InterMat Staff

Link: Results A Twitter List by InterMat

Link: Results A Twitter List by InterMat

WICHITA, Kan. -- [Brackets | Team Scores] The 2021 NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championship was full of firsts. Many first-time qualifiers, first-time All-Americans, first time finalists and individual titles. The biggest first however, happened at the conclusion of the championship when Life University (Ga.) was crowned 2021 NAIA Men's Wrestling National Champions. The Running Eagles will leave Wichita with 10 All-Americans, one individual champion and one team title highlighted by a red banner. Life clinched the 2021 title with 158 points just five points ahead of defending national champion Grand View (Iowa) who had 153. Rounding out the top five of the championship was Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Indiana Tech and Cumberland (Tenn.). Final Team Standings: Life (Ga.) 158.0 Grand View (Iowa) 153.0 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 89.0 Indiana Tech 75.5 Cumberland (Tenn.) 74 Reinhardt (Ga.) 65.5 Southeastern (Fla.) 60.5 Thomas More (Ky.) 49 Graceland (Ky.) 48.5 Cumberlands (Ky.) 36.5 Championship Highlights: 14 different schools were represented in finals. Life (Ga.) headlined the finals with three wrestlers competing for titles. Grand View (Iowa), Indiana Tech, Southeastern (Fla.) and Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) all had two finalists. Life started the finals in the lead by one and then quickly got their national champion, Brandon Orum (125). No. 5 seed Denver Stonechek (149) and No. 10 seed Asher Eichert (174) finished as runner-ups. At 141, Baterden Boldmaa of Doane (Neb.) defended his national title to become a back-to-back champion. Boldmaa won over Ryan Moore of Thomas More (Ky.). Southeastern (Fla.) went two-for-two in its first two championship bouts. Two wrestlers, Andreus Bond (149) and Kyle Kirkham (165), entered the field unseeded and proceeded to win individual titles. Indiana Tech also had two national champions: No. 3 seed Conner Gimson (133) and No. 2 seed Eric Vermillion (184). C. Gimson beat No. 5 seed Esco Walker of Cumberland, 4-2. Twin brother Matt Gimson lost in the semifinals to Walker, earning third place. E.Vermillion pinned No. 9 seed Tyson Beauperthuy of Midland in 3:16. Top-seeded Brennan Swafford was able to repeat 2020 and earn his second individual national title. Swafford beat No. 10 Asher Eichert of Life (Ga.) 10-7. No. 1 seed Isaac Bartel of Montana State-Northern at 197 earned a victory in championship bout. He was the winner over No. 2 seed Trevor Lawson of Lindsey Wilson. Brandon Reed of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) became a four-time All-American and three-time national champion.

The No.1 McKendree University women's wrestling team defended its national championship at the second-annual Cliff Keen National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championship (NCWWC) Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats also added six individual champions. Sam Schmitz's team was represented by 15 wrestlers, where eight made it into the finals. In the end, McKendree won its second consecutive NCWWC Title with 209 points while 14 Bearcats were named All-Americans. Six Bearcats were crowned individual National Champions, and head coach Schmitz was named Coach of the Year and Coach of the NCWWC Tournament. This tournament was also a qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, that will take place in Fort Worth, Tex., April 2-3. According to the procedures, "the highest placed NCWWC Senior Women's Freestyle athlete per weight category who has yet to qualify, will qualify to enter the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - wrestling at the weight category she chooses". There were 10 women who punches their ticket to Fort Worth, including five Bearcats.

Jaydin Eierman advanced to the finals by defeating Nebraska's Chad Red (Darren Miller, Iowa Athletics) UNIVERISTY PARK, Pa. -- The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team advanced six Hawkeyes to the finals and sits in first place at the 2021 Big Ten Championships following Saturday night semifinal action at the Bryce Jordan Center. Defending champions Spencer Lee and Alex Marinelli are returning to the finals. Lee is defending the 125-pound title and Marinelli is aiming for his third straight conference title at 165. Lee and Marinelli are joined in the finals by Austin DeSanto (133), Jaydin Eierman (141), Kaleb Young (157) and Michael Kemerer (174). Kemerer is a two-time runner up making his third finals appearance. DeSanto, Eierman and Young are all first-time Big Ten conference finalists. Lee won by fall in 23 seconds, tying the school record for fastest pin at a Big Ten Championships. The record was matched earlier in the day by Tony Cassioppi, and first set in 1992 by Bart Chelesvig. Lee defends his 125-pound title against seventh-seeded Devin Schroder of Purdue. It is a rematch of the 2020 conference finals when Lee defeated Schroder by 16-2 major decision. Marinelli is back in the finals following a 2-0 decision at 165. He will meet Ohio State's third-seeded Ethan Smith. Marinelli won conference titles in 2019 and 2020. In the history of the program, there have been seven four-time champions and 18 three-time champions. Marinelli could become the 26th Hawkeye in school history to win three conference titles. Kemerer advanced to the finals with a 4-2 decision. He meets Penn State's third-seeded Carter Starocci in the 174-pound finals. DeSanto and Eierman are both in the Big Ten finals for the first time in their careers. DeSanto advanced with a 5-4 win at 133. Eierman, who won three MAC titles for Missouri from 2017-19, won by 7-1 decision. DeSanto faces Penn State's top-seeded Roman Bravo-Young, and Eierman gets Penn State's Nick Lee, the No. 2 seed. Young won 3-2 in the second tiebreak period to advance to the finals, where he meets Northwestern's top-seeded Ryan Deakin. Iowa dropped a pair of matches in the semifinals. Jacob Warner lost 3-1 in sudden victory and Tony Cassioppi lost by fall. Both wrestlers return to action Sunday in the consolation semifinals. Max Murin and Nelson Brands competed on the backside of the bracket Saturday night. Brands picked up a pair of wins and has earned an automatic berth at 184 pounds to the 2021 NCAA Championships on March 18-20 in St. Louis. Murin, ranked No. 5 in the coaches poll, dropped his consolation match and is eligible for at-large consideration to the national championships at 149 pounds. The Hawkeyes are in first place after Session II with 126.5 points. Penn State, Nebraska, Michigan and Purdue round out the top five. QUOTING COACH TOM BRANDS "Opening comment number one, there is a lot of wrestling left to do. Opening comment number two, we have got to get ready to wrestle tomorrow. Opening comment number three, we are going to have some tough matches. This is the qualifier and we are going to another tournament. We have to stay tough, have got to keep doing what we are doing and add to it a little bit. "Nelson Brands just won two big matches on the backside of the bracket, that is huge. We got a couple guys who did not get what they wanted on that front side and they are going to be in the consolation bracket tomorrow and they have to come back strong. We have some guys in the finals and we are going to have to go out and be ready, ready. And I mean ready, ready." NOTABLES • Spencer Lee's 23-second fall ties for the fast fall by a Hawkeye at the Big Ten Championships. Bart Chelesvig did it in 1992, and Tony Cassioppi did it in Session I of the 2021 Big Ten Championships (today). • Lee's fall was the 26th of his career, 21 have been in the first period. The 23-second fall was a career best. • Alex Marinelli is one win shy of his third straight Big Ten title. There have been 18 three-time conference champions in program history, the last was T.J. Williams from 1999-2001. (There have been seven four-time champions in school history.) • Kemerer is back in the conference finals for the third time (2017, 2020). • Nine Hawkeyes have earned automatic berths to the 2021 NCAA Championships. UP NEXT Session III of the Big Ten Championships begins Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT) and will be streamed on BTN Plus. The finals, third-place, and fifth-place matches begin at 3 p.m. The finals are televised live on BTN.

