InterMat Staff

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- No. 15 Illinois wrestling pushed past Michigan State with an 18-12 victory Friday night at Huff Hall. With the score tied at 12-12 heading into the final two bouts, redshirt sophomore Matt Wroblewski (197) and freshman Luke Luffman (285) were able to pick up wins in the final matches to give Illinois the dual win. The Illini also saw wins on Friday night from senior Travis Piotrowski (133), redshirt junior Dylan Duncan (141), redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel (165) and redshirt senior Joey Gunther (174). Illinois is now 6-3 on the season, 3-2 in Big Ten Duals, and still undefeated at Huff Hall at 4-0. "It was an ugly win," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "Gunther and Wroblewski both showed real guts in their wins. We looked flat at some weights and need to get off bottom at others. Back to practice tomorrow to get ready for Sunday." Senior Travis Piotrowski got Illinois on the board with a win over Garrett Pepple in the 133-pound bout. Piotrowski was sharp in the first period, getting two for a takedown and turning Pepple for a four-point nearfall. Piotrowski would get the riding time point, and win the match in a 7-3 decision. Ranked seventh nationally by FloWrestling, Piotrowski is now 18-2 on the season, including 9-0 in dual bouts. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Duncan followed up with a win at 141-pounds to put Illinois in front. Taking on Matt Santos, Duncan picked up a takedown late in the second period that would prove to be the difference. Duncan, ranked 12th nationally at 141, would take a 3-2 decision, which pushes his record this season to 14-6. Redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel was in control in his 165-pound matchup with Drew Hughes. The 15th-ranked wrestler in the nation at 165, Braunagel picked up two takedowns in both the first and second periods on his way to a 9-2 decision over Hughes. Braunagel is now 17-5 this season, and 4-1 in Big Ten matchups. After Braunagel's win, the dual score was tied at 9-9. Redshirt senior Joey Gunther would come up with a clutch victory in the 174-pound bout. Taking on No. 23 Layne Malczewski, No. 22 Gunther was trailing, 5-3, late in the third, but forced a takedown in the closing seconds of the period to force overtime. Gunther then got a quick takedown at the start of Sudden Victory to win the match, 7-5, and put Illinois back in front of Michigan State, 12-9. Gunther is now 13-4 on the season. After the Spartans took the 184-pound match to even the score, redshirt sophomore Matt Wroblewski faced off against Nick May in a critical matchup at 197. The two wrestlers went into Sudden Victory, tied 1-1, with escape points being the only scores of the match through the first three periods. Wroblewski then picked up the bout-winning takedown midway through Sudden Victory-1, winning the match over May, 3-1. Wroblewski's win put Illinois back ahead of the Spartans, 15-12, going into the final match. After Wroblewski's win, freshman Luke Luffman looked to close out the dual in his matchup with Christian Rebottaro. Luffman scored two in the second with a reversal, and that would prove to be the difference. Tacking on the riding time point, Luffman won the bout, 3-1. and clinched an 18-12 match victory for the Illini. Up next, No. 15 Illinois hosts No. 23 Northwestern at Huff Hall this Sunday, February 2 at 1 p.m. Sunday's matchup against the Wildcats will be Tuff N' Huff day, featuring the second annual arm wrestling competition. The arm wrestling competition will begin at 12 p.m., and the champion will win Air Pods. Results: 125: Logan Griffin (MSU) dec. Justin Cardani (ILL), 5-0 | MSU 3, ILL 0 133: No. 7 Travis Piotrowski (ILL) dec. Garrett Pepple (MSU), 7-3 | ILL 3, MSU 3 141: No. 12 Dylan Duncan (ILL) dec. Matt Santos (MSU), 3-2 | ILL 6, MSU 3 149: Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU) dec. Mousa Jodeh (ILL), 4-0 | ILL 6, MSU 6 157: No. 23 Jake Tucker (MSU) dec. Eric Barone (ILL), 3-0 | MSU 9, ILL 6 165: No. 15 Danny Braunagel (ILL) dec. Drew Hughes (MSU), 9-2 | ILL 9, MSU 9 174: No. 22 Joey Gunther (ILL) SV-1 No. 23 Layne Malczewski, 7-5 | ILL 12, MSU 9 184: No. 14 Cam Caffey (MSU) dec. No. 13 Zac Braunagel, 7-6 | ILL 12, MSU 12 197: Matt Wroblewski (ILL) SV-1. Nick May (MSU), 3-1 | ILL 15, MSU 12 285: Luke Luffman (ILL) dec. Christian Rebottaro, 3-1 | ILL 18, MSU 12

STILLWATER -- The 11th-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team (9-2 overall, 5-1 Big 12) took nine of 10 bouts from the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in its 17th consecutive dual win inside Gallagher-Iba Arena on Friday evening. First-ranked Boo Lewallen kept his perfect season intact with a shutout major decision against No. 11 Henry Pohlmeyer, who ended the Cowboy's season a year ago. After a scoreless first, the Poke escaped in the second and rode out the final period with two four-point turns to seal the 10-0 win. "I like the way Boo Lewallen broke that match open a little bit in the third period," coach John Smith said. "He was a little bit slow on his feet and a little bit conservative. Last year, that guy ended his season in November, so maybe he was just a little bit hesitant or concerned about what he does. You just wrestle smart and you wrestle hard, you finish hard. I did like that he broke the match open in the third period." Also collecting bonus points for the Cowboys was Nick Piccininni with a 17-1 technical fall against No. 19 Daniel Vega. The senior lit up the scoreboard in the first period, securing two takedowns, a two-point nearfall and four-point nearfall, and put the Cowboys ahead early. The win marked Piccininni's third win against a ranked opponent this season and seventh technical fall. Wyatt Sheets nabbed his fifth major decision on the season over Peyton Smith, 11-1, in a bout that featured three third-period takedowns for the Cowboy. Cowboys Anthony Montalvo and Dakota Geer notched back-to-back bonus-point wins for OSU on the evening, too, both against ranked Jackrabbits. No. 15 Tanner Sloan resigned his match to 11th-ranked Geer due to injury after the first period. Montalvo topped No. 14 Zach Carlson with a takedown in the final seconds in a 3-1 decision. "I came here to be the man," Montalvo said. "I see all the guys on my team, and I go in the room every day and see the guys on the wall who are legends of the sport. It's like, you don't go out there hoping to get an upset. I want the fans to think, 'He's going to go out there and put it on him.' I want to earn that expectation from the fans and from myself." A big third period for 133-pounder Reece Witcraft pushed him past Zach Price via decision, 9-4. Dusty Hone followed at 141 pounds and collected a huge takedown with 42 seconds left in the second period and secured a riding time point for a 5-2 victory. Eighth-ranked Travis Wittlake advanced to 11-0 in dual action earning five takedowns in a 14-6 major decision over South Dakota State's Tanner Cook. Joe Smith secured his second dual win in a row against Kelby Hawkins, 9-3, Smith tallied three takedowns and two escapes in his second dual appearance this season. In the final match of the night, Austin Harris fell short to Blake Wolters, 4-3, in a hard-fought bout. The Cowboys return to the mat at 2 p.m. on Sunday to take on the No. 25 Missouri Tigers in a classic Big 8/Big 12 contest. Results: 125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (OSU) TF No. 19 Danny Vega (SDSU) 17-1 133: Reece Witcraft (OSU) dec. Zach Price (SDSU) 9-4 141: Dusty Hone (OSU) dec. Clay Carlson (SDSU) 5-2 149: No. 1 Boo Lewallen (OSU) MD No. 11 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) 10-0 157: Wyatt Sheets (OSU) MD Peyton Smith (SDSU) 11-3 165: No. 8 Travis Wittlake (OSU) MD Tanner Cook (SDSU) 14-6 174: No. 11 Joe Smith (OSU) dec. Kelby Hawkins 9-3 184: Anthony Montalvo (OSU) dec. No. 14 Zach Carlson 3-1 197: No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU) inj, for. No. 15 Tanner Sloan 3:00 HWT: Blake Wolters (SDSU) dec. Austin Harris (OSU) 4-3

WEST ORANGE, N.J. -- On a special night for the Army West Point wrestling program, Lehigh was locked in a battle. A second period pin from senior Jordan Kutler helped turn the tide in the Mountain Hawks' favor. Kutler's fall over Ben Harvey broke a 9-9 tie and sparked a four-bout Lehigh run to close the dual as the 12th-ranked Mountain Hawks took down the No. 19 Black Knight 24-9 at West Orange High School's Tarnoff Gymnasium. Army West Point moved its Senior Night dual to West Orange in memory of cadet-wrestler C.J. Morgan, who passed away last summer. Lehigh was tested often by the Black Knights, who split the first six bouts before Kutler's second fall of the season propelled the Mountain Hawks (9-3, 5-1 EIWA) to their eighth consecutive dual win. "Early on, Army came out with a lot of intensity and I don't think our guys understood," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "West Orange did a great job putting this together. Army is a well-coached team. They have good wrestlers. We knew it would be a battle. They came out fighting, but our second half guys really stepped up. They saw what was happening and made the adjustments." Kutler took on Harvey in a top-15 matchup at 174. Kutler led 3-1 in the second period on the strength of a first period takedown, when he got in on a single leg shot late in the frame, put Harvey in danger and secured the fall at the 4:54 mark. "The fall was huge," Santoro said. "We didn't expect it, since Harvey is a really good wrestler. It was a tight match but Jordan hit a beautiful single and put him on his back. It was nice." Junior Chris Weiler rode the momentum from Kutler's win to his third win over a higher-ranked opponent this month. Weiler scored a first period takedown and second period reversal and used strong work on top to build a 4-0 lead on Noah Stewart at 184. He gave up two penalty points for stalling in the third period, but secured a late reversal and added riding time to win 7-2 and give the Mountain Hawks an 18-9 lead with two bouts remaining. Junior Jake Jakobsen clinched the dual for the Brown and White with a 4-1 decision at 197. Jakobsen rode out the second period and scored an escape and takedown in the third plus riding time to secure the victory. At heavyweight, junior Jordan Wood capped the four bout run with a 4-0 decision over Ben Sullivan. Wood scored a takedown in the final seconds of the first period, rode out the second and escaped in the third. "Chris went out and did a great job," Santoro said. "He's getting better every week. It has been really fun watching him. He can beat you in a lot of different ways now. Jake followed him up wrestling a really tough kid and then Jordan finished up strong. It was a good finish." The dual began at 125 where fifth-ranked junior Brandon Paetzell got Lehigh off to a fast start with a 6-3 decision over Trey Chalifoux. After a scoreless first period, Paetzell scored an escape and takedown in the second, and added a takedown and riding time in the final stanza. "He's an incredible worker and he keeps trying to learn every day," Santoro said of Paetzell. "He's trying to get better. Trying to add things to his offense. He has done a great job." Army West Point (8-3, 2-1 EIWA) won close decisions in the next two bouts to go up 6-3 after three bouts. At 133, Nick Farro took the better shots, but Andrew Wert scored off his first shot for a key early takedown and then rode out the second. Two escapes plus riding time advantage offset a third period takedown as time ran out on Farro's last second takedown attempt as Wert prevailed 5-3. Senior Ryan Pomrinca faced off against another Army reserve as Logan Brown stepped in for Corey Shie at 141. Pomrinca scored the first takedown, but Brown secured the next two to lead 6-5 late. Pomrinca got in on a shot late and was awarded the winning takedown as time expired, but after the two officials conferred, they wiped away the takedown, saying Pomrinca did not have control, and Brown held on for a 6-5 win. In his first action in a month, sophomore Jimmy Hoffman gutted out a 6-5 tiebreaker victory over P.J Ogunsanya at 149 to tie the dual at 6-6. Hoffman scored the only points of the first period on an escape following an injury timeout. An escape and takedown gave Hoffman a 4-1 lead after two, but Ogunsanya picked up a stalling point and an escape before scoring a takedown of his own in the third, with a Hoffman escape sending the match to sudden victory tied 5-5. Following a scoreless sudden victory period, Hoffman escaped eight seconds into the first half of the tiebreaker, then rode out the second half to win 6-5. "That was two wounded guys out there," Santoro said. "Jimmy had been off for a month. He really just got back this week. He was tired but he was working hard. That was just two warriors leaving it all out there." Sophomore Josh Humphreys put the Mountain Hawks up 9-6 at intermission with a 3-0 decision over Lucas Weiland at 157. Humphreys scored a first period takedown and escaped late in the third. Army tied the dual at 9-9 in the first bout after intermission as Cael McCormick won a 7-3 decision over freshman Brian Meyer at 165. The Mountain Hawks will be off from competition next weekend and will return to action on Friday Feb. 14 when they visit Bucknell for a 7 p.m. match. The 2019-20 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem. Results: 125 – Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) dec. Trey Chalifoux (Army) 6-3 133 – Andrew Wert (Army) dec. Nick Farro (Lehigh) 5-3 141 – Logan Brown (Army) dec. Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh) 6-5 149 – Jimmy Hoffman (Lehigh) dec. P.J. Ogunsanya (Army) 6-5, tb 157 – Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec. Lucas Weiland (Army) 3-0 165 – Cael McCormick (Army) dec. Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 7-3 174 – Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) Fall Ben Harvey (Army) 4:54 184 – Chris Weiler (Lehigh) dec. Noah Stewart (Army) 7-2 197 – Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) dec. Alex Hopkins (Army) 4-1 285 – Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. Ben Sullivan (Army) 4-0

