InterMat Staff

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Fifth-year senior Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) closed out his stellar University of Michigan wrestling career by capturing the 174-pound national title at the NCAA Championships on Saturday (March 21) in front of 17,385 fans at the Scottrade Center. With fifth-year senior Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) and sophomore Kellen Russell (High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy) joining Luke as All-Americans, the Wolverines placed 11th in the team standings with 47 points, just a half point shy of their ninth straight top-10 finish. Luke completed his perfect season in decisive fashion, using three takedowns to secure an 8-4 decision over Central Michigan's seventh-seeded Mike Miller in the championship bout to improve to 32-0. The Wolverine captain wraps his collegiate career with a career mark of 113-24 and becomes the 14th different U-M wrestler to capture an NCAA individual title, upping the Michigan program's total to 20 trophies. The Wolverine captain, who held the nation's No. 1 ranking at 174 pounds for the entirety of the season, struck quickly, converting on a low blast double off an early restart to gain control. When Luke tried for a suck back moments later, Miller used a switch to wrap up his leg but could not bring it in, settling for an escape as Luke stalemated the position. Luke shot in on another double, wrapped up the single leg and finished double on the mat to pad his lead and add to his riding-time advantage. Miller escaped late in the frame and again early in the second, but not before Luke pushed his time advantage over a minute. The Central Michigan wrestler went on the offensive midway through the period, taking a weak single shot, which Luke countered, came around and limp-armed out to score again. A quick Luke escape provided the only points in the third before the Wolverine used his 1:14 riding-time advantage to tack on another at match's end. Todd posted a 1-1 mark on the day to claim fourth place in his final appearance at the NCAA event, falling 11-4 to Maryland's Hudson Taylor in the placing bout. Todd scored on a single leg early in the second to keep the bout close midway through, but the Terp wrestler scored on four takedowns of his own, including one in the waning moments to ice the match. Todd used a big second period to rally back to an 8-3 decision over Boise State's third-seeded Brent Chriswell in the consolation semifinals. Chriswell gained the initial lead when both wrestlers attempted throws out of a lockup early in the first; the Bronco won the position, dumping Todd to the mat. The Wolverine captain evened the score with a pair of escapes and, soon after squaring off after the second, shot in on a single leg to get Chriswell's leg up high. Todd dumped him to the mat but did not get the call as the two quickly went back to their feet and locked up chest to chest. It was Todd who scored off the position the second time around, using an inside trip to take Chriswell to his back for five points. The Wolverine rode out the period and was in control long enough in the third to net his 1:01 in time advantage and add another point at match's end. Russell wrapped up his weekend with a solid win over a familiar opponent, rallying from an early deficit to knock off Penn State's Frank Molinaro, 7-4, for seventh place. Molinaro got in on Russell's legs with several double legs and converted his second shot early in the first to take the initial lead. Russell tried to kick out, but Molinaro lifted his leg high and took him back to the mat, where the Wolverine wrestler scrambled to put him to his back. After a brief referee conference, Russell was awarded two points for the reversal and two for the near fall, giving him a two-point edge after the opening period. The wrestlers continued to flurry in the final two periods with both striking deep on scoring opportunities, but only Russell added offensive points, sprawling hard on a Molinaro double shot before turning the corner and converting the takedown on the edge of the mat to seal up the decision.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -– Jarrod King was not the Edinboro wrestler predicted to win the school's fourth national championship. He did come in as the 12th seed at 165 lbs., but more highly-acclaimed teammates Paul Donahoe and Gregor Gillespie were expected to stand at the top of the awards stand before the senior from Connellsville, PA. But King didn't listen to the oddsmakers, and on Saturday night at the Scottrade Center he became Edinboro's fourth national champion. King handed Wisconsin's Andrew Howe, the number two seed, a 3-2 defeat.

LINCOLN -- Jordan Burroughs became the 10th national champion in Husker history by capturing the 157-pound title during Session VI to lead Nebraska to a fourth-place team finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships. With a fourth-place finish last season also, NU has claimed back-to-back top-five finishes in consecutive years for the first time. For the second season in a row, Iowa captured the team title with 96.5 points while Ohio State finished second (92) and Iowa State claimed third (84.5). "It feels great to be a national champion," Burroughs said. "It took three years, but I finally got it done. I'm just happy to be here and happy that my teammates and my family are able to be here and watch me." A junior from Sicklerville, N.J., Burroughs topped second-seeded Michael Poeta of Illinois in the final, 5-1. As usual, Burroughs was the aggressor in the first period, and earned a critical takedown with just two seconds left in the period. Burroughs escaped 10 seconds into the second to go up 3-0, but neither wrestler could score the rest of the period. Poeta escaped with 1:57 left in the third and turned up the intensity looking for an equalizing takedown, nearly catching Burroughs on several occasions in the final period. Another Burroughs' takedown with two seconds left sealed the bout. He went 35-0 during 2008-09 to become the first Husker national champion ever to complete a season undefeated. Poeta finished as runner up for a second consecutive season with a 17-1 record. "Every time I shot a double leg he would jump back knowing I was going to shoot from my knees," Burroughs said. "I finally found an opening at the end of the first period and got two and it kind of set the pace for the match. I knew he had to come after me. That's when I'm best is when people are chasing me." Nebraska's Craig Brester also advanced to the finals, but lost to second-seeded Jake Varner of Iowa State, 2-1, at 197 pounds. Brester, a junior from Howells, Neb., was hard pressed to generate offense against the three-time NCAA finalist Varner. Neither wrestler scored in the first period, and Varner earned an escape eight seconds in the second. Brester chose down in the third in an attempt to escape and tie the match at one, but Varner earned riding-time advantage to take the win before Brester escaped. Brester went 33-4 in 2008-09 with three of his losses on the season coming to Varner. Head Coach Mark Manning has coached 27 Huskers to All-America honors during his nine seasons at Nebraska. He has also led NU to nine five top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. NU's 78.5 points are the second most it has ever scored at the tournament, trailing only a 79.5-point performance in 1993. "We would have liked to have won both of those matches, but this is a very tough stage to compete on," Manning said. "Jordan did a great job against a great competitor who was in the finals last year. Jordan has really made himself a complete wrestler and has put the work in. Craig has done the same thing."

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Top seed Franklin Gomez defeated No. 2 seed Reece Humphrey of Ohio State, 5-4, to become the 2009 National Champion at 133 pounds Saturday (March 21) evening at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Gomez is the 19th MSU wrestler to win a national championship and the first since Kelvin Jackson won the title at 118 pounds in 1995. Overall, it marks the 25th time a Spartan has claimed an individual national title. "This means a lot to me because I represent not just Michigan State, but also Puerto Rico, my club, and especially my family and friends in Florida," said Gomez, a two-time All-American. "There is no better feeling than having one of your wrestlers win a national championship," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel, who coached Jackson in 1995. "He's had his sights set on an NCAA Championship since he walked into our wrestling room. He's a very focused young man and he has very high aspirations." Gomez took shots at Humphrey early on in the match, but the two wrestlers remained locked at zero through the first period. Gomez began the second period down and recorded an escape just over 30 seconds in, giving him the 1-0 lead. Gomez's momentum then carried the two out of bounds as he went for the takedown immediately after escaping. Gomez notched his second takedown with 45 seconds left in the second to give him a 3-0 lead. A Humphrey escape left the score at 3-1 going into the final frame. "I kind of just went with the flow," said Gomez. "I tried to control his hands, because that's kind of what (Humphrey) does, he grabs my elbow. I tried to penalize that, and as you saw, he wasn't able to do that much." With Gomez starting the third period on top, Humphrey narrowed the lead to 3-2 with an escape 14 seconds in. After a minute of neutral wrestling, Gomez notched his third and final takedown of the contest to put him up by three with under a minute left. A reversal by Humphrey with eight seconds left would not affect the outcome, as time expired with Gomez on top, 5-4. Gomez closed out the season on a 14-match win streak dating back to Feb. 8. The All-American finished with 27 wins, the most on the team, opposed by just two losses.

