InterMat Staff

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Utah Valley University sophomore heavyweight Diego Avalon (Corpus Christi, Texas/Mary Carroll HS) has been named the Western Wrestling Conference's Wrestler of the Week as announced by league officials. Avalon led UVU to its 10th consecutive win on the season and also a 3-0 start in Western Wrestling Conference action Saturday night at North Dakota State. Avalon, normally a 184 lbs. competitor, stepped up to wrestle at heavyweight for the Wolverines. With the dual score notched at 15-15, Avalon was able to beat the Bison's Tyler Hemmesch, 3-2, to give Utah Valley the 18-15 victory. UVU has been wrestling without a "real" heavyweight grappler this season and Avalon has stepped up for the Wolverines on a number of occasions but none bigger than his last victory. The undersized Avalon, who gave up at least 80 lbs. in the match, scored first on an unsportsmanlike call against Hemmesch in the first. After an escape tied it up in the second, Avalon scored on a takedown to take a 3- 1 lead. The UVU sophomore then kept Hemmesch at bay, only allowing another point on riding time, to win his match and the dual in dramatic fashion. Utah Valley is now 10-2 overall and (3-0 WWC). Avalon's season record is now 10-12 (3-3 duals) with all of his dual matchups coming at heavyweight. The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. Other nominees: Air Force - Karl Oeser, Fr., 184 lbs., Wichita, Kan. (Maize HS) North Dakota State - Gabriel Mooney, Sr., 141 lbs., Greenbush, Minn. (Greenbush-Middle River HS) Northern Colorado - Kenny Hashimoto, Jr., 141 lbs., Thornton, Colo. (Thornton HS) Northern Iowa - Alex Dolly, Sr., 184 lbs., Mishawaka, Ind. (Mishawaka HS) South Dakota State - Tyler Sorenson, Jr., 197 lbs., Garretson, S.D. (Garretson HS) Wyoming - Michael Martinez, R-Fr., 125 lbs., Pagosa Springs, Colo. (Pagosa Springs HS)

The 2009 World Team Trials, presented by the U.S. Marines, will be hosted at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, May 30-31. This event will determine the athletes who will represent the United States at the 2009 World Wrestling Championships in Herning, Denmark, Sept. 21-27. Competition will be held in the three Olympic styles of the sport: Greco-Roman, men's freestyle and women's freestyle. The Local Organizing Committee is the Council Bluffs Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We are very pleased that USA Wrestling is bringing the World Team Trials to Council Bluffs. We believe that this is one of a series of events that will put Council Bluffs on the national map," said Bob Mundt, President and CEO of the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce. "Wrestling is very popular in this area, and many World-class wrestlers come out of this region. We take great pride in our wrestling tradition." The nation's best Olympic-caliber wrestlers will be on display, including numerous past Olympic and World medalists, as well as collegiate national champions and All-Americans. Ticket prices have been established, including a number of discount programs for current USA Wrestling members. All-Session tickets cost $45 for adults and $30 for youth (high school and younger). However, current USA Wrestling youth members (high school and younger) can receive an All-Session ticket for just $15. The single day price is $30 for adults and $20 for youth (high school and younger). However, current USA Wrestling youth members (high school and younger) can receive a single day ticket for just $10. "USA Wrestling is excited to bring this outstanding event to Council Bluffs," said USA Wrestling National Events Director Pete Isais. "It is nice to form a partnership with the Council Bluffs CVB to provide discounts for USA Wrestling youth members. Our goal is to expose top international wrestling to more fans, with a focus on young athletes." USA Wrestling has hosted this popular event in the state of Iowa in the past. Most recently, the World Team Trials were held in Sioux City, Iowa in 2006 and in Ames, Iowa in 2005. Iowa and the surrounding Midwest states are considered a hotbed for amateur wrestling, with a strong fan following for the sport. Athletes must qualify to participate in the World Team Trials, through a series of qualifying events and performance standards. In addition to determining the athletes who will represent the United States at the 2009 World Championships, the World Team Trials will also identify the members of the U.S. national team for 2009-10 in all three styles. The top three athletes in each weight class are considered members of Team USA. In addition to the best wrestlers from all across the nation, there are expected to be numerous participants who are either natives of Iowa and Nebraska, or attended college in those two wrestling-rich states. Council Bluffs natives Trent and Travis Paulson, who were college wrestling stars at Iowa State, are among the nation's top freestyle wrestlers and are expected to compete in this event. The Paulsons attended Lewis Central High School, and are currently training for their international careers at the Univ. of Nebraska in Lincoln. Numerous other athletes with a strong local connection are expected to participate. For more information on this exciting event and other USA Wrestling programs, please visit TheMat.com (www.TheMat.com) WORLD TEAM TRIALS, presented by the U.S. Marines At Council Bluffs, Iowa, May 30-31 SATURDAY, MAY 30 Men's Freestyle: 60 KG, 74 KG, and 96 KG Greco-Roman: 55 KG, 74 KG, 84 KG, and 120 KG Women's Freestyle: 51 KG, 59 KG, 67 KG and 72 KG 9:00 am – 11:30 am - Session I - Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and Consolations 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm - Session II - Semifinals, Consolations, Consolation Semifinals and Challenge Tournament Finals 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm - Session III – Final World Team Trials and Third Place Matches SUNDAY, MAY 31 Men's Freestyle: 55 KG, 66 KG, 84 KG and 120 KG Greco-Roman: 60 KG, 66 KG, and 96 KG Women's Freestyle: 48 KG, 55 KG, and 63 KG 9:00 am – 11:30 am - Session I - Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and Consolations 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm - Session II - Semifinals, Consolations, Consolation Semifinals and Challenge Tournament Finals 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm - Session III – Final World Team Trials and Third Place Matches, followed by the presentation of the 2009 U.S. World Championship teams

Cornell University head wrestling coach Rob Koll and three-time All-American Gregor Rob Koll and Gregor Gillespie will be the featured guests on Wrestling 411 Radio on Tuesday, Feb. 10. This Tuesday's edition of Wrestling 411 Radio will air at 7 p.m. CST. The show can be heard live by visiting www.wrestling411.tv and clicking on the "Listen Live" link. An archive of the broadcast will be available immediately following the show. Koll is in his 16th season as the head wrestling coach at Cornell University. His teams have consistently placed in the top ten at the NCAA tournament, including top five finishes in 2004 and 2005. Cornell is currently ranked third in the nation with an 8-2 record for the season. Gillespie, a senior at Edinboro University, is currently ranked first in the nation at 157 pounds. A three-time All-American, including an NCAA title at 149 pounds in 2007, Gillespie has compiled a 31-0 season record. He is 142-10 during his career at Edinboro. Wrestling 411 Radio can be heard live by visiting www.wrestling411.tv. Questions for any of the guests are welcome. You may e-mail your questions to Kyle Klingman at kklingman@mediasportsproductions.com.

Doug and Mack Reiter will be radio show guests this week "On the Mat" on Wednesday, February 11. Doug is the father of the ultra-successful Reiter brothers who have competed at Don Bosco High School in Gilbertville, IA, since the 1997-1998 season. Joe, Mack, Eddie and Bart Reiter have combined to win eight individual state championships and 14 state medals over the last 11 years. Bart is currently a senior and wrestling at 135 pounds for Don Bosco High School and is seeking to win his fourth state championship in Des Moines, IA on Saturday, February 21. If Bart wins his fourth title, the Reiter's will become the first family in Iowa history to have two brothers win four state championships. Bart has committed to continue his wrestling career at University of Minnesota. Only the Gibbons family (Ames/Waterloo Columbus, 10) and Light family (Lisbon, 9) have won more Iowa state titles. Don Bosco is ranked number one in the state in Class 1A and is the favorite to win the traditional and dual state championships for the fourth year in a row. Mack Reiter was a four-time state champion from 2000-2003 where he compiled a record of 182-3 with 134 falls. He went on to the University of Minnesota where he was a three-time All-American at 133 pounds and won an NCAA team championship in 2007. Mack is currently a graduate assistant at Minnesota and aspires to become a Division I athletics director. "On the Mat" can be heard live on the internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 - 6:00 PM Central time on AM 1650, The Fan. Feel free to e-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show.