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 3 Ohio State University wrestling team (9-2, 5-1 B1G) amassed bonus points aplenty in a 43-3 triumph over Maryland (2-12, 0-6 B1G). Ohio State totaled 53 takedowns on the night while surrendering a lone Terrapin takedown. The Buckeyes won nine of 10 bouts, including four tech falls, two major decisions and two pins. After splitting the first two bouts to start the evening, Ohio State rattled off eight consecutive bonus point garnering performances. Luke Pletcher's first period pin sparked the scoring streak with Gary Traub placing the cherry on top in the form of a 24-9 tech fall at heavyweight. The all-time series is now 5-0 in favor of the Scarlet & Gray with a combined team score of 183-30. Prior to the bonus bonanza, Malik Heinselman placed himself in the win column with a 7-2 decision over Brandon Cray in the 125-pound bout. Pletcher executed a short ‘catch and release' stint nabbing four takedowns before turning and sticking Hunter Baxter at the 1:57 mark. The recently-minted No. 2 149-pounder in the country, Sammy Sasso, looked every bit the part. He blitzed Ryan Garlitz for 10 takedowns and an eventual 23-8 tech fall. Quinn Kinner, bumping up to 157 pounds for the first time at the Covelli Center, flashed his turning prowess. He garnered four near-fall points three different times in short succession, leading to a second straight OSU tech fall. Kinner finished off his opponent in just two minutes, 34 seconds. Ethan Smith and Kaleb Romero kept it coming at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, with major decisions. Romero faced a nationally-ranked foe in Philip Spadafora (#24) and was unfazed as a 13-4 victor. The rout rolled along as Rocky Jordan, Kollin Moore and Traub closed it out with two more tech falls and a Moore pin. Traub's effort included a team-high 11 takedowns. Results: 125 lbs | Malik Heinselman (OSU) def. Brandon Cray (UMD) | D, 7-2; Team Score: 3-0 133 lbs | King Sandoval (UMD) def. No. 21 Jordan Decatur (OSU) | D, 10-8; TS: 3-3 141 lbs | No. 1 Luke Pletcher (OSU) def. Hunter Baxter (UMD) | PIN, 1:57; TS: 9-3 149 lbs | No. 2 Sammy Sasso (OSU) def. Ryan Garllitz (UMD) | TF, 23-8 (6:29); TS: 14-3 157 lbs | Quinn Kinner (OSU) def. Lucas Cordio (UMD) | TF, 16-1 (2:34); TS: 19-3 165 lbs | No. 13 Ethan Smith (OSU) def. Kyle Cochran (UMD) | MD, 20-7; TS: 23-3 174 lbs | No. 7 Kaleb Romero (OSU) def. No. 24 Philip Spadafora (UMD) | MD, 13-4; TS: 27-3 184 lbs | No. 24 Rocky Jordan (OSU) def. Kyle Jasenski (UMD) | TF, 18-2; TS: 32-3 197 lbs | No. 1 Kollin Moore (OSU) def. Niko Cappello (UMD) | PIN, 2:36; TS: 38-3 285 lbs | No. 23 Gary Traub (OSU) def. Parker Robinson (UMD) | TF, 24-9; TS: 43-3 The Buckeyes turn around and hop on a plane Saturday morning destined for Lincoln, Neb., and a 1 p.m. ET Sunday showdown with the 6th-ranked Nebraska Huskers.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Virginia Tech wrestling put the North Carolina loss behind them with a 20-16 win over Commonwealth Clash foe Virginia in Charlottesville Friday night. After a slow start, the No. 7 Hokies rattled off six-straight match wins to improve to 9-1 on the season. Tech has now defeated its archrival in eight-straight duals dating back to January of 2015. Two Hokies scored bonus points Friday night, each by major decision. Freshman Bryce Andonian and redshirt sophomore Hunter Bolen won 13-4 and 12-4, respectively. The Hokies get their first ACC win of the season, while handing Virginia its second conference loss. Tech stands at 1-1 in ACC play this year. COMMONWEALTH CLASH The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 stands in the favor of Virginia 4.5-3.5. Virginia529 is the official college savings plan of Virginia Tech Athletics and the University of Virginia Athletics. To learn more about Virginia529 and the competition, visit www.thecommonwealthclash.com. MATCH HIGHLIGHTS No. 18 Mitch Moore got the Hokies on the board with a 10-4 decision over Brian Courtney. It looked like Moore was about to pick up his seventh pin of the season, but Courtney was saved by the first period buzzer. Moore finished the match strong and gave the Hokies their first three points of the night. Bryce Andonian followed up Moore's three points with four of his own. The freshman picked up the 13-4 major decision over Denton Spencer by using a combination of takedowns and a four-point nearfall. Andonian improves to 14-4 on the season and 5-2 in dual matches. No. 18 B.C. LaPrade gave the Hokies the lead with an 8-5 decision over Justin McCoy. LaPrade was holding on to a close 6-4 lead late, but shot in for a takedown to secure the win for Tech. The victory was the 11th of the season for the redshirt junior and his eighth dual win. Bouncing back from his defeat last week, No. 5 David McFadden won the fourth-straight match for Tech. McFadden had a takedown and the riding time advantage to win a 5-1 decision over Cam Coy. The redshirt senior picked up his 17th win of the year and is now up to 103 career wins. Cody Hughes added to the Hokies streak, winning the team's fifth-straight match. It was a defensive battle between the redshirt senior and Vic Marcelli as Hughes used an escape and riding time to win a 2-0 decision. The win was the 10th of the season for Hughes, reaching the double-digit plateau for the third time in his career. No. 2 Hunter Bolen just keeps winning, claiming the sixth straight match for Tech. He picked up a 12-4 major decision over Michael Battista for his 20th win of the season, most of any Hokies' starter. The Christiansburg native is 10-0 in duals this season, outscoring his opponents 39-0. Results: 125: #2 Jack Mueller (UVA) WBF #13 Joey Prata (VT), 4:10 133: Louie Hayes (UVA) dec. Collin Gerardi (VT), 5-3 141: #18 Mitch Moore (VT) dec. Brian Courtney (UVA), 10-4 149: Bryce Andonian (VT) MD Denton Spencer (UVA), 13-4 157: #18 B.C. LaPrade (VT) dec. Justin McCoy (UVA), 8-5 165: #5 David McFadden (VT) dec. Cam Coy (UVA), 5-1 174: Cody Hughes (VT) dec. Vic Marcelli (UVA), 2-0 184: #2 Hunter Bolen (VT) MD Michael Battista (UVA), 12-4 197: #9 Jay Aiello (UVA) MD Stanley Smeltzer (VT), 13-4 285: Quinn Miller (UVA) dec. #18 John Borst, 6-4 UP NEXT Virginia Tech will have an off-day Saturday before returning to action Sunday afternoon at Old Dominion. Sunday's dual will start at 1 p.m. in Norfolk, Va.

WEST LAFAYETTE, In. -- The University of Minnesota wrestling program defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 27-12 on Friday night in Holloway Gymnasium in front of 788 in attendance. The Gophers took home seven of the ten bouts, including three by bonus points. Bailee O'Reilly got the first team points on the board for the Maroon and Gold with a 19-5 major decision at 165-pounds over Tanner Webster. O'Reilly scored in a variety of ways, whether takedowns, reversals, or escapes, to earn his first technical fall of the year. Indiana native Brayton Lee ended the night in thrilling fashion with a 7-5 sudden victory in the dual's final bout. After falling behind early, Lee recorded three consecutive takedowns to send the Gophers, and his supporters, home happy. At heavyweight, Gable Steveson also recorded his first technical fall of the season with a dominant 25-10 victory. Steveson put on an offensive showcase with 12 takedowns to notch his fourth ranked victory of the season. Mitch McKee also earned the technical fall with a 16-1 domination of Parker Filius. McKee promptly got a takedown and turn in the first ten seconds before continuing to pour on the offensive points. Owen Webster helped the Gophers retake the dual lead with an 8-6 decision victory over Max Lyon, who defeated him the team's dual last season. Webster got on the board first with a takedown and cradle before holding on for the victory. Garrett Joles earned his first career Big Ten victory heading into intermission with a strong 6-2 decision that featured a pair of takedowns as well as a beautiful reversal. Making his Division-1, Big Ten, and Gophers debut, Boo Dryden earned the 2-1 decision victory. Dryden scored via his third period escape and second period rideout while his opponent only scored due to a pair of stall warnings. In the night's opening match, No.6 Kendall Coleman took home the narrow 3-1 decision over No.22 Ryan Thomas. At 125-pounds Patrick McKee held a 5-3 lead over No.6 Devin Schroder before McKee's knee twisted and the bout flipped. Schroder would go on to earn the technical fall and McKee's injury status remains unknown. Minnesota heads south to take on the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday afternoon to close out the weekend road trip. The Maroon and Gold next return home for a February 9 dual against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the penultimate home dual. Results: 157: No.6 Kendall Coleman dec. (3-1) over No.22 Ryan Thomas (Purdue leads 3-0) 165: Bailee O'Reilly tech. fall (20-5) over Tanner Webster (Minnesota leads 5-3) 174: No.4 Dylan Lydy majo dec. (14-4) over No.8 Devin Skatzka (Purdue leads 7-5) 184: No.18 Owen Webster dec. (8-6) Max Lyon (Minnesota leads 8-7) 197: Garrett Joles dec. (6-2) over Jared Florell (Minnesota leads 11-7) 285: No.1 Gable Steveson tech. fall (25-10) No.25 Thomas Penola (Minnesota leads 16-7) 125: No.6 Devin Schorder tech. fall (20-5) No.12 Pat McKee (Minnesota leads 16-12) 133: Boo Dryden dec. (2-1) over Travis Ford-Melton (Minnesota leads 19-12) 141: No.5 Mitch McKee tech. fall (16-1) Parker Fillius (Minnesota leads 24-12) 149: No.4 Brayton Lee SV1 (7-5) over No.17 Griffin Parriott (Minnesota wins 27-12)

