InterMat Staff

Adeline Gray is the top seed at 76 kilograms in women's wrestling (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LAS VEGAS -- The seeds have been released for the Greco-Roman and women's wrestling competition for the U.S. Senior Open, which begins on Thursday at the South Point Arena. Greco-Roman seeds 55 kg 1. Max Nowry (Army WCAP) 2. Randon Miranda (New York AC) 3. Sam Hazewinkel (Sunkist Kids) 4. Kyndall Rutz (NMU-OTS) 5. James Hicks (Army WCAP) 60 kg 1. Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP) 2. Taylor LaMont (Sunkist Kids) 3. Dalton Roberts (New York AC) 4. Mike Fuenffinger (Army WCAP) 63 kg 1. Hayden Tuma (Army WCAP) 2. Jesse Thielke (New York AC/Legends of Gold) 3. Ryan Mango (Army WCAP) 4. Xavier Johnson (Marines) 5. Sam Jones (New York AC) 6. Colton Rasche (Marines) 7. Lilshawn Greedy (Army WCAP) 8. Travis Rice (NMU-OTS) 9. Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska Golden Eagles) 67 kg 1. Ellis Coleman (Army WCAP) 2. Raymond Bunker (Marines) 3. Jessy Williams (New York AC) 4. Austin Morrow (New York) 5. Chase Nelson (Bison WC) 6. Jamel Johnson (Marines) 7. Anthonie Linares (NMU-OTS) 8. Dante Rodriguez (Papi Trained) 9. Payton Omania (CYC) 72 kg 1. RaVaughn Perkins (New York AC) 2. Pat Smith (Minnesota Storm) 3. Alex Sancho (New York AC) 4. Chris Gonzalez (New York AC) 5. Colin Schubert (New York AC) 6. Alex Mossing (Air Force RTC) 7. Isaac Dukes (Army WCAP) 77 kg 1. Kamal Bey (Sunkist Kids) 2. Jesse Porter (New York AC) 3. Kendrick Sanders (New York AC) 4. Jon Jay Chavez (New York AC) 5. Michael Hooker (Army WCAP) 6. Peyton Walsh (Marines) 7. Alec Ortiz (Minnesota Storm) 8. Curt Calovecchi (NMU-OTS) 9. Xavier Johnson (CYC) 10. Cody Pack (New York AC/Legends of Gold) 82 kg 1. Jon Stefanowicz (Marines) 2. Geordan Speiller (Florida Jets) 3. Courtney Myers (Army WCAP) 4. Barrett Stanghill (Minnesota Storm) 5. Vlad Dombrovskiy (Army WCAP) 6. Richard Carlson (Minnesota Storm) 7. Terrence Zaleski (Marines) 87 kg 1. Ben Provisor (New York AC) 2. Cheney Haight (New York AC) 3. Joe Rau (Minnesota Storm) 4. Khymba Johnson (New York AC) 5. Kevin Radford (Sunkist Kids) 6. Jacob Fisher (Curby 3 Style WC) 7. Easton Hargrave (Olympia WC) 97 kg 1. Lucas Sheridan (Army WCAP) 2. Enock Francois (New York AC) 3. Dan Miller (Marines) 4. Micah Burak (Titan Mercury WC) 5. Dan Olsen (Unattached) 6. Blake Smith (OTC-Colorado) 7. Pete Gounaridis (Army) 130 kg 1. Robby Smith (New York AC) 2. Adam Coon (New York AC) 3. Donny Longendyke (Minnestoa Storm) 4. Trent Osnes (Marines) 5. Alton Meeks (Florida Jets) 6. Malcolm Allen (Minnesota Storm) 7. Orry Elor (CYC) Women's wrestling seeds 50 kg 1. Victoria Anthony (Sunkist Kids) 2. Whitney Conder (U.S. Army WCAP) 3. Amy Fearnside (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Erin Golston (New York AC) 53 kg 1. Haley Augello (New York AC) 2. Sarah Hildebrandt (New York AC) 3. Cody Pfau (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Dajan Treder (unattached) 5. Gabriellle Weyhrich (McKendree Bearcat WC) 6. Ronna Heaton (Sunkist Kids) 55 kg 1. Jacarra Winchester (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Dominique Parrish (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Cameron Guerin (Team Takedown) 4. Tayler Resuriz (McKendree Bearcat WC) 57 kg 1. Megan Black (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Breanna Delgado (Aires WC) 3. Alexandra Hedrick (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Koral Sugiyama (Campbellsville) 5. Michaela Beck (New York AC) 59 kg 1. Kelsey Campbell (Sunkist Kids) 2. Lauren Louive (New York AC) 3. Abigail Nette (Lions WC/Emmanuel) 4. Allison Petix (King University) 5. Brenda Reyna (McKendree Bearcat WC) 62 kg 1. Mallory Velte (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Kayla Miracle (Sunkist Kids) 3. Jenna Burkert (U.S. Army WCAP) 4. Amanda Hendey (Titan Mercury WC) 65 kg 1. Forrest Molinari (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Julia Salata (New York AC) 3. Jaydin Laurent (Musky WC) 4. Alexis Porter (New York AC) 5. Kayla Marano (Lions WC/Emmanuel) 6. Katerina Lobsinger (U.S. Army WCAP) 68 kg 1. Tamyra Stock (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Alexandria Glaude (McKendree Bearcat WC) 3. Randyll Beltz (U.S. Army WCAP) 4. Jasmine Bailey (McKendree Bearcat WC) 72 kg 1. Erin Clodgo (Sunkist Kids) 2. Rachel Watters (New York AC) 3. Alyvia Fiske (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Evonne Evien (unattached) 5. Hannah Gladden (Lions WC/Emmanuel) 6. Anastasia Lobsinger (U.S. Army WCAP) 76 kg 1. Adeline Gray (New York AC) 2. Korianahe Bullock (McKendree Bearcat WC) 3. Leilani Camargo-Naone (MWC Wrestling Academy) 4. Janelle Fuamatu (McKendree Bearcat WC) 5. Mariah Harris (Campbellsville)

Kyle Snyder defeated Adam Coon of Michigan twice this past season (Photo/Richard Immel) Kyle Snyder just added yet another honor to his wrestling resume. The three-time NCAA heavyweight champ and 2016 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling has been named one of two Ohio State athletes to earn the 2018 Medal of Honor award for Big Ten athletes. Snyder, along with former Buckeye women's basketball star Kelsey Mitchell, were named recipients of the honor at Ohio State's Scarlet and Graymies awards Tuesday evening. Each year, the Big Ten Medal of Honor is awarded to one male athlete and one female athlete from the graduating class of each of the 14 universities in the conference to recognize both athletic and academic excellence. The award dates back to 1915. Snyder concluded his collegiate mat career last month at the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Cleveland by becoming only the fifth three-time NCAA heavyweight champ in the nearly 90-year history of the tournament. In addition, the Maryland native won three consecutive Big Ten heavyweight titles (2016-2018). Snyder's 75-5 overall college record helped the Buckeyes win three Big Ten conference crowns as well as the 2015 NCAA team title. In addition to these collegiate mat accomplishments, Snyder also made a name for himself in the international freestyle wrestling, winning a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and two World championships, all while enrolled at Ohio State. In fact, Snyder is the only wrestler to have won Olympic gold then follow up with an NCAA title. Snyder's athletic prowess is accompanied by excellence in the classroom. While at Ohio State, he was also a three-time NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association) Academic All-American, and recently became just the fourth wrestler to ever win the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) Sullivan Award, presented each year since 1930 to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Snyder is not the only wrestler to have earned a 2018 Medal of Honor from the Big Ten. University of Illinois wrestling champ Isaiah Martinez was also presented with the award this week.

Isaiah Martinez (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Isaiah Martinez may have to build a bigger trophy case. Martinez, who is concluding his career at the University of Illinois, is one of two student-athletes from the school to receive the 2018 Medal of Honor from the Big Ten. Martinez was presented with the award, along with track & field and cross-country star Nicole Choquette, at the annual Fighting Illini Oskee Awards ceremony held at State Farm Center in Champaign Monday night. One of the most prestigious conference awards in college athletics, the Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had "attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work." Isaiah Martinez is arguably the most accomplished wrestler in more than a century of the sport at University of Illinois. The California native racked up the honors -- two-time NCAA champion, four-time NCAA finalist, four-time Big Ten Champion, four-time All-American – along with an impressive career record of 116-3. The wrestler affectionately known as "Imar" has also made a positive impression in freestyle wrestling, having placed fifth at the 2017 U23 World Championship, and is a member of the 2018 USA Freestyle World Cup Team. If that weren't enough, Martinez has demonstrated leadership in other ways. He is a three-time team captain, a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is involved with many youth wrestling groups. He's on track to earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Illinois and plans to continue his wrestling career while training in Champaign-Urbana. "Isaiah is an incredible representative of our program and University," said Illinois head wrestling coach Jim Heffernan. "He has fantastic work habits, great character, is unbelievably loyal and his will to win is like nothing I have ever been around. He is the most self-critical athlete I have coached, evaluating every second of every match to find something to improve on. He'll even talk to the coaches about ways his teammates can improve. Isaiah is incredibly visible in the wrestling world and is unbelievably accommodating toward people that want some of his time. He is the most impressive kid I have ever coached." Martinez weighed in on what the 2018 Big Ten award meant to him on Twitter: "Winning this Medal of Honor was 5x harder for me than winning any tournament. Trying to get good grades and pay attention in class for 4+ years is like torture for an ADHD kid like me." Martinez is not the only Big Ten mat champ to have received a 2018 Big Ten Medal of Honor this week. Ohio State heavyweight Kyle Snyder was named his school's male recipient of the conference award.