The consensus heading into the championship round of the NCAA Wrestling Championships was that Iowa's Brent Metcalf was just plain unbeatable, that no one could stop him in his quest to repeat as champion at 149 pounds. NC State's Darrion Caldwell apparently didn't get the memo. Caldwell took the defending national champion down twice in the first period and was in control of the match throughout, defeating Metcalf 11-6 to become NC State's fifth national wrestling champion and its first since Sylvester Terkay in 1993. And the final score does not indicate just how one-sided the match was. Caldwell, who improved to 38-1 with the decision, took Metcalf down just seconds into the match to take a 2-0 lead. Metcalf escaped, but Caldwell got him in a headlock and threw him to the mat for the second takedown of the period, the first time Metcalf had been taken down twice in a period in more than a year. Metcalf escaped again near the end of the period and Caldwell took a 4-2 lead into the second period. Caldwell started in the down position in the second period, escaped, then scored a takedown on a counter move off a Metcalf shot to take a 7-2 lead. Caldwell cruised from there. He got one more takedown in the third and led 9-3. Metcalf got an escape and a late takedown in the third period, but the issue was decided by that time. "He's human," Caldwell said of Metcalf. "It's not like we went into a fight and he has a gun and I have a knife." Caldwell never wavered in his belief that he could beat Metcalf, regardless of what popular opinion said. "I felt that I was going to win, because I envisioned myself as a national champion when I prepared for that match," Caldwell said. "I believe in my abilities and I thank God to give me the ability to do what I did. Following the match, as Caldwell began his victory celebration, Metcalf gave Caldwell a big shove and was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, costing Iowa a valuable team point in its quest to repeat as team champions. The loss is only the second of Metcalf's career and ended a 69-match winning streak. Metcalf's other loss also was to Caldwell, who pinned him on November 24, 2007. Metcalf finished the season 37-1. No doubt in part thanks to the victory over the heavily favored Metcalf, Caldwell was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. He won once by fall and three times by major decision during the tournament, and allowed just 12 points in five bouts, all on escapes. He did not allow a takedown in the entire tournament. Counting the 7-1 lead he had when he pinned Penn's Cesar Grajales in the opening round, Caldwell outscored his five opponents by a combined 52-12. Darrion Caldwell notebook • Caldwell joins Terkay (heavyweight in 1993), Scott Turner (150 pounds in 1988), Tab Thacker (heavyweight in 1984) and Matt Reiss (167 pounds in 1980) as heavyweight champions from NC State. • Caldwell finished the season with a 10-match winning streak: six by major decision, one by technical fall and one by pin. • Caldwell is NC State's first All-American since 1996 (Mike Miller) and its first two-time All-American since 1992-93 (Sylvester Terkay). • Caldwell now has a career record of 95-12 with 50 pins. • He ranks third in school history in career pins, 14 behind career leader Terkay and four behind second-place Tab Thacker (1981-84), both of whom were NCAA heavyweight champions. • Caldwell is one of just six wrestlers in NC State history to break the 90-win plateau and ranks fourth in school history in career victories with 95 (Terkay leads with 122 and is the only one with more than 100). • Caldwell ranks second in school history in career winning percentage at .888 (Terkay leads at .897). • Caldwell is one of just two Wolfpack grapplers, along with Terkay, to win 30 or more matches in a season twice. • Caldwell's season total of 38 wins ties for second most in a single season by an NC State wrestler. Terkay won 41 in 1993, and Brian Jackson won 38 in 1989. • Caldwell now is 10-1 this season against ranked opponents, and 21-7 vs. ranked opponents for his career. • Caldwell has never lost to an ACC opponent in 28 career matches vs. league foes.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Three time All-American Troy Nickerson won the 2009 NCAA championship at 125 pounds on Saturday night with a 2-1 tie breaker win over Paul Donahoe of Edinboro. Nickerson previously placed third and second in 2007 and 2006 respectively. The Big Red finished in fifth place as a team. Check the Big Red Blog for summaries from all the matches at the NCAA tournament as well as updated team scores. In his match against Donahoe, both wrestlers started with a great deal of action at the head and hands. Nickerson shot near the edge of the mat, but the action was called back to the center. Donahoe used less than thirty seconds of injury time. When the action returned, Donahoe deferred choice in the second, and Nickerson chose down. Nickerson quickly got to his feet, but Donahoe was able to hold on as they went to the edge of the map to return action to the center once more. Nickerson responded by standing up again quickly but could not quite escape before reaching the edge of the map. Back at center, Nickerson stood up immediately and got the escape he was looking for. Nickerson looked for a low single, but Donahoe caught the move in time to deflect it. Both wrestlers showed their offensive and defensive excellence by continuing to shoot and deflect shots by the opponent. Donahoe chose down in the third, and earned an escape eight seconds into the period. Both wrestlers circled a great deal in the third, each looking for the anticipated takedown. With a 1-1 score in regular match-time the wrestlers went into sudden victory. Nickerson had an early shot at the head and chest that looked like a potential takedown, but Donahoe was able to shrug him off. Nickerson had choice for the tie breaker, and he chose down. On the bottom, Nickerson used some injury time, but the action returned quickly. Nickerson collected a point for a technical violation for locking hands against Donahoe.The Edinboro wrestler started down for the his choice and was cautioned. Donahoe attempted two more escapes, but Nickerson was able to hold onto his leg and take him down to the mat for the final few seconds to keep the score 2-1.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- In front of a crowd of 17,385, J Jaggers, a senior on the Ohio State wrestling team, secured his place in Buckeye wrestling history, becoming just the third student-athlete to win two national titles. Jaggers won his second-consecutive crown in the 141-pound division at the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. In one of the tightest team races in recent NCAA wrestling history, Ohio State earned its second-consecutive runner-up finish with 92 points, trailing Iowa, who locked up its second-consecutive crown with 96.5 points. Iowa State finished third with 80.5 points, while Nebraska and Cornell took fourth (78.5) and fifth (73.5), respectively. The 2009 national championships attracted an NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships all-time total attendance record with 97, 111 people in attendance over six sessions. Buckeye head coach Tom Ryan was named National Coach of the Year following the championships. His honor comes just three days after Ohio State assistant Lou Rosselli was named NWCA Assistant Coach of the Year. Jaggers captured his second-consecutive title at 141 pounds, downing No. 8 Ryan Williams of Old Dominion, 10-4. Following his strategy of striking quick and often, the Northfield, Ohio, native jumped ahead, 6-2, on three first-period takedowns. After two stanzas, the score stood at 6-3 before Jaggers recorded a final takedown and earned riding time for the win. "‘I'm doing it again,'" Jaggers said, when asked about making it back to the title round. "You just don't luck upon this thing. Last year, a lot of people called me a ‘one-hit wonder.' The day after the national tournament last year people were saying, ‘he won't win it again.' I think this proves you don't just stumble on two national championships." Jaggers becomes only the third Buckeye to win two NCAA titles, joining Tommy Rowlands (2002 and '04 NCAA heavyweight champion) and Kevin Randleman (1992 and '93 NCAA champion at 177). He ends his senior campaign with a 28-7 ledger and completes his career with a 108-33 record. In a repeat of the Big Ten 133-pound title match, Ohio State's second-seeded Reece Humphrey met No. 1-seed Franklin Gomez of Michigan State in the NCAA title bout. As he did at the league championships, Gomez took a close match from Humphrey, a 5-4 decision in favor of the Spartan. The match was scoreless until the second period with Gomez posting an escape and takedown while Humphrey got on the board with an escape to make it, 3-1, after two. Gomez moved the score to 5-2 with a takedown before Humphrey began a counterattack. The Indianapolis, Ind., native scored a late takedown to make it a one-point contest but the Buckeye ran out of time, dropping the 5-4 decision. Humphrey ends his junior season, earning his first All-America honor, as a runner-up, while compiling a 30-4 record. Junior Mike Pucillo made his run to defend his 2008 national title all the way to the final bout, but fell, 6-3, to Northwestern's undefeated No. 1 seed and 2007 NCAA champion, Jake Herbert. Herbert, who ends his senior season with a 34-0 record, took an early lead with two takedowns in the first, but Pucillo closed within one, 4-3, from three escapes heading into the third. With the riding time in favor of the Wildcats, Pucillo worked to get two points but Herbert was on the defense, ultimately taking the match, 6-3. The Strongsville, Ohio, native completes his junior campaign with a 23-2 record.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The 2008-2009 season for the Iowa Hawkeyes seemed to be on a smooth glide path to winning a second consecutive NCAA team title with ease. As expected, Iowa won the team title … but it was hardly easy. At times during the three-day 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, other teams held the lead in the team race … but the Hawkeyes clawed their way back, thanks to an especially gutsy performance during Session 5 on Saturday morning, to edge out the Ohio State Buckeyes 96.5 to 92. In fact, the team title was in doubt until the conclusion of the 184-pound finals. "We're going to work real hard to be positive on this thing because a lot of good things happened to win that team title on that backside of the bracket where you don't want to be," said Iowa coach Tom Brands. "A lot of good things happened. And a lot of adversity too." Darrion Caldwell defeated Brent Metcalf en route to winning Most Outstanding Wrestler honors (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)The Hawkeyes team title came without a single individual champion. In fact, their "sure bet" for a champ, Brent Metcalf, lost in a stunning upset in the finals to Darrion Caldwell, in a loss that may remind some Iowa fans of another shocker: Illinois' Steve Marianetti besting Hawkeye legend Lincoln McIlravy in the 1995 NCAAs. But the Metcalf upset seemed in keeping with the "upsetting nature" of the 2009 NCAAs, especially with all the stunning surprises of Day One. More than a number of "sure bets" failed to realize their national title dreams. The Hawkeye's defending 149-pound champ was probably the most notable. "I could have put a sealer on it," said Metcalf. "I could have capped it off. I failed to do that." All this may be appropriate, given how many teams had at least one competitor going for a title -- fifteen teams in all. Ohio State had three wrestlers vying for individual titles, while Nebraska and Edinboro each had two -- the only programs with more than one finalist. Among the schools not normally seen in the finals: Old Dominion (whose last finalist was fifteen years ago), and Duke, with its first-ever finalist. The Finals 125: In the first of a number of title bouts matching the top two seeds, it was No. 1 Paul Donahoe taking on No. 2 Troy Nickerson. Donahoe, a redshirt senior for Edinboro with a perfect 35-0 record, had won the title in this weight class for Nebraska at the 2007 NCAAs. Nickerson, a redshirt junior from Cornell, also had a flawless 24-0 record. The match started uneventfully, with no scoring in the first period. In the second, Nickerson scored an escape. In the third, Donahoe answered with an escape of his own, resulting in a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation. In the first sudden victory period, there was no score. In the first tiebreaker period, Donahoe was assessed one point for a technical violation -- locked hands. When it was time for the Edinboro wrestler to try to escape from Nickerson, he was unable. Final score: 2-1, SV Nickerson "I've been very fortunate all year," said Nickerson. "It shows that all hard work pays off and that I'm very fortunate." 