InterMat Staff

In baseball, managers will manipulate the lineup to put the best hitters in a row to make the most of scoring opportunities. Jim MillerWrestling coaches don't have the luxury of re-arranging their team lineups. However, Jim Miller, head coach at Division III powerhouse Wartburg, is blessed with three "heavy hitters" on his roster … three upper-weight competitors -- each ranked first or second in his weight class by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) -- who come through time-after-time with critical wins that can make all the difference for the Knights in terms of the final team score. The big men who add heft to Wartburg's winning line-up: • Romeo Djoumessi at 184 • T.J. Miller at 197 • Blake Gillis at heavyweight Before we get to know more about the upper-weight Knights of Wartburg, let's take a look at the school and its wrestling program. Wartburg: A perennial powerhouse in Division III Wartburg College is located in Waverly, Iowa, just north of the twin cities of Waterloo and Cedar Falls in the northeast section of the state. The school, founded in 1852, has nearly 1,800 students. The Wartburg wrestling program consistently ranks among the top NCAA Division III programs in the country. In fact, the Knights have won the D3 team title five times in the past decade: 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, and 2006. In addition, Wartburg has also claimed the NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals Division III crown in 2003, 2004, and 2006. In the wrestling hotbed that is Iowa, Wartburg claims a special place. In the conference comprised of smaller Iowa-based colleges -- the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference -- the defending champion Knights just added to their incredible string of team titles with their fifteenth straight at the 2007 IIAC Championships. No other school can claim as many IIAC team titles as Wartburg, which now holds twenty-five. What's more, thanks to this winning performance at the IIAC Championships, Wartburg qualified a total of ten wrestlers for the 2007 NCAA Division III tournament … including Romeo Djoumessi, T.J. Miller, and Blake Gillis. Since 1991, Wartburg has been led by head coach Jim Miller. Under his guidance, the Knights have compiled an incredible 286-28-3 dual-meet record. This year is no different. Wartburg just concluded its dual-meet season with a 21-1 record, the third consecutive year with twenty or more dual victories. Perhaps the most meaningful of those regular-season wins was February 1, when the Knights, then ranked second in Division III, took down top-ranked Augsburg, 19-13, in front of a capacity crowd in their perennial rival's home gym … only a couple weeks after losing to the Auggies in the 2007 National Duals Division III finals. This regular-season dual meet was a prime example of the significance of Wartburg's "triple threat" at the top end of its roster. The Knights had trailed the Auggies, 13-9, after the 174-pound bout. However, the three big men of Wartburg came through in a big way, with Romeo Djoumessi shutting out George Lynaugh, 6-0, at 184, T.J. Miller defeating Wally O'Connor, 8-5, at 197, and heavyweight Blake Gillis majoring Andrew Neumann by the score of 10-2. These three victories turned the tide in Wartburg's favor for the win. Say hello to Romeo Djoumessi Romeo Djoumessi is a graduate of Waverly-Shell Rock High School in the community that Wartburg calls home … but his original home is Cameroon, on the continent of Africa. Romeo DjoumessiSo how did Romeo end up prepping in Iowa? "My brother Alain wrestled for Wartburg a few years ago," says the 184-pound Knight, currently ranked second in the NWCA Division III poll. (His older brother was a two-time All-American at 197, placing third in 2003 and 2004.) "I admire my brother very much, and wanted to follow in his footsteps. I moved to the US my junior year to Waverly, to get a better education. I lived with my brother for two years." Romeo had considerable experience in freestyle wrestling while growing up in Cameroon, taking up the sport at the age of five … but folkstyle was new to him. Amazingly, after only three months of wrestling at Waverly-Shell Rock, Romeo qualified for the Iowa high school state tournament, but did not place. His senior year, he made a return trip to Des Moines, and this time concluded his high school career with a state title. With that accomplishment, Romeo considered some major Division I wrestling programs, including two within his newly adopted home state, Iowa, and Iowa State. Then he had an epiphany: "I looked at my brother as a role model," says Romeo. "I thought about why he chose Wartburg … Wrestling will be over in a few years. However, the education I get at Wartburg will have to last a lifetime." Now a sophomore at Wartburg, Romeo is majoring in psychology with in a minor in religion, working toward a possible career as a counselor or as a clinical psychologist. "I work with young people ages 6-17 in a nearby town a couple days a week," says Romeo. "It's a great experience. I really like to be with people, help them." In the meantime, Romeo Djoumessi is schooling his rivals in the 184-pound weight class. So far in his career at Wartburg (this is his first full year as a varsity wrestler), Romeo has a 28-1 college record, with his only loss coming his freshman year in an early-season tournament. As of this writing, he currently claims the longest winning streak in the Wartburg wrestling room, with 29 victories. On February 15, he won the 2007 IIAC 184-pound title, defeating Loras College's second-seeded Jay Figgins, 3-2. Romeo Djoumessi (Photo/The Guillotine)In an interview before the IIAC championships, when asked to name the high points of his wrestling career to date at Wartburg, Romeo immediately mentions his two encounters with Augsburg -- at the 2007 National Duals, and in the regular-season dual a few weeks later. "At the National Duals, Augsburg had won all the matches. I didn't want our team to get shut out," says Romeo. "It helped me to overcome pressure." Romeo won his match against Augsburg's Lynaugh, 8-5, preventing a shutout … and, while Wartburg lost the 2007 National Duals Division III title, 27-10, the Knights went down swinging, with teammates Miller and Gillis also getting wins. Here's what Romeo said about the Wartburg-Augsburg dual a couple weeks later, up in Minneapolis. "Wrestling is very much an individual sport, but each member of the team must contribute. You realize that you're representing the college … You learn how to wrestle smart, to stay calm, to wrestle an intelligent match, even under pressure." This time, it was Romeo's turn to get a shutout, holding George Lynaugh scoreless in a 6-0 victory. Ask Romeo to describe his wrestling style, and he responds, "It depends on my opponent. In the first seconds of the match, I get to know him, and adapt accordingly … I work to stay focused, to get more aggressive as the match goes on, to stay mentally tough." Romeo gives his college coach credit for emphasizing the mental aspect: "Coach Miller isn't just about physically working hard. He focuses on the mental aspect, mental toughness. He knows how to get the best from each of his wrestlers, especially in terms of making us mentally tough." Jim Miller says of his 184-pounder: "Romeo's really good on his feet. His two years in high school really helped with his mat work." The veteran head coach immediately follows up with this assessment: "He's the ideal student-athlete, very serious about school … He's very polite, well-spoken. He's a popular young man here on campus." Meet T.J. Miller In his three years at Wartburg, 197-pound T.J. Miller has crafted an impressive mat career, with a 71-7 overall record. He is the only Knight to go undefeated in the 2006-2007 season, with twenty-three straight wins. He is an NCAA All-American, placing fourth in the 2006 Division III championships. TJ MillerMost recently, T.J. enriched his resume by becoming a two-time IIAC champion. Last year, he pinned Coe College's Mike McCabe at 1:32 in the finals. This year, the defending champ pinned his first foe… got a decisive 10-4 decision in the semifinals … then, in the finals, secured a 4-3 victory over Luther College's Alec Bonander to claim his second straight conference crown. There's one additional aspect to T.J. Miller's mat resume: He's the son of Wartburg head coach Jim Miller. But there's no family favoritism here. "He's earned his own way," says Coach Miller in an interview for this article. The veteran Wartburg coach wanted to make sure wrestling was not something forced on his son, especially considering his own job title … and the fact that T.J.'s older brothers wrestled in school. In a published interview, Jim Miller is quoted as saying, "I really didn't want him to get too involved. There was a lot of pressure on him and there probably always has been somewhat." "He's been going to tournaments since he was seven," Coach Miller says. "With that experience, he was familiar with the world of college wrestling -- it was something of a comfort zone with him." "I've been coming up here and watching practices since I was little," T.J. told the Wartburg Trumpet in a 2006 profile. "I've always had heroes, leaders and role models in my life that have been on wrestling teams in the past. It's just really easy to get involved in the sport when you have so many good people around you." Despite that exposure at an early age, T.J. did not start wrestling competitively until sixth grade. At Cedar Falls High School, he wrestled junior-varsity as freshman in the 119-pound weight class. He placed fourth at the Iowa state high school tournament as a junior, and sixth his senior year. "It was something of a surprise to me when he placed," says his father of T.J., who had to battle injuries and growth spurts as a prep. TJ Miller (Photo/The Guillotine)Then Coach Miller immediately follows up with this comment: "He's come a long way in college … Wartburg's assistant coaches have had the most impact on his wrestling success here." When asked to analyze his son's wrestling technique, the Wartburg head coach says, "His style is nothing like mine. He usually takes more risks than I took as a wrestler. I think that's due in large part to him being bigger than I was in college." (Jim Miller was twice a NCAA Division II champ for the University of Northern Iowa and a two-time Division I All-American in the 134-pound weight class.) T.J.'s fellow upper-weight teammates are equally positive in their praise of the Wartburg 197-pounder. "He's got a great attitude," says Blake Gillis. "Both he and Romeo know where they are, and where they want to be. They are both incredibly dedicated, hard workers." Romeo Djoumessi says, "It's a real privilege to know T.J. He's a great role model. He's a very caring person, very encouraging. A great motivator." Get to know Blake Gillis As a senior, heavyweight Blake Gillis is wrapping up an incredible career at Wartburg. He just concluded a 33-1 dual-meet season. Blake just earned his fourth straight IIAC championship by pinning second-seeded John Miller of Luther at 3:39 in the finals. This makes the Knights' big man only the fifth wrestler in conference history to take four straight titles… and the third from Wartburg. Blake Gillis (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)Blake Gillis can more than hold his own against the best of the big men of Division I. A couple months ago, he placed third at the 2006 Midlands in a pool swimming with DI talent. This season alone, Blake has bested heavyweights from top Division I programs such as Iowa, Iowa State, Central Michigan and Michigan State. His only official loss was to fourth-ranked Dustin Fox of Northwestern. (Blake also lost in a close 7-5 exhibition match at the 2006 NWCA All-Star event to Nebraska-Kearney's Tervel Dlagney, ranked No. 1 in Division II.) The top-ranked heavyweight in Division III got his start in wrestling "at age four or five." "My brothers and cousins were in it," according to Blake. "First year, I got pinned a lot, but I still enjoyed it. By second grade, I was starting to have some success." At Spencer High School in northwest Iowa, self-described "late bloomer" Blake Gillis was a "short and chunky" 189-pound freshman who, by the time he made the varsity wrestling squad his junior year at 215, grew to 6'3" and put on some muscle. "That's when I really started winning matches, which really helped build my confidence." His junior year, he placed third in the Iowa high school state tournament. Blake capped off his prep career by winning the 215-pound state title -- "pinning my way through the tournament." When asked how he chose Wartburg, Blake was honest: "My grades weren't as high as I wanted them to be … Wartburg recruited me. They were really good guys." The heavyweight Knight continues, "Wartburg was the right choice. The professors here are willing to help you. It's a really comfortable place, not much bigger than my high school." Blake Gillis is majoring in communications, with an interest in a career in public relations. And, once he graduates from Wartburg, he's like to continue in wrestling. "In my weight class, right now Tolly Thompson is the man," says Blake, who only took up freestyle as a senior in high school. "However, I think I could hang with the others with some more experience." He adds that he might like to get into coaching -- "perhaps help out here at Wartburg." Blake GillisBlake Gillis has come a long way since that first day at the Wartburg wrestling room as a freshman. "They brought in a JUCO (junior college) heavyweight. I thought I'd be on the outside looking in," he says. "Early on, I got beat up. But, after a while, I started getting takedowns. I was faster … I became the starter after winning the wrestle-offs." The freshman from Spencer gained confidence with every match, compiling a 35-6 record, and winning the first of his three IIAC championships. When asked to describe himself as a wrestler, Blake responded with a series of quick statements: "Moves well for a heavyweight." "One of the top sprinters on the team." "Works hard to stay in shape." "Good on the mat." Coach Jim Miller gives an equally positive assessment of his big man: "Doesn't wrestle like a typical heavyweight. Shoots like a 125 … Keeps getting better each year … A big part of this program's success in recent years." Despite all these accomplishments and all this success, there seems to be one bit of unfinished business for Blake Gillis as of this writing: an NCAA title. The past three years, the Wartburg heavyweight has been a finalist at the Division III championships … and, all three years, he has lost to the same guy: Ryan Allen of University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, who has since graduated. With the impending graduation of Blake Gillis, the "talented trio" of Wartburg's upper-weight wrestlers will soon be history. However, in the past couple years, Romeo Djoumessi, T.J. Miller, and Blake Gillis have made some history of their own by providing a powerful triple threat that has assured Wartburg's continued dominance in NCAA Division III competition.