Helen Maroulis gets her hand raised after winning a world title in Paris (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) NEW YORK -- Helen Maroulis, who captured America's heart by winning gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, two-time World silver medalist Alli Ragan and U.S. World Team member Tamyra Stock will compete for Team USA against Team Nigeria at the annual Beat the Streets Benefit, May 17 at Pier 17/Seaport District in lower Manhattan. Maroulis, who will be making her sixth straight Beat the Streets (www.btsny.org) appearance, has a perfect 5-0 record in BTS competition and recently joined the staff as a Student-Athlete Mentor and Coach Educator. Her gold medal match victory came at 53kg against Japanese superstar Saori Yoshida, as Maroulis became the first American to win a gold medal in women's wrestling. A Rockville, Md., native, Maroulis is also a two-time World champion and now lives and trains in New York. Ragan, who has made five straight U.S. Senior World Teams, placed second in the Worlds the past two years while also winning the Pan American Championships in 2017. She is also a two-time U.S Open. Champion, a two-time Junior World medalist and two-time WCWA women's college national champion at King University. The Carbondale, Ill., native now lives in Colorado Springs, Colo. and Iowa City, Iowa. Stock, the reigning 2017 U.S. World Team Trials champion, also won the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials but did not compete in Rio because the U.S. did not qualify at her weight. She became the first American athlete to win back-to-back golds in the prestigious Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia. She won two WCWA titles for Wayland Baptist University. The Katy, Texas, native (nee Mensah) now resides in Colorado Springs, Colo. "There is no greater American champion than Helen Maroulis, and we're excited that she is making yet another appearance at Beat the Streets Annual Benefit," said Brendan Buckley, Executive Director, Beat the Streets Inc. "Combined with her new, formal role with BTS New York, Helen is making a difference in the lives of young wrestlers, and this event will be another opportunity for fans to see her in action on the mat." Nigeria is the first African nation to compete at a Beat the Streets Benefit. The opponents from Nigeria for the U.S. trio will be as follows: 57 kg - Helen Maroulis vs. Odunayo Adekuoroye 59 kg - Alli Ragan vs. Bisola Makanjuola 68 kg - Tamyra Stock vs. Blessing Oborududu Maroulis faces one of the most successful and popular athletes on Team Nigeria. Adekuoroye was a 2017 World silver medalist and 2015 World bronze medalist. She competed in the 2016 Olympic Games, and is coming off a gold-medal effort at the Commonwealth Games. Ragan's opponent is a rising young talent for Team Nigeria. Makanjuola was a 2018 African champion and won a silver medal at the 2017 African Championships. Stock faces a veteran star in Oborududu, who competed in both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. She is an eight-time African Champion, and has also won the All-Africa Games. Like Adekuoroye, Oburududu is fresh off a victory at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The Team USA men and their international opponents will be announced soon. This year will mark the first time that Beat the Streets has held its annual event at Pier 17/South Street District. In 2013, the event dubbed "The Rumble on the Rails," was hosted in historic Grand Central Terminal and featured dual meets between Team USA, Russia and Iran. Playing an important role in the international Keep Olympic Wrestling effort, this historic wrestling event gained international media coverage and helped wrestling retain its status on the Olympic Games program. Coverage will be available live and on-demand exclusively on FloWrestling.com. To access live and on-demand coverage of the Beat the Streets New York City Annual Benefit, visit FloWrestling.com and become a PRO subscriber. A subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network, as well as the matches from the Beat the Streets program starting at 2:30 p.m. ET on May 17. Watch the event across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Roku or Apple TV 4. This will be the ninth straight year in which a major international-style wrestling competition will be hosted as part of the Beat the Streets Benefit activities. In 2010, an all-star challenge featuring top U.S. wrestlers was held on the USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier docked on the west side of Manhattan. Times Square has been the venue for the 2011, 2012 and 2014-2017 events. This year, top Beat the Streets youth wrestlers will take the mat showcasing their skills in exhibition matches beginning at 2:30 p.m. to kick off the NYC Benefit. For the third straight year, the Benefit will feature the PSAL Girls Freestyle Dual Meet Championships finals, showcasing the two top New York City girl's freestyle wrestling high school teams from the spring girl's freestyle season. Then it's Team USA vs. an international squad at 6:00 p.m. and super match between Jordan Burroughs and Italy's Frank Chamizo with video highlights and special guest appearances followed by the Beat the Streets Benefit Celebration. Tickets are required for entry and can be purchased by visiting www.btsny.org, calling 212-777-5702 or emailing Joe DelConte at jdelconte@btsny.org. The Benefit Celebration at Pier 17 will follow the wrestling competition. This unique and electrifying annual event helps Beat the Streets raise significant funds to further its mission. Whether it's providing a safe, constructive outlet for our urban youth, fighting childhood obesity, empowering women, or uniting entire nations, wrestling teaches persistence, dedication, and the value of working hard to achieve one's goals and creates opportunities for personal and universal growth. BTS currently serve over 3,000 student-athletes every year. 2018 Beat the Streets Wrestling Schedule The Seaport District/Pier 17, New York City, May 17, 2018 2:30 p.m. - Beat the Streets Youth Exhibition Matches 4:45 p.m. - New York City Girls Freestyle Dual Meet Championships Finals 6:00 p.m. - World Class Wrestling to include: • Team USA vs. Nigeria in women's freestyle 57 kg - Helen Maroulis (USA) vs. Odunayo Adekuoroye (Nigeria) 59 kg - Alli Ragan (USA) vs. Bisola Makanjuola (Nigeria) 68 kg - Tamyra Stock (USA) vs. Blessing Oborududu (Nigeria) • Team USA vs. TBA in men's freestyle • Super Match - Jordan Burroughs (USA) vs. Frank Chamizo (ITA) Followed by Annual Benefit Celebration, Pier 17 About Beat the Streets The mission of Beat the Streets is to develop the full potential of the urban youth and to strengthen the culture of New York City wrestling. BTS works directly with the New York City Department of Education in a public-private partnership to bring the life changing sport of wrestling to over 3,000 New York City student-athletes to help them achieve their personal and athletic goals. Through the operation of wrestling programs in middle and high schools in the five boroughs, BTS and the DOE provide a safe, positive atmosphere in which disadvantaged and at-risk youth can learn the essential life lessons of grit, personal responsibility and teamwork, physical fitness and nutrition, and life-long learning. The goal of fostering strong, well-rounded student-athletes is delivered through coaching, after-school programs, life skills workshops, and summer camps. More information can be found at www.btsny.org. About USA Wrestling USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Wrestling in the United States and, as such, is its representative to the United States Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling, the international wrestling federation. Simply, USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. It has over 220,000 members across the nation, boys and girls, men and women of all ages, representing all levels of the sport. Its president is Bruce Baumgartner, and its Executive Director is Rich Bender. More information can be found at TheMat.com