ATHENS, Ohio -- Good start, outstanding finish. The Central Michigan wrestling team recorded three pins and a major decision in winning five matches on Friday to top Ohio, 25-15, in a Mid-American Conference dual at the Bobcats' Convocation Center. The win lifted CMU to 4-4, 4-2 MAC. Ohio, which had won three-consecutive duals, is 5-6, 3-3. The Chippewas got pins from Drew Hildebrandt (125 pounds), Ben Cushman (184) and Matt Stencel (285) and a 9-1 major from Drew Marten (133). CMU's Landon Pelham (197) won by decision. The teams split the 10 matches, but Ohio's victories, all of which came consecutively from 141-174, were by decision and none were decided by more than three points. "That just shows the value of bonus points," said CMU coach Tom Borrelli, whose team wrestles a MAC dual at Cleveland State on Sunday (1 p.m.). "That's how you win dual meets and that's how you score a lot of points in tournaments too. Anytime you win you feel good about yourself and that's important going into Sunday." Big Swing Cushman's victory snapped the Bobcats' streak, put the Chippewas back in front, 16-15, and gave CMU a huge emotional lift. "They really had the momentum going and the crowd was on us pretty good," Borrelli said. "It was crickets after that match." Cushman, a redshirt freshman, pinned senior Hunter Yeargan. The match was tied 1-1 in sudden victory. "He just kept wrestling," Borrelli said of Cushman. "He ended up falling into a shot and coming off the bottom and body locking the guy right to his back." It was Cushman's second straight win, his first pin of the season, and the first dual-meet pin of his career. Cushman had lost 10 of his previous 11 matches before posting a 4-0 win against SIUE two weeks ago. "The last two matches have helped him a lot," Borrelli said. "The thing with him is he's not a real polished wrestler yet. He's a tough kid, knows how to fight, and he's got some guts. With that you always have a chance. When he develops into a polished wrestler he's going to be dangerous." Chippewa notes • Hildebrandt's pin was his sixth of the season and his third consecutive. It was the fifth-straight victory for the junior, who is ranked 11th nationally and first in the MAC as he improved to 24-3 including 8-0 in duals. "The thing that was nice tonight he wrestled on his feet more," Borrelli said. "Usually he gets on top and turns you right away. He was a lot more efficient on his feet tonight." • Stencel, who is ranked fourth nationally and first in the MAC, posted his 12th pin of the season as he won his fifth-consecutive match to improve to 22-4, 7-1 in duals. • It was Marten's fifth major of the year and his second-straight bonus-point victory after his technical fall win two weeks ago against SIUE. He improved to 16-10. • Pelham improved to 22-7, 6-2 in duals with his fourth win in his last five matches. • In one of the more entertaining matches of the night, CMU junior Dresden Simon (141) fell, 8-7, to senior Shakur Laney. "That was a good match for Dresden," Borrelli said. "It taught him a lot. He got frustrated and lost his composure and I think he can learn from that." Results: 125: Drew Hildebrandt (C) pinned Derek Giallombardo, 6:34 133: Drew Marten (C) major dec. Giovanni DiSabato, 9-1 141: Shakur Laney (O) dec. Dresden Simon, 8-7, TB-1 149: Alec Hagan (O) dec. Corbyn Munson, 6-3 157: Zac Carson (O) dec. Logan Parks, 4-3 165: Joe Terry (O) dec. Tracy Hubbard, 5-3 174: Logan Stanley (O) dec. Jake Lowell, 10-7 184: Ben Cushman (C) pinned Hunter Yeargan, 7:00 197: Landon Pelham (C) dec. Jake Walker, 7-2 285: Matt Stencel (C) pinned Jordan Earnest, 3:46

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In Wisconsin's first Big Ten dual of the weekend, the Badgers took care of Indiana with ease, with a final score of 27-12. Jared Krattiger got his first pin as a Badger. At 174, the redshirt freshman pinned Diego Lemley of Indiana. This is Krattiger's first Big Ten dual victory this season. No. 3 Evan Wick also scored six team points for the Badgers. At 165 pounds, he took down Dillon Hoey early in the match and didn't look back. This is Wick's fifth fall this season. Johnny Sebastian also had a fun night in Bloomington. The redshirt senior recorded a 20-4 tech. fall over Jake Hinz. Taylor Watkins got the Badgers first dual win at 197 this season. Watkins kept the momentum rolling and beat down on Indiana's Nick Willham. Straight from the mat "I loved our hustle and fight tonight! It is always tough to get a Big Ten road win. We need to build off of this for Sunday!" - Head coach, Chris Bono "It felt good to get a pin in the dual season and in the first period. I knew after the first takedown if I keep the pressure on he won't be able to keep up. And right at the last few seconds of the first period I was able to capitalize on top" - Redshirt freshman, Jared Krattiger "It feels good and it has been a long time coming. It feels really good to get that monkey off of my back and get the dual win. It was a good team win and hopefully we can keep it going." - Redshirt senior, Taylor Watkins Notables Krattiger recorded his first pin as a Badger Taylor Watkins got Wisconsin's first dual victory at the 197-pound weight class this season Dominic Dentino, redshirt freshman, got his first dual start this season Results: 149 - No. 22 Graham Rooks (IU) over No. 12 Cole Martin (UW) by dec. 4-3 157 - Fernie Silva (IU) over Drew Scharenbrock (UW) by dec. 5-3 165 - No. 3 Evan Wick (UW) over Dillon Hoey (IU) by fall, 3:13 174 - Jared Krattiger (UW) over Diego Lemley (IU) by fall, 3:00 184 - No. 11 Johnny Sebastian (UW) over Jake Hinz (IU) by tech. fall 20-4 197 - Taylor Watkins (UW) over Nick Willham (IU) by dec. 9-1 285 - No. 5 Trent Hillger (UW) over Jake Kleimola (IU) by dec. 8-3 125 - Liam Cronin (IU) over Eric Barnett (UW) by dec. 7-3 133 - No. 1 Seth Gross (UW) over Cayden Rooks (IU) by maj. dec. 12-4 141 - Eddie Bolivar (IU) over Dominic Dentino (UW) over by dec. 10-4 Next up Wisconsin heads north to take on No. 10 Purdue on Sunday, Feb. 2. The match is set to air on Big Ten Network live and will begin at 4 p.m.

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. -- No. 19 Campbell collected four pins on the way to a 43-5 win at Gardner-Webb, remaining unbeaten in Southern Conference matches. Campbell took its fifth straight match, improving to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in SoCon action, while GWU fell to 1-7 on the year and 0-4 in conference matches. Through its first three SoCon matchups of the season, CU has outscored its opponents 140-8. All four of Campbell's pins on the night came in the first period. Camels took the first six bouts of the night that included pins for Caleb Hopkins (184 pounds), No. 14 Jere Heino (285) and No. 9 Noah Gonser (133). Paxton Rosen also notched a 10-2 major decision at 125 pounds, while Austin Kraisser (174) and Chris Kober (197) both registered decisions, helping CU jump out to a 28-0 lead. At 149 pounds, Jason Kraisser made it 34-5 CU with the fourth pin of the night for the visiting Camels, and Matthew Dallara followed with a 6-4 decision at 157 pounds. No. 16 Quentin Perez finished out the team win at 165 pounds. With Perez leading 11-4 in the second period, GWU's Rodrick Mosley was forced to retire due to injury, capping off the 43-5 Campbell victory. Both Gonser and Jason Kraisser own pins in all three of their SoCon matchups this season. Brandon Bright tallied the only win on the night for the Runnin' Bulldogs with a tech fall at 141 pounds. Next up, the Camels return to Buies Creek for their final two home dates of the 2019-20 season, taking on Chattanooga on February 8, followed by Appalachian State on February 13. Results: 174: Austin Kraisser (Campbell) over Evan Schenk (GWU) Dec 4-0 (3-0) 184: Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) over Samuel Mora (GWU) Fall (1:54) (9-0) 197: Chris Kober (Campbell) over Roderick Davis (GWU) Dec 3-0 (12-0) 285: No. 14 Jere Heino (Campbell) over Gabriel Picket (GWU) Fall (0:57) (18-0) 125: Paxton Rosen (Campbell) over Michael Pappaconstantinou (GWU) MD 10-2 (22-0) 133: No. 9 Noah Gonser (Campbell) over Trevon Majette (GWU) Fall (2:31) (28-0) 141: Brandon Bright (GWU) over Kyle Sams (Campbell) TF 15-0 (28-5) 149: Jason Kraisser (Campbell) over Anthony Schiess (GWU) Fall (2:43) (34-5) 157: Matthew Dallara (Campbell) over Taylor Parks (GWU) Dec 6-4 (37-5) 165: No. 16 Quentin Perez (Campbell) over Rodrick Mosley (GWU) Inj. (43-5)

Navy freshman Jacob Koser's win by fall over 197-pound William Jarrell broke an 18-18 tie and led the Navy wrestling team (5-4, 2-1 EIWA) to a 24-21 victory over conference foe American (2-6, 2-4 EIWA) Friday evening at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C. Though American won six of the 10 matches, all four of the Mids' victories were by fall, enabling Navy to capture its 14th win in 16 meetings against the Eagles. "The strength of a good team is being there for one another and these guys are doing just that. We had some guys step up and score bonus points in this match and that ultimately made the difference in the dual," said sixth-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "The growth that comes through competition is hard to replicate in a training environment and there were many lessons learned from tonight. We have guys who are aggressive and set a high pace, but tonight some of that aggressiveness, when not paired with solid position, cost us unearned points. We will continue to improve in the little things that will close out the close matches in our favor and we will make adjustments in those positions we need to focus on to get to where we need to be with a handful of duals remaining on our schedule. "I am excited to see how these guys rebound in tomorrow's second EIWA dual of the weekend. This is a great simulation of the EIWA's for these guys and the last time they will have two consecutive weigh-ins going into the conference tournament. Cobb, Prince, Carey and Koser all had quality wins that included them controlling the ties, setting an aggressive pace and competing with heart every second they where on the mat. We have talent across the line up for everyone to emulate and as a team we have guys with heart and that's a recipe for success." The Highlights • The Midshipmen moved to 5-4 in dual competition this season, including a 2-1 record against EIWA competition. • Navy is now 14-2 all-time against the Eagles, including an 8-0 mark in matches wrestled in Washington, D.C. • There were three lead changes in the match - all three among the first five bouts - and three ties. • American never held the lead after its 9-6 advantage following the fourth match (149). • Navy broke the final tie (18-18) with a Jacob Koser win by fall. • Navy inserted three new starters into the lineup - 149 Val Park (L, 7-3), 157 Jared Prince (W, 4:29) and 165 Brian Case (L, 8-6 SV). • Val Park made just his second career appearance (11-10-20 vs. Penn State) in a dual and for the second time faced one of the nation's elite competitors. He put forth a solid effort in a 7-3 loss to #8 Kizhan Clarke. • Jared Prince, a three-time NCAA qualifier, made his season debut on Friday evening, pushing up a weight class to 157 pounds. Prince won his match by fall over Ethan Karsten at 4:29. • Jared Prince is now 18-1 all-time in wins by fall (8-0 Fr / 4-1 So / 5-0 Jr / 1-0 Sr). • The win by Jared Prince marked the 70th of his career (70-26), as he improved to 13-4 all-time in dual action. • Brian Case, who placed third at the All-Academy Championship a week ago, made his dual debut in place of nationally-ranked Tanner Skidgel at 165 pounds. Case got a late escape to level the match at 6-6 and sent it into overtime. Timothy Fitzpatrick, however, earned the victory by way of a takedown in sudden victory. • Casey Cobb (133) secured his third dual victory by way of a pin against Joshua Vega, who was wrestling in his first collegiate dual match. Cobb has never lost a match by fall, winning all six during his career. • Team captain Spencer Carey (174) led 9-2 when he utilized a cradle to pin Conner Allshouse at 3:24. Carey is now 4-1 in matches resulting in a fall this season and 16-3 over his four-year career. • Jacob Koser (197) jumped out to an 8-1 start early in the match before turning fellow freshman William Jarrell for the fall. Koser is now 15-5 on the year, including a team-best 7-2 in dual competition. • 16th-ranked Logan Treaster (125) held a 1-0 advantage with under 10 seconds remaining in his match against Gage Curry when he was hit with his second stall for the match-tying point. Curry followed it up with a takedown and claimed the 3-2 win despite Treaster's point for riding time. • Cody Trybus (141) also tasted defeat in the waning seconds of his match against Sal Profaci. Profaci was able to throw Trybus on the edge for the match-winning takedown with 11 seconds left. Results: 125 | Gage Curry dec #16 Logan Treaster (NAVY), 3-2 // American 3-0 133 | Casey Cobb (NAVY) fall Joshua Vega, 4:40 // Navy 6-3 141 | Sal Profaci dec Cody Trybus (NAVY), 7-5 // Tied 6-6 149 | #8 Kizhan Clarke dec Val Park (NAVY), 7-3 // American 9-6 157 | Jared Prince (NAVY) fall Ethan Karsten, 4:29 // Navy 12-9 165 | Timothy Fitzpatrick dec Brian Case (NAVY), 8-6 SV // Tied 12-12 174 | Spencer Carey (NAVY) fall Conner Allshouse, 3:24 // Navy 18-12 184 | #19 Tanner Harvey fall Andrew Buckley (NAVY), 0:49 // Tied 18-18 197 | Jacob Koser (NAVY) dec William Jarrell, 2:21 // Navy 24-18 285 | Niko Camacho dec John Birchmeier (NAVY), 5-1 // Navy 24-21 What's Ahead • The Midshipmen return to action Saturday afternoon when they make the drive to Philadelphia to battle Drexel (6-6, 2-2 EIWA) at Daskalakis Athletic Center beginning at 4:00 pm. Flowrestling and FloArena will carry the action online. • Navy will also send a handful of wrestlers to compete at the Edinboro Open on Saturday (9:00 am).