DURHAM, NC –- The UNC Greensboro wrestling squad came from behind to defeat the Duke Blue Devils, 30-13, on Saturday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke (7-9) took an early 9-0 lead after recording a fall victory in 4:10 at 157 lbs. and a 8-5 decision at 165 lbs. Joe Lowe responded with a 17-8 major decision over Duke's John Barone to close the gap 9-4 in favor of the Blue Devils. The senior from Davie, FL improved to a perfect 13-0 in dual matches and is 21-5 overall. The Spartans (9-4) came even closer to the Blue Devils after Kane Smith took the 10-3 decision over Dan Fox at 184 lbs. Freshman Nick Clark put UNCG up for good after the Cohocton, NY product tallied his team leading eighth fall victory over Duke's Patrick Keenum in 5:36 at 197 lbs. Junior Joe Sheffield extended the Spartan lead after he recorded the 16-6 major decision over Mike Tunick, putting UNCG up 17-9. Jeff Hedges earned the 9-1 major decision at 125 lbs. over Kellan McKeon and freshman Mitchell Johnson followed with another major decision to add to the Spartan lead. Junior Chris Bencivenga grabbed the 24-7 technical fall over Philip Wightman at 141 lbs. before Duke's Daniel Shvartsman took the 16-8 major decision at 149 lbs. in the final match of the night. UNCG plays host to Liberty on February 21 for the final home match of the year. The Spartans will pay tribute to their three seniors beginning at 7 pm.

DeKalb, Ill. -- It was big day for the NIU wrestling squad on Sunday as the Huskies sent the Senior class out in style with three consecutive wins against Eastern Michigan, Southern Illinois - Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois en route to an undefeated day of wrestling. Huskie seniors Mike Grimes, Johnny Galloway and Danny Burk along with junior Pat Castillo each recorded three victories on the day to lead NIU. The Huskies finish the regular season with a dual meet record of 6-4-1 overall and 3-2 in MAC competition. NIU vs. EMU After honoring Seniors Mike Grimes, Johnny Galloway, Danny Burk and Justin Metcalfe it was time for the Huskie wrestlers to get down to business against conference opponent Eastern Michigan. MAC wrestler of the week Pat Castillo, ranked seventeenth in the nation, roared out of the gates for the Huskies, picking up a 20-4 technical fall over EMU's Jack Cassidy in the first match of the day. It would be Castillo's first of three consecutive technical fall victories on the day and gave the Huskies an early 5-0 lead. EMU came back strong in the next two matches recording consecutive decisions to take a 6-5 overall lead. Then, it was time for Mike Grimes, ranked tenth in the nation, to pick up his first win of the day as he defeated the third ranked MAC wrestler at 149-pouns in Jermain Thompson with a key 5-1 decision to put the Huskies back on top 8-6. The Huskies found themselves in a dogfight with the Eagles who posted a decision in the very next match to take the lead back. It was up NIU's Johnny Galloway, ranked nineth in the nation, to once again give NIU the lead as he escaped with a 6-5 win over the third ranked MAC wrestler at 165-pounds in Nick Conklin. Danny and Duke Burk, ranked eighteenth in the nation, picked up consecutive decisions to give the Huskies some breathing room as they went up 17-10 on EMU. Eastern Michigan closed the gap to four points with a decision at 197-pounds but then Dave Benner battled his way to a 5-1 decision over EMU's Charlie Walker to seal the 20-13 win for the Huskies. NIU vs. SIUE In the second match of the day NIU faced off against Southern Illinois - Edwardsville in the first of two intra-state battles for the Huskies. NIU's Pat Castillo overwhelmed his second opponent of the day in SIUE's Tommy Hill en route to a second 20-5 technical fall victory, once again giving the Huskies a 5-0 lead. After an SIUE forfeit James Aschenbrenner of SIUE bested NIU's Will McDermotte with a 12-5 major decision to close the gap to 11-4 in favor of the Huskies. But, that would be as close as SIUE would get, after yet another forfeit Kalen Knull won a hard fought 3-1 decision to give NIU a 20-4 lead with five matches left. NIU's Johnny Galloway then began a sequence three impressive victories for the Huskies with a 12-4 major decision over SIUE's John Ficht. NIU's Danny Burk pinned his opponent at the 1:44 mark and Duke Burk scored a 16-5 major decision over SIUE's Jacob Petrie to give the Huskies an insurmountable 34-4 lead with two matches left. At 197-pounds NIU's Nick McClone outlasted SIUE's Tony Lyssiotis for a 1-0 decision and in the final match Dave Benner won by forfeit to give the Huskies a 43-4 win over Southern Illinois - Edwardsville. NIU vs. EIU If the Huskies were tired after wrestling back-to-back matches they certainly did not show it against Eastern Illinois. Pat Castillo looked fresh and well rested as he wrestled his way to a third technical fall victory. John Weinart of NIU followed Castillo's performance by recording a solid 6-2 decision over EIU's Lenny Grodoski. Eastern Illinios forfeited at 141-pounds then Mike Grimes showed that Pat Castillo was not the only Huskie who could get a technical fall as Grimes picked up on of his own against EIU's Tommy Reamer. Kalen Knull won his second match of the day with a 7-3 decision over EIU's Kyle O'Tool to give the Huskies a 22-0 overall lead. Johnny Galloway then wasted no time in expanding NIU's lead by pinning his opponent with 2:36 left in the first period. The victory gave Galloway three on the day and improved his record to 17-2 this season. In the match of the day Danny Burk found himself trailing 3-1 at the end of the first period against EIU's Kenny Robertson. Burk fought back to tie the score at 4-4 going into the third period. The two warriors battled to a 6-6 tie at the end of regulation and were forced to settle the matter in overtime, where Burk ended it quickly with a takedown to make the senior a perfect 3-0 on the day and give the Huskies a 30-0 overall lead. At 184-pounds a hobbled Duke Burk was not able keep NIU's shutout intact as Greg Perz of EIU got the better of Burk with a 3-1 decision. The Panthers forfeited at 197-pounds and EIU's Joe Trinka outlasted NIU's Dave Benner to end the days action with a 9-7 win for EIU. While Trinka won the heavyweight battle, Benner and the Huskies won the war with an impressive 36-6 victory over Eastern Illinois and a sterling 3-0 record on the day. Head coach Dave Grant said, "It was a pretty good day, our guys wrestled tough. The seniors each went out 3-0. I'm proud of their commitment they have shown this year and every year they have been in our program." The Huskies are off this week as they prepare for the MAC Championships to be held March 3-4 in Buffalo New York.

St. Charles, MO -– Freshman Corey Bleaken at 149 and sophomore Luke Borneman at 184 won east regional championships at Lindenwood University on Friday night. Bleaken the fourth seed won his first round match over Dominic Angelo from McKendree by major decision 11-3. He went on to win his quarterfinal match over All-American Dustin Center by decision 12-8, and won his semifinals match over defending national champion Mark Dickman by decision 13-10. In the finals Bleaken received a medical forfeit over All-American Chris Seta from Campbellsville University improving his overall record to 34-8. Borneman the 3rd seed won his first round match over Rob Nusekabel from University of the Cumberlands by decision 5-3. He went on to win his semifinals match over the 2nd seed Tanner Wolk from McKendree by decision 5-3. In the finals Borneman defeated Earl Waller from McKendree by decision 2-0 improving his overall record to 22-6. Cumberland had sophomore Desean Willis at 125 senior Eric McCray at 184, and freshman Kyle Studer at 197 place in the top 6. McCray placed 4th defeating All-American Nigel Kinworthy from Missouri Baptist by decision 8-2 in the consolation quarterfinals and then defeated Wolk from McKendree in the consolation semifinals by major decision 17-6. Willis placed 5th defeating PJ Puriefoy from King College by decision 9-3 in the consolation quarterfinals and pinned Mike Aitch from Missouri Baptist for the 5th place match. Studer received a medical forfeit from teammate freshman Ben Briscoe in the first round of consolation, and then defeated Alex Driggers from King College in the consolation quarterfinals by decision 7-5. Studer fell just short of qualifying for nationals in the consolations semifinals where he lost to 4-3 to Jason Flynn from Notre Dame College. The top four in the region qualified for the national tournament. Cumberland qualified ten wrestlers throughout the season and the following wrestlers will be headed to the national tournament in Sioux City, IA: Desean Willis at 125, sophomore Eric Rogers at 133, Corey Bleaken at 149, junior Theo Dotson at 149, sophomore Trey Myers at 165, sophomore Jordan Powers at 174, Luke Borneman at 184, Eric McCray at 184, Ben Briscoe at 197, and freshman Xavier Taylor at 285. This the largest number of qualifiers for the program since head coach Jarad Swint took over three years ago. "We are a very young team. I am looking forward to the future of this program."

