InterMat Staff

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- No. 14 Lehigh completed a 3-0 trip to the South Beach Duals with two victories Monday at the Broward County Convention Center. The Mountain Hawks began the day with a dominant 47-4 win over Duke, then broke a 9-9 tie by claiming the final four bouts in a 22-9 defeat of No. 19 Missouri. Six Mountain Hawks posted 2-0 records on the day, with five of the six going 3-0 over the two day event as Lehigh enters the second half of the dual season with a 4-3 mark. "It's good to see the hard work paying off," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We've done a lot of little things right. Wrestling the full seven minutes. Attacking a lot more. It makes a big difference." In the day's first match against Duke, Lehigh benefitted from a pair of forfeits, but was dominant in the bouts that were contested. Six of Lehigh's seven non-forfeit wins produced bonus points, including four technical falls and then back-to-back pins by juniors Jake Jakobsen (197) and Jordan Wood (285) to close out the dual. Sophomore Dan Moran made his first season dual appearance at 141, earning a 22-7 technical fall over Ty Mill. Freshman Brian Meyer recorded his first career dual victory with an 8-7 decision over Ben Anderson at 165. "He's right there and you can see it," Santoro said of Meyer. "If he starts winning some matches in the next month its not going to be a surprise, because he's knocking on the door. He's in every match and he's doing a great job." Sophomore Josh Humphreys and junior Chris Weiler both won 16-0 technical falls that were decided in the first period. Duke (0-4) won its only about at 174 where Mason Eaglin defeated senior Kent Lane, subbing for Jordan Kutler, 10-2. Things were much tighter in the second match of the day against Missouri. Just one of the 10 bouts produced bonus points. Juniors Brandon Paetzell (125) and Nick Farro (133) grinded out decisions to stake Lehigh to a 6-0 lead but ranked wrestlers at 141 and 149 pulled the Tigers (5-4) even. "Brandon and Nick have been great spark plugs for our lineup," Santoro said. "They're getting better each week. That's really important because they want to place high at the national tournament. They both have goals of being national champions. You have to be consistent. The more consistent you are, the better your chances are in March." Humphreys put Lehigh back in front with a 3-0 win over Jarrett Jacques, avenging a loss at the South Beach Duals last season. The sophomore outscored his opponents 30-0 in three victories at the South Beach Duals. Meyer came up a point short in a 3-2 decision against Peyton Mocco as the dual was tied 9-9 with four bouts remaining. Kutler put the Mountain Hawks in front for good, scoring takedowns in each of the first two periods to defeat Jeremiah Kent 4-0. Kent chose top in the third and was able to ride out the period, but was unable to turn Kutler or put any points on the board. A 13-6 win for Weiler over Dylan Wisman put Lehigh up six with two bouts remaining, before Jakobsen clinched the dual for the Mountain Hawks with the only bonus win of the match, a 12-2 major decision over Wyatt Koelling. Wood closed out the dual with a 6-2 decision over Jacob Bohlken. "We knew there were a lot of swing matches going in," Santoro said. "Missouri is one of the best-coached teams in the country. To come out with the win and take those swing matches was really important." The Mountain Hawks will send a contingent of wrestlers to the Southern Scuffle, Jan. 1-2 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Lehigh's next dual action will come during a trip to central New York as the Mountain Hawks will face Binghamton Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. and Cornell Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. The 2019-20 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem. No. 14 Lehigh 47, Duke 4 125 – Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) won by forfeit 133 – Nick Farro (Lehigh) tech fall Harrison Campbell (Duke) 21-6, 6:03 141 – Dan Moran (Lehigh) tech fall Ty Mill (Duke) 22-7, 7:00 149 – Luke Karam (Lehigh) won by forfeit 157 – Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) tech fall Eric Carter (Duke) 16-0, 1:30 165 – Brian Meyer (Lehigh) dec. Ben Anderson (Duke) 8-7 174 – Mason Eaglin (Duke) major dec. Kent Lane (Lehigh) 10-2 184 – Chris Weiler (Lehigh) tech fall Kai Blake (Duke) 16-0, 2:28 197 – Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) Fall Vincent Baker (Duke) 3:50 285 – Jordan Wood (Lehigh) Fall Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke) 5:44 No. 14 Lehigh 22, No. 19 Missouri 9 125 – Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) dec. Dack Punke (Missouri) 5-2 133 – Nick Farro (Lehigh) dec. Allan Hart (Missouri) 6-3 141 – Grant Leeth (Missouri) dec. Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh) 5-3 149 – Brock Mauller (Missouri) dec. Luke Karam (Lehigh) 8-2 157 – Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec. Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) 3-0 165 – Peyton Mocco (Missouri) dec. Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 3-2 174 – Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) 4-0 184 – Chris Weiler (Lehigh) dec. Dylan Wisman (Missouri) 13-6 197 – Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) dec. Wyatt Koelling (Missouri) 12-2 285 – Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. Jacob Bohlken (Missouri) 6-2

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- On the final day of the South Beach Duals the Minnesota wrestling program defeated the Duke Blue Devils 53-0 before dispatching the Cornell Big Red 31-12. The Maroon and Gold got their hand-raised in 18-of-20 individual bouts. On the weekend Minnesota won 28 total individual dual bouts. With two more pins on the day Mitch McKee moved into a tie with Jared Lawrence for 12th in Gophers history with 33 career pins. Lawrence was McKee's club coach at the PINnacle Wrestling School. The St. Michael native can reach the top-ten with four more in the remainder of his career. Three Gophers went undefeated on the weekend as led by Gable Steveson who had all bonus point victories on the weekend and also in the season. Mitch McKee and Bailee O'Reilly were the only other two win all four bouts and they each had three bonus point victories. Meanwhile four other Gophers won three bouts across the weekend. The list includes Patrick McKee, Brayton Lee, Devin Skatzka, and Owen Webster. In the three years the Gophers have attended the South Beach Duals they have a combined record of 9-3. Brent Jones, Ryan Thomas, and Caden Steffen all participated in the individual bouts after the conclusion of the dual slate. The Gophers return home for the Big Ten opener against border rival Wisconsin on January 10 at Maturi Pavilion. The dual features multiple top-ten matchups including a top-five battle at heavyweight between Gable Steveson and Trent Hillger. Duke Recap The Gophers began the day dominating Duke 54-0 with bonus-point victories in all ten weight-classes. The victory marked the first time Minnesota had scored more than 50 team points and had shutout a team since exactly a year ago today against Kent State also at the South Beach Duals. The Gophers even improved upon that performance and earned three more team points than that 51-0 victory. Due to a technical fall, two forfeits, and four falls the Gophers only spent 36 minutes and seven seconds on the mat out of a possible hour and ten minutes. With six points in each of the first four bouts the Gophers took a 24-0 lead, the largest possible at that point in the dual. Results: 125: Pat McKee by forfeit (Minnesota leads 6-0) 133: Jake Gliva fall (4:06) over Harrison Campbell (Minnesota leads 12-0) 141: Mitch McKee fall (2:20) over Ty Mill (Minnesota leads 18-0) 149: Brayton Lee by forfeit (Minnesota leads 24-0) 157: Carson Brolsma major dec. (15-3) over Eric Carter (Minnesota leads 28-0) 165: Bailee O'Reilly major dec. (13-4) over Ben Anderson (Minnesota leads 32-0) 174: Devin Skatzka tech. fall (16-0) over Mason Eaglin (Minnesota leads 37-0) 184: Owen Webster fall (3:19) Kai Blake (Minnesota leads 43-0) 197: Garrett Joles major dec. (16-3) over Vincent Baker (Minnesota leads 47-0) 285: Gable Steveson fall (1:12) over Jonah Niesenbaum (Minnesota wins53-0) Cornell Recap Less than 15 minutes after defeating Duke the Gophers got started on their 31-12 victory over the Cornell Big Red. The Maroon and Gold would win eight bouts, including three by bonus points, en route to the final victory of the calendar year. Both Mitch McKee and Devin Skatzka recorded pins for the Gophers with McKee's coming in the first minute of his bout and Skatka's coming in the final minute of his bout. At one point in the dual the Gophers won six straight individual bouts from 141-pounds to 184-pounds. Cornell won only two bouts with falls at 133-pounds and 197-pounds. Results: 125: Pat McKee dec. (8-7) over Dominic LaJoie (Minnesota leads 3-0) 133: Chas Tucker fall (3:35) over Brent Jones (Cornell leads 6-3) 141: Mitch McKee fall (0:48) over Noah Baughman (Minnesota leads 9-6) 149: Brayton Lee dec. (8-4) over Hunter Richard (Minnesota leads 12-6) 157: Carson Brolsma dec. (5-4) over Adam Santoro (Minnesota leads 15-6) 165: Bailee O'Reilly dec. (8-3) over Milik Dawkins (Minnesota leads 18-6) 174: Devin Skatzka fall (6:13) over Andrew Merola (Minnesota leads 24-6) 184: Owen Webster dec. (8-3) over Jonathan Loew (Minnesota leads 19-6) 197: Ben Darmstadt fall (2:00) over Garrett Joles (Minnesota leads 19-10) HWT: Gable Steveson major dec. (12-3) over Brendan Furman (Minnesota wins 25-10)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- With five individuals winning weight class titles, the Augsburg University men's wrestling team claimed the championship at the Citrus Invitational, held on Sunday and Monday. THE BASICS TEAM SCORES: Augsburg 1st/14 (192.0) LOCATION: Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. HOW IT HAPPENED • Nineteen Auggies competed in the two-day tournament, going 78-26 with 43 bonus-point wins -- 28 pins, seven technical falls and nine major decisions. Ranked No. 3 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III dual-meet national rankings and No. 5 in the NWCA tournament rankings, Augsburg won the 14-team tournament with 192.0 points. No. 15/19-ranked Olivet (Mich.) was second with 169.5 points, and No. 7 Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) was third with 149.0. Six of the 14 teams in the field were ranked in either of the two NWCA Division III national rankings. • No. 2-ranked 133-pounder Victor Gliva (SR, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS) reached a career milestone in winning his weight class title. Going 5-0 on the weekend with two first-period pins, Gliva is now 103-22 in his career, including a perfect 14-0 record this season. In one of the biggest matchups in the tournament, Gliva scored a 6-1 win over Levi Englman of Ferrum (Va.), the top-ranked 133-pounder nationally, in the semifinals. He then scored a 3-2 win over Charles Nash of Baldwin-Wallace, a returning Division III All-American, in the title match. Gliva now has six pins and a technical fall among his 14 wins this season. • Tanner Vassar (SR, Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake HS), the No. 3-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds, scored bonus-point wins in all four of his matches, with three pins and a major decision, to win his weight class. Now 13-0 with seven pins, two technical falls and a major decision, Vassar claimed the tournament title with a 15-2, major decision win over Doug Byrne of Baldwin-Wallace. Vassar is now 106-29 in his Augsburg career with 37 pins. • Two-time defending 157-pound NCAA Division III national champion Ryan Epps (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls HS), who had competed at 165 pounds in the first half of the season, returned to his 157-pound class and easily won the tournament title, scoring three pins among his five wins on the weekend. The nation's top-ranked 165-pounder, Epps scored an 8-2 win over No. 9-ranked 157-pounder Sean Lyons of New York University in the finals. Epps is now 14-0 on the season with seven pins and a technical fall, and is 127-11 with 30 pins in his career. • Defending 141-pound national champion David Flynn (SR, Jordan, Minn./Jordan HS (Scott West)) made his season debut, after not competing in the first semester of this season, and picked up where he left off from last year, with five wins to claim the tournament title. He scored a major-decision and first-period pin in his opening matches, then claimed a third-period pin in the semifinals and a 7-2 win over No. 7-ranked 141-pounder Mario Vasquez of Ferrum in the title match. Flynn is now 78-16 in his Augsburg career and 106-30 in his collegiate career. • No. 9-ranked 174-pounder Solomon Nielsen (JR, Luverne, Minn./Luverne HS), who had lost to teammate Nick Rogge (SO, Eastman, Wis./Prairie du Chien HS) in the finals of the North Central (Ill.) Invitational on Dec. 7, returned the favor at the Citrus meet, with a 7-3 win in the finals on Monday. Nielsen, who went 5-0 in the tournament with two technical falls, is now 11-1 on the season, while Rogge, who went 5-1 with a pin and major decision, is now 12-1. • Justin Stauffacher (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Belle Plaine HS (Scott West)) earned runner-up honors at 125 pounds, going 3-1 with a pin and major decision. He is now 10-3 on the year. • Aaron Wilson (SR, Oak Grove, Minn./St. Francis HS), ranked No. 9 nationally at 149 points, rallied from a 10-8 loss to No. 7-ranked 157-pounder Stanley Bleich of Baldwin-Wallace with two wins in the wrestlebacks to finish third -- a 1:44 pin of Austin Smith of Ferrum and a 9-7 win over No. 4-ranked 149-pounder Evan Drill of New York University. Wilson is now 13-1 on the season and 84-30 in his career. • Brady Gross (FY, Rosemount, Minn./Apple Valley HS) finished third at 141 pounds, going 6-1 with three pins. Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (FY, Loyal, Wis./Marshfield HS) finished fourth at 174 with a 4-2 effort, including a pin and major decision. • Tyler Kim (FY, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) scored a fifth-place finish at heavyweight with two pins and a major decision, and Zach Muller (SO, Woodridge, Ill./Westmont HS), a transfer from St. Cloud State making his Augsburg debut at heavyweight, finished seventh with three pins. Gage Zieske (SO, Alexandria, Minn./Osakis HS) placed sixth at 133, and Joshua Verbeten (SR, Wrightstown, Wis./Wrightstown HS) finished seventh at 165. UP NEXT • Augsburg returns to action on Saturday (1/4) at 3 p.m., hosting Saint John's in a dual meet at Si Melby Hall.

