InterMat Staff

Grand View wrestling coach Nick Mitchell (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) As another college wrestling season is about to begin, it's an unbeatable time to take a look back at the most successful collegiate mat programs. In the past month, InterMat has been sharing the results of the Takedown Report blog's analysis of the wrestling coaches who have tallied the most national team titles in NCAA Division I, II and III. Now TDR has taken a similar, detailed look at the coaches at NAIA wrestling programs who have won championships at the annual national tournament. First, a quick bit of history. The NAIA National Championships first made their debut in 1958. In the 62 years of the tournament, there have been 63 championship teams. (In 1994, two teams tied for the title.) The coach with the most NAIA mat titles is Nick Mitchell of Grand View University, with a string of eight titles starting in 2012 ... with the most recent being in spring 2019. The Des Moines-based program still competes in NAIA. In second place in the team title race are two coaches and their programs: David James of Central State of Oklahoma, in the 1980s, and Joe Parsi of Lindenwood University in the St. Louis area, from 2002 to 2009. James and Parsi guided their teams to five titles each. (Both schools now compete in NCAA Division II.) David Ray of Montana State-Northern led his teams to four titles in the span from 1989 to 2004 to claim fourth place in team championships. Four coaches with a trio of NAIA titles each are tied for fifth place: Richard Ulrich of Adams State, Russ Houck of Bloomsburg State, Eddie Griffin of Central State and Mike Machholz of Missouri Valley College. Bloomsburg won their titles in the 1960s before moving to D-I. Takedown Report's Fleming does a masterful job compiling and presenting the statistics for NAIA coaches and programs which can claim at least one national title (many more than listed here) ... along with other tidbits of information that fans of NAIA wrestling -- and, in fact, fans of college wrestling at all levels -- will find fascinating. Hungry for the same sort of info on the three divisions of NCAA wrestling? Takedown Report already shared its analysis of Division I championship coaches as well as Division II championship coaches ... and Division III championship coaches. Questions? Comments? Contact TDR editor Martin Fleming directly at martinkfleming@gmail.com.

St. Thomas University will be adding a men's intercollegiate wrestling program taking to the mats for the first time in fall 2020, the private university located in Miami Gardens, Fla. announced Wednesday. In addition, the school revealed in the same announcement it will also be welcoming new men's and women's swimming and diving programs beginning in the 2020-2021 academic year. The new wrestling program -- along with the addition of swimming and diving -- will give St. Thomas University 21 varsity sports, all which compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). "We are thrilled to add these new sports, and to provide more options for college bound student-athletes," said St. Thomas University Athletics Director, Laura Courtley-Todd. "The university's approach and vision for ethical leadership, makes it very attractive to students and there is no better way of gaining leadership skills than through sports participation." David A. Armstrong, J.D., St. Thomas University President, echoed those sentiments, saying, "We know that students who participate in athletics are more engaged, socially and academically. We look forward to these new students continuing the positive momentum." St. Thomas becomes the third collegiate program in Florida to add the sport, joining Keiser and Southeastern. St. Thomas will be part of the Mid-South Conference, becoming the eleventh team in the sport and will compete against Southeastern, Keiser, Brewton -- Parker (Ga.), Campbellsville (Ky.), Cumberland (Tenn.), Life (Ga.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Midway (Ky.), Thomas More (Ky.) and Cumberlands (Ky.). Mike Moyer, the Executive Director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association, said, "The NWCA extends a heartfelt thanks to the St. Thomas University Administration for their extraordinary leadership in establishing an intercollegiate wrestling program." "There are over 390-high school wrestling teams (7,700 participants) in Florida, and until now, two intercollegiate teams," Moyer added. "We will do everything we can, as an association, to ensure that the STU program is wildly successful." St. Thomas University is a private, four-year university affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami. Founded in 1961, STU has an enrollment of approximately 4,200 students.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The Lehigh wrestling team kicked off the 2019-20 season with the annual Brown and White Wrestle-offs Thursday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. A crowd of just under 1,200 was treated to 11 bouts, many of which were decided in the third period or beyond. Four members of Lehigh's true freshman class also competed on the mat in Grace Hall for the first time. "I was happy to see guys out competing," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "It had been a long time since last March, so to see the guys back on the mats, it's always a fun part of the year." Senior Chase Gallik had the busiest night of all Lehigh wrestlers, competing twice in the opening and closing bouts of the night at 165. In his first match, Gallik took on deferred freshman Brian Meyer, who scored a takedown in the final five seconds to rally for a 5-4 decision. Gallik then closed the night against true freshman Edmond Ruth, with the first-year Mountain Hawk scoring two first period takedowns and two more in the third to win 9-5. At 125, junior Brandon Paetzell rode a fast start to defeat sophomore Luke Resnick 6-2. Paetzell scored two first period takedowns and added a third period escape plus 1:14 of riding time advantage. Both bouts at 133 featured their fair shares of excitement. The first bout matched sophomore Kent Lane against junior Joe Lobeck, with Lobeck racing to a 4-1 lead after one period. Lane rallied in the third, scoring a takedown and two-point near fall to get to 5-5 and then adding one more takedown late for a 7-6 decision. In the other bout, freshman Connor McGonagle and Nick Farro were 2-2 through regulation, with Farro scoring the only takedown. Farro rode out the first half of the first tiebreaker, then was awarded a stalling point and an escape in the second half of the tiebreaker to win 4-3. Fifth-year senior Ryan Pomrinca met true freshman Malyke Hines at 141. Another exciting bout saw Hines in on several quality shots early but unable to finish. A second period reversal put Hines up 2-1 after two, but Pomrinca scored a takedown in the third and with a trading of escapes plus a stalling point for Hines, the match went to sudden victory tied 4-4. With 19 seconds remaining in sudden victory, Pomrinca scored a takedown to win 6-4. Sophomore Jimmy Hoffman met junior Luke Karam at 149 with Hoffman getting the upper hand 5-2 behind a late second period takedown, a third period takedown and a 1:25 riding time advantage. EIWA champion Josh Humphreys delivered the first bonus point win of the night with a 9-0 major decision over freshman A.J. Burkhart at 157. Humphreys scored a first period takedown, reversed early in the second and added another takedown plus two point near fall in the third, while accumulating more than five minutes of advantage time. Another bout at 165 matched freshman Luca Frinzi and junior Trey Cornish. It was Cornish winning the takedown battle 2-1, but after Cornish chose neutral in the third, Frinzi's escape after Cornish's second takedown gave the freshman a 5-4 victory. "The freshmen wrestled well tonight," Santoro noted. "A few of them wrestled some seniors. In this atmosphere they competed really well. They won a few. There were some competitive overtime matches as well. "We saw a lot of good things from our veteran wrestlers as well," Santoro continued. "There were positives in just about every match." The second bonus win of the night belonged to junior Chris Weiler, who won a 17-2 technical fall over sophomore Eli Grape at 184. Weiler led 4-2 after one period, added a takedown and four point near fall in the second and then closed things out at the 5:55 mark following an escape, takedown and four point near fall in the third. At 197, freshman Elijah Jones scored takedowns in each of the first two periods to defeat junior Andrew McDonald 6-0. The Mountain Hawks will send a contingent of wrestlers to the Nov. 3 Princeton Open and the Nov. 10 Journeymen Collegiate Classic before opening the dual meet season at home against Oklahoma State at Stabler Arena on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. Tickets for that dual and all Lehigh home duals can be purchased at Lehigh. "We have two tournaments that will help decide our lineup for Oklahoma State," Santoro said. "Tonight was just another step. We have the Princeton Open next week and will be really important to see how we do there. Then we'll go to the Journeymen and wrestle in a tournament there. Hopefully after those tournaments we'll have our lineup for the first couple of matches and we'll see how it goes as the season moves on." The 2019-20 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem. Results: 165 – Brian Meyer dec. Chase Gallik 5-4 125 – Brandon Paetzell dec. Luke Resnick 6-2 133 – Jaret Lane dec. Joe Lobeck 7-6 133 – Nick Farro dec. Connor McGonagle 4-3, tb 141 – Ryan Pomrinca dec. Malyke Hines 6-4, sv 149 – Jimmy Hoffman dec. Luke Karam 5-2 157 – Josh Humphreys major dec. A.J. Burkhart 9-0 165 – Luca Frinzi dec. Trey Cornish 5-4 184 – Chris Weiler tech. fall Eli Grape 17-2, 5:55 197 – Elijah Jones dec. Andrew McDonald 6-0 165 – Edmond Ruth dec. Chase Gallik 9-5 Attendance –1,181 Official – Jesse Rawls Jr.

The majority of NCAA wrestling programs will be starting their wrestle-offs in the coming week and while there aren't many top names locked in battle for starting positions, lesser known names are looking to break out in 2019. This is the start of that journey. I remember being thrashed my freshman year. Outmatched in every possible way. By the time I wrestled again in an official wrestle-off it was in just that type of breakout situation. I'll save you the dramatic blow-by-blow, but I recall feeling that the opportunity was one I might not be granted again. I understood that beating out the starter -- to become the starter -- was an opportunity at the first dual meet, first tournament, and first crack at ranked competition. That led to anxiety, but in the way that drove me to, frankly, outperform when it mattered most. There is of course the added issue of competing against teammates, which lends to tension and social awkwardness. If you're a wrestler reading this, I promise you that it won't last that long. Your teammates all want the best wrestler and if that's you, great. If it's not, then work harder, wait for your opportunity, and support that starting guy. Hurt feelings don't win championships. The wrestle-offs are a special time of year. I wish the best to all those high school and college athletes competing! To your questions … Luke Pletcher gets his hand raised after winning his wrestle-off match against Quinn Kinner (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Q: How do you think Luke Pletcher will do moving up from 133 pounds to 141 pounds? He's pretty short. Do you see that being an issue against longer, taller wrestlers? -- Mike C. Foley: Remember, Pletcher wrestled at 141 pounds as a true freshman (when Nathan Tomasello was at 133 pounds) and did well, reaching the round of 16 at the NCAAs. Length can give plenty of wrestlers cause for concern if they aren't prepared to combat those advantages. Pletcher has plenty of coaching to help direct his techniques and preparation when facing off against any extra-lengthy opponents. That's mostly the key: game planning and drilling the positions where you understand you'll be vulnerable. Similarly, I think Pletcher will probably find some advantages in having a more direct line of attack on the legs of a taller opponent. The issues he'll face is how he finishes. If he lifts the leg, steps outside and keeps distance from his opponent there is a good chance he can avoid any funk attacks. The ranginess of tall opponents is usually best seen when they defend singles by sitting on the head and wrapping through the crotch. Stay out of those danger zones and Pletcher will be just fine. Q: Of the No. 1 ranked wrestlers, how would you rank them from most likely champ to least likely champ? -- Mike C. Foley: 125: Spencer Lee (Iowa) 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) 184: Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) 165: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) 285: Anthony Cassar (Penn State) 157: Hayden Hidlay (NC State) 133: Seth Gross (Wisconsin) 197: Kollin Moore (Ohio State) 149: Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) 141: Dom Demas (Oklahoma) Q: Will be there be any medalists from this year's Senior World Championships competing at the U23 World Championships? If so, who? -- Mike C. Nugzari Tsurtsumia of Georgia celebrates after winning a world title at 55 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Foley: Yes! Georgia's Nugzari Tsurtsumia, a 2019 world champion in Greco-Roman at 55 kilograms, is scheduled to wrestle, which is awesome. He's very fun to watch compete. His teammate Zviadi Pataridze didn't compete at Worlds but has won every age level tournament, every year. Total monster. Slavik Galstyan who finished bronze at 63 kilograms will be in Budapest as will Ali Nejati who took bronze at 60 kilograms. Paliha Paliha of China earned bronze at 72 kilograms in Nur-Sultan and will be wrestling 76 kilograms for the Chinese women in Budapest. There might be a few more, because after looking at 750 names I feel confident one or two slipped past my eyes! By the way, Haruna Okuno of Japan is a 2017 world champion and though she didn't compete at the 2019 World Championships might be on the move. Rumor has it she'll be making the cut to 50 kilograms for the Japanese national team tournament in late December in the hopes of winning there and qualifying the spot at the Asian Qualifier and thus earning an Olympic spot. In her way are Olympic champion Eri Tosaka, two-time world champion Yui Susaki, and 2019 world team member Yuki Irie. Here is the freestyle team for the United States heading into Budapest: 57: Richard Townsell 61: Charles Tucker 65: Jaydin Eierman 70: Alec Pantaleo 74: Brady Berge 79: Muhamed McBryde 86: Maxwell Dean 92: Bo Nickal 97: Chase Singletary 125: Greg Kerkvliet Q: What kind of salaries do top guys/gals get for RTC membership? -- @DenholtzScience Foley: The variety in payment is sure to be dramatic. From Snyder to a long shot All-American chasing down a dream, the payment schedules for the athletes will be notably different. On the lower end a resident athlete might be gifted $1K per month. More likely the lower-level RTC's and RTC athletes pin the income to coaching the local club, and then supplement with summer camps and some modest monies from the school to be a manager of operations. The above is the most common, with there being a range of salaries dependent on the benefactors and what other hard costs are covered. Many schools have apartments and homes they've purchased or leased, which allows the RTC athletes a free or discounted place to live. Then there are meal plan options and a number of other workarounds. Between the money and the cost elimination most seem to be doing well enough to get by. The second tier are the athletes being paid in the $2K-4K per month range who have fewer responsibilities, but still enjoy a lot of those same cost savings. Bigger names will also pull bigger money in the summer and if they are on the ladder they can receive payments from USA Wrestling. It's not life-changing, but it can be a career stabilizer. Also, the longer you're on the team, the more you wrestle, and the more you win -- the more you make. That dosh is well earned. Finally, there is Jordan Burroughs, David Taylor, Kyle Dake, and Kyle Snyder sitting atop the heap. What they get paid I don't know. Their RTCs could be any number of arrangements and the soft and hard cost coverage could range from use of a vehicle to a house, to jewelry. Anything is possible for the top-level guys, so much so that I can't even determine a salary range. Certainly, more than $3K per month, but the top range is so affected by those other inputs that it could be anywhere, even as much as $10K in some circumstances. Suffice to say, they're doing just fine. Q: Is the RTC model sustainable? Or are we on a path of geographic unofficial/official OTC's, here we have a few major sites with maybe some affiliated satellites? Interested to hear your opinion and recommendation. -- @pbr54321 Foley: You hit the RTC nail on the head with a Cowboy hammer! The first issue is that RTC programs aim to capture the same 30 athletes on the freestyle national team. Expand that a bit to 50 and you're still playing with a small pool of athletes and a lot of interested money prodding them to come to their schools. The current model won't be the model in five years. As you noted the rich are getting richer and the smaller schools just can't convert their investments in RTC infrastructure into more wins. Even if their international guys do well in tournaments there is just not enough trickle-down support in terms of raw dollars to justify those expenses at every school. What they are really doing is adding technically proficient athletes and coaches to their training environment. They don't want to let that go, but inevitably when a recession hits and generosity isn't as prevalent the belt tightening will hit the smaller RTCs first. My recommendation is to let it all play out at the RTC level. There isn't much need for USA Wrestling or the NCAA to intercede just yet. We have yet to see the full potential and there is always someone in the community with a good adaptation. And hey, if the NCAA folds under the financial pressure of athlete image rights, those RTCs might prove to be powerful assets in the creation of a European-style club and league system! Q: Do you think any freshman has a chance to win an NCAA title this season? Who is the most likely to win? -- Mike C. Foley: Sammy Sasso of Ohio State has the best chance at 149 pounds. However, I mostly subscribe to the idea of waiting to see how they compete in their first few starts in order to judge their ability to win an NCAA title in their first season as the starter. Maybe Tanner Sloan from South Dakota State at 197 pounds, David Carr of Iowa State at 157 pounds or Anthony Cassioppi of Iowa at heavyweight.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Fans, many of which were lined up outside the doors an hour before they opened, were treated to an evening of Buckeye vs. Buckeye wrestling action. Ohio State hosted the 2019 wrestle-off finals for the first grappling event inside the Covelli Center. Results: 125 lbs | Malik Heinselman def. Hunter Lucas | D, 7-2 133 lbs | Jordan Decatur def. Dylan Koontz | MD, 13-4 141 lbs | Luke Pletcher def. Quinn Kinner | D, 7-3 149 lbs | Sammy Sasso def. Trey Grenier | MD, 20-7 157 lbs | Elijah Cleary def. Jaden Mattox | TB1, 4-2 165 lbs | Carson Kharchla def. Ethan Smith | D, 3-2 174 lbs | Rocky Jordan def. Kaleb Romero | TB1, 2-1 184 lbs | Zach Steiner def. Gavin Hoffman | D, 5-4 197 lbs | Kollin Moore def. Tyler Stein | TF, 19-4

