InterMat Staff

The 2018-19 season got off to a strong start for Ashland University's wrestling team, as the Eagles went 4-0 on Friday (Nov. 2) at the Kent State Duals, capped off by a victory against the host Golden Flashes. A 21-14 decision over the hosts was keyed by six straight victories – 4-1 by freshman Luke Wymer at 133 pounds, 6-2 by junior Chandler Minnard at 141, 10-4 by sophomore Carson Speelman at 149, a pin by sophomore Chance Esmont at 157, 6-4 by junior Bret Romanzak at 165, and 5-1 by junior Christian Price at 174. The Eagles earned the right to face the Golden Flashes by recording wins on Friday vs. Lindsey Wilson (25-12), Kent State Tuscarawas (51-0) and Otterbein (33-11). Lindsey Wilson is the No. 8-ranked team in NAIA. Romanzak, the defending NCAA Division II national champion at 165 pounds, started the new season at 3-0 with a pin and a major decision, while Price went 4-0 with a pair of technical falls. Wymer and senior Danny Morell each were 2-0 at 133, junior Trae Coopwood was 2-0 at 141, Speelman was 2-0 at 149, and Esmont and sophomore Cody Woods each were 2-0 at 157. Ashland will open the home portion of its 2018-19 schedule on Thursday (Nov. 8) at 7 p.m. at Kates Gymnasium vs. Lourdes. That will be the Eagles' lone first-semester home dual.

How would assemble a team of top amateur wrestlers for the first-ever wrestling venture later this month? With a wrestler draft, shown live for the world to see. This Saturday, Nov. 3, the brand-new American Wrestling League (AWL) will conduct a wrestler draft, streamed live for free viewing on Trackwrestling.com, as well as AWL's official website and Facebook page starting at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central. Wrestlers will be selected in ten weight classes for men and two for women by AWL team captains Kyle Dake (four-time NCAA Division I champion for Cornell University) and David Taylor (twice NCAA titlewinner for Penn State). Both won gold medals in freestyle competition at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary last month. As of Thursday evening, American Wrestling League has announced over 50 top amateur wrestlers as being available for this Saturday's draft. Among the athletes named at the AWL website: Jordan Oliver, Thomas Gilman, Daniel Dennis, Robby Smith, Tony Ramos, Nahshon Garrett, Frank Molinaro, Isaiah Martinez, Kamal Bey, Bryce Meredith, and Brandon Sorensen, to name a few. The draft will determine contestants at American Wrestling League's premiere event, AWL I THE BEGINNING, at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 30. To catch the action in person, tickets may be purchased online. Fans can also watch the action live from just about any device by visiting the official AWL website. Here's how the organization describes itself at its official website: "The AWL is an American freestyle wrestling organization serving the United States. It plans to be the largest freestyle wrestling promotion in the nation and features top-ranked wrestlers from all styles, competing in freestyle wrestling. The AWL will produce events nationwide that will boast a fan-friendly experience, full dream wrestling match ups, nonstop action and an experience that can only be described as, 'The Greatest Wrestling Show on Earth!"' Here's how AWL founder Wayne Boyd described his new venture in WIN (Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine) in an article in the Sept. 28, 2018 issue: "Without a doubt in my mind, the real professionals of wrestling, the ones who define the sport and understand the science of wrestling with a commitment to training excellence are the World and Olympic wrestlers ... The AWL, American Wrestling League, is here today to claim back the title of 'Professional Wrestler.'" The same issue of WIN featured a full-page ad for AWL's first event later this month in Cedar Rapids, with the following copy points: "America's professional freestyle wrestling league" ... World and National team members wrestling ... Iowa's wrestling legends honored ... USWF (U.S. Wrestling Federation) presents world medalists bonuses... fan-fest full of exhibitors and entertainment ... and $100,000 in prize money.

The 2018 Wrestling World Championships ended Sunday in Budapest, Hungary, with Team USA collecting a record medal haul in freestyle and women's wrestling and their first Greco-Roman finalist since 2009. While there has been a lot of discussion around Team USA's performance (you asked questions, which are answered below), I thought I'd review where Olympic wrestling stands as a sport on the international stage. To understand where we are, it's important to be reminded of where we started. On Feb. 13, 2013, an IOC commission recommended that wrestling be eliminated as an Olympic sport after the 2016 Olympics. A variety of circumstances led to the decision, but much of the spirit for the decision came from a lack of sport attractiveness, intractable governance, and basic complacency among the leaderships. Wrestling dismissed IOC reviews, ignored vital outreach programs, and left questions about gender equality unconsidered. Maybe secondary to that was that wrestling lacked a voice at the IOC in the form of real power, or even soft influence. The larger problem might have been on the mat where rules included grab bags of balls, clinches, and a hysterically off-putting rule set meant to mimic … tennis. Maybe the best anecdote about wrestling's problematic product was from the 2000 Games in Sydney when soon-to-be IOC president Jacques Rogue famously attended the Greco-Roman heavyweight finals, ostensibly to crown Alexander Karelin as the greatest wrestler ever. However, after Rulon Gardner won by a "broken clinch" the most powerful man in sport left flummoxed, his only parting gift a dinner party vignette into the wacky world of wrestling. Wrestling was dull. The shine earned from being among the toughest men in the world had been faded by repeated institutional rubbings -- rules, presentation and media reach had all been lost behind internal politics, or worse, incompetence. So what does the sport look like today? In the past 14 days there were 21 million minutes of video watched on the United World Wrestling YouTube page. That does not include the United States where people are unable to view the videos. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook channels for United World Wrestling each saw record amounts of traffic both for the UWW accounts and for the #BudaWrestle2018 hashtag which seems to have improved on Paris by almost three-fold. Wrestling's Instagram page surpassed the Olympic Channel in numbers of followers. The on-the-mat the product was never better. Freestyle and women's wrestling continue to be action-packed with excellent techniques and the more aggressive wrestlers most-often finding the win. The Snyderlaev II match was appointment viewing. Greco-Roman was more bearable than in year's past and seems on track for a brighter future with aggressors also winning in a vast majority of the matches. Stars were born, storylines furthered, and plenty of OMG moments sprinkled the nine-day event. Though a sideline attraction, the political side of things also produced some meaningful results. Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, attended a Saturday night session alongside 10K screaming, crazed Hungarians and watched as his countryman Frank Staebler (Germany) won a high-scoring gold-medal bout. Nenad Lalovic, who himself is now a member of the IOC and that organization's executive board, went to the mixed zone with Bach to congratulate Staebler. In addition to Bach, Lalovic met with the Prime Minister of Hungary and shook hands with a number of other IOC members and VIP dignitaries. The athletes were well-fed. There was plenty of room to warm up, shower, use the bathroom. Transportation was convenient. Food was excellent. The show was watchable, fun, and easy-to-follow. I'm paid to produce this content and to say nice things, but that lack of total objectivity doesn't diminish the gains made by the hard-working people in our sport. This is not just the gains of the international federations, the media department, the president, or the always-improving Swiss staff. The national federations have bought in too. They are hosting more events, putting on better production, allocating more resources and delivering on the promise of the wrestling spirit more than ever before. Not everything is perfect. Changes and enhancements are always being tested and implemented. But for the 2018 Wrestling World Championships I think we can look back on an event with a glint of something special -- a shine that won't soon fade. To your questions … Q: What surprised you the most at the World Championships? -- Mike C. Foley: The Russians performance in Greco-Roman. To go from zero gold medals to six in one season is bananas. They were aggressive, tactical and executed incredible techniques match after match. There were some slower matches -- as is common in the style -- but they were more active than other nations relative to their rate of scoring. I also think the Canadian women were impressive in almost every match. They are very well conditioned, savvy and scored in bunches. With a few more matches falling their direction they could have swooped in for bronze. Tonya Verbeek is one of the best coaches in the world and I think we will be seeing much more of the Canadian women on top of the podium in Astana … and Tokyo. Maybe most surprising was that the United States men's freestyle team won three gold medals, three bronze and a silver and still came in second place! That's incredible, but also a testament of the training and dedication of the Russians. Oh, and the first world title for 34-year-old Yowls "Half Man, Half Amazing" Bonne Rodriguez! Helen Maroulis battles (Photo/Larry Slater) Q: What's the deal with the deafening silence on Helen Maroulis getting pinned in her preliminary match at the World Championships? -- Zguiltybystander Foley: Silence? From a media standpoint I saw lots of coverage. Social media personalities also seemed to share thoughts. Helen herself addressed the topics of the loss in a lengthy interview. USA Wrestling even covered the loss with some detail. The silence might seem louder in that the past two years she has received a lot of acclaim (though less than her male counterparts would have) for an Olympic victory over an "unbeatable" legend and a shutout performance at the 2017 World Championships. Helen is a wonderful woman, athlete, teammate and friend. While I don't know, or wouldn't share her personal details, I think it's obvious from her words that this was a tough season. As such she didn't perform to the best of her ability on the mat. However, I did notice her being and exceptionally strong teammate and friend. There was an incident in the athlete warmup area where she spent considerable time consoling a teammate who took an unexpected loss. Maybe it's all wins and losses, but I like to think that there is more that these athletes can give fans and each other. Who is your pound-for-pound No. 1-ranked wrestler in the world? -- @EricOlanowski Foley: The limitation of this list is that it's three separate styles and only 10 spots, so by default I'm not including anyone who didn't win the world title in 2018. I think that is pretty obvious reasoning, but it may need to be stated so that nobody feels the need to write that Kyle Snyder (USA) should be included in front of someone on the list. With that cleared up … 1. Yui Susaki (Japan) 2. David Taylor (USA) 3. Abdulrashid Sadulaev (Russia) 4. Frank Staebler (Germany) 5. Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) 6. Risako Kawai (Japan) 7. Stepan Maryanyan (Russia) 8. Adeline Gray (USA) 9. Takaturo Otoguro (Japan) 10. Sergey Semenov (Russia) No, we are still not calling your show "The O-Show." Q: How was the officiating at the World Championships? -- @smcfee Foley: Overall, I think there were few-to-no big mistakes that happened on-the-mat. The confusion at the end of the Danielle Lappage-Petra Olli final had more to do with some clock confusion, challenges, and coaches not monitoring the criteria. However, even there I thought the officiating was well done. Also, the incident with the Russian coach was very well handled. He proceeded with the correct route and nothing was later overturned, reviewed, or otherwise. One indication of the quality of officiating is that the Bureau chose to give the best referee award, known as the Golden Whistle, to the head of the referees. The award was noting that the championships had gone well and to thank him for service over the past few seasons. So, at some level, I think when you look at the balance of 400-plus matches, this was a well-officiated championship. Q: Who were your (mythical) Outstanding Wrestlers in each of the styles at the World Championships? -- Mike C. Foley: Greco-Roman: Sergey Semenov (Russia). Women's wrestling: Yui Susaki (Japan). Freestyle: Kyle Dake (USA). However, I think David Taylor (USA) was the best freestyle wrestler of 2018. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Turning Points: Biggest Moments from #BudaWrestle2018 Was this the match of the year? Snyder vs. Sadulaev Yui doesn't mess around … Q: What did you make of Jesse Thielke's comments about the training leading up to the World Championships? -- Mike C. Foley: He said a lot of things. One that stuck with me is that he seemed to think they over-conditioned too close to the event and didn't spend enough time on technique. I'd be interested to hear the other side of that argument. The fact that he spoke up like he did was pretty gutsy and left me wondering what, if anything, was said to the coaching staff or the members of USA Wrestling who oversee that development. Q: Ben Askren has been calling out everyone since he was traded to the UFC. How do you think he would do against Khabib? Or GSP? -- Mike C. Foley: He's a lot bigger than Khabib so I don't really think that is a fight that'll ever get done, nor do I think it would be particularly interesting. I would love to see Ben fight GSP. He's talked his way into the UFC, so I think he should take a top ten guy in his first bout. Assuming Ben can make it past Darren Till (or someone of that ilk), I think GSP would be a perfect matchup for Ben to test the power of his wrestling against arguably the most well-rounded fighter in the history of MMA. Tough to say how it would all go down, but it's important to remember that GSP has exceptional MMA wrestling. He has taken down plenty of wrestlers and held them down. He's also escaped from plenty of takedowns. The one thing GSP has that most fighters Ben faced have seemed to lack, is a jab. He has a nasty, nasty jab and a very smart attitude towards controlling the pacing of a fight as well as where it's fought. Fun to see it all play out! Q: What is the process or formula that the NCAA uses to determine ticket allocation for the NCAA Division I Championship tournament? How often is this formula reviewed/re-calibrated to ensure that it accurately reflects the state of the sport in our country today? -- Deven D. Foley: The ticket allocation is based on a team's prior placement at the NCAA Championships. There is also a consideration for the host school, which in 2019 will be Pitt. The allocations may be increased or decreased based on the response of other schools who give feedback on if they require fewer, or request more. The actual calculation (how these things are weighted) and re-calibration (when are these adjusted) I don't exactly know. Q: Will UWW have a presence to the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Pittsburgh? Will the semifinals or finals be streamed on the UWW site so that the worldwide wrestling community is able to be exposed to our national championship? -- Deven D. Foley: The NCAA Championships are broadcast by ESPN and select partners. While United World Wrestling recognizes folkstyle as the traditional wrestling style of the United States, it holds no dominion over the event, nor does it require athletes to be licensed to compete. The most integration would be to get some staff over to see how the event is run and if there are some areas they'd like to imitate or learn from. Q: What odds would you need to bet on Vincenzo Joseph closing out the remainder of his NCAA career without a loss? Also, do you see his international future in freestyle or Greco-Roman (or neither)? -- @HalfAgain Foley: Vincenzo Joseph is an outstanding wrestler, but there are way too many factors for me to ever back him (or anyone, really) going two years without a loss. The landscape has far too many talented wrestlers who are ready for the national stage as freshmen. This year, Evan Wick, Chance Marstellar, Alex Marinelli and Logan Massa are all in the top five. How can you not take at least one whoopsy-daisy loss with that grouping? Someone would need to give me at least +2500 to bet him going the rest of the way undefeated. As for his international career, I'm not sure I know of any titles in his Greco past, but he seems like he could be suited for some big moves. He falls at a difficult weight for freestyle but is also still very young. Would be interesting to see if he can find some success in either. Q: What does Mark Schultz do for a living? -- Scott M. Foley: Oh goodness, I'm not sure. Readers?