133: The second battle between No. 1 and No. 2 featured Big Ten rivals -- and redshirt juniors -- Franklin Gomez of Michigan State and Reece Humphrey of Ohio State. Gomez was the top seed with a 26-2 record to the finals, while Humphrey had a 30-3 record. After a scoreless first period, the second continued in the same vein for quite a while … until Gomez scored a takedown with about a half-minute left, followed quickly by an escape by Humphrey. In the third, the Buckeye got a second escape, then the Spartan answered with a takedown. Despite a Humphrey reversal towards the end of the match, the final score was 5-4 for Gomez … the first Michigan State wrestler to win an NCAA title since Kelvin Jackson in 1995. Gomez put his faith in the Lord. "No matter where I am I'll always go to church and that always keeps my focus," said Gomez. "That tells me that God is everywhere. And I've been through really hard times, some really difficult times, and I was able to get up because church as helped me a lot to stay focused. (The NCAA title) means a lot to me because I'm not just representing Michigan State but representing Puerto Rico, the people there at my club and the people in Florida. I represent a lot of places, not just Michigan State." J Jaggers won his second straight NCAA title at 141 pounds, defeating Old Dominion's Ryan Williams in the final (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)141: J Jaggers came to Scottrade Center to defend his title against all comers; in the finals, the third-seeded Ohio State redshirt senior with a 39-3 record faced off against eighth-seeded senior Ryan Williams of Old Dominion, 27-7. Unlike the first two matches, there was a flurry of points put on the board by both wrestlers in the opening period. Jaggers snagged the first takedown, while Williams followed up with an escape. The Buckeye champ then scored three nearfall points, followed by a second escape by Williams to make the score 6-2 Jaggers. In the second period, Williams got yet another escape. In the third, Jaggers got an escape of his own, followed by a takedown. Williams notched his fourth escape towards the of the match… but Jaggers successfully defended his title, 10-4, keeping Ohio State fans' hopes alive for grabbing their first team title from Iowa. "My plan was to strike as quick and as often as possible," said Jaggers. "I couldn't let it turn into a cat and mouse game. For me, when I turn it into a shootout and it is about a lot of points, I'm more confident that I'm going to come out on top." 149: Brent Metcalf won the 149 title and Outstanding Wrestler award at the 2008 NCAAs. Would the top-seeded redshirt junior from Iowa with the perfect 37-0 record be able to match those accomplishments in 2009? One man wrecked the party: Darrion Caldwell, the North Carolina State 37-0 sophomore who once pinned the Hawkeye at the beginning of the 2007-8 season. Caldwell came out with guns blazing, starting the bout with a takedown. Metcalf responded with an escape, but there was no stopping the Wolfpack wrestler, as he scored a second takedown. Metcalf scored a second escape to make the score 4-2, Caldwell. The North Carolina State matman continued his take-no-prisoners approach into the second period, with an escape and another takedown to build a 7-2 lead. In the third, the Hawkeye got an escape; Caldwell responded with yet another takedown. Metcalf got another escape, followed by a takedown … but, at the end of the match, Caldwell got an 11-6 upset win. To add insult to injury, when the winner demonstrated his joy with some on-the-mat, after-match acrobatics, Metcalf chased after the champ, trying to score one last takedown. Officials docked Iowa one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct. "It just means I've got to continue to work for the next couple of years," said Caldwell. "I'm thinking about taking this next year off and getting better, a lot better, keep working and maybe go up a couple weight classes. I'm just going to keep working hard for next year, maybe I'll do something with the US Open this upcoming April. We'll take it from there and see where it goes, see where it leads." 157: Yet another battle of No. 1 and No. 2: Top-seeded Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska, Big 12 champ, a junior with a perfect 34-0 mark, taking on the Big Ten champ and 2008 NCAA finalist, Mike Poeta, a redshirt senior with a 17-0 record. The match started with a takedown scored by Burroughs with just two seconds left in the opening period. In the second, the Cornhusker added to his lead with an escape. Poeta got on the board with an escape in the third … but Burroughs followed with another takedown in the closing seconds of the match. Final score: 5-1 Burroughs. It was Poeta's second heartbreaker finals at the nationals, having been runner-up the previous year. "It's huge for me," said Burroughs. "I'm the first undefeated, ever, Nebraska wrestler. It's a great accomplishment for me, my family, my teammates, and everyone who has ever supported me and enjoys the way I wrestle. This is for them." 165: This finals matchup was a study in contrasts: No. 2 Andrew Howe of Wisconsin, the true freshman with a 30-4 record, and No. 12 Jarrod King of Edinboro, a 31-5 senior. The match started slowly, with no scoring in the first period; an escape by King was the only point tallied in the second. In the third, Howe got an escape, which King followed with a takedown. Despite an escape by the Badger, the final outcome was 3-2 for King. For King, his No. 12 seed didn't matter coming into the tournament. "I don't think it (the seed) matters so much," said King. "My goal the entire time was to be a champ, no matter if I was the top seed, no seed, whatever." Steve Luke won the title after finishing runner-up (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)174: A matchup of wrestlers from two universities in the state of Michigan: Top-seeded Steve Luke of the University of Michigan, a senior with a 31-0 record, taking on Central Michigan's seventh seeded Mike Miller, the 30-6 redshirt sophomore. The first period opened with Luke scoring a takedown; Miller escaped. That pattern was repeated to make the score 4-2 for Luke. In the second, Miller escaped. Luke responded with a takedown. Miller scored yet another escape to make the score 6-4 for the Wolverine. Luke added to his point total with an escape of his own in the third. With riding time, the final score was 8-4 for the Michigan senior. "When you're little kid you watch the NCAA's on TV and think, 'Wow, I want to do that,'", said Luke. "But when you're a little kid you think you want to do that but at the same time you think there's no way. You think one day I want to be up on that stage and I don't want to be up on that stage losing, like I did last year. I want to be up on that stage winning. It feels good to go out with a win." 184: Arguably the most anticipated title bout of the 2009 NCAAs: Jake Herbert vs. Mike Pucillo. Anticipated because it pitted two NCAA champs � Herbert a titlewinner in 2007, Pucillo in 2008 -- and because it was the first time this season the two had met on the mat this season, after not wrestling each other in the dual-meet season, or at the Big Tens. The match took on even more significance: It was Ohio State's last chance at winning its first-ever NCAA team title. The top-seeded Herbert, a redshirt senior at Northwestern, sported a 33-0 record … while Ohio State's Pucillo, a redshirt junior, had a 23-1 record. Herbert opened the match in his typical aggressive style, with a takedown; Pucillo responded with an escape. The Wildcat got a second takedown; the Buckeye, a second escape, to make the score 4-2, Herbert. In the second, Pucillo scored an escape. In the third, Herbert got an escape of his own. With riding time, the Northwestern senior ended his college career with a 6-3 victory -- and his second NCAA title -- while Buckeye fans went home doubly disappointed their 184-pounder was unable to defend his title, nor deliver that elusive team title that seemed within their grasp. "It went well," said Herbert. "I like to get some back points. I didn't give up a takedown, which is good. I took all the camera time I could, seven minutes. I got the win, I did what I needed to do and it was a hard fought match. He made me work for it, he made me come at him and he made me win that match. It wasn't like he was going to give it to me, it wasn't like he was going to roll over." 197: One last battle between Nos. 1 and 2, in a rematch of the Big 12 title match: Craig Brester of Nebraska, the top seed and conference champ, a 29-3 redshirt junior, taking on Jake Varner, the 30-2 junior for Iowa State. The two men had wrestled each other a number of times, so both were cautious. There was no scoring in the first period. In the second, Varner scored an escape. In the third, Brester responded with an escape of his own. Varner had enough riding time to make the final score, 2-1 in his favor. The third time was the charm for the Cyclone; in two previous finals appearances, Varner had gone home without a title. "It feels like everyone, I feel like, expects you to win and I just went out there and wrestled my match and it feels good to finally do it," said Varner. Hwt: This time of year, it's totally expected to see Duke University on a men's NCAA basketball bracket … but not necessarily a bracket for college wrestling. For the first time in 80 years, Duke had a finalist in the wrestling championships, in the form of Konrad Dudziak, 27-2 redshirt sophomore originally from Poland… going up against Missouri's Mark Ellis, a junior with a 26-3 record. There was no score in the first period. Ellis opened the second with an escape; Dudziak followed with his own escape in the third, sending the match into overtime. In the sudden victory period, there was no score … and, in the first tiebreaker, no scoring. In the second, Ellis got a takedown. Despite an escape from Dudziak, the final score was 3-2, TB, for Ellis, who, in addition to wrestling for the Missouri Tigers, plays on their football team. "With where I came from and the people who believed in me and just gave me a chance, it's amazing and God is just so good to me," said Ellis. 2009 NCAA All-Americans Here are the wrestlers who earned All-American honors by placing in the top eight in each weight class at the 2009 NCAAs: 125: In the battle for third place, Northwestern's Brandon Precin got a 3-1 win over Arizona State's Anthony Robles. In the fifth-place match, defending champ Angel Escobedo of Indiana got an 8-0 major decision over Zach Sanders of Minnesota. Central Michigan's Scotti Sentes placed seventh by defeating Nicholas Bedelyon of Kent State, 7-2. 133: Minnesota's Jayson Ness took third place by getting a 14-6 major decision over Andrew Hochstrasser of Boise State. In the fifth-place bout, Illinois' Jimmy Kennedy got a 16-0 technical fall at 5:13 over Steve Bell of Maryland. In the seventh-place match, Iowa's Daniel Dennis won on a medical forfeit over Navy's Joe Baker. 141: Iowa State's Nick Gallick got a 5-3 win over Wisconsin's Zach Tanelli to place third. Unseeded Alex Krom of Maryland took fifth place by shutting out Arizona State's Chris Drouin, 4-0. In the match to determine seventh place, top-seeded Kellen Russell of Michigan got a 7-4 decision over Penn State's Frank Molinaro. 149: In the match to determine third place, Wisconsin's Kyle Ruschell edged Lance Palmer of Ohio State, 5-4. Purdue's Jake Patacsil got a 6-4, SV 1 win over Navy's Bryce Saddoris to win fifth place. For seventh place, American's Kyle Borshoff got a 9-1 major decision over Oregon State's Heinrich Barnes. 157: In a battle between two past NCAA titlewinners, defending champ Jordan Leen of Cornell got a 4-0 decision over 2007 champ Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro to earn third place. In the fifth-place match, Missouri's Michael Chandler edged Bloomsburg's Matt Moley, 2-1. Cal Poly's Chase Pami took seventh by getting a 4-2, SV1 win over Minnesota's Tyler Safratowich. 165: Iowa's Ryan Morningstar won third place with a 7-5 decision over Iowa State's Jon Reader. For fifth place, Bucknell's Andrew Rendos got a 9-6 win over Moza Fay of Northern Iowa. Missouri's Nick Marable defeated Boise State's Tyler Sherfey, 6-4, to place seventh. 174: Third place went to Missouri's Raymond Jordan, who shut out Nebraska's Brandon Browne, 4-0. Cornell's Steve Anceravage scored a 13-3 major decision over Quentin Wright of Penn State to place fifth … while Virginia's Chris Henrich earned a 13-3 major decision over American's Mike Cannon for seventh place. 184: Rider's Doug Umbehauer got a 5-3 win over Iowa's Phil Keddy to take third place … while Wyoming's Joe LeBlanc defeated Vince Jones of Nebraska, 9-2 for fifth. Josh Patterson of Binghamton won seventh place with a 4-2 victory over Harvard's Lou Caputo. 197: Maryland's Hudson Taylor took third place for the second straight year, this time with a 11-4 win over Michigan's Tyrel Todd. Fifth place went to Max Askren of Missouri with a 3-0 shut-out of Boise State's Brent Chriswell. In the match for seventh, Brandon Halsey of Cal State Bakersfield got a 14-4 major decision over Cam Sinaz of Cornell. Hwt: Oklahoma State's Jared Rosholt got a 6-4 decision over Iowa's Dan Ereksen to take third place for the second year in a row. Iowa State big man David Zabriskie defeated Kent State's Jermail Porter, 4-2, for fifth place… while Illinois' John Wise was awarded seventh when Pittsburgh's Zach Schaeffer took a medical forfeit. Final Team Standings: 1. Iowa -- 96.5 points 2. Ohio State -- 92 points 3. Iowa State -- 84.5 points 4. Nebraska -- 78.5 points 5. Cornell -- 73.5 points Other Awards: Outstanding Wrestler: Darrion Caldwell, North Carolina State Coach of the Year: Tom Ryan, Ohio State Gorranian Award (Most Pins in Shortest Time): Hudson Taylor, Maryland's 197-pounder Related Content: Final Team Scores Final Brackets Rev Big Show Pick 'Em Results Rev Audio Interviews: Troy Nickerson (125) Franklin Gomez (133) J Jaggers (141) Darrion Caldwell (149) Jordan Burroughs (157) Jarrod King (165) Steve Luke (174) Jake Herbert (184) Jake Varner (197) Mark Ellis (Hwt)

