to save the wrestling program, emotions were running high. New chancellor Kathryn Martin, who was also contacted more than once to comment on the story, but didn't respond, especially took offense to some of the comments that were thrown her way by the people supporting the wrestlers. Because of those comments, Martin said to the press, "I don't know why anyone would want to support a sport that has fans like that." As a lifelong wrestling fan, my first reaction -- after anger towards the Chancellor -- was to wonder who and to what she was referring to. When I found out who she was referring to, I was furious. Bob Labat was born in Marshal Minnesota and was a 1959 graduate of Saint John's University in Collegeville. While in college, one of his roommates wrestled for the Jonnies and sparked an interest in the sport for Labat. After moving to Wayzata with his wife to start a family, the Labat's raised four boys: Paul, Tim, David and Patrick. Labat and his boys got interested in wrestling and never let up. The Labat boys got involved in the Minnesota Wrestling Federation, and competed in freestyle competitions. The boys and their father also got involved in AAU wrestling programs when the boys were young. Bob was so involved he helped merge the AAU and MWF and became involved in U.S. Olympic wrestling and what would become the predecessor to the Minnesota Storm. Labat's real passion was watching his sons wrestle. Paul and Tim both would go on to make it to State and then went on to wrestle in college. Paul wrestled at his father's alma mater -- Saint John's. After a high school career that saw him make two state tournaments, Tim wrestled at Willmar Community College for two years before enrolling at UMD in 1984. In 1985 while Tim was at UMD Paul was killed in a hunting accident. Bob wanted to do something to honor his son so he raised money in his son's name to help the SJU wrestling program. He set up a fund in his son's name to continually contribute to the program. The original principle was not going to be touched and the interest earned would be split -- some would go to the wrestling program and some would go back into the principle to continue to grow the fund. Each year SJU would provide the Labat's with mailings thanking them for their contribution and updating them on the funds status and where the money was being spent. They would ask for Labat's input on how to handle the money. To this day, the fund is alive and well and helping to support, among other things, the wrestling program. Tim Labat"Tim ended up not going back (to UMD) at the start of his senior year because of Paul's death," said Labat. "Patrick, my youngest son, and Tim were really close. (Patrick) was having a really hard time with Paul's death, so Tim stayed home that fall to be close to Patrick. Unfortunately, in late October of 1986, Tim got on his motorcycle to ride up to Saint John's to see his brother David who was a freshman up there." On his way to campus, Tim was hit by a semi truck and was killed instantly -- ten months after Paul passed away. By his own admission, at this time Bob was a basket case. Who could blame him? He had lost two sons in less than a year. Despite that, he wanted to honor Tim the same way he honored Paul -- with a donation to help his son's wrestling program. Through fundraisers and donations the Labat family was able to donate nearly $10,000 dollars to start the fund. The money was given over to UMD. "In order for people to get a tax write-off as a charitable contribution this was being handled through the athletic department at UMD and from a financial standpoint McLeod was handling the fund." "When Timmy died," said his father, "I just thought it would work the same way (as the Saint John's fund). I really didn't do any double checking." "I was a basket case. I had two sons die ten months apart. When Timmy's death occurred it was a devastating blow. I really could have cared less if someone did something or not. I left it up to the school. It was a tough, tough time for me." "I don't think I ever got a single acknowledgment from UMD on that fund. I never had any official acknowledgment or a statement on how much it was or how it was used, but I never doubted that any school would not handle the funds given to them in a less than proper fashion." One group that did handle Tim Labat's death in the proper fashion was his teammates. Teammates from UMD and Willmar dedicated the season to him. Tim's former roommate and UMD wrestler Mike Hirschey honored his deceased friend. "Mike was a real good high school wrestler," said Labat. "He didn't do well up there (at UMD) his junior year at all. He just never got going. With Tim's death," Labat continued, "Mike dedicated his senior year to be a champ for UMD and by God he was. I will never forget it. He called me at home the night before he wrestled in the National finals and told me 'I just want to let you know I am wearing Timmy's shorts out to the championship match that I am going to win for him. He called me again ten or fifteen minutes after the championship match to tell me he won the National championship." When word of the wrestling program's demise surfaced, one of the people involved early was Bob Labat. He thought the memorial fund he had set up was active and earning interest each year. "When I found out the program was going to be canceled," said Labat, "that's when I started to get concerned. I wanted those funds to be used to prevent the program from being canceled, but there was not a proper accounting of the fund. I thought the $6000 or so dollars (initially) would have been earning 5% for about 300 bucks, what's that going to do? So I thought use whatever is there and keep the program going. We can always start a (new) memorial fund for Tim; we don't need a fund for him. We need (the money) to keep the program going." The school claimed the fund had $13,000 dollars in it. In reality, the fund should have had $25,000 dollars in it. Labat's continued questioning of the administration finally helped the true amount of the fund come to light. When UMD could not come up with a way to document where the money had gone, Labat was upset. In a meeting that did not involve Martin, Lamphere said Labat made his point very clear that if his son's funds were not looked into, Labat would "be very angry." Lamphere said Labat basically said he was coming after Martin's job. "Everyone in that room knew what an emotional father was saying about his dead son" said Lamphere. "Could have Bob used better words? Sure, but with an emotional father I am not going to start scrambling over words when you are dealing with such a deep issue. For Kathryn Martin to turn around and start telling people that the wrestlers are physically threatening her was just not correct. Jimmy Paddock had to get an attorney; I had to send a letter saying this didn't happen." When word got back to Martin, she went to the press and used Labat's comments to feed the notion that the wrestlers were just a bunch of disgruntled people. If anyone had a reason to be disgruntled, it was Ladsten. UMD had been trying to get him to resign and after the final season of wrestling, Ladsten was expecting to be let go, but if Ladsten was able to finish the year, he would qualify for something called the Rule of 75. It is a benchmark for teachers at public universities to qualify for retirement benefits. The basic rule then was, once a teacher's age and time served at his or her place of employment equal 75 they qualify for retirement benefits. Lamphere was told by Fox that they were going to fire Ladsten. "I don't think I would do it right now," Lamphere told Fox. "You are going to have a big lawsuit on your hands, cutting him loose a year before he reaches the Rule of 75. So they kept Neil on for an extra year, but it was a brutal year for him." According to Ladsten they didn't let him go because they wanted to be able to fire him for cause. "They were trying to peg things -- like illegal use of the copy machines on me," said Ladsten. "They were trying to schedule meetings and not tell me so I purposely wouldn't show up and be derelict of my duty. So then when I terminate I won't get my severance benefits." Ladsten had hired an attorney to oversee his final days and to make sure when he was told something by the administration they would have to follow through. His attorney sent a letter to the administration telling them to give his client an answer on his employment status one way or another. Even though the wrestling team was gone, the school offered to take Ladsten back full-time. Ladsten had stayed through everything because he didn't want to abandon his wrestlers. After being repeatedly "stabbed in the back" by the administration, once he saw there was no hope for his wrestlers anymore he walked into McLeod's office and asked that the severance package he was offered originally be put back on the table. Two days later, the papers had been signed and after twenty-seven years as an employee and four more as a student, Ladsten walked off of the UMD campus and has never returned. Even with Ladstan and wrestling gone, the story for McLeod and UMD was far from over. Most damning for McLeod was not that the money from Minnesota taxpayers and from private donors to the school was getting funneled into the coffers of football, boy's basketball and hockey instead of women's programs. It was also revealed that McLeod was diverting funds from the athletic budget into his own bank account. The investigation revealed he had stolen at least $18,000 over a period of years and used it for his own benefit. He signed a statement for the county admitting he took the funds. He was forced to pay back the money and was placed into a diversion program that stated if he kept his nose clean for a period of time, he would not have to receive any additional punishment. When the indictment came down, the University was finally forced to fire McLeod. Unbelievably, two things occurred. At the press conference when he stepped down, most of the UMD athletic department still stood behind McLeod. More amazingly, over the previous couple of years, in addition to his duties at UMD, McLeod was the head of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the conference that UMD, is associated with. When word of the guilty plea came down, the board kept him on as the leader and face of the WCHA. "(McLeod) had a lot of friends at UMD," said Hanna. "He had a lot of friends in academia at UMD." "The Board looked the other way," said Oakes. "I remember them telling me 'we never saw any evidence that he would do that to the WCHA.' Board members reacted like the charges were dropped -- they were going away. They were not dropped. He was given the diversion option." Oakes continued, "They (the Board) believed Bruce. They chose not to internalize it. They basically sent the message that (the WCHA) doesn't mind being led by a man who admitted taking $18,000. That's okay with us. What's eighteen grand between friends? If I took my hand and shaped it like a gun and I walked into Super America, put it in my coat and said, 'give me everything in the till -- let's say there is $600 -- and I walked out with it. I would go to prison if they caught me. Stealing $18,000 -- that's okay? Instead of a gun (McLeod) did it with a pen. He took it not from a private business -- he took it from a bunch of sports fans, tax payers and kids." In McLeod's case, it pays to have powerful friends -- that is what this whole thing seemed to come down to. Almost to a man, everyone I interviewed -- Martin and McLeod never returned any of the numerous emails I sent them asking for help on this story -- said that the Duluth area was very protective of their sports programs. They take pride in what they have accomplished and they take pride in those who have become successful from the area. McLeod was an Iron Range kid who played for UMD and was well liked in the community. "I knew," said Labat, "if we try to prosecute this in Saint Louis county, we are not even going to get to first base. The Saint Louis county people are going to protect their own. UMD is their crown jewel up there. They are not going to do anything to cause a negative outlook on the university." Malosky was one of the most successful Division II football coaches in history. When Malosky and McLeod spoke, people wanted to believe them. Even when it was proven that they had made mistakes and in McLeod's case, criminal mistakes (more than what is mentioned here), they looked the other way and continued to protect, as Oakes put it, "the sacred cow" that was UMD athletics. This also was a story of fear. Many people knew about the illegalities that were occurring in the athletic department, but until Ladsten started to ask questions, it was kept hidden. "Neil Ladsten, I believe," said Lamphere, "lost his job because he started to stand up and say there is something wrong here. When he went to Greg Fox and said 'I need to show you the truth', Greg did not want to look at it. Well what happened to Neil? He was fired. What happens is when people see that happening, somebody standing up for the truth, and they are fired, they say, I'm not going to do that. I can't lose my job. Where else am I going to get a job in Duluth? And so everyone was quiet. That was the thing -- Jimmy and I had nothing to lose. They had never dealt with that before." Even today, there is a fear of McLeod by people in athletics. I spoke to a former UMD coach who will remain nameless, about McLeod. The former UMD coach said to me, "I do have to be careful. I am in athletics right now. Mr. McLeod is the commissioner of the WCHA. I just have to be really careful because my whole life and career is still in athletics." It would be foolish of me to conclude that the demise of the wrestling program was because of any one person. The mismanagement of the funds UMD did have, played a big role in dropping wrestling, but rising costs and shrinking revenue were no doubt part of the reason wrestling was dropped at UMD. Even without the problems Ladsten had with the administration ,wrestling might have been doomed. Hanna and the other former UMD coach both told me eventually a decision had to be made. Did the school want to keep more programs and have them all struggle financially or did they want a smaller number of teams who financially would be able to thrive? I am not going to argue with that logic. I can see both sides to that argument. What everyone at UMD is still unwilling to admit -- something Ladsten, Paddock and Lamphere all told me would happen -- was the investigation and the work the wrestlers did to expose the illegalities was brushed aside by UMD. They claim these changes were coming anyway. As hard as I find that to believe, the change -- if made -- would have been superficial. They were not about to change the culture of the athletic department unless someone made them. I have been asked more than once if I thought UMD would ever get wrestling back. I have to laugh when I am asked that question. I believe as long as Chancellor Martin is in charge, wrestling will never be a part of UMD athletics. She was thrown into this hornets nest early in her time as Chancellor and decided to believe what ended up being the wrong side. Her first reaction to the aggressive tactics used by Paddock and Lamphere was to try to marginalize them and paint them as disgruntled renegades. Jerry HoyI believe things got personal on both sides and enough bad blood remains that the scar will never heal. Lamphere's daughter, after this whole episode ended, was a college student at UMD. Lamphere has been trying to get on the UMD alumni mailing list to get updates on the school, and despite repeated attempts, has never been sent one piece of mail. Despite all the success on the mat Ladsten and his wrestlers had, only two wrestlers are in the UMD Hall of Fame. The first, Jerry Hoy, was inducted just as the scandal was coming about and the second, McClure, was elected into the Hall last year. The timing was too much of a coincidence for Ladsten. The former coach and the administration had not contacted each other once since Ladsten's departure almost fifteen years ago. Shortly after I sent my first email to UMD asking about the wrestling program, Ladsten received a call asking about McClure and his records. Ladsten thinks UMD needed to act fast and get another wrestler into the Hall in advance of this story and because they destroyed virtually everything associated with the wrestling program they needed McClure's information and records. With all the history behind Ladsten and UMD the chances of Coach Ladsten getting into UMD's Hall of Fame are about as good as mine, but that has not stopped others from recognizing his contribution to the sport. In a unanimous vote, the Minnesota wing of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame has voted him in for the Class of 2009. He will be inducted this spring. For UMD this story is sad in many ways, but I kept coming back to two points I still cannot understand. The first was how easily the school could have avoided all the scandals, but like Paddock said to me the first time I talked to him, "stupidity and ignorance go hand in hand". At so many points, all anyone in the UMD athletic department had to do was realize the easiest course of action would have been to keep the wrestling program and allow Ladsten to get out of the football program. At the very least it would have made for a more peaceful coaching staff, and it would have prevented the alumni investigation. Even though Malosky Jr.'s imperfect resume might have been exposed to the people inside UMD, without the investigation Malosky Jr. would likely have been the head football coach following in his father's publicaly untarnished footsteps. McLeod would still have been the athletic director (and would still have the $18,000) to go with his duties with the WCHA. Instead, the belief that they could ride it out gave the school its biggest black eye. How Bruce McLeod survived this scandal is the second point I just don't understand. Despite admitting to stealing taxpayer money -- money that was supposed to help kids -- he still leads one of the most powerful conferences in NCAA hockey. The WCHA as an organization has decided repeatedly that they are okay having an admitted felon lead their organization. The members of the WCHA are okay having someone who admitted to stealing -- essentially from them -- at least $18,000. They are fine with a leader who oversaw a program that was out of control and did nothing to slow it down and in fact contributed to the corruption. On the other hand, as Lamphere said, they were not able to save the wrestling program, but they were able to force UMD to make positive changes. They were changes that UMD might have been forced to make eventually anyway, but the wrestlers accelerated the process. Kathryn MartinOne of the positive aspects to this story is the money that was supposed to go to women's athletics eventually got there. Funding for women's programs across the board at UMD have improved and have given the women in those programs, more opportunities to pursue their dreams. One of the things Paddock and Lamphere went after was the need to get an equivalent Division I women's program started to balance out the men's hockey team under Title IX. Paddock filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights stating that UMD needed an equivalent Division I women's program to off-set the men's team. Originally Martin, who has decided to retire at the end of the 2009-10 school year, went on record saying that UMD will never have a women's DI hockey team. The complaint forced the administration to start the formation of the team. UMD's women's hockey team has won multiple national championships and is consistently one of the best in the country. I wish the Bulldog wrestling program still existed so that there would be that many more spots for kids to continue with their wrestling careers. I wish it still existed for kids like Tim Labat. "Timmy would have never gone to college if it hadn't been for wrestling," said his father. "He had dyslexia; he had other learning disability problems. If it hadn't been for wrestling, he never would have gone to three years of college. It was a classic example of a sport that had a great impact on a young man. He loved the sport and the people that he met in the sport." I wish it still existed for Coach Ladsten and his wrestlers who, against all odds, built a program that competed year in and year out at or near the top of Division II wrestling. In the end it became something bigger than it ever could have been had it stayed in existence. Although the school will not admit it, the program they tried so hard to kill lives on. It lives on every time young kids play on the soccer fields that were built with the money recovered from the Optimists and the Labat fund. It lives on every time a young woman is given a scholarship to get an education and compete on a team for the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The Bulldog wrestling program lives on with every women's hockey championship that UMD wins. "Somewhere there is a little girl," said Lamphere, "strapping up her skates that is going to have a chance to play DI hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. If it wasn't for Jimmy Paddock, doing what he did, this wouldn't have happened." By the way, Paddock and Lamphere, those disgruntled renegades UMD has cast as the bad guys in all of this -- are an assistant principal, and a sports chaplin for the Athletes in Action organization. What ever happened to the UMD wrestling program? Regardless of how hard Minnesota-Duluth tries to erase it from memory, they cannot. Because of what it has helped create, the UMD wrestling program will live on -- forever. This story also appears in the October 16 issue of The Guillotine.