This weekend, the U.S. Open and UWW Junior Nationals take place in Las Vegas. While the Open serves as a qualifier for this year's World Team Trials, the weekend's events also give fans one of the first opportunities to see some of the best incoming recruits face off against college level competition. Between the two tournaments, nine of the top 20 recruits from last season will be in action. The following is a preview of the path to the championship for those recruits. David Carr is among the top contenders at 70 kilograms (Photo/Sam Janicki) 70 kilograms, Junior freestyle Top recruits: No. 3 David Carr (Iowa State), No. 7 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) and No. 10 Brayton Lee (Minnesota) The field at 70 kilograms in the Junior division is loaded in terms of top-20 recruits. Depending on the draw, fans might get to see a rematch between Lee and Teemer. The two recently faced off in a folkstyle match at the IndianaMat Dream Team Classic. Lee won a match that featured several questionable referee decisions, both ways, and plenty of controversy. Carr, who is expected to kickstart the rebuilding process at Iowa State for coach Kevin Dresser, will also contend for the title at this weight. The field also includes a pair of top recruits from last season who will be coming off redshirts for Penn State next winter. Brady Berge competed in only one tournament last season and finished second at the Princeton Open. Jarod Verkleeren, a former cadet world champion, also had a light workload during his redshirt campaign. He went 9-2 with his losses coming against veterans Jared Prince (Navy) and Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa). Rounding out the field is another pair of blue chip prospect from last season who will be coming off redshirt. Austin O'Connor went 20-3 in his first season at North Carolina, and Dominick Demas is expected to contribute to Lou Rosselli's Oklahoma squad next season. 79 kilograms, Junior freestyle Top recruits: No. 2 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) and No. 17 Aaron Brooks (OTC/Penn State) The top two recruits in the 79-kilogram weight class provide some unique storylines. Wittlake defeated Brooks for the chance to represent the U.S. at the cadet world championships last season. However, Wittlake pulled out with an injury, and Brooks went on to win the world championship. Two months after Brooks won the gold medal, Wittlake decommitted from Penn State and end up signing with Oklahoma State. Brooks, who was one of the best unsigned talents, signed with Penn State and will spend a year at the OTC before reporting to campus. In terms of college wrestlers competing at this weight, it is safe to say that it is stacked with talent. Beau Breske (Nebraska) and Michael Labriola (Nebraska) might end up getting an early rehearsal for their wrestle-off for next season. Breske, who came to the Cornhuskers as a blue-chip recruit, had a tough season, ended up going 9-12 and missed out on qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Labriola redshirted his first season at Nebraska. During his off-the-books season, he won three open tournaments and knocked off the likes of David Kocer (South Dakota State), Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State), Joey Gunther (Iowa) and Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern). Marcus Coleman's redshirt season for Iowa State turned into a bright spot for the program. He won four open tournaments and went 24-2. His only two losses during the season came against veteran Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa). Matt Finesilver (Duke) along with his three brothers all qualified for the NCAA tournament for the Blue Devils. During the season, he went 25-11 and picked up wins over Daniel Bullard (NC State) and Forrest Przybysz (Appalachian State). Joe Grello (Rutgers) started for the Scarlet Knights and went 14-10. He went 0-2 at the Big Ten Championships and failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. His best wins came over Breske and Chris Pfarr (Minnesota). Fellow top-25 recruit Trent Hidlay will also be in the field before heading to NC State and joining his brother who recently finished second at the NCAA tournament. Hidlay has wrestled both Wittlake and Brooks before. The familiarity might lead to an upset. Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) spent his first season in Norman as a redshirt campaign. He went 13-2, but he did not face a very tough schedule. His losses came against Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) and Devin Kane (North Carolina). Mantanona is also registered to compete in the Junior Greco-Roman bracket this weekend. Ethan Smith (Ohio State) went 19-7 as a redshirt this past season. The former blue-chip recruit could contend to replace the departed Bo Jordan at 174 pounds next year, but he might end up being too big for that spot. 86 kilograms, Junior freestyle Top recruits: No. 13 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) and No. 14 Michael Beard (Penn State) Hoffman and Beard have already started a rivalry that might just continue in the Big Ten. The two wrestled at Who's No. 1, and Hoffman came out with a victory. Neither are expected to start next for their respective teams. However, fans will still get a chance to see them against Division I competition here. Jelani Embree (Michigan) went 15-2 during his redshirt season. His only losses on the season came against Dakota Greer (Edinboro) and Nick Reenan (NC State). Embree picked up a pair of wins over fellow prospect Ethan Smith (Ohio State). Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) was forced into action in his true freshman season. He certainly took his lumps and finished with a 12-12 record. However, he finished the season by winning the Pac 12 tournament and qualifying for the NCAA tournament. 125 kilograms, Junior freestyle Top recruit: No. 5 Seth Nevills (Penn State) Despite still being in high school, Nevills might be the favorite to take this weight at the Junior level. The consensus top five pick proved once again this past season to be a legitimate heavyweight prospect. Standing in his way are Fargo runner-up and North Dakota State recruit Brandon Metz. While the field does not include many returning starters, Gonna Gremmel (Iowa State) and Aaron Costello (Iowa) will be there representing historical powers. Gable Steveson celebrates after winning the gold medal (Photo/Richard Immel) 125 kilograms, U.S. Open Top recruit: No.1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) After a pair of Cadet world titles and a Junior world title, Steveson decided it was time to move up to the senior level. This past season, he won another state title, defeated No. 2 (at 220) Daniel Kerkvliet and even won a collegiate open that he entered last November. Unsurprisingly, the senior field features multiple wrestlers that could push the 17-year-old including Dom Bradley, Tony Nelson and even Olympic gold medalist Jake Varner. In the preseeds released by USA Wrestling, Steveson earned the fifth seed, which means he could meet NCAA runner up Adam Coon who knocked off multiple-time world champion Kyle Snyder last season.

The U.S. Open is one of the best events on the wrestling calendar. Many of the top wrestlers in the country, and the world for that matter, compete every year in this important national event. And this year is no exception. This year's U.S. Open field will feature an abundance of talented and proven stars that include three-time world champion Adeline Gray, Olympic and world medalist J'den Cox, Hodge Trophy winners Kyle Dake and David Taylor, and Junior world champion Kamal Bey. The U.S. Open will be held Thursday through Saturday in Las Vegas. Not all of the stars will be there. Returning world men's and women's freestyle medalists who are competing in the same weight class this year have already advanced to the Final X. The Final X will be held at three locations and serve as the qualifier for the 2018 U.S. World Team in men's and women's freestyle. U.S. Open champions in the weight classes without a returning medalist will land spots in the Final X. Open champions in weights with a returning medalist will take part in the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament next month in Rochester, Minn. U.S. Open champions in Greco-Roman will advance to the finals of June's World Team Trials for Greco in Tulsa. The World Championships return to Budapest, Hungary in October. Here are 10 storylines to keep an eye on during the U.S. Open: Nahshon Garrett is one of the top contenders at 61 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 10. Last four NCAA champions at 133 are in loaded 61-kilogram bracket Cody Brewer, Nahshon Garrett, Cory Clark and Seth Gross have accounted for the last four NCAA titles at 133 pounds. All four are entered in the loaded U.S. Open freestyle weight class of 61 kilograms/132 pounds. Joe Colon is the No. 1 pre-seed. He earned a win in his only World Cup match earlier this month. Jon Morrison is No. 2. Among the other top wrestlers to watch in this class are Brandon Wright, Tyler Graff, Nico Megaludis, Chris Dardanes, Alan Waters and Darrius Little. This is the deepest weight class in the tournament. And it could be the most entertaining weight class to watch in Vegas. 9. Big boys battle in Greco Robby Smith has become a fixture as the No. 1 Greco-Roman heavyweight in the U.S. Smith placed fifth in the world in 2013 and 2015. Smith is still the wrestler to beat, but it will be interesting to see how massive Adam Coon fares in Las Vegas. Coon placed second behind Smith at the 2016 Olympic Trials and just finished his college career with a second-place finish at the NCAA meet. Coon also is registered in freestyle, so we will see how that impacts what he does in Greco. Coon could become a fixture on Greco teams for years to come. Victoria Anthony with her championship plaque after winning the U.S. Open title last year (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 8. Who will rule at 50 kilograms? The new women's freestyle weight class of 50 kilograms could offer one of the more intriguing battles at the Open. Two-time world fifth-place finisher Victoria Anthony and three-time world team member Whitney Conder are the favorites in this class. Anthony moves up from the former 48-kilogram weight class while Conder is moving down from 53. Anthony is small for the weight class, but she is powerful and explosive for her size with an arsenal of big moves. Tony Ramos celebrates after winning a U.S. Open title last year (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 7. Return of Ramos Tony Ramos made a pair of world teams in freestyle before falling in two straight matches to fellow Iowa Hawkeye alum Thomas Gilman in the finals of the 2017 World Team Trials. Gilman went on to win a silver medal at the World Championships in Paris. Ramos started this season up a weight class, but he's dropping back down to 57 kilograms for the U.S. Open. Ramos would love another shot at facing Gilman again in the championship series of the Final X. Ramos is in a tough weight in Vegas that also includes Junior world champion Daton Fix and NCAA champion Darian Cruz. 6. Tamyra's time is now Tamyra Stock has the talent and the tools to be a world champion in women's freestyle wrestling. She proved that by winning back-to-back titles at the prestigious Ivan Yarygin event in Russia. Now she has to prove it on the sport's biggest stage. Stock gained World Championships experience last year and she looks like a strong contender to earn a medal this season. She is a powerful wrestler with an impressive arsenal of moves. You will want to follow her matches in Vegas. 5. Olympic gold medalist Jake Varner listed among pre-seeds Jake Varner hasn't competed on the big stage since 2016, but his name was listed Monday as the No. 3 pre-seed at heavyweight. Varner won his 2012 Olympic gold medal at 96 kilograms, but he has competed at heavyweight in the past. He placed second to eventual Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder at 97 kilograms at the 2016 Olympic Trials. Varner actually won the first match of their best-of-3 championship series before Snyder won the final two bouts. It will be interesting to see how Varner fares if he does compete in Las Vegas. 4. Kamal Bey is must-see wrestling Don't turn away from the mat when Kamal Bey is wrestling. You might miss something you've never seen before. That's how impressive this young standout is in Greco-Roman wrestling. Bey can light up the scoreboard like a pinball machine with his spectacular array of explosive lifts and throws. He's the dynamic sparkplug that could lead a revival for a U.S. Greco program that has struggled over the past decade. Bey won a Junior world title last year and he's ready to burst onto the scene on the Senior level. J'den Cox at the Freestyle World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 3. New weight, same outlook for J'den J'den Cox's impressive resume keeps adding glowing achievements as he continues to exceed expectations. Not expected to win an Olympic medal in 2016, Cox earned a bronze medal in Rio. Not expected to even make the U.S. world team in 2017, Cox beat favored David Taylor before winning a bronze medal in Paris. Now Cox moves up to the new freestyle weight class of 92 kilograms. Cox had a huge size advantage at 86 kilograms and appears to be adjusting well to his new division. He clearly feels better without having to drop so much weight this season. No matter the circumstances, Cox has definitely performed well when the stakes are highest. Adeline Gray after making the U.S. Olympic Team in 2016 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 2. Gray returns with focus on more gold Three-time world champion Adeline Gray is back. And in a big way this season. The five-time world medalist finished ahead of the reigning world champion and reigning Olympic champion in winning February's Klippan Open in Sweden. Gray beat 2017 world champion Yasemin Adar of Turkey in the heavyweight finals. Gray was ranked No. 1 in the world entering the 2016 Olympics, but she fell short of medaling. She missed last season with an injury, but she's back now and eager to begin her run toward another Olympic Games in women's freestyle. Kyle Dake is coming off a strong performance at the Freestyle World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 1. Dake, Taylor ready to make first world team It should have happened by now. Kyle Dake and David Taylor should've made a Senior-level world team in freestyle. But both were stuck behind Olympic and world medalists Jordan Burroughs and J'den Cox. With the expansion to 10 weight classes for the World Championships, Dake and Taylor are in different weight classes. And they are poised to make a run at world titles this year. Dake is coming off an outstanding performance at the World Cup at the new weight class of 79 kilograms where he beat two world silver medalists. Among the other entries at 79 is Junior world silver medalist and three-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer. Taylor has excelled the past two seasons at 86 kilograms and looked superb earlier this month at the World Cup. He pinned Olympic and world champion Hassan Yazdani of Iran at the 2017 World Cup. Dake and Taylor are in the prime of their careers and ready to strike gold at the sport's top level. There is no doubt that it could happen this year. 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.