Seth Gross edged Sebastian Rivera in the semifinals of the Midlands Championships (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Wisconsin's Seth Gross will get an opportunity to avenge his only college loss at 133 pounds since March of 2017. The 2018 NCAA champion came from came from behind late to defeat Northwestern All-American Sebastian Rivera, 8-7, in the semifinals of the 57th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Monday afternoon. Gross will now face top-ranked Austin DeSanto of Iowa in tonight's finals at 133 pounds. DeSanto earned a 6-2 victory over Gross on Dec. 1 in Iowa City. In the semifinals, Gross found himself trailing by four in the third period against the third-ranked Rivera. After a scoreless first period, Rivera scored two takedowns in the second period and added a third takedown early in the third period to go up 6-2. With Rivera riding, Gross was able to get to his feet and throw Rivera to his back on the edge of the mat, earning two points for the reversal and four points for the nearfall, which put Gross up by two. Gross then rode Rivera but was warned for stalling with just over a minute remaining. With 12 seconds left Gross was called again for stalling, giving Rivera a point to make the score 8-7. A short time later, Rivera was awarded a reversal. However, the reversal was eventually waved off after video review, giving Gross the one-point win. Iowa advanced seven wrestlers to the finals and leads the team race. Iowa's two-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee forfeited in the semifinals at 125 pounds. The biggest surprise came at 157 pounds where unranked Markus Hartman of Army West Point advanced to the finals with a victory over No. 10 Anthony Artalona. Earlier in the tournament, Hartman knocked off top-seeded Quincy Monday of Princeton, ranked No. 5 by InterMat. At 165 pounds, No. 6 David McFadden of Virginia Tech scored a takedown in the final 10 seconds to defeat No. 3 Evan Wick of Wisconsin. McFadden will now face No. 2 Alex Marinelli of Iowa in the finals. Tonight's final session is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. local time/8 p.m. ET. The finals will start at 141 pounds and conclude at 133 pounds. Semifinal results 125: No. 10 Michael DeAugustino Northwestern) by medical forfeit over No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) No. 3 Pat Glory (Princeton) by injury default over No. 8 Brock Hudkins (Indiana) 133: No. 1 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. No. 9 Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 10-4 No. 2 Seth Gross (Wisconsin) dec. No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern), 8-7 141: No. 8 Max Murin (Iowa) dec. No. 17 Shakur Laney (Ohio), 4-0 No. 7 Josh Heil (Campbell) dec. No. 9 Tristan Moran (Wisconsin), 4-2 149: No. 1 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) dec. Vincent Turk (Iowa), 3-1 SV No. 3 Pat Lugo (Iowa) dec. No. 7 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa), 3-2 157: Markus Hartman (Army West Point) dec. No. 10 Anthony Artalona (Penn), 9-8 No. 8 Kaleb Young (Iowa) pinned No. 9 Kendall Coleman (Purdue), 7:57 165: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. No. 15 Zach Hartman (Bucknell), 8-3 No. 6 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 3 Evan Wick (Wisconsin), 6-5 174: No. 4 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) dec. No. 11 Ben Harvey (Army West Point), 3-1 SV No. 5 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) maj. dec. No. 10 Joey Gunther (Illinois), 9-1 184: No. 4 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) maj. dec. Andrew Morgan (Campbell), 11-3 Abe Assad (Iowa) pinned Zachary Braunagel (Illinois), 2:05 197: No. 16 Jay Aiello (Virginia) dec. No. 2 Jacob Warner (Iowa), 9-7 No. 8 Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. No. 3 Pat Brucki (Princeton), 4-3 285: No. 4 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) dec. No. 15 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa), 11-5 No. 8 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) dec. No. 5 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin), 6-1 Finals matchups 125: No. 3 Pat Glory (Princeton) vs. No. 10 Michael DeAugustino Northwestern) 133: No. 1 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Seth Gross (Wisconsin) 141: No. 7 Josh Heil (Campbell) vs. No. 8 Max Murin (Iowa) 149: No. 1 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) vs. No. 3 Pat Lugo (Iowa) 157: No. 8 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. Markus Hartman (Army West Point) 165: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. No. 6 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) 174: No. 4 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) vs. No. 5 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) 184: No. 4 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) vs. Abe Assad (Iowa) 197: No. 8 Christian Brunner (Purdue) vs. No. 16 Jay Aiello (Virginia) 285: No. 4 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. No. 8 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan)

Hayden Hidlay is pre-seeded No. 1 at 157 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The pre-seeds have been released for the Southern Scuffle, which takes place Jan. 1-2 at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn. 125: 1. Nick Piccininni - Oklahoma State 2. Nic Aguilar - Rutgers 3. Sidney Flores - Air Force 4. Gabriel Townsell - Stanford 5. Jakob Camacho - North Carolina St 6. Luke Werner - Lock Haven 7. Michael McGee - Old Dominion - Unattached 8. Zurich Storm - Campbell - Unattached 133: 1. Micky Phillippi - Pittsburgh 2. Cam Sykora - North Dakota State 3. Mosha Schwartz - Northern Colorado 4. Chance Rich - Cal State Bakersfield 5. Sammy Alvarez - Rutgers 6. D.J. Fehlman - Lock Haven 7. Devan Turner - Oregon State 8. Chandler Olson - Drexel 141: 1. Kaden Gfeller- Oklahoma State 2. Tariq Wilson- North Carolina State 3. Real Woods- Stanford 4. Kyle Shoop- Lock Haven 5. Cole Matthews- Pittsburgh 6. Evan Cheek- Cleveland St 7. Cody Trybus- Navy 8. Lenny Petersen- Air Force 149: 1. Boo Lewallen- Oklahoma State 2. Requir Van der Merwe- Stanford 3. Gerard Angelo- Rutgers 4. Russell Rohlfing- Cal State Bakersfield 5. Andrew Alirez- Northern Colorado 6. Tanner Smith- Chattanooga 7. Colston DiBlasi- George Mason 8. Josh FInesilver- Duke - Unattached 157: 1. Hayden Hidlay - North Carolina State 2. Jesse Dellavecchia - Rider 3. Matt Zovistoski - Appalachian State 4. Taleb Rahmani - Pittsburgh 5. Alex Klucker - Lock Haven 6. Kolby Ho - George Mason 7. Hunter Willits - Oregon State - Unattached 8. Michael Vanbrill - Rutgers 165: 1. Shane Griffith - Stanford 2. Tanner Skidgel - Navy 3. Thomas Bullard - North Carolina St 4. Jake Wentzel - Pittsburgh 5. Andrew Fogarty - North Dakota St 6. Travis Wittlake - Oklahoma St 7. Connor Flynn - Missouri 8. Ebed Jarrell - Drexel 174: 1. Joe Smith - Oklahoma State 2. Joe Grello - Rutgers 3. Spencer Carey - Navy 4. Dean Sherry - Rider 5. Daniel Bullard - North Carolina State 6. Carter Starocci - Penn State Unattached 7. Neal Richards - VMI 8. Gregg Harvey - Pittsburgh 184: 1. Trent Hidlay - North Carolina State 2. Lou Deprez - Binghamton 3. Nino Bonaccorsi - Pittsburgh 4. Matthew Waddell - Chattanooga 5. George Walton - Rider 6. Corey Hazel - Lock Haven 7. Alan Clothier - Northern Colorado 8. Anthony Montalvo - Oklahoma State 197: 1. Dakota Geer - Oklahoma State 2. Nathan Traxler - Stanford 3. Nick Reenan - North Carolina State 4. Noah Adams - West Virginia 5. Jacob Seely - Northern Colorado 6. Jordan Pagano - Rutgers 7. Jacob Cardenas - Finger Lakes 8. Ethan Laird - Rider 285: 1. Demetrius Thomas - Pittsburgh 2. Gannon Gremmel - Iowa State 3. Cary Miller - Appalachian St 4. Brandon Metz - North Dakota St 5. Dalton Robertson - Northern Colorado 6. Sean O'Malley - Drexel 7. Chris Beck - VMI 8. Kayne Hutchison - Air Force

Gary Kessel received the Meritorious Official award at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum in 2018 (Photo/Larry Slater) Gary Kessel, who has been a wrestling official for 40 years, will be welcomed into the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Officials Association (EIWOA) Hall of the Fame in 2020, the organization has announced. In his four decades as an official, Kessel has officiated a wide range of collegiate and high school wrestling events. He has refereed 16 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, including 12 finals, and eight NCAA Division III Championships, including eight finals. He has officiated 21 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships and 18 Virginia Duals while also refereeing nine National Duals and four National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star matches. Kessel has also officiated 39 New Jersey state high school wrestling championships, including 11 finals, and has officiated 15 national high school tournaments. Beyond his on-the-mat officiating, Kessel has participated in leadership roles within wrestling. Since 2010, he has served as president of the EIWOA, the oldest and largest wrestling organization in the country, and has worked as a rules interpreter for the state of New Jersey and the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL). He serves as the secretary/treasurer for the National Wrestling Officials Association and also chairs the organization's education committee while also serving on the executive board of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Kessel has earned a number of significant honors over the years. Kessel was inducted into the East Stroudsburg University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995, and is also a member of the Hopatcong, New Jersey, High School Hall of Fame. He was honored as the New Jersey Official of the Year in 2007 and received the Richard Mirshak award for dedication, service and contributions to wrestling in 2015. He received the Vincent Russo Golden Whistle award in 2016 and was presented the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the New Jersey Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017. The following year, Kessel received the Meritorious Official award at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Gary Kessel launched his lifelong relationship with wrestling in the eighth grade ... then continued his on-the-mat career at East Stroudsburg University where he won the 150-pound title at the 1977 EIWA championships, and was a two-time Pennsylvania Conference champion. In addition, Kessel was a two-time NCAA Division II All-American for the Warriors by placing second and fifth at the national championships. Following graduation, Kessel served as an assistant coach at his college alma mater. Kessel will be inducted into the EIWOA Hall of Fame on March 6-7, 2020 at Lehigh University.

No. 1 Austin DeSanto advanced to the semifinals at 133 pounds (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Top-ranked Iowa extended its lead to 46 at the 57th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships by advancing 10 wrestlers to the semifinals. The Hawkeyes have semifinalists in nine of the 10 weight classes, including two at 149 pounds. Of Iowa's 10 semifinalists, six are No. 1 seeds: Spencer Lee (125), Austin DeSanto (133), Max Murin (141), Alex Marinelli (165), Jacob Warner (197) and Tony Cassioppi (285). Iowa's other semifinalists include Pat Lugo (149), Vince Turk (149), Kaleb Young (157) and Abe Assad (184). Northern Iowa sits in second place and has four wrestlers competing in the semifinals. Wisconsin, Illinois and Princeton round out the top five teams. Nine of the 10 No. 1 seeds remain alive in the championship bracket. Top-ranked 149-pounder Austin O'Connor of UNC was pushed in the quarterfinals by Iowa's Jeren Glosser but prevailed 6-5. Glasser led 5-3 with under 20 seconds left. O'Connor picked up a point off a stall call and then secured a takedown to get the victory. The nation's top three 133-pounders advanced to the semifinals. No. 1 DeSanto will face No. 9 Travis Piotrowski of Illinois, while No. 2 Seth Gross of Wisconsin will battle No. 3 Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern. Army West Point's Markus Hartman, who knocked off top-seeded Quincy Monday of Princeton in the opening session, advanced to the semifinals at 157 pounds with a fall over Central Michigan's Logan Parks. Wrestling resumes Monday with Session III at noon CT. Quarterfinal results 125: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) tech. fall Nolan Hellickson (Harvard), 16-1 3:32 No. 10 Michael DeAugustino Northwestern) dec. No. 9 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan), 5-1 SV No. 8 Brock Hudkins (Indiana) dec. No. 11 Michael Colaiocco (Penn), 5-2 No. 3 Pat Glory (Princeton) tech. fall Chris Cannon (Northwestern), 17-0 6:36 133: No. 1 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) maj. dec. Carmen Ferrante (Penn), 20-8 No. 9 Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) dec. No. 11 Noah Gonser (Campbell), 5-3 No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) maj. dec. No. 18 Louie Hayes (Virginia), 14-5 No. 2 Seth Gross (Wisconsin) maj. dec. Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern), 13-2 141: No. 8 Max Murin (Iowa) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 8-4 No. 17 Shakur Laney (Ohio) dec. No. 12 Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa), 3-1 SV No. 7 Josh Heil (Campbell) dec. Salvatore Profaci (American), 2-1 TB2 No. 9 Tristan Moran (Wisconsin) dec. Zach Sherman (North Carolina), 5-3 TB2 149: No. 1 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) dec. Jeren Glosser (Iowa), 6-5 Vincent Turk (Iowa) maj. dec. Michael Murphy (Virginia), 11-1 No. 7 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) dec. Tyshawn Williams (SIUE), 4-3 No. 3 Pat Lugo (Iowa) maj. dec. Tres Leon (Cumberlands), 16-3 157: Markus Hartman (Army West Point) pinned Logan Parks (Central Michigan), 4:07 No. 10 Anthony Artalona (Penn) dec. No. 19 Justin Ruffin (SIUE), 3-1 No. 9 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) dec. No. 20 A.C. Headlee (North Carolina), 11-6 No. 8 Kaleb Young (Iowa) dec. Zac Carson (Ohio), 7-2 165: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) pinned No. 19 Philip Conigliaro (Harvard), 6:08 No. 15 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) maj. dec. Jake Keating (Virginia), 13-0 No. 6 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) dec. Danny Braunagel (Illinois), 5-2 No. 3 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) dec. No. 16 Quentin Perez (Princeton), 4-2 SV 174: No. 4 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) dec. No. 20 Clay Lautt (North Carolina), 5-2 No. 11 Ben Harvey (Army West Point) dec. Jacob Covaciu (Indiana), 3-1 SV No. 10 Joey Gunther (Illinois) dec. Jared Krattiger (Wisconsin), 3-2 No. 5 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) dec. Victor Marcelli (Virginia), 4-0 184: No. 4 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 20 Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern), 7-3 Andrew Morgan (Campbell) dec. No. 12 Noah Stewart (Army West Point), 5-3 Abe Assad (Iowa) dec. No. 10 Tanner Harvey (American), 8-6 SV Zachary Braunagel (Illinois) dec. No. 14 Nelson Brands (Iowa), 3-2 197: No. 2 Jacob Warner (Iowa) maj. dec. Gage Braun (Northern Illinois), 9-1 No. 16 Jay Aiello (Virginia) dec. Alex Hopkins (Army West Point), 6-5 TB2 No. 8 Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. Lucas Davison (Northwestern), 8-5 No. 3 Pat Brucki (Princeton) dec. Drew Phipps (Bucknell), 4-2 285: No. 4 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) dec. Zach Elam (Missouri), 6-0 No. 15 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 12 Jere Heino (Campbell), 8-3 No. 8 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) pinned Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard), 5:17 No. 5 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) maj. dec. Bobby Heald (Army West Point), 9-1 Semifinal matchups 125: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. No. 10 Michael DeAugustino Northwestern) No. 3 Pat Glory (Princeton) vs. No. 8 Brock Hudkins (Indiana) 133: No. 1 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) vs. No. 9 Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) No. 2 Seth Gross (Wisconsin) vs. No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) 141: No. 8 Max Murin (Iowa) vs. No. 17 Shakur Laney (Ohio) No. 7 Josh Heil (Campbell) vs. No. 9 Tristan Moran (Wisconsin) 149: No. 1 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) vs. Vincent Turk (Iowa) No. 3 Pat Lugo (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) 157: No. 10 Anthony Artalona (Penn) vs. Markus Hartman (Army West Point) No. 8 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. No. 9 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) 165: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. No. 15 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) No. 3 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) vs. No. 6 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) 174: No. 4 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) vs. No. 11 Ben Harvey (Army West Point) No. 5 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 10 Joey Gunther (Illinois) 184: No. 4 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) vs. Andrew Morgan (Campbell) Abe Assad (Iowa) vs. Zachary Braunagel (Illinois) 197: No. 2 Jacob Warner (Iowa) vs. No. 16 Jay Aiello (Virginia) No. 3 Pat Brucki (Princeton) vs. No. 8 Christian Brunner (Purdue) 285: No. 4 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. No. 15 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) No. 5 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) vs. No. 8 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The No. 18-ranked Cornell wrestling team picked up its first wins of the season on Sunday, Dec. 29, defeating South Dakota State (18-16), Michigan State (20-16) and Wyoming (28-9) at the South Beach Duals hosted at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cornell (3-2) won a pair of close matches against South Dakota State and Michigan State before trouncing Wyoming to cap off the day. In the first dual of the day, South Dakota State held a 16-12 lead over the Big Red heading into the final two weights, before Ben Darmstadt and Brendan Furman shut the door on a possible upset. Darmstadt, who returns to 197 pounds after starting the season at 184, won his first match via a 5-4 decision over No. 14 Tanner Sloan. Needing a win at heavyweight to complete the comeback, Brendan Furman shut down Blake Wolters, 5-0. Cornell was tied with Michigan State, 9-9, heading into the 174 pound bout, but Brandon Womack blew the door open with a crucial pin of Layne Malczewski in 4:52. Following a loss at 184, Cornell led by a score of 15-12 heading into Darmstadt's bout. Darmstadt once again came through in the clutch, securing bonus points for the Big Red with a 19-2 tech fall victory over Nick May to lock up the dual victory. The result was never in question against Wyoming, who the Big Red jumped on early by taking a 10-0 lead prior to the 149 pound bout. At 133 pounds, No. 6 Chas Tucker defeated No. 7 Montorie Brides, 3-2, for the second time this season. Tucker previously defeated Bridges in the finals of the Cliff Keen Invitational. Wyoming tried to make a comeback, winning bouts at 149 and 157 pounds, but Cornell rattled off four straight victories to put the dual out of reach. Womack and Darmstadt continued to dominate, each picking up falls in their final matches of the day. Tucker, Womack and Darmstadt each led the team in wins on Sunday with three each, followed by Noah Baughman and Hunter Richard with two apiece. Up Next: Cornell wrestling continues its trip in Florida with duals against No. 15 Minnesota and No. 19 Missouri on Monday, Dec. 30. Minnesota (3-3) went 1-1 on its first day in Fort Lauderdale, losing to Lehigh (29-10) and defeating Old Dominion (25-10). Missouri (5-2) extended its winning-streak to five duals with wins over Old Dominion (24-8) and Wyoming (22-10). Cornell will wrestle Missouri at 11 a.m. and Minnesota at 3 p.m. All live action can be viewed on TrackWrestling. FULL RESULTS #18 Cornell Big Red (1-2) vs. South Dakota State (1-3) Dec. 29, 2019 // Broward County Convention Center // Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Final: Cornell wins, 18-16 125: Daniel Vega (SDSU) major dec. Dom LaJoie (COR), 14-6 133: Chas Tucker (COR) dec. Zach Price (SDSU), 6-2 141: Clay Carlson (SDSU) dec. Noah Baughman (COR), 6-4 149: Hunter Richard (COR) dec. Peyton Smith (SDSU), 7-6 157: Adam Santoro (COR) dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 8-2 165: Tanner Cook (SDSU) def. Milik Dawkins (COR), Fall (1:13) 174: Brandon Womack (COR) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 10-3 184: Zach Carlson (SDSU) dec. Jonathan Loew (COR), 8-5 197: Ben Darmstadt* (COR) dec. Tanner Sloan (SDSU), 5-4 285: Brendan Furman (COR) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 5-0 #18 Cornell Big Red (2-2) vs. Michigan State (3-1) Dec. 29, 2019 // Broward County Convention Center // Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Final: Cornell wins, 20-16 125: Julian Saldana (MSU) dec. Dom LaJoie (COR), 3-2 133: Chas Tucker (COR) dec. Garrett Pepple (MSU), 4-3 141: Noah Baughman (COR) dec. Matt Santos (MSU), 8-2 149: Hunter Richard (COR) dec. Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU), 11-5 157: Jake Tucker (MSU) dec. Adam Santoro (COR), 9-3 165: Drew Hughes (MSU) dec. Andrew Merola (COR), 1-0 174: Brandon Womack (COR) def. Layne Malczewski (MSU), Fall (4:52) 184: Cam Caffey (MSU) dec. Jonathan Loew (COR), 9-6 197: Ben Darmstadt* (COR) tech. fall Nick May (MSU), 19-2 285: Christian Rebottaro (MSU) major dec. Seth Janney (COR), 9-0 #18 Cornell Big Red (3-2) vs. Wyoming (1-3) Dec. 29, 2019 // Broward County Convention Center // Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Final: Cornell wins, 28-9 125: Dom LaJoie (COR) major dec. Doyle Trout (WYO), 15-6 133: Chas Tucker (COR) dec. Montorie Bridges (WYO), 3-2 141: Noah Baughman (COR) dec. Chase Zollmann (WYO), 5-1 149: Jaron Jensen (WYO) dec. Hunter Richard (COR), 3-1 157: Dewey Krueger (WYO) dec. Adam Santoro (COR), 5-3 165: Jake Brindley (COR) dec. Cole Moody (WYO), 6-4 174: Brandon Womack (COR) def. Casey Randles (WYO), Fall (3:41) 184: Jonathan Loew (COR) dec. Tate Samuelson (WYO), 6-4 (SV-1) 197: Ben Darmstadt* (COR) def. Stephen Buchanan (WYO), Fall (2:35) 285: Brian Andrews (WYO) dec. Brendan Furman (COR), 7-2