Click on the links below to listen to audio interviews from all 10 NCAA champions. Troy Nickerson (125) Franklin Gomez (133) J Jaggers (141) Darrion Caldwell (149) Jordan Burroughs (157) Jarrod King (165) Steve Luke (174) Jake Herbert (184) Jake Varner (197) Mark Ellis (Hwt)

ST. LOUIS, MO -- Despite crowning no individual champions, the University of Iowa wrestling team collected its second straight national team title at the 2009 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, MO, Saturday night. The Hawkeyes scored 96.5 points, edging runner-up Ohio State by 4.5 points, to record the school's 22nd NCAA team title. That is the closest margin of victory since Iowa won the 1999 team title by two points, and only the second time in school history that the Hawkeyes won the NCAA title without an individual champion. Iowa also accomplished that feat in 1978. It is also the first year that the Hawkeyes have not crowned an individual champion since 2006. "This championship was won this morning," said Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands. "We had a lot of guys that came through for us. We have five all-Americans who are all back next year. It's bittersweet with Brent's (Metcalf) match, but our fans love championships." Iowa's lone finalist - junior Brent Metcalf - was upset in the 149-pound finals by #3 seed Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State, 11-6. Metcalf, who won the 2008 NCAA 149-pound title and was the top seed for this year's tournament at that weight class, saw his 69-match winning streak snapped in the finals. A team point was deducted from Iowa's team score for unsportsmanlike conduct after the match. Metcalf ends the season with a 37-1 record, and has a 72-2 career mark. Both losses are to Caldwell. The Hawkeyes crowned a total of five all-Americans in Metcalf and juniors Daniel Dennis (133-7th), Ryan Morningstar (165-3rd), Phillip Keddy (184-4th) and Dan Erekson (Hwt.-4th). The tournament's six-session attendance total of 97,111 set the all-time record for the event. Iowa ends the 2009 season winning two straight NCAA and Big Ten titles. The Hawkeye posted a perfect 24-0 dual meet record, going 8-0 in Big Ten duals. FINAL NCAA TEAM STANDINGS Place Team - Points 1. Iowa - 96.5 2. Ohio State - 92 3. Iowa State - 84.5 4. Nebraska - 78.5 5. Cornell - 73.5 6. Edinboro - 72 7. Missouri - 70 8. Illinois - 55 9. Wisconsin - 53 10. Maryland - 47.5 IOWA'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS RESULTS 165 - #3 Darrion Caldwell (N. Carolina St.) dec. #1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa), 11-6

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- In Iowa coach Tom Brands' wildest dreams, he never would have expected that going into Saturday the team standings would look like they do. Nobody did. But after two days of the NCAA Division I Championships, Ohio State, who finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships, leads the team race with 84.5 points. Iowa sits in second place with 81 points. Iowa State (71.5), Edinboro (63.5), and Nebraska (62) round out the top five heading into Saturday. Day 1 was a day of upsets, with a total of nineteen upsets of higher-ranked seeds, including two top seeds getting knocked out of title contention. In the course of eleven hours of competition, the title dreams of 250 wrestlers were terminated. Of the eighty athletes (from forty schools) who were still in title contention at the start of the quarterfinal round, nine were unseeded … a third more than last year. However, going into the semis on Friday, there was just one unseeded wrestler -- Maryland's Alex Krom. Last year, no unseeded wrestlers were in the title hunt. The previous two years, there were two non-seeds who made it into the semifinals. Want proof of parity? The forty wrestlers competing in the semis represent 24 schools. That's just one more than in 2008, but one-third more than in 2001. It's been a rough NCAA for some traditional powerhouses. In the nearly 80-year history of the NCAAs, for the first time ever, Oklahoma State did not have a single wrestler in the semifinals. Oklahoma didn't have a single All-American for the second year in a row. And, for Lehigh, it's the third straight year not to have any All-Americans. Quarterfinal Notes � At 125 pounds, Cornell's Troy Nickerson barely broke a sweat; the second seed pinned No. 7 Joey Fio of Oklahoma in just fourteen seconds, which is believed to rank among the five fastest falls in NCAA history for matches wrestled under folkstyle rules. Continuing with the history lesson … Anthony Robles of Arizona State became the first single-legged wrestler to earn All-American status. � 133: There was a lot of back-and-forth lead changes between No. 4 Daniel Dennis of Iowa and fifth-seeded Andrew Hochstrasser of Boise State … but, at the end of regulation, the Bronco defeated the Hawkeye, 9-8 based on riding time. � 141: Defending champ J Jaggers of Ohio State broke a 2-2 tie by pinning Iowa State's Nick Gallick at 1:48. Unseeded Alex Krom of Maryland continued his title quest with a 3-2 win over twelfth-seeded Drew Lashaway of Kent State… while eighth-seeded Ryan Williams of Old Dominion scored an end-of-match reversal to break what had been a tie, defeating Illinois' Ryan Prater, 8-6. � 165: Iowa's Ryan Morningstar was dinged for two penalty points in the third period in his match with Ohio State's Colt Sponseller, tying the match at 2-2 and sending it into overtime. The Hawkeye scored a takedown to win 4-2 SV. � 184: The match between Iowa's Phil Keddy and Rider's Doug Umbehauer was tied 4-4 at the end of regulation. In overtime, Keddy was assessed with a stalling point, then cut Umbehauer loose. The seventh-seeded Rider wrestler then scored a takedown to win 8-4 TB. � Heavyweight: Iowa State's top-seeded David Zabriskie got a takedown with four seconds left to get a 3-2 win over Illinois' ninth-seeded John Wise. Here is a weight-by-weight breakdown of the semifinals: 125 pounds Top-seeded Paul Donahoe of Edinboro vs. Arizona State's Anthony Robles, the twelfth seed. No scoring in the first period. Donahoe scored an escape in the second, the only points of the period. Robles got a quick escape to start third, Donahoe got a takedown about 30 seconds in. Robles followed with a second escape. With a few seconds left in the match, the Fighting Scot secured a takedown to make the final score 5-2 Donahoe. It will be his second trip to the finals, having won the 125 title for Nebraska in 2006. No. 2 Troy Nickerson of Cornell vs. No. 3 Angel Escobedo of Indiana, the defending champ. No scoring in the first. Nickerson scored a quick escape at beginning of second; no other scoring. Towards end of third, Escobedo scored an escape. With riding time, Nickerson won the match, 2-1. The finals will feature the top two seeds in this weight class. In commenting on his history with Nickerson, Donahoe said, "He beat me a couple times in high school, then I beat him in a controversial match the year I won it (the title). I think it's going to be a great match. He's a great wrestler." Nickerson responded: "He's a tough competitor. He beat me two years ago. It's definitely a loss I look forward to avenging." 133 pounds No. 1 Franklin Gomez of Michigan State vs. No. 5 Alex Hochstrasser of Boise State. Gomez scored first with a takedown; Hochstrasser got an escape with about 30 seconds left. No scoring in the second. In the third, the Bronco got an escape, followed by the Spartan scoring a takedown… followed by another Hochstrasser escape and a Gomez takedown with about fifteen seconds left. Final score: 6-3, Gomez. Second-seeded Reece Humphrey of Ohio State vs. No. 6 Minnesota's Jayson Ness. No scoring in the first period… or the second… or the third. Humphrey wins, 1-0, based on two minutes' riding time. The two finalists are the top two seeds, both from the Big Ten. Asked about his finals rival, Gomez said, "It should be a great match. He's strong, and a tough worker." 141 pounds No. 3 J Jaggers of Ohio State vs. seventh-ranked Chris Drouin of Arizona State. Jaggers scored a takedown in the first period, followed by an escape in the second. In the third, Drouin got an escape… but the Buckeye got a takedown, then locked on a cradle to secure the pin at 4:27 to win the opportunity to defend his title. Commenting on the top two seeds falling away in earlier rounds, Jaggers said, "When Kellen Russell went down in the second round, it didn't mean much to me because I was three rounds away from him. Same thing with (Zach) Tanelli. Now I just have to focus on one guy." Eighth-seeded Ryan Williams of Old Dominion vs. unseeded Alex Krom of Maryland. Williams scored a takedown with about 30 seconds left in the first period, then got an escape. There was no scoring in the second. Krom got an escape in the third. With riding time, Williams wins the match, 4-1, and becomes the first Old Dominion wrestler to make it to the finals in fifteen years. "It's a little unbelievable," said Williams of wrestling in the finals. "I mean, going into this tournament I knew I had as good a shot as anyone. I'm not surprised I'm here. I worked hard at it, and it's finally paying off." 149 pounds Top-seed Brent Metcalf of Iowa vs. No. 4 Lance Palmer of Ohio State. No scoring in the first. In the second, Metcalf scored an escape, then a takedown to make the score 3-0. In the third, Palmer got an escape, answered by the Hawkeye's takedown. The Buckeye scored a second escape, but it wasn't enough to make up the deficit. With just over two minutes' riding time, Metcalf won 6-2, earning the chance to defend his title. Third-seeded Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State vs. Navy's No. 7 Bryce Saddoris. It was all Caldwell, all the time. In the first period, he scored an early takedown, followed by three nearfall points, a takedown, and two more nearfall points… answered only by an escape from Saddoris to make the score 9-1 at the end of the first. The only scoring in the second was an escape by the Middie. In the third, the Wolfpack wrestler notched an escape and yet another takedown. With riding time, Caldwell got the 13-2 major decision… and the opportunity for a much-anticipated match with Metcalf for the title. 157 pounds Top-seeded Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska vs. No. 4 Edinboro's Gregor Gillespie. Burroughs scored first with a takedown, with Gillespie getting an escape. In the second period, it was Gillespie scoring an escape, followed by a Burroughs takedown, then a second Gillespie escape, followed by yet another Cornhusker takedown. In the third, Burroughs earned two more takedowns, answered only by Gillespie's escape. With a minute-and-a-half riding time, Burroughs won 11-4. Defending champ Jordan Leen of Cornell (third seed) vs. second-seeded Mike Poeta of Illinois. It was a rematch of the 2008 NCAA finals, which Leen won. In the first period, Poeta scored a takedown, with Leen getting an escape… with that pattern repeated in the opening round to make the score 4-2. In the second, Leen made it 4-3 with an escape. In the third, the Illini scored a reversal. Leen got another escape, making the score 6-4 Poeta… his second straight trip to the finals, and a battle between the top two seeds. "Poeta is tough," said Burroughs of his finals rival. "He's a senior. He was runner-up last year. I know he's looking forward to finishing his senior year with a bang, but I'm a junior and I really want that national title. It's going to be a good match." Poeta responded, "I think we wrestle a lot alike. We're both very explosive. It's going to be an exciting match when you got two guys that are that quick. It's going to be entertaining for the fans to watch." 165 pounds Wisconsin's No. 2 Andrew Howe vs. third-seeded Ryan Morningstar of Iowa. There was no score in the first period. In the second, HOwe got an escape; in the third, Morningstar answered with an escape of his own, making the score 1-1 at the end of regulation. There was no scoring in the sudden victory period. In the first tiebreaker, no scoring. In the second tiebreaker, Howe got the escape to win 2-1 TB. Sixth seed Jon Reader of Iowa State vs. No. 12 Jarrod King of Edinboro. In the first period, King got a takedown; Reader followed up with a reversal. In the second, Reader scored an escape, answered by another takedown by King, followed by another Reader escape to tie up the score 4-4. No scoring in the third sent the match into overtime. There was no scoring in the first sudden victory period. In the first tiebreaker, King got an escape, followed by one by Reader to re-knot the score. In the second sudden victory, no scoring. In the second tiebreaker, Reader escaped in 25 seconds… while King got out in just eleven seconds. King's net riding time of just 18 seconds was the difference, giving him the 6-6, TB 2 win. Asked about the finals, Howe -- a true freshman -- responded, "I don't want to hype it up too much. I just want to relax. I want to go out there and wrestle my match." King responded, "It's probably going to be a grind again. I need to go out, score a lot, and score early." 174 pounds Top-seeded Steve Luke of Michigan vs. fifth-seeded Raymond Jordan of Missouri. No score in the first period. In the second, Luke scored the escape; Jordan matched that in the third, sending the match into overtime. No scoring in the sudden victory period. In the first tiebreaker, Jordan got an escape, with Luke scoring a takedown. In the second tiebreaker, Luke got an escape of his own, to make the final score 4-2, TB. Nebraska's third-seeded Brandon Browne vs. seventh-seeded Mike Miller of Central Michigan. In the first period, Miller scored a takedown. In the second, Browne got the escape. In the third, Miller scored an escape, followed by a Browne takedown and escape… then answered by a takedown by Miller. With 2:49 in riding time, Miller won 6-3. It'll be an all-state-of-Michigan finals. 184 pounds No. 1 Jake Herbert of Northwestern dominated No. 12 Vince Jones of Nebraska, 11-1. Third-seeded Ohio State's Mike Pucillo edged Doug Umbehauer of Rider, 3-2. 197 pounds Top-seeded Craig Brester of Nebraska vs. fourth-seeded Tyrel Todd of Michigan. The Cornhusker got the 7-2 win over the Wolverine to advance to the finals. Second-seeded Jake Varner of Iowa State vs. Missouri's sixth-seed Max Askren. In a match of Big 12 rivals, Varner came through with the win, 8-3. It's the Cyclone's third straight trip to the finals. Heavyweight Top-seeded David Zabriskie of Iowa State vs. fifth-seeded Konrad Duziak of Duke. There was no scoring in the first period. In the second, Duziak got an escape. In the third, Zabriskie got an escape … followed by a takedown by the Blue Devil … followed by the Cyclone scoring an escape. Final score: 3-2 Duziak, who becomes the first Duke wrestler to make it into the finals, and to earn All-American status. No. 2 Mark Ellis of Missouri vs, third-seeded Jermail Porter of Kent State. In the first period, Porter scored first with a takedown and an escape; Ellis responded with a takedown of his own, making the score 3-2 Porter. In the second, Ellis got an escape. In the third, Ellis took the lead … winning the match 5-3. Sixteen different teams represented in the finals Team Rankings (at the end of Session 4): 1. Ohio State 84.5 2. Iowa 81 3. Iowa State 71.5 4. Edinboro 63.5 5. Nebraska 62

