InterMat Staff

KEARNEY, Neb. -- J.D. Naig won his third straight national title and Todd Meneely his first Saturday night, pushing the Mavericks into third place in the NCAA Division II wrestling tournament at the Health and Sports Center. Central Oklahoma captured the team title, followed by the host school, Nebraska-Kearney. Naig finished his season at 42-7 and his career at 140-26, fourth-best all-time at UNO, with a dominating 13-1 win over Michael Jackson of Indianapolis in the 174-pound title bout. It was the second straight year that Naig defeated Jackson in the championship match. Naig, who was third as a freshman, also won the 165-pound title as a sophomore. Naig is just the third three-time national champion in school history, following Roy Washington in 1968-70 and Les Sigman, 2003-06. Meneely scored a first-period takedown and then grinded out a 3-2 victory at 149 pounds over Carson Newman sophomore Mike Rogers. Meneely finished the year 35-3. The Mavericks, fourth entering the Saturday night finals, moved past Minnesota State, Mankato in the team standings with Naig's win. UNO 184-pounder Austin Boehm, the first true freshman to wrestle for the school in a championship match, lost his final bout to Jared Deaguero of Adams State, 9-1. Earlier in the day, redshirt freshman Siim Bribieseca, UNO's fourth All-American in the tournament, suffered a knee injury and defaulted, finishing eighth.

Evans caps off perfect season Kyle Evans capped a perfect season with the perfect combination -- individual and team national championships. The Central Oklahoma junior became the first wrestler in school history to complete an unbeaten season at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships here Saturday night, routing Shippensburg's Steve Fittery 7-1 to capture the 141-pound title and finish 39-0 as the No. 3-ranked Bronchos wrapped up their 15th team championship. Evans was UCO's lone winner in five finals matches, with 125 Tyler Zukerman, 133 Jared Henning, 157 Jason Leavitt and 285 Josh LeadingFox all finishing as runner-up. The Bronchos also got a third-place showing from 184 Jared Hess, while 149 Shea Timothy was fourth and 197 Heath Jolley fifth. UCO ended with 124.5 points in winning its seventh Division II crown, including a runaway triumph in 1995 the last time the tournament was held in Kearney. Tournament host and top-ranked Nebraska-Kearney was second with 108.5 points, followed by No. 4 Nebraska-Omaha (67.5) and No. 2 Minnesota State-Mankato (63). Evans, ranked No. 1 all season after finishing as the national runner-up last year, completed his unblemished season with a dominating finals performance. The Edmond junior had takedowns in the first and third periods, a reverse in the second and a riding time point to easily dispatch Fittery and finish with a 33-4 scoring advantage in four tournament wins. "I thought about being undefeated a lot during the regular season and it was starting to get to me," said Evans, now 93-18 for his career and the winner of 61 of his last 63 bouts. "But once we got to the regionals and nationals it was a whole different season and I didn't think about it. The team got closer and I started thinking of the team goal and not individual ones." "It's a great feeling and I couldn't be more proud of my team and what they accomplished," said 25th-year head coach David James, who has led UCO to 12 of its 15 national titles and was named Division II Coach of the Year for the fourth time. "We came ready to wrestle and everybody went out and laid it on the line. We got contributions from all 10 guys and they were just determined to get the job done." Three of UCO's four other finalists all lost close matches. Zukerman, the true freshman from Lawton who upset the Nos. 2, 4 and 8 ranked wrestlers en route to the finals, fell to top-rated Trevor Charboneau of Nebraska-Kearney 5-2. Zukerman trailed 3-2 in the final 15 seconds of the match when Charboneau countered his takedown attempt and instead got the clinching takedown. The unranked Henning had wins over Nos. 1, 2 and 6 in making the finals –- including the last two national champions at the weight –- before dropping a tough 1-0 decision to Kutztown's No. 4 Joe Kemmerer. The only scoring was Kemmerer's third-period escape, with Henning unable to come up with a winning takedown in the final minute. Top-rated Tony Guerra of Findlay -- the champion at 149 last year -- trimmed No. 3 Leavitt 2-1 in the overtime tiebreaker. Leavitt nearly got the winning takedown at the end of the one-minute sudden victory period, but he couldn't' escape in the second 30-second tiebreaker after Guerra got loose with 10 seconds left in the first one. LeadingFox fell behind 4-2 in the first period to No. 1 Tervel Dlagnev, then was caught and pinned early in the second stanza while trying to roll through and get a reverse. KEARNEY, Neb. (March10) – No. 3-ranked Central Oklahoma pushed five individuals into the finals and added three other top-five placers to wrap up its 15th national wrestling championship here Saturday afternoon at the Health and Sports Center. Central Oklahoma wraps up NCAA title It's the seventh NCAA Division II title for the Bronchos, who also won here in 1995. UCO will go into tonight's championship finals with an insurmountable 22-point lead over top-ranked and tournament host Nebraska-Kearney (120.5-98.5), with No. 2 Minnesota State-Mankato (59) third and No. 4 Nebraska-Omaha (58.5) fourth. Tyler Zukerman at 125 pounds and Jared Henning at 133 opened Saturday morning's semifinal round with their third straight upset wins to once again spark the Bronchos, with UCO also moving 141 Kyle Evans, 157 Jason Leavitt and 285 Josh LeadingFox into the finals. Jared Hess added a third-place finish at 184, while 149 Shea Timothy was fourth and 197 Heath Jolley fifth. "It's a great feeling and I couldn't be more proud of my team," said 25th-year head coach David James, who has led UCO to 12 of its 15 national titles. "We came ready to wrestle and everybody went out and laid it on the line. We won some big matches early in every round and that gave us great momentum." Zukerman exploded for 10 third-period points to score a stunning 10-2 major decision over No. 2 Arsenia Barksdale of Adams State. The Lawton freshman broke a 1-1 tie with a takedown midway through the final stanza, added a pair of near-falls to extend the lead to 8-1 and then followed a Barksdale escape with a takedown at the buzzer to earn the bonus-point win. Henning continued his amazing tournament with a 6-4 upset of No. 2 Andy Uhl of Findlay, avenging a loss in the Midwest Regional two weeks ago. Henning used a takedown with one second left in the first period to take a 4-1 lead and he made that hold up, barely fending off Uhl's last-second takedown try to end the match. Evans had his closest call of an unbeaten season in a 4-2 sudden-victory win over West Liberty State's Doug Sura. Evans gave up just his fourth takedown of the season in falling behind 2-0 in the first 30 seconds of the match, cut the deficit to 2-1 with an escape and tied it with a third-period escape to force overtime. The Edmond junior then pulled out the tense win on a takedown with just three seconds left in the one-minute sudden-victory period to improve to 38-0. Leavitt knocked off No. 2 Brad Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside, last year's 149-pound national champion, with a tough 4-3 triumph. Leavitt's first-period takedown was the difference in the match as the Ponca City junior fought off Becker in the final 30 seconds to secure the win. LeadingFox was in control all the way in a 6-0 shutout of Shippensburg's Jason Groller. The Pawnee senior took a 2-0 lead with a first-period takedown, controlled Groller the entire second period and added an escape and takedown in the final stanza. Timothy dropped an 8-2 semifinal decision to No. 2 Todd Meneely of Nebraska-Omaha, while Hess fell to No. 2 Jared Deaguero of Adams State 6-1. Timothy and Hess both bounced back with consolation wins, with Hess topping No. 1-rated Mike Corcetti of Pittsburgh-Johnstown 3-2 to take third while Timothy dropped his consolation finals bout. Jolley had a second-period fall in his first consolation match Saturday morning and then came back from a semifinal loss to upend top-rated Casey Woodall of Adams State 3-2 in the overtime tiebreaker.

KEARNEY, Neb. -- The Adams State College wrestling team is hoping that seven is a lucky number as the Grizzlies enter the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championships, which begin Friday morning in the University of Nebraska-Kearney's Health & Sports Center. The Grizzlies have qualified seven wrestlers for the tournament and are ranked seventh in the final NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll, released last week. Coach Jason Ramstetter and his squad will be in search of a fifth straight top-10 finish in the tournament and with some minimal breaks, the Grizzlies could easily find themselves with a podium finish for the first time in their NCAA Division II era (1993-Present) history. Four members of the Grizzly contingent have previous national championship experience. Juniors Evan Copeland (Las Cruces, N.M.) and Jared Deaguero (Commerce City, Colo.) and senior Casey Woodall (Morenci, Ariz.) have all earned All-America honors, which go to the top eight finishers at each weight class, at previous national championships. Senior 174-pound James Reynolds (Monte Vista, Colo.) will also be gunning to end his career with All-America honors in this his third national championship experience. The Grizzlies also have three redshirt freshmen making the trip in 125-pound Arsenia Barksdale (Norfolk, Va.), 141-pound Joey Deaguero (Commerce City, Colo.) and 157-pound Mike Gallegos (Alamosa, Colo.). First round action begins at 11 a.m. (CST), Friday. The championship quarterfinals and initial consolation rounds commence at 6 p.m. (CST) that evening. With the field of 160 wrestlers -16 in each weight class - trimmed in half by the end of the night, the tournament, featuring championship semifinals and placing matches, will resume at 10 a.m. (CST) on Saturday. The championship finals, which follow a parade of All-Americans, will commence at 7 p.m. (CST). Those championship finals will be televised by a variety of sports networks around the country. Local viewers can catch the coverage on a tape-delay basis on Altitude Sports & Entertainment at 9:30 p.m. MST. Fans can also catch the NCAA Productions broadcast live via the internet at www.ncaasports.com/dii. In looking at the national rankings, Woodall, Jared Deaguero and Barksdale have the best chances to win individual national titles. Woodall, a returning All-American at 197 pounds, has been ranked first in his weight class during the entire season and is riding a 15-match winning streak. Sporting a 26-8 record overall, Woodall has only been beaten once by a Division II opponent this year. That man is the top-ranked heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev of the host Lopers, favored to win the national title. Woodall, who also qualified for the national championships at 184 pounds as a sophomore in 2004 before redshirting in 2004-05, finished eighth at last year's national championships in Findlay, Ohio. He will face Newberry (S.C.) College's Kelly Anundson in the first round and could face Augustana (S.D.) College's Nate Buys, ranked fourth in the nation, in the quarterfinals. Woodall defeated Anundson by an 11-4 score in the semifinals of the Midwest Classic, which Woodall won, back in January. Barksdale is also quite hot winning 13 of his last 15 matches and comes into the national tournament ranked second at 125 pounds. Named as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Freshman of the Year after a runner-up performance at the West Regional/RMAC Championships on Feb. 25, Barksdale has only lost two matches while wearing a Grizzly uniform. Those setbacks were both to Nebraska-Kearney's top-ranked Trevor Charboneau. Barksdale is 23-5 overall this year, but a solid 14-2 while representing the Grizzlies during the spring semester. He will face Augustana's Chris Trampe, ranked seventh nationally, in the first round. Jared Deaguero is also ranked second in the nation at 184 pounds. He is 15-5 on the year and is coming off a title at the West Regional/RMAC Championships. Deaguero joined the Grizzly squad mid-year after a long-hiatus from collegiate wrestling. Deaguero will be making his second career trip to the national tournament. He also went in 2003 while at the University of Northern Colorado and came home with a fourth place finish and All-America honors in the 165-pound bracket. Copeland is making his third national tournament appearance at 165 pounds. He finished third as a redshirt freshman before failing to place after an injury plagued sophomore season. In 2006-07, Copeland has posted a 27-11 record. He finished fourth at the West Regional/RMAC Championships after surviving a true-fourth place challenge match to punch his ticket to Kearney, where he was victorious over Nebraska-Kearney's Taylor May on Feb. 10. Because of his fourth place finish, Copeland has a tough road ahead and will face Kutztown (Pa.) University's Kevin Kalbach in the first round. Kalbach is 15-3 on the year and won the East Regional title. He is tabbed seventh in the nation. Copeland will then face Ashland's Eric Lakia or Upper Iowa's Mitch Norton, ranked third, in his second match. Lakia, who medically forfeited to Copeland in the consolation bracket at the Midwest Classic, was nationally-ranked earlier in the year. Reynolds holds a 22-13 record coming into the national tournament and finished a career-best second at the West Regional/RMAC Championships. He will face Minnesota State-Moorhead's Tyler Tubbs in the first round and is guaranteed to face a nationally-ranked opponent in his second match. Potential opponents are fourth-ranked Michael Jackson of Indianapolis or seventh-ranked Quinn Tolbert of Newberry. Reynolds fell to Jackson by an 8-7 count in the quarterfinals of the Midwest Classic but beat Tolbert 4-2 to claim third place in that tournament. Although they are inexperienced, when compared to some of their teammates, Joey Deaguero and Gallegos have the potential to fare quite well. Deaguero, 30-13 this season, leads the team in wins and finished third at the West Regional/RMAC Championships. Taking a physical beating in that tournament, Deaguero battled back to claim a national tournament spot and will now face Mercyhurst's (Pa.) J.J. Zanetta, ranked seventh in the nation, in his first round match. Top-ranked Kyle Evans of Central Oklahoma, a perfect 35-0 on the year, looms as a potential quarterfinal opponent. Gallegos dropped out of the national rankings after a fourth place finish at the West Regional/RMAC Championships but still comes into nationals with a fine 20-7 record. He also appears to have a tough draw and will face the nation's top-ranked Antonio Guerra of Findlay (Ohio). Guerra, the defending national champion at 149 pounds, edged Gallegos by a 6-4 score in the Midwest Classic Championship, the first tournament that Gallegos was in a Grizzly uniform for. The Grizzlies have qualified 26 wrestlers for the national tournament in the last three years alone and had five wrestlers, including Woodall, earn All-America honors last year. The Grizzlies finished ninth in the team standings.