Tournament Team Rankings: 1. Cornell 76 2. Navy 67 T3. Columbia 64 T3. Lehigh 64 T3. Penn 64 6. Harvard 53 7. Army 33 8. American 25 Individual Rankings: 125: 1. Troy Nickerson, Cornell 2. Matt Eveleth, Penn 3. Matt Fisk, Lehigh 4. Fernando Martinez, Army 5. Brandon Kinney, Columbia 6. Alex Usztics, Navy 133: 1. Matt Valenti, Penn 2. Adam Frey, Cornell 3. Robbie Preston, Harvard 4. David Marble, Bucknell 5. Joe Baker, Navy 6. Matt DeLorenzo, Columbia 141: 1. Max Meltzer, Harvard 2. Matt Cisulli, Lehigh 3. Brad Canterbury, Navy 4. Matt Kyler, Army 5. Sal Tirico, Columbia 6. Mark Savino, Brown 149: 1. Jordan Leen, Cornell 2. JP O'Connor, Harvard 3. John Cox, Navy 4. Jeff Santo, Lehigh 5. Matt Dunn, Columbia 6. Rick Rappo, Penn 157: 1. Andrew Flanagan, Harvard 2. Matt Dragon, Penn 3. John Jarred, Navy 4. Dave Nakasone, Lehigh 5. Christian Snook, Army 6. Devin Mesanko, Columbia 165: 1. Zach Shanaman, Penn 2. Steve Anceravage, Cornell 3. Mike Cannon, American 4. Andy Rendos, Bucknell 5. Ricky Turk, Columbia 6. Brian Rowan, Army 174: 1. Matt Stolpinski, Navy 2. Matt Palmer, Columbia 3. Matt Herrington, Penn 4. Joey Hooker, Cornell 5. Rudy Rueda, American 6. Brent Smith, Army 184: 1. David Craig, Lehigh 2. Louis Caputo, Harvard 3. Justin Barent, Columbia 4. Lior Zamir, Penn 5. Antonio Miranda, Navy 6. Josh Arnone, Cornell 197: 1. Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell 2. Josh Glenn, American 3. Matt Cassidy, Lehigh 4. Eric Lapotsky, Bucknell 5. Nick Sommerfeld, Columbia 6. Lamar Brown, Rutgers 285: 1. Ed Prendergast, Navy 2. Paul Weibel, Lehigh 3. Zack Hammond, Cornell 4. Kevin Lester, Columbia 5. Levon Mock, Brown 6. Nathan Thobaben, Army

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Mike Benefiel (Aurora, Ill./Montini Catholic) completed a two-year unbeaten streak Saturday night to become the ninth wrestler in Illinois history to win four state titles. The senior signed a National Letter of Intent in the fall and will compete for the Wildcats starting in 2007-08. "Mike is a special athlete that only comes around every so often," assistant coach Andrew Pariano said. "We feel very fortunate that he has chosen to continue his academic and wrestling career at Northwestern." Benefiel picked up his 195th career win with an 8-2 decision Saturday night at Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill. in the championships finals -- an Illinois state record. "One of the best attributes that Mike has is that he isn't satisfied," Pariano said. "After the finals were completed, he got right back to work because Montini earned a spot in the IHSA team state tournament." "He is one of the top recruits in the nation, if not, the No. 1 recruit in the nation," Pariano said. "This is just the beginning. We plan on continuing our climb up the national rankings and Mike will be a huge part of this process." Ben Kuhar (Concord Twp., Ohio/St. Edward) and Robert Kellogg (Sioux City, Iowa/Sioux City North) also signed National Letters of Intent in the fall to join Northwestern for the 2007-08 campaign. The 'Cats, who won their last two duals of the season, return to action Mar. 3-4, at the Big Ten Championships.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- It was not the method the wrestling team wanted to use to defeat the University of Missouri Sunday, but it counts just the same. The Tigers, ranked No. 3 in the nation, forfeited five matches because of a team bout of the flu, and the 13th-ranked Mocs brought home a 40-8 victory over Missouri. The Mocs won three of the five matches which were competed. It is UTC's second win over a top-15 team this year. The Mocs scored a 28-13 win over No. 14 Ohio State Jan. 3. "A win is a win," UTC Head Coach Chris Bono said. "Our guys who didn't get to wrestle were definitely disappointed. We have all been looking forward to this match. "It has been a magical year so far. But the two most important dates of our season are coming up, the SoCon Championships and the Nationals. They are what we have worked all year long toward." UTC, which finishes the regular season at 16-1 in dual matches, owned a 24-0 lead at the outset after Missouri (12-3) forfeited the first four matches at 125 pounds, 133, 141 and 149. Each wrestler for UTC at those positions is nationally ranked. The first match actually contested on the mat was at 157, and Jake Yost scored six points in the third period to register an 11-2 major decision over Dane Espinosa. At 165, UTC's T.J. Sayers defeated James Williamson, 8-1 to push the margin to 31-0. Missouri's Matt Pell, an All-America at 184 in 2006 who dropped down to 165 this season, was one of the wrestlers stricken with the flu bug. Ben Askren finally put the Tigers on the scoreboard with a 10-2 major over 16th-ranked Lloyd Rogers. Askren, ranked No. 1 at 174, ran his record to 33-0 and his personal win streak to 78 matches. He was the National Champion at his weight class last year. Askren and Pell are the only seniors on the Tigers' roster and were honored prior to the match. Fifth-ranked Raymond Jordan provided Missouri's other match victory at 184, with a 16-6 major over Josh Edmondson. The Tigers forfeited at 197, and UTC heavyweight Matt Koz, ranked as high as No. 13, used an escape and an extra point for riding time to defeat No. 20 Mark Ellis in the final match of the day. The Mocs head to the Southern Conference Championships March 3 in Raleigh, N.C., as the favorite to win their 22nd SoCon title.

BROOKINGS, S.D. -- In the final match of the regular season, North Dakota State (8-5-1, 3-2-1 Western Wrestling Conference) wrestled South Dakota State (8-8-1, 1-4-1 WWC) to a 19-19 tie in a Western Wrestling Conference dual in front of 303 spectators at Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D., on Sunday, February 18. This is the first time since January 20, 2001, that the Bison and an opponent finished a match in a tie. The match started at 174 pounds with SDSU's Nate Althoff defeating Matt Hermann 6-2. The Jackrabiits tallied three more points in the next match as Chris Moran defeated NDSU's Warren Gall 5-2 at 184 pounds. The Bison got on the board for the first time at 197 pounds as Jacob Bryce beat Travis Gottschalk for the second time this season, scoring a 4-2 decision. South Dakota State extended the lead to 9-3 at heavyweight as Jason Stripling beat Justin LaGosh 9-5. NDSU's Eric Hoffman would score the first bonus points of the match as he defeated Marcus Waters by technical fall for the second time this season at 125 pounds. The Bison would grab the lead at 133 pounds as Eric Sanders won via forfeit. After SDSU's Derek Pirner beat Gabe Mooney 5-0 at 141 pounds, Ryan Adams recorded the Bison's second technical fall of the match, defeating Sean Flynn 20-5 at the 6:15 mark of the bout. The Bison were unable to hold their 19-12 lead as South Dakota State won the final two bouts at 157 and 165 pounds. Andy Everson scored four key points for the Jackrabbits, defeating Adam Aho by major decision, 17-4 at 157 pounds. In the final match of the day, Ryan Meyer beat Mike Quamme 7-0, just one point shy of a major decision and a Jackrabbit win. This match also marked the first tie in the NDSU-SDSU rivalry. The Bison now lead the overall series 33-16-1 which includes a 30-14 win over South Dakota State earlier this season in a non-conference dual. The Bison will next wrestle at the NCAA West Regional in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on March 3. This will be the first time since the 2003-04 season the Bison are eligible for postseason competition.

CHARLESTON, S.C. -– Junior Drew Forshey posted a pair of major decisions at 125 pounds to lead North Carolina to dual victories over Southern Conference foes VMI and The Citadel Sunday at the McAlister Field House in Charleston, S.C. The Tar Heels topped the Keydets, 37-2, and rallied past the Bulldogs, 26-18, to close their regular season with a 9-7 overall record. Forshey got Carolina off to a quick start in both duals with four points in each match. He downed Johnathan Pope by a 14-6 score to open against VMI and followed with a 14-5 major decision over The Citadel's Tyler Sim. Forshey wraps up the regular season with a 19-7 record, including a 14-2 mark in dual action. He has won 12 of his last 13 duals. In addition to Forshey, freshman 141-pounder Mike Rappo and senior heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky each posted a pair of wins on the mat Sunday. Rappo is now 13-12, while Nadolsky improved to 22-7 on the season. Against the Bulldogs, Carolina fell behind 15-7 through five bouts despite Forshey's major decision. Junior Keegan Mueller brought the Tar Heels within two points with a pin of Zachary Filter at 165, but The Citadel came back with a decision at 174 to extend their lead once again. Daniel Llamas cut the lead to two with a 3-1 decision against John Dickerson at 184, and redshirt freshman Dennis Drury gave UNC its first lead since early in the match with a pin of Griffen Greene in just 2:02 at 197. Nadolsky capped the match with a major decision at heavyweight for the 26-18 final margin. Earlier in the day, the Tar Heels won their first seven bouts and picked up two victories via forfeit in the 37-2 win over the Keydets. Freshman Keenan Duffie also won via fall at 157 with his second pin of the season against Vince Cole in 2:46. Carolina is back in action at the 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships March 3 in Raleigh.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. –- The Lock Haven University wrestling team (8-5, 2-3 EWL) wrapped up their dual-match season with an impressive 40-6 victory over Clarion University (7-13, 0-6 EWL) in Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) action. The Bald Eagles dominated Clarion from start to finish winning all, but two bouts. Three Haven grapplers recorded falls including senior Seth Martin (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selingrove) along with freshmen Jeremie Cook (Venice, Fla./Venice) and Landis Wright (Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle). "I was impressed with Seth and our young guys, we're not getting beat, just running out of time," said head coach Rocky Bonomo. "I have to give coach Rogers (LHU assistant coach, Mike Rogers) a lot of credit." The win for Martin was a special one for the senior who was competing in Thomas Fieldhouse for the last time. Action started at 184 pounds with sophomore Tom Kocher (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) picking up a 7-3 decision over Scott Joseph, putting the Bald Eagles up 3-0. After a scoreless first period the match was tied a 2-2 heading into the final period. Kocher took the lead just four seconds into the third with an escape and recorded an important takedown with just over a minute left in the action. The pin by Cook at 197 put the Haven up 9-0. Cook did not waste time in going to work on Clarion's Dixon Jordon as he picked up two takedowns in the first minute and a half of action and eventually earned the fall at 2:29. At heavyweight sophomore Ben Hepburn (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalstock) dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision to A.J. Brooks. No. 12 Obenson Blanc (Naples, Fla.Lely) won-his 125-pound bout with Patrick Feeley by disqualification. The junior was winning 9-1 when the match was stopped because of excessive penalty points to Feeley. The Blanc-win put Lock Haven up 15-3 and they went up 21-3 after freshman Nick Hyatt (Boyertown, Pa/Boyertown) won by forfeit with Clarion not entering a wrestler at 133. Zack Kell (Ickesburg, Pa/West Perry) picked up an 11-5 win over Tony Lascari. The 141-pounder led 4-2 at the end of the first period after picking up an early takedown and a reversal. The freshman led 8-5 heading into the final period and used a reversal with 1:14 to go and one riding time point to rack up the 11-5 decision. Freshman Donnie Ament (Acme, Pa./Mount Pleasant) lost 5-3 to Hadley Harrison at 149. Ament led 2-1 after one, but Harrison pulled out the win, marking the second and last Clarion victory on the day. After being honored prior the start of today's match for his endless contributions to the Lock Haven wrestling program, No. 9 Martin went out with a bang. Coming off a rare two straight losses, the senior pinned Nick Billups just 2:13 into their 157-bout. Martin used a strong takedown just 28 seconds in and racked up six near fall points before finishing off his Golden Eagle opponent. "I couldn't ask for a better way to go out," said Martin who thinks this might be last piece to the puzzle for him heading into the post-season. "I am going into EWL's feeling confident and want to end my career with a win." "It's hard to put into words how important Seth as been to me personally, to me as a coach and to our program, it is an honor for me," said Bonomo. Freshman Landis Wright (Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle) kept the momentum going for the Bald Eagles as he was able to pick up the fall, marking back to back pins for the Haven. Wright pinned his 165-pound Clarion opponent Mario Morelli at 6:41. Junior Michael Metzger (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin) closed things out for the Haven with a major decision victory over Dominic Ross at 174. Metzger jumped out to an early 5-1 lead after one period and led 9-3 after two. He added an early escape and takedown in the third to help insure the major. The Bald Eagles are back in action on Saturday and Sunday, March 3-4 when they travel to Cleveland State University for the EWL championships.