The Urbandale athletic department announced late Monday that Mike Moreno has returned to the position of head wrestling coach at Urbandale High School. Moreno, who teaches physical education at the high school stepped down following the 2013 to become an assistant coach. Mike MorenoMoreno led the J-Hawks from 2006-2013. During that time frame, Moreno led the J-Hawks to a 69-67 record. During that time frame, the J-Hawks had 5 State Champions and 22 State Placewinners. Urbandale placed 3rd at the 2010 Class 3A state tournament and Moreno was honored as the 3A Coach of the Year that season. Moreno was the Class 2A Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1997 and guided his 1994 team to the State Title. His team finished second in 1997 and third in the state dual meet tournament that same year. Moreno's overall record at Clarinda was 210-98-1. Mike Moreno is a former three-time NCAA qualifier at Iowa State University and was named NCAA All American in 1992.

Vincent Altebrando Vincent Altebrando, a long-time head wrestling coach and physical education teacher at Walt Whitman High School on Long Island, New York, has died, Newsday reported Monday. He was 51. Altebrando died of HLH -- a rare autoimmune disease -- while surrounded by his wife and four daughters at Stony Brook University Hospital on Friday, April 20. In Altebrando's 24 years as coach at Whitman, his teams earned 213 dual-meet wins and three league titles. Earlier this year, Altebrando was the recipient of the sportsmanship award at the Suffolk County Wrestling Coaches Association banquet. Altebrando grew up in Selden, N.Y. and graduated from Newfield High School in 1984. He was a Suffolk County heavyweight wrestling champion and a runner-up in the New York state wrestling tournament in 1984. In addition, Altebrando played football. Altebrando's high school wrestling coach had high praise for his former heavyweight, describing him as "a fierce competitor but an unbelievably humble guy, a soft-spoken gentle giant." "Vinny's work ethic was unparalleled," Tony Perna told Newsday. "I coached for 32 years and there was never anyone like him. He always gave 100 percent." After graduating from Newfield High, Altebrando wrestled at Springfield College, an NCAA Division III school in Springfield, Mass. and graduated with a degree in physical education. Jim Wright, director of athletics at Walt Whitman, described how Altebrando had a positive impact on students beyond the wrestling squad at the public high school in Huntington Station, N.Y. "He was a guy that cared for all the kids," Wright said. "He made a huge difference in our community. I think the true measure of a person's life is how many lives they touch. And his were countless." Vincent Altebrando is survived by his wife Kristie, four daughters -- Anjelia, Gionna, Natalia, and Mirabella -- and two brothers, Nick and Anthony. Visitation will take place today (Tuesday, April 24) from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at Branch Funeral Home in Miller Place, N.Y. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday at the St. Louis de Montfort R.C. Church in Sound Beach at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Medford. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Vincent Altebrando to: Miller Place High School Athletic Program, 7 Memorial Dr. Miller Place, N.Y. 11764 (make checks payable to Miller Place School District) or Walt Whitman High School Athletic Program, 60 Weston St., Huntington Station, N.Y. 11746. In addition, a GoFundMe page has been set up to raise funds for the Vincent Altebrando Memorial Fund.

Nic Bouzakis Link: Top 15 Junior High Rankings While Super 32 Challenge high school division champion Ryan Crookham (Saucon Valley, Pa.) remains the top junior high wrestler in the country, Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) moves up one spot to No. 2 after winning a second high school state title in Florida's small school division at 120 pounds. Bouzakis added a Cadet folkstyle title at 120 pounds since then as well. Despite winning a Cadet folkstyle title at 100 pounds, Jordan Williams (Collinsville, Okla.) drops one position in the rankings to third place; he also won a junior high state title in Oklahoma since the last rankings update. Improving a few spots in the rankings is Jesse Mendez (Indiana), who is now fourth in the rankings with a couple significant resume boosts since the late January rankings update. In addition to winning yet another middle school state title, he was runner-up to Bouzakis in Cadet folkstyle, and the following week he placed third at the FloNationals in the 113-pound weight class of the high school division. Also performing superbly in the high school division of the FloNationals was Joey Cruz (Clovis North, Calif.), who makes his debut in the Junior High top 15 at the seventh position; he was runner-up at 106 pounds, and also won a California USA middle school state title at 117. The other newcomer to this update in the top 15 is seventh grader Marc-Anthony McGowan (Florida), though he had been ranked in the fall 2017 update. McGowan won the third leg of the Roller/Flo World of Wrestling Triple Crown with a title at Reno in the 15-U 82-pound weight class, after winning a Schoolboy folkstyle national title the week before at 87 pounds.

Peyton Robb (right) with Jordan Burroughs Peyton Robb (Owatonna, Minn.), a three-time state champion, announced that he will be signing with Nebraska after initially signing with South Dakota State. He ended this past season ranked No. 2 at 160 pounds and No. 26 overall in the Class of 2018. Robb is projected to wrestle at 157 pounds or 165 pounds for the Cornhuskers. This past season, Robb finished with a perfect 48-0 record and claimed a state championship at 160 pounds. His previous state titles came at 120 pounds as a sophomore and 106 pounds as a freshman. He was a Fargo double All-American last summer, winning a Junior National Greco-Roman title.