Two individuals and the Wartburg College 2006-07 wrestling team earned academic honors from the National Wrestling Coaches Association Friday night, March 2. Senior heavyweight Brian Borchers of Holstein and sophomore 141-pounder Zach McKray of Iowa City were named to the NWCA's Scholar All-American squads. Borchers, a math/computer science double major, and McKray, an exploring major, mark the 15th consecutive year that the Knights have had at least one wrestler on the NWCA Scholar All-American list. Wartburg was ranked No. 13 on the NWCA's Division III top 20 scholar team list. The Knights' cumulative GPA of 3.266 was just 18-hundredths of a point out of the top 10. Case Western Reserve University of Cleveland, Ohio, was first with a 3.580 team GPA.

The nation's newest Division I wrestling conference -- the Western Wrestling Conference (WWC) -- will be represented by 19 individuals at the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, Mich. The WWC was formed in April 2006 and this will mark the first appearance on the national stage for the new wrestling league. The WWC 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. Utah Valley State is ineligible for NCAA Championship competition until the 2009-2010 season, because of its transition from NJCAA to NCAA Division I athletics. "We're extremely pleased with the representation institutions from the WWC will have at the national tournament," Air Force's Deputy Director of Athletics Colonel William Walker said. "Our teams competed admirably at the NCAA West Regional, and I'm confident they'll open some eyes around the country next week. We can't wait." The University of Northern Iowa will send six individuals to the championships. Competing for the Panthers at the national tournament will be 133-pounder Kyle Anson (Iowa City, Iowa), 141-pounder C.J. Ettelson (Hudson, Iowa), 157-pounder Moza Fay (Anamosa, Iowa), 165-pounder Nick Baima (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), 174-pounder Alex Dolly (Mishawaka, Ind.) and 197-pounder Andrew Anderson (Sioux City, Iowa). The University of Northern Colorado will send five individuals to the NCAA Championships in its first year of Division I championship eligibility for its wrestling program. The Bears will have 125-pounder Tony Mustari (Greeley, Colo.), 141-pounder Kenny Hashimoto (Thornton, Colo.), 157-pounder Luke Salazar (Brighton, Colo.), 184-pounder Shawn Vincent (Evanston, Wyo.) and heavyweight Reece Hopkin (Kersey, Colo.). The University of Wyoming will be represented by four individuals at the NCAA Championships. The Cowboys will send 125-pounder Nick Ramirez (Albuquerque, N.M.), 133-pounder Cory VomBaur (Vancouver, Wash.), 149-pounder Carter Downing (Woodruff, Utah) and 197-pounder Sam Wendland (Bozeman, Mont.). North Dakota State University will send three individuals to the NCAA Championships. It is the first time NDSU will send individuals to the NCAA Championships since moving up to Division I status. The Bison will be represented by 125-pounder Eric Hoffman (Davenport, Iowa), 149-pounder Ryan Adams (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and 197-pounder Jacob Bryce (Minnewaska, Minn.). South Dakota State will send one individual to the NCAA Championships in its first year of eligibility for the Division I championships for its wrestling program. The Jackrabbits will be represented by 165-pounder Ryan Meyer (Parkston, S.D.).

It's the weekend before the big dance and I for one am very excited to say the least. This year may not have any more importance than years gone by, but clearly the current is shifting, changing. The powers in the sport are evolving. If you haven't purchased your tickets to Detroit, please do so. Join me and witness the World's greatest athletes. It will be incredible! Tom Carr, Guest Co-Host Asst HD Ch at Central College in Pella, Iowa. This team is looking for a new head coach. Is that you? Let's talk to Tom Carr and find out what qualities a successful candidate will posses. 9:05: Randy Couture, five-time UFC heavyweight champion (Sponsored by CL-ONE Energy Drink). In what will be forever known as one of the greatest night in mixed martial arts history, 43-year-old Randy "The Natural" Couture came out of retirement to dominate Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia for five rounds to become the three time heavyweight champion of the world and the first fighter in UFC history to become a five-time champion between two weight divisions. 9:20: Brian Smith, Head Coach of Missouri Tigers, Finished No. 2 in the Big 12's, ranked in the top five in the country. How do you prepare for the biggest stage of them all? 9:40: Ben Askren, Recently won third career Big 12 wrestling title at 174 lbs. Having a great time on the road to a repeat. 10:05: Tom Shifflet, Hofstra's Head Coach, victorious after winning the CAA Championships, has a stable full of horses ready to run in Detroit. Tune in to find out more. 10:20: Tom Ortiz, Head Coach AZ State joins us to talk about the year and the future for the Sun Devil program. 10:40: Heath Grimm, Head Coach Upper Iowa joins us live from his Division II Championships.

USA Wrestling has named Rochester, N.Y. as the host for the 2007 U.S. Beach Wrestling National Championships and World Team Trials, set for July 6-8. The bid was awarded to the Monroe County Sports Commission. The competition will be held on Charlotte Beach, which is located on Lake Ontario in Rochester. Held alongside the USA Wrestling Beach Wrestling Nationals will be two other major sports events, the American Power Boat Association's Toyota Water Jam and the New York Beach Volleyball Championships. The competition will serve as the qualifying event for the U.S. team that will compete in the World Beach Wrestling Championships in Antalya, Turkey, Sept. 7-9. The United States placed second in the 2006 World Beach Wrestling Championships in the men's division and third in the women's division, and had three individual World medalists. "Sports have a significant economic impact in our community and we are proud to be selected as the host of the 2007 Beach National Championships. We look forward to welcoming the athletes, officials, and families to our community to experience a special weekend at Ontario Beach Park," said Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks. "USA Wrestling is pleased to award the 2007 U.S. Beach National Wrestling Championships to Rochester, N.Y. and look forward to presenting an outstanding event," said Pete Isais, USA Wrestling National Events Director. "The Rochester community has proven its ability to organize sports competitions, and has been very successful with USA Wrestling events. We are also very excited with the opportunity to showcase Beach Wrestling alongside other popular summer sports activities." In addition to the Beach Wrestling Nationals, the APBA jet-ski competition and the beach volleyball tournament, there will be other community activities held during the weekend. The second annual Ontario Beach Sports and Music Festival will be held in the city, with numerous entertainment opportunities. "We did this last year and it came off very well," said J.B. Shares of Nova Event Management, who works with the Ontario Beach Sports and Music Festival. "There was a huge turnout. The Toyota Water Jam Series is a big success. We have run volleyball events in Rochester for 20 years, and the beach volleyball tournament was successful. This year, we will have a DJ Jam on the beach and along the boardwalk. There will be bands at the after-party. We hope to have a break dance competition on the boardwalk. We will continually add more things as we move forward." Serving as event director for the U.S. Beach Wrestling National Championships and World Team Trials will be Don Murray, the head wrestling coach at SUNY-Brockport. Murray has served many years as event director for successful USA Wrestling competitions, including the annual Northeast Regional Championships as well as a number of Regional Olympic Trials competitions. "This is great for Rochester and the local wrestling community," said Murray. "It will be fun for the citizens of this region to see this exciting wrestling competition at the beach. It will also be an outstanding opportunity for local wrestlers to compete in a national tournament held in their area. It is tremendous to have another national event coming to Rochester. It shows the outstanding job that the Monroe County Sports Commission has done attracting major national events to our area." Beach Wrestling was added as a new style of international wrestling, starting in 2005. The first World Beach Wrestling Championships was held in 2006. Athletes compete on sand, in a style that features takedowns within a ring. The sport has been growing in popularity across the nation. This will be the second year that USA Wrestling has hosted a national championship event in Beach Wrestling. The first U.S. Beach Wrestling National Championships was held at the Hilton Singer Island Waterfront Resort in Riviera Beach, Fla., August 19, 2006. A flier with specific details on the U.S. Beach Wrestling National Championships and World Team Trials will be published shortly. There will be both men's divisions and women's division at this tournament. In addition to the Senior competition, there will also be national championship events in Beach Wrestling on the Veterans, Junior, Cadet and Kids levels. For the U.S. Beach National Championships in all age divisions, weight classes will be determined after weigh-ins. The World Team Trials, which will determine the U.S. team for the World Championships, will be held in the weight classes recognized by FILA, the international wrestling federation. The weight classes for men are Under 85 kg/187.25 lbs. and Over 85 kg/187.25 lbs. and the weight classes for women are Under 70 kg/154 lbs. and Over 70 kg/154 lbs. The medalists in each weight class at the U.S. Beach National Championships on the Senior level will qualify to compete at the World Team Trials, which will be held immediately following the completion of the Beach Nationals competition. Wrestlers and their families are encouraged to mark their calendar for July 6-8, and plan to attend a great weekend of wrestling action and outdoor fun in Rochester, N.Y. Information regarding the U.S. National Beach Wrestling Championships, Ontario Beach Sports and Music Festival and the other activities during the weekend will be updated regularly at: http://www.monroecountysports.org About the Monroe County Sports Commission The Monroe County Sports Commission (MCSC) is a private, non-profit, 501c(3) corporation whose goal is to bring organized sporting events of all kinds for all ages to Rochester, New York. MCSC actively solicits amateur championships, sports-related clinics and conventions. MCSC and the Greater Rochester Visitors Association work together to assure that your visit will be a memorable one. Our experience in event planning, sponsorships, public relations and hospitality services can help make your event a complete success.