RevWrestling.com is providing a running blog for Session III of the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The most recent updates are listed at the top. Following tonight's action, RevWrestling.com will also be providing a Day 2 wrap and audio interviews. 12:52 pm CDT: That concludes our blogging for Session III. Thanks for joining us. RevWrestling.com will be providing a Day 2 wrap with audio interviews after tonight's action. 12:52 pm CDT: Konrad Dudziak of Duke picked up a takedown in overtime to beat Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State. Jermail Porter of Kent State was the other quarterfinal winner at heavyweight. 12:48 pm CDT: Iowa State's David Zabriskie survives another scare. Zabriskie and John Wise of Illinois were tied 1-1, but the Cyclone heavyweight picked up a takedown with four seconds left to win the match. It marked the third straight close match for Zabriskie. 12:37 pm CDT: Iowa's Dan Erekson tied his quarterfinal match with Mark Ellis of Missouri late in the match with a takedown to knot the score at 5-5. But Ellis escaed with less than 10 seconds left to win 6-5 and advance to the semifinals. 12:32 pm CDT: Tyrel Todd of Michigan looked very impressive in an 8-0 shutout victory over Jon Oplinger of Drexel to advance to the semifinals. Max Askren of Missouri scored a mild upset, 3-0, over Brent Chriswell of Boise State to advance to the semifinals, where he'll face Jake Varner. 12:29 pm CDT: Craig Brester of Nebraska posted a 2-0 shutout victory over Cayle Byers of George Mason to advance to the semifinals. 12:24 pm CDT: Jake Varner of Iowa State controlled Brandon Halsey of Cal State Bakersfield in a 3-1 victory at 197. 12:10 pm CDT: Iowa's Phil Keddy and Rider's Doug Umbehauer battled to a tie at the end of regulation. In overtime, Umbehauer was close to getting a takedown on the edge of the mat, but was not awarded the points. In the tiebreaker period, Umbehauer rode out Keddy. Keddy then took the top position and was called for stalling, which resulted in a Umbehauer getting a point to take the lead. Keddy then cut Umbehauer loose, which made it to a two-point match. Umbehehauer then scored another takedown to win 8-4. 12:08 pm CDT: Jake Herbert of Northwestern continued his domination this tournament with an 18-5 major decision over Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming to advance to the semifinals. 12:06 pm CDT: Mike Pucillo of Ohio State gets to the semifinals with a 4-1 victory over Louis Caputo of Harvard. Vince Jones of Nebraska advanced to the semifinals with 2-1 upset victory over No. 4 Kirk Smith of Boise State. Riding time proved to be the difference in the match. 11:50 am CDT: Steve Luke of Michigan is back in the semifinals after a 9-4 victory over Chris Henrich of Virginia. Mike Miller upset the No. 2 seed, Mike Cannon of American, 6-5, to advance to the semifinals. 11:43 am CDT: Raymond Jordan of Missouri fought off a late takedown attempt by Jay Borschel to win 3-2 and advance to the semifinals. Brandon Browne of Nebraska also moved on to the semifinals with a 4-1 victory over Quentin Wright of Penn State. 11:34 am CDT: Ryan Morningstar of Iowa, after being warned once, was called twice for stalling the third period against Colt Sponseller of Ohio State. The match was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation. In overtime, Morningstar scored the winning takedown as the Hawkeye fans erupted. 11:30 am CDT: Jonathan Reader of Iowa State, Jarrod King of Edinboro, and Andrew Howe of Wisconsin all advanced to the semifinals at 165. 11:17 am CDT: Jordan Leen of Cornell added a late takedown to win 4-1 over Missouri's Michael Chandler. Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro won a hard-fought match, 1-0, over J.P. O'Connor of Harvard. 11:12 am CDT: Mike Poeta of Illiinois is back in the semifinals at 157 after picking up a 10-5 victory over Minnesota's Tyler Safratowich. Jordan Burroughs overwhelmed Cyler Sanderson of Iowa State, 14-6, to advance the semifinals. 11:01 am CDT: Iowa's Brent Metcalf scored early and often and cruised to easy 14-6 major decision victory over Oklahoma's Kyle Terry. No. 7 Bryce Saddoris of Navy and No. 4 Lance Palmer of Ohio State also advanced to the semifinals. 10:57 am CDT:Darrion Caldwell took a 2-0 lead into the third period against Jake Patacsil of Purdue. Patacsil chose top in the third period, but Caldwell quickly pickecd up a reversal and put Patacsil on his back to take a 7-0 lead. He added some late points and won 10-1. 10:45 am CDT: No. 8 Ryan Williams used a first-period cradle to pace him to an 8-6 victory or Ryan Prater of Illinois. Also advancing to the semifinals at 141 was No. 7 Chris Drouin of Arizona State. 10:42 am CDT: Maryland's Alex Krom came out victorious over Kent State's Drew Lashaway at 141. 10:40 am CDT: With the score tied 2-2, J Jaggers of Ohio State locked up a tight cradle and pinned Iowa State's Nick Gallick to advance to the semifinals at 141. 10:30 am CDT: It was a wild finish between No. 4 Dan Dennis of Iowa and No. 5 Andrew Hochstrasser of Boise State. Dennis got nearfall points in the finals 45 seconds to grab the lead, but Hochstrasser quickly picked up a reversal to re-take the lead, but was then called for scissoring the head, which resulted in Dennis getting a point. With short time left and Hochstrasser leading 8-6, Dennis picked up a reversal to tie the match. But Hochstrasser added a riding-time point to win 9-8. 10:25 am CDT: No. 1 Franklin Gomez of Michigan State, No. 2 Reece Humphrey of Ohio State, and No. 6 Jayson Ness of Minnesota all looked solid in advancing to the semifinals at 133 10:14 am CDT: No. 1 Paul Donahoe of Edinboro advanced to the semifinals with a 7-3 victory over Rollie Peterkin of Penn, while No. 3 Angel Escobedo topped Zach Sanders of Minnesota, 8-1, at 125. 10:12 am CDT: No. 12 Anthony Robles of Arizona State used his tilt series to dominate No. 4 Brandon Precin of Northwestern, 9-0. 10:09 am CDT: No. 2 Troy Nickerson of Cornell wasted little time in picking up a pin in 14 seconds over Oklahoma's Joey Fio at 125. 10:06 am CDT: Welcome. Thanks for joining us for Session III at the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- For the second year in a row, Scottrade Center in St. Louis served as the host venue for the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Unlike last year, where there were relatively few surprises on the first day, 2009's opening day seemed to be chock-full of upsets. Two of the top-seeded wrestlers had their title dreams crushed on Day 1. In the opening round, 165-pounder Mack Lewnes of Cornell -- who had been undefeated -- was upset by Hofstra's Ryan Patrovich, 5-3, in the opening round. In the evening session, Michigan's 141-pounder Kellen Russell was pinned by Illinois' Ryan Prater at 4:00. The parade of upsets started in the pigtail round: Third-seeded 133-pounder Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois was upset by unseeded David Marble of Bucknell who got a takedown in sudden victory to win 7-5. At 141, Lehigh's unseeded Seth Ciasulli pinned No. 12 Cody Cleveland of Tennessee-Chattanooga at 3:59. In the opening round, in the 133-pound weight class, Iowa's fourth-seeded Daniel Dennis survived something of a scare. In the third period, the Hawkeye broke a 4-4 tie when Oklahoma State's Chris Notte was assessed for fleeing the mat in the third period, making the final score 5-4. Speaking of Big Ten 133s … Ohio State's second-seeded Reece Humphrey ended his first match by pinning Pitt's Jimmy Conroy in just 12 seconds -- the third-fastest fall in the nearly 80-year history of the NCAAs, for matches wrestled under folkstyle rules. (The shortest-ever match, 6 seconds, took place at the 1936 NCAAs, an Olympic qualifying event wrestled under freestyle rules.) At 141, there were a couple upsets. Harvard's Corey Jantzen, the ninth seed, was pinned in his opening match by North Carolina State's unseeded Joe Caramanica at 1:51. In his first round match, Iowa's Alex Tsirtsis, the fourth seed, was upset by Maryland's unseeded Alex Krom, 5-4. The carnage continued into the middle weights. 2008 NCAA 149-pound finalist Bubba Jenkins of Penn State -- the second seed -- had his dream of another title shot dashed by Lock Haven's Matt Fittery, 12-6. At 157, No. 10 Scott Winston of Rutgers was defeated by Minnesota's unseeded Tyler Safratowich, 5-2. (Later in the evening, Safratowich scored a second upset, this time over No. 7 Matt Moley of Bloomsburg, 7-4.) Lewnes' loss wasn't the only excitement at 165. Third-seeded Ryan Morningstar of Iowa was taken into overtime by unseeded Donnie Jones of West Virginia, but the Hawkeye got a 7-5 sudden victory win. Speaking of sudden victory, ninth-seeded Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State fell to Dan Vallimont of Penn State, 8-6 SV. In the 174-pound weight class, No. 12 Alton Lucas of Hofstra lost to Iowa State's Ryan Burk, 7-6. At 184, fifth-seeded freshman Dustin Kilgore of Kent State was upset by Purdue's A.J. Kissel, 8-6. At 197, Virginia's twelfth-seeded Brent Jones fell to unseeded Eric Chine of Kent State, 7-6. At heavyweight, top-seeded David Zabriskie of Iowa State was taken into overtime by Christopher Brichler of East Stroudsburg … but the Cyclone got the 6-4 sudden victory win. In the evening session, there were some additional upsets beyond Michigan's Kellen Russell. At 125, No. 11 Zachary Sanders of Minnesota got the 5-4 victory over Old Dominion's James Nicholson, the sixth seed … while No. 12 Anthony Robles of Arizona State got an 8-3 win over fifth-seeded Charlie Falk of Iowa. At 133, Penn State's Jake Strayer and Iowa State's Nick Fanthorpe were engaged in an epic-length battle. At the end of thirteen minutes, the Nittany Lion senior got the 7-3 win in the third sudden victory period. The 141-pound class had more than its share of thrills -- and a couple spills. J Jaggers -- the third seed at 141 -- was taken into overtime by Pittsburgh's Tyler Nauman, but the Buckeye prevailed, 6-4, in sudden victory. Also at 141, the second seed, Zach Tanelli of Wisconsin, fell to Virginia's Nick Nelson, 8-4. Finally, No. 12 Drew Lashaway of Kent State got a 7-5, tiebreaker victory over fifth-seeded Marcus Hoehn of Missouri. In this weight class, Jaggers was the only wrestler of the top five seeds still in the title hunt at 141. Penn State's true freshman Quenton Wright continued to impress. The tenth-seeded 174 Nittany Lion scored an upset over No. 6 Stve Anceravage of Cornell, 8-6. At 184, eleventh seed Lou Caputo of Harvard got the 6-2 upset over sixth-seeded Josh Patterson of Binghamton. Towards the end of Session II, Iowa State's David Zabriskie nearly joined Russell and Lewnes as top seeds who got knocked out of title contention on Day 1. Behind West Virginia's Dustin Rogers 6-1 in the first period, the Cyclone heavyweight came back to win the match 9-8. It was Zabriskie's second close call of the day. Prayers go out to Northern Iowa's 141-pounder, Trenton Washington. He was taken off the mat on a stretcher after accidentally butting heads with Arizona State's Chris Drouin in a match that had been tied 4-4 in the second tiebreaker. Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. CDT on Friday. Team Standings (as of 9:00 p.m.) 1. Iowa State 32 2. Iowa 30 3. Ohio State 27 4. Nebraska 23 5. Boise State 20.5