Getting two pins and a technical fall along the way, No. 16 Princeton opened the Ivy League schedule Friday night with a 27-12 win at Harvard. Princeton's third-ranked Patrick Glory started the match with a first-period pin of Nolan Hellickson at 125, and the Tigers were in front the rest of the way. Harvard won both bouts in the 140s to pull within 9-6, and after fourth-ranked Quincy Monday won by decision at 157, the Crimson answered with a decision from 17th-ranked Philip Conigliaro at 165 to make it 12-9 for the Tigers. From there, Princeton won three straight matches, all with bonus points, to break it open. Kevin Parker's shutout technical fall at 174, Travis Stefanik's major decision at 184 and third-ranked Patrick Brucki's first-period pin at 197 sealed the win for the Tigers. Harvard's 10th-ranked Yaraslau Slavikouski had a major-decision win at heavyweight to close the match and make the teams' combined five Intermat-ranked wrestlers 5 for 5 on the night. Princeton will complete the first Ivy weekend with a 2 p.m. match Saturday at Brown. Results: 125: #3 Patrick Glory (Princeton) wins by fall over Nolan Hellickson (Harvard), 1:38 133: Ty Agaisse (Princeton) wins by decision over Michael Jaffe (Harvard), 10-8 141: Lukus Stricker (Harvard) wins by decision over Marshall Keller (Princeton), 8-6 149: Aaron Kruk (Harvard) wins by decision over Josh Breeding (Princeton), 3-1 157: #4 Quincy Monday (Princeton) wins by decision over Hunter Ladnier (Harvard), 9-8 165: #17 Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) wins by decision over Grant Cuomo (Princeton), 7-3 174: Kevin Parker (Princeton) wins by technical fall over Michael Bausano (Harvard), 15-0 3:47 184: Travis Stefanik (Princeton) wins by major decision over Michael Doggett (Harvard), 16-6 197: #3 Patrick Brucki (Princeton) wins by fall over Evan Callahan (Harvard), 1:41 HWT: #10 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard) wins by major decision over Aidan Conner (Princeton), 11-4

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. -- Three wins via fall and three wins via technical fall powered Columbia Wrestling (3-2, 3-1 EIWA, 0-1 IVY) to a dominating 45-3 win over Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association foe, LIU (2-18, 0-6 EIWA) at the Pratt Recreation Center on Friday, Jan. 31, kicking off a busy weekend for the Lions with a solid victory. Columbia recorded wins via fall from first-year Kyle Mosher (157) and sophomores No. 31 Joe Manchio (125) and No. 24 Matt Kazimir, while first years, Michael Baker (184) and Lennox Wolak (174), along with sophomore Danny Conley (285) recorded wins via technical fall in the biggest margin of victory for the Lions since 2018. Joining the six Lions in the win column were first years, Angelo Rini (133) and Andrew Garr (149), while sophomore Sam Wustefeld (197) picked up a win as well. "We told the guys coming in, that this was an important dual for us to get the weekend started," said John Huemer Assistant Coach of Wrestling Kyle Massey. "We knew that on Saturday we would have a pair of real good fights on our hand, and it was important to get the weekend started strong. "We know that the matches at Hofstra will be a tougher challenge for us, and we know that we need to step our game up a bit more. But our guys have always been ones who are ready to step up to meet a challenge and I think we will be excited and ready to take on the challenge we will face on Saturday." HOW IT HAPPENED: Columbia got things started with a bang, with Mosher flying out of the gates at 157 pounds, recording a win via fall (3:23) over Dominick Demarco. Mosher's start was big for Columbia as it set the tone for the match, and he would be joined by two more of his teammates in recording wins via pin. At 165 pounds, Columbia received its lone loss of the match, but it was not easy for LIU to pick that win up, as Ryan Ferro beat junior Riley Jacops via decision, 9-8. But in the final seconds of the match, things were decided as a takedown late by Jacops gave him an 8-7 lead, but Ferro was able to return the favor and record two points in the last seconds of the match to get the lone win for LIU. Unphased by the loss at 165 pounds, Columbia would not drop another match and Wolak's technical fall win, 21-4, over James Langan at 174 pounds got the Lions back on the winning track. His technical fall victory was followed up by another dominating performance from Baker, who at 184 pounds, worked another technical fall win, 17-0, not letting Dan Shafran even come close to scoring as the Lion first-year pushed Columbia's lead to 16-3. Wustefeld's match at 197 pounds was a competitive affair, but the Lion sophomore was ready for what Mark Malico had to bring and Wustefeld confidently worked a 6-3 decision. For Wustefeld, the win was his fourth straight, as his lone loss in a dual meet came all the way back in Columbia's match at Stanford on Nov. 23, 2019. The heavyweights were on the mat next, and in what was his most dominating performance of the 2019-20 season, Conley smoothly worked a 16-0 technical fall victory over Maguire Horl for his first win since Jan. 4. With Conley's solid victory, the lineup flipped over and the Lions sat comfortably ahead, 24-3, and with four matches remaining the Lions would continue to add to that lead. Manchio, came out as a wrestler on a mission, and it showed as he worked Brandon Mercado through the first period, before coming out in the second and hitting a solid takedown that would lead to a victory via fall (3:54) and with a forfeit by LIU to Rini at 133 pounds, Columbia remained firmly in the driver's seat. With two matches remaining, the Lions had a chance to add to their lead, and at 141 pounds, Kazimir did just that, not allowing his match against Michael Blando to leave the first period, recording a win via fall at 2:38 to end his match in a quick and exciting fashion. In the final match of the night, Garr battled a tough Rhise Royster, but the Lion first-year would not let himself fall into any traps and he would put a cap on Columbia's night, taking the match with a 7-5 decision to wrap up a 45-3 dominating victory for Columbia. Results: 157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) def. Dominick Demarco (LIU), fall (3:23) 165 | Ryan Ferro (LIU) def. Riley Jacops (Columbia), dec. 9-8 174 | Lennox Wolak (Columbia) def. James Langan (LIU), TF 21-4 184 | Michael Baker (Columbia) def. Dan Shafran (LIU), TF 17-0 197 | Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) def. Mark Malico (LIU), dec. 6-3 285 | Danny Conley (Columbia) def. Maguire Horl (LIU), TF 16-0 125 | No. 31 Joe Manchio (Columbia) def. Brandon Mercado (LIU), fall (3:54) 133 | Angelo Rini (Columbia) win via forfeit 141 | No. 24 Matt Kazimir (Columbia) def. Michael Blando (LIU), fall (2:38) 149 | Andrew Garr (Columbia) def. Rhise Royster (LIU), dec. 7-5 UP NEXT: Columbia's weekend continues with a tri-meet at Hofstra, starting at 3 p.m. with Franklin & Marshall, before facing hosting Hofstra at 6 p.m. in Hempstead, New York.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Hofstra recorded three wins by fall and won eight weights in a 37-7 victory over Davidson Friday afternoon at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center. Reece Heller, Ricky Stamm, and Sage Heller all recorded wins by fall. The Pride moved to 5-5 on the season with its second consecutive win. The Wildcats slipped to 3-7 on the season. The teams split the first two matches with Dylan Ryder posting a major decision for the Pride at 125 pounds over Cian Fischer. However, Kyle Gorant returned the favor at 133 with a major decision over Justin Hoyle. Vinny Vespa's 7-0 decision over David Loniewski at 141 pounds started a run of five straight Hofstra wins. Reece Heller followed with his eighth win by fall of the season as he put Will Baldwin on his back at the 2:26 mark. Holden Heller posted a 7-3 decision over Hunter Costa at 157 before Ricky Stamm recorded his first pin of the year at 165, defeating Noah Satterfield in 1:46. Sage Heller ended the run with a pin of his own at 174. Trailing in the match, Sage Heller was able to turn Steven Newell onto his back at the 3:55 mark. Davidson would get a decision at 184 as Gavin Henry defeated Charles Small, 11-4. The Wildcats forfeited at 197 and Zachary Knighton-Ward closed out the match with a 13-9 decision over Mitchell Trigg at 285 pounds. The win was Knighton-Ward's third win in a row. The Pride returns to action Saturday at 4:30 p.m. versus Franklin & Marshall and then again at 6 p.m. versus Columbia. Both matches will take place in the Mack Physical Education Center. Notes: -Hofstra is 3-0 all-time versus Davidson. -Hofstra had three falls in its win over The Citadel as well. -Reece Heller now has a team-high 16 wins on the season. -Ryder's win was his 30th career victory. Results: 125: Dylan Ryder (HU) maj. dec. Cian Fischer (DC), 14-4 4-0 133: Kyle Gorant (DC) maj. dec. Justin Hoyle (HU), 14-3 4-4 141: Vinny Vespa (HU) dec. David Loniewski (DC), 7-0 7-4 149: Reece Heller (HU) wbf. Will Baldwin (DC), 2:26 13-4 157: Holden Heller (HU) dec. Hunter Costa (DC), 7-3 16-4 165: Ricky Stamm (HU) wbf. Noah Satterfield (DC), 1:46 22-4 174: Sage Heller (HU) wbf. Steven Newell (DC), 3:55 28-4 184: Gavin Henry (DC) dec. Charles Small (HU), 11-4 28-7 197: Trey Rogers (HU) win by forfeit 34-7 285: Zachary Knighton-Ward (HU) dec. Mitchell Trigg (DC), 13-9 37-7