Ray Judkins, considered to be the father of the wrestling program at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, has passed away on Sunday, October at age 82, the two-year public community college in Miami, Okla. announced Tuesday. Ray JudkinsJudkins had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Judkins launched the Golden Norse wrestling program at NEO in 1975. With Judkins at the helm, NEO won two regional championships, two conference titles as well as a number of invitational tournament championships. During the years 1981-1985 with Judkins as head coach, the NEO Norseman experienced 36 wins and 19 losses and 2 ties in collegiate matches. In his 6 years of coaching wrestling at NEO Judkins produced 12 NJCAA All-Americans and was named regional coach of the year. He was welcomed into the NEO Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007. Born in Oklahoma City in June 1937, Raymond Laverne Judkins was a student-athlete at Northeastern Oklahoma in the 1950s, where he played football and baseball. He was an AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) wrestler. He graduated from NEO in 1957. "I am proud to follow in the footsteps of him and do what we are doing," current Norse wrestling coach Joe Renfro said. "He was probably one of the first people I met when I came to campus seven years ago. It's a great loss not only for NEO wrestling, but for NEO as an institution and the Miami community." A Celebration of Life for Judkins will take place on Friday, October 25 in the Bruce Carter Student Union Calcagno Ballroom on the NEO campus. A reception will begin at 2 p.m. followed by a brief memorial program at 2:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to send donations to the Wrestling Program at NEO A&M College Foundation, 200 I Street NE, Miami, Okla. or to the Animal Welfare and Adoption Agency at their PayPal account miamiadoptadog@gmail.com.

Mitch McKee wrestling Joey McKenna at the NCAAs (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) Mitch McKee can see it from his house. The bright purple lights that glow at night from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. It's the place where his beloved Minnesota Vikings play. And the place where he hopes to cap his collegiate career with an NCAA wrestling championship. "Having the 2020 NCAA tournament there is going to be amazing," McKee said. "I will have a lot of family and friends there, and it's going to be incredible having nationals in that stadium. It's going to be awesome to finish my career there." Mitch McKee gets his hand raised after win at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) McKee starts his senior season with the Minnesota Golden Gophers ranked No. 4 by InterMat at 141 pounds. McKee placed sixth nationally at 141 pounds last season after bumping up a weight class from 133 pounds. He compiled a 24-8 record as a junior. "My career has definitely gone by fast," McKee said. "It doesn't feel like it's been that long. It's been amazing, being a part of this wrestling program and this university. I like the way it has turned out so far." McKee has found the perfect fit at the University of Minnesota during an emotional time for the close-knit McKee family. Mitch McKee hugs his father Steve after claiming a state title in 2014 (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)McKee's father, Steve, lost his battle with cancer in 2014. A few months before Steve died, he shared one final magical, heartfelt moment with his son when Mitch won a Minnesota state high school title. Mitch hugged his father following the win before the wrestler he pinned in the finals, Malik Stewart, also came over to hug McKee's father. The sellout crowd at the Xcel Energy Center stood and rewarded both wrestlers with a standing ovation. The inspirational story drew national attention. When Mitch became an NCAA All-American for the first time in 2019, his thoughts immediately flashed to one person. "Every time I think about wrestling, I think about my father," Mitch said. "When I became an All-American, I thought about all of the sacrifices my parents made for me and my brother (Patrick). They took us all over the country to compete. If there was a big tournament, we were going. They invested a lot of time and money in us. You don't realize that when you're a little kid, but looking back I really appreciate what they did for us." Mitch (top right) and Patrick with mother Nina and father SteveMcKee said his father is never far from his thoughts. "Everything I do reminds me of our relationship," Mitch said. "Wrestling, going hunting, going fishing -- those were all things we enjoyed doing together. My father brought a lot of inspiration and motivation to my life. He showed great character. He was a great person and the way he treated others was impressive." McKee's mother, Nina, continues to provide stability for their family. "My mom, she's our rock," Mitch said. "Her support has been awesome. She kept us going after everything that happened with my dad. She's done a lot for us. I can't thank her enough. My mom's always been there for us." McKee has continued to thrive on the mat. His wrestling style is entertaining. He can score points in bunches with an aggressive style. He has recorded 25 career falls, leading his team in that category each of the past three seasons. "That's my mindset when I go out there," he said. "I want to score as many points for my team as I can. I work hard and try to go for a pin. That's the mentality I've always had." McKee is part of a strong Minnesota team that is ranked in the top ten. "We really like the team we have," he said. "We have some veterans and we have some good young guys in our lineup. We think this team has the potential to win a trophy at the NCAA tournament this season." McKee's brother, Patrick, also is expected to contend for a starting spot for the Gophers this winter. He is a freshman who competes at 125 pounds. "I'm very excited to have my brother in the lineup," Mitch said. "I had some good mentors when I came to Minnesota and I will help him and mentor Patrick as much as I can. He lives in the same house with me and we're very close. It's great having him on the team with me." Mitch McKee has thrived in the classroom as well, being honored by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and the Big Ten for his academic achievements. Mitch McKee won a silver medal in freestyle at the 2017 Junior World Championships (Photo/Marion Stein, UWW) McKee also has excelled in the international style of freestyle. He was a silver medalist at the Junior World Championships in 2017. "I definitely plan on continuing to wrestle freestyle after college," he said. "I have had some good success and freestyle is my best style. I'm excited about pursuing it full-time after college." Before he pursues his freestyle aspirations, McKee has one final goal he wants to achieve in college. And with the 2020 NCAA Championships being held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the stage will be set for him to finish in style. "I'm really looking forward to the opportunity," McKee said. "Going out and winning it would be the perfect way to end my career. Being at home, would make it that much more special. Mitch McKee gets in on a shot against Peter Lipari of Rutgers (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) No matter how he finishes, Mitch McKee knows one member of his family who will always be in his corner. "My dad was always there to support us in everything we did and that will always stay with me," McKee said. "He always wanted the best for me and our family. He always told us to work hard and follow our dreams. I wish he could be there, but I know he would be proud of me." This story also appears in the Oct. 25 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.

On Episode 39 of The MatBoss Podcast, host Chad Dennis returns with his college teammate, Jason Laflin, to talk fantasy wrestling as the two drafted after WrestleStat developed a fantasy wrestling engine for wrestling fans. The fantasy discussion centers around who's going what weights and where and how it's like other sports. How's it work and how's it going to work? 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