TULSA, Okla. -- The Wyoming wrestling squad had a solid first day of competition at the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, Okla inside the BOK Center. Cole Moody (165), Tate Samuelson (184), Stephen Buchanan (197) and Brian Andrews (285) advanced to the Big 12 finals Saturday night and earned automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships. "It was a fun day, our guys wrestled tough and we had a lot of tight matches and most of them we won and that makes a big difference. Those guys fought back hard in the consolation matches and kept us in the conversation" Head Coach Mark Branch said "It's been a fun day of competing and watching our guys grow and fight hard" At 165 pounds Moody earned his first trip to the Big 12 finals in exciting fashion. In the Quarterfinals, he outlasted Jordan Robison (UNC) in a barn burner, 17-10. In the semifinals Moody would have a rematch against Peyton Hall (WVU) who bested Moody earlier this season. This time around however it would be Moody getting his hand raised gutting out a 5-4 decision. This is also the first time in his career that Moody has qualified for the NCAA Championships. Samuelson went 3-0 on the day outscoring his opponents 25-7 in those the victories. In the quarterfinals Samuelson would be tested going to overtime against Darrien Roberts (OU). Samuelson opened things up in overtime, throwing Roberts to his back and sealing the 9-3 victory. In the semifinals Samuelson kept the momentum going knocking off Dakota Geer (OSU) 6-2. This will be the first Big 12 finals appearance of Samuelson's career and his third straight NCAA qualification. Buchanan would also go 3-0, highlighting his day with a semifinal win over Noah Adams (WVU). It is the third time this season that Buchanan and Adams have met and the third time that Buchanan has won. This time Buchanan used a late takedown and a ride out to get his hand raised. For Buchanan, it is his first time making the Big 12 finals and second time qualifying for the NCAA tournament. At heavyweight Andrews returned to action after being out for a month and he didn't miss a beat. Andrews cruised past Dalton Robertson (UNC) in the quaterfinals, 12-1 and then battled his way to a 4-3 semifinal victory over Branden Metz (NDSU). This is the second straight Big 12 finals appearance for Andrews. Hayden Hastings (174) and Jaron Jensen (149) both picked up quarterfinal victories before falling in the semifinals. Jacob Wright (157) and Chase Zollmann (149) are also both still alive in the tournament with each wrestler picking up two wins on the consolation side of the bracket. As a team, the Cowboys are in second place after the first day of competition with 97 team points. Oklahoma sits in first with 107 points while Oklahoma State is in a tight third with 96 points. With each time having at least three finalists it will be a very tight team race for the Big 12 title. The Cowboys will be back in action tomorrow at 9 a.m. MT for the medal rounds which will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Tomorrow night's finals are set to begin at 4 p.m. MT and will be live on ESPN2.

Dom Demas advanced to the finalsd at 141 pounds (Photo/OU Athletics) TULSA, Okla. -- The Oklahoma wrestling team used seven bonus-point wins to erupt for 62 points in Saturday's second session and now take a 10-point lead into the final day of the Big 12 Wrestling Championship. A conference-best nine Sooner wrestlers remain in the bracket or wrestlebacks, including a trio of finalists who punched their tickets to the NCAA Championship with their performances on Saturday. Oklahoma (107 points) closed its night with three pins back-to-back-to-back and a tech fall to jump Wyoming and Oklahoma State in the standings and move into first place. "We obviously wrestled really well tonight, but there is still a lot of wrestling left," head coach Lou Rosselli said. "I'm proud of how our guys competed today with their backs against the wall, and we know what we need to do to accomplish our goals tomorrow." Tony Madrigal returned to form on Saturday, becoming the first unseeded wrestler to ever clinch a spot in the Big 12 final by going 3-0 on the day, defeating three seeded opponents. With his berth in the final, he earned one of the Big 12's allocated bids to the NCAA Championship and will face Oklahoma State's Daton Fix in Sunday's final. Dom Demas secured his third-straight berth in the Big 12 final and NCAA Championship by holding off three-seeded Clay Carlson of North Dakota State. Demas improved to 11-1 on the year with his pair of victories on Saturday. He'll get a 2020 Big 12-finals rematch with Iowa State's Ian Parker on Saturday night. Mitch Moore became the third Sooner to clinch a spot in St. Louis on Saturday when he defeated Air Force's Dylan Martinez and Wyoming's Jaron Jensen to earn a rematch with Oklahoma State's Boo Lewallen in the final. Moore finished as the 2019 ACC runner-up at 141 pounds and is now a three-time NCAA qualifier. Justin Thomas lined up with No. 3 Jared Franek in a semifinal match but was defeated in sudden victory after a 20-second scramble where momentum changed three times. Thomas, the No. 2 seed, moves into the consolation semifinals and takes on Jacob Wright (WYO) for a spot in the third-place match. The Big 12 received three allocations at 157 pounds, meaning that Thomas needs to win out to claim an automatic bid. Unseeded at 165, Troy Mantanona went 3-1 on Saturday, winning all three matches via fall. The San Francisco State transfer has now won nine of his 10 collegiate wins by pin and will wrestle in the consolation semifinals versus Peyton Hall (WVU) on Sunday morning for an NCAA spot. Anthony Mantanona impressed on Saturday night, too, pinning both of his opponents to continue his Big 12 run after dropping his first match to No. 1 Demetrius Romero. He'll take on No. 2 seed Hayden Hastings (WYO) with a spot in St. Louis on the line Sunday morning. Darrien Roberts dropped his first match of the day to No. 2 Tate Samuelson in sudden victory but bounced back with a pair of wins over Jacob Armstrong via 9-2 decision and then via fall over Anthony Carman. No. 5 seed Jake Woodley dropped his opening bout with No. 4 A.J. Ferrari (OKST) but was able to secure a pair of tech fall wins over Nick Villarreal (FS) and Jacob Seely (UNC) to continue his Big 12 championship. The redshirt junior will take on No. 3-seed and former No. 1-ranked Noah Adams of West Virginia, with the winner claiming an allocated bid to NCAAs. Josh Heindselman battled with No. 1 Gannon Gremmel (ISU) in a semifinal match, but similar to when the two first met in Cedar Falls earlier this season, Heindselman was bested by Gremmel in overtime. The freshman will need to knock off No. 2 Carter Isley in the consolation semifinals to secure an allocated bid to nationals. Mason Naifeh was close to victory in both of his matches but was eliminated after two bouts in Tulsa, dropping decisions to No. 1 Brody Teske and Jace Koelzer. The Sooners now turn their focus to Sunday's sessions where they'll look to defend their lead and take home their 24th conference championship, and first since 2002. Sunday's opening session is slated to start at 10 a.m. at the BOK Center with the finals commencing at 5 p.m.