The Journeymen/ASICS Sprawl & Brawl College Wrestling Duals (Binghamton University) and The Northeast Collegiate Wrestling Duals (Hudson Valley Community College - Troy NY) are slated to take place November 22 and November 28 2009 respectively. Nearly 1/3 of all D-I NCAA College wrestling teams will be competing in NY State within a 6-day period. Nationally ranked teams in 7th annual The Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Collegiate Wrestling Duals: Nebraska, Maryland, C Michigan, Virginia, Lehigh, American University, Hofstra and Penn Former local talent are on various rosters and could see mat time: Nate Graham (Ravena – Bloomsburg) Mike Chaires (CBA – Virginia) Matt Cubillos (Guilderland – Virginia) Zach Clemente (LaSalle – Virginia) Austin Meys (Shen – Lehigh) Matt Kaylor (Burnt Hills – Binghamton) Brandon Lapp (Maple Hill – Sacred Heart) Ed Gavin (Corinth - Sacred Heart) Ben Krakower (Albany Academy/Blair - American) Ken Altrac (LaSalle/Appalachian State) Pat Popolizio (Niskayuna/Binghamton - Coach) Andy Seras (Niskayuna/Binghamton – Coach) Carl Fronhofer (Salem/Columbia – Coach) Entertainment – Lehigh’s Pep Band, Breeze team Break dancing, Music, Special appearance by UFC legend Randy Couture. Tickets $20 Nationally ranked teams in the 3rd annual Journeymen/ASICS Sprawl & Brawl College Wrestling Duals: Illinois, Penn St, Edinboro, Northern Iowa, Wyoming and Michigan State. Former section IV residents participating : JP O’Connor - Harvard (NCAA All American - Athlete) Donnie Vinson - Binghamton Garrett Morabito - Binghamton Brad Penrith - Northern Iowa (Coach) Joe Privitere - Davidson College (Coach) Tickets $15 Come witness wrestling greatness – Right in our own backyard.