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Redshirt junior David Smith earned his first pin in a Gold and Blue singlet at 285 pounds, as the West Virginia University wrestling team topped Big 12 foe Northern Colorado, 22-14, in its 2018-19 season opener, on Thursday, at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown. "I like to win," first-year coach Tim Flynn said. "We weren't doing well at first, and Dave's pin kind of turned things around and changed the momentum. It was an exciting match. Country roads is the coolest song ever. I want to hear that song a thousand times." With the win, the Mountaineers (1-0, 1-0) improved to 3-0 all-time against the Bears (0-1, 0-1). Sophomore Nick Kiussis started things off for the Mountaineers, taking on Macoy Flanagan at 165 pounds. In the first period, Kiussis scored a takedown and an escape to take a 3-2 lead into the second. Flanagan started in the down position, earning an escape of his own. However, it didn't take long for Kiussis to notch his second takedown of the evening, carrying his lead into the third, ahead 5-4. Kiussis then added two more points in the final period, walking away with the 7-6 decision and giving the Mountaineers the 3-0 advantage in the match. The Bears evened the score at 3-3, as Seth Bogulski collected a 3-1 decision over true freshman Josh Ramirez at 174 pounds. West Virginia then fell into an 11-3 hole, dropping back-to-back matches at 184 and 197 pounds, respectively, before Smith pinned Robert Winters with 10 seconds left in the second period to bring the Mountaineers within two at 11-9. Following a 10-minute intermission, Northern Colorado's Sean Cannon topped redshirt freshman KJ Fenstermacher in a 4-1 decision at 125 pounds, increasing the Bears lead to five at 14-9. The Mountaineers continued to put up a fight, though, as the squad turned to its upperclassmen to win its final four bouts of the evening to come out on top with a 22-14 match victory. It all started with redshirt sophomore Matthew Schmitt, as the Platte City, Missouri, native collected a huge 13-5 major decision over Christopher Sandoval at 133 pounds, cutting WVU's deficit to one at 14-13. Schmitt used four first-period takedowns, as he took an 8-3 advantage into the second period. Both wrestlers remained scoreless in the second, as Sandoval started in the down position to start the third. Sandoval earned an escape, but Schmitt collected a takedown and two nearfall points for a 12-4 lead. Sandoval notched a late penalty point, but it wasn't enough, as Schmitt tacked on the riding point for the 13-5 major decision. Down 14-13 in the match, redshirt senior Joe Wheeling pushed the Mountaineers in front with a 7-1 decision over Owen Lamb at 141 pounds. Classmate Christian Monserrat helped WVU seal the deal with an 8-2 decision over Mason Hulse at 149 pounds, increasing the Mountaineers lead to five at 19-14. Redshirt junior Zachary Moore capped the night for the Mountaineers, as he used a trio of takedowns, a reversal and four near fall points for a 12-8 decision over Jordan Robison at 157 pounds. Looking ahead, WVU will hop on I-79 South to compete in the Hokie Open on Sunday, Nov. 4, at the Berglund Center, in Roanoke, Virginia. Action is slated to begin at 9 a.m., with 17 wrestlers competing at the event. Results: 165: Nick Kiussis dec. Macoy Flanagan, 7-6 174: Seth Bogulski dec. Josh Ramirez, 3-1 184: Dalton Robertson tech. fall Jackson Moomau, 17-1 [TF – 5:37] 197: No. 20/-/20 Jacob Seely dec. Noah Adams, 12-9 HWT: David Smith wins by fall Robert Winters, F 4:50 125: Sean Cannon dec. KJ Fenstermacher, 4-1 133: No. 18/19/20 Matthew Schmitt major dec. Chris Sandoval, 13-5 141: Joe Wheeling dec. Owen Lamb, 7-1 149: Christian Monserrat dec. Mason Hulse, 8-2 157: Zachary Moore dec. Jordan Robison, 12-8

MADISON, Wis. -- The first dual for the No. 19 Wisconsin wrestling team under head coach Chris Bono ended in victory, as the Badgers (1-0-0) defeated Buffalo (0-1-0), 25-12, in front of a raucous crowd at the UW Field House tonight. "What a great night," head coach Chris Bono said after the match. "The crowd really showed up, and I think it was an entertaining match, and I'm excited for our guys. It's been a long seven months, and I think that they performed really well. I love these guys, they fight hard, and by March we're going to be a really strong team." The Field House got rocking early as sophomore Connor Brown made a statement with his debut at 125 pounds, pinning Buffalo's Kyle Akins in 4:40 to start the night off strong. Brown capped his performance with a strong celebration that got the crowd on their feet. "It means a lot to me and I hope it means a lot to Coach Bono, Reader, McDonough and the fans," Brown said. "We're trying to start a culture here and I think that helped. My celebration was a little unorthodox, but you've got to let it fly, I guess." Senior Ryan Christensen dominated his bout at 174 pounds, securing the tech fall with a 16-0 victory over Jake Lanning in 4:32. Sophomore Evan Wick picked up right where he left off last year, narrowly missing the tech fall against Troy Keller, securing the 14-1 major decision at 165 pounds. Wick's match came with the score tied 9-9, and Wick tipped the scales back in Wisconsin's favor. "It was a bit concerning, I felt that we definitely lost a lot of momentum," Wick said after the score was tied up. "I really just tried to stay calm. It's the first match of the season, and I think that was tough for a lot of guys. I found myself in class, and even a little bit before this match psyching myself out. I just had faith in my ability and my ability to get to attacks." A pair of new Badger starters also took home victories. Junior Mason Reinhardt pummeled Logan Rill in the 184 match, defeating him 9-0 for the major decision. Making his competitive debut for the Badgers, freshman Trent Hillger toppled No. 18 ranked Jake Gunning of Buffalo in a grudge match, holding on for the 3-0 victory. After winning the competition at 149 pounds, junior Cole Martin finished off Kyle Todrank with a takedown in the last 10 seconds to win 3-1. The four Badgers who didn't win their matches, senior Jens Lantz, junior Tristan Moran, sophomore Zander Wick, and sophomore Brady Wetter, all fell by decision, preventing Buffalo from making any dent in the Badgers' lead. In his first dual at the Field House and in front of the Badgers fans, Bono felt the atmosphere right away. "This place is unbelievable," Bono said. "The fans want to see us do well. That's all I heard about since the day I got here. They're going to show up and they're going to support us. Well, they showed up. We have a good product, we're going to wrestle hard, and we're going to make this place exciting. I thanked the crowd and we're going to make this place one of the toughest places to wrestle." Next up, the Badgers will travel to Ames, Iowa for the Cyclone Open this Saturday, where every member of the team is expected to wrestle. Results: 125: Connor Brown (WISC) over Kyle Akins (BUF) (Fall 4:40) 133: Derek Spann (BUF) over Jens Lantz (WISC) (Dec 7-4) 141: Bryan Lantry (BUF) over Tristan Moran (WISC) (Dec 7-3) 149: Cole Martin (WISC) over Kyle Todrank (BUF) (Dec 3-1) 157: Alex Smythe (BUF) over Zander Wick (WISC) (13-7) 165: Evan Wick (WISC) over Troy Keller (BUF) (MD 14-1) 174: Ryan Christensen (WISC) over Jake Lanning (BUF) (TF 16-0 4:32) 184: Mason Reinhardt (WISC) over Logan Rill (BUF) (MD 9-0) 197: Sam Schuyler (BUF) over Brady Wetter (WISC) (Dec 12-6) 285: Trent Hillger (WISC) over Jake Gunning (BUF) (Dec 3-0)

Oklahoma State's Kaid Brock will meet Ohio State's Joey McKenna (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Even though a few dual meets have already taken place, the NWCA All-Star Classic still serves as the unofficial start to the college wrestling season. The field this season features eight returning NCAA All-Americans and 10 WCWA All-Americans. The event took a hit when the highly anticipated rematch between No. 1 Seth Gross (South Dakota State) and No. 3 Tariq Wilson (NC State) was scrapped on Wednesday. However, the event will remain an entertaining spectacle. The following is a match-by-match preview of the event. As a reminder the NCAA (men's) matches will follow folkstyle rules, while the competitors in the WCWA (women's) matches will wrestler under freestyle rules. 141: No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) vs. No. 5 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) Only one point kept McKenna out of last year's NCAA tournament final at 141. He dropped a 1-0 match in the semifinals against Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) before wrestling back with wins over Kevin Jack (NC State) and No. 3 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) to take third place. On the season, he went 21-2 with his only loss outside of the NCAA tournament coming against No. 15 at 149 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota). He holds victories over No. 4 Nick Lee (Penn State), No. 8 Mike Carr (Illinois), No. 13 Vince Turk (Iowa), No. 14 Nate Limmex (Purdue), No. 15 Cole Weaver (Indiana), No. 16 Luke Karam (Lehigh) and No. 18 Ryan Diehl (Maryland). Brock will bump up to 141 this season after finishing fourth at the NCAA tournament at 133 last season. After two seasons at 133, Brock holds a 59-9 record as well as 10 wins against All-Americans. It will be interesting to see how he does against bigger competitors this season. Size will likely play a role in this match. McKenna is very stout defensively, and some of the best wrestlers in the country have struggled to score against him. Brock has a very diverse offensive skill set, but McKenna should still be able to control the pace of this match. Look for this to be a close match with McKenna taking it by a point or two. Prediction: McKenna (Ohio State) dec. Brock (Oklahoma State) 149: No. 8 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) vs. No. 1 Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) Finesilver will be the only Colorado native competing at the All-Star Classic. Last season for the Blue Devils, he earned the 12th seed at the NCAA tournament while competing at 157. He won his first match over Casey Sparkman (Kent State), but he eventually was knocked out of the tournament by No. 5 at 157 Josh Shields (Arizona State). Finesilver is looking to become an All-American this year in his senior season after making three-straight trips to the NCAA tournament. In his first season at 149 Kolodzik took some losses early in the season, but he bounced back to win the EIWA tournament and place third at the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA tournament, his only loss came against eventual runner up Ronnie Perry (Lock Haven). During his run, he also defeated graduating seniors Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) and Troy Heilmann (North Carolina) as well as No. 4 Grant Leeth (Missouri) and No. 6 Justin Oliver (NC State). Kolodzik had some trouble last season when he was not able to get to his leg attacks early in matches. However, Finesilver does not really have the neutral defense to hold up to Kolodzik's attacks. Look for the Princeton wrestler to score early in the match and potentially run up the score. Prediction: Kolodzik (Princeton) maj. dec. Finesilver (Duke) 174: Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State) After the end of the first semester last year, Amine went 16-4 with three of those losses coming against NCAA champions. At the NCAA tournament, his only loss came against No. 1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) who went on to win the tournament. Also during the season, he knocked off the likes of No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri), No. 7 Jordan Kutler, No. 9 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa), No. 19 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) and No. 20 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota). Smith started last year for the Cowboys. He qualified for the NCAA tournament and ended up finishing eighth to become an All-American. In the blood round, he knocked off Lujan to stay alive in the tournament. Overall, he went 22-8 with signature wins over No. 13 Ben Harvey (Army), No. 15 Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley) and No. 17 Daniel Bullard (NC State). It remains to be seen if Smith will once against represent the Cowboys at 174. In a lot of ways, their lineup is still in flux. Smith might find himself up a weight class or out of the lineup. InterMat currently projects that No. 8 Chandler Rogers will hold down this spot for Oklahoma State. Amine has much better wins on his resume and is a more accomplished wrestler. Smith does not have reliable offense and ends up in close matches against quality competitors. Even if he is able the slow the match down against Amine, the Michigan wrestler is a very tough rider. There are not very many paths to victory for smith in this contest. Prediction: Amine (Michigan) maj. dec. Smith (Oklahoma State) 184: No. 8 Max Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 3 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) This bout will be a rematch of a NCAA tournament consolation match from last season. After the pair of redshirt freshmen knocked off veterans in the blood round, they met in the following round. Venz took the victory via 11-6 decision and ended up finishing fourth. Dean then lost against Chip Ness (UNC) in the seventh-place match to finish eighth. Venz got off to a very strong start to the season last year. He picked up seven falls in his first nine matches including a pair of sub-20-second finishes at the Cliff Keen Invitational. His bonus rate dropped off as the season went along, but he continued to win. Venz finished the year 29-9. To advance past the blood round, he needed to beat Pete Renda (NC State) who had beaten him earlier in the season. In the rematch, Venz advanced via dominant major decision, which indicates improvement over the course of the season. Even after a strong redshirt season, expectations for Dean were not very high. However, he turned in a strong season and continued his family legacy at Cornell. For his freshman season, he finished 32-6 with wins over No. 17 Lou DePrez (Binghamton), No. 20 C.J. LaFragola (Brown), No. 19 Corey Hazel (Lock Haven), No. 16 Owen Webster (Minnesota) and No. 9 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa). If you include freestyle, Venz has multiple wins over Dean. His best position is probably the top. However, against Dean, he has consistently been able to get to legs and score. Dean continues to improve, but he is still a ways away from doing anything other than closing the gap against Venz. Prediction: Venz (Nebraska) dec. Dean (Cornell) 285: No. 4 Derek White (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 3 Youssif Hemida (Maryland) Last season Hemida broke through and became an All-American for the first time. At the NCAA tournament, he defeated Tyler Love (UVA), No. 7 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) and No. 1 Sam Stoll and ended up finishing eighth. During the year, he was almost certainly Maryland's most consistent wrestler. He finished with a 30-8 record and also picked up wins over No. 11 Billy Miller (Virginia Tech), No. 9 Jere Heino (Campbell) and Seth Nevills. White bumped up to heavyweight after spending his previous three years of collegiate wrestling at 197 pounds. He fell in the blood round against now-graduated Hofstra wrestler Michael Hughes to narrowly miss out on becoming an All-American. During the year, he knocked off Wood, Miller, No. 16 Cory Daniel (North Carolina), No. 8 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven), No. 20 A.J. Nevils (Fresno State) and No. 6 Tanner Hall (Arizona State). This should be an interesting matchup. Hemida normally finds success, because he is quicker and more athletic than your average heavyweight. However, as an undersized heavyweight, White may be able to combat this advantage. The NWCA deserves credit for putting this bout together, because it will likely feature more action than most heavyweight matches. Expect Hemida to score on counter attacks against White and take the edge in a close match. Prediction: Hemida (Maryland) dec. White (Oklahoma State) 109: Charlotte Fowler (Campbellsville) vs. Maria Vidales (Emmanuel) Last year in the All-Star classic Fowler blitzed Vidales and ended up taking the match via technical superiority (14-3). However, the two rematched in the WCWA semifinal last season, and in that match, Vidales hit a four-point throw in the last minute of the match and held on to win 5-2. Vidales went on to finish second, while Fowler ended up finishing third. If Vidales is able to stay on her offense, she should be able to break through. She does not want to end up on the bottom against Fowler as she was turned multiple times in the All-Star classic last year. If she moves forward and attacks, she should be able to put up enough points to take the bout. Prediction: Vidales (Emmanuel) VPO over Fowler (Campbellsville) 123: Gabriela Ramos-Diaz (Wayland Baptist) vs. Dominique Parrish (Simon Fraser) Parrish made a dominant run through the WCWA tournament last year. She outscored her opponents 44-8 and took the title at 123. This bout will serve as a bit of a warmup as Parrish will head to the U23 World Championships later this month where she will represent the U.S. Last year, in her freshman season, Ramos-Diaz made the WCWA tournament, but she lost in the round of 16. She wrestled all the way back to a third place finish. Ramos-Diaz has twice represented Puerto Rico at the Junior World Championships. At this point in their career, Parrish will simply be too much for Ramos-Diaz. Parrish has a strong penetration step and can easily get to legs when she controls the ties. Look for her to score a lot of points on her feet in this bout. Prediction: Parrish (Simon Fraser) VSU over Ramos-Diaz (Wayland Baptist) 130: Erika Mihalca (Missouri Baptist) vs. Abby Nette (Emmanuel) Mihalca broke through and became an All-American last season in her third trip to the WCWA national tournament. She finished fourth losing to eventual runner up Nicole Depa (Simon Fraser) in the semifinals and Megan Black (McKendree in the third-place match. Nette still plans to compete this season at 123 where she placed third at the WCWA tournament last year. Like Parrish, she will also represent the U.S. at the upcoming U23 World Championships. She holds a 63-17 career record in college. Nette should be the favorite in this bout. She does a good job controlling the match with her ties and head control. Facing off against a larger opponent might hurt her in that department, but she is crafty enough to make it work. Prediction: Nette (Emmanuel) VPO over Mihalca (Missouri Baptist) 143: Nicole Joseph (King) vs. Alexis Porter (McKendree) King is moving up to 143 after finishing fourth and becoming an All-American at 130 last season. Her 143-pound campaign will get off to a tough start here as she faces off against Porter. Porter finished second at 143 last year with her only loss coming against 2018 World bronze medalist Mallory Velte. Porter is a Junior World medalist in her own right, and she should be able to control this match. Prediction: Porter (McKendree) VSU over Joseph (King) 170: Brittany Marshall (Wayland Baptist) vs. Mariah Harris (Campbellsville) This contest is a rematch of the 170 final at last year's WCWA tournament. Marshall took an early lead with a four-point takedown in the first minute of the bout. Harris responded with a takedown of her own, and she went to the break down by two. In the second period, she cut into the lead further with a shot-clock point, and then she picked up a takedown with less than a minute and a half left to take a 5-4 lead. Marshall well full desperation mode and plowed forward with a double. She spun to the back with one second left of the clock to take the match and the championship. Marshall may have won the first match, but Harris really did not do herself any favors by getting too conservative too early in the match. If she is able to continue to move forward, she has the more polished offense and should win a takedown contest. Prediction: Harris (Campbellsville) VPO over Marshall (Wayland Baptist)