Daton Fix is one of three finalists for Oklahoma State (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) TULSA, Okla. -- The No. 6 Oklahoma State wrestling team wrapped up the first day of the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championships Saturday in third place with 96 team points, sending three Cowboys through to Sunday night's championship bouts. Top seeds Daton Fix and Boo Lewallen both reached the finals with wins in the 133-pound and 149-pound semifinal bouts, respectively, and freshman 197-pounder AJ Ferrari joined them with an upset win over the No. 1 seed in his bracket. "We got started off pretty good in the first round with nine of our 10 guys wrestling extra matches," coach John Smith said. "I thought we did good getting six of them through. I didn't think our effort in the semifinals was what I was hoping for. We're in a fight now and we're going to have to show up tomorrow and be ready to challenge for this title." A sophomore who aims for his second Big 12 title tomorrow, Fix cruised to a 20-5 technical fall victory with seven takedowns and a nearfall against fifth-seeded Mosha Schwartz of Northern Colorado. The win improved Fix to 8-0 on the season, as all of his wins have come with bonus points attached. Lewallen was the next OSU semifinalist on the mat, knocking off fourth-seeded Triston Lara of Northern Iowa, 7-4. The Cowboy senior traded a takedown for an escape in each period against Lara to earn a shot at his third Big 12 championship. Oklahoma State's last finalist was Ferrari, who turned in one of OSU's most impressive wins of the tournament thus far. Facing top-seeded and No. 5-ranked Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State, Ferrari scored on two takedowns and a reversal before riding out the third period to secure a 7-1 win. It was the first loss of the year for Sloan, who entered the match with a 14-0 record. Ferrari will try to become the 13th true freshman in OSU history and the first since 2016 to win a conference title. "I thought he wrestled well," Smith said. "He did a good job dictating the pace of the match and did a good job on top putting some pressure on his opponent. One of the areas they thought they could win was on top of AJ and he took that away and the match swung in his direction because of his effort." Three other Cowboys reached the semifinals but fell just short of the title match, as Trevor Mastrogiovanni fell 5-3 at 125 pounds, Travis Wittlake came up just short in a tough 5-3 sudden victory decision at 165 pounds and Dakota Geer fell at 184 pounds, 6-2. They each move on to Sunday morning's consolation semifinal and can finish as high as third place. They will be joined in the consolation semifinals by 174-pounder Dustin Plott, who won a pair of decision to advance through the wrestlebacks. Kaden Gfeller nearly made the round as well, but after a win in the first consolation round, he dropped the next match to move into Sunday morning's seventh-place match. Only two Cowboy were eliminated on the first day, as Wyatt Sheets (157 pounds) and Austin Harris (heavyweight) fell in the first consolation round. The second and final day of the Big 12 Championships begins with Session III at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, where third through eighth place finishers will be determined. It wraps up with the championship bouts in Session IV at 5 p.m. at the BOK Center in Tulsa. Fans can follow live results on trackwrestling.com, live updates on Twitter via @CowboyWrestling and watch each mat live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the championship matches on ESPN2. Team Standings: 1. Oklahoma - 107.0 2. Wyoming - 97.0 3. Oklahoma State - 96.0 4. Iowa State - 94.0 5. North Dakota State - 69.0 6. Northern Iowa - 68.0 7. Northern Colorado - 57.5 8. South Dakota State - 52.0 9. Utah Valley - 49.0 10. West Virginia - 43.5 11. Air Force - 25.0 12. Fresno State - 22.0

PSU's Roman Bravo-Young picked up a semifinal win over Northwestern's Chris Cannon (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) 125: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) pinned No. 16 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State), 0:24 No. 17 Devin Schroder (Purdue) maj. dec. No. 9 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State), 10-0 133: No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Chris Cannon (Northwestern), 8-3 No. 3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. No. 11 Lucas Byrd (Illinois), 5-4 141: No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec. No. 8 Chad Red (Nebraska), 7-1 No. 2 Nick Lee (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers), 8-6 SV 149: No. 2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) dec. No. 9 Kanen Storr (Michigan), 5-0 No. 19 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec. Michael Blockhus (Minnesota), 2-1 TB1 157: No. 1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj. dec. No. 7 Kendall Coleman (Purdue), 14-1 No. 5 Kaleb Young (Iowa) dec. No. 6 Brayton Lee (Minnesota), 3-2 TB1 165: No. 1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. No. 13 Cameron Amine (Michigan), 2-0 No. 10 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) dec. No. 19 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), 5-3 SV 174: No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) dec. No. 5 Logan Massa (Michigan), 4-2 No. 4 Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), 3-1 SV 184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 18 John Poznanski (Rutgers), 10-2 No. 14 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) dec. No. 7 Christopher Weiler (Wisconsin), 10-3 197: No. 1 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec. No. 13 Cam Caffey (Michigan State), 2-1 No. 2 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. No. 3 Jacob Warner (Iowa), 3-1 SV 285: No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) by injury default over No. 12 Christian Lance (Nebraska) No. 2 Mason Parris (Michigan) pinned No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa), 0:58

Oklahoma State's A.J. Ferrari knocked off top-seeded Tanner Sloan of SDSU in the semifinals at 197 (Photo/Oklahoma State Athletics) 125: No. 10 Brody Teske (UNI) dec. Danny Vega (SDSU), 8-6 No. 4 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) dec. No. 18 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State), 5-3 133: No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) tech. fall No. 17 Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado), 21-5 6:53 Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) dec. No. 13 Zach Redding (ISU), 8-3 141: No. 5 Ian Parker (ISU) dec. No. 12 D.J. Lloren (Fresno State), 6-2 No. 6 Dom Demas (Oklahoma) dec. No. 15 Clay Carlson (SDSU), 3-2 149: No. 4 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State) dec. Triston Lara (UNI), 7-4 No. 18 Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) dec. Jaron Jensen (Wyoming), 4-2 157: No. 3 David Carr (ISU) dec. Cade DeVos (SDSU), 8-2 No. 13 Jared Franek (NDSU) dec. No. 11 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma), 3-1 SV 165: Luke Weber (NDSU) dec. No. 2 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State), 5-3 Cole Moody (Wyoming) dec. Peyton Hall (WVU), 5-4 174: No. 3 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) maj. dec. Cody Surratt (Air Force), 12-3 Jackson Hemauer (Northern Colorado) dec. No. 9 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming), 4-3 184: No. 5 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) dec. Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado), 7-2 No. 12 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) dec. No. 13 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State), 6-2 197: No. 9 A.J. Ferrari (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 5 Tanner Sloan (SDSU), 7-1 No. 6 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) dec. No. 7 Noah Adams (WVU), 3-2 285: No. 7 Gannon Gremmel (ISU) dec. Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma), 3-1 SV No. 20 Brian Andrews (Wyoming) dec. Brandon Metz (NDSU), 4-3

