InterMat Staff

This week's edition of "On the Mat" will feature special in-studio host Tolly Thompson, a 2005 World bronze medallist and former NCAA champion for Nebraska. Thompson, who currently competes at 264.5 pounds internationally, has made the past two world teams and is a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Northern Iowa. He will be competing at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 5-6. Brian Smith is the current head wrestling coach at Missouri University. Smith and his Tiger wrestlers just completed their best season in school history with a third place finish at the 2007 NCAA Championships at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich. He was also the coach of Ben Askren who recently won the Dan Hodge Trophy for the second consecutive year. Jim Gibbons has recently been working as a color commentator for both Iowa Public Television and ESPN. Gibbons was the head wrestling coach Iowa State from 1985-1992. In 1987 Gibbons coached Iowa State to the school's last NCAA team wrestling title. He was also an NCAA champion for the Cyclones in 1981. "On the Mat" is a weekly wrestling radio program that airs every Wednesday from 6-7 p.m. Central Standard Time. The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, IA, hosts the show. "On the Mat" can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa on 1650, The Fan. Feel free to e-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with questions or comments about the show.

Columbia, Mo. -– Missouri two-time defending National Champion Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) was awarded his second consecutive Dan Hodge Trophy, wrestling's equivalent to the Heisman, as announced today by the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute & Museum and W.I.N. Magazine. With the honor, Askren becomes just the second grappler since the creation of the award in 1995 to earn the Hodge Trophy on more than one occasion. Iowa State standout Cael Sanderson received the honor on three occasions (2000-01-02). "It's a great honor, especially (finishing ahead) of guys like Cole (Konrad) who is amazing," Askren said. "To be in the same company with Cael winning the top honor, it can't get any better than that. I'm very excited." Askren capped his five-year Tiger career with an 8-2 win by decision over second-ranked Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship finals held at the Palace of Auburn Hills March 17. The win extended Askren's streak to 87 consecutive victories, dating back to the start of his junior campaign in 2006. Askren closed his collegiate wrestling career with a 153-8 mark which places him firmly at the top of the Missouri career wins record book. Former Tiger grappler Wes Roper held the previous record at 131 wins for 15 years. Of the 42 matches in his senior campaign, 29 went down by way of fall, and 23 of the 29 ended in the first period of action. Prior to his final meeting on the mat with Gavin at the NCAA Championships, Askren had pinned the Pittsburgh wrestler twice earlier in the season. Askren's final pin of his collegiate career was recorded against Matthew Palmoer of Columbia on March 16. It set the new Missouri career pins record at 91. "It's not a surprise to me that Ben would win the Dan Hodge Trophy again," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "Ben's dominating style carried over from last year and he improved on certain areas so that he wouldn't just win, he'd win big. I couldn't be happier for Ben to win the Hodge. He truly deserves it. Anyone one that watches Ben wrestle knows how much he enjoys the sport." Askren will officially receive the Hodge Trophy at the Missouri wrestling banquet tentatively set for Sunday, April 15.

Valenti, Glenn share Wrestler of the Year award Matt Valenti of Penn and Josh Glenn of American have been named co-Wrestlers of the Year by the head coaches of the EIWA. Valenti, a senior from Newton, NJ, successfully defended his NCAA championship at 133 pounds last weekend when he defeated Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State 4-2. He also won the EIWA championship for the third time, and concluded the season with a record of 32-2, including the last 20 in a row. He retires with a four-year record of 137-21, and holds the record for most career wins of any Penn wrestler. He is just the second wrestler for Penn to win two NCAA championships. Valenti also won the award last season, and is the second wrestler to win the award twice. Travis Lee of Cornell won the award in 2003 and 2005. Glenn, a junior from Johnson City, NY, won at 197 after placing fourth at 184 a year ago. He ia two-time EIWA champion who moved up from 184 last season. He was an EIWA runner-up at 184 as a freshman. He concludes the season with a record of 27-1 with nine pins, and has not lost since he was pinned by his NCAA finals opponent, Kurt Backes of Iowa State, in the Midlands tournament in December. He now has 91 career wins, third most in Eagles' history, with a year to go. Glenn was named EIWA Freshman of the Year in 2005, and is the first wrestler to win both awards. O'Connor named EIWA Freshman of the Year Harvard freshman JP O'Connor has been named EIWA Freshman of the Year following a season in which he placed fifth in the nation at 149 pounds. O'Connor was runner-up in the EIWA just two weeks earlier, and concludes his season with a record of 37-8. He placed third in the prestigious Midlands Championships in December. O'Connor's home town is Oxford, NY, where he was one of only three wrestlers to win four New York State championships. He is the third Harvard wrestler to win the award. Max Odom won it in 2000, and teammate Bode Ogunwole won it in 2004.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- NCAA champion and three-time All-American Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) has been named BigElevenWrestling.net Wrestler of the Year. Herbert shares this year's honor with Minnesota's two-time national champion Cole Konrad. Herbert won his first career title and Northwestern's first individual title since 1990 -- and its seventh in program history -- as the 'Cats tied a program-best with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Herbert wrestled a dominating final match, downing Iowa State's Jake Varner by 6-1 decision. He is Northwestern's first individual champion since Jack Griffin won his crown in 1990. The fourth-place finish matches NU's finishes in 1932 and 1990 for the highest ever in program history. Herbert came out like a man with a plan in his 184-pound championship match, scoring a takedown over Iowa State's Varner a little less than one minute into the opening frame. He rode Varner for the rest of the period. The Wildcat started in the down position for the second and he escaped quickly to extend his lead to 3-0. He added another takedown in the second and Varner received a point when Herbert pushed him out of bounds near the end of the period. No more points were scored in the third and the riding time advantage gave Herbert the 6-1 decision. The junior won his four matches leading up to the finals by major decision. He downed fourth-seeded Tyrel Todd of Michigan, 13-4, in the semifinals. Herbert ended the year a perfect 32-0 with nine falls, 10 major decisions and four victories by technical fall. Northwestern earned four All-America honors for the first time since 1990 as Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) placed second at 141 lbs., Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) finished third at heavyweight and Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) finished seventh at 197 lbs. For the complete release, visit BigElevenWrestling.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -– The Western Wrestling Conference has announced its inaugural All-Conference teams for the 2006-07 season. Individuals earned their spots on the respective teams with their finish at the 2007 NCAA West Regional on March 3. The University of Northern Iowa led the way with four first-team honorees. The University of Northern Colorado had three first-team members. Wyoming added two first-teamers and North Dakota State had one wrestler on the first team. The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley State and Wyoming. The conference formed in April 2006. 2007 WWC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM - FIRST TEAM 125 - Eric Hoffman (NDSU), Jr., Davenport, Iowa (Davenport North HS/Iowa Central CC) - 20-6 overall 133 - Kyle Anson (UNI), R-Fr., Iowa City, Iowa (Iowa City HS) - 25-12 overall 141 - Kenny Hashimoto (Northern Colorado), So., Thornton, Colo. (Thornton HS) - 23-4 overall 149 - Carter Downing (Wyoming), Jr., Woodruff, Utah (Evanston HS) - 32-9 overall 157 - Moza Fay (UNI), So., Anamosa, Iowa (Anamosa HS) - 35-10 overall 165 - Nick Baima (UNI), Sr., Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard HS) - 36-8 overall 174 - Alex Dolly (UNI), Jr., Mishawaka, Ind. (Mishawaka HS) - 21-18 overall 184 - Shawn Vincent (Northern Colorado), Jr., Evanston, Wyo. (Evanston HS/Northwest JC) - 17-13 overall 197 - Sam Wendland (Wyoming), Sr., Bozeman, Mont. (Bozeman HS) - 15-3 overall 285 - Reece Hopkin (Northern Colorado), Jr., Kersey, Colo. (Platte Valley HS) - 19-9 overall continued on page 2 Air Force • North Dakota State • Northern Colorado • Northern Iowa • South Dakota State • Utah Valley State • Wyoming 2007 WWC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM - SECOND TEAM 125 - Nick Ramirez (Wyoming), R-Fr., Albuquerque, N.M. (Rio Rancho HS) - 22-15 overall 133 - Cory VomBaur (Wyoming), R-Fr., Vancouver, Wash. (Evergreen HS) - 17-13 overall 141 - C.J. Ettelson (UNI), Jr., Hudson, Iowa (Hudson HS) - 28-13 overall 149 - Ryan Osgood (UNI), Sr., Mason City, Iowa (Mason City HS) - 12-9 overall 157 - Andy Everson (SDSU), Sr., Mitchell, S.D. (Mitchell HS) - 10-3 overall 165 - Ryan Meyer (SDSU), R-Fr., Parkston, S.D. (Parkston HS) - 23-11 overall 174 - Nate Althoff (SDSU), Sr., Watertown, S.D. (Watertown HS) - 11-5 overall 184 - Danny Dunning (UNI), Jr., Waterloo, Iowa (West HS) - 16-14 overall 197 - Andrew Anderson (UNI), So., Sioux City, Iowa (East HS) - 25-18 overall 285 - Jason Stripling (SDSU), Jr., Minneota, Minn. (Minneota HS) - 22-6 overall 2007 WWC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM - THIRD TEAM 125 - Tony Mustari (Northern Colorado), R-Fr., Greeley, Colo. (Greeley Central HS) - 23-10 overall 133 - Eric Sanders (NDSU), Jr., Wabasha, Minn. (Wabasha-Kellogg HS) - 19-9 overall 141 - Garrett Desmond (Wyoming), So., Mill Hall, Pa. (Central Mountain HS) - 17-18 overall 149 - Ryan Adams (NDSU), R-Fr., Coon Rapids, Minn. (Coon Rapids HS) - 13-7 overall 157 - Luke Salazar (Northern Colorado), Sr., Thornton, Colo. (Thornton HS/Boise State Univ.) - 17-9 overall 165 - Devan Lewis (Northern Colorado), So., Weatherford, Texas (Weatherford HS) - 17-11 overall 174 - Stephen Crozier (Air Force), So., Monona, Iowa (MFL Mar Mac HS) - 11-25 overall 184 - Jake Devlin (Air Force), Jr., Livingston, N.J. (Livingston HS) - 16-22 overall 197 - Jacob Bryce (NDSU), So., Glenwood, Minn. (Minnewaska Area HS) - 16-10 overall 285 - Tyler Rhodes (UNI), Sr., Mountain View, Wyo. (Mountain View HS/Northwest JC) - 14-10 overall

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Western Wrestling Conference has announced its inaugural award winners for the 2006-07 season and all three hail from the University of Northern Iowa. UNI's Brad Penrith was named Coach of Year, redshirt freshman Kyle Anson was named Freshman of the Year and senior Nick Baima was named Wrestler of the Year. The awards were voted on by the league's head coaches. UNI's Penrith earned WWC Coach of the Year honors. Penrith is in his seventh season at UNI and led the Panthers to the regular season WWC title with a perfect 4-0 dual record. Penrith also guided the Panthers to their 22nd straight regional title and sent six wrestlers to the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The Panthers' Anson (Iowa City, Iowa) was named WWC Freshman of the Year. Anson posted an overall record of 25-12 and was a perfect 6-0 against WWC opponents. Anson earned his first trip to nationals by winning the 133-pound title at the NCAA West Regional. Anson tallied eight wins this year against national qualifiers, including a 5-4 win over Old Dominion's Christian Staylor, an 8-2 win over Virginia's Eric Albright and two wins over Wyoming's Cory VomBaur (6-5, 9-4). He also scored wins over 125-pound qualifiers Nick Fanthorpe (Iowa State), Tyler Shinn (Oklahoma State), Patrick Castillo (Northern Illinois) and Charlie Falck (Iowa). UNI's Baima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) was named WWC Wrestler of the Year. Baima, 36-8 overall and 8-0 vs. WWC opponents, captured the 165-pound title at the West Regional and earned his fourth trip to the NCAA Championships. Baima earned the No. 5 seed at the NCAA Championships in the 165-pound bracket. He secured 11 wins over national qualifiers including: two over Johnny Galloway (Northern Illinois), Shawn Kitchner (Brown), Jason Kiessling (Maryland), Michael Cannon (American), Max Dean (Indiana), Dustin Noack (UC Davis), Michael Patrovich (Hofstra), Nick Pullano (Old Dominion) and Ryan Meyer (South Dakota State). Baima wrapped his UNI career with a mark of 124-42, which ranks No. 6 on the Panthers' all-time win list. The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley State and Wyoming. The conference formed in April 2006.