RevWrestling.com is providing a running blog for Session II of the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The most recent updates are listed at the top. Following tonight's action, RevWrestling.com will also be providing a Day 1 wrap. 8:43 pm CT: That concludes our blogging from Session II. Thanks for joining us. We will be back blogging on Friday morning for the quarterfinals. 8:40 pm CT: No. 7 Dan Erekson of Iowa had no trouble with Minnesota's Ben Berhow, picking up a 10-4 decision to advance to the quarterfinals. 8:28 pm CT: Iowa State's Dave Zabriskie, seeded No. 1, comes from 6-1 deficit to win 9-8 over Dustin Rogers of West Virginia. Zabriske scored the winning takedown with under 10 seconds left in the match. 8:20 pm CT: No. 4 Tyrel Todd of Michigan won a hard-fought match, 3-1, over Eric Lapotsky of Oklahoma to advance to the quarterfinals at 197. 8:12 pm CT: Defending NCAA champion Mike Pucillo posts a shutout victory, 6-0, over Thomas Spellman of Virginia Tech at 184. 8:04 pm CT: True freshman Quentin Wright of Penn State, seeded No. 11, was very impressive in picking up a huge victory over No. 6 Steve Anceravage of Cornell at 174. 8:02 pm CT: No. 4 Jay Borschel of Iowa advanced to the quarterinals with an 8-2 victory over Trevor Perry of Indiana. 7:57 pm CT: No. 5 Raymond Jordan of Missouri was too much for Iowa State's Duke Burk. The Tiger picked up a 12-4 major decision to advance to the quarterfinals and send the Cyclone to the consolation bracket. 7:54 pm CT: True Freshman Andrew Howe of Wisconsin, seeded No. 2, advanced to the quarterfinals at 165with a 7-3 victory over Rick Schmelyun of Bloomsburg. 7:51 pm CT: No. 3 Ryan Morningstar pf Iowa wins another close on, this time over Jason Lapham of Rider, 2-0, to advance to the quarterfinals at 165. 7:43 pm CT: No. 6 Michael Chandler of Missouri advances to the quarterfinals with a 6-0 win over No. 11 Chase Pami of Cal Poly. 7:41 pm CT: Tyler Safratowich of Minnesota pulled off another upset, knocking off No. 10 Matt Moley of Bloomsburg, 7-4, at 157. 7:33 pm CT: No. 9 Cyler Sanderson of Iowa State edged No. 8 Adam Hall of Boise State, 4-3, to advance to the quarterfinals at 157. 7:29 pm CT: No. 1 Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska looked like a man on a mission in pinning Colton Salazar of Purdue in the first period at 157. 7:25 pm CT: After 13 minutes, and three overtimes, Penn State's Jake Stayer, seeded No. 10, came out victorious over No. 7. Nick Fanthorpe of Iowa State at 133. 7:20 pm CT: The craziness continues as No. 2 Zach Tanelli of Wisconsin gets knocked off by Nick Nelson of Virginia at 141. 7:12 pm CT: Defending NCAA champion J Jaggers of Ohio State survived a scare against Tyler Nauman of Pittsburgh at 141. Jaggers need overtime to come out victorious. 7:06 pm CT: The second No. 1 goes down! Ryan Prater of Illinois pinned Kellen Russell of Michigan to advance to the quarterfinals at 141. 7:03 pm CT: In a battle of returning All-Americans, Minnesota's Jayson Ness proved to be too much for Cornell's Mike Grey. The Gopher junior won 9-0. 7:01 pm CT: No. 8 Lou Ruggirello of Hofstra pinned No. 9 Joe Baker of Navy at 133. 6:55 pm CT: Arizona State's Anthony Robles jumped out to a 5-0 lead on No. 5 Charlie Falck and never looked back, scoring an 8-3 upset victory at 125 over the Hawkeye senior. 6:47 pm CT: Zach Sanders was trailing 4-2 late in the third period against James Nicholson of Old Dominion, but picked up a takedown and added a riding-time point to win 5-4 at 125. 6:47 pm CT: At 125, B.J. Futrell of Illinois took an early 4-1 lead against No. 1 Paul Donahoe of Edinboro. But Donahoe stormed back and came away with the 13-7 victory. 6:30 pm CT: Thanks for joining for Session II at the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. We will be posting updates throughout the session for the championship second-round matches.

RevWrestling.com is providing a running blog for Session 1 of the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center. The most recent updates are listed at the top. 2:32 pm CT: Minnesota's Ben Berhow scored a mild upset, 7-4, over No. 10 Ryan Flores of Columbia. 2:20 pm CT: Another No. 1 almost went down as David Zabriskie of Iowa State needed overtime to beat Christopher Birchler of East Stroudsburg at heavyweight. 2:09 pm CT: Jon Oplinger of Drexel pulled an upset at 197, beating No. 5 Dallas Herbst of Wisconsin, 7-5, in overtime. 2:04 pm CT: Clayton Foster of Oklahoma State won a dramatic match, 8-5, over Iowa's Chad Beatty at 197. With the match tied 5-5, Foster scored the go ahead takedown with less than 20 seconds left, and added a riding-time point for the three-point victory. 2:02 pm CT:No. 3 Brent Chriswell of Boise State cruised to a 9-2 victory over Patrick Bond of Illinois at 197. 1:52 pm CT: Kirk Smith of Boise State, seeded No. 4, was pushed by Jerome Ward of Iowa State, but pulled out the 3-1 victory, picking a up a takedown with 10 seconds to go in the 184-pound match. 1:37 pm CT: Iowa's Phil Keddy, seeded No. 2, pinned Buffalo's Mickey Moran of Buffalo in the first period at 184. 1:37 pm CT: Iowa's Phil Keddy, seeded No. 2, pinned Buffalo's Mickey Moran of Buffalo in the first period at 184. 1:30 pm CT: No. 1 Jake Herbert of Northwestern overwhelmed John Barone of Duke, registering a pin in 53 seconds at 184. 1:26 pm CT: Freshman Quentin Wright of Penn State, seeded No. 11, picked up a pin in the first period over Byron Sigmon of UNC Greensboro at 174. 1:12 pm CT: In a battle of All-Americans, Dan Vallimont of Penn State defeated No. 9 Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State, 8-6, in overtime, at 165. 1:00 pm CT: The first No. 1 seed to go down was Mack Lewnes of Cornell, who looked lethargic, struggling to get off the bottom, in 5-3 loss to Ryan Patrovich of Hofstra at 165. 12:52 pm CT: Kurt Kinser of Indiana nearly upset No. 6 Michael Chandler of Missouri, but fell 4-3 at 157. 12:42 pm CT: No. 1 Jordan Burroughs was dominant in a 23-7 technical fall victory over Hadley Harrison of Clarion at 157. 12:27 pm CT: No. 4 Lance Palmer of Ohio State survived a scare 149, but hung on for the 4-3 victory over previously undefeated Matt Cathell of Delaware State. 12:23 pm CT: The I-S-U chant starts as Iowa State's Mitch Mueller tops talented true freshman Jason Chamberlain of Boise State at 149. 12:19 pm CT: Trent Washington of Northern Iowa scored a mild upset over No. 10 Mike Thorn of Minnesota, 5-2, at 141. 11:55 am CT: Alex Krom of Maryland shocked No. 4 Alex Tsirtsis of Iowa, 5-4, at 141. 11:55 am CT: Joe Caramanica of North Carolina State pinned No. 9 Corey Jantzen of Harvard in the first period at 141. Jantzen was injured and had to be helped off the mat. 11:49 am CT: No. 11 Mike Grey fell behind early against Brandon Low of UC-Davis, getting put to his back, but came back to win 10-8 at 133. 11:47 am CT: No. 2 Reece Humphrey of Ohio State wasted little time picking up a 12-second pin over Jimmy Conroy of Pittsburgh at 133. 11:45 am CT: It was a battle at 133 between No. 4 Dan Dennis of Iowa and Chris Notte of Oklahoma State. With the matched tied 4-4 in the third period, Notte was called for fleeing the mat, giving Dennis the 5-4 lead, which proved to be the difference as Dennis won 5-4. 11:34 am CT: No. 2 Troy Nickerson of Cornell picked up a third period fall over Michael Watts of Michigan at 125. Nickerson gave up a takedown early in the match, but was winning 8-3 at the time of the pin. 11:30 am CT: Thanks for joining us from St. Louis. Sorry that we are a few minutes late. We were having some technical difficulties. The biggest news of the tournament thus far is No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy losing in sudden victory, 7-5, to Bucknell's Dave Marable at 133.