The mother of a high school wrestler made news this week when she advocated for more severe punishments against those utilizing elbows to the back of the head during grounded wrestling action. The mom, who is also a nurse, had seen the move employed against her son twice this season and became nervous that it could possibly cause paralysis or even death in extreme circumstances. The reaction from the wrestling community was mixed: some mocking, some pointing to current rules, and others agreeing on harsher penalties. Much like hands to the face the elbow shiver to the nape of the neck is not so much a move as a tactic to open up an opponent for the attacking wrestler's offense. There can also be a punishment aspect to the move, which is best seen in the second clip from the new report on the issue. There is no place for excessive brutality in the sport of wrestling. The simple act of being picked up and put down on the mat against your will is brutal enough. Control of aggressive, striking-like behavior in favor of control is the main separation between wrestling and other combat sports. The degree with which you allow brutality is what separates wrestling from jiu-jitsu from sambo from Pankration from amateur MMA from professional MMA. Ah, but in discussing MMA we actually come back to the point made by the mother. Not only should this move be penalized, it should result in the immediate disqualification of the offending athlete. This move is not something that can be confused with a technique. This is a strike to the back of the neck, which is ILLEGAL in MMA and results in the immediate end of the fight via disqualification. Jon Jones, arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all-time, has a loss on his record for throwing TWO 12 to 6 elbows in a fight. What are we as a sport if we aren't implementing these types of punishments in a sport whose entire premise is that no striking is allowed, yet we tolerate these outrageous strikes on the neck of a child? The NCAA, NWCA and the NFHS all need to make this an immediate rule change. There is no excuse for not making the change now that it's been so publicly discussed. Decision makers and leaders need to use their positions to ensure that this anti-wrestling behavior is properly disincentivized. We need to grow. We need to do that through understanding why we have certain rules. No matter how tough any former wrestlers thinks he is, or was, because they ran stairs and spit into a plastic cup should not influence or create a culture of wrestling that relies on brutality more than technique. Changes need to be made to the sport and disqualifying athletes who use their elbow to strike a helpless opponent in the base of their skull is a pretty easy starting point. To your questions … Coleman Scott coaching against Stanford (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: What do you make of the job Coleman Scott is doing at UNC? The Tar Heels recently defeated Virginia Tech and seem to be trending in the right direction. On a relate note, pretty impressive for Kennedy Monday to win by technical fall over David McFadden! -- Mike C. Foley: Coleman Scott did NOT inherit a topflight wrestling program at UNC. The team was a bit in disarray and there was some expectation that growing the program would take a considerable amount of time and resources. I'm not sure about the resource dump, but the turnaround time certainly feels quick! To get UNC's results in his fifth season indicates to me that his culture, recruits, and administrative decisions are among the best in wrestling. UNC is also not in an easy conference. In fact, it's arguably the best conference in terms of percentage of teams in the top 10 nationally (4: Virginia Tech, NC State, Pitt, and UNC) and another, U.Va. in the top 25. I've always gotten the sense that Coach Scott has a firm understanding of what it takes to win on the mat and runs a drama-free program. Maybe he inherited his coaching style from John Smith -- you'd have to assume that's partly the case, but there's always much more to the equation when you talk about the success of a program. From alumni to assistant coaches and the network of committed community members the leadership has to maintain a number of vital relationships. Coach Scott and his staff seem to be excelling on all fronts. Kudos to Coach Scott and the Tar Hell community. Hell of a job. Q: What odds do you have on Penn State beat Iowa in Iowa City? -- Brian N. Foley: Odds? +220 125: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) pins Brandon Meredith (Penn State) 133: No. 2 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) 141: No. 2 Nick Lee (Penn State) dec. Carter Happel (Iowa) 149: No. 3 Pat Lugo (Iowa) maj. dec. Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State) 157: No. 5 Kaleb Young (Iowa) maj. dec. Brady Berge/Bo Pipher (Penn State) 165: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) 174: No. 1 Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) 184: No. 9 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Abe Assad (Iowa) 197: No. 7 Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. No. 18 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) 285: No. 3 Anthony Cassioppi (Iowa) dec. No. 15 Seth Nevills (Penn State) Score: Iowa 26, Penn State 9 Check out Coach Brands' response to this week's hype! THE MECCA … Q: Seth Gross, Mark Hall and Gable Steveson are all ranked No. 1 and attended the same high school, Apple Valley (Minnesota). Have there ever been three or more wrestlers from the same high school who won NCAA titles in the same year. Interestingly, all three wrestle for different colleges too. -- Mike C. Foley: Yes, they all went to the same school. No, they are not all from the same school district. In a setting where "recruiting" athletes was not allowable, Apple Valley nonetheless has dozens of wrestlers from out of district make their way into their program. Apple Valley was more comparable to Blair than to any public school. If you compare the program to Blair then this current moment of three top-ranked wrestlers might never have been done before. There are other journalists (Josh Lowe) who could better pinpoint the high school program of former national champions (and where they should have gone to school), which I think is the only really useful stat line to consider if trying to build an "ever-before" metric. Again, it's certainly impressive, but let's wait to see how the NCAA shakes out before crowning this achievement.

OREM, Utah -- The Air Force Academy wrestling team won six of ten bouts on their way to a 22-14 Big 12 Conference dual win over Utah Valley, Thursday evening, Jan. 30, at Lockhart Arena. The Falcons move to 3-3 on the season and secure their first Big 12 dual win on the year. AF had two bonus point wins over Utah Valley (1-9, 0-6 Big 12), a pin from No. 24 ranked Randy Meneweather at 165 lbs. and major decision from No. 14 Sidney Flores at 125 lbs. The other four wins were hard fought decision wins, with all four being decided by three points. UVU's four wins all came from nationally ranked wrestlers as well. The dual started at 141 lbs. as junior Lenny Petersen got things started with an 11-8 barnburner. The match was tied 7-7 after one period, and Petersen got a late reversal to secure the win. Following that, freshman Dylan Martinez and sophomore Trey Brisker went back-to-back with a 9-6 and 6-3 decision win, respectively, to up the lead to 9-0. Then Meneweather secured his 13th fall of the season with just 13 seconds left in the third period to blow the dual score open, 15-0. UVU got on the board at 174 lbs. as No. 9 ranked Kimball Bastian got a major decision. AF bounced back at 184 lbs. as sophomore Jake Thompson earned a tough 6-3 decision win to keep AF steadily ahead, 18-4 with four matches to go. The Wolverines got two more wins at 197 and heavyweight to keep them in the dual at 18-11. Flores then put things away, as he locked up a 10-2 major decision, his fourth MD of the year. In the final match, UVU ended things with a win but AF kept the eight point dual win. AF returns to the mat Sunday, Feb. 2, as they square off with Big 12 rival Fresno State. Action against the Bulldogs in California begins at 1 p.m. MT. Results: 141: Lenny Petersen (AF) over Isaiah Delgado (UVU) (Dec 11-8) 149: Dylan Martinez (AF) over Cameron Hunsaker (UVU) (Dec 9-6) 157: Trey Brisker (AF) over Spencer Haywood (UVU) (Dec 6-3) 165: No. 24 Randy Meneweather (AF) over Koy Wilkinson (UVU) (Pin 6:47) 174: No. 9 Kimball Bastian (UVU) over Cody Surratt (AF) (MD 11-2) 184: Jake Thompson (AF) over Ashton Seely (UVU) (Dec 6-3) 197: No. 20 Tanner Orndorff (UVU) over Casey Jumps (AF) (MD 13-2) HWT: No. 4 Tate Orndorff (UVU) over Kayne Hutchison (AF) (Dec 6-3) 125: No. 14 Sidney Flores (AF) over Josiah Nava (UVU) (MD 10-2) 133: No. 14 Taylor LaMont (UVU) over Jared Van Vleet (AF) (Dec 7-4)

LANCASTER, Pa. -- The Bucknell wrestling team won nine of 10 bouts for the fourth-straight dual en route to a 36-3 victory at Franklin & Marshall on Thursday night at Mayser Gymnasium. The Bison, who also extended their winning streak to five duals to improve to 7-3 (6-1 EIWA) on the season, picked up bonus points in five of their nine individual wins over the Diplomats (4-4, 1-3 EIWA). Highlights of the latest impressive team performance included pins by Darren Miller (133) and Matthew Kolonia (149), who each remained unbeaten in EIWA action at 7-0 and 6-0 respectively. In his return to the Bucknell lineup, Zach Hartman, who is ranked as high as 17th nationally at 165 pounds, picked up a 12-3 major decision over Emmett LiCastri. He moved to a perfect 8-0 in dual competition, including a 5-0 mark against EIWA opponents. Not to be outdone by his younger brother, Mitch Hartman (174) followed up Zach's major decision with one of his own; the elder Hartman dispatched Crew Fullerton by a 10-2 major decision. Drew Phipps (197) accounted for the Bison's other bonus-point victory, felling Ethan Seeley by an 11-3 major decision. Three bouts were decided by two or fewer points, including Franklin & Marshall's lone individual victory. Brandon Seidman (125) edged Jose Diaz by a 7-5 decision in the dual opener while Brandon Stokes (285) closed the dual with a 5-4 decision over Cenzo Pelusi; both Seidman and Stokes outscored their opponents in the third period to emerge victorious. Bucknell has now won nine of 10 bouts in each of its past four duals, with its previous victories coming over EIWA foes Brown (31-3), Sacred Heart (36-3) and Drexel (27-3). The Bison's 36-4 stretch improved their team dual bout record to 69-31. Bucknell returns to action on Saturday at 2 p.m. with a dual against No. 8 North Carolina at Carmichael Arena. Results: 125: Brandon Seidman (BU) dec. over Jose Diaz (F&M) 7-5 133: Darren Miller (BU) fall over Jack Bruce (F&M) 3:27 141: Wil Gil (F&M) dec. over David Campbell (BU) 9-7 149: Matthew Kolonia (BU) fall over Cristiaan Dailey (F&M) 1:11 157: Jaden Fisher (BU) dec. over Noah Chan (F&M) 7-2 165: #18/17/20 Zach Hartman (BU) maj. dec. over Emmett LiCastri (F&M) 12-3 174: Mitch Hartman (BU) maj. dec. over Crew Fullerton (F&M) 10-2 184: Kyle Inlander (BU) dec. over Reid Robilotto (F&M) 8-2 197: Drew Phipps (BU) maj. dec. over Ethan Seeley (F&M) 11-3 285: Brandon Stokes (BU) dec. over Cenzo Pelusi (F&M) 5-4

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- SIUE wrestling won the last six matches of Thursday's dual meet against Little Rock, earning a 26-12 triumph in First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center. It was the season debut for redshirt senior Nate Higgins. The former NCAA Championships participant was inserted into the lineup late and made the most of his first match, earning an 11-2 major decision over Little Rock's Tristan Tadeo at 174 pounds. "I'm just trying to get the emotions up and get everyone hyped," said Higgins. "It was a close dual when I came in so I just wanted to put us over the top and make sure we keep that emotion going the rest of the match." SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates watched his team come from behind against the Trojans for its first home win of the season. "We talk a lot about not giving up bonus points and scoring bonus points ourselves. We had three weight classes where we scored bonus points," said Spates. SIUE's Justin Ruffin collected a 15-2 win over Jose Champagne at 157 pounds. Along with Higgins' win, Colton McKiernan grabbed a forfeit at heavyweight just after Aric Bohn bested Little Rock's Dylan Johnson at 197 pounds 10-3 to put the match out of Little Rock's reach. Saul Ervin, Chase Diehl and Austin Andres also were victorious for SIUE. The Cougars will be back in action Saturday for a 5 p.m. home dual against Northern Illinois. Results: 125: Jayden Carson (Little Rock) over Matt Malavsky (SIUE) (TF 20-2 3:58) 133: Paul Bianchi (Little Rock) over Jacob Blaha (SIUE) (MD 13-4) 141: Saul Ervin (SIUE) over Conner Ward (Little Rock) (Dec 4-1) 149: Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) over Max Kristoff (SIUE) (Dec 4-2) 157: Justin Ruffin (SIUE) over Jose Champagne (Little Rock) (MD 15-2) 165: Chase Diehl (SIUE) over William Edgar (Little Rock) (Dec 4-2) 174: Nate Higgins (SIUE) over Tristan Tadeo (Little Rock) (MD 11-2) 184: Austin Andres (SIUE) over Matthew Muller (Little Rock) (Dec 8-4) 197: Aric Bohn (SIUE) over Dylan Johnson (Little Rock) (Dec 10-3) 285: Colton McKiernan (SIUE) won by forfeit