Jake Varner is pre-seeded No. 3 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The pre-seeds for freestyle have been released for this weekend's U.S. Open in Las Vegas. The final seeds will be confirmed later. 57 kg: 1. Tony Ramos (Sunkist Kids) 2. Daton Fix (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Frank Perrelli (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Zach Sanders (Minnesota Storm) 5. Darian Cruz (New York AC/Lehigh Valley WC) 6. Tim Lambert (Sunkist Kids) 7. Daniel DeShazer (Minnesota Storm) 8. Zane Richards (Titan Mercury WC) 9. Josh Rodriguez (Nittany Lion WC) 10. Eddie Klimara (Titan Mercury WC) 11. David Terao (DCAC) 61 kg: 1. Joe Colon (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Jon Morrison (New York AC) 3. Nahshon Garrett (Sunkist Kids) 4. Brandon Wright (New York AC) 5. Cody Brewer (Titan Mercury WC) 6. Tyler Graff (Titan Mercury WC) 7. Seth Gross (Sunkist Kids) 8. Nico Megaludis (Titan Mercury WC) 9. Cory Clark (Titan Mercury WC) 10. Chris Dardanes (Titan Mercury WC) 11. Alan Waters (Titan Mercury WC) 12. Darrius Little (New York AC) 65 kg: 1. Logan Stieber (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Joey McKenna (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Evan Henderson (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Josh Kindig (Sunkist Kids) 5. John Simmons (New York AC) 6. Nick Dardanes (Titan Mercury WC) 7. Anthony Abidin (New York AC) 8. Joey Lazor (Panther WC) 9. Jaydin Eierman (Missouri Wrestling RTC) 10. Jayson Ness (Minnesota Storm) 11. Dean Heil (Titan Mercury WC) 12. Robbie Matthers (Sunkist Kids) 70 kg: 1. Frank Molinaro (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Chase Pami (Sunkist Kids) 3. Alec Pantaleo 4. Jason Chamberlain (Titan Mercury WC) 5. Hunter Stieber (Titan Mercury WC) 6. Mario Mason (New York AC) 7. Dylan Ness (Minnesota Storm) 8. Hayden Hidlay (Wolfpack WC) 9. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) 10. Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton WC) 74 kg: 1. Nazar Kulchytskyy (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Isaiah Martinez (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Dan Vallimont (New York AC) 4. Quinton Godley (Wolfpack WC) 5. Evan Wick (Titan Mercury WC) 79 kg: 1. Kyle Dake (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Alex Dieringer (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Zahid Valencia (Sunkist Kids) 4. Michael Evans (Buies Creek RTC) 5. Josh Asper (Navy-Marine Corps) 86 kg: 1. David Taylor (Nittany Lions WC) 2. Richard Perry (New York AC) 3. Pat Downey (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Tim Dudley (Sunkist Kids) 92 kg: 1. J'den Cox (Titan Mercury WC) 2. Hayden Zillmer (Minnesota Storm) 3. Enock Francois (New York AC) 4. Kenny Courts (Titan Mercury WC) 5. Josh Manu (Navy-Marines Corp) 6. Nikko Reyes (Valley RTC) 97 kg: 1. Kyven Gadson (Sunkist Kids) 2. Ty Walz (Titan Mercury WC) 3. Nathan Burak (Titan Mercury WC) 4. Austin Schafer (New York AC) 5. Blaize Cabell (Valley RTC) 125 kg: 1. Dom Bradley (Sunkist Kids) 2. Zack Rey (New York AC) 3. Jake Varner (Nittany Lion WC) 4. Adam Coon (New York AC) 5. Gable Steveson (Minnesota Storm) 6. Tony Nelson (Minnesota Storm) 7. Tanner Hall (Arizona State) 8. Michael Kosoy (Titan Mercury WC) 9. Johnathan Gingrich (New York AC)

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Sammartino, legendary pro wrestling champion who held the title for an incredible eleven years from the early 1960s into the early 70s, died Wednesday, April 18 in a hospital in his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh. He was 82. When I learned of Sammartino's passing, I couldn't help but wonder, "Did he have an amateur wrestling background?" Especially considering his compact yet muscular physique and his no-nonsense way of taking care of business in the pro wrestling ring that made him an enduring fan favorite often referred to as "The Living Legend" ... or simply as Bruno. (Another factor in my thinking: a number of pro wrestling stars of the same era -- including Dan Hodge, Dick Hutton and Verne Gagne -- had all been NCAA wrestling champs prior to entering the squared circle.) My curiosity was increased when I saw more than one tribute to Sammartino -- including the obituary in the New York Times -- mention that he had worked out with the University of Pittsburgh wrestling team at the urging of then head coach Rex Peery. One 1958 article from the Pittsburgh Press newspaper reported he had been offered a scholarship to the school, and "wrestled with the Pitt team." That got me wondering: did Bruno really participate in Pitt wrestling workouts as stated in these tributes ... and, taking things one step further, was he an actual member of the Pitt Panthers wrestling squad? In case you don't know Bruno ... Bruno Sammartino was one of the giants of professional wrestling in the 1960s, 70s and into the 80s. He was a 12-time heavyweight champ for the World Wide Wrestling Federation -- predecessor to today's WWE, started by the father of current WWE chairman Vince McMahon -- which primarily operated in the eastern U.S., back when there were many regional pro wrestling organizations scattered throughout the country, each with its own set of wrestlers and champ. Sammartino's territory was centered in New York City; he wrestled at Madison Square Garden over 200 times. Sammartino was a popular fan favorite -- a "good-guy", a "face" (as in babyface, the opposite of "heel" -- bad guy). Bruno projected a workmanlike persona in the ring, in terms of what he looked like (just less than 6 feet tall, tremendously muscular in his upper body, with a huge, hairy chest) ... what he wore (no costume -- just trunks and lace-up boots) ... and how he wrestled (in a straightforward style with minimal flash and theatrics, especially compared today's WWE). Sammartino had an incredible journey to become a pro wrestling superstar beloved by millions. Born Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino in central Italy in 1935, he was the youngest of seven children of Alfonso and Emilia Sammartino. At least two siblings did not survive childhood. Bruno's father left for America in 1939 with plans to bring the rest of the family once he had earned enough to cover travel expenses. In the meantime, the rest of the family remained in Italy, fleeing invading German forces during World War II, and hiding in the mountains of Abruzzo for 14 months, subsisting on dandelions, snow, and food Emilia was able to retrieve from the family cellar from time-to-time. Once the war was over and Bruno recovered from a near-fatal bout with rheumatic fever, the Sammartinos immigrated to the United States and were reunited with the father in Pittsburgh. A transformation from 90-pound weakling to strongman A common thread of many of the tributes to Sammartino upon his death last week described the young Bruno as "a sickly 90-pounder who spoke little English" who was a target of bullies at Schenley High School at Pittsburgh in the early 1950s. "My brother (Paolo) and I were getting beat up every day for being different," Sammartino was quoted as saying in an April 19, 2018 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "So we joined the Young Men's Hebrew Association, where we took up weight lifting and wrestling." The article goes on to report, "Sammartino eventually built up enough muscle to play on the Schenley High School football team for two years." "They used to line up two guys in front of me, but I knocked them on their cans and creamed the quarterback," Sammartino once said. "At Schenley, all the guys used to say, 'Don't mess with Sam.' I came out of Schenley a 225-pound, good-looking athlete." This writer went through Schenley yearbooks of the early 1950s available online in search of Sammartino. He was featured twice in the 1955 edition of the Journal. In the section honoring graduating seniors, there's a head-and-shoulders portrait of a handsome, smiling Sammartino in suit-and-tie, with thick, wavy dark hair, where he is identified by his nickname "Muscles" ... and this inscription, "Steak is his favorite dish/and to be a wrestler is his wish." The Bruno/Pitt Panthers wrestling connection Wrestling was not on the roster of sports offered at Schenley High when Bruno Sammartino was a student. However, not far from his high school in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh is the University of Pittsburgh and its intercollegiate wrestling program. In the mid-to-late 1950s, Pitt was home to one of the nation's top collegiate wrestling programs of the era. The Panthers first appeared in the team scoring results for the 1952 NCAAs, where they placed ninth in the final standings. Two years later, Pitt placed second in the team title race (behind Oklahoma State) ... and remained among the top five teams at most NCAA championships throughout the 1950s. Hugh, Ed and Rex Peery The Panthers were coached by Rex Peery, who had earned three NCAA titles in the 1930s as a wrestler at Oklahoma State for the legendary Ed Gallagher. Peery's two sons -- Hugh, and Ed -- each won three NCAA championships wrestling for their father at Pitt in the 1950s. (To this day, the Peerys are the only family who can claim a total of nine national collegiate titles spread evenly amongst a father and his two sons.) Ed and Hugh Peery weren't the only individual champs to come out of Pittsburgh in the 1950s. Other NCAA titlewinners for Pitt included Joe Solomon (167-pound champ, 1954), Ed DeWitt (167, 1956), Tom Alberts (167, 1957) and Paul Powell (123 pounds, 1958). As indicated earlier, a number of recent tributes to Bruno Sammartino mentioned a connection between the pro wrestling champ known as "the Living Legend" and the Pitt wrestling program. Any truth to this? Pitt wrestlers in 1956 OwlFrom checking editions of "The Owl" -- the University of Pittsburgh yearbook -- posted online, there are no mentions of Bruno Sammartino in the yearbooks of the 1950s as a member of the Panther wrestling team, nor is he identified in any posed team photos or staged workout images. Sadly, coach Peery and his two championship-caliber sons have passed away. However, Ann Peery Ritter -- daughter of Rex, and sister to Ed and Hugh -- is still very active within the sport of wrestling, and, in fact, at this writing, was about to be inducted into the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. InterMat asked Ann to verify the Bruno-Pitt wrestling connection. Ann Peery"(Bruno Sammartino) attended high school in Oakland area of Pittsburgh," Ann Peery Ritter told InterMat. "University of Pittsburgh is also located in the same area. One day Bruno walked into the Pitt wrestling room and asked my dad, Rex Peery, if he could come to practice and work out the heavy weights. Bruno needed to get himself in shape for completion." (In addition to playing football, Sammartino participated in amateur weightlifting competitions while still in high school ... and after graduation). "Dad listened to Bruno's story about finally getting to Pittsburgh," Ann continued. "Dad said Bruno could come and work out with the Pitt wresters. Dad spent time with him each day at practice. Dad did offer Bruno a scholarship to attend Pitt. Bruno declined because he felt his English was not good enough to go to college." "Dad kept in touch with him for many years after that when Bruno was wrestling for the WWWF and then the WWF." Bob NormanLooking at photos of Bruno Sammartino in his pro wrestling prime, it's not hard to imagine him as potentially a major force as a heavyweight in college. Among the top wrestlers in the uppermost weight class (what was then called "unlimited" because there was no top weight limit) in the mid-to-late 1950s included Penn State's lantern-jawed Bill Oberly (1955 heavyweight champ), Oklahoma's Gordon Roesler (1956 champ, two-time finalist), and Bob Norman, two-time NCAA heavyweight champ (and football star) for the University of Illinois (1957, 1958). What's more, more than a couple of heavyweight college stars of that era went on to pro wrestling careers, including three-time Big Ten champ/two-time NCAA finalist Bob Konovsky of University of Wisconsin, Oklahoma State's Ted Ellis (1959 heavyweight champ) and Ithaca's Bob Marella (1959 NCAA runner-up) who went on to a long career as wrestler/commentator Gorilla Monsoon. Bruno Sammartino's career path did not include amateur wrestling competition. Instead, in a 1958 Pittsburgh Press article, a 23-year-old, 5'10", 235-pound Sammartino is described as being a successful weightlifter (reportedly just missing the opportunity to be on the U.S. weightlifting team for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics) and an apprentice contractor working on the construction of a major downtown Pittsburgh hotel. There were stories that Sammartino turned down an offer to play football for the Pittsburgh Steelers. "One offer the Pittsburgh Hercules was reluctant to turn down was a five-year contract of $15,000 a year to become a professional wrestler," according to the 1958 Pittsburgh Press. "Bruno prizes his amateur standing as a weightlifter, but there is a possibility he may sometime accept the wrestling contract." Within a year or two of that profile of the "Pittsburgh Hercules" 60 years ago, Bruno Sammartino launched that pro wrestling career ... and, by the early 1960s, was well on his way to earning fame, fortune and the enduring love of countless fans for his exploits within the squared circle.