The Brute Adidas Studios of Takedown Wrestling Radio will hit the road again this week to help draw the season to a close. America's Wrestling Radio heads to the Arch and St. Louis, Missouri for the NCAA D1 Championships of Collegiate Wrestling. After broadcasting over 1000 hours of wrestling radio again this year and hundreds of interviews we are fully prepared to give to you the best coverage of this momentous event. This truly world wide broadcast is available to all of our armed forces as well as you the wrestling fans here state side. We've assembled a great broadcast team again this year. Join TDR Found Scott Casber, Steve Foster, J. Carl Guymon, Adam Frey and Caleb Nemmers for our 12th annual salute to wrestling excellence. Tune in to Takedownradio.com, click the listen Live button, register for free at Livesportsvideo.com, sit back and enjoy. You won't need to send in $1.00 for any of the time you share listening. TDR's Broadcast Schedule- NCAA Championships: Thursday Session 1 10:30 AM Session 2 6:00 PM Friday Session 3 9:30 AM 4:00 PM Live on stage in the NCAA Fan Experience TDR's Scott Casber joins Wade Schalles and Ken Chertow for the NCAA Semi Finals Show. This program will be video taped for future airing. Session 4 5:30 PM Saturday Session 4 9:00 AM Radio and Internet Session 6 5:30 PM We don't take the opportunity to thank the fans of this sport enough. Simply put, Thank you for helping to make this, our 12th year a huge success. We enjoy what we do. We love this sport as much as you do and appreciate the unique opportunity we have as the Broadcast Leader to present it to you from all levels and from around the country. A special thanks to our sponsors including the St. Louis Sports Commission who help us keep our broadcasts free of charge.

Wrestling 411 has interviewed more than 150 people in the last 4 months, covered Duals, Tournaments, NCWA, NAIA, NJCAA, CCC, DIII, DII events and now is on the way to the DI Championship. The Championship Crusade and all that is associated building up to the finals is draining. YES, DRAINING. Wresting 411 wants to continue to bring you the best in wrestling -- we need the support of the community to make it happen -- we are in a tied match. Who is going to win, the people who care and want to change the future of wresting OR the people who complain about the lack of coverage? You make the call. It is simple Wrestling 411 is asking for A LITTLE FROM A LOT -- this is A LITTLE financial support from A LOT of people to continue to being you wrestling. When Wrestling 411 launched we had many programs, associations and camps committed to make tax-deductible donations. They backed out; the reason, "economic times and budget cuts." Many have walked away from their commitments, yet they continue to enjoy the show, want to be interviewed and have their athletes highlighted. A handful of wrestling angels stepped up but they feel it is wrong to lean on a few when Wrestling 411 effects so many. With your support Wrestling 411 has a reason to continue. The bottom line is Wrestling 411 needs your support NOW! Wrestling 411 has had more than 3 million viewers in the last 5 months – visit www.Wresling411.tv and make your tax-deductible donation to the NWCA for Wrestling 411 NOW to keep it a live. The alternative: the sport of wrestling will continue to die its slow death as nothing will change for man's oldest sport. Do you enjoy the updates and programming? Click on www.Wrestling411.tv and make a small tax-deductable donation -- it only takes A LITTLE FROM A LOT of people to keep wrestling alive.

HAMPTON, VA. -- It must be something with hometown advantage. After participating in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association National Championships for 11 years, the Apprentice School brought home its first-ever team national championship on Saturday night at Hampton University Convocation Center. The Builders amassed 118.5 points to outdistance three-time defending champion Grand Valley State who scored 109 points in the 84-team event. The national championship for the wrestling team marked the first ever team championship for the Builders who have now won seven individual national champions. "I thought we had potential with this young team," said Apprentice School Head Coach Bruce Shumaker. "Right now it's amazing, they did a tremendous job this weekend and we got a championship now." He was honored at the post-event banquet as the 2009 National Coach of the Year. What helped the Builders as they had four wrestlers wrestling for third place or higher, while the Lakers had four wrestlers wrestling for fifth place and one for a national championship. The advancement point victories helped the Builders clinch the national championship halfway through the final round. Senior Cecil Lee became the first individual champion for the Apprentice School as he won the 285 pound championship match with a 4-1 decision over Tim Rose of Amerhst College. Lee iced the championship with a two-point takedown with 1:25 left in the third period and held on for his school record 46th victory on the season. Earlier Saturday he defeated Chris DeScantis of Pittsburgh 1-0 to advance to the finals. His 46 wins set the school single-season victory record that was held by current assistant coach Micah Amrozowicz with 45. The last individual champion for the Builders was York High graduate Sinque Holmes who won the heavyweight championship in 2002. " To do this in our area is quite a way to finish my career," said Lee. "It felt like I was at home with all the fans cheering in the finals." Freshman Marcus Chevres fell behind early in his match with Steven West for the 133 pound championship and lost a 16-7 major decision. On the season he finished with a 26-17 record and went 4-1 in the tournament. Earlier on Saturday the Norfolk, Va. native advanced to the finals with a 10-5 win over Joey Heersche of Kansas State. Senior Ty Holley lost 5-1 for third place at 141 pounds to Mike Girodano of Northampton Community College. Giordano put Holley into the losers bracket on Friday in a 3-2 decision. Holley finished 23-16 on the year. Earlier on Saturday he scored a 15-5 major decision over Jason Mustall of Mott Community College and defeated Mark Burchardt by injury default from Hudson Valley Community College. Junior Matt Perry finished eighth at 149 pounds after having to take a default in his match against Lance Goodell of Mott Community College. He finished his season with a 22-18 record and earned his second All-American honor. In his first match on Saturday, the Chesapeake, Va. native lost a 6-5 decision to Jeffrey Slaughter of Louisiana State University. Sophomore Will Harcum won 9-3 over Steve Bauer of Mott Community College to take fifth place at 165 pounds. That win avenged an earlier loss to Bauer in the quarterfinals on Friday for the Williamsburg native. He opened with a flurry taking an early 4-1 advantage and won his 34th match of the season. Earlier Saturday he won by fall in 1:43 over Michael Wright of Delaware and then lost an 11-4 decision to Nick Newell of Kansas State University. Freshman Charles Mills lost 14-6 to Oscar Huntley from U.S. Naval Academy Prep for third place at 174 pounds. Mills, a freshman from Republic, Washington, finished the year 28-14 and went 4-2 in the event. Earlier Saturday he lost a 4-2 decision to Richard Doherty of Grand Valley State in the semifinals and scored a win in 5:56 over Michael Bard of Delaware in the consolation semifinals. The championship was the sixth for the Apprentice School as the women's basketball team won the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship in 2000-01 and 2001-02, while the men's team won championships in 2001-02 and 2002-03. The baseball team won the U.S.C.A.A. national championship in 2008 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

HOUSTON -- The storybook of Brett Hunter's wrestling career just added another chapter, not to mention the perfect ending. Hunter, who is the school's all-time winningest wrestler with a 133-32 record, won his second national championship by claiming a 3-2 decision over Nebraska-Kearney's Marty Usman during the 174-pound finals of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. "It feels amazing to be on top of that podium again," Hunter, a senior from Rushville said. "This championship by far means so much more to me than the one two years ago because Usman beat me all year. And after not placing last year, I'm sure I had doubters. I knew if I got to the national championship, I'd wrestle my best and it was my time. "To say I ended my career at Chadron State with two titles is very special. There have been a lot of great wrestlers to come through this program and to be mentioned with them is an honor. Nineteen years of wrestling has paid off." The victory was especially sweet since Usman had defeated Hunter three times this season leading up to Saturday's match. In the finals, Hunter and Usman wrestled to a 0-0 tie after the first period, but Hunter got on the board with a takedown with 36 seconds remaining in the second period to take a 2-0 lead. Usman escaped seconds later and the period ended with Hunter leading, 2-1. In the third period, Usman chose bottom and Hunter gained over a minute of riding time before cutting Usman lose with 30 seconds to go. With less than six seconds to wrestle, Usman tried to takedown Hunter, but the shot fell short and Hunter claimed the 3-2 victory, thanks to the point for riding time. Hunter said a big key to the match was when he chose neutral at the beginning of the second period. "Usman has turned me every time this year he's been on top, so I went neutral and stayed low," he said. "I attacked and it worked because my gameplan was to get a lead on him and I was able to do that once I got a takedown out of neutral. From there I just got momentum and stayed in good position. "Late in the third period, I saw there was 52 seconds of riding time and so I knew I had to do whatever it took to ride him out for eight more seconds. I cut him after I got over a minute and I was able to hold on for the win." Earlier in the day, Hunter defeated Upper Iowa's Mitch Norton in the semifinals 5-3 to secure his spot in the finals. Chadron State's Josh Majerus also earned All-American honors during Saturday's championship by finishing in fourth place. For Majerus it was the third straight year he earned All-American status. Majerus, a national champion in 2007, won two matches on Saturday before falling to Nebraska-Kearney's Matt Ferrell in the third place match. He earned a 4-1 decision over Augustana's Tyler Copsey and a 15-0 technical fall over New Mexico Highlands' Luke McPeek. However, Farrell won the third place match by pinning Majerus in 4:50. Majerus is just the third CSC wrestler to garner All-American honors three times and he's the first to accomplish that feat while competing at the Division II level. Majerus ends his career with the second most wins in school history, posting a record of 117-43. The University of Nebraska-Omaha walked away with the team title, scoring an impressive 146.5 points. The national championship is the fifth for the Mavericks.

HOUSTON, Texas -- Doug Surra capped his stellar career by becoming the eighth national champion in West Liberty wrestling history here Saturday night. The Hilltoppers' three-time All-American scored a 5-3 victory against No. 1-ranked Raymond Dunning of Adams State (Colo.) to win the 141-pound championship in the NCAA Division II national tournament at the University of Houston. Mitch Smith also earned All-America honors for head coach Brian Davis on Saturday with a fourth-place finish at 157 pounds. Surra, who entered the tournament ranked No. 3 nationally at 141, had lost to Dunning in the finals of the Midwest Classic during the regular season but controlled Saturday's championship match from start to finish.