It's an exciting time of the year with college wrestling practices starting and the season just a few weeks away. Every season is interesting, unique and special. And the 2019-20 campaign is no different with so many compelling storylines waiting to unfold. Penn State has won four straight team titles and eight of the last nine. Will that trend continue this March in Minneapolis? That is just one of the top storylines to follow with the college season drawing closer: Zahid Valencia after winning his third Pac-12 title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Zahid ready for new challenge at 184 Arizona State's Zahid Valencia is one of the country's best wrestlers, regardless of weight class. After winning a pair of 174-pound titles, Valencia has a new weight class this season after bumping up to 184 pounds. The past Junior world silver medalist is a superb all-around wrestler with an excellent arsenal of moves. He's provided a huge boost as Zeke Jones continues to build his program at ASU. Will Seth Gross win it again at new school? 2018 NCAA champion Seth Gross is back on the mat and he is now at the University of Wisconsin as a graduate transfer. Gross placed second and first in the country for South Dakota State before suffering a season-ending back injury early in the 2018-19 campaign. He moved to Wisconsin for his final season, where he is reunited with former SDSU coaches Chris Bono and Jon Reader. Gross is a tough wrestler in all positions who is difficult to match up against. If Gross is healthy, he's going to be tough to beat at 133 pounds. Especially with returning champion Nick Suriano of Rutgers and runner-up Daton Fix of Oklahoma State taking Olympic redshirts this season. Going for three Vincenzo Joseph has won two NCAA titles, but he has been overshadowed during his Penn State career by standout teammates Zain Retherford, Bo Nickal, Jason Nolf and Mark Hall. But Joseph has a chance to finish his career as one of the best wrestlers in school history. He won nationals as a freshman and sophomore before reaching the finals again last year at 165. He starts this season ranked No. 1. Joseph isn't as flashy as some of his teammates, but he's a solid and tough wrestler who is tough to score on. He certainly will contend for another title as a senior. Can Spencer Lee do it again? It wasn't easy, but Iowa's Spencer Lee repeated as NCAA champion at 125 pounds during his sophomore season. Lee suffered losses to Northwestern's Sebastian Rivera and Oklahoma State's Nick Piccininni last season before regaining momentum in time to win his second national title. Lee, who owns three age-group world titles in freestyle, is a wrestler who knows how to peak when the stakes are highest. Rivera, Piccininni and NCAA runner-up Jack Mueller of Virginia are all back this season. It's never easy to win NCAAs, but I wouldn't bet against Lee. He's still on course to be the first Hawkeye to win four NCAA titles. David Carr after winning a gold medal at the Junior Worlds (Photo/Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling) ISU's David Carr set to make big impact Iowa State features one of the nation's most exciting and dynamic wrestlers in freshman David Carr, who won a Junior world freestyle title this past summer. Carr went 23-1 during his redshirt season at ISU and he should be in contention to win a national title at 157 pounds. His father, Nate, won three NCAA titles for the Cyclones in the 1980s before capturing an Olympic bronze medal. David Carr is good enough to challenge for an NCAA title as a freshman, something that has happened more frequently in recent years. It's going to be fun to see how Carr fares during his college career as Kevin Dresser's ISU program continues to progress. Contenders or pretenders? Besides Penn State and Iowa, there are a number of programs looking to grab team trophies for the first time in a while. Those schools include Wisconsin, Nebraska, Arizona State, Minnesota, Iowa State and Northern Iowa. You never know who might get hot at the right time and earn a top-four finish at NCAAs. And with so many wrestlers taking Olympic redshirts this season, it could definitely alter how the team race plays out in 2020. Is it Hayden's time? North Carolina State's Hayden Hidlay nearly stopped Jason Nolf's run to three national titles. Now Hidlay is ready to win it all during his junior season. Hidlay starts his junior season ranked No. 1 at 157 pounds and he will be the person to beat in that division. He's a gifted wrestler who also has a bright future ahead in freestyle. Gable Steveson gets in on a shot against Christian Colucci of Rutgers in a dual meet (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) Can Gable earn gold at home? One of my favorite college wrestlers is Minnesota heavyweight Gable Steveson, who placed third as a freshman last season. He is a tremendous athlete who is unstoppable when he wrestles aggressively. Look for Steveson to come back strong and make a run at a national title this season. He's an age-group world champion with a huge upside in freestyle. He could contend for a spot on the 2020 Olympic Team. Steveson will be wrestling at home with the national tournament being held just down the street from the University of Minnesota campus. How many fans will attend 2020 NCAAs? I've always hated seeing wrestling fans being turned away from an event because there aren't enough seats available. It doesn't happen often, but it has been an issue at the NCAA Championships. It likely won't be an issue this season with the 2020 NCAAs set to be held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings will have more than enough room to accommodate fans. Now it's up to wrestling fans, and sports fans in general, to fill this place up for nationals. It's going to be interesting, and awesome, to see how it all plays out in late March. You won't want to miss it as attendance records will be shattered. Can anyone challenge the Nittany Lions? Coach Cael Sanderson has built a dynasty at Penn State and the Nittany Lions look extremely strong again this season. Penn State lost superstars Bo Nickal and Jason Nolf, but it still has three NCAA champions in its lineup with Mark Hall, Vincenzo Joseph and Anthony Cassar. The Iowa Hawkeyes return virtually everybody, including two-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee, and looked poised to challenge the Nittany Lions for the team title. Iowa hasn't won NCAAs since it captured its third straight title in 2010. With a healthy Michael Kemerer coming back, this may be the year the Hawkeyes reign again in late March. As always, it will be entertaining to watch. 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.

Dremiel Byers wrestling at the 2009 World Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced on Tuesday that the Class of 2020 inductees are Distinguished Members Bruce Burnett, Dremiel Byers, Mark Lieberman and Bill Zadick, Meritorious Official Tim Shiels, Order of Merit recipient Gary Abbott, Medal of Courage recipient Gary Chopp and Outstanding American Carl Eschenbach. "This group has accomplished and done so much for wrestling and they continue to give back to our great sport," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. "We are proud to honor these remarkable individuals as our Class of 2020." The Hall of Fame Board of Governors approved the selections at its meeting in Kansas City on Oct. 16. The induction ceremony will be held at the 44th Annual Honors Weekend on June 5-6, 2020 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For more information on Honors Weekend, please telephone (405) 377-5243. Byers and Zadick were chosen as Distinguished Members for the Modern Era while Burnett and Lieberman were selected by the Veterans Committee. The Hall of Fame has reached a milestone and will induct its 200th Distinguished Member since it began in 1976. Distinguished Members can be a wrestler who has achieved extraordinary success in national and/or international competition; a coach who has demonstrated great leadership in the profession and who has compiled an outstanding record; or a contributor whose long-term activities have substantially enhanced the development and advancement of the sport. Bruce Burnett speaks at a press conference prior to the start of the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Bruce Burnett has been a successful coach at the high school, college and international level. He was USA Wrestling's national freestyle coach from 2014-2016 and from 1993-2000, considered the most successful Olympic cycles in U.S. history. During his tenure, five Americans won Olympic gold medals - Kendall Cross (1996), Tom Brands (1996), Kurt Angle (1996), Brandon Slay (2000) and Kyle Snyder (2016) - and 11 U.S. athletes won 13 World Championships - Bruce Baumgartner (1993 and 1995), Terry Brands (1993 and 1995), Tom Brands (1993), Melvin Douglas (1993), Angle (1995), Kevin Jackson (1995), Les Gutches (1997), Sammie Henson (1998), Stephen Neal (1999), Jordan Burroughs (2015) and Snyder (2015). From 1993-2000, U.S. wrestlers won 22 World medals (11 gold, four silver and seven bronze) and placed in the Top 10 at the World Championships as a team every year. United States won its first-ever Senior World Freestyle team title in 1993 and again in 1995. U.S. won the medal count at the 1996 Olympic Games with three gold (Angle, Tom Brands and Cross), a silver (Townsend Saunders) and a bronze (Baumgartner). Burnett coached J'den Cox to a bronze medal and Snyder to a gold medal at 2016 Olympic Games after coaching Burroughs and Snyder to World titles in 2015. He led the United States to seven World Cup team titles and five Pan American Championships, including 2011 when the U.S. had six medalists, including champions Burroughs, Jake Herbert, Jake Varner and Tervel Diagnev. From the national teams that he coached, Angle, Baumgartner, Terry Brands, Tom Brands, Cross, Douglas, Gutches, Henson, Jackson, Zeke Jones, Kenny Monday, Neal, Saunders and Dave Schultz are all Distinguished Members of the Hall of Fame. Burnett was the wrestling coach at the United States Naval Academy from 2000-13, leading his teams to a 113-57 overall dual meet record and six consecutive 10-win seasons from 2002-07. Team finished in Top Five at the EIWA Championships seven times and placed in the Top 25 at the NCAA Championships three times. Burnett coached 10 EIWA champions, 50 NCAA qualifiers and 10 wrestlers who earned All-American honors. He was an assistant coach for Joe Seay at Oklahoma State from 1987-90, helping lead the Cowboys to two NCAA team titles, two National Wrestling Coaches Association National Dual titles and three Big Eight Conference titles. OSU had 26 All-Americans and five national champions, including Distinguished Members John Smith, Cross and Pat Smith. Burnett began his coaching career at Meridian High School in Meridian, Idaho, where he led his teams to a 154-13-2 dual meet record with four state team titles, four state runner-up finishes, six district titles and nine conference titles from 1974-87. He won the Idaho Coaches Association Coach of the Year award seven times, and served as state chairperson and junior chairperson for Idaho USA Wrestling. On the mat, Burnett was undefeated in dual meets and a two-time Big Sky Conference and Mountain Intercollegiate Wrestling Association champion for Idaho State University in 1971-72. He was a two-time California Junior College state champion for Bakersfield College, compiling a 55-3 career record and being named the state's outstanding wrestler in 1970. Burnett was a two-time league champion and three-time state place-winner for North Bakersfield (California) High School. He was inducted into the Idaho State Sports Hall of Fame in 1986, the California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004 and the North High School Hall of Fame in 2013. Burnett received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Idaho Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015 and was named the Myron Roderick Man of the Year by USA Wrestling in 2016. Dremiel Byers is considered one of the best Greco-Roman wrestlers in U.S. history, joining Distinguished Member Matt Ghaffari as the only Americans to win three medals at the Greco-Roman World Championships. Byers won a gold medal at the 2002 World Championships and is one of just five Americans to win a Greco-Roman World gold medal - Mike Houck (1985), Dennis Hall (1995), Rulon Gardner (2001) and Joe Warren (2006). He added a bronze medal in 2007 and a silver medal in 2009. His bronze medal win in 2007 helped the United States win its first and only Greco-Roman World team title, by a single point over Russia. Byers made eight World Greco-Roman teams (1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011) and two Olympic teams, finishing seventh in 2008 and ninth in 2012. He is the winningest wrestler, in any style, in Dave Schultz Memorial International history with six gold medals and 11 total medals. Byers attended Kings Mountain High School in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, where he was an All-State wrestler and won the North Carolina state high school heavyweight championship in 1993. He attended North Carolina A&T on a football scholarship, but was forced to leave college to take care of family matters. Byers then enlisted in the U.S. Army and joined the Army's World Class Athletes Program in 1996. He retired from the Army as a Sergeant First Class and currently serves as an assistant coach for the WCAP team at Fort Benning, Georgia. Byers was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Alan and Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions in 2015. Mark Lieberman is acclaimed as Lehigh University's greatest overall wrestler, if combining all styles. He was a two-time undefeated NCAA champion at 177 pounds in 1978 and 1979 after a runner-up finish in 1977 at 167. He is part of another special wrestling family with his brother, Mike, winning the NCAA championship for Lehigh in 1975 at 177 pounds. Mark was the first four-time EIWA champion in school history pinning an unbelievable 12 of 16 wrestlers in the EIWA tournament, a record for the 110-year old event. In his senior year, he swept the EIWA's major awards, winning the Outstanding Wrestler Trophy, the Sheridan Trophy for most falls and the Fletcher Award for scoring the most team points in his career. He still holds Lehigh records for season falls (16), career falls (43) and most bonus points in a season (95.2% of his matches in 1979). Wrestling for the New York Athletic Club, he was an AAU national champion in 1977 and won the U.S. Wrestling Federation national championship in 1978, 1979 and 1980. Lieberman won a gold medal at the World Cup in 1978 and a silver medal in 1979. He won the Pan Am Wrestling Championships in 1977. He pinned his idol, 1976 Olympic gold medalist and Distinguished Member John Peterson, in the finals of the National Open in 1978 to earn the Outstanding Wrestler Award, the Most Falls Award, the U.S. Wrestling Federation Grand Champion Award and 1978 Athlete of the Year. Three of Lieberman's national open titles and all of his international medals were won as a college undergraduate. Lieberman also defeated Distinguished Members Wade Schalles, Chris Campbell and Ed Banach in freestyle competition. Helping launch the Blair Academy (New Jersey) freestyle program, he won the AAU Junior World national championship in 1974 and 1975 and was the U.S. Wrestling Federation Junior national champion in 1973. Lieberman won the National Independent Schools championship (National Preps) in 1972, 1973 and 1974 and was outstanding wrestler two times. Lieberman was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches' Hall of Fame in 1987, the Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994, the EIWA Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Blair Academy Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. Bill Zadick won a gold medal at the World Championships in 2006 after finishing seventh in 2001. In 2006, he and his younger brother, Mike, became the first set of brothers since Terry and Tom Brands in 1995 to both make the same World or Olympic team. Zadick won the U.S. Open in 2001 and 2002 and had runner-up finishes in 2003, 2006 and 2008. He finished second at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2000 and 2008 and was runner-up at the U.S. World Team Trials in 1999 and 2002. Zadick was an NCAA champion as a senior in 1996 after a fifth-place finish in 1995, helping the University of Iowa win back-to-back NCAA team titles. He wrestled at Great Falls (Montana) High School and is one of only 17 wrestlers to win four Montana state high school championships, which he accomplished in four different weight classes - 98 pounds (1988), 112 pounds (1989), 119 pounds (1990), and 135 pounds (1991). Zadick joined USA Wrestling as its resident coordinator and assistant national freestyle coach in 2009 and was promoted to national freestyle development coach and assistant national freestyle coach in 2010. During his four years with the age-group teams from 2011-14, the U.S. won eight Cadet World medals, nine Junior World medals and 10 medals at the University Worlds or University World Games. Included were Cadet World champions Adam Coon, Mark Hall, Spencer Lee, Mason Manville, Aaron Pico and Zain Retherford, Junior World champion Kyle Snyder and University World champions Tyler Caldwell and Tyrell Fortune. In 2014, the U.S. age group World teams reached new levels of success in freestyle as the Cadets placed third in the world, the juniors placed second in the world and the University team won the world title. In 2015, Zadick began working directly with national coach Bruce Burnett and the elite senior athletes. He was part of the coaching staff at the 2015 World Championships, where Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Snyder won gold medals and James Green won a bronze medal. The U.S. also won the medal count at the 2015 Pan American Games with six medals, led by champions Burroughs, Brent Metcalf, Zach Rey and Snyder. Zadick was named national freestyle coach in 2016, assuming his duties after the 2016 Olympics. In 2017, the U.S. won its first World team title in 22 years led by gold medalists Burroughs and Snyder, silver medalists Thomas Gilman and Green and bronze medalists J'den Cox and Nick Gwiazdowski. Zadick and his staff also produced one of the greatest years in USA Wrestling age-group history, including winning the Junior World team title for the first time in over 30 years. At the 2017 Cadet World Championships, the United States placed second with four champions and six medalists and had two individual medalists and placed fourth at the U23 World Championships. At the 2018 Senior World Championships, the Americans finished second and had seven medalists, including World champions Cox, Kyle Dake and David Taylor. In 2019, Zadick led the United States to another successful season, including becoming the first team to win all 10 gold medals at the Senior Pan American Championships. At the Senior World Championships, the U.S. finished third and had four medalists, including Cox and Dake repeating as World champions while Burroughs earned his eighth career World/Olympic medal and Snyder picked up his fifth in a row. The Outstanding American award is presented to those individuals who have used the disciplines of wrestling to launch notable careers in other walks of life, such as science and technology, business and industry, government and the military, and the arts and humanities. Carl Eschenbach begin his wrestling career with East Stroudsburg Youth Association where he was the first ever to win six individual league championships in seven years. He was the first wrestler to be named to the Pocono Record's All-Pocono First-Team four straight years, and won a gold medal at the Centennial League wrestling tournament as a senior in 1985 after winning a silver medal in 1982 and bronze medals in 1983 and 1984. Eschenbach had a runner-up finish at District XI and a third-place finish in the Northeast Regional in 1985. He is currently a Partner with Sequoia Capital in Menlo Park, California. Sequoia is an iconic venture capital firm who helps the daring build legendary companies. Prior to Sequoia Eschenbach was President and COO of VMware from 2002-2016 where he helped build the company from 200 to 20,000 employees and from $30M in revenues to $7B. Today VMware is a $60B+ market cap company. Prior to VMware he held various sales leadership positions at 3Com, Lucent, Inktomi and EMC. In 2007, Eschenbach was ranked third on a list of the Top 25 Most Innovative IT Executives in the nation. Eschenbach currently serves on the boards of Armis Security, Aurora, Cohesity, Palo Alto Networks, Snowflake Computing, UiPath, Workday and Zoom Video Communications. He also lettered three years in baseball and football and earned Most Valuable Athlete awards in wrestling in 1983, 1984 and 1985 and in baseball and football in 1985. Eschenbach was an All-Centennial League First Team selection in baseball and football in 1985 and was voted Best All-Around Male Athlete. He was captain of the wrestling team for three years and was captain of both the baseball and football teams as a senior. Eschenbach is enshrined on the East Stroudsburg-South Athletics Hall of Fame and football's Walls of Fame. He earned an electronics technical diploma from DeVry University. Eschenbach is passionate about leadership and believes that wrestling has had a massive impact on his life and professional career. The Meritorious Official award recognizes outstanding service as a referee, judge, or pairing official. Tim Shiels began officiating fulltime in 1988, working the regional and state tournaments in his home state of Minnesota. He began focusing on college officiating in 1989 and has worked 12 NCAA Division I national championships, seven NCAA Division II national championships, 19 NCAA Division III national championships, five national junior college tournaments and a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament. Shiels has worked five NCAA DI finals and was selected as a Top 5 Official by the NCAA Officials Association in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. He served as the head official at the NCAA DIII national tournament six times and has worked nine National Wrestling Coaches Association Dual Meet Championships and nine Big Ten Championships. Shiels became the first active official to serve on the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee when he was elected in 2013 and he has served as an evaluator of officials at the Minnesota state high school tournament since 2008. In 2015, Shiels became NCAA Wrestling's National Coordinator of Officials, replacing Hall of Fame official Dr. Pat McCormick, who had held the position for 42 years. Shiels wrestled for his father, Hall of Fame coach Dick Shiels, at Faribault (Minnesota) High School, qualifying for the state tournament twice and placing fifth as a junior. He lettered in wrestling and golf at Waldorf College, serving as team captain in wrestling, and then at the University of Minnesota Morris. Shiels earned All-American honors and helped his team finish third with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division III tournament in 1981. He had a career record of 106-41-1 and qualified for the National Junior College tournament twice at Waldorf and qualified for the NCAA DIII championships twice at Minnesota Morris. Coaching wrestling at St. Olaf College from 1982 to 1988, Shiels coached six All-Americans and led the team to a 12th-place finish at the NCAA DIII tournament in 1986 and an 11th-place finish in 1987. Shiels was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1987 after his team won the All-Lutheran tournament and finished second at the MIAC tournament, 1/2 of a point behind champion St. Thomas. He received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Minnesota Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. The Medal of Courage recipient is a wrestler or former wrestler who has overcome what appear to be insurmountable challenges, providing inspiration to others. A couple of months after concluding his wrestling career at Grand Valley State University with a sixth-place finish at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament, Gary Chopp went skydiving. During the 3,000-foot jump, his main and reserve parachutes malfunctioned, causing him to fall freely during the last 300 feet until he crashed into the ground. Chopp fractured his spine, shattered his pelvis, lost a kidney and spleen while suffering paralysis in one leg. He credits the physical, mental and emotional strength he gained as a wrestler for helping to not only stay alive at the time of the accident but also to achieve inspired goals during the ensuing seven months in the hospital and throughout his life. After recovering in the hospital where he lost 90 pounds as he fought to stay alive, he changed his major and returned to school. He eventually entered law school, sat on the school's first law review, graduated in the top ten percent of his class in 1981, and won the Distinguished Student Award. Successfully practicing as a trial lawyer for 35 years, Chopp continued to experience complications from the accident. He underwent several surgeries, including the amputation of a leg and the development of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a chronic pain condition that recently forced him to retire from the practice of law. Chopp lettered four years (1971-1975) in wrestling at Grand Valley State which began its wrestling program in 1968. He had a career record of 67-26, and he was one of the team leaders who helped Grand Valley achieve its goal of becoming a nationally competitive wrestling program. Chopp lettered four years in wrestling and two years in football at Grand Ledge (Michigan) High School. In wrestling, he was a conference champion as a junior and senior, helping Grand Ledge capture the team title both years. Chopp was team captain and qualified for the state tournament as a senior while also placing in Greco-Roman at the Junior World Olympics. The Order of Merit is presented to an individual that has made a significant contribution to the sport of wrestling, but who is not an athlete or a coach. Gary Abbott is Director of Communications and Special Projects for USA Wrestling. He began working at USA Wrestling as Manager of Communications in 1988, was promoted to Director, and was named Director of Special Projects in 2001. Abbott has worked at major wrestling events in the United States and around the globe, including eight Olympic Games, dozens of Senior and age-group World Championships and 38 straight NCAA Championships. He is responsible for USA Wrestling communications activities, including publications and other media platforms, media relations, promotions, public relations and special projects. Abbott oversees USA Wrestling's magazine USA Wrestler and handles the organization's corporate communications program. In 2013, he was a prominent figure in the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling in wrestling's fight to remain an Olympic sport. Abbott has been a pioneer in building women's wrestling for decades, including most recently, the creation of a national girls high school wrestling poll and helping women's wrestling receive emerging sport status from the NCAA. He has promoted the growth of wrestling by providing coverage for all of wrestling's disciplines. He manages USA Wrestling's Associated Styles program, including grappling and beach wrestling. Abbott has been instrumental in the growth of Cadet and Junior Nationals, which drew a record 5,400 athletes in 2019. Prior to joining USA Wrestling, he was editor of Wrestling Masters from 1982-87, creating content and producing the national magazine. He also served as publicist for the National Wrestling Coaches Association and developed the NWCA Division I Coaches Poll. He founded the ASICS Tiger High School Wrestling All-American Team in 1985. Abbott was a four-year starter on Boston University's varsity wrestling team, competing for Hall of Fame coach Carl Adams. He received the Publicist of the Year award from the National Wrestling Media Association in 1991 and won the organization's Publication of the Year in 1996. In 1992, Amateur Wrestling News presented him with its Bob Dellinger Award, presented to the wrestling writer of the year. He was the 2005 AWN Man of the Year, and received the 2005 NWCA Meritorious Service Award. Abbott was one of three founders of the NWMA in 1988 and served as its president from 1991-92. He has served as chairperson of the Hall of Fame's Distinguished Members screening committee and as a member of the selection and veterans committees. Abbott served on the steering committee of the Olympic Public Relations Association and participated in the Team USA Leadership Certificate Program, which is the flagship leadership development program for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movements. He received his bachelor's degree in journalism from Boston University in 1982. National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum America's shrine to the sport of wrestling, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1976 to honor the sport of wrestling, preserve its history, recognize extraordinary individual achievements, and inspire future generations. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame has museums in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Waterloo, Iowa. The Stillwater, Oklahoma, location reopened in June 2016 following a $3.8 million renovation while the Waterloo, Iowa, location reopened in March 2019 after undergoing a $1.4 million renovation. Both museums now feature interactive exhibits and electronic kiosks, as well as the opportunity to watch NCAA Championship matches from the 1930s to present day. Stillwater also has the John T. Vaughan Hall of Honors where the greatest names in wrestling are recognized, including iconic granite plaques presented to Distinguished Members since the Hall of Fame opened in 1976. The museum has the largest collection of wrestling artifacts and memorabilia in the world, including the most collegiate and Olympic wrestling uniforms. Wrestling truly is for everyone and the diversity and accessibility of the sport continues to be highlighted through exhibits featuring females, African-Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Latino Americans. There is also a library featuring historical documents, including NCAA guides and results, as well as books on the sport. For more information about the Hall of Fame, please visit www.NWHOF.org.