EAST STROUDSBURG -- The Bloomsburg University wrestling team closed out its regular season with a 30-9 win over East Stroudsburg Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Huskies end the year with a mark of 12-9. Bloomsburg got started quickly in the match with Mike Sees winning by major decision, 19-8, over Steve Gambino. After an East Stroudsburg picked up a win at 133, Darren Kern won a 7-3 decision over Sean Carr to make it 7-3 team score in favor of Bloomsburg. The Warriors closed the score to 7-6 after a win at 149 pounds. Bloomsburg then won five of the next six matches to pull away. Dennis Bermudez won at 157 pounds by a 5-1 score, before Ricky Schmelyun won by technical fall, 15-0, at 165 pounds. A win by East Stroudsburg at 174 pounds made the match score 15-6. Bloomsburg then got a 6-4 decision from Nate Shirk at 184; a win by forfeit at 197 by PJ DiStefano and a pin by Mike Spaid in 2:38 to close out the match. The pin by Spaid was the 14th of the year for the junior. Bloomsburg returns to action on March 3-4 at the Eastern Wrestling League championships at Cleveland State.

The ninth-ranked Wisconsin wrestling team closed out the regular season with a 21-13 win over No. 18 Indiana in front of a crowd of 1,112 at the UW Field House. The Badgers took six-of-10 matches to improve to 19-3 overall, and 5-3 in the Big Ten. Senior Tyler Turner (Spring Valley, Wis.), who was honored before the match, closed out his career at home with a win at 149 lbs. Wisconsin's 19 wins this season is the most team wins since the 1985-86 season, while its 5-3 mark in the Big Ten is the best for the Badgers since 2003. In the opening match, sophomore Zach Tanelli (Milburn, N.J.) set the pace for UW with his come-from-behind win over No. 20 Andrae Hernandez at 133 lbs. Tanelli led 2-1 after the first period, but feel behind in the second as Hernandex notched an escape and a takedown. With the crowd cheering him on, Tanelli scored a takedown with a minute remaining to tighten the score. From there he never lost control, pinning Hernadez at 6:30 to win his fifth Big Ten battle and put UW ahead of the Hoosiers 6-0. No. 10 Kyle Ruschell (Crittenden, Ky.) extended the Badger lead with an 8-3 decision over Indiana's Scott Kelly at 141 lbs. Ruschell finished his freshman campaign at 25-6 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten. Turner added to Wisconsin's lead defeating No. 19 Matt Coughlin at 149 lbs. Turner scored first and never looked back, tallying three takedowns, one escape and a bonus point to win 8-3. Turner is 19-5 overall this year and was a perfect 5-0 at home. Trailing 12-0, IU got on the board at 157 lbs., as No. 7 Brandon Becker upset No. 5 Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.). Becker, who has never lost to Henning, earned a reversal early in the second period to go up 2-0. From there, Becker collected over three minutes of riding time, while Henning was unable to score, giving the Hoosier a 3-0 victory. At 165 lbs., Jake Donar (Cuba City, Wis.) defeated Max Dean for the third time in his career. The match was tight, as neither grappler scored for the first four minutes. Then, Midway through the second period Donar earned an escape, followed by a takedown in the third to win 3-0. The Hoosiers fought back with a 20-10 major decision victory at 174 lbs., followed by an extremely close 8-7 win at 184 lbs. IU now only trailed by five with three bouts remaining. At 197 lbs., sophomore Dallas Herbst (Winneconne, Wis.) came from behind to defeat freshman Nate Everhart. Everhart led 4-1 after two periods, but No. 13 Herbst responded in the third with a takedown, a stalling point, and riding time to win 5-4. In what would be the deciding match, Kyle Massey (Champlin, Minn.) defeated senior Josh Buuck 13-6 at heavyweight. With the Badgers leading 21-10, Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) narrowly lost to No. 9 Angel Escobedo 2-0 at 125 lbs., bringing the final score to 21-13.

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- The 17th-ranked Navy wrestling team won eight of the 10 matches to capture its seventh-consecutive win over arch rival Army in the Star Match Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena in West Point, N.Y. Ranked No. 1 in the EIWA, Navy owns an 11-4 record, including a 7-0 mark in EIWA competition. With the 23-point rout, Navy improves its stronghold over Army on the mat to 41-5-5, including an 18-4-2 advantage in matches held at West Point. Meanwhile, for the second-straight year, the win by Navy's wrestling team clinches the annual Star Series for the Midshipmen, as Navy claims bragging rights for the 11th-consecutive year. The Midshipmen own a 14-7 record against the Black Knights this season, including a 12-5 advantage in Star Games with five remaining contests (men's lacrosse, men's and women's outdoor track, tennis and baseball). "Our guys really did a good job of picking up the pace and wrestling the Navy way," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett, who owns a 7-0 record against Army. "We had several strong performances today including a huge win by Brad Canterbury. I thought Ed Prendergast really stepped up and it was good to see Joe Baker back in the form that he should be in. "I'm really pleased with how our guys competed and the preparation that was put forth. I also want to publicly thank Scott Owen and Brian Antonelli for the job that they did while I was taking care of some family issues. They did a great job and the guys were ready to wrestle. I feel really good about Scott and Brian and the effort they put in to make sure we were ready to go. I'm just so proud of our performance today." With half the Navy line-up made up of seniors, team captain John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) gave the Midshipmen an early 3-0 with a thrilling 6-4 win over 157-pound Army junior Christian Snook. Jarred scored the early takedown in the opening period, but Snook was able to escape just seconds later. Jarred chose the down position to start the second period only to have Snook take him to his back and take a 3-2 lead. With just 35 seconds remaining in the match, Jarred was awarded a stalling point to knot the match. Jarred scored the win by earning a takedown with just five seconds remaining in the match. Down, but certainly not out, yet, Army battled back in the following match. In a rematch of the championship bout of the All-Academy Championship two weeks ago, tournament winner Brian Rowan faced Navy junior Justin Jacobs (LeRoy, Mich.). After a scoreless first period, Rowan rode Jacobs for 1:15 before Jacobs scored a reversal. Rowan, however, battled his way back with an escape with just eight seconds left to make it 2-1. Starting the final period down, Rowan let just eight seconds expire before scoring the escape to tie the score and eventually win the match, 3-2, with his 1:07 advantage in riding time. Navy went on to win four-straight matches, including a pair of bonus-point wins to take the lead for good. Junior Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) had little trouble in winning his 10th-consecutive match, as he recorded an 11-3 major decision over Army senior Brent Smith. Ranked 12th in the country at 174 pounds, Stolpinski turned in four takedowns, a reversal and an escape in the match. Stolpinski, who is 2-1 against Army in the annual dual, moved into a tie with Mike Bigrigg (1998-02) for 15th on Navy's career wins list with 89 victories. Meanwhile, he is also ranked 15th on the Mids' single-season wins chart with 34 wins this year. Senior Antonio Miranda (Eugene, Ore.) captured his first Army-Navy dual meet win by defeating Scott Ferguson, 4-3, at 184 pounds. The two wrestlers entered the second period deadlocked after each was awarded a point for stalling. Miranda took the lead with an escape, but Ferguson knotted the match as he was able to escape Miranda's hold to start the third. With just 30 seconds remaining in the match, Miranda scored a takedown to take the lead for good, despite Ferguson being able to break his hold in the final 10 seconds. Two weeks ago Navy junior Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) won his first individual title of his career after pinning Army senior Connor Sanders at the All-Academy Championship. The two wrestlers met again, and though the means to end was different, Parsons still remained the victor as he earned a 5-2 victory over Sanders at 197 pounds. Parsons scored first with a takedown in the opening period, followed by a Sanders escape. Parsons added to his lead in the second period with an escape, and owned a 3-1 advantage heading into the final period. Sanders escaped six seconds into the final period to get within one, but Parsons scored a takedown late in the period for the final margin. Following a brief break in the action, eighth-ranked Navy heavyweight Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) picked up his 13th-straight win by pinning Nathan Thobaben at 6:38. Prendergast, who moves into a three-way tie for 21st on the Mids' single-season wins list with 32, has not lost a match since Dec. 30 at the Southern Scuffle where he lost in the third-place match to then eighth-ranked Andy Patrick of Boise State. Meanwhile, Prendergast's pin was his 16th of the season, the third most in program history and the most since John Reich turned in 24 pins during the 1982-83 season. He stands tied for 14th on the career falls list with 22. Army briefly interrupted Navy's momentum with a win at 125 pounds. In another rematch of the championship bout at the All-Academy Championship, Army's Fernando Martinez got the best of Navy senior Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.) for the second-straight time, today a 10-5 win. Though Martinez trailed early in the match, he used three takedowns, including one with just 12 seconds remaining, and riding time to claim the win and narrow, if you will, the gap to 19-6. The Mids earned wins in the final three matches, including an 11-4 victory by 16th-ranked Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) at 133 pounds. Baker, who missed the All-Academy Championship with an injury, squared off against second-year standout William Simpson. Baker entered the match with an undefeated streak on the line, winning all three matches a year ago against Army's Frankie Baughan. He kept his streak intact by beating down Simpson with four takedowns, a reversal and riding time, and just missed out on the bonus-point victory as Simpson was able to escape at the final buzzer. Navy senior 141-pounder Brad Canterbury (Blue Bell, Pa.) avenged his loss to Matt Kyler in the championship match of the All-Academy Championship by defeating the Army rookie, 3-1. Canterbury started the second period with an escape to take the 1-0 lead. Kyler chose down to start the third period and needed just 10 seconds to tie the match. Canterbury, though, scored a takedown with 45 seconds remaining to earn the win and push Navy's lead to 25-6. Senior John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.), who also missed the All-Academy Championship due to injury, scored a 15-3 major decision over Army senior Austin Milster to end his dual career against the Black Knights with a 2-1 record. Cox, who produced a pair of three-point near falls in the match, now owns a 107-career wins, just three shy of becoming only the seventh wrestler in Naval Academy history to reach 110 wins in their career. The Midshipmen will use the next two weeks to prepare for the EIWA Championship held March 2-3 at East Stroudsburg University.