Anthony Cassioppi is one of 12 quarterfinalists for Iowa (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- A pair of Army West Point wrestlers, Markus Hartman (157) and Alex Hopkins (197), pulled upsets over wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in the opening session of the 57th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Hartman, a sophomore, stunned top-seeded Quincy Monday of Princeton at 157 pounds, while Hopkins knocked off fourth-seeded Thomas Lane of Cal Poly at 197 pounds. Monday, ranked No. 5 by InterMat, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after a first-period takedown. Hartman earned an escape in each of the first two periods to tie the match at 2-2 going into the third period. Hartman then rode out Monday the entire third period, erasing the riding time point and sending the match to sudden victory. Just over a minute into sudden victory, Monday fired off a shot and nearly secured a cradle, but Hartman fought it off and scooted behind for the match-winning takedown. Hopkins used a first-period takedown and nearfall to go up 4-0 on the seventh-ranked Lane. The Cal Poly wrestler mounted a comeback in the third period, but ultimately fell short, 6-5. Iowa leads the team race and has a dozen wrestlers in the quarterfinals. Tonight's second session is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT, with quarterfinal matchups starting just past 8 p.m. CT. Below are the quarterfinal matchups. Quarterfinal matchups 125: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. Nolan Hellickson (Harvard) No. 9 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan) vs. No. 10 Michael DeAugustino Northwestern) No. 8 Brock Hudkins (Indiana) vs. No. 11 Michael Colaiocco (Penn) No. 3 Pat Glory (Princeton) vs. Chris Cannon (Northwestern) 133: No. 1 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) vs. Carmen Ferrante (Penn) No. 9 Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) vs. No. 11 Noah Gonser (Campbell) No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) vs. No. 18 Louie Hayes (Virginia) No. 2 Seth Gross (Wisconsin) vs. Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern) 141: No. 8 Max Murin (Iowa) vs. Dylan Duncan (Illinois) No. 12 Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 17 Shakur Laney (Ohio) No. 7 Josh Heil (Campbell) vs. Salvatore Profaci (American) No. 9 Tristan Moran (Wisconsin) vs. Zach Sherman (North Carolina) 149: No. 1 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) vs. Jeren Glosser (Iowa) Vincent Turk (Iowa) vs. Michael Murphy (Virginia) No. 7 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) vs. Tyshawn Williams (SIUE) No. 3 Pat Lugo (Iowa) vs. Tres Leon (Cumberlands) 157: Logan Parks (Central Michigan) vs. Markus Hartman (Army West Point) No. 10 Anthony Artalona (Penn) vs. No. 19 Justin Ruffin (SIUE) No. 9 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) vs. No. 20 A.C. Headlee (North Carolina) No. 8 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. Zac Carson (Ohio) 165: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. No. 19 Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) No. 15 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) vs. Jake Keating (Virginia) No. 6 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) vs. Danny Braunagel (Illinois) No. 3 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) vs. No. 16 Quentin Perez (Princeton) 174: No. 4 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) vs. No. 20 Clay Lautt (North Carolina) No. 11 Ben Harvey (Army West Point) vs. Jacob Covaciu (Indiana) No. 10 Joey Gunther (Illinois) vs. Jared Krattiger (Wisconsin) No. 5 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) vs. Victor Marcelli (Virginia) 184: No. 4 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 20 Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) No. 12 Noah Stewart (Army West Point) vs. Andrew Morgan (Campbell) No. 10 Tanner Harvey (American) vs. Abe Assad (Iowa) No. 14 Nelson Brands (Iowa) vs. Zachary Braunagel (Illinois) 197: No. 2 Jacob Warner (Iowa) vs. Gage Braun (Northern Illinois) No. 16 Jay Aiello (Virginia) vs. Alex Hopkins (Army West Point) No. 8 Christian Brunner (Purdue) vs. Lucas Davison (Northwestern) No. 3 Pat Brucki (Princeton) vs. Drew Phipps (Bucknell) 285: No. 4 Anthony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. Zach Elam (Missouri) No. 12 Jere Heino (Campbell) vs. No. 15 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) No. 8 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) vs. Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard) No. 5 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) vs. Bobby Heald (Army West Point)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- No. 17 Mizzou Wrestling closed its action at day one of the South Beach Duals with a 22-10 win over Wyoming Sunday afternoon. The Tigers, coupled with their 24-8 win over Old Dominion earlier Sunday, are now 5-2 on the season and have won five straight duals. The Tigers are also 2-0 at the South Beach Duals, which will resume tomorrow morning (Dec. 30) at 10 a.m. as the Tigers take on No. 24 Cornell and No. 14 Lehigh. In all, Mizzou won seven of 10 bouts against Wyoming, including a bonus-point win from Wyatt Koelling at 197 pounds, as he earned a major decision over Stephen Buchanan, 10-1. The only weights that Mizzou lost were 133, 149 and heavyweight. On the day, Mizzou won 14 of 20 bouts, and outscored its two opponents, 46-18, over the two duals. Results: 125: Dack Punke (8-6) vs. Doyle Trout - W, 3-2 | 3-0 133: Cameron Valdiviez (12-6) vs. Montorie Bridges - L, 13-5 Major Decision | 3-4 141: #9 Grant Leeth (3-2) vs. Chase Zollman - W, 4-3 | 6-4 149: #2 Brock Mauller (12-1) vs. Jaron Jensen - L, 6-5 | 6-7 157: #14 Jarrett Jacques (15-1) vs Dewey Kruger - W, 10-5 | 9-7 165: Peyton Mocco (10-7) vs. Cole Moody - W, 10-5 | 12-7 174: Jeremiah Kent (15-2) vs. Casey Randles - W, 9-3 | 15-7 184: #22 Dylan Wisman (8-2) vs. Tate Samuelson - W, 3-1 | 18-7 197: #23 Wyatt Koelling (12-1) vs. Stephen Buchanan - W, 10-1 Major Decision | 22-7 HWT: Jacob Bohlken (9-3) vs. Brian Andrews - L, 4-1 | 22-10 Missouri downs Old Dominion in opening round Mizzou Wrestling opened the South Beach Duals with a dominant 24-8 win over Old Dominion Sunday morning (Dec. 29). The Tigers won the dual's final seven bouts and Old Dominion was charged a team point for lack of mat control as Mizzou rallied from down 9-0 to claim the dual. The Tigers improve to 4-2 on the year with the dual win and is now 2-0 in MAC competition. Mizzou got off to a slow start as Old Dominion claimed the morning's first three bouts, all via decision. However, Mizzou quickly righted the ship, thanks to its second-ranked grappler at 149 pounds - sophomore and 2019 All-American Brock Mauller. Mauller earned a hard-fought, 11-6 decision over ODU's Kenan Carter to improve to 12-0 on the year. That bout flipped things in Mizzou's favor as No. 14 Jarrett Jacques followed that with a dominant 7-1 win over Larry Early at 157 pounds to pull the Tigers within a win of tying the bout. At 165, Peyton Mocco won a back-and-forth bout against Shane Jones, 10-6, tying the dual. Then, at 174 pounds, Jeremiah Kent continued his dominant stretch with a 16-0 technical fall win over Alex Cramer to give Mizzou a 14-9 dual lead heading into the final three weight classes. The Tigers picked up another bonus-point win, courtesy of senior 184-pounder Dylan Wisman, who tallied a 15-4 major decision over Antonio Agee. That extended Mizzou's lead and it was the fifth consecutive bout win in the dual. Wyatt Koelling made it six straight bout wins, taking a dramatic 3-1 win in sudden victory over Timothy Young. That extended Mizzou's lead to 21-9 heading into the final bout. At heavyweight, Rodrigo Diaz posted a 10-5 decision as Mizzou closed the dual winning the final seven bouts. Old Dominion was also docked a team point for lack of mat control, seeing its total drop from nine to eight as Mizzou rounded out the dual with a 24-8 win. Results: 125: Dack Punke (7-6) vs. Kilian Cardinale - L, 4-3 | 0-3 133: Cameron Valdiviez (12-5) vs. Shannon Hanna - L, 12-9 | 0-6 141: #9 Grant Leeth (2-2) vs. Sa'Derian Perry - L, 7-3 | 0-9 149: #2 Brock Mauller (12-0) vs. Kenan Carter - W, 11-6 | 3-9 157: #14 Jarrett Jacques (14-1) vs. Larry Early - W, 7-1 | 6-9 165: Peyton Mocco (9-7) vs. Shane Jones - W, 10-6 | 9-9 174: Jeremiah Kent (14-2) vs. Alex Cramer - W, 16-0 Technical Fall | 14-9 184: #22 Dylan Wisman (7-2) vs. Antonio Agee - W, 15-4 Major Decision | 18-9 197: #23 Wyatt Koelling (12-1) vs. Timothy Young - W, 3-1 (SV-1) | 21-9 HWT: Rodrigo Diaz (10-7) vs. William Hilliard - W, 10-5 | 24-8 (ODU was charged a team point for mat control) The Tigers will face a pair of top-25 opponents this morning in search of their sixth and seventh straight wins. Cornell defeated Michigan State and South Dakota State Sunday while Lehigh won against No. 5 Minnesota in dominating fashion, 29-10. Mizzou wrestled both teams on South Beach a year ago, downing Lehigh, 21-12, and Cornell, 22-9. TrackWrestling.com will have both live video and stats of the bouts, which begin at 10 a.m. with the Tigers facing Cornell.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Sparked by junior lightweights Brandon Paetzell and Nick Farro, No. 14 Lehigh opened up action at the South Beach Duals with a convincing 29-10 triumph over No. 15 Minnesota on Sunday. Bonus point wins from Paetzell and Farro staked the Mountain Hawks to an early 9-0 lead and Lehigh never looked back. The Mountain Hawks won seven bouts and produced bonus points in five of their seven victories to improve to 2-3 on the dual season. "This is probably the best we've looked all year," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We had been getting a little better each week but this was by far our best performance. The guys are wrestling hard and through all three periods. They're scoring late. Going for bonus point wins, which is huge. We have two more big ones tomorrow so we have to do the same thing tomorrow to build a little momentum." Paetzell got things going with an 18-3 technical fall victory over Pat McKee at 125. An attacking style had Paetzell up 4-1 after one period and then up 10-2 after two following a takedown and two point near fall in the final seconds. Paetzell secured a four point near fall in the third period and added a takedown to go up and end the bout with three seconds remaining. Farro also benefitted from a four point near fall in the third, breaking open a 5-2 match with a takedown and four near fall on the way to a 14-4 major decision over Jake Gliva at 133. "Those early bonus points were huge," Santoro said. "Brandon was up against a really quality opponent and kept wrestling and ended up getting a tech fall. Nick followed by getting a major. That's a great way to start a dual meet." Minnesota (2-3) picked up its first win of the day as third ranked Mitch McKee won a 10-0 major decision over senior Ryan Pomrinca at 141. Lehigh picked up six points at 149 as sophomore Jimmy Hoffman won by disqualification over Brayton Lee. Hoffman suffered an injury to his leg that was the result of an illegal hold as Lee was bidding for a takedown. Because Hoffman was not able to finish the bout due to the injury sustained via illegal hold, he was awarded the victory by disqualification. A dominant performance by sophomore Josh Humphreys over Carson Brolsma in an 11-0 major decision put the Mountain Hawks up 19-4 halfway through the dual. The Golden Gophers picked up a second victory at 165 as Bailee O'Reilly defeated freshman Brian Meyer 8-5. The featured bout of the dual matched third-ranked senior Jordan Kutler against No. 8 Devin Skatzka at 174. Kutler won his third bout against the Gopher in the last two years, with takedowns in each of the first two periods plus a third period rideout in a 6-1 decision. Junior Chris Weiler followed Kutler with one of his best performances of the season in a 9-3 decision over 17th-ranked Owen Webster at 184. Weiler had two takedowns and two reversals and added 3:48 of riding time advantage. At 197, junior Jake Jakobsen gave up an early takedown to Garrett Joles, but controlled the match thereafter. Jakobsen rode out the second period and added four near fall points, to take a 5-2 lead after two. In the third, Jakobsen scored a penalty point for locked hands, an escape, a takedown and riding time advantage to secure a 10-2 major decision. Minnesota's second-ranked Gable Steveson capped the dual with an 8-0 major decision over junior Jordan Wood. The Golden Gophers were docked a team point at the end of the dual for control of mat area. The Mountain Hawks will wrap-up action at the South Beach Duals on Monday when they face Duke at 11 a.m. and No. 19 Missouri at 1 p.m. The 2019-20 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem. Results: 125 – Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) tech fall Pat McKee (Minn) 18-3, 6:57 133 – Nick Farro (Lehigh) major dec. Jake Gliva (Minn) 14-4 141 – Mitch McKee (Minn) major dec. Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh) 10-0 149 – Jimmy Hoffman (Lehigh) win by DQ Brayton Lee (Minn) 157 – Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) major dec. Carson Brolsma (Minn) 11-0 165 – Bailee O'Reilly (Minn) dec. Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 8-5 174 – Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. Devin Skatkza (Minn) 6-1 184 – Chris Weiler (Lehigh) dec. Owen Webster (Minn) 9-3 197 – Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) major dec. Garrett Joles (Minn) 10-2 285 – Gable Steveson (Minn) major dec. Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 8-0 * - Minnesota deducted a team point for control of mat area

Links: Results | Matchups to watch at South Beach Duals A Twitter List by InterMat

Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com Links: Results | Midlands Central | Preview A Twitter List by InterMat

Notre Dame-Green Pond showcased its depth at the Trojan Wars Several Fab 50 teams turned in strong performances this past week, highlighted by Wyoming Seminary's dominance at the Powerade. Below is a recap of other key events on the high school wrestling calendar. No. 31 Notre Dame-Green Pond shows understated depth at Trojan Wars Much of the talk about the Crusaders in the preseason and early centered on their trio of nationally elite wrestlers, but in the MyHouse Trojan Wars at Chambersburg (Pa.) this weekend it was five other wrestlers that provided key placement points on the way to a tournament title. No. 7 Brett Ungar (113) and No.2 Ryan Crookham (126) earned titles, while No. 6 Andrew Cerniglia (160) was out of the lineup. Another pair of Notre Dame wrestlers made the finals, champion Brendan Chlestos (120) and runner-up Derek Berlitz (182). Additional wrestlers placed third, seventh, and seventh on the way to 210.5 points. The other nationally ranked team, No. 25 Southern Columbia (Pa.) placed fourth with 185.5 points and six placers. The Tigers were absent 2018 state placer Patrick Edmonson (138) and returning state medalist Gavin Garcia (160). Anchoring the effort was champion No. 2 Gaige Garcia (195) and runner-up Lear Quinton (285); other placers were third, two in fourth, and one in sixth. Tournament runners-up were the hosts, Chambersburg who had 191.5 points on the strength of five placers; Tate Nichter (152) won a weight class, Karl Shindledecker (120) and No. 16 Luke Nichter (160) finished second, while another pair finished fourth. Third place was Smyrna (Del.) with 186.5 points on the strength of seven placers led by weight class champions No. 20 Gabe Giampietro (106) and J.T. Davis, three took fourth, one was third, and the other was eighth. Additional nationally ranked wrestlers to win titles were No. 7 Clayton Ulrey (Lower Dauphin, Pa.) at 160 pounds, No. 18 Dylan Reinert (Gettysburg, Pa.) at 170, and No. 16 Nate Schon (Selinsgrove, Pa.) at 220; Ulrey beat Nichter 11-7 in his championship bout. Mukwonago ends up even on the day but wins the Flavin Duals anyway The first day of the Flavin Duals on Friday was basically rubber stamp for the four teams that ended up in the Platinum championship pool. On the second day, it was anything but as Mukwonago (Wis.) won all three duals, though each dual meet was 7-7 in terms of match count. The opening dual came against No. 38 Brownsburg (Ind.), where they needed pins from Nate Stokhaug (145) and Cole Hansen (152) to win by the score 37-32. The second dual meet came down to a winner-take-all last match where Lucas Benn (160) came through with a pin to beat Oak Park River Forest (Ill.) 38-30. In the final match, it was a 41-37 victory over the host school, DeKalb (Ill.), though the Barbs needed to go tech, pin, major to shrink the margin to the ending score; key for Mukwanago in that was a pin at the 1:33 mark from Stokhaug at 145 against 2018 state champion Fabian Lopez. Brownsburg won their other two dual meets in relatively narrow fashion, 31-25 over DeKalb where the matches were split 7-7 and 42-32 where the Bulldogs needed pins from Peyton Asbury (160) and Greg Glover (170) in the dual's last two bouts to win 42-32 (8-6 match count). DeKalb beat Oak Park River Forest in the pool's other dual by the score of 40-25. Indianapolis Cathedral knocks off No. 47 Crown Point at Al Smith Invitational At the best regular season tournament in the Hoosier State, defending state tournament champions Indianapolis Cathedral certainly sent a message to all those in attendance, as the Irish put 12 on the podium, including nine inside the top four, on the way to a tournament title. Leading the 270-point effort were five finalists, including weight class champions in No. 16 Zeke Seltzer (120) and Logan Bailey (138); while Elliott Rodgers (160), David Guhl (220), and Holden Parsons (285) finished in second place. Runner-up in the tournament was No. 47 Crown Point with 218.5 points. The Bulldogs had five finalists of their own, including three champions in Sam Goin (106), Stephen Roberson (126), and No. 4 Jesse Mendez (132) while Riley Bettich (120) and Orlando Cruz (145) finished in second place. However, they only put nine on the podium, seven in the top four. They were absent state-ranked freshman Cody Goodwin at 138, though his backup did finish in eighth place. Additional ranked wrestlers to win tournament titles were No. 11 Graham Calhoun (Plymouth, Ind.) at 170 and No. 12 Joseph Walker (Mishawaka, Ind.) at 182. Lake Gibson wins Knockout Christmas Classic In an entertaining three-team battle for the title, it was Lake Gibson (Fla.) that came out on top with 218.5 points led by eight placers, including No. 14 Ashton Habeil winning the 182-pound weight class. Three other wrestlers finished as runners-up: No. 2 Hayden Whidden (106), Connor Williams (126), and Brendon Abdon (138); Abdon upended No. 15 Caden McCrary (Woodland, Ga.) 4-3 in the semifinal before losing in the final to No.3 Frankie Tal-Shahar (American Heritage, Fla.). Second in the standings was Woodland (Ga.) with 204.5 points and also eight placers; however it was just two finalists and four third place finishers of note. No. 14 Caleb Henson (145) had a superlative Saturday with an 8-7 semifinal win over No. 12 Ethan Basile (Tampa Jesuit, Fla.) before a 5-4 finals win over No. 3 Bretli Reyna (South Dade, Fla.); No. 15 Jaxon Smith (170) lost his finals match 10-8 in overtime against Tylynn Lukens (Manatee, Fla.). Third place in the event was Tampa Jesuit (Fla.) with 203 points and seven placers, led by weight class champions No. 7 Kai Owen (106) and Tom Crook (126) plus runner-up finisehs from Braden Basile (120) and Mason Arnold (285) Three additional nationally ranked wrestlers won weight classes, including two in showdowns against a nationally ranked opponent. No. 20 Matthew Singleton (Woodward Academy, Ga.) won the 160-pound title with a 10-1 major decision over No. 18 Lucas DeSilva (Collins Hill, Ga.), No. 13 Chase Horne (West Laurens, Ga.) upended No. 14 Chad Nix (Fleming Island, Fla.) 7-1 in the 220-pound final, and No. 15 Curtis Ruff (Seminole, Fla.) won the 285-pound weight class. Ohio finals upsets In the Kenston Invitational Tournament, a pair of nationally ranked 170-pound wrestlers took to the mat. No. 16 Najee Lockett (Shaker Hts.) used a late third period takedown to beat No. 9 Jacob Lagoa (Ashtabula Lakeside) by the score of 3-1. Lockett was a state runner-up last year, Lagoa was a state champ in 2017 and 2018 but did not compete in the post-season last year. At the GMVWA Tournament held just outside of Dayton, St. Paris Graham emerged as tournament champs despite going 3-5 in the finals. However, two of those losses were by nationally ranked wrestlers. No. 16 Nick Moore lost 3-2 to Gavin Brown (Legacy Christian Academy), who was a state champ last year as a freshman; while Alek Martin -- in his first competition of the year - lost 2-1 to Peyton Lane (National Trail), who was a state runner-up last year.

Wyoming Seminary dominated at the Powerade, winning the team title by 94 points The nation's top team, Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), dominated one of the nation's best tournaments over the course of Friday and Saturday south of Pittsburgh at Canon-McMillan. The Blue Knights placed 12 wrestlers, including seven in the top three, which was more than any other team in the tournament placed in total. Led by weight class titles from a pair of national No. 1 wrestlers in Beau Bartlett (138) and Lachlan McNeil (145), they amassed 272 points; Bartlett upended No. 2 Sam Hillegas (North Hills, Pa.) 5-3 in his championship bout. Finishing second were No. 1 Nic Bouzakis (126), Cole Rees (182), and No. 10 Kolby Franklin (220); Bouzakis lost by disqualification to Kurtis Phipps (Norwin, Pa.) during the second period, after Phipps beat No. 20 Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg, Pa.) 3-0 in his semifinal. Placing third were No. 20 Brennen Cernus (113), who lost 2-1 to No. 4 Carter Dibert (Franklin Regional, Pa.) in the semifinal, and No. 9 Drew Munch (132). Munch lost by fall at the 1:01 mark of the quarterfinal to one of the tournament's biggest stories in eventual champion Gabe Willochell (Greater Latrobe, Pa.), a two-time state medalist who had four first period pins in four bouts prior to the final. This also included one at the 1:37 mark of the semifinal against No. 5 Patrick Noonan (Stroudsburg, Pa.). His finals victory came 2-0 with a reversal in the ultimate tiebreaker against No. 11 Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.), the tournament's defending champion. One of the other two unranked champions of the evening came at 120 pounds, where Kyle Hauserman (Council Rock North, Pa.) knocked off No. 10 Dominic Chavez (Arlington Martin, Texas) 2-1 in the tiebreaker. Tournament runner-up honors went to No. 8 Malvern Prep (Pa.), who had six place winners on the way to 178 points. Four Friars placed in the top four, led by champion Cole Deery (285), who beat No. 17 Isaiah Vance (Hempfield Area, Pa.) 4-2 in the championship bout. No. 9 Nicholas Feldman (195) placed second, lost 3-2 to No. 3 Luke Stout (Mount Lebanon, Pa.) in the championship match; while No. 4 Dalton Harkins (152) finished third in a grinder of a weight class that had five ranked wrestlers. Harkins lost 1-0 in the semifinal to No. 10 Brayden Roberts (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) when Roberts rode him out in the third period. Harkins beat No. 9 Cameron Robinson (Council Rock North, Pa.) 8-3 in the consolation semifinal and No. 20 Caleb Dowling (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) 1-0 in the third-place bout. Dowling's front side loss came 3-1 in the semifinal to No. 8 Ed Scott (DuBois, Pa.) on a very late in the match takedown; Scott would beat Roberts 11-6 for the title on Saturday evening. The other super-stacked weight class was at 170 pounds, where there were six ranked wrestlers. No. 5 Tyler Stoltzfus (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) won the weight class with a 4-3 semifinal win over No. 4 Trey Kibe (Mifflin County, Pa.) and then a 5-2 finals victory over No. 17 Shane Reitsma (Howell, N.J.); Reitsma advanced to the final with a 3-1 win over No. 2 Leonard Pinto (Stroudsburg, Pa.) in the quarterfinal and a pin in overtime against No. 6 Connor O'Neil (DePaul Catholic, N.J.). Pinto finished third, while O'Neil and Kibe defaulted out of the consolation semifinal onward; finishing fourth was Mac Stout (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.), who beat No. 20 Jaden Bullock (Oscar Smith, Va.) in the consolation quarterfinal after Bullock lost 3-1 to Kibe in the quarterfinal. Three other nationally ranked showdowns occured in the championship bouts. No. 6 Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.) beat No. 4 Dibert 5-2 at 113 pounds; No. 11 John Martin Best (Parkersburg, W.Va.) upended No. 13 Jack Blumer (Kiski Area, Pa.) 3-2 at 160, after Blumer beat No. 10 Gabriel Arnold (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 7-2 in the semifinal; while No. 1 Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) beat two ranked wrestlers to take gold at 220, 9-4 over No. 15 Dorian Crosby (Erie Cathedral Prep, Pa.) and 6-2 over No. 10 Kolby Franklin (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.). Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 9 Mac Church (Waynesburg, Pa.) at 106 pounds and No. 2 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan, Pa.). Third place in the tournament went to No. 42 Waynesburg (Pa.) with 146.5 points with five placers. Rounding out the top five were Canon-McMillan (Pa.) and Parkersburg South (W.Va.) with 133 and 131 points respectively.

Iowa's Austin DeSanto defeated Wisconsin's Seth Gross in a dual meet (Photo/Brian Ray, HawkeyeSports.com) When the calendar turns to December in the college wrestling world, it means that holiday tournament season is finally upon us. For fans, this means there are multiple events that showcase an exceptional field of teams as well as individual wrestlers all at the same event. For the student-athletes, holiday tournaments represent a unique challenge -- wrestlers are tasked with maintaining their weight and staying focused in a time that is filled with food, holiday cheer and family shenanigans -- no easy feat. One particular tournament that fans, coaches and athletes alike are sure to circle on their schedule as soon as it comes out is the annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. The event is revered around the college wrestling community as a top folkstyle tournament, praised for its sheer size as well as its competitiveness. Most importantly, the event serves as a benchmark or a "reality check" if you will for teams and their wrestlers. It gives everyone a way to gauge their progress and development thus far -- right before the conference dual meet season kicks off after the new year. College wrestling's 57th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships will get underway this week at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on Sunday and Monday. However, the prestigious two-day tournament will look different than it has in past years. Attendees will see members of the United States Marine Corps out in full force across the grounds of the Sears Centre. The service academy will sponsor the Midlands for the first time. This means that patrons will see promotional videos, signage throughout the arena, plus mats showcasing the emblem of the service academy. Additionally, the official event title will read, "The 57th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships presented by the United States Marine Corps." While the aesthetics of the Sears Centre may be different than in years past, what won't be different is the strength of the field from both a team and individual standpoint. The event routinely features some of the highest-ranked individual wrestlers and teams in the nation. In the past, eventual NCAA finals matchups have occurred at Midlands first, before unfolding once again at NCAAs three months later. This will probably hold true again this year. This year, 36 teams will be represented in the signature event in some capacity -- as some schools are not bringing their entire team to Hoffman Estates, but bringing select wrestlers. Of those squads, 12 appeared in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll, which ranked the top-25 teams as of Dec. 17 rankings. Additionally, four of those teams fell within the top-nine of that poll. Individually, there is expected to be anywhere from 60 and 95 currently ranked wrestlers according to the latest (Dec. 24) InterMat rankings across all 10 weight classes. The variability is attributed to the fact that certain schools have committed to bringing just certain members of the roster, but not an entire team. It is unknown until the day of the event which, if any ranked wrestlers from those "partial team" schools will compete. With respect to the number of 2019 All-American placers that will be competing in the Midlands Championships this year, the number is equally impressive -- in total, there is expected to be between 15 and 22 returning All-Americans from Pittsburgh. Again, this figure is subject to variability because the full list of participants at each weight is unknown until the opening day of the event. In terms of each individual weight classes, each has anywhere from five to 11 ranked wrestlers expected to be in attendance. The 125-pound weight class features the most currently ranked wrestlers (11), while several other weight classes all boast five currently ranked InterMat wrestlers as of Dec. 24. With these numbers in mind, here are some of the most compelling factoids and storylines to be aware of heading into day one of the 57th Midlands Championships: 125: This class appears to be the strongest on paper with 11 currently ranked (InterMat) wrestlers and three returning All-Americans at the same weight -- including Spencer Lee (Iowa) and Jack Mueller (Virginia) who battled it out in the NCAA Championships last year. Lee took home his second career NCAA title with a 5-0 decision over the Virginia Cavalier. The two might face each other again in Illinois for a title rematch of sorts. Patrick Glory (Princeton), the third returning All-American (sixth at NCAAs in 2019) will look to earn payback for a Midlands 56 loss to Lee in 2018. 133: The biggest potential storyline here could be a rematch between Austin DeSanto (Iowa) and Seth Gross (Wisconsin). De Santo earned a 6-2 decision earlier this month. DeSanto's victory in Iowa City over the former NCAA champ propelled him to InterMat's top spot at 133 pounds. Northwestern's Sebastian Rivera, who has moved up a class to 133 pounds, looks to compete with and beat his Big Ten foes as well. Rivera's 2018 Midlands effort punctuated with an impressive 7-3 victory over Iowa's now two-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee in the finals earned the Wildcat lightweight the Ken Kraft Champion of Champions honor as well as the Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler after his individual title. This year, Rivera will look to defend his Midland crown, just at a new weight: 133 pounds. 141: With Yianni Diakomihalis out to an Olympic redshirt and Joey McKenna lost to graduation and international aspiration, the weight class is as open as it has ever been in recent years. Similarly, with highly ranked Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), Nick Lee (Penn State) and Mitch McKee (Minnesota) not attending Midlands, the weight is up for grabs. Josh Heil (Campbell). Max Murin (Iowa) and others will all look to strike while the iron is hot and seize a Midlands crown. 149: While North Carolina's Austin O'Conner, a returning All-American, sits atop the InterMat rankings, freshman Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) looks to turn some heads, possibly avenging an earlier season fall to Virginia Tech's Brent Moore in the process. Also, if Northwestern's Yahya Thomas should get a rematch with Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen, it's sure to be a dog fight. The duo wrestled in Evanston earlier this year where Thomsen narrowly beat Thomas 4-3 in a match that came down to the wire. Iowa's returning All-American Pat Lugo looks to remain hot and possibly move up in the rankings if he can dethrone O'Connor to secure the title. 157: Ryan Deakin, a consensus No. 1 at the weight class, looks to stay where he is and defend home turf as he grapples in front of a home crowd. He will look to defend his 2018 Midlands title, which came at the same weight. Iowa's returning All-American Kaleb Young -- who InterMat had ranked as high as No. 2 earlier this year -- and Princeton's Quincy Monday could be candidates to topple the reigning Midlands champ. Kendall Coleman of Purdue, who currently sits within InterMat's top 10, will look to make a statement during his freshman campaign. 165: The Alex Marinelli (Iowa) and Evan Wick (Wisconsin) battle is likely to resurface at some point during Midlands 57. Their most recent match came in a dual earlier this year in Iowa City where Marinelli bested Wick 4-2. This was Marinelli's fourth straight win over Wick. However, Wick has beaten the Hawkeye in the past. It is possible that another chapter will be written in the reoccurring rivalry. 174: Iowa's Michael Kemerer looks to continue his hot start to his return to the mat, proving that he can be just as dominant at his new, heavier weight. The Hawkeye missed all of 2018-19 due to injury but has twice been an All-American at 157 pounds. While Kemerer appears to be the front-runner to take home the Midlands title, multiple Big Ten foe and others will look to knock off the Murrysville, Pa. native. 184: Along with 141 pounds, this class does not bring any returning 2019 All-Americans to the field. However, the class does contain seven of InterMat's 20 currently ranked wrestlers from at least four different conferences -- including No. 4 Taylor Lujan of UNI and collegiate grappling newcomer Nelson Brands -- son of Iowa associate coach Terry Brands. The former Brands sits at No. 14. 197: This weight class includes five ranked wrestlers, as such the weight is very much a tossup to predict a top placer, but Iowa's Jacob Warner or Princeton's Patrick Brucki are two returning All-Americans capable of bringing home hardware. The two squared off in a battle at Princeton earlier this year where Warner won 5-4. 285: Again, it would not be surprising to see two top Big Ten foes match up at some point for a second time this season. Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) and Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) have battled once before when Iowa defeated Wisconsin 32-3 in earlier December. Cassioppi, a talented freshman, brought home a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the All-American Badger. Matt Stencel (Central Michigan), Jere Heino (Campbell) and Carter Isley (UNI) are all within the InterMat rankings and looking to upset their way to the Midlands record books. As for the team race, the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes are looking to defend their 2018 first-place finish by winning their 29th all-time Midlands title.

Happy holidays and season's greetings to everyone. We've made it to the last week of 2019. For those teams in state associations that do not have a mandatory shutdown, or are otherwise choosing to take the week off, there are significant competitions abound in this between Christmas and New Year's Day week. Below is the list of competitions for Fab 50 teams from Dec. 25-31. No. 1 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) Competes in the Powerade Wrestling Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Canon-McMillan (Pa.) No. 3 Buchanan (Calif.) Competes in the Garlic City Duals on Tuesday 12/31 at Gilroy (Calif.) No. 4 Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) Competes in the Brecksville (Ohio) Holiday Tournament on Sunday and Monday No. 7 Montini Catholic (Ill.) Competes in the Garlic City Duals on Tuesday 12/31 at Gilroy (Calif.) No. 8 Malvern Prep (Pa.) Competes in the Powerade Wrestling Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Canon-McMillan (Pa.) No. 9 Brecksville (Ohio) Hosts the Brecksville Holiday Tournament on Sunday and Monday No. 11 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) Competes in the Garlic City Duals on Tuesday 12/31 at Gilroy (Calif.) No. 12 Poway (Calif.) Competes in the Aztec Duals on Friday and Saturday at Anaheim (Calif.) No. 14 Davison (Mich.) Competes in the Brecksville (Ohio) Holiday Tournament on Sunday and Monday No. 15 Delbarton (N.J.) Competes in the Garlic City Duals on Tuesday 12/31 at Gilroy (Calif.) No. 17 Elyria (Ohio) Competes in the Brecksville (Ohio) Holiday Tournament on Sunday and Monday No. 19 Gilroy (Calif.) Hosts the Garlic City Duals on Tuesday 12/31 No. 21 Simley (Minn.) Competes in the Eau Claire (Wis.) Duals on Saturday No. 22 Stillwater (Minn.) Competes in the Bi-State Classic on Friday and Saturday at Wisconsin-La Crosse No. 23 Shakopee (Minn.) Competes in the Northern Exposure Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Merrill (Wis.) No. 25 Southern Columbia (Pa.) Competes in the MyHouse Trojan Wars on Friday and Saturday at Chambersburg (Pa.) No. 26 Crescent Valley (Ore.) Competes in the Benton County Championships on Saturday at Corvallis (Ore.) No. 30 Selma (Calif.) Competes in the Dennis DeLiddo Classic on Saturday at Lemoore (Calif.) No. 31 Notre Dame-Green Pond (Pa.) Competes in the MyHouse Trojan Wars on Friday and Saturday at Chambersburg (Pa.) No. 33 Mount St. Joseph (Md.) Hosts Mount Mat Madness on Friday and Saturday No. 34 St. Joseph Montvale (N.J.) Competes in the Bergen County Coaches Association Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Hackensack (N.J.) No. 35 Nazareth (Pa.) Competes in the Bethlehem (Pa.) Liberty Holiday Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 37 Clovis (Calif.) Competes in the Garlic City Duals on Tuesday 12/31 at Gilroy (Calif.) No. 38 Brownsburg (Ind.) Competes in the Flavin Duals on Friday and Saturday at DeKalb (Ill.) No. 39 Lowell (Mich.) Competes in the Brecksville (Ohio) Holiday Tournament on Sunday and Monday No. 42 Waynesburg (Pa.) Competes in the Powerade Wrestling Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Canon-McMillan (Pa.) No. 47 Crown Point (Ind.) Competes in the Al Smith Holiday Classic on Friday and Saturday at Mishawaka (Ind.) No. 49 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) Hosts the Tony Iasello Memorial Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 50 Christian Brothers College (Mo.) Competes in the Red Schmitt Holiday Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Granite City (Ill.) Off this week: No. 2 Blair Academy (N.J.), No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio), No. 6 Bergen Catholic (N.J.), No. 13 Allen (Texas), No. 16 Brighton (Mich.), No. 18 St. John Bosco (Calif.), No. 20 Southeast Polk (Iowa), No. 24 Chicago (Ill.) Mt. Carmel, No. 27 Broken Arrow (Okla.), No. 28 Liberty (Mo.), No. 29 Cincinnati (Ohio) LaSalle, No. 32 Millard South (Neb.), No. 36 Clovis North (Calif.), No. 40 Lisbon (Iowa), No. 41 Baylor School (Tenn.), No. 43 Mustang (Okla.), No. 44 Fort Dodge (Iowa), No. 45 Pomona (Colo.), No. 46 McDonogh (Md.), No. 48 Windsor (Colo.)

Gable Steveson defeated Jordan Wood in the third-place match at the 2019 NCAAs (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) While the Midlands and the Southern Scuffle continue to be the highlight of winter break for college wrestling fans, the South Beach Duals have been presenting some top matches over the last few seasons. This year, the field is expected to feature multiple ranked teams and could provide some intriguing individual matches. The following is a weight-by-weight preview of the top bouts from the event. 125: No. 6 Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) vs. Patrick McKee (Minnesota) When: Sunday, Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. ET After qualifying for the NCAA tournament last season and finishing with a 15-13 record, Paetzell has taken a step forward and worked his way into the top 10 of the rankings. He has started his junior season with a 5-2 record, which includes wins over Alex Thomsen (Nebraska) and No. 11 Killian Cardinale (Old Dominion). Paetzell's last defeat was a sudden victory loss against No. 3 Patrick Glory (Princeton). McKee has fallen out of the rankings during his first year in the starting lineup for the Golden Gophers. He is 10-4 on the season and only one of those losses came against an unranked wrestler. In late November, McKee pushed No. 4 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) but ended up dropping a one-point match. In his last action, he scored a 6-4 victory over three-time Fargo champion Danny Vega (South Dakota State). This should be an interesting indicator match heading into the second semester of competition. Paetzell has worked his way up the rankings, while McKee has fallen out. However, the schedule gets tougher for both starting here. McKee has looked solid when he is able to score. His struggles have come against wrestlers with staunch defense. Paetzell is normally solid defensively, but if McKee turns up his pace he should be able to score this upset and find himself back in the top 20. Prediction: McKee (Minnesota) decision over Paetzell (Lehigh) 133: No. 6 Chaz Tucker (Cornell) vs. No. 7 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming) When: Sunday, Dec. 29 at 11 a.m. ET This will be a rematch of the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In the match, Bridges was clearly the more aggressive wrestler through the first two periods, but he only held a 1-0 lead heading into the third. Tucker tied it up with a quick escape to start the final period. He then scored on his first shot of the match with a deep single leg. Tucker then proceeded to ride out the match for the 4-1 victory. That was Tucker's most impressive victory on the season. He got a bit of a late start after representing the U.S. at the U23 World Championships, but he has now built a 12-0 record on the season. Tucker also owns a ranked win over No. 14 Todd Small (Iowa State). Outside of his loss against Tucker, Bridges' only other defeat came against current redshirt Theorius Robinson (Northern Colorado). He finished second at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and recently won the Reno Tournament of Champions. Bridges holds current season victories over No. 13 Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado), No. 12 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) and No. 11 Noah Gonser (Campbell). Tucker's lack of height really plays into his defensive style. He is very hard to score on since he stays very low in his stance. This gives a lot of wrestlers trouble, and it hurts Bridges especially considering his offense consists of a lot of ducks and slides. This will likely be another close match, but Tucker will be able to take it with his conservative style. Prediction: Tucker (Cornell) decision over Bridges (Wyoming) 141: No. 10 Grant Leeth (Missouri) vs. No. 15 Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion) When: Monday, Dec. 30 at 11 a.m. ET Leeth has missed multiple seasons with injury. He is currently in his sixth season of collegiate wrestling at his third school, and he is still widely considered to be a junior. With that being said, he has only wrestled in three matches this season. He is 2-1 on the season with his only defeat coming against No. 9 Tristan Moran (Wisconsin). If he is healthy, he has the ability to be a player at this weight. In his last complete season in 2018, Leeth finished sixth to become an All-American. Perry transferred to Old Dominion for last season after being left without a program at Eastern Michigan. He qualified for the NCAA tournament for the second time last season, but he failed to duplicate his All-American finish. So far this year, he has gone 7-2 with bonus point victories in three of those matches. This should be an interesting test for Leeth. As previously stated, if he is healthy, he can go on a run at this weight. Perry has been a consistent scorer in most of his matches so far this season. At this point, it is hard to bet on Leeth being able to defend against Perry for the full seven minutes. This might be a late takedown match, but Perry's persistence should carry him to a victory. Prediction: Perry (Old Dominion) decision over Leeth (Missouri) 149: No. 2 Brock Mauller (Missouri) vs. Jimmy Hoffman (Lehigh) When: Monday Dec. 30 at 1 p.m. ET After finishing sixth to become an All-American as a true freshman, Mauller has quickly worked his way up the rankings this year. He has already built an 11-0 record, but he has not faced the highest level of competition. Mauller is not currently scheduled to face a ranked wrestler at the South Beach Duals, but he should get a tough test when the Tigers face off against Lehigh. Hoffman is not currently ranked, but he has gone 12-4 on the year. All of his losses have come against quality competition. So far this year Hoffman has knocked off Josh Maruca (Arizona State) and scored a sudden victory win over Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State). Clearly Mauller enters this match as the favorite, but he should not look past Hoffman. He has tested No. 14 Mike D'Angelo (Princeton) and No. 12 Collin Purinton (Nebraska) this year. The Lehigh wrestler dropped both of those matches, but each one was decided by only one point. Prediction: Mauller (Missouri) decision over Hoffman (Lehigh) 157: No. 7 Larry Early (Old Dominion) vs. No. 14 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) When: Sunday, Dec. 29 at 11 a.m. ET This has been an interesting start to the season for Early. After finishing as an All-American last year, he has wrestled only five matches on the year. In his last action he dropped a match against then-unranked Justin Ruffin (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) in rideouts. Early is holding onto his ranking due to his work in previous seasons, but he will need to get right in a hurry. Jacques opened his season with a sudden victory defeated against BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech). However, he has since turned things around. He won his next 13 matches and finished first at three open tournaments. Last year Jacques scored an upset over Early at the MAC Championship. Early was favored to win the bracket, but the Missouri wrestler knocked him off via a 3-1 score. This match might end up going the same way. Due to his lack of activity, it is hard to see how Early is in his peak form. Jacques has been active and running up the score. Prediction: Jacques (Missouri) decision over Early (Old Dominion) 174: No. 3 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) vs. No. 8 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) When: Sunday, Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. ET The top three at 174 pounds seems to be pretty much cemented at this point with Kutler firmly planted in the third spot. He gave No. 1 Mark Hall (Penn State) a bit of a scare with a near pin, but Hall took the match via a 7-2 score. Outside of that match, Kutler has won all seven of his matches and picked up bonus in five. After two seasons as an NCAA qualifier for Indiana, Skatzka transferred to Minnesota prior to last season. In his first year in the Twin Cities, he finished eighth to become an All-American. Skatzka has taken some head-scratching losses this year, but he has also bested the likes of No. 9 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State), No. 18 Brandon Womack (Cornell) and No. 12 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State). Kutler holds two career decision victories over Skatzka. This bout will likely turn out the same way. However, Skatzka has been known to pick up an upset or two along the way. If Kutler dominates this bout and puts up bonus, it might signal that he is ready to work his way into the conversation for a national title. Prediction: Kutler (Lehigh) decision over Skatzka (Minnesota) 184: No. 7 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) vs. No. 17 Owen Webster (Minnesota) When: Monday, Dec. 30 at 11 a.m. ET Darmstadt surprised a lot of people during his freshman season and ended up finishing sixth at the NCAA tournament. He then missed the entire 2019 season due to injury. While a large portion of the Cornell squad is out on redshirt this season, Darmstadt has gotten back in the lineup. He has gone 13-4 with victories over Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) and No. 11 Sam Colbray (Iowa State). Webster was expected to start for Minnesota over the last two seasons, but he was never really able to hold down the spot. He finally appears ready for primetime this season. He has gone 11-4, and he picked up some very impressive victories this year. These two met at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and Webster scored a one-minute fall over Darmstadt. The Cornell wrestler shot in and ended up in a cradle. Webster took full advantage and turned it for the fall. This result might not be replicable, but the Minnesota wrestler will get a chance to prove it. Prediction: Darmstadt (Cornell) decision over Webster (Minnesota) 285: No. 2 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. No. 11 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) When: Sunday, Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. ET Steveson is back in action after a resolution to his legal issues, and it is only fitting that he return to action against his longtime rival Wood. These two have wrestled in college, at high school all-star events and in freestyle. Steveson has always had the upper hand, but the matches have almost always been exciting. Wood has taken a pair of unexpected losses on the year against No. 7 Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley) and No. 10 Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh), but he should be able to turn it on for this one. Prediction: Steveson (Minnesota) decision over Wood (Lehigh)

Anthony Dunbar, former North Carolina State University wrestler who had wrestled at Cary (N.C.) High School then returned to his prep alma mater as coach, passed away in his sleep Monday night in his home. He was 40 years old. "We just learned of the passing of our head wrestling coach Anthony Dunbar who died in his sleep last night. Please keep Coach Dunbar's family in your thoughts and prayers this Christmas," the school - located just outside Raleigh, the state capital -- tweeted from its athletic department Twitter account. Cary High School's principal weighed in with his own message on Twitter: Dunbar had a long-time connection with the Cary High wrestling program that endured to the days just before Christmas. He had wrestled at Cary in the late 1990s, as a member of the school's state championship teams in 1996, 1997, and 1998. Dunbar was named the Co-Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 1998 dual team championship, according to HighSchoolOT.com. Anthony DunbarAfter graduating from Cary High in 1998, Dunbar continued his academic and athletic career at N.C. State. Dunbar returned to Cary in 2006 to join the wrestling coaching staff. He helped lead the Cary Imps to seven state mat titles. In 2017, Dunbar became Cary High's fourth head wrestling coach in 2017. In his first two seasons, the Imps won the Tri-6 Conference title; the 2018 team went on to win the Mideast regional championship and the school's 21st wrestling state title. In 2018, Dunbar was named the league's coach of the year in 2018. This past season, Dunbar was named the 4A wrestling coach of the year for all of North Carolina. UPDATE Saturday Dec 28, 2019 A memorial service to honor Anthony Braxton Dunbar will be held Thursday, January 2, 2020 at 2 p.m. at Hope Community Church- Raleigh, 821 Buck Jones Road, Raleigh, NC 27606. In lieu of flowers, the family has suggested contributions to The Cary Imp Club – Wrestling at: Mike Dunphy, 638 Walnut Street Cary, NC 27511 Checks to: Cary Imp Club-Wrestling.

Wyoming Seminary's Nic Bouzakis rides Dylan Ragusin of Montini Catholic at the Ironman (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Fifty-four schools from seven states will convene just south of Pittsburgh for the 2019 Powerade Wrestling Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School on Friday and Saturday. Annually one of the nation's best regular season tournaments, this year's field features three Fab 50 teams along with 36 nationally ranked wrestlers. This includes at least one ranked wrestler in every weight class, along with three or more ranked wrestlers in eight of the fourteen. From a team perspective, the field is anchored by national No. 1 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), which was champions of the Walsh Jesuit Ironman held at the beginning of this month. The Blue Knights have eight nationally ranked wrestlers, including three holding number one positions at the present time. The other teams in the Fab50 are No. 8 Malvern Prep (Pa.) and No. 42 Waynesburg (Pa.). The tournament released its list of entrants and preliminary seeds, with the eight wrestlers in each weight class earning a seed by tournament management. Below are the nationally ranked wrestlers, along with their seed position listed in parentheses. 106: (No. 1 seed) No. 9 Mac Church (Waynesburg, Pa.) 113: (No. 2 seed) No. 4 Carter Dibert (Franklin Regional, Pa.), (No. 1 seed) No. 6 Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.), (No. 3 seed) Brennen Cernus (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 120: (not seeded) No. 10 Dominic Chavez (Arlington Martin, Texas) 126: (No. 1 seed) No. 1 Nic Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), (not seeded) No. 20 Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg, Pa.) 132: (No. 2 seed) No. 5 Patrick Noonan (Stroudsburg, Pa.), (No. 3 seed) No. 9 Drew Munch (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), (No. 1 seed) No. 11 Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.) 138: (No. 2 seed) No. 1 Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), (No. 1 seed) No. 2 Sam Hillegas (North Hills, Pa.), (No. 4 seed) No. 10 Wyatt Henson (Waynesburg, Pa.) 145: (No. 1 seed) No. 1 Lachlan McNeil (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 152: (No. 2 seed) No. 4 Dalton Harkins (Malvern Prep, Pa.), (No. 1 seed) No. 8 Ed Scott (DuBois, Pa.), (No. 4 seed) No. 9 Cameron Robinson (Council Rock North, Pa.), (No. 3 seed) No. 10 Brayden Roberts (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), (No. 5 seed) No. 20 Caleb Dowling (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) 160: (Unseeded) No. 10 Gabe Arnold (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), (No. 2 seed) No. 11 John Martin Best (Parkersburg, W.Va.), (No. 1 seed) No. 13 Jack Blumer (Kiski Area, Pa.) 170: (No. 5 seed) No. 2 Leonard Pinto (Stroudsburg, Pa.), (No. 3 seed) No. 4 Trey Kibe (Mifflin County, Pa.), (No. 2 seed) No. 5 Tyler Stoltzfus (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.), (No. 1 seed) No. 6 Connor O'Neill (DePaul Catholic, N.J.), (No. 4 seed) No. 17 Shane Reitsma (Howell, N.J.), (No. 6 seed) No. 20 Jaden Bullock (Oscar Smith, Va.) 182: (No. 1 seed) No. 2 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) 195: (No. 1 seed) No. 3 Luke Stout (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.), (No. 2 seed) No. 9 Nicholas Feldman (Malvern Prep, Pa.), (No. 3 seed) No. 19 Austin Walley (Ellwood City, Pa.) 220: (No. 1 seed) No. 1 Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), (No. 2 seed) No. 10 Kolby Franklin (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), (No. 4 seed) No. 15 Dorian Crosby (Erie Cathedral Prep, Pa.) 285: (No. 1 seed) No. 17 Isaiah Vance (Hempfield Area, Pa.)

Exactly one year after video of a New Jersey high school wrestler's impromptu matside haircut garnered millions of views worldwide, the state's governor, Phil Murphy, signed a bill Thursday banning discrimination in the workplace or schools based on hairstyle or texture. The original incident which gained worldwide attention well beyond the amateur wrestling community in New Jersey involved Andrew Johnson, an African-American wrestler at Buena Regional High in Atlantic County, who had decided to have his dreadlocks cut to avoid forfeiting his match at a dual meet after a referee said Johnson could not wrestle without covering his hair. In the words of the Philadelphia Inquirer, "A video of the hair-cutting went viral and prompted charges of racism and cultural insensitivity." "Race-based discrimination will not be tolerated in the State of New Jersey," Gov. Murphy said in a statement. "No one should be made to feel uncomfortable or be discriminated against because of their natural hair." With the bill's signing, New Jersey became the third state to enact such protection in 2019, joining California and New York. Thirteen other states are considering similar bills, according to advocates for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Network (CROWN), a coalition of civil rights groups. In addition, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) announced plans to introduce a federal bill that prohibits discrimination against styles such as braids, twists, or dreadlocks. What's more, rule changes governing hair have been implemented on the collegiate and high school levels. As InterMat reported this summer, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved removing all language in the wrestling rules book regarding the length of a college wrestler's hair. "Wrestlers' hair still will be required to be free of oils and/or greasy substances," according to the official NCAA announcement issued on June 26. "Hair coverings still will be allowed and considered special equipment. The rule that prohibited a wrestler's hair from extending below the level of an ordinary shirt collar and the hair on the side of the head from extending below the earlobes has been eliminated." These NCAA rule changes regarding hair are effective for the current school year. In addition, the National Federation of High Schools has amended its the hair-length rule. Rule 4-2-1 now states that hair shall not extend below the top of an ordinary shirt collar in the back; and on the sides, the hair shall not extend below earlobe level; in the front, the hair shall not extend below the eyebrows. The term "natural state" was eliminated from the rule. As for two of the individuals involved in the matside haircut in December 2018 ... Andrew Johnson, now a senior at Buena Regional, wrestled his first match of the season on the first anniversary of the incident. And, in September, the referee, Alan Maloney, was suspended from officiating high school wrestling matches for two entire wrestling seasons.

Nick Buonocore, the founder of the Reformed Sports Parent, joins The MatBoss Podcast with Chad Dennis to talk about what's going on with youth sports. Buonocore has six kids and they participate in a variety of sports, including wrestling. Buonocore was a member of North Carolina Wesleyan's NCAA Division III baseball national championship team in 1999. Buonocore talks about how wrestling helped him be a better parent and how he's been able to form an organization aimed at making youth sports about youth sports, not about all the negative stuff that has come with being a youth sports parent. Find out more about the Reformed Sports Parent at reformedsportsparent.com About MatBoss: Created by coaches for coaches, MatBoss for iPad® integrates wrestling stats directly into the video you record for each match, completely replacing the need for labor-intensive pencil and paper scoring systems. It's the wrestling stats app our sport has been waiting for. Focus on coaching, not busy work Improve through video analysis Make data an advantage Eliminate scoring errors Increase exposure Become a digital coach For more information, visit MatBossApp.com. Follow MatBoss on Twitter and subscribe to the show @MatBossApp | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | Google Podcasts | RSS

Spencer Lee claimed the title at 57 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The battles for spots on the 2020 United States Olympic Team are going to be fierce. This past weekend's Senior Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas, were certainly proof of that. Many of the nation's best veteran and young wrestlers took the mat as they continue pursuit of landing a spot in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The top five finishers at the Senior Nationals in each weight class earned berths into April's U.S. Olympic Trials at Penn State University. Wrestlers competed at the three-day Senior Nationals in the 18 Olympic weight classes -- six in men's freestyle, six in women's freestyle and six in Greco-Roman. Here are my top takeaways from the Senior Nationals: Spen-cerrrr Leeeeeeee! The much-anticipated return of Spencer Lee to freestyle wrestling more than lived up to the hype. Lee, a three-time age-group world champion, destroyed the field en route to earning the Senior Nationals crown at 57 kilograms. Lee cruised through a loaded bracket with his closest match being a decisive 8-2 victory over past NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello in the finals. Lee looked outstanding -- wrestling strong in all positions while also being physical with superb technique and finishes. He was competing in freestyle for the first time in more than three years. Lee now turns his focus back to winning his third NCAA title for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Lee will definitely be in the mix in what will be a stacked bracket at April's Olympic Trials. Logan Massa his a four-point move on Mekhi Lewis in the finals at 74 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Logan's run How many people were picking Logan Massa to win the men's freestyle title at 74 kilograms? Probably nobody outside Ann Arbor, Michigan. But Massa, who hasn't exactly been outstanding at the collegiate level, is a much better freestyle wrestler. Massa proved that when he rallied to beat 2019 NCAA champion and Junior world champion Mekhi Lewis in the Senior Nationals finals. Massa scored on a beautiful four-point body lock to down Lewis in the finals in Texas. Lampe's Olympic quest Two-time world medalist Alyssa Lampe stepped away from competition after falling short of making the 2016 Olympic Team in women's freestyle wrestling. After three years away, including spending time working at a Colorado Springs YMCA, Lampe decided to return to the mat this year. She made a triumphant return, rallying to earn a fall over past world team member Victoria Anthony to win the Senior Nationals. Lampe has never made an Olympic Team, but she will be among the top contenders to make the U.S. squad at 50 kilograms this season. Bey is back Kamal Bey is one of the most dynamic and explosive wrestlers in the world. He is a human highlight reel with his array of spectacular throws and lifts. He has won a Junior world title in Greco-Roman and made a Senior world team. Bey is looking to bounce back after failing to make the world team this past season. He was dominant in winning the Senior Nationals at 77 kilograms. Expect him to make a strong run at winning the Olympic Trials. He's a guy who certainly has the capability to reach the medal podium at the Olympic Games. Forrest powers to title Forrest Molinari didn't waste much time in earning a quick fall in her women's freestyle match in the finals. Molinari has made a Senior world team and has moved up to the Olympic weight of 68 kilograms that includes reigning world champion Tamyra Mensah of the U.S. Molinari is an aggressive, hard-charging wrestler that has an entertaining style. She put on a show in Texas. Schultz stepping up Young Greco-Roman phenom Cohlton Schultz continues to impress. The Cadet world champion and Junior world silver medalist is still a teenager, but the 19-year-old is already knocking at the door to make his first Senior-level team. He will have to knock off 2018 World silver medalist Adam Coon in order to make the 2020 Olympic Team. Schultz hasn't backed down from setting lofty goals and he could be the Greco heavyweight that Team USA sends to Tokyo next year. Zahid is a stud It wasn't a huge surprise to see young phenom Zahid Valencia power to the men's freestyle crown at 86 kilograms. He gave up the first takedown before coming back to earn a hard-fought 7-5 win over a strong opponent in Myles Martin. Valencia is a two-time NCAA champion who is a past Junior world silver medalist in freestyle. Valencia has bumped up in weight in college and internationally, but he looks like a good fit for his new weight classes. Valencia is a guy who seems like he continues to improve and progress. He definitely has a bright future ahead on the Senior level. Is this Oliver's time? It's difficult to believe that a wrestler as gifted as Jordan Oliver has never made a World or Olympic Team. But the two-time NCAA champion and Junior world medalist may be primed for a run at the 2020 Olympic Team. Oliver looked impressive in rolling past Junior world medalist Joey McKenna 10-0 in the 65-kilogram finals for the Senior Nationals. Oliver has beaten some of the best international guys in the world, but never at the right time. This may be his time to finally shine in men's freestyle. No more kissing your sister There is an old adage in sports that says a tie is like kissing your sister. That is why nearly every sport doesn't have ties -- nobody likes them. That's why most sports break ties with overtime where someone actually wins by outscoring their opponent. Wrestling is still allowing matches to end with the score tied, but then one wrestler wins on criteria. It's confusing, especially to fans who may be watching wrestling for the first time. International wrestling is confusing enough as it is. If the match is tied after regulation, wrestle an overtime and make someone actually win the match by scoring more points. Having someone score a dramatic takedown in OT is more exciting than seeing which score is underlined on the scoreboard of a tie match. If only it was that simple. Daniel Miller after beating Lucas Sheridan in the Greco-Roman finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Great wrestling, not-so-great crowds It's been an issue for many years at Senior-level wrestling events in the U.S. Very few fans show up for events where the caliber of wrestling is extremely high. These elite American athletes deserve better, but what is the solution? There was virtually nobody left in the stands when the Greco-Roman finals and half of the women's finals were held Saturday night in Fort Worth. I understand trying to grow the sport in places like Texas where wrestling isn't as popular, but put these events in places where people are going to actually show up and watch. You don't see the NCAA putting their big events in arenas filled with empty seats. These top wrestlers deserve to compete in places with more fans in the stands. 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.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Six Mountaineers posted perfect records as the West Virginia University wrestling team went 3-0 at the Mountaineer Quad on Sunday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. WVU topped VMI, 34-8, before earning its first sweep since Jan. 3, 2015, in a 38-0 win over Hofstra. The Mountaineers capped the day with a 22-9 win over Edinboro. West Virginia moved to 3-5 (0-1 Big 12) as a result. The Mountaineers are now 18-5 all-time against VMI, 1-2 against Hofstra and 12-22-2 against Edinboro. No. 11/14/9 Noah Adams, Seth Hogue, Alex Hornfeck, No. -/24/- Nick Kiussis, Jackson Moomau and Joey Thomas went 3-0 on the day. Hogue and Thomas earned a pin each as the Mountaineers tallied 16 total decision victories, three major decisions and a pair of technical falls. "Today was a great day for us," second-year head coach Tim Flynn said. "We're happy that we were able to get three wins, especially in front of our home crowd. It's been a while since we have put all of the pieces together to get a win, so we needed a performance like this today." West Virginia opened the event against VMI and quickly took a commanding 12-0 lead after Thomas (125) earned a fall at the 1:30 mark and Lucas Seibert (133) and Caleb Rea (141) earned decisions. Hogue (149) and Hornfeck (157) kept the momentum in WVU's favor, earning a major decision each to extend the lead to 18-0. Kiussis earned his first career technical fall at 165 to give WVU a 22-point edge, before the Keydets earned a technical fall at 174 to cut the lead to 22-5. Moomau got the Mountaineers back in front as he earned a takedown in the first overtime at 184. Adams then earned his team-leading fourth pin of the season at 197, before VMI earned a hard-fought, 2-1 decision at 285 as West Virginia registered its first win of the season. For the fourth consecutive match, Thomas started WVU off with a lead, scoring a 5-1 decision at 125 pounds. Seibert added to the lead with a decision of his own before Rea padded the WVU lead with technical fall over Hofstra's Charlie Kane, putting the score at 19-0. Seth Hogue earned his third pin of the season at the 4:24 mark, while Hornfeck (157) and Kiussis (165) added to the lead with decisions. Following a forfeit by the Pride at 174, Jackson Moomau, Noah Adams (197) and Brandon Ngati (285) recorded a decision to give WVU a 38-0 victory. The sweep marked the first time WVU has shutout an opponent since Jan. 3, 2015, when it bested Grand Canyon, 42-0, in Phoenix, Arizona. It is the first home shutout since the 2014-15 campaign, when WVU topped Davidson, 45-0. Looking to make it three in a row over Edinboro, Thomas once again gave West Virginia the lead with a 9-1 major decision over Dylan Rider at 125. Back-to-back wins by the Fighting Scots at 133 and 141 gave Edinboro a 6-4 lead through three matches. Hogue regained the Mountaineer lead for good with a 7-5 decision at 149, before Hornfeck and Kiussis earned a decision to give WVU a 13-6 edge. Edinboro earned its final win for the bout in a high-scoring affair at 174 to cut into the lead, before Moomau earned his third straight win at 184 with a hard-fought 3-2 decision of Cody Mulligan. Adams stretched his winning streak to 16 matches after cruising to a 6-1 win over Dylan Reynolds at 197, before Ngati earned a 2-1 decision thanks to a riding time point to give West Virginia a 22-9 win over the Fighting Scots. The 2019 edition of the Mountaineer Quad marked the third time WVU has hosted a quad-meet. WVU is now 6-2 in the event after going 3-0 in 2015 and 0-2 in 2016. Up next, West Virginia starts the new year with its final open tournament of the season at the 16th Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Jan. 1-2. The tournament, which features what is considered the best collection of competition of any in-season open, will take place at McKenzie Arena.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo wrestling team earned its first Mid-American Conference dual win of the season in dominant fashion, beating George Mason, 26-10, at Alumni Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Bulls won five of the final six matches, including three matches with bonus points, to pull away for the victory. Jordan Reyes kicked things off by winning his first career dual in the 125 bout. Trailing, 4-3, entering the third period, the true freshman got an escape and a takedown to help pull away for the 7-4 decision. Derek Spann won his eighth straight dual, defeating Josh Jones, 7-2, at 133. After a 2-2 first period, Spann got a reversal in the second and a takedown in the third for the victory. After George Mason won the next two matches to tie the dual, 6-6, Michael Petite got the Bulls back on track with a 5-1 decision over Justin Yorkdale at 157. A first-period takedown followed by a second-period reversal set the tone for the match. Troy Keller won a 2-1 decision at 165 to extend the UB lead to 12-6. It was the senior's eighth straight dual win. After dropping the 174 bout, the Bulls won the remaining three matches in style. Pete Acciardi won by technical fall, 24-9, over Ali Salem at 184. The redshirt-freshman had 11 takedowns in the match for his first career tech fall. Sam Schuyler followed with a first-period pin of Ram Montalvo in the 197 match. Schuyler needed only 1:11 to pin Montalvo and earn his fourth dual win of the season. Nolan Terrance finished off the victory with an 8-3 decision over Jake Slinger at 285. After starting the second period on the bottom, Terrance got a reversal and a two-point nearfall to take control of the match. "Jordan Reyes got his first win in a UB singlet which was important and Nolan Terrance got his first win of the year which was important," head coach John Stutzman said. "We're 3-6, but I like where we're at and I'm happy with these guys." The Bulls will be back in action on January 5 at Edinboro. Results: 125 – Jordan Reyes (UB) won by decision over Talha Farroq (GMU), 7-4 133 - #15 Derek Spann (UB) won by decision over Josh Jones (GMU), 7-2 141 – Alex Madrigal (GMU) won by decision over Marcus Robinson (UB), 9-2 149 – Colston DiBlasi (GMU) won by decision over John Arceri (UB), 2-0 157 – Michael Petite (UB) won by decision over Justin Yorkdale (GMU), 5-1 165 – Troy Keller (UB) won by decision over Cornelius Schuster (GMU), 3-1 174 – Tony Lombardo (GMU) won by major decision over Jake Lanning (UB), 13-2 184 – Pete Acciardi (UB) won by technical fall over Ali Salem (GMU), 24-9 197 – Sam Schuyler (UB) won by fall over Ram Montalvo (GMU), 1:11 285 – Nolan Terrance (UB) won by decision over Jake Singer (GMU), 8-3