Hastings College will be welcoming women's wrestling to its roster of intercollegiate sports starting in the 2020-2021 school year, the Nebraska-based school announced Monday. A new varsity men's volleyball will also take to the gym floor next year at Hastings College. With the addition of women's wrestling and men's volleyball, Hastings College will now field 26 competitive teams. Like the school's other varsity athletic teams, these new Broncos athletic programs will be affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). School administrators are eager to welcome the two new sports programs. "We're excited to launch these new athletic teams and provide opportunities for more student athletes to experience Hastings College," said Hastings College President Dr. Travis Feezell. "The teams are reflective of the institution, our athletic conference and where we want to go as a college." Director of Athletics B.J. Pumroy said Hastings College recognizes intercollegiate athletics as an important component to the College's learning community. "Women's wrestling is a fast-growing sport in intercollegiate and interscholastic levels across the country," said Pumroy. "We believe it's the right time to join the trend of schools adding the sport to meet an increasingly growing marketplace. We know Nebraska high schools traditionally have strong wrestling programs. We also believe with the national and state increase in participation in girls wrestling, the Nebraska School Activity Association may soon sanction the sport." According to the Hastings College announcement, at the NAIA level, 20 schools competed in the inaugural NAIA National Invitational Women's Wrestling Championship held in Jamestown, North Dakota, in 2019, including two from the GPAC and three from the Nebraska. There are 63 colleges and universities nationwide which sponsor women's wrestling at various levels. The NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics also recently recommended women's wrestling to be recognized as an emerging sport, which is the first step to NCAA official championship sponsorship. Eighteen states have women's wrestling championships at the high school level. In Nebraska, 168 girls competed for their high school teams in the 2018-19 school year, which is the 20th largest state participation number. Nationally there were 2,980 high school sponsoring teams and 21,124 girls wrestling at the high school level in 2018-19. Hastings College is conducting national searches to find head coaches for both programs. Founded in 1882, Hastings College is a four-year, private college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. Located (appropriately enough) in Hastings in south-central Nebraska, Hastings College has been named among "Great Schools, Great Prices" by U.S. News & World Report and a "Best in the Midwest" by The Princeton Review. The school has an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students.

Kenny Anderson (Photo/Getty Images) Kenny Anderson, three-time NCAA Division III wrestling champ for Wartburg College less than a decade ago, passed away Sunday, October 20 in New Orleans where he was living. He was 29. Anderson won three straight NCAA titles for the Waverly, Iowa-based Division III mat powerhouse, claiming the 125-pound championship at the 2012 NCAAs, then back-to-back crowns at 133 in 2013 and 2014. In his mat career as a Knights wrestler, Anderson crafted a 76-3 overall record, and served as team captain as a senior, helping lead his team to three D3 team titles. Not much is known at this time about Anderson's passing. Here's what sportswriter Jim Nelson of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier wrote: "According to the limited information that wrestling hall of famer Jim Miller and current Wartburg College head wrestling coach Eric Keller have learned of the situation is that Anderson was found unconscious in his residence in New Orleans by a roommate Sunday morning." Keller learned of Anderson's death in a phone call from former Wartburg wrestler Steven Kleamenakis, a native of New Orleans. Kleamenakis' brother was a roommate of Anderson's in Louisiana's largest city, where he was about to start his first season as co-head wrestling coach at Holy Cross High School, a New Orleans school which had sent a number of its wrestlers to Wartburg. "Total shock and disbelief ... it is hard to process right now," Keller told Nelson's Courier. "He was loved for who he was on the mat and who he was off the mat." "He was 29. I'm in shock," added Jim Miller, who was Wartburg's head coach when Anderson arrived in Waverly. "I'm truly at a loss for words. I'll never forget you Kenny. You will be deeply missed. Prayers for the Anderson Family," T.J. Miller posted on Facebook. After his on-the-mat career, Anderson launched his coaching career ... first as an assistant Wartburg, then more recently, at Cornell College, a Division III school in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Here's the message Wartburg wrestling posted on its Twitter account: "The entire Wartburg Wrestling family is shocked and heartbroken over the news of Kenny Anderson's passing," the school said in a release. "Kenny was one of our greats (three-time NCAA champion) and one of the fiercest competitors to put on our singlet. "We send our deepest prayers and sincerest thoughts to his family, his friends, and the entire wrestling community. He will be greatly missed and his time with our program treasured and never forgotten." Anderson's death reminded Wartburg wrestling fans of the passing of another Knight mat great, Aaron Wernimont, who passed away suddenly in 2012 at age 26. Wernimont's birthday was Oct. 20 ... the date of Anderson's passing. Prior to coming to Wartburg, Kenny Anderson had wrestled at Billerica High School outside Boston, where he won three Massachusetts state mat titles, and won the New England title at 119 pounds in 2008. He was inducted into the State Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011. "I feel very badly for Kenny, he's a great kid who was moving in the right direction in life," Anderson's high school coach, Bob Belanger, told the Boston Herald. "He was very passionate about the sport. He had a great work ethic." UPDATE 10/23/2019 Funeral arrangements for Kenneth (Kenny) J. Anderson have been announced. Visiting hours will be held Friday, October 25 from 3-7 p.m. at the Sweeney Memorial Home, 66 Concord Rd., in Anderson's hometown of Billerica, Massachusetts. A funeral mass will take place Saturday, Oct. 26 at 10 a.m. at St. Theresa Church, 466 Boston Rd., Billerica at 10 a.m. Memorial contributions may be made in Kenneth's name to the Billerica Scholarship Foundation, 365 Boston Rd., Billerica, MA 01821. Burial in Fox Hill Cemetery, Billerica.

LAURINBURG, N.C. -- St. Andrews University has hired Nicholas (Nick) Soto to be the new Head Coach of the Men's Wrestling team. The Spring Hill, Florida native will start coaching the Knights wrestling team this upcoming season. Nick SotoSoto comes to us after coaching as a graduate assistant coach at Seton Hill University. Soto also has experience coaching in high school, where he helped Cleveland High School (who became State Champions), Jesuit High School and Springstead High School. Soto attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he was a decorated wrestler. While at Chattanooga, Soto was a four-time NCAA Qualifier and four-time SoCon Champion. Soto was ranked in the top 15 every year and was undefeated in conference competitions in his four years at Chattanooga. Soto is fourth on UTC's All-time Win's list. He's a Reno Tournament of Champions winner, a Southern Scuffle finalist and multiple time place winner, and a Hokie Open Champion and multiple time place winner. In high school, Soto was an NHSCA three-time All American, a two-time Florida State Champion and a three-time place winner. Soto's high school team at Springstead High School was the first athletic team in their county to win a state title. Soto graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a bachelor's in business administration in 2015. While at Chattanooga, Soto was a continuous member of the Dean's List and Athletic Director's List. Nick Soto comes to St. Andrews to fill in for long-time head wrestling coach, Joe Baranik. Baranik led the Knights wrestling team for 13 plus years, and he took special pride in re-starting the wrestling program at St. Andrews after a 36-year hiatus. Baranik developed three All-Americans and 52 athletes with academic honors. Coach Baranik said his 2009-2010 season was one of the most memorable. The Knights qualified seven individuals to Nationals, and they placed 21st. Baranik also enjoyed coaching his son, Troy, for four years. Baranik on leaving the St. Andrews Wrestling program: "It is hard to leave the kids I recruited, but the athletic department has made a great hire in Nick Soto. I appreciate SAU in giving me the opportunity for my first head coaching job on the collegiate level. I also want to thank my wife and daughter for attending all the home matches and giving me and the Knights their full support." About St. Andrews University St. Andrews University is a branch of Webber International University located in Laurinburg, NC. The University's mission is to offer students an array of business, liberal arts and sciences, and pre-professional programs of study that create a life transforming educational opportunity which is practical in its application, global in its scope, and multi-disciplinary in its general education core. Students will acquire depth of knowledge and expertise in their chosen field of study, balanced by breadth of knowledge across various disciplines, while pursuing a degree at associate, bachelor, or master level. Special emphasis is placed on enhancing oral and written communication, and critical thinking skills. The international quality of the student body enriches personal experience and promotes understanding of international cultures and influences. Through an atmosphere in which self-discipline, creativity and cultivation of ethical standards are enhanced, the University is dedicated to teaching its students the "how to learn, how to think, and how to apply method" to each new challenge.

Former top-flight amateur wrestlers Deron Winn and Chris Weidman came out on the losing end of their bouts at UFC on ESPN 6 at Boston's TD Garden Friday night. Winn, 30, a two-time NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) wrestling champ for St. Louis Community College, Meramec, suffered his first loss in his young mixed martial arts career with a split decision awarded to Darren Stewart in a catchweight bout (Winn weighed in 2.5 pounds over the 185-pound middleweight limit) ... while the 35-year-old Weidman, who earned All-American honors at Nassau Community College twice, then twice again at nearby Hofstra University was the victim of a first-round KO at the hands of Dominick Reyes in a light-heavyweight (205-pound) fight. Winn's first MMA loss ... Here's how MMAfighting.com opened its coverage of the Deron vs. Darren three-round catchweight bout: https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/10/18/20921773/ufc-on-espn-6-results-darren-stewart-hands-deron-winn-his-first-loss-in-razor-close-split-decision Deron Winn"Darren Stewart has knocked Deron Winn from the ranks of unbeaten fighters. "The British slugger used his boxing to hurt the highly touted prospect in several exchanges on the feet, while constantly making the wrestler work very hard during every second they spent on the ground. Ultimately, two judges sided with the damage done by Stewart with scores of 29-28 with the third official going for Winn with an identical 29-28 so the fight ended in a split decision ..." "After three hard-fought rounds, the judges didn't have an easy job deciding the victor, which was reflected in the scorecards but Stewart did enough to secure the win ..." After the bout, the Stewart said, "I feel great. Big up Deron, he's a warrior." The 30-year-old Stewart -- nicknamed "The Dentist" -- is now 11-4 overall ... while Winn drops to 6-1 in his pro MMA career launched in March 2017, and is now 1-1 in UFC, having signed with that promotion at Christmastime 2018. Dayne Fox of BloodyElbow.com served up this assessment of Deron Winn's first pro MMA loss: "I expected Winn to hit a ceiling sooner rather than later given the limitations his mini-frame presents [the former collegiate mat star stands 5'7"], but this was even sooner than I expected. Though Winn did get his wrestling going this time around -- something he didn't do in his UFC debut -- Winn didn't do much with the takedowns once he got them. Winn gassed pretty hard and the judges preferred Stewart's offense on the feet to Winn's mat control." ... while Weidman suffers loss in light-heavyweight debut Chris Weidman -- a New York high school state wrestling champ who later won an MMA title -- tallied his fifth loss in six fights at UFC Boston Friday night. (By contrast, the Long Island native had launched his pro MMA career a decade ago with a 13-bout win streak.) "Dominick Reyes made quick work of Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC Boston, knocking out the former middleweight champion in the first round," according to BloodyElbow.com. "Weidman begun their fight by shooting in on a double-leg takedown and backing Reyes up against the fence. Briefly taking him to the ground for a moment, Reyes worked well getting back to his feet as Weidman continued to try and get the fight to the mat. "As Weidman backed Reyes up, he was caught by a big left hand that dropped him, Reyes then passed Weidman's guard and followed up with a clubbing right hand and some follow up punches that were enough for referee Herb Dean to stop the fight." BloodyElbow.com offered this assessment of the Reyes-Weidman bout: "It's a disappointing start for Weidman in his debut at light heavyweight, however he was taking a top contender in the undefeated Reyes. Perhaps this fight was too big of a jump for Weidman, and he should fight someone outside the top-ten at 205-pounds next." After the loss, Weidman said he was still confident that his move up to light-heavyweight would pay off in the future. However, UFC president Dana White had another view of things. "What he said tonight didn't sound to me like he is considering retirement," White told reporters at the post-event news conference. "So it's a conversation he and I definitely need to have. This was his move up to light heavyweight, which obviously didn't go well for him. So maybe he goes back down to middleweight or he thinks about maybe retiring." BloodyElbow's Dayne Fox concurred with White's assessment, and then some. "I like Weidman. He's a family man. He's funny. He's charismatic. But he's also delusional if he wants to say he can continue to fight at a high level and he did say in his post-fight interview that he would be back. Much like Chuck Liddell at the end of his career, I have no interest in seeing Weidman continue to fight. Hopefully, Dana White is willing to have that conversation with him." Weidman is now 14-5 in his MMA career going back to 2009 ... while Dominick Reyes improves to 6-0 in UFC, and 12-0 overall.

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- The St. Olaf College Department of Athletics announced on Friday that it will discontinue the sport of men's wrestling, effective at the end of the 2019-20 academic year. The coaching staff and student-athletes were notified of the decision at a meeting prior to Friday's announcement. "Providing our student-athletes with a quality experience is our top priority," said St. Olaf College Athletic Director Ryan Bowles. "We are committed to ensuring that they have the opportunity to flourish academically, socially, and athletically. For wrestling, the demands of our small program and dwindling roster do not meet our standards or provide a sustainable model of excellence." St. Olaf first offered wrestling as a varsity sport in 1949 and won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) team championship in 1950-51. The MIAC stopped sponsoring the sport of men's wrestling after the 2002-03 academic year. "This is a decision we did not take lightly," Bowles added. "We recognize and appreciate the efforts our coaches and student-athletes have made and all they have done for Ole wrestling, as well as the entire St. Olaf community. We will rally around the impacted coaches and student-athletes and support them in this time of change." Head coach Sean Ahrar has been offered an opportunity to remain at the College in a different capacity beginning next year.

100: 1st: Landon Robideau (STMA) dec. Alan Koehler (Prior Lake), 5-2 3rd: Nolan Reiter (Big Lake) maj. dec. Matt Randolph (Scott West), 11-1 5th: Robert Flege (Aquinas) by injury default over Austin Laudenbach (Apple Valley) 106: 1st: Shane Corrigan (De Pere) dec. Max Ricks (Rogers), 4-0 3rd: Aaron Lorentz (Perham) dec. Elijah Wald (Wayzata), 6-1 5th: Preston Kratochvil (LAW) dec. Andrew Joedeman (Litchfield), 8-6 113: 1st: Christian Noble (Big Lake) pinnedColton Bornholdt (New Prague), 1:30 3rd: Spencer Johnson (Sartell) dec. Gavin Hilyar (Elk River), 8-4 5th: Alex Joedeman (Litchfield) pinned Jacob Uribe (Edina), 0:58 120: 1st: Julian Valtierrez (Taft) dec. Matthew Hogue (Stillwater), 13-8 SV 3rd: Jed Wester (STMA) dec. Teagan Block (Prior Lake), 3-0 5th: Calvin Lonnquist (Wayzata) dec. Tanner Gerber (Cameron), 6-4 126: 1st: Pierson Manville (Shakopee) dec. Ryan Henningson (Winona), 6-2 3rd: Kyler Wong (Wayzata) dec. Ty Althoff (Watertown), 7-5 5th: Brendan Howes (Anoka) maj. dec. Logan Henningson (Winona), 13-2 132: 1st: Charlie Pickell (Mankato West) tech. fall Charlie Dojan (Irondale), 18-3 3rd: Landon Parent (Princeton) dec. Cody Minor (Ashwaubenon), 4-2 5th: Roman Gilbert (Eastview) pinned Kelby Armstrong (Minot), 0:59 138: 1st: Jerry Simes (Litchfield) dec. Brandt Bombard (North Branch), 3-2 3rd: Sam Fernholz (Sartell) dec. Gabe Bellefeuille (Perham), 8-1 5th: Kade Sammons (Windom Area) dec.Tyler Jensen (Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa), 8-4 145: 1st: Cole Becker (STMA) pinned Canon Swanson (Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa), 8:30 3rd: Jude Link (Dassel Cokato) pinned David Platt (Hibbing), 4:30 5th: Alex Kowalchyk (Coon Rapids) dec. Ryan Cripe (Lakeville South), 2-1 152: 1st: Ben Durocher (Wrightstown) dec. Ryder Rogotzke (Stillwater), 7-6 3rd: Bryce Dagel (Eden Prairie) dec. Royce Hogue (Stillwater), 10-9 5th: Reid Lawrence (Mahtomedi) maj. dec. Logan Heimbruch (New London), 11-3 160: 1st: Bryce FitzPatrick (Mahtomedi) dec. Colby Mennis (Madison Central), 11-10 3rd: Adam Sylvester (Totino Grace) dec. Kail Wynia (Kasson-Mantoville), 8-4 5th: Hunter Mashl (De Pere) maj. dec. Anthony Arens (Totino Grace), 10-2 170: 1st: Jaden Dukes (Lakeville South) maj. dec. Mitchell Nowlan (Andover), 11-3 3rd: Gavin Osterhaus (Burnsville) dec. Hayden LeMonds (STMA), 2-1 5th: Nathan Langer (Eastview) pinned Jaime Ruiz (Kennedy), 1:43 182: 1st: Danny Reynolds (Andover) dec. Roman Rogotzke (Stillwater), 8-6 3rd: Wyatt Lidberg (STMA) dec. Cayden Homme (Wayzata), 3-1 5th: Brian Ramos (Perham) dec. Jagger Greenwood (Hibbing), 11-6 195: 1st: Joey Johnson (Shakopee) pinned Aiden Winter (Andover), 1:11 3rd: Christian Sackett (Stewartville) pinned Carlos Perez (Lane Tech), 4:15 5th: Kaylon King (Washburn) pinned Brennan Hirtz (Eden Prairie), 2:49 220: 1st: Kaleb Haase (Redwood Valley) dec. Ryan Fitz (Mound Westonka), 7-3 3rd: Sawyer Wilson (Somerset) pinned Denis Tokin (Woodbury), 1:40

Charlie Pickell won the title at 132 pounds and was named Outstanding Wrestler (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) EDINA, Minn. -- On Saturday, Charlie Pickell made a statement at the InterMat Classic, dominating a weight class that included three state champions, along with a state finalist. Pickell, a two-time state champion and four-time state finalist, cruised to the title at 132 pounds, picking up a technical fall in the finals over Charlie Dojan (Irondale, Minn.), 18-3. Dojan defeated a pair of state finalists on his run to the finals before losing to Pickell, who finished his tournament with three first-period pins and a technical fall. Pickell was named the event's Outstanding Wrestler. Christian Noble pinned his way to a title for the second straight year (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Christian Noble (Big Lake, Minn.) was the lone repeat champion at the InterMat Classic. Noble pinned every opponent he faced in the tournament for the second straight year. He pinned Colton Bornholdt (New Prague, Minn.) in the first period in the championship match at 113 pounds. Noble, a state third-place finisher last season, jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after a takedown and two-point nearfall. He built his lead to 6-1 before securing the pin. St. Michael-Albertville and Shakopee crowned a pair of champions. Winning titles for St. Michael-Albertville were seventh-grader Landon Robideau (100) and sophomore Cole Becker (145). Seventh-grader Landon Robideau won the title at 100 pounds with a win over Fargo finalist Alan Koehler (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Robideau, a Tulsa Nationals champion, won the title at 100 pounds with a 5-2 victory over Fargo freestyle finalist Alan Koehler (Prior Lake, Minn.). Robideau used two first-period takedowns to go up 4-1 in the first period. The two would trade escapes in each of the next two periods with no more takedowns scored. Cole Becker lifts Canon Swanson in overtime (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Becker, a state placewinner and Fargo All-American, picked up the title at 145 pounds with a pin in overtime against two-time state finalist Canon Swanson (Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Minn.). Regulation ended with the score tied 4-4. Neither wrestled as able to score in the first minute of overtime. In tiebreaker, Becker escaped to take the lead. When Swanson went down, Becker lifted him and drove him to his back for the fall. In 2018, Becker placed fifth at the InterMat Classic. Shakopee's champions were Pierson Manville (126) and Joey Johnson (195). Pierson Manville claimed the title at 126 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Manville, the nation's No. 2 junior high wrestler, captured the title at 126 pounds after finishing second in the event a year ago at 106 pounds. He topped state runner-up Ryan Henningson (Winona, Minn.), 6-2. Manville, a state champion as a seventh-grader, scored two first-period takedowns and added a third-period reversal. Joey Johnson had three pins en route to winning the title at 195 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Johnson, a state placewinner, capped off a dominant run to the title by getting a first-period pin in the finals against Aiden Winter (Andover, Minn.). Johnson pinned all three of his opponents on Saturday. Two Wisconsin wrestlers won titles, Shane Corrigan (De Pere, Wis.) and Ben Durocher (Wrightstown, Wis.). Shane Corrigan shut out Max Ricks in the finals (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Corrigan shut out Max Ricks 4-0 in the finals at 106 pounds. The match was scoreless through the first two periods. In the third period, Corrigan picked up a takedown and added to his lead with a two-point nearfall. A year ago, Corrigan placed sixth at the InterMat Classic. Ben Durocher edged Ryder Rogotzke in the finals at 152 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Durocher, a two-time state finalist, held on to beat Ryder Rogotzke (Stillwater, Minn.), 7-6, to claim the title at 152 pounds. Rogotzke used a four-point move late in the match to take a 6-5 lead. But Durocher came behind for a reversal with 10 seconds left, which proved to be the difference. Julian Valtierrez defeated Matthew Hogue to win the title at 120 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Julian Valtierrez (Taft, Ill.) gave Beat the Streets Chicago a champion at the InterMat Classic, winning the title at 120 pounds. He defeated Matthew Hogue (Stillwater, Minn.) 13-8 in sudden victory in the finals. Valtierrez broke open a 2-2 match in the second period with a four-point move. He led 7-2 in the third before Hogue came back with a four-point move of his own to cut the deficit to 7-6. Hogue cut Valtierrez loose and scored a late takedown to send the match to overtime. In overtime, Hogue threw a headlock, but Valtierrez rolled through and scored a takedown and three nearfall points to win by five. Jerry Simes scored a late takedown to defeat Brandt Bombard in the finals at 138 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Jerry Simes (Litchfield, Minn.), a state placewinner and three-time state qualifier, scored a late takedown to edge Brandt Bombard (North Branch, Minn.) in the finals at 138 pounds. Bombard took a 2-1 lead with 12 seconds left in the match after Simes was penalized for stalling. With short time on the clock, Simes scored a takedown to earn the victory. Bryce Fitzpatrick won a high-scoring affair over Colby Mennis in the finals at 160 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) State placewinner Bryce FitzPatrick (Mahtomedi, Minn.) won a high-scoring affair over state runner-up Colby Mennis (Madison Central, S.D.), 11-10, to win the title at 160 pounds. Jaden Dukes won by major decision in the finals (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Jaden Dukes (Lakeville South, Minn.) secured the title at 170 pounds with an 11-3 major decision in the finals over Mitchell Nowlan (Andover, Minn.). Danny Reynolds defeated Roman Rogotzke in the finals at 182 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Danny Reynolds (Andover, Minn.) defeated Roman Rogotzke (Stillwater, Minn.) 8-6 to earn the title at 182 pounds. The 182-pound weight class included two returning InterMat Classic champions, but both wrestlers failed to make the finals. Kaleb Haase, a two-time state placewinner, won the title at heavyweight (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Kaleb Haase (Redwood Valley, Minn.), a two-time state placewinner, won the title at heavyweight with a 7-3 victory over state qualifier Ryan Fitz (Mound Westonka, Minn.). Placement Match Results 100: 1st: Landon Robideau (STMA) dec. Alan Koehler (Prior Lake), 5-2 3rd: Nolan Reiter (Big Lake) maj. dec. Matt Randolph (Scott West), 11-1 5th: Robert Flege (Aquinas) by injury default over Austin Laudenbach (Apple Valley) 106: 1st: Shane Corrigan (De Pere) dec. Max Ricks (Rogers), 4-0 3rd: Aaron Lorentz (Perham) dec. Elijah Wald (Wayzata), 6-1 5th: Preston Kratochvil (LAW) dec. Andrew Joedeman (Litchfield), 8-6 113: 1st: Christian Noble (Big Lake) pinnedColton Bornholdt (New Prague), 1:30 3rd: Spencer Johnson (Sartell) dec. Gavin Hilyar (Elk River), 8-4 5th: Alex Joedeman (Litchfield) pinned Jacob Uribe (Edina), 0:58 120: 1st: Julian Valtierrez (Taft) dec. Matthew Hogue (Stillwater), 13-8 SV 3rd: Jed Wester (STMA) dec. Teagan Block (Prior Lake), 3-0 5th: Calvin Lonnquist (Wayzata) dec. Tanner Gerber (Cameron), 6-4 126: 1st: Pierson Manville (Shakopee) dec. Ryan Henningson (Winona), 6-2 3rd: Kyler Wong (Wayzata) dec. Ty Althoff (Watertown), 7-5 5th: Brendan Howes (Anoka) maj. dec. Logan Henningson (Winona), 13-2 132: 1st: Charlie Pickell (Mankato West) tech. fall Charlie Dojan (Irondale), 18-3 3rd: Landon Parent (Princeton) dec. Cody Minor (Ashwaubenon), 4-2 5th: Roman Gilbert (Eastview) pinned Kelby Armstrong (Minot), 0:59 138: 1st: Jerry Simes (Litchfield) dec. Brandt Bombard (North Branch), 3-2 3rd: Sam Fernholz (Sartell) dec. Gabe Bellefeuille (Perham), 8-1 5th: Kade Sammons (Windom Area) dec.Tyler Jensen (Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa), 8-4 145: 1st: Cole Becker (STMA) pinned Canon Swanson (Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa), 8:30 3rd: Jude Link (Dassel Cokato) pinned David Platt (Hibbing), 4:30 5th: Alex Kowalchyk (Coon Rapids) dec. Ryan Cripe (Lakeville South), 2-1 152: 1st: Ben Durocher (Wrightstown) dec. Ryder Rogotzke (Stillwater), 7-6 3rd: Bryce Dagel (Eden Prairie) dec. Royce Hogue (Stillwater), 10-9 5th: Reid Lawrence (Mahtomedi) maj. dec. Logan Heimbruch (New London), 11-3 160: 1st: Bryce FitzPatrick (Mahtomedi) dec. Colby Mennis (Madison Central), 11-10 3rd: Adam Sylvester (Totino Grace) dec. Kail Wynia (Kasson-Mantoville), 8-4 5th: Hunter Mashl (De Pere) maj. dec. Anthony Arens (Totino Grace), 10-2 170: 1st: Jaden Dukes (Lakeville South) maj. dec. Mitchell Nowlan (Andover), 11-3 3rd: Gavin Osterhaus (Burnsville) dec. Hayden LeMonds (STMA), 2-1 5th: Nathan Langer (Eastview) pinned Jaime Ruiz (Kennedy), 1:43 182: 1st: Danny Reynolds (Andover) dec. Roman Rogotzke (Stillwater), 8-6 3rd: Wyatt Lidberg (STMA) dec. Cayden Homme (Wayzata), 3-1 5th: Brian Ramos (Perham) dec. Jagger Greenwood (Hibbing), 11-6 195: 1st: Joey Johnson (Shakopee) pinned Aiden Winter (Andover), 1:11 3rd: Christian Sackett (Stewartville) pinned Carlos Perez (Lane Tech), 4:15 5th: Kaylon King (Washburn) pinned Brennan Hirtz (Eden Prairie), 2:49 220: 1st: Kaleb Haase (Redwood Valley) dec. Ryan Fitz (Mound Westonka), 7-3 3rd: Sawyer Wilson (Somerset) pinned Denis Tokin (Woodbury), 1:40

Charlie Pickell is one of three state champions entered at 132 pounds (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine) The 10th InterMat Classic takes place on Saturday at Edina High School in Edina, Minn. Wrestlers from eight different states are entered in this year's event. Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. CT. Trackwrestling.com will be providing a live stream, archived video and results. Links: InterMat Classic Website | Live Results | Purchase Live & Archived Video Let's examine a few storylines to watch at this year's InterMat Classic. Returning InterMat Classic champions In the nine-year history of the InterMat Classic, only 11 wrestlers have been multiple-time champions. This year, four wrestlers will look to join that exclusive group. Returning InterMat Classic champions entered in this year's event include Christian Noble (Big Lake, Minn.) at 113 pounds, Nolan Craine (Goddard, Kan.) at 170 pounds, as well as Wyatt Lidberg (STMA, Minn.) and Jagger Greenwood (Hibbing, Minn.) at 182 pounds. Christian Noble will look to win his second straight InterMat Classic title (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine) Noble won the 100-pound title at the 2018 InterMat Classic, pinning all four of his opponents. He reached the state semifinals at 106 pounds in Minnesota's Class AA last season as a freshman, losing to the eventual state champion in overtime. Noble battled back to finish third and concluded his freshman season with a 44-2 record. Craine won last year's InterMat Classic title at 160 pounds in dominant fashion, outscoring his opponents 32-1. He was a state runner-up last season and third-place finisher in 2018. Craine made his mark nationally in late March, finishing as a runner-up at the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals. Lidberg and Greenwood are both entered at 182 pounds. Lidberg, a multiple-time state placewinner and Fargo All-American, won last year's title at 170 pounds. Greenwood, a multiple-time state qualifier, claimed last year's title at 195 pounds. 132-pound weight class loaded with talent While many of the weight classes are filled with talented wrestlers, the 132-pound weight class might be the strongest, most top-heavy weight class with three state champions, a state finalist and several other notable wrestlers. Charlie Pickell (Mankato West, Minn.), Cody Minor (Ashwaubenon, Wis.) and Kelby Armstrong (Minot, N.D.) have all won state titles. Pickell captured state titles at 106 pounds and 113 pounds in 2016 and 2017 respectively. He has been a state runner-up in each of the past two seasons. Earlier this year, Pickell finished as a runner-up at the NHSCA Junior Nationals in Virginia Beach. Minor claimed a Wisconsin Division 1 state title last season at 113 pounds, becoming his school's first state wrestling champion since 2008. He was a state third-place finisher in 2018. Minor has placed multiple times at the InterMat Classic. Most recently, he placed fifth in a deep 113-pound weight class in 2018. In 2017, Minor placed third at the InterMat Classic at 106 pounds. Armstrong won a state championship as a sophomore at 106 pounds in 2018. Last season, he was a state runner-up at 113 pounds. Armstrong has placed at the InterMat Classic in each of the past two years (fourth in 2018, fifth in 2017). Another wrestler who could challenge for the title at 132 pounds is Landen Parent (Princeton, Minn.). Parent was a state finalist in 2018 and state third-place finisher last season. He was a runner-up at last year's InterMat Classic at 113 pounds. Talented junior high wrestlers Every year, there are talented junior high wrestlers who perform exceptionally well at the InterMat Classic. In 2011, Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) became the first junior high wrestler to win an InterMat Classic title when he accomplished the feat as an eighth-grader. He would go on to become a five-time InterMat Classic champion. Pierson Manville after winning a state championship as a seventh-grader (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) In 2016, two eighth-graders won titles at the InterMat Classic. In 2017, another eighth-grader won a title. Last year, Pierson Manville (Shakopee, Minn.) reached the InterMat Classic finals as a seventh-grader at 106 pounds. Manville, ranked as the nation's No. 2 overall junior high school wrestler by InterMat, is back in the tournament as an eighth-grader and will compete at 126 pounds. St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.) has a couple very accomplished junior high wrestlers that should contend for high finishes, Landon Robideau at 100 pounds and Jed Wester at 120 pounds. Robideau was a 2018 Tulsa Kickoff champion, 2019 Tulsa Nationals champion and 2019 Minnesota/USA Triple Crown winner. Wester was a state high school tournament qualifier as a seventh-grader and a 14U All-American in both freestyle and Greco-Roman this year. Beat the Streets Chicago wrestlers The organization Beat the Streets Chicago is bringing a talented group of wrestlers to the InterMat Classic. The goal of BTS Chicago is "to develop the urban wrestling community into a self-sustaining entity that is based on the core values of wrestling; hard work, dedication, discipline and determination." Several BTS Chicago wrestlers have the potential to make noise at the InterMat Classic. Julian Valtierrez One BTS Chicago wrestler in particular to keep an eye on is Julian Valtierrez (Chicago Taft, Ill.) at 120 pounds. The senior has only been wrestling since his freshman year but has built a strong wrestling resume in just a few years. He has thrived in the Beat the Streets Chicago program. To learn more about Valtierrez and Beat the Streets, read InterMat's story.

The 2019-2020 NCAA wrestling season is here! After a summer filled with keg parties, 3 a.m. pizza slices, and a general lack of regard for cross training, the nation's wrestling elite are once again bound to their sunless Resilite prisons to atone for their spats of heathenry and trim themselves to an acceptable preseason weight. The young men are also meeting freshman teammates and getting a sense of where they fall in the lineup. These first few weeks are filled with plenty of hope, but also an equal measure of realization that boozing and eating snacks is a more pleasure-filled life (though not as satisfying). Coaches too are back in the rooms. They are setting up meetings with athletes and learning about their team's new social dynamic. The chemistry of a team will always change from year-to-year, but the head coaches will spend the better part of these first few weeks establishing firm expectations for work ethic and output. How they deal with those who don't meet their goals on and off the mat will impact that team dynamic for the next several months, so for many this grooming period is vital. Team captains begin to emerge and anointing those can create extra pitfalls. The coaches also have the stress of setting expectations with the administration across their columns of responsibility: recruiting, results, and fundraising. Fans are also working their way back into folkstyle shape, readying their eyeballs for 14-minute matches of rodeo-like rides and four-point nearfalls! Hands to the face penalties have been reviewed and lessened by the NCAA Rules Committee, but will that lead to more concussion and bouts filled with brutality remains to be seen. What will the sport offer everyone in 2020? With a slew of top names taking redshirts it could be a quiet season, but for some fans with programs in need of wins it could be a chance to see wrestlers work their way onto the podium and generate attention, which translates to donations and recruits. Good luck to the athlete, coaches, and fans who love this sport so much. I'm sure there will be many disagreements, but for now we can look excitedly towards the first semester of action! To your questions … Chris Bono and Jon Reader celebrate with Evan Wick after a win (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarrriors.com) Q: What NCAA team do you expect to surprise (exceed expectations) this season? -- Mike C. Foley: Maybe it'll surprise some casual fans, but I like what Wisconsin can do this season. They finished 21st in 2019, but with Seth Gross in the lineup, Evan Wick looking to make a run to the finals and All-American Trent Hillger back, there is top ten potential for the Badgers. Chris Bono gets a lot out of his athletes and I'd expect another few names to make their way into the top ten by the time of the NCAA tournament. How high can the Badgers go? With new talent getting team points and the old guard delivering they could sneak into the top five. Q: All-American Kyle Conel transferred to Penn State. Do you think he's a safe bet to make the lineup at 197 pounds? Or could you see talented freshman Michael Beard taking the spot? -- Mike C. Foley: There are some health question marks with Conel. He sat out last season with an injury, which could still be an issue if rehab was split between locations or if he wasn't able to access the proper athletic training facilities. We all know about the upperweight talent in State College so it would be surprising to me if Conel or Michael Beard are not able to find their way onto the podium in 2020. Both will have the support and coaching necessary to become the very best version of themselves and considering their past successes (albeit on different levels) one should expect them to perform. Between the two I'd give the hat tip to Conel early in the season, but would be interested to see if Beard can do something to challenge for the starting spot by January. Also, it's worth considering that Beard was 12-0 last season with 11 wins coming with bonus points. That could equate to the type of fire power the Penn State coaching staff wants to see on the mat in a year where they will be challenged to win the team race. Q: Should Olympic redshirts be banned? They ruin a perfectly good college wrestling season just so youngsters can chase silly pipe dreams. -- @jammenjammenz Foley: No. Daton Fix is currently No. 1 on the Olympic ladder at 57 kilograms, Kyle Snyder won his Olympic title during college, and it hurts absolutely nothing for these select individuals to go after their dream of winning an Olympic title. I have a feeling that one of these Olympic redshirts (not including Fix) will be on a world team in the next three years. Q: When will InterMat's preseason NCAA Division I rankings be released? -- Aaron H. Foley: While I'm not on InterMat's rankings committee, I have been told InterMat's preseason NCAA Division I wrestling rankings will be released next week. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Michael Beard is good, but Kyle Conel did place third at NCAAs Link: Relive Kent State's Kyle Conel surprising third place run at 197 Good inclusion of wrestling regarding sportsmanship starring Robert Howard Q: Can countries send more than one competitor in each weight class to the Ranking Series? It stands to reason that Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Snyder would like to build on their points they already have from the 2019 World Championships and would participate. Do you think Kyle Dake and J'den Cox will also be looking to gain some points to try to earn a seed as well to maybe get on the opposite sides of Zaurbek Sidakov and Abdulrashid Sadulaev? Is it possible we see some Americans wrestling each other in these anticipated matches before the Olympic Team Trials? -- Tom B. Foley: Yes, countries may enter up to three wrestlers in any Ranking Series event. In 2020, that will be Rome in January and Poland in June. The issue with Dake and Cox is that they won their titles at non-Olympic weights and those points don't transfer (if they even make the team). There isn't much incentive for wrestlers who haven't made the team to go out hunting for points unless they were testing their weight and already had the January week as a point in that weight loss progression. Although if they somehow knew they would also be the representative at the Pan Am Championships (highly unlikely for Dake) then they might want to make a run at getting enough points to slide into a seed. That said, there probably wouldn't be enough entries at the events to allow them to slide into the top four. To accomplish that they'd also need finishers 2-8 to sit out and/or not accumulate a lot of points. Also, I think Cox is more likely to go down that to go up given the spot isn't qualified and his opponent (Taylor) won't have the advantage of sitting out until the semifinals. Q: Did Kyle Snyder sign a contract with Nittany Lion Wrestling Club? What if after a year it is determined that it's not a great fit for him? Obviously, Snyder could leave whenever he wants, but was curious about the terms. -- Mike C. Foley: A contract between the NLWC and one of the most successful wrestlers in American history is just not something many of us would be able to guess. The terms would probably be a trade of paid residence fee and coaching against working with college athletes and fellow NLWC residents. Maybe some local promotional stuff, but again it's all pretty much unknowable at the moment. The chance Snyder moves (again) before the 2020 season is very, very thin. Conditions in State College would have to be bad and be bad right away. Given the Olympic year and genial personalities involved there just isn't a high likelihood that Snyder's bolting after only a few months. However, if he DOES want to leave, I recommend Charlottesville! Q: What international stars might retire after 2020? Some I've thought about are Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Ismael Borrero Molina and Adeline Gray. -- @oldestgreatest Foley: I don't know about Adeline. In a way she's kind of timeless in that she's done an exceptional job of protecting her body as she's gotten older. Still, if I had to guess I think she would join the ranks of the retirees and wait for the Hall of Fame dinner to be requested by USA Wrestling and UWW. (On a related note, we need her to stay involved in the sport. Need more female leaders!) Frank Staebler will retire. Mijain Lopez will retire. Haji Aliev, Vlad Khinchegashvili, Sharif Sharifov, and Taha Akgul will also almost certainly retire. Roman Vlasov is 1000 percent going to retire. Tough to think Borrero will retire since he's a heavy favorite to win the Olympics in 2020. That said, he may just settle into a fun-loving island existence. Sadulaev isn't going anywhere.

Justin Oliver BUFFALO, NY -- Justin Oliver, a former All-American and four-time national qualifier, has been named an assistant coach for the University at Buffalo wrestling program head coach John Stutzman announced on Thursday. Oliver comes to Buffalo following a decorated career at both Central Michigan and North Carolina State. Oliver is entering the coaching ranks after most recently wrestling at NC State during the 2018-19 campaign. In his only season with the Wolfpack, Oliver went 20-7, finished third at the ACC Championships and was a NCAA qualifier at 149 lbs. Prior to wrestling at NC State, Oliver spent four years at Mid-American Conference-rival Central Michigan. With the Chippewas, the Michigan native was a three-time national qualifier and earned All-American honors in 2016. "I'm extremely happy to get Justin on board," Stutzman said. "Coming from a perennial MAC power in CMU and an ACC power in NC State, he has been coached and mentored by some of the best minds in wrestling. In a short time, he has already made a huge impact with our guys and I'm excited to watch him grow and develop as a coach." Oliver earned his undergraduate degree in organizational administration from Central Michigan. "With the addition of Coach Ramos, Coach McBryde and now Coach Oliver, our student-athletes have clear cut examples in the room on what it will take to become All-Americans and make world teams," Stutzman added.

CHICAGO, Ill. -- With the Big Ten seeking its 14th consecutive wrestling national championship, BTN will bring fans along for the ride with the most wrestling coverage in network history -- a 40% increase from last season. BTN's schedule begins with a non-conference matchup as No. 17 Virginia Tech heads to Columbus on Nov. 17 at noon ET to face the No. 4 Buckeyes and includes the Big Ten Championships, a Super Saturday dual between Rutgers and No. 7 Michigan from Madison Square Garden, a battle of last year's top-two team finishers at the NCAA tournament in No. 1 Penn State and Ohio State and a primetime matchup between the top-ranked Nittany Lions and No. 2 Iowa on Friday, Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. ET. Jim Gibbons, Tim Johnson and Shane Sparks will once again anchor BTN's coverage. "The Big Ten is home to the most dominant wrestling programs in the country and that distinction has made wrestling the fourth most-watched sport on BTN," said BTN President François McGillicuddy. "Our goal is to continue to showcase and amplify Big Ten Wrestling, including an increase in our live event broadcasts, a commitment to original storytelling and an investment in on-campus digital content." BTN will debut a new wrestling-centric episode of The B1G Story, a documentary-style program produced by the Emmy-nominated BTN Originals team. At 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 1, The B1G Story: Alex & Eli will explore the friendship and bond of Iowa wrestler Alex Marinelli and former Wisconsin wrestler, Eli Stickley. According to FloWrestling's rankings, the Big Ten has nine teams ranked in the top 25. Four-time defending national champion and No. 1 Penn State is looking for its ninth title in the past 10 seasons, but will face stiff competition from No. 2 Iowa, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 7 Michigan, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 11 Minnesota, No. 16 Northwestern and No. 24 Illinois. Additionally, BTN+ will carry nearly 100 matches, also a new record-high. A portion of those streamed events will be televised on delay on BTN as part of the Student U initiative. All televised matches and The B1G Story can be streamed exclusively on the FOX Sports app. BTN's wrestling schedule is below and is also subject to change.

Major event, big bracket tournaments provide the opportunities for wrestlers to test their mettle against broadly talented fields. Nowhere in high school folkstyle competition is this more clearly the case than each year during the Super 32 Challenge. This past weekend's tournament served as no exception. With over 1,400 athletes in the field, and many weights having more than 100 wrestlers present, the brackets were robust and the chances for quality wins abundant. Many wrestlers in the tournament had results for which they should be proud, and results that can be viewed as transformational for their wrestling careers. Below is a listing of five wrestlers that saw their "stock" rise based on the happenings in Greensboro, N.C. this past weekend (listed in weight class order). Carter Dibert (Franklin Regional, Pa.), 113 pounds The Arizona State verbal commit finished his sophomore season as a state champion when he reversed a tiebreaker loss in the WPIAL final by securing a 7-2 victory over Dylan Chappell (Seneca Valley, Pa.) in the big-school state final at the GIANT Center. However, Dibert entered last weekend's Super 32 as a relatively unheralded competitor, having not been ranked at 106 to end the 2018-19 high school season. In the round of 32 on Saturday afternoon, Dibert upended state champion and Cadet freestyle All-American Brady Hankin (Woodland Park, Colo.) 13-6; Hankin would end up placing eighth in the event. The next round saw Dibert lose his lone match of the two-day tournament, 4-3 to eventual champion Jacob Rivera (Selma, Calif.), a state placer last year at 120 pounds. Two subsequent wins would put him in the match to place, where he secured an 8-3 victory over state champion Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.), who ended 2018-19 ranked in the top 10 nationally at 106 and was a 2018 placer in the Super 32. Dibert's next win came 3-2 over Joziah Fry (Coventry, R.I.), a New England champion and Junior freestyle All-American this summer; then it was a 5-3 consolation semifinal victory over Jeremiah Reno (Liberty, Mo.), who had placed third at this tournament the previous two years and is ranked top 50 overall in the Class of 2021. To cap his tournament, it was a 3-2 win for Dibert over Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas), a two-time state champion who had finished 2018-19 ranked No. 5 nationally at 106 pounds. Patrick Noonan (Stroudsburg, Pa.), 132 pounds A wrestler who clearly is not lacking in talent, as shown by the high-quality wins and credentials that he has had over his career, Noonan will enter his senior year of high school with zero state tournament victories. He went 0-2 as both a freshman and junior in Hershey, while his sophomore season was derailed by injury before the post-season. Finishing fourth in a very deep 132-pound weight class serves as further demonstration of his ability level. The run of notable wins started in the round of 64 with a pin over two-time state placer Sam Freeman (Brighton, Mich.) before hitting a real notable outcome in the round of 32, a 1-0 win over No. 64 overall senior Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.). Noonan lost by fall in the round of 16 to eventual champion Joel Vandervere (Warren Township, Ill.). Then on Sunday morning, Noonan needed a pair of high-quality wins just to earn a podium position, 6-1 over No. 87 overall senior Kellyn March (Canton, S.D.) and 1-0 over No. 36 overall junior Henry Porter (Gilroy, Calif.). Having earned a placement, Noonan continued his tournament run with an 8-3 win over National Prep runner-up Skyler Smith (Liberty Christian, Texas) and a 5-1 consolation semifinal victory over No. 28 overall senior Anthony Clark (Delbarton, N.J.). His tournament concluded with an 8-4 loss to Wyatt Henson (Francis Howell, Mo.), the No. 13 overall junior nationally. Bretli Reyna with his belt after winning the Super 32 Challenge at 145 pounds (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Bretli Reyna (South Dade, Fla.), 145 pounds While Reyna placed fourth at 132 pounds in the Super 32 Challenge last year, he entered the fall outside the top 100 in the Class of 2020. Subsequent to last year's tournament, he failed to place at the Walsh Ironman and in Junior freestyle, losing to two other wrestlers that also fell short of placement position in each tournament. On the other hand, Reyna showed clear ability in finishing 56-3 with a third state title during his junior season of high school and then winning the Grappler Fall Classic the weekend before the Super 32. This past Saturday, Reyna was completely dominant through four bouts on the way to the quarterfinals, winning each by a major decision. In that quarterfinal match, it was a 9-6 victory over No. 71 overall senior Joseph Zargo (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), followed up by a 9-7 overtime victory over No. 76 overall senior Ed Scott (DuBois, Pa.) in the semifinal. All that to set up a finals clash with No. 6 overall senior Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.); Reyna would score two takedowns in the first period to jump out to a 4-1 advantage, before Saunders rallied to tie the bout 7-7 before the end of regulation; Reyna would win 8-7 in the tiebraker (ultimate) when Saunders was called for locking hands. The two-day performance earned him Outstanding Wrestler honors for the Super 32 Challenge among lower weights. Brian Soldano (High Point, N.J.), 160 pounds As a freshman, Soldano was one match from placing in the single-class New Jersey state tournament at 160 pounds, losing matches to wrestlers that would finish in fifth and eighth place. During the off-season he was runner-up at the NHSCA Freshman Nationals and placed seventh in 16U freestyle at 170. The opening match of his tournament came against two-time state placer Cayleb Atkins (Goodard, Kans.), a match that Soldano won by the score of 7-2. In the round of 64, he came through with a significant 11-10 victory over the very talented Jaxon Smith (Woodland, Ga.). The next match was an 11-4 defeat to state runner-up Enrique Munguia (Elyria, Ohio). Soldano would need three wins to get out of Saturday, the last two of which came against state champion Elliott Rodgers (Indianapolis Cathedral, Ind.) and New England regional third place finisher Brevin Cassella (Nashoba, Mass.); he prevailed 5-0 and by pin in 1:01 respectively. Earning a placement finish would take two more wins, those came in the form of a pin over state runner-up Cooper Noehre (Greenfield Central, Ind.) and avenging his earlier loss to Munguia with a 7-6 decision victory. Advancement to the consolation final would come through pins against No. 12 overall sophomore Joseph Martin (Buchanan, Calif.) and No. 62 overall senior Derek Gilcher (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.). Soldano would earn third with a 4-2 victory over Jackson Smith. Joseph Walker (Mishawaka, Ind.), 182 pounds Walker entered the fall preseason coming off a sixth-place finish in the 170 pound weight class as a junior. In two preceding preseason competitions, he had split matches against his teammate Jacob LaPlace, a 2018 state placer and 2019 state qualifier; Walker won the IHPO before finishing third at the Grappler Fall Classic. In order to reach the quarterfinal at the Super 32 Challenge, he pinned three opponents including Sampson Wilkins (Mt. Anthony, Vt.), a New England regional champion and NHSCA Junior Nationals placer. In that quarterfinal on Sunday morning, Walker rallied to take eventual champion Gerrit Nijenhius (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) -- the No. 16 overall senior nationally -- to the brink in a 7-6 defeat. He would earn the podium with a 7-3 win over two-time state placer Cole Hinvor (Lake Catholic, Ohio) before closing out his third place run with wins over state placers Giuseppe Milano (Spring Ford, Pa.) and Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio) and a final victory over state champion Nathan Warden (Christiansburg, Va.).

Brent Fleetwood (Photo/Xavier Bonner) COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland wrestling head coach Alex Clemsen has announced the addition of Brent Fleetwood, who will serve as the program's volunteer assistant. "When I was at Mizzou I got to prepare for and compete against Brent, and he was just flat out tough," said Clemsen. "I am excited to add him to our staff and have him bring an edge and grit to our room that can impact not only our lightweights, but our entire roster. Brent is originally from Delaware, so it is great having a guy from the immediate region join us in College Park. I know the guys are pumped to have him and I look forward to working with him and watching the mark he makes on our program." Fleetwood, who competed for both North Dakota State and Central Michigan, had a decorated collegiate career, qualifying for the NCAA Championships on three occasions. As a senior, Fleetwood was the runner-up at 125 pounds in the Big 12 Championships and missed the medal round at NCAA's by one match after capturing three wins at the championships. A winner of 86 career collegiate matches, Fleetwood spent his first three seasons at Central Michigan, where he qualified for the NCAA Championships twice. A native of Smyrna, Delaware, Fleetwood was a four-time state champion at Smyrna High School, becoming just the 10th wrestler in history to capture four Delaware state titles. Fleetwood has also competed in freestyle, going 5-3 at the 2018 US Open to place sixth at 57K. He then went 1-2 at the 2018 World Team Trials. Fleetwood had been training at the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center. Maryland begins its first season under the helm of Clemsen with its intersquad Red-Black Wrestle-Offs on Oct. 26 before traveling to the Cavalier Duals on Nov. 2 in Charlottesville, Va.

In recent weeks, InterMat has shared the links to the Takedown Report blog's analysis of the NCAA Division I wrestling coaches who have tallied the most team titles ... followed by a similar study of the most successful championship coaches in NCAA II. Now, TDR has performed its insightful analysis of NCAA Division III championship coaches. The first D3 National Championships took place in 1974, joining the existing NCAA Division I and II wrestling championships. Augsburg coach Jeff Swenson led the Auggies to 10 national championship in a 17-year span (Photo/Augsburg University)"Ten different schools have won at least one championship," according to TDR's Martin Fleming's analysis of the Division III titleholders. "Recent fans of the D-III teams may find this hard to imagine as it for the last 25 years only two teams have traded off championships. It has been a relatively safe bet that a 'burg' would win as Augsburg University or Wartburg College has been the champion each year. In 17 of those years the other school was the runner up or tied for that honor." As one might expect, Wartburg and Augsburg rank at the very top in terms of number of Division III team titles. Iowa-based Wartburg has won 14 team championships to earn the top spot in the rankings. Augsburg, located in Minneapolis, won their 13th championship in March to rank second just behind Wartburg. The College of New Jersey and the State University of New York-Brockport are tied for third place with five team titles each. Ithaca College came in fifth with three titles. As for the D3 coaches who can claim the most team titles under their direction ... that's a bit more complicated. For the rankings, check out the TakeDown Report's Division III analysis. Want to know about the coaches and colleges beyond NCAA Division III? TakeDown Report already shared its analysis of Division I championship coaches as well as Division II championship coaches. In the near future, TDR plans to also provide similar analysis of coaches who head up NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) and NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) wrestling programs that have won national titles. Questions? Comments? Contact TDR editor Martin Fleming directly at martinkfleming@gmail.com.

Mo Lawal (Photo/Bellator) Reports of Muhammed Lawal's retirement from MMA appear to have been premature. The former amateur mat star known as "King Mo" in his eleven-year pro MMA career had announced his retirement earlier this spring after losing his third straight bout ... but is now coming back for one last fight, at Bellator 233 next month. Lawal told ESPN's Ariel Helwani Thursday that he has signed to face Andrew Kapel in a 195-pound catchweight fight at Bellator 233 on Nov. 8 at the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The Bellator organization later confirmed the fight had been signed. Helwani described the just-announced Lawal-Kapel fight as serving as King Mo's official retirement bout. "My last one," Lawal said. "My final one." "I wanted to end in Bellator," he added. It all appears to be a major reversal of decision for the former Oklahoma State All-American wrestler turned successful MMA star, who transitioned into a coaching role at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, one of the top MMA gyms in the world. At the time of his retirement announcement a few months ago, Lawal had told MMAfighting.com, "I was like I'm getting old, I'm 38, I've got kids. I can't even run right now. I can't even jog really. I'm that bad. It's to the point where if I can't jog or sprint or be explosive, then I've got to stop." Muhammed Lawal built a 21-9 record (with one no contest) in a pro MMA career going back to Sept. 2008. The former Oklahoma State wrestler built an impressive resume in MMA as former Strikeforce light-heavyweight (205-pound) champ, 2013 Bellator light-heavyweight tournament winner, and 2015 RIZIN heavyweight Grand Prix champion. Now coming off three straight losses, Lawal will have one last appearance in the cage. He will face Kapel, 34, who has compiled a 14-6 overall record in a pro MMA career going back eleven years. Kapel, who has won his past four fights in a row, will be making his Bellator debut vs. Lawal at Bellator 233. The Lawal-Kapel match will take place at the same event where Kyle Crutchmer will be making his debut in the Bellator promotion. The 26-year-old Crutchmer -- like Lawal, an NCAA All-American for Oklahoma State -- will bring a 4-0 pro MMA record to Bellator 233 in a welterweight (170-pound) bout vs. Antonio Jones.