One could call Jamill Kelly a bit of a late bloomer in the sport of wrestling. As a high school wrestler, he was never a state champion. He placed fourth at the California State Championships. As a Division I wrestler at Oklahoma State, he was never an All-American at the NCAA Championships. But Kelly went on to have great success in freestyle wrestling. He placed fifth or higher at the U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas from 2001-2003. He earned a silver medal at the 2003 Pan American Games. Most notably, though, Kelly earned a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Jamill KellyKelly is now in his first season as an assistant coach at Harvard. Prior to coming to Harvard, he coached the Cowboy Wrestling Club, which he founded in 2001. RevWrestling.com caught up with Kelly and asked him about his rapid rise in the international style of wrestling, whether he plans to compete again, what makes John Smith successful as a coach, the expectations at Oklahoma State, and what he expects out of Harvard at the NCAA Championships in Auburn Hills, Michigan. You grew up in California, went to college at Oklahoma State, and now you're out East at Harvard. What do you consider home? Kelly: That's a good question. I still consider California home. I was there longer than I was any other place. I guess that I can kind of say that I was California-born and Oklahoma-bred. I don't know what I'm going to say for my final part. I would always call California home, though. But I probably made most of my friends … and spent most of my adult life in becoming a better person in Oklahoma. You went on to win a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games. Some hardcore collegiate fans have a hard time understanding how you could go from never earning All-American status to being the second best wrestler in the world in your weight class. How do you explain your rapid rise in those three or four years following your collegiate career? Kelly: Mainly it was confidence. Wrestling is so mental. In college, I didn't have the mentality that I should have had to be competitive and be a national champion. What people don't realize is the matches I was losing in college, I was losing like 3-2 and 2-1. I was competitive in every match that I wrestled. I had victories over guys like Michael Lightner of Oklahoma, who was a four-time All-American and NCAA champ. And some other guys as well. I just couldn't get over that hump mentally that had me believing that I could beat those guys on a consistent basis. That was something that I was finally able to get over in freestyle. Do you think your wrestling style was better suited for freestyle? Kelly: Honestly, I think I was a lot calmer in freestyle. I had a lot more confidence in it. But the main thing was really just believing in myself. Believing that I'm better than these guys, that I can beat these guys. Instead of just going out there and wrestling not to lose … rather than wrestling to win. I think that was my biggest problem in college. I was only a fourth-place finisher at the state tournament in California. Guys like Eric Guerrero and Stephen Abas, who were in school when I was in school, you know, they were three-time state champs and Junior National champs. When I got in the room at Oklahoma State, I was kind of in awe of some of the guys around me because of what they had accomplished. I assumed that since I hadn't accomplished the things that they had accomplished, that they were better than me. That was something that kind of held me back in college. Say I was wrestling a guy from Iowa, who was a returning All-American or NCAA champ, I would assume he was better than me because of what he had accomplished. For the most part, I was beaten before the match. I wasn't giving myself a chance to win. Did you have a conversation with John Smith after your collegiate career was over about continuing in freestyle? Kelly: No, it was kind of weird. My whole decision to go freestyle was totally by chance. I had no intentions to continue to wrestle. There was no reason for me to believe that I could be successful in freestyle and make an Olympic team, considering that I couldn't even All-American in college. Coach Smith was the Olympic coach in 2000 … and I was doing wrestling camps in the summer. We were on our way to Reno, Nevada. We had to stop in Colorado Springs for a training camp he had to attend. I ended up working out with Cary Kolat while we were there. College kids come in during those national team training camps … and the national team guys kind of grab college guys or whatever. I didn't think anything of it. I went to do my camp in Reno … I got back to Stillwater. Teague Moore, who is a good friend of Cary Kolat, gave me a call and said that Cary wanted to work out with me … and asked if I would be interested in coming to West Virginia to train and stay for a week. Jamill KellyAt the time, I still didn't know what I was going to do with my life, so I was like, 'Yeah, sure, I'll go.' I was actually kind of nervous and scared because I had only heard and seen him wrestle … and I wasn't in shape. I went out there and the workouts went well. He liked the way we drilled. We just kind of clicked. I was a good workout partner for him, I guess, so he decided to take me to Sydney as his training partner. That whole experience is what made me decide to give it a chance. I got a chance to workout with him, Terry Brands, and Lincoln McIlravy. I was really doing well with them … and was also learning a lot. I only started wrestling when I was a freshman in high school, so I was still learning a lot about wrestling. That right there propelled me to keep wrestling. Once Coach Smith saw me in that arena, he started really pushing and promoting me, saying, 'Hey, you could be successful in this. This may be your niche.' He just kept pushing me in that direction. Who was the toughest competitor you ever faced here in the United States? Kelly: I would say McIlravy. He brought so many things to the table. It was so hard to really try to scout him … or have a game plan against him because he was so unorthodox in the way he wrestled. He was strong. He was flexible. He just posed so many different problems. He was by far the most difficult. After you earned a silver medal at the Olympic Games, you said, "I think this might be time to end this chapter. I don't want to be defined by just wrestling. There are other things I'd like to do." You stopped competing at what some would consider the prime of your career. It seems like wrestlers have a hard time staying retired. Lincoln McIlravy came out of retirement, Melvin Douglas a few years ago, and most recently Kendall Cross. Is there a chance that you would ever consider competing again? Kelly: You know, I've gone back and forth. I've thought about it a couple times. The competitive nature in you just makes you want to keep competing. The last two World champions at my weight class, in 05 and 06, I beat both of them the last time I wrestled them. So, it kind of makes you think that you're right there. The main reason I decided to stop wrestling was that I just wasn't having any fun anymore. It was becoming a mental strain on me. I wasn't looking forward to practices. I wasn't looking forward to training camps. Wrestling is too hard of a sport. When it starts getting like that, it's time to walk away. I started to thinking back to the reason I did stop wrestling … and realized that it's just time for me to move on … and look at other things. I saw some pictures on your Web site of you at the Olympic Games with various athletes from other sports. What's your most memorable moment in Athens, non-wrestling related? Jamill Kelly with Tennis star Andy Roddick at the 2004 Olympics in AthensKelly: Probably at the opening ceremony. Before all the athletes go out with their countries, we kind of sit in a holding area with every country. I was just kind of standing on the rail, looking around. Larry Brown came up and started talking to me, asking me what sport I did. I told him that I went to Oklahoma State … and of course, he coached at Kansas. We ended up having a 45-minute conversation. I was kind of in awe … of course, I knew he was … but he had no idea who I was. It shows what the Olympics is all about, just bringing people together. I was picking his brain, asking him different questions. And he was actually asking me a lot of wrestling questions … and knew a lot about wrestling. He talked about how much he respected the sport of wrestling. Just that experience … being able to walk out with all the best athletes in the country and being able to represent your country, there's no better feeling than that. Your alma mater, Oklahoma State, is having a bit of a down season by its standards. John Smith was recently quoted as saying that (at least on paper) it does not sound like a team that appears to be challenging for a national championship. Do you think John Smith and the Oklahoma State fans are ever satisfied with anything but a national title? Kelly: Definitely not. I think that's why schools like Iowa, Minnesota, and Oklahoma State have such a high standard … and why they have had so much success. That's all they will settle for. When a kid comes into the room, that's what he has to have on his mind. Ten national champions is the goal that I'm sure all three schools have every year. Of course, that will probably never happen, but that's the goal that each school is going to set. I think that bar is what separates those higher tier schools from the rest of the country. They train for that … and for the most part, they all believe that. That was one thing that was so good for me. Coach Smith never let me settle for anything. Even after I made the team in 03, he was like, 'You just made the team, but you still have to go win a medal.' That constant reminder that, 'Don't be satisfied until you reach the top' is something that constantly motivates teams like that. That pushes them toward the success that teams like Minnesota, Iowa, and Oklahoma State have. So, of course, unless it's a national championship, it will be a disappointment. They have some young guys who will hopefully step up at the end of this year … and definitely the next couple of years they'll put themselves right back in the picture for a national title. Is that what makes John Smith so successful, the fact that he's never satisfied with anything but being the best Jamill Kelly with John Smith and Kevin Jackson at the 2004 Olympics in AthensKelly: Among other things. When you have a coach that has been there, done that at such a high level, you have no other way but to respect him. What he tells you, you just believe it to be the gospel. I felt the same way with Kevin Jackson and Tom Brands, who also coached me during the Olympics. Anything they tell you, you take it to heart … and you don't just let it go over your head. Just for the fact that they've been there, you have total faith in them … that 'I'm going to go out and battle for this guy with everything I've got … because he's been there, done that' … I just want to wrestle as hard as I can. When you have a coach that you can wrestle hard for, that makes a big difference. When you come off the mat, and if you don't succeed, you feel somewhat disappointed that you let him down. You may not necessarily need to look at it like that, but it's just extra motivation when you have somebody in your corner … if you're finding it hard and struggling yourself, well, you know you want to win for your coach, you want to win for him. Does John Smith still wrestle with the guys in practice? Does he go live at all? Kelly: When I first got to school there, he wrestled with us a lot. He'll drill with the guys occasionally. The last time me and him wrestled was when I made the Olympic team. He kind of called me out, so we hooked it up a little bit. How did that go? Kelly: Um … I won. He probably won't admit to it. But, you know, I won. He was good at really getting the intensity out of me sometimes. You get with the guys in practice, a lot of them, you get to kind of have your way with them, and you know exactly what they're going to do. So, sometimes he would go with me, just because he knew how he could bring another level out of me. He came up to me, just a random day at practice, and was like, 'I know that I could have made the (Olympic) team in 96 and 2000. Now I'm going to see if I could have made the team in 2004. I kind of looked at him like, 'I can't believe you just said that to me.' But he knew that would get kind of a rise out of me and bring my intensity level up. Just little things like that, I think is what makes him a great coach. He knows how to bring that out in each individual. Did you wrestle with Tom Brands leading up to the Olympic Games? Kelly: Actually, I didn't. Before the Trials, I wrestled with Terry Brands. I did workout with him in previous years, but not leading up to the Olympics. You're now an assistant coach at Harvard. You qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships. What are your expectations as a coach from a team standpoint? Kelly: Well, we have four guys who I think are all capable of earning All-American honors. Actually, all of them have shown in the past that they're capable of even potentially winning an NCAA championship. Robbie Preston lost a close, overtime match to Matt Valenti, who is the defending national champion. Max Meltzer lost a heartbreaker to Ryan Lang, who is ranked No. 1. JP O'Connor is right there in the mix as a freshman. And Louis Caputo, who was a Junior World team member last year, has also been right in the mix with all the top guys in the country. Our goal is definitely to have all four guys All-American, for sure, but we hope to have somebody on that center mat. When it's all said and done, how great can JP O'Connor be? Kelly: Really, the sky is the limit. He has a great work ethic. He's just a great kid. He does everything the right away. I think he'll turn a lot of heads, especially for people who haven't seen him wrestle. He's going to pose a lot of problems. We're really excited to see how he does next weekend. You're on staff at Harvard with Olympic hopeful Jesse Jantzen. What has it been like working with Jantzen? Do you serve as a training partner for him? Kelly: Yeah, we actually wrestle as much as we can. We're both, of course, helping the team out and getting the team ready. But sometimes we'll wrestle before practice. I'll just give him my view on certain things. It's been good so far. It was kind of soap opera, drama-filled thing when I first came. Since I used to workout with Zack Esposito and also coach Zack … and he beat Zack in the finals … so all that weird stuff like that … but, no … it's been good so far. Do you have aspirations of becoming a Division I head wrestling coach? Jamill KellyKelly: Like most young coaches, of course that would be my ultimate goal. But the nature of the sport, and the way it is, it's really difficult because jobs don't come around that often. I'm not opposed to looking at different options outside of wrestling. I'm also interested in possibly getting more involved with USA Wrestling and looking out for a coaching position at the Olympic Training Center. But for now, I'm happy at Harvard. I'm just going to keep learning and trying to be the best coach that I can be. Editor's Note: If you would like to learn more about Jamill Kelly, check out www.jamillkelly.com