MANHEIM, Pa. -- Bethany College of Lindsborg, Kansas checked in atop the annual NWCA NAIA All-Academic team standings for the 2017-18 season announced Monday by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Head coach Larry Nugent's team checked in with an average team GPA of 3.4673, good enough to unseat last year's top team, Morningside, which came in second with an average GPA of 3.3720. "Coach Nugent has long been a leader in the wrestling community," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "We've seen the impact he's had on his student-athletes in just his second year with the program. We're also seeing a rise in the averages from the top 10 teams within the NAIA." Link: Top 10 Teams & NAIA Individual All-Academic selections Montana State-Northern, Indiana Tech and Menlo College round out the top five. Individually, Grand View put seven wrestlers on the individual All-Academic team, led by national champions Grant Henderson (165 pounds) and Evan Hanson (197 pounds). Five of the seven Grand View wrestlers were All-Americans this past season. Bethany, Indiana Tech, Montana State-Northern and Providence (Mont.) each had four individuals on the All-Academic team, with 22 different programs represented. Individually, 52 wrestlers received All-Academic accolades, with 28 of them earning All-American honors on the mat in the 2017-18 season. Along with Henderson and Hanson, national champions Chuck Sharon of Campbellsville (184), Cam Tessari of Lindsey Wilson (149) and Hayden Lee of the University of the Cumberlands (125) were also recognized for academic success. "The NAIA is the fastest-growing section of college wrestling and it's a driving force in our goal to add more wrestling programs to show these college and university administrators they type of student-athlete they're trying to bring to their campuses," said Moyer. "Six of the top ten teams didn't even field programs prior to 2001. Bethany just launched its program in 2011 and they're already seeing the academic benefits of bringing wrestling to its campus." Questions regarding individuals and team placement on the NWCA All-Academic team can be directed to Jim Beeghley at the NWCA at jbeeghley@nwca.cc NOTE: Attribution must be All-Academic and NOT Academic All-American. Academic All-American lists are generated and released by CoSIDA.

Gannon University has named Christen Dierken as the first coach for its new women's wrestling program. The new Lady Knights program, first announced in late January, will take to the mats this fall as the first four-year women's intercollegiate wrestling program in Pennsylvania. Christen DierkenDierken brings valuable on-the-mat and coaching experience to Gannon's new program. She launched her wrestling career as the first and only female to wrestle all four years at Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, California. Dierken then headed east to University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky, where she was offered a scholarship to wrestle for their women's program. She became a two-time national finalist and four-time All-American. Dierken was a five-time qualifier for the World Team Trials (2008-2013) and competed at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. In addition, she was a two-time Senior National Team member, representing the USA in tournaments and training camps domestically and internationally from 2009-2011. Dierken began her collegiate coaching career at the University of the Cumberlands following graduation, serving as a women's wrestling graduate assistant coach from 2011-13. She was a member of a staff that coached 18 All-Americans, six U.S. Open placewinners and a pair of national runner-ups during a two-year time span. Dierken's responsibilities included recruiting, practice oversight, administrative duties, workout plans, and travel plans. She currently serves as a Physical Education teacher at A.M. Yealey Elementary School in Florence, Kentucky, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition, Dierken is a Specialist in the Army National Guard. "We are very excited to welcome Christen to the Gannon family," said Lisa Goddard McGuirk, Gannon's Director of Athletics. "Her experience, coaching philosophy and wrestling expertise are impressive. Christen will be a tremendous addition to our department and community." "My family and I are extremely excited to join the Gannon family and be a part of pioneering women's wrestling in the state of Pennsylvania," said Dierken. "I am eager to begin working with our student-athletes in their development as champions not just in athletics, but in their academics, spiritual life and personal character. "I hope to make a positive impact in the lives of our student-athletes and the local community. I am so blessed and grateful for this opportunity to follow my God-given passion (wrestling) to make a difference in lives and minister to the needs of others." Located in Erie, Pennsylvania, Gannon University is a private, co-educational Catholic University. The new women's wrestling program joins a roster of 18 athletic programs, including men's wrestling. Gannon has an enrollment of approximately 4,100 students.

Link: Top 25 Freshman Rankings For the final time, the Class of 2021 is ranked as a top 25 freshman listing; the next time this group is ranked will be in late June as a top 50 list of rising sophomores. The top three positions in the rankings remain unchanged from the last update, which occurred before the start of the 2017-18 season. Carson Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) remains No. 1 after winning a National Prep title at 138 pounds with just three in-season losses against a rather tough schedule. His most notable wins came in the Powerade final at 132 when he beat national No. 1 Joey Silva 3-2 in the ultimate tiebreaker, and then in a late January dual meet when he avenged an earlier in the season loss against Ryan Anderson with a 7-2 victory. Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) remains No. 2 in the rankings after finishing off an undefeated state title winning season with a 4-2 finals match victory over two-time returning state champion Cameron Amine. Later in March, he would add a Junior National folkstyle title -- while Cadet eligible -- to the Cadet folkstyle national title he won last year. Remaining third despite missing all but the early part of the 2017-18 season with an injury is Ryan Sokol (Simley, Minn.), a Cadet National freestyle champion last summer. Rounding out the top five of the rankings are Victor Voinovich (Brecksville, Ohio) and Travis Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.). Voinovich would win his state title in a weight class that included three other ranked wrestlers, while National Prep runner-up Mastrogiovanni placed fifth at the Walsh Ironman and third at the Beast of the East. Richard Figueroa won a California state championship title as a freshman (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The five California wrestlers ranked in the top 25 are the most of any state, with three of them among the top ten, a group that is led by Richard Figueroa (Selma); the No. 6 overall Class of 2021 wrestler was a state champion this season, champion at the FloNationals, runner-up at the Super 32 Challenge, and third at the Walsh Ironman. Four wrestlers each are ranked from New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania high schools. The lone sets of teammates in the rankings are three from Blair Academy and a pair from Wyoming Seminary.