Champaign, Ill. -- The No. 7 Illinois wrestling team came from behind and topped No. 16 Ohio St., 19-18 in their final home dual of the season. The short-handed Illini took six out of the 10 weight classes in the win. With the Illini trailing 18-15 heading into the final match of the dual, senior Matt Winterhalter (174) posted a key major-decision in the last home match of his career to give Illinois the victory. Fellow outgoing senior and All-American #12 Cassio Pero (141) also won his last match in front of the home crowd. #8 Jimmy Kennedy (133), #14 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (165), #12 Patrick Bond (197) and John Wise (HWT) all won their matches. Injuries to #7 Gabe Flores (125), #18 Troy Tirapelle (149) and #1 Mike Poeta kept them out of the lineup. With the victory, the Illini finished the Big Ten regular season in second place with a record of 11-1 overall and 7-1 in the conference. Illinois extended their winning-streak against the Buckeyes to 10 in-a-row. They are now 10-1 in head coach Mark Johnson's 15-year career at Illinois. Along with Pero and Winterhalter, seniors Jim Comfort (133), Joel Karr (141), Matt Harding (197) and Donny Reynolds (174) were honored before the match. The Buckeyes took an early 4-0 lead after #16 John Dergo dropped his 184-pound match to #3 Mike Pucillo, 17-5. Illinois fired right back at 197 when #12 Patrick Bond upset #6 J.D. Bergman, 6-5. Bond took the lead in the waning seconds of the first period, then added an escape point to close the second. Bergman opened the third period with an escape and a takedown to tie the score. Bond took the lead right back with a penalty point and an escape, but Bergman tied the match again with another takedown. The Illinois reigning Big Ten Wrestler of the Week regained the lead on an escape with 30 seconds left to take the match get the Illini on the board, 4-3. Illinois led the dual, 6-4, after heavyweight when John Wise outlasted Corey Morrison, 2-1. The two big men traded escapes in the second and third periods, but with almost two minutes of riding time collected, Wise (Pittsfield, Ill.) came away with the win. After an Illinois forfeit at 125-pounds, Ohio St. jumped to a 10-6 lead in the dual. The Illini bounced right back after 133-pounds when #8 Jimmy Kennedy defeated #17 T.J. Enright, 4-3. Kennedy (Ingleside, Ill.) scored first with a takedown in the opening period. After an Enright escape cut into the lead in the second period, Kennedy answered with an escape of his own. Enright tied the match with a takedown with under a minute to go, but the Illinois freshman scored another escape to take the match. Illinois trailed the dual by a point, 10-9. Senior All-American #12 Cassio Pero gave Illinois a 12-10 lead in the dual after he dominated J Jaggers, 11-4, in their 141-pound bout. Pero (Chicago Heights, Ill.) built a big lead when he scored a takedown in the first two periods. After the two traded takedowns in the third, Pero scored a reversal and another takedown to win the final home match of his illustrious Illini career. The Buckeyes led, 18-12, after back-to-back Illini losses at 149 and 157. Then, at 165 #14 Roger Smith-Bergsrud picked up a huge victory when he upset #10 Chris Vondruska, 3-1 in sudden-victory. Smith-Bergsrud (Lake Bluff, Ill.) took the early lead after scoring on an escape to start the second period, but Vondruska tied the match with an escape in the third to send the match into overtime. Then, with two seconds left in sudden-victory, Smith-Bergsrud brought the crowd to their feet when he scored the winning takedown. Illinois trailed the dual by only three points, 18-15. In his last home match as a Fighting Illini, senior 174-pounder Matt Winterhalter man-handled Tommy Priestly in a 10-0 major-decision victory. Winterhalter (Durand, Ill.) electrified the crowd with a thunderous takedown and three-point nearfall that opened the first period. In the second, Winterhalter added to his lead when he picked up two stalling penalty points against the Buckeye junior. In the third, and with riding time locked up, Winterhalter scored another takedown to make sure that the major-decision, and Illini win, were intact. "This feels great!" Said Winterhalter. "My team needed me to win. A decision would've tied the dual and bonus points would win it. I did what I had to do to get it done." "This is a great day for us." Said head coach Mark Johnson. "What a better way for our two senior starters to go out. To win with three of our starters out, it's incredible. This speaks of how tough these guys have become this season. With Big Tens and Nationals coming up, this is right where we need to be." Illinois heads to the Big Ten Championships in East Lansing, Mich. on March 3 and 4.