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Mike Patrovich of Hofstra University is the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestler of the Week, and Louie Ruggirello of Hofstra is the CAA Rookie Wrestler of the Week, for all competition February 27-March 5. Patrovich, a senior from Islip, NY (Islip) who is ranked sixth in the nation, won his 165 pound weight class at the CAA Championships, and was named the tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler. Patrovich won by tech fall in the first round (20-5), won by fall in the semi-finals over the fourth seed, and defeated the second seed by tech fall (19-3) in the finals. For Patrovich, it was his third CAA Title. Ruggirello, a freshman from Walden, NY (Valley Central) who is ranked 18th in the nation, won his 133 pound weight class, the only freshman to do so. Ruggirello won by fall in the first round, won a major decision over the fifth seed in the semi-finals, and defeated the number two seed 6-4 in the finals. Patrovich and Ruggirello are two of seven Hofstra wrestlers to win CAA Titles, helping The Pride win its sixth straight CAA Team Championship.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg College wrestling head coach Jeff Swenson has announced on Tuesday that he is resigning his coaching post in order to focus on his responsibilities as the school's Assistant Dean for Athletics and Recreation. Swenson, a 1979 Augsburg graduate, has served as head coach of the Auggies for 25 seasons (1980-84, 1986-2007), building the squad into a national small-college wrestling powerhouse. Under Swenson's leadership, Augsburg has won a record-10 NCAA Division III national championships and produced a career dual-meet record of 321-44 (.879 winning percentage). Sam Barber, who has served as an assistant coach on Swenson's staff for six seasons, will take over head coaching duties for the Auggies. Barber has served as associate head coach for the last two seasons. A 1995 Upper Iowa University graduate, he served as head coach for the Peacocks in the 1999-2000 season. During his Augsburg tenure, Barber has been a part of three national championship squads and two national runner-up squads, and has coached 46 All-Americans and 13 individual national champions. He was named Division III Co-National Assistant Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association in 2006. In his role as Assistant Dean for Athletics and Recreation as a member of President Paul C. Pribbenow's staff, Swenson supervises the 18-sport Augsburg intercollegiate athletics program, the athletic facilities department, and the college's intramural athletic program. Swenson was named to the position on an interim basis in 2001, and his posting was made permanent in 2004. "I look forward to working with Coach Swenson in the years ahead as we partner to make Augsburg one of the finest examples of NCAA Division III athletics in the country -- a college that honors the connections between academics and athletics, that celebrates both sportsmanship and competition, and that helps our students to grow as individuals and teammates," Pribbenow said. "I can think of no one better than Jeff Swenson to lead us in this vision for intercollegiate athletics at Augsburg College. His track record speaks for itself. His love for the college is unparalleled. And he has the passion, commitment and skills to guide our athletics programs into a bright future." Last weekend, Augsburg won its 10th Division III national championship, claiming three individual champions and nine All-Americans in the national competition in Dubuque, Iowa. Swenson was named NWCA National Coach of the Year. It was the third year in the last four that Augsburg has had nine or more All-Americans. Swenson has been a member of the Augsburg community for more than 30 years -- as a student, coach and administrator. A national champion wrestler at Augsburg in his senior year of 1979 with a career record of 102-17, Swenson began his coaching career in his first year out of college, as an assistant coach on John Grygelko's Auggie staff. Grygelko retired in 1980, and Swenson was named head coach. Swenson said that two years ago, he made the decision that he would step down from his coaching post this year. He said that focusing on his role in athletic administration will help him in his goals to improve every aspect of Augsburg's athletic program among schools in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and NCAA Division III. "For me, this is a cause for celebration. It's not a sad day. It's a great day. I'm able to listen to my vocational calling and lead the entire athletic department without having the coaching demands," Swenson said. As an administrator, Swenson has led the Augsburg program through a period of unprecedented growth and improvement. This year, construction was completed on the new Kennedy Center addition to Si Melby Hall, which includes expanded classroom, meeting and locker room space, along with a new fitness facility and a new wrestling training facility. Two years ago, a new SprinTurf surface was installed at Edor Nelson Field, and a new seasonal air-supported dome was installed for the first time this year over the field. "I've been around Augsburg since the fall of 1975, over 30 years," Swenson said. "Augsburg has shaped me. Augsburg has made me who I am, and it's allowed me to pursue my passion to be a coach. Now, I have a greater passion to lead the entire athletic department as a full-time administrator. I've learned a lot about leading and coaching by being the head wrestling coach here for 25 years. That's going to help me as I lead Augsburg athletics into the future." Under Swenson's leadership, Augsburg has won 10 NCAA Division III wrestling national titles in the last 17 years, a championship total doubling that of any other Division III school. Augsburg is one of only three NCAA schools to have won 10 or more wrestling national titles (Oklahoma State has won 34 Division I team titles, while Iowa has won 20 Division I team titles). Augsburg has also finished second in Division III national competition seven times, and has finished among the top four teams in national competition the last 19 seasons in a row -- the only NCAA school in any division that can make that claim. During his tenure as Augsburg's head coach, Swenson has coached 158 All-Americans and 39 individual national champions. Since beginning its competition in the NCAA Division III national tournament in 1983 (Augsburg competed in the NAIA prior to 1983), Augsburg has won 38 Division III national titles, the most of any Division III school. Augsburg has had at least one All-American in national wrestling competition (NAIA and NCAA) every season since 1977, at least six All-Americans every year since 1996 and at least five All-Americans every year since 1989. Augsburg has also been a success in the classroom. Over the past 24 seasons, Augsburg has produced 100 NWCA Scholar All-Americans, the most of any college in any division in the nation. Augsburg had five Scholar All-Americans this season, has had at least three Scholar All-Americans every year since 1993, and has had 77 athletes honored since 1997. Augsburg has also had eight ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans in wrestling, as awarded by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Over the past 10 seasons the NWCA has awarded Division III academic team national championships, Augsburg has finished second three times and first once (1998-99). Augsburg finished 11th among Division III schools with a 3.283 team grade-point average. Swenson, whose teams also won 20 MIAC team titles, was named MIAC Coach of the Year 13 times and NWCA National Coach of the Year six times (1983, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2007). Swenson was inducted into the NCAA Division III Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005, the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association/David Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. "I am proud to know Jeff Swenson and to be able to honor his remarkable career as our head wrestling coach at Augsburg," Pribbenow said. "He has accomplished great things with his wrestling teams -- 10 national championships, countless individual titles, team academic achievements and so on. But perhaps more than anything, I am proud of Jeff's commitment and passion for that individual student who needs the guidance, support and challenge to be the best he or she can be -- as an athlete, as a student, as a person. Jeff exemplifies what makes Augsburg the special and rare place that it is -- putting students first and helping them to grow to be successful, responsible and good people. "Jeff Swenson leaves a remarkable legacy as the Augsburg wrestling coach. He has built a program that will endure as a shining example of quality and achievement. Now he has made the remarkable decision to bring his skills and passion to bear on moving Augsburg's intercollegiate athletics programs to the next level of excellence. Surely there is no one better than Jeff to lead our athletics programs -- both to the benefit of our student-athletes and the reputation of the college."

EAST LANSING, MI -- Hawkeye junior Mark Perry won the 165-pound title at the Big Ten Championships Sunday in East Lansing, MI, defeating Michigan's Eric Tannenbaum, 5-2 in the finals. A three-time Big Ten finalist, Perry won his first conference title while handing Tannenbaum his first loss of the season. The Stillwater, OK, native is Iowa's first Big Ten champion since Cliff Moore in 2004. Iowa edged out a late charge by Penn State to place third with 91 points, and qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, set for March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, MI. It is the 11th time in school history that the Hawkeyes have qualified eight competitors for the national meet. Minnesota won its second straight team title and its 10th in school history with 152 points. The Hawkeyes had their best showing of the tournament Sunday, going 9-3 and recording eight placewinners. Sophomore Charlie Falck placed second at 125, losing a 12-1 major decision to Minnesota's Jayson Ness in the finals. Iowa's other placewinners included junior Alex Tsirtsis (3rd-141), senior Eric Luedke (3rd-174), junior Matt Fields (4th-Hwt.), redshirt freshman Ryan Morningstar (5th-157), senior Mario Galanakis (7th-133) and redshirt freshman Phillip Keddy (7th-184).

Dubuque, IA -- With the success The College of New Jersey wrestling team achieved on the mat this season, it was fitting a member of the coaching staff also garnered accolades this past weekend at the 2007 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. Joe Pollard (Hamilton, NJ) received that honor as he was selected as the 2007 National Wrestling Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year rounding out a tremendous weekend for the Lions. Pollard, a four-year member of the coaching staff, played a key role under veteran head coach David Icenhower, Sr., as the team finished fifth at the national tournament with three All-Americans. The team also was recognized this past weekend for academics as the team was named to the NWCA Top 20 Scholar Teams as TCNJ's starters combined for a grade-point-average of 3.205. It was the first time TCNJ has earned that honor. The Lions also had one grappler named to the 2006-07 NWCA Division III Scholar All-America Team. During the regular season, the team compiled an impressive 19-1 record in dual meets and claimed the title at the 2007 Budd Whitehill Challenge Duals. The Lions also captured team title at the Ithaca College Invitational before winning the 2007 Metropolitan Conference Wrestling Championships leading up to the national event. Pollard joined the Lion program in the fall of 2003 after graduating from nearby Rider University, where he competed for the NCAA Division I Broncs. A place winner at the Prep Nationals as a student at the Peddie School, Pollard was a New Jersey State qualifier. A two-time first-team All-County selection, he was also a three-time County Champion and earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors at the Mercer County tournament. Pollard is currently in his second year as an English teacher at Hamilton West High School.

Knox College junior heavyweight Jaran Rutledge, from Mundelein, Illinois (Carmel High School), became the school's first All-American wrestler by placing third at the NCAA Division III Championships Saturday night. After losing his opening-round match, Rutledge won four consecutive matches, including two straight over seeded opponents. After a heart-breaking 3-2 first-round loss to the seventh seed Friday, Rutledge earned a bye in the opening round of the consolation draw. Later that afternoon, he defeated Ryan Bowers, from Heidelberg College, 8-5 to secure All-American honors. The top eight in each weight class earn All-American recognition. Saturday in the consolation quarterfinals, Rutledge defeated Wade Hammen, from Buena Vista University, 3-2 in overtime. Rutledge then defeated the draw's second seed, Arkadiy Levitin from Hunter College, 4-3 in dramatic fashion in the consolation semifinals. Trailing 3-2, Rutledge scored a takedown as the clock expired to earn the 4-3 decision. Levitin entered nationals with a 36-1 record. In the third-place match, Rutledge ended his season in spectacular fashion, pinning fifth seed Trevor Hiffa (Oneonta State) in 4:01. Thanks to his efforts, Knox placed 25th in the nation. Sixth-three Division III schools were represented at the championships. Besides becoming the first Knox College wrestling All-American, Rutledge was the first Knox wrestler to compete at the National Wrestling Championships in 27 years. Tom MacMillan was the last Knox wrestler to reach nationals. He did so as a sophomore in 1979 and again as a junior in 1980. MacMillan lost in the first round both times. Rutledge qualified for nationals by winning the individual heavyweight championship at the Great Lakes Regional on February 17. Rutledge, a five-time Knox College Prairie Fire Performer of the Week, finished with a 36-5 record and won individual titles at the Central College Invitational and the Northern Wrestling Association Tournament to go along with his regional championship this season. Rutledge was an alternate qualifier for last year's national tournament after a third-place showing at regionals. More information on the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, including complete results, is available at http://depts.loras.edu/sports/2007ncaawrestling/index.html. Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 46 states and 50 nations. Knox's 'Old Main' is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.

Des Moines, Iowa -- The 2007 Border Brawl All-Star Dual between the top seniors from Iowa pitted against the top seniors from Nebraska is all set for this Friday March 9th at Dana College in Blair, NE. Action will begin at 7:00 PM in Gardner-Hawks Center. 2007 will mark the second year of the event in which about 750 people were in attendance for the first year. This year looks to be a much bigger event. The 2007 Border Brawl will be highlighted by 17 nationally ranked wrestlers as rated by Wrestling USA magazine. There are total of 22 wrestlers that claimed state championships this year, but a combined total of 35 state titles among all of them. There are also 5 National championships and many, many All-American honors highlighted as well. Three matches on the evening will be match-ups of the undefeated. Trenton Washington of Boystown High School in Omaha, NE will take his 35-0 record and put it against West Delaware-Manchester's (IA) Zach McCool's 40-0 mark. Omaha North's DeVaughan Perkins finished his season record of 30-0 and career record of 86-0 and laying it on the line against 42-0 Andrew Sorensen of Forest City, IA. Lastly, Howell's (NE) Chad Brester completed his senior season 39-0 and will take on Ryan Helenthal of Keokuk (IA) who completed a 43-0 season. Seventeen matches will highlight the evening which will be broadcast live via Takedown Wrestling Radio at http://www.intermatwrestle.com/takedownradio/home2.aspx and just click "listen live"! Scott Casber and Steve Foster will bring you all of the action live starting around 6:30 PM. In addition to the wrestling action, there will be live interviews with the athletes, coaches and hosts. To reserve your tickets today, complete the online reservation form at http://www.dana.edu/wrestling/brawl_reservations.html and payment form on the confirmation page. Tickets purchased in advance are $8. Tickets purchased at the door are $10. Reserved tickets will be held in your name at the "will call" window. For more information, call Tyler Mohr at 402-426-7290.