Travis Wittlake of Oklahoma State advanced to the semifinals at 165 pounds (Photo/Oklahoma State Athletics) 125: No. 10 Brody Teske (UNI) maj. dec. Mason Naifeh (Oklahoma), 8-0 Danny Vega (SDSU) pinned Killian Cardinale (WVU), 5:25 No. 18 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State) dec. Cody Phippen (Air Force), 6-4 SV No. 4 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) dec. Kysen Terukina (ISU), 7-5 SV 133: No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. No. 18 Ty Smith (Utah Valley), 16-4 No. 17 Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado) dec. Jared Van Vleet (Air Force), 14-7 Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) dec. Job Greenwood (Wyoming), 6-0 No. 13 Zach Redding (ISU) maj. dec. Jack Skudlarzyk (UNI), 13-0 141: No. 5 Ian Parker (ISU) maj. dec. Chase Zollman (Wyoming), 12-1 No. 12 DJ Lloren (Fresno State) dec. Jeffery Boyd (West Virginia), 4-0 No. 15 Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado), 5-3 No. 6 Dom Demas (Oklahoma) dec. Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU), 3-2 149: No. 4 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State) dec. Jaden Van Maanen (NDSU), 10-3 Triston Lara (UNI) dec. Kyle Parco (Fresno State), 9-4 No. 18 Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) maj. dec. Dylan Martinez (Air Force), 11-3 Jaron Jensen (Wyoming) dec. Cameron Hunsaker (Utah Valley), 3-2 157: No. 3 David Carr (ISU) pinned Parker Simington (Air Force), 0:46 Cade DeVos (SDSU) dec. No. 18 Jacob Wright (Wyoming), 9-4 No. 13 Jared Franek (NDSU) dec. No. 20 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State), 7-5 No. 11 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) vs. Danny Snediker (Utah Valley), 5-1 165: No. 2 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 12-4 Luke Weber (NDSU) maj. dec. Troy Mantanona (Oklahoma), 16-2 Cole Moody (Wyoming) dec. Jordan Robison (Northern Colorado), 17-10 Peyton Hall (WVU) dec. Austin Yant (UNI), 5-4 174: No. 3 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) dec. Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma), 11-6 Cody Surratt (Air Force) by injury default over Lance Runyon (UNI) Jackson Hemauer (Northern Colorado) dec. No. 17 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 5-2 No. 9 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 3-1 184: No. 5 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) by medical forfeit over Hunter Cruz (Fresno State) Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) dec. No. 8 Sam Colbray (ISU), 3-2 No. 13 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Anthony Carman (WVU), 12-4 No. 12 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) dec. Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma), 9-3 SV 197: No. 5 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) tech. fall Kayne Hutchison (Air Force), 17-0 3:30 No. 9 A.J. Ferrari (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 16 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma), 8-4 No. 7 Noah Adams (WVU) dec. Marcus Coleman (ISU), 3-2 No. 6 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) dec. Owen Pentz (NDSU), 3-1 285: No. 7 Gannon Gremmel (ISU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 6-2 Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) dec. Austin Harris (Oklahoma State), 2-1 No. 20 Brian Andrews (Wyoming) maj. dec. Dalton Robertson (N. Colorado), 12-1 Brandon Metz (NDSU) dec. No. 17 Carter Isley (UNI), 4-3 TB3 Semifinal Matchups 125: No. 10 Brody Teske (UNI) vs. Danny Vega (SDSU) No. 4 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) vs. No. 18 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State) 133: No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 17 Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado) No. 13 Zach Redding (ISU) vs. Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma) 141: No. 5 Ian Parker (ISU) vs. No. 12 DJ Lloren (Fresno State) No. 6 Dom Demas (Oklahoma) vs. No. 15 Clay Carlson (SDSU) 149: No. 4 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State) vs. Triston Lara (UNI) No. 18 Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) vs. Jaron Jensen (Wyoming) 157: No. 3 David Carr (ISU) vs. Cade DeVos (SDSU) No. 11 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) vs. No. 13 Jared Franek (NDSU) 165: No. 2 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) vs. Luke Weber (NDSU) Peyton Hall (WVU) vs. Cole Moody (Wyoming) 174: No. 3 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) vs. Cody Surratt (Air Force) No. 9 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) vs. Jackson Hemauer (Northern Colorado) 184: No. 5 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) vs. Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) No. 12 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) vs. No. 13 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) 197: No. 5 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) vs. No. 9 A.J. Ferrari (Oklahoma State) No. 6 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) vs. No. 7 Noah Adams (WVU) 285: No. 7 Gannon Gremmel (ISU) vs. Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) No. 20 Brian Andrews (Wyoming) vs. Brandon Metz (NDSU)

Iowa's Austin DeSanto lifts Nebraska's Tucker Sjomeling in their quarterfinal match (Photo/Darren Miller, Iowa Athletics) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Top-ranked Iowa had a strong opening session at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, winning 11 of 13 matches and advancing eight wrestlers to tonight's semifinals. The Hawkeyes lead the team race with 75.5 points. Iowa's eight semifinalists include Spencer Lee (125), Austin DeSanto (133), Jaydin Eierman (141), Kaleb Young (157), Alex Marinelli (165), Michael Kemerer (174), Jacob Warner (197) and Tony Cassioppi (285). "We have more wrestling to do, that's the first thing on my mind," Tom Brands said. "We are looking forward to tonight. I have eight matches on my mind, and two more ore the other side. We had guys who got ready to go and tonight we need 10 to get ready. There is so much more wrestling to do." Nebraska sits in second place with 63 points after advancing seven wrestlers, including a pair of seventh-seeded wrestlers -- Ridge Lovett (141) and Peyton Robb (165) -- to the semifinals. Lovett topped second-seeded Max Murin of Iowa 11-6 in the 149-pound quarterfinals, while Robb moved into the semifinals with a 9-5 win over second-seeded Dan Braunagelof of Illinois at 165 pounds. Nebraska's other semifinalists include Chad Red (141), Mike Labriola (174), Taylor Venz (184), Eric Schultz (197) and Christian Lance (285). Michigan ended the first session in third place with 49 points and has five semifinalists: Kanen Storr (149), Cameron Amine (165), Logan Massa (174), Myles Amine (197) and Mason Parris (285). Penn State (45) and Minnesota (35) round out the top five teams. Parris, ranked No. 2, cruised to an 11-3 major decision over Penn State freshman Greg Kerkvliet at 285 pounds in perhaps the most anticipated match of the opening session. Tonight's Session 2, which includes semifinal matches and consolation matches, is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET. Team Standings 1. Iowa 75.5 2. Nebraska 63 3. Michigan 49 4. Penn State 45 5. Minnesota 35 6. Ohio State 33 7. Michigan State 25 8. Northwestern 24 9. Purdue 23.5 9. Rutgers 23.5 11. Illinois 17.5 12. Wisconsin 11.5 13. Indiana 7.5 14. Maryland 2 Quarterfinal Results 125: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) tech. fall No. 7 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan), 19-4 5:33 No. 16 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) tech. fall Dylan Shawver (Rutgers), 20-4 7:00 No. 9 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) dec. No. 12 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), 3-2 No. 17 Devin Schroder (Purdue) dec. No. 8 Liam Cronin (Nebraska), 3-1 SV 133: No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec. Jacob Rundell (Purdue), 9-3 No. 8 Chris Cannon (Northwestern) maj. dec. Kyle Luigs (Indiana), 19-6 No. 11 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) dec. Boo Dryden (Minnesota), 12-5 No. 3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. Tucker Sjomeling (Nebraska), 4-1 141: No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) pinned Parker Filius (Purdue), 3:59 No. 8 Chad Red (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 14 Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 12-3 No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) dec. Cayden Rooks (Indiana), 6-1 No. 2 Nick Lee (Penn State) tech. fall Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State), 16-1 149: No. 2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) maj. dec. Peyton Omania (Michigan State), 9-1 No. 9 Kanen Storr (Michigan) dec. No. 17 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern), 3-3 TB2 Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) dec. No. 14 Griffin Parriott (Purdue), 4-1 No. 19 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec. No. 6 Max Murin (Iowa), 11-6 157: No. 1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj. dec. Elijah Cleary (Ohio State), 8-0 No. 7 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) dec. No. 8 Brady Berge (Penn State), 3-2 No. 6 Brayton Lee (Minnesota) dec. No. 9 Will Lewan (Michigan), 8-3 No. 5 Kaleb Young (Iowa) dec. Chase Saldate (Michigan State), 4-0 165: No. 1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue), 8-2 No. 13 Cameron Amine (Michigan) dec. No. 14 Andrew Sparks (Minnesota), 5-2 No. 10 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) maj. dec. Jonathan Spadafora (Maryland), 15-6 No. 19 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) dec. No. 8 Dan Braunagel (Illinois), 9-5 174: No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) pinned Jared Krattiger (Wisconsin), 1:30 No. 5 Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. No. 13 Donnell Washington (Indiana), 9-3 No. 4 Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State), 2-0 No. 2 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) dec. Jackson Turley (Rutgers), 11-9 184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec. No. 16 Nelson Brands (Iowa), 14-8 No. 18 John Poznanski (Rutgers) pinned No. 10 Owen Webster (Minnesota), 4:55 No. 14 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) dec. No. 9 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State), 13-6 No. 7 Christopher Weiler (Wisconsin) dec. No. 19 Max Lyon (Purdue), 9-4 197: No. 1 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec. Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State), 2-0 No. 13 Cam Caffey (Michigan State) dec. No. 14 Lucas Davison (Northwestern) , 6-5 No. 3 Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. No. 17 Thomas Penola (Purdue), 4-0 No. 2 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. No. 15 Michael Beard (Penn State), 8-6 285: No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) tech. fall No. 19 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State), 19-4 5:34 No. 12 Christian Lance (Nebraska) dec. No. 10 Luke Luffman (Illinois), 3-1 SV No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 13 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin), 9-1 No. 2 Mason Parris (Michigan) maj. dec. No. 6 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State), 11-3 Semifinal Matchups 125: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. No. 16 Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) No. 9 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) vs. No. 17 Devin Schroder (Purdue) 133: No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. No. 8 Chris Cannon (Northwestern) No. 3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) vs. No. 11 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) 141: No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) vs. No. 8 Chad Red (Nebraska) No. 2 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) 149: No. 2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) vs. No. 9 Kanen Storr (Michigan) No. 19 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) vs. Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) 157: No. 1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. No. 7 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) No. 5 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. No. 6 Brayton Lee (Minnesota) 165: No. 1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. No. 13 Cameron Amine (Michigan) No. 10 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) vs. No. 19 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 174: No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) vs. No. 5 Logan Massa (Michigan) No. 2 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) vs. No. 4 Carter Starocci (Penn State) 184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. No. 18 John Poznanski (Rutgers) No. 7 Christopher Weiler (Wisconsin) vs. No. 14 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) 197: No. 1 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. No. 13 Cam Caffey (Michigan State) No. 2 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. No. 3 Jacob Warner (Iowa) 285: No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. No. 12 Christian Lance (Nebraska) No. 2 Mason Parris (Michigan) vs. No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)