Pat Popolizio (right) signed a seven-year contract with NC State (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) North Carolina State head wrestling coach Pat Popolizio got an unbeatable present for his birthday this week: a new, seven-year contract that extends through June 2025. The Board of Trustees of the Raleigh-based school approved the new contract for Popolizio, who just completed his sixth season at the helm of the Wolfpack wrestling program. Financial terms of the new contract were not disclosed. The 2017-18 season was Popolizio's best yet at NC State. He led the team to its first Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title since 2004. At the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, the Wolfpack placed fourth in the overall team standings. Two wrestlers made it to the finals -- an NC State record -- with Michael Macchiavello winning the 197-pound title. Four wrestlers returned to Raleigh with NCAA All-American honors. For these accomplishments, Popolizio earned 2018 ACC Coach of the Year honors, and placed second in the nation in balloting for 2018 InterMat Coach of the Year. "Pat has proven that NC State wrestling can compete at the highest levels, including winning the ACC and finishing in the top five nationally," said Director of Athletics Debbie Yow. "Our future is bright with Pat at the helm of NC State wrestling." Prior to being named head coach at NC State in 2012, Pat Popolizio had directed the mat program at Binghamton University in upstate New York for six seasons, and served two years as lead assistant at American University. Before launching his coaching career, Popolizio wrestled at Oklahoma State.

Bob Pickens, first African-American to wrestle on the U.S. Greco-Roman squad at the 1964 Olympics, then continue his athletic career with the Chicago Bears and as a Big Ten football official, passed away in Atlanta on April 12, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday, April 20. Pickens was 75. Bob PickensPickens placed sixth in Greco competition at heavyweight (111 kilograms/245 pounds) at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was one of three black athletes to make history as the first to earn places on a U.S. Olympic wrestling team for the Tokyo Games, joining Bobby Douglas and Charlie Tribble who wrestled for the U.S. freestyle squad. Born in Chicago on Feb. 2, 1943, Robert James Pickens was introduced to wrestling at Evanston Township High School by long-time coach Elias George when the future Olympian tried to cut to the head of a line to get some pencils. As Pickens recounted the incident on a YouTube video, George -- a Big Ten champ for Indiana University who then transferred to Oklahoma State, where he was a two-time NCAA All-American -- told Pickens, "Not on my watch." At that time, Pickens was 5'7" and 275 pounds who had been bullied and chased by neighborhood kids ... but Elias George saw the makings of a heavyweight wrestler and urged him to try out for the team. As he remembered the conversation, Pickens told George, "Anybody can wrestle." "Four or five months later, I'd lost about 60 pounds, and I'd grown about three inches," Pickens was quoted as saying in the Chicago Sun-Times. "Three years later, I'd become a state champion." In fact, Pickens was a two-time Illinois high school state finalist, winning the heavyweight title as a junior in 1961 and placing second as a senior in 1962. In addition to wrestling, Pickens was involved in football and track while at Evanston. After graduating from Evanston Township High, Pickens headed north to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he concentrated on football. He later transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he continued his gridiron career. In 1966, the Chicago Bears selected Pickens in the third round of the National Football League draft. He played tackle for the Bears from 1967 to 1969. Later, while playing in the Canadian Football League for the Edmonton Eskimos, Pickens launched his varied and successful business career at the Foote, Cone & Belding advertising agency in Chicago as assistant personnel director. In 1970, Pickens began an 18-year career with Sears, Roebuck and Company in which he was eventually promoted to toy department buyer for the national retailer. In 1988, Pickens left Sears to become the owner and managing director of Rainbow Classics, Inc., a Hong Kong-based trading company dealing in toys and sundry items. In 1991, Pickens became the president and owner of Merrill Associates, Ltd. and the construction coordinator for DJP Development and Consulting, a family-owned business. In addition to his professional duties, Pickens began serving as a Chicago Park District commissioner in 2000. Pickens never left sports behind. He served as an official for the Big 10 Football Conference between 1976 and 1989. In addition, Pickens held the position of national steering committee president of the National Football League Players Association and president of the National Football League Retired Players Association's Chicago Chapter. He also worked with youth through the Better Boys Foundation and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Bob Pickens is survived by his second wife Judith J. Pickens, his daughter Tori A. Pickens, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A memorial service is planned for Friday, May 11 at 4 p.m. at the South Shore Cultural Center.

Adam Coon and Kevin Beazley ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan graduate students Kevin Beazley and Adam Coon will continue their wrestling with the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club, the club announced Friday (April 20). Both Wolverines, who completed their collegiate careers last month, have world championships experience in the international styles. "Our college and RTC coaching staffs are thrilled Adam and Kevin will continue to pursue their international goals at Michigan," said Michigan head coach Sean Bormet. "Retaining our best collegiate wrestlers is incredibly important to our program. They both have a passion and enthusiasm for the Olympic styles, understand the commitment and sacrifice required and are ready to attack this next chapter in their wrestling careers." "Coming here to Michigan, it was always my plan to transition right into the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club and continue following my dreams of winning Olympic and world medals," said Beazley. "I want to show people that you can train in a folkstyle room and still make Greco world teams and win medals. I think this is the best place in the world to train; whether it's folkstyle, freestyle or Greco, I just want to be here." "Coach Bormet and coach [Andy] Hrovat are both amazing coaches, and I think they will bring the best out of me," said Coon. "This is home. This is where I want to stay, and this is where I want to train. The plan is to continue wrestling both styles until my body says I can only handle one, then I'll continue until my body says can't handle either. I think training both styles makes you a better overall wrestler; it makes you a better student of the sport." Beazley is a two-time Junior World Championships Greco-Roman team member, competing in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2013 and Zagreb, Croatia in 2014. He posted a 119-61 over his collegiate career and was a 2017 NCAA All-American at 197 pounds for Old Dominion before transferring to Michigan as a graduate student. Beazley qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third time this season but was unable to compete due to an elbow injury in his third-place match at the Big Ten tournament. Coon has a lengthy resume in both international styles, capturing Cadet World gold in freestyle while in high school (2011) before claiming bronze in both freestyle and Greco at the 2017 Junior World Championships. He was runner-up at 130kg Greco at the 2016 Olympic Trials. Coon was a three-time NCAA All-American at heavyweight -- and two-time finalist -- over his collegiate career at Michigan. His 116-15 record ranks him sixth in program history with a .885 career winning percentage.

Braxton Amos is ranked No. 3 in the sophomore class (Photo/Sam Janicki) Link: Top 50 Sophomore Rankings The very talented top ten for the Class of 2020 features very limited change in the rankings at this update. The top three wrestlers in the class remain unchanged, as each was undefeated during their sophomore high school season, though No. 1 A.J. Ferrari (Allen, Texas) and No. 2 Patrick Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) missed significant stretches of their season due to injury. Ferrari did manage to win titles at the Walsh Ironman and Reno Tournament of Champions prior to his time out due to injury, and augmented the resume with a title last month at the Junior Folkstyle Nationals in Cedar Falls. Ranked third is Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), who missed all of his freshman season due to injury but responded back as a sophomore with a title at the Super 32 Challenge in the preseason before winning titles at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman and Powerade during December; he also solidified a reputation for being a lethal pinner during this season. Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) and Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) round out the top five, though they have flipped positions, now sitting at fourth and fifth in that order. Bartlett won a second straight National Prep title and was named Outstanding Wrestler at the Powerade with wins over a pair of top ten wrestlers in the country at his weight class during the event; while Howard won his first New Jersey state title with wins over a pair of wrestlers ranked within the top twelve of the country, along with three other wins over top six opponents in his weight class. Rounding out the top ten are five more two-time state (or National Prep) champions, including Cadet world team member Julian Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio) and Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) -- who upset a two-time Cadet world champion to win his National Prep title -- coming in at seventh and eighth. Going outward from 11th through 16th in the rankings, five of those wrestlers are two-time state champions. The Keystone State is most loaded in this class with seven members of the top 50, including five of the top twenty. Missouri also is excellent in group with six in the rankings, including a pair of teammates from Liberty, Jeremiah Reno and Greyden Penner. The other pair of teammates ranked are Fidel Mayora and Dylan Ragusin from Montini Cathollic, who are among four ranked wrestlers from Illinois. Other states with four wrestlers ranked are New Jersey and California; Ohio has five ranked wrestlers, while Oklahoma has three.

