InterMat Staff

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- In their last dual at West Gym, Northern Iowa seniors Isaiah Patton, Bryce Steiert, Jay Schwarm, Paden Moore, Taylor Lujan, and Max Thomsen celebrated their careers with a 36-6 victory over West Virginia. Schwarm, Thomsen, Steiert and Lujan all earned bonus-point wins to spur the Panther victory. At 125, Schwarm started off the night with a fall 58 seconds into the first period against West Virginia's Joey Thomas. Schwarm now leads the NCAA in pins with 13 on the season and 12 against D1 opponents. Schwarm currently sits at fifth in the UNI record book with 47 career pins. Jack Skudlarczyk dominated Lucas Seibert at 133 with a 14-3 major decision. Skudlarczyk recorded two takedowns and 2:39 of riding time in the win to give UNI a 10-0 lead. West Gym got loud and rowdy after Michael Blockhus defeated Caleb Rea 11-10 in double overtime at 141. Blockhus carried the riding time point to send the bout to overtime. The two remained tied throughout the Sudden Victory period. In the first 30 of TB1, Blockhus escaped giving him the one-point lead. He rode his opponent through the second half of the period to pick up the 11-10 win to extend the lead to 13-0. T At 149, Thomsen tallied seven takedowns en route to the 22-6 technical fall. Thomsen's record improved to 18-7 on the season and 101-33 in his career. The Panthers extend the lead 18-0. West Virginia scored their first points of the night at 157 when Moore fell to Alex Hornfeck 3-7. The Panthers went into intermission with an 18-3 lead. Austin Yant defeated Nick Kiussis at 165 with an 8-2 decision. Yant recorded two takedowns and over four minutes of riding time in the win to extend UNI's team lead to 21-3. At 174, Steiert recorded his fastest pin of the season at 1:04 against Scott Joll. Steiert is only six wins away from breaking the 100-win mark. His record improves to 22-2 on the season and 94-29 overall. The Panther Train continued to steam through West Virginia 27-3. With the third pin of the night at 5:48, Lujan defeated Jackson Moomau after recording eight takedowns. Lujan is currently tied for eighth place in the UNI record book for career pins with a total of 31. Lujan's record moves to 106-22 overall and 22-2 on the season. At 197, Patton received a standing ovation after a hard-fought 6-1 loss to second-ranked Noah Adams. West Virginia cut the lead to 33-6 with one bout to wrestle. Carter Isley closed the dual with a convincing win at 285. He notched two takedown and picked up a 6-2 decision over Sean Mullican. The Panthers ended the night 36-6 and improved to 6-1 in the Big 12, the best record in the league. UP NEXT The Panther Train travels to Ames Sunday to meet in-state foe Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum Sunday at 2 p.m. Results: 125: Jay Schwarm (UNI) over Joey Thomas (WV) (Fall 0:58) 133: Jack Skudlarczyk (UNI) over Lucas Seibert (WV) (MD 14-3) 141: Michael Blockhus (UNI) over Caleb Rea (WV) (TB-1 11-10) 149: Max Thomsen (UNI) over Liam Lusher (WV) (TF 22-6 7:00) 157: Alex Hornfeck (WV) over Paden Moore (UNI) (Dec 7-3) 165: Austin Yant (UNI) over Nick Kiussis (WV) (Dec 8-2) 174: Bryce Steiert (UNI) over Scott Joll (WV) (Fall 1:04) 184: Taylor Lujan (UNI) over Jackson Moomau (WV) (Fall 5:48) 197: Noah Adams (WV) over Isaiah Patton (UNI) (Dec 6-1) 285: Carter Isley (UNI) over Sean Mullican (WV) (Dec 6-2)

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Gardner-Webb took the last four matchups of the evening to earn a 23-15 win over VMI in Southern Conference wrestling action Friday night at Cormack Hall in Lexington, Va. Gardner-Webb (4-7, 2-4 SoCon) earned its third straight dual win after trailing VMI (4-11, 1-2 SoCon) by a 15-6 margin after six bouts. The Keydets jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, with a major decision at 149 pounds and a decision at 157 pounds. RJ Mosley earned the first win of the night for GWU at 165 pounds, defeating Jon Hoover by a 5-2 decision. VMI expanded its lead to 12-3 after earning a tech fall at 174 pounds, but Samuel Mora would put the 'Dogs back on track at 184 pounds with a 7-3 decision over Max Gallahan to set the score at 12-6. VMI took the matchup at 197 pounds to go back up by a nine-point margin, but GWU would claim all four of the remaining bouts on the card. Gabriel Pickett made quick work of Soloman Harris at 285 pounds, putting his shoulders to the mat in just 1:04, followed by a 16-3 major decision win by Will Edmiston over John McGarry at 125 pounds to give GWU a 16-15 lead. At 133 pounds, Trevon Majette earned a 11-3 major decision over Cliff Conway to put the 'Dogs on top by a 20-15 margin. Brandon Bright sealed the overall match win for GWU in the last match of the night at 141 pounds, earning n 8-2 decision over Noah Roulo. Gardner-Webb returns to action Sunday afternoon in its final home contest of 2020, hosting Davidson at 2:00 pm inside Paul Porter Arena. Results: 149: Seth Fillers (VMI) def. Anthony Schiess (GWU), MD 13-2 157: Will Lawrence (VMI) def. Taylor Parks (GWU), Dec 10-7 165: RJ Mosley (GWU) def. Jon Hoover (VMI), Dec 5-2 174: Neal Richards (VMI) def. Evan Schenk (GWU), TF 25-7 5:55 184: Samuel Mora (GWU) def. Max Gallahan (VMI), Dec 7-3 197: Zach Brown (VMI) def. Roderick Davis (GWU), Dec 6-3 285: Gabriel Pickett (GWU) def. Soloman Harris (VMI), Fall 1:04 125: Will Edmiston (GWU) def. John McGarry (VMI), MD 16-3 133: Trevon Majette (GWU) def. Cliff Conway (VMI), MD 11-3 141: Brandon Bright (GWU) def. Noah Roulo (VMI), Dec 8-2

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- In a match where both teams won five bouts by decision, the Old Dominion wrestling team (8-9, 4-2 MAC) came away with a hard-fought 16-15 victory over Navy (8-5, 3-1 EIWA) on Friday night, earning the tie-breaking win by way of criteria after collecting 41 total match points to Navy's 29. "I thought we wrestled hard in enemy territory," head coach Steve Martin said after the ODU victory, its fourth in its last five matches. "Navy always fights hard and we knew nothing would be easy going into this match." ODU's upset of the night that helped them leave the Naval Academy with a victory came from senior Timothy Young, who earned a 5-3 win by decision over No. 25 Jacob Koser. With the score even at 2-2 after the first period, Young broke away to take a slight lead with a takedown in the second frame and held a 4-3 advantage. The Aurora, Illinois native added an extra point in the third period and held on to beat the ranked Midshipman, 5-3. The win was Young's second against a top-25 opponent this year. Friday's match began at 165 pounds, and the Monarchs came out firing, winning four of the five bouts in the higher-weight classes, including Young's upset. Shane Jones started the night with a 9-3 win by decision over Brian Case in the first bout of the night, earning an early takedown and never looking back. Jones' nine points in his bout were the most earned by a Monarch, a stat that would prove to be beneficial to ODU much later in the night. After No. 16 Spencer Carey earned a 5-2 decision over Alex Cramer in the 174-pound bout, Antonio Agee earned a 7-1 decision over Andrew Buckley, highlighted by over two minutes of riding time in the battle. Young's 5-3 upset win at 197 pounds increased the Monarch lead to 9-3 before junior Will Hilliard took down his opponent by the same score, giving the Monarchs their largest lead of the night at nine points. Hilliard, who trailed, 2-1 after the first frame, managed to outscore Riley Smith 4-1 in the final four minutes of action for the victory. The Midshipmen stormed back in the lower-weight battles, as their comeback started at 125 pounds, where No. 14 Killian Cardinale met No. 26 Logan Treaster. The two ranked combatants only had a point between them after two periods, an escape point earned by Cardinale. Treaster earned an escape point of his own early in the third period to knot up the score again. The battle remained deadlocked at one until the final seconds of regulation, when Treaster took down the ranked Monarch to earn his 20th win of the season. On the other side, Cardinale's loss broke a streak of five consecutive hand-raises for the redshirt sophomore. Navy won another tight matchup in the following bout at 133 pounds, with Casey Cobb walking away with a 3-1 sudden-victory over Shannon Hanna II. Hanna showed incredible balance throughout the entire melee, as Cobb kept going after the Monarch's left leg and hoisting it in the air, but Hanna wouldn't go down. The two were tied at one apiece after regulation, and Cobb finally earned the takedown of Hanna in the overtime period. In the second of two matchups against ranked wrestlers, No. 18 Sa'Derian Perry was tasked with facing No. 31 Cody Trybus in the 141-pound match. Trybus had a 1-0 lead after two periods thanks to an escape point, but Perry earned one of his own in the early stages of the final frame. Later on, Trybus earned a takedown and Perry would escape, but the ranked Monarch couldn't find another point, ultimately taking a 3-2 loss and allowing Navy to tie the dual at 12 apiece. ODU would retake the lead in the 149-pound matchup, as Kenan Carter earned a decisive 7-2 win by decision over Wyatt Long. Carter earned a takedown in the first period and an immediate reversal in the second frame to take a 4-1 lead into the final two minutes. Carter would add three more points with another takedown and riding time to win by five. In the final bout of the evening, No. 10 Larry Early was upset by Jared Prince at 157 pounds in a 3-2 decision, tying the dual at 15-15 and snapping Early's stretch of 12 wins in his last 13 matches. Thanks in part to Jones' nine points and Agee and Carter's seven-point tallies, ODU outscored the Midshipmen, 41-29 in total match points to clinch the victory. "We started out very strong and I thought all of our guys gave a great effort tonight," Martin said of his team. "On to the next one at George Mason." Up Next The Monarchs head to Fairfax, Virginia to take on George Mason in their final road dual of the season and their first Mid-American Conference match in three weeks on Sunday, February 16 at 12 p.m. The Monarchs then wrap up the 2019-2020 regular season at home against Bloomsburg on Sunday, February 23. Results: *165: Shane Jones (ODU) dec. over Brian Case (Navy) 9-3 174: #16 Spencer Carey (Navy) dec. over Alex Cramer (ODU) 5-2 184: Antonio Agee (ODU) dec. over Andrew Buckley (Navy) 7-1 197: Timothy Young (ODU) dec. over #25 Jacob Koser (Navy) 5-3 285: Will Hilliard (ODU) dec. over Riley Smith (Navy) 4-3 125: #26 Logan Treaster (Navy) dec. over #14 Killian Cardinale (ODU) 3-1 133: Casey Cobb (Navy) dec. over Shannon Hanna II (ODU) 3-1 (SV-1) 141: #31 Cody Trybus (Navy) dec. over #18 Sa'Derian Perry (ODU) 3-2 149: Kenan Carter (ODU) dec. over Wyatt Long (Navy) 7-2 157: Jared Prince (Navy) dec. over #10 Larry Early (ODU) 3-2