Link: Results A Twitter List by InterMat

Link: Results A Twitter List by InterMat

WICHITA, Kan. -- [Brackets | Team Scores] After a hard fought first day, Grand View (Iowa) finds itself in a familiar position, resting atop the team standings with 98 points at the conclusion of Friday. Life University (Ga.) pushed the nine-time national champions throughout the day including holding a slight edge in the team race after the conclusion of the quarterfinals. The Running Eagles totaled 95.5 points after Day 1. Both Life and Grand View had ten student-athletes earn All-America status. The Running Eagles have seven wrestlers in the semifinals tomorrow while the Vikings have four. Team Standings (After Day 1): Grand View (Iowa) 98.0 Life (Ga.) 95.5 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 64.5 Reinhardt (Ga.) 50.0 Indiana Tech 43.0 Cumberland (Tenn.) 38.5 Cumberlands (Ky.) 36.5 Southeastern (Fla.) 35 Thomas More (Ky.) 32.5 Graceland (Iowa) 31 Day 1 Highlights A total of 244 wrestlers from 52 institutions from 24 different states were represented in the field on day one of competition. History, upsets and program firsts all took place on day one of the 64th annual NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championship Life had the lead after the quarterfinals but Grand View rallied in the consolations earning eight points to gain a 2.5 point lead to end the day. In the second round of the championship bracket at 149 Jack Latimer of Arizona Christian upset No. 1 seed Trent Johnson of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) by decision (6-4). Latimer went on to defeat John Deiner of Morningside (Iowa) to become the first All-American in Arizona Christian school history. Thomas More (Ky.) made program history today starting in the quarterfinals of the 141 bracket when No. 7 seed Ryan Moore defeated No. 2 seed Kendon Lee of Grand View (Iowa) to become the first All-American in school history. Teammate, Wilder Wichman (157) quickly followed defeated Tanner Abbas of Grand View to become the second All-America for the Bears. Brandon Reed of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) earned most pins in least about of time with three pins in a total of 5:59 Giovanni Bonilla of Grand View provided the most team points to the Vikings today totaling 15 points. Baterdene Boldmaa of Doane (Neb.) scored the most single match points with 22 Nick Henneman of Lourdes had the fastest tech fall at 1:54 ss well has most tech falls in least about of time with three in 11:02 Up Next Day 2 is scheduled to get started at 10 a.m. at the Hartman Arena. The Championship session will follow and begin at 7 p.m., broadcast live on ESPN3.

The brackets have been released for the 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The event takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa. Link: Brackets Saturday: Coverage on Big Ten Network/FOX Sports app and Big Ten Network+) 10 a.m. ET Session I (First Round, Quarterfinals) 7:30 p.m. ET Session II (Semifinals, Wrestlebacks) Sunday: Coverage on Big Ten Network/FOX Sports app and Big Ten Network+) Noon ET Session III (Consolation Semifinals, 7th-Place Matches) 4 p.m. ET Session IV (1st-, 3rd- and 5th- Place Matches)

Bryan Pearsall (Photo/Penn Athletics) PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania's head wrestling coach, Roger Reina, has announced the promotion of Bryan Pearsall to the position of Associate Head Coach. Pearsall has been on staff with the Quakers for the past four seasons. "We are delighted to promote Bryan to the role of Associate Head Coach," said Reina. "Since arriving at Penn in the summer of 2017, Bryan has continued to assume broader responsibilities and prove his effectiveness both on and off the mats. We see continued development potential in his future to deliver increasing momentum to #TheMovement at Penn Wrestling, as we climb the mountains of the NCAA Wrestling landscape." While at Penn, Pearsall has helped coach nine NCAA Championships qualifiers including a second-team NCAA All-American, nine All-Ivy wrestlers, and one EIWA champion as well as one National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Academic All-American. Pearsall has been instrumental in Penn's Top-25 recruiting classes each of the last two years, including the No. 9 overall class in 2019 and No. 12 class in 2018. "I am honored to receive the distinction of Associate Head Coach," said Pearsall. "I would like to thank everyone within the Penn Athletics and Penn Wrestling communities for their continued faith and support. I am extremely excited to continue to build a championship culture at Penn alongside Head Coach Roger Reina. My family and I are more committed than ever to making Penn and Philadelphia our long-term home." Prior to his arrival at Penn, Pearsall was on staff at Army West Point from 2014-17 working primarily with the lower and middle weights. During his tenure with the Black Knights, Pearsall coached 13 NCAA Championships qualifiers, and he helped Army climb the EIWA rankings in both competitive results and recruiting success. Pearsall's work in recruiting student-athletes to West Point helped the Black Knights land a 2017 recruiting class ranked No. 16 by WIN Magazine, No. 21 by InterMat and No. 23 by The Open Mat. Before his stint at West Point, Pearsall spent the 2013-14 season at Rutgers where he also coached the Scarlet Knight Wrestling Club Regional Training Center (RTC) hosted by Rutgers. In their last season in the EIWA before transitioning to the Big Ten, the Scarlet Knights posted an 11-5 record in dual meets and finished third at a highly competitive EIWA Championships in The Palestra. Competing for Penn State in college, Pearsall was a four-year starter for the Nittany Lions and a member of Penn State's 2011, 2012, and 2013 NCAA championship teams under head coach Cael Sanderson. In 2013, Pearsall was fifth at the Big Ten Championships and an NCAA qualifier at 141 pounds. Pearsall graduated from Penn State in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in rehabilitation and human services. A product of Lititz, Pa., he was a high school standout at Warwick High School before moving on to State College. Pearsall competed in freestyle for Pennsylvania USA Wrestling (PAUSAW), earning USAW Junior freestyle All-American honors. A USA Wrestling Silver Certified coach, Pearsall has served as Head Coach of the Pennsylvania U16 Freestyle Team and has coached numerous All-Americans and champions at the U16, Junior, UWW Junior, and U23 age divisions in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. Under Pearsall's leadership, the Pennsylvania U16 National Team has won two national championships.