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -- The top-ranked Hawkeye wrestling team picked up their 20th season win Sunday afternoon when they pounded #22 Penn State, 31-6, at Rec Hall in University Park, PA. Iowa (20-0, 4-0 Big Ten) won eight of the 10 matches to score its 34th straight dual win. Penn State fell to 7-10-2 (0-4-2) in front of over 5,000 fans. Iowa started the dual at 165 pounds, jumping out to a 16-0 lead with wins at the first four weights. Third-ranked junior Ryan Morningstar rebounded from his loss Friday night at Michigan State with a 5-4 win over #20 Dan Vallimont at 165. Iowa sophomore Colby Covington followed with a 3-2 upset over #16 Quentin Wright at 174, recording his first dual win in a Hawkeye singlet. Covington was wrestling for injured Hawkeye starter Jay Borschel. Third-ranked junior Phillip Keddy posted his 65th career win and his 10th straight victory with a 25-10 technical fall in 6:59 over Jack Decker at 184. Keddy remains undefeated in dual competition (20-0) and has a 23-1 season mark. Iowa junior Chad Beatty, who is ranked 18th at 197, scored his second pin of the season - sticking J.R. Brown in 5:26. Penn State freshman heavyweight Cameron Wade used a significant weight advantage to beat Iowa redshirt freshman Brodie Ambrose, 4-0. Ambrose, who was wrestling up a weight class for injured starter Dan Erekson, is a 197-pounder for the Hawkeyes. Iowa bounced back to take the next four weights and seal the team win. Senior Charlie Falck controlled his 125-pound match with #13 Brad Pataky, posting a 9-3 win. Falck, who is ranked fourth in the nation with a 17-1 record and 15-0 dual mark, snapped Pataky's six-match winning streak and extended his own to five. Junior Daniel Dennis posted his second big win of the weekend with a 6-3 decision over #9 Jake Strayer at 133. Dennis, who jumped to the top of the 133-pound rankings last week, is on a six-match winning streak and is 21-2. Second-ranked Alex Tsirtsis followed a 141 with a 6-2 win over Frank Molinaro to improve to 20-2 (17-1 in duals) this season. Top-ranked Brent Metcalf posted his fifth straight pin and 57th straight victory at 149 when he decked Penn State's Colby Pisani in 2:18 at 149. Pisani was wrestling for injured Penn State starter Bubba Jenkins, who is ranked second in the nation. Metcalf picked up his 60th career win with the victory and is 25-0 this season. Penn State closed out the dual at 157 with Tim Darling's 5-4 victory over Hawkeye sophomore Matt Ballweg. With only two weeks of competition remaining in the 2008-09 regular season, Iowa will host its finals Big Ten duals next weekend in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes will host #25 Purdue (11-3-1, 0-2-1 Big Ten) Friday at 7 p.m. and #8 Minnesota (13-5, 3-1 Big Ten) Sunday at 2 p.m. The Iowa-Minnesota dual will be aired live on Iowa Public Television and taped delay on the Big Ten Network at 7 p.m.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team rebounded from an early deficit to win the final six individual bouts and claim a dominant 28-7 victory over intrastate Michigan State on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 8) at Jenison Field House. The Wolverines won eight total matches, earning bonus in two, to improve to 3-0-1 against Big Ten Conference competition. Despite a pair of losses in the opening four matches, Michigan set the early tone in the dual to reclaim the lead for good at the halftime intermission. Senior Michael Watts (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) and junior/sophomore Aaron Hynes (Mt. Morris, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS) rallied from deficits to capture pivotal decisions at 125 and 157 pounds, respectively, and put the Wolverines in control of the contest. Watts gave up the first takedown against the Spartans' Eric Olanowski in the opening bout but reeled off seven consecutive points to claim the 7-2 decision. The Wolverine senior, ranked 17th in the latest NWCA/InterMat poll, evened the score with a quick escape in the second and immediately squared up and shot in deep on a single leg for his first and final lead. Watts used a three-point turn midway through the third to blow open the match and, fighting off a late scramble, held on to ride out the frame. Hynes had a similar deficit to make up late in the 157-pound contest, trailing by two after MSU's Anthony Jones controlled the opening two frames with three low single legs. The Wolverine wrestler immediately cut Jones loose to extend the gap and quickly shot in on a single leg. Jones spun around and nearly scored, but Hynes rolled to catch him, putting to the Spartan wrestler back for three points and his first lead of the match. Jones came to his feet in the waning seconds, but Hynes used a hard return to put an exclamation point on a 9-7 decision. Sophomore Kellen Russell (High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy), ranked fifth nationally at 141 pounds, picked up Michigan's other win in the first half of the dual, controlling from start to finish en route to a 5-2 decision against Collin Dozier. The Spartan wrestler initiated the first attack, shooting in on a single leg, but Russell scrambled to the top position to gain the advantage. He added a reversal off of a standing switch early in the second and rode out the entirety of the third, using a series of hard returns to maintain control and accumulate 2:49 in time advantage. The win was Russell's 14th in a row. Michigan carried the momentum out of the break and was the dominant team for the remainder of the dual. Sophomore/freshman Justin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) earned his fifth dual win of the season with a 3-0 shutout against Rex Kendle at 165 pounds. The Wolverine wrestler controlled the pace through a scoreless first period and took the only lead he needed on a reversal midway through the second. Zeerip rode out the entirety of the final period, accumulating 2:10 in time advantage to avenge his loss to Kendle in the last meeting between the pair -- at last season's EMU Open. Fifth-year senior captain Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS), the nation's top-ranked 174-pounder, converted on six takedowns -- four in the first period -- against Ian Hinton en route to a 15-4 major decision. All of Luke's takedowns were single legs and all came on the edge of the mat, where Hinton took up residence for much of the match, inducing three stalling calls. The Wolverine captain rode out the third period, building 4:05 in time advantage, to improve to 20-0 on the season. Junior/sophomore Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) also spent much of his match in the top position, earning 3:18 in riding-time advantage to cap a 10-5 decision against Nick Palmieri. Biondo, ranked 13th nationally, struck with a quick first-period takedown and, despite giving up a late reversal, held onto a two-point edge after an escape and two MSU stalling calls. The Spartan wrestler scored out of a flurry midway through the second period to even the score, but Biondo controlled the remainder of the match with a reversal and third-period takedown. Palmieri spoiled Biondo's attempt at the major with a pair of late shots and subsequent stalemates as the Wolverine settled for the decision and his third straight win in Big Ten action. Fifth-year senior captain Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) made little work of the Spartans' Tyler Dickinson in the 197-pound match, using a nearwrist-head scoop combination to secure the fall at the 1:41 mark. Todd struck immediately on a single-leg takedown before going to work on top, eventually threading the needle to earn his sixth pin -- and 10th bonus win -- in 15 matches this season. Junior/sophomore Eddie Phillips (Woodland, Mich./Lakewood HS) knocked off a familiar foe in the final bout at heavyweight, defeating high school teammate Alan O'Donnell, 3-1, midway through the sudden-victory overtime. After the two wrestlers traded escapes and little else through regulation, O'Donnell secured the first scoring opportunity of the overtime frame, shooting deep on a single leg. He lifted the leg high and drove it to the edge of the mat in an attempt to finish but ran out of room as the wrestlers moved off the mat. Just seconds later Phillips converted on the same move, using double underhooks to set up a single leg and, this time, finishing it on the edge of the mat. Today's dual meet will be aired via same-day tape-delay at 9 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. The dual will re-air on Tuesday (Feb. 10) at 1 p.m. The Wolverines will return home next weekend to host a pair of Big Ten Conference meetings against rival Ohio State and Penn State. U-M will face the Buckeyes at 7 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 13), before squaring off against the Nittany Lions at 7 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 14). Both matches will be held at Cliff Keen Arena.

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Claiming six champions to go along with 18 placewinners, the Augsburg College wrestling team split its squad to compete at the St. John's University North Country Open and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Invitational on Saturday. The Auggies had three champions, one runner-up and 10 placewinners at the North Country Open, while claiming three champions, two runners-up and eight placewinners in winning the 11-team Wisconsin-Eau Claire Invitational. Augsburg is the top-ranked team in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national rankings. Willy Holst (SR, Prescott, Wis.), ranked No. 1 nationally at 149 pounds, collected four first-period pins -- including two pins of under one minute -- to win his weight-class title at the North Country Open. Holst is now 20-1 on the season with seven pins. At 197, No. 2-ranked Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) scored two pins among his four wins, including a 30-second pin in the championship match, to win his weight class at the North Country Open. Massey is now 21-1 on the season. Heavyweight Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.), ranked No. 7 nationally, improved to 26-6 on the season with three wins to claim his weight class. At the Wisconsin-Eau Claire meet, Jason Adams (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.), ranked No. 5 nationally at 157, claimed his weight class with four bonus-point wins -- a pin, technical fall and two major decisions. Adams is now 31-5 on the season. Zach Hansen (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.) scored the 149-pound championship at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire meet with three victories, as did heavyweight Tyson Barrett (JR, Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka HS). Tony Valek (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West), ranked No. 6 nationally at 141, finished in second place in his weight class at the North Country Open, as did Zach Molitor (SO, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS), ranked No. 7 nationally at 174, and Orlando Ponce (SO, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS) at 165 at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire meet. Seth Flodeen (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn.), ranked No. 5 nationally at 125, placed third in his weight class at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire meet, as did Kris Krier (SR, Woodbury, Minn.) at 184. Jake Grygelko (JR, Loretto, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) placed third for the Auggies at the North Country Open. Augsburg closes its dual-meet season next Friday (2/13) at 7 p.m., with a match at No. 10-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Lincoln –-- The Nebraska wrestling team spotted Oklahoma a 15-3 lead headed into intermission, but the fourth-ranked Huskers claimed the final five matches of the night to earn an 18-15 dual win over No. 14 Oklahoma in Norman on Sunday. NU stayed perfect in Big 12 action with a 3-0 mark and 15-2-1 overall, while the Sooners fell to 1-3 in the conference and 15-3 overall. Redshirt freshman Tucker Lane started the dual with a win for the Huskers, defeating Nathan Fernandez, 3-1, at heavyweight. Lane, ranked No. 19 in the nation, exchanged escapes with No. 16 Fernandez, before earning the winning takedown with 38 seconds left in the match. OU captured the next four matches from 125 to 149, including a major decision and a tech fall, to take a 15-3 lead headed into the intermission. It was all Nebraska after the break, though, as Jordan Burroughs started the comeback at 157 pounds against Chad Terry. Burroughs was held scoreless through the first period and the majority of the second before earning his first takedown with under a minute left in the period. He added three more takedowns in the final period to pull away, 9-4, and now stands six takedowns short of breaking the dual takedown record (98) he set last season. Stephen Dwyer posted a 4-0 decision over Ryan Smith at 165, by riding the Sooner out in the second period. Dwyer notched a quick escape in the final period and earned the only takedown of the match with 37 seconds left. In the only matchup with two top-10 wrestlers, third-ranked Brandon Browne used a reversal in the second period to score the first points in his match with No. 7 Jeff James. The Sooner escaped so start the third to tie the match at two, but Browne posted two third-period takedowns to take the 6-3 win. Vince Jones tied the dual at 15 with his 3-0 decision over No. 19 Pat Flynn at 184 pounds. For the second time in the past three duals, Jones rode his opponent the entire second period and used an early escape in the third for the win. After winning the Missouri dual on Jan. 31 for NU with a decision, Craig Brester accomplished the feat again, this time topping No. 11 Eric Lapotsky with a 5-2 decision to give NU the 18-15 victory. Brester ended the first period with a late takedown and escaped in the second, but Lapotsky notched a quick escape of his own in the third to cut the lead to 3-1. Brester posted the winning takedown with 1:39 left to rebound from his loss last Thursday. Nebraska continues with two road duals next Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Huskers face UNC Greensboro at 6:30 p.m. CT and square off with North Carolina at 8 p.m. CT. Huskers.com will provide a full preview of the duals on Thursday.