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. -- The Citadel wrestling team captured its first conference victory of the season, toppling Gardner-Webb, 31-14, Thursday night. The Bulldogs sealed bonus-point wins in four matches, including three pins. Michael McAleavey, Selwyn Porter and Martin Duane, and all earned victories by pin fall, with McAleavey pinning Gabriel Picket in under three minutes. Doug Gudenburr sealed the fourth bonus-point victory in a major decision, 13-3 against Taylor Parks in the 157 weight class. Next up the Bulldogs are on the road once again, traveling Clinton, SC for their second dual against Presbyterian, Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m. Results: 125 Jordie White (The Citadel) over Will Edmiston (Gardner-Webb) (Dec 6-0) 133 Trevon Majette (Gardner-Webb) over Nathan Orosco (The Citadel) (Fall 0:38) 141 Jacob Dado (The Citadel) over Brandon Bright (Gardner-Webb) (Dec 10-5) 149 Selwyn Porter (The Citadel) over Anthony Schiess (Gardner-Webb) (Fall 6:23) 157 Douglas Gudenburr (The Citadel) over Taylor Parks (Gardner-Webb) (MD 13-3) 165 Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) over Rodrick Mosley (Gardner-Webb) (Dec 3-2) 174 Evan Schenk (Gardner-Webb) over Cole Burke (The Citadel) (MD 14-6) 184 Sam Mora (Gardner-Webb) over Cooper Youngblood (The Citadel) (Fall 2:00) 197 Martin Duane (The Citadel) over Roderick Davis (Gardner-Webb) (Fall 3:42) 285 Michael McAleavey (The Citadel) over Gabriel Picket (Gardner-Webb) (Fall 2:37)

The Oregon Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame has announced the honorees for the Class of 2020. Here is the list of 2020 inductees being honored with Lifetime Service to Wrestling awards, in alphabetical order: • J.D. Alley, Coach, Culver • Dr. Bill Bettis, Historian, Roseburg • John Breuer, Coach, North Bend/Coquille • Len Kauffman, Coach, Oregon State Univ./Portland State Univ./Vice President-NWHOF-Oregon Chapter • Stephanie Matthews, Stat Crew Coach/Event Support, Centennial • Jim Pond, Coach, Oregon State University/President-NWHOF-Oregon Chapter • Art Reynolds, Coach/USA Wrestling Official/NWJCWA (North West Junior Collegiate Wrestling Association), Hillsboro • Scott Shannon, Coach, Elmira/OWA National Team The Class of 2020 will be officially welcomed into the Oregon Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Saturday, May 2, 2020, at the Embassy Suites-Portland Washington Square, 9000 Washington Square Road, Tigard, Oregon 97223. All are invited to attend the 26th Annual Honors Banquet at 6:30 p.m. A no-host reception and silent auction will precede the banquet at 4 p.m. To purchase tickets or for more information, please visit nwhof.ticketleap.com. And … check out this mini-documentary on coach J.D. Alley and Culver wrestling -- “Title Town: It's a Great Day to Be a Bulldog.”

Alex Marinelli defeated Vincenzo Joseph in the Big Ten finals last season (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Heading into this season many college fans had already circled this weekend on the calendar. After a one-year hiatus, No. 1 Iowa and No. 3 Penn State would resume their series. Iowa brings what appears to be its best team over the last few seasons, while Penn State has been hit with some pretty significant injuries. The atmosphere is expected to be electric, and the action on the mat should match that level. The following is a match-by-match preview of the dual. 125: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. Brandon Meredith (Penn State) The two-time NCAA champion has been thoroughly dominant this season. He won his first match via major decision and then broke off nine straight falls and technical falls. Including points awarded in matches that ended via fall, Lee has outscored his opposition 135 to eight. In addition to his dominance on the collegiate mats, he also won the 2019 Senior Nationals in freestyle. Along the way he outscored the opponents 52-6. Meredith jumped into a starting role after Brody Teske left the program and ultimately transferred to Northern Iowa. He has gone 11-3 in tournaments this year, but he has struggled to a 1-5 record in dual meet matches. He is currently riding a four-match losing streak, but he did go to overtime against Alex Thomsen (Nebraska) before dropping the bout via a sudden victory takedown. Lee should have very little trouble picking up the victory here. The Penn State faithful would probably be thrilled if he held the former champion to a major decision, but even that will be a challenge. Look for Lee to get off to a hot start in front of his home fans and set the tone early. Prediction: Lee (Iowa) technical fall over Meredith (Penn State) 133: No. 2 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) vs. No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) In his second season with the Hawkeyes, DeSanto has appeared to be in peak form. He has gone 12-1 on the season and split with No. 1 Seth Gross (Wisconsin). He has scored five technical falls in his 13 matches so far this season. In his last match, DeSanto surrendered the first takedown against No. 19 Jordan Decatur (Ohio State) before roaring back for the 27-12 technical fall. Unlike last year Bravo-Young has not made his way onto ESPN with a dynamic highlight. However, he has gotten odd to yet another solid start. He has won all 13 of his matches so far including victories over Josh Kramer (Arizona State), No. 9 Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) and No. 13 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska). His victory over Lovett last week was vital to Penn State's dual win over the Huskers, and it was his eighth win with bonus points on the season. The two wrestled twice last year. In the first encounter, DeSanto pretty much had his way and finished with a 12-8 victory. In the rematch Bravo-Young literally resorted to putting his hand behind his back to avoid the control ties of DeSanto. The technique resulted in a lower scoring affair, but the Iowa wrestler still took the bout 7-2. Both wrestlers have been strong this season, but it is hard to see RBY keeping up with DeSanto's offense. Prediction: DeSanto (Iowa) decision over Bravo Young (Penn State) 141: Carter Happel (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Nick Lee (Penn State) It looks like No. 9 Max Murin will miss his second straight dual. Happel was a four-time Iowa state champion in high school and filled in for Murin last week against No. 1 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State). He dropped a major decision in that match, but he has proven himself to be serviceable throughout his career. He went to sudden victory with a pair of ranked wrestlers this year. He dropped a 6-4 match against No. 6 Ian Parker (Iowa State) and fell 3-1 against No. 12 Josh Heil (Campbell) at the Midlands. Lee has pushed his way into the national title conversation this year. He has risen all the way to the No. 2 spot in the rankings on the back of his 12-0 record. Even though he has not faced that many ranked opponents, he has been able to put up bonus points in 11 of those 12 wins. In his last match, Lee scored a major decision over former high school rival in Nebraska's Chad Red. Lee has the momentum and pace to take this match. Happel would only be on the bench at a place like Iowa, but he has been in and out of the lineup this year. Look for Lee to set the pace early and put up bonus points. Prediction: Lee (Penn State) major decision over Happel (Iowa) 149: No. 3 Pat Lugo (Iowa) vs. Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State) Against Ohio State, Lugo dropped his first match of the year. The defeat against No. 2 Sammy Sasso also forced Lugo out of the No. 1 spot for the first time in weeks. He will likely be looking to get back on track here against Verkleeren. Lugo has always played it pretty close, but he has been able to get past almost all of his opponents so far this year. He holds signature wins over No. 7 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State), No. 4 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) and No. 12 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa). Verkleeren is also coming into this match off a loss. Last week against Nebraska, he was trailing by a single point when he entered a scramble with No. 14 Collin Purinton. He looked to be working towards a score, but he ended up caught on his back and pinned. It was Verkleeren's third loss of the year and dropped his record to 12-3. Despite the impressive record, the competition has not been overly difficult, and his best win probably came via a 7-3 decision over Nick Santos (Rutgers). It certainly seems like Lugo should be able to take care of business here. His squad would almost certainly like to tally some bonus points in this bout. However, running up the score has not been a strong part of Lugo's conservative game. The Penn State fans are hoping that Lugo is experiencing a bit of a hangover, but even if that is the case, he should be able to walk away with a win. Prediction: Lugo (Iowa) decision over Verkleeren (Penn State) 157: No. 5 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. Brady Berge/Bo Pipher (Penn State) Young had a tough stretch to start of the season, as he started 2-2 with losses coming against No. 4 Quincy Monday (Princeton) and No. 3 David Carr (Iowa State). However, since dropping the match against Monday, he has gone on a nine-match winning streak. During the stretch he won the Midlands and knocked off Elijah Cleary (Ohio State), No. 16 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) and No. 7 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) twice. It is unlikely that Berge is going to take the mat this weekend. The presumed starter for Penn State reportedly suffered an injury at the U23 World Championships and has wrestled in only one match this season. Pipher has filled in recently. He has an 8-9 record that includes a surprising fall over No. 13 Markus Hartman (Army). However, he has gone 0-4 in the team's last four duals. Young has to be considered the favorite here. Pipher proved he can score an upset against Hartman, but the results recently have been less than solid. With that being said, he has only given up bonus points once in the last two seasons, and it was against former teammate and multiple-time NCAA champion Jason Nolf. Prediction: Young (Iowa) decision over Pipher (Penn State) 165: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) For the past two seasons this has been a marquee matchup. Even though Joseph has had the better results at the NCAA tournament, Marinelli has owned the head-to-head. They first met in a dual in 2018, and Marinelli scored the 9-6 upset. They rematch came in the Big Ten tournament final. This time Marinelli widened the gap and won 9-3. For the third straight season, Marinelli has started the year with an extensive winning streak. He has gone 14-2 and picked up seven victories via fall. Last weekend he took a 14-10 decision over No. 14 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), and he has also scored ranked victories over No. 4 Isaiah White (Nebraska), No. 17 Phillip Conigliaro (Harvard), No. 18 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) No. 3 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) and No. 5 David McFadden (Virginia Tech). Joseph has wrestled sparingly this season, but he has been dominant when on the mat. He has built a 7-0 record that includes one technical fall and three falls. For his senior year he is looking to pick up his third NCAA title and fourth straight finals appearance. It is hard to unsee Marinelli's seemingly unique ability to get to Joseph. Normally, the Penn State wrestler is able to control clinch positions with an over hook. However, Marinelli has almost always gotten the best of that position. Whoever wins this match will be the favorite for the NCAA title, but this is certainly not going to be the last time these two meet this year. Prediction: Marinelli (Iowa) decision over Joseph (Penn State) 174: No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) vs. No. 1 Mark Hall (Penn State) The story on Kemerer early in the season was that he looked great moving up two weight classes, but he had not really been tested. Over the last few weeks, he has been tested, and he has passed those tests. Some of the matches have been close affairs, but he has won three matches in a row over ranked opponents. The run includes wins over No. 4 Dylan Lydy (Purdue), No. 6 Michael Labriola (Nebraska) and No. 7 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State). Going into his senior season, Hall had been to three straight finals and lost a total of five wrestling matches in college. He has looked to be in prime form this year as he has won all 16 of his matches and picked up bonus points in all but one of those matches. Hall's lone decision came against Jordan Kutler (Lehigh). He has also bested Labriola, No. 9 Joey Gunther (Illinois) and No. 10 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State). In theory Kemerer has historically shown the type of pace that Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) used to give Hall fits in the past. However, he has had trouble finishing against higher level competition at this higher weight. He will get fewer chances against Hall. The Penn State wrestler has always had a knack for depending on his defense and scoring at the right moment. The home crowd will get behind Kemerer, but it might not be enough. Prediction: Hall (Penn State) decision over Kemerer (Iowa) 184: No. 6 Abe Assad (Iowa) vs. No. 9 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) Iowa pulled Assad's redshirt after he finished second at the Midlands. In the bracket, his only loss came against No. 4 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa), and he defeated the likes of Travis Stefanik (Princeton), No. 19 Tanner Harvey (American) and No. 13 Zach Braunagel (Illinois). After joining the starting lineup, he has continued his winning ways and picked up his biggest win of the season over No. 8 Taylor Venz (Minnesota). Brooks also came out of redshirt this year. He won his first seven matches on the season before dropping a match against Venz last weekend. Brooks' best two wins came against Braunagel and No. 16 Chris Weiler (Lehigh). The former top recruiter also competed in open competition last year while training as part of the Elite Accelerator Program. Brooks went 6-1 with wins over Ben Harvey (Arny) and Tate Samuelson (Wyoming). This might be one of the closer matches in this dual. Both of these talented freshmen have the ability to win the match. There should be a slight edge given to Assad since Brooks still appears to be getting used to some of the finer points of folkstyle. His highest level of competition often took place in freestyle before college. However, nobody should be shocked with either wrestler winning this one. Prediction: Assad (Iowa) decision over Brooks (Penn State) 197: No. 7 Jacob Warner (Iowa) vs. No. 18 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) This has been an up-and-down season for Warner. He has picked up several impressive wins over the likes of No. 3 Patrick Brucki (Princeton) and No. 8 Christian Brunner (Purdue). However, he has also dropped matches against Brucki, No. 9 Jay Aiello (Virginia) and No. 6 Eric Schultz (Nebraska). Warner can clearly hang with the best in the country at this weight, but consistency has been an issue. Rasheed is back up at 197 pounds after spending last season at 184 pounds and finishing in the round of 12. He has dealt with injuries this year and did not make his season debut until Jan. 10. He has split four matches on the year. Rasheed picked up wins over Matt Wroblewski (Illinois) and No. 19 Jordan Pagano (Rutgers), but he dropped matches against No. 17 Lucas Davison (Northwestern) and Schultz. Warner certainly has the talent to win this match. However, if something in the match goes the wrong way, he usually struggles to regain momentum. Rasheed has appeared to be working his way back into shape, but a conservative approach might help him here. Warner relies on his ability to counter to score in the neutral position. If Rasheed slows down the pace, it should also hinder Warner's offense. Prediction: Rasheed (Penn State) decision over Warner (Iowa) 285: No. 3 Anthony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. No. 15 Seth Nevills (Penn State) In his redshirt freshman season Cassioppi has looked the part of an up-and-coming heavyweight. He has edged out his toughest competition and blown overmatched opponents out of the water. He has gone 13-0 on the season and already bested the likes of No. 14 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State), No. 11 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa), No. 4 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) and No. 5 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin). Nevills won a pair of open tournaments before it was announced that returning NCAA champion Anthony Cassar was ending his season early due to injury. Nevills joined the starting lineup on Jan. 10 and has been the starter ever since. He has won four straight matches as a starter and in his last bout, he picked up his biggest win of the season over No. 16 Christian Lance (Nebraska). The Penn State heavyweight has been mostly untested so far this year, but during a greyshirt year last season, he picked up some impressive wins over Youssif Hemida (Maryland) and No. 18 John Borst (Virginia Tech). It is entirely possible that he has the skills to take out Cassioppi. However, the Iowa heavyweight has certainly shown more on the year. Prediction: Cassioppi (Iowa) decision over Nevills (Penn State) Predicted Dual Meet Score: Iowa 23, Penn State 10

David Carr gets his hand raised after beating Iowa's Kaleb Young (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) The college wrestling season continues to move closer to the matches that really count. It's been an interesting season already with an abundance of compelling storylines. It's shaping up to be another epic battle for the team title with top-ranked Iowa looking to win its first national championship in 10 years. As many of you know, I don't like riding time and boring 3-2 matches where guys are holding onto ankles. That will be reflected in the list I've compiled of my most exciting college wrestlers in each weight class for this season. It's probably no surprise that there is a strong correlation between the most exciting and the best wrestlers in each weight class. College wrestling is blessed right now to have some superstars who are expected to excel and contend for medals on the international level. And this list doesn't even include college stars who are taking Olympic redshirts like two-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell, NCAA champions Nick Suriano of Rutgers and Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech, and runner-up Daton Fix of Oklahoma State. Feel free to make your own choices. This is the list of my most exciting college wrestlers to watch this season: 125: Spencer Lee, Iowa The only complaint I have about Spencer Lee is that I wish his matches would last longer. The two-time national champion is so good he typically techs or pins his opponents in the first period. Lee is a dynamic and driven wrestler who is a serious contender to make the Olympic Team. Believe it or not, he's even better at freestyle than folkstyle. He has three age-group world titles to prove it. Even when he dominates, which is frequently, he's still entertaining to watch. He's a special talent and he always puts on a heck of a show. 133: Austin DeSanto, Iowa I know it's two Hawkeyes in a row, but I have to list DeSanto here. He may be my favorite wrestler to watch in any weight class. This is the guy they should call the "gas tank." He has a relentless style where he just keeps coming for seven minutes. He's always attacking and continually looking for ways to score. He has had some issues where he's had difficulty escaping from the bottom position. He just needs to choose neutral instead of down. I can't wait to see his next bout. His matches are never boring. Ohio State's Luke Pletcher is undefeated and ranked No. 1 at 141 pounds (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) 141: Luke Pletcher, Ohio State Moving up a weight class has provided a huge boost to Pletcher, who has been a force as the top-ranked guy at 141. Pletcher is a strong, powerful wrestler who just keeps going. He gave up an early takedown to Minnesota's Mitch McKee on Sunday before coming back to dominate a very good wrestler with an aggressive attack. There isn't a wrestler in the country more fun to watch right now than Luke Pletcher. He's peaking at the right time. 149: Sammy Sasso, Ohio State The Buckeye freshman pulled out a pair of big wins on the road over the weekend, knocking off No. 1 Pat Lugo of Iowa and highly ranked Brayton Lee of Minnesota. Sasso showed impressive scrambling ability and an abundance of poise in earning a pair of impressive victories against high-level opponents. He won two closely contested, edge-of-your-seat bouts against strong Big Ten foes. 157: David Carr, Iowa State He's just a freshman and he's ranked third, but the Junior world champion is someone who definitely is exciting to watch. Carr is exceptional on his feet with his superb athleticism, but there is more to the college game than takedowns. Mat wrestling is a big part of it, and look for Carr to improve in that area as the big show approaches in late March. He's definitely a threat to win it all for ISU. 165: Alex Marinelli, Iowa It's my third Hawkeye in here, but find me another college wrestler who is as exciting in this division as Marinelli. This dude is a fierce competitor who wrestles his tail off. He does it the right way with a tough, physical approach. He also has continued to evolve technically. He had a disappointing NCAAs last year after receiving a brutal draw, but expect him to make a strong run at winning a national title this year. He's a guy who is difficult not to root for. He will have a battle on his hands against two-time NCAA champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State. 174: Mark Hall, Penn State The NCAA champion, and three-time finalist, is another wrestler who has already excelled overseas. He won a Cadet world title and two Junior world titles. But he hasn't won an NCAA title since his freshman year in 2017. Hall is a dynamic wrestler with a big-move arsenal. He's a tremendous talent. He's arguably the most gifted wrestler in the collegiate ranks in any weight class. Zahid Valencia takes a shot on Trent Hidlay at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 184: Zahid Valencia, Arizona State This is a guy who continues to elevate his level of wrestling. He's moved up a weight class and is still dominating the competition. Valencia is a Junior world silver medalist who also will be contending for an Olympic berth this season. He's that good. Valencia will look to cap his career with a third national title while helping elevate the ASU program back into national prominence. 197: Noah Adams, West Virginia This is one of the best stories in college wrestling this season. After going 19-15 last season, he has been on a tear this season. He went 5-0 at the Southern Scuffle, defeating three ranked opponents en route to earning the Outstanding Wrestler award. He has a perfect 24-0 record this season. He's provided a huge boost for West Virginia. He has wrestled well in a class that features top-ranked Kollin Moore of Ohio State. 285: Gable Steveson, Minnesota Gable Dan Steveson has lived up to his name after winning two Cadet world titles and a Junior world title. Now he's primed to win his first NCAA title. Steveson is an explosive, mobile heavyweight who wrestles more like a 141-pounder than a 285-pounder at times. When he's on the attack and forcing the action, nobody can keep pace with him in college. He's another guy who has the ability to be wrestling in Tokyo this summer on the Olympic Team. He's someone who will definitely contend for Olympic and world medals on the Senior level. 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.

Matt Findlay gets his hand raised after a win at the NCAAs (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) OREM, Utah -- Utah Valley University head wrestling coach Greg Williams has announced that returning national qualifier Matt Findlay will miss the 2019-20 season with an injury. Findlay, who is a redshirt junior 149-pounder from Draper, Utah, was originally slated to come back from knee surgery last month but has since suffered another injury and will now miss the entire 2019-20 campaign. Findlay had a breakout sophomore season for the Wolverines in 2018-19 in which he posted an impressive 17-4 record and qualified for his first trip to the NCAA Championships. At the 2019 NCAAs, the then UVU 141-pounder advanced all the way to the Round of 12 to finish just one-win shy of earning All-American status. The 20th-seeded Findlay went 3-2 at the 2019 NCAA Championships with three straight wins over No. 6 Mike Carr of Illinois, No. 19 Sa'Derian Perry of Old Dominion, and No. 29 Corey Shie of Army while battling through a severe injury at the national tournament. Findlay capped his first trip to nationals by earning the prestigious NCAA Elite 90 Award after having the highest GPA of any competing student-athlete at the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. He also earned NWCA Scholar All-American honors a season ago and is a two-time first team academic All-Big 12 honoree. Findlay marks the second returning national qualifier for the Wolverines to be sidelined in 2019-20 with an injury, as 2019 Big 12 champion and 165-pound senior Demetrius Romero suffered a season-ending knee injury at the season-opening Journeymen Northeast Duals in November. Romero, who was ranked as high as sixth in the nation in his weight class at the time of his injury, was off to an unblemished 2-0 start to his senior campaign before sustaining his injury. Romero, who hails from Meridian, Idaho, is a two-time NCAA qualifier for UVU. He entered the 2019 NCAA Championships as the No. 9 seed and too reached the Round of 12 to finish just one-win shy of earning All-American honors. The senior 165-pounder went 28-5 a season ago and is a two-time NWCA Scholar All-American as well as a 2019 first team academic All-Big 12 honoree. Both Findlay and Romero will look to be back and competing for the Wolverines for the 2020-21 season. UVU will continue its 2019-20 campaign by opening a three-match homestand against Air Force on Thursday, Jan. 30. The Big 12 Conference contest will begin at 7 p.m. MT and will be contested at UVU's Lockhart Arena.

Matthew Schmitt (Photo/WVU Athletics) COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Mizzou Wrestling head coach Brian Smith has announced the signing of two-time NCAA qualifier and Missouri native Matt Schmitt (Platte City, Mo.), a graduate transfer 133-pounder from West Virginia. Schmitt, a former team captain for the Mountaineers, will have two years of eligibility remaining as he took a redshirt as a freshman and an Olympic redshirt this season. Last year, Schmitt battled through an elbow injury to earn the No. 16 national seed at the NCAA Championships at 133 pounds. He won his opening round matchup, but was ousted from the championship by top-seeded Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) and then lost in his first bout in the wrestlebacks. In all, he posted a 19-10 record as a RS sophomore. As a redshirt freshman in 2017-18, he posted a 23-14 record and boasted a top-20 rank nationally throughout the entire season. He placed fourth at a loaded Big 12 Conference Championship tournament, earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. At the 2018 NCAA Championships, he went 2-2 despite having to face top-seeded Seth Gross (SDSU) in the opening round. In all, Schmitt is 42-24 in his two-year career. He will be eligible for Mizzou during the 2020-21 season. He is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 Second Team selection as well. At Platte City High School, Schmitt was a three-time MSHSAA Class 3 State Champion and the 2015 Class 3 Wrestler of the Year. He was an eight-time Fargo All-American and a USJOC Champion as well.

Iowa wrestlers get introduced before wrestling Ohio State (Photo/Darren Miller, HawkeyeSports.com) The University of Iowa Hawkeyes -- currently the top-ranked Division I wrestling program in the nation -- is planning to build a top-flight wrestling facility, according to multiple media reports, and confirmed by a press statement issued by the school Tuesday. "The University of Iowa plans to build a new wrestling training facility to meet the needs of one of the most successful athletic programs in the country," according to the University of Iowa statement. "Pending approval by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, the UI will begin planning a new facility adjacent to Carver-Hawkeye Arena that supports Iowa Wrestling's championship standards and validates Iowa City's reputation as the greatest wrestling city in the world." "The proposed facility, funded entirely by gifts, will be located south of Carver-Hawkeye Arena …" The new two-level, 37,000-square-foot facility would feature new workout facilities, training areas, locker rooms, and office space. It would connect via tunnel to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the 15,000-seat facility where the Hawkeyes wrestle … and home to the current wrestling training facility named in honor of the program's legendary former coach, Dan Gable. The new wrestling facility -- with an estimated price tag of $17-$20 million -- would be paid for by gifts to the UI athletics department, which is self-sustaining, and separate from the university general fund. The school has taken the first step towards making this dream facility a reality by submitting a request to the Board of Regents of the State of Iowa to proceed with project planning. The request before the board seeks permission to proceed as soon as next month … although the proposal does not include project start and completion dates. Here's how Chad Leistikow, long-time sportswriter, painted a word picture of the proposed facility in his column in the Iowa City Press-Citizen: "It would offer 37,000 square feet of operating space on two levels and would include men's and women's locker rooms, a wrestling space about twice the size of the current room, a strength-and-conditioning center, therapy rooms for recovery, offices for the coaching staff and a 'Hall of Champions' space that honors a rich Hawkeye wrestling history that includes 23 NCAA championships and 84 individual national titles." By contrast, here's how the Cedar Rapids Gazette described the current digs for the top-ranked Iowa Hawkeye mat program: "The Dan Gable Wrestling Complex inside Carver includes training rooms, three mats, a locker room, sauna, weightlifting facilities and retractable bleachers. Those spaces are bordered by men's and women's basketball and volleyball, the room is (quoting Board of Regents documents), 'limited, outdated and needs to be upgraded to assure continued success of the program.'" https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/hawkeyes/iowa-looking-to-upgrade-its-wrestling-facility-20200128 The Board of Regents will be meeting Wednesday, Feb. 5 in Urbandale, Iowa just outside Des Moines. According to Leistikow, "Given the groundswell of financial support that has quietly developed in the past two years, passage of the agenda item should be a formality." Leistikow continued, "'A small group of really committed fans have really stepped up,' said University of Iowa associate vice president for athletics development Kevin Collins, an Iowa City native and the fundraising lead for the facility project. "The current Dan Gable Wrestling Complex, located on the second floor of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, is 'very adequate right now,' Collins added, 'but it doesn't match our championship ambitions or culture.'" In the press statement issued by the University of Iowa Tuesday afternoon, head wrestling coach Tom Brands weighed in on the proposal, saying, "This is an important step forward for the Iowa Wrestling program. We put constant thought and evaluation into everything we do, and we do it with great energy to make sure we are operating at the highest level. We are thankful that we are able to continue moving forward." Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been home to the Iowa wrestling program -- as well as other major intercollegiate indoor sports such as men's and women's basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics -- since it first opened in January 1983. In recent years, a number of college wrestling programs have moved into new or substantially upgraded, state-of-the-art wrestling practice facilities, including Iowa's Big Ten rivals Ohio State and University of Minnesota.

Mitch Clark gets his hand raised after winning the NCAA title The Upper New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame has announced the honorees for its Class of 2020. This year's honorees, in alphabetical order: Mitch Clark: The son of Hall of Fame Coach John Clark (former coach at St. Lawrence University), Mitch Clark wrestled at Canton High School, then headed west to Ohio State to wrestle for head coach Russ Hellickson. In 1998 Mitch won the NCAA Championship by scoring a technical fall over his opponent in the first period -- the only time a national title was won that way. He has shared his knowledge of the sport by co-authoring a book on wrestling, "Make It Happen" with Scott Conroe … producing a video with his brother John titled "Scrambled Legs" featuring the scrambling. Funk style of wrestling so prevalent today … and by running wrestling clinics throughout the United States as well as coaching the Lansing (N.Y.) Youth Wrestling program in recent years. In addition to this just-announced honor, Mitch was inducted into the Ohio State Hall of Fame in 2011, and welcomed into the North Country Sports Hall of Fame in October 2019. James Cranfield: An Auburn High School graduate, Jim earned varsity letters in wrestling and track & field under coaches Jack O'Mara and Bob Alberti. Cranfield was a physical education major at Cortland State and garnered nine varsity letters in wrestling, cross country and track & field. Subsequently, Jim became a full professor at Auburn (Cayuga) Community College where he coached wrestling, cross-country and indoor/outdoor track & field. In 1990 Jim was inducted into Cortland's "C" Club and in 1994 Cranfield was awarded the State University of New York Chancellor's Award of Excellence in Education. Jim also officiated high school wrestling and worked two NYSPHSAA championships in 1973 and 1975. Additionally, he has served on the Board of Education for the Auburn Enlarged School District and was the president of the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES Board of Education for 13 years. Eric D'Arcy: Eric is a Social Studies teacher at the Newark Valley Central School where he has been employed since 1992. While at Newark Valley, Eric also coached wrestling, track & field and cross-country. His wrestling teams have won 6 overall IAC League titles, 9 IAC Divisional titles, a Division I Section IV title as well as a Section IV Dual Meet Championship. In addition, he was named the Coach of the Year three times for the IAC Conference and was a two-time Section IV Class C Coach of the Year. He also launched the Larry Goodrich Memorial Wrestling Tournament. After officially retiring from coaching at Newark Valley, Eric has served as a volunteer coach, and has worked with the Friends of Section IV Wrestling to advance and promote the sport in the area. Mike Fusilli: This former Section V and Ithaca College grappler has had a distinguished career in wrestling. As an Ithaca College Bomber, Fusilli was on two Division III NCAA national championship teams and was a NCAA national champion in 1990. Additionally, Mike was a three-time East Region Champion (1988-1990) and was not only selected the Ithaca College Athlete of the Year in 1990, but also named that same year as Ithaca Journal Athlete of the Year. Beyond college wrestling, Mike has enjoyed an outstanding career in freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling on the national stage. In 1992, he won the USA Wrestling University Nationals Championship in freestyle and Greco Roman and received the !992 USA Wrestling University Belt Series winner. Beyond the mat, Mike has had an outstanding career in coaching at both the high school and college level, serving as head coach at Binghamton University, and as an assistant coach at North Carolina University and Ithaca College. If that weren't enough, Mike was a founding member of the Friends of Section IV Wrestling, serving as a board member for many years. Eric Romanino: Eric has long been associated with Section I wrestling from his years as a Carmel High School wrestler to over thirty years of service to Beacon High School and Section I wrestling. In 1980 Eric commenced his career as a coach at Beacon High School and has functioned as the Section I Wrestling Chairman from 1995 to 2014. During his coaching career, his teams won six League Championships and two Divisional Championships. Additionally, Coach Romanino mentored two Section One champions and had a third-place finisher in the NYSPHSAA Championships. He was named League Coach of the Year six times and was designated the Poughkeepsie Journal Coach of the Year for Wrestling on four separate occasions. Additionally, Coach Romanino was the Director of Physical Education, Athletics and Health Services for the Beacon Central School for 20 years. Eric was selected as the 2013 "Athletic Director of the Year" by the Section One NYS Athletic Administrators' Association and has been inducted in the Beacon High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Eric has been credited with the establishing of the Section One weight certification program which is used throughout the Section. Tom Shifflet: Tom has experienced an exceptional career in wrestling from his days as a wrestler for his father's Sweet Home High School team and his 1990 winning of the NYSPHSAA championships to his college wrestling career at Edinboro College under coach Bruce Baumgartner, where he was a three-time NCAA All-American. In 1995 Shifflet was named the Eastern Wrestling League Wrestler of the Year, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Wrestler of the Year, and was selected as the Athlete of the Year at Edinboro University. Additionally, his coaching accomplishments are equally impressive. Tom served five years as an assistant coach for Rob Koll at Cornell University, coached four years as the head coach at University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and guided Hofstra University wrestling for five years (where he was named the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year). Timm Slade -- Outstanding American: The Slade family name is associated with excellence in wrestling in Section VI and throughout the state. Timm and his twin brother Todd -- along with their brother Scott -- all made their mark in the sport. Timm enjoyed a stellar career at Brockport State, where he played football and wrestled, becoming a SUNYAC Conference Champion, and a runner-up in the New York State Collegiate Wrestling Championships. The Golden Eagles won three SUNYAC Team Wrestling Championships during his tenure at Brockport. Subsequently, Slade would return to Section VI to teach and coach a variety of different sports. He became the Athletic Director for both Wilson and West Seneca Central Schools and in 2009 he was selected as the Executive Director of Section VI Athletic. Executive Director of Section IV, Ben Nelson, stated this about Slade, "Timm has always first and foremost advocated for what is best for all student athletes in all sports. His passion for wrestling is evident and he has been especially proactive in encouraging and promoting the growth of girls' wrestling in his section and the state." Slade exemplifies the leadership and dedication that all sports in New York need. James Hughes -- Medal of Courage: The former co-captain of the Valley Central High School Vikings wrestling team, Jim Hughes, epitomizes all the characteristics of an individual who has met and overcome the challenges of a visual disability. Jim has been blind since the age of four due to glaucoma but that has not impeded him from living a full and meaningful life. Hughes wrestled for Hall of Fame coach, Bob Zifchock, who he credits with being his "eyes" during a match. Following graduation from Valley Central, Jim secured a degree from Binghamton University and has gone on to teach social studies at Farmingdale High School for many years. Jim teaches one of the most rigorous courses at Farmingdale, Advancement Placement - US History. In 2012 Jim was featured on a segment of CBS News' "On the Road" with Steve Hartman. In addition, Jim was awarded the Freida J. Reily Award in 2006 by the National Museum of Education to recognize an American teacher who has overcome adversity or made an enormous sacrifice to positively impact students. In 2008, Jim received the Distinguished Teacher Award from the Harvard Club to teachers on Long Island for their contributions in the field of education. If that weren't enough, Jim has been the coach of the successful Mock Trial Club, Peer Mediation Club, History Club and Debate Club. Marcia Albrecht -- Volunteer Award: Marcia started her involvement in wrestling at Deposit High School working for Hall of Fame Coach Stan Elinsky. Albrecht worked as a wrestlerette for 6 years for the Lumberjacks; she was also cheerleader, and a table worker at tournaments. Subsequently, she moved on to Oneonta State to obtain a degree in secondary education. While there, Marcia was a volunteer manager performing a variety of tasks, from serving as scorekeeper for home and away matches, to driving a van to and from matches, to producing the programs, to calling in the results. After graduation Marcia commenced a career as a social studies teacher in the Walton Central School. She sustained her passion for wrestling by working at the sectional championships, serving as the Vice President of the Deposit Wrestling Booster Club, directing and scoring the Cuneen-Doanne Wrestling Tournament at Walton and working at many Pee Wee wrestling tournament in the area. Stan Elinsky said this of Marcia: "She has dedicated a good portion of her life to wrestling and the sport is better off for her hard work." Rob Centorani -- Stanbro Media Award: Rob graduated from State University College at Buffalo with a degree in journalism and has worked with several newspapers as a sports clerk and sports writer throughout his career, including The Buffalo News, The Daily Star, and presently with the Press & Sun-Bulletin. His passion for wrestling is demonstrated by the fact that he has covered eight NYSPHSAA Championships along with penning numerous features, columns, previews and recaps in wrestling. During his journalism career Rob has won two New York State AP Awards and one Gannett Award. The Class of 2020 will be officially welcomed into the Upper New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Sunday, September 20, 2020 at the Double Tree Hotel, 6301 NY 298, East Syracuse, New York 13057. Event starts at noon, with dinner at 1:00 p.m. and induction ceremony at 1:45. To purchase tickets or for more information, please contact Carl Koenig of the Upper New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame at carlkoenig@stny.rr.com or call 607.244.8432.