Rasoul Khadem talks to Alireza Karimi-Machiani at the Freestyle World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Rasoul Khadem has resigned as Iran's wrestling federation president, the Tehran Times reported Wednesday. "Khadem's resignation came three days after poor results of Iranian wrestlers in the Wrestling World Championships in Budapest, Hungary," was the explanation given by the Tehran Times which describes itself as "Iran's leading international daily." "No Iranian wrestler could reach the final in the competitions." While no Iranian wrestlers made it to the gold-medal round, four earned bronze medals at the 2018 Worlds: freestyle wrestlers Hassan Yazdani, Alireza Karimi and Parviz Hadi, while, in Greco-Roman competition, Mehdi Aliyari also claimed bronze. The Iranian team placed 25th in the final team standings at the World championships which concluded this weekend. Khadem said that, in order for Iran to return to its past glory among the world's top wrestling programs, the nation must choose a new federation leader ... and make an "infrastructure investment." Khadem added that the time was right for a change at the top, on the heels of the 2018 Worlds, and less than two years until the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. "Iran wrestling will return to its glorious days with a little consideration for sure," Khadem said. This is not the first time that the 46-year-old Khadem has resigned as head of Iran's wrestling federation. As InterMat reported in March, Khadem stated that he had been forced out of the job just two months after being re-elected to the position when he criticized Iranian authorities for forcing a wrestler not to compete against an athlete from Israel at the 2017 U23 World Senior Wrestling Championship in Poland in November. Multiple reports indicate that a sideline coach told Iran's Alireza Karimi-Machiani to intentionally lose a match to a Russian opponent so that he would not have to wrestle an Israeli opponent in the next round. Iran does not recognize the state of Israel and forbids its athletes from competing against Israelis at international sports events. That resignation appears to have been short-lived. According to the Tehran Times, Khadem's resignation back in March was rejected by the Ministry of Sport and Youth. Prior to taking the helm of Iran's wrestling federation, Rasoul Khadem was an accomplished wrestler for his homeland. He was a two-time Olympic medalist, winning a bronze medal in the 1992 Games in Barcelona, and gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Khadem was also twice a world champion (1994, 1995) and six-time Asian champion.

Seth Gross defeated Tariq Wilson in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Returning NCAA champion Seth Gross of South Dakota State and All-American Tariq Wilson of NC State were supposed to meet at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Friday. According to the NWCA, the match will not happen. The two wrestlers met in the NCAA semifinals last March, with Gross earning a fall in sudden victory. Gross went on to win a national title, while Wilson placed third as a freshman.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Werner Holzer, a Distinguished Member inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1993, passed away on Monday, at the age of 81. There will be a celebration of life on December 8 in Fall Brook, California. Werner Holzer"Werner Holzer's contributions to our sport cannot be measured by his wrestling and coaching career alone," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. "He possessed a great desire and motivation to advance the developmental structures and opportunities so that wrestlers could excel at every level of the sport. His persistence to help the sport's National Governing Body (USA Wrestling) attain a new culture of leadership and opportunities in the 1970s and 1980s should never be forgotten." After helping launch kids, junior and adult programs across the state of Illinois, Holzer carried his fight for the development of wrestling into the halls of Chicago's city government. He emerged as founder, fundraiser, athlete and coach for the Mayor Daley Youth Foundation, and led his club to 15 national freestyle and Greco-Roman titles. During those same years, 1966 to 1978, Holzer carried out an even greater campaign, a successful challenge to the powerful authority governing amateur wrestling. He played a key role in establishing the United States Wrestling Federation, which became the sport's national governing body under the name USA Wrestling. As its president, Holzer guided the organization through its long and bitter struggle for national recognition in arbitration and in the courts. He is the author of History of the United States Wrestling Federation/USA Wrestling which chronicles how USA Wrestling came into being and gained the privilege of serving as the National Governor Body for wrestling. Holzer's leadership continued through the difficult transition years, as he blended a variety of associations and individuals into a unit of the stature necessary to represent this country on the international scene. Among those participating groups was the U. S. Federation of Wrestling Clubs, which Holzer founded back in 1968. Holzer served many years on USA Wrestling's Board of Directors, both as an elected member and also as an Honorary Board member. In addition to helping found USA Wrestling, he also helped provide direction for the organization as it grew and developed into a leader within the Olympic family. He was coach of the first U.S. team to compete in the Tbilisi tournament in the Soviet Union in 1971, starting an international exchange that spanned two decades, and he served as team leader for the 1982 Greco-Roman World Cup, which was the first overseas venture for the new USA Wrestling. Holzer was an All-American, finishing third at the NCAA Championships in 1957, and a two-time Big Ten champion at the University of Illinois, finishing his career with a 71-7 record. He was a national freestyle champion in 1966 and a six-time All-American for the Mayor Daley Youth Foundation. He placed fourth in freestyle at the 1966 World Championships and finished sixth in Greco-Roman at the 1968 Olympics, making him one of the few Americans to compete internationally in both styles. 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 and now features interactive exhibits and electronic kiosks, as well as the opportunity to watch NCAA Championship matches from the 1930s to present day. It 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, 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.

The 2018 World Championships were bigger and better than ever. There were more weight classes, more matches and more drama. And a big medal haul for the United States. The U.S. won a combined record of 12 total medals, including four golds, at the World Championships on Oct. 20-28 in Budapest, Hungary. The addition this year of six overall weight classes -- two in men's freestyle, two in women's wrestling and two in Greco-Roman -- contributed to that record number. There are now 30 weight classes, 10 in each style, at the World Championships. Even with additional medal opportunities, it was still a productive week for the Americans. The U.S. finished second in the team race in men's freestyle, third in women's freestyle and 17th in Greco-Roman. Here is the breakdown of American performances by style from Budapest: Adam Coon claimed a silver medal at the World Championships in Greco-Roman (Photo/Larry Slater) Greco-Roman The U.S. had a disastrous performance in Greco at the 2017 worlds and the 2018 team was off to an awful start at this year's event. Nine of the 10 American Greco wrestlers combined to win just three matches in Budapest. Two of those came from talented young standout Kamal Bey, a 2017 junior world champion who will be a legitimate medal threat on the Senior level. Bey is an explosive athlete who wrestles aggressively and has a huge upside. First-time world team member Adam Coon saved the day for the U.S. He turned in a superb performance, pinning his first four opponents en route to reaching the heavyweight finals. Coon is a hard-working, blue-collar, body-locking machine who is fresh out of college and is very young for an international wrestler. Coon became the first U.S. Greco wrestler to make a world final since 2009 and the team's first medalist since 2015. His silver-medal performance could inspire others to follow suit. If Coon makes a full-time commitment to Greco, he could be standing on top of a World Championships or Olympics medal podium very soon. But he also competes in freestyle and he's very good in that style as well. As a whole, the U.S. is still struggling at the highest level in Greco. The performance of Coon obviously provided a huge and much-needed boost to the American program. And Bey looks like a guy who is certainly capable of winning a medal. But nobody else on the U.S. team really looks close to reaching that level at this point. Grade: D+ Adeline Gray won her fourth world title (Photo/Larry Slater) Women's wrestling What can you say about Adeline Gray? She's making a very strong case to be considered the best women's wrestler in U.S. history. Gray turned in a phenomenal performance at the World Championships, winning an American record-tying fourth gold medal. She knocked off 2016 Olympic champion Erica Wiebe of Canada in the semifinals and 2017 world champion Yasemin Adar of Turkey in the finals. She also beat a world medalist and an Olympic bronze medalist in her first two matches of her strong run through a brutal bracket. Gray wrestled a great match against Wiebe, scoring on a clutch double-leg takedown near the edge of the mat to earn the victory. She showed great composure and determination in her tough road back to being a world champion. Gray was the favorite to win the Olympics in 2016, but fell short of the medal podium. She missed last season while recovering from an injury before coming back with a vengeance this season. She now owns four world gold medals and two world bronze medals in her remarkable career. Sarah Hildebrandt also turned in a strong showing by winning a silver medal. Teammates Tamyra Mensah and Mallory Velte added bronze medals for the U.S.. Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion Helen Maroulis lost her first match in Hungary after missing most of the season with an injury. Kudos to Maroulis, a great champion, for trying to make it back this year. But she just didn't have enough mat time, in training and competition, to make a run this season. Let's hope Maroulis can return to form as we move closer to the 2020 Olympic Games. She wrestled at an extremely high level in being the best in the world from 2015-17. Grade: B+ J'den Cox was one of three world champions in freestyle for USA (Photo/Larry Slater) Freestyle If you said before the tournament that the U.S. would have three world champions and none were named Burroughs or Snyder, nobody would've believed you. It wasn't a total surprise that Kyle Dake, David Taylor and J'den Cox each won their first world titles. It was just a surprise that it happened in the same tournament. Dake was incredibly dominant, outscoring his opponents by an unthinkable 37-0 margin. Dake's style is perfectly suited for freestyle with his ability to throw, lift and put up big points. He's also very stingy defensively and he's extremely strong for the new weight class of 79 kilograms. Taylor didn't hold back. He went out and competed with a relentless, attacking style. And nobody could keep up with his hard-charging pace. Not even Olympic and world champion Hassan Yazdani of Iran, who Taylor beat in the first round at 86 kilos. Cox is a guy who just keeps excelling on the big stage. And when he opens up, good luck trying to stop him. Cox is a winner and the new 92-kilogram weight class is a perfect fit for him. It will be interesting to see what weights Cox and Dake move to for the Olympic Trials in 2020. Will they join Taylor in the Olympic class of 86 kilograms? Will Dake drop down to challenge Jordan Burroughs at 74 kilograms? Will Cox move up to challenge Kyle Snyder at 97 kilograms? The much-anticipated rematch between Snyder and Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia was the biggest surprise of the 2018 World Championships. Not just the fact that Sadulaev avenged a one-point loss from the 2017 finals, but that he scored a quick and stunning first-period fall in the rematch. As a fan, I was hoping to see more wrestling between these two superstars. Snyder is a great champion, with an Olympic gold medal and two world titles to his credit. He will be back at 97 kilos. Burroughs showed what a legend he is in the sport by bouncing back from a tough loss to capture a bronze medal. It was his seventh world-level medal at 74 kilograms since 2011. Burroughs now has an Olympic gold medal to go with four world gold medals and two world bronze medals. The U.S. also had bronze medalists this year in Joe Colon and Nick Gwiazdowski. Thomas Gilman reached the bronze-medal match before taking fifth. Gilman was second in the world last year. In most years, an impressive showing like that by the U.S. would've been good enough to win a team title. The Americans won three gold medals, a silver medal and three bronze medals. But it wasn't quite enough. Russia had an incredible tournament to regain its perch as the world's No. 1 team. I can't wait to see the U.S. battle Russia again in 2019. Grade: A 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.

Travis McIntosh served as an assisant at St. Paris Graham for the past three seasons (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Travis McIntosh, assistant wrestling coach at Graham High School in St. Paris, Ohio for the past three seasons, has been named head coach of the mat program ranked No. 5 in the nation last season by InterMat. The announcement was made Monday evening by Superintendent Kirk Koennecke. McIntosh replaces Jeff Jordan, who announced his retirement in mid-September after nearly a quarter-century on the Falcons coaching staff, and 17 seasons at the helm. "Over the course of 25 years, Graham is fortunate to have built a successful and respected national program with strong coaches, most notably Jeff Jordan," Koennecke told the Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun. "Recognizing this unique culture, and sustaining it, was important as we searched close quarters for a quality candidate that understood this. Travis McIntosh stood out." "It has always been a dream of mine to be a part of Graham wrestling," McIntosh said. "I am excited to continue the legacy and success that Coach Jordan has worked so hard to build over the last 25 years. I am humbled that I have been chosen to be the next leader of this program. I am looking forward to continuing to build relationships with my wrestlers and continuing the Graham tradition of winning state titles. I appreciate the support from Coach Jordan and the Graham Administration through this transition. I look forward to the responsibilities and challenges ahead as the next head coach." McIntosh has long been a fixture in western Ohio wrestling, first as an athlete, then as a coach. A graduate of Miami Trace High School, McIntosh was a four-time state qualifier and two-time state placer, winning a state title as a senior. After graduation, McIntosh headed south to Campbellsville University in Kentucky, where he was an NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Wrestling Championships finalist, then served as an assistant coach for the Tigers before coming to Graham three years ago as an assistant. McIntosh takes over the controls of a program that has made a name for itself both in the state of Ohio and nationwide. Under Jordan, Graham won the Division II state title the last 17 seasons and was awarded team national championships in 2008, '10 and '15. Largely known throughout the amateur wrestling world as St. Paris Graham, the school is a four-year public high school located in St. Paris, a town of approximately 2,000 residents in western Ohio, north of Dayton and west of Columbus. Graham High School has an enrollment of approximately 650 students.