The eighth-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team salvaged a weekend split Sunday afternoon by downing the No. 16 Northwestern Wildcats 18-16 at the Sports Pavilion. Major decisions from Ben Berhow, Jayson Ness and Scott Glasser helped Minnesota avenge a Big Ten loss to Michigan on Friday and improved to 4-1 in the conference. The victory was Minnesota's ninth straight dual meet win over the Wildcats – the Gophers have not lost to Northwestern head-to-head since 1996. Glasser got things started on the right foot for the Gophers. He handily defeated Kyle Bertin by a 12-3 major decision in the 165-pound match, improving his season mark to 19-11 and putting the Gophers up 4-0. Back-to-back losses at 174 and 184 pounds put Minnesota back in a hole, however. Redshirt freshman Kaleb Young and Northwestern's Robert Kellogg went to a sudden-victory overtime period tied 3-3 in the 174-pound bout, but a Kellogg takedown just 38 seconds into the frame gave the Wildcats a victory in the match by a 5-3 decision. Fellow redshirt freshman Sonny Yohn had a tall order at 184, as he matched up against top-ranked and undefeated Jake Herbert. Yohn held his own during the first period, trailing just 4-1 after three minutes, but the 2007 NCAA champion soon took over and cruised to a 16-5 major decision. Herbert improved to 23-0 on the season and has not lost since the 2006 NCAA title match. Trailing 7-4 in the meet, Minnesota needed clutch performances by upper weight wrestlers Gordon Bierschenk (197) and No. 19 Berhow (heavyweight). Bierschenk delivered in a thrilling way against Northwestern's Jake Schoen, using a late second period takedown to grab a 3-2 lead and then holding on during the final frame to claim the victory. Berhow made short work of Paul Rands in the heavyweight match, scoring six takedowns and a nearfall en route to a 16-5 major decision win. Minnesota led 11-7 at the meet's halfway point. The meet's marquee match-up came at 125 pounds between the Gophers' No. 7 Zach Sanders and No. 3 Brandon Precin. The pair, which entered the match with a combined 43-2 record on the season, battled through an epic match. An early nearfall propelled Precin to a big 6-0 lead early in the third period. Sanders, however, managed to tie the match at seven apiece with a last-second three-point nearfall. Precin desperately avoided the pin in the waning seconds of the match to win 8-7 on the strength of the bonus riding time point. No. 4 Ness continued his winning ways by sound defeating Eric Metzler by a 12-4 major decision at 133 pounds. Eighth-ranked Mike Thorn also notched a very business-like 5-1 decision over his ranked opponent, No. 16 Keith Sulzer. The light weight victories staked Minnesota to an 18-10 lead. Needing only to avoid major bonus points in the final two matches to gain the team victory, the Gophers held on despite losses by Joe Grygelko (4-3 to Andrew Nahdir at 149 pounds) and No. 17 Tyler Safratowich (10-3 to #14 Jason Welch at 157). The victory improved Minnesota's record to 14-5 overall. The Gophers travel to Madison Friday to take on No. 17 Wisconsin and then head down to Iowa to tackle the top-ranked and defending national champion Hawkeyes Sunday. Sunday's meet will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network beginning at 2 p.m.

BLACKSURG, Va. -- In front of a school-record crowd of 1,763 fans, the 13th-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling squad overcame the flu and won key matches with bonus points to down defending ACC champion Maryland 22-15 on Sunday night at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. With the win, the Hokies move to 18-1 on the season and 3-0 in the ACC, while the Terrapins dropped to 7-8-1 and 2-2 in the conference. "It was good to get out of there with a win, especially with the caliber of program that Maryland has," Tech head coach Kevin Dresser said. "We did not talk about it much publicly, but six of our 10 guys had the flu this week. All of them sucked it up and wrestled. To get the win, considering the week we had, we will take it." Freshman Jarrod Garnett, ranked 14th at 125 pounds, started the duel strong for Tech taking a 10-5 decision from Brendan Byrne of Maryland. Freshman Brock LiVorio, at 133 pounds and sophomore Chris Diaz, at 141 pounds, fell to 11th-ranked Steven Bell and 11th-ranked Alex Krom of Maryland, respectively, by major decision, as the Terrapins took the team lead 8-3. The Hokies battled back though, behind freshman Pete Yates, ranked 20th at 149 pounds, who dominated the Terrapins' Dex Lederer. Yates scored seven take downs in the second period, the last coming at the 4:44 mark of the match, to earn a technical fall over Lederer, who suffered an ankle injury in the first period. A 6-2 decision by Maryland's Kyle John over freshman Jesse Dong at 157 pounds briefly gave the Terrapins the lead at 11-8, but sophomore Matt Epperly scored a late take down in the third period over Brian Letters at 165 pounds to win 3-1 and even the team scoring up at 11 apiece. Tech would win three of the final four matches to secure the victory over Maryland. Freshman Anthony Trongone and sophomore Tommy Spellman both earned major decisions over their opponents at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively. Sophomore D.J. Bruce competed well against 10th-ranked Hudson Taylor of Maryland at 197 pounds, but fell 11-3. Heavyweight David Marone responded for the Hokies, though. The Broomfield, Colo., native registered an early take down and rode the momentum to victory, sealing the duel for Tech with a 4-2 decision over Patrick Gilmore of Maryland. Marone's victory gave the Hokies a 22-15 win over the Terrapins. The 1,763 fans in attendance broke the old attendance record of 1,638, with Bud Foster, defensive coordinator for the Hokie football team, sitting on the bench as honorary coach. The Hokies also honored several other Tech programs in attendance. Tech will return to the mat on Feb. 15 against Duke. The Blue Devils 8-3 overall with a 1-2 record in conference matches. Results will be available on hokiesports.com after the duel.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The No. 3 Big Red wrestling team won its second match of the day after picking up a 27-12 victory over Hofstra on Sunday night. Sophomore DJ Meagher and senior Jordan Leen won by fall to pick up valuable bonus points for Cornell. The Big Red moves to 8-2 for the season. No. 2 ranked Troy Nickerson opened the day for the Big Red at 125 against Pride freshman No. 20 Steve Bonanno. Nickerson scored the only point of the first period with a takedown with a minute left, and the Big Red wrestler rode his opponent out for the remainder. Bonanno started the second period down on the mat and after 30 seconds, he made an escape. With 31 seconds left in the period, Nickerson took a 4-1 lead with another takedown. Nickerson grabbed another point with an escape from his opening down position and with 1:13 left in the match scored another takedown. Nickerson quickly let his opponent loose looking for team bonus points with a major decision. The Big Red wrestler caught his opponent with four seconds left on the clock for a takedown and with 1:44 in riding time, Nickerson won a 10-2 major decision. With the win Nickerson moves to 12-0 for the season. At 133 pounds, No. 12 Mike Grey faced off against No. 8 Lou Ruggirello of Hofstra. The two wrestlers traded scoring opportunities throughout the first period, but neither was able to pull through until with six seconds left on the clock, Ruggirello notched a takedown. Grey chose to start the second period down on the mat, but was unable to escape allowing Ruggirello to rack up 2:04 in riding time. Grey cut Ruggirello loose from his starting down position to start the third period looking to score. The Pride wrestler countered a shot by Grey and came out on top to go up 5-0 with the takedown. Grey was unable to get away and with 3:39 in riding time, Ruggirello won a 6-0 decision. Sophomore Corey Manson squared off against Justin Accordino at 141 pounds. Manson and Accordino scrambled 30 seconds into the period and the Big Red wrestler came out on top to take a 2-0 lead. Accordino rolled away from Manson for an escape, but with 52 seconds left on the clock the Big Red grappler grabbed his opponent's leg and pulled him to the mat for another two points. With 30 seconds left in the period, Accordino rolled out and grabbed Manson for a reversal. Thirteen seconds later, Manson got to his feet and broke away for an escape. Accordino escaped from his initial down position to start the second, and with 1:41 left in the period Manson notched another takedown. Accordino escaped, but with 55 seconds left in the period the Pride wrestler got hold of Manson. Accordino caught him in a bad position allowing the Hofstra grappler to catch him on his back to win by fall in 4:05. With the six team bonus points, the Pride took a 9-4 lead. At 149 pounds, sophomore DJ Meagher wrestled Jeff Rotella. Meagher earned a takedown at the edge of the mat with a little less than a minute off the clock. The Big Red wrestler rode out his opponent for a minute before tilting him to his back. Meagher grabbed back six team points for the Big Red, winning by fall in 2:06. At 157 pounds, returning NCAA champion Jordan Leen faced No. 16 Jonny Bonilla-Bowman. Bonilla-Bowman came out quick in the first period looking to score early, but neither wrestler was able to convert on chances and the two were scoreless after three minutes. The Pride wrestler chose to start the second period at neutral. Leen got hold of one of Bonilla-Bowman's legs with 30 seconds left in the period and earned the first points of the bout with a takedown. Leen quickly escaped from his starting down position in the third period, and with a quick turn grabbed two more points with a takedown. Bonilla-Bowman got to his feet with Leen holding on, and two fell back to the mat. The Pride wrestler took injury time, but quickly returned to the mat. With 1:13 left in the period, Leen titled his opponent to earn three back points and was looking for more. Leen earned six more points for the Big Red, winning by fall in 6:44. After an intermission break, No. 1 ranked Mack Lewnes faced Ryan Patrovich at 165 pounds. Neither wrestler was able to score in the first period, and Patrovich earned the only point of the second with an escape from his starting down position. Lewnes tied the match with an initial escape of his own in the third period. Lewnes had a hold of one of Patrovich's legs and was looking to sweep him to the mat, but time ran out before he was able to finish. The two wrestlers traded scoring opportunities back and forth in the sudden victory round, but each countered out of their opponents shots. With four seconds left, Lewnes grabbed a hold of his opponent and took him to the mat to score the match-winning takedown to win a 3-1 decision. With the win, Cornell lengthened its lead to 19-9. At 174 pounds, No. 6 Steve Anceravage took on No. 10 Alton Lucas. Neither wrestler was able to score in the first period. Lucas chose to start the second period down on the mat, but was able to escape from Anceravage. Anceravage quickly escaped from his starting down position to score the only point of the third. With 1:58 in riding time, Anceravage won a 2-0 decision. Sophomore and No. 16 ranked Justin Kerber wrestled against Ben Clymer of Hofstra at 184 pounds. With a minute off the clock, Kerber earned the first points of the match with a takedown. After 19 seconds, Clymer grabbed his first point with an escape. Kerber started the second period down on the mat and quickly got to his feet for an escape. With 59 seconds left in the period, Kerber grabbed hold of one of Clymer's legs and fought his way to another takedown and rode his opponent out for the remainder of the period. Clymer chose to start the third period down on the mat, and after 30 seconds flipped out of Kerber's clutches for an escape to bring the score to 5-2. With 1:42 in riding time, Kerber won a 6-2 decision. With three more team points, Cornell took a 25-9 lead and locked up the dual victory. At 197 pounds, freshman Cam Simaz took the mat against Joe Fagiano. After a scoreless first period, Simaz grabbed the first point with an escape from his starting down position. With 1:17 left in the period, Simaz grabbed hold of one of Fagiano's legs and muscled his way to a takedown and racked up riding time as the period wound down. Simaz went on the attack after Faginano escaped from his opening down position looking for points. Simaz grabbed three more takedowns, but Fagiano fled from his opponent for the remaining 40 seconds to avoid a major. With 1:27 in riding time, Simaz won an 11-4 decision. Cornell took a 28-9 lead after 197 pounds, but the Big Red sideline was penalized a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct after the bout. At heavyweight, No. 12 Zach Hammond faced Jordan Enck. After a scoreless first period, Hammond escaped from his opening down position after 39 seconds. Enck tied the match in the third with a quick initial escape. Neither wrestler scored for the remainder of the match to send the bout into sudden victory. Despite solid scoring chances, the bout remained tied after a minute of sudden victory. Hammond started the first overtime down on the mat ,but after 30 seconds was unable to escape. Enck then started in the down position and quickly escaped to take a 2-1 lead and would win the match by a 2-1 decision. The Big Red will wrestle its final two home matches of the season next weekend when it plays host to Princeton on Feb. 14 and Penn on Feb. 15.