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Behind six individual victories, including a fall from Alex Esposito (HWT) and a Top-10 upset from No. 25 Nicolas Aguilar (125), Rutgers wrestling (10-6, 4-5) defeated No. 25 Northwestern (4-7, 2-6), 25-13, on Friday night in front of 3,497 fans at the RAC. Willie Scott (174) worked a technical fall while No. 9 Sammy Alvarez (133), No. 15 Billy Janzer (184), and Gerard Angelo (149) all added bonus points with major decisions against the Wildcats, as the Scarlet Knights moved to 4-0 all-time against Northwestern since RU joined the Big Ten Conference in 2014. Prior to the match, the Scarlet Knights honored its 2020 senior class – Scott, Christian Colucci, Zach Firestone, Anthony Olivieri, and Jordan Pagano. Sam Cali, a member of the team who passed away after his redshirt freshman season in 2016, was also honored during the ceremony with his family in attendance. "We haven't won here in a while, so it was important to get one here at the RAC," said head coach Scott Goodale. "It's good for us heading into this big Princeton match next weekend. It's a long week coming up, so it's always better going into the room on Monday with a win. I'm fired up for our guys." HOW IT HAPPENED • After Brett Donner (165) opened the dual with a tough 2-0 loss to No. 13 Shayne Oster, Scott followed against Ankhaa Enkhmandakh and went right to work. In his last home dual match at the RAC, Scott worked two takedowns in the opening period, worked a two-point tilt in the second and closed out the bout with two consecutive takedowns and a four-point tilt in the final seconds for the 16-1 tech fall. • Scott's tech fall put RU ahead 5-3, a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the night. Janzer faced Jack Jessen in the next match, and also dictated the pace. He landed an early single-leg takedown in the first 30 seconds of the opening period, collected another takedown in the second and added two in the final two minutes for the 10-2 major decision. • Pagano faced No. 8 Lucas Davison in the first ranked-vs.-ranked matchup of the night. Pagano wrestled tough against Davison, as both scrambled throughout. However, Davison's takedown in the second period proved to be the difference in the 2-0 decision. • Esposito took the mat against Jack Heyob and quickly fell behind 6-1 after Heyob caught him on his back. But Esposito never relented. Trailing 7-2 with 10 seconds left in the second period, Esposito stuck a deep shot on Heyob and drove him down onto the mat on his back, earning the fall with one second to go in the period. The pin, Esposito's team-high eighth of the season, gave Rutgers a commanding 15-6 lead at intermission. • Back-to-back wins would follow for the Scarlet Knights out of the break, beginning with Aguilar against No. 10 Michael DeAugustino. Tied 1-1 late in the third period, Aguilar and DeAugustino were caught in a scramble. Aguilar shot up from under his opponent's legs, grabbed the head and swung himself around for the takedown. Aguilar held on in the closing seconds for the 3-1 final for the biggest individual victory of his young collegiate career. • Alvarez went up against Dylan Utterback and wasted no time, using takedowns in the first and second periods a for a 5-1 lead. Beginning on top for the final period, Alvarez registered five takedowns down the stretch en route to the 16-4 major. The bonus-point victory gave Rutgers a 22-6 lead with three bouts remaining. • After JoJo Aragona (141) dropped a 2-0 decision to Alec McKenna, Angelo followed with a convincing 10-2 major decision over Eric Yang. Up 4-2 with under 10 seconds to go in the match, Angelo caught Yang in a cradle and earned a takedown and four-back points for the final result. • Michael VanBrill (157) lost by major to 2019 All-American No. 1 Ryan Deakin to close out the night, but the dual was already in hand as RU walked out of the RAC with a 26-13 win. Notes • Rutgers is now 4-0 all-time against Northwestern, with the two schools also meeting in 2015, 2017 and 2018. • The five bonus-point victories against the Wildcats were the most in a dual for Rutgers (Division I) this season. • Janzer now owns a team-high 14 dual victories and 47 team points. • With Aguilars' victory on Friday night, RU now features three wrestlers with more than 20 wins. Alvarez leads the team with 22, Pagano owns 21 and Aguilar is third on the pogrom with 20. Results: 165: 18/13/17 Shayne Oster (NU) over Brett Donner (RU) by decision, 2-0; NU leads 3-0 174: Willie Scott (RU) over Ankhaa Enkhmandakh (NU) by tech fall, 16-1; RU leads 5-3 184: 14/15/17 Billy Janzer (RU) over Jack Jessen (NU) by MD, 10-2; RU leads 9-3 197: 16/9/10 Lucas Davison (NU) over 18/17/19 Jordan Pagano (RU) by decision, 3-0; RU leads 9-6 285: Alex Esposito (RU) over Jack Heyob (NU) by fall (4:59); RU leads 15-6 125: NR/25/24 Nicolas Aguilar (RU) over 10/11/11 Michael DeAugustino (NU) by decision, 3-1; RU leads 18-6 133: 8/9/8 Sammy Alvarez (RU) over Dylan Utterback (NU) by MD, 16-4; RU leads 22-6 141: Alec McKenna (NU) over NR/NR/32 JoJo Aragona (RU) by decision, 2-0; RU leads 22-9 149: Gerard Angelo (RU) over Eric Yang (NU) by MD, 10-2; RU leads 26-9 157: 1/1/1 Ryan Deakin (NU) over Michael VanBrill (RU) by MD, 16-2; RU wins 26-13 UP NEXT Rutgers competes in its final dual of the season on Sunday, February 23 at No. 14 Princeton.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Down 15-9 with four bouts left, No. 2 NC State won three of the final four bouts of the night and claimed a 21-18 win over No. 5 Virginia Tech inside Reynolds Coliseum. The Hokies claimed a pin at 197 pounds to take the 15-9 lead. NC State went back-to-back top-20 wins with takedowns in the final seconds of the third period to get the wins at heavyweight then at 125 pounds to tie the dual 15-15 with two bouts left. R-Fr. Jarrett Trombley clinched the dual for NC State with a third straight Wolfpack top-20 win, as he locked up a cradle for the first period fall over No. 22 Collin Gerardi. The Pack has now clinched at least a share of the ACC regular-season championship, its third straight. NC State has now won three straight top-10 ACC matches, and sits at 4-0 in the conference with a trip to Duke next Friday night. By the time VT won the final bout at 141 pounds, the winner of the dual was already decided. The bout started at 149 pounds, and No. 26 Bryce Andonian of Virginia Tech scored a first period pin over No. 32 A.J. Leitten for a quick 6-0 lead for the Hokies. No. 2 Hayden Hidlay got the Pack on the board, as he used a takedown in the first and third periods and scored a 6-2 win over No. 17 B.C. LaPrade. The Pack evened it after three bouts with a top-10 win at 165 pounds, as No. 10 Thomas Bullard downed No. 6 David McFadden 2-1. With a 1-0 lead, Bullard started the third on top and racked up 1:14 of ride time before the escape for the deciding point. NC State made it three in a row and claimed its first lead, as No. 13 Daniel Bullard scored a pair of takedowns and racked up 3:51 of ride time for his 7-3 decision. In a top-three matchup at 184 pounds, No. 2 Hunter Bolen scored the lone takedown of the bout in the first period and claimed a 3-1 decision over No. 3 Trent Hidlay. The dual was even 9-9 at the midway point. The Hokies got their second pin of the dual, as Stanley Smeltz registered a pin 18 seconds into the 197-bout over Tyrie Houghton. At heavyweight, the lone takedown of the bout came with two seconds left, as No. 26 Deonte Wilson scored a top-20 win as he took down No. 18 John Borst, 3-1. NC State evened the dual, with two bouts left, with a top-20 win at 125 pounds. No. 19 Jakob Camacho got a takedown with 22 seconds left and defeated No. 15 Joey Prata 5-4. The winning result came at 133 pounds in another top-20 win for NC State. No. 28 Trombley locked in a cradle and scored the pin over No. 22 Gerardi just 0:44 into the match. The six team points gave the Pack a 21-15 lead and locked up the dual for the Pack with the sixth individual team win. The final bout of the night saw No. 21 Mitch Moore hit a six-point move on No. 11 Tariq Wilson in the first period which led to a 7-3 win. Up Next The Wolfpack will conclude the regular season next weekend, as NC State will travel to Duke for an ACC Friday night dual. The dual will be televised on the ACC Network. Results: 149: #26 Bryce Andonian (VT) fall #32 A.J. Leitten; 2:17 - 0-6 157: #2 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. #17 LaPrade; 6-2 - 3-6 165: #10 Thomas Bullard (NCSU) dec. #6 David McFadden; 2-1 - 6-6 174: #13 Daniel Bullard (NCSU) dec. Cody Hughes; 7-3 - 9-6 184: #2 Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. #3 Trent Hidlay; 3-1 - 9-9 197: Stanley Smeltz (VT) fall Tyrie Houghton; 0:18 - 9-15 285: #26 Deonte Wilson (NCSU) dec. #18 John Borst; 3-1 - 12-15 125: #19 Jakob Camacho (NCSU) dec. #15 Joey Prata; 5-4 - 15-15 133: #28 Jarrett Trombley (NCSU) fall #22 Collin Gerardi; 0:44 - 21-15 141: #21 Mitch Moore (VT) dec. #11 Tariq Wilson; 7-3 - 21-18

CHAPEL HILL -- Kennedy Monday's upset of No. 12 Jake Wentzel helped lead No. 8 North Carolina to a 22-14 home victory over No. 9 Pittsburgh in Carmichael Arena on Friday night. No. 3 Austin O'Connor won his 20th match of the year with a second-period pin to help UNC to another conference win. The Tar Heels (12-2, 3-1 ACC) gained early momentum courtesy of Joey Melendez at 125 pounds. The redshirt freshman was taken down early against Pittsburgh's Louis Newell but capitalized late to take a 7-3 decision. After Pittsburgh's No. 6 Micky Phillippi notched a 3-0 decision over Jaime Hernandez, No. 11 Zach Sherman won a tight 3-2 match over Cole Matthews to help UNC take the lead in the team score, one it wouldn't lose the rest of the night. With a 2-0 lead, O'Connor turned Pittsburgh's Dallas Bulsak in the second period and put him to his back for a fall, advancing UNC's lead to 12-3. That moved O'Connor's season dual meet record to 10-0. After No. 16 A.C. Headlee earned an impressive 10-4 win over Taleb Rahmani, No. 15 Monday knocked off Wentzel in an on-paper upset to pile on more momentum for Carolina. At the end of the first period, he scored a takedown and put Wentzel to his back for four near-fall points to open up a 6-0 lead. Monday's 12th dual meet win of the year ended an 8-5 decision. At the upperweights, Clay Lautt scored a major decision to put away the dual for the Tar Heels, a 15-5 major decision over Pittsburgh's Hunter Kernan. The Panthers took the final three bouts of the evening, but North Carolina's early dominance earned the home team a 22-14 win. UNC travels to Ithaca this Sunday to wrestle Cornell. The dual meet is set for 1 p.m. EST. Results: 125: Joey Melendez (UNC) dec. Louis Newell (PITT), 7-3 – UNC leads, 3-0 133: #6 Micky Phillippi (PITT) dec. Jaime Hernandez (UNC), 3-0 – Tied, 3-3 141: #11 Zach Sherman (UNC) dec. Cole Matthews (PITT), 3-2 – UNC leads, 6-3 149: #3 Austin O'Connor (UNC) pinned Dallas Bulsak (PITT), 3:18 – UNC leads, 12-3 157: #16 A.C. Headlee (UNC) dec. Taleb Rahmani (PITT), 10-4 – UNC leads, 15-3 165: #15 Kennedy Monday (UNC) dec. #12 Jake Wentzel (PITT), 8-5 – UNC leads, 18-3 174: Clay Lautt (UNC) maj. dec. Hunter Kernan (PITT), 15-5 – UNC leads, 22-3 184: #7 Nino Bonaccorsi (PITT) maj. dec. Joey Mazzara (UNC), 16-8 – UNC leads, 22-7 197: Kellan Stout (PITT) dec. Brandon Whitman (UNC), 6-1 – UNC leads, 22-10 285: #8 Demetrius Thomas (PITT) maj. dec. Andrew Gunning (UNC), 12-4 – UNC wins, 22-14

DURHAM, N.C. -- The Virginia wrestling team (8-5, 1-3 ACC) went on the road and picked up the win on Friday (Feb. 14), taking a 34-15 victory over Duke (0-16, 0-4 ACC) at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Cavaliers won seven weight classes with bonus-point victories in six of them, including a pin by Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.) at 133 pounds, a tech fall by Justin McCoy (New Paris, Pa.) at 157 pounds and major decisions by Denton Spencer (Waverly, Ga.) and Michael Battista at 149 pounds and 184 pounds, respectively. Patrick McCormick (Poquoson, Va.) and Brian Courtney (Sayre, Pa.) both won by forfeit at 125 pounds and 141 pounds. Virginia raced out to the big early lead, taking the first five weight classes to build a 27-0 advantage before Duke would pick up back-to-back pins at 165 pounds and 174 pounds. The Cavaliers then got the wins from Battista and a decision from Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) at 197 pounds to cap the scoring for Virginia. Duke closed out the night with a win at heavyweight, but the Cavaliers had long since locked up the dual victory. COACH GARLAND ON THE DUAL "It feels good to get back on the winning track, but we still have to get better. We have one last dual and it's a big one before we lock in on the post-season. Let's honor our seniors next week and send them off right at home." MATCH NOTES With the win, Virginia improved to 61-7-2 all-time against the Blue Devils. The 34 points scored was the most against Duke since the 2012-13 season – a 38-0 victory by UVA. Jay Aiello improved to 24-4 on the season and remained perfect in dual matches at 13-0 this year. Virginia posted six bonus-point victories while winning at seven weight classes against the Blue Devils. UP NEXT FOR VIRGINIA The Cavaliers will return home to host No. 8 North Carolina next Friday (Feb. 21) in a 7 p.m. dual at Memorial Gym. It will be senior night for Virginia as the Cavaliers will recognize graduating members of the program in ceremonies prior to the start of the dual with the Tar Heels. Results: 125: Patrick McCormick by forfeit – UVA 6, Duke 0 133: Louie Hayes pinned Harrison Campbell (Duke), 0:53 – UVA 12, Duke 0 141: Brian Courtney by forfeit – UVA 18, Duke 0 149: Denton Spencer major dec. Wade Unger (Duke), 12-4 – UVA 22, Duke 0 157: Justin McCoy tech fall Eric Carter (Duke), 16-0 – UVA 27, Duke 0 165: Ben Anderson (Duke) pinned Cam Coy, 6:17 – UVA 27, Duke 6 174: Mason Eaglin (Duke) pinned Victor Marcelli, 2:42 – UVA 27, Duke 12 184: Michael Battista major dec. Kai Blake (Duke), 18-7 – UVA 31, 12 197: No. 9 Jay Aiello dec. Vincent Baker (Duke), 12-7 – UVA 34, Duke 12 HWT: Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke) dec. Robert Scherer, 5-2 – UVA 34, Duke 15

CLARION, Pa. -- The Golden Eagle wrestling team clinched a winning dual season with a dominant effort over Kent State on Friday, as Clarion defeated the Golden Flashes 30-8 at Tippin Gym. Clarion (9-5, 6-3 MAC East) took eight of the 10 bouts to claim their first win over Kent State since the 2000-01 season, snapping a nine-match losing streak to the Golden Flashes. Brock Zacherl wrestled the final home dual of his Clarion career, defeating Kody Komara 3-2 in the 149-pound bout. The 12th-ranked wrestler in the most recent NCAA coaches' panel, Zacherl earned the distinction of an undefeated home dual record. He went 44-0 as an attached wrestler at home, and his victory over Komara marked the first win of the night for the Golden Eagles. It would not be the last, though, as Clarion powered past the Golden Flashes, winning a number of close decisions to seal the win. Christian Sequete had one such decision, earning the first home dual win of his career with a 4-3 decision over Shane Mast. The win halted Kent State's momentum after they had scored their second major decision over the evening, and it put Clarion ahead 12-8 in the team match. The Golden Flashes never threatened the team score again as Greg Bulsak followed up with a 6-1 decision to Colin McCracken in the 197-pound bout. Ty Bagoly locked up the team victory with a win by fall at 285 pounds, tossing Spencer Berthold to his back and pinning him just 45 seconds into the first period to make it a 21-8 advantage. Jake Gromacki followed up with a 6-5 decision over Tomas Guitierrez. Also recording wins were Taylor Ortz, who returned to the lineup at 157 pounds for a 10-6 win over Brady Chrisman, and Mike Bartolo, who beat Kade Byland by 12-8 decision. Results: 141 - Cory Simpson (Kent State) over Brayden Palmer (Clarion) (MD 13-2) 149 - Brock Zacherl (Clarion) over Kody Komara (Kent State) (Dec 3-2) 157 - Taylor Ortz (Clarion) over Brady Chrisman (Kent State) (Dec 10-6) 165 - Mike Bartolo (Clarion) over Kade Byland (Kent State) (Dec 12-8) 174 - Andrew McNally (Kent State) over Jack Peura (Clarion) (MD 12-1) 184 - Christian Sequete (Clarion) over Shane Mast (Kent State) (Dec 4-3) 197 - Greg Bulsak (Clarion) over Colin McCracken (Kent State) (Dec 6-1) 285 - Ty Bagoly (Clarion) over Spencer Berthhold (Kent State) (Fall 0:45) 125 - Jake Gromacki (Clarion) over Tomas Guitierrez (Kent State) (Dec 6-5) 133 - Seth Koleno (Clarion) over Unknown (For.)

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- No. 11 Lehigh kicked off a stretch of three duals in eight days with a strong 32-8 win at Bucknell Friday night at Davis Gym. The Mountain Hawks won eight bouts, scored bonus points in four of those wins, and held a 19-2 edge in takedowns as Lehigh wins its ninth straight dual, improving to 10-3 overall and 6-1 against EIWA foes. Bucknell actually finished the night with more reversals (three) than takedowns as the Bison fall to 9-5 overall and 8-2 in the EIWA. "Bucknell always wrestles hard. They wrestle three periods. We knew that coming in," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "My biggest concern was having two of the last three weekends off, not really by design, but just the way things fell. Tonight was similar to the Army match. Once we got those first few out of the way, the jitters we're gone and we went out and wrestled pretty well." Junior Brandon Paetzell started the dual with a 9-4 win over Brandon Seidman at 125. Paetzell scored a pair of first period takedowns to lead 4-1 but after giving up a second period takedown, needed a third period score to secure the victory. Bucknell tied things at 133 as Darren Miller beat junior Nick Farro 6-4. Farro scored the first two takedowns but gave up a reversal late in the first period. A third period takedown and ride out by Miller broke a 4-4 tie. A 10-5 decision by sophomore Dan Moran over David Campbell at 141 sparked a three match Lehigh winning streak. Moran racked up four takedowns in his victory. Sophomore Jimmy Hoffman followed with a 10-1 major decision over Matthew Kolonia at 149. Leading 3-1 late in the third, Hoffman countered a Kolonia throw attempt for a takedown and four point near fall, which along with riding time advantage helped secure the major. "That was a pretty tight match and that move opened it up," Santoro said. "That got us a bonus point. We'd like to see some more takedowns from Jimmy but he's working his way back. Every week he's getting a little bit better in the room. You can see it." A 9-3 decision from sophomore Josh Humphreys over Jaden Fisher at 157 gave Lehigh a 13-3 lead at intermission. Freshman Brian Meyer had an impressive upset bid against No. 14 Zach Hartman at 165. Meyer scored the bout's only takedown in the first period and led 2-1 into the third period, but Hartman reversed and rode out to rally for a 3-2 decision. Hartman's win would be Bucknell's last of the evening. Senior Jordan Kutler answered with his second straight pin as he cradled Mitch Hartman to his back for the fall at 2:44. "Jordan has picked up a lot of bonus points this year and he needs to continue to do that," Santoro said. "He needs to keep working for multiple takedowns, so when he gets into those big matches late in the year, he can go out and get a couple." Santoro sent senior Chase Gallik out at 184 in place of junior Chris Weiler and Gallik responded with a pin in his first dual appearance of the season. Holding a 1-0 lead in the third, Gallik used an assassin to stick Kyle Inlander at 6:05 for his fourth fall of the season. "I'm so happy for Chase," Santoro said. "I love watching him wrestle. He has been in some 20-19 matches. It's rare to see him in a 0-0 like he was after the first period, but you know what you're getting from Chase. He's going to wrestle the whole time and he can pin you at any time. He did that tonight." Lehigh claimed the last two bouts as junior Jake Jakobsen rode a first period takedown to a 3-0 decision over Drew Phipps at 197 and junior heavyweight Jordan Wood scored 12 points over the final two periods in a 12-0 major decision over Brandon Stokes. The Mountain Hawks will close out the regular season with two duals next week. Lehigh will visit Penn in EIWA action Thursday at 7 p.m. and will host No. 5 Arizona State at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall Friday at 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks will recognize their senior class prior to the Arizona State dual. A limited number of tickets are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours. Results: 125 – Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) dec. Brandon Seidman (Bucknell) 9-4 133 – Darren Miller (Bucknell) dec. Nick Farro (Lehigh) 6-4 141 – Dan Moran (Lehigh) dec. David Campbell (Bucknell) 10-5 149 – Jimmy Hoffman (Lehigh) major dec. Matthew Kolonia (Bucknell) 10-1 157 – Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec. Jaden Fisher (Bucknell) 9-3 165 – Zach Hartman (Bucknell) dec. Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 3-2 174 – Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) Fall Mitch Hartman (Bucknell) 2:44 184 – Chase Gallik (Lehigh) Fall Kyle Inlander (Bucknell) 6:05 197 – Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) dec. Drew Phipps (Bucknell) 3-0 285 – Jordan Wood (Lehigh) major dec. Brandon Stokes (Bucknell) 12-0

The Cleveland State University wrestling team was given a late scare by host Bloomsburg, but redshirt sophomore John Kelbly came through in the final bout to help the Vikings claim a 23-13 win in Mid-American Conference dual action Friday evening inside Nelson Field House. With CSU holding a 17-13 lead entering the final bout at heavyweight, Kelbly came through for the Vikings. After netting a takedown about two minutes into the opening period, it didn't take long for Kelbly to put his opponent on his back and clinch the win for Cleveland State. With the win, CSU improved to 9-5 on the season. The nine wins for the Vikings are the most for the program in 13 years. Six bouts were decided by two points or fewer Friday, with each team winning three, as late winning takedowns proved to be a theme of the night. True freshman Logan Heil continued his fine rookie campaign by opening the dual with a win at 125 pounds. He secured the only takedown of the bout in the third period to break a tie and held on for a 3-2 win. After CSU lost the 133-pound bout via decision, redshirt senior Evan Cheek had a field day at 141 pounds. He scored four near-fall points on three separate occasions in the first period and held a 14-0 lead after three minutes. He would polish off the technical fall in the second period to give CSU a team score lead it would not relinquish. Bloomsburg claimed a win at 149 pounds over a visibly injured Viking. Redshirt junior Nico O'Dor would defeat an opponent ranked more than 10 spots higher than him at 157 pounds. With the bout deadlocked, 1-1, in the closing stages, O'Dor claimed a takedown with just a second or two remaining to notch a 3-1 victory. Redshirt freshman Riley Smucker used a first-period takedown and a third-period reversal to post a 4-2 win at 165 pounds. Redshirt sophomore Chase Archangelo gave CSU its third win in a row with his victory at 174. He tallied a third-period takedown to break a 2-2 tie and held on for the 4-2 victory. Cleveland State had 3-2 leads in the final seconds at both 184 and 197 pounds, but Bloomsburg notched takedowns in the final moments in both bouts to stay alive. In the 184-pound bout, true freshman DeAndre Nassar nearly pulled off the upset of Bloomsburg's Trevor Allard, the top-ranked wrestler in the MAC at his weight class. The home team entered the final bout with momentum and looking to pull off the upset, but Kelbly ensured the Vikings would leave town winners. After he notched a win in the final bout to guarantee a CSU victory in the Vikings' first MAC dual of the season, he pulled off the feat again in the final MAC match. Cheek posted his team-leading 32nd win Friday while tallying his 18th of the bonus-point variety. Kelbly posted his fifth pin of the season. With its road slate complete, Cleveland State will return home this Sunday, Feb. 16, as it welcomes Michigan State in its regular-season finale. QUICK HITS Cleveland State survived a late scare to top Bloomsburg, 23-13 John Kelbly secured the win with a pin in the final bout at heavyweight It was Kelbly's fifth pin of the season Evan Cheek posted his team-leading 32nd win with a technical fall Nico O'Dor posted an upset with a late takedown at 157 pounds Chase Archangelo, Logan Heil and Riley Smucker also added wins for CSU DeAndre Nassar nearly upset the top wrestler in the MAC at 184 pounds Cleveland State's nine wins are its highest total in over a decade Results: 125: Logan Heil (CSU) over Christian Gannone (BU) - 3-2 dec. | CSU leads, 3-0 133: Josh Mason (BU) over Justin Patrick (CSU) - 8-2 dec. | Tied, 3-3 141: Evan Cheek (CSU) over Shawn Orem (BU) - 16-0 TF 4:19 | CSU leads, 8-3 149: Aaron Coleman (BU) over Gus Sutton (CSU) - 12-1 MD | CSU leads, 8-7 157: Nico O'Dor (CSU) over Alex Carida (BU) - 3-1 dec. | CSU leads, 11-7 165: Riley Smucker (CSU) over Nate Newberry (BU) - 4-2 dec. | CSU leads, 14-7 174: Chase Archangelo (CSU) over Anthony Vetrano (BU) - 4-2 dec. | CSU leads, 17-7 184: Trevor Allard (BU) over DeAndre Nassar (CSU) - 4-3 dec. | CSU leads, 17-10 197: Kyle Murphy (BU) over Ben Smith (CSU) - 4-3 dec. | CSU leads, 17-13 285: John Kelbly (CSU) over Michael Porreca (BU) - Fall 2:13 | CSU wins, 23-13

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees approved Friday (Feb. 14) the recommendation for the NMU Department of Athletics to begin a women's wrestling program. Northern will be the first public university in Michigan to sponsor women's wrestling as an NCAA scholarship level program. The team will compete as a club during 2020-21 and will move to NCAA Division II intercollegiate varsity status starting in fall 2021. "Northern has a tradition-rich history in women's wrestling at the Olympic level and men's wrestling at both the NCAA and Olympic levels," said Forrest Karr, NMU director of athletics. "We are excited to bring women's freestyle wrestling back to campus." Northern hosted women's wrestling as a non-NCAA varsity sport from fall 2004 through spring 2012. It was part of NMU's then U.S. Olympic Education Center and was under the direction of USA Wrestling. The program saw a total of 76 women participate, including Olympians Randi Miller (bronze medalist, Beijing 2008), Adeline Gray (Rio 2016) and Helen Maroulis (gold medalist, Rio 2016). Additionally, the program had team members who garnered 29 National Championship gold medals, 14 World or Pan American medals and five USA Wrestling outstanding wrestler awards. The former team competed at the junior, university and senior world championship levels. Recently, the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Coalition was created to bring the sport of women's wrestling through the NCAA "emerging sport" process, which is the first step toward official recognition of the sport by the NCAA and toward the eventual creation of an NCAA championship event for participating programs. During the Division II Business Session at the NCAA Convention in Anaheim, Calif., held in January 2020, women's freestyle wrestling was added to the emerging sports for women list. "Being added to the emerging sports list was a big step because it will accelerate the process of reaching 40 institutions sponsoring women's wrestling, which will enable the NCAA to offer a championship tournament for the sport," said Karr. Karr said a coach will be hired during summer 2020 and will have the opportunity to recruit student-athletes throughout the 2020-21 academic year. "We plan to renovate locker room space and we are fortunate that our facilities can otherwise accommodate the new women's wrestling program without a major building project," he said. Karr also noted that as Northern's female population within the university student body has grown over the years, adding women's wrestling will help the institution continue to make sure that the numbers of men and women participating in intercollegiate athletics are substantially proportionate to overall enrollment. "Providing participation opportunities at rates proportionate to university enrollment is an important component of Title IX," said Karr. Including women's wrestling, Northern will offer 18 NCAA sports -- 11 for women and seven for men -- as of the 2021-22 academic year. The department currently sponsors 17 NCAA sports. NMU also offers men's Greco-Roman wrestling and men's and women's weightlifting as part of its National Training Site. Beginning in fall 2020, NMU will also sponsor men's and women's alpine ski teams, which will compete as varsity members of the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association, and a coed esports team, which will be a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports.

Ryan Epps is ranked No. 2 at 157 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Augsburg coach Jim Moulsoff knows it won't be easy to say goodbye to Ryan Epps. The two-time national champion embodies everything you want in a successful student-athlete. Epps is one of the leaders on the loaded Augsburg College wrestling team and he also excels in the classroom. Epps, a senior from Cannon Falls, Minn., has compiled a remarkable 136-12 career record in college. Seven of those losses came his freshman year. "Ryan's the hardest working kid," Moulsoff said. "He never stops moving forward and looking to score. He's relentless." Epps, who competes at 157 pounds, is one of four returning national champions in the powerful Augsburg lineup. The Auggies also feature two-time national champion Lucas Jeske (165) along with national champions David Flynn (141) and Lance Benick (197). "It's nice to have guys on our team who have similar mindsets of wanting to be successful -- I think each guy feeds off that," Epps said. "Everyone is buying into what we're doing and everyone is working hard." Augsburg has 120 points back from the team that rolled to the NCAA Division III team title in 2019. "Last year, we did a great job peaking at the right time and wrestling to our potential," Epps said. "We're working hard to do the same thing again this season." Epps is 24-1 this season and ranked No.2 nationally at 157 pounds. His lone loss was an 8-4 setback to fourth-ranked Brandon Murray of Loras at the National Duals. All-American Grant Zamin of Wisconsin-La Crosse is ranked No. 1 at 157. The Auggies were ranked No. 1 before falling to rival Wartburg College at the National Duals. The teams battled again in a dual meet at top-ranked Wartburg on Feb. 6. The Auggies, wrestling without Jeske and Benick, fell 19-14 to the Knights. Augsburg and Wartburg have won every Division III national team title since 1995. The Auggies have won 13 championships, one fewer than their rivals from northeast Iowa. "It's a great rivalry with Wartburg," Epps said. "They always push us to get better. The loss we had to them at National Duals showed us where we were at and let us know what we need to work on. It's a fun atmosphere whenever we wrestle. It's always a battle." Epps began his college career by going 34-7 as a freshman. He fell one win short of being an All-American. He's only lost a combined five times since then while capturing a pair of national crowns. "I made it to the blood round my freshman year, but I wrestled defensively and paid the price at nationals," he said. "I was wrestling not to lose instead of wrestling to win. I made sure the next year it didn't happen again." Anybody who steps on the mat to face Epps knows they are going to be in for a grueling, seven-minute battle. "I push the pace and I don't want to give my opponent a break," he said. "I like to wrestle a physical style. I wrestle aggressively and keep the pressure on." Now Epps is down to the final few weeks of his senior season. "It's been a fun experience at Augsburg," he said. "I've taken on more of a leadership role this year and helped some of the younger guys adapt to college wrestling. It's been an enjoyable season. I'm just trying to keep improving and finish strong." Epps and Jeske have provided a lethal 1-2 punch at the DIII level, winning back-to-back national titles at 157 and 165 in 2018 and 2019. "Lucas is a tough wrestler who is really solid in all three positions," Epps said. "He's had a great career. It would be awesome to win back-to-back titles with him again." Epps is an Academic All-American who carries a 3.4 grade-point average while studying exercise science and physical therapy. He hopes to move on to graduate school after earning his degree at Augsburg. Before that happens, Epps has two final goals left to achieve. Lead his team to another national championship and win a third straight individual national title. Marcus LeVesseur is the only wrestler in school history to win three NCAA Division III titles. He went on to capture a fourth championship for Augsburg in 2007. Epps and Jeske can become the second and third Auggies to win three national titles apiece. "That would be really cool," Epps said. "That is some elite company and it would be special to do it. It's what I've been working for my whole career. Hopefully, I can finish with another title." 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.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Greensboro College will offer women's wrestling as a varsity intercollegiate sport beginning in Fall 2020. It will be the first college or university in North Carolina to do so. The proposal was approved Feb. 12 by President Lawrence D. Czarda, Ph.D., on the recommendation of Robin Daniel, interim director of athletics. "This is a great opportunity for young women wrestlers, especially in the state of North Carolina," said head wrestling coach Kevin Birmingham, who will coach both the men's and the women's teams. "The sport is really taking off at the high-school level, and where are those women going? I want them to come to Greensboro College." Greensboro College, which competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III, began its men's wrestling program in 2015. Costs to add a women's team will be minimal, with space and equipment already on hand. Division III schools, typically among the smallest, do not offer athletic scholarships. The NCAA has designated women's wrestling as an "emerging sport," one that it recognizes but for which it does not yet have sanctioned championships. Women's wrestling has been an Olympic sport since 2004. High-school girls' wrestling is the fastest-growing girls' sport in the country, particularly in the southeastern U.S. Nationally, the number of high school girls participating in wrestling grew from 804 in 1994 to 21,124 in 2019, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Currently, 20 states have sanctioned women's state wrestling championships. A regional high school girls' wrestling match this past weekend at the Greensboro Coliseum drew 180 competitors this year, up from 82 at the inaugural event in 2019. Birmingham was named the Pride's head wrestling coach in 2019 after joining the staff as an assistant coach in 2017. Previously he had coached at Green Hope High School in Cary, N.C., where three of his wrestlers reached the state championships, while his team made the state duals for the first time in six seasons. Birmingham wrestled collegiately at Division I Davidson College, where he tallied 54 wins and 34 pins and qualified for the 2014 national tournament. For more information on Greensboro College women's wrestling, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.

Seven years ago this week the executive board of the International Olympic Committee voted to recommend that wrestling be removed from the Olympic program, starting with the 2020 Games in Tokyo. The announcement triggered the international "Save Olympic Wrestling" movement, which raised more than $5 million, launched press awareness events on five continents, and led to leadership changes which would drive a fundamental restructuring of the sport. As we can clearly see today their decision is a watershed moment in the story of man's oldest and greatest sport. To avoid exclusion wrestling was asked to make big, structural changes. There was a request made to become more gender equitable, leading to 6-6-6, a clear and equal distribution of weight categories among the styles. Rules were also overhauled, including the removal of the ball draw and the reintroduction of the two-point takedown (yes, step outs and takedowns were once equally scored!). For years the IOC had complained they were too complicated, and the sport made too boring -- turns out they were right. During the nine-month campaign wrestling fans who were more focused on their traditional styles were suddenly privy to live streaming events, competition photos, a revamped website, updated results, and behind-the-scenes videos. The sport which once competed as though it were alone in a dark closet, suddenly had the confidence to take center stage. Wrestling also elected a new president. Nenad Lalovic oversaw improved relationships with the IOC and sought its funding to ensure that more nations could participate in a larger number of events. No question, what happened seven years ago left its mark on the sport. The emotional turmoil was real, but so are the positive results: more athletes, from more nations, competing more often and for more attention and funds. Our sport is far from perfect, but with good governance has come the opportunity to grow and adapt. We won't be able to predict the future, but the structure and leadership in place today makes it possible for us to look back fondly on those stress-filled 254 days and realize that the exclusion and fight to get back in made us stronger and helped shape and improve the lives of millions of young men and women. To your questions … J'den Cox at the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: What do you think of J'den Cox going up to 97 kilograms? -- Brian N. Foley: After months of speculation, J'den Cox took to YouTube to announce his decision to compete at 97 kilograms for the 2020 Olympic cycle. The choice to go up and face five-time world and Olympic medalist Kyle Snyder was somewhat surprising to some fans since Cox isn't a large 92-kilogram wrestler and had won bronze at 86 kilograms during the 2016 Olympic Games. I won't make any predictions on who will win the spot because I think it's important to see first how Cox looks up at 97 kilograms. I will say that (as with David Taylor) going to 86 kilograms it's vital that Cox maintain his lean muscle. He's far too close to meaningful competition to try to add muscle to his frame. While he can add the muscle, his body won't know how to oxygenate the new mass for some time. For that reason, he's better off wrestling 97 kilograms while weighing in a few pounds lighter than he is to put on weight, or even compete at a walking around weight. The other feedback from wrestling fans has been to moan about there not being a 92-kilogram weight in the Olympic Games, nor enough weight classes overall. While I'm sure it would be nice to have a few more weights, remember that there are a full 30 weights up for grabs in three out of four years (all 30 if there is a non-Olympic World Championships), and that the IOC pays an exorbitant amount of money to the international federation for their participation in those Olympics. Given any other name I think most wrestling fans would agree that receiving $20mm (cash, support, and in-kind) for participation in a two-week event every four years is a pretty sweet deal. Add in that the alignment with the Olympics is what funds a vast majority of wrestling programs via National Olympic Committees who value earning medals at the event. More is better, sure. But what we have we can expand and what we put out on the mat can continue to improve. Case in point is Cox vs. Snyder. The United States will win a medal at 97 kilograms and because Cox has gone up those chances are only improving since the national competition will force our best to train even harder and with more focus. Cox is a role model in the sport and a fantastic competitor. No matter the outcome of the match, it's inspiring to see him challenge himself and push the sport to the next level. Q: What were your takeaways from Helen Maroulis' return to competition? Assuming she makes the Olympic team, what is her path to another Olympic gold? -- Mike C. Foley: Helen! I was thrilled to see our Olympic champion back on the mat and competing with gusto. Helen is a self-aware, emotional competitor who wrestles with her heart on her singlet. Sometimes that's beneficial and other times it's hurt her performance. As of late, she seems to be having a more positive experience. Helen's path to Olympic gold isn't terrible. Risako Kawai is the world champion at 57 kilograms but has looked subpar in her last several international appearances. Ningning Rong of China is strong and among the world's toughest competitors, but she's also very beatable. Odunayo of Nigeria has given Helen problems in the past, but she's someone Helen has beaten and can beat again. The scarier wrestlers might be Anastasia Nichita of Moldova and Pooja Dhanda of India. Both are limited in the arsenal of moves, but they strike in a hiccup and are incredibly physical. If Helen goes out flat, she's at risk of being put in a bad position. Winning two gold medals is outrageously hard no matter the person, year, or situation. Even money, I'll take Helen to win a medal in Tokyo. Like most wrestling fans, I'm ready to cheer for her success in Ottawa and beyond. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Victory & Defeat: Greco-Roman Highlights from European Championships Cox explains choice to go up to 97 kilograms Q: So many competitive weights at the Olympic Trials. Who do you see as the safest bet to make the team in each of the three styles? -- Mike C. Foley: Safest bet to make Team USA and be qualified for the Olympic Games in each style. Freestyle is David Taylor. He's the best wrestler in the weight by a pretty large margin and will probably qualify the weight next month in Ottawa. Women's wrestling is Adeline Gray. She's qualified the weight, is the two-time defending world champion, and won't have a significant challenge at the Olympic Team Trials. Greco-Roman is a bit more difficult. Maybe Ellis Coleman. The 67-kilogram weight class is pretty cleared out for him since Ismael Borrero Molina is qualified and there aren't any Cuban ex-pats competing in Ecuador, Brazil, or Venezuela. He'd still need to keep his spot at the qualifiers, but when you look at other weights it's even less certain. Adam Coon has an enormously difficult bracket. He's lost to Chile and Venezuela, and the Brazilian is an Armenian who is also pretty good. The margins are so thin in Greco and at heavyweight that there are no guarantees. However, if he qualifies the weight, I feel confident he can hold on to the starting spot. Q: Did you see Mark Branch's comments on team-point deductions and yelling at officials? Do you agree or disagree? -- Mike C. Foley: He's right. No referee should have the right to deduct a team point during a dual meet competition. The matches are already very tight, and one match can swing the team score in wild directions. If a coach or athlete acts inappropriately, they should be warned via a yellow and red card system, with red cards being ejections. Add a small fine to ensure that coaches don't blow past the red card and you'll be sure to see better behavior mat side. If the NCAA wants to maintain point deductions as a deterrent, then they need to have incredibly tight language on what is and is not allowed to be said or done mat side. Also, the calls must be up for review since it's highly consequential and many times there are misinterpretations that lead to these deductions. Coaches can certainly chill out a bit, but that will also come with better oversight and direction on what they can and cannot say/do on the mat. COMMENT OF THE WEEK By Jon G. I got to watch Penn State wrestle Wisconsin on Friday night (on TV). Congrats to BTN on great coverage and solid announcing, such a good thing for wrestling overall. Some very fun matches to watch. One thing I was struck by though was broad inconsistencies in how top wrestling was officiated and called (or more importantly not called) for stalling. At 125 pounds, it turned into the classic buc'em bronco boring ride out. The wrestler from Wisconsin hung on a claw/spiral ride with no attempt to risk leaving parallel or to work any turns or pinning combinations. The official barely commented, and there was at most one warning of stalling. This was a prime situation in my mind to be starting these guys back on their feet for inaction, or for properly calling stalling on the top wrestler. At 141 pounds, Nick Lee put on a clinic of top wrestling that was impressive to watch. Only a few guys I've seen over the years were that vicious (Jesse Jantzen, J Jaggers, Derek Moore, Kyle Dake, Zain Retherford). He worked the angles, and clearly was trying to work to score points and pin every second on top. He was never warned for stalling, and should not have been. Then at 165 pounds, Vincenzo Joseph put together an impressive match and majored Evan Wick, and was working hard on top ... yet the official repeatedly was telling both wrestlers to keep working and improving, while they clearly already were. All told I finished watching the meet blown away at how inconsistently the exact same position was called in just one dual meet, and how that made for an inconsistent and confusing viewing experience. And that's coming from someone with over 25 years of experience with the sport. For a lay-viewer I'd imagine that their understanding of what should or should not be called as stalling on the mat would be muddled at best. There's a lot of talk here about improving the rules, which I've commented on agree with needs to happen, but equally, how do we improve consistency in officiating to thus incentivize the wrestlers to adhere to the spirit of the rules and not just the letter.

STANFORD, Calif. -- No. 13 Stanford won eight of 10 bouts in a dominating 38-10 win over Little Rock, Thursday, at Burnham Pavilion. Stanford improved to 11-2 overall and 4-1 in the Pac-12 Conference. Little Rock, which is in its inaugural season of wrestling and is the newest member of the Pac-12, dropped to 1-7 overall and 0-2 in the conference. During the intermission, Stanford recognized its five seniors -Jake Barry, Brandon Kier, Trevor Rasmussen, David Showunmi and Gabriel Townsell - as it was the final regular-season home dual on The Farm. The teams traded forfeits to start the dual. The Trojans then took a 10-6 lead with a major decision at 133 pounds. True freshman Fabian Santillan pulled the Cardinal to within one with an 11-7 decision over Conner Ward at 141 pounds. It marks the first collegiate dual win for Santillan. Redshirt junior Requir van der Merwe gave the Cardinal the lead with a 7-1 decision over Tyler Brennan at 149 pounds. van der Merwe improved to 9-4 on the season and 2-2 in duals. Redshirt sophomore Ethan Woods turned in a 10-2 major decision over Tommy Lisher at 157 pounds. Woods is now 9-5 overall and 2-0 in duals for the Cardinal. Redshirt freshman Gabe Dinette also registered a major decision, defeating Will Edgar, 8-0, at 165 pounds. Dinette is now 6-2 overall and 2-0 in duals. Redshirt sophomore Foster Karmon was the first of three straight first-period falls for the Cardinal. At 174 pounds, Karmon recorded a fall in 2:49 over Tristan Tadeo. It was the fourth fall of the year for Karmon, who is now 13-8 overall. True freshman Nick Addison was next with a fall in 1:38 over Matthew Muller at 184 pounds. It was the first career pin for the Fair Haven, New Jersey native. True freshman Seamus O'Malley closed out the dual with a fall in 1:07 over Dylan Johnson at 197 pounds. It was the fifth fall of the year for O'Malley, who improved to 8-4 overall and 3-1 in duals. Up next, Stanford closes out its dual season over the weekend, traveling to North Dakota State on Saturday and South Dakota State on Sunday. Results: 125 Jayden Carson (LR) won by forfeit FF 133 Paul Bianchi (LR) maj. dec. Luciano Arroyo (STAN) 18-8 141 Fabian Santillan (STAN) dec. Conner Ward (LR) 11-7 149 Requir van der Merwe (STAN) dec. Tyler Brennan (LR) 8-1 157 Ethan Woods (STAN) maj. dec. Tommy Lisher (LR) 10-2 165 Gabe Dinette (STAN) maj. dec. Will Edgar (LR) 8-0 174 Foster Karmon (STAN) fall Tristan Tadeo (LR) F2:49 184 Nick Addison (STAN) fall Matthew Muller (LR) F1:38 197 Seamus O'Malley (STAN) fall Dylan Johnson (LR) F1:07 285 David Showunmi (STAN) won by forfeit FF

LANCASTER, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall's wrestling team celebrated senior night with a commanding 23-10 win over Millersville on Thursday evening in Mayser, bringing the Rupp Cup trophy back to campus. The Diplomats improved to 5-6 while the Marauders fell to 7-10. Before the start of the annual rivalry, the Diplomats honored their six-member senior class of Cole Aaron, Brett Kulp, Emmett LiCastri, Reid Robilotto, Eli Smith, and Jimmy Stillerman. F&M's win over crosstown rival Millersville marked the ninth in the last 10 meetings over the Marauders. To read more about the history of the Rupp Cup, click here. Seven out of the 10 matchups on the night went the Diplomats way, including a pair of decision wins to open action by Cristiaan Dailey (149 pounds) and Noah Chan (157 pounds). Millersville cut the team score to 6-3 heading into 174 pounds where Emmett LiCastri racked up five takedowns in a 19-3 tech. fall win. A 6-4 decision by the Marauders at 184 pounds cut the F&M lead to 11-6 before the Diplomats rattled off three straight wins to put the contest out of reach for good. Ethan Seeley opened the run with a 3-0 decision at 197 pounds. He rode out his opponent for the entirety of the second frame before securing an escape in the third to clinch the bout. Cenzo Pelusi took his competitor the distance at 285 pounds as the score remained tied at 3-3 following all six overtime frames. The Diplomat heavyweight held the edge on riding time, earning the tiebreaker, and awarding three points to the F&M team score. Jose Diaz picked up a key takedown in the opening sudden victory period to capture a 5-3 decision win at 125 pounds, and Wil Gil collected four takedowns at 141 pounds to roll to a 10-3 decision win at 141 pounds. The Diplomats return to EIWA action on Sunday, traveling to Penn for a 7:00 p.m. contest in the Palestra. Results: 149: Cristiaan Dailey (F&M) over Jackson Erb (MILL) (Dec 4-2) 157: Noah Chan (F&M) over Brandon Connor (MILL) (Dec 4-3) 165: Jarrett Feeney (MILL) over Cole Aaron (F&M) (Dec 9-3) 174: Emmett LiCastri (F&M) over Malik Jackson (MILL) (TF 19-3 6:50) 184: Evan Morrill (MILL) over Crew Fullerton (F&M) (Dec 6-4) 197: Ethan Seeley (F&M) over Reece Muldoon (MILL) (Dec 3-0) 285: Cenzo Pelusi (F&M) over Joshua Walls (MILL) (TB-2 (RT) 3-3) 125: Jose Diaz (F&M) over Devin Flannery (MILL) (SV-1 5-3) 133: Jacob Lehman (MILL) over Jack Bruce (F&M) (MD 8-0) 141: Wil Gil (F&M) over Ryan McGuire (MILL) (Dec 10-3)

BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Noah Gonser's major decision clinched No. 20 Campbell's 20-13 win over Appalachian State Thursday night inside Carter Gym. In a matchup of the only two unbeaten teams in SoCon action, the Camels (9-2, 5-0 SoCon) claimed four of the final five bouts to top the visiting Mountaineers (8-3, 5-1 SoCon). The win marked Campbell's seventh-straight, including five SoCon matches. CU trailed 10-6 at the midway point after App. State's Thomas Flitz notched a 6-3 decision at 174 pounds. From there, No. 6 Andrew Morgan sparked the charge with a 12-3 major decision to knot the team score at 10-all. At 197, Chris Kober extended the Campbell lead in dramatic fashion, working a decisive takedown with under 10 seconds on the clock to edge Demazio Samuel 4-3. No. 14 Jere Heino then outlasted No. 24 Cary Miller 3-2 in the night's only top-25 matchup, making it 16-10 Campbell heading into the final two weight classes. After Sean Carter brought App. State back within three at 16-13 with a 6-4 decision at 125 pounds, Gonser, ranked No. 8 nationally at 133 pounds, clinched the Campbell win with an 11-2 major decision, lifting the Camels to a 20-13 victory, their second straight over the Mountaineers. Five Camels remain at least 4-0 in SoCon action, including Gonser (5-0), Heil (4-0), Perez (5-0), Morgan (4-0) and Heino (5-0). Next up, Campbell will head to VMI on February 15, wrapping up the regular season on the road at Davidson on February 22. The 2020 SoCon Championships are set for March 8 in Boone, N.C. Results: 141: No. 10 Josh Heil (Campbell) over Bradley Irwin (App State) Dec 8-5 (3-0) 149: No. 22 Jonathan Millner (App State) over Jason Kraisser (Campbell) Dec 9-2 (3-3) 157: No. 20 Matt Zovistoski (App State) over Matthew Dallara (Campbell) MD 16-6 (3-7) 165: No. 18 Quentin Perez (Campbell) over Will Formato (App State) Dec 4-1 (6-7) 174: Thomas Flitz (App State) over Austin Kraisser (Campbell) Dec 6-3 (6-10) 184: No. 6 Andrew Morgan (Campbell) over Julian Gorring (App State) MD 12-3 (10-10) 197: Chris Kober (Campbell) over Demazio Samuel (App State) Dec 4-3 (13-10) 285: No. 14 Jere Heino (Campbell) over No. 24 Cary Miller (App State) Dec 3-2 (16-10) 125: Sean Carter (App State) over Korbin Meink (Campbell) Dec 6-4 (16-13) 133: No. 8 Noah Gonser (Campbell) over Codi Russell (App State) MD 11-2 (20-13)

Nick Lee is undefeated and has earned bonus points in all but one match this season (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) The dual season is starting to wind down as teams prepare for conference tournaments and ultimately the NCAA tournament. However, that does not mean there are not interesting matches going down. The following is a preview of the top individual matches that are scheduled to happen in duals this weekend. 125: No. 3 Patrick Glory (Princeton) vs. No. 9 Michael Colaiocco (Penn) Princeton wrapped up an Ivy League title last weekend with a rare victory over Cornell. This week they face another Ivy foe in Penn. Glory has started his sophomore season with a 19-0 record that includes tournament championships at the Princeton Open and the Midlands. Along the way Glory has bested the likes of No. 10 Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern), No. 5 Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) and No. 4 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State). Colaiocco has started all the way for Penn as a true freshman after coming out of Blair Academy. He has worked himself into the top 10 with victories over former teammate Chris Cannon (Northwestern), No. 7 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan) and No. 6 Devin Schroder (Purdue). Not only is Glory undefeated on the season, but he has won six-straight with bonus points since the Midlands. Colaiocco has been a tough out this season, but he will be up against it here. Glory's ability to score on the feet and from the top position will really allow him to run up the score and enter the postseason with momentum. Prediction: Glory (Princeton) major decision over Colaiocco (Penn) 133: Joey Silva (Michigan) vs. No. 14 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) Silva has only wrestled four matches this season, but he has won all four of those matches. In his last match, he got out to a big lead against Paul Glynn (Iowa). The Hawkeye staged a comeback and nearly got back into it, but Silva survived. Despite the limited schedule this season, Silva was a top recruit coming out of high school and went 7-1 during his redshirt season last year. Lovett lost four straight matches following the Cliff Kenn Invitational, but he has gotten back on track recently. He enters this match against Silva riding a four-match winning streak. During the stretch, he scored a second-period fall over Travis Ford-Melton (Purdue). In his last match Lovett took home a 4-2 decision over Cayden Rooks (Indiana). Silva's best win this year likely came over Garrett Pepple (Michigan State). Lovett has also recently knocked off Pepple, and he looked a bit more dominant in pulling it off. Both wrestlers came out of high school as highly ranked recruits, and they will likely see each other several more times over their college careers. Prediction: Lovett (Nebraska) decision over Silva (Michigan) 141: No. 1 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) vs. No. 2 Nick Lee (Penn State) This match between No. 1 and No. 2 is clearly the match of the weekend. Not only are both undefeated, but they have both been aggressive and pushing the pace this year. Pletcher has won 23 straight matches on the season, and he has knocked off a variety of ranked opposition. His list of wins includes No. 8 Chad Red (Nebraska), No. 4 Mitch McKee (Minnesota), No. 7 Tristan Moran (Wisconsin), No. 3 Real Woods (Stanford) and No. 5 Dom Demas (Oklahoma). Lee doesn't have quite the same resume on the year, but he is close. Not only has he also knocked off Moran, McKee and Red, but he has also put up bonus points in 15 of his 16 matches on the season. Last weekend he was able to score a fall over McKee before the match even made it to the second period. While Pletcher has been much more aggressive than in previous seasons so far this year, he can still slow it down for a tactical match when he needs to. Lee is always aggressive, but he might just shoot himself into trouble here. Look for Pletcher to hold position before picking a spot to counter on the way to winning a close match. Prediction: Pletcher (Ohio State) decision over Lee (Penn State) 149: John Millner (App State) vs. Jason Kraisser (Campbell) The rivalry between North Carolina and NC State is quickly becoming interesting on the wrestling mats. This match between Tar Heel State teams could also become more and more interesting as the programs continue to develop. Millner has somewhat flown under the radar this year, but he currently holds a 26-4 record. Since the Southern Scuffle, he has won seven straight matches. Despite not being ranked by InterMat, Millner is currently 13th in the RPI, and he seems to be on the way to qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Kraisser has taken some lumps during his true freshman season, but he has seemingly gotten on track recently. Since the Southern Scuffle, he has gone 7-1. During the streak, he picked up a big win over Lane Stigall (Oregon State). Millner and Kraisser met earlier this season and the App State wrestler took an 8-4 victory. Kraisser certainly has the talent, and the Campbell program has a track record of development. However, at this point, Millner should be able to pull this one out. Prediction: Millner (App State) decision over Kraisser (Campbell) 157: No. 16 AC Headlee (North Carolina) vs. Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh) Headlee is a two-time national qualifier who has worked his way into the rankings with a 14-6 record. Since the Midlands, he has gone 5-2 with signature wins coming over No. 11 Markus Hartman (Army) and No. 18 BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech). During the stretch, his only two defeats came via decision against No. 4 Quincy Monday (Princeton) and No. 2 Hayden Hidlay (NC State). Rahmani spent a lot of time in the rankings this season after making it to the round of 12 at last year's NCAA tournament. While he has picked up some impressive wins including a fall over Josh Humphreys (Lehigh), he also has his share of losses against unranked wrestlers. It will be interesting to see if he is able to put it together for another postseason run after qualifying for three straight NCAA tournaments. Headlee has been the consistent one of these two this season. He has struggled to break through against the highest ranked wrestlers at this weight. However, he has pretty much handled his business against everyone else. Look for him to control this match and take a decision victory. Prediction: Headlee (North Carolina) decision over Rahmani (Pittsburgh) 165: No. 3 Shane Griffith (Stanford) vs. No. 11 Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State) Griffith has been able to run through his opposition this year. The redshirt freshman has a 24-0 record on the year. He has not faced a ton of ranked opposition, but he has pulled it out when given the opportunity. Griffith holds wins over No. 16 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), No. 15 Kennedy Monday (North Carolina), No. 7 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) and No. 8 Josh Shields (Arizona State). Fogarty is a three-time NCAA qualifier currently competing in his last season of collegiate wrestling. He has gone 16-2 on the year after putting up a 22-6 record last year. The North Dakota State wrestler has won all four of his matches since the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Fogarty has picked up ranked wins over No. 19 Phillip Conigliaro (Harvard) and No. 18 Shayne Oster (Northwestern). These two met earlier this season at the Roadrunner Open. Back in November, Griffith picked up his first big victory on the year as he scored an 8-1 decision over Fogarty. Things will likely go similarly this time, but it should still be a tough match. Prediction: Griffith (Stanford) decision over Fogarty (North Dakota State) 174: No. 17 Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) vs. No. 10 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) In the first Bedlam match of the season Mantanona was one of the bright spots for Oklahoma. He scored a sudden victory decision over Andrew Shomers in a match with a combined 18 points. Following that dual, Mantanona then won four straight matches including three falls. However, he has recently dropped a pair of matches against ranked opposition. In his last match Mantanona dropped a sudden victory match against No. 16 Sammy Colbray (Iowa State). Smith got a late start to his senior season. He made his debut at the Southern Scuffle, but he defaulted out. He then put on an uninspiring performance against Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa). However, that defeat must have been a wake up call. Since the loss, he has won five straight matches including wins over Colbray, Conor Flynn (Missouri) and No. 15 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming). These two met back during the 2018 season. Smith won a 14-7 match. Both wrestlers have experienced ups and downs since then. Smith remains the favorite, but Mantanona always seems to go for big moves and could easily take the upset. Prediction: Smith (Oklahoma State) decision over Mantanona (Oklahoma) 184: Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) vs. Trent Hidlay (NC State) Bolen was a national qualifier as a true freshman back in 2018. He then redshirted last year before returning to the lineup. His redshirt sophomore season has gotten off to a very good start. He currently holds a 21-1 record with his only loss coming against No. 4 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Since that tournament, he has gone on an eight-match winning streak and scored bonus points in half of those victories. Hidlay established himself as a contender early in the season as he bested Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) and Louie DePrez (Binghamton) in a single weekend. He has since lost a rematch against DePrez, but his only other defeat came against No. 1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State). His season record currently stands at 21-2. While Bolen fell against Lujan at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Hidlay knocked off the veteran before falling in the finals against Valencia. Hidlay has looked ready to go since the start of the season, and he will be a tough out for all the top wrestlers at the end of the year. Prediction: Hidlay (NC State) decision over Bolen (Virginia Tech) 197: No. 12 Greg Bulsak (Clarion) vs. No. 13 Ethan Laird (Rider) This could easily turn out to be a preview of the MAC final. The two former EWL schools joined the conference in the offseason, and these two wrestlers represent two of the four ranked wrestlers in the conference along with No. 20 Wyatt Koelling (Missouri). Bulsak has gone 20-5 on the season, but he has not lost since dropping three matches at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He has picked up ranked wins over Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) and Jay Aiello (Virginia). Bulsak also holds a victory over Penn State redshirt Michael Beard. Laird likely wants to get back on track after falling in sudden victory last weekend in Rider's dual against in-state rival Rutgers. The defeat came via a 4-2 score against No. 18 Jordan Pagano. Laird's record currently stands at 21-6, and he holds victories over Beard and No. 14 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State). Both wrestlers have been dominant in duals this season with their only trouble coming at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Look for Bulsak to get the better of the exchanges and come away with a decision victory. Prediction: Bulsak (Clarion) decision over Laird (Rider) 285: No.1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) This match lost a bit of steam after Cassioppi dropped a match against No. 2 Mason Parris (Michigan) last weekend. However, it still remains a marquee match between some of the best heavyweights in the country. Steveson got a late start to the season, but he has quickly built a 10-0 record on the year. During the short season, he has already picked up victories over No. 9 Jordan Wood (Lehigh), No. 5 Trent Hilger (Wisconsin) and No. 15 Seth Nevills (Penn State). Prior to his loss against Parris, Cassioppi had won 15 matches to start his redshirt freshman season. He picked up five falls on the year and defeated the likes of Hilger, Nevills and Matt Stencel (Central Michigan). Both of these heavyweights have above average athleticism. This match will likely have several key scrambles that will determine the winner. Steveson has always had the advantage in their matches up to this point on the high school level, and this one will probably end up the same way. Prediction: Steveson (Minnesota) decision over Cassioppi (Iowa)

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- No. 24 Mizzou Wrestling captured the outright Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championship with a 35-7 win over SIU-Edwardsville Wednesday night (Feb. 12). The win improves the Tigers to 11-7 on the year and a perfect 8-0 in MAC competition. The Tigers have won 22 straight MAC duals since a 25-10 loss to Northern Iowa on Feb. 12, 2017. The Tigers have now won nine straight conference titles, including eight straight since joining the MAC. Mizzou will look to claim the MAC Tournament title from March 7-8 in Dekalb, Ill. In all, Mizzou won eight of 10 bouts Wednesday, including six bonus-point wins. Mizzou turned in three technical falls, one pin and two major decisions in the dominant win. With Wednesday's win, Mizzou ensured that Rider (6-1 MAC) could not catch the Tigers in the MAC team race. Top Tigers 165-pounder Peyton Mocco snapped a personal two-bout losing streak with a dominant 12-3 major decision over Chase Diehl. He now has a career-high 20 wins on the season and has three major decisions on the year. Nine of his 20 wins have come via bonus-point decisions. Senior 174-pounder Connor Flynn was one takedown short of a technical fall with a 17-4 major decision over Kevin Gschwendtner. Flynn is now 16-7 on the season with 10 bonus point wins. Senior 184-pounder Dylan Wisman improved to 15-7 on the year with his first technical fall of 2019-20, posting a 20-4 win in just 3:53 of action. Ranked No. 20 at 197 pounds, Wyatt Koelling earned his 19th win of the season and his first technical fall of the year over SIU-E's Aric Bohn, 17-2. 125-pounder Cameron Valdiviez earned his eighth pin of the year Wednesday. He needed just 47 seconds wo pin Matt Malavsky. His eight pins are a team-high. Cevion Severado posted a 22-7 technical fall win over Jake Blaha, improving to 8-3 on the season. It was his second technical fall of the year in his first MAC dual action of the season. Brock Mauller continued his impressive season with a 5-3, sudden-victory win at 149 pounds. He's 23-1 and has not lost since the year flipped to 2020. Alex Butler has now claimed two straight bout wins since Sunday, winning 3-2 Wednesday in Edwardsville. Hear from Coach Smith On Tonight's Dual… "I saw a lot of positives from our team tonight. All year, people have been coming up to me and telling me we're struggling and having a down year, but I don't look at it like that. I look at like we we are continuing to get better every week. I'm enjoying this season it because they are getting better every time out. I enjoyed watching us compete against Arizona State Sunday and I enjoyed watching it tonight. It was exciting to see Cam wrestle relaxed and Chevy (Cevion Severado) put on a clinic. Alex (Butler) has gotten two wins in a row and Dylan Wisman is wrestling lights out, which is good to see from a senior. Connor Flynn was great tonight as well." On claiming the MAC regular season title outright… "It's not easy to do. Everywhere we go, teams have their biggest crowds and we get every team's best shot every time we wrestle them. It's not something that I take for granted at all. Now we have to shift our focus to Iowa State, and then get ready for the MAC Tournament. Our goal every year is to win that title. I'm happy for our team." A Quick Recap After losing the opening bout of the dual at 157 pounds, Mizzou ran off four straight bout wins from 165 through 197, posting bonus-point wins in all four of those weights, including a pair of technical falls from Wisman and Koelling. That gave Mizzou an 18-4 lead moving into heavyweight. After dropping a tightly-contested heavyweight bout, the dual flipped back to the lightweights. At 125, Valdiviez righted the ship quickly, and rather literally. He needed just 47 seconds to pin Edwardsville's Matt Malavsky, extending Mizzou's lead to 24-7. Severado then picked up Mizzou's third technical fall of the dual at 133 pounds. class. He needed just 5:52 to earn a 22-7 win over Jake Blaha. Butler then moved his personal winning streak to two with a 3-2 win and Mauller closed the dual with a 5-3 win in the sudden victory period as Mizzou closed the dual by winning the final four bouts. Mauller is now 23-1 on the year and has yet to lose this calendar year. vs. SIU-Edwardsville 157: Phyllip DeLoach (11-6) vs. Justin Ruffin (21-6): L, 9-0 Major Decision | 0-4 165: Peyton Mocco (20-9) vs. Chase Diehl (6-16): W, 12-3 Major Decision | 4-4 174: Connor Flynn (16-7) vs. Kevin Gschwendtner (8-16) - W, 17-4 Major Decision | 8-4 184: Dylan Wisman (15-7) vs. Austin Andres (2-12): W, 20-4 Technical Fall (3:53) | 13-4 197: #20 Wyatt Koelling (19-5) vs. Aric Bohn (5-12): W, 17-2 Technical Fall (5:51) | 18-4 HWT: Jake Bohlken (10-11) vs. Colton McKiernan (12-8): L, 3-0 | 18-7 125: Cameron Valdiviez (16-7) vs. Matt Malavsky (1-8): W, Fall (0:47) | 24-7 133: Cevion Severado (8-3) vs. Jacob Blaha (0-11): W, 22-7 Technical Fall (5:52) | 29-7 141: Alex Butler (11-7) vs. Saul Ervin (10-13): W, 3-2 | 32-7 149: #5 Brock Mauller (23-1) vs. Tyshawn Williams (10-6): W, 5-3 (SV-1) | 35-7

Zahid Valencia leads the Most Dominant standings in Division I (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, II and III Wrestling Championships. The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. For falls and tech falls to be counted for the awards they must come against opponents in the same division (i.e. Division II vs. Division II). Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. This week features the unveiling of standings for the Most Dominant Wrestler award, which features a 15-match minimum to qualify for the standings. In Division I, two-time national champion Zahid Valencia of Arizona State holds the slimmest of leads over Penn State 141-pounder Nick Lee for the award. Valencia averages 4.89 team points per match, while Lee sits at 4.88. Princeton 125-pounder Pat Glory, Nittany Lion 174-pounder Mark Hall and Michigan heavyweight Mason Parris round out the top five. Two-time national champion Chris Eddins Jr., of Pittsburgh-Johnstown leads the Most Dominant Wrestler standings in Division II with an average of 4.83 points. McKendree 197-pounder Ryan Vasbinder and Central Oklahoma 184-pounder Heath Gray complete the top three in the division. Division III Most Dominant Wrestler is led by Stevens 149-pounder Brett Kaliner with an average of 5.52 points, while a pair of teammates from Coast Guard are in close pursuit with Nicholas Moreno and Patrick Irwin at 5.40 and 5.30 points, respectively. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of team points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Points per match are awarded as follows. Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss) Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss) Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss) Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss Last season's winner of the award for most falls in Division I is back in the lead looking for a repeat as Central Michigan heavyweight Matt Stencel posted a pair of falls, both in less than a minute, over Buffalo and Kent State last week. Cornell's Ben Darmstadt earned a fall over Penn to keep pace with 12 on the season in second. Tiffin 174-pounder Hayden Bronne, the 2018 winner in Division II for most falls, is pulling away as he looks for his second career award in this category. He is up to 18 falls on the season, five more than Fort Hays State's AJ Cooper and nine more than the next group of wrestlers in the standings. New England College's Evan Fidelibus tallied one fall last week to move to 20 on the season and within one of national leader Marvin Cunningham of JWU (Providence) in Division III. George Mason 141-pounder Alex Madrigal won 19-2 over Hofstra over the weekend to notch his Division I-leading 11th tech fall of the season and move three ahead of Iowa's Spencer Lee, Oklahoma State's Nicholas Piccininni and Princeton's Pat Glory. With a 20-4 victory over Central Missouri, McKendree 197-pounder Ryan Vasbinder increased his lead in Division II tech falls as his eight on the season are two more than Anthony Mancini of Nebraska-Kearney and Carlos Jacquez of Lindenwood (Missouri). A pair of technical falls over Penn College and Oswego State have moved SUNY Oneonta 141-pounder Ahken Chu into the national lead in Division III with 13 tech falls in a combined time of 49:26. The time is critical because that gives him the tiebreaker over Tyler Gazaway of Roger Williams and Stephen Maloney of Messiah who also have compiled 13 tech falls.

Turtogtokh Luvsandorj at the 2018 World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Northern Colorado wrestling team has added volunteer assistant coach Turtogtokh Luvsandorj to the staff for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. Luvsandorj comes by way of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where he was born and raised. He moved to the United States in 2006, where he competed and attended high school at St. Benedictine High School in New Jersey. During his prep career, Luvsandorj captured a prep national title as well as NHSCA Senior National All American Honors, placing second. In college, Turtogtokh attended The Citadel Academy where he became the schools all-time leader in wins, with 134. He also garnered two Southern Conference Wrestler of the Year honors, culminating with two conference championships and an All-American finish in 2014 at 165 lbs. Luvsadorj also captured silver at University nationals and later a place on the Mongolian national team. In 2018, Luvsandorj was selected to the Mongolian World Cup team, and earned a fifth-place finish at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Turtogtokh also captured a bronze medal at the prestigious Ivan Yarygin tournament in Russia that year. Turtogtokh brings a wealth of wrestling knowledge to the program and will make an immediate impact on the tail end of the UNC line up, as well as make his own push for this Olympic cycle. Northern Colorado will be on the road this weekend for a pair of duals, starting with Utah Valley on Friday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.(MST) and Wyoming on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.

Iowa coaches Terry Brands, Ryan Morningstar and Tom Brands coaching in Iowa's dual against PSU (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa wrestling coaches Tom Brands, Terry Brands, and Ryan Morningstar have agreed to contract extensions to remain in Iowa City through the 2026 wrestling season, Henry B. and Patricia B. Tippie Director of Athletics Chair Gary Barta announced Wednesday. "We have great confidence in Tom, Terry and Ryan," said Barta. "They are committed to building on the current momentum and operating within our 'Win. Graduate. Do it Right.' philosophy." Tom Brands is in his 14th season as Iowa's head coach. He has won three NCAA team titles, four Big Ten Championships, and owns a dual record of 229-23-1 (.908). Iowa has crowned 12 NCAA individual champions and earned 72 All-America honors since 2007. Terry Brands is in his 22nd season on Iowa's staff. He was an assistant coach from 1992-2000, and returned to the staff in 2009. He has held the title of associate head coach since 2011. Morningstar has served as an assistant coach since 2012. The Hawkeyes are 11-0 this season, sitting atop the Big Ten Conference and ranked No. 1 in the country. Iowa's 2020 lineup includes 10 wrestlers ranked in the top 10, seven ranked in the top five, and two at the top of their respective weight classes, including Spencer Lee at 125 and Michael Kemerer at 174. Iowa has led the nation in attendance in each of Tom Brands' 13 seasons, and the University of Iowa announced Feb. 5 the Carver Circle fundraising campaign to build a new wrestling training facility south of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Duke Carrillo A former Texas high school wrestler who was a U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman 3rd Class (sophomore) died while taking the semi-annual physical readiness test on Saturday, Feb. 8. Duke Carrillo, 21, had wrestled at 285 pounds for Flower Mound High School in suburban Dallas-Fort Worth. Carrillo collapsed during the 1.5 mile run portion of the physical readiness test. "Initial responders provided exhaustive resuscitation efforts," according to the United States Naval Academy's Facebook page. "He was rushed to Anne Arundel Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased at 12:23 p.m. Circumstances surrounding the cause of his death are under review." Vice Adm. Sean Buck, 63rd Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy, said, "My wife, Joanne, and I join the Brigade, staff and faculty in mourning the sudden and tragic loss of Midshipman Duke Carrillo. Our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences go out to the entire Carrillo family, and our extended Naval Academy family, during this extremely difficult time." Duke Carillo -- along with his twin brother Dylan -- reported to Annapolis for the Class of 2022 Induction Day in June 2018, after completing a year at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, R.I. He was a Quantitative Economics major (having earned a 4.0 last semester) who was an avid intramural athlete and a member of the Naval Academy's Flight Training Squadron, with aspirations of being a naval aviator. "Duke was an active member of 24th company; he was able to have a special and close relationship with each of his classmates and company mates," said 24th Company Officer Lt. Sara Lewis. "I am honestly able to say he was friends with everyone and uplifted those around him. Due to his calm and loving personality, he will be especially missed in 24th company." Duke Carillo's death was also being mourned back at Flower Mound High School. "Tonight, instead of celebrating our wins and losses, FMHS Wrestling will be mourning one of its own," was the message on the Facebook page for the Flower Mound High School Wrestling program. "If there was ever a wrestler that embodied either teams' values, it was Duke Carrillo. He is a true representation of what it takes to be the best. Duke is a two-time UIL 6A State qualifier, placing 3rd at the 2017 UIL 6A state tournament at 285lbs, he never once gave up." Nick Carrillo was survived by his parents, Gerald and Jennifer, and his brothers Dylan and Jake, both of them Naval Academy midshipmen. Visitation will be held on Thursday, February 13 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at the United States Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Md. where a Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Friday, February 14 at 1 pm. Interment will follow in the United States Naval Academy Cemetery.

University of the Ozarks will launch a women's wrestling program beginning the 2020-21 academic year, Eagles Athletic Director Jimmy Clark announced this week. The program will be a club sport for the 2020-21 year and will move to an NCAA Division III varsity intercollegiate program starting in the fall of 2021, according to Clark. The new team will expand Ozarks' varsity sports offerings to 21 intercollegiate programs. The University has offered men's wrestling since 2014. The current men's wrestling head coach, LeRoy Gardner, will also lead the women's program. The University will hire an additional assistant coach to assist with the new program. "Women's wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in this country in both college and high school and we're excited about offering this opportunity for women who want to compete on the collegiate level," Clark said. "We've been considering adding it for a couple of years and with our men's wrestling program thriving, we felt it was the right time to add it. We've got the facilities and infrastructure in place, so it just seemed like a natural fit." In 2019, the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) sanction women's high school wrestling in Arkansas, becoming the 18th state to have the sport at the high school level. Nationally there were 2,980 high school sponsoring teams and 21,124 girls wrestling at the high school level in 2018-19, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations. That's up 5,000 from the previous year. In addition, women's wrestling was voted in January as an Emerging Sport in NCAA Division III, a giant step toward it becoming an NCAA sanctioned championship-level sport in the near future. There are approximately 65 colleges and universities nationwide who sponsor NAIA or NCAA women's wrestling programs, including Lyon College in Arkansas. Gardner, a former NCAA Division III national champion wrestler at Wartburg College who was inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2010, has watched the rapid growth of women's wrestling. "As a wrestler and a coach I have been excited about the growth of women's wrestling," Gardner said. "Now, even more so with the growth in the region and the opportunity to share with these student-athletes all the University of the Ozarks has to offer. It is an exciting time for our sport, campus and community." Clark said he hopes to have about 5-10 wrestlers in the program in the fall of 2020 as the team goes through a limited schedule as a club sport. "That will give us a full year to get the program completely up to speed and to prepare our student-athletes to compete on the varsity level," Clark said. Collegiate women's wrestling is currently classified as a winter sport, with competition beginning in October and running through February. The Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) governs the sport and has overseen the national championships since 2008. Until the NCAA structure has been approved and implemented, Ozarks will join and compete in the WCWA. Women's wrestling has been an Olympic sport since 2004, and will be contested in its fifth Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.

J'den Cox at the 2019 World Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) After much speculation, two-time world champion J'den Cox has announced his weight class for his 2020 Olympic run. Cox, who competed in the non-Olympic weight class of 92 kilograms, told USA Wrestling's Taylor Miller that he will be moving up to 97 kilograms, where he will have to go through Olympic champion and two-time world champion Kyle Snyder. "I want to live a tested life," Cox said. "This is part of my test. My goal is to reach my full potential. I believe 97 is where I'm finally going to reach it, or find it, or get closer to achieving that. But I'm excited. I think the world should be too." Watch the full interview below.