Brandon Paulson has been inducted as a Distinguished Member to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) STILLWATER, Okla.-- The National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced on Monday that the Class of 2019 inductees are Distinguished Members Carl Adams, Rich Lorenzo, Brandon Paulson and Townsend Saunders, Meritorious Official David Errett, Order of Merit recipient Dr. David Curby and Medal of Courage recipient James McCloughan. The Hall of Fame will announce its Outstanding American honoree at a later date. "The National Wrestling Hall of Fame is proud to honor these individuals in our Class of 2019," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. "These individuals were selected because of their extraordinary accomplishments in the sport of wrestling, and their induction into the Hall of Fame will serve as a perpetual reminder of their dedication and contributions to the sport." The Hall of Fame Board of Governors approved the selections at its meeting in Kansas City on Oct. 24. The induction ceremony will be held at the 43rd Annual Honors Weekend on May 31-June 1, 2019 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For more information on Honors Weekend, please telephone (405) 377-5243. Paulson and Saunders were chosen as Distinguished Members for the Modern Era while Adams and Lorenzo were selected by the Veterans Committee. The Hall of Fame has inducted 192 Distinguished Members since it began in 1976. Saunders is married to Tricia Saunders, who was the first woman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 2006, making them the first husband and wife to be Distinguished Members. Other husbands and wives recognized at the national level by the Hall of Fame are Dave Schultz, a Distinguished Member inducted in 1997, and Nancy Schultz Vitangeli, an Order of Merit recipient in 2018; Sheila Wager and Jerry Wager, who were inducted as Meritorious Officials in 1995 and 2008; and Sue Siar and Bob Siar, who were inducted as Meritorious Officials in 1998 and 2000, respectively. 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. Carl Adams was a two-time NCAA Division I national champion and a three-time All-American for Iowa State University. He became the first freshman to earn All-America honors in 1969, which was the first year that the NCAA allowed true freshmen to compete in the NCAA Championships, and was the only freshman that placed, finishing fifth. He helped the Cyclones win the NCAA team title in 1969, 1970 and 1972 while finishing second in 1971. Adams was team co-captain in 1971 and 1972 and was voted Cyclones' Most Valuable Wrestler of the 1972 NCAA Championship team. Adams was a three-time undefeated Midlands Champion, winning titles in 1971, 1972 and 1974, and was a national freestyle champion in 1973 and 1975. He won a silver medal at the Pan American Championships in 1975 and finished fifth at the World Championships in 1975. National Mat News named him "Middleweight of the Decade," and during his post college freestyle career he had a perfect 5-0 record against Wade Schalles, a Distinguished Member inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1991. Adams won a New York state high school championship in 1968, the first for Brentwood High School. He was also a three-time Section 11 champion and twice was named the Section 11 Most Valuable Wrestler. In addition, he finished his high school career without ever losing a dual meet and was a member of the 1967 Junior Olympic team. He was an assistant coach at Iowa State from 1973-78, beginning his career as a 22-year-old, and helped 40 Cyclones earn All-America honors, including six national champions. Iowa State won NCAA team titles in 1973 and 1977 and had Top Four finishes in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1978. At age 27 he became head coach at the University of Rhode Island and was named Rookie College Coach of the Year by Amateur Wrestling News after leading Rhode Island to the New England Wrestling Conference title in 1979. He coached Rhode Island's second All-American, Lee Spiegel, and was named NEWC Coach of the Year in 1980 after winning a second NEWC championship. He became head coach at Boston University in 1980 and led the Terriers to 10 NEWC team titles, including five in a row from 1981-85 and 1988-92, while his wrestlers won individual conference titles 87 times. Adams coached four All-Americans and his wrestlers qualified for the NCAA tournament 99 times. While coaching at Rhode Island and Boston University, his teams did not lose a conference dual meet from 1979-86 and Adams was named NEWC Coach of the Year five times and Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Coach of the Year in 2014, Boston University's first year in the 18-team conference. He served on the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee from 2006-09 and also served two terms on the Executive Committee of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Five of his former wrestlers became college head coaches: Todd Giles at Army, Joey Rivera at East Stroudsburg, Jason Holder at Springfield, Earl Walker at Delaware State and Jason York at Bridgewater State. Adams is a noted inventor of wrestling training aids, including the ADAM Takedown Machine, Snap and Shoot Plus, Super Snap and Shoot, Takedown Defender, Iowa Snapper, JOBO Legs Takedown System and MMA Drill Master. His unique equipment can be found in wrestling rooms all over the world. He is the author of Controlling the Center of Gravity, Takedowns, Counters and Freestyle Wrestling, World Class Wrestling Manual and Think it. Believe it. Do it., which was published in 2014. His set of nine instructional wrestling videos are some of the most popular ever with over 100,000 copies sold in 25 years and more than 600,000 views of excerpts on YouTube. He developed a system of wrestling camps that ran for 34 consecutive years and had many unique features, including S.A.T. Prep classes. More than 20,000 wrestlers from across the country attended camps in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Ohio. Adams received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002 and was inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa in 2005. He was inducted in the Charter Class of the Midlands Hall of Fame in 1992 and is also a member of the Iowa State University Athletic Hall of Fame and the Brentwood (New York) High School Hall of Fame. Rich Lorenzo was head coach of the Penn State wrestling team from 1978-92 and helped 53 Penn State wrestlers earn All-America honors, including two-time NCAA champion Jeff Prescott and national champions Carl DeStefanis, Scott Lynch and Jim Martin. He led the Nittany Lions to 11 Top 10 finishes at the NCAA tournament, including six Top Five finishes, and Penn State won 11 consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association team titles and two National Dual Meet championships. Lorenzo was named EIWA Coach of the Year six times and was named National Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1992. Prior to becoming head coach, he was an assistant coach for Penn State from 1968-74 and helped the Nittany Lions finish in the Top 10 at the NCAA tournament four times while winning two EIWA team titles and finishing second three times. He was co-executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association from 1993-95, raising one half of the NWCA coaches' $1 million capital campaign challenge, and served as membership chair and treasurer for the NWCA from 1993-99. Lorenzo served as executive director and treasurer for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, serving as the major fundraiser to fully endow the wrestling program. He was the chief fundraiser for a $4 million wrestling complex, which was named the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex. On the mat, Lorenzo was a two-time district champion and a state runner-up for Newton (New Jersey) High School. He was an NCAA All-American for Penn State, finishing fourth at the NCAA Championships, in 1968 after winning an EIWA championship and being named Outstanding Wrestler and winner of the trophy for Most Falls. Lorenzo was an East-West dual meet winner in 1968 and a three-time EIWA place winner while going undefeated in dual meets as a junior and senior for the Nittany Lions. Lorenzo was also a four-time Future Farmers of America state public speaking champion and was named the New Jersey Future Farmers of America Star State Farmer in 1964. He received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1995, and was inducted into both the EWL Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1996. Brandon Paulson won a silver medal in Greco-Roman at the Olympics in 1996 and competed three times in Greco-Roman at the World Championships, winning a silver medal in 2001 and finishing eighth in 2002. A four-time U.S. Nationals champion, he made history in 1991-92 when he became the first high school wrestler to qualify for the United States Senior Greco-Roman Team. Paulson was a star on USA Wrestling's age-group levels, winning national titles at the Cadet, Junior, Espoir and University levels and a silver medal at the Espoir World Championships in 1993. He was an All-American at the University of Minnesota and was a three-time Minnesota high school state champion for Anoka High School. He had a career high school record of 155-12-1 and was named Mr. Minnesota Wrestling in 1992. He was named Greco-Roman Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling in 2008 and received the honor again in 2016. Paulson was a member of the U.S. Olympic coaching staff at the Olympics in 2008 while also helping coach the U.S. Junior World Greco-Roman Team in 2007 and 2008. He is a club coach with the Minnesota Storm, working with senior-level and age-group athletes at the U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials. Andy Bisek of the Storm competed in Greco-Roman for Team USA at the Olympics in 2016 while four other members of the Storm qualified for the 2016-17 Greco-Roman National Team. Paulson has also been a member of the Minnesota/USA Wrestling coaching staff for the Junior and Cadet Nationals, helping produce numerous national champions and All-Americans for one of the strongest Greco-Roman programs in the nation. He worked as an assistant coach at his high school alma mater from 2005 to 2008, helping produce seven individual state champions. He has partnered with NCAA champion and U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up Jared Lawrence at the PINnacle Wrestling School, where they coach youth, high school and international wrestlers. PINnacle Wrestling has produced nine age-group world medalists, including three world champions. Paulson was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum's Alan and Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions in 2013 and was a member of the Charter Class of the Anoka (Minnesota) High School Hall of Fame in 2011. Townsend Saunders was an NCAA Division II national champion at 142 pounds for Cal State Bakersfield in 1987 and had a runner-up finish in the California state championships while competing for Torrance High School. He was a two-time Pac-10 champion and a two-time NCAA Division I All-American for Arizona State University, finishing second at 142 pounds in 1989 and third at 150 pounds in 1990. Saunders had a career record of 77-9 for the Sun Devils, which ties him for fourth place with a .895 winning percentage. He is also tied for fourth in dual victories in a season with 20 wins in 1989-90 and is tied for seventh on ASU's single-season overall victories list with 40 wins in 1988-89. Saunders won a silver medal at 149.5 pounds at the Olympics in 1996 after finishing seventh at 149.5 pounds in 1992. He competed in six World Championships from 1991-95 and was a gold medalist at the Pan American Games in 1991 and 1995. Saunders won a gold medal at the Goodwill Games in 1995 and was the U.S. Open national freestyle champion in 1991 and 1996. After stepping off the mat, he was an assistant coach at Arizona State from 2001-03 while also serving as executive director and coach for the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club. He coached the United States women's team to seven medals in seven weights, winning a gold medal, four silver medals and two bronze medals, at the World Championships in 2003. Saunders was named USA Wrestling's Coach of the Year in 2004 after being coach of the United States women's wrestling team the first time that women's wrestling competed in the Olympics in 2004. He was inducted into the Arizona State University Hall of Fame in 2011 and the California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013. The Meritorious Official award recognizes outstanding service as a referee, judge, or pairing official. David Errett has been a licensed official for folkstyle wrestling in Indiana for 20 years. He obtained his national license from the USA Wrestling Officials Association in 1988 and received his international license from FILA now United World Wrestling in 1990. Errett officiated 25 World Championships and 18 World Team Trials. He has officiated 6 Olympic Team Trials and 13 Armed Forces Championships. Errett was named USA Outstanding Official for the Junior Nationals in 1991 and was the USA Wrestling Official of the Year in 1996. USA Wrestling Officials Association presented him with the Mort Geller award, which is presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding officiating skills on the International level and who is recognized as an outstanding clinician on the national level, in 1997, and with the Phil Portuese award, which is presented to an individual who has gone above and beyond the normal to teach to the art of officiating, in 2013. FILA/UWW awarded him with their Golden Whistle award in 2003 at the Greco World Championships in Paris, France. Errett taught business at Martinsville (Indiana) High School for 40 years. Errett was an assistant football coach for 14 years, an assistant wrestling coach for 11 years and the head wrestling coach for 20 years. He led his teams to third-place finishes in the state tournament in 1989 and 1991 and coached three individual state champions and four state runner-up finishers. His son, Zach, officiated at the Olympics in 2012 and 2016. Errett was inducted into the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2003 and his family was inducted into the IHSWCA in 2012. The Medal of Courage recipient is a wrestler or former wrestler who has overcome what appear to be insurmountable challenges, providing inspiration to others. In 1969 at the battle of Nui Yon Hill in Vietnam, combat medic and former wrestler James McCloughan risked his life repeatedly to save 10 fellow American soldiers. On July 31, 2017, McCloughan was awarded the Medal of Honor, the most prestigious personal military decoration, for his acts of bravery and valor on the battlefield while serving in the U.S. Army. With his company engaged in a battle, McCloughan ran 100 meters through an open field to rescue an injured soldier, carrying him back to the company and saving him from being captured or killed. McCloughan saw two more soldiers and ran to their aid. While checking them for wounds, a rocket-propelled grenade exploded and peppered him with shrapnel. Bleeding extensively, he returned to the kill zone four more times to find more wounded soldiers. The next day, another platoon was ambushed and their medic was killed, leaving McCloughan as the only medic in the company. McCloughan was wounded a second time by small arms fire and shrapnel while providing aid to two soldiers in an open rice paddy. He then volunteered to hold a blinking light in an open area as a marker for a nighttime supply drop, holding his prone position as bullets and RPGs flew over and around him. The next morning, he destroyed the RPG position with a grenade, while continuing to fight and care for wounded Americans. He finally collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration. McCloughan was a four-sport athlete at Bangor High School in Bangor, Michigan, and he wrestled and played football and baseball at Olivet College. He taught sociology and psychology at South Haven High School for 40 years, and also coached wrestling, football and baseball. He was also a wrestling official for the Michigan High School Athletic Association for 25 years. McCloughan is a member of the Olivet College Athletic Hall of Fame Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame, and the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. 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. Dr. David Curby helped found and serves as the director of the International Network of Wrestling Researchers, which has more than 500 members in 75 countries, and also serves as the editor of the International Journal of Wrestling Science, the organization's official publication. His website, INWR-Wrestling.com, is the world's foremost website on the scientific aspects of wrestling. The INWR has organized and conducted scientific symposiums at the World Championships since 2010. Curby, who has compiled a library of more than 2,800 published scientific articles on wrestling, helped found and serves as secretary for United World Wrestling's Scientific Commission. He served as executive director of Beat the Streets Chicago and also coaches a youth wrestling club at St. Sabina Parish in Chicago. On the mat, Curby was a Junior National Champion and a Junior World team member. He was a four-year starter, team captain and a Big Ten champion at the University of Michigan. A Fulbright Scholar, Curby received his bachelor's degree in physical education from Michigan and his master's degree and doctorate from Northern Illinois in physical education and educational psychology. He was athletic director and administrator of physical welfare at Niles North School in Skokie, Illinois, from 1994-2008, after working as a teacher and department chair of physical education and health at Lyons Township High School. Curby was named "Physical Educator of the Year" in 1984 by the Illinois State Board of Education. Curby received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Illinois Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015 and received the Alan Rice Leadership Award from the Alan and Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions in 2014. He received the United States Olympic Committee's "Doc" Councilman Award for scientific contributions to coaching in 2011 and is also a member of the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Hall of Fame. Following the death of his son, Jacob, in 2010, Curby and his family founded the Jacob Curby Foundation, in memory of their son who was a member of the United States National Greco-Roman team, and conducted the Jacob Curby Cup, which was one of America's premier Greco-Roman competitions. 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 and now features interactive exhibits and electronic kiosks, as well as the opportunity to watch NCAA Championship matches from the 1930s to present day. It 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, 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.

Abdulrashid Sadulaev and Kyle Snyder met in the finals of the World Championships for the second straight year (Photo/Larry Slater) Several of the world's top wrestlers took losses at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, including four of the six Olympic champions from Rio. Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) was the lone wrestler to repeat as a world champion. Let's examine the world's top 10 pound-for-pound freestyle wrestlers after the World Championships in Budapest. Note: Only wrestlers who competed at the 2018 World Championships were considered. 1. Abdulrashid Sadulaev (Russia) Sadulaev has been on an incredible run since arriving on the senior level in 2014 at the age of 18. After winning world titles in 2014 and 2015, Sadulaev claimed the Olympic gold medal at 86 kilograms in Rio. He moved up a weight class in 2017 to face another Olympic champion, Kyle Snyder, at 97 kilograms. Sadulaev lost narrowly to Snyder, a match he was winning until late. The Russian Tank came back this year and won another world title in dominant fashion. He registered four technical falls to reach the finals, outscoring those opponents 45-3. In the gold-medal match, Sadulaev exacted revenge on Snyder, getting a first-period fall. 2. Kyle Snyder (USA) Snyder claimed his first world title at the 2015 World Championships, beating the reigning world champion at the time, Russia's Abdusalam Gadisov. The following year, Snyder became the youngest Olympic champion in U.S. wrestling history at age 20. In 2017, he edged Sadulaev 6-5 to win gold. Snyder entered the 2018 World Championships with an undefeated record at world-level events. In Budapest, he took his first loss at a world-level event when he was pinned in the gold-medal match by Sadulaev. Snyder has taken occasional losses during his senior-level career, but always seems to be at his best when wrestling for world and Olympic titles. Geno Petriashvili won his first world title in 2017 with a win over Turkey's Taha Akgul (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 3. Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) Petriashvili has established himself as the world's top freestyle heavyweight after winning world titles in each of the past two years, unseating Turkey's Taha Akgul from the No. 1 spot. The 24-year-old Georgian has been consistent at world-level events, taking home medals in four of the past five World Championships or Olympic Games. In 2017, Petriashvili stunned Akgul in the World Championship finals after getting thumped by him earlier in the year at the European Championships. 4. Taha Akgul (Turkey) The 27-year-old Turkish heavyweight claimed the 2016 Olympic gold medal at 125 kilograms after winning world titles in each of the two previous years. He is a five-time European champion, along with being a European Games gold medalist in 2015. Akgul defeated Petriashvili to win a European title in May. After this year's World Championships draws were released, many expected to Akgul and Petriashvili to meet in the semifinals, but Iran's Parviz Hadibasmanj had other ideas. He upset Akgul in the quarterfinals before losing to Petriashvili, knocking Akgul out of medal contention. It was the first time since the 2012 Olympic Games in London that Akgul left a world-level event without a medal. Jordan Burroughs battles Russia's Zaurbek Sidakov in the quarterfinals of the World Championships (Photo/Larry Slater) 5. Jordan Burroughs (USA) The 2012 Olympic champion Burroughs has won medals in seven of the past eight world-level events. Of those seven world-level medals, five have been gold and two bronze. At the age of 30, Burroughs is still among the world's best pound-for-pound wrestlers. He only has seven international losses in his seven-year career. This year, Burroughs entered the World Championships looking to repeat as world champion after winning in Paris. But in the World Championship quarterfinals, Russia's Zaurbek Sidakov came from behind to defeat Burroughs, scoring a last-second step out to win 6-5. Burroughs came back to win bronze, beating two-time world champion Frank Chamizo of Italy. 6. David Taylor (USA) Taylor competed in his first World Championships in 2018 after being behind world champions Jordan Burroughs and J'den Cox. While Taylor has had strong international results over the past two years since moving up to 86 kilograms, he needed to prove himself at the World Championships before being mentioned among the world's best pound-for-pound wrestlers. In Budapest, he did just that, knocking off Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani Cherati of Iran on his way to winning his first world title. Against Yazdani, Taylor trailed 6-2 at the break before storming back to win 11-6. It was his second win over Yazdani since 2017. He then won his next four matches to claim the gold medal. Taylor did not lose a match in 2018 Hassan Yazdani Cherati won a world title in Paris a year after winning Olympic gold in Rio (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 7. Hassan Yazdani Cherati (Iran) After winning a Junior world title in 2014, Yazdani won a world silver medal in 2015, losing in the finals at 70 kilograms to Russia's Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov. The next year, Yazdani moved up a weight class and became one of wrestling's biggest stars when he won the Olympic gold medal in Rio. It was a weight class that included the reigning Olympic and world champion (at the time), Burroughs. He moved up another weight class in 2017 and shined at the World Championships in Paris, earning four technical falls in five matches. In Budapest, Yazdani came back to win a bronze medal after losing his first match to Taylor. 8. Zaurbek Sidakov (Russia) Sidakov, a 2015 Junior world bronze medalist, has had strong results over the past few years but had not been able to break into Russia's lineup until this year. He has won medals at the Ivan Yarygin Grand Pix in each of the last four years, including a gold medal in 2016. In Budapest, Sidakov knocked off world champions Burroughs and Chamizo en route to winning the world title. It was his second win over Chamizo in the last 12 months having defeated him last November at the Alany Tournament. Frank Chamizo gets to the leg of Jordan Burroughs at Beat the Streets' "Rumble on the River" event (Photo/Juan Garcia) 9. Frank Chamizo (Italy) Chamizo may have fallen short of a world medal in Budapest this year, but that doesn't change the fact that he's one of the world's best pound-for-pound wrestlers. He has charisma on and off the mat, which has made him one of the sport's biggest stars. Leading up to the 2018 World Championships, Chamizo had won three straight world medals at 70 kilograms, including two world titles. After moving up to 74 kilograms in 2018, Chamizo dropped a close match to Burroughs at Beat the Streets but came back to avenge the loss at the Yasar Dogu in Turkey. Chamizo reached the semifinals at this year's World Championships before falling to Sidakov. He faced Burroughs in the bronze-medal match and lost on criteria. 10. Kyle Dake (USA) Dake, like Taylor, won a world title in his World Championship debut. Not only did he win, but he dominated his competition, outscoring his opponents 37-0 at 79 kilograms. His run to the title included a 13-0 technical fall over Russia's Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov in the semifinals, avenging a loss from earlier this year. In the gold-medal match, Dake shut down Olympic bronze medalist Jabrayil Hasanov of Azerbaijan, 3-0.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The 2018 edition of the Super 32 Challenge was wrestled this weekend in Greensboro, N.C. It was a tournament themed around redemption, the opportunity for wrestlers to elevate their podium position from previous editions of the event. Most notably three wrestlers that finished second in the tournament last year emerged as champions on Sunday afternoon. Richard FigueroaCadet world silver medalist Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) cleared what had to be the toughest path of any weight class champion on the way to his title at 113 pounds. After a 15-0 technical fall and a 6-0 decision to start the tournament, Figueroa upended New England regional champion Hunter Adrian (Melrose, Mass.) by 9-2 decision in the round of 32. His four subsequent victories would be all against wrestlers that placed in the tournament. In the round of 16, it was a 12-1 major decision over No. 13 overall freshman Troy Spratley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) to end Saturday's campaign. To start Sunday it was a fall over No. 35 overall sophomore Nicholas Nardone (Delbarton, N.J.) at the 2:40 mark. In the semifinal round it was a 5-1 decision against 2016 Super 32 placer Logan Agin (Lancaster, Ohio). All to lead up to a finals showdown against 2016 Super 32 runner-up at 106 pounds Greg Diakomihalis (Hilton, N.Y.). The finals match started with a scoreless first period. Diakomihalis then jumped out to a 3-0 lead midway through the second period, before 2017 Super 32 runner-up Figueroa got an escape to make the score 3-1. A reversal to start the third period leveled the match 3-all, while Diakomihalis was cut loose with 90 seconds left in the bout to earn a 4-3 lead. Defending a deep Diakomihalis shot at the edge of the mat, Figueroa scord a counter takedown with 29 seconds left and rode the duration of the match for his 5-4 victory. A similar high-level showdown happened in the 170-pound final where last year's 160-pound runner-up Dustin Plott (Tuttle, Okla.) faced off against returning tournament champion Patrick Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville). Both wrestlers are nationally elite juniors, Oklahoma State commit Plott is ranked No. 6 overall, while Iowa commit Kennedy is No. 11. A first period dominated by Plott's two takedowns only yielded a 4-3 lead as Kennedy mustered a late period escape after the second takedown. Plott got an escape and takedown to start the second to stretch the lead to 7-3. Kennedy then answered with an escape and takedown, while a Plott escape before the period's end gave him an 8-6 lead with two minutes to go. Kennedy would take his lone lead of the match with an escape and takedown at the start of the period. Plott then equalized via an escape, before a takedown pushed the lead to 11-9. Kennedy escaped to trail 11-10, but Plott had two more takedowns before the match concluded with the final score of 16-12. The third runner-up from last year to come through with a title this year was Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), who beat fellow California state champion and returning tournament runner-up Jesse Vasquez (Santiago Corona) 3-1 to earn the title at 138. The score was level at 1-all with 90 seconds remaining as the wrestlers traded escapes. Abas then scored a takedown with 38 seconds left in the bout and rode out Vasquez to confirm the final margin. Abas started his tournament with two technical falls, an 11-2 major decision, and a pin to reach the round of 16 where he concluded Saturday with a 7-0 decision over returning Super 32 placer Julian Sanchez (Genoa, Ohio). Matches on Sunday up to the final saw Abas beat No. 47 overall junior Aidan Medora (Brookfield, Wis.) by 16-4 major decision in the quarterfinal and No. 35 overall senior Jordan Crace (Elyria, Ohio) 3-2 in the semifinal. The tournament's lone repeat champion came at the 220-pound weight class, where No. 3 overall junior Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) dominated his way to a second belt, including a 5-0 shutout of No. 43 overall junior Konner Doucet (Comache, Okla.) in the final. Other matches were two pins, a 26-11 technical fall, and a 7-2 semifinal decision. On the other hand, arguably the biggest story of the whole tournament came in the quarterfinal round when No. 13 overall sophomore Shayne van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) upset No. 8 overall senior Adam Busiello (Eastport-South Manor, N.Y.) 9-5 at 126 pounds. It denied Busiello the chance to become the tournament's first-ever four-time champion. To end Saturday, van Ness had beaten Pennsylvania state runner-up Colton Camacho (Franklin Regional, Pa.) 9-2. In the semifinal, van Ness beat No. 75 overall senior Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) 9-2. Then in the final it was a 10-6 result over Ryan Jack (Danbury, Ct.). A trio of wrestlers from Ohio earned titles on Sunday afternoon at the Super 32 Challenge. All are nationally elite seniors. For Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa), the 132-pound champion, became a three-time placer in the event after taking eighth in 2015 and fifth last year. In the championship match, he beat Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 5-2; Bartlett was a runner-up last year at 126 pounds. Takedowns in the second and third period propelled D'Emilio to victory. Like Figueroa, D'Emilio beat four tournament placers in total, starting with a 3-1 round of 16 victory over Kenny Herrman (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.). It continued with a 4-3 victory over No. 92 overall senior Jordan Hamdan (Hudson, Mich.), which needed a last second takedown to happen. The semifinal victory came by injury default after D'Emilio scored the match's opening takedown against Sam Hillegas (North Hills, Pa.); the No. 12 overall junior had beaten D'Emilio last year in the quarterfinal round. 2016 tournament placer Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle) emerged with the 120-pound title. His tournament started with a pin, technical fall, and 11-3 major decision before running through four tournament placers to win gold. In the round of 16 it was a 5-0 victory over Cadet freestyle All-American Brayden Littell (Center Grove, Ind.). The big victory came in the quarterfinal where he beat 2016 Super 32 champion Antonio Lorenzo (St. John Bosco, Calif.) by 4-2 decision. Then there was a 7-2 semifinal victory over No. 4 overall freshman Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, Colo.). In the finals, it was a 6-3 victory over returning Super 32 placer Sam Latona (Thompson, Ala.), who is ranked No. 73 overall in the senior class. Byrd used takedowns in the first and third to key the victory. Between tough draws and an injury last year, No. 10 overall senior Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty) has yet to make a state finals bout. However, he navigated successfully the 152-pound bracket this weekend to win this major tournament. Most notably it was a 5-2 finals victory over No. 32 overall senior Cameron Amine (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), a match keyed by takedowns in each of the first two periods. Another pair of nationally elite seniors emerged with weight class titles on Sunday, No. 24 Abe Assad (Glenbard North, Ill.) at 182 pounds and No. 12 Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) at 195. Assad upended No. 26 overall junior Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) 5-3 in the final on takedowns in the second and third period. Cardenas was able to make an 8-0 first period, which was a takedown and three two-point near falls via tilt, last the duration of the match against No. 76 overall senior Wyatt Hendrickson (Newton, Kansas). Hendrickson did respond strong with a takedown in the second period and two in the third period, but fell short by a score of 9-7. The remaining senior to win a weight class title was two-time state champion at 195 pounds Aidan Conner (Highland Park, Texas), who earned gold this weekend at 285. He had three pins, a 4-0 decision, and then an 11-4 finals victory over Cadet National double runner-up Colby Whitehill (Brookville, Pa.). Rounding out the champions were sophomore Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) at 106 pounds, No. 18 overall junior Keegan O'Toole (Arrowhead, Wis.) at 145, and No. 2 overall sophomore Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) at 160. Finally coming into his own as a full sized 106, Poulin is demonstrating the ability level he always showed in age-group competitions through junior high. The state champion last year at 99 pounds made it to Sunday via a 4-2 decision, pin, major decision, and technical fall. A 13-2 major decision over state champion Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.) advanced him to the semifinal where he won by 10-3 decision. The championship match saw Poulin jump out to a 7-2 lead through two periods via a pair of first period takedowns and a three-point near fall during a second period rideout. Drake Ayala (Fort Dodge, Iowa) - a state champion in his own right last year - did respond with three takedowns in the third period attempting to cut an 8-2 deficit, but it was not enough as Poulin won 11-8. O'Toole continues his emergence into stardom following up a Junior National freestyle title with a title in the nation's best folkstyle tournament. Two pins and two decisions (4-0 and 11-4 moved him into Sunday's competition). His quarterfinal match was a pin in 5:25 over No. 45 overall junior Manzona Bryant (Hudson WRA, Ohio), before beating No. 55 overall senior Devin Schwartzkopf (Greenway, Mo.) 6-2 in the semifinal. Facing No. 36 overall senior James Whitaker (St. Johns, Mich.) in the final, O'Toole jumped to a 2-0 lead through one period. Whitaker answered with a reversal at the start of the second. However, O'Toole countered with a reversal of his own to the back and was able to secure the pin at the 2:55 mark. Last year a fourth-place finisher in this tournament at 145 as a freshman, though it was a very narrow semifinal loss, Facundo ran through this field like a knife through hot butter. The Cadet World bronze medalist opened with two pins before a pair of decisive victories over returning Pennsylvania state placers (11-5 and 10-2) propelled him into Sunday's quarterfinal round, where it was a 9-1 major decision over another Pennsylvania state placer. In the semifinal, Facundo dominated No. 39 overall junior Jacob Lagoa (Ashtabula Lakeside, Ohio) to the tune of a 16-3 major decision. Then in the final, it was a comfortable 7-3 decision over state champion Nicholas South (Columbus East, Ind.); Facundo used a takedown in the first period plus a pair in the second to confirm his title. Placewinners 106: 1st: Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) dec. Drake Ayala (Fort Dodge, Iowa) 11-8 3rd: Alex Almeyda (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) dec. Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas) 3-1 5th: Kelly Dunnigan (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) dec. Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.) 4-3 7th: Dylan Chappell (Seneca Valley, Pa.) over Nasir Bailey (Illinois-8th grade) by forfeit 113: 1st: Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) dec. Greg Diakomihalis (Hilton, N.Y.) 5-4 3rd: Jeremiah Reno (Liberty, Mo.) dec. Tristan Lujan (Selma, Calif.) 3-1, overtime 5th: Logan Agin (Lancaster, Ohio) dec. Cullan Schriever (Mason City, Ohio) 3-1 7th: Troy Spratley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Nicholas Nardone (Delbarton, N.J.) 1-0 120: 1st: Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) dec. Sam Latona (Thompson, Ala.) 6-3 3rd: Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) dec. Dylan Cedeno (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) 7-4 5th: Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, Colo.) dec. Anthony Clark (Delbarton, N.J.) 1-0, (ultimate) tiebreaker 7th: Antonio Lorenzo (St. John Bosco, Calif.) dec. Brayden Littell (Center Grove, Ind.) 3-1, overtime 126: 1st: Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. Ryan Jack (Danbury, Ct.) 10-6 3rd: Sammy Alvarez (St. Joseph Montvale, N.J.) dec. Malyke Hines (Osceola, Fla.) 4-1 5th: Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) dec. Caleb Henson (Woodland, Ga.) 10-3 7th: Dominick Serrano (Windsor, Colo.) dec. Jackson DiSario (Ola, Ga.) 3-1 132: 1st: Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) dec. Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 10-6 3rd: Justin Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) dec. Bretli Reyna (South Dade, Fla.) 4-2 5th: Jordan Hamdan (Hudson, Mich.) over Sam Hillegas (North Hills, Pa.) by forfeit 7th: Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. Josh Edmond (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) 1-0 138: 1st: Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) dec. Jesse Vasquez (Santiago Corona, Calif.) 3-1 3rd: Jordan Crace (Elyria, Ohio) maj. dec. Gabe Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio/USOTC) 12-4 5th: Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.) dec. Wyatt Henson (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) 6-4 7th: Luke Odom (Edwardsville, Ill.) dec. Aidan Medora (Brookfield, Wis.) 6-2 145: 1st: Keegan O'Toole (Arrowhead, Wis.) pinned James Whitaker (St. Johns, Mich.) 2:55 3rd: Ryan Vulakh (Pope John II, Pa.) dec. Johnny Lovett (Miami Southridge, Fla.) 8-3 5th: Devin Schwartzkopf (Greenway, Mo.) pinned Manzona Bryant (Hudson WRA, Ohio) 4:03 7th: Chris Donathan (Mason, Ohio) dec. Luka Wick (San Marino, Calif.) 7-2 152: 1st: Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. Cameron Amine (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) 5-2 3rd: Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco, Calif.) dec. Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) 3-2 5th: Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.) 5-2 7th: Thayne Lawrence (Frazier, Pa.) pinned Kyle Mosher (South Side, N.Y.) 1:57 160: 1st: Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) dec. Nicholas South (Columbus East, Ind.) 7-3 3rd: Clayton Ulrey (Lower Dauphin, Pa.) dec. Jacob Lagoa (Ashtabula Lakeside, Ohio) 5-2 5th: River Shettler (Brighton, Mich.) over Donnell Washington (Portage, Ind.) by forfeit 7th: Matthew Ortiz (Montini Catholic, Ill.) dec. Christian Minto (Mariner, Fla.) 170: 1st: Dustin Plott (Tuttle, Okla.) dec. Patrick Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) 16-12 3rd: Alex Cramer (Grayslake Central, Ill.) dec. Greyden Penner (Liberty, Mo.) 3-1, overtime 5th: Troy Fisher (Goddard, Kansas) maj. dec. Kolton Clark (Scottsboro, Ala.) 11-1 7th: Luke Nichter (Chambersburg, Pa.) dec. Kamal Adewumi (Mason, Ohio) 11-5 182: 1st: Abe Assad (Glenbard North, Ill.) dec. Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) 5-3 3rd: Rocky Elam (Staley, Mo.) dec. Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.) 6-3 5th: Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.) over Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) by forfeit 7th: Sammy Deprez (Hilton, N.Y.) dec. John Poznanski (Colonia, N.J.) 5-2 195: 1st: Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) dec. Wyatt Hendrickson (Newton, Kansas) 9-7 3rd: Silas Allred (Shenandoah, Ind.) dec. Kevin Makosy (Urbana, Md.) 5-1 5th: Jacob Good (Clovis, Calif.) dec. Luke Chakonis (Delbarton, N.J.) 7-1 7th: Nathan Dugan (Lake Norman, N.C.) dec. Darius Parker (Riverdale, Fla.) 9-6 220: 1st: Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) dec. Konner Doucet (Comanche, Okla.), 5-0 3rd: Andy Smith (Christiansburg, Va.) dec. Nico Colucci (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.) 5-2 5th: Carlos-Miguel Figueroa (Homewood, Ala.) dec. Kyle Cornwell (Elwood, Ind.) 7-2 7th: Joshua Heindselman (Piedmont, Okla.) maj. dec. Chase Horne (West Laurens, Ga.) 8-0 285: 1st: Aidan Conner (Highland Park, Texas) dec. Colby Whitehill (Brookville, Pa.), 11-4 3rd: Mateusz Kudra (North Attleboro, Mass.) dec. Jordan Pryor (Dunbar, Md.) 6-5 5th: Nathan Hoaglund (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) dec. Christian Bryant (Eleanor Roosevelt, Md.) 3-1 7th: Andy Garcia (Pueblo East, Colo.) dec. Luke Fischer (Newton, N.J.) 4-1

106: 1st: Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) dec. Drake Ayala (Fort Dodge, Iowa) 11-8 3rd: Alex Almeyda (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) dec. Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas) 3-1 5th: Kelly Dunnigan (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) dec. Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.) 4-3 7th: Dylan Chappell (Seneca Valley, Pa.) over Nasir Bailey (Illinois-8th grade) by forfeit 113: 1st: Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) dec. Greg Diakomihalis (Hilton, N.Y.) 5-4 3rd: Jeremiah Reno (Liberty, Mo.) dec. Tristan Lujan (Selma, Calif.) 3-1, overtime 5th: Logan Agin (Lancaster, Ohio) dec. Cullan Schriever (Mason City, Ohio) 3-1 7th: Troy Spratley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Nicholas Nardone (Delbarton, N.J.) 1-0 120: 1st: Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) dec. Sam Latona (Thompson, Ala.) 6-3 3rd: Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) dec. Dylan Cedeno (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) 7-4 5th: Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, Colo.) dec. Anthony Clark (Delbarton, N.J.) 1-0, (ultimate) tiebreaker 7th: Antonio Lorenzo (St. John Bosco, Calif.) dec. Brayden Littell (Center Grove, Ind.) 3-1, overtime 126: 1st: Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. Ryan Jack (Danbury, Ct.) 10-6 3rd: Sammy Alvarez (St. Joseph Montvale, N.J.) dec. Malyke Hines (Osceola, Fla.) 4-1 5th: Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) dec. Caleb Henson (Woodland, Ga.) 10-3 7th: Dominick Serrano (Windsor, Colo.) dec. Jackson DiSario (Ola, Ga.) 3-1 132: 1st: Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) dec. Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 10-6 3rd: Justin Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) dec. Bretli Reyna (South Dade, Fla.) 4-2 5th: Jordan Hamdan (Hudson, Mich.) over Sam Hillegas (North Hills, Pa.) by forfeit 7th: Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. Josh Edmond (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) 1-0 138: 1st: Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) dec. Jesse Vasquez (Santiago Corona, Calif.) 3-1 3rd: Jordan Crace (Elyria, Ohio) maj. dec. Gabe Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio/USOTC) 12-4 5th: Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.) dec. Wyatt Henson (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) 6-4 7th: Luke Odom (Edwardsville, Ill.) dec. Aidan Medora (Brookfield, Wis.) 6-2 145: 1st: Keegan O'Toole (Arrowhead, Wis.) pinned James Whitaker (St. Johns, Mich.) 2:55 3rd: Ryan Vulakh (Pope John II, Pa.) dec. Johnny Lovett (Miami Southridge, Fla.) 8-3 5th: Devin Schwartzkopf (Greenway, Mo.) pinned Manzona Bryant (Hudson WRA, Ohio) 4:03 7th: Chris Donathan (Mason, Ohio) dec. Luka Wick (San Marino, Calif.) 7-2 152: 1st: Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. Cameron Amine (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) 5-2 3rd: Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco, Calif.) dec. Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) 3-2 5th: Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.) 5-2 7th: Thayne Lawrence (Frazier, Pa.) pinned Kyle Mosher (South Side, N.Y.) 1:57 160: 1st: Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) dec. Nicholas South (Columbus East, Ind.) 7-3 3rd: Clayton Ulrey (Lower Dauphin, Pa.) dec. Jacob Lagoa (Ashtabula Lakeside, Ohio) 5-2 5th: River Shettler (Brighton, Mich.) over Donnell Washington (Portage, Ind.) by forfeit 7th: Matthew Ortiz (Montini Catholic, Ill.) dec. Christian Minto (Mariner, Fla.) 170: 1st: Dustin Plott (Tuttle, Okla.) dec. Patrick Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) 16-12 3rd: Alex Cramer (Grayslake Central, Ill.) dec. Greyden Penner (Liberty, Mo.) 3-1, overtime 5th: Troy Fisher (Goddard, Kansas) maj. dec. Kolton Clark (Scottsboro, Ala.) 11-1 7th: Luke Nichter (Chambersburg, Pa.) dec. Kamal Adewumi (Mason, Ohio) 11-5 182: 1st: Abe Assad (Glenbard North, Ill.) dec. Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) 5-3 3rd: Rocky Elam (Staley, Mo.) dec. Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.) 6-3 5th: Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.) over Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) by forfeit 7th: Sammy Deprez (Hilton, N.Y.) dec. John Poznanski (Colonia, N.J.) 5-2 195: 1st: Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) dec. Wyatt Hendrickson (Newton, Kansas) 9-7 3rd: Silas Allred (Shenandoah, Ind.) dec. Kevin Makosy (Urbana, Md.) 5-1 5th: Jacob Good (Clovis, Calif.) dec. Luke Chakonis (Delbarton, N.J.) 7-1 7th: Nathan Dugan (Lake Norman, N.C.) dec. Darius Parker (Riverdale, Fla.) 9-6 220: 1st: Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) dec. Konner Doucet (Comanche, Okla.), 5-0 3rd: Andy Smith (Christiansburg, Va.) dec. Nico Colucci (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.) 5-2 5th: Carlos-Miguel Figueroa (Homewood, Ala.) dec. Kyle Cornwell (Elwood, Ind.) 7-2 7th: Joshua Heindselman (Piedmont, Okla.) maj. dec. Chase Horne (West Laurens, Ga.) 8-0 285: 1st: Aidan Conner (Highland Park, Texas) dec. Colby Whitehill (Brookville, Pa.), 11-4 3rd: Mateusz Kudra (North Attleboro, Mass.) dec. Jordan Pryor (Dunbar, Md.) 6-5 5th: Nathan Hoaglund (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) dec. Christian Bryant (Eleanor Roosevelt, Md.) 3-1 7th: Andy Garcia (Pueblo East, Colo.) dec. Luke Fischer (Newton, N.J.) 4-1

Adam Coon on the medal stand after earning a silver medal at the World Championships (Photo/Sandy Slater) BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Adam Coon earned a silver medal to become USA's first world medalist in Greco-Roman since 2015 and first heavyweight world silver medalist since Dremiel Byers in 2009. Coon faced 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Sergey Semenov of Russia in the finals at 130 kilograms. It was all Semenov in the match as he used a body lock to throw Coon to his back for four, adding a step out Semenov would go up, 5-0. He then used another four-point throw to earn the technical fall 9-0, 1:09 into the match. "He got the best of me today," Coon said. "He got the holds he wanted to ... and I didn't get holds I wanted to. It ended up be a throw or be thrown situation and I ended up getting thrown. There's not really much to say. It was a quick match." Reflecting on the tournament Coon was able to be positive and optimistic about his overall performance. "Up until that match and even including that match it was an amazing experience all around," Coon said. "Being able to compete with every God given talent that I have the whole experience was fantastic. To be out competing in this sport I love." Coon joins a list of Greco heavyweight world finalist which includes, Byers, Rulon Gardner, Jeff Blatnick and Matt Ghaffari. "The Russian got to his position and we knew he had a good body lock," U.S. Greco-Roman coach Matt Lindland said. "I wanted to see a little more push from [Adam], get moving, get the Russian tired and then come out harder in the second period. We haven't gone a full match all tournament and it's tough." Lindland, an Olympic silver medalist as a competitor, is proud of the progress Coon made this past year. "It was an honor and privilege to work with a guy like Adam," Lindland said. "He's got nothing to hang his head about he's accomplished so much in a short period of time. He [should] be really proud of what he's accomplished." Coon said he has no idea if he's ready to go all in on Greco. But he does have his eyes on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. It's still to be determined if he will focus on Greco or freestyle. "It's always been a dream of mine to be an Olympic champion," Coon said. "I have two more years to get that much better to achieve that dream so that I have better matches against guys like Semenov."

Quarterfinal matches started this morning at 8 a.m. ET. Winners of those matches advance to the semifinals, which are slated for a start about thirty to forty-five minutes after the quarterfinals are done. 106 pounds: Kelly Dunnigan (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) dec. Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.) 5-3 Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) maj. dec. Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.) 13-2 Drake Ayala (Fort Dodge, Iowa) dec. Alex Almeyda (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) 6-1 Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas) dec. Jordan Williams (Collinsville, Okla.) 7-4 113 pounds: Greg Diakomihalis (Hilton, N.Y.) dec. Tristan Lujan (Selma, Calif.) 5-3 Jeremiah Reno (Liberty, Mo.) dec. Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) 3-1 Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) pinned Nicholas Nardone (Delbarton, N.J.) 2:40 Logan Agin (Lancaster, Ohio) dec. Cullan Schriever (Mason City, Iowa) 1-1 (ultimate) tiebreaker rideout 120 pounds: Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) dec. Dylan Cedeno (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) 7-4 Sam Latona (Thompson, Ala.) dec. Eddie Ventresca (Pope John XXIII, N..) 3-3 (ultimate) tiebreaker rideout Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) dec. Antonio Lorenzo (St. John Bosco, Calif.) 4-2 Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, Colo.) dec. Maximo Renteria (Buchanan, Calif.) 11-6 126 pounds: Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. Adam Busiello (Eastport-South Manor, N.Y.) 8-5 Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) dec. Nick Masters (Woodward Academy, Ga.) 10-3 Caleb Henson (Woodland, Ga.) dec. Brandon Larue (High Point, N.J.) 5-1 Ryan Jack (Danbury, Ct.) dec. Jesse Mendez (Crown Point, Ind.) 6-4 132 pounds: Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) maj. dec. Ezekiel Washington (Owasso, Okla.) 14-4 Justin Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) dec. Asa Garcia (Avon, Ind.) 11-5 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) dec. Jordan Hamdan (Hudson, Mich.) 4-3 Sam Hillegas (North Hills, Pa.) dec. Josh Edmond (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) 7-6 138 pounds: Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) maj. dec. Aidan Medora (Brookfield, Wis.) 16-4 Jordan Crace (Elyria, Ohio) dec. Lucas Revano (Camden Catholic, N.J.) 5-1 Wyatt Henson (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) dec. Gus Sutton (Austintown Fitch, Ohio) 8-3 Jesse Vasquez (Santiago Corona, Calif.) dec. Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.) 8-3 145 pounds: Keegan O'Toole (Arrowhead, Wis.) pinned Manzona Bryant (Hudson WRA, Ohio) 5:25 Devin Schwartzkopf (Greenway, Mo.) dec. Chris Donathan (Mason, Ohio) 11-8 Ryan Vulakh (Pope John II, Pa.) dec. Luka Wick (San Marino, Calif.) 3-1, overtime James Whitaker (St. Johns, Mich.) dec. Johnny Lovett (Miami Southridge, Fla.) 2-1 152 pounds: Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco, Calif.) 3-2 Cameron Amine (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) dec. Thayne Lawrence (Frazier, Pa.) 4-3 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. Kyle Mosher (South Side, N.Y.) 7-3 Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.) dec. B.J. Bailey (Thornton Fractional North, Ill.) 7-2, overtime 160 pounds: Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) maj. dec. Clayton Ulrey (Lower Dauphin, Pa.) 9-1 Jacob Lagoa (Ashtabula Lakeside, Ohio) maj. dec. Gavin Kane (Cambridge, Ga.) 16-8 River Shettler (Brighton, Mich.) dec. Donnell Washington (Portage, Ind.) 7-5 Nick South (Columbus East, Ind.) dec. Matthew Ortiz (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 6-4, overtime 170 pounds: Dustin Plott (Tuttle, Okla.) maj. dec. Shane Reitsma (Howell, N.J.) 16-6 Troy Fisher (Goddard, Kansas) dec. Edmond Ruth (Susquehanna Township, Pa.) 5-4 (ultimate) tiebreaker Alex Cramer (Grayslake Central, Ill.) dec. Greyden Penner (Liberty, Mo.) 3-2 Patrick Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) maj. dec. Jakeem Littles (Richmond Hill, Ga.) 11-0 182 pounds: Abe Assad (Glenbard North, Ill.) dec. Rocky Elam (Staley, Mo.) 7-3 Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.) dec. Trey Sizemore (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) 7-2 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) dec. Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.) 7-4 Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) maj. dec. Anthony Carman (John Marshall, W.Va.) 16-6 195 pounds: Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) dec. Silas Allred (Shenendoah, Ind.) 7-3 Luke Chakonis (Delbarton, N.J.) dec. Jack Wimmer (McDonogh, Md.) 5-3 Wyatt Hendrickson (Newton, Kansas) dec. Santos Cantu (Sprague, Ore.) 3-1 Jacob Good (Clovis, Calif.) dec. Kevin Makosy (Urbana, Md.) 3-1 220 pounds: Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) tech. fall Ogden Atwood (Armstrong, Pa.) 26-11, 3:55 Kyle Cornwell (Elwood, Ind.) maj. dec. Tarik Sutkovic (Ironwood, Ariz.) 8-0 Carlos-Manuel Figueroa (Homewood, Ala.) dec. Josh Heindselman (Piedmont, Okla.) 6-3 Konner Doucet (Comanche, Okla.) dec. Josh McMaster (Greenville, Pa.) 285 pounds: Matteusz Kudra (North Attleboro, Mass.) dec. Jordan Pryor (Dunbar, Md.) 11-7 Colby Whitehill (Brookville, Pa.) pinned Thomas Mukai (Robinson, Va.) 5:26 Aidan Conner (Highland Park, Texas) pinned Christian Bryant (Eleanor Roosevelt, Md.) 1:59 Nathan Hoaglund (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) dec. Andy Garcia (Pueblo East, Colo.) 6-4