Tony DeCarlo Tony DeCarlo, long associated with John Carroll University as wrestling, football and tennis coach as well as athletic director for nearly a half-century, passed away in his Cleveland area home Wednesday. He was 77. In announcing his death, JCU described DeCarlo as "a successful coach, mentor, and leader at John Carroll for nearly 50 years. His John Carroll journey began in 1964 and continued beyond his retirement in 2014 ... His legacy is one of sustained growth, leadership, and lifelong service to John Carroll student-athletes, coaches, staff, and alumni." DeCarlo launched the wrestling program at John Carroll in 1964. As head coach, DeCarlo guided the Blue Streaks to the team title at the 1975 NCAA College Division (now Division III) Wrestling Championships, and a second-place finish at the 1974 and 1976 NCAAs, for a total of eleven NCAA top-ten finishes. DeCarlo coached 14 individual NCAA champions, while 62 of his wrestlers earned NCAA All-American honors. John Carroll wrestling also earned 21 straight PAC (Presidents Athletic Conference) team titles, with 120 individual PAC champs. DeCarlo's wrestlers compiled a 211-64-1 dual meet record. For his success as JCU wrestling coach, DeCarlo was named NCAA Coach of the Year in 1974, and was named National Catholic Wrestling Coach of the Year four times. He was welcomed into the John Carroll Athletics Hall of Fame in 1977, the Ohio Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1980, and the NCAA Division III Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1991. Another measure of Tony DeCarlo's success as wrestling coach: University of Michigan reportedly courted him to coach the Wolverine mat program, with no success. "I think the main reason he didn't leave was because this was his home," former JCU basketball coach Mike Moran told the News-Herald. "He loved this area. His family and friends all lived here. He was happy. He loved Cleveland and loved the university." Tony DeCarlo's life and career pretty much centered on northeastern Ohio. He was born on July 12, 1940 in Painesville, Ohio. The second of three children born to Sicilian immigrants, DeCarlo was the first in his family to go to college, graduating from Kent State University - where he played football and wrestled -- in 1962. DeCarlo launched his professional career at Lakewood St. Edward High School, where he was on the coaching staff for both football and wrestling before coming to John Carroll University in 1964. In addition to his role as head coach of the Blue Streaks wrestling program, DeCarlo would also serve on the football staff as defensive coordinator, a position he held until 1975, and tennis coach. In 1986, DeCarlo became athletic director at John Carroll, a position he held until 2014. "Tony set a standard for competitive excellence at John Carroll, which our current coaches and staff continue to strive to live up to," said Laurie Massa, John Carroll's Senior Director of Athletics. "His impact on the lives of hundreds of student-athletes as a coach and mentor is immeasurable. I will always appreciate Tony's vision and love for John Carroll - his legacy will last forever." "Tony DeCarlo was devoted to the growth of John Carroll student-athletes as a coach, mentor, and advocate," said Jeanne Colleran, Ph.D., interim president of John Carroll University. "On the field, he pushed our athletes to the highest levels of competition, and as athletic director and later as fundraiser, he positioned future generations of Blue Streaks to thrive on and off the field. My thoughts are with his wife Rita and his family. John Carroll is grateful for his lifelong service to our community." DeCarlo is survived by his wife of 57 years, Rita, their three children - Debi Rachek, Tony, and Patti Naim (along with their spouses) -- nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Services honoring Tony DeCarlo will take place next weekend. On Friday, April 27, visitation will take place from 2-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center on the John Carroll University campus in University Heights, Ohio. On Saturday, April 28, there will be a Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. at Church of the Gesu in University Heights, followed by a memorial luncheon and program in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center at noon.

As I looked at the calendar for USA Wrestling and United World Wrestling, it struck me that this is just about the first non-holiday weekend since October without a major wrestling event to watch. Glory. The lull won't last. The U.S. Open kicks off next week with plenty of intrigue around who will enter and win at 57 kilograms, 79 kilograms and 92 kilograms in freestyle. Also, the women have some compelling matchups with Whitney Conder coming down from 53 kilograms to face Victoria Anthony at the new 50-kilogram weight category. Greco-Roman at 72 kilograms is nuts with Pat Smith and RaVaughn Perkins. Overall, a number of storylines to keep us entertained for the coming week. But for now … enjoy the spring weather with your loved ones and look forward to spending time away this weekend from rectangular screens, big and small. To your questions … Members of the media interview USA wrestlers before the Rio Olympics (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: I read about USA Wrestling's new policies for credentialing media in a Washington Post article. While sex abuse/harassment is horrific, I kind of agree with the president of APSE, who said, "Making journalists qualify for a membership and take a course in how to identify abuse and bullying is misguided. The lack of specificity on background checks, including the extent and areas of the checks, and the disposal of information and indemnification of the media is both alarming and dangerous." Was just curious about what you thought of this? -- Mike C. Foley: First, let's set out what the policy does, who it's meant to protect and why wrestling was targeted as a place of need. The policy would require anyone covering a USA Wrestling event as accredited media to have submitted for a standard background check with major crimes (felonies, sex offenses) being exclusionary. Media will also have to take an online course, which may be bothersome, but is in no way restrictive. Also, please note that this does not affect the Olympic Team Trials since that is an entity of the USOC. The policy is meant to protect USA Wrestling's youngest and most vulnerable members, namely wrestlers aged 5 to 17 who participate in nationwide events. Now, with more women than ever on the mats, the matter is even more pressing. I can say that as someone who reviews media accreditations, and has worked in wrestling media for some time, there are a number of questionable characters on the floors of events with a media pass around their neck. In the United States it is exceedingly common for fans who are not coaches and who do not want to buy tickets to end up in the media pool. The media at these events (there are a lot of events each year) have close interactions with these athletes and with media passes are allowed into a number of places that fans are not. Like any new policy there will be a review process, additional clarity given to stakeholders and maybe even minor tweaks. Overall this is a common-sense solution to help prevent child predators from taking advantage of children. Oh, and as a final anecdote, there have been a number of incidents of photographers taking advantage of athletes via media access, at home and abroad. I was witness to some in college and again later in my career. Would those incidents have been prevented by this policy? Unclear, but I think it sends the message that USA Wrestling events will be safer now than they were last year. Q: Have you heard any rumors of Edinboro, Clarion and Bloomsburg dropping wrestling? Would be a big loss. -- Steve M. Foley: My first response when reading this question is whether we might have recently spoken to the same people. While I understand the concern surrounding some of the smaller PSAC schools (dwindling enrollments, high expense, waning success) there is no firm indication that programs are in risk of being dropped. That said, Tim Flynn has left Edinboro for West Virginia and took his staff with him. While that's not an institutional admission of something amiss, I think that coupled with Bruce Baumgartner's move out of the athletic administration, the school might be perceived as at-risk. Never a good thing when four of your top wrestling minds are no longer involved in the day-to-day of the wrestling program. Clarion and Bloomsburg each have difficulties to address, but I haven't heard anything drastic is changing. As I've written before, if you are worried about these programs, or an alumnus, it sometimes helps to send an email to coaches and see how things are progressing. Are they in need of anything you might be able to provide? Q: Should Gable Steveson not redshirt and manage to make the NCAA finals along with Seth Gross and Mark Hall (I understand the percent chance of this happening is low) next year that would put three wrestlers from the same high school into the finals. Should this happen would that be a first? -- Justin N. Foley: I scoured past results, asked a few friends and nobody was able to recall three NCAA finalists from the same high school. However, I am not so foolish as to think that is complete enough research. This is where the comments section becomes a valuable asset to the wrestling community. Does anyone know of a school? MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME You should be subscribed to United World Wrestling's YouTube page More Daton Fix can wrestle Q: Jordan Burroughs -3.5 vs. Frank Chamizo in NYC. What side would you bet? -- Mike C. Foley: I think that you are underestimating how difficult it is to score on Frank Chamizo. While the Cuban-Italian will be undersized, his hips are unlike anything else in wrestling today. Burroughs is typically a slow starter and Chamizo -- given his strong defense -- doesn't tend to get into many shootouts. The line really should be Burroughs -1.5 since a scored tie in wrestling has a criteria winner. I think Burroughs will win the match Q: How do you see things playing out at Penn State? As usual, Cael has done a phenomenal job recruiting and maintaining a tremendous level of excellence, but some of the kids he has recruited don't strike me as they type that are going to be willing to wait for their turn. Specifically, the middleweight logjam. I can't envision Mