InterMat Staff

DEKALB, Ill. -- The Northern Illinois University wrestling team was dominant as it scored its first dual victory of the season, defeating Bucknell, 24-10, in Victor E. Court Friday. "They came out to fight and it was gritty tough wrestling," NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig said. "Like I said before, they're a tough team, but I was proud of our guys for battling through situations and finding a way to win in those tight close matches. "I think we could've separated ourselves a little bit more in those matches had we done a better job on top and bottom. If we ride a little better we score or we can take time away from our opponent and further the gap between us and them." The Huskies won seven of the 10 bouts, four by two points or less, and scored a fall victory. NIU raced out to a 6-0 lead when Bryce West and Drew West each scored victories in their respective bouts. Bryce West kicked things off with a 6-1 victory over Brandon Seidman at 125. After falling behind 2-0 after the first period at 133, Drew West erupted in the second period with six points to take a 6-3 advantage over Darren Miller en route to a 7-5 victory. The Bison got on the board a 12-10 victory at 141, but the Huskies responded in the next two bouts. McCoy Kent scored a 9-7 win at 149, while Mason Kauffman battled to an 8-6 decision at 157. Following a 15-7 win for Bucknell at 165, Kenny Moore posted a 4-2 victory in overtime over Frankie Guida. Sophomore Brit Wilson, an NCAA qualifier a year ago, pinned Brandon Stokes at 5:57 in the 184 bout to seal the Huskie victory. After a loss at 197, Max Ihry posted a 6-1 win at 285 to give NIU its first home win of the season. The Huskies return to the mat Sunday when NIU welcomes Rider and Harper to Victor E. Court for the Huskie Duals. The first match begins at 12 p.m. against Rider with the Harper match to follow. Both events will be available via NIUTube on NIUHuskies.com. Results: 125: Bryce West (NIU) dec. Brandon Seidman (Bucknell), 6-1 133: Drew West (NIU) dec. Darren Miller (Bucknell), 7-5 141: Noah Levett (Bucknell) dec. Caleb Brooks (NIU), 12-10 149: McCoy Kent (NIU) dec. Matt Kolonia (Bucknell), 9-7 157: Mason Kauffman (NIU) dec. Jaden Fisher (Bucknell), 8-6 165: Zach Hartman (Bucknell) maj. dec. Caden McWhirter (NIU), 15-7 174: Kenny Moore (NIU) dec. Frankie Guida (Bucknell), SV-1 4-2 184: Brit Wilson (NIU) fall Brandon Stokes (Bucknell), 5:57 197: Drew Phipps (Bucknell) dec. Gage Braun (NIU), 4-1 285: Max Ihry (NIU) dec. Nate Feyrer (Bucknell), 6-1

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The ninth-ranked NC State wresting team opened its 2019-20 season with a 22-11 home win over Old Dominion in Reynolds Coliseum. With the Monarchs (0-1) up 9-3 after the first four bouts, the Pack (1-0) scored three straight wins, including a pin and a major decision to seal the dual win. ODU took the first bout, which opened the dual at 149 pounds. The most exciting match of the day on paper proved to be the most excited bout of the dual. #1 Hayden Hidlay used a takedown with just five seconds left and downed #4 Larry Early (6-4), avenging his loss in last year's dual. The Monarchs took decisions at 165 and 174 pounds to stretch their lead to 9-3. Back-to-back bonus point wins gave the Pack its first lead of the night. The first bonus points of the night went to #13 R-Fr. Trent Hidlay in his Wolfpack debut. Hidlay scored a pair of takedowns in both the first and second periods for the 12-4 major decision. So. Tyrie Houghton put up six team points in the next bout at 197 pounds. After giving up three takedowns in the first, Houghton battled back to tie it 6-6 in the second. He then locked in a cradle and scored the pin at the 4:31 mark to give the Pack a 13-9 lead. NC State made it three straight wins, as So. Deonte Wilson scored a 3-1 win at heavyweight. Down 1-0 to start the third, Wilson scored the bout's lone takedown and tacked on the riding time point for the win. ODU scored a 6-5 decision at 125 pounds to pull the dual to 16-12 with two bouts left. NC State clinched the dual with a win at 133 pounds. Down 3-1 in the final minute, R-Jr. Kellen Devlin scored a takedown and then a four-point near fall to get the 9-5 win. The Pack ended the dual with back-to-back wins as #11 Tariq Wilson scored a 3-2 decision over #14 Sa'Derian Perry at 141 pounds. In a bout of former All-Americans, Wilson scored the bout's lone takedown in the second period. Up Next: NC State will host the annual Wolfpack Duals tomorrow in Carmichael Gymnasium. The Pack will face Belmont Abbey, UNC Pembroke and then Reinhardt starting at noon. Results: 149: Kenan Carter (ODU) dec. A.J. Leitten; 7-2 – 3-0 157: #1 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. #4 Larry Early; 6-4 – 3-3 165: Shane Jones (ODU) dec. #10 Thomas Bullard; 3-2 – 3-6 174: Alex Cramer (ODU) dec. Jacob Ferreira; 10-4 – 3-9 184: #13 Trent Hidlay (NCSU) major dec. Antonio Agee; 12-4 – 7-9 197: Tyrie Houghton (NCSU) fall Tim Young; 4:31 – 13-9 285: Deonte Wilson (NCSU) dec. Will Hilliard; 3-1 – 16-9 125: Killian Cardinale (ODU) dec. #13 Jacob Camacho; 6-5 – 16-12 133: Kellen Devlin (NCSU) dec. Shannon Hanna; 9-5 – 19-12 141: #11 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) dec. #14 Sa'Derian Perry; 3-2 – 22-11^ Attendance: 1,191 ^ODU deducted a team point after final match.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 3 Ohio State University wrestling team (2-0) seized a 23-12 road victory at No. 15 Pittsburgh (1-1) Friday afternoon. Chase Singletary impressed in his season debut, earning a decisive 8-3 win over ninth-ranked Demetrius Thomas in the heavyweight bout. Ohio State registered bonus points in three bouts, highlighted by Sammy Sasso's third-period fall at 149 pounds. Team captains Kollin Moore and Luke Pletcher each garnered major decisions. Additional Buckeye victors included Malik Heinselman (125 lbs) and Kaleb Romero (174 lbs). The match began at 197 pounds where Moore rattled off three first-period takedowns to put it out of reach before cruising to a 12-3 major decision. The next four bouts shared a common oddity -- the wrestler to record the first takedown went on to lose the bout. Ohio State was victorious in three of those four tussles, including the top-10 triumph for Singletary. He scored eight of the final nine points. Pletcher gathered bonus points for the fifth time in seven trips to the mat while Sasso stuck his fourth opponent of the young season. After back-to-back Panther triumphs at 157 and 165 pounds, Romero got Ohio State back on track. He faced a familiar foe in Gregg Harvey, handing him a 4-3 loss at the Michigan State Open two weeks ago. Romero widened the gap on Friday, stretching the difference to 7-2. Ohio State returns to the Covelli Center on Sunday (Nov. 17), playing host to No. 11 Virginia Tech (2-0) at noon ET. Results: 197: #1 Kollin Moore (OSU) maj dec. Kellan Stout (UP), 12-3 – Ohio State leads 4-0 285: #11 Chase Singletary (OSU) dec. #8 Demetrius Thomas (UP), 8-3 – Ohio State leads 7-0 125: #20 Malik Heinselman (OSU) dec. Louis Newell (UP), 12-7 – Ohio State leads 10-0 133: #4 Micky Phillippi (UP) dec. #14 Quinn Kinner (OSU), 4-2 – Ohio State leads 10-3 141: #1 Luke Pletcher (OSU) maj dec. #15 Cole Matthews (UP), 22-9 – Ohio State leads 14-3 149: #8 Sammy Sasso (OSU) fall Luke Kemerer (UP), 5:25 – Ohio State leads 20-3 157: #13 Taleb Rahmani (UP) dec. Elijah Cleary (OSU), 6-1 – Ohio State leads 20-6 165: #15 Jake Wentzel (UP) dec. #14 Ethan Smith (OSU), 3-2 – Ohio State leads 20-9 174: #20 Kaleb Romero (OSU) dec. Gregg Harvey (UP), 7-2 – Ohio State leads 23-9 184: #9 Nino Bonaccorsi (UP) dec. Gavin Hoffman (OSU), 10-5 – Ohio State wins 23-12

For more than a half-century, the NWCA All-Star Classic has been an annual event on the college wrestling calendar going back to 1967. Until this year. Last month, the National Wrestling Coaches Association announced that the 2019 All-Star event would not take place this fall. Here's how the NWCA announcement described the event: "Typically serving as the kick-off to the collegiate season, The All-Star Classic has matched up numerous national champions and All-Americans through the years, including many No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups." Why no NWCA All-Star Classic this fall? Here's the explanation provided by Mike Moyer, NWCA Executive Director: "On behalf of the NWCA Board of Directors, I wanted to let you know that we have decided to suspend the NWCA All-Star Classic for the 2019/20 year. Over the past 6 months, we have received some terrific ideas and concepts from our constituents on how we can 'revitalize' the All-Star Classic to meet the unique needs of our college wrestlers, coaches, and fans. Some of the proposed ideas and concepts required some extensive vetting which has made it impractical to still host the All-Star Classic this Fall..." InterMat thought the time was right to take a look back at the very first NWCA All-Star event -- the 1967 East-West Classic -- which took place in early April of that year. Not always the kickoff for the college wrestling season Although the All-Star event has been a fixture of college wrestling since 1967, it hasn't always been the season-opening event. In fact, the NWCA All-Star Classic has been the kickoff event for only a decade-and-a-half ... going back to 2005, when the event made its first appearance at the beginning of the collegiate season when held at the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in metropolitan St. Louis. In the early years -- 1967 through 1971 -- the All-Stars had been the capstone event of the college wrestling season, taking place a week or two after the conclusion of the NCAA wrestling championships. For just over three decades -- from 1972 through 2004 -- the All-Star Classic took place pretty much in mid-season ... sometime from late January up to March, before the NCAAs. An East-West format For two decades -- 1967 through 1987 -- the All-Star Classic used an East vs. West format, with individual wrestlers placed on either an East or West team. (In 1967, the wrestlers were assigned to the East or West team based on the geographic location of the college for which they wrestle.) The event was organized and scored like a regular college dual meet. At the 1967 East-West Classic, each team had two legendary college wrestling coaches. The East team was led by Cliff Keen of the University of Michigan, and Lehigh's Gerry Leeman ... while coaching the West team were Oklahoma State's Myron Roderick and Harold Nichols of Iowa State. Referee for the 1967 East-West Classic was Rex Edgar. A decade earlier, Edgar had wrestled for the University of Oklahoma, winning a Big Seven title and NCAA All-American honors, placing third in the 167-pound bracket at the 1957 NCAAs. (Fun fact: Edgar had been a high school and college teammate of the legendary Dan Hodge, three-time NCAA champ at 177 pounds, whose name graces the Hodge Trophy, the annual award presented to the top college wrestler in the nation by WIN Magazine. By the way... Edgar is the other wrestler featured with Hodge on the cover of the Sports Illustrated April 1, 1957 issue... the only issue in the 60+ year history of the magazine featuring amateur wrestlers as amateur wrestlers.) The world in 1967: On the mat ... The 1967 East-West Classic was held Saturday, April 8 at Gallagher Hall (now Gallagher-Iba Arena) at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. A near-capacity crowd of 6,700 fans gathered to see the top college wrestlers of the era do battle. (Note: the building was substantially expanded and upgraded in 2000.) The event was conducted under the collegiate rules in effect in 1967. New that year: a match format of three periods, the first lasting two minutes, followed by two periods of three minutes each, for a total of eight minutes (the year before, bouts lasted nine minutes total, consisting of three, three-minute periods). Wrestlers were required to wear the gear of the era -- a three-piece uniform consisting of sleeveless shirt, trunks, and tights. Headgear was required. (Today's singlets would not be permitted until the mid-1970s; the shirtless look of college legends such as Dan Hodge of Oklahoma had been outlawed in the early 1960s.) True to the college wrestling rules at the time, at the 1967 East-West Classic had eleven individual weight classes -- 115, 123, 130, 137, 145, 152, 160, 167, 177, 191 pounds and heavyweight -- the same number as at tournaments such as the NCAA championships, and two more than typical college dual meets (which did not normally have 115 and 191 bouts). Note that 50+ years ago, the heavyweight weight class was called "unlimited" because there was no top weight limit. That came along in the mid-1980s; today's upper limit is 285 pounds. Prior to setting an upper weight limit, there were a handful of NCAA champs who tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds. ... and off the mat The year 1967 was a tumultuous one in the world beyond wrestling. The Vietnam War was taking place half a world away ... with student protests at a number of college campuses across the country. There was also unrest in many major cities in the U.S. as part of the civil rights movement. In its quest to put a man on the moon, NASA suffered a tragic setback when three U.S. astronauts were killed in a fire inside the space capsule during a January training exercise for the first Apollo mission at Cape Kennedy. It was also a historic year in terms of popular culture. The top new movies of 1967 included "The Graduate", "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." In terms of pop music, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder were among the biggest acts. Among the top hits of the year: "I'm a Believer" by the Monkees, "Windy" by the Association, "Happy Together" by the Turtles, and "Light My Fire" by the Doors. Among the most popular TV shows of the 1966-67 season: "Bonanza", "The Andy Griffith Show", "Green Acres", "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Bewitched." The 1967 East-West Classic, Match-by-Match At the 1967 East-West Classic, matches were wrestled in ascending order -- lightest to heftiest, starting with the 115-pounders, and concluding with the unlimited class, better known as heavyweight. (Back then, there was no such thing as random weight draw or setting a match order to conclude the dual with what was expected to be the most exciting match.) 115 pounds: Glenn McMinn (Arizona State/West) dec. Jim Anderson (Minnesota/East), 3-2 Glenn McMinn had placed third at 123 pounds at the 1967 NCAA championships at Kent State University in northeast Ohio two weeks earlier. Jim Anderson came in second at 123 at the '67 NCAAs. Here's how two publications of the era described the first match of the 1967 All-Star event: "The opening 115-pound match set the pace for the match as Glenn McMinn of Arizona State edged the East's Jim Anderson of Minnesota with 10 seconds left in the final period for a 3-2 decision," according to John Fennich, sports editor for the Daily O'Collegian, the student newspaper at Oklahoma State, in his coverage of the first-ever East-West Classic at his school's iconic wrestling venue. Bob Dellinger, sports editor for The Oklahoman -- the daily newspaper for Oklahoma City -- wrote this description for Amateur Wrestling News magazine: "McMinn used a headsnap to drop Jim Anderson of Minnesota with only 11 seconds left in the action-packed opener." In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... McMinn was honored with a Lifetime Service to Wrestling by the Arizona chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2005. 123 pounds: Rick Sanders (Portland State/West) tied Bob Fehrs (Michigan/East), 2-2 Prior to wrestling at Portland State, Rick Sanders was a three-time Oregon state wrestling champ for Lincoln High School in Portland. While in college, Sanders launched a successful freestyle career, winning national and world titles. Bob Fehrs, team captain for Michigan Wolverines, was a three-time Big Ten champion (1965-1967), and three-time NCAA finalist the same three years, losing each of those title matches to Lehigh's Mike Caruso. Here's how two publications described the 123-pound All-Star match: "Robert Fehrs of Michigan and Rick Sanders of Portland State each got a reversal and left the 123 championship in doubt as the match ended in a draw," according to the O'Colly's Fennich. "Fehrs had all but the last gasp of a single-leg takedown on Sanders for more than a minute of the first period but didn't score until he managed to reverse when Sanders went too high with a three-quarter Nelson midway in the second," Dellinger wrote for Amateur Wrestling News. "Sanders, outstanding wrestler in the NCAA, reversed for the tie with 1:07 to go and had Fehrs in deep trouble with a near predicament at the buzzer." In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... Bob Fehrs received a Lifetime Service to Wrestling by the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017. Rick Sanders was a two-time silver medalist in freestyle wrestling for the U.S. at the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968 and Munich in 1972. Sadly, just weeks after the '72 Munich Games, Sanders was killed in a vehicle crash while hitchhiking in Yugoslavia in October 1972. He was just 27. Sanders was posthumously inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla. in 1987. Note: Portland State eliminated its wrestling program in 2009. 130 pounds: Mike Caruso (Lehigh/East) dec. Jim Hanson (Colorado/West), 6-3 Mike Caruso was coming off having won his third EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) title and third NCAA title, having won the 123-pound championship at the 1967 NCAAs at Kent State a couple weeks earlier (defeating Michigan's Bob Fehrs in the finals for the third consecutive time), to conclude a near-perfect 57-1 record at Lehigh. Jim Hanson had placed fourth in the 130-pound bracket at the 1967 NCAAs. Writing for Amateur Wrestling News, Bob Dellinger wrote, "Caruso, three-time national champ, scored a quick four points on a fireman's carry into a predicament in the first 20 seconds and posted a workmanlike 6-3 decision over Jim Hanson of Colorado for his 51st consecutive triumph." In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... Mike Caruso was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1991 ... and was honored by the New Jersey chapter of the Hall of Fame as an Outstanding American in 2001. Sadly, Hanson's alma mater, the University of Colorado, axed its wrestling program in June 1980. 137 pounds: Gene Davis (Oklahoma State/West) dec. Don Behm (Michigan State/East), 7-3 Gene Davis was the first of two Oklahoma State wrestlers to come out as winners in their home gym (Gallagher Hall) at the 1967 All-Star event (the other being Jim Rogers at 145). Davis was a two-time Big 8 champ in 1967 and 1968, and a three-time NCAA All-American, winning the title at the 1966 NCAAs, and placing third at the '67 NCAAs. As a Cowboy, Davis compiled a 62-5-1 record. "Gene Davis was Oklahoma State's first representative who saw action, as he decisioned Michigan State's Don Behm, 7-3," reported the Oklahoma State student paper, the O'Colly. Dellinger, writing for Amateur Wrestling News, provided additional details: "Davis had too much of everything for Don Behm of Michigan State, scoring takedowns with 14 seconds left in the first period and 29 seconds from the end. He controlled the match until Behm reversed with 14 seconds left for a 7-3 score." In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... Both wrestlers in the 137-pound match at the first All-Star event later found themselves welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as Distinguished Members: Gene Davis, in 1985 ... and Don Behm, in 2004. 145 pounds: Jim Rogers (Oklahoma State/West) dec. Don New (Cornell University/East), 8-5 Jim Rogers was a two-time Big Eight champ (and three-time conference finalist) and three-time NCAA All-American, coming in fourth place at 145 at the 1967 Nationals. Rogers crafted a 45-16 record at the Stillwater school. "At 145, Jim Rogers of Oklahoma State held off a last-period effort by Cornell's Don New to take the match, 8-5," according to the Daily O'Collegian. "Rogers played cat-and-mouse with Don New of Cornell, piling up a six-point lead with three takedowns and a reverse in the first three minutes and staying on the move the rest of the way for an 8-5 decision," reported Amateur Wrestling News. In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... Jim Rogers was presented with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling honor by the Oklahoma chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004 ... while Don New received a similar honor -- the Lifetime Service to Wrestling rom the Upstate New York chapter of the Hall of Fame -- in 2015. 152 pounds: Lee Ehrler (UCLA/West) dec. Jim Kamman (Michigan/East), 8-7 Both wrestlers had earned All-American honors at the 1967 NCAAs ... in different weight classes. Jim Kamman won the 152-pound crown for the Wolverines, while Lee Ehrler placed third at 160 pounds at the Nationals at Kent State. "Top crowd-pleaser of the night was Ehrler, whose unorthodox style and superb balance shocked national champ Jim Kamman of Michigan, 8-7," wrote Amateur Wrestling News' Dellinger. "Ehrler broke a cradle for a reverse and near-fall in the first period, survived a second-period ride, then used a spectacular Greco-Roman fallback for another nearfall 1:29 from the end. Kamman managed his second takedown with nine seconds left but lacked two seconds of having enough time advantage to tie it." In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... Both 152-pounders at the 1967 All-Star event later earned Lifetime Service to Wrestling honors: Lee Ehrler from the California chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015 ... and Jim Kamman, from the Minnesota chapter of the Hall of Fame, in 2008. Lee Ehrler died in December 2018 at age 73, having been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) not long before his passing. Surprised to see "UCLA" and "wrestling" in the same sentence? The Bruins of southern California once had an NCAA intercollegiate wrestling program. Not anymore. 160 pounds: Joe Domko (Southern Illinois University-Carbondale/East) dec. Vic Marcucci (Iowa State/West), 3-2 Talk about an overachiever: Joe Domko, who lost his first match at in the 167-pound bracket at the 1967 NCAAs, managed to defeat the defending national champ at that weight, Vic Marcucci, at the 1967 East-West Classic. Though the All-Star match between Domko and Marcucci was actually closer than that statement may sound ... "Joe Domko of Southern Illinois got a takedown with 13 seconds left to break 1-1 tie with NCAA champion Vic Marcucci from Iowa State to take the 160-pound match for the East," according to the daily student newspaper at Oklahoma State. Here's Amateur Wrestling News' take on the 160-pound bout: "Domko used a double-leg tackle with seconds left to beat Vic Marcucci of Iowa State -- who barely missed a takedown at the buzzer -- 3-2." In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... Vic Marcucci was welcomed into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa in 2009. Joe Domko passed away in August 2014 at the age of 69. SIU-Carbondale said goodbye to intercollegiate wrestling in 1989. (Note: Miles away from Carbondale, SIU-Edwardsville in suburban St. Louis still maintains a NCAA Division I mat program.) 167 pounds: George Radman (Michigan State/East) dec. Fred Fairbanks (Washington State), 9-3 In the 167-pound match at the East-West Classic, it was a battle of two All-American honorees from the '67 NCAAs, as Michigan State's George Radman -- 167-pound champ -- faced Washington State's Fred Fairbanks, who placed fifth in the same bracket. "The East took the 167-pound clash as Michigan State's George Radman showed the style that nabbed him this year's NCAA championship and topped Fred Fairbanks of Washington State, 9-3," the Daily O'Collegian reported. One additional detail included in Amateur Wrestling News' brief recap of the match: Radman scored three takedowns. In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... The Washington State varsity wrestling program was eliminated after the 1986 season. 177 pounds: Don Parker (University of Northern Iowa/West) dec. Dave Mucka (Moravian College/East), 3-2 Don Parker came to Gallagher Hall for the 1967 East-West Classic as a two-time NCAA Division II champ at 177 (1966, 1967) who went on to place sixth at the same weight at the 1967 NCAA Division I championship. (Back then, Division II champs automatically qualified for the D1 tournament.) Dave Mucka of Pennsylvania's Moravian College placed sixth in the 177 bracket at the 1967 NCAA Division II championships. The 1967 All-Star event was the second time Parker and Mucka met on the mat. The UNI mat champ defeated Mucka in the 177-pound finals at the 1966 National Division II championships. "Don Parker of the State College of Iowa (now UNI) nabbed the final win for the West as he edged Moravian's Dave Mucka, 3-2 at 177," according to the Daily O'Collegian student paper. "Parker's armdrag felled Dave Mucka of Moravian with 29 seconds left for a 3-2 win," added Amateur Wrestling News. In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... Don Parker was presented with the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Medal of Courage in 2014. In 1998, he sustained a serious neck injury while hunting which left him paralyzed ... yet was still able to coach wrestling from a wheelchair. Dave Mucka passed away in August 2004. Haven't heard of Moravian wrestling? The private college located in Bethlehem, Pa. said goodbye to its intercollegiate wrestling program at the end of the 1986 season. 191 pounds: Tom Schlendorf (Syracuse/East) dec. Fred Fozzard (Oklahoma State/West), 5-3 Tom Schlendorf -- a two-sport star (football and wrestling) for Syracuse -- had compiled an 84-8-1 record on the mat for the Orangemen. In 1967, Schlendorf completed his athletic career at the upstate New York State school by being named Syracuse Athlete of the Year. Fred Fozzard, the third Oklahoma State wrestler to take to the mat in his home gym at the inaugural All-Star event, was a two-time Big 8 conference champ and 1967 NCAA titlewinner (and three-time NCAA All-American). He entered the East-West Classic with an overall collegiate record of 54-4-3. John Fennich, sports editor for the Daily O'Collegian, wrote about the match as one might expect from someone who normally covered Cowboy wrestlers: "Oklahoma State's Fred Fozzard, NCAA 177-pound champ, lost the 191-pound match, 5-3, to national titleholder (at that weight) Tom Schlendorf of Syracuse after matching the Eastern grappler point-for-point through the opening period." Writing for Amateur Wrestling News magazine, Bob Dellinger provided a few more details of the match at 191: "Fozzard led Schlendorf on a single-leg takedown midway of the second period but Schlendorf's reversal five seconds before the middle buzzer and won the match with a headsnap takedown seven seconds from the end." In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... Fred Fozzard was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 2012. Sadly, Tom Schlendorf passed away in July 2007. The Syracuse Division I wrestling program ceased to exist about twenty years ago. Heavyweight: Dave Porter (Michigan/East) pinned Curley Culp (Arizona State/West), 3:38 Dave Porter and Curley Culp shared a number of things in common. Both made names for themselves in wrestling and in football in both high school and college. Both were two-time state mat champs -- Porter in Michigan, Culp in Arizona. And both had NCAA heavyweight titles earned prior to the 1967 East-West event: Porter at the 1966 NCAAs ... and Culp at the 1967 Nationals. The Porter-Culp heavyweight match at the 1967 All-Stars got big-time coverage. In fact, both the Daily O'Collegian student paper and Amateur Wrestling News gave the concluding bout heavyweight attention, as it was the deciding factor in the event's overall outcome. "A near-capacity Gallagher Hall crowd witnessed a tremendous come-from-behind effort by the East which was capped by the victory punch delivered by Dave Porter, NCAA heavyweight champion in 1966, pinned Curley Culp of the West, NCAA champion in 1967, giving the East a 19-17 win," according to the O'Colly. "The order was a pin and that's what Michigan's Porter served for the East as he trailed the Arizona State 265-pounder going into the second period, 9-5. With 22 seconds left in the second period, Porter decided to press the issue with a reversal and body press for the fall." Bob Dellinger weighed in with his account of the finale. "The heavyweight grudge match was a rouser from the start," wrote Dellinger. "Three times Culp threw Porter to the mat in the first two minutes, piling up a 6-2 lead." "Porter started the second period on top and by blocking a switch, locked Culp in a nearfall. Culp broke away and took Porter down a fourth time for a 9-5 lead. But Porter quickly reversed and as Culp attempted to sit out, threw the Arizona State behemoth on his back and flattened him in 3:38 with a body press." In the years since the 1967 East-West Classic ... Dave Porter won his second heavyweight title at the 1968 NCAAs ... but, two weeks later, at the 1968 East-West Classic, Porter lost to Curley Culp, 5-3. Culp went on to a professional football career as a defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings which spanned fourteen seasons. He was welcomed into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in August 2013. Porter was a long-time high school teacher and coach at Grand Ledge High School in Michigan before retiring in 2005. In 2010, Porter received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling from the Michigan chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Two years later, in August 2012, Porter passed away after a long illness at age 66. In the end ... After eleven matches featuring the top college wrestlers -- most of them NCAA All-Americans, including a number of recently crowned NCAA champs -- the very first All-Star event was one for the history books. At the 1967 East-West Classic, the East team scored a come-from-behind win -- claiming victory in four of the last five bouts -- to win the team title over the West, 19-17. Special thanks to Amateur Wrestling News for scanning the pages of their coverage of the 1967 East-West Classic and sharing them with this writer... so that I could share this information with InterMat readers.

ST. LOUIS -- Fighting Illini wrestling secured a dramatic, 19-14 victory over No. 13 Missouri Thursday night at Francis Howell High School in St. Louis. Trailing, 11-6, at intermission, the Illini won four of the last five bouts of the night to take the dual. With the score at 16-14, the match came down to the heavyweight bout, and Illini freshman Luke Luffman delivered with a come-from-behind, 9-7, decision victory over Rodrigo Diaz to win Illinois the match and send the Illini to 2-1 on the season. "Guys wrestled with a lot pride, energy and heart," said head coach Jim Heffernan. We had five freshmen in the lineup, and what a fantastic job by (Luke) Luffman! (Joey) Gunther's win was incredible. He found a way to win against a very good guy (No. 8 Connor Flynn). I'm very proud of our effort." Freshman Luke Luffman improved to 7-0 on the season and earned the biggest victory of his young collegiate career thus far with his dual-winning, 9-7, decision over Rodrigo Diaz. At the end of the first period, the score was tied 3-3, but Diaz tallied three points in the second to make the score 6-3 heading into the final period. With the match on the line Luffman took over in the third, escaping and forcing a takedown to tie the score at 6-6. Luffman would tack on another takedown late to go-ahead, and with the point for riding time, won the bout, 9-7, over Diaz, securing a 19-14 Illinois victory over No. 13 Missouri. Also instrumental in the Illini victory was No. 14 Joey Gunther's come-from-behind upset win over No. 11 Connor Flynn at 174-pounds. After a scoreless first period, Flynn scored two points in the second to take a 2-0 lead into the third. Trailing late in the third, Gunther secured a takedown to tie the match at 2-2 and force overtime. In Sudden Victory-1, Gunther tacked on a second takedown to win the bout over Flynn, 4-2. The win by Gunther put the Illini back in front, 12-11, ahead of the Tigers. The Illini also saw key victories out of redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel and redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel. Danny Braunagel got the Illini comeback started with his 11-5 decision over Peyton Mocco at 165-pounds. Mocco scored the first two points of the match with an early takedown, but it was all Braunagel the rest of the way. Braunagel built a 5-1 lead heading into the final period, then added six points in the third with two takedowns and a two-point nearfall. Braunagel's win cut the Missouri advantage to just 11-9 over the Illini, setting the stage for Gunther, who would give the Illini the lead back for good. Braunagel improves to 8-1 on the season, and his eight victories are the most on the team to this point in the season. After Gunther's win, the Illini only led by one team point, 12-11, and were looking to Zac Braunagel to increase the lead in the 184-pound bout. He secured four team points with his 15-7 major decision win against Canten Marriott. Braunagel was in control throughout the match. He got off to a strong start with two takedowns in the first and then two more in the second. With an 8-4 lead entering the final period, Braunagel took over, picking up three takedowns with the third putting him in line for the major decision. His victory gave the Illini some breathing room, putting their lead over the Tigers at 16-11 with two bouts to go. Braunagel now sits at 7-2 on the season. Illinois got off to a strong start on Thursday thanks to wins in the first two bouts of the evening from redshirt freshman Justin Cardani (125) and senior Travis Piotrowski (133). Cardani did all of his scoring in the second period, going up, 3-0, on Dack Punke heading into the final period. He earned the riding time point and gave the Illinois an initial, 3-0, advantage over Missouri with his 4-0 decision against Punke. Cardani is now 4-3 on the season. Senior No. 9 Travis Piotrowski moved to 3-0 in dual bouts this season with his 4-3 decision over No. 25 Allan Hart. Piotrowski took a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period with a two-point takedown late in the opening frame. Hart tied the score with an escape in the second, but Piotrowski took the lead back with an escape in the third and defended the rest of the way en route to the decision that put Illinois ahead, 6-0, over No. 13 Missouri. Piotrowski is now 7-1 overall on the season. With tonight's win, Illinois moves to 21-12 in the all-time series with Missouri. The Illini will spend the next few weeks in the room preparing for their first home dual of the season, which will be on Friday, December 6 against Northern Illinois. The dual against NIU is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT at Huff Hall. The promotion is Showdown, and the first 100 fans in attendance will receive free popcorn. Results: 125: Justin Cardani (ILL) dec. Dack Punke (MIZ), 4-0, ILL 3, MIZ 0 133: No. 9 Travis Piotrowski (ILL) dec. No. 25 Alan Hart (MIZ), 4-3, ILL 6, MIZ 0 141: No. 5 Grant Leeth (MIZ), major dec. We Rachal (ILL), 10-2, ILL 6, MIZ 4 149: No. 2 Brock Mauller (MIZ) major dec. Mousa Jodeh (ILL), 12-3, MIZ 8, ILL 6 157: No. 15 Jarrett Jacques (MIZ) dec. Eric Barone (ILL), 7-2, MIZ 11, ILL 6 165: Danny Braunagel (ILL) dec. Peyton Mocco (MIZ), 11-5, MIZ 11, ILL 9 174: No. 14 Joey Gunther (ILL) SV-1 No. 11 Connor Flynn, 4-2, ILL 12, MIZ 11 184: Zac Braunagel (ILL) major dec. Canten Marriott (MIZ), 15-6. ILL 16, MIZ 11 197: No. 20 Wyatt Koelling (MIZ) dec. Matt Wroblewski (ILL), 6-2, ILL 16, MIZ 14 285: Luke Luffman (ILL) dec. Rodrigo Diaz (MIZ), 9-7, ILL 19, MIZ 14

With impeachment proceedings against the president in full swing at the House of Representatives, the often-hidden shenanigans of some congressmen have been well-televised and left some wrestlers to ponder if there is any intellectual, political, social, value, or diversity of opinion among the leaders in the sport. With memes abound depicting the tirades of a few, it can feel like wrestling is siloed, destined to be a sport that graduates aggression before tactic. And it's true that for the past 20 years the wrestlers climbing to the top of the political junk heap have tended to be hyper-conservative and not altogether that compassionate, thoughtful, or jacket-wearing. But it wasn't always that way. Before since-disgraced former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert was elected to his vaunted title in 1999, the most well-known wrestler-turned-politician was something of a people's warrior. A champion of equality, someone with a fire in his belly, not for support of the gun lobby or oil companies, but for people. The middle class. You. Me. A politician who was simultaneously recognized for his once-adept physical combativeness, but also his ever-present compassion and thoughtfulness. Paul Wellstone was raised in Arlington, Virginia, and wrestled on scholarship for the University of North Carolina in the mid 1960's. After earning his B.A. and ACC Conference title, Wellstone went on to earn his Ph.D., From there he moved to Minnesota with his wife to teach and start a family. From the time he arrived at Carleton College, Wellstone was a dogged advocate for workers' rights. He was known to support picketing staff and rally local labor unions. Largely on the back of the energy he created in supporting these issues, he ran for U.S. Senate in 1990 as a member of the (I kid you not) Democratic-Farmer-Labor party. Wellstone would go on to win the race, and then reelection in 1996. He became a powerful voice in Washington, never backing down from a confrontation. In one instance he broke protocol when visiting George H.W. Bush at the White House and confronted him about the U.S. involvement in the first Iraq War. He often called himself the "Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party." In 2000 he was asked by a friend to explore running for president, but after a series of early tours pulled his name from consideration. At the time he cited an old college wrestling injury that had given him severe back discomfort, but later it was revealed he had Multiple Sclerosis. The Wellstone story ends in 2002 when along with his wife and one of his children, he died in a plane crash while headed to the funeral of a local union organizer. The crash happened only a few weeks before what was likely to be Wellstone's election to a third term in the U.S. Senate. What separated Wellstone from so many of his colleagues was an unflappable determination to fight for what was right for all people. He opposed NAFTA and ANWR, fought special interests, and was the only Senator in a tight re-election campaign to vote against the resolution to go to war in Iraq. Wellstone was convinced that Big Oil, Pharma, and the Gun Lobby had someone fighting for them. His role was to fight for the rest of the country. Wellstone left a legacy of thoughtfulness that resonated at his funeral. During his eulogy Sen. Tom Harkin said of Wellstone, "He may have had a bad back, but he had a spine of steel." A wrestler's grit. An unconquerable desire to protect and advocate for those in need. A spine of steel. Wellstone is every wrestler's best representation of what we can be as leaders. The fight for the people and passion with good intention, devoid of the chicanery and two-bit histrionics of today's most powerful former wrestlers in politics. Victories on the mat should never give license to a leader to flex muscles and scream wildly in the berating of others. Toughness learned in our sport should be deployed in the defense of those who need a megaphone on the national stage -- never as the bully, but always with passion. And nobody advocated for the less fortunate better than the late Senator Paul Wellstone. To your questions … Anthony Echemendia after winning a Fargo title in freestyle (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) Q: What are your thoughts on Anthony Echemendia committing to Ohio State? He has limited folkstyle experience but is very good in freestyle and Greco. Have you watched him much? What kind of college career do you think he will have if he suits up for the Buckeyes? -- Mike C. Foley: I've only seen a few of the matches. Given the excitement of the Division I coaches I tend to think there is a huge potential. When you can throw anyone you want on their head, but you can also defend your legs there isn't much reason to think collegiate success is out of reach. The one concern for international wrestlers making the switch from freestyle is the transition to the mat. If you look at Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov he cut a similar path as Echemendia, getting only a few years of mat experience at the JUCO level before testing it out at the Division I level. Overall he performed very well, though the issues on the mat probably kept him off the top of the podium. Echemendia is in a great position at Ohio State. J Jaggers will take responsibility for teaching him how to ride and how to avoid being ridden. Tom Ryan will provide the direction he needs to stay focused off the mat and make large goals for his career. I'm guessing that if all else goes well he could win an NCAA title before he graduates at Ohio State. Q: Bo Nickal plans to open an MMA gym and to compete in MMA. Do you think he will be as successful in MMA as other wrestlers have been? -- Gregg Y. Foley: Yes. Bo Nickal announced he was opening an American Top Team affiliate in State College and was going to run a wrestling team out of the space, too. The Marcelo Garcia black belt in me is excited, since he'll be an Alliance competitor should he go into jiu-jitsu. The business brain in me is also very excited for him, since opening a BJJ school in a wrestling-rich area like State College is sure to draw big, big numbers. And the MMA fan in me is excited because I think he will be a top-flight competitor. Will he be successful? Probably very successful, but these things take YEARS to happen. Look at how many of our sport's top stars are still grinding away, toiling to make it onto main cards. There are some very obvious success stories, but often it seems to take as much luck and marketing as it does in-the-cage competence. Overall, a very good business idea. Will be interested to see it develop! Q: Who are your top three women's wrestlers heading into 2020? -- @EricOlanowski Yui Susaki won her first senior world title in 2017 at the age of 18 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Foley: The best wrestler in the world is probably Yui Susaki (Japan) who has yet to secure her place on the Japanese roster or qualify her weight category for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. If Yui can beat her in-country opponents it seems inevitable that she'll win the 2020 Games with little outside challenge. In terms of results, Adeline Gray (USA) is almost without peer. She's won the last two world championships after sitting out in 2017. And while her lackluster outing at the Rio Games was disappointing, it seemed that her mental lapses have mostly been corrected. She's beaten the best competition in the world again and again. If anyone would challenge Gray for pound-for-pound No. 1, it's defending Olympic champion and three-time world champion Risako Kawai whose only losses in recent years came to four-time Olympic champion Kaori Icho and a since-suspended Orkhon Purvedorj who tested positive immediately following her victory over Kawai at the 2018 Asian Games. What's so compelling about the women's side of the sport is the constant expansion of the sport into new territories, some of which haven't seen prior success in men's wrestling. The stars of the sport are coming from Mongolia, India, Nigeria, and Kyrgyzstan -- nations where options for women are limited and the sport can provide upward social mobility. To me it's almost certain that the biggest wrestling story of the 2020 Olympics will be a woman and that will help our sport continue to grow through even more opportunities for women in even more wrestling-interested nations. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Remembering Paul Wellstone Highlights of women's wrestling at the 2019 World Championships Ismail Musukaev! Q: What excites you most about the Bill Farrell Memorial this weekend? Any potential matchups you're excited to see? -- Mike C. Foley: Honestly, the fact I only have to travel a few stops on the subway and that I can bring my daughter to the action. The weight classes are pretty loaded for a Bill Farrell tournament and I wonder what it will feel like to see Snyder wrestling in an NLWC singlet and being cornered by Cael Sanderson. Also, Vicky Anthony moved to Canada for her training, so I'm interested if that switch has helped her development. It's only been a short time, but her locking into a solid training situation could equate to a tough 50-kilogram situation back on home soil this spring. Q: How do you expect the United States will do at the Women's World Cup this weekend? -- Mike C. Foley: Strong second. Q: With Aaron Pico having a fight on Jan. 25, do you think that means he won't be competing for an Olympic spot in 2020? -- Mike C. Foley: I don't think that date would adversely affect his training. The whole deal is being able to transfer nationalities (December 2019) and to register for the Pan Am Qualifier in March. Then it's about placing in the top two in the qualifier which he's probably better than 50/50 to do even without year-round wrestling training. Wil he do it? Unclear at the moment. The MMA career has had a few fits and starts and that should remain his focus, but the point is clear that he can easily make the Olympics and then from there it's anyone's guess what he can do once he makes it onto the mat in Tokyo.

Anthony Echemendia was a double champion in Fargo Ohio State landed one of the prized recruits in the Class of 2019, Anthony Echemendia, a native of Cuba who won double titles in Fargo this past summer. He made the announcement via Twitter on Wednesday. Last season, Echemendia compiled a 22-0 record and won a state title in Arizona for Sunnyside at 152 pounds. Following Eschemedia's announcement, Ohio State coach Tom Ryan wrote the following on Twitter about his new recruit: "Humble and hard working. Accustomed to discomfort and the hard way. We are excited to welcome Anthony from Cuba 🇨🇺 to Buckeye Nation! He will be enrolling this January. Go Bucks!"

Old Dominion's Larry Early defeated NC State's Hayden Hidlay last season (Photo/ODU Athletics) The marquee match this weekend comes at 157 pounds where No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) takes on No. 4 Larry Early (Old Dominion). Last year Early surprised Hidlay and handed him a loss. Outside of that there is plenty of action throughout the rest of the weekend of dual meets. 125: No. 18 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) vs. No. 14 Anthony Cefolo (Rider) When/Where: Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. ET: Rider at Minnesota (BTN+) After going 14-4 during his redshirt season, McKee joined the starting lineup for the Golden Gophers this year. While in redshirt, he picked up signature wins over Paul Bianchi (Little Rock) and Alex Thomsen (Nebraska). He has made the most of his limited time. McKee has already won the Bison Open and is 4-0 on the season with three falls and a major decision. In his junior season Cefolo qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time. For his senior year, he is dropping down to 125 pounds for the first time since his true freshman season in 2016. Cefolo is yet to debut this year, but he went 19-8 with a first-period fall over Austin Gomez (Iowa State). It will be interesting to see how Cefolo will do back down at 125 pounds. Occasionally the move to a lower weight class can be a case of diminishing returns. On one hand, he might have a size advantage. On the other hand, he might struggle to hold the weight. McKee has looked dynamic this season and clearly made strides since his redshirt year. Look for him to turn up the offense in the neutral position and take the match. Prediction: McKee (Minnesota) decision over Cefolo (Rider) 133: No. 14 Quinn Kinner (Ohio State) vs. No. 4 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) When/Where: Friday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. ET: Ohio State at Pittsburgh (ACCNX) Kinner was a top-40 recruit prior to joining the Buckeyes last season. He went 16-3 during his redshirt campaign with his best win coming over Carter Happel (Iowa). This year he has dropped down from 141 to 133 and joined the starting lineup. He has gone 5-2 on the season so far, but he already dropped a 6-4 match against Phillippi at the Michigan State Open. Phillippi nearly became an All-American last season, but he fell in the round of 12. He has gotten off to a strong start this season. He won the Michigan State Open with wins over Kinner and No. 16 Anthony Madrigal (Oklahoma) as well as a second sudden victory escape over No. 9 Travis Piotrowski (Illinois). Last weekend he knocked off No. 18 Noah Gonser (Campbell) via a 6-2 score. Kinner was the aggressor looking for leg attacks early in their first meeting. However, Phillippi was able to defend and turn it on late. Look for a similar trend to continue here. Phillippi has the veteran savvy, and Kinner is still looking for his first victory on this level. Also on a trivial note, Kinner lost twice last year against Phillippi's teammate Cole Matthews. Kinner is currently 0-3 against Pittsburgh wrestlers and 21-2 against other opponents. Prediction: Phillippi (Pittsburgh) decision over Kinner (Ohio State) 141: No. 1 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) vs. No. 18 Mitch Moore (Virginia Tech) When/Where: Sunday, Nov. 17 at 12 p.m. ET: Virginia Tech at Ohio State (BTN) Two weeks ago Pletcher took over the No. 1 spot with an overtime victory over Dom Demas (Oklahoma). Last weekend he held onto his place with another overtime win over Real Woods (Stanford). After back-to-back All-American seasons at 133 pounds, Pletcher looks like one of the favorites at 141 pounds this year. Moore's 2019-2020 season probably could not have gotten off to a better start. So far he has had two matches, and he has picked up two first-period falls. Last year he was a national qualifier and finished with an 18-9 record. Obviously Pletcher is the favorite in this match. However, his penchant for close matches will almost certainly make his tenure as the top ranked wrestler dramatic. Moore is a big move wrestler, and one might be enough to score the upset. Prediction: Pletcher (Ohio State) decision over Moore (Virginia Tech). 149: Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) vs. No. 3 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) When/Where: Sunday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. ET: Northern Iowa at Northwestern (BTN+) Thomas has excelled on the freestyle scene as he made the 2019 Junior World Team. However, that has not always translated to the collegiate mats. In his first season as a starter last year, he went 12-9 after going 16-6 during his redshirt campaign. After finishing eighth as a redshirt freshman in 2017, Thomsen has ended his season in the round of 12 in back-to-back seasons. He made his season debut last weekend at the Cyclone Open where he took the tournament title. In the finals, he scored yet another victory over No. 4 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State). He improves to 4-0 in his career against the All-American. Thomas clearly has the talent, but he appears to be still looking to put it together. Thomsen was a man on a mission last weekend. Look for that to continue as he tries to make it back on the podium at the end of his senior year. Prediction: Thomsen (Northern Iowa) decision over Thomas (Northwestern) 157: No. 4 Larry Early (Old Dominion) vs. No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) When/Where: Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. ET: Old Dominion at NC State (ACCNX) This will be the third meeting between these two. Hidlay announced himself during his redshirt freshman season with a 16-5 major decision early in the season on the way to an NCAA runner-up performance and a trip to Final X. It was a different story last year. Early handed Hidlay his first regular season loss of his official career via a 4-2 upset. Following the upset, Hidlay eventually got it back on track. He finished the year 24-4 and nearly knocked off Jason Nolf (Penn State) in the NCAA semifinals before finishing fourth. The win was a high point for Early, but he also clawed his way to an eighth-place finish to become an All-American for the first time. Hidlay is the clear favorite for the NCAA title at 157 this year. He needs to be cognizant of the challenge that guys like Early pose. It will likely be a tough match, but look for Hidlay to push the pace of the match and score often on the feet. Prediction: Hidlay (NC State) major decision over Early (Old Dominion) 165: No. 17 Kennedy Monday (North Carolina) vs. No. 8 Shane Griffith (Stanford) When/Where: Saturday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m. ET: North Carolina at Stanford After missing a large chunk of last season with injuries, Monday has returned to the starting lineup for the Tar Heels this year. He has gone 4-1 with a standout victory over Peyton Mocco (Missouri). However, his lone loss came via fall against No. 16 Quentin Perez (Campbell). After breezing through the competition at the season opening Battle at The Citadel with a major decision and fall, Griffith had his first test against a ranked wrestler last weekend against No. 14 Ethan Smith (Ohio State). The match was somewhat close early, but in the third period the former blue chip prospect locked up the cradle and scored the fall. There are a lot of veteran wrestlers at the top of the 165-pound division. However, Griffith might have something to say about the championship before it is all said and done. Monday will always be a tough test since he can often find ways to score on the feet. On the other hand, Griffith has passed all the tests so far in his career, and his top game could be a difference maker here. Prediction: Griffith (Stanford) major decision over Monday (North Carolina) 174: No. 5 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) When/Where: Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. ET: Oklahoma State at Lehigh (Stadium) The 165 experiment for Smith did not really turn out the way the Cowboys hoped last year. He did not drop to the weight until the Big 12 tournament. He did qualify for the NCAA tournament, but he failed to become an All-American for the first time as a starter. This year the plan appears to be him staying put at 174 for the duration. Kutler has been one of the top wrestlers at 174 for the past two seasons. He finished as an All-American twice in what was always a tough weight class. This past weekend he got off to a strong start with a 4-0 performance at the Journeyman Collegiate Classic. He finished with two falls and a 4-1 decision over No. 3 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska). Smith will probably be at his best up at 174 this season, but he has struggled in his two previous matches against Kutler. They first met at the Southern Scuffle in 2017. That was a 7-1 decision victory for the Lehigh wrestler. They matched up again last year. Smith closed the gap, but Kutler still pulled it out via a 2-1 score. Prediction: Kutler (Lehigh) decision over Smith (Oklahoma State) 184: No. 4 Louie DePrez (Binghamton) vs. Zach Carlson (SDSU) When/Where: Friday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. ET: Binghamton vs. SDSU at the Sanford Pentagon (Facebook Live) After finishing in the round of 12 last year, DePrez put himself on the map this year at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open. He won the tournament and picked up a dominant 7-2 victory over No. 5 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell). There are some big names towards the top of this division, but DePrez has the talent to go on a run around tournament time. Carlson might be one of the lesser known names on this preview, but he had a bit of a breakout season last year. He went 22-9 for the Jackrabbits and nearly qualified for the NCAA tournament out of the Big 12. He started the season with a 4-0 performance and a tournament victory at the Bison Open. DePrez is coming off a big win last weekend, so there is always a chance for an upset. This will be a big opportunity for Carlson, who is looking to make the NCAA tournament for the first time as a senior. Look for DePrez to control this match, but he could have a bit more trouble than expected. Prediction: DePrez (Binghamton) major decision over Carlson (SDSU) 197: Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado) vs. No. 11 Noah Adams (West Virginia) When/Where: Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. ET: West Virginia at Northern Colorado (FloWrestling) Seely comes into his senior season as a two-time NCAA qualifier. Last year he went 14-12 and qualified out of the Big 12. The Bears have been active this year, and Seely has already racked up eight matches. He has gone 6-2 including an odd win over the similarly named Ashton Jacob Seely of Utah Valley. After qualifying for the NCAA tournament last year, Adams has already moved himself up the rankings last two a strong start to the season. He has won both the Southeast Open and the Mountaineer Invitational. Along the way, he has scored two falls, two technical falls and two major decisions. This should be an interesting Big 12 match. Adams comes in as the ranked wrestler, but the series between the two is currently even. Seely won their first meeting last November via a 12-9 score. They rematched at the Big 12 tournament, and Adams took the bout 13-1. Prediction: Adams (West Virginia) decision over Seely (Northern Colorado) 285: No. 14 Brian Andrews (Wyoming) vs. Kayne Hutchison (Air Force) When/Where: Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. ET: Wyoming at Air Force (TrackWrestling) Andrews really stacked up the wins last year. He finished with 35 victories by the time the season ended, and he qualified for the NCAA tournament. He has gotten off to a 3-0 start to this year as he won the Cowboy Invitational and gave up only three points. Hutchison took some lumps last year in his first year in the lineup. He finished 10-8 and went 0-2 at the Big 12 tournament. However, things have been looking up so far this year. He has gone 6-2 and finished second at both the Mountaineer Invitational and the Cowboy Invitational. The downside for Hutchison is that he has already dropped a match against Andrews. In fact, the Wyoming record has twice defeated the Falcon. Occasionally familiarity can lead to an upset, so Andrews should be on the lookout here. In the end, his defense will likely be too tough for Hutchison. Prediction: Andrews (Wyoming) over Hutchison (Air Force)

Looks can be deceiving. Kaila Del Toro, a 16-year-old sophomore at William Howard Taft High School in Chicago, appears like any 5-foot-1, 124-pound high school student. She's not. Last year she started wrestling -- and became an All-American with a fifth-place finish in the 117-pound weight class at the Fargo Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota. Kaila Del Toro"She's got heavy hands, which is something you can certainly train, but it sure is nice to just have them," said Mike Powell, executive director of Beat the Streets -- Chicago. "I saw her snap a girl down at the Beat the Streets National Dual's last summer and just about break [the other girl's nose] on the mat." Del Toro became the first wrestler in the history of Taft and of the wrestling group Beat the Streets-Chicago to become an All-American at the prestigious high school event. Since 2001, the number of girls in high school wrestling has more than quadrupled from 3,405 to just below 17,000 participants today. Title IX, the introduction of women to Olympic wrestling in 2004 and the rise of Mixed Martial Arts have all contributed to this spike. Today, 19 states sponsor official or emerging girls state high school championships, while a dozen others are developing their own girls high school championship series. Del Toro, one of those girls who has "fallen in love" with wrestling, didn't follow in the path of a parent, siblings or friends. "I always liked fighting sports," Del Toro said. "When I was little, I used to watch them and was like, 'Yeah, I want to do that.'" The sophomore's first foray into a "fighting sports" wasn't wrestling. She did Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and boxing in middle school. Then in high school, she added wrestling -- and promptly brought home serious hardware in her first year of competition. At Taft, she won her sectional event at the 2019 Freshman/Sophomore & Girls Tournament, sponsored by the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. To participate, the wrestler must be a freshman or sophomore who did not qualify for the Illinois High School Association State Tournament. After being crowned a Section champion, she finished third overall at the event the following week. In May, she took home another third-place finish at the Illinois Girls Freestyle State Championships. Although Del Toro has more experience wrestling folkstyle, she said that she prefers freestyle due to a quicker pace. "It [has] a faster pace and is more [of a] stand-up [style]," said Del Toro. I really like stand-up. I don't like to be on the ground too much and I really like takedowns." She has always had a natural wrestling ability. Proper technique was all that was missing. "She soaks up wrestling like a sponge," said Mike Boyd, her freestyle coach. "Technique was the missing piece, with better technique, she can be an elite freestyle competitor." "Grit, being relentless, she already had that so it wasn't reinventing the wheel," Boyd said. "She was already a great athlete, super strong, super tough. She just needed some technique and someone to push her in the right direction." She hopes to finish No. 1 in the state as a sophomore. By her senior campaign, she hopes to rank top-5 in the nation. "If she continues to do the things she's doing, when Illinois makes girls wrestling an official sport, I would see her as a state qualifier or state placer," said Brad Engel, head coach at Taft. "If she continues on this trajectory, [being a] state champion would be great." "She's one of those special kids who likes to get after it," Engel Said. "I think there is a huge difference between kids who want to win, and kids who don't want to lose, and she definitely hates to lose," Kaila Del Toro wrestling at Preseason Folkstyle Nationals Del Toro has her sights set on a collegiate wrestling career. "For sure, I want to go into college wrestling, I've already started thinking about it," she said. Today, the NCAA does not recognize women's wrestling as a varsity sport. But, more than two dozen schools provide club offerings. Ongoing efforts to get women's wrestling sanctioned by the NCAA as an official varsity sport are underway. The most significant effort to date, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, has recommended women's wrestling for NCAA Emerging Sport Status to division I, II and III in August 2020. Whether Del Toro can compete in college or not, she plans to advocate for the cause, hoping it will one day be recognized as a full-fledged division I NCAA sport. Powell praised her work ethic, dedication, toughness and athleticism. "I'm not saying this lightly," he said. "She's a future girls state champion, [maybe an] Olympic hopeful with the right coaching and the right situation. She's the real deal." Del Toro received support from Taft, Beat the Streets and her parents from the very beginning -- especially from her mom, Yadira Del Toro, who, when in high school herself, tried out for the football team. "She can do anything. I don't care what anyone tells you, if you have a dream, do it," said Yadira Del Toro, a guest relations associate at Nile Family Services. "For her it's wrestling. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it because you're a girl." Her advice to her daughter is simple: "Just do your best and always go for it." For the skeptics who say girls can't wrestle, who say it is a "male sport," Kaila has one thing to say. "Wrestle Adeline Grey and see what happens," Del Toro laughed. "If you meet one of those extremely dedicated, women wrestlers, they're phenomenal. You wouldn't be able to tell them no; you can't do this sport because they would kick your ass."

Bo Nickal shoots on J'den Cox at Final X (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Bo Nickal, three-time NCAA champ for Penn State who is now making his mark in freestyle competition, is already making career plans once he steps off for the last time. The 2019 Hodge Trophy winner and InterMat Wrestler of the Year has revealed plans to enter mixed martial arts competition after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and open an MMA gym in the place the Texas native has called home during his college career, according to multiple media reports. "My plan right now is to start a gym in State College, Pennsylvania at Penn State and partner with American Top Team," Nickal said on "The Luke Thomas Show" on SiriusXM radio Monday. "We're going to have an American Top Team up here in State College and be able to access all the resources of ATT," Nickal said, "and at the same time be able to bring Penn State wrestling [closer] to the MMA world and elevate the level of wrestling in MMA and get a lot of athletes and guys that come out of Penn State and other wrestling programs, give them the opportunity to train here and give other guys that maybe didn't train wrestling growing up, don't have a wrestling background, the opportunity to get the best wrestling training in the world." Nickal added, "I'm super excited to stay in State College, stay close to my friends and family and team and coaches and continue to keep improving, getting better and making a lot of waves in the MMA community and the MMA world." Back in April on an interview on ESPN, Nickal made clear the timing of his career plans. "The plan is to do the Olympics in 2020," Nickal said. "Then start fighting." Bo Nickal's interview on "The Luke Thomas Show" came on the heels of the announcement on Instagram from First Round Management CEO Malki Kawa that Nickal had signed with his management company. "Very excited to announce that @firstroundmgmt has signed @pennstatewrest #legend @nobickal1 to an exclusive mgmt contract. Bo is a 3 time national champion and the prestigious 2019 #hodgetrophy recipient. Bo will be getting ready for the Olympic trials and make a run at the Olympics before he transitions full time to mma. Stay tuned, as there will be other big announcements, including the launch of his new gym! Welcome to the #frm fam BO‼️" Bo Nickal isn't the only 2019 NCAA champ for Penn State who is revealing his plans to eventually launch a pro MMA career. Anthony Cassar, defending NCAA heavyweight champ, also envisions fighting in MMA at some point after his collegiate eligibility expires at the end of the 2019-2020 school year. "I grew up watching Fedor Emelianenko and Vitor Belfort as a kid," Cassar said in an interview with ESPN. "It's one of my goals, and I'm going to immerse myself in it someday." If Nickal and Cassar do choose to swap out in their singlets for fight shorts someday, they will be joining a number of former Penn State wrestlers who have found success in MMA, including Phil Davis, Ed Ruth, and current BRAVE CF featherweight champion Bubba Jenkins.

In discussion about the Fab 50 national high school team rankings, much focus is spent toward the top of the rankings, and many of the perennial national powers. Seven teams have been ranked at the end of each of the nine seasons the rankings have been compiled (2010-11 to 2018-19). Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. -- ranked inside the top 21 all nine years -- starts this year No. 50. Blair Academy, N.J. -- national champions seven times, no lower than third -- starts this year No. 1. Clovis, Calif. -- a top ten team for the first seven years of the rankings -- starts this year No. 32. Montini Catholic, Ill. -- a top five team each of the last two years -- starts this year No. 8. St. Edward, Ohio - a program that has ended the last four years in the top ten, including seven of the last nine -- starts this year No. 4. St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- a program that finished last season ranked No. 37 (the previous eight seasons were within the top eight including six top five finishes) -- starts this year No. 38. Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- a program that has finished in the top four six of the last seven years -- starts this year No. 2. Furthermore six other teams have been ranked within the top 50 for eight of the nine years, with four of those schools being ranked each of the last eight years: Oak Park River Forest, Ill. -- starts this year unranked Poway, Calif. -- starts this year No. 13 Southeast Polk, Iowa -- starts this year No. 19 Tuttle, Okla. -- starts this year No. 9 Broken Arrow has finished every season but 2015-16 ranked and starts this year No. 39 nationally, while Apple Valley, Minn. saw its run of ranked seasons end last year and starts this year unranked. The final rankings of the 2018-19 season saw nine teams appear in the rankings that had never done so previously. That number was also nine at the end of the 2016-17 season, while it was 13 at the end of the 2017-18 and 2014-15 seasons, with a staggering 20 debutants in the final 2015-16 rankings. Who exactly are the candidates to be those teams this season? An obvious answer would be to look at the preseason Fab 50 to see who has never ended a season ranked. In review of the rankings, there are five teams that fit the bill: No. 24 Stillwater (Minn.), No. 29 Millard South (Neb.), No. 30 St. Joseph Montvale (N.J.), No. 37 Mustang (Okla.), and No. 48 Crescent Valley (Ore.). However, history tells us that there will be more teams fitting the bill. In addition, previous history about the rankings suggests that there will be a bit of turnover from the preseason rankings to the final rankings published in mid-March. Given the above, below are five teams (alphabetically listed) that might be worth an eye during the upcoming season. Louisville, Ohio The Leopards finished eleventh in 2018 and then third at last year's state tournament in Division II, which is Ohio's medium-school division. Located in Stark County, which is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Louisville has not exactly been on the scholastic wrestling map much over the years; last year's state titles won by Garrett Lautzenheiser and Davin Rhoads were the first for the program since 1986 when Mike Malcuit struck gold at 126 pounds in Class AAA (big-school). They return five of six state qualifiers from last year, along with 82 of their 85 state tournament points (graduated 285-pound wrestler Riley Brendle scored a pin in consolation). Lautzenheiser (126) and Rhoads (132) return to defend state titles, as do three-time state placer Jax Leonard (170), state medalist Brent Paulus (195), and state qualifier Blake Robbins (220). Augmenting the roster are state alternate Brenden Severs (160), go-to-state match participant Daniel Kennedy (152), plus a pair of middle-weights who were two matches from state last year. Louisville certainly has the opportunity from a schedule standpoint to get noticed. In December, they will attend the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, North Canton Holiday Tournament (joined by nationally ranked Wadsworth), and Brecksville Holiday Tournament (with six nationally ranked teams); while January's schedule includes the Maumee Bay Classic with a pair of nationally ranked teams in the field. Notre Dame's Ryan Crookham battling Lucas Byrd in the Walsh Ironman semifinals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Notre Dame-Green Pond, Pa. Quite frankly it's not if, but when this group will appear in the Fab 50 national rankings. This is a team on the rise under the leadership of Matt Veres, who has pedigree as a Blair Academy alumnus and a strong youth/club coaching background in the Lehigh Valley. The Crusaders were third in the PIAA Class AA (small-school, two-class state) individual tournament. This year, the team returns four of those six wrestlers, three of whom were state placers with the other finishing one match from a state medal. In addition, Notre Dame adds in via transfer Brett Ungar (113), who won a state title last year in New Jersey; while 2018 state qualifier Joshua Bauman (132) is also available after being closed out of last year's lineup. Returnees from last year's state tournament include state champions Ryan Crookham (126) and Andrew Cerniglia (160), who join Ungar as nationally ranked wrestlers; along with state placer Brandon Chlestos (120) and state qualifier Derek Berlitz (182); while Evan Maag (106) and Holden Garcia (138) have solid potential in the lower-weights. The Crusaders will be clearly tested during the season and prepared for the postseason path. The schedule includes dual meets in January against Bethlehem Catholic and Bergen Catholic; the Walsh Jesuit Ironman and Beast of the East in December, along with the Trojan Wars tournament (Southern Columbia is in the field); as well as the Escape the Rock Tournament in mid-January. Skiatook, Okla. Located about 20 miles northwest of Tulsa, Skiatook won the Class 5A dual team state title and shared the individual tournament title with neighboring Collinsville last season. The Bulldogs return eight of their ten state tournament participants from last season, including seven of nine state medalists. This year's squad is led by a pair of juniors, who have won state titles in both of their scholastic seasons to date: Josh Taylor (138) and Cougar Anderson (160). Skiatook features three returning state runners-up, Cody Francis (132) and Richie Lee (170) from last season's roster, plus incoming transfer Brody Lee (106/113). Additional returning placers are Tony Johnson (152), Hunter Hall (182), and Devin Wilson (195); while Kyle Bowman (106) qualified for state last year, Cale Glover (145) did so in 2018, and Josie Jernigan (106/113) is a potential medal-winner as a freshman. The Bulldogs' schedule does not provide the robustness of competition as do the schedules for the two teams profiled previously. Their December tournament is at Wagoner before Christmas, while mid-January tournaments are at Jenks and Carl Albert, with their toughest dual meet coming on Jan. 21 and Collinsville. Toppenish, Wash. The Wildcats spent a large chunk of last season, from right before Christmas, within the national rankings; however, they did not appear in the final edition of the Fab 50 national high school team rankings. Located near Yakima, which is southeast of Seattle and pretty close to the Oregon border, Toppenish won its sixth state title in wrestling last season competing in Class 2A. This year's team returns four state finalists, including a trio of state champions: Horacio Gonzalez, Haiden Drury, and Kyle Romero; Joel Godina was runner-up to Gonzalez this past season at 106 pounds. Also returning as state medalists are Emerique Gonzales, Isaac John, and Terrell Underwood; while Brayan Cruz and Isaias Ramirez were one match from state placement. From a schedule standpoint, the Wildcats' best chance to put the country on notice will come at the Zinkin Classic hosted by Buchanan (Calif.) right before Christmas, which is where Toppenish made its most notably noise last year. They'll also compete at The Gut Check tournament two weeks later, and event in which No. 1 Blair Academy is making the trip out to compete. Windsor, Colo. The Wizards feature a superlative Class of 2020, which includes three returning state champions: Brady Parker (106) plus the nationally ranked Dominick Serrano (132) and Isaiah Salazar (182). Other senior contributors are expected to include 2018 state qualifier Jacob Parker (126), state qualifier Brennan Todd (145), two-time state placer Cody Eaton (160), along with state placers Tristan Perez (170) and Tyler Grasmick (195). Also expected to make a significant contribution is junior Vance Vombaur (138), who was state runner-up in 2018 but missed last year's post-season due to injury. Four bracket tournaments contested every other weekend from before Christmas through the end of January will provide more than ample measure of Windsor's national ranking potential. The Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament on Dec. 20-21 also features No. 49 Pomona; the Doc Buchanan Invitational is Jan. 3-4, and that field speaks for itself; while Clovis is joining Windsor in the field for the Rockwell Rumble at Utah Valley University on Jan. 17-18; and the Wizards travel to the Rocky Welton Invitational in Kansas two weekends later.

Chad Dennis brings "Dr. Hawkeye" Alex Meyer to talk about the Iowa-Chattanooga dual as well as getting Meyer's perspective on the transfers into the Iowa program, payment of college athletes and some tangents on that. What is the going rate for what athletes can make in the summer? What's the deal with how Iowa does its intrasquad and wrestle-offs? How does a team like Iowa prepare for a team that isn't highly ranked? All that and weight-by-weight preview of the UTC-Iowa dual. 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

Alex Marinelli defeated Vincenzo Joseph in the 2019 Big Ten finals (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) One of the best parts of any college season are the matchups that occur and the rivalries that develop. The 2019-20 season promises to bring more of the same. It will be an interesting year with numerous wrestlers taking Olympic redshirts and that could create more intriguing matchup possibilities during the college campaign. There are already some strong rivalries going collegiately with more expected to unfold over the next five months. Feel free to agree or disagree, but here is my list of 10 intriguing potential NCAA matchups for the college season. 165: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) vs. Alex Marinelli (Iowa) These two powerful wrestlers are expected to clash as many as three times this season. Joseph is a two-time NCAA champion and three-time finalist, but he is 0-2 against Marinelli. Joseph lost in the 2019 NCAA finals to Virginia Tech freshman Mekhi Lewis, who upset the top-seeded Marinelli earlier in the tournament. No doubt, Joseph will be motivated to battle Marinelli again while Marinelli will be driven to bounce back from a disappointing finish to his sophomore season. 157: Hayden Hidlay (North Carolina State) vs. David Carr (Iowa State) Hidlay will be determined to win a title this season after dropping a close match to Penn State's Jason Nolf at the NCAAs before Nolf finished his career with a third title. Carr is one of the most exciting newcomers in the country. He won a Junior world title this past summer and lost just one match while wrestling collegiately in open tournaments as a redshirt. This match would be entertaining to see. 125: Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) Lee won his second NCAA title this past March, but he went 0-2 against Rivera during his sophomore season. Rivera won the most recent battle against Lee 6-4 in overtime in the finals of the Big Ten tournament. The top-seeded Rivera lost to Virginia's Jack Mueller 8-2 in the NCAA semifinals before Lee downed Mueller 5-0 in the championship match. Rivera came back to place third in the nation. 197: Kollin Moore (Ohio State) vs. Kyle Conel (Penn State) Conel returns this season as a graduate transfer for Penn State after previously competing at Kent State. Conel was one of the big stories of the 2018 NCAA tournament when he knocked off Moore twice. The unseeded Conel pinned the top-seeded Moore in the first period of the quarterfinals. He later defeated Moore 5-3 in the third-place match. Moore is ranked No. 1 to start this season after placing second at NCAAs this past season. No doubt, this matchup is one everyone wants to see during the 2019-20 season. 285: Anthony Cassar (Penn State) vs. Gable Steveson (Minnesota) Cassar wasn't a wrestler many people expected to win an NCAA title before last season, but he came through with a superb postseason. One of the wrestlers expected to contend for the crown was Steveson, who placed third as a freshman. Steveson is a tremendous talent who is virtually unstoppable when he stays aggressive. It will be interesting to see what happens. Cassar edged Steveson 4-3 in the 2019 NCAA semifinals. Seth Gross and Austin DeSanto are expected to meet Dec. 1 in Iowa City (Photos/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 133: Seth Gross (Wisconsin) vs. Austin DeSanto (Iowa) Gross started his career at Iowa and he's had his share of battles against Hawkeye opponents. He fell to Iowa's Cory Clark in the 2017 national finals before Gross won an NCAA title in 2018 for South Dakota State. It will be interesting to see how Gross fares this season. He returns to the mat as a grad transfer for Wisconsin after missing last season with an injury. It will definitely be intriguing to see him face the hard-charging and fiery DeSanto, who was fifth in the nation at 133 last year. DeSanto's matches are never boring. It will be fun to see Gross and DeSanto square off this season. 125: Jack Mueller (Virginia) vs. Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) This would be a matchup of a pair of proven veterans who are looking to close their careers with a championship. Mueller was second at NCAAs last year and Piccininni fifth. Piccininni did defeat Iowa's Spencer Lee last season before falling to him in the NCAA semifinals. Do one of these wrestlers have something special in mind for their final collegiate campaign? Mueller and Piccininni are definitely capable of making strong runs this season. 149: Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) vs. Brock Mauller (Missouri) This is another weight class that has cleared out after last season. O'Connor is the highest returning finisher at 149 after taking third with Mauller being the next highest returning wrestler after finishing sixth. O'Connor edged Mauller 4-3 in the consolation semis at the 2019 NCAAs. Expect another close, hard-fought battle if they meet again this season. 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) vs. Michael Kemerer (Iowa) Hall won NCAAs as a freshman before falling to Arizona State's Zahid Valencia the past two seasons. Hall is the favorite at 174 with Valencia bumping up to 184 this season. One of Hall's biggest challengers could be Kemerer, who was an All-American at 157 in 2017 and 2018 before missing last season with an injury. Kemerer is moving up two weight classes, but he was expected to go 174 last year before his injury so he should be fine at his new class. It will be interesting to see how Kemerer fares when he receives a chance to face Hall. 141: Dom Demas (Oklahoma) vs. Chad Red (Nebraska) Demas and Red met this past weekend at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic, with Demas getting a first-period fall. Both exceeded their seeds at the 2019 NCAAs. Demas placed fourth after being a 9 seed and Red was eighth after being a 16 seed. These are two dynamic and explosive wrestlers with the capability of lighting up the scoreboard. This weight class is wide-open this season with most of the top finishers having graduated or taking Olympic redshirts. Demas and Red could move up on the podium with strong seasons at 141 pounds. 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.

Over the past month or so, the Takedown Report blog has provided an analysis of the top college wrestling coaches in NCAA Division I, II and III who can claim the most team titles ... and InterMat has provided links to those TDR reports. Now TDR has recently posted its detailed analysis of the most successful coaches at wrestling programs at two-year colleges that are members of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The first National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Wrestling Championships were held in 1960. In the 60 years since, there have been 64 championship teams. (How's that possible? In four years, two teams tied for the title.) Luke Moffitt"North Idaho College has the top coach in John Owen who led his teams to eight championships," according to Martin Fleming's analysis of NJCAA wrestling programs for Takedown Report. "North Idaho also has the most team championships with 14. The first two were in the mid-1970s with Les Hogan as the head coach. Then Pat Whitcomb coached four more championship teams after Owen." TDR's Fleming goes on to point out that three coaches are tied for second with six titles each: Rex Branum (his first two team titles were at Lincoln College, then onto Lassen College in California) ... Luke Moffitt of Iowa Central ... and Joe Renfro (first at Labette Community College in Kansas, then at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M). That's just the beginning of Fleming's analysis of the most successful junior college wrestling programs ... and the coaches behind that success. Visit TakeDown Report to see the details yourself. Questions? Comments? Contact TDR editor Martin Fleming directly at martinkfleming@gmail.com.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio State University wrestling program hosted its first match inside the Covelli Center, putting on a show for the nearly 4,000 fans in attendance by chopping down the Stanford Cardinal in 29-6 final tally. The Buckeyes were victorious in nine of 10 matches, including a pair of sudden victories which sent the crowd into a frenzy. LINEUP DEBUTS Quinn Kinner, Sammy Sasso and Zach Steiner each made their varsity lineup debuts Sunday night, and all walked off the mat as victors. Kinner kick-started the night at 133 pounds, earning a 7-1 decision in the first official wrestling bout contested inside the Covelli Center. Two matches later, Sasso improved 6-0 on the season with a hard-fought 3-1 win over No. 19 Requir van der Merwe at 149 pounds. Steiner jumped out early and maintained the upper hand in a 9-6 decision in the 184-pound clash. SUDDEN VICTORIES Luke Pletcher and Elijah Cleary worked overtime as their matches spilled into sudden victory. Pletcher came out on the right end of a wild scramble to emerge triumphant while Cleary ripped off three third-period takedowns to even the score at the end of regulation. He then tacked on one more in the the extra frame to push Ohio State ahead 12-0 through four bouts. ANOTHER THRILLING FINISH Edge-of-your-seat action came at heavyweight as well. Gary Traub trailed 3-2 with less than 75 seconds remaining when he dragged David Showunmi back into the circle by his ankle before pouncing for the bout-winning takedown. A complete match recap to come. Results: 133 lbs | No. 20 Quinn Kinner (OSU) def. Brandon Kier (SU) | D, 7-1; Team Score: 3-0 141 lbs | No. 1 Luke Pletcher (OSU) def. No. 15 Real Woods (SU) | SV-1, 3-1; TS: 6-0 149 lbs | No. 5 Sammy Sasso (OSU) def. No. 19 Requir van der Merwe (SU) | D, 3-1; TS: 9-0 157 lbs | Elijah Cleary (OSU) def. Tyler Eischens (SU) | SV-1, 10-8; TS: 12-0 165 lbs | No. 8 Shane Griffith (SU) def. No. 20 Ethan Smith (OSU) | PIN, 6:15; TS: 12-6 174 lbs | No. 21 Kaleb Romero (OSU) def. Foster Karmon (SU) | MD, 16-7; TS: 16-6 184 lbs | Zach Steiner (OSU) def. Nick Addison (SU) | D, 9-6; TS: 19-6 197 lbs | No. 1 Kollin Moore (OSU) def. No. 12 Nathan Traxler (SU) | MD, 19-8; TS: 23-6 285 lbs | Gary Traub (OSU) def. David Showunmi (SU) | D, 4-3; TS: 26-6 125 lbs | Malik Heinselman (OSU) def. Jackson DiSario (SU) | 6-3; TS: 29-6

ATHENS, Ohio -- Camels took seven bouts and No. 21 Campbell picked up its first dual win of the 2019-20 season 24-16 at Ohio Sunday. Campbell (1-1) earned bonus point wins at 141 pounds, 165, 184 and heavyweight to pick up the road win over Ohio (0-1). No. 13 Josh Heil earned an early pin over Trevor Giallombardo at 141, and No. 15 Quentin Perez followed with a 16-1 first round tech fall at 165 to give Campbell its largest lead of the day at 16-7. Two matchups later, Andrew Morgan tallied a 12-2 major decision, while No. 7 Jere Heino closed out the day with a 10-2 major decision. Korbin Meink started the day off with a 6-2 decision over Giovanni Disabato before No. 19 Mario Guillen evened the score for the Bobcats with a 3-1 decision over No. 12 Noah Gonser in a battle of ranked opponents. After Ohio's Alec Hagan cut the score to 9-7 with a 15-3 major decision, Matthew Dallara bounced back with a 7-5 win, picking up a takedown with less than 45 seconds to go in the third period and holding on for the victory at 157. Logan Stanley (149) and Aaron Naples (197) also picked up wins for the Bobcats. Next up, Campbell will head to the Navy Classic on November 23. Results: 125: Korbin Meink (Campbell) over Giovanni Disabato (Ohio) Dec 6-2, 3-0 133: #19 Mario Guillen (Ohio) over #12 Noah Gonser (Campbell) Dec 3-1, 3-3 141: #13 Josh Heil (Campbell) over Trevor Giallombardo (Ohio) Fall, 9-3 149: Alec Hagan (Ohio) over Zach Barnes (Campbell) MD 15-3, 9-7 157: Matthew Dallara (Campbell) over Zac Carson (Ohio) 7-5, 11-7 (-1 team point) 165: #15 Quentin Perez (Campbell) over (Ohio) TF 16-1, 16-7 174: Logan Stanley (Ohio) over Charlie Andrews (Campbell) Fall, 16-13 184: Andrew Morgan (Campbell) over Mason Kroening (Ohio) MD 12-2, 20-13 197: Aaron Naples (Ohio) over Austin McNeill (Campbell) Dec 7-0, 20-16 285: #7 Jere Heino (Campbell) Jordan Earnest (Ohio) Dec 9-2, 24-16 No. 21 Campbell (1-1), Ohio (0-1) Rankings according to InterMat (11/5)

TROY, N.Y. -- Utah Valley University sophomore heavyweight Tate Orndorff had a day to remember on Sunday by knocking off both No. 2 Tanner Hall of Arizona State and No. 3 Jordan Wood of Lehigh on his way to winning the Journeymen Collegiate Classic at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. Orndorff went a perfect 3-0 on the day in his weight class to cap his opening weekend 2019-20 season with an unblemished 5-0 record. "Tate truly dominated his matches today. He went out there and created action and opportunities, and competed from start to finish throughout the day," head UVU coach Greg Williams said. "This was a really great weekend for him and I'm very pleased with how he wrestled." Orndorff opened his Journeymen Collegiate Classic run with a 16-3 major decision victory over Big 12 Conference foe Connor Webb of Oklahoma. He then followed that up with a 5-2 decision over 2019 All-American and third-ranked Wood of Lehigh to setup the title match against the three-time NCAA qualifier and 2017 All-American Hall of ASU. Scoreless entering the second period against Hall, the second-ranked Sun Devil got on the board first thanks to an escape point but Orndorff quickly responded by being awarded point from Hall's second stall call to tie the match at 1-1. Orndorff then took a 2-1 lead thanks to another stall call on Hall in the third and made it 3-1 after an escape. The 2019 UVU NCAA qualifier then managed to hold the lead down the stretch as he went on to win the 285A bracket with a trio of strong matches on the day. The Journeymen Collegiate Classic title for Orndorff comes just days removed from competing for Team USA at the U23 World Greco-Roman Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The Wolverine heavyweight finished with a 1-1 outing at last week's U23 World Championships. A total of 15 Wolverines competed in the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Sunday and five went undefeated. Besides Orndorff's impressive run, freshmen Will Edelblute (125C), Cameron Hunsaker (141C), Nick Rino (141D), and Chase Trussell (285C) all went a perfect 3-0 en route to winning titles as well. Sophomore Gary Jantzer was also listed as winning the 184B bracket despite going 1-2. "I thought that the tournament was also helpful for a number of our younger guys, and I was proud of Chase, Cameron, Nick and Willy for all also going undefeated," Williams added. "This was a great opportunity for all of these guys to get matches at their level under their belt. They all did a nice job of working on things to help them improve and it was great to see their confidence gaining out on the mat." All 15 Wolverines that competed placed in the round-robin style tournament. Senior and 17th-ranked Tanner Orndorff placed second in the 184A bracket with a 1-2 outing, while junior Koy Wilkinson (165C), sophomore Isaiah Delgado (133B) and redshirt freshman Jerry Rubio (157C) also posted second-place finishes by too posting identical 1-2 records. Redshirt freshman Jayden Woodruff (197B), sophomore Jed Loveless (157B) and Landon Knutzen (149B) followed by all placing third with respective 2-2, 1-2, and 0-3 outings, while senior and 11th-ranked Kimball Bastian placed fourth (174A) and Josiah Nava finished fifth (125B). The tournament caps a busy weekend for the Wolverines (1-1) in which they opened dual action by splitting a pair of matches on Saturday at the Journeymen Northeast Duals. UVU first defeated Sacred Heart, 40-3, before falling to Purdue, 30-12. Utah Valley will now return home to welcome South Dakota State and No. 7 Wisconsin to town for its first two home duals of the season in two weeks. The home opener will take place on Friday, Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. in a Big 12 Conference dual against SDSU. Due to a scheduling conflict, the contest will take place at 11 a.m. in the UCCU Center. Then on Saturday, Nov. 23, UVU will host the seventh-ranked Badgers of the Big Ten in Lockhart Arena at 1 p.m.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Army West Point wrestling team picked up two impressive dual wins Sunday, taking down Illinois 19-15 and following with a 18-12 victory over host Tennessee Chattanooga. "Super proud of our guys," said head coach Kevin Ward. "To go on the road and face some adversity like we did and get two wins over two very quality teams is something to enjoy. Being able to do it with two of our nationally ranked starters out of the lineup shows the depth of our team. It's nice to get the wins, but I know we have a lot more we can do. We left a lot of points out there. We can perform much better than we did today. But no question, great team effort today and great wins." Corey Shie (141 lbs.), Lucas Weiland (157 lbs.), and Ben Harvey (174 lbs.) all earned two wins respectively to pace the Black Knights (3-1). HOW IT HAPPENED In the early contest, Army and Illinois split the match wins at five apiece. Trey Chalifoux picked up his second dual win of the fall (7-2 DEC) to get the cadets on the board early. After the Illini took the match at 133, Shie scored an impressive pin 42 seconds into the first period. P.J. Ogunsanya scored his second dual win of the season with a dominant 11-2 majority decision over Mousa Jodeh. At 157 lbs., Weiland picked up a big time win over No. 10 ranked (FloWrestling) Eric Barone to put Army ahead 16-3 in the match. After Illinois took the match at 165, Ben Harvey scored his first win of the day, and third of the fall to push the Black Knights ahead 19-6. The Illini would take the last three matches, but Army had secured enough team points to earn the victory. In match No. 2 of the day, Army battled in a back-and-forth affair with the host Mocs. Chattanooga picked up a win in the first match, followed by wins from Lane Peters (8-4 DEC) and Corey Shie (5-2 DEC) of Army. Tanner Smith evened the team score at 6-6 with a close 2-0 win over P.J. Ogunsanya at 149 lbs. The two teams would exchange wins over the next four classes to keep the overall score knotted at 12 heading into the final two bouts. Alex Hopkins picked up his second dual win of the fall (8-2 DEC), followed by Bobby Heald's second win to seal the 18-12 team win. Army 19, Illinois 15 125: Trey Chalifoux (Army West Point) over Justin Cardani (Illinois) (Dec 7-2) 133: Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) over Lane Peters (Army West Point) (Dec 5-1) 141: Corey Shie (Army West Point) over We Rachal (Illinois) (Fall 0:42) 149: PJ Ogunsanya (Army West Point) over Mousa Jodeh (Illinois) (MD 11-2) 157: Luke Weiland (Army West Point) over Eric Barone (Illinois) (Dec 8-3) 165: Dan Braunagel (Illinois) over Mason Smith (Army West Point) (Dec 12-5) 174: Ben Harvey (Army West Point) over Joseph Gunther (Illinois) (Dec 7-3) 184: Zach Braunagel (Illinois) over Luke Hodsden (Army West Point) (Dec 6-2) 197: Matt Wroblewski (Illinois) over Alex Hopkins (Army West Point) (SV-1 3-1) 285: Luke Luffman (Illinois) over Robert Heald (Army West Point) (Dec 8-5) Army 18, Chattanooga 12 125: Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) over Trey Chalifoux (Army West Point) (Dec 3-1) 133: Lane Peters (Army West Point) over Franco Valdes (Chattanooga) (Dec 8-4) 141: Corey Shie (Army West Point) over Aidan Murphy (Chattanooga) (Dec 5-2) 149: Tanner Smith (Chattanooga) over PJ Ogunsanya (Army West Point) (Dec 2-0) 157: Luke Weiland (Army West Point) over George Carpenter (Chattanooga) (Dec 6-1) 165: Andrew Nicholson (Chattanooga) over Mason Smith (Army West Point) (Dec 5-4) 174: Ben Harvey (Army West Point) over Hunter Fortner (Chattanooga) (Dec 1-0) 184: Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) over Luke Hodsden (Army West Point) (Dec 11-5) 197: Alex Hopkins (Army West Point) over Rodney Jones (Chattanooga) (Dec 8-2) 285: Robert Heald (Army West Point) over Grayson Walthall (Chattanooga) (Dec 5-3) UP NEXT Army will host Hofstra, Central Michigan, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Bloomsburg, and defending NCAA National Champion Penn State to Christl Arena for the Black Knight Invite next Sunday, Nov. 17.

BLACKSBURG -- Virginia Tech wrestling improved to 2-0 in duals this season after a 21-18 win over No. 21 Northwestern at the first ever Mat on the Mound. John Borst won a major decision in the last match of the day to secure the win for the 11th-ranked Hokies at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park. MATCH HIGHLIGHTS Joey Prata got the Hokies off on the right foot with a 2-0 decision over Mike DeAugustino in the first match. Prata had an escape in the second period and held on to riding time to give Tech a 3-0 lead. No. 17 Mitch Moore pinned his second opponent in as many duals. The sophomore got the fall over Jack Tolin in 2:13. Redshirt senior David McFadden had another major decision. McFadden, ranked fourth in the country, defeated Northwestern's Shayne Oster 18-6 to give the Hokies crucial bonus points. Christiansburg native and 10th-ranked Hunter Bolen improved to 2-0 on the year with a major decision. Bolen had four takedowns and a two near fall to beat Jack Jessen 15-3. With Tech down 18-17, John Borst got his second major decision of the year 9-0 over Jack Heyob to secure the 21-18 win for the Hokies. Borst had three takedowns and almost three minutes of riding time. Results: 125: Joey Prata dec. Mike DeAugustino, 2-0 133: No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (125) MD No. 15 Collin Gerardi, 13-4 141: No. 17 Mitch Moore WBF Jack Tolin, 2:13 149: Yahya Thomas MD Brent Moore, 12-2 157: No. 3 Ryan Deakin MD No. 18 BC LaPrade, 12-3 165: No. 4 David McFadden MD Shayne Oster, 18-6 174: Tyler Morland dec. Cody Hughes, 6-1 184: No. 10 Hunter Bolen MD Jack Jessen, 14-3 197: Lucas Davison dec. Stanley Smeltzer, 5-3 285: John Borst MD Jack Heyob, 9-0 UP NEXT Virginia Tech will travel to No. 3 Ohio State for their first road dual of the season next week. The Hokies' third top-25 matchup will be at 12 p.m. ET on Nov. 17 in Columbus, Ohio.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 1 nationally by InterMat, opened up the 2019-20 campaign with a resounding 45-0 win over Navy in sold out Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions had four individuals making their Rec Hall debuts with all four coming away victorious. Another sold out Rec Hall crowd watched pre-dual ceremonies that included the unveiling of the 2019 NCAA Championship banner as Penn State won it's eighth NCAA title in the past nine years last March as well as a special presentation from Nike for head coach Cael Sanderson, recognizing Penn State's success under his guidance over the past decade. The sellout crowd of 6,490 is the 49th straight Rec Hall sellout and the 54th sellout in Penn State's last 56 home events (including five of seven in the Bryce Jordan Center). The dual began at 141 where junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 3 at 141, opened up the dual season in style with by pinning Cody Trybus at the 6:16 mark. Junior Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.) made his Penn State dual meet debut at 149 and followed suit. Gardner pinned Navy's Jon Park quickly, getting a first period pin at the 1:16 mark to put Penn State up 12-0 early. Junior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) stepped in for No. 6 Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.) at 157. Pipher battled Scout Skidgel evenly for seven minutes and, with the bout tied 6-6, escaped with just :02 on the clock to grab an exciting 7-6 win to put the Lions up 15-0. Senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, dominated No. 11 Tanner Skidgel in his season opener. Joseph rolled to a 20-5 technical fall at the 6:02 mark. Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, ended his season-opening bout early. Hall locked up No. 17 Spencer Carey from his feet and moved him to his back for a fast fall at the 0:58 mark. Hall's pin gave Penn State a 26-0 lead at intermission. Redshirt freshman Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.) stepped in for No. 3 Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) at 184, making his collegiate debut. Edsell thrilled the Penn State faithful with a strong 5-2 win in his first bout in the Blue and White singlet. Kyle Conel (Ashtabula, Ohio), the All-American graduate transfer from Kent State, made his Nittany Lion debut at 197. Conel, ranked No. 3 at 197, used a third period reversal to post a 4-3 win in his first wrestling match in nearly a full calendar year. Conel's debut victory put the Lions up 32-0. Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 1 at 285, began the new season in fine fashion as well. Cassar dominated John Birchmeier for half the bout before picking up the pin at the 4:41 mark, giving the Nittany Lions a 38-0 lead. Freshman Brody Teske (Duncombe, Iowa) made his Nittany Lion debut at 125 and picked up a win in his match as a Penn Stater. Teske used solid pressure in the second and third period to pick up a critical stall point in the third period to post a 2-1 victory. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 at 133, capped the dual off with a tenth victory, using a late four-point move to finalize a 17-6 major decision over Navy's Casey Cobb. Bravo-Young's major cemented Penn State's 45-0 shutout win over the Midshipmen. Penn State posted a sizeable 29-3 takedown advantage. The Nittany Lions picked up 15 bonus points off four pins (Lee, Gardner, Hall and Cassar), one tech fall (Joseph) and a major (Bravo-Young). The shutout was Penn State's first since a 42-0 shutout over Lehigh last December on Dec. 2, 2018. Penn State is now 1-0 on the year, 0-0 B1G. The Midshipmen fall to 2-2. Penn State will trek to West Point, N.Y., next weekend for the Army West Point Invite. The event is slated for Sunday, Nov. 17, and begins at 10 a.m. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. Results: 141: #3 Nick Lee PSU pinned Cody Trybus NAVY, WBF (6:16) 6-0 149: Luke Gardner PSU pinned Jon Park NAVY, WBF (1:46) 12-0 157: Bo Pipher PSU dec. Scout Skidgel NAVY, 7-6 15-0 165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph PSU TF #11 Tanner Skidgel NAVY, 20-5 (TF; 6:02) 20-0 174: #1 Mark Hall PSU pinned #17 Spencer Carey NAVY, WBF (0:58) 26-0 184: Creighton Edsell PSU dec. Andrew Buckley NAVY, 5-2 29-0 197: #3 Kyle Conel PSU dec. Jacob Koser NAVY, 3-0 32-0 285: #1 Anthony Cassar PSU pinned John Birchmeier NAVY, WBF (4:41) 38-0 125: Brody Teske PSU dec. Logan Treaster NAVY, 2-1 41-0 133: #3 Roman Bravo-Young PSU maj. dec. Casey Cobb NAVY, 17-6 45-0 Attendance: 6,490 (49th straight sellout in Rec Hall, 54 of 56 including five of seven in BJC) Records: Penn State (1-0, 0-0 B1G); Navy (2-2) Up Next for Penn State: Sunday, Nov. 17, at Army West Point Invite, 10 a.m. BOUT-BY-BOUT: 141: Junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 3 at 141, battled Cody Trybus. Lee quickly got in on a single leg and picked up the first dual takedown of the season :35 into the bout. Trybus escaped to a 2-1 score but Lee stayed connected and continued to work on offense. Lee took Trybus down for two and picked up two nearfall points to open up a 6-1 lead at the 1:20 mark. Lee maintained control as his riding time edge moved over the 1:00 mark and he forced Trybus into a first stall. Lee carried the 6-1 lead and 1:40 in time into the second period. The Lion junior chose down to start the second period, quickly reversed Trybus, cut him loose and took him down again to lead 10-2 with 1:40 on the clock. Lee added another takedown with :38 in the period. He picked up a point on another Trybus stall and led 13-3 with 3:14 in riding time after two periods. Trybus chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 13-4 score. Lee quickly took him down again and cut him loose to up his lead to 15-5. Another Lee takedown and stall point gave the Lion an 18-5 lead with 1:10 left to wrestle. He then worked Trybus' shoulder to his back and picked up the season-opening pin at the 6:16 mark. 149: Junior Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.) faced off with Navy's Jon Park at 149, making his Lion dual debut. Gardner wasted no time taking Park down for a quick 2-0 lead. The Lion junior cut Park loose :30 later and then went back to work, blowing through a high double to force a scramble that led to another takedown and a 4-1 lead at the 1:40 mark. Gardner then wasted no time bringing the sold out Rec Hall crowd to its feet, rolling Park to his back and steadying himself for the pin. Gardner got the fall in his Lion dual debut at the 1:46 mark. 157: Junior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) moved in at 157 for No. 6 Brady Berge and took on Scott Skidgel. Skidgel took Pipher down for Navy's first takedown to open up a 2-1 lead after a quick Pipher escape. Skidgel worked himself into near control of Pipher but the Lion worked his way out of bounds to force a reset at the 2:00 mark. Skidgel used a scramble to notch a takedown to open up a 4-1 lead with 1:12 left but gave up a point on an illegal hold. Pipher escaped off a reset and the bout resumed neutral at the :50 mark with Pipher trailing 4-3. Pipher worked his way into control of Skidgel's legs and got a last second takedown to lead 5-4 after the opening period. Skidgel chose down to start the second period and Pipher took advantage by controlling the action deep into the period to move his riding time mark up over 1:00. The Lion finished the period on top and led 5-4 with 1:13 in time after two periods. Pipher chose down to start the third period. Skidgel controlled the Lion long enough to erase the riding time edge. Pipher was able to scramble his way into control of the Midshipmen's ankle. Skidgel maintained control until action moved out of bounds. Pipher was cut loose to a 6-4 lead with :25 on the clock and then gave up a first stall. Skidgel took Pipher down with :15 left and Pipher thrilled the Lion crowd with an escape at the :02 mark to grab the exciting 7-6 win. 165: Senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, met No. 11 Tanner Skidgel. Joseph took Skidgel down quickly for an early 2-0 lead. Joseph cut the Navy wrestler loose, took him down a second time and then locked up a cradle at the 1:40 mark to pick up four back points, upping his lead to 8-1. Skidgel tried to go chest-to-chest with Joseph only to have the Lion control the move, trip him to his back and pick up six more points off a takedown and four nearfall. The move gave Joseph a 14-3 lead after the opening period. Skidgel chose down to start the second period. Joseph cut him loose to a 14-4 score and went to work on offense. Joseph added two more takedowns and led 18-5 with over 2:00 in riding time after two periods. Joseph chose neutral to begin the third period and ended the bout quickly with a final takedown. Joseph picked up the 20-5 technical fall at the 6:02 mark to open up the new campaign. 174: Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, faced off with No. 17 Spencer Carey. Hall wasted no time getting the new season off to a hot start. The Lion locked up the ranked Midshipmen from his feet, moved him right to his back and, after a few seconds of adjustment, got the fast fall at the 0:58 mark. 184: Redshirt freshman Creighton Edsel (Wylausing, Pa.), stepping in for No. 3 Shakur Rasheed at 184, made his Nittany Lion debut against junior Andrew Buckley. The duo battled evenly for the first minute with neither man finding an opening to score. Edsel fought off a Buckley shot at the 1:30 mark and action continued tied 0-0. Edsel then worked his way in on a high single and took a 2-0 lead with a takedown on the edge of the mat with 1:05 on the clock. Buckley escaped to a 2-1 score and the bout continued neutral. Buckley chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. The Lion freshman withstood another slight Buckley shot as the clock moved to the :45 mark. Edsell chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 3-2 lead at the 1:40 mark. The Lion freshman worked to control the middle of the mat. The Lion got called for a first stall at the :30 mark and then fought off a slight Buckley shot as the clock wound down. Edsell finished the bout with a late counter takedown to post a 5-2 in his Lion dual debut. 197: Graduate Kyle Conel (Ashtabula, Ohio), the All-America transfer from Kent State who is ranked No. 3 at 197, made his Nittany Lion debut against Navy's Jacob Koser. Conel got in on an early single leg but Koser was able to force a stalemate and keep the bout scoreless at the 1:55 mark. Conel picked up his first Lion takedown at the 1:10 mark to open up a 2-0 lead. He then maintained control for :29 before Koser escaped to a 2-1 score. The Lion grad student carried that score into the second period. Koser chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 2-2 tie. The duo worked the center circle for the next minute-plus before Conel worked his way into a high single. Koser was able to force a scramble that killed the clock and the bout moved to the third period tied 2-2. Conel chose down to start the third period. Conel steadily worked his way to his feet, forcing Koser up and over his shoulders, before slipping through for a reversal and a 4-2 lead. Koser escaped and Conel led 4-3 at the :25 mark. The newly minted Nittany Lion withstood a late Koser shot and posted a 4-3 win in his first bout as a Penn Stater. The bout was Conel's first wrestling action in nearly a year. 285: Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 1 at 285, met Navy's John Birchmeier. Cassar roared through a high shot at the 1:55 mark and took Birchmeier to his back to open up an early 6-0 lead. Cassar controlled the action from the top position for :37 before cutting the Midshipmen loose to a 6-1 score. Cassar added a second takedown to up his lead to 8-1 with :40 on the clock. He carried that lead into the second stanza with over 1:00 in time. Birchmeier chose down to start the second period and a Cassar cut him loose to an 8-2 score. The Lion then quickly took Birchmeier down once more to up his lead to 10-2. He added four back points, stepped to the side and turned the Midshipmen to his back for the fall at the 4:41 mark, getting the new campaign off to a fast start. 125: Junior Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) took on Army junior Logan Treaster at 125. The duo battled evenly for two minutes with neither grappler connecting on a solid offensive effort. Teske circle the middle of the mat working for shoulder control with Treaster as the first period wound down, sending the bout to the second stanza tied 0-0. Teske chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 1-0 lead. The Lion freshman and the Navy junior continued to battle evenly as the second period worked its way to the :30 mark. Treaster gave up a late stall and the clock moved to 0:00. Trailing 1-0, Treaster chose down to begin the third period. Treaster escaped to a 1-1 tied at the 1:20 mark and action resumed neutral. Teske's offensive pressure forced Treaster out of bounds a second time and the Nittany Lion freshman took a 2-1 lead with :35 left in the bout. Teske fought off a late Navy shot and killed the clock with the late scramble to post a 2-1 win in his Nittany Lion debut. 133: Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 at 133, met Navy's Casey Cobb in the dual's final bout. The duo battled evenly for the first minute before Bravo-Young took a 2-0 lead with a solid shot and takedown. Cobb escaped to a 2-1 score but Bravo-Young continued to press and picked up a second takedown to lead 4-2 after the opening stanza. Cobb chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 4-3 score. Bravo-Young continued to look for low shots against Cobb as the second period hit its mid-point. The Lion sophomore switched things up, blew through a high double and added a third takedown to lead 6-4 after cutting Cobb loose. Bravo-Young finished with one more takedown and led 8-4 with 1:22 in riding time after two periods. Leading by four, Bravo-Young chose neutral to start the third period. He worked his way in on a low shot and picked up a takedown to lead 10-4 with 1:15 on the clock. Bravo-Young cut Cobb loose on a reset, then added a sixth takedown to lead 12-5 with :20 on the clock. Bravo-Young cut Cobb loose one last time and then used an outstanding four-point move to post a 17-6 major decision.

Over the past 18 months, dozens of Ohio State wrestlers - and a handful of lawsuits - have alleged that Dr. Richard Strauss, the school's physician for its athletics programs, engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior 20-30 years ago while the school reportedly did nothing. Now, for the first time, there are new allegations that a referee was one of Strauss' victims. In a new lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday in Ohio, a college wrestling referee said that he had told two Ohio State wrestling coaches at the time -- head coach Russ Hellickson, and assistant coach (now Congressman) Jim Jordan -- about an alleged incident involving Strauss in a campus shower. The ref -- referred to as John Doe 42 in the latest court documents -- said that he had just officiated a wrestling match at Ohio State's St. John Arena in 1994, and went to take a shower in the arena's locker room. According to the referee, no one else was in the locker room when Strauss entered, telling the official he had to be somewhere and was taking a quick shower, according to the complaint. Even though the shower room's design was open -- with numerous showers available along four sides -- the doctor selected the shower directly next to the referee, the lawsuit stated. Then, the referee realized part of Strauss' body was touching him, according to the complaint. When the ref looked up, he saw the doctor was staring at him, masturbating. Quoting from the lawsuit: "John Doe 42 recoiled, said 'What the hell, Doctor?', and left the shower." As he walked away, Strauss made comments about the referee's physique, according to the complaint. After the incident, the referee described what happened to head wrestling coach Russ Hellickson and "Assistant Coach Jordan" (as named in the lawsuit, presumably referring to Congressman Jim Jordan). Jordan had been an assistant wrestling coach for the Buckeyes from 1987-1995 while earning his Master's in Education at Ohio State, then obtained a law degree at Capital University in Columbus. Prior to coming to Ohio State, Jordan, a native of west-central Ohio, had wrestled collegiately at University of Wisconsin, where he was a two-time NCAA champ in the mid-1980s. Hellickson and Jordan responded, "Yeah, that's Strauss," according to lawsuit. "It was common knowledge what Strauss was doing, so the attitude was 'it is what it is,'" the referee said in an interview with NBC News. "I wish Jim, and Russ, too, would stand up and do the right thing and admit they knew what Strauss was doing, because everybody knew what he was doing to the wrestlers. What was a shock to me is that Strauss tried to do that to me. He was breaking new ground by going after a ref." Former Ohio State wrestler Dunyasha Yetts was the first person to publicly say he complained to the Buckeye coaches at the time about Strauss. Yetts said he visited Strauss about a thumb injury and the doctor tried to pull down his pants. He left the room and told coaches Hellickson and Jordan about the incident, according to Sports Illustrated. "It's good that people are starting to come forward and say the truth, which is that Jordan and the other coaches knew what was going on and they blew it off," Yetts told NBC News. Many of Strauss's accusers have alleged he groped them during medical exams or stared at them in locker rooms. The former athletes told investigators that they thought Strauss's behavior was an "open secret" that coaches and trainers were aware of. The latest lawsuit filed Thursday which includes the aforementioned referee includes a number of additional allegations against Strauss, including that he reportedly drugged and raped a student athlete, and sexually assaulted an underage wrestler participating in a wrestling camp at Ohio State. InterMat first reported on the allegations against Richard Strauss in April 2018. The doctor worked as a sports and student health physician at Ohio State from 1979 to 1998. A law firm hired by Ohio State discovered that Strauss was found to have sexually abused at least 177 student-athletes, including 48 Buckeye wrestlers. Furthermore, according to a more report issued last month by Ohio State, there had been nearly 1,500 cases of sexual abuse tied to the doctor. After leaving Ohio for California, Dr. Strauss died by suicide in 2005. The story has attracted attention beyond the state of Ohio and college wrestling, thanks in part to Jim Jordan. The former Ohio State assistant wrestling coach is now a Republican Congressman representing the fourth district of Ohio. A founding member of the Freedom Caucus, Jordan was assigned just this past week by Republican leadership to serve on the House Intelligence Committee to participate in questioning during the open impeachment hearings of President Donald Trump. Update 11/14/19 Jim Jordan responded to the referee's statements made in a federal lawsuit last Thursday, labeling the comments "ridiculous" in an article in Washington Examiner on Wednesday, Nov. 13. "I've stood up against the Speaker of the House from own party in my own state. I've stood up against the IRS, stood up against the FBI, stood up against Adam Schiff, fought the Justice Department when the whole Trump-Russia thing" what they had done. … The idea I'm not going to defend our athletes when I think they're being harmed is ridiculous," Jordan said. The former Ohio State assistant coach went on to say the referee was just "someone making a false statement." His office reiterated that point in a statement to the Washington Examiner, saying, "Congressman Jordan never saw or heard of any kind of sexual abuse, and if he had he would've dealt with it. Multiple investigations have confirmed this simple fact."

PITTSBURGH -- The 15th-ranked University of Pittsburgh wrestling team used eight individual wins en route to a dominant 28-6 win over Campbell Saturday afternoon at the Fitzgerald Field House. With the win, the Panthers improve to 1-0 on the season while the Camels fall to 0-1. Campbell took an early 3-0 lead, but Pitt responded with six straight individual wins on its way to its first win of the season. The wins were highlighted by a pin from 19th-ranked redshirt freshman Cole Matthews at 141 pounds, as well as 165-pounder Jake Wentzel and heavyweight Demetrius Thomas. All three Panthers defeated opponents ranked higher than them. "I thought we wrestled really well," said head coach Keith Gavin. "I think we got pushed in some of those matches because they have a good team, they had six national qualifiers on the team. Our guys were pushed and they responded really well for the most part and we really dominated that dual." The Camels got on the board first as redshirt freshman Louis Newell dropped an 11-8 decision to Korbin Meink at 125 pounds. Fourth-ranked redshirt sophomore Micky Phillippi then tied things up, 3-3, after defeating No. 12 Noah Gonser, 6-2, at 133 pounds. Matthews then gave the Panthers a hefty 9-3 lead as he upset No. 13 Josh Heil with a pin in 1:28 at 141 pounds. "Cole is a special kid," said Gavin. "He's a great competitor. The guy he wrestled today is pretty good, he's been around and has a lot of experience. But, Cole is mature beyond his years when he's out there competing." Redshirt freshman Luke Kemerer and 16th-ranked redshirt senior Taleb Rahmani then recorded back-to-back wins for Pitt at 149 and 157 pounds, giving the Panthers a 15-3 lead through the first five bouts. Next up was Wentzel at 165 pounds who recorded the Panthers' second upset of the day as he earned a 9-1 major decision over No. 15 Quinten Perez. Redshirt junior Gregg Harvey continued the winning ways for Pitt as he won in a 9-4 decision over Austin Murphy at 174 pounds. Campbell then earned its second and final win of the day as Andrew Morgan upset sixth-ranked redshirt sophomore Nino Bonaccorsi in an 11-8 decision. Redshirt senior Kellan Stout and eighth-ranked Thomas recorded wins in the final two bouts of the day at 197 and 295 pounds. Stout outlasted Austin McNeill in a 4-0 decision before Thomas recorded a dominant win over No. 7 Jere Heino. The Panthers return to the Fitzgerald Field House Friday, Nov. 15 when they host No. 3 Ohio State at 3 p.m. Results: 125: Korbin Meink (Campbell) dec. Louis Newell (UP), 11-8 – Campbell leads 3-0 133: #4 Micky Phillippi (UP) dec. #12 Noah Gonser (Campbell), 6-2 – Tied 3-3 141: #19 Cole Matthews (UP) fall #13 Josh Heil (Campbell), 1:27 – Pitt leads 9-3 149: Luke Kemerer (UP) dec. Zach Barnes (Campbell), 4-0 – Pitt leads 12-3 157: #16 Taleb Rahmani (UP) dec. Matt Dallara (Campbell), 6-4 – Pitt leads 15-3 165: Jake Wentzel (UP) maj dec. #15 Quinten Perez (Campbell), 9-1 – Pitt leads 19-3 174: Gregg Harvey (UP) dec. Austin Murphy (Campbell), 9-4 – Pitt leads 22-3 184: Andrew Morgan (Campbell) dec. #6 Nino Bonaccorsi, 11-8 – Pitt leads 22-6 197: Kellan Stout (UP) dec. Austin McNeill (Campbell), 4-0 – Pitt leads 25-6 285: #8 Demetrius Thomas (UP) dec. #7 Jere Heino, 10-3 – Pitt wins 28-6

LANSDALE, Pa. -- The Drexel wrestling team jumped out to a 2-0 start with wins over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and West Liberty at the Dragon Duals at North Penn High School in Lansdale, Pa. The Dragons edged past SIUE, 18-15, before a convincing 32-9 victory over West Liberty. Drexel claimed six bonus-point victories on Saturday with two coming from Chandler Olson. The junior from Shippensburg, Pa. was one of four undefeated Dragons on Saturday. DREXEL 18, SIUE 15 Bonus-point victories by Olson and Bryan McLaughlin proved to be the difference in an otherwise tightly-contested match with SIUE. The two sides split the 10 bouts, but Drexel prevailed by an 18-15 margin. The Dragons led 8-0 after the first two matches. At 125 pounds, Antonio Mininno scored the last five points of the match to break a 6-6 tie in the third period, giving the sophomore the 11-6 decision over Gage Datlovsky. Moving on the 133 pounds, Olson quickly put the bout to rest with 16 unanswered en route to a 16-0 technical fall against Honor Nguyen just two minutes 45 seconds into the match. Olson's technical fall is the first of his collegiate career. The Cougars scored three-straight decision victories at 141, 149 and 157 pounds to take a 9-8 lead. Tyler Williams and Saul Ervin pushed one another into sudden victory at 141 pounds, where Ervin prevailed, 10-8. Tyshawn Williams topped Vincent Foggia at 149 pounds, 8-3, and Felix Belga fell 6-1 to Justin Ruffin, a 2019 NCAA qualifier – at 157 pounds. Tenth-ranked Ebed Jarrell halted SIUE's momentum at 165 pounds, giving Drexel a lead it would not relinquish. Starting the third period in the bottom position and down 5-4 to Chase Deihl, Jarrell fought for the escape to send the bout to sudden victory. In the first sudden-victory period, Jarrell scored a takedown for the 58th win of his career. Another close victory for the Dragons followed at 174 pounds, where Michael O'Malley topped Kevin Gschwender, 11-8. O'Malley was dominant in the first two periods, and led 9-2 after five minutes. SIUE won two of the final three bouts to close out the dual. Anthony Walters fell to Ryan Yarnell, 10-4, at 184 pounds. Bryan McLaughlin gave Drexel its last win of the match and did so in convincing fashion with a 14-6 major decision over Aric Bohn. McLaughlin led 11-0 to start the third quarter. The Cougars entered the heavyweight match trailing 18-12, needing a pin fall to tie the team score and win on tiebreaking criteria. Instead, Sean O'Malley battled 2019 NCAA qualifier Colton McKiernan tough in a 3-0 loss. DREXEL 32, WEST LIBERTY 9 The Dragons won seven bouts in their second dual of the day, a 32-9 win over West Liberty. The Hilltoppers entered Saturday ranked 12th in Division II by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and boast three grapplers ranked in the top-10 of their respective weight classes. Drexel scored four bonus-point victories against WLU, running its total on the day to six. The Dragons pulled away in the middle of the match on the strength of a Belga pin and tech falls from Jarrell and O'Malley in three-straight bouts. The Hilltoppers struck first with a 6-0 decision from third-ranked Cole Laya over Dante Mininno, but DU won the next seven matches. Olson collected his second bonus-points win on the day with an 8-0 major decision over Nate Keaton at 133 pounds. At 141 pounds, Williams battled No. 3-ranked Darius Bunch to a 7-5 win. Foggia topped Jack Barber, 6-3, at 149 pounds, and the Dragons led 10-3. Then, the points started coming in bunches for Drexel. Belga pinned Blake Miller at the 5:22 mark of their bout at 157 pounds. Jarrell followed with a 16-0 tech fall against Chase Morgan at 165 pounds, winning the match in a shade under four minutes. Not to be outdone, O'Malley scored an 18-0 tech fall against Chance Morgan in just 2:21. Owen Brooks emerged with a 7-6 decision win at 184 pounds to push the Dragons' lead to 29-3. Logan Kemp – the seventh-ranked 197-pounder in Division II – pinned McLaughlin in the second-to-last match of the day. O'Malley capped the Dragon Duals for Drexel with a 3-1 decision over Chase Logan at 285 pounds. The Dragons return to the mats on Friday, when they welcome fourth-ranked Oklahoma State to the Daskalakis Athletic Center at 7 p.m. Drexel 18, SIUE 15 125: Antonio Mininno dec. Gage Datlovsky, 11-6 – Drexel 3, SIUE 0 133: Chandler Olson tech fall Honor Nguyen, 16-0 (2:45) – Drexel 8, SIUE 0 141: Saul Ervin dec. Tyler Williams, 10-8 (SV-1) – Drexel 8, SIUE 3 149: Tyshawn Williams dec. Vincent Foggia, 8-3 – Drexel 8, SIUE 6 157: Justin Ruffin dec. Felix Belga, 6-1 – SIUE 9, Drexel 8 165: #10 Ebed Jarrell dec. Chase Deihl, 7-5 (SV-1) – Drexel 11, SIUE 9 174: Michael O`Malley dec. Kevin Gschwendtner, 11-8 – Drexel 14, SIUE 9 184: Ryan Yarnell dec. Anthony Walters, 10-4 – Drexel 14, SIUE 12 197: Bryan McLaughlin major dec. Aric Bohn, 14-6 – Drexel 18, SIUE 12 285: #15 Colton McKiernan dec. Sean O'Malley, 3-0 – Drexel 18, SIUE 15 Drexel 32, West Liberty 9 125: Cole Laya dec. Dante Mininno, 6-0 – West Liberty 3, Drexel 0 133: Chandler Olson major dec. Nate Keaton, 8-0 – Drexel 4, West Liberty 3 141: Tyler Williams dec. Darius Bunch, 8-5 – Drexel 7, West Liberty 3 149: Vincent Foggia dec. Jack Barber, 7-3 – Drexel 10, West Liberty 3 157: Felix Belga pin Blake Miller (5:22) – Drexel 16, West Liberty 3 165: #10 Ebed Jarrell tech fall Chase Morgan, 16-0 (3:58) – Drexel 21, West Liberty 3 174: Michael O'Malley tech fall Chance Morgan, 18-0 (2:21) – Drexel 26, West Liberty 3 184: Owen Brooks dec. Isaiah Myers, 7-6 – Drexel 29, West Liberty 3 197: Logan Kemp pin Bryan McLaughlin – Drexel 29, West Liberty 9 285: Sean O'Malley dec. Chase Logan, 3-1 (SV-1) – Drexel 32, West Liberty 9

TROY, N.Y. - The All-Americans led the Sun Devil charge at day one of the Journeymen Duals as they went 6-0, lifting ASU to two wins over No. 20 Virginia and No. 23 Purdue Two-time national champion Zahid Valencia backed up his preseason No. 1 rank at 184 lbs. by cruising to a victory in just over a minute against Cavalier junior Tyler Love. Z. Valencia racked up six points for the Devils with a quick pin (1:03) of his opponent for his first win of the season and the second ASU pin of the day. All-American No. 6 Josh Shields dominated his match at 165 and was up 13-2 before recording the fall (6:23) on Sam Martino. ASU's season got off to a winning start when No. 24 Brandon Courtney secured three points at 125 by knocking off Cavalier freshman Patrick McCormick in an 8-5 decision. After Courtney's win gave ASU the early lead, Josh Kramer put the Devils up 6-0 with a 9-5 upset over No. 19 Louie Hayes. The victory marked Kramer's first since he defeated Chattanooga's Franco Valdez on December of 2018. Redshirt Sophomore Navonte Demison found himself down late in the third period of the 141 lbs. match, but recorded an escape and a takedown with seconds to go in the match to add another three points to the Devils' score. No. 10 Anthony Valencia gave up just one point on an escape to Victor Marcelli of Virginia in an 8-1 rout at 174 lbs. With the dual win well in hand, up 24-12 heading into the final bouts of the contest, No. 4 Tanner Hall's 3-1 decision sealed the Devils' first win of the season with his first win for the Devils since March of 2018. No. 4 Arizona State - 27 No. 20 Virginia - 12 125: No. 24 Brandon Courtney (ASU) DEC Patrick McCormick (UV) - 8-5 133: Josh Kramer (ASU) DEC No. 19 Louie Hayes (UV) - 9-5 141: Navonte Demison (ASU) DEC Brian Courtney (UV) - 4-2 149: Denton Spencer (UV) FALL No. 14 Josh Maruca (ASU) - 2:52 157: Justin McCoy (UV) DEC No. 11 Jacori Teemer (ASU) - 7-4 165: No. 6 Josh Shields (ASU) FALL Sam Martino (UV) - 6:23 174: No. 10 Anthony Valencia (ASU) DEC Victor Marcelli (UV) - 8-1 184: No. 1 Zahid Valencia (ASU) FALL Tyler Love (UV) - 1:03 197: Jay Aiello (UV) DEC Cade Belshay (ASU) - 6-3 HWT: No. 4 Tanner Hall (ASU) DEC Quinn Miller (ASU) - 3-1 Later in the afternoon, the Sun Devil wrestling team found a way to pull ahead, and ultimately take down Big Ten opponent, No. 23 Purdue, 22-19 in its final dual of the day. ASU found itself in a hole early after Brandon Courtney suffered a major decision loss to No. 11 ranked Devin Schroder, 10-2. A quick rebound followed in the next match at 133 lbs., when Josh Kramer picked up his second win of the afternoon by topping Marshall Craig, 12-4, for the major decision victory. The Devils and Boilermakers would trade blows the remainder of the match with the Sun Devil seniors taking command late. Josh Maruca notched his first win of the 2019 season, while Josh Shields booked win No. 100 after earning a crucial major decision against Emil Soehnlen, 12-2. The two-time All-American entered the weekend just two wins shy of the century mark coming into todays duals. Zahid Valencia proved again why he's one of the best college wrestlers in the country and in consideration for the Dan Hodge Award. It took Valencia just over one minute into the second period to snag six points for his team and deliver his second fall of the afternoon. The finale between heavyweights Tanner Hall and David Eli would decide the overall outcome for the match. Hall stayed poised and delivered in a big way for the Sun Devils as he grabbed the tech fall win to cap off a 2-0 start for the No. 4 ranked team in the nation. ASU returns home to host its first home duals of the year against Augustana (South Dakota) (Nov. 15/7 p.m.) and McKendree (Nov. 16/12 p.m.), before playing host to No. 1 Penn State Friday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. No. 4 Arizona State - 22 No. 23 Purdue - 19 125: No. 11 Devin Schroder (PUR) MAJ No. 20 Brandon Courtney (ASU) -- 10-2 133: Josh Kramer (ASU) MAJ Marshall Craig (PUR) -- 12-4 141: Parker Filius (PUR) DEC Navonte Demison (ASU) -- 9-3 149: No. 17 Josh Maruca (ASU) DEC Nate Limmex (PUR) -- 4-0 157: No. 8 Kendall Coleman (PUR) wins by forfeit 165: No. 6 Josh Shields (ASU) MAJ Emil Soehnlen (PUR) -- 12-2 174: No. 9 Dylan Lydy (PUR) DEC No. 10 Anthony Valencia (ASU) -- 3-1 184: No. 1 Zahid Valencia (ASU) FALL Max Lyon (PUR) -- 4:01 197: Thomas Penola (PUR) DEC Cade Belshay (ASU) -- 3-2 HWT: No. 4 Tanner Hall (ASU) TF David Eli (PUR) -- 20-3 (5:47)

Across the border in Fargo, North Dakota, the Gopher wrestling team battled their way to five individual titles. The Gophers had 15 individuals reach the semifinals, including having three semifinalists at 157-pounds. By the end, 12 Gophers had placed in the top-three. Across over 55 combined victories on Saturday, 17 came from pins and 35 total were bonus point victories. At 174-pounds Devin Skatzka dominated his bracket with three consecutive pins to start the tournament. After pinning his first opponent in 2:55, he stuck his next two foes in 1:23 and 0:39, respectively. Skatzka ran away with an 18-6 major decision in the championship bout. Mitch McKee also showed off his skills at 141-pounds with a pair of technical falls and pins to run his way to the title with four bonus point victories. McKee pinned his opponent in 16 seconds in the final title. Brent Jones also won a title at 133-pounds. (Please note TrackWrestling corrected the score after the conclusion.) The Gophers other two titles came at both 125-pound and 149-pounds where Gophers faced-off in the final bouts. Pat McKee took the victory over Jake Gliva while Brayton Lee defeated Jakob Bergeland. Out of all the freshman, 157-pound Baylor Fernandes had the best performance with a fourth-place finish. All wrestlers competed unattached.