Ewing, NJ -- The College of New Jersey wrestling team had three individuals win their respective weight classes as the Lions won the 2007 Metropolitan Conference Wrestling Championships on Sunday at Packer Hall. The Lions have now won 24 of the 29 team titles in tournament history as they totaled 89.5 points edging out last year's champion York College (PA), which finished with 83. Each individual champion advances to the 2007 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships along with the seven "wild card" selections. The NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships are slated for March 2-3 and will be hosted by Loras College in Dubuque, IA. Lion freshman Tyler Branham (Newton, NJ/Kittantiny) gave TCNJ its first title of the tourney as he held off Adam Penberthy (Dingman's Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley) from Wilkes by the score of 5-2 at 141 pounds. Branham was a perfect 3-0 on the day and moved to 36-9 for the year. The next title for TCNJ came at 157 pounds as senior Joe Galante (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) captured his third straight conference title with a 5-3 victory over York's John Niedrich (Freehold, NJ/Christian Brothers). Galante advances to the national tournament with a record of 28-2. The third title for the Lions came at 174 pounds as sophomore Greg Osgoodby (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) handled Centenary's Seth Wisner (Hope, NJ/Belvidere) with an 18-3 technical fall win. Osgoodby, the top seed in the tournament, is now 33-5 this season. TCNJ's Ray Sarinelli (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Hills) fell in the final seconds of the championship bout at 133 pounds as top-seeded Dave Morgan (Scrantan, PA/West Scranton) from King's College pulled out a 3-2 victory. Sarinelli finished the tournament with a record of 2-1 putting him at 31-6 for the season and earned one of the "wild card" selections to nationals. York's Gerald Bowne (Cherry Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic) denied TCNJ's Mike Guenther (Ewing, NJ/Brick) the title at 165 pounds as the Spartan senior pulled out 3-2 victory at 165 pounds. Guenther received a "wild card" berth making him the fifth Lin to qualify for the national championships. TCNJ's third second-place finish came at heavyweight as Steve Carbone (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) was beaten by top-seeded Arkadiy Levitan (Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay) from Hunter, 13-5. At 125 pounds, York's Kyle Flickinger (New Oxford, PA/Bermudian Springs), who was named the most outstanding wrestler of the tournament, won the first title of the day as he scored a 6-4 decision over top-seeded Felipe Queiroz (Largo, FL/Pinellas Park). York's Tim Bohlman (Pasadena, MD/Mt. St. Joseph) captured the crown at 149 pounds as the 2006 All-American pulled out an 11-3 verdict over Scranton's Donell Young (Scranton, PA/West Scranton). Hunter's Terry Madden (Staten Island, NY/Pinebush) earned the crown at 184 pounds as the 2006 All-American defeated New York University's Nick Coleman (Hershey, PA/Hershey), 14-7. King's claimed its second individual title of the tournament as Jason Reilly (Mountaintop, PA/Crestwood) pinned Hunter's Shintaro Higashi (Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale) in 1:50 at 197 pounds. TCNJ's head coach David Icenhower, Sr. Was tabbed as the Coach of the Year marking the 14th time her earned that honor. Team scores: 1) The College of New Jersey 89.5; 2) York College (PA) 83; 3) King's College 75.5; 4) Hunter College 59; 5) Wilkes University 55; 6)New York University 52.5; 7) Centenary College 36.5; 8) University of Scranton 24; 9) Maritime College 6.5; 10) Yeshiva University 0.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern closed out the dual season on a high note, topping the 23rd-ranked Michigan Wolverines Sunday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, 20-14. The win marks the first dual victory over the Wolverines since the 1993-94 season. Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) tied the dual, Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) put the 'Cats ahead and Eric Metzler (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) put it away with a 4-0 decision at 133 lbs. NU finishes with a 13-8 overall dual record, 3-5 in the Big Ten. Michigan closes its season 2-10-1, 1-7 in conference duals. Precin and junior Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) picked up their 30th wins of the season. "We were extremely ready for that victory as it's been a long time coming," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "It's great momentum heading into the Big Ten Championships." Top-ranked Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) started off at 141 lbs. against Justin Chrzanowski and opened the match with a takedown in the first minute. He surrendered an escape, but quickly responded with another takedown halfway through the first. The junior added three more points with a near-fall to take a 7-1 lead. Lang went up 12-2 with another takedown and near-fall combination and maintained the 10-point advantage going into the second frame. Lang quickly added another three-point near-fall in the opening seconds of the second period to take a 15-2 advantage heading into the final stanza. He finally ended the match with a takedown to seal a 17-2 technical fall. Lang improved his overall record to a perfect 21-0. NU led 5-0 after one bout, but Michigan would take the next four matches to lead 14-5 after 174 lbs. Marty Gould (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) surrendered an early takedown to third-ranked Josh Churella at 149 lbs., but scored an escape to close to 2-1 heading into the second period. Gould tied the match at 2-2 with an early escape, but Churella quickly took him down to pull ahead, 4-3. The Wolverine used multiple takedowns in the second to open a 9-4 lead going to the third. Churella captured the 15-5 major decision to make the team score 5-4 in favor of the Wildcats. Dominic Marella (Roselle, Ill./Conant) battled Rob Sulaver at 157 lbs. and trailed 2-0 when the Wolverine scored a takedown in the closing seconds of the first period. Marella evened the score with a reversal in the final minute of the second, but Sulaver notched an escape to go back in front, 3-2. The Wolverine escaped to start the third and added a takedown to take a 6-2 lead. Sulaver held on and Michigan took a 7-5 overall lead heading into the 165-pound match. Greg Hagel (Linwood, N.J./Blair Academy) faced Michigan's second-ranked Eric Tannenbaum at 165 lbs. and the Wolverine extended his team's lead to 11-5 with the 16-5 major decision. Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) took on sixth-ranked Steve Luke at 174 lbs. Luke scored a takedown just over a minute into the first and Hayes responded with a swift escape. The first period ended with Hayes trailing 2-1. Hayes started on top for the second and rode Luke for nearly the entire period. The Wolverine extended his lead to 3-1 with an escape in the final 20 seconds. Hayes cut the deficit to 3-2 with an early escape in the third, but the Wildcat's riding time advantage tied the score at 3-3 and forced an overtime session. Luke scored a takedown in the opening minute of the overtime period to take the 5-3 decision and give Michigan the 14-5 overall advantage. That 174-pound match was the last the 'Cats' dropped in the dual. The Wildcat won the last five to seal the victory. Herbert needed less than 90 seconds to score his first points with a takedown against Michigan's fourth-ranked Tyrel Todd. The junior gave an escape to make the score 2-1 and held the one-point advantage going into the second frame. Top-ranked Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) extended his lead to 3-1 with an escape in the first five seconds of the second and he added a two-point takedown one-minute into the period to take a 5-1 advantage. A late escape by Todd made the score 5-2 in favor of Herbert going to the third. Todd managed a takedown to tie the score at 5-5, but Herbert quickly escaped to pull ahead 6-5. He added another takedown to open an 8-5 lead. Todd escaped with 40 seconds remaining to close to 8-6 and scored two more points with a late takedown to tie the match at 8-8. Todd needed to let Herbert escape to try for another takedown with the Wildcat holding the riding time advantage. He could not get the top-ranked junior to the ground and NU closed to 14-8 with Herbert's 10-8 decision. Herbert remains perfect at 24-0 on the year. Tamillow, ranked seventh nationally, quickly scored two points against 20th-ranked Nick Roy with a takedown at 197 lbs. and took the two-point advantage into the second stanza. The junior quickly escaped in the second to widen his lead to 3-0 and no more points were scored in the period. Tamillow's riding time advantage gave him the 4-0 decision and closed the overall gap to 14-11. The win gave Tamillow 30 on the season and improved his overall record to 30-3. Fox had a chance to tie the team score at heavyweight. Fox scored a takedown in the opening seconds and stayed on top of Michigan's Casey White for the rest of the period. The junior had a 2:53 riding time advantage after the first three-minute frame. Fox escaped in the first 10 seconds of the second to widen his lead to 3-0. Both wrestlers stayed on their feet for the rest of the period. The Wildcat notched another takedown in the opening 20 seconds of the third and used a riding time advantage of close to three minutes to take a 6-1 decision. The team score was tied 14-14 with two matches to go. Precin, ranked 19th at 125 lbs. scored a takedown in the opening minute to take an early 2-0 lead over Michigan's Michael Watts. The freshman stayed on top for the rest of the period and took his two-point advantage into the second. The Wildcat notched a quick escape and then a takedown to take a 5-0 lead midway through the second period. Precin continued his dominance on top and rode Watts for the rest of the frame. Watts took an escape in the third, but the freshman took a 6-1 decision with the riding time advantage. NU led 17-14 with one match remaining -- its first lead since after the 149-pound bout when the score was 5-4. The win was Precin's 30th of the season. Metzler took a 2-0 lead over Chris Diehl with a two-point takedown in the second minute of the first and held the advantage to the end of the period. The Wildcat started down in the second frame and despite getting on his feet on several occasions, Diehl managed to keep Metzler under wraps -- not allowing the one-point escape. The wrestlers started neutral in the third with Metzler holding the two-point advantage. Needing only a stalemate in the third to give the 'Cats the win, Metzler chose to go for broke, nailing a takedown at the one minute mark of the third to take a 4-0 lead. He held on for the decision and gave the 'Cats the 20-14 win to close out the dual season. The Wildcats will have the next two weeks off to prepare for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The two-day event, hosted by Michigan State, will be held March 3-4, at The Breslin Center in East Lansing.

ELMHURST, Ill. -- Claiming nine of 10 weight-class champions, the Augsburg College wrestling team qualified all 10 of its wrestlers to the NCAA Division III National Championships by dominating the Great Lakes Regional, held Saturday at Elmhurst College's R.A. Faganel Hall. Augsburg won the 15-team regional for the fifth year in a row with 173 points, topping second-place North Central (Ill.) with 115 points. Auggie wrestlers won 35 of their 36 individual bouts on Saturday, collecting four pins, six technical falls and eight major decisions. The Auggies are currently ranked No. 2 in the latest NCAA Division III national rankings by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. The Auggies finished third at last year's Division III national championships. Top-ranked Wartburg College (Iowa), the defending Division III national champions, has also qualified all 10 of its wrestlers to the national championships, following its win at the Iowa Conference tournament on Thursday. The NCAA Division III National Championships will be held March 2-3 at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa. Loras College (Iowa) is the host school. Top-ranked Marcus LeVesseur (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) dominated the 165-pound weight class and maintained his unbeaten collegiate record, claiming two pins, a technical fall and a 16-5, major-decision win over Ben Youel of North Central (Ill.) in the championship match, qualifying for the national tournament for the fourth time. LeVesseur, who won Division III national titles at 157 pounds three times (2003, 2004, 2005), improved to 27-0 on the season and improved his collegiate career record to 151-0, the second-longest winning streak in college wrestling history, behind the 159 of Cael Sanderson at Iowa State (1998-2002). Quincy Osborn (Jr., Grand Rapids, Minn.), ranked No. 1 nationally at 141, scored a pin and two major decisions, including a 17-3 triumph over Kenny Thomas of Elmhurst (Ill.) in the championship match, to qualify for the Division III national tournament for the first time. Osborn is now 40-2 on the season, having won 21 matches by pin. The national tournament will be Osborn's third of his collegiate career. As a wrestler at Minnesota in the 2004-05 season, Osborn finished fifth at the Big Ten championships and competed at the Division I national tournament. He also competed at the Division I national meet in the 2003-04 season. At 157, No. 2-ranked Jeremy Anderson (Jr., Thief River Falls, Minn.) collected three victories, including a 4-2 win over Bobby Gingerich of North Central (Ill.), the No. 3-ranked wrestler nationally, in the championship match. Anderson, who was a national runner-up at 157 last season in his first year at Augsburg, qualified for his second national tournament and improved to 35-2 on the year. At 149, Jared Evans (Sr., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS), a two-time All-American ranked No. 4 nationally, qualified for the national tournament for the third time after winning all three of his matches at the regional. He claimed a 5-4 win over Jeff Kastel of Elmhurst (Ill.), ranked No. 6 nationally, in the championship match. Evans, now 33-3 on the season, finished fourth nationally last season and seventh nationally in 2004-05. At 133, Jafari Vanier (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), ranked No. 3 nationally, improved to 18-1 on the season with three victories at the regional, qualifying for the national tournament for the second straight year. Vanier opened the regional with a 20-3 technical-fall win, then won two decisions, including an 8-3 triumph over North Central's Adam Johnson, ranked No. 4 nationally, in the title match. Vanier finished second nationally at 133 last season. At 174, Robbie Gotreau (Jr., Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS), ranked No. 3 nationally, qualified for the national tournament for the second straight year with a dominating regional performance. He opened his tournament run with two technical falls, claimed a 3-0 decision in the semifinals, and scored a 14-2, major-decision win in the championship match. Gotreau, who finished fourth nationally at 174 last year, is now 39-4 this season. Seth Flodeen (So., Cannon Falls, Minn.), ranked No. 3 at 125, improved to 32-4 on the season with three victories, including a first-period pin and 11-0 major-decision triumph, to win his weight class and qualify for the national tournament for the first time. Also qualifying for the national tournament for the first time is 184-pounder George Lynaugh (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS), who collected four wins, including a 17-1 technical fall, to win his weight class. Lynaugh, who transferred last season after spending his freshman year at Division II Minnesota State Mankato, is now 31-5 on the season. Wally O'Connor (Jr., Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West HS) scored four victories, including a major decision, to reach the national tournament for the first time with his regional triumph at 197. He claimed a 3-1 win over St. Olaf's Steven Wood in the championship match. O'Connor is now 20-14 on the season. Heavyweight Andrew Neumann (Sr., Somerset, Wis.) dominated his first three matches, with a 15-0, first-period technical fall in his opening match and consecutive major decisions (14-0 and 9-1). But he suffered the Auggies' only loss on the day in the championship match, a 2-1 setback to Jaran Rutledge of Knox (Ill.). However, Neumann rallied back in the "true-second" match with a 9-5 win over Clayton Neske of Concordia-Wisconsin to qualify for national tournament for the second time in his career as a wild-card entrant.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. –- Senior Matt Valenti became all-time program leader in wins and the Quakers got bonus points in three of its six wins as Penn upended No. 24 Lehigh, 21-15, Sunday afternoon at Stabler Arena. Penn trailed by a point after eight bouts before Rick Rappo earned a critical major decision at 149 pounds to put Penn up by three points heading into the final match. Matt Dragon sealed the win with a 6-4 decision at 157. Valenti's 129th career win came on a 6-0 decision over Seth Ciasulli. He surpasses Brett Matter, who earned 128 wins in his outstanding career in the Red and Blue. The meet started with a major decision for No. 10 Zack Shanaman as he beat Manuel Schubert, 16-7. It looked as if Schubert would avoid the major with an escape 30 seconds from the end of the bout, but Shanaman scored a late takedown and added riding time to get the bonus team point. No. 11 Matt Herrington also earned a major decision, and like Shanaman, he waited until the final seconds to get the eight-point margin. Leading 6-1 in the third period and controlling riding time, Herrington circled around and got a final takedown with 15 seconds left to make it a 9-1 win and put Penn up 8-0. At 184, No. 14 Lior Zamir lost a hard-fought overtime battle to No. 12 David Craig. After a long feeling-out period, Craig got a takedown out of a scramble with 30 seconds left in the first, and Zamir escaped 21 seconds later. Craig chose down to start the second and escaped to lead 3-1, but Zamir earned a takedown at the very end of the period after nearly pinning Craig. Zamir escaped to start the third and lead 4-3, but was hit with a penalty with 50 seconds remaining to tie the score. Craig got the decisive takedown in sudden victory. Penn gave up the lead after Jack Sullivan lost by fall to Matt Cassidy at 197 pounds. Sullivan was trailing 4-2 in the second before Cassidy caught him out of neutral and pinned Sullivan at 4:29. At heavyweight, Ben Reiter hung with 18th-ranked Paul Weibel but couldn't come out on top, losing 4-2. Weibel scored an escape and a takedown to lead and controlled riding time, while Reiter got a pair of escapes to keep things close. After a scoreless first period at 125, Matt Fisk turned No. 20 Matt Eveleth to start the second, scoring a near-fall two before Eveleth escaped. The Penn senior returned the favor to start the third, rolling Fisk over and scoring his own pair of back points, then did it again with a half-minute remaining to secure victory despite a late Fisk escape. "That started to change the momentum for us," said Head Coach Zeke Jones of Eveleth's win. After two scoreless periods, Valenti, the nation's top-ranked grappler at 133 pounds, reversed Ciasulli to start the third and locked up riding time, and a near-fall three almost resulted in a pin at the buzzer as he won 6-0. After Brett McCurdy lost a tough 3-0 decision at 141, Rick Rappo put Penn back in the lead for good with his 17-5 major decision over Jeff Santo. Rappo, wrestling up a weight class at 149 pounds, controlled from the start, scoring three near-falls and two reversals en route to the win. In the tenth bout, Dragon went into the third period leading 2-0 with a massive riding time advantage of 4:15. Dragon chose down for the final frame and escaped, but gave up two takedowns to Dave Nakasone. However, a late escape and the riding time bonus made the difference. "Dragon knew he was carrying the team on his shoulders, and he got a great win," Jones said. Penn's is now finished with its dual meet schedule and will now prepare for the EIWA Championships March 2 and 3 at East Stroudsburg.