Many wrestlers get started in the sport because of their fathers. The same is true of Nate Carr Jr., 2007 NJCAA national champ at 157 pounds. But his father isn't your typical dad who remembers his experience as a high school wrestler and thinks it would be a character-builder for his son. Then again, most dads can't claim the mat accomplishments that Nate Carr Sr. can. The elder Carr was a Pennsylvania high school state champ from Erie Tech (115-7) who wrestled for Iowa State. As a Cyclone, he compiled a 117-20-1 record, winning three straight NCAA titles (1981, 1982 and 1983) at 150 pounds. After graduation, Nate Carr Sr. focused on his freestyle career, winning both the World Cup and Pan-American Championships in 1986, and culminating with a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. (Viewers of last season's telecasts of RealProWrestling may recognize Carr as one of the commentators, joining two-time Olympic medalist Rulon Gardner, and long-time wrestling broadcaster Tim Johnson.) Nate Carr Jr. is already writing an impressive wrestling resume of his own. A Georgia high school state champ, the junior Carr -- a freshman at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge -- claimed the 157-pound title at the National Junior College Athletic Association championships in Rochester, Minnesota in late February. Father and son You might assume that a father with the mat credentials of Nate Carr Sr. would have urged his son to take up wrestling at an early age… but that's not the case at all. "Dad started me in other sports first," according to the 2007 NJCAA champ. "He encouraged me to get involved in other sports �- baseball, soccer, hockey. He didn't push me into wrestling at all. In fact, each of us kids had to complete a book before he let us take up wrestling." Nate Carr Jr. (Photo/John Johnson)"I really got into it about age nine, but my first match was at age 6," says the younger Carr. "I participated in 2-4 tournaments a year is all. A slow progression. I think I started working hard about eighth grade." Nate Carr Jr., one of seven children, was home schooled until he entered high school, where he won the Georgia high school state championship and compiled a 210-2 prep record. His father is now a minister, but still is involved in his son's wrestling career… coming all the way to the Midwest a week early to help his son prepare for the nationals, then being at his side in Rochester. "Dad is a great motivator. Positive, respectful." Luke Moffitt, head wrestling coach at Iowa Central, says, "His dad taught his son to be a good man, a good Christian, and a good student before being a good wrestler. He has his priorities straight." A roadblock forces a change in college plans Nate Carr Jr. had always dreamed of wrestling at West Virginia University, and had committed to compete for the Mountaineers in November of his senior year in high school. Then, a roadblock: He missed being eligible for competing at the Morgantown school by being ten points shy on his SAT's. "I found out two weeks before I was supposed to go to West Virginia," says the Iowa Central wrestler. "I was mentally distraught for a week." "Then I remembered that God always has a plan." Nate and his father considered a number of junior colleges, but Iowa Central caught the eye of the Carrs for at least two reasons: The Tritons were the defending NJCAA champs … and dad being a grad of Iowa State in Ames, about an hour from ICCC in Fort Dodge. "Willie Gadson helped me make the decision," says the younger Carr of the two-time All-American for the Iowa State Cyclones in the mid 1970s, and family friend. Luke MoffittCoach Moffitt says, "I told him he could essentially build his record here on the mat and in the classroom, and get re-recruited." Nate Carr Jr. made a positive impression almost immediately after arriving at Iowa Central. "Folks around campus say great things about him," says Moffitt, an ICCC alum himself who won a NJCAA title in 2000, then went on the Iowa Hawkeyes where he was a Big Ten champ and outstanding wrestler of the conference championships in 2002. "If you take the right path, things will work out for you." Big-time preparation at a junior college program Nate Carr Jr. immediately discovered why the Iowa Central Tritons were national champs. "We take on tough DI opponents in open tournaments (and) our practices are harder than some DI practices I've seen." "Coach Moffitt wants us to be not only physically tough, but mentally tough, mentally prepared." "In September or October, we started running seven or eight miles a day, no wrestling at all at first." Later, the training regime featured running in the morning, wrestling in the afternoon. A bit later in the season, swimming was added into the mix. "We'd show up at 6 a.m. at the YMCA," says Carr. "Thirty-five laps every morning, before the older ladies came to do their water aerobics. (Swimming is) one of the best things to get in shape for wrestling. You use every muscle in your body." Challenges … then the championships Nate Carr Jr. got his wish to start for the Iowa Central Tritons. He realized his dream of wrestling -- and more than holding his own -- against big-time competition, placing in all but one of the open tournaments featuring Division I wrestlers. But it wasn't all smooth sailing. The ICCC freshman faced some challenges �- "I had some injuries that I had to fight through," according to the wrestler. Despite those injuries, Carr was able to build a 35-5 record, and get back into top form for the NJCAA Championships in late February. Part of the preparation process: "Dad came to work with me for the week before the nationals … He even ran some of our practices." Nate Carr Sr. stayed to be with his son at the NJCAA Championships. "I always wrestle better when my dad's there." The Triton wrestler got off to a powerful start at the NJCAA's, getting technical falls in his first two matches. In the semifinals, he went up against the third-seeded Jason Nichols of Pratt. "It was tied 4-4 in the first period," according to Carr. "He started to slow down. I was able to get the 7-6 victory." Nate Carr Jr. (Photo/John Johnson)In the finals, Nate Carr Jr. found himself against Jeb Clark of Northwest Wyoming. "He obviously prepared for me, rode me for four minutes, just about all the first period, and the second, too. He was trying to mentally break me." "In the third period, I picked neutral. He was getting tired … I kept going. It was one of the most intense matches I've had." Coach Moffitt weighs in with his analysis: "Early in the season, we saw that he needed to work on mental toughness, so that's something we concentrated on this year. He's grown so much mentally this year … " "He got rode in the finals, but he came back in the third period with three takedowns. Almost any other kid would have been broken." The final result: Nate Carr Jr. defeated Jeb Clark, 6-5, to win the 157-pound NJCAA title. Carr was one of three individual champs -- and nine All-Americans -- for Iowa Central, helping to propel the Tritons to their second straight national title by a 49.5 point margin. "This is the first time I've been on a championship team," says Carr. "I'm blessed to be with a good group of guys." Coaches' comments on the champ Carr "Nate leads by example," says head coach Luke Moffitt. "He's extremely talented, and super-fast." Troy Bennett"He eats, sleeps, breathes wrestling. Constantly watching tapes, wanting to learn." Troy Bennett, assistant coach, chimes in. "Great work ethic in the classroom and at practice." "He was brought up with high expectations," adds Bennett. "He doesn't think 'I'm Nate Carr', entitled to special treatment. He's very respectful." What'll drive Carr into the future During the interview for this profile -- conducted immediately before the NCAA's in Auburn Hills, Michigan -- Nate Carr Jr. disclosed that he would be attending the event "to watch, learn more technique, and get a look at some of the guys I hope to wrestle in the future." As of now, it appears that Carr will take his redshirt year next season, focusing on his studies at Iowa Central … and considering a Division I college to continue his education and his wrestling career. "Right now, I'm looking at Iowa State, West Virginia, and Illinois," says the younger Carr. "We think he'll attract the attention of plenty of top programs," according to assistant coach Bennett. He already has. According to Carr, a number of DI coaches made the trip to Rochester, Minnesota through heavy snow … and it wasn't to see the doctors at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic either. Coaches like Iowa State's Cael Sanderson came to see the wrestler with highly respected name deal with opponents with surgical precision. When discussing the attributes of his 157-pound starter, head coach Moffitt mentioned Nate Carr's pattern of going to his teammates after they come off the mat. "I'm usually giving last-minute instructions and encouragement to the guy about to go out to wrestle, so I'm not always able be with the wrestler who's just finished his match … Nate has a great ability to console the ones who have lost, pointing out something they might have done differently, and provide encouragement." Nate Carr Jr. (Photo/John Johnson)Sounds like the makings of a solid coach. When asked if he'd consider a career in coaching, Nate Carr Jr. immediately responded, "I want to be an NCAA champ. That's my first focus … I'll choose a school that helps me reach that dream." Carr is majoring in sports management, which shapes his career goal: "I want to be a sports agent, and help other athletes realize their dreams." "I may consider coaching later." As for his wrestling career beyond college, the younger Carr may be following his father's lead. "I want to get back into freestyle, get some more experience, working towards the 2012 Olympics." Like father, like son.