Kutztown University wrestler Joe Kemmerer (sr. Mountain Top/Crestwood) may have caught some luck two years ago, but now there is no doubt that he is truly a national champion. After defeating at two-time national champion and knocking off the wrestler who beat him in this year's regional, Kemmerer claimed his second NCAA Division II title at 133 pounds Saturday at the University of Houston. "This one is better," said Kemmerer, KU's only national champion in wrestling who also was awarded the Outstanding Wrestler Award. "This was a little vindication. The first time I won the title, there were two national champions in the bracket, but I missed them on my way to the title." He also avenged his Atlantic Regional loss to Pitt-Johnstown's Shane Valko by winning 2-1 in the NCAA final Saturday night. Coach Robert Fisher said he was confident that Kemmerer could overcome the loss, especially after what he saw in the championship quarterfinals Friday night. "His quarterfinal matchup against Cody Garcia was the greatest match of my coaching career," Fisher said. Garcia, a two-time national champion at 125 pounds from Nebraska-Omaha, fell 4-2 to Kemmerer. Both wrestlers were tied heading into the final period, but a takedown by Kemmerer was the difference. All four of Kemmerer's bouts at the national championships were close decisions, but that's just the way he wrestles. "They were all close," said Fisher, who is in his ninth year at KU. "Joe doesn't get himself in bad positions." Kemmerer opened the championships with a 3-0 decision over Mesa State College's Rhett Breed in the first round Friday morning. Kemmerer scored all three points in the third period, using an escape and a takedown to secure the win. On Saturday morning, Kemmerer won 1-0 in the second tiebreaker over Western State College Marques Bravo, recording an escape to advance to the championship final. In the championship final, Kemmerer and Valko each recorded an escape in the second period. In the first tiebreaker, Kemmerer picked up another escape, and in the second tiebreaker, he rode out Valko to win the title. "You know, it was just as sweet the second time," Fisher said. "We were a little more relaxed. Joe trained so hard these last two weeks to get himself into the position to win the title." Kemmerer set out at the beginning of the season with the goal of duplicating his 2006-07 national title, and after a few injuries throughout the season, he admitted that it was not looking so good. "I had some doubts with my injuries," he said, "but you just got to keep working. I never second guessed myself. I stayed focused on the goal the whole time." Now, Kemmerer will graduate from KU as one of the best wrestlers to have competed in the maroon and gold. The senior wrestler closes out his two-year career at KU with a 60-4 record, two national titles, one regional title and one Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title. He is tied for 10th on KU's all-time wins list. Overall, Kemmerer, who transferred from Division I UNC-Greensboro, has a record of 91-11. "It's been a great time," Kemmerer said. "The coaches are great, my teammates have been awesome and it's been an amazing experience."

HOUSTON, Texas -- Newberry College has placed second in the Division II National Championships and the pair of Keeno Griffin and Cy Wainwright have become Newberry's first and second-ever NCAA National Champions. The scarlet and gray finished behind University of Nebraska-Omaha, who dominated the tournament finishing with 146.5 points as Newberry had 80.5 to finish as the runner-up. Finishing third was Minnesota State-Mankato with 71.5 points and fourth place was Nebraska-Kearney with 65. The runner-up placing was Newberry's first ever NCAA trophy and was the highest finish for the wrestling program in its short existence. The scarlet and gray had six All-Americans in total, a program record, with two national champions, a third place, one fourth place as well as a sixth and eighth. "It is a phenomenal accomplishment for these young men to come away with a national runner-up finish," head coach Jason Valek stated. "We look forward to continue in bettering ourselves so that we can also bring home a national title to Newberry, S.C." In the championship match at 197 lbs., Griffin scored a 3-2 decision over No. 5 Jacob Marrs of the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Griffin scored a takedown in the opening period to garner the lead. Griffin won the match as he had 1:12 of riding time to give him a bonus point. The victory gave Newberry its first individual national champion in any sport. The 2009 season ended for Griffin, a redshirt junior with a 33-2 record and 22 straight victories as he became a two-time All-American. "It feels great to become a national champion after four years of hard work at Newberry", Griffin stated. "It has been a great year for our team and for me personally so this validates everything we have so hard worked for." At heavyweight, No. 1 Wainwright took on No. 3 Dustin Finn of Central Oklahoma and came away with a 6-4 decision to cap his perfect season. Wainwright scored two takedowns in the opening period to take the lead. Finn tied the match in the third period, but Wainwright scored an escape and then an additional point for riding time. The victory gave Wainwright the national championship and Newberry's second ever individual national championship. "In order for me to win the national championship it took a lot of believing in myself and setting out to accomplish my goals," Wainwright declared. "Like Keeno, I wanted to be a national champ and now that I am it feels great." Wainwright finished the 2009 campaign with a perfect 36-0 record and a 38-match winning streak to go along with his second-straight All-American honor. Newberry finishes the season with a 23-2 record, which includes a 11-0 record against Super Region I opponents. The scarlet and gray racked up hardware from several tournaments, which includes the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals Runner-up, Midwest Classic Champions, Super Region I Champions, East Coast Duals Champions and 2009 NCAA Division II National Runner-ups.

Houston, Tex. -- Second-ranked sophomore 149-pounder Tommy Abbott (Willmington, Del.) became the 28th national champion to wear the Minnesota State singlet. Abbott won a 6-5 decision against fourth-ranked Christopher Freije of Western State University to claim his first national championship. Abbott's win helped the second-ranked Mavericks to a third-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships with 71.5 points. MSU has now finished in the top-5 the last five years and produced three national champions in the last two seasons. The University of Nebraska-Omaha were crowned national champions for the sixth time in its history with 146.5 points. "Our team goal will continue to be winning a national championship," said head coach Jim Makovsky. "I'm proud of our guys. We have a lot of new guys and at the beginning of the season it was a blank sheet of paper, but we ended up having a successful season. I'm proud of Tommy (Abbott). He's gone through a lot of adversity and he made a lot of improvements this season, both as a person and as a wrestler. He has a chance to do something that has never been done in school history - win three national championships." The championships were held at the NCAA Division II National Championships Festival on the campus of the University of Houston. Freije took a 2-0 lead at 1:33 with a takedown, but Abbott cut the deficit in half with a one-point escape. Abbott recorded a takedown of his own at 2:15 to take a 3-2 lead. Freije responded with an escape and the first period ended in a 3-3 tie. The only point of the second period came when Abbott earned a one-point escape just four seconds into the period at 3:04. Freije tied the match at 4-4 with an escape at 5:05. Abbott earned a takedown at 6:02 to take a 6-4 lead, which proved to be enough as he wrestled his way to the championship. Freije earned a one-point escape to make the score 6-5. "It feels great. I'm the first wrestler from Delaware to be a national champ," Abbott said. "I'm glad to support my home state of Delaware and my new hometown Mankato. I'm disappointed (about the team placing). I know we could have done better than that, but all-in-all we wrestled a pretty good tournament." Abbot finishes the season with a 30-6 overall record. Abbott won the NCAA Super Regional Three to qualify for his second national meet appearance. Abbott is now a two-time All-American. Abbott was an All-American in 2008, finishing fifth at 149. The Mavericks finish in the top-5 for the 20th time in program history. Finishing ahead of MSU was UNO and Newberry College (80.5 points). The University of Nebraska-Kearney (65.0) and Adams State (62.0 points) rounded out the top-5.

HOUSTON -- The University of Nebraska at Omaha wrestling team capped off an undefeated dual season with its sixth National Championship in school history, crowning one individual champion Saturday night. The win gives UNO NCAA II wrestling titles in 1991, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009. The Mavericks also won the 1970 NAIA tournament championship. The Mavericks finished with a total of 146.5 points, shattering their previous high of 117 points set in 2006. UNO nearly doubled second place Newberry who finished with 80.5 points. Head coach Mike Denney was named the Coach of the Year, while Cody Garcia picked up the award for Most Falls in the Least Amount of Time. Todd Meneely became just the fourth wrestler in school history to win three or more titles and the first since JD Naig in 2007. The 157-pound Meneely also became the first wrestler to finish a season undefeated (27-0) since four-time National Champion Les Sigman finished his senior season 47-0 in 2006. The senior from Skutt Catholic recorded a first period takedown and an overtime takedown for the dramatic 4-2 decision against Travis Eggers (Upper Iowa). Meneely finishes his Maverick career with a record of 85-5. Aaron Denson came away with a runner-up finish at 165 pounds, falling 5-0 to the top-ranked wrestler Josh Shields of Mercyhurst. Denson finishes his sophomore campaign with a record of 30-8 and 11-2 in duals. Brent Pankoke finished second at 184 pounds, dropping a 6-4 decision to fifth-ranked Kyle Sand (Adams State). Pankoke finishes his senior season with a record of 16-2. At 197 pounds, three-time national qualifier Jacob Marrs claimed a second place finish, dropping a 3-2 decision to Newberry's fourth-ranked Keeno Griffin. The junior concludes the season with a record of 25-9. The Mavericks set a school record with nine wrestlers earning All-Americans honors, breaking the previous mark of eight set in the 2000 season. UNO's 2009 All-Americans: 133 – Cody Garcia, 3rd Place 141 – Mario Morgan, 3rd Place 149 – Esai Dominguez, 3rd Place 157 – Todd Meneely, 1st Place 165 – Aaron Denson, 2nd Place 174 – Ross Taplin, 3rd Place 184 – Brent Pankoke, 2nd Place 197 – Jacob Marrs, 2nd Place 285 – Tony Lewis, 7th Place

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Only a month after Headhunter Productions' inaugural event, The Patriot Act, the fight production company has announced plans to again bring world class mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters to Columbia, Mo. The Patriot Act II, which will be headlined by former UFC heavyweight contender Jeff Monson (27-8), will be held on April 25 at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center. The event will showcase a combination of professional and amateur fighters, including the pro MMA debut of Brandon Barger at 170 lbs. Also fighting will be Ben Askren (1-0), who made his pro debut on Feb. 7th at Headhunter Productions' first event when he defeated opponent Josh Flowers via technical knockout. "The first Patriot Act was a lot of fun to plan and to fight in," said Askren, who is also one of the three founders of Headhunter Productions. "And each event will just continue to get better." The other founders are Jake Hecht, a standout professional fighter, and Wade Rome, a local businessman and founding member of the American Top Team. Rome has a long history of involvement in MMA, both in fighting and putting on events, and has recently focused his attention to bringing a new level of fighting to Columbia. Rome believes that his philosophy of putting on events that fighters want to fight in is the key to making Headhunter Productions a success. "As fighters ourselves, we understand the importance of treating each fighter, whether amateur or professional, as a valued and integral part of the event," said Rome. "In turn, they will perform optimally, and the fans and sponsors will benefit as well."