The top-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team stormed into Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday night and rolled over the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes with a convincing 29-13 victory to finish the dual meet season 20-1 overall and 8-0 in the Big Ten. Iowa fans were encouraged to wear all black in an attempt to create a hostile environment, but the Gophers made the announced crowd of 8,274 mostly a non-factor, winning seven of 10 matches on the night. With the victory, the Golden Gophers reached 20 dual meet wins for the fifth time in Head Coach J Robinson's tenure and finished the Big Ten regular season with an unblemished record for the fourth time in his career and the first time since their back-to-back national championship runs in 2001 and '02. The dual meet started with a battle between two top five opponents at 125 pounds, as No. 4 Jayson Ness took on No. 5 Charlie Falck. Ness took control of the match early with a takedown just over a minute in and rode Falck out for the remainder of the first period. After starting down in the second, Ness took a 3-0 lead with an escape and built his advantage with a quick takedown and two-point near fall in the third, adding the bonus point with 2:43 of riding time to get the 8-0 major decision. Iowa native Mack Reiter followed with a pin of Hawkeye senior Lucas Magnani in 5:38. Reiter controlled the match throughout, building an 11-1 lead with four takedowns and a two-point near fall before working Magnani onto his shoulders early in the third period. The Hawkeyes got six points back with a pin at 141 pounds, as Minnesota gave second-ranked Manuel Rivera a night off. No. 6 Alex Tsirtsis took true freshman Mike Thorn down 17 seconds into the match and simply wore him out on his back, getting the fall at 1:16. Thorn made his first start at the weight class after spending much of the year at 133. Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter got Minnesota back on track with a 5-2 decision over Alex Grunder at 149. Schlatter used a pair of first period takedowns to build a 4-1 lead and held off Grunder the rest of the way to earn the win. No. 6 C.P. Schlatter followed with a 9-4 decision over No. 16 Ryan Morningstar at 157. Schlatter controlled the match from the opening whistle, scoring three takedowns in the first period to open up a 6-3 lead. Schlatter got another takedown in the second and added the bonus point for riding time to make the final score 9-4, giving the Gophers a 16-6 advantage before intermission. Tyler Safratowich suffered his first loss at 165 pounds, falling by major decision to No. 4 Mark Perry, 10-2. Perry scored the first points of the match with a takedown midway through the first and added two back points at the end of the period to take a 4-0 lead. Down 8-0 in the third, Safratowich scored his only points of the match with a reversal, but Perry got an escape as time expired and added the bonus point for riding time to get the major decision. In a defensive battle at 174 pounds, No. 4 Eric Luedke escaped with a 3-1 overtime decision over No. 14 Gabriel Dretsch. The two wrestlers traded escapes at the beginning of the second and third periods to send the match into overtime tied at one apiece. Dretsch nearly scored the winning takedown in the sudden victory period but could not find enough room on the edge of the mat. Luedke got the win with a reversal in the tiebreaker session to narrow the margin in the dual to 16-13. It was as close as the Hawkeyes would get, however, as second-ranked Roger Kish defeated Phillip Keddy in the next match with a 14-5 major decision. Keddy kept the match close in the first period, but Kish went to work in the second, scoring three takedowns in the period to build a 7-2 lead. Kish got three more takedowns in the third, the last coming with under 20 seconds remaining to seal the major decision and extend Minnesota's lead to seven. Yura Malamura then defeated Jordan McLaughlin, 4-3, at 197 to seal the match for the Gophers. After a scoreless first period, Malamura got an escape to take a 1-0 lead early in the second. Malamura added a takedown after a scramble later in the period and led 3-1 after two. McLaughlin tied the match with a reversal in the third period, but Malamura quickly broke free to get the deciding escape. With the outcome decided, Iowa forfeited at heavyweight to make the final score 29-13, and top-ranked Cole Konrad extended his winning streak to 67 consecutive matches. Minnesota now has two weeks off before the Big Ten Championships, which will be held March 3-4 in East Lansing, Mich.

PHILADELPHIA –- The 19th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team overcame a 10-0 Penn lead to come back and tie the Quakers, 17-17, at The Palestra Saturday afternoon. The stalemate was the first in seven years for the Quakers (7-7-1), since Jan. 19, 1999, when they tied Cornell, 16-16. Both Penn and Nebraska won five bouts, with each picking up three decisions and two major decisions. "Anytime you wrestle a top-20 team like Nebraska, the incentive to wrestle hard is there," said Head Coach Zeke Jones. Senior No. 1 Matt Valenti, wrestling for the final time at The Palestra on Senior Day, won by major decision at 133 lbs. and now has 127 career wins. He is one win short of the program record of 128 owned by Brett Matter. Penn jumped out to a 10-0 lead with wins by Zack Shanaman, Matt Herrington and Lior Zamir. But the Quakers then lost five of the next seven. Shanaman started the meet at 165 with a solid 9-3 decision over Stephen Dwyer. Shanaman controlled from the start, scoring two takedowns in each of the first two periods to gain a decisive edge. No. 11 Matt Herrington won an entertaining 174-pound bout that was much closer than the score indicated. Herrington took a commanding lead with an escape and a takedown to start the second, but Harwood scored on a takedown into a near-fall two to cut the lead to 9-7, and each scored escapes around the second break to make it 10-8. It looked as if the match would end that way, but Herrington caught a late takedown into a near-fall three to make it a 16-8 major decision with riding time factored in. Zamir eased by Levi Wofford, 13-7, before No. 10 Craig Brester majored Jack Sullivan, 14-5, to make it a 10-4 team score. Ben Reiter grabbed a 6-2 win over Cameron Browne at heavyweight to bolster Penn's lead. No. 20 Matt Eveleth fell to No. 13 Paul Donahue at 125 pounds. The Nebraska grappler scored a takedown and a near-fall-two in the first period and never looked back, winning 8-2. Valenti got three points back with his 11-0 major over Patrick Aleksanyan. Brett McCurdy hung with No. 7 Dominick Moyer but couldn't pull off the upset, falling 5-2. Moyer scored first on a takedown, but McCurdy escaped. McCurdy tied the bout with an escape to start the second. Moyer, though, used an escape and a late takedown in the third to win. Rob Hitschler lost by major decision, 19-7, at 149 pounds to Jordan Burroughs, making the team score 17-14 in favor of Penn and setting up a potential tie. Matt Dragon fought hard against No. 17 Chris Oliver, but ultimately couldn't pick up the win. After a scoreless first, Oliver chose down and escaped before scoring a takedown. Dragon chose up for the third to try and win it on top, but despite some close calls, he couldn't turn Oliver for points. Oliver added a final escape and Dragon earned riding time to make it a 4-1 decision. Penn is in action this evening with a 7:30 start at Princeton before traveling to No. 24 Lehigh tomorrow at 1 p.m.