USA Wrestling has announced that it will host its first U.S. Grappling World Team Trials at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev., June 8-10. Competition will feature Senior-level men and women. This new event will serve as the qualifier for the U.S. team to compete in the Grappling competition at the World Wrestling Games in Antalya, Turkey on Sept. 7-9. Grappling will be included in the competition, along with Beach Wrestling and Sombo. FILA, the international wrestling federation, recently recognized Grappling as a form of international wrestling. The U.S. Grappling World Team Trials will be held alongside the U.S. World Team Trials, which is the qualifying event for the U.S. World Teams in men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle wrestling. The winners of the U.S. World Team Trials in the three Olympic styles will represent the United States at the World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 17-23. The USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials will feature Senior-level athletes competing under the FILA Grappling Rules. This is for athletes 18 years-old and above. (Those who are 18 and 19 may compete in the Senior level upon presentation of medical consent). This is not an open tournament. Only athletes who qualify to compete will be entered. The FILA international Grappling weight classes are: Men (5 weight classes): 62 kg/136.5 lbs., 70 kg/154 lbs., 80 kg/176 lbs., 92 kg/202.5 lbs., 125 kg/275 lbs. Women (4 weight classes): 48 kg/105.5 lbs., 55 kg/121 lbs., 63 kg/138.75 lbs., 72 kg/158.5 lbs. The FILA Grappling Rules can be downloaded from the FILA website at: http://www.fila-wrestling.com Major Grappling organizations within the United States have agreed to name some of their most competitive existing Grappling events as qualifiers for the USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials. These events will be contested under the rules and procedures of the organizations which host them. The qualifying events from other organizations are: April 14 – Grapplers Quest U.S. Nationals of Grappling, and U.S. Pro Trials, Las Vegas, Nev. Qualifiers for men (32): Top two in each of the 10 men's advanced weight classes at the U.S. Nationals of Grappling, and the top three place finishers in each of the four weight classes in the U.S. Pro Trials Qualifiers for women (14): Top two in each of the 4 No-Gi advanced weight classes at the U.S. Nationals of Grappling, and the top three in the two weight classes in the U.S. Pro Trials http://www.grapplersquest.com April 21 – North American Grappling Association (NAGA) Worlds, Jersey City, N.J. Qualifiers for men (33): Top three U.S. medalists in each of the 11 expert No-Gi weight classes. Qualifiers for women (12): Top three U.S. medalists in each of the four expert No-Gi weight classes http://www.nagafighter.com April 29 – World Grappling Games Best of the West, Long Beach, Calif. Qualifiers for men (20): Top two place finishers in each of the 10 weight classes Qualifiers for women (8): Top two place finishers in each of the four weight classes http://www.grapplingtournaments.com May 26 – North American Grappling Association (NAGA) Midwest Championships, Milwaukee, Wis. Qualifiers for men (22): Top two place finishers in each of the 11 advanced No-Gi weight classes Qualifiers for women (4): Top two U.S. medalists in each of the two advanced No-Gi weight classes http://www.nagafighter.com June 4 – World Grappling Games Pan American Submission Championships. Los Angeles, Calif. Qualifiers for men (20): Top two U.S. medalists in each of the 10 weight classes Qualifiers for women (8): Top two U.S. medalists in each of the four weight classes http://www.grapplingtournaments.com Three USA Wrestling-sanctioned events, using the FILA Grappling rules and weight divisions, will also serve as qualifying events. Those participating in these events will be required to have a USA Wrestling membership. May 12 – Mid-Atlantic Grappling Championships, Virginia Beach, Va. Held at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach Qualifiers for men (15): Top three place finishers in each of the five FILA weight classes Qualifiers for women (12): Top three place finishers in each of the four FILA weight classes May 12 – No Limits West Coast World Team Grappling Qualifier Trials, Irvine, Calif. Held at No Limits Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness, 1962 Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA 92606 949-251-8822 phone, 949-251-8833 FAX Qualifiers for men (15): Top three place finishers in each of the five FILA weight classes Qualifiers for women (12): Top three place finishers in each of the four FILA weight classes http://www.nolimitsmma.com May 26 – No Limits East Coast World Team Grappling Qualifier Trials, Alpharetta, Ga. "Last Chance" Held at The Cooler, 10800 Davis Drive, Alpharetta, GA 30004 Qualifiers for men (15): Top three place finishers in each of the five FILA weight classes Qualifiers for women (12): Top three place finishers in each of the four FILA weight classes Complete schedules and event information will be available shortly. Visit TheMat.com (www.themat.com) regularly for updates on these qualifying events. Those who have qualified through any of these events will have an opportunity to compete in the USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials in Las Vegas. A complete schedule of this competition will be available shortly. For questions, contact Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling at 719-598-8181 or via e-mail at gabbott@usawrestling.org.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Sam Hazewinkel finished his Sooner career on Saturday night at the NCAA Championships as the runner-up at 125 pounds. Hazewinkel was defeated by Nebraska's Paul Donahoe by a 3-1 decision in the 125 pound national final at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The match was scoreless through one period when neither wrestler could manage any offense. Hazewinkel choose down to start the second period. Thirty seconds into the period Hazewinkel managed an escape for the first points of the match. The two went scoreless the rest of the period with Donahoe having the advantage to begin period three. Donahoe chose down to begin the period and escaped from Hazewinkel with a minute remaining in the match to tie the score at one. The two Big 12 wrestlers went scoreless the remainder of the match and went into a one minute sudden victory period. Donahoe got inside Hazewinkel at the beginning of the period and scored a takedown for the victory. "Tonight did not turn out the way I wanted it but it is one of those things that happens," Hazewinkel said. The Pensacola, Fla. native garnered All-America honors for the fourth straight year this weekend at the championships. He won his three previous matches at this season's tournament by a combined score of 41-8. Hazewinkel beat Donahoe two weeks ago in the 125 pound final at the Big 12 Championships by a major decision of 11-3. "I can't dwell on the mistakes that have happened in the past all I can do is focus on the future," Hazewinkel continued. The senior won three Big 12 Championships (2004, 06, 07), was the 2007 national runner-up and was a three-time third place finisher (2004, 05, 06) at the NCAA's. "We are disappointed and crushed for Sam because we wanted nothing else more than for him to leave a national champion," head coach Jack Spates said. Hazewinkel was the lone Sooner All-American at this weekend's National Championships. The Sooners qualified six wrestlers for the 2007 NCAA Championships. "Paul Donahoe wrestled a great match and we want to congratulate him. We are disappointed but we will always be proud of Sam," Spates continued.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Oklahoma State placed four All-Americans and finished fifth at the NCAA Wrestling Championships with 69 points at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich. The Cowboys failed to crown a national champion for the first time in six years as OSU went 0-for-2 in the finals. The last time Oklahoma State did not have a national champion was in 2000 when the Cowboys placed three All-Americans and finished fifth. The Cowboys also placed fifth as a team in 2002, but they followed that with the next four national team titles. Coleman Scott scored the only takedown in the 133-pound final against second-seeded Matt Valenti of Pennsylvania. Valenti, however, reversed Scott before the end of the first period to tie the match. Valenti took control in the second period with a full two minute ride. Scott was forced to cut Valenti to start the third and he could not get the decisive takedown in the final period. "I felt good the whole time I was out there," Scott said. "My mind set was good and then I gave up the reversal and got ridden out. It was that whole second period that cost me. "He did not get hit for stalling, but what are you going to do. It is my fault, I lost it for myself." Johny Hendricks seemed to be in control of Iowa's Mark Perry after a full second period ride. He then scored a reversal in the third period to go up 2-0, but Perry tied the match with a reversal of his own. The match came down to the final 20 seconds and Perry was able to tilt him for two back points, which proved to be the difference in the match. "I beat myself," a dejected Hendricks said afterward. Minnesota held off Iowa State for the team title in an extremely close race that came down to the 197-pound final. Iowa State's Kurt Backes lost to American's Josh Glenn, which clinched the title for Minnesota. Cole Konrad then went out and recorded a fall in the heavyweight final for good measure. Oklahoma State returns nine starters and three All-Americans, and will make a run at its 35th national championship in 2008 in St. Louis.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -– It was a very good year. Trent Paulson came from behind to win the NCAA 157-pound championship as Iowa State finished second to Minnesota at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in The Palace at Auburn Hills. In a year in which the Gophers were expected to win the national team title handily, the final outcome was not decided until American's Josh Glenn defeated ISU's Kurt Backes in sudden victory overtime at 197 pounds. Minnesota got a pin from heavyweight Cole Konrad in the final match of the night, which would have given his team the title even if all three Cyclone finalists had won their matches without bonus points. But Iowa State's run for the first-place trophy impressed all who saw it and that impression was affirmed when Sanderson was named the National Coach of the Year. At the end of the day Minnesota posted a winning total of 98 points. Iowa State was second with 88.5 points, followed by Missouri (80), Northwestern (71.5) and Oklahoma State (69). "We had a great tournament," Sanderson said. "I want to hand it to our entire team. We wrestled well. The seniors can go out with their heads high. Trent and Travis Paulson really bought into what we were doing this year and that isn't always easy when you are in your fifth year someplace. The same goes for Kurt Backes. Iowa State is going to be right there from now on. There is no doubt that everybody knows it. I also want to give our congratulations to Minnesota's coaches and wrestlers. They won the prize and they earned it." Top-seeded Trent Paulson capped off his Iowa State wrestling career on the big stage by capturing the 157-pound championship with a thrilling 6-5 victory over seventh-seeded Craig Henning of Wisconsin. Hailing from Council Bluffs, Iowa, Paulson finishes as one of only of 33 Cyclone wrestlers to win 100-career matches, with a four-year mark of 115-20. His career-win total ties him for 18th on the all-time ISU list, tied with Dave Powell (1976-79). Paulson matched his best single-season win record, with a 29-4 mark that matched record he earned as a sophomore. He closed out his season winning 15 consecutive matches, a feat he also accomplished as a sophomore. Henning struck first with a takedown midway through the first period to go up 2-0 on a scramble started by a Paulson shot. Paulson registered his first point at the 1:03 mark with an escape. Henning answered with an escape of his own to start the second period, taking a 3-1 advantage through the entire period. The match was far from over. Starting the final two minutes from the down position, Paulson narrowed the lead to a single point with an immediate escape and took a 4-3 lead with a takedown. He then cut Henning loose, evening the score at 4-4, in a bid to get the winning move. It was a fortuitous decision. Shooting low with only 15 seconds remaining on the clock, Paulson grabbed a hold of Henning's leg to clinch the title with a takedown. "It's a dream come true," Paulson said. "I've been imagining this moment since I got to Iowa State and to actually feel it is unbelievable. I shot a single leg and as the scramble went on it kind of turned into a high crotch situation. I thought he could scramble really well from there and felt he was getting the angle so I tried to get a little lower so he couldn't scramble as well and get my hips back. I wanted to wrestle on my feet and score my points there, especially after getting down right away. I didn't want it to come down to riding time and give him a chance to get into the last seconds. I wanted to leave it up to my performance on my feet." Varner, seeded sixth, finished as the 184-pound runner-up, suffering a 6-1 loss to top-seeded Jake Herbert. The freshman was unable to muster much offense against the undefeated Wildcat. Varner is the first freshman to earn All-American honors and wrestle in a championship match since Cael Sanderson in 1999. He concludes his rookie season with a record of 29-7. Backes, who came into the tournament as the ninth seed, finished his ISU wrestling career as the 197-pound runner-up. Backes battled back from an early 3-1 deficit, to tie the match at 3-3 with a takedown in the closing seconds of the second period. He took a 4-3 lead with an escape at the 1:22 mark, but Glenn's riding time evened the match at 4-4, pushing it into sudden victory. Glenn emerged as the aggressor in the first 12 seconds of sudden victory with a low, double-leg takedown on the edge of the mat for the win. Backes finishes as one of 33 Cyclones with 100-career victories, recording a four-year record of 109-31 and going 28-7 in his senior campaign after moving up from 184 pounds a year ago. He was twice an All-American after earning seventh-place honors as freshman. Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard witnessed the finals after flying from Minneapolis, Minn. where the Iowa State women's basketball team defeated Washington in the early afternoon. "I don't think there is any doubt about Cael Sanderson being the coach of the year. He is the best coach in the country and with our returning lineup the future is very bright." Very bright indeed.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) won his first career title and Northwestern's first individual title since 1990 -- and its seventh in program history -- as the 'Cats tied a program-best with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Herbert wrestled a dominating final match, downing Iowa State's Jake Varner by 6-1 decision. Junior Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) finished second at 141 lbs. Herbert becomes Northwestern's first individual champion since Jack Griffin won his crown in 1990. The fourth-place finish matches NU's finishes in 1932 and 1990 for the highest ever in program history. "We came from 50th in 2004 and now we're taking home some hardware this year," Herbert said. "That was our goal and why we all wanted to come to Northwestern to wrestle for Timmy (Cysewski)". "We have a lot of individuals with different personalities," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "But they know that winning is important and good things happen when you have that mentality." Northwestern opened the session in fifth place, but needed to win one more championship than Oklahoma State, who sat in fourth place with two wrestlers in the finals. NU won one out of two, but received help from Penn and Iowa to earn the program-best finish. Penn's Matt Valenti topped OSU's Coleman Scott at 133 lbs. and Iowa's Mark Perry handed Johny Hendricks his first loss of the season at 165. Herbert's win vaulted the 'Cats into fourth, ahead of four-time defending champion OSU. Northwestern earned four All-America honors for the first time since 1990 as Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) finished third at heavyweight, Lang finished second and Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) finished seventh at 197 lbs. Herbert came out like a man with a plan in his 184-pound championship match, scoring a takedown over Iowa State's Varner a little less than one minute into the opening frame. He rode Varner for the rest of the period. Herbert was down to start the second and he escaped quickly to extend his lead to 3-0. He added another takedown in the second and Varner received a point when Herbert pushed him out of bounds near the end of the period. No more points were scored in the third and the riding time advantage gave Herbert the 6-1 decision.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- On the heels of seniors Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) and Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.), the Missouri wrestling team earned its highest team finish ever at the 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships when they took third place, and fulfilled their season goal and "stormed the stage." The Tigers finished with 80 points, giving the University of Missouri its first NCAA team trophy since 1965, when the Indoor Track & Field team took home the title. Askren, last year's NCAA National Champion at 174-pounds, grappled against Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh in this year's championship match. In an 8-2 decision, Askren topped Gavin for the third time this season to earn his second national championship. The two had met twice this season, with Askren pinning Gavin both times. With the win, Askren becomes the Tigers' only back-to-back national champion in wrestling and first for the University of Missouri overall since track star Derrick Peterson in 1998-99. Askren has never finished lower than second in the nation. He finishes his career with an 87-match winning streak, and goes 42-0 on the season. Askren pinned three opponents during the tournament and earned a technical fall in his pigtail match, and has not lost a match since the championship match in his sophomore season. Despite his ninth seed, Pell finished the tournament in third place. Wrestling one of the best tournaments of his career, Pell won four matches by fall and registered a major decision, proving to be one of the most dominant wrestlers at 165 pounds. Pell pinned Michigan's third-seeded Eric Tannenbaum in the third-place match in 3:51, using a move that he used to pin his three other victims. Out of Pell's six wins, only one was decided by a decision; all the rest scored critical bonus points for the Tigers. Pell is the third Tiger to gain All-America honors at two different weight classes. In his sophomore season, Pell finished seventh in the nation at 184-pounds. Pell also received post-tournament accolades by earning the Gorrarian Award, given to the wrestler with the most pins in the least amount of time. Pell was the only wrestler with four pins, and he did so in a combined 22:46. Bonus points played a key role in securing the Tigers' third-place finish. Mizzou scored the most bonus points out of any team in the tournament, securing extra points from major decision, technical falls and pins in 15 matches. With 10 falls, one technical fall, one disqualification and three major decisions, the Tigers had a total of 26.5 bonus points for the competition. Without bonus points, the Tigers would have had 53.5 total team points, which would not have put the Tigers in the top 10. Junior Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.), the last All-American for the Tigers, placed sixth, the highest of his career. McCormick lost an early bout to James Kennedy of Illinois, but wrestled his way back to sixth place. On his way McCormick scored a fall and a forfeit to give the Tigers four team bonus points. McCormick topped Jake Strayer of Penn State in a 4-1 decision to earn the team captain All-America honors for the second straight season. The night closed an era for two Tiger wrestlers. Pell and Askren took the stage for the final time in the Black and Gold, and they did so in convincing fashion. Pell and Askren are both members of the Century Club for the Tigers. Pell finishes with a 121-35 record, while Askren finishes 153-8. Each hoisted Missouri's first wrestling trophy of all time, and Askren will close his career with the Tigers as a two-time NCAA Champion.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Matt Valenti defended his national title Saturday evening, defeating Oklahoma State's Coleman Scott, 4-2, before a record 17,780 fans in the 133-pound final of the 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Valenti fended off a desperate last shot by Scott after wrestling nearly the entire third period neutral. Valenti gave up the first points of the bout on a takedown, but like his first title last year, a reversal and riding time were the difference. The Penn senior becomes just the second two-time national champion in Penn history, joining Dick DiBatista, who won 175-pound titles in 1941 and 1942. Valenti reminded the Penn fans of that as he won, running across the mat to face them while thrusting two fingers in the air. "The adrenaline is still going, so I don't really feel anything yet," Valenti said after the match. "It's just as sweet this year as it was last year." With Scott riding Valenti after the first-period takedown, the Cowboy was called for a parallel ride. Off the restart, Valenti immediately moved behind Scott and secured the reversal, leaving the bout tied at two and Scott with only 20 seconds of riding time. Valenti rode out in the second period to take a 1:40 riding time advantage, using several lifts to return Scott to the mat. Valenti chose bottom for the third and was cut. The two went neutral for the distance, with Valenti holding off a late shot from Scott. "Matt exemplifies leadership in our program," Head Coach Zeke Jones said. "He certainly showed that in his match tonight." It was the second meeting this year between Valenti and Scott. Valenti prevailed, 6-4, in the NWCA All-Star Classic in Dallas on Nov. 20. With a 137-21 career record, Valenti leaves Penn as its all-time winningest wrestler.

The top-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team won its third NCAA Championship since 2001 on Saturday night at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich. The Golden Gophers clinched the team race following back-to-back losses by Iowa State wrestlers in the 184- and 197-pound title matches. In the final bout of the tournament, heavyweight Cole Konrad concluded his stellar collegiate career with a pin of Penn State's Aaron Anspach in the finals. Konrad became the fourth two-time national champion in school history. Minnesota finished with 98.0 points, while Iowa State finished second with 88.5. Iowa State entered the championship round with three finalists and needed a mininum of two victories to overtake the Golden Gophers prior to the heavyweight match. Top-ranked Trent Paulson pulled the Cylcones to within 3.5 points after defeating Wisconsin's Craig Henning at 157 pounds. Freshman Jake Varner could not follow with a victory of his own as he was soundly defeated by top-ranked and unbeaten Jake Herbert of Northwestern at 184 pounds. It was then up to No. 9 Kurt Backes at 197 pounds, but No. 2 Josh Glenn of American got the takedown at the edge of the mat in the middle of the first overtime session and the Golden Gopher faithful celebrated the championship. "I think the true character of a team is when you get yourself in a hole and you have to dig yourself out," head coach J Robinson. "They responded when they had to and that's what champions do. This was a team win. All nine guys contributed to this and that's the beauty of this victory." With the team title locked up, Konrad took to the mat looking to cement his place alongside Golden Gopher legends Verne Gagne, Tim Hartung and Damion Hahn as a two-time national champion. In the title match, Konrad put his patented body lock on Anspach midway through the first and threw him to his back. Konrad got the fall at 1:53 of the first period. He finished the season unbeaten with a 35-0 record and a second straight individual title. "We had a tough semifinal round, but in a national tournament, you can't expect everything to go the way you want," Konrad said. "We focus in our training on getting stronger as a tournament goes on and we were able to bounce back today. I can't think of a better way to finish a career." Konrad finished his career with back-to-back NCAA Championships and 76 wins in a row. He finished with a 154-13-0 career record, just five wins behind the career record of 159 held by Ed Giese since 1986. Konrad also had 50 pin, which rank second in school history. Cole Konrad also became Minnesota's fifth four-time All-American. He joined Chad Kraft, Luke Becker, Jared Lawrence and Damion Hahn. This morning during the medal round, junior Roger Kish and sophomore Dustin Schlatter earned third place at 184 and 149 pounds, respectively. Redshirt freshman Jayson Ness claimed fifth place at 125 pounds with his third pin of the tournament. Junior C.P. Schlatter finished his first All-American season with a sixth-place finish at 157 pounds. The Golden Gophers finished the 2006-07 season with a national title, five All-Americans, their sixth Big Ten title in the last nine years and their fourth National Duals title in the last seven years. Minnesota will return four All-Americans and nine starters from a team which finished the regular season with a 20-1 record. The lone loss will be Konrad at heavyweight.