CHICAGO -- The Big Ten Network will double its coverage of wrestling this season, with television coverage of the Big Ten Championships, the Midlands Classic and nine duals. In addition, the network will stream 15 more duals on www.BigTenNetwork.com. "Once again, the Big Ten is the nation’s most dominant wrestling conference, and we’re pleased to bring fans even more wrestling coverage than ever before," Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said. Coverage begins on Dec. 10 with an in-state battle between Iowa and Northern Iowa. The action heats up in January with the Midlands Classic in Evanston, which will be televised at 7 p.m. ET on Jan. 3. The network will televise a dual match on many Friday and Sunday nights in January and February, culminating with live coverage of the Big Ten Championships at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 7, from the campus of the University of Michigan. Nearly all of the televised events will air live, or on a same-day delay basis to avoid schedule conflicts with men’s basketball and hockey. Streamed events will be available live and on-demand at www.BigTenNetwork.com. The network has made a significant financial investment to provide fans with a high-quality streaming experience that is comparable to watching an event in high definition. Every Big Ten Conference team was ranked in the final 2009 InterMat Top 25 poll, including No. 1 Iowa, No, 2 Ohio State, No. 8 Illinois, No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 11 Michigan, No. 13 Northwestern, No. 15 Minnesota, No. 17 Penn State, No. 23 Purdue, No. 24 Indiana and No. 25 Michigan State. The Big Ten Network is now available to up to 73 million homes across North America through satellite providers such as DIRECTV, DISH Network and Shaw Direct (Canada), telco companies such as Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse, and on cable in 19 of the nation’s top 20 media markets. Fans can find the channel specific to their area and provider by entering their zip code at www.bigtennetwork.com/channelfinder. 2009-10 BIG TEN NETWORK WRESTLING SCHEDULE Event Air Date Air Time Outlet Northern Iowa at Iowa Thursday, Dec. 10 7 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Midlands Classic Sunday, Jan. 3 7 PM ET (delay) Big Ten Network Oklahoma State at Iowa Sunday, Jan. 17 7 PM ET (delay) Big Ten Network Illinois at Penn State Friday, Jan. 22 7 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Minnesota at Michigan State Friday, Jan. 22 7 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Indiana at Wisconsin Friday, Jan. 22 8 PM ET (LIVE) Big Ten Network Illinois at Michigan State Sunday, Jan. 24 1 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Penn State at Ohio State Sunday, Jan. 24 7 PM ET (same-day delay) Big Ten Network Wisconsin at Minnesota Friday, Jan. 29 7 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Penn State at Iowa Friday, Jan. 29 TBD (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Penn State at Wisconsin Sunday, Jan. 31 2 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Illinois at Northwestern Sunday, Jan. 31 7 PM ET (same-day delay) Big Ten Network Michigan State at Iowa Sunday, Jan. 31 TBD (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Northwestern at Penn State Friday, Feb. 5 7 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Minnesota at Illinois Friday, Feb. 5 8 PM ET (LIVE) Big Ten Network Purdue at Michigan State Sunday, Feb. 7 7 PM ET (same-day delay) Big Ten Network Michigan State at Penn State Friday, Feb. 12 7 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Northwestern at Iowa Friday, Feb. 12 TBD (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Iowa at Minnesota Sunday, Feb. 14 7 PM ET (LIVE) Big Ten Network Northwestern at Wisconsin Friday, Feb. 19 7 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Penn State at Minnesota Friday, Feb. 19 7 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Ohio State at Iowa Friday, Feb. 19 10:30 PM ET (same-day delay) Big Ten Network Indiana at Michigan State Sunday, Feb. 21 1 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Iowa at Wisconsin Sunday, Feb. 21 1 PM ET (LIVE) www.BigTenNetwork.com Michigan at Northwestern Sunday, Feb. 21 7 PM ET (LIVE) Big Ten Network Big Ten Championships Sunday, March 7 2 PM ET (LIVE) Big Ten Network About the Big Ten Network: The Big Ten Network is the first nationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With approximately 350 live events, and nearly all of them in HD, the network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The network operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, showcasing a wide array of classic-to-current sports and televising more Olympic sporting events and women’s sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation’s finest universities. Each year, the network offers between 35 and 40 football games, 105 regular season men’s basketball games; 55 women’s basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; Big Ten Tonight, a nightly studio show; coaches’ shows; and classic games. Available to all cable and satellite providers nationwide and in Canada, the network currently has agreements with more than 300 affiliates, including AT&T U-Verse, Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox (Cleveland, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas), DirecTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct (Canada), Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. For updated information on the Big Ten Network, go to www.BigTenNetwork.com.