Sammy Alvarez wrestling PSU's Roman Bravo-Young at the 2021 Big Tens (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Sammy Alvarez will not compete for Rutgers at the Big Ten Championships, according to a tweet from Rutgers wrestling Friday morning. The late change was unrelated to COVID-19. Shane Metzler will replace Alvarez in the lineup this weekend. Alvarez was 3-0 this season and ranked No. 6 at 133 pounds. He was an NCAA qualifier last season as a freshman after posting a 26-10 record.

Nick Mitchell PARK CITY, Kan. -- On Thursday evening the NAIA hosted a virtual National Championship Coaches Social. At the conclusion of the event, National Wrestling Coaches Association Executive Director Mike Moyer recognized the 11 finalists for the NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year and announced the winner as selected by his peers. The award is presented to the coach that has demonstrated outstanding effort throughout the season in developing and elevating their program on campus and in the community. The NWCA National Coach of the Year awards program is presented by Defense Soap, the official Hygiene partner of the NWCA. "In continuing our mission, Defense Soap is proud to partner with the NWCA, to keep wrestlers on the mat with our products and education in hygiene." Guy Sako, Founder and CEO of Defense Soap. The recipient of this year's NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year is Nick Mitchell of Grand View University (IA). Coach Mitchell is in his 13th year as head coach and his achievements this season include a 14-0 dual meet record which has pushed their collegiate all-time dual win streak to 103 consecutive victories. His squad also captured its sixth straight Heart of America Athletic Conference championship with eight individual conference champions while qualifying 12 athletes for the NAIA Championships. His current roster has an incredible 66 wrestlers. "It is my honor on behalf of the NWCA and our Board of Directors to recognize Coach Nick Mitchell as the National Coach of the Year," Said Mike Moyer, NWCA Executive Director. "What Nick has done at Grand View has been nothing short of amazing. To be in a position to win a 10th consecutive national title just shows the consistency and drive he has implemented within his program." 2021 NAIA Coach of the Year Finalists Appalachian Athletic Conference: Jeff Bedard, Reinhardt University American Midwest Conference: Todd Allen, Williams Baptist University Cascade Collegiate Conference: Dustyn Azure, Eastern Oregon University Great Plains Athletic Conference: Jake Stevenson, Morningside College Heart of America Athletic Conference: Nick Mitchell, Grand View University Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference: Chad Mattox, York College Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference: Courtney Strauss, Bethany College Mid-South Conference: Corey Ruff, Lindsey Wilson College Mid-South Conference: Omi Acosta, Life University Sooner Athletic Conference: Ray Bedford, Texas Wesleyan University Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference: Thomas Pompei - Indiana Tech About the NWCA The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a non-profit organization for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on developing coaches who work in academic environments. The three core competencies of the NWCA are: Coaching Development, Student-Athlete Welfare, and the Promotion of Wrestling.

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships picture will get more clarity this weekend as the Big Ten Wrestling Championships and Big 12 Wrestling Championships take place Saturday and Sunday. While the Big 12 can feel preordained, there are several matchups in the Big Ten that will allow for fans to have a better indication of how the postseason race will proceed. The Iowa Hawkeyes will be the clear favorites to win the Big Ten, but their ascension and predetermination as the best team might make any failures by their top wrestlers seem like a sign of weakness. Similarly, the expectations around Penn State's season have been mooted, but with new heavy hitters in the lineup a good outcome this weekend might give credence to the idea the Nittany Lions can unseat the Hawkeyes. I'm skeptical. As you'll see below I have Iowa winning five weight classes, and even if Penn State overperforms and wins three (or four) they are at a disadvantage in total points scored and access to bonus points. The Iowa team really does seem to be significantly more dominant. As it was last week, I think the biggest idea to keep in mind is that we are making it to the end of the year. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will happen and it will be a massive success for the wrestlers, administrators, coaches, and fans. To your questions ... Q: Who are your predicted champs for this weekend's Big Ten Championships? -- Mike C. Foley: See predictions below. Individual: 125: Spencer Lee (Iowa) 133: Roman Bravo Young (Penn State) 141: Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) 149: Max Murin (Iowa) 157: Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) 165: Alex Marinelli (Iowa) 174: Mike Kemerer (Iowa) 184: Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 197: Myles Amine (Michigan) 285: Gable Steveson (Minnesota) Team: 1. Iowa 2. Penn State 3. Michigan 4. Ohio State Greg Kerkvliet enters the postseason with a 2-0 record and No. 6 national ranking (Photo/PSU Athletics) Q: What do you think of Greg Kerkvliet being seeded seventh at the Big Tens? He will likely face Mason Parris in the quarters. On one hand you could argue Kerkvliet is seeded too high based on wrestling only two matches. On the other hand you could argue that he should be a top four seed because of his talent and past accomplishments. -- Mike C. Foley: Fair! I think the committee actually balanced the skill and promise with his two wins. While that might feel unfair to Mason Parris, I hardly think that the Michigan Wolverine staff is bemoaning or complaining. Mason is one of the best heavyweights in the country and if you think they are 2-3 then they will fall that way regardless of where they meet in the lower bracket. This year was a mess with allocations, conference seeding, and a myriad other items of general discontent. I think there are greater injustices and that an early round meetup between two titans is a net positive for the fans. I have Mason winning the match, but I also have to admit that I haven't seen enough of Greg Kerkvliet this season to know if he's a generational talent who has just lacked the spotlight in a down year. Q: Do you expect Zahid Valencia to win the Matteo Pellicone again? -- Mike C. Foley: Here is the entry list for 86 kilograms: Hunter Lee (Canada) Clayton Pye (Canada) Chahar Parveen (Indiana) Azamat Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan) Yeskali Dauletkazy (Kazakhstan) Ethan Ramos (Puerto Rico) Fatih Erdin (Turkey) Mark Hall (USA) Myles Martin (USA) Zahid Valencia (USA) While Zahid is almost certain to medal, I'm not sure I would predict him winning the tournament. Erdin is a monster, Mark Hall is a problem, and Myles Martin can beat anyone at any time. The tournament doesn't have a ton of foreign talent so the Americans will be seeing a lot of each other. Familiarity with an opponent can make for weird outcomes. Hoping for some awesome action. Q: Any idea what ESPN's streaming plan will be for the NCAAs? I'm assuming its similar to the past but I have not heard anything yet. -- Mike C. Foley: Same.

Roman Bravo-Young gets in on a shot on Austin DeSanto in the Big Ten semifinals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) The Big Ten Conference got a late start to the season and kept everything inside the confines of the conference. In many ways this limited the possible competition, but one positive is it also made stats easier to collect. Thanks to the Big Ten Network, I was able to collect scorebook information for all Big Ten duals this season. The following looks back on the regular season of Big Ten duals and previews the upcoming conference tournament this week. Note: the following information does not include the so-called "extra matches." Even though those matches are included on records, they were not always recorded or broadcast. Also, due to video issues, three other matches (Lucas Byrd vs. Nate Cummings, Rayvon Foley vs. Liam Cronin and Jordan Hamdan vs. Tucker Sjomeling) were not included. Top takedown artists As a team, Minnesota scored the most takedowns of any team in the conference. They collectively scored 192 takedowns across their nine duals. The biggest contributor was heavyweight No. 1 Gable Steveson, who scored 46 takedowns all by himself. That was the most of any wrestler in the conference. The total is actually more than the combined total of three entire Big Ten teams. With that being said, Minnesota wrestled nine matches. This year, that was a privilege not enjoyed by all teams. If you divide the number of takedowns by the number of matches, Steveson ends up with 5.11 takedowns per match. That rate is only the fourth highest in the conference. Steveson's takedown rate trails Aaron Brooks (Penn State), Austin DeSanto (Iowa) and the conference leader Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State). The 133-pound wrestler had six matches during the season and notched 40 takedowns. Despite wrestling three fewer matches than Steveson, he finished second in the conference with 40 total takedowns. The fact that both Bravo-Young (6.67 takedowns per match) and DeSanto (6.60 takedowns per match) had the two highest takedown rates in the conference sets up a very interesting potential final. They secured the top two seeds and have quite the history. DeSanto won their first two meetings during the 2019 season. However, Bravo-Young had the advantage in both of their encounters last season. He won the dual match via injury default and took a 3-2 decision at the 2020 Big Ten tournament. Generating points on top Many think the advent of the four-point near fall has changed college wrestling. Competitors with a slick tilt game can have a huge impact on their matches from the top position. Whether you think that is a positive or not, the ability to score from the top is embodied by No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa). Lee wrestled only four matches this season and scored falls in all four matches. Despite spending fewer than eight minutes on the mat, he scored seven four-point near falls. This was the second highest total in the conference, behind only No. 17 Devin Schroder (Purdue), who finished with nine. However, it was tops on a per match basis. His 1.75 four-point near falls per match was the highest. No. 19 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) and No. 1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) tied for the second highest rate with 1.5, but both of them wrestled only two matches. The "No Twos Club" During the Big Ten regular season, 12 wrestlers did not surrender a single two-point score the entire season. Of these 12 competitors, four wrestled two or fewer matches. The list of those who wrestled at least three matches without allowing a single two-point score are No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota), No. 2 Mason Parris (Michigan), No. 2 Nick Lee (Penn State), No. 3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa), No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa), No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), Kaleb Young (Iowa) and No 14 Griffin Parriott (Purdue). Obviously, the potential heavyweight final really stands out. Steveson and Parris captured the top two seeds after dominating the field. They also put up strong freestyle results during the extensive offseason. They met last year at the Big Ten tournament, and Steveson took an 8-6 decision. Another wild card in the heavyweight division is No. 6 Greg Kervliet (Penn State). He wrestled in only one dual match this season, a quick win over Maryland's Garrett Kappes. The former Minnesota prep added another quick victory over Kappes' teammate Connor Bowes in an extra match. Steveson and Parris remain the favorites to make the finals, but Kerkvliet has the pedigree to make it interesting. Iowa's Lee found his way onto this list, but he probably should have an honor on his own. While 12 wrestlers did not allow any two-point scores, Lee did not allow a score of any kind this season. In his four matches, his opponents failed to register a single point. He is the only wrestler to accomplish that during this season in the Big Ten. The toughest to ride reside at 133 Coaches hate reversals. If you go to any youth tournament throughout the country, you will likely hear at least one coach yelling, "one, not two!" while his/her charge is riding. Despite this some wrestlers excel at turning the bottom position into two points. In the regular season, Indiana's starter at 133 pounds, Kyle Luigs led the conference with seven reversals. Scoring from the bottom was an essential part of his offense as he managed only six takedowns throughout the season. Luigs wrestled seven dual matches on the year, so his average per match was an even 1. The only wrestler with a higher reversals per match rate was Rutgers' No. 6 Sammy Alvarez who scored four reversals through three matches also at 133 pounds. Luigs pulled the 13th seed, while Alvarez enters the tournament as the third seed. If these two happen to meet in the field, it could easily turn into a scramble-fest with both wrestlers doing solid work in the bottom position.

Link: Brackets The pairings have been announced for the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship set to take place on March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Brackets for all 10 weight classes can be found here. The Championship begins Saturday at 11 a.m. CT with preliminary & quarterfinal matches, while the Saturday night session starting at 5 p.m. CT features semifinal and consolation quarterfinal matches. Sunday's consolation semis, third and fifth-place matches start at 10 a.m. CT with the final culminating at 5 p.m. CT. Big 12 Now on ESPN+ will broadcast the first three sessions of the event, while the championship round will air on ESPN2 beginning at 5 p.m. CT. This is the sixth neutral-site conference championship for the sport and the fifth in Tulsa. Last year, the Oklahoma State Cowboys won their eighth consecutive team title and their 18th Big 12 title overall. The wrestlers participating in the Big 12 Championship will be competing for berths into the NCAA Wrestling Championship. Tickets for the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship can be purchased online at www.bokcenter.com. All fans will be in POD seating, which increases distancing and minimizes fan crossover when entering and exiting their seats. Fans must purchase all tickets in a selected POD group, available in select section groupings of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 seats. 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship Schedule (times are subject to change) Saturday, March 6 Session 1: Preliminary & Quarterfinal Matches [Big 12 Now on ESPN+] - 11 a.m. CT Session 2: Semifinal & Consolation Quarterfinal Matches [Big 12 Now on ESPN+] - 5 p.m. CT Sunday, March 7 Session 3: Consolation Semifinals, Third & Fifth Place Matches [Big 12 Now on ESPN+] - 10 a.m. CT Session 4: Championship Matches [ESPN2] - 5 p.m. CT

FREMONT, Neb. -- Midland University has announced the hiring of Chelsea Dionisio as its new women's wrestling coach. Dionisio will be taking the helm for the Warriors later this spring while current interim head coach Daviaire Dickerson transitions into an assistant coaching role for next season. Chelsea Dionisio"I'm extremely excited for the opportunity to take over the program and get to work with some amazing young women," Dionisio said. "Not only that, but I'm thankful to continue my coaching career at a university committed to building leaders, in and out of the classroom." Dionisio, a native of Santa Maria, California, spent the past two seasons as a graduate assistant for the University of Jamestown. Prior to that, she was a standout on the mat for the Jimmies. She was a two-time conference finalist, earning KCAC Championship in 2019, and was also a two-time U23 Nationals All-American. While coaching for Jamestown, she has helped coach the team to back-to-back conference titles that also included several individual champions. Last year the team finished 3rd at the WCWA Nationals and had a total of seven All-Americans. She has also spent time assisting Team North Dakota in preparation for the Fargo National Tournament. This year Jamestown was the KCAC Champion while Midland finished as the runner-up. Between the two schools, the Jimmies and Warriors swept the individual titles. When asked about her goals for the Midland program, she said, "I want to build a team of respectable leaders, upstanding community members, and dedicated student-athletes who successfully balance academics and athletics. I will be working toward a team conference championship, as well as becoming an NAIA National Scholar Team."

The Last Chance Qualifier, which is the final opportunity for wrestlers to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling, will be held at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, March 26-27. There will be a required COVID testing protocol for all athletes, coaches, team leaders and medical staff to participate in the event. All these people are required to show a negative COVID-19 PCR test result. Test must have been completed less than 72 hours before March 26, 2021. Only a PCR test will be accepted. Women's freestyle and Greco-Roman will be held on Friday, March 26, with men's freestyle on Saturday, March 27. There will be a limited number of spectators permitted. Tickets must be purchased online before March 24. This event will be streamed live by FloWrestling. The full schedule for this competition is below. Monday, March 23 Online Athlete Pre-Registration Deadline is 11:59 PM CT. Must verify weight, style and team name by this deadline for the seeding meeting. This can be done online when you register. If you miss this deadline, you can still sign up for Late Online Registration up until the day before competition. For seeding information contact Cody Bickley - cbickley@usawrestling.org Thursday, March 25 7:00 PM CT Deadline - Late Online Registration Deadline - Late registration will be conducted online and will be made available after the pre-registration deadline closes. 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM - Practice Facility - Spartan Mat Club, 10365 Alta Vista Road, Suite #111, Fort Worth, TX 76105 Please call or Email for appointment!! 972-207-4475 spartanmatclub@yahoo.com Note: Texas Wesleyan will only have weigh-ins and competition Friday, March 26 7:30 AM - 8:00 AM - Senior Women's Freestyle and Greco-Roman (scratch weight) Medical Check and Weigh-in 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM - Senior Women's Freestyle and Greco-Roman - Session I - Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolation Rds. 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM - Senior Women's Freestyle and Greco-Roman - Session II - Consolation Semifinals and 3rd Place 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM - Senior Women's Freestyle and Greco-Roman - Session II - Finals - Followed by True 2nd 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM - Practice Facility - Spartan Mat Club, 10365 Alta Vista Road, Suite #111, Fort Worth, TX 76105 Please call or Email for appointment!! 972-207-4475 spartanmatclub@yahoo.com Note: Texas Wesleyan will only have weigh-ins and competition Saturday, March 27 7:30 AM - 8:00 AM - Senior Men's Freestyle (scratch weight) Medical Check and Weigh-in 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM - Senior Men's Freestyle - Session I - Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolation Rds. 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM - Senior Men's Freestyle - Session II - Consolation Rds., Consolation Semifinal and 3rd Place 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM - Senior Men's Freestyle - Session II - Finals - Followed by True 2nd Sessions and schedule subject to change, all times are Central Time (CT) ADDITIONAL EVENT INFORMATION Last Chance Qualifier Information: • Location: Fort Worth, TX @ Texas Wesleyan University • Dates: March 26-27 • Required Testing - Prior to Arrival All athletes, coaches, team leaders and medical staff are required to show a negative COVID-19 PCR test result. Test must have been conducted less than 72 hours before March 26, 2021. Only PCR test will be accepted. Schedule Click for full schedule Registration: • Pricing: - PRE - Registration closes Monday, 03/22/2021 at 11:59 PM CT - $80.00 - LATE ONLINE Registration closes Thursday, 03/25/2021 at 06:00 PM CT - $120.00 Click to register for Last Chance Qualifier Coaches Bands Information: • All coaches that wish to purchase a coach's band to gain access to the competition floor to coach athletes must have a USA Wrestling Leader Membership Card. • Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier Coaches Band - $20.00. Must purchase before March 24th! Click for Coaches Band information Ticketing Information: Admission Prices - Must purchase before March 24th! Event Admission - $20.00. Click for Ticketing Information Accommodations: Click for Accommodations COVID-19 Screening: • The Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier will be conducted following the requirements of the state and local health authorities, as well as using the safety provisions of the USA Wrestling Return to Events Guidelines. USA Wrestling and the local organizers will monitor data and local trends closely leading up to the event. Click for Event Website

Gable Steveson and Mason Parris embrace after the Big Ten finals match in 2020 (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) The Big Ten Conference has crowned the last 13 NCAA team champions in wrestling. And that likely would have continued in 2020. The top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes rolled to the team title at last year's Big Ten Championships and were heavily favored to win the NCAA team title before the event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Big Ten is as strong as it has ever been heading into this weekend's Big Tens at Penn State. That strength is reflected in the national rankings. Iowa, Penn State and Michigan occupy the top three spots in the country. It's a loaded tournament with so many great matches expected as we move closer to the NCAA tournament later this month in St. Louis. Here are some of top storylines to watch for at the Big Ten tournament: Iowa returns after long layoff The Hawkeyes have not wrestled since Feb. 7 after its last three duals were not held because of issues with the pandemic. Iowa is loaded from top-to-bottom. Leading the way is superstar and Hodge Trophy winner Spencer Lee at 125 pounds. He is ranked No. 1 and hasn't been tested this season. Lee will definitely be in contention to make the U.S. Olympic Team in freestyle this year. The Hawkeyes also feature top-ranked wrestlers in Jaydin Eierman (141), Alex Marinelli (165) and Michael Kemmerer (174). This could be the year Iowa wins its first NCAA crown since 2010. Don't forget about Penn State The Nittany Lions lost superstars Mark Hall and Vincenzo Joseph, but Cael Sanderson has another group of talented wrestlers who are capable of challenging Iowa twice in the next two weeks. Returning stars Roman Bravo-Young (133), Nick Lee (141) and Aaron Brooks (184) are legitimate national title contenders along with a number of standout newcomers. Gable's run of dominance How much fun has it been to watch Minnesota big man Gable Steveson? This is someone who could be contending for Olympic gold this summer. He is the total package with size, speed and strength. He has been dominant and his endurance has been superb. He's a dynamic and entertaining wrestler to watch. The Big Ten is very deep in this class and Michigan's second-ranked Mason Parris could present a challenge as could No. 3 Tony Cassioppi of Iowa and No. 6 Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State. Michigan has superb lineup The Wolverines are rolling again under Coach Sean Bormet and will make their share of noise in March. In addition to Parris, Michigan is led by Myles Amine (No. 2 nationally at 197) and Mason Parris (No. 2 at heavyweight). Logan Massa is fifth at 174. The Wolverines won't have second-ranked Stevan Micic at 133. He recently announced, due to an injury and timing, that he won't wrestle in the college postseason. Micic plans to compete for Serbia in the upcoming Olympics. Husker power Veteran Nebraska coach Mark Manning had a loaded team last year that was poised to win an NCAA trophy if not for the pandemic. The Huskers have followed with another superb season. Nebraska is led by top-ranked Eric Schultz at 197. NU's Mikey Labriola is No. 2 at 174 and two-time All-American Chad Red is No. 7 at 141. Loaded weight classes All of the weight classes are stacked with studs, but 141 and 197 each have the nation's top three wrestlers. At 141, Iowa's Jaydin Eierman is No. 1, Penn State's Nick Lee is No. 2 and Sebastian Rivera of Rutgers are ranked 1-2-3 in the country. At 197, the top three include Nebraska's Eric Schultz, Michigan's Myles Amine and Iowa's Jacob Warner. The 174 class has five of the top six wrestlers with Iowa's Michael Kemmerer and Nebraska's Mikey Labriola ranked 1-2. Ohio State's Sammy Sasso is pre-seeded No. 1 at 149 pounds (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Sasso set for another shot Ohio State's Sammy Sasso would have been in the mix to win NCAAs as a freshman last year at 149. Sasso, No. 2 in the nation, is unbeaten again and ready to make a run at winning Big Tens and NCAAs. He's a dangerous wrestler who is a threat to pin anyone as he showed against Iowa's Max Murin, who is ranked sixth nationally. And don't forget about … Northwestern's Ryan Deakin, who also excels in freestyle, tops the national rankings at 157. There also are plenty other teams who can do their share of damage this week. They include No. 11 Minnesota, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 17 Northwestern, No. 18 Rutgers, No. 20 Illinois and No. 24 Purdue. You can't take any opponent lightly at Big Tens. Expanded coverage The Big Ten Network is really stepping up as it plans to provide coverage of both days of the league tournament. Shane Sparks was like a kid on Christmas Day when he broke the news on a recent broadcast that they were covering both days. Kudos to Sparky, Jim Gibbons and Tim Johnson for all of their awesome coverage. And most of all to BTN for recognizing the importance of this major event. This is a huge step for providing additional coverage of the sport. The competition on Day 1 is every bit as good as Day 2. Final note The Big Tens unfortunately were the last event of the 2019-20 season. Fortunately, that likely won't happen again. Kudos to everyone for battling through missed meets and mat time during the pandemic this season to hopefully have a safe and productive postseason. Looking forward to watching both days of action on BTN. Be sure to tune in and check it out. Can't wait to check it out. Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.