Atlantic City, NJ -- In what Guy Metzger from HD Net Fights called, "the fight of the night," and "the most entertaining fight to call," Paul Bradley won an impressive decision Friday night against Team Quest's Nathan Coy. In front of a packed house at Boardwalk Hall, Bradley used a vicious counter attack on his feet and some crushing leg kicks, to beat Coy at the inaugural World Cagefighting Alliance (WCA) event. The fight was a 3 round, stand up slugfest that only went to the ground 2 times during the entire fight for a combined 30 seconds. Bradley has improved to 10-0 in his professional MMA career and looked great after dropping down to his new weight class of 170. "I started my career at 205, dropped to 185, and now, after a few months of very strict dieting, felt awesome fighting at 170 pounds. At this weight, I am ready to take on any and all challengers. I really mean that. I feel that I am finally ready to get back to the biggest MMA stage in the world and, if the UFC is interested, I would fight for them tomorrow. I want to test myself against the best in the world."

PHILADELPHIA -- Penn upped its Ivy League record to 3-0 on Saturday with a pair of wins over Harvard (35-12) and Brown (34-6) in The Palestra. On Senior Day, graduating wrestler Andrew Coles made the most of his final home dual bouts in The Palestra with a pair of pins. He needed 2:10 to lock Bryan Panzano of Harvard's shoulders the mat. In his second bout against Bran Crudden of Brown, Coles registered the pin in 4:20. "I have been lucky to have the chance to wrestle this year," Coles said. "I have tried to take advantage of that and to come away with two pins in my final home meets is special." Penn had a total of four pins over the two meets. Trey McLean pinned Harvard's Spencer DeSena at 2:41 and Thomas Shovlin added a pin over Brown's Branden Stearns at 4:27. After a forfeit at 125 gave Penn a quick 6-0 lead against Harvard with a 5-3 decision over Thomas Picarsic at 133 pounds. Neither man scored in the first period and Picarsic scored first with a reversal midway through the second period. Ortenzio countered with a reversal of his own with 45 seconds left in the second frame, but Picarsic took a 3-2 lead with an escape before the whistle. Ortenzio evened the score with a quick escape in the third period and the two spent the rest of the period shooting for two points in hopes of avoiding overtime. It was Ortenzio who earned the hard-fought deuce with a shot at the end of the period, locking in two points with one second left. Zack Kemmerer defeated Johnny Motley at 141 pounds via technical fall, 19-3.Kemmerer scored backpoints in each period, with the two he earned in the final period after a takedown securing the bonus points for Penn. Walter Peppelman got Harvard on the board with an 8-4 win over Brett McCurdy at 149 pounds. Up next was the dual's marquee matchup between No. 18 Matt Dragon and No. 4 J.P. O'Connor at 157 pounds. Dragon had the chance for first scoring, shooting to the leg early on, but O'Connor was able to pull away before Dragon could lockup both legs. Dragon was again close on the edge of the mat near the scorers table, but could once again not control enough for two points and the two went to the second period scoreless. In the second, O'Connor chose bottom and scored the first point of the match on a technical violation to Dragon for fleeing the mat. O'Connor followed with two more on a reversal. Dragon got a point back with an escape near the end of the period and headed to the third down by two. Dragon chose bottom and was almost turned by O'Connor, but regained his position avoiding the nearfall. O'Connor rode tough for the rest of the period and his riding time advantage gave him the 4-1 decision, cutting Penn's lead to 14-6. After the first of Coles' two pins on the day at 165, Scott Giffin added more bonus points for Penn at 174 with a major decision over Andy Olsen, 15-6. No. 10 Louis Caputo won via disqualification over Colin Hitschler at 184 pounds, adding six more points to Harvard's score. Hitschler was DQ'd at the 6:59 mark of the match after his fourth penalty point of the match. Hitschler was penalized for unnecessary roughness in the first period followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty – the first two points of the match for either man. Caputo scored a point of his own at the start of the second period with an escape for a 3-0 lead. Hitschler then was hit with his second stalling warning which resulted in two points for Caputo. Hitschler managed an escape in the third period, but a second unnecessary roughness was enough for the disqualification right before the final buzzer. Thomas Shovlin ensured no momentum was carried over at 197 with a technical fall over Sean Murphy. Shovlin had a seven-point first period with a takedown and two nearfalls. He allowed Murphy to only score via escapes on his way to the 19-4 win. McLean closed out the match with his first-period pinfall over DeSena. McLean was up 5-1 at the time of the fall. After a ceremony honoring the nine seniors who will graduate from Penn in May, the Quakers again needed only three bouts to take a double-digit lead over its opponent, earning bonus points with major decisions from Ortenzio and Kemmerer to go with a decision win from Mark Rappo at 125. After those three bouts, Penn had an 11-0 lead. After Ricky Bailey got three back for Brown with a decision at 149, Penn won the next three bouts by a combined score of 13-0 to take a commanding 24-3 lead. Dragon defeated Bryan Tracy, 4-0, followed by Dragon's second fall of the day at 165. Giffin the put up his second major of the day with a 14-2 win at 174 over Bran Crudder. Hitschler took Matt Gevelinger to overtime, but could not complete the win at 184, falling, 6-4, in sudden victory. After Shovlin's fall at 197, McLean finished off another win with a 17-4 major over Zach Zdrada. Penn, 10-5, is back in action next weekend with a pair of Ivy matches in New York – against Columbia on Saturday and No. 3 Cornell on Sunday.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Facing a four-point deficit heading into the final bout of the night, Rutgers relied on heavyweight D.J. Russo (Netcong, N.J.) and the sophomore delivered, pinning Quinton Pruett to give the Scarlet Knights wrestling team a 19-17 come-from-behind victory over No. 21 American at the College Avenue Gymnasium Saturday evening. Russo's takedown in 3:06 ignited a celebration on the Scarlet Knights' bench and in the crowd of nearly 1,000 inside the gym. "D.J. has been doing great things for us all year and he came through again," said Rutgers head wrestling coach Scott Goodale. "It doesn't get any better than that when a heavyweight earns a pin to win the match. I was proud the way the guys hung tough and battled back. Anytime you can get a win against a strong program like American, that is special." The victory extends RU's school-record victory total to 19 as the Scarlet Knights improved to 19-5 on the season and 7-1 in the EIWA. Rutgers also handed American its first loss in the conference as the Eagles fell to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the EIWA. The Scarlet Knights posted their eighth victory in their past nine dual meets and handed the Eagles their first loss in five matches. Down 17-13 entering the evening's final bout at heavyweight, Russo jumped out on top early and pinned Pruett in 3:06 to give the Scarlet Knights' their first lead of the evening and the lead at the end. American jumped out to an early 6-0 lead with victories in the first two bouts at 125 and 133 pounds. American's Thomas Williams escaped with a 6-4 decision over RU's Matt Fusco (Belleville, N.J.) at 125 pounds before American's Jasen Borshoff posted an 8-2 decision over Rutgers' Mike DeMarco (Lyndhurst, N.J.) at 133 pounds. Freshman Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.) picked up the Scarlet Knights' first victory of the match, earning a 10-5 decision over American's Matt Mariacher at 141 pounds to cut the lead in half. Rutgers and American traded major decisions at 149 and 157 with a pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers on the winning end. At 149 pounds, American's Kyle Borshoff, ranked 12th nationally, posted an 11-0 major decision over RU's Kellen Bradley (Newton, N.J.). The Scarlet Knights got those four points right back at 157 pounds when freshman Scott Winston (Jackson, N.J.), ranked 11th nationally, used a two-point takedown as time expired in the bout to earn a 9-1 major decision over Patrick Graham to cut the Eagles' lead back to three points. Winston added to his team-leading victory total with his 33rd win of the season – one of the best in the nation. RU continued its momentum in the next bout with senior Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) earning a 6-3 decision over American's Christopher Stout at 165 pounds to tie the match up at 10-10 through six bouts. Pletcher's win was the 71st of his career, moving him into a tie a tie for 23rd place on the Rutgers all-time wins chart. He is 71-43 in his career. The Eagles' Mike Cannon, ranked second in the nation, put American back on top with a 14-2 major decision at 174 pounds. The Scarlet Knights came right back with a 4-1 decision by McPaul Ogbonna (East Hanover, N.J.) over American's Andy Semple at 184 pounds to draw within one point at 14-13. American built a four-point lead as Andrew Silber earned a 7-2 decision over Mahmoud at 197 pounds prior to set up the final-bout dramatics. Prior to the match, the Scarlet Knights honored their three seniors – Karim Mahmoud (Wallington, N.J.), Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) and Mike Whalen (Lake Hiawatha, N.J.) – in a special ceremony. The Scarlet Knights will travel to Annapolis, Md. next Friday to face Navy at 7:00 p.m.