Chris Dardanes

Nick Dardanes

Matt Greenberg

Mark Manning

Robert Kokesh

Anthony Curcio

DES MOINES -- It was announced Monday that MediaCom in Iowa will air the new weekly TV version of Takedown Wrestling Radio. TDR TV, a 30 minute weekly wrestling news program will be added to its offerings on their channel MC-22. TDR TV News offers coverage of collegiate and international styles of wrestling in a sports news format. TDR TV will begin it's affiliation with MediaCom and Connections Channel 22 beginning the week of October 26th, 2009 for its 29th episode. . "We're very pleased to add MediaCom as the anchor to our affiliates family," said Scott Casber, founder of both TDR TV and its partner radio program Takedown Wrestling Radio. "MediaCom continues to deliver quality sports programming to its viewers and we're very happy to be included in their state-wide presentation. MediaCom has continued to support wrestling in its offerings to its loyal viewers and we encourage wrestling fans to support them," added Casber. For a complete listing of MediaCom's offerings visit Connections22.com. About MediaCom- Mediacom Connections is a channel dedicated to programming in our local communities, about our local communities. Presently, eight head ends (transmitter sites) around the state of Iowa and portions of Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and South Dakota, provide shows that originate from their viewing area. Missouri programming will be joining the network in the coming months. In the fall of 2005, the Mediacom Connections began network coverage with programming mastered out of Des Moines. Connections22.com About TDR TV- About TDR TV: TDR TV news is a weekly sports news program designed to entertain, inform and educate fans on the sport of wrestling. The TDR TV program is a combined effort of the long running Takedown Wrestling Radio program from radio and internet. Hosted by Scott Casber, the show is produced in Des Moines, Iowa with a goal of continual coverage and promotion of the sport and wrestling community. See More at TakedownRadio.com

Tom Brands

The matches are set for the 2009 California Community College North-South All-Star Dual Meet, which takes place October 24 in Seaside, California. The event starts at 4 p.m. Starting Team Selections: 125 Galen Williams (Fresno City College), North vs Steve Salinas (Mt. San Antonio College), South 133 Daniel Osmer (Fresno Cith College), North vs Angel Garcia (Palomar College), South 141 Stephan DeLaCruz (Chabot College), North vs John Marchona (East Los Angeles College), South 149 Mike Vasser (Sierra College), North vs John Banke (Cuesta College), South 157 Tim Navarette (Shasta College), North vs Clayton McFarlane (Palomar College), South 165 Fernando Lucatero (Fresno City College), North vs Nico Phillips (Mt. San Antonio College), South 174 Joe Cisneros (Fresno City College), North vs AJ Smith (Bakersfield College), South 184 Jesus Chavez (Sierra College), North vs George Munoz (Mt. San Antonio College), South 197 Ryan Scarr (Sierra College), North vs Brad Carls (Bakersfield College), South 285 Austin Garza (Fresno City College), North vs Frank Ayala (Mt. San Antonio College), South North All-Stars Head Coach Jake Fitzpatrick (Santa Rosa Junior College) South All-Stars Head Coach Kent Olson (West Hills College)

Takedown Wrestling Radio and its TV/Internet partner TDR TV have united in effort with the National Collegiate Wrestling Association in promoting the sport of wrestling. Today the NCWA has mounted and will present on a regular basis TDR TV news on its home page at NCWA.net "The NCWA is an important addition to our affiliate program," said Scott Casber, Founder and Host of TDR TV. "The NCWA and its 150 plus member collegiate teams have experienced extended and continued growth over the last 13 years and we're very pleased to be a part of their success." The NCWA and it 150 member programs are a strategic component to the rebuilding of America's collegiate wrestling infrastructure. The NCWA operates in many areas and states where there are little or no NCAA D1, D2 or D3 programs. They play an important role in redeveloping our wrestling community. The NCWA projects its growth to the year 2015 when they expect member participation to be in excess of 300 programs. We see TDR TV as an integral part of communication within the wrestling community,” said NCWA Executive Director Jim Giunta, and are looking forward to working with Scott Casber and his team to get the word out about the NCWA and it’s member institutions. TDR is a class operation and we are blessed to be part of their network.” About the NCWA: The NCWA was founded with the student athlete in mind. We are composed of non-paid volunteers committed to helping our young people accomplish their goals and dreams, and to reach for excellence in everything they do. Through athletic endeavor, team leadership responsibilities and community involvement, NCWA students will leave college life to meet a competitive world head on. They will have been equipped through their academic involvement and athletic success to take the competition to the mat, score and emerge a champion. We encourage you to take the next step in expanding the way your school sees student involvement in athletics. Join us in changing lives. About TDR TV: TDR TV news is a weekly sports news program designed to entertain, inform and educate. The TDR TV program is a combined effort of the long running Takedown Wrestling Radio program from radio and internet. Hosted by Scott Casber, the show is produced in Des Moines, Iowa with a goal of continual coverage and promotion of the sport and wrestling community. See More at TakedownRadio.com

TEMPE -- Charlie Tribble, one of the first All-Americans in Arizona State University wrestling history and a supporter of wrestling’s growth in the Valley of the Sun, both on the collegiate and high school level, passed away on Saturday, October 17, at the age of 67. A native of Indio, Calif., Tribble came to Tempe in the early 1960s to compete for both the Sun Devil wrestling and football programs. Tribble helped to make history for the program as he joined teammates Glenn McMinn Sr. and Buzz Hayes at the 1965 NCAA Wrestling Championships that were held at Wyoming with all three collecting All-America honors by placing in the Top 8 of the national tournament. In his lone season on the mats for the Sun Devils, Tribble competed at 177 pounds and won the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) title at his weight, making him the first African-American in program history to become a conference champion and an All-American. Seeded third at his weight class, Tribble received a bye in the first round of the NCAA Championships before pinning Lee Hall (Pittsburgh) in the second round at 1:47. He then downed sixth-seeded Gerry Franzen (Navy), 3-0, in the quarterfinals before falling in a 6-0 decision to second-seeded and eventual champion Tom Peckham (Iowa State) in the semifinals. In the consolation rounds, Tribble bounced back with a pair of wins by fall as he stuck Chris Stowell (Michigan) in 1:01 of the consolation semifinal and then Roger Mickish (Oklahoma) in 1:40 of the medal match to take third overall. With his three pins in 4:28, Tribble was awarded the Gorrarian Award (most pins in least time). Before his run at the national collegiate event, Tribble made history for the program as he stepped onto the international stage as an Olympian at the 1964 Tokyo Games. Competing in freestyle at 77kg (170 pounds), Tribble received a tough draw and was pinned in his first and only match at 4:11 by Ismail Ogan of Turkey. Ogan would later go on to win the gold medal. Historically at ASU, Tribble holds a pair of records and contributed to a third as he was a member of the wrestling program’s first conference team title as the Sun Devils won the 1965 WAC, the first of two in that league and 18 overall (16 in the Pac-10). On an individual basis, he is still the only Sun Devil to have earned the Gorrarian Award at the NCAA Championships while also holding the program record for winning percentage for wrestlers with 50 or less wins in a career as he went 32-2-2 (.917) in his lone year of competition. A one-time coach at South Mountain High School in Phoenix, Tribble was enshrined in a pair of Halls with the most recent coming in 2007 as he was inducted into the Arizona Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member. In 1993, Tribble was selected for enshrinement in the Arizona State Hall of Fame as well. Memorial services have not been finalized and will be announced at a later time.