Grades 9 and 10: 100 pounds: 1st - Mason Gehloff (Waseca, Minn.) decision Guy Clevenger (Catoosa, Okla.) 3-2 3rd - Marcel Lopez (Iowa) decision Zack Mattin (Delta, Ohio) 3-1 5th - Parker Kratochvill (Holmen, Wis.) decision Daniel Sheen (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 6-4, overtime 7th - Kobi Johnson (Colorado) major decision Jonathon Burnette (Iowa) 11-2 106 pounds: 1st - Casey Swiderski (Dundee, Mich.) decision Brady Hankin (Colorado) 9-3 3rd - Nic Willingham (Aurora, Ohio) decision Easton Hilton (Missouri) 2-0 5th - Blake West (Owatonna, Minn.) decision Charlie Farmer (Moline, Ill.) 3-0 7th - Joshua Koderhandt (Belleville West, Ill.) decision Owen Uhls (Fulton, Mo.) 4-0 113 pounds: 1st - Garrett Grice (Bellevue East, Neb.) major decision Joseph Blaze (Clinton, Mich.) 16-8 3rd - Ashton Anderson (Oxford, Mich.) pin Cody Thompson (Loveland, Colo.) 3:44 5th - James Homfeld (Lindbergh, Mo.) over Kody Ketchum (Park Hill, Mo.) by medical forfeit 7th - Logan Ferrero (Whitfield, Mo.) major decision Jake Penzato (St. Charles East, Ill.) 9-1 120 pounds: 1st - Kal Miller (Park Hill, Mo.) decision Nate Burnett (Elyria, Ohio) 1-0 3rd - Mitchell Mesenbrink (Arrowhead, Wis.) decision Joel Jesuroga (Southeast Polk, Iowa) 3-0 5th - Ayden Dolt (Missouri) decision Drew Arnold (Beatrice, Neb.) 3-0 7th - Dean Hamiti (Joliet Catholic, Ill.) decision Nick Novak (New Prague, Minn.) 2-0 126 pounds: 1st - Nathan Pulliam (Rolla, Mo.) decision Jerrdon Fisher (Goddard, Kansas) 1-0 3rd - Noah Mis (Chicago Mt. Carmel, Ill.) decision Conor Knopick (Millard South, Neb.) 5-0 5th - Jeivan Ross (Warren Central, Ind.) decision Jack Haskin (Toledo Whitmer, Ohio) 2-0 7th - Darren Diaz (North Platte, Neb.) decision Brendon Abdon (Lake Gibson, Fla.) 7-5 132 pounds: 1st - Tagen Jamison (Durant, Okla.) decision Cade Manion (Deer Creek, Okla.) 5-1 3rd - Skylar Smith (Liberty Christian, Texas) pin Johnathon Viveros (Kingsburg, Calif.) 3:45 5th - Callum Sitek (Pacific, Mo.) over Bam West (Edmond Memorial, Okla.) by medical forfeit 7th - Kolten Strait (Rocky Mountain, Colo.) over Max Brown (Whitehall, Mich.) by disqualification 138 pounds: 1st - Connor Gaynor (Chicago Mt. Carmel) decision Jack Ganos (Arrowhead, Wis.) 5-3 3rd - Jace Fisher (Goddard, Kansas) major decision Adam Thebeau (Belleville East, Ill.) 8-0 5th - Randy Myers (Castle View, Colo.) major decision Jake Matthews (Addison Trail, Ill.) 10-0 7th - Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn.) decision Jerry Simes (Litchfield, Minn.) 5-2 145 pounds: 1st - George Ruiz (Buchanan, Calif.) decision Jared Simma (St. Thomas Aquinas, Kansas) 7-2 3rd - Brant Whitaker (Boonville, Mo.) decision Robert Major (Downers Grove South, Ill.) 6-3 5th - Tyson Moore (Park HIll, Mo.) pin Jajuan Anderson (Warren Central, Ind.) 1:00 7th - Cael Brunson (West Linn, Ore.) decision Deven Strief (North Scott, Iowa) 7-0 152 pounds: 1st - Payne Carr (Union County, Ky.) decision Darian Estevez (Somerset Academy, Fla.) 5-2 3rd - David Brooks (Missouri) decision AIden Vandenbush (Random Lake, Wis.) 4-3 5th - Caden Ernd (Crystal Lake Central, Ill.) decision Jonathan Wertz (Cypress Lakes, Texas) 4-3 7th - Clayton Whiting (Oconto Falls, Wis.) decision Cael Meyer (West Delaware, Iowa) 5-1 160 pounds: 1st - Maxwell Wilner (Fountain Valley, Calif.) decision Gabe Nagel (Little Falls, Minn.) 4-0 3rd - Dylan Connell (Woodstock Marian, Ill.) decision Damion Schunke (Brandon Valley, S.D.) 5-2 5th - Ricardo Salinas (Evanston Township, Ill.) decision Caylan Hinton (Cincinnati Elder, Ohio) 3-2 7th - Ira Jenkins (Michigan) decision Mickey Griffith (Iowa) 7-0 170 pounds: 1st - Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio) pin Wyatt Voelker (Iowa) 1:36 3rd - Stephen Little (Union County, Ky.) decision Tristan Mulder (Western Christian, Iowa) 8-3 5th - Chase Brock (Holt, Mo.) decision Eli Sheeren (Klein, Texas) 4-0 7th - Brock Upson (Randon Lake, Wis.) major decision Deanthony Parker (Illinois) 9-0 182 pounds: 1st - Evan Anderson (Aurora, Ohio) pin Cole Hivnor (Lake Catholic, Ohio) 2:43 3rd - Taner Harvey (Boone, Iowa) pin Owen Warren (Yankton, S.D.) 3:59 5th - Jake Viloria (Chicago St. Rita, Ill.) pin Dorian Walters (Lathrop, Mo.) 1:19 7th - Jamikael Lytle (Connectcut) over Colton Hoag () by medical forfeit 195 pounds: 1st - Brandon Hoselton (Prairie Central, Ill.) pin Xavier Doolin (North Kansas City, Mo.) 1:00 3rd - Truman Thuente (Lake Forest, Ill.) major decision Nathan Wemstrom (Illinois) 9-1 5th - Dzhabrail Khurshidov (West Aurora, Ill.) major decision Zack Burroughs (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) 10-1 7th - Jacob Peacy (Port Washington, Wis.) pin Ian Sepan (Castle View, Colo.) 1:58 220 pounds: 1st - Damon Meyer (South Winneshiek, Iowa) decision Rex Johnsen (Logan Magnolia, Iowa) 4-2 3rd - Crew Howard (Clarinda, Iowa) pin James Hustoles (Colorado) 3:00 5th - Nikolas Mishka (Illinois) pin Ty Dennison (Woodbury Central, Iowa) 0:49 7th - Blake Remillard (Alexander, Ga.) decison Jacob Johnson (Franklin, Ind.) 5-3 285 pounds: weight contested as a three person round-robin, Nicholas Juarez (Carrollton, Texas) won it

Adam Coon celebrates after winning in the semifinals of the World Championships (Photo/Larry Slater) BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Adam Coon will wrestle for a world title in Greco-Roman after securing his fourth fall in four matches at 130 kilograms on Saturday at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. In his semifinal match, competing against Min-Seok Kim of Korea, Coon earned a caution two and held a 3-0 lead going into the break. After the break, Coon went back to his over-under and forced Kim to make a mistake. He then used a body lock to throw Kim for four points. Shortly after Coon was rewarded with the pin with 2:18 remaining in the match. "I'm in the world championship finals," said Coon. "This is fun. [I'm] wrestling tough, wrestling smart, just trying to keep my pace. Just to get my stuff and capitalize on him being out of position." Coon, competing in his first World Championships on the senior level, has been a shining light for the American Greco-Roman wrestling team in Budapest. He is the lone U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler compete for a medal. Coon looks to become the first American Greco-Roman world champion since Joe Warren (2006) and first heavyweight since Dremiel Byers (2002). The last American Greco finalist was Byers in 2009. U.S. Greco-Roman head coach Matt Lindland had high praise for Coon following his match. "I couldn't be more proud of him," Lindland said. "He believes in the process. He believes in what we've been telling him [and] we're also playing to his strengths." Coon will have the Russian Sergey Semenov in his finals match tomorrow. Semenov is a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist. The Russian team is very competitive, so Coon has his work cut out for him in the gold-medal match. Coon admits they have wrestled previously, and the outcome was not great for him. "I wrestled him in juniors and he throttled me," Coon said. "So, I'm ready to go and see how much better I've gotten. [Now I] rest that's the biggest thing I can do, get some fuel, get some food. Make sure my mind and my body are ready." Coach Lindland is looking forward to the finals match and Coon's chances. "We'll go out and look at some film," Lindland said. "He said give me a couple things you want me to focus on. It was a process that got him to this point and today was a culmination of that process. What we've been doing is working, we're pinning guys, but we know Russia's tough." The finals are set for 3:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. ET) on Sunday.

Wrestling started at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday morning in Greensboro, N.C. The tournament in the championship bracket was wrestled to the quarterfinal round, while the consolation bracket will also have eight wrestlers remaining in it at day's end. Below are the quarterfinal pairings. Wrestling will restart on Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. with that round. 106 pounds: Kelly Dunnigan (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) vs. Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.) Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) vs. Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.) Alex Almeyda (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) vs. Drake Ayala (Fort Dodge, Iowa) Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas) vs. Jordan Williams (Collinsville, Okla.) 113 pounds: Greg Diakomihalis (Hilton, N.Y.) vs. Tristan Lujan (Selma, Calif.) Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) vs. Jeremiah Reno (Liberty, Mo.) Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) vs. Nicholas Nardone (Delbarton, N.J.) Logan Agin (Lancaster, Ohio) vs. Cullan Schriever (Mason City, Iowa) 120 pounds: Dylan Cedeno (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) vs. Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) Eddie Ventresca (Pope John XXIII, N.J.) vs. Sam Latona (Thompson, Ala.) Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) vs. Antonio Lorenzo (St. John Bosco, Calif.) Maximo Renteria (Buchanan, Calif.) vs. Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, Colo.) 126 pounds: Adam Busiello (Eastport-South Manor, N.Y.) vs. Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) vs. Nick Masters (Woodward Academy, Ga.) Caleb Henson (Woodland, Ga.) vs. Brandon Larue (High Point, N.J.) Jesse Mendez (Crown Point, Ind.) vs. Ryan Jack (Danbury, Ct.) 132 pounds: Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. Ezekiel Washington (Owasso, Okla.) Asa Garcia (Avon, Ind.) vs. Justin Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) vs. Jordan Hamdan (Hudson, Mich.) Joshua Edmond (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) vs. Sam Hillegas (North Hills, Pa.) 138 pounds: Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) vs. Aiden Medora (Brookfield Academy, Wis.) Lucas Revano (Camden Catholic, N.J.) vs. Jordan Crace (Elyria, Ohio) Wyatt Henson (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) vs. Gus Sutton (Austintown Fitch, Ohio) Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.) vs. Jesse Vasquez (Santiago Corona, Calif.) 145 pounds: Keegan O'Toole (Arrowhead, Wis.) vs. Manzona Bryant (Hudson WRA, Ohio) Christopher Donathan (Mason, Ohio) vs. Devin Schwartzkopf (Greenway, Mo.) Luka Wick (San Marino, Calif.) vs. Ryan Vulakh (Pope John II, Pa.) Johnny Lovett (Miami Southridge, Fla.) vs. James Whitaker (St. Johns, Mich.) 152 pounds: Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) vs. Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco, Calif.) Thayer Lawrence (Frazier, Pa.) vs. Cameron Amine (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) vs. Kyle Mosher (South Side, N.Y.) Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.) vs. B.J. Bailey (Thornton Fractional North, Ill.) 160 pounds: Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) vs. Clayton Ulrey (Lower Dauphin, Pa.) Jacob Lagoa (Ashtabula Lakeside, Ohio) vs. Gavin Kane (Cambridge, Ga.) Matthew Ortiz (Montini Catholic, Ill.) vs. Nicholas South (Columbus East, Ind.) Donnell Washington (Portage, Ind.) vs. River Shettler (Brighton, Mich.) 170 pounds: Dustin Plott (Tuttle, Okla.) vs. Shane Reitsma (Howell, N.J.) Troy Fisher (Goddard, Kansas) vs. Edmund Ruth (Susquehanna Township, Pa.) Alex Cramer (Grayslake Central, Ill.) vs. Greyden Penner (Liberty, Mo.) Jakeem Littles (Richmond Hill, Ga.) vs. Patrick Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) 182 pounds: Abe Assad (Glenbard North, Ill.) vs. Rocky Elam (Staley, Mo.) Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.) vs. Trey Sizemore (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.) vs. Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) Anthony Carman (John Marshall, W.Va.) vs. Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) 195 pounds: Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) vs. Silas Allred (Shenandoah, Ind.) Luke Chakonis (Delbarton, N.J.) vs. Jack Wimmer (McDonogh, Md.) Kevin Makosy (Urbana, Md.) vs. Jacob Good (Clovis, Calif.) Santos Cantu (Sprague, Ore.) vs. Wyatt Hendrickson (Newton, Kansas) 220 pounds: Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) vs. Ogden Atwood (Armstrong, Pa.) Tarik Sutkovic (Ironwood, Ariz.) vs. Kyle Cornwell (Elwood, Ind.) Josh Heindselman (Piedmont, Okla.) vs. Carlos Miguel Figueroa (Homewood, Ala.) Josh McMaster (Greenville, Pa.) vs. Konner Doucet (Comanche, Okla.) 285 pounds: Jordan Pryor (Dunbar, Md.) vs. Matteusz Kudra (North Attleboro, Mass.) Colby Whitehill (Brookville, Pa.) vs. Thomas Mukai (Robinson, Va.) Aidan Conner (Highland Park, Texas) vs. Christian Bryant (Eleanor Roosevelt, Md.) Nathan Hoaglund (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) vs. Andy Garcia (Pueblo East, Colo.)

Adam Coon advanced to the semifinals at the World Championships with three straight falls (Photo/Larry Slater) BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Seven months after finishing his college wrestling career, Adam Coon (130 kilograms) stands one win away from wrestling for a world title in Greco-Roman. Coon advanced to the semifinals at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, with three falls. Coon, a past junior world medalist in Greco-Roman, showed no signs of being new to the Greco scene after competing at the University of Michigan. He started with a bang. Wrestling against Rafal Krajewski of Poland, Coon went up 2-0 and then added to his lead with an enormous four-point throw to up the score to 6-0. Coon then planted Krajewski and earned the fall, just under two minutes into the match. Coon continued his winning ways in his second match. His opponent, Lingshe Meng of China, held a slight margin on criteria (1-1) before Coon hip tossed him for four points and secured a fall with 1:47 remaining in the match. In the quarterfinals, Coon was trailing Eduard Popp of Germany 3-1, when he adjusted his grip and perfectly timed a lateral drop, pinning Popp 2:22 into the match. "I'm wrestling real well right now and looking to carry it through in the semis," Coon said. "I'm just taking it one step at a time. It's been a fun ride. I'm definitely happy with how things are going, just going to try and keep on going." Coon will face Min-Seok Kim of Korea in the semifinals at 130 kilograms. Also competing for the U.S. Greco-Roman team on Saturday were Kamal Bey and G'Angelo Hancock. Both failed to reach the semifinals. Bey, a 2017 Junior world champion, was making his debut at the Senior World Championships. Hused a breathtaking five-point throw 15 seconds into his first match against Ridong Zhang of China to go up early. Bey then scored a takedown to go up 7-0 and when Zhang when for a throw Bey landed on top of him for the final score and 9-0 technical victory in just under two minutes. Kamal Bey throws Reiner Jimenez of Guatemala (Photo/Larry Slater) In his second match, this time facing Reiner Jimenez of Guatemala, Bey continued to be aggressive building a lead he would not relinquish. Bey used a reverse lift from the par terre position to go up 3-0 heading into the break. Jimenez would score one point on passivity, but the rest of the scoring was Bey. He used a lateral drop and another throw for a final score of 8-1, advancing him to the next round. Bey had his hands full in his third match with two-time world bronze medalist (2014 and 2017), Elvin Mursaliyev of Azerbaijan. Bey fell behind 1-0 but used a smooth duck under to score a takedown and take a 2-1 lead into the break. Mursaliyev continued to score and eventually would go on to win 6-2. "At this point [I] got to go back to the lab so this doesn't happen," said Bey. G' Angelo Hancock dropped his first match at 97 kilograms. Wrestling against Peter Oehler of Germany, Hancock found himself facing a 5-0 deficit at the break. He cut the deficit to 5-3 using a gut wrench to get him back into the match, but Oehler would score again and prevent Hancock's offensive attacks for a final score of 6-3. Hancock did not receive a repechage match as Oehler lost his ensuing match. Ellis Coleman competed in his repechage match on Saturday morning and started strong, taking a 3-0 lead into the break against Mamadassa Sylla of France. But Sylla stormed back scoring on a few gut wrenches and taking a 5-3 lead which would be the final scoring. "I [have] to finish these matches in par terre," Coleman said. "It comes down to par terre, the Europeans and these other countries have it down pretty well. We're still developing that and if we can get those extra points in par terre we'll definitely come out on top in most of those matches."

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Saint John's University head wrestling coach Kevin Schiltz has announced the addition of Jake Clark as an assistant coach for The Johnnies. Jake ClarkClark has an impressive Greco-Roman resume at the senior level. He is a two-time U.S. World Team member (2006, 2010), seven-time member of the U.S. National Team, three-time U.S. World Team Trials runner-up, 2007 World Cup Champion, 2000 World Military Bronze Medalist, and 11-time Armed Forces Gold Medalist. He competed in the last five U.S. Olympic Trials (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) and was an Olympic Team alternate in 2004 and 2016. He is a 2020 Olympic hopeful. Clark also served nine years of active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. A native of Mound, Minn., Clark was a two-time Minnesota State High School champion for South St. Paul (undefeated junior and senior seasons). Clark is the owner and head instructor at Wrestle-Jitsu Training Center in Waite Park, Minn. He resides in Sartell with his wife Jocelyn and their five children Kade, Abby, Alex, Jack and Nora. "Jake Clark is a committed member of the Minnesota wrestling community. I have always said that wrestling needs committed people in the sport, starting with wrestlers. Then you have officials, parents, table workers, and coaches at every level, who can adjust their life, to make time to be involved in the wrestling world. Jake is one of those guys." said coach Schiltz. "His life revolves around wrestling, as does mine. We will be working together to recruit great wrestlers, developing practices, designing successful camps and bringing the Central Minnesota FS/GR Club back to the Saint John's campus with Jake as the club coach. With his addition to the staff, it just helps solidify Saint John's University as one to watch in the near future. 'Steel sharpens steel.'" Clark is an addition to last year's staff of Chad Henle and Scott Fernholz. The Johnnies have also added Malik Stewart (from Dakota-Wesleyan) and Shawn Hatlestad (from Augustana) to the coaching staff. Kevin Schiltz is in his second season as head coach of the Johnnie wrestling team.

Ellis Coleman earned a fall in his first match against Edgaras Venckaitis of Lithuania (Photo/Larry Slater) BUDAPEST, Hungary -- The second day Greco-Roman competition at the World Championships didn't get any easier for the Americans. After a winless opening day, Dalton Roberts, Patrick Martinez and Ellis Coleman took the mat for Team USA on Friday. Coleman's performance was the highlight of the day as he picked up the lone victory of the day for USA. In his opening match Coleman found himself down 5-0 against Edgaras Venckaitis of Lithuania. With both wrestlers looking to throw, Venckaitis went for the reverse throw and Coleman used the momentum and planted Venckaitis on his back for the fall. In his next match, Coleman faced two-time world bronze medalist Artem Surkov of Russia. Coleman kept the match close and even led 1-0 at the break. After the break, Coleman gave up a point for passivity, which gave Surkov the lead on criteria. Coleman would go down in the par terre position where Surkov used a gut wrench to turn him and secure a 3-1 victory. Coleman is waiting to find out if he receives a repechage match. Dalton Roberts lost his first match to Etienne Kinsinger of Germany (Photo/Larry Slater) Roberts opened the tournament against Etienne Kinsinger of Germany and found himself in an early 6-0 going into the break. After the break, Roberts was unable to find his offense and Kinsinger used a big four-point throw to get a technical fall with an 11-0 score. "I don't have any regrets in the training or my preparation I felt great," Roberts said. "I push myself every day in my training, so I don't have to worry did I do everything I could. I know I did everything I could. Before the end of my career, I'll get us a medal it just wasn't in the cards today." Roberts did not receive a repechage match as Kinsinger lost his next match. Martinez had the tough task of wrestling world bronze medalist Viktor Lorincz of Hungary, a hometown favorite. Martinez gave up a couple gut wrenches and fell behind 5-0 at the break. He was able to get on the scoreboard with one point, but that was all he could muster and fell 5-1. "I felt prepared I don't have any excuses in my preparation," Martinez said. "[I need to] get better defending par terre. Most of my time is going to be spent defending par terre. It's hard to get things rolling when you have one match and you're done." Martinez was eliminated from repechage contention when Lorincz lost his next match.

Pat Downey (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Pat Downey is among a handful of amateur wrestlers who will be among the first contestants at the debut of Cowboy Fight Series amateur MMA promotion, with the premiere event taking place Jan. 19 at Hylton Performing Arts Center at George Mason University in Manassas, Va. Other wrestlers which have been announced for the new venture launched by UFC fighter Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone include Richie Lewis, Garrett Lineberger, and Greg Velasco. Pat Downey was a two-time Maryland high school state champion who had earned a silver medal at the 2012 Junior Worlds ... with a collegiate wrestling career spanning a number of programs. He started at University of Nebraska then transferred to Iowa Central Community College, where he won the 197-pound title at the 2015 NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) wrestling championships. The following year, after enrolling at Iowa State, Downey earned All-American honors by placing fifth at 197 pounds at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. For the 2016-17 season, Downey dropped down to 184 pounds, but suffered a rib injury which limited his time in the wrestling room and in competition. After being booted by then Cyclones head coach Kevin Jackson for breaking team rules in February 2016, Downey transferred to the University of Iowa, but the NCAA declared him ineligible for further collegiate mat competition in January 2018. https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/19511 Richie Lewis celebrates after beating Alex Marinelli at the Big Ten Championships (Photo/Richard Immel) Richie Lewis was a U23 World champion who competed collegiately at Rutgers University in his native New Jersey, where he was a two-time NCAA championships qualifier in 2016 and 2018 at 157 pounds, twice a Big Ten conference championships placer, and placed fourth at the prestigious Midlands tournament in 2015. Prior to wrestling for the Scarlet Knights, Lewis was twice a NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) championships All-American for Iowa Central Community College. Garrett Lineberger was a teammate of emerging MMA star Joey Davis at Notre Dame College in Cleveland. Lineberger was a two-time NCAA Division II champ -- and four-time All-American -- for the Falcons at 184 pounds. Prior to wrestling at Notre Dame College, Lineberger was twice a Maryland high school state champ and nationally ranked by InterMat in high school. Greg Velasco wrestled heavyweight for Rider University. Before that, he was a two-time All American at the New Jersey high school state wrestling championships. Velasco has competed in muay thai, compiling a 4-0 record. Cowboy Fight Series is the product of Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, 35, an MMA veteran who launched his pro career a dozen years ago, and has competed in UFC since 2011, compiling an overall record of 33-11 as a welterweight (170-pounds). Here's how BJPenn.com described Cerrone's new venture: "These events, Cowboy explains, will give amateur fighters a platform on which to grow their skills and their reputations, and in some cases, earn professional contracts with top regional promotions. Cowboy will also invite some of these amateurs to live with him on the BMF ranch, where they'll have the opportunity to train and develop amongst some of the sport's very best fighters." Cowboy Fight Series has been slowly introducing its fighters one-by-one at its official Facebook page and official website.

Youssif Hemida reached the NCAA quarterfinals last season before place eighth (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) William Faulkner once wrote, "Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders." The line from Light in August seeks to encapsulate how people struggle with the legacy and burden of the past. While the novel deals with much heavier issues, wrestlers often find themselves in a similar struggle. Seasons or individual matches are collections of split-second decisions, movements and challenges. For some, a simple six-minute college match can be transmogrified into a lifetime of nostalgia or regret. At the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Maryland heavyweight Youssif Hemida found himself one match away from becoming an All-American for the first time. In the aptly named blood round, he faced off against Arizona State's Tanner Hall. While the match was close, as they often are in the heavyweight division, Hemida ended up on the losing end via a 2-1 score. "It is just something that I thought about almost every day," Hemida said. "It was just that one match, that one point. What if I did something more? I kept looking back. I don't think I cut corners necessarily. It was more like, 'What could I have done more?' or 'What could I have done differently?'" Despite the negative memory, Hemida was able to use the experience to move forward. This past season, he found himself in the blood round once again. This time, he became an All-American for the first time with a win over Lehigh's Jordan Wood. "It was a huge motivator," he said. "I was like, I cannot walk away from the national tournament without becoming an All-American. It was just something that I needed to accomplish for me, and it was something that felt really good. [The loss] definitely lit a fire underneath me and let me know how close I was and that if I don't do the right things it could happen again, or I could push myself a little harder and try to achieve it." Progression from season to season has become a theme in Hemida's career. In his true freshman season, he finished with a sub-.500 record. The following season, he became an NCAA qualifier. This past season, he was an All-American. Hemida enters his senior season ranked No. 3 at heavyweight. "Something similar happened to me in high school where freshman year, I had a winning record, but I did not qualify for my sectional," Hemida said. "Sophomore year I was hurt. Then, junior year I did well, but I didn't quite do as well at states. Then, my senior year, I won a state title. I kind of feel like I want to be on that same path with [college] freshman year getting adjusted, sophomore year qualifying, this past year placing, and now all I am looking forward to trying to win it all." Youssif Hemida battling Wisconsin's Ben Stone at the Big Ten Championships (Photo/Richard Immel) In order to meet his goals, Hemida will need to navigate the always arduous Big Ten heavyweight division. Multiple time champion Kyle Snyder and perennial contender Adam Coon have moved on, but there is still plenty of competition in the division. "I am very grateful that we are in the Big Ten. I picked a school that wrestles in the Big Ten. It really tests you." Hemida continued, "There is no returning national champ in our weight class, so I think it is anyone's to grab. I am really excited for it. Yeah, there are some people coming in, and it is reloading. There are some returning All-Americans, but I am less trying to worry about them and more trying to focus on what I can do to improve myself. I mean, I am going to scout them and everything like that, but I am not like 'Who is coming in?' or 'Is Gable redshirting or not?' or 'What is Conan doing?' I am not too concerned about that. I am more concerned with what I can do to make myself the best that I can be." As the team's only returning All-American, Hemida sees himself taking on more of a leadership role in the wrestling room. "For me, I was never in the room with an All-American," Hemida said. "For the guys, they can say, 'I am doing the same things he is doing' so a lot of it is leading by example. They see me doing extra work, and they might be encouraged to do that, or they see me pushing it when we go live they might be able to dig deep. It is definitely no pressure. If anything, I hope that I am encouraging the guys." While Faulkner describes memories as a burden from the past, memories themselves are not inherently negative. The pain of remembering a loss can be depressive or serve as motivation, but at the same time, a recollection of a victory can evoke a certain sentimental longing for the past. This type of nostalgia played an interesting role in how Hemida ended up at Maryland. "My club coach John Degl from the Empire Wrestling Academy always talks about how he beat this guy in the state finals who ended up becoming a national champion and a two-time Olympian," Hemida said. "I never really thought anything about it." In the 1991 177-pound state final, Degl, representing Mahopac High School knocked off Longwood High School wrestler Kerry McCoy. The very same McCoy who is currently coaching Hemida at Maryland. The same McCoy who Hemida calls, "One of the best heavyweights to ever do it." For Degl the match serves as a positive memory and a story he can tell to the wrestlers he trains. For McCoy the loss likely motivated him to continue to progress and eventually represent the U.S. in the Olympics. With one more season left as a college wrestler, Hemida has the opportunity to determine what kind of memories he will be able to look back on when his career is over.