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Title wins by seniors Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) and Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.), along with rookie Luke Rebertus (Elkton, Md.) helped lead the Navy wrestling team to the 2009 USAA All-Academy Championship team title Saturday evening at Cocke Hall in Lexington, Va. It's the eighth time Navy has claimed the team crown in the 15-year history of the tournament and the fifth time in the last six years. Navy, who placed nine of its 10 competitors, finished the tournament with a 15-point advantage over second-place Army, who a year ago snapped the Mids' four-year All-Academy winning streak. Army, who led all teams with five individual champions, earned 90 points, better than 20 points more than The Citadel, who finished third with 69.5 points. Navy has won 53 individual crowns in All-Academy Championship history, including 27 of the 60 titles over the last five years. The Mids won the team title in 1995, `97, `99, `04, `05, `06, `07 and `09, while they have claimed five or more individual titles in 1997, `99, `04, `05, `07 and in `08. "Overall I thought it was a balanced effort by our wrestlers," said ninth-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We struggled a little bit against Army head-to-head, so we've got our work cut out for us in preparing for that dual in a few weeks. But it was a great opportunity for us to get back out there on the mat and find some success as we close in on the conference and national tournaments." Baker, who is ranked 10th in the nation at 133 pounds, dominated the competition from start to finish, as he became only the fifth Navy wrestler to win three or more individual titles at the All-Academy championship, joining the likes of Greg Gingeleskie (1997-98-99), Mark Conley (2000-01-02), Tanner Garrett (2004-05-06) and Matt Stolpinski (2005-06-07-08). The 2008 All-American turned in back-to-back technical falls against Air Force's Derek Gillespie and The Citadel's Phil Greene before pinning third-seeded Phil Greene of the Merchant Marine Academy at 3:43 in the title bout. Baker also won tournament titles in 2006 and `08. "Joe looked really good today," said Burnett, who has seen Baker's career ravaged by injuries. "He was clearly the better wrestler in each of his bouts and continues to battle his way back." Rebertus, meanwhile, became one of only a handful of Navy wrestlers to win an All-Academy title in his freshman season. As the tournament's top seed at 174 pounds, Rebertus pinned the Coast Guard's Kevin Robinson in the opening round and followed up by posting a 16-2 major decision over fourth-seeded Erik Schott of the Merchant Marine Academy. Not only did the Navy rookie pick up a 10-2 major decision over No. 2 seed J.C. Oddo of The Citadel in the championship match, he joined an elite group of Navy freshmen who have reached 30 wins. He is now one of only four Navy freshman to achieve 30 wins, joining John Reich (30 in 1979-80), Tyrone Neal (37 in 1998-99) and teammate Bryce Saddoris who picked up 35 wins a year ago. Rebertus, who is 20th in the country in his weight class, also extended Navy's stronghold at the 174-pound weight class, as Stolpinski won four consecutive titles from 2005-08. "I was happy for Luke to win as a freshman," said Burnett. "I think he's finally getting back into competition shape after tweaking his knee a few weeks ago." Earning his first All-Academy title was Caldwell at 184 pounds, who has produced a 27-11 record in his final season at the Academy. The top-seeded wrestler in the weight class, Caldwell earned back-to-back bonus point wins to reach the finals. He opened with a 21-6 win over Norwich's Jordan Ferguson and continued on by defeating Brian Hurley of The Citadel, 12-4. After Air Force's unseeded Brett Boyce knocked off second-seeded Jon Drew of Army in the semis, Caldwell dismissed Boyce in the finals, 7-3, to claim his first collegiate title. "It was a workman's effort by Casey today," added Burnett. "Casey isn't a flashy wrestler, he just continues to come back at you. He looked solid in all of his matches." An additional four wrestlers earned appearances in championship bouts, but came up just short of winning the title. Rookie Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore.) squeezed past VMI's Johnathan Pope in the opening round, 9-8, before flattening Air Force's Andrew Zwirlein's shoulders to the mat and picking up his 13th pin of the season. With the pin, Garner moves into sole possession of ninth on the Mids' single-season falls list, the most by a lightweight wrestler in school history. Garner, who was the top-seeded wrestler heading into the competition, was edged in the finals by third-seeded Tyler Sim of The Citadel by a 7-5 count. Junior 141-pounder Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) also lost a heartbreaker, falling to Army's Casey Thome, 3-1, in the championship. Pagan, who has gained the confidence of Burnett in recent weeks, earned an 11-3 major decision over VMI's David Yost in the opener and moved into the finals after handing third-seeded James Beshada a 6-1 loss in the semis. In perhaps the most exciting match of the evening, Army's Matt Kyler managed to upset Navy sophomore Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) at 149 pounds. Saddoris, ranked sixth in the country, easily made his way to the finals after posting a 19-1 technical fall over Air Force's Alec Williams followed by a pin against No. 4 seed Pierre Frazile of The Citadel. Kyler, meanwhile, found his way to the finals by way of back-to-back falls. The aggressor throughout the match, Saddoris was turned on a counter-offense move, giving Kyler, ranked 11th nationally, the extra points needed to win his second straight All-Academy title. With his pair of wins at the tournament, Saddoris has matched his win total from a year ago, and with 35 victories, he stands tied for 12th on the Mids' single-season wins list. Senior Philip Neese (Lexington, S.C.) fought his way to a second-place finish at 197 pounds and put up a solid performance in the championship bout. Neese turned back VMI's Ronnie Ellsworth in the opening round, 8-2, and followed up with a semifinal victory over Air Force's James Ciccone, who had upset the third seed in the preliminaries. Neese, though, could not get ahead in the finals, as 20th-ranked Richard Starks of Army picked up his second consecutive All-Academy crown. Earning a third-place finish at 165 pounds was second-year standout Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.), who finished the day with a 3-1 record. DeMichiel opened the day on a positive note with an 11-3 victory over VMI's Matthew Brock. However, top-seeded Steve Crozier of Air Force was able to slip past his Navy foe, 8-6, sending DeMichiel to the consolation bracket. DeMichiel pinned Army's Mike Gorman to earn an opportunity to face The Citadel's Derek Sickel in the third-place bout. It was a rematch of the Dec. 18 match at the Reno Tournament of Champions where Sickel absolutely man-handled DeMichiel en route to a 14-3 major decision. This time around, it was DeMichiel who owned Sickel, winning the match, 5-1. "I was really proud of Matt and how he battled back after losing what was a good match against a quality wrestler," said Burnett. "He lost to Sickel pretty badly earlier this year and he could have easily packed it in. He responded exactly how you'd hope a wrestler would and challenged himself to go right after the win." Finally, Navy senior heavyweight Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.) placed fourth after dropping a heartbreaker to The Citadel's Aaron Brown in sudden victory (3-1). The only weight class the Mids did not place in was at 157 pounds, where senior Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) was forced to withdraw after suffering a concussion in his semifinal match against fourth-seeded Connor Keating of Norwich. Navy's seniors will wrestle for the final time in their careers at Halsey Field House when the Midshipmen play host to EIWA foe Rutgers on Friday evening. Action is set for 7:00 pm at Halsey Field House

BUFFALO -- Before the match, the Alumni Arena was filled with the sound of Guns and Roses "Welcome to the Jungle." Less than nine minutes later, Buffalo probably wanted to rethink their song choice. Kent State won eight of 10 matches, including bonus points at 133,184 and 285-pound weight classes in a 31-7 win over the Bulls Saturday night in New York Starting at 125, sophomore Nic Bedelyon got the Golden Flashes rolling with a 6-3 decision over Dan Bishop. Bedelyon recorded the first period takedown and rode Bishop out to end the period. In the second, he chose down and Bishop drained Bedelyon's advantage and even tied the score with two back points. However, Bedelyon took the lead for good with a reversal and a third-period takedown. Before the match, head coach Jim Andrassy warned about Buffalo trying to slow the match down. At 133, junior redshirt Danny Mitcheff would take the fight to UB's Taylor Golba. Recording the takedown seconds into the match, Mitcheff added two three-point near falls before recording the fall 2:39 into the match. KSU led 9-0. The match at 141 remained scoreless after one, but fifth-year senior Drew Lashaway got the takedown in the second and quickly over-matched freshman Mark Lewandowski. Lashaway started on defense in the second and quickly opened a 5-0 lead with an escape and takedown. In the third, Lewandoski started down and escaped to prevent the goose-egg, but Lashway won 6-1 on more than two-minutes of riding time. Buffalo ended the three-match skid at 149 when redshirt junior Jeremy Depoy fell 16-5 to 21st-ranked Desi Green. The Golden Flashes maintained the 12-4 advantage. The match was scoreless after one period at 157, but redshirt freshman Ross Tice quickly exerted his dominance in the second. Starting on offense, Tice rode Buffalo's John Martin-Cannon the whole time and added a cradle to for a 3-0 lead into the third. Cannon added a late takedown, but it was too little too late as Tice tallied two escapes in the final stanza and added the riding point for the 6-2 decision. Two third-period takedowns by redshirt junior Obie Simpson proved to be the difference at 165. Buffalo's Ron Majerus rode Simpson the entire second period and essentially went up 2-0 after an escape to begin the third. Simpson tied the match with a takedown but Majerus quickly escaped to take a 3-2 lead with the riding point intact. Majerus looked as if he would win with riding, but Simpson had other plans. With less than 10 seconds remaining, Majerus backed up and Simpson completed his shot for the 4-3 win. Kent State led 18-4. It took three extra periods at 174, but Buffalo's Nate Rock got the winnng takedown for the 4-2 (TB) win. Redshirt freshman and 5th-ranked Dustin Kilgore clinched the match with a dominating 11-1 win at 184. Kilgore fought for three takedowns and added an escape to race out to a 7-1 lead. He clinched the major with a cradle and three back points in the final 10 seconds to get the 11-1 major over 27th-ranked Micky Moran of Buffalo. Kent State led 22-7. The heavyweights for Kent State put an exclamation point on the match. Fifth-year senior Eric Chine won 5-1 with a takedown in the first period and in the match clincher in the closing seconds. Fellow fifth-year senior Jermail Porter wasted no time at 285, pinning UB's Brett Correll in 1:31. In open action at the Edinboro Open, freshman Mallie Shuster claimed the title at 157 pounds with a 5-0 record. In the semis, he beat Sean Nemec of Ohio State before defeating Alex Munoz of Pitt 6-2. Kent State returns to action Friday night (Feb. 13), when they host Ohio in the final home match for six seniors, which made up Andrassy's first recruiting class.