AUBURN HILLS, MI -- Hawkeye junior Mark Perry won his first NCAA title Saturday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, MI. The 165-pounder defeated top-seed Oklahoma State senior Johny Hendricks, 4-3, in the finals. He is Iowa's first NCAA champion since Cliff Moore in 2004, and the Hawkeyes' 48th national champion in school history. Perry, who had an 0-6 career record against Hendricks, was down 2-0 before scoring a reversal and nearfall points late in the match to build a 4-2 lead. Hendricks escaped with six second left in the match, but Perry held on for the 4-3 victory. Perry ends the season with a 28-4 record. "Everyone knows how much this means to each individual," explained Perry. "I think it's a little extra special, I think, for me growing up with my dad as a college coach since I was six years old. I saw my dad's first national champion at Nebraska and that's been my life goal; it's the most important thing in my life. It's a sigh relief finally to win it after coming so close the past two years. It's huge for me." Iowa placed eighth in the team race with 57 points. Minnesota won the team title with 98.0 points, and Iowa State finished second with 88.5. "This is big for the program," said Iowa Head Coach Tom Brands. "It's very important; it's a big step for the program. When you're building and rebuilding, it's a huge step in the right direction."

AUBURN HILLS, Calif. -- Senior Derek Moore realized a life-long dream on Saturday night as he became the first ever UC Davis student-athlete to capture an NCAA national championship as he earned a 17-2 technical fall at 5:41 over No. 1 seed and previously undefeated Ryan Lang of Northwestern in the 141-pound championship match live on ESPN in front of an NCAA wrestling record crowd of 17,780 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. With five wins, one by fall and one by technical fall, Moore was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament to cap the historical night. Moore's win gives the Aggies a school-record point total of 29, which gives them a three-way tie for 22nd. The victory also makes Moore the only UC Davis wrestler to ever go undefeated in a season as he finished the year at 24-0. Minnesota won the team title with 98 points while Iowa State finished second with 88.5. "It's such a relief and a dream come true," said Moore. "It wasn't even in my wildest dreams that I thought I could earn a technical fall in the national championship match. It's a great way to end my collegiate career." Lang started the match with a takedown from a low leg attack. Much like last night, Moore earned a reversal with 1:39 left in the period to tie the match at 2-2. After Lang deferred to start the second period, Moore chose bottom and scored another reversal to go up 4-2. Moore then scored a two straight three-point near falls to close out the period. Another take down to start the third period followed by a two-point near fall and three-point near fall off a tilt ended the match with 1:29 remaining as Moore earned the technical fall. With the win, Moore becomes the first national champion from a California school at the 141-pound division since the NCAA reclassified the weight divisions in 1999. He also becomes the first UC Davis wrestler to earn All-American, a natinal championship and the Most Oustanding Wrestler. Lang was the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the nation all season, and a two-time All-American and Big Ten champion. "I haven't seen Lang wrestle all season except for about a minute or two the other day," said Moore. "He was really strong and got me quick at the start of the match, but he was riding deep and I was able to reverse him and use my funky style to roll him a few times." "Anytime you can crack that barrier and win a national title... it's just incredible," said head coach Lennie Zaleskey. "He (Moore) is one of the best competitors I've ever seen and he's got a heart to be the best. I hope this sends the message to those wrestlers in California that you don't have to leave the state to wrestle at a high level." Overall at nationals, the Aggies compiled school-record totals of 10 wins and 29 points. UC Davis was the top placing team from the Pac-10 Conference with 28.5 points as they had the only national finalist.

Just 33 miles from his hometown of Davison, Mich., sophomore Paul Donahoe became the ninth Nebraska wrestler to win a national championship as he defeated Oklahoma's Sam Hazewinkel in overtime, 3-1, in the finals at 125 pounds in the 2007 NCAA Championships at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich., on Saturday night. The Huskers finished 16th in the team race with 34.5 team points. "This is like a dream," Donahoe said. "I just want to thank all my coaches, all my high school teammates, my college teammates, my workout partners, my family, my dad and my grandma; my mom. I'm just thankful to everyone who believed in me." Donahoe scored a takedown in the sudden victory period to defeat Hazewinkel for the first time in his career. Hazewinkel had beaten Donahoe in their three previous meetings, including in the Big 12 finals, when Hazewinkel won by a 12-3 major decision. After a scoreless first period, Hazewinkel took an early 1-0 lead 18 seconds into the second period with an escape. Donahoe tied the match with an escape 30 seconds into the third period, and the match remained tied at the end of three periods. Donahoe becomes the second NU national champion under Mark Manning and the second 125-pound national champion for the Huskers. Jason Powell, Nebraska's last national champion, won the 125-pound title in 2004. Donahoe is also just the second sophomore to win a national championship. Tolly Thompson, a three-time All-American and the school record-holder for most wins in a career, won the 1995 heavyweight national championship as a sophomore.

Day 3 concludes with a thriller of a finals There's nothing like a thrilling conclusion to a novel or a movie to deliver a feeling that you've gotten your money's worth. The 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships delivered more thrills and spills than a car chase in an action movie, with a number of upsets along the road to the title matches. Add in an exciting race to the team title, and truly exciting title bouts Saturday night with more twists and turns than a mountain road, and this collegiate championship will be long remembered as one of the best. After a back-and-forth battle between the University of Minnesota and Iowa State for the team title, the Golden Gophers crossed the finish line with 98 team points. The Cyclones were hot on their tail with 88.5. Missouri had a tremendous showing, placing third with 80 points. Northwestern, once viewed among the bottom performers in the Big Ten, tallied 71.5 points… while Oklahoma State, which had taken the team title four straight years, came in fifth with 69 points. Rounding out the top ten at the end of Saturday night: Michigan placed sixth with 62 points… Hofstra had 60.5… and Iowa, with 57 points, came in eighth � reportedly the Hawkeyes' worst standing since the early 1970s. Edinboro placed ninth with 56 points, with tenth place going to Ohio State with 54.5 points. It was Minnesota's third team title in the new millennium, having also won the honors in 2001 and 2002. In mapping out the route to the finals, let's look at what happened earlier in the day… Session 5: Championship Consolations Here are the wrestlers who earned All-American honors Saturday in the championship consolation rounds. 125: � Third Place: Top-seeded Troy Nickerson of Cornell shut out Angel Escobel, the seventh seed for the Indiana Hoosiers, 3-0. Nickerson is now a two-time All-American. � Fifth Place: Minnesota's fourth-seeded Jayson Ness pinned Lock Haven's Obe Blanc (seeded ninth) at 1:00. Ness' pin gave Minnesota much-needed bonus points in the team title race. � Seventh Place: Third-seeded Tanner Gardner of Stanford pinned Iowa's Charlie Falck, the fifth seed, at 2:41. Gardner is a repeat All-American, having placed eighth last year. 133: � Third Place: Top-seeded Nick Simmons of Michigan State got an 8-0 major decision over Tennessee-Chattanooga's no. 5 Matt Keller. Simmons completes his career as a Spartan as a four-time All-American. � Fifth Place: Cal Poly's no. 6 Darrell Vasquez defeated Tyler McCormick of Missouri (seeded eighth) by the score of 7-4. Vasquez becomes a two-time All-American, having finished fourth at the 2004 NCAAs. � Seventh Place: In a battle of unseeded wrestlers, Penn State's Jake Strayer pinned Andrae Hernandez of Indiana at 2:38. 141: � Third Place: In something of an upset, no. 11 Charles Griffin of Hofstra defeated Oklahoma State's third-seeded Nathan Morgan, 6-2. � Fifth Place: One of the Cinderella stories through much of the 2007 NCAAs, Rider University's unseeded Don Fisch pinned Brandon Rader of West Virginia (seeded seventh) at 4:42. Fisch had knocked off four ranked opponents in his three days at Auburn Hills. � Seventh Place: Two unseeded wrestlers who went at it for the second time at this tournament: J. Jaggers of Ohio State beat Harvard's Max Meltzer 7-1. In their first-round match-up, the Buckeye beat the Crimson wrestler 11-5. 149: � Third Place: Two former Ohio high school superstars vied for third place. Top-seeded Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota defeated Ohio State's no. 10 Lance Palmer 1-0. � Fifth Place: Harvard's sixth-seeded J.P. O'Connor beat unseeded Tyler Turner of Wisconsin, 6-4. � Seventh Place: Unseeded Matt Coughlin of Indiana got an 11-6 victory over Cornell's no. 4 Jordan Leen. 157: � Third Place: Fifth-seeded Mike Poeta of Illinois defeated Hofstra's no. 3 James Strouse, 2-1, TB1. � Fifth Place: Matt Kocher, the eleventh seed for Pittsburgh, exceeded expectations by edging out Minnesota's no. 4 C.P. Schlatter 2-1. � Seventh Place: Yet another match-up featuring unseeded wrestlers, with Stanford's Josh Zupancic coming out on top of Ryan Hluschak of Drexel, 11-10, TB1. 165: � Third Place: Missouri's Matt Pell, seeded ninth, pinned no. 3 Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan at 3:15. Pell was a pinning machine, securing four pins in the tournament, three of them in the wrestlebacks. � Fifth Place: Fourth-seeded Travis Paulson of Iowa State got a 5-4 victory over Hofstra's Mike Patrovich, who had been seeded sixth. Paulson had been behind 5-3 when he scored a takedown with less than 20 seconds remaining. � Seventh Place: In the second pin in this weight class, no. 7 Deonte Penn of Edinboro put unseeded Central Michigan wrestler Mike Miller's shoulders to the mat at 4:55. 174: � Third Place: Iowa's Eric Luedke, seeded fifth, defeated Navy's no. 8 Matt Stolpinsky, 3-2. � Fifth Place: Unseeded Brandon Mason ended an incredible tournament with a 1-0 upset win over Michigan's third-seeded Steve Luke. � Seventh Place: Battling back from a first-round loss, no. 7 Brandon Sinnott of Central Michigan got a 7-3 victory over Columbia's no. 9 Matt Palmer. 184: � Third Place: Minnesota's second-seeded Roger Kish defeated no. 7 Alex Clemsen of Edinboro 3-2. Kish, a native of Michigan, is now a two-time All-American. � Fifth Place: Avenging a regular-season loss �- and thrilling the host-school fans � Michigan's no. 4 Tyrel Todd pinned third-ranked freshman Mike Pucillo of Ohio State at 4:34. � Seventh Place: In a battle of the Ivies, tenth-seeded Louis Caputo of Harvard shut out Cornell's unseeded Josh Arnone, 2-0. 197: � Third Place: In an upset, no. 11 Chris Weidman of Hofstra defeated Ohio State's J.D. Bergman, 9-4. Weidman becomes a two-time All-American; Bergman was attempting to become the first wrestler in NCAA history to wrestle back to third place after a first-round loss in two different tournaments. � Fifth Place: Fourth seed Phil Davis of Penn State scored a 9-4 victory over Cornell's Jerry Rinaldi, seeded fifth. Davis, runner-up last year, ended his career as a three-time All-American. He had defeated Rinaldi twice in the tournament. � Seventh Place: Northwestern's Mike Tamillow, seeded third, defeated Big Ten rival Nick Roy, Michigan's unseeded wrestler, 7-3. Hwt: � Third Place: Northwestern's Dustin Fox, seeded fourth, got a 3-1 win over no. 5 Ty Watterson of Oregon State. � Fifth Place: Bubba Gritter, the third-seeded big man for Central Michigan, defeated no. 12 Wade Sauer of Cal State Fullerton, 9-6. � Seventh Place: Iranian-born Payam Zarrinpour, the unseeded wrestler from Sacred Heart, beat Bloomsburg's no. 9 Michael Spaid, 11-8. Zarrinpour became Sacred Heart's first Division I All-American athlete in any sport. The team race BEFORE the finals… As of Saturday afternoon � before the finals -- it looked as if Minnesota and Iowa State were locked in a drag race for the team title. By the end of the championship consolation matches that determine third through eighth places, the Golden Gophers had pulled ahead of the Cyclones in the team standings, with 92 points to Iowa State's 84.5. Missouri was in third place in the team race with 76 points, with Oklahoma State in fourth with 69. Northwestern had 67.5 points for fifth place, while host school Michigan had 62. Rounding out the top ten as of Saturday afternoon: Hofstra with 60.5, Ohio State with 57.5, Penn State with 54, and Iowa in tenth place with 53. Among the top ten teams, here are how many finalists each school has: � 1. Minnesota: 1 finalist (Cole Konrad) � 2. Iowa State: 3 finalists (Trent Paulson, Jake Varner, Kurt Backes) � 3. Missouri: 1 finalist (Ben Askren) � 4. Oklahoma State: 2 finalists (Coleman Scott, Johny Hendricks) � 5. Northwestern: 2 finalists (Ryan Lang, Jake Herbert) � 6. Michigan: 1 finalist (Josh Churella) � 9. Penn State: 1 finalist (Aaron Anspach) � 10. Iowa: 1 finalist (Mark Perry) Session 6: The Finals 125: Two Big 12 rivals who had wrestled at the conference championships two weeks earlier met up again -- Oklahoma senior Sam Hazewinkel vs. junior Paul Donahoe from Nebraska. There was no scoring in the first period. In the second, Hazewinkel escaped to make the score 1-0. In the third, Donahoe, who is originally from Davison, Michigan, scored the escape to tie it up 1-1 in regulation. In overtime, the Cornhusker then got the takedown to secure the 3-1 sudden victory… reversing the outcome from the Big 12 championships. In a post-match press conference, when asked how it feels to defeat someone he's never beaten before, the newly crowned champ Paul Donahoe said, "Hazewinkel beat me 10-3 or 11-3, but I knew that wasn't a good match I wrestled. I'm so happy now." 133: Defending champ Matt Valenti of Penn brought a 32-4 record to his finals match against Oklahoma State's Coleman Scott. The Cowboy scored first with a takedown, followed by one from Valenti to knot the score at 2-2 at the end of the first period. In the second, Valenti accumulates 1:40 in riding time. In the third, Valenti chooses down, Scott cuts him loose. With riding time, the final score is 4-2… with the Quaker claiming his second consecutive national championship. Asked to compare this title win to his in 2006, Valenti replied, "It's just as sweet this year. A national title is a national title. The second is nice, just as nice as the first and it's just a great feeling." 141: In a battle of the undefeateds, top-seeded Ryan Lang of Northwestern brought a 28-0 against UC Davis second-seed Derek Moore (22-0) in the finals. Lang got a takedown right away, with Moore getting the reversal to tie it up 2-2 in the first period. Moore scored a reversal early in second period to make it 4-2; Moore got Lang on his back but the Wildcat got out of the predicament… but not before the California wrestler scored three back points. Moments later, the Aggie put Lang into a cradle to get another three points, making the score 10-2 at the end of the second. In the third, Lang chose neutral; Moore got two takedowns plus snapped down the Northwestern wrestler for two more points. Yet another takedown made it 14-2… with a third set of three additional back points to make the final score a 17-2 technical fall at 5:31. A totally dominating performance by Derek Moore. In talking about winning the title on a technical fall, Moore said, "It was maybe (in) my wildest dreams. It's just crazy to be able to get on top of that guy and be able to turn him and turn him. At every point I was just building and building. It's just insane being here." 149: This match-up featured home crowd favorite Josh Churella of nearby Northfield, Michigan who competed at the University of Michigan like his older brother Ryan and his dad Mark (a three-time NCAA champ in the late 1970s). The junior Wolverine brought in a 30-4 record, while his opponent, freshman Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro, had a 32-2 record. In the first period, there was plenty of action, with hand fighting and takedown attempts, but no score. In the second period, Churella took bottom, got a reversal to make it 1-0 with the home crowd cheering "Let's go Blue." Gillespie tried a handful of shots, but no other scoring in the period. In the third, Gillespie took down, tried to roll out…and eventually escaped to tie up score 1-1. No other scoring in regulation, sending the bout into overtime. Lots of activity, but the move that mattered: the Fighting Scot got the takedown with approximately 15 seconds left to win 3-1 in sudden victory. "I had quite a bit of confidence coming in," said Gillespie, a native of upstate New York. "Coach always tells me �believe in yourself.' I try to do that as much as possible and I know he believes in me as well. That really helped out." 157: Trent Paulson was one of three Iowa State wrestlers to find himself in the finals. The Cyclone senior brought a 29-4 record to the 2007 NCAAs. His opponent, Craig Henning of the University of Wisconsin, is a junior with a 30-3 record. Not a whole lot of action in this battle of the Midwest, until Henning scored a takedown. Trent scored an escape, making it 2-1 at the end of the first. Henning choose bottom, eventually escaped. Paulson got an injury timeout. When action resumed, the Cyclone kept trying leg shots but the Badger countered. Second period ended with score 3-1. Paulson got a quick escape to make it 3-2. With 1:42, Paulson scored a takedown to take the 5-2 lead. With less than 15 seconds left, Paulson got another takedown, then released Henning to make the score 6-5 Iowa State. "He's really funky," said Trent Paulson of his finals rival. "I knew he was a really good scrambler so I didn't want to take the chance on getting the scramble and giving up the reversal. I wanted to wrestle on my feet and score points there, especially after being taken down right away. I didn't want it to come down to riding time." 165: This may have been the most anticipated bout of the evening, if not the tournament: Johny Hendricks vs. Mark Perry. Hendricks, the two-time champ from Oklahoma State had a perfect 37-0 record, with a 56-match win streak… and a knack for stirring up bitter feelings in many wrestling fans. Perry, a junior with blood ties to Oklahoma State coach John Smith, had a 26-4 overall record… but more importantly, had wrestled the controversial Cowboy a handful of times in his college career, always coming out on the losing end. Until the 2007 NCAA finals There was no scoring in first period… nor any in the second, but Hendricks built up two minutes of riding time. In the third period, Hendricks took the bottom position, got a reversal to make it 2-0. Perry rolled out to tie it 2-2. Then, while the Iowan was riding, he turned Hendricks for 2 nearfall points to erase the Cowboy's riding time. Hendricks got an escape near the end of the match, but it wasn't enough. Perry got the 4-3 upset � his first victory over his long-time nemesis. In an interview after winning the 165-pound title, Mark Perry said, "I saw my dad's first national championship at Nebraska and that's been my life goal. It's the most important thing in my life. It's a relief to finally win it after coming so close the two past years. It's huge for me." 174: Ben Askren wanted to end his college career a winner. The defending champ from Missouri carried in an incredible 85-match win streak… and a reputation for being unbeatable. His rival for the title: second-seeded Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh. All season, Askren had complained of opponents who backed away from a fight. The Tiger got what he asked for; Gavin started immediately with a near double-leg but the two went off the mat. A few seconds later, the Pitt Panther got the takedown; Askren immediately escaped, making the score 2-1 at end of first. Gavin chose top, let Askren free to tie it up 2-2. Shockingly, Askren failed to score any offensive points in two periods, and, in fact, was called for stalling. In the third period, the champ made up for that scoring drought with a takedown and three back points to make the score 7-2. With riding time, Ben Askren won 8-2 … but the match was closer than indicated by the score When asked about being behind and indicating to Missouri head coach Brian Smith that he was OK, Askren replied, "I know I have a big gas tank and if I don't score big early I can always fall back on my conditioning. I heard him starting to breathe really hard and I knew I was going to get him sooner of rlater." 184: Many fans were salivating at the idea of a title bout between the two top seeds, Jake Herbert and Roger Kish. But Jake Varner of Iowa State had other plans, and knocked the Minnesotan out of title contention in the semifinals. The Cyclone freshman -- a two-time California high school state champ � carried in a 29-6 record to the finals… along with considerable pressure to secure a win, and boost his team into first place. Herbert, a junior at Northwestern, put a 30-0 record on the line. Varner was the aggressor right off the bat, going for the takedown. However, Herbert scored the first takedown to make the score 2-0 at the end of the first period. In the second, with the Iowa Stater taking top, Herbert escaped and immediately followed that with another takedown to rack up a 5-0 lead. Herbert was assessed one point for fleeing the mat, making the score 5-1 at the conclusion of the second. No actual scoring in the third, so, with over three minutes of riding time, the Wildcat got the 6-1 victory … helping Northwestern secure fourth place in the team race. Asked if this title vindicated his loss to Ben Askren in the 2006 finals, Herbert said, "Yes and no. It's never really going to erase that loss. I can't ever be a three-time national champ. All I can look forward to is keeping my streak alive and winning it again next year for the Wildcats." 197: Second-seeded Josh Glenn of American University faced off against Iowa State senior Kurt Backes in the finals. Glenn scored a takedown, making it 2-0. Backes escaped to close the first period with a 2-1 score. In the second, the American wrestler escaped, but the Cyclone got a takedown to tie the score at 3-3. Backes escapes to go ahead, but Glenn's riding time makes it 4-4. Glenn got another takedown for a 6-4 score. Referee Fred Ambrose � in his last match of his long career � conferred with other officials, and gave Backes an escape point. Upon review, however, Backes' escape and Glenn's last takedown were erased from the scoreboard, knotting the score back to 4-4 at the end of regulation. Just 12 seconds into overtime, Glenn brings Backes to the mat, making the final score 6-4… and avenging a loss to the Cyclone at the 2006 Midlands. Considering that loss, Josh Glenn.said immediately after winning the title, "I didn't approach it any differently than any other match. I stayed with the fundamentals that worked for me. I stayed solid and just kept attacking." Hwt: In a rematch of the 2007 Big Ten heavyweight title bout of just two weeks ago, defending champ Cole Konrad took on Penn State's Aaron Anspach. "King" Cole not only put his title on the line, but also a perfect 33-0 record and a 75-match winning streak in the last match of his college career, while the challenger Anspach, a junior, had a 21-3 record. The two titans of the Big Ten had faced each other twice in the 2006-2007 season, once in a dual meet which ended in a 5-1 decision for the massive Minnesotan, and at the conference championships, where the Nittany Lion was flattened at 2:20. Early in the bout, Konrad got an inside trip, putting Anspach on his back in a pinning predicament. The champ pressed his 285-pound body on top of the considerably lighter Penn Stater, and got the fall at 1:56 to claim his second title… joining Tim Hartung and Damion Hahn as the only Minnesota wrestlers to win two NCAA championships. "I was warming up, thinking that I was going to have to get the pin (to ensure Minnesota winning the team title) so that's the way I wrestled out there," said Konrad. "I was looking for a fall." Still perfect … Six of the twenty finalists entered the Palace of Auburn Hills on Saturday night with undefeated records. Of these, four left the arena still perfect: Derek Moore, Ben Askren, Jake Herbert, and Cole Konrad.

Did Cyclones blow Gophers off highway to team title? Over the long course of the 2006-2007 college wrestling season, most fans assumed that Minnesota had a green light leading to the team title at the 2007 NCAA Division I Championships. However, at the end of Day 2, it looks like the Golden Gophers' title hopes may have been blown off course by the Iowa State Cyclones. On Friday night, after the completion of Session Four, the team led by first-year head coach Cael Sanderson led the team race with 83.5 points, with Minnesota in hot pursuit with 80 points. In third place was Missouri, with 69.5, followed by Oklahoma State -- the team title winners for the past four years -- with 62.5 points. Right on the Cowboys' bumper is Northwestern, with 62 points for fifth place. Rounding out the top ten teams: host school Michigan has 55.5 points … Penn State takes seventh with 50 … Iowa has 48.5 … Hofstra is in ninth place with 48 … and Ohio State has 36.5 The road ahead to the team title looks to be slightly smoother for Iowa State than it does for Minnesota. The Cyclones have three wrestlers in the finals -- Trent Paulson, Jake Varner and Kurt Backes -- and one still alive in the consolation brackets, while the Gophers have just one finalist -- Cole Konrad -- and four in contention in the conseys. Right now, it looks likely that the winning team will be one located on I-35. The question is… will it be the school in the Twin Cities, or the one in Ames? Session 3: Quarterfinals By the time the championship matches were concluded about 2 p.m., it was interesting to see how many wrestlers had made it into the semifinals for each team. Minnesota -- which led the team standings at the end of the first day of competition -- had four Golden Gophers made it into the semifinals round (Jayson Ness, Dustin Schlatter, Roger Kish, and Cole Konrad). Iowa State also had four semifinalists: the Paulson twins, Jake Varner, and Kurt Backes … as did 2006 team champs Oklahoma State (Coleman Scott, Nathan Morgan, Johny Hendricks, and Brandon Mason.) Hofstra had three Pride wrestlers in the semis: Mike Patrovich, James Stouse, and Chris Weidman. Iowa had two (Eric Luedke and Mark Perry), and Missouri had one -- Ben Askren. 125: Top-seeded Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma got a 16-4 major decision over No. 9 Obe Blanc of Lock Haven, and Nebraska's No. 6 Paul Donohoe upset No. 3 Tanner Gardner of Stanford 8-3. There were a couple of shut-outs: No. 2 Troy Nickerson of Cornell beat Indiana's No. 7 Angel Escobel 2-0, while Minnesota's No. 4 Jayson Ness got a 3-0 victory over Iowa's No. 5 Charlie Falck. 133: Two more shut-outs in this weight class: Michigan State's No. 1 Nick Simmons got a 3-0 win over No. 9 Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois, while No. 2 Matt Valenti of Penn held Minnesota's No. 7 Mack Reiter a 4-0 loss. Oklahoma State's Coleman Scott, seeded fourth, got a 6-4 SV win over Tennessee-Chattanooga's No. 5 Matt Keller; No. 5 Darryl Vasquez of Cal Poly beat unseeded Penn State wrestler Jake Strayer 8-3. 141: In one of the bigger upsets of the third session, unseeded Don Fisch of Rider got a decisive 9-4 victory over Minnesota's No. 4 Manny Rivera. Another major match: Top-seeded Ryan Lang of Northwestern pinned unseeded Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State at 2:29. UC Davis' No. 2 Derek Moore beat Tennessee-Chattanooga's unseeded Michael Keefe, while third-seeded Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State defeated Hofstra's No. 11 Charles Griffin 6-4. 149: Top-seeded Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota got a 6-3 win over unseeded Wisconsin Badger 6-3, while hometown hero Josh Churella, seeded third for Michigan, beat No. 6 J.P. O'Connor of Harvard 8-5. Edinboro's No. 5 Gregor Gillespie topped fourth-seeded Jordan Leen of Cornell 6-2, and Ohio State's No. 10 Lance Palmer edged unseeded Matt Coughlin of Indiana 2-1. 157: Two closely contested bouts ended in upsets in this weight class: No. 7 Craig Henning of Wisconsin, who got a 3-2 victory over Arizona State's second-seeded Brian Stith while No. 5 Mike Poeta of Illinois edged No. 4 C.P. Schlatter of Minnesota 5-4. Iowa State's top-seeded Trent Paulson edged unseeded Josh Zupaniak of Cornell 3-2, while Hofstra's No. 3 James Strouse topped No. 11 Matt Kocher of Pittsburgh 5-3. 165: The surprise of this class: Hofstra's No. 6 Mike Patrovich edged No. 3 Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan by the score of 3-2. In a Big 12 battle, number-one seed Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State got a 10-2 victory over No. 9 Matt Pell of Missouri, while Iowa State's No. 4 Travis Paulson got a 5-1 win over No. 5 Nick Baima of Northern Iowa. Second-seeded Mark Perry of Iowa defeated Edinboro's No. 7 Deonte Penn, 6-5. 174: Not too much of a surprise here: Top-seeded Missouri Tiger Ben Askren pinned Columbia's No. 9 Matt Palmer at 4:42. Second-seeded Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh topped Pennsylvania's Matt Herrington, 9-5. There were two shut-outs: No. 5 Eric Luedke of Iowa got a 5-0 win over American University's unseeded Rudy Rueda, and Oklahoma State's unseeded Brandon Mason defeated No. 11 Jeremy Larson of Oregon State, 6-0. 184: The top two seeds seemed to be on a collision course: Northwestern's No. 1 Jake Herbert scored at will on No. 9 Christian Sinnott of Central Michigan, 11-1, while No. 2 Roger Kish of Minnesota got a 9-5 victory over Edinboro's No. 7 Alex Clemsen. Iowa State's Jake Varner, ranked sixth, pinned unseeded Josh Arnone of Cornell at 1:54. Another home crowd favorite, No. 4 Tyrel Todd of Michigan, came out on top of Missouri's No. 5 Raymond Jordan by the score of 7-4. 197: A pin and a couple close matches highlight this weight class. American University's second-seeded Josh Glenn put Nebraska No. 7 Craig Brester's shoulders to the mat at 6:36. In an upset, No. 11 Chris Weidman of Hofstra surprised third-ranked Mike Tamillow of Northwestern with a 9-8 decision, while No. 9 Kurt Backes of Iowa State edged unseeded Nick Roy of Michigan, 4-3. Penn State's fourth seed Phil Davis got a 6-3 win over Cornell's No. 5 Jerry Rinaldi. Hwt: Defending champ Cole Konrad continued on a tear for Minnesota with a commanding 16-4 victory over No. 9 Mike Spaid of Bloomsburg, while Penn State second seed Aaron Anspach edged out Sacred Heart's Payam Zarrinpour, 5-4. The two Dustins still in title contention in the weight class didn't fare so well. In a slight upset, No. 5 Ty Watterson of Oregon State topped Northwestern's fourth-ranked Dustin Fox, 3-1, and No. 3 Bubba Gritter of Central Michigan defeated West Virginia's unseeded Dustin Rogers by the same score. Session 4: Semifinals On Friday evening, the drive toward ten individual champions which had started with 330 wrestlers on Thursday morning had been whittled down to 40 athletes. Here's what happened in the two matches in each weight class to determine who would face off in the finals Saturday evening. 125: For the finals, it will be two Big 12 rivals: Oklahoma senior Sam Hazewinkel -- a three-time third placer -- taking on Paul Donohoe from Nebraska. Hazewinkel dominated Minnesota freshman Jayson Ness 10-0 … while the sixth-seeded Cornhusker edged out Cornell's second-seeded -- 2006 runner-up -- Troy Nickerson, 2-1. When asked in an interview after the semifinals about how his past NCAA experience may help him in the 2007 finals, Hazewinkel replied, "(It'll help me) to always be offensive; when I start being defensive, I do my worst… in this tournament, the guy who makes the least mistakes wins." Donohoe said of his finals rival, "Sam is a great competitor. Last year I wrestled him in the quarterfinals and he beat me, 5-0. But the match was really close and he scored two points at the very end." 133: The title match will feature Matt Valenti vs. Coleman Scott. Valenti, the University of Pennsylvania senior, defending champ and top seed, won his match with a 4-2 victory over sixth-seeded Darryl Vasquez of Cal Poly. Oklahoma State junior Scott, seeded fourth, upset top-seeded Nick Simmons of Michigan State, 4-3, in the semifinals. When asked if his experience in last year's finals would help this year, Valenti replied, "It will definitely help in some sense. But at the same time, it's a different match… The only thing I'm going to take from that is that I want to do better this year than I did last year." "I've seen him once," said Scott of his finals opponent. "At the beginning of the year I wasn't wrestling my best and he ended up beating me by a couple points. I'm going to be ready here tomorrow night and just go out and wrestle like I know how, don't hold anything back, nothing to lose." 141: In a battle between number one and number two seeds, Ryan Lang will tangle with Derek Moore in the finals. The top-seeded Northwestern Wildcat ended unseeded Don Fisch's Cinderella story, edging the Rider wrestler 3-2. Second-seeded Moore of UC Davis got a 6-2 victory over Oklahoma State's No. 3 Nathan Morgan. Here's what Lang said of Moore: "He's good on top, he is real long and strong. It's going to be a hard match." "My career has come to this tournament, now undefeated in the national finals," said Moore. "I still don't believe it. It hasn't hit me yet." 149: In the title match, it'll be Josh Churella vs. Gregor Gillespie. In a Big Ten semifinals match-up, Churella, the third seeded man from Michigan, defeated No. 10 Lance Palmer, the Ohio State true freshman, by the score of 5-2. Representing Edinboro will be the fifth-seeded Gillespie, who knocked off the defending champ, top-seeded Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota, 3-2. 157: The two wrestlers seeking the title here held their semifinals opponents scoreless. Iowa State senior Trent Paulson, the top seed, shut out Illinois' No. 5 Mike Poeta, 4-0 … while Craig Henning, the Wisconsin junior seeded seventh in the tournament, eeked out a 1-0 win over third-seeded James Strouse of Hofstra. "It's been my goal even when I was a little kid," said Paulson. "I always wanted to be a national champion. To make it to the finals is a dream come true. I have just one more match." 165: Hendricks vs. Perry in the finals -- need we say more? These two have a considerable history, having battled each other seemingly countless times, with Johny Hendricks always coming out on top. The defending champ and top seed from Oklahoma State edged out Big 12 rival Travis Paulson, the fourth seed from Iowa State, 2-1. Iowa's Mark Perry, seeded second, was taken into overtime by Mike Patrovich… but the Hawkeye got win, 6-4, TB. When asked about his ongoing rivalry with Perry, Hendricks replied, "When we step on the mat, he don't like me and I don't like him. That's just the way it is. Off the mat, I try to be nice to everybody. I try to be, you know, the person that I am off the mat. I want to be that way. And I'll be nice to him until I step on the mat. But as soon as I step on the mat, we're enemies. That's just the way it has to be." "I'm going out to accomplish a goal I've had since I was six," said Perry in his interview after the semifinals. "I've lost to (Hendricks) I don't know how many times. I'm going to say, five, six, seven, eight, in my whole life and I've never beaten him… I'm not scared of him one bit. I'm not intimidated by him, and I'm going out to win. I don't care how many times he's beaten me. This is probably the last time I'll probably get a shot at it, so this is the one that means the most to me." 174: Does the Panther have a prayer against the Tiger? The defending champ and top-seeded Ben Askren of the Missouri Tigers is wrapping up a stellar collegiate career. Will he continue his win streak… or will the second-seeded Pitt Panther Keith Gavin rewrite history? Askren got an 8-3 win over Eric Luedke, the fifth-ranked Iowa Hawkeye… while Gavin edged out Oklahoma State's Brandon Mason, 4-3. Here's what the challenger Gavin said of the champ Askren: "The first two times I wrestled him, I changed my style because I bought into the hype thinking he was superior to everyone. I changed it, according to what I think would beat him and it didn't work, so obviously I'm just going to do what I need to do." "He's going to wrestle," said the undefeated senior from Missouri. "You know what, he might get pinned like he did twice earlier this year, but he's going to give it a swinging chance. He might get me on my back, who knows, at least he's going to try. I know he's going to try." 184: So much for the much-anticipated rematch of the 2007 Big Ten 184 finals. Instead, everything's Jake for the 184 finals… which is bad news for Roger Kish. The muscular Minnesotan, seeded second, lost in the semifinals to redshirt freshman Jake Varner of Iowa State (the sixth seed), 4-2 SV 1 … while top-seeded Jake Herbert, a junior from Northwestern, got a 13-4 major decision over Michigan's Todd Tyrel. "I know he's tough," said Varner of Herbert. "I haven't faced him in college yet. I wrestled him in freestyle right before my freshman year at Ohio State. He beat me once and I beat him twice. But he's tough. It's going to be a tough match." When asked about his "history" with the Cyclone freshman, Herbert replied, "Some people will let that get to them, but Jake looks like he's got it all together. He is a good kid. He works hard. He's got a great coach. It's just another wrestling match. If you can block everything out, it doesn't matter." 197: It'll be a battle of the No. two and nine seeded seniors in the finals. Second-seeded Josh Glenn of American University got his second fall in a row, pinning Hofstra's Chris Weidman, the No. 11 seed, at 4:27. Iowa State's ninth-seeded Kurt Backes got the 5-4 upset victory over Penn State's No. 4 Phil Davis, who was runner-up in this weight class at the 2006 NCAAs. Backes and Glenn wrestled each other at the 2006 Midlands. Here's the Cyclone senior's assessment of his finals rival: "He's a tough wrestler. He's pretty funky. I've faced many people like him. I'm excited for it." "It's going to be a fun match," said Glenn of his Iowa State opponent. "He is the only person I've lost to this year, so I'm looking at having another shot and it's going to be a great match." Hwt: This will be a rematch of the 2007 Big Ten heavyweight title bout of just two weeks ago. Cole Konrad, the defending NCAA and Big Ten champ and top-seeded big man from Minnesota, squeaked by with a 2-1 win over Oregon State's Ty Watterson, seeded fourth… while second-seeded Aaron Anspach from Penn State beat Central Michigan's No. 3 Bubba Gritter, 5-3. Referring to his loss two weeks ago at the Big Ten finals to Konrad, Anspach said, "Obviously I'm not going to do what I did last time. That didn't work too well. I'm going to wrestle a smart match with him. He's obviously a great wrestler, and I'm just going to try to give it my all." "It's going to be a battle," according to the two-time NCAA heavyweight champ. "I don't care what it was last time. It's a national final. They'll be going all out." The relentless pursuit of perfection … Interestingly, of the twenty finalists, seven of them bring undefeated records to the finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills: Sam Hazewinkel, Ryan Lang, Derek Moore, Johny Hendricks, Ben Askren, Jake Herbert, and Cole Konrad. The question is: After Saturday night, who will motor out of Motown still perfect?

Motoring through Day 1 For most of the top-seeded wrestlers at the 2007 NCAA Division I Championships at the Palace of Auburn Hills outside Detroit, the first day of competition was akin to motoring along a smooth stretch of open highway with the cruise control on. However, a number of seeds found a rocky road of bumps and unexpected turns … with at least one ending up completely in the ditch, unable to complete his expected journey to the championship. That wrestler who ran off the road was Max Askren, freshman phenom of the University of Missouri Tigers, seeded first at 197 pounds, who lost his first match of the day, knocking him into the wrestleback bracket. The journey got even rougher in Session 2, where Max lost to unseeded Eric Lapotsky of Bucknell, 5-2, ending the possibility of All-American status. Session 1: Rocky roads for some seeded stars A No. 1 seed crashes big time. Top seeded Missouri 197-pounder Max Askren was the largest casualty of the first session, losing to unseeded Brandon Halsey of Cal State Bakersfield, 5-4. Max is the younger brother of defending 174-pound champ senior Ben Askren, also seeded first. Losing the freshman sensation so early will undoubtedly hurt the Tigers in the team standings. Two No. 3 seeds knocked out. In the 133-pound weight class, unseeded Nick Gallick scored two falls in the first session, the first being Gardner-Webb's Rob Tate at 4:22. But more significant was the Cyclone's upset pin of third-seeded Adam Frey of Cornell at 2:41. Frey had scored first, and, in fact had turned Gallick to get the near fall. However, the Iowa Stater reversed the Cornell freshman to his back, securing the pin. At 174, No. 3 Steve Luke of host school Michigan lost to unseeded Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State, 2-1. Other seeds get run over by unseeded wrestlers. Among the less stunning upsets of the first session: At 125, Drexel's Steve Mytych shut out No. 12 Matthew Eveleth of University of Pennsylvania, 5-0, and Bloomsburg's Michael Sees decisive 9-4 victory over tenth-seeded Iowa State freshman Nick Fanthorpe. In addition to the Gallick-pins-Frey stunner, in the 133-pound weight class, Wisconsin's Zach Tanelli topped No. 11 Drew Headlee of Pittsburgh, 7-4, TB1, and Joe Baker of Navy beat No. 10 Evan Sola of North Carolina, 5-1. At 141, No. 9 Ken Hashimoto of Northern Colorado was pinned in 28 seconds by North Carolina State's Darrion Caldwell, while tenth-ranked Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin lost a 12-10 decision to Tennessee-Chattanooga's Michael Keefe. In the 149-pound weight class, No. 9 Morgan Atkinson of Cal State Fullerton lost to Wisconsin's Tyler Tanner, 8-4. The 157-pound class saw one mild upset: No. 8 Seth Martin of Lock Haven lost on an 8-4 decision to Stanford's Josh Zupancic. At 165, there were three upsets. Eighth-seeded Anceverage of Cornell lost to Minnesota's Tyler Safratowich, 8-4. Arizona State's No. 11 Pat Pitsch came out on the losing end of a 6-4 decision to Central Michigan's Mike Miller. Maryland's Jason Kiessling edged Northern Illinois' twelfth-seeded Johnny Galloway, 4-3. In addition to the previously mentioned Mason-Luke surprise, the 174 weight class saw some lesser upsets, including Northwestern's unseeded Nick Hayes edging Navy's No. 8 Matthew Stolpinski, 6-5, TB1. At 184, in an intrastate matchup, Northern Illinois' Ryan Burk edged No. 11 John Dergo of Illinois, 4-3. There were a couple mild surprises among the big men. Sacred Heart heavyweight Payam Zarrinpour got a decisive 12-3 win over tenth-seeded Cody Parker of Cal Poly, while No. 11 Spencer Nadolsky of North Carolina lost to West Virginia's Dustin Rogers, 3-1, SV 1. Session 2: For most seeds, cruising towards the title With the exception of Max Askren, most of the seeded wrestlers rode through their Thursday afternoon/evening matches without incident. Among the highlights in each weight class: 125: The top ten seeds continue their journey towards a title, with Cornell's second-seeded Troy Nickerson and Minnesota's No. 4 Jayson Ness getting pins, with Iowa's Charlie Falck (seeded fifth) getting a 15-0 tech fall in 7:00, and No. 1 Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma and unseeded Mark McKnight of Penn State getting major decisions. 133: All ten of the top seeds were still in the title hunt as of the end of Thursday. 141: Second-seeded Derek Moore of UC-Davis and unseeded Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State both won their Thursday evening bouts by pin; Minnesota's No. 4 Manny Rivera, No. 6 Alex Tsirtsis of Iowa, and Michigan State's No. 8 Andy Simmons -- all Big Ten men -- earned major decisions. 149: Missouri's unseeded Josh Wagner got the only pin in this class Thursday night; hometown favorite Josh Churella of Michigan (seeded third), No. 7 Scott Erwin of Appalachia State, Ohio State's tenth-seeded Lance Palmer, and No. 12 Dan Vallimont of Penn State got major decisions. 157: Three fall guys -- top-seeded Trent Paulson of Iowa State, No. 7 Craig Henning of Wisconsin, and unseeded Nathan Galloway, formerly of Penn State but now at Rider -- all put their opponents' shoulders to the mat. Major decisions were won by Minnesota's No. 4 C.P. Schlatter, No. 6 Brandon Becker of Indiana, No. 10 Moza Fay of Northern Iowa, and Penn State's unseeded Bubba Jenkins. 165: Three Big 12 wrestlers -- Oklahoma State top-seeded Johny Hendricks, fourth-ranked Trent Paulson of Iowa State, and Missouri's No. 9 Matt Pell -- all won their Thursday night matches by fall … while two unseeded wrestlers got major decisions: Purdue's Justin Fraga, and Andrew Rendos of Bucknell. 174: Unlike his younger brother, defending champ Ben Askren was seemingly on autopilot, getting a win by pin, as did two wrestlers from the Keystone state: second-seed Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh and No. 10 Matt Herrington of Penn. 184: In this weight class, there were two pins (Navy's unseeded Antonio Miranda, and Ohio State's No. 3 Mike Pucillo)… and a string of major decisions, including No. 1 Jake Herbert of Northwestern, No. 2 Roger Kish of Minnesota, No. 4 Tyrel Todd of Michigan, No. 8 Joe Rovelli of Hofstra, and Lehigh's unseeded David Craig. Harvard's No. 10 Louis Caputo got a 17-2 tech fall at 5:53. 197: Among those who won by pin: Hofstra's No. 11 Chris Weidman, No. 12 Dallas Herbst of Wisconsin, and unseeded Hudson Taylor of Maryland. Earning a win by major decision: No. 7 Craig Brester of Nebraska Lincoln, and Kurt Backes, seeded ninth for Iowa State. Heavyweight: Navy's sixth-seeded Ed Pendergrast sunk his opponent with a fall; No. 2 Aaron Anspach of Penn State, Central Michigan's No. 3 Bubba Gritter, and unseeded Payam Zarrinpour of Sacred Heart all scored major decisions.

An interview with: COACH J ROBINSON COACH CAEL SANDERSON COACH BRIAN SMITH COACH JOHN SMITH COACH JOE McFARLAND JOHN CARVALHO: I'll introduce each of the coaches, and we'll ask them to make an opening statement. First, we'll introduce Joe McFarland, eight years head coach at University of Michigan, host school. COACH JOE McFARLAND: Thank you. Nice to be here. The day has finally arrived or the weekend has finally arrived, I should say. This all started back a number of years ago. I got a phone call out of the blue from Dave Beachnau from the Detroit sports commission. He was interested in hosting the NCAA championships. I'll be honest with you, I was pleasantly surprised because I just thought it would be instantly I thought it would be a great idea. Wow, bringing the NCAA championships to the state of Michigan. I know what a special event it is for all of us wrestling fans. It's real nice to have it here and showcase it in the state of Michigan. We're real excited to be hosting this event. I can honestly say just from what I've seen so far over the years, the Detroit Sports Commission, the people in the palace, our administration, is very excited about hosting this event. I know we're going to do a great job. Thank you. JOHN CARVALHO: Next we have Cael Sanderson, first year head coach at Iowa State, Big 12 champions, four time individual NCAA champion. COACH CAEL SANDERSON: Well, it's good to be here. We're real excited as a team, just looking forward to a great tournament. It's going to be a lot of fun. JOHN CARVALHO: Next we have Brian Smith, head coach of the third ranked University of Missouri team. COACH BRIAN SMITH: Real excited to be here. This is my first time getting up here at the table with the coaches for this meeting. I know I have a team that's real excited to come back. We came to Michigan earlier in the year to wrestle some duels. Now we're here in March when it counts. Have a good group of kids. JOHN CARVALHO: John Smith, head coach of our fourth time defending national champion Oklahoma State University. COACH JOHN SMITH: I'm not sure why I'm here. I think our points projection is seventh, so I think I'm taking somebody's spot. When they recommend you be here, you have to come. It's been a challenging year for us, no question. Nothing that hasn't surprised me. I do believe that our team's probably wrestled its best the last couple outings. That's exciting for me. I don't know what that means. I just know that you hope your team's wrestling at their very best at the end. I think we've got that from our team. Although we finished third in the Big 12, I felt like we closed the gap a little bit there. We're going to have to do a lot more this week if we have an opportunity at No. 5. JOHN CARVALHO: Finally we have J. Robinson, head coach at University of Minnesota for 20 years, two national championships. COACH J. ROBINSON: I think for a lot of us this is the culmination of a long year. It gets exciting, exciting for our kids, exciting for our fans because it's a culmination, it's the end. Everybody wants to do well. Our team seems to be getting better and better as we go through the year. We've been trying to focus on some different things as opposed to we were here last year and we're hoping to be ready to wrestle. That's where we want to be. The kids are really focused, they're excited, they've got a lot of emotion right now. We're just looking forward to getting this thing started. JOHN CARVALHO: We'll take your questions. Q. Cael, you've been here four times as a player, first year as a coach. How is it different as a coach as opposed to as a player? COACH CAEL SANDERSON: Well, there's a lot of big differences just because not just trying to control myself, we're trying to get a team ready here. That's what any athlete going to a coach would say. It's been a real good transition for me. I've got an excellent staff that I have a lot of confidence in. They've done a phenomenal job with the team this year. Put us in a position where we can we're going to have to have a great tournament to contend for a championship, but we're here and we're excited for this opportunity. Q. J., you entered last year as kind of the No. 1 team in the country, as well. You finished second to Oklahoma State. What has been the mentality this year heading into the same situation as the favorite again? How have you kind of talked with the guys and prepared them for this heading in as No. 1 again? COACH J. ROBINSON: Well, I think every team you have, it grows and changes from year to year. Last year we had a lot of sophomores. They've never had that kind of pressure on them. They had a great year. They came here with high expectations and things didn't go right. We adjusted some things in our training. But they've grown up. They're a year more confident. They're a year more focused. You bring a lot of experience back that makes a big difference. They've been here before. They came up short. They know what it's like to come up short. I think they're coming with a different focus this year, based upon what happened last year. Q. Brian, last several years your Missouri Tigers have been improving seems like every year. How do you feel your team is prepared to make a run at the title this year? COACH BRIAN SMITH: I just think it's their attitude. It's a great group of young guys that just believe in themselves. They have great work ethics. They started a week after the Nationals. They met together as a team and decided they want to make a run for it. They've worked really hard at that. We've had a great season. But we're going to find out how great it's going to end. They're excited about this weekend. They've looked forward to it. We'll see. But there's a lot of talent in there, too. We've progressed as a program because we've been able to bring in better and better talent. Q. John, regarding your unseeded guys, the draws they got, looks like they probably have the toughest among any team here. What were your thoughts when you saw that, and how do you deal with those guys the next couple days? COACH JOHN SMITH: I probably shouldn't say what I thought right away (laughter). But other than that, you know, I think your first reaction is, did somebody handpick 'em? You know that didn't occur. Your second reaction is, hey, when you're unseeded, that's where you can fall. This is the time you wrestle your best. Regardless of whether it's against the No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the country or who it is. This is the time to wrestle your very best. It is what it is. When you're unseeded, you don't know where you're going to fall. Who's to say you're not as good as him. We've had often in the past guys take over seeds, make a big difference and win championships. For us, that's what's going to have to take place. First round is very important. Could be very, very tough. But regardless of what happens, there's nobody out of that tournament yet. You know, it's been a little process of how I felt about it. But in the end it is about wrestling everybody. You going to have to go through somebody pretty tough. Q. Coach McFarland, the duel standpoint, you didn't have the most impressive record, but you come in with five really good wrestlers. What is your expectation of those guys and the top 5 and top 10? COACH JOE McFARLAND: No question, I can't hide the fact we didn't have the kind of season we wanted to, duel meet season anyway. We've been sort of talking about this all along. Obviously with it being in our backyard we're hoping that's going to be a benefit. I've got five quality guys here. I have four guys seeded in the top four. We need to have a great tournament. Want to make a little noise here and finish up there among the best teams in the country, and I think we can do that if we have the kind of tournament we're hoping for. The guys seem to be excited for. I've only had one guy that's wrestled in this arena before, that being Josh Churella, who won three straight titles in here. That might make him feel a little comfortable. Maybe not. I don't know. I think we're going to have a lot of Michigan fans here. Hopefully we can give them something to get excited about. Last year I felt in Oklahoma City, I think Oklahoma State really caught fire, and those guys fed off that. As a coach, you'd kind of like that happens to us. Still have to wait and see. But our guys are going to have to make our breaks, because the competition's real stiff. We just have to get out and get after it and take it match by match. That's the one things we've been talking about. Q. Brian, someone asked a question of the wrestlers, Cole Konrad, Johny Hendricks and Askren, you guys are the dominant guys and Hendricks and Conrad demurred. But Ben said pretty much it would take an Act of God for him to lose this tournament. Where do you stand on that? Is it good to get people excited right off the bat, or would you rather have them play it cool? COACH BRIAN SMITH: Ben has a lot of confidence (laughter). I knew that when I was recruiting him. When I was recruiting him, when I went to his house when I was recruiting him, he had a picture of Mohammed Ali on the wall. He said, That's my idol. I think he believes in himself so much, but he's always backed it up. It's not something like he'd do anything bad. I think he believes in himself so much, that's what's coming out of it. I don't foresee it as a bad thing, I just think he's very confident of himself. Q. Cael, did you guys do anything as a coaching staff with six new faces in the line in terms of preparing them for this pressure, the length of this tournament, coming in as the No. 2 team differently than you would have done for a more veteran group? COACH CAEL SANDERSON: Well, I think, you know, with six freshmen, we cater to each individual, at least we tried to, to help each one of them prepare. I think with our schedule, wrestling the best teams in the country over and over again, they've seen the best guys in the country, the best teams. I think that's great preparation. I think we trained 'em. I think we're ready. Now it's just a matter of going out there and taking a swing at it, seeing what we can do. We've got six freshmen, only three guys ranked to be All Americans. We're going to have to go in there fighting to compete, but that's the plan. Q. J., CP Schlatter seems to be wrestling his best, not just this year, but perhaps the time he's been at Minnesota. Why is that? Is he feeding off his brother? Is he healthy? COACH J. ROBINSON: It's probably a combination of all those things. But I think probably a part of it is disappointment last year. He changed some things from his freshman to sophomore year, won the Big 10. He came here and he didn't get what he wanted. I think it's been a burning thing for him. We changed some things with him, very specific for him. They're working very well right now to where he is, his focus. I think it's, like everything, as Cael said, you cater to the individual. He needs some specific things. We've done some things coaching wise that I think really helped to bring him along that way. JOHN CARVALHO: Thank you very much.

An interview with: BEN ASKREN NICK SIMMONS JOSH CHURELLA JOHNY HENDRICKS COLE KONRAD SAM HAZEWINKEL JOHN CARVALHO: I'll ask each athlete to make a brief opening statement about their excitement to be here at the NCAA championships. We'll start with Sam. SAM HAZEWINKEL: I'm excited to be here. It's the senior year. I have a little bit of senioritis, being happy to be done. Getting excited about winning a title this year. I've had three thirds. Something about it being your last year, you're excited about coming in to win. I'm excited. JOHN CARVALHO: Nick Simmons, three time Big 10 champion from Michigan State. NICK SIMMONS: For me, it's really exciting especially being in our backyard you know. Just came down this morning, see the venue. I'm just excited to get it going and hopefully walk away with it this year. JOHN CARVALHO: Josh Churella, NCAA All American and team captain for University of Michigan host school. JOSH CHURELLA: Like Nick said, real excited, especially to be back here in our hometown. It's where we both wrestled in our high school state championships. Feel real comfortable. Just good to have your family and friends supporting you here. Just kind of a motivator. Happy to be here, pretty excited about it. JOHN CARVALHO: Ben Askren, defending NCAA champion at 174 pounds, Big 12 champion from Missouri. BEN ASKREN: Also really excited to be here. I definitely will be sad when it is over because it's my last NCAA championship, something that I really enjoyed a lot while I've been here. Also very excited about the team race and everything else that's going to go on this week. JOHN CARVALHO: Next, Johny Hendricks, two time defending NCAA champion at 165 pounds from Oklahoma State. JOHNY HENDRICKS: Just like everybody else is saying, I'm excited to be here definitely in Michigan. Excited with any NCAA tournament. Last tournament of the year. Everything boils down to this tournament. To be able to walk in with the No. 1 seed, coming in here with the goal to win it, can't get much better than that. Finished last year on top hopefully, and we'll see how it goes. JOHN CARVALHO: Thank you. Cole Konrad, three time Big 10 champion from Minnesota, defending champion at 285 pounds. COLE KONRAD: Not sure what the question was (laughter). JOHN CARVALHO: I apologize. Just a brief opening statement about coming to the NCAAs. COLE KONRAD: Yeah, just like these guys, excited to be here. Last tournament for a lot of us guys, for college anyway. It's exciting. Tournament's always exciting, never know what's going to happen, so... JOHN CARVALHO: We'll turn it over for questions. Q. Ben, Johny and Cole, can either of you three guys be stopped in this tournament? BEN ASKREN: Like I said all year, I don't really plan on being stopped. I definitely have it in my mind that there's no way anyone in this tournament can beat me, barring serious injury, which I also don't feel like will happen. I take pretty good care of myself. The answer to that would be no. JOHNY HENDRICKS: I think anything can happen in this tournament. You know, whenever you step on each time you got to make sure that that guy wants to beat you just as bad as you want to beat him. So that's what's great about this tournament. You're getting the best out of everybody. Each match you step out there, you got to make sure you're your best or you're going to be going for third or fourth. Anything can happen. That's why I love this tournament. You have to wrestle your hardest every match and come out. COLE KONRAD: I agree with Johny. You have to be ready to go every match. Anything can happen here. I'm not going to make bold statements like Ben (laughter). Yeah, you just got to be ready to go every time you step out there. I think if all of us step up, focused, ready to go, no, I don't think anyone can beat us. But that mental edge you have to have when you walk out there. Q. Johny, the last time you were in the NCAAs, a lot of people from Michigan were probably not happy to see you win. What kind words do you have for the fans of Michigan? JOHNY HENDRICKS: It's last year. I want to look positive on this year. Yeah, it happened the way that it happened. I really can't get into it, you know. But it did happen the way that it did. I won. But, you know, coming in here, wrestling in Michigan, I think it's going to be great. I think that a lot of people are going to be wanting to see me fall and also wanting to see me win. I don't know which group they're in. I just want to come out here and wrestle my best and give the fans what I've always given them. Q. Nick, you alluded at the beginning of the press conference, talking about like Sam wrestling the last couple years. What are your feelings about not being in the same weight class this year? Were you looking forward to wrestling him this year? Are you happy you don't have to face him again? NICK SIMMONS: I always like wrestling Sam. He's a great competitor. It shows where you both are at. We're both going to train after this and everything else, there's, Olympics and so forth. Now I can just root for him this year. Now we now we both have a chance to win it. Q. Question for Sam. You were out a bit this season with an injury. Can you talk about that and what kind of effect that's had on your season? Obviously you came back at the Big 12 tournament. SAM HAZEWINKEL: Yeah, I think it's a blessing in disguise kind of thing. It's upsetting when you miss out on a duel season. That's where a lot of the fun part of the season is, getting to do the duels. It's only one match. You don't have the same kind of wear and tear. At the same time last couple years at NCAA, I've been going in just kind of worn down, sore and tired. I think this year I get to come in with lots of energy. The difference I feel is great. I got no complaints. Q. Cole, you have wrestled all season like a team that is hell bent on winning the national championship. What has to happen the next three days for you to finish the deal? COLE KONRAD: Man, we just can't overlook anyone. It's an individual tournament obviously, but everyone's just got to step up and wrestle their potential. We overlooked a team at the beginning of the season and it burnt us. None of us have forgot about it. We're focused coming in here. We're going to be looking for a lot of bonus points. If we can do that, hopefully we can spread the lead on some of these other teams. Q. Ben, what has this year been like for you? The team has been fun to be a part of. You were ranked No. 1 for a while. You're defending champ. What has this senior season been like for you? BEN ASKREN: The team has had its ups and downs. We had a lot of ups in the beginning of the season, a few down at the end of the season. We're back on the upswing. I think we had a great Big 12 tournament, even though we didn't win. Everyone wrestled well, always had a few calls not going our way. Could have been us champs and Iowa State second, it was that close. The senior season for me individually has been a lot of fun. Like a farewell trip. We traveled tons, going to Vegas, Michigan. It's been fun everywhere I went. I've had a good time doing all the interviews. It's just been a blast. Couldn't ask for more. Q. (No microphone) BEN ASKREN: I hope I get their best shot. I wouldn't want anything less than their best. You guys may have seen me this year. I get frustrated when people try to lay on their bellies and not try to get pinned. That's people not giving me their best. I expect nothing less than people's best this weekend and I'll be more than ready for it. Q. Josh, you're from a family of tradition, not just Michigan but the NCAA. Can you talk to me about your father and brothers, what it's been like for your family? JOSH CHURELLA: Yeah, it's really been a pretty good experience for all of us. I've watched the tapes and stuff of my dad. It kind of motivates you, influences you growing up and stuff like that. Yeah, it's just been a good thing being able to wrestle with my brother for three years in college and stuff like that. Just a motivator really 'cause I haven't really had the success I've been striving for. Hope for change this year out, so... Q. Johny, everyone has been talking about Minnesota winning this thing, being favored and everything. You guys won the last four. Should people be counting you guys out of the team race at all, or are they overlooking you guys? JOHNY HENDRICKS: Yeah, they're overlooking us. We were 15 points behind Missouri and Iowa State last week at Big 12. We finished, what, a point and a half behind Missouri, two points behind three points, something like that, behind Iowa State. A lot of our guys stepped up and wrestled really good. They had to. We needed 'em to, and that's what they did. That's what we need this weekend, as well. They're very excited. They've worked out as hard as they could, and their mind is where it needs to be. That's all you can ask for at this point. When the tournament starts tomorrow, that's a different story, you know, because anything can happen. Like I told 'em, I'm going to tell y'all, each match you got to step out there and wrestle your best and act like that's going to be your last match because it may be. Q. Ben, do you think the comments you made is going to help motivate your opponents during this tournament? BEN ASKREN: Like I said, I would hope it would motivate them because I want their best. Actually I usually get when I motivate them like that I usually get more than their best. The more fired up they are, the more likely they will be to make a mistake. Any mistake they make will be capitalized on. Q. Nick, you're the No. 1 seed here. You're favored to probably win the title at 133. It's just you and your brother. You don't have any other teammates here. How hard is that to compete in this tournament without sort of a team presence? NICK SIMMONS: I mean, it's hard, you know. We expected more to come out through the Nationals. But I got my brother there. Like I said, we're close. I know a lot of fans from back home are going to be here. I know for the most part my whole team is going to be here anyway watching through the tournament, whatever days they can make it down. Me and Andy are pretty close anyways. We live together and everything else. We always support each other, help each other through everything. So, I mean, it's really unfortunate we didn't have anyone else make it here. But me and Andy push each other. We're always there for each other. That's about all we need. JOHN CARVALHO: I want to thank our student athletes for taking the time for interviews.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- After winning three titles and placing six wrestlers at the Big Ten Championships, the Wildcats head to Auburn Hills, Mich., for the NCAA Wrestling Championships. First-round action gets underway Thursday and Saturday night's finals will be televised live by ESPN. Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) both earned No. 1 seeds. "We've been focusing on this competition all year," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "How you finish at the NCAA Championships is what you are judged on, not rankings or dual meet records." The 'Cats will be led by a trio of Big Ten champions in Lang at 141 lbs., Herbert at 184 and third-seeded Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) at 197. They will be joined by fourth-seeded heavyweight Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion), junior Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) at 174 lbs. and true freshman Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) at 125. The 'Cats enter the tournament battle-tested, having posted a combined 60-23 mark against NCAA qualifiers. Northwestern captured three titles at the 2007 Big Ten Championships as Lang, Herbert and Tamillow all reigned supreme in their respective weight classes. Herbert's title was his second while Lang and Tamillow won their first Big Ten championships. Herbert was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler as Northwestern finished sixth with 84 points. NU qualified six wrestlers for the NCAA Championships as Fox finished third at heavyweight and Precin and Hayes finished seventh at 125 and 174 lbs., respectively. Precin enters the championships with a 31-13 record at 125 lbs. The freshman fell in his first two matches of the Big Ten Championships, but pinned Ohio State's Will Livingston -- his eighth fall of the season -- to capture seventh place and a berth in the NCAA Championships. He owns a 7-7 record against NCAA qualifiers with key wins over Iowa's fifth-seeded Charlie Falck, Penn State's Mark McKnight and Central Michigan's Luke Smith. "He has over 30 wins at a very tough weight class," Cysewski said. "He has been doing great all year and there no reason why he can't place this weekend." Top-seeded Lang is a perfect 25-0 and captured his first-career conference title at the Big Ten Championships. Six of his wins have come against wrestlers in the tournament field with two wins over Iowa's sixth-seeded Alex Tsirtsis. Lang finished fourth at last year's championships. "Ryan missed a few weeks with an injury, but it hasn't slowed him down at all," Cysewski said. "He is healthy and wrestling well." Hayes sits at 20-13 on the year at 174 lbs. and has posted a 6-10 mark against NCAA qualifiers. "He is a veteran at 174 and that is a weight where he can be in the mix," Cysewski said. "Nick has experience and I'd like to think he can be an All-American also." Top-seeded Herbert is 27-0 and earned his second-career Big Ten title. Twelve of the junior's 27 wins have come against wrestlers in this year's field. He has wins over No. 2 seed Roger Kish of Minnesota, No. 3 seed Mike Pucillo of Ohio State and No. 4 seed Tyrel Todd of Michigan. He has also downed No. 11 seed John Dergo of Illinois and Virginia's 12th-seeded Rocco Caponi. "Jake has been ranked No. 1 all year and if he wrestles well like he has all season, he should be a national champion," Cysewski said. "He still needs to take the tournament one match at a time." At 197 lbs., Tamillow, NU's third Big Ten champion, enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed. He owns a 34-3 record and topped Ohio State's sixth-seeded J.D. Bergman to win his conference crown. The junior is 15-3 against the field and has recorded multiple wins over Central Michigan's 10th-seeded Wynn Michalak and also downed Wisconsin's 12th-seeded Dallas Herbst. "He has been very solid down the stretch," Cysewski said. "He is a high seed, but needs to wrestle well to do get the results he's looking for." Fourth-seeded Fox rounds out Northwestern's contingent. The junior owns a 28-4 record at heavyweight and finished third at this year's Big Ten Championships. Fox is 14-3 against the field with key wins over Central Michigan's third-seeded Bubba Gritter, No. 6 seed Ed Prendergast of Navy, Iowa's seventh-seeded Matt Fields and North Carolina's 11th-seeded Spencer Nadolsky. "Dustin has the ability to wrestle to a great finish at heavyweight," Cysewski said. "We would love nothing more than to see him get a shot at Minnesota's Konrad in the semifinals." While the tournament begins Thursday morning, Northwestern's six wrestlers will not be in action until the evening session, which begins at 5:30 p.m. For updated schedules and brackets, visit ncaasports.com.

Takedown Wrestling Radio along with theMat.com and IntermatWrestle.com will provide complete and total wall to wall coverage of this years championships brought to you in part by Sunflower Wrestling Supply. This broadcast, as always, will be free of charge courtesy of our sponsors. We look forward to hearing from you in the chat room during the championships. Join TDR regulars Scott Casber, Steve Foster, J. Carl Guymon and Ryan Lang for these LIVE broadcasts. Our Broadcast schedule is below: NCAA Division I Championships of Collegiate Wrestling LIVE from Auburn Hills, Michigan March 15-17, 2007 Thursday, March 15 11 a.m. to approx 2 pm -- Session 1 6:30 p.m. -- Session 2 Friday, March 16 11 a.m. to approx 2 pm -- Quarters 7 p.m. -- Semifinals Saturday, March 17 10 a.m. to approx 2 pm -- Medal Matches 8 p.m. -- Finals