Great things are expected of Kyle Dake, Cornell University freshman ... not just from wrestling fans and the media, but also from his coach, Rob Koll, who has referred to Dake as "the second coming of Troy." Considering his accomplishments -- and his InterMat ranking as the No. 4 recruit in the nation for 2009 -- it's no wonder expectations are so high. Dake was a two-time New York high school state champion and has already made a name for himself in national competition. He also has wrestling in his genes. His grandfather, Robert, and his dad, Doug, both found success in wrestling on the mat and as coaches. A family mat legacy Kyle DakeWhen asked how he got started in wrestling, Kyle Dake immediately traced his roots back to the family tree: "Grandpa was head coach at Lansing High School in the 1960s. He moved to Ohio, where dad grew up, and became an Ohio state champ." (After winning that state title for Westlake High in suburban Cleveland in 1980, Doug Dake headed about an hour southeast to Kent State University, where he was an NCAA All-American at 177 pounds in 1985.) The Cornell freshman continued, "Mom and dad moved back to New York. Dad served as a volunteer assistant coach at Cornell, then took over as Lansing High coach." "I was around wrestling ever since I was a baby. I would spend time in the wrestling room even back then. I was about 4 or 5 when I started wrestling." "Now my younger brother Corey is in it. He placed fourth in the state last year. I guess it's really a family affair." "It's always been fun," Kyle Dake said. "When I started winning, it got even more fun." "Dad was never one of those crazy parents. Very supportive ... We had fun traveling to tournaments. It was a great bonding experience." Doug Dake was a MAC champion and All-American for Kent State in 1984 (Photo/Kent State Archives)Kyle Dake's parents helped him keep things in perspective. "Things were low-pressure. They didn't want me to burn out ... Thanks to that approach, I never didn't want to go to practice." "As a kid, I wrestled just three months, then played football, soccer and baseball the rest of the year. " Ask him if that multi-sport approach helped make him a better wrestler, Dake somewhat turned that notion on its head: "Wrestling gave me the athleticism to do well in other sports." However, starting in seventh grade, Dake started to weed out other sports one-by-one, concentrating solely on wrestling starting in ninth grade. By tenth grade, he took up wrestling year around, competing in both freestyle and Greco-Roman for the highly respected Shamrock Wrestling Club in Binghamton, New York. High school heroics Kyle Dake found success in high school right from the start. As a freshman competing at 96 pounds for Lansing High, he went to the New York state tournament undefeated. "That year, I was tech falling everyone," said Dake. "In the semis, I was leading 9-0. In the beginning of the third period, he put me in a spladle, and I got pinned. I ended up taking third that year, 39-1." That summer, Dake competed at the Junior Nationals, placing third in both Greco-Roman and freestyle competition. Among his rivals in Fargo: Penn State freshman David Taylor, InterMat's No. 1 recruit in 2009. As a sophomore, Dake wrestled at 112 pounds, making it to the finals at the state tournament. "I went up against a senior who was supposed to demolish me. Instead, I got the pin, and won Outstanding Wrestler." At the 2007 New York state championships, Dake pinned Mike Gomez of Locust Valley at 5:25 to win the Division II title at 112. Kyle Dake (Photo/TheMatSlap.com)Later his sophomore year, Dake became the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champ. However, he suffered a broken hand that summer, and had a disappointing tournament "wrestling one-handed" as Dake put it. That year, Dake was named "Male Athlete of the Year" in Tompkins County where he lived. And it was at this time he was introduced to the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club, based in Ithaca. "I got one-to-one coaching from college wrestling coaches that made a real difference," said Dake. Junior year, Kyle Dake moved up to 130 pounds. ("I never had to cut weight in high school," Dake disclosed.) He was undefeated that year, until the state finals, when he met Ian Paddock, a three-time state champ from Warsaw High (now at Ohio State) who Dake described as "a tough guy." "He put me on my back for five points. I lost 7-4." That summer was one to remember for Dake. Among the highlights: He won the NHSCA Junior Nationals, the FILA Junior Nationals, and the Junior World Team Trials, where he defeated Eric Grajales in straight matches to earn a place on the 2008 US Greco Junior World Team, and a trip to Istanbul. Wrapping up a sterling prep career Kyle Dake won a 2-1 decision over Mike Nevinger of Letchworth to win the Division II title in 2009 (Photo/TheMatSlap.com)As a senior, Kyle Dake again moved up in weight -- to 140 pounds -- and again had a perfect season. In the finals at the 2009 New York state championships, Dake got a 2-1 decision over Mike Nevinger of Letchworth to win the Division II title. (Dake's finals rival is now his teammate at Cornell.) About a month after winning his second state crown, Dake came out on top at the 2009 NHSCA Senior Nationals. Kyle Dake finished his high school career with a 224-14 record, two state titles, (along with runner-up and third-place finishes the other two years), and three NHSCA national titles. He was team captain all four years of high school. For all these reasons, Dake was ranked as the No.4 recruit in the entire nation by InterMat. Kyle Dake's family wrestling bonds go beyond having a father and grandfather in the sport; his dad Doug was his high school coach. When asked for this interview what that was like, Kyle Dake responded, "There's life at home, and life in the wrestling room. The lines were never blurred. I think dad was an awesome coach." Asked the same question in a March 2009 interview with the Lansing Star, Kyle Dake said, "I like it. He's always been there for me and he was a pretty successful wrestler as well, so he always has good advice. To succeed at a sport, you need support from both your coach and your family at home. Some athletes don't get that, and I've been fortunate to get both." In addition to being coached by his father, the younger Dake benefited from the coaching of John Kotmel, assistant coach at Lansing High. "He's been coaching me for a long time, so he really knows me. And he knows so much about wrestling. He's been like a mentor to me." Staying close to home A high school wrestler with the credentials of a Kyle Dake would be a highly sought-after commodity for any collegiate wrestling program. "I looked at a few schools, but wanted to stay close to home," said Dake. Dake got his wish. In October 2008, he made a commitment to wrestle for Cornell University, practically in his backyard. "We live just five miles from Cornell," according to the Lansing High graduate. Kyle Dake picked up a 4-1 decision over Missouri's Kyle Bradley in the semifinals of the 2009 NHSCA Senior Nationals (TheMatSlap.com)In citing reasons beyond proximity to home for choosing Cornell, Dake responded, "I love the coaching. There are great guys in the practice room. You can't beat the academics. It just feels like the perfect fit for me." Cornell head coach Rob Koll shared his enthusiasm for Dake. In his recent online newsletter: "I hate to build up too much expectation for a freshman, but since I have been referring to Kyle as the 'second coming of Troy' (Nickerson, 2009 NCAA Division I champ at 125 pounds) I guess it is too late! Kyle grew up in Lansing, N.Y. and has been to more Cornell wrestling matches than any of our current wrestlers. He is going to be a great one, and I am certain having him on the team will help us to continue to build our fan base within the local community." (According to Koll's newsletter, Dake is the projected starter at 141 pounds.) Coach Koll provided InterMat additional insight as to what makes Kyle Dake such a highly prized recruit: "I have been friends with Kyle's parents longer than Kyle has been alive so it would have been tough to lose him as a recruit. He is a great kid on and off the mats. Although he is young he is already a great leader and will help us to attract wrestlers with similar attitude and ambition. He has the athleticism and work ethic that is required to achieve immediate success at the national level." In its summer 2009 assessment of incoming freshman classes at Division I college programs, InterMat ranked the Cornell at No. 18. In its write-up for the Big Red program, much of InterMat's focus was on the wrestler it ranked as fourth in the nation: "The anchor of this class is a kid that just loves to compete and succeed. Dake was a state champion this past season, champion at the NHSCA Senior Nationals, and has competed at the FILA Junior World Championships in Greco-Roman." The college life Kyle Dake has been at Cornell a couple months now, living on campus, going to classes, and working out with his teammates. "I'm glad to be in the dorms," says Dake. "It's an important part of the college experience." "I'd like to think I'm an intelligent person, but I'm having to work hard to keep up-to-date with my coursework. I don't want to have to deal with the pressure that comes from falling behind." "I think I'm handling things well. I'm pretty good at budgeting my time. My parents really stressed that over the years" When asked if he's already selected a major, Dake answered, "I'm trying to find out what I really want to do. Right now, I'm taking fundamental courses like psychology and writing." In the interview earlier this year with his hometown newspaper, Dake was asked about his "coaching" his high school teammates from the sidelines. "I like to see other people be successful too," said Dake. "I've grown up with a lot of my teammates: they've been wrestling with me for a long time. I want to do my part, and if sitting on the sidelines and yelling or telling them what to do helps them win, then I'll do it every time. I've been captain of the wrestling team since I was a freshman. People look up to you as an example and for advice. I've been helping people out for so long that now it's become fun." Might coaching be a career option? "It's a possibility," Kyle Dake said in this interview for InterMat. "I think it would be awesome." Self-imposed great expectations What does Kyle Dake like about wrestling? "I enjoy the satisfaction of winning," Dake told the Lansing Star. "I'm the only one out there, so I have to rely on myself. It's a physical battle with your opponent. You have to prove your own dominance. You don't have to wait for someone to throw a ball at you. It's also taught me how to do what's right, not just in wrestling but in my day-to-day life. You have to lose weight and practice every day. In the end, if something goes wrong on the mat, you only have one person to look towards, and that's yourself." Dake describes his wrestling style as, "Different than 'regular' -- unorthodox. I work for my openings, rather than wait for the action to come to me. I'd like to think I'm a lot like Jordan Leen." "Since the beginning of this season, I'm getting so much better. I feel like I'm moving with more fluidity, and getting more effective shots." Kyle Dake defeated New Mexico's Max Ortego, 5-2, to win the 2009 Senior Nationals title (Photo/TheMatSlap.com)Kyle Dake has set high goals for himself. "I hope to be starting this fall at 141 ... Right now, my goal would be to never lose a match, and win four NCAA titles. Is that doable? Given my coaches, with hard work and lots of luck, anything is possible." When not in the wrestling room or classroom, Kyle Dake likes to hang out with his roommate Stryker Lane, freshman heavyweight from Colorado. "We act like kids -- play video games, wiffle ball in the courtyard." Dake also enjoys going out in a boat on one of the lakes in and around where he grew up. However, with the academic demands of an Ivy League university and a top-rated wrestling program, coupled with high expectations from wrestling fans -- not to mention his own rigorous goals -- Kyle Dake may not have much time for relaxation.

The National Wrestling Coaches Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the 2010 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals will be Presented by Hibiclens. The two day tournament will be held January 9-10, 2010, at the University of Northern Iowa. This is the second year that Hibiclens has been the presenting sponsor of the six division (Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, NJCAA, and Women) and eighty -- team, dual meet tournament. The NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals dates back to 1989 when it was held in Hampton, Virginia. The 2010 tournament will mark the fifth year that NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals will call the UNI-Dome and Cedar Falls home. “Hibiclens is excited to once again work with wrestling at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, which is a very visible collegiate tournament. Our goal is to get to zero skin infections in the sport through proper education and management. This event is a great way for us to get the word out about preventing skin infection,” said Jack Doornbos Executive Director of Marketing for Molnlycke US/Hibiclens. Hibiclens is a leader in preventative products that combat skin infection and the H1N1 virus, along with educating the wrestling community of the measures that can be taken to prevent skin infections that affect the sport. “The education of the wrestling community includes a total effort of all parties involved including: equipment, clothing, surfaces and most importantly the skin where infections occur. The skin is the primary battleground for where these infections start; individuals need to do everything necessary to stop the growth. Hibiclens products have a unique 6 hour residual kill on the skin once used, which allows for a margin of error since nothing is 100 percent,” said Doornbos. “What needs to be understood are the benefits and risks and that all skin infections are preventable.” For more information and educational handouts on skin infection and Hibiclens products visit the NWCA Website at: http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwcawebsite/sportssafetyhome/hibiresources.aspx *The 2010 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals teams are listed below by Division:* *Division I:* Arizona State, Bloomsburg, Boise State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Cornell, Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, UNI, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, Wisconsin *Division II:* Augustana, Central Missouri, Central Oklahoma, Fort Hays State, Gannon, Mercyhurst, Minnesota State - Mankato, Newberry, San Francisco State, St. Cloud State, West Liberty, Western State College, Wisconsin Parkside, University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Nebraska Kearney, Upper Iowa *Division III:* Augsburg, Coe, Concordia, Cornell College, Delaware Valley, Heidelburg, Johnson & Wales, Luther, North Central, St. Johns, University of Dubuque, UW- LaCrosse, UW - Stevens Point, UW- Whitewater, Wartburg, Williams *NAIA:* Briar Cliff, Cal Baptist, Cumberland, Dickinson State, Grand View, McKendree, Missouri Valley, Oklahoma City University, Southern Oregon, Campbelsville, Great Falls, Lindenwood, Missouri Baptist, MSU-Northern, Northwestern, Notre Dame *NJCAA (8):* Labette, Iowa Central, Iowa Lakes, Colby, Clackamas, NIACC, Ellsworth, Lincoln *Women (8):* Jamestown College, Lindenwood University, Menlo College, Missouri Baptist University, Missouri Valley College, Oklahoma City University, University of the Cumberlands, Simon Fraizer University For more information on the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals visit: http://www.nwcaonline.com/NWCAWebSite/Events/nwcanationalduals.aspx

In just 10 short years, the Super 32 Challenge has grown into one of the premier showcases for high school wrestling across the country. Started in 2000, as an open tournament held in the gymnasium of a North Carolina high school, by 2005 the event had grown enough to move into the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center, where it will be for the fifth consecutive year on October 24. The one-day preseason wrestling tournament will bring over 1,200 wrestlers from at least 30 states to one venue. For the 2008 event, over 50 collegiate coaches were in attendance to see an event whose field produced approximately 175 state champions by season’s end. Five champions from the 2008 event will return to defend their belts. They include Alex Cisneros (Selma, CA), who is scheduled to compete at 112 pounds, Devin Carter (Christiansburg, VA), scheduled to compete at 125 pounds, Jackson Morse (Lowell, MI), scheduled to compete at 152 pounds, Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA), scheduled to compete at 160 pounds, and Antonio Giorgio (Warwick, PA), scheduled to compete at 189 pounds. Below is a brief background into some of the key wrestlers tentatively scheduled to compete in each weight class. 103: Heaviest Hitters: Jered Cortez (Marmion Academy, IL) Cadet Nationals freestyle runner-up, FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle third place, ranked first in the Class of 2014 by InterMat Joey Dance (Christiansburg, VA) Cadet Nationals double finalist (freestyle champion), FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle champion, ranked ninth in the Class of 2013 Nick Roberts (North Star, PA) Two-time Cadet Nationals double champion, state high school champion, ranked 27th in the Class of 2012 Freddie Rodriguez (Holt, MI) FILA Cadet Nationals double All-American (freestyle champion), state champion, ranked 47th in the Class of 2012 Next Group: Mike Dauterive (Boyd, TX) Junior Nationals double third place Kevin Devoy (Burlington Township, NJ) State tournament third place George DiCamillo (St. Ignatius, OH) Walsh Ironman placewinner, state tournament seventh place Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin, PA) Cadet Nationals freestyle sixth place, ranked 11th in the Class of 2013 Jacob Schmitt (St. John’s, MI) Cadet Nationals double third place Jake Smith (Robinson, VA) Super 32 Challenge sixth place, NHSCA Freshman Nationals runner-up, state runner-up More to Watch: Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, NJ) Cole Gallagher (Archbishop Spaulding, MD) Nathan Giorgio (Schuykill Valley, PA) Joey McKenna (NJ) Darshawn Sharp (Valdosta, GA) Shayne Tucker (Bella Vista, CA) 112: Heaviest Hitters: Alex Cisneros (Selma, CA) Super 32 Challenge champion, state high school champion, ranked third in the Class of 2012 by InterMat, finished 2008-09 ranked third at 103 pounds Jerome Robinson (St. Ignatius, OH) Super 32 Challenge third place, state champion, ranked 32nd in the Class of 2010, finished 2008-09 ranked fifth at 112 pounds Vince Rodriguez (Clovis North, CA) State tournament third place, ranked 43rd in the Class of 2011, finished 2008-09 ranked 16th at 112 pounds Next Group: Terry Dawson (Brandon, FL) Super 32 Challenge seventh place, state high school runner-up in 2008 John Fahy (Trinity, KY) Super 32 Challenge third place, state champion, ranked 44th in the Class of 2012, finished 2008-09 ranked 16th at 103 pounds Brandon Jeske (St. Christopher’s, VA) Super 32 Challenge seventh place, FILA Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman champion, Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman third place, ranked fifth in the Class of 2013 Nathan Kraisser (Centennial, MD) Super 32 Challenge eighth place, FILA Cadet Nationals double All-American, Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman seventh place, state champion, ranked 39th in the Class of 2012, finished 2008-09 ranked 15th at 103 pounds Caleb Richardson (Cox, VA) Junior Nationals freestyle third place, state champion Matt Sausman (Camden Catholic, NJ) State tournament third place Chuck Zeisloft (Gateway, NJ) NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, state tournament third place Young Guns Blazing: Bryce Brill (Marmion Academy, IL) Ranked third in the Class of 2014 Jack Clark (St. Michael’s, NJ) Ranked fourth in the Class of 2014 Solomon Chisko (Penn Trafford, PA) Ranked sixth in the Class of 2014 More to Watch: Evan Link (Penn Cambria, PA) Josh Polacek (Westmont-Hilltop, PA) Brian Realbuto (Somers, NY) Skylar Wood (Park Hill, MO) 119: Heaviest Hitters: Sean Dolan (St. Mark’s, DE) Former Super 32 Challenge placewinner, state high school champion, ranked 80th in the Class of 2010 by InterMat Ben Whitford (Marmion Academy, IL) Cadet Nationals double finalist (freestyle champion), ranked first in the Class of 2013 Conor Youtsey (Mason, MI) State champion, ranked 19th in the Class of 2011, finished 2008-09 ranked 18th at 119 pounds Next Group: Nick Brascetta (Graham, OH) FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle third place, state high school champion, ranked 42nd in the Class of 2011, finished 2008-09 ranked first at 103 pounds Rossi Bruno (Brandon, FL) Junior Nationals Greco-Roman third place, FILA Cadet Nationals double All-American, state champion, ranked 18th in the Class of 2012 Eric Devos (Waverly Shell-Rock, IA) Cadet Nationals freestyle third place, FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle fifth place, state runner-up, ranked 20th in the Class of 2012 Josh Fisher (Roane County, WV) Super 32 Challenge sixth place, NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion, state champion Brandon Jones (West Des Moines Valley, IA) State champion Tanner Moon (Oak Mountain, AL) Junior Nationals double All-American, state runner-up Alec Mooradian (Detroit Catholic Central, MI) Cadet Nationals freestyle fifth place, FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle fifth place, state champion, ranked 34th in the Class of 2012 Kevin Norstrem (Brandon, FL) Cadet Nationals double All-American, FILA Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman third place, state champion, ranked sixth in the Class of 2013 Brian St. James (Centennial, GA) Super 32 Challenge fifth place, state champion, finished 2008-09 ranked 15th at 112 pounds Nick Smith (Ida, MI) Two-time state champion Bryan Whitt (Cox, VA) Super 32 Challenge third place, National Prep runner-up, finished 2008-09 ranked 17th at 112 pounds More to Watch: Eric Friedman (St. Paul’s, MD) Grant Greene (St. Anthony’s, NY) Anthony Hawkins (Crown Point, IN) Brandon Nelsen (Lawrence North, IN) Joe Orecchio (Don Bosco Prep, NJ) Arthur Walsh (Juniata, PA) 125: Heaviest Hitters: Nick Arujau (Syosset, NY) State high school champion, ranked 46th in the Class of 2010 by InterMat, finished 2008-09 ranked 20th at 125 pounds Devin Carter (Christiansburg, VA) Super 32 Challenge champion, Junior Nationals freestyle runner-up, state champion, ranked 13th in the Class of 2010, finished 2008-09 ranked first at 112 pounds Mitchell Port (Bellefonte, PA) Super 32 Challenge eighth place, NHSCA Junior Nationals champion, state tournament third place, ranked 71st in the Class of 2010, finished 2008-09 ranked 17th at 119 pounds Brandon Wright (Warren Central, IN) Three-time state finalist (state champ in 2008), NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, ranked 29th in the Class of 2010, finished 2008-09 ranked ninth at 119 pounds Next Group: Sean Boylan (St. Mark’s, DE) Former Super 32 Challenge champion, Junior Nationals freestyle All-American in 2008, state high school champion, ranked 83rd in the Class of 2010 by InterMat, finished 2008-09 ranked sixth at 112 pounds Tyrone Eatmon (Riverside, NC) NHSCA Junior Nationals fifth place, state champion Justin Flamio (Mahopac, NY) Two-time state runner-up, NHSCA Junior Nationals seventh place Shane McGough (Desert Mountain, AZ) Junior Nationals freestyle fifth place, state champion T.J. Mitchell (Collins Hill, GA) Former Super 32 Challenge placewinner, NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, state champion Patrick Myers (Penn Cambria, PA) State qualifier, Junior Nationals double All-American AJ Schopp (Tyrone, PA) Super 32 Challenge fifth place, NHSCA Junior Nationals sixth place, two-time state finalist (champion in 2007/runner-up in 2009) More to Watch: Jacob Crawford (Millbrook, VA) Johnni DiJulius (Walsh Jesuit, OH) Tyler Liberatore (Brandon, FL) Rusty Maness (Point Pleasant, WV) Lou Mascola (Seton Hall Prep, NJ) Mike Rhone (Benton, PA) Aaron Runzo (Kellam, VA) Darius Wass (Swan Valley, MI) 130: Heaviest Hitters: Frank Cagnina (Queen of Peace, NJ) Super 32 Challenge runner-up, state high school champion, ranked 18th in the Class of 2010 by InterMat, finished 2008-09 ranked ninth at 125 pounds Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point, IN) FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle champion, Cadet Nationals freestyle runner-up, state champion, ranked fifth in the Class of 2012, finished 2008-09 ranked 17th at 125 pounds Next Group: Tyler Buckman (Central Dauphin, PA) State tournament fifth place, Disney Duals silver medalist Joe Denova (Columbus, GA) Junior Nationals Greco-Roman third place, state high school champion Adam Krop (Urbana, MD) NHSCA Junior Nationals fifth place, state champion Nick Pena (Selma, CA) Super 32 Challenge sixth place, state tournament third place, ranked 28th in the Class of 2011 Chad Stroh (Holyoke, CO) NHSCA Junior Nationals seventh place, state champion Keith Surber (O’Fallon, IL) NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, two-time state tournament third place, ranked 98th in the Class of 2010 More to Watch: Scott Festejo (Long Branch, NJ) Case Garrison (Texas) Erik Galloway (State College, PA) Chance Marsteller (Middletown, PA) Quinton Murphy (St. Anthony’s, NY) Daniel Ownbey (Enka, NC) Joe Spisak (Boiling Springs, PA) Terrel Wilbourn (Francis Howell Central, MO) B.J. Young (Jackson Memorial, NJ) 135: Heaviest Hitters: Josh Dziewa (Council Rock South, PA) Super 32 Challenge third place (also was champion in 2007), Junior Nationals freestyle champion, FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle third place, ranked 33rd in the Class of 2010 by InterMat Ryan Nieman (Bullock Creek, MI) Junior Nationals freestyle third place, Disney Duals gold medalist, state high school champion, ranked 35th in the Class of 2010 Next Group: Jordan Beverly (Point Pleasant Boro, NJ) State high school runner-up Jake Briggs (Bella Vista, CA) State tournament third place Shawn Fayette (Miamisburg, OH) State champion, Disney Duals silver medalist, finished 2008-09 ranked 18th at 130 pounds Stephen Robertson (Montini Catholic, IL) State champion, ranked 34th in the Class of 2011 Roger Wildmo (Durand, MI) Two-time state finalist (state champ in 2008), ranked 35th in the Class of 2011 More to Watch: Tyler Askey (Northgate, GA) Brent Fickel (Padua, OH) James Green (Willingboro, NJ) Blake Kastl (Gilroy, CA) Joe Locksmith (Osceola, FL) Alex Pellicciotti (Boyertown, PA) Roman Perryman (Robinson, VA) Joey Rizzolino (Easton, PA) Troy Silver (Texas) Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, OH) Mike Tully (Peddie School, NJ) 140: Heaviest Hitters: Stephen Dutton (Rocky Point, NY) Super 32 Challenge sixth place, NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up, state high school champion, ranked 75th in the Class of 2010 by InterMat Kaleb Friedley (Park Hill, MO) Junior Nationals freestyle third place, state tournament third place (champion in 2008), ranked 63rd in the Class of 2010 Josh Kindig (Blue Mountain, PA) Super 32 Challenge runner-up, Junior Nationals double All-American, state champion, ranked sixth in the Class of 2010, finished 2008-09 ranked third at 135 pounds Next Group: Zac Brunson (Churchill, OR) Cadet Nationals double All-American, state high school champion, ranked 25th in the Class of 2010 Henry Carlson (Vestavia Hills, AL) Junior Nationals freestyle eighth place, NHSCA Sophomore Nationals runner-up, state champion, ranked 27th in the Class of 2011 Ryne Cokeley (St. James Academy, KS) FILA Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman third place, state champion, ranked 21st in the Class of 2011 Mark Hartenstine (Easton, PA) Super 32 Challenge fifth place, NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, state tournament eighth place Andrew Lenzi (Fordham Prep, NY) Two-time state finalist (champion in 2008) Jordan Rich (Central Mountain, PA) Walsh Ironman placewinner, two-time state tournament third place Robert Shepherd (Mason, OH) State champion Joel Smith (Collins Hill, GA) NHSCA Junior Nationals sixth place, state champion More to Watch: Lex Ozias (Southern Garrett, MD) Eric Roach (Crown Point, IN) Josh Clark (Matoaca, VA) 145: Heaviest Hitters: Greg Amos (Holt, MO) NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, state high school champion Ben Dorsay (Cox, VA) Super 32 Challenge third place, NHSCA Junior Nationals sixth place, state champion, ranked 100th in the Class of 2010 by InterMat Ryan Dunphy (Passaic Valley, NJ) Super 32 Challenge fifth place, NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up, state tournament third place Colin Shober (Schuykill Valley, PA) Super 32 Challenge seventh place, Junior Nationals freestyle third place, NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, state champion, ranked 55th in the Class of 2010 Taylor Walsh (Camden Catholic, NJ) Super 32 Challenge sixth place, NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, state champion, ranked 69th in the Class of 2010, finished 2008-09 ranked 16th at 135 pounds Next Group: Gabriel Bird (Osecola, FL) Junior Nationals freestyle third place (in 2008), state tournament third place Cody Caldwell (Waverly Shell-Rock, IA) State high school champion, ranked 32nd in the Class of 2011 Codey Combs (Sussex Central, DE) Super 32 Challenge sixth place, state champion, ranked 46th in the Class of 2011 Blake Roulo (Matoaca, VA) Super 32 Challenge seventh place, NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion, Junior Nationals Greco-Roman third place, state runner-up, ranked 25th in the Class of 2011 Max Schneider (Chicago Lane Tech, IL) State runner-up, ranked 11th in the Class of 2012 More to Watch: Brian Brill (Central Mountain, PA) Clark Glass (Brandon, FL) Andrew Morse (Lowell, MI) Garrett Schaner (Big Rapids, MI) Cody Swim (Indianola, IA) Jordan Wohlfert (St. John’s, MI) 152: Heaviest Hitters: Joe Cozart (Brandon, FL) Super 32 Challenge third place, Junior Nationals double All-American, state high school champion, ranked 28th in the Class of 2010 by InterMat, finished 2008-09 ranked ninth at 145 pounds David Habat (St. Ignatius, OH) Super 32 Challenge third place, state champion, ranked 56th in the Class of 2010, finished 2008-09 ranked 13th at 145 pounds Taylor Massa (St. John’s, MI) Super 32 Challenge runner-up, Cadet Nationals double champion, FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle champion, state champion, ranked first in the Class of 2012, finished 2008-09 ranked 2nd at 145 pounds Jackson Morse (Lowell, MI) Super 32 Challenge champion, state champion, ranked 24th in the Class of 2010, finished 2008-09 ranked fifth at 152 pounds Brandon Wilbourn (Francis Howell Central, MO) Junior Nationals freestyle third place, three-time state placewinner (runner-up in 2008), ranked 59th in the Class of 2010 Next Group: Cody Allala (Hopewell, VA) Cadet Nationals freestyle fifth place, state high school champion, ranked 23rd in the Class of 2012 Bo Candelaria (Middletown, PA) State tournament third place John Guzzo (High Point, NJ) Junior Nationals freestyle eighth place, state qualifier, ranked 33rd in the Class of 2011 Tyler Hain (Warrior Run, PA) Two-time state runner-up Harrison Hightower (University School, OH) Super 32 Challenge eighth place, state champion More to Watch: Kenny Boyles (Smyrna, DE) Colin Hewitt (Franklin, NJ) Giuseppi Lanzi (Amsterdam, NY) Matt Stephens (Graham, OH) Ben Villaret (Monsignor Farrell, NY) Jayshon Wilson (Carlisle, PA) 160: Heaviest Hitters: Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA) Super 32 Challenge champion, state high school champion, Disney Duals gold medalist, ranked fourth in the Class of 2010 by InterMat, finished 2008-09 ranked second at 152 pounds Nick Visicaro (Long Branch, NJ) NHSCA Junior Nationals champion, Junior Nationals freestyle sixth place, state champion, ranked 53rd in the Class of 2010 Next Group: Derek Felton (Corona del Sol, AZ) State high school champion Travis Gallegos (Foothill PC, CA) State tournament runner-up, ranked 93rd in the Class of 2010 Eric Hess (Benton, PA) NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, state champion, ranked 78th in the Class of 2010 Dominic Kastl (Gilroy, CA) NHSCA Junior Nationals eighth place, state tournament seventh place Joe Latham (Bismarck, ND) NHSCA Junior Nationals fifth place, state champion Chris Moon (Wyoming Seminary, PA) Super 32 Challenge seventh place, state runner-up (in Virginia) Jordan Thomas (Greenville, MI) Cadet Nationals freestyle third place, state runner-up, ranked seventh in the Class of 2010, finished 2008-09 ranked 12th at 145 pounds Jake Waste (Apple Valley, MN) Cadet Nationals double champion, former state tournament placewinner, ranked 24th in the Class of 2011 More to Watch: Sam Brooks (Oak Park River Forest, IL) Matt Colvard (Cary, NC) Frank Cousins (St. Cloud, FL) Alan Gigolaev (Peachtree Ridge, GA) Nick Moore (Parkway North, MO) Kyle Ryan (Graham, OH) Evan Thompson (Cabell Midland, WV) 171: Heaviest Hitters: Kenny Courts (Central Dauphin, PA) Super 32 Challenge runner-up in 2007, state high school runner-up, ranked seventh in the Class of 2011 by InterMat, finished 2008-09 ranked 14th at 160 pounds Andre Petroski (Springfield Delco, PA) NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, state tournament third place Next Group: Ethan Blackstock (Alexander, GA) State high school champion, former Cadet Nationals double All-American Levi Clemons (Osceola, FL) FILA Cadet Nationals double All-American, former Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman champion, state champion Jake Dorulla (Rockford, MI) State champion Clint Morrison (Cedar Cliff, PA) State runner-up Tristan Warner (Cumberland Valley, PA) Super 32 Challenge sixth place, state qualifier Jamie Westwood (Queen of Peace, NJ) NHSCA Junior Nationals seventh place, Super 32 Challenge sixth place, state tournament seventh place More to Watch: Billy Coggins (Rocky Point, NY) Tylan Coleman (Mayfield, OH) Todd Gaydosh (Padua, OH) Joey Grainger (Great Bridge, VA) Ian Korb (Elder, OH) 189: Heaviest Hitters: Jamie Callender (Council Rock North, PA) NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up, state high school runner-up Antonio Giorgio (Warwick, PA) Super 32 Challenge champion, state tournament fifth place, ranked 64th in the Class of 2010 by InterMat, finished 2008-09 ranked 11th at 215 pounds Angelo Malvestuto (Niagara-Wheatfield, NY) NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up, state tournament third place, ranked 79th in the Class of 2010 by InterMat Next Group: Ben Brooks (Oak Park River Forest, IL) FILA Cadet Nationals double All-American (Greco-Roman champion), state high school tournament qualifier Austin Fallon (Westfield, VA) NHSCA Junior Nationals fifth place, state champion Michael Kennedy (Blackman, TN) NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion, state runner-up Timmy McCall (South View, NC) NHSCA Junior Nationals seventh place, state champion Stephen McPeek (Texas) Junior Nationals Greco-Roman third place, NHSCA Junior Nationals seventh place, state champion More to Watch: Jared Holliday (Burlington Township, NJ) AJ Mott (DePaul Catholic, NJ) Jay Taylor (Oviedo, FL) Mike Wagner (South Plainfield, NJ) 215: Heaviest Hitters: Nate Gaffney (Connellsville, PA) State high school champion Nick McDiarmid (Hartland, MI) Super 32 Challenge third place, Disney Duals silver medalist, state champion Alex Polizzi (Beloit Memorial, WI) Junior Nationals double All-American, state runner-up, ranked 89th in the Class of 2010 by InterMat Next Group: Hayden Bock (Park Hill, MO) State high school runner-up CJ Collins (Collins Hill, GA) NHSCA Junior Nationals eighth place, state runner-up Harrison Honeycutt (Lake Norman, NC) Junior Nationals Greco-Roman fifth place, FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle fifth place, Super 32 Challenge sixth place, state champion Donald McNeil (Wyoming Seminary, PA) National Prep third place 285: Heaviest Hitters: Henry Chirino (Brandon, FL) NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up, state high school champion Tyler Demott (Benton, PA) NHSCA Junior Nationals champion, former Cadet Nationals freestyle champion, state runner-up Lance Moore (Lackawanna Trail, PA) NHSCA Junior Nationals third place, state tournament third place Next Group: Donovan Green (Timber Creek, FL) Junior Nationals Greco-Roman runner-up, FILA Cadet Nationals double champion, state high school tournament qualifier Zeal McGrew (Burnt Hills-Ballston, NY) NHSCA Junior Nationals sixth place, state tournament third place