Pre-NCAA Championship Quotes: Head Coach John Smith On the season up until the NCAA Championships "It was an uphill battle and I would not want it any other way. This is one that is going to have to be earned. Heading into the (NCAA Championships) we are probably going to have three guys with seeds and five others without seeds. That does not sound like a team that appears to be challenging for a national championship. I will say we wrestled our best at the Big 12 Championships. There were a couple of individuals who did not wrestle their best, but as a team I felt like we had our best performance as we were one match away from winning the championship. We just have to prepare everybody to understand for us to be successful that we will have to earn it the hard way by upsetting people. We have to be motivated to handle any situation that may occur." On the NCAA Championships "We have a number of guys who have to win. I see it really similar, outside of Minnesota, that there are a lot of teams in the same situation like us, but might be a little ahead of us. As far as the number of guys seeded in the tournament, Minnesota is definitely a notch above everyone. You control your destiny in this tournament and that is what I am preaching this week." "Regardless of what has happened throughout the season, I think it has taken a lot of work for this team to keep it together and keeping faith in what we are trying to accomplish. Ultimately, it was not me who did that, it was them who did that. They did some things right through the year, as far as some of the losses, this is the first team to lose five dual meets in a while. It is something that does not really bother me because dual meets do not mean a whole lot to me, except obviously victories." "In recuperating and coming back, I liked the way we fought through some adversity and the way we wrestled (at the Big 12 Championships). I think there was a time in the season where it could have got really ugly for us, but we were able to fight back after National Duals and move forward, which has been an important time this season." On what he tells the four wrestlers who are making their first trip "I tell them that it is another tournament, and it is no different than any other tournament. This is a time where you wrestle your very best. You have tried to wrestle your hardest before, but this is a time where you have to do your best. That is what we have to get out of them. We cannot use this season as gaining experience because we need guys who are unseeded doing something for us. If you do not do something, nobody is going to turn on you. Great thinks have happened to us at the end of a few seasons because we embrace the NCAA Championships. That is what this team has to do." Junior Coleman Scott On winning a national title "Last year, I was disappointed losing in the first round and having to wrestle my way back. This year, I have been training hard to win the title. I feel that I can do it. I know I was going to let the team down, and did not want to finish without being All-American. I did not want to go another year with that in my head knowing that I did not earn that status. I was upset with myself, but I did what I could by helping the team win a national championship. I have to start off a lot better this year (at the championships)." Senior Johny Hendricks On winning matches "I knew that if I moved my feet that I would win (the Big 12 finals against Travis Paulson). You have to go into a match confident knowing that you are going to win. If you do not, you will struggle. Before each match, I have to sit there and know whatever happens I have to pull it out. That is the way I have been wrestling. It will be a whole different mindset going into the NCAA Championships. I have to go in knowing that nothing is going to happen because I am going to make sure everything is going to happen the way I want it to." Junior Jack Jensen On qualifying for the NCAA Championships "I expected to qualify for the NCAA Championships because you can't expect not to go. I have the ticket from the finals last year, and wrote on it 'you need to be here." On the makeup of the team "I think our team was coming into its own in the last half of the season. We have a closer team now than we did at the beginning of the season. Everybody is different, and we are not those guys from the last couple of years. We all do different things." Sophomore Newly McSpadden On helping the team win "Qualifying for the NCAA Championships is not only important to me, but also for the team. I am ready to head to Detroit to help the team win a national title. With it being my first appearance at the championships, the major thing I have concentrated on is that anything can happen. It does not matter what happened in the past as it is a different scenario. As long as you make it to the championships, anything can happen. Hopefully, it works out for the best." Sophomore Brandon Mason On the key to scoring points at Nationals "I know if I wrestle hard against guys like I did against (Ben) Askren in Stillwater, I will have the opportunity of beating anyone. Over the past two seasons, I have wrestled everyone in my weight class so I feel that I will be ready to go. It is important for all of us to do well because our coaches and teammates are counting on us to score. Say we have the opportunity of getting a major decision, those extra points will be huge for us." Freshman Jared Rosholt On what to wrestle for at the NCAA Championships "Everyone is going to wrestle for one another so we can bring the national championship back to Stillwater. Your not just wrestling for your team, you are wrestling for you school, fans and your family. When you wrestle for all of them, I feel that it gives you more motivation in your match." Junior Nathan Morgan On what he needs to do to be successful at the NCAA Championships "I feel that I have trained different and I have a different mentality. I feel tougher this year. I have been able to focus a lot better on things, including the different styles people tried to wrestle me with. I just have to go out there and push myself. I will be ready to go. I have to go out there and be relaxed and have fun." Freshman Tyler Shinn On adapting to college wrestling "I say for the first few months of this season, things were tough. But as of late, my body has gotten used to everything. I need to wrestle my best. The way I feel right now, I have always wrestled good. I have to be confident. Obviously, this is a whole different level than the high school level. In college, you feel that your opponent puts a lot more pressure on you than those who you wrestled against in high school."

This week's edition of "On the Mat" will feature Ben Askren, Andrew Hipps, and Jeff Harrison. Askren, a senior at the University of Missouri, is the defending NCAA champion at 174 pounds. Known for his flair on and off the mat, Askren was the 2006 recipient of the Dan Hodge Trophy and the Schalles Award. Askren recently won the Big 12 wrestling tournament and is 35-0 with 26 pins entering the NCAA tournament. Hipps is a senior writer for RevWrestling.com, a wrestling website that covers every aspect of the sport. The website offers coverage of college, high school, and international wrestling, as well as highlights and previews of select mixed martial arts competitions. Hipps is a regular columnist for the site and conducts weekly interviews with some of wrestling's top athletes and coaches. Jeff Harrison will be in studio this week to discuss the upcoming NCAA Championships and the recent conference qualifiers. Harrison was a two-time NCAA qualifier for the University of Northern Iowa and is the host of the popular Internet show "The Wrestling Recap". "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 kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa on 1650, The Fan.

Mike Pucillo finally realized his childhood dream to wrestle for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Mike PucilloHowever, the 184-pound freshman sensation -- ranked third by RevWrestling.com -- didn't take the most direct route. Instead of going from his home south of Cleveland down I-71 to Columbus, Mike took a bit of a side trip, to Hofstra University on Long Island, New York. But now the Ohio native is back in his home state, making major contributions to the turn-around success of the Buckeyes. In an article in The Lantern, the student newspaper at Ohio State, Mike Pucillo says, "I was at home looking at some old pictures from when I was young, and in those pictures, I had an Ohio State singlet on." "Everyone wants to be a Buckeye." Despite a sparkling prep career at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio -- concluding with a state title his senior year -- Mike Pucillo apparently escaped the attention of Ohio State. However, his lifelong dream was not to be denied. After a year at Hofstra, Mike now finds himself wearing the scarlet and grey of the Buckeyes. From Cleveland to Columbus via the Long Island Expressway As a high school senior, Mike had looked at a number of schools -- "Purdue, Hofstra, Old Dominion" -- before signing with Hofstra, where he redshirted his first year. "I was struggling with being so far from home," says Mike, born in Columbia Station, Ohio southwest of Cleveland, where he went to kindergarten with Ohio State teammate Lance Palmer. "I was having a tough time adapting to the school and the area." He quickly adds, "I had no problem with the wrestling program or the coaches. Tom Ryan's a great guy." Tom Ryan"We heard rumors that Coach Ryan was thinking of leaving Hofstra, possibly to go to Ohio State," says Mike. "I sat down with him, told him of my struggles with the school." In April 2006, Tom Ryan was named head coach of the Ohio State wrestling program… which opened the door for Mike Pucillo to follow his coach's lead and transfer from Hofstra to the Big Ten school in Columbus, and realize his childhood wish of being a Buckeye. When asked about the 184-pounder that followed him to Ohio State, Coach Ryan says, "He is passionate about wrestling, and Ohio State wrestling. He is a true 'Buckeye.'" Before becoming a Buckeye … That mat passion started early for Mike Pucillo. "Dad got me into the sport when I was in kindergarten or first grade," says Mike. "He had been a wrestler. He was my first coach." "Growing up, I wrestled at the Y(MCA) program that was a feeder to various schools. I could have ended up at Strongsville or St. Ed's or Walsh. I really liked the atmosphere of Walsh, I made the decision to go there when I was in sixth grade." "I couldn't have asked for a better coach than Bill Barger," says Mike of his coach at the Catholic high school just outside Akron. "He's an all-around great guy. More than just a coach, but a great mentor as well." "Coach Barger is a great motivator. He can pump you up and convince you that you're capable of achieving any goal." While at Walsh, Mike Pucillo earned a trip to the Ohio high school state tournament all four years. His freshman year, he placed sixth. His sophomore and junior years, he was a runner-up. It was in his senior year that he claimed the ultimate prize -- a state title at 189 pounds. Being a two-time finalist helped prepare Mike for his title shot as a senior. "It helped that I had been in that situation before. It reduced some of the pressure. However, I kept thinking, ‘What if I'm a runner-up three years in a row?' I went out and did my best, and it worked out for me." When asked to name his high school career highlights, Mike immediately mentions winning the Walsh Ironman as a junior. "Not many guys can say they've done that … It was an incredible thrill to win that event in my home gym, in front of all my friends." A moment or two later, he adds, "Winning the Beast of the East as a senior was special, too. That had been a goal of mine since I was in eighth grade." Mike PucilloMike may be too modest to mention that he was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the 2005 Beast of the East mega-tournament … or some of his other mat accomplishments while at Walsh. He was a two-time team MVP … owns the school's record for the most pins … and he took the 189-pound crown at the 2005 Senior Nationals. While Mike Pucillo was a redshirt freshman at Hofstra, he did get some valuable collegiate mat experience. One highlight of his first year in college wrestling was winning the 184-pound title at the Cleveland State Open. Pucillo part of big changes for the Buckeyes When Mike Pucillo transferred to Ohio State, he came into a program that was in "turn-around" mode after a period of struggles. In recent years, there had been much talk in the wrestling community that many great prep wrestlers in Ohio -- one of the hotbeds for high school wrestling in the US -- had left the state upon graduation to continue their college careers elsewhere. In 2006, after nearly a decade at Hofstra, Tom Ryan took the head coaching position for the Buckeyes. A two-time Big Ten champ and twice NCAA All-American at the University of Iowa under coach Dan Gable in the early 1990's, Coach Ryan brought impressive credentials to Ohio State. While at Hofstra, Tom Ryan guided 65 wrestlers to NCAA championship appearances; eleven earned All-American honors. Tom Ryan made some major changes upon arriving in Columbus. He hired a new coaching staff, bringing in Lou Roselli, as well as Ohio natives Joe Heskett (like Mike, a graduate of Walsh Jesuit High School) and Tommy Rowlands. Before the season started, he went on a tour that took him to the four corners of Ohio to major high school wrestling programs such as St Edward and Archbishop Moeller, bringing the news of the "new" Buckeyes to major media markets across the state. The new Buckeyes seem to be turning things around. This year, Ohio State completed its regular season with an 8-6 record -- the first winning season since 2002-2003 -- and a 4-4 mark against Big Ten competition. By contrast, in 2005-2006, the Buckeyes were 5-13 in dual-meet competition, losing all eight Big Ten conference duals. Coach Tom Ryan gives Mike Pucillo some of the credit for the Buckeyes' newfound success: "Mike's a quality young man who is a 'difference-maker' in the Ohio State program." Hello, Columbus … hello success How did this freshman transfer assume the role as a "difference-maker"? Mike Pucillo became Ohio State's starter at 184 after senior Alex Picazo was sidelined with a broken hand at the beginning of the season … and he hasn't looked back. During the 2006-07 season, Mike has had a near-perfect record, with his only regular-season loss coming to Northwestern's Jake Herbert, ranked No. 1 in the nation in that weight class. Mike's career as a Buckeye got off to a tremendous start at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. His first three wins at the early December event included two major decisions and a pin. In the semifinals, the then-eighth-ranked Ohio Stater got a 3-1 win over fourth-ranked Raymond Jordan of Missouri. Then, in the finals, Mike defeated Michigan's Tyrel Todd, ranked third in the country at the time, by the score of 12-6. Thanks to this performance, Mike Pucillo was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on December 4. Tommy Rowlands"When he won in Las Vegas, I knew he would contend for the NCAA title every year for the rest of his career," says assistant coach Tommy Rowlands, a man who contended for the collegiate championship four times himself, winning two. "He has 'it'." Mike Pucillo has beaten six of the top twenty 184-pounders in Division I. In addition to defeating Missouri's Jordan and Michigan's Todd two times each, Mike has won matches against Indiana's Marc Bennett, Iowa's Phil Keddy, Illinois' John Dergo, and Columbia's Justin Barent. However, Mike had a disappointing 2007 Big Ten tournament. Seeded third behind Northwestern's Herbert and Minnesota's Roger Kish, the Buckeye 184-pounder opened the conference championships with a 9-3 victory over Phil Bomberger of Penn State, followed by a 4-0 shutout of Michigan State's Joe Williams. However, in the quarterfinals, Mike was pinned by 2006 NCAA finalist Kish at 1:33, and had to forfeit his consolation matches because of injury, ultimately placing sixth… but earning the opportunity to compete at the 2007 NCAA's. Style points When asked to describe his wrestling style, Mike Pucillo chuckled and said, "I'm not giving out any secrets" but immediately added, "I really don't think I have a set style. I focus on maintaining good position at all times, and strive to keep the match under my control." Mike also talked about how "growing into" a 184-pounder has helped him too. "I've not always been this big. As a high school freshman, I wrestled 125. By junior year, I was a '52, then jumped up to '89 senior year … I think that being once small, helped me be more mobile, more agile, quicker than some guys." Tommy Rowlands, two-time NCAA heavyweight champ for Ohio State who has returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach, says this about Mike Pucillo's way of wrestling: "He's very basic, hard to get out of position. A great handfighter. He makes very few mistakes." A bright future for this Buckeye Mike Pucillo is a communications major at Ohio State. Right now, he's open-minded as to possible career options. "There are great career opportunities with my major," says the Buckeye freshman sensation. "However, I would like to be a wrestling coach, ultimately in Division I … I like the competition, staying in the sport. I'd like to help out, share some of what I've learned from my coaches." Mike PucilloWhat about staying on the mats after graduation? "Right now, I really don't like wrestling freestyle. But I think that's because I've not had a lot of experience in it, and, my opinion could change with more exposure and experience." For Mike Pucillo, graduation is a number of years away. In the meantime, his coaches are very enthusiastic about his future. Assistant coach Tommy Rowlands asserts: "Mike will contend for an NCAA title all four years, continue to be a pillar for this program, and hopefully will hang up some titles, both individually, and as a team." In summing up his analysis of his 184-pound star, head coach Tom Ryan says, "We are very fortunate to have Mike in this program."

2007 NCAA Division I Qualifiers: 125: Blanc, Obe -- Lock Haven Castillo, Pat -- Northern Illinois Cudd, Collin -- Wisconsin Cummings, Taylor -- N.C. State Donahoe, Paul -- Nebraska Escobedo, Angel -- Indiana Espinoza, John -- Arizona State Eveleth, Matt -- Penn Falck, Charlie -- Iowa Fanthorpe, Nick -- Iowa State Fisk, Matt -- Lehigh Flores, Gabe -- Illinois Gardner, Tanner -- Stanford Hazewinkel, Sam -- Oklahoma Hoffman, Eric -- North Dakota State Kinney, Brandon -- Columbia Maldonado, Javier -- UT-Chattanooga Martinez, Fernando -- Army McKnight, Mark -- Penn State Mustari, Tony -- Northern Colorado Mytych, Steve -- Drexel Ness, Jayson -- Minnesota Nickerson, Troy -- Cornell Orozco, Marcos -- UC Davis Precin, Brandon -- Northwestern Ramirez, Nick -- Wyoming Sees, Michael -- Bloomsburg Shinn, Tyler -- Oklahoma State Smith, Christian -- Liberty Smith, Luke -- Central Michigan Sportelli, Chad -- Kent State Stevenson, Eric -- Oregon State Tomasette, David -- Hofstra 133: Albright, Eric -- Virginia Anderson, Mark -- West Virginia Anson, Kyle -- Northern Iowa Baker, Joe -- Navy Budd, Mark -- Buffalo Ciasulli, Seth -- Lehigh Dillashaw, Tyler -- Cal State-Fullerton Donald, Richard -- Bloomsburg Enright, TJ -- Ohio State Frey, Adam -- Cornell Gaitan, Omar -- UC Davis Galanakis, Mario -- Iowa Gallick, Nick -- Iowa State Headlee, Drew -- Pittsburgh Hernandez, Andrae -- Indiana Keller, Matt -- UT-Chattanooga Kennedy, Jimmy -- Illinois Marble, David -- Bucknell McCormick, Tyler -- Missouri Mitcheff, Dan -- Kent State Pfennigs, Bobby -- Oregon State Preston, Rob -- Harvard Reiter, Mack -- Minnesota Ruggirello, Lou -- Hofstra Scott, Coleman -- Oklahoma State Simmons, Nick -- Michigan State Sola, Evan -- North Carolina Staylor, Christian -- Old Dominion Strayer, Jake -- Penn State Tanelli, Zach -- Wisconsin Tate, Rob -- Gardner--Webb Valenti, Matt -- Penn Vasquez, Darrell -- Cal Poly VomBaur, Cory -- Wyoming 141: Borshoff, Kyle -- American Caldwell, Darrion -- N.C. State Ciasulli, Matt -- Lehigh Cocozzo, Daryl -- Edinboro Ettelson, CJ -- Northern Iowa Fisch, Don -- Rider Griffin, Charles -- Hofstra Harner, Tim -- Liberty Hashimoto, Kenny -- Northern Colorado Jaggers, J -- Ohio State Keefe, Michael -- UT-Chattanooga Kern, Darren -- Bloomsburg Kruger, Eric -- Central Michigan Kyler, Matt -- Army Lang, Ryan -- Northwestern Meltzer, Max -- Harvard Moore, Derek -- UC Davis Morgan, Nathan -- Oklahoma State Moyer, Dominick -- Nebraska Mueller, Mitch -- Iowa State Pearch, Justin -- Oregon Pero, Cassio -- Illinois Rader, Brandon -- West Virginia Rivera, Manuel -- Minnesota Roberts, David -- Cal Poly Ruschell, Kyle -- Wisconsin Schumm, Matt -- Cal State-Bakersfield Simmons, Andy -- Michigan State Terry, Kyle -- Oklahoma Tsirtsis, Alex -- Iowa 149: Adams, Ryan -- North Dakota State Alvarenga, Sam -- VMI Atkinson, Morgan -- Cal State-Fullerton Becker, Cody -- Millersville Burroughs, Jordan -- Nebraska Caramanica, Joe -- N.C. State Churella, Josh -- Michigan Coughlin, Matt -- Indiana Cox, John -- Navy Downing, Carter -- Wyoming Doyle, Brandon -- Cal State-Bakersfield Dunn, Matt -- Columbia Ervin, Scott -- Appalachian St. Gillespie, Gregor -- Edinboro Hurley, Ryan -- Cleveland State Jauregui, David -- West Virginia Kessler, Mike -- Rider Kipperberg, Derek -- Oregon State Leen, Jordan -- Cornell Martin, Aaron -- UT-Chattanooga McGee, Jason -- Kent State Moley, Matt -- Bloomsburg O'Connor, JP -- Harvard Palmer, Lance -- Ohio State Patacsil, Jake -- Purdue Roberts, Mike -- Boston Sanderson, Cyler -- Iowa State Schlatter, Dustin -- Minnesota Storniolo, Matt -- Oklahoma Thompson, Jermain -- Eastern Michigan Turner, Tyler -- Wisconsin Vallimont, Dan -- Penn State Wagner, Josh -- Missouri 157: Becker, Brandon -- Indiana Bonilla-Bowman, Jon -- Virginia Tech Chandler, Michael -- Missouri Crenshaw, Victer -- Cleveland State Dragon, Matt -- Penn Fay, Moza -- Northern Iowa Frerichs, Jacob -- Ohio Fryling, Zac -- West Virginia Galloway, Nathan -- Rider Gross, Kurt -- Kent State Henning, Craig -- Wisconsin Hill, Matt -- Edinboro Hluschak, Ryan -- Drexel Hostetter, Jarrett -- Millersville Jarred, John -- Navy Jenkins, Bubba -- Penn State Kocher, Matt -- Pittsburgh Martin, Seth -- Lock Haven McSpadden, Newly -- Oklahoma State Mesanko, Devin -- Columbia Midlam, Cody -- Duquesne Morningstar, Ryan -- Iowa Murphy, Jake -- Purdue Nakasone, David -- Lehigh Oliver, Chris -- Nebraska Pami, Chase -- Cal Poly Paulson, Trent -- Iowa State Poeta, Mike -- Illinois Rowe, William -- Oklahoma Salazar, Luke -- Northern Colorado Schlatter, CP -- Minnesota Sherfey, Tyler -- Boise State Stith, Brian -- Arizona State Strouse, James -- Hofstra Yost, Jacob -- UT-Chattanooga Zupancic, Josh -- Stanford 165: Anceravage, Steve -- Cornell Atondo, Daniel -- Cal State-Bakersfield Baima, Nick -- Northern Iowa Cannon, Michael -- American Dean, Max -- Indiana Decker, Eric -- Virginia Tech Dwyer, Stephen -- Nebraska Fraga, Justin -- Purdue Galloway, Johnny -- Northern Illinois Hendricks, Johny -- Oklahoma State Kiessling, Jason -- Maryland Kitchner, Shawn -- Brown Meyer, Ryan -- South Dakota State Miller, Mike -- Central Michigan Noack, Dustin -- UC Davis Patrovich, Mike -- Hofstra Paulson, Travis -- Iowa State Pell, Matt -- Missouri Penn, Deonte -- Edinboro Perry, Brian -- Stanford Perry, Mark -- Iowa Pitsch, Patrick -- Arizona State Porter, Chad -- Liberty Pullano, Nick -- Old Dominion Rendos, Andrew -- Bucknell Richmond, Sean -- Pittsburgh Safratowich, Tyler -- Minnesota Sayers, TJ -- UT--Chattanooga Shanaman, Zach -- Penn Smith--Bergsrud, Roger -- Illinois Tannenbaum, Eric -- Michigan Tice, Bryan -- Cal State-Fullerton Vondruska, Chris -- Ohio State 174: Askren, Ben -- Missouri Brenner, Kurt -- West Virginia Burk, Daniel -- Northern Illinois Cook, Ken -- UC Davis Dolly, Alex -- Northern Iowa Dretsch, Gabriel -- Minnesota Feist, Luke -- Stanford Gavin, Keith -- Pittsburgh Hayes, Nick -- Northwestern Heleniak, John -- Millersville Herrington, Matt -- Penn Hooker, Joey -- Cornell Kozar, Nick -- Drexel Larson, Jeremy -- Oregon State Lee, Nathan -- Boise State Letts, Mike -- Maryland Lowe, Joe -- UNC Greensboro Lucas, Alton -- Hofstra Luedke, Eric -- Iowa Luke, Steve -- Michigan Maciag, Matt -- Wisconsin Martin, Neal -- Appalachian St. Mason, Brandon -- Oklahoma State Moricone, Phil -- Edinboro Palmer, Matt -- Columbia Patterson, Josh -- Binghamton Perry, Trevor -- Indiana Robertson, Ken -- Eastern Illinois Rogers, Lloyd -- UT-Chattanooga Rueda, Rudy -- American Sinnott, Brandon -- Central Michigan Stolpinski, Matt -- Navy Turner, Grant -- Iowa State Umbehauer, Doug -- Rider Weitzel, Josh -- Oklahoma Yonushonis, James -- Penn State 184: Arnone, Josh -- Cornell Bennett, Marc -- Indiana Brandvold, Trevor -- Wisconsin Bressler, Kyle -- Oregon State Burk, Duke -- Northern Illinois Caponi, Rocco -- Virginia Caputo, Louis -- Harvard Clemsen, Alex -- Edinboro Craig, David -- Lehigh Dergo, John -- Illinois Edmondson, Josh -- UT-Chattanooga Giesen, Zack -- Stanford Gifford, Greg -- Arizona State Herbert, Jake -- Northwestern Jensen, Jack -- Oklahoma State Jordan, Raymond -- Missouri Keddy, Phil -- Iowa Kish, Roger -- Minnesota Miller, Mike -- Rider Miranda, Antonio -- Navy Perz, Greg -- Eastern Illinois Pucillo, Mike -- Ohio State Ricotta, Jared -- Duquesne Rovelli, Joe -- Hofstra Shirk, Nathan -- Bloomsburg Sinnott, Christian -- Central Michigan Todd, Tyrel -- Michigan Varner, Jake -- Iowa State Vincent, Shawn -- Northern Colorado Zamir, Lior -- Penn 197: Anderson, Andrew -- Northern Iowa Askren, Max -- Missouri Backes, Kurt -- Iowa State Bergman, JD -- Ohio State Bond, Patrick -- Illinois Brester, Craig -- Nebraska Bryce, Jacob -- North Dakota State Cassidy, Matt -- Lehigh Cook, Jeremie -- Lock Haven Davis, Phil -- Penn State Flaggert, Joel -- Oklahoma Gibson, James -- Edinboro Glenn, Josh -- American Goodman, Ryan -- N.C. State Halsey, Brandon -- Cal State-Bakersfield Herbst, Dallas -- Wisconsin Lapotsky, Eric -- Bucknell Mendoza, David -- Old Dominion Michalak, Wynn -- Central Michigan Monteiro, Matt -- Cal Poly Moore, Nate -- Purdue Murray, Corry -- VMI Porter, Dustin -- Gardner-Webb Rinaldi, Jerry -- Cornell Roy, Nick -- Michigan Tamillow, Mike -- Northwestern Taylor, Hudson -- Maryland Trulson, Jason -- Arizona State Villers, Jared -- West Virginia Weidman, Chris -- Hofstra Wendland, Sam -- Wyoming Hwt: Anspach, Aaron -- Penn State Brooks, AJ -- Clarion Buuck, Josh -- Indiana Cowen, Chris -- Drexel Ellis, Mark -- Missouri Fendone, Joe -- Edinboro Fields, Matt -- Iowa Fox, Dustin -- Northwestern Goff, Rashard -- Cleveland State Gritter, Bubba -- Central Michigan Hammond, Zach -- Cornell Hopkin, Reece -- Northern Colorado Konrad, Cole -- Minnesota Koz, Matt -- UT-Chattanooga Massey, Kyle -- Wisconsin Mock, Levon -- Brown Nadolsky, Spencer -- North Carolina Nichols, Colton -- Cal State-Bakersfield Palma, Janior -- N.C. State Parker, Cody -- Cal Poly Patrick, Andy -- Boise State Porter, Jermail -- Kent State Prendergast, Ed -- Navy Rogers, Dustin -- West Virginia Rosholt, Jared -- Oklahoma State Sauer, Wade -- Cal State-Fullerton Spaid, Michael -- Bloomsburg Thobaben, Nathan -- Army Walker, Patrick -- Liberty Watterson, Ty -- Oregon State Weibel, Paul -- Lehigh Wise, John -- Illinois Zabriskie, David -- Iowa State Zarrinpour, Payam -- Sacred Heart

The top-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team successfully defended its 2006 Big Ten title with a dominating performance in East Lansing, Mich. The Golden Gophers crowned four individual champions and had five other wrestlers place in the top five to run away with the team title. The Gophers finished with 156 points, 56.5 ahead of second-place Wisconsin. Minnesota captured its sixth Big Ten title in the last nine years while crowning four individual champions for the second straight year. Ness wrapped up a dominating individual performance in his first Big Ten Championships with a 12-1 major decision over Iowa's Charlie Falck to win the 125-pound title. Ness wasted no time going to work on Falck as he overpowered the Hawkeye wrestler to take him down to his back just 30 seconds into the first period to take a 4-0 lead. Ness continued to build his lead from there, getting a reversal and three-point near fall in the second to cruise to the victory and claim his 19th consecutive victory. Ness ended the championships with two pins and a major decision. After rebounding from a quarterfinal loss yesterday, Mack Reiter continued to roll through the wrestlebacks with two pins today to finish third at 133. Reiter began the day by pinning Penn State's Jake Strayer in 1:40 to advance to set up a rematch with Illinois' James Kennedy, who handed him a 6-3 loss earlier this year. Reiter made sure a repeat would not happen. After a scoreless first period, Reiter took Kennedy down directly to his back midway through the second to get the fall at 4:02. Reiter pinned his final three opponents of the tournament. At 141, Manuel Rivera suffered his second straight defeat in the consolation semifinals but rebounded to pin Illinois' Cassio Pero to claim fifth place. Rivera, who was unable to wrestle at full strength this weekend due to a knee injury, fell to Michigan State's Andy Simmons, 8-2, in his first match. He got back on track with the win over Pero. Rivera controlled the match throughout, getting a takedown and back points in the first period before scoring a reversal to put Pero directly on his back and get the fall at 4:17. With the win, Rivera improved to 36-2 on the season. Top-ranked sophomore Dustin Schlatter captured his second Big Ten individual title in as many years with a 3-2 decision over Michigan's Josh Churella. In a very evenly contested match, Schlatter got a takedown 20 seconds in and rode Churella out for nearly the entire second period, which proved to be the difference. Schlatter avoided danger in the second when Churella nearly took him down with a single-leg but he scrambled out and held on for the victory. With three wins this weekend, Schlatter extended his winning streak to 62 consecutive matches. Not to be outdone, C.P. Schlatter also successfully defended his 2006 Big Ten title with a 1-0 decision over Indiana's Brandon Becker. In a defensive battle throughout, Schlatter rode Becker out the entire second period to get the decisive point. Tyler Safratowich completed an impressive tournament by winning his final four matches to take third place. Safratowich defeated Ohio State's Chris Vondruska, 6-3, on Sunday morning and then turned in a gutsy performance against Purdue's Justin Fraga in the third-place match. Safratowich tweaked his knee in the first period but battled to a 4-4 tie after two periods. After starting down in the third, Fraga got the escape to go ahead 5-4, He scored the decisive takedown with just six seconds remaining and added the bonus point for riding time to win 7-5. At 174, Gabriel Dretsch took out his frustrations from a narrow loss last night by dominating Wisconsin's Matt Maciag in the consolation semifinals. Dretsch scored eight back points on Maciag on his way to a convincing 18-2 tech fall to advance to the third-place match. In a tight match much like his bout with James Yonushonis last night, Dretsch lost another heartbreaking match in overtime, this time falling to Iowa's Eric Luedke in overtime. Tied at one after regulation, Luedke got a three-point near fall in the tiebreaker on his way to a 6-3 decision. With a 2-2 record on the weekend, Dretsch matched his fourth-place finish at last year's Big Ten Championships. In the most anticipated match of the day, second-ranked Roger Kish fell to No. 1 Jake Herbert in the 184-pound final. Down 3-0 in the second, Kish had a chance to cut into Herbert's lead when he got in deep with a shot but could not quite finish as Herbert scrambled out. Herbert added a pair of takedowns in the third period to win 8-1, handing Kish just his second loss of the year, both of which have come against top-ranked wrestlers. Konrad captured his third straight Big Ten title with a pin of second-seeded Aaron Anspach of Penn State. Konrad used a body lock to take Anspach down in the first period and after a restart quickly rolled him to his back to get the fall in 2:20. The victory was Konrad's 70th in a row as he became just the fifth wrestler in school history to win three Big Ten individual titles. Minnesota also brought home three Big Ten awards. With a 36-3 record on the year, Ness was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Cole Konrad earned Big Ten Wrestler of the Years honors for the second straight year, while Head Coach J Robinson captured his seventh conference Coach of the year accolade. The Gophers now have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Championships which will be held March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, Mich.

National Championships: NCAA Division I Championships -- March 15-17 (Auburn Hills, Michigan) NCAA Division II Championships -- March 9-10 (Kearney, Nebraska) IN PROGRESS NCAA Division III Championships -- March 2-3 (Dubuque, Iowa) COMPLETED NAIA Championships -- March 2-3 (Sioux City, Iowa) COMPLETED NJCAA Championships -- February 23-24 (Rochester, Minnesota) COMPLETED NCWA Championships -- March 8-10 (Garland, Texas) IN PROGRESS Conference/Regional Qualifiers: Division I: Pac-10 Championships -- February 24-25 (Bakersfield, California) COMPLETED CAA Championships -- March 2-3 (Fairfax, Virginia) COMPLETED EIWA Championships -- March 2-3 (East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) COMPLETED Big 12 Championships -- March 3 (Columbia, Missouri) COMPLETED SoCon Championships -- March 3 (Raleigh, North Carolina) West Regional Championships -- March 3 (Cedar Falls, Iowa) East Regional Championships -- March 4 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Big Ten Championships -- March 3-4 (East Lansing, Michigan) EWL Championships -- March 3-4 (Cleveland, Ohio) MAC Championships -- March 3-4 (Buffalo, New York) Division II: More Coming Soon! Division III: Iowa Intercollegiate Championships -- February 15 (Dubuque, Iowa) COMPLETED Ohio Championships -- February 17 (Tiffin, Ohio) COMPLETED Centennial Championships -- February 17 (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) COMPLETED New England Championships -- February 17-18 (Bristol, Rhode Island) COMPLETED Empire Championships -- February 17 (Ithaca, New York) COMPLETED Midwest Regional -- February 17 (Manchester, Indiana) COMPLETED WIAC Championships -- February 18 (La Crosse, Wisconsin) COMPLETED NAIA: East Regional -- February 16 (St. Charles, Missouri) COMPLETED North Regional -- February 17 (Dickinson, North Dakota) COMPLETED More Coming Soon! NJCAA: More Coming Soon!

FAIRFAX, VA -- The Old Dominion wrestling team will send three wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament this year as they finished in second place at the conference tournament. Redshirt senior Christian Staylor (Chesapeake, VA), junior Nick Pullano (Chesapeake, VA), and sophomore David Mendoza (Wyomissing, PA) all advance for the Monarchs to the national tournament taking place in Auburn Hills, MI on March 15-17. It will be the third trip to the NCAA Tournament for Staylor and the first time for the other two ODU grapplers. "I'm proud of the three we've got going," said assistant coach Lee Pritts. "I'm extremely proud of Pullano. He wrestled his butt off." Pullano needed to win in an extra "true-second" match to seal his automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. As a team, the Monarchs finished second overall, to Hofstra University. Tallying 89 points, the ODU wrestling team finished 4.5 points ahead of Rider University for second place.

BUFFALO, N.Y. –- Seven Central Michigan University wrestlers have advanced to the finals at the 2007 Mid-American Conference Championships. Eric Kruger (141 pounds), Andy Keller (157), Mike Miller (165), Brandon Sinnott (174), Christian Sinnott (184), Wynn Michalak (197) and Bubba Gritter (285) will compete in championship matches Sunday. Buffalo's Web site, buffalobulls.com, will provide free live video of Sunday's finals beginning at 11 a.m. CMU sits atop the team standings with 62.5 team points. Northern Illinois is second with 46.5, Kent State third with 40.5, Ohio fourth with 25, Eastern Michigan fifth with 23.5 and Buffalo sixth with 10.5. Eric Kruger was the first to advance to the finals, earning a 6-2 decision over Drew Lashaway in the 141-pound semifinals. Kruger, the second seed, took down the third-seeded Lashaway twice in the second period. He also built a riding time advantage of 2:02 in the win. Kruger began his day with an 8-0 major decision over Eastern Michigan's Zach Donofrio in the opening round. No. 1 seed Andy Keller advanced to the championship round with a 5-3 win over fourth-seeded Cory Mancuso at 157 pounds. Keller scored an early takedown and led 2-1 after one period, but Mancuso evened the score at 2-2 entering the third period. In rapid succession, Keller was given a point for Mancuso fleeing and scored an escape to take a 4-2 lead in the third. Mancuso was granted a stalling point, but Keller added riding time for the 5-3 victory. Redshirt freshman Mike Miller, seeded second at 165 pounds, will wrestle for a title in his first appearance the MAC Championships. He defeated No. 3 seed Jacob Ison (Ohio), 5-3, in the semis. Miller scored takedowns in both of the first two periods in the victory. He was a 10-2 victor over Kent State's Sli Bostelman in the first round. Brandon Sinnott scored a total of 13 takedowns in a pair of commanding wins on his way to the finals at 174 pounds. After taking down Buffalo's Nate Rock seven times in a 16-5 major decision in the first round, Sinnott tallied six takedowns in a 14-5 major over Eastern Michigan's Josh Lewis in the semis. Christian Sinnott scored two takedowns and a three-point nearfall in the third period to pull away from Buffalo's Ray Lamb in the 184-pound semifinals. Sinnott tallied a total of five takedowns in the 15-5 major decision. Wynn Michalak remained perfect in his MAC Championships career with a pair of pins Saturday. Already leading 8-0, he stuck Buffalo's Jake Blowers just 2:04 into the first period in the first round. He followed that by pinning Ohio's Larry Reichard at the 4:38 mark in the semifinals. Michalak, who is 6-0 all-time at the MAC Championships, now has 36 career falls. Bubba Gritter, the top seed at heavyweight, advanced to the finals with a 10-2 major decision over Buffalo's Jeff Parker. Gritter scored four takedowns and had a riding time advantage of more than two minutes in the win. Three individuals remain alive in the consolation bracket for CMU. Luke Smith will wrestle for third place on Sunday after pinning Eastern Michigan's Jack Cassedy in the consolation semis. Smith's quest for a third consecutive conference title ended in the semifinals when he was upset by third-seeded Chad Sportelli of Kent State. Sportelli tallied two takedowns in the first period and led 4-1 after the first three minutes. Smith held the advantage after scoring an escape in the second period, but was only able to add the riding time point despite riding Sportelli throughout the third period. At 133 pounds, fourth-seeded Conor Beebe dropped a 6-4 sudden victory decision to No. 1 seed Mark Budd in the championship semifinals. Beebe scored a takedown with 11 seconds left in regulation to even the score at 4-4, but Budd's takedown with 21 seconds left in the extra period was the difference. Beebe will wrestle for third place after posting a 13-1 major decision over Northern Illinois' John Weinert in the consolation semis. Beebe collected three takedowns and a total of four back points, along with 3:40 in riding time, in the victory. Brandon Carter will wrestle for third place after dropping top-seeded Mike Grimes, 13-6, in the 149-pound consolation semifinals. Carter scored a takedown and two back points in the first period, then stretched his lead to 8-2 entering in the third. He found himself in the consolation bracket after an 18-5 loss to Ohio's Clay Tucker in the first round.

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- The Big Red wrestling team won its first EIWA Championship since 1993 on Saturday night at the 103rd EIWA Championships held at East Stroudsburg University. Cornell advanced six wrestlers to the finals, with Jordan Leen and Steve Anceravage bringing home individual titles in their respective weight classes. The Big Red qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Tournament. Session IV featuring the finals started at 125 pounds, with sophomore All-American Troy Nickerson taking second place after dropping a 5-3 decision to Penn's Matt Eveleth. Nickerson led 3-0 late in the third, but Eveleth caught him for a takedown and grabbed a lucky break turning the Big Red grappler nearly scoring the pin. Eveleth won the match with the two back points and riding time. Nickerson entered the championships as the No. 1 seed and won his first three matches notching bonus points for the Big Red in each. In his opening bout, he pinned Rutger's Ryan Jablonski in 1:11. In the quarterfinals, Nickerson faced eighth seeded Greg Einfrank (Brown). He posted a tech fall winning 16-0 in 6:22. Nickerson faced Columbia's Brandon Kinney for the second time this season in the semifinals. The Big Red grappler blanked the Lion, 8-0, winning a major decision. The 133 pound bout featured a rematch of Penn's Matt Valenti and the Big Red's Adam Frey. Valenti pinned Frey in their first meeting in February. The two were scoreless after two periods, but Valenti would drive ahead in the third with an escape and a takedown. Frey made an escape but was unable to score again on the Penn wrestler. With riding time, Valenti won a 4-1 decision to take the title. Rookie Frey was the second seed at 133 pounds and defeated American's Jordan Lipp in his first bout, 9-2. Frey rematched against Leigh's Seth Ciasulli in the quarterfinals advancing with a 7-5 win. Advancing to the finals, Frey would take his match into sudden victory winning with by a takedown over Harvard Robert Preston (9-7 sv). Sophomore Jordan Leen was the Big Red's first individual champion of the weekend after winning a 2-1 decision over Harvard's J.P. O'Connor at 149 pounds. The two were scoreless after the first period. Leen scored two points with a takedown and racked up over a minute of riding time in the second. O'Connor chose the top position in the third hoping to diminish the riding time. He accomplished that task and added over a minute of his own, but was unable to score late in the period. The championship title is Leen's first. His freshman season, he finished in third to win a bid to the NCAAs. This year Leen jumped into his second EIWA Championships with a 12-3 major decision over Austin Mister (Army). In his quarterfinal match, he narrowly missed notching his second MD with an 11-4 win over East Stroudsburg's Scott Heckman. To advance to the finals, Leen grabbed his second major decision with a 10-1 win over Columbia's Matthew Dunn. Steve Anceravage brought home the second individual title for the Big Red at 165 pounds. The sophomore won a 9-6 decision over American's Mike Cannon. Anceravage had an outstanding tournament opening with a tech fall over Navy's Justin Jacobs. He then went on to win an 11-3 major decision over ESU's Leif Ruschmeyer. The highlight of his tournament, other than winning the title, would be in his semifinal match. Anceravage pinned second seeded Zach Shanaman (Penn) in 2:48. The win avenged his 6-4 loss to the Quaker at the Cornell/Penn dual match earlier this season. Anceravage will make his second appearance at the NCAA tournament. Senior captain Jerry Rinaldi faced American's Josh Glenn in the finals at 197 pounds. Glenn won a 6-1 decision over Rinaldi to take the title. Rinaldi entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. After having a bye his first round, Rinaldi pinned Army's Connor Sanders in his quarterfinal bout in 1:21. To advance to the finals, Rinaldi won a 16-4 major decision over Bucknell's Eric Lapotsky. Rinaldi qualified for his fourth NCAA Tournament. At heavyweight, Zach Hammond faced Navy's Ed Prendergast. The two were wrestling a tight match going into the third period. Hammond had to take an injury timeout and was not able to recover but finished out the match. Prendergast won a 10-0 major decision over the Big Red wrestler. Hammond had a bye in his first round but faced Columbia's Kevin Lester in the quarterfinals. In a dual match earlier in the season, Hammond won a 12-6 decision and wasted no time winning his second, 6-1. In his semifinal bout, he faced Lehigh's Paul Weibel. In January in a dual match, Weibel dealt Hammond a devastating blow when he caught the Big Red wrestler pinning him in 1:51. Hammond avenged that loss with a 3-1 win to secure his first bid to the NCAA Tournament. In Session III, Josh Arnone took third place at 184 pounds after winning a 5-1 decision over Lehigh's David Craig. Arnone scored the first point of the match in the second period with an escape from his initial down position. In the third period, he grabbed three points with a nearfall and with riding time totaled five points. Craig's only point came from an escape in the third period. To qualify for the NCAA tournament, Arnone defeated Penn's Lior Zamir for the second time this season by a score of 7-5. Joey Hooker placed fourth at 174 pounds after losing a 9-3 decision to Penn's Matt Harrington in the third place bout. Hooker won a 9-7 decision over Harrington earlier in the season at the Cornell/Penn dual match on Feb. 9. In his first match of the day, Hooker won a 1-0 decision over American's Rudy Rueda which qualified Hooker for his second NCAA tournament. In Session II Freshman Cory Manson (7) won a 4-2 decision over Bucknell's Zachary Galligan at 141 pounds. Manson then faced No. 2 seed Matt Ciasulli (Lehigh). Ciasulli defeated Manson for the second time this season, by a score of 9-1. Manson caught some bad luck with his draw in his consolation match facing No. 1 seed Max Meltzer (Harvard). Meltzer lost his opening match to unseeded American's Kyle Borshoff. Borshoff pinned Meltzer in 3:22. Meltzer ended Manson's tournament winning a 7-2 decision. Drake Hovis entered the Championships as the No. 8 seed at 157 pounds. He pinned ESU's Ben Bishop in 6:50. In his second match, he faced Penn's Matt Dragon. Dragon, the No. 1 seed, won a 12-6 decision over the Big Red grappler. In his first consolation match, Hovis won a 10-4 decision over American's Jimmy Peppers. Hovis was knocked out of the tournament when he lost, 8-4, to Army's Christian Snook.

Fairfax, VA -- Hofstra captured seven individual titles, a third place finish and a fourth place finish as the Pride cruised to their sixth consecutive Colonial Athletic Association Wrestling Championship Saturday night at Linn Gymnasium at George Mason University. Hofstra, which will send eight wrestlers to the 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships from March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, MI, recorded a school record 138 points, topping the previous mark of 136 set in 2005. The seven individual conference champions also ties the school mark for most individual crowns, set in 2005 and 2006. Senior Mike Patrovich, who captured his third conference title, posted two tech fall and a pin during the Championships and was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler. Three other Pride wrestlers recorded their third conference title as senior James Strouse, at 157, and juniors Charles Griffin, at 141, and Joe Rovelli, at 184, notched their third straight CAA crowns. Junior Dave Tomasette, at 125, copped his second CAA title, while senior Chris Weidman, at 197, who was an All-American last year as a conference finalist, captured his first CAA title, as did freshman Lou Ruggirello at 133. Those seven, along with sophomore Alton Lucas, who received one of the three "wild-card" bids after finishing fourth in this weekend's tournament, will compete in the NCAA Championships in two weeks. Graduate student Matt Pollock, who finished third in the CAA Championships but did not receive a NCAA wild-card bid by the CAA coaches, was Hofstra's ninth and final place-winner.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Senior All-America Evan Sola captured his third Atlantic Coast Conference title at 133 pounds to lead North Carolina to a third-place finish at the league championships Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum. The Tar Heels totaled 60.5 points to finish behind NC State and Maryland and did not win the team title for the first time since 2004. Sola will now move on to the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships, scheduled for March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, Mich. Also the ACC champion in 2003 and 2005, Sola scored a 7-0 decision over Virginia's Eric Albright in the title bout to cap his final ACC Championships appearance. The Wernersville, Pa., native took a 3-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and an escape and added a takedown in each of the next two periods to cruise to the title. A sixth-year senior, Sola will make his fourth trip to the NCAA Championships and first since 2005 after missing last season with a shoulder injury. He is the first Tar Heel to win three ACC titles since Matt Kenney captured his third in 2002. Now 14-3 on the season, Sola received a first-round bye and opened with a pin of Duke's Spencer Jasper in 2:30 the semifinals. The pin was his fifth of the season and the 26th of his career, which is good for a tie for ninth on the Tar Heels' career list. Senior heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky dropped a 5-2 decision to NC State's Jainor Palma in the finals to earn his second straight runner-up finish. After the wrestlers traded escapes, Palma scored a pair of third-period takedowns to post a 5-2 victory. Nadolsky had a first-round bye and moved to the heavyweight final for the second straight season with a 9-8 decision over Maryland's Jerry Afari in the semis. He is currently 23-8 on the season and ranked 10th nationally. Seeded third at 149, sophomore Vincent Ramirez pinned Virginia Tech's A.J. Johnson in 4:05 and followed with a 12-6 decision over second-seeded Andrew Schlaffer of Maryland to advance to his second consecutive ACC final. Ramirez took a 2-0 lead on a second period takedown, but NC State's Joe Caramanica tied the match with a pair of escapes and won it on a late takedown in the third period for a 4-3 final score. Ramirez is now 15-9 this season. A quartet of Tar Heels earned third-place finishes: Drew Forshey (125), Ben Fiacco (157), Keegan Mueller (165) and Dennis Drury (197). Forshey had won 12 of his last 13 bouts at 125 entering Saturday but was upset by Duke's Kellan McKeon, 4-3 in overtime, in the first bout of the day. He came back to top Ross Gitomer of Virginia (5-4) in the consolation bracket and got revenge on McKeon with a 6-3 win in the third-place bout. Forshey is now 21-8 this season. Fiacco dropped his first bout on the day at 157, but posted back-to-back wins in the consolation bracket to take third in his first-ever ACC Championships action. He edged Mike Sewell of Virginia (4-3) before scoring a 9-8 decision Maryland's Mike McGill. Mueller, ranked No. 16 nationally, started his day with a 3-1 decision over Virginia's Damian Johnson, but was pinned by Virginia Tech's Eric Decker in the semifinals. He went on to post an 8-0 major decision over NC State's Obie Simpson and followed with a pin of Johnson in just 1:20 in the third-place bout. He owns a team-best 30-7 record on the year. Drury was dominant in the consolation bracket after dropping his first bout to NC State's Ryan Goodman (10-6). He recorded a technical fall of Patrick Keenum of Duke (18-2) before notching a major decision victory over UVa's Kyle Karkiewicz (11-0) in his first ACC tourney action. Drury is now 15-11 on the year. Freshman Mike Rappo was 1-2 on the day for a fourth-place finish at 141.