PITTSBURGH -- The University of Pittsburgh wrestling team honor seniors Brad Gentzle and Zach Sheaffer before hosting border rival West Virginia in the 54th installment of the Backyard Brawl on the mat. The Panthers and Mountaineers battled to a 15-15 draw, with each team taking five matches on the night. Pitt (3-6-1, 3-0-1 EWL) and West Virginia (6-4, 3-0-1 EWL) both remain unbeaten and tied atop the EWL rankings along with Edinboro. Chris Albright was the first of three straight matches won by Pitt wrestlers to open the night. Albright totaled two escapes and a takedown in the second period to pull away from Kyle Turnbull, tacking on a late third period takedown for the 7-2 decision. Junior Jimmy Conroy entered this weekend's match as the 17th ranked wrestler in the nation at 133 pounds and proved why is considered among the best. Conroy opened the match with a takedown less than 20 seconds into the first period and jumped out to a 6-2 lead with nearly two minutes of riding time before the opening stanza came to a close. With the match coming to a close and Conroy ahead 9-2 with riding time in his favor, a major decision seemed certain. However, Grant Lowther was able to secure a takedown in the closing seconds to keep Pitt from gaining any bonus points. After wrestling to a 3-3 draw after one period, redshirt freshman Tyler Nauman turned the heat up, with an escape and takedown in the second period to go ahead 6-3 over Colin Johnson in the 141-pound matchup. Johnson would get within two at 7-5, but Nauman was able to hold off the late shots and give Pitt a 9-0 advantage through three matches. WVU quickly silenced the crowd and gained momentum with four straight decisions. At 149 pounds, 19th ranked David Jauregui was an 8-6 winner over redshirt senior Mark Powell, closing the gap to 9-3. Ryan Goodman followed suit in the 157-pound match with a 2-1 decision over redshirt freshman Phil Sorrentino. West Virginia knotted the match at 9-9 with Donnie Jones' 4-2 decision over sophomore Ethan Headlee and took its first lead of the night when 12th ranked Kurt Brenner handed redshirt junior David Sullivan a 10-5 defeat at 174 pounds. Freshman Zac Thomusseit stopped the downward spiral with a 3-2 win at 184. Thomusseit and Lance Bryson were tied at 1-1 with the third period coming to a close before the Panther freshman was able to secure a takedown on the edge of the mat for the win. Junior A.J. Hunte wouldn't be outdone in the 197-pound match. With just 15 seconds on the clock in the third period and tied 2-2 with Matt Ryan, Hunte put Pitt ahead 15-12 with a takedown which secured the match. Sheaffer, the 8th ranked heavyweight in the country and Dustin Rogers, the 18th ranked heavyweight battled for nearly seven minutes with neither wrestler able to score a takedown. With under 10 seconds left on the clock and in a flurry of action, Rogers drew the only takedown of the match, going up 3-1. Sheaffer escaped, but was unsuccessful in his ensuing shots to close out the third period. The Panthers continue EWL action next Friday, Feb. 13 as they hit the road for a dual with Clarion University. Match time is set for 7 p.m.

Stillwater, Okla. -- Completing its sweep of Big 12 schools in the state of Oklahoma, fifth-ranked Missouri trumped No. 15 Oklahoma State (12-7, 0-4), 27-9, to improve to 17-3 on the season and 2-1 in the Big 12. Missouri's second ever road win against the Cowboys, it also marks the second time in program history that the Tigers beat both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in their respective home facilities. Missouri's win drops OSU to 0-4 in the league, marking the first time in Big 12 history the Cowboys failed to collect a conference win. Missouri earned wins in eight of the 10 contested matches, with three decided in sudden victory. The third sudden victory win of the night, and most anticipated match of the dual, came at heavyweight where Missouri's Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) held true to his No. 1 ranking with a 5-3 win over third ranked Jake Rosholt. The grapplers were tied at three at the end of regulation and Ellis scored the takedown in 16 seconds for the two-point win, his 20th consecutive win of the season. The win is Ellis' first ever over Rosholt. The two have met six times throughout Ellis' collegiate career. Senior Marcus Hoehn (Farmington, Mo.) started Missouri on its eight match win streak with his 3-1 win in sudden victory over 15th-ranked Jamal Parks. Eighteenth-ranked Hoehn and Parks were scoreless through the first period and Hoehn chose down to start the second. Escaping in 12 seconds, the two were on their feet for the remainder of the period. Parks chose down to start the third and escaped in 20 seconds tying the dual at 1-1. In Missouri's first sudden victory match in eight duals, Hoehn came through with a takedown in 24 seconds for the win. Missouri's second sudden victory match of the day came at 149 pounds with senior Andrew Sherry (Sewickley, Pa.) earning an 8-6 win by decision of Cowboy Luke Silver. Sherry trailed the first two periods but tied the match at six with two reversals. All six of Sherry's regulation match points were scored by reversal. With one minute put on the clock for sudden victory and the wrestlers starting neutral, Sherry took Silver down in just 15 seconds for the win. Collecting a third straight Missouri win, senior Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) won his bout at 157 pounds, 7-5, over Neil Erisman. Chandler, ranked eighth, took a two point lead in the second period over 10th-ranked Erisman with two reversals and a two-point nearfall at the buzzer. Erisman started down for the third and Chandler held him down for the win, falling just shy of the one minute needed for riding time. Junior All-American, fifth-ranked Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.) gave the Tigers their first lead of the night with his 3-2 win over No. 10 Brandon Mason. A low scoring bout, neither grappler was credited with a point in the first, with Marable earning one in the second for his escape from the down position. Marable allowed Mason the third period escape in 10 seconds after taking the Cowboy wrestler's riding time below the one minute mark. A takedown by Marable with 12 seconds left in the bout secured the win and Mason was only able to manage an escape with three seconds left. Fifth-ranked senior Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) held off No. 14 Newly McSpadden, 4-1 for the Missouri win at 174 pounds. His ninth consecutive win of the campaign, Jordan's match was the fifth of the dual in which the grapplers were scoreless through the first two minutes of action. Jordan, who chose down to start the second, escaped in four seconds and McSpadden was unable to capitalize on any of his attempted shots. McSpadden escaped from bottom in the third, but Jordan was quick to return him to the mat and tack on 1:09 of riding time for the win. Redshirt freshman Dorian Henderson (Columbus, Ga.) shocked OSU fans with his fall, the first of his career, in 6:45 over Cody Hill at 184 pounds. Henderson trailed 1-0 entering the third period and escaped in one second. Henderson lifted Hill and returned him to the matt, sticking the Cowboy with 15 seconds left in the bout. The Tigers will return home to host Central Michigan and Iowa State in their final two duals of the season. First up, Missouri will square off with No. 10 Central Michigan beginning at 7 p.m. (CT) Friday, Feb. 13, in the Hearnes Center. The evening dual is part of the third annual Beauty and the Beast event which also features Missouri's top-ranked gymnastics squad in a competition with border opponent Illinois. Tickets for the event are $5 for adults and $3 for youth and can be purchased in advance of the meet by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS. Missouri's seniors will wrestle their final dual in the Hearnes Center on Sunday, Feb. 15, when the Tigers take on second-ranked Iowa State beginning at 2 p.m. (CT). Prior to the dual, the University will recognize the six senior members of he 2008-09 squad.

St. Cloud, Minn. -- #11 St. Cloud State (6-3, 3-0 NSIC) fended off a late #13 Augustana (6-7, 1-2 NSIC) rally to pick up a narrow 17-16 NSIC dual victory Friday evening at the Ronken Center. Josh Williams (Banks, Ore.), Gabe Suarez (Las Vegas), John Sundgren (Blaine), Tad Merritt (Canby) and Derek Skala (Owatonna) all recorded victories in a dual that was split 5-5 in matches, and was decided by a Sundgren major decision. The Huskies controlled the middle weights after losing the opening bout. Five of the next six matches went SCSU's way as they held on after Augustana took the last three matches by decision. SCSU will be in action tomorrow, when they travel to Marshall, Minn. to take on Southwest Minnesota State for a 2:00 bout. Augie will be in Bismarck, N.D. next Friday for a 7:00 p.m. dual with Mary.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Bucknell gave No. 7 Lehigh all it could handle Friday night, but junior David Craig's win by major decision over David Thompson at 184 broke a 12-12 tie and led the Mountain Hawks to a 28-12 win over the Bison Friday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Lehigh won six bouts, including wins by fall for junior Seth Ciasulli and freshman Joe Kennedy to pick up its 20th win of the dual season, as the Mountain Hawks improve to 20-1 overall and 6-0 against EIWA opponents. Craig avenged a 7-5 loss to Thompson earlier in the season by scoring a quick first period takedown and adding a three-point near fall at the end of the first period. Lehigh's ninth-ranked junior added a second period reversal a third period takedown and riding time to notch his 18th victory of the season, which put the Brown and White up 16-12 with two bouts remaining. "He did a great job," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said of Craig. "He's really been wrestling well for the last month and a half. To come back against a guy who beat you before and beat him in that fashion. It was a really good win for David." Kennedy then clinched the win for the home team with a third period pin of Rob Waltko at 197. Leading in the third period, Kennedy was on his way to scoring near fall points with a tilt, but was able to maneuver both of Waltko's shoulders to the mat to earn his third pin of the season. The dual began at 125 where freshman John McDonald returned to action for the first time in over a month. McDonald scored the first takedown against Derek Reber, but Reber picked up reversals in the first and third periods and benefitted from a four-point move in the second. Looking for a major decision, McDonald mustered a late third period takedown, to keep the margin to a regular decision, but Reber prevailed 8-6. Lehigh captured the next three bouts to take a 12-3 lead after four. In a match-up of ranked wrestlers at 133, No. 15 Matt Fisk scored a first period takedown and added two more in the third in an 8-3 win over No. 20 David Marble. At 141, Ciasulli picked up his team-best sixth fall of the season, pinning Adam Healey in just 1:02. Ciasulli scored early on a shrug move then turned Healey with a half nelson to secure the fall. Senior Trevor Chinn capped the run with a 5-3 decision over Kevin LeValley at 149. The Bison began to turn the tides with three straight wins from 157-174. In the first of the three, Lehigh freshman Sean Bilodeau converted an early takedown and racked up over two minutes of riding time to grab an early lead, but Scott Sechler picked up a reversal and two takedowns in the third period to force overtime and then the winning score in sudden victory to prevail 10-8. The match immediately following intermission was another matchup of ranked opponents as Lehigh's 12th ranked junior Mike Galante faced Bucknell's 14th ranked Andy Rendos. Galante scored the only takedown of regulation in the first period, and entered the third tied 2-2 after a pair of Rendos escapes. In the third period, Galante escaped late, but not until Rendos had earned riding time. In the second straight sudden victory match, it was Galante who took the initial shot, but after a scramble, Rendos ended up with the winning takedown in a 5-3 victory. At 174, the Mountain Hawks chose to rest Alex Caruso, who was not at full strength and in his place junior Manuel Schubert saw his first action of the season. Bucknell's Shane Riccio used a first period takedown and riding time to earn a 4-2 decision, which tied the match at 12 heading into 184. The loss drops Bucknell to 9-9 overall and 3-3 within the EIWA. The Mountain Hawks will return to the mats next Saturday when they host a pair of duals against EIWA foes Army and Franklin & Marshall. Lehigh will open the day against Army at 1 p.m. with the match with Franklin & Marshall to follow at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting the Lehigh ticket office, located in Grace Hall. Bonus Points… A replay of the match can be seen Saturday afternoon on Service Electric 2 Sports beginning at 4:30 p.m. … With 20 dual wins, this year's team becomes the third Mountain Hawk squad to win 20 duals in a season (2004, 2005)… Lehigh moves to 6-0 all-time versus Bucknell in wrestling.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The University of Wyoming wrestling team defeated the Portland State Vikings by a score of 31-6 on Friday night in Portland, Ore., at the Stott Center. The Cowboys won eight of ten matches competed, five of those by major decision and one by technical fall. It was Wyoming's seventh straight dual win and their season record is now 11-2 overall, 2-0 in the Western Wrestling Conference. After losing the 149-pound match and falling behind early, 3-0, the Cowboys would rattle off wins at five weight classes to give themselves a comfortable 18-3 advantage. UW also lost a decision at heavyweight, but won the final three match-ups to make-up the 31-6 final score. Michael Martinez had the largest margin of victory for the `Pokes at 125 pounds, winning 23-7 by technical fall over Kevin Martinez. UW's Martinez has now won 11 straight matches and has a season record of 31-7. Wyoming's Tyler Davis (157), Joe LeBlanc (184), Alfonso Hernandez (197), Cory VomBaur (133) and Cole Dallaserra (141) each won by eight points or more and recorded major decision victories. No.7-ranked LeBlanc now has a season mark of 34-5, with 12 of those wins coming by way of major decision. Cowboy Dallas Hintz won by decision at 165 pounds, as did No. 19-ranked Shane Onufer at 174 pounds. Onufer's win came in overtime and he improved his season record to 35-8. The Cowboys travel to Orem, Utah, next Friday, Feb. 13, for a WWC match-up with Utah Valley at 4 p.m. UW then immediately heads southeast to Stillwater, Okla., for two duals on Sun., Feb. 15. Wyoming will wrestle No. 15-ranked Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. and Binghamton (N.Y.) at 5 p.m.