BROOKINGS, S.D. -- The University of Northern Iowa wrestling squad completed its dual portion of the season on Saturday with a 41-6 win over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in Frost Arena. The Panthers also claimed the dual team championship in the first year of the Western Wrestling Conference with a perfect 4-0 mark in league matches. UNI moved to 7-9-1 overall, while SDSU fell to 8-8 overall and 1-4 in WWC duals. "The whole team wrestled well," UNI head coach Brad Penrith said. "We didn't give up hardly any takedowns and we got five major decisions and two pins. It is a nice honor to win the dual team championship in the first year of our new league and to win all four on the road makes it pretty special." Andrew Anderson got the dual underway with an 18-6 major decision over SDSU's Travis Gottschalk at 197 pounds. SDSU's Jason Stripling followed with the lone Jackrabbits' win of the day when he pinned UNI heavyweight Tyler Rhodes at the 6:32 mark of their match. True freshman Grant Ruge notched his first collegiate dual win with an 18-8 major decision over SDSU's Marcus Waters. Ruge had lost his previous 12 duals before breaking through with a dominant effort against Waters. "Grant wrestled tough and really well," Brad Penrith said. Kyle Anson was awarded a forfeit win at 133 pounds to boost the Panthers' lead to 14-6 after four matches. UNI's 141-pounder C.J. Ettelson returned to action after missing a month of wrestling with a knee injury. Ettelson made his return count with a 9-1 major decision over SDSU's Derek Pirner. "It was good for C.J. to get a match under his belt before the regional on March 3," Penrith said. "He's got to learn how to battle again after all the time away from the mat and this match was good for him. He needed it." The Panthers continued to roll at the mid-weights as Moza Fay topped Nick Herrboldt with a fall at 157 pounds, 165-pounder Nick Baima majored Nate Althoff, 12-4, and Curt Zinnel just missed a major with an 11-4 win over Chris Moran at 174 pounds. Dallas Mitchell then closed out the Panther win with a fall at 4:07 over SDSU's Levi Krehmeyer. UNI will now ready itself for the NCAA West Regional that will be held March 3 in the McLeod Center. The West Regional participants for this season include: UNI, Air Force, Eastern Illinois, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State and Wyoming. The West Regional has been alloted 21 qualifiers for this year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which will be held March 15-17 at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The Arizona State University wrestling team closed out its 2007 dual season with a close 23-20 decision over host Stanford Friday night inside the Ford Center in Palo Alto, Calif., the final preparations for both teams before heading to the conference championships. The Sun Devils, who are now 7-0-0 all-time against the Cardinal, finished the dual season with an 8-11 overall record and went 5-2 against league foes while the Cardinal finished 8-8 with a 5-4 mark in the Pac-10. The dual opened at 174 pounds with Luke Feist turning a 12-2 first period lead into an 18-2 technical fall over ASU's Rick Renzi to stake the hosts to an early 5-0 team lead. Greg Gifford then took the mat at 184 pounds and won his eighth bout in a row, this time with a 10-2 major decision over Zack Giesen. Trailing by one point, Jason Trulson was awarded a win by forfeit at 197 pounds to give ASU the lead, 10-5. Stanford won the next two bouts, first with Phillip Doerner winning a 5-2 decision at heavyweight over Thor Moen to cut the Sun Devil lead to 10-8. The hosts took the lead back, 14-10, at 125 pounds when No. 3 Tanner Gardner won by forfeit. The lead, however, was short-lived as Shawn Jones picked up a 14-5 major decision at 133 pounds over Cameron Teitelman, tying the score at 14-14. Robert Galvan gave the Sun Devils the lead once again by snapping a six-dual losing streak, scoring a 15-9 decision over Matt Kim at 141 pounds and putting the Sun Devils on top, 17-14. But, the ASU lead was also short-lived as a forfeit at 149 pounds put the hosts back in front, 20-17, with two bouts remaining. No. 4 Brian Stith closed out his dual career with a 3-1 decision over No. 15 Josh Zupancic to tie the team score at 20-20, while improving to 21-2 on the year. Stith finished with 55 dual wins in his career and is tied for ninth all-time in Sun Devil history. In the final bout of the evening, No. 12 Patrick Pitsch gave his team the overall win as he posted a 6-0 decision over Scott Loescher at 165 pounds, pushing ASU to the win, 23-20. The Sun Devils will now prepare to compete in the 2007 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships, slated for Saturday and Sunday, February 24-25, inside the Icardo Center in Bakersfield, Calif. The Sun Devils are two-time defending conference champions and will be looking to win their third crown in a row.

NORMAN, Okla. –- The No. 11/15 Oklahoma Sooners (10-7, 0-5 Big 12) upset the No. 6/8 Hofstra Pride (17-4-2, 7-0 CAA) Saturday night at the Howard McCasland Field House, 21-13. "This is a real big win for our team and a lot of guy's stepped up tonight to help us get the victory," head coach Jack Spates said. The Sooners recorded their first win since defeating Arizona State, 31-9 on Feb. 2. It is the team's first win over a ranked opponent since the Lone Star Duals when Oklahoma defeated Navy, 30-9. The Sooners are now 5-0 all-time versus Hofstra. Sam Hazewinkel who has not wrestled since the NWCA National Duals returned to the lineup but did not get to wrestle as he won by a forfeit. Hazewinkel's victory put six team points on the board for the Sooners. Kyle Terry came up big for the Sooners as he upset No. 8 Charles Griffin of Hofstra by a decision of 7-4 at 141 pounds. Terry and Griffin traded takedowns and escapes in the first period as the two wrestled to a 3-3 tie at the end of period one. The Sooner redshirt freshman from Midwest City, Okla., began the second period with an escape and than recorded a takedown to reach period three with a 6-4 advantage. There was no action in the final period but Terry added a point due to riding time to close out the match. "Kyle Terry got a big win for the team and himself tonight and it proved to be big. Will (Rowe) battled back against the No. 2 wrestler in the country and got a big win and I am very proud of him," Spates continued. No. 2 Matt Storniolo defeated No. 15 Mitch Smith of Hofstra by a decision of 6-4 at 149 pounds. Storniolo began the match with a takedown as the only points of the first period. Smith began period two with a reversal to tie the score. Storniolo countered with back-to-back escapes as Smith could only manage one more score as the Sooner senior added a bonus point due to riding time to finish the match. No. 13 Will Rowe proved huge for the Sooners at 157 pounds. The sophomore upset No. 2 James Strouse by a decision of 6-5. Strouse began the match strong scoring two takedowns as Rowe only managed two escapes in the first period. The second period only saw Strouse score an escape to take a 5-3 lead. Rowe began the third period with an escape to pull within a point. The turning point came with 0:11 seconds left as Rowe scored a takedown to win the match 6-5. "This is a great way for us to start wrestling heading into the postseason. Tonight was a great team victory and I could not be more happy with the total team effort we showed today," Spates said. After three consecutive setbacks at 165, 174 and 184 pounds No. 5 Joel Flaggert got Oklahoma going back in the right direction with a 4-2 decision over No. 11 Chris Weidman at 197 pounds. The two traded penalty points in period one. Flaggert scored an escape and a takedown in period two to take a 4-1 lead. Weidman could only manage an escape at the beginning of period three as Flaggert recorded his 26th victory on the year. Brad Farmer ended a three-match losing streak as he defeated Matt Pollock, 5-0 at heavyweight. All Farmer need was a takedown to begin the match as the two heavyweights went scoreless until 1:11 to go as Farmer added a reversal to take the match 4-0. The Sooners next travel to East Lansing, Mich,, on Friday, Feb. 23, as they close out the regular season when they tangle with the Michigan State Spartans at 7 p.m.

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The No. 2 Iowa State wrestlers rolled to a 42-3 victory over Virginia Tech Friday night in Cassell Coliseum. The Cyclones won nine of 10 matches, seven of which resulted in bonus points. Travis Paulson (165) etched his name in Cyclone wrestling history by recording his 100th-career win and Jake Varner tallied his 12th pin of the season. ISU improves to 12-3 in dual action. "This was a great win for us, especially at this time of the year," ISU head coach Cael Sanderson said. "Our guys are going out there and wrestling hard for seven minutes, just like we want them to. We told them we wanted a lot of offense and they generated the points." Travis Paulson became the 33rd Cyclone among a distinguished list of ISU wrestlers with 100-career victories with a 16-5 major decision against Eric Decker. Paulson, rated third nationally, began the second period with a reversal and proceeded to take down the Hokie two times. The two-time All-American scored two more takedowns in the final period and closed out the bout with a three-point nearfall. With the win, Paulson has won six matches via major decision and his record stands at 22-4. "My match felt good," Paulson said. "I wanted to try and push the pace so that I can get in better shape for the Big 12 meet. I went out on the mat confident. It is great to reach the century mark and be mentioned with the guys that are already there. I still think that we are improving every week. This was a good win. We want to carry the momentum from last week into these duals and then to the Big 12 Championship." "Having Travis reach 100-career wins is great and he is down in the history books of Cyclone wrestling," Sanderson said. "He put an exclamation point on the match with the closing takedown." After a Hokie forfeit at 125 pounds, Nick Gallick opened the dual at 133-pounds with an 18-2 technical fall over Sheridan Moran. Gallick used five takedowns and two three-point nearfalls en route to victory. Gallick, a redshirt freshman from Tucson, Ariz., unleashed a relentless attack during the third period. He scored three takedowns and registered his second three-point nearfall of the bout in the final period. Gallick is ranked 14th nationally and carries a 24-7 season mark. Redshirt freshman Cyclone Jake Varner built on a 3-1 third-period lead over Steve Borja, getting a three-point nearfall in the match's final minute and then pinned Borja with 44 seconds left. "It was exciting," Varner said. "It was a good match for the end of the year to prepare for the Big 12 meet and nationals. Our team looked real good. We went out there and dominated." The Cyclones will travel to Charlottesville, Va., to face Virginia (7-8) Sunday at 11 a.m. CST. Check out cyclones.com for live weight-by-weight updates.

IOWA CITY, IA -- The Hawkeye wrestlers won seven bouts to defeat Ohio State, 25-12, Friday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. A crowd of 4,587 saw Iowa improve to 14-4 (5-2 in the Big Ten) with the win. Ohio State fell to 8-6 (4-3 in the Big Ten). A tape-delayed broadcast of the match will air Monday at 8 p.m. (CST) on College Sports Television (CSTV). Hawkeye sophomore Charlie Falck (125) extended his winning streak to nine in the opening match with a 15-9 decision over Ohio State's Will Livingston. Falck is now 7-0 in Big Ten duals. Senior Lucas Magnani filled in for an injured Mario Galanakis at 133, scoring a 2-1 decision over Buckeye T.J. Enright. Junior Alex Tsirtsis scored his 20th season victory blanking J Jaggers, 5-0, at 141. The Buckeyes scored their first team points at 149 when Lance Palmer defeated senior Alex Grunder, 8-5. Hawkeye redshirt freshman Ryan Morningstar took Iowa into the intermission with a 6-1 decision over Jason Johnstone at 157. The Hawkeyes won three of the last five bouts, scoring team bonus points in each. Junior Mark Perry kicked off the trend with an 11-2 major decision over Chris Vondruska at 165. Senior Eric Luedke followed up at 174 with a match-ending 20-2 technical fall in 6:21 over Tommy Priestly. The Buckeyes scored a decision at 184 and a pin at 197, but the damage was already done. Iowa junior Matt Fields ended the dual with a 20-7 major decision over Corey Morrison at heavyweight. It was the first time Fields scored 20 points in a dual meet this season. Iowa will close out the 2006-07 dual meet season Sunday, hosting top-ranking Minnesota (19-1, 7-0 Big Ten) at 6 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Golden Gophers defeated Wisconsin (28-12) Friday night in Madison, and bring a 19-match winning streak to Iowa City. The Iowa-Minnesota match will be aired live on Iowa Public Television (IPTV). Hawkeye fans are encouraged to wear black as part of a Black Out promotion. Iowa will also honor its fans and seniors with appreciation nights against the Golden Gophers.