MANKATO, Minn. -- The top-ranked University of Nebraska at Omaha wrestling team posted its tenth win of the 2008-09 season with a 17-15 victory over No. 3 Minnesota State, Mankato Friday night at the Taylor Center. The dual opened with Mankato's No. 8 Andy Forstner scoring a 7-6 decision against UNO's Matt Rein. Two-time National Champion No. 2 Cody Garcia gave UNO a 4-3 lead in the dual when he recorded a 9-1 major decision against Tim Haneberg at 133 pounds. MSU answered back and won the next two bouts at 141 and 149 pounds, giving Mankato a 9-4 lead. John Putman, the fourth-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds, upset the Mavericks' No. 2 Mario Morgan, 5-3. No. 2 Tommy Abbott followed that up with an 8-5 decision against Esai Dominguez. The UNO Mavericks fought back and won four of the next five matches. At 157 pounds, Todd Meneely remained undefeated, scoring UNO's second major decision, 24-13, against No. 7 Travis Elg. The senior is now 19-0 and has a career mark of 77-5. UNO's second-ranked wrestler at 165, Aaron Denson, continued the momentum as he recorded a 13-7 decision over MSU's Tim Matheson. After Mankato's Ben Becker defeated Ryan Pankoke, 5-4 at 174 pounds, UNO won the next two. Ross Taplin, wrestling at 184 pounds, tallied a 7-4 decision against Aaron Norgen and Brent Pankoke followed that up when he earned a 3-1 decision over No. 6 Pat Mahan, giving UNO a 17-12 lead heading into the final bout. MSU's No. 2 Brady Wilson won the final match at 285 pounds, 3-1, against UNO's fourth-ranked wrestler Tony Lewis, but it wasn't enough as UNO was able to hang on for the two-point dual win. The Mavericks will be idle until Sunday, Feb. 15 when they participate in the MIAA Duals in Warrensburg, Mo. The other schools competing in the dual include Central Missouri, Fort Hays State and Truman State.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- No. 9 Illinois used wins by No. 2 Mike Poeta, No. 15 Roger Smith-Bergsrud, John Dergo, No. 12 Jordan Blanton and No. 10 John Wise to overcome a 9-4 deficit and defeat 16th-ranked Northwestern, 22-13, in front of 1,070 fans at Huff Hall. Blanton topped John Schoen at 197, while filling in for Patrick Bond who is suffering from flu-like symptoms, and Wise scored a 15-0 technical fall on Paul Rands in the second period to seal the win. "I always kind of complain to the guys that I have to wait so long to wrestle," Wise said. "But when I can come out here and dominate and put the cap on a win like that, I can't complain. I knew I couldn't overlook him because anybody in the Big Ten is capable of beating anybody else, so I just wrestled as hard as I could and I was able to come out with the tech fall." The Illini didn't let Northwestern's advantage in the lighter weights get to them, as B.J. Futrell put forth a valiant effort to not allow bonus points to No. 3 Brandon Precin, falling 6-0 at 125, and Ryan Prater dropped a 4-1 heartbreaker in which the Wildcats' Keith Sulzer scored all four of his points in the final 20 seconds. But Poeta started the comeback before the 12-minute intermission for the Big Ten Network and Smith-Bergsrud picked up where his teammate left off, thrilling the crowd with his last-second winning takedown against Dominic Marella to come out on top, 3-1. "Our guys did a terrific job of competing," Illinois head coach Mark Johnson said. "We knew it would be a pretty even match, so it was important for some of our guys who had bad matchups not to give up a lot of bonus points and we were able to find some bonus points at different spots. And it was really nice to see John Wise go out and dominate like we all know he can." Starting at 125, No. 3 Brandon Precin got in on a leg early, but B.J. Futrell fought him off. After a restart, though, Precin got in on a leg and nearly finished it for a takedown on the edge of the mat, even getting the takedown points. But after a referee's conference, the points were cleared away and the wrestlers started neutral. Futrell was given a stalling warning and after a restart, Precin got a leg, but Futrell was able to ward off the takedown as time ran out. Precin started down in the second and got a quick reversal for a 2-0 lead. Futrell attempted to sit out, but Precin hooked him in for a two-point near-fall for a 4-0 lead with 1:29 of riding time after the second. Futrell started down in the third and once again attempted to sit out, but Precin rode hard before getting a stalling warning of his own. With 30 seconds left, Futrell gave up a stalling point and Precin won, 6-0 with riding time. No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy got a leg early on Eric Metzler at 133 and got a takedown. Metzler escaped after a restart but Kennedy got a nice slide-by takedown for a 4-0 lead. He managed to tilt Metzler for a two-point near-fall before the Wildcat escaped, giving Kennedy a 6-2 lead after three minutes. Metzler started down in the second and Kennedy let him up before working for a takedown. Metzler escaped to make it 8-4 in Kennedy's favor and Metzler was warned for stalling with three seconds left in the period. Kennedy started down in the third and, after Metzler put up a tough ride, Kennedy got out with just over a minute of riding time left and a minute left in the match. Looking for a takedown to secure the major decision, Kennedy shot and got a leg but the pair went out of bounds before control was established. Kennedy was able to throw the head and get a takedown to win by a 12-4 major decision after riding time was added. At 141, Ryan Prater and No. 16 Keith Sulzer got in a mad scramble at the edge of the mat and Prater nearly got control, but Sulzer kept hold of a leg and a stalemate was called. Another wild scramble took up the final 40 seconds of the period, but neither wrestler was able to score in the first three minutes. Sulzer started down in the second and nearly got a reversal, but the hold was deemed potentially dangerous and broken. After another scramble, Prater regained definite control and rode out Sulzer the rest of the period. Prater started down in the third and got out with 54 seconds left in the bout. Sulzer shot quickly and got a leg, but Prater fought valiantly as time wound down. But Sulzer finally secured the takedown and added two late near-fall points for the 4-1 win. Off a restart with 1:50 left in the first period at 149, Eric Terrazas got a leg, but Northwestern's Andrew Nadhir got a stalemate before points were scored. Nadhir shot off a restart and secured the takedown at the edge of the mat, but Terrazas escaped with 30 seconds left in the period. After no further scoring, Nadhir started down in the second with a 2-1 lead. Terrazas got a quick tilt for two near-fall points and a 3-2 lead before Nadhir escaped to tie it at 3. Terrazas got an ankle on the edge of the mat but couldn't secure the second one as time ran out. The Illini rookie started down in the third period and Nadhir let him go. Terrazas got a leg early in the period but the hold became dangerous and was broken. Off the restart, Nadhir shot and got the takedown, nearly scoring back points. Terrazas escaped to tie the bout at 5 then shot off a restart. After another stalemate, Nadhir got a slide-by takedown and rode him out for the 7-5 win. At 157, neither No. 2 Mike Poeta nor No. 14 Jason Welch was able to mount any offense in the first period. Poeta started down in the second and Poeta escaped quickly for a 1-0 lead. Poeta got a leg with 1:20 left in the period and managed to turn the corner for the takedown. After a restart, Poeta was called for stalling and Welch escaped. With Poeta leading 3-1, Welch started down in the third and quickly escaped. Poeta quickly got in on a leg and worked around into control for the takedown. Welch escaped and Poeta got another takedown off a sloppy shot by Welch for a 7-3 lead with 40 seconds left. Welch escaped after a restart, but Poeta shot in, got a leg and turned the corner for a takedown with five seconds for the 9-4 win, which brought Illinois within 9-7 at the intermission. Following the break, No. 15 Roger Smith-Bergsrud and Dominic Marella fought through a scoreless first period. Marella started down in the second and quickly escaped, and Smith-Bergsrud got both ankles as Marella returned to the center, but the Wildcat wriggled away to avoid any scoring the rest of the period. Smith-Bergsrud started down in the third and quickly escaped to tie the bout at 1. With 20 seconds left, Marella shot and Smith-Bergsrud threw him by before grabbing both ankles for the winning takedown and a final score of 3-1. At 174, John Dergo picked up where he left off last week at Purdue, getting a leg early against Robert Kellogg, but Kellogg went out of bounds before any scoring. Kellogg shot off a restart and allowed Dergo to get a leg, which he eventually worked into a takedown. Kellogg was warned for stalling with 45 seconds left in the period and was able to escape and Dergo worked for a tilt. Dergo countered one of Kellogg's shots and got in on a leg before scoring for a 4-1 lead after three minutes. Dergo started down in the second and escaped in 10 seconds for a 5-1 margin. Dergo shot soon after and got the takedown before working his ride once again. Kellogg was called for stalling once again, making the score 8-1 in Dergo's favor and the Illini rode him out for 2:04 of riding time heading into the third. Kellogg started down in the final period and Dergo let him up. Dergo shot off a restart and worked into a takedown after Kellogg nearly fought it off. Kellogg escaped, but Dergo added riding time for the 11-3 major decision, extending Illinois' lead to 14-9. Ben Friedl stepped in at 184 against top-ranked Jake Herbert and the Wildcat got a pair of early takedowns sandwiched around an escape. Friedl escaped again but Herbert shot in and got another takedown on the edge of the mat for a 6-2 lead after a period. Herbert started down and got a reversal before Friedl escaped. Herbert got another takedown and a stalling point for an 11-3 lead. He added another takedown for a 13-4 lead after two periods. Friedl started down in the third and escaped quickly. Herbert got three more takedowns and another stalling point for a 20-8 lead. He added a late takedown and riding time, but Friedl escaped with one second left to avoid the technical fall with a 23-9 final score, which cut Illinois' lead to 14-13. At 197, Jordan Blanton, ranked 12th at 184, stepped on the mat against John Schoen. Blanton got a leg with 1:16 left and worked Schoen's head over for the takedown. After 25 seconds, Schoen escaped and the period ended with Blanton leading 2-1. Schoen started down and escaped in the second to tie the bout at 2. Off a restart, Blanton got a leg and worked it into a takedown with 17 seconds left, then rode out Schoen for a 4-2 lead. Blanton started down in the third and escaped in 24 seconds for a 5-2 lead. Schoen got in on a leg but Blanton fought him off with just over a minute left. Schoen shot off a restart, but Blanton blocked it and turned the corner for the takedown. Blanton let him up to make the score 7-3, then got a takedown on the edge of the mat with 24 seconds left. He once again let Schoen up and quickly got the takedown, nearly sticking Schoen on his back but finishing with an 11-4 win and pushing the Illini up 17-13. In the evening's final bout, No. 10 John Wise shot off the whistle, which Paul Rands blocked, but Wise kept after it and eventually got control for a takedown just 14 seconds into the match. Wise began to ride him hard, looking for the turn, which he got in the form of a three-point near-fall with 1:17 left in the period. Rands got hit with his second stalling warning with 13 seconds left, giving Wise a point, and the Illini senior turned the Wildcat once again for three more back points and a 9-0 lead after the first period. Wise started down in the second and quickly escaped, then got the takedown and put Rands on his back for three more near-fall points and the 15-0 technical fall in 4:05. That was the icing on the cake of Illinois' 22-13 comeback victory over the Wildcats. No. 9 Illinois returns to action on Sunday at No. 17 Wisconsin at 1 p.m. The Badgers had the night off on Friday.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana-Purdue rivalry hit the wrestling mats Friday night inside University Gym where the Hoosiers (14-4-1) came out on top with a 21-12 victory over the Boilermakers (11-3-1). Indiana won six of 10 individual bouts on the night. Click here for the complete play-by-play and statistics. "It's nice to get a big win, and for it to be over Purdue is always good," said Head Coach Duane Goldman. "No matter what the rankings are, it's that inter-state rival which is always big. " Both teams entered the contest ranked nationally with IU at #18 and Purdue ranked 25th in the country. Defending 125-lbs. national champion and fifth-ranked Angel Escobedo started the night off in a big way for Indiana, notching a first-period pin in the opening match. Escobedo's cousin, Andrae Hernandez added three more points to the team total at 141-lbs., picking up a 7-3 decision. Hernandez trailed in the early goings after giving up an early takedown, but battled back for the win. At 149-lbs., Nick Walpole came within seconds of upending No. 7 Jake Patacsil. Walpole battled him tough throughout the match, holding a lead for some time before the riding time point proved to be the difference in the 5-4 triumph for Patacsil. Indiana's other two nationally-ranked grapplers, Kurt Kinser and Trevor Perry, also added tallies in the win column for the Cream and Crimson. Kinser and Perry's wins bookended a victory for Purdue in the 165 pounds match to create a 15-9 IU advantage heading into the eighth bout of the match. Purdue's A.J. Kissel narrowed the gap there with his major decision. However, the Boilermakers were deducted one-point from the team score during the 184-lbs. match because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Purdue head coach. The biggest match of the day came at 197 pounds though, when redshirt freshman Matt Powless upset Purdue's Logan Brown, the 13th ranked wrestler in nation at 197-lbs. Powless, a native of Newburgh, Ind., was stuck in a 1-1 stalemate until a lightning-quick shot resulted in a takedown for the Hoosier with just three seconds left in regulation, sealing a 3-1 decision. Powless's decision pushed IU ahead 18-12 on the team scoreboard, nearly assuring a Hoosier victory as long as Nate Everhart didn't get pinned in the heavyweight match. Everhart would have none of that anyways as he too picked up a win, defeating Chris Kasten, 3-1. "Powless came through with the big win," said Goldman. "He is one of the hardest working guys on the team and he really deserved it. It was nice to see his hard work pay off."

Stanford, Calif. -- After claiming the first win in school history over powerhouse Arizona State a year ago, the Stanford wrestling team (7-12-1, 2-4 Pac-10) repeated the feat tonight in Burnham Pavilion. Despite forfeiting a weight class, the Cardinal climbed back from a 16-3 deficit and secured a 20-19 win. Arizona State falls to 5-6 overall and 3-2 in Pac-10 duals. Stanford has now won three consecutive matches, including two against Pac-10 competition. Junior Tyler Parker (2-2) highlighted the night with a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory at 149 pounds. Parker scored a takedown with less than 10 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the bout at three, then recorded an escape in the tiebreaker to claim what proved to be a pivotal victory. It was Stanford's only senior, Luke Feist (18-10), who came through under pressure for Stanford, however. With Stanford down 19-17 heading into the final bout, the Cardinal 197-pounder earned a 5-0 decision to secure the team win. The night began at heavyweight, where Stanford was forced to forfeit and thus start the dual at a 6-0 disadvantage. At 125 pounds, the hole only got deeper when sophomore Austin Quarles (3-6) was pinned by 12th-ranked Anthony Robles. Now down 12-0, sophomore Porfirio Madrigal (15-8) stepped up and put Stanford on the board. Madrigal bested David Prado at 133 pounds with a 5-1 decision to nab his 15th win of the year. At 141 pounds, sophomore Cameron Teitelman (12-15) lost by major decision to the Sun Devils' other ranked wrestler, No. 6 Chris Drouin. After Teitelman's loss, Arizona State took its largest lead of the night, 16-3. The Stanford comeback was about to begin, however. Parker began the rally with his takedown with time winding down in regulation. His exciting overtime win over Vincente Varela then spurred a string of three consecutive Cardinal wins. Sophomore Lucas Espericueta (25-11) nabbed his 50th career win in the next bout, dominating Te Edwards for a 20-3 technical fall. Espericueta joins teammates Jake Johnson, Zack Giesen and Feist as current wrestlers who have hit the notable career milestone. Redshirt freshman Nick Amuchastegui (25-4) followed with his 12th consecutive win, defeating Kyle DeBerry, 10-5. Amuchastegui continued to build on his impressive dual point total, increasing it to 72 on the year. The rookie is now tied with Espericueta (2007-08) as the fourth-winningest freshman in school history. In the next bout, freshman Victor Haug (8-19) suffered a 10-4 loss to ASU's Eric Starks. Stanford wasn't fazed, however, and its upperclassmen stepped up in must-win bouts to propel Stanford forward. At 184 pounds, Johnson (27-13) nabbed a 5-0 win over Jake Meredith and pulled Stanford within two, 19-17. Johnson's win was his career-best 27th of the year. With the dual in his hands, Feist came through. The two-time NCAA qualifier bested Jake Cranford, 5-0, in the 197-pound bout and clinched Stanford's second Pac-10 win in a row. Stanford is back on the mat on Sunday, heading to Idaho to wrestle defending Pac-10 champion Boise State in another conference dual. Action is set to begin at 1 p.m. (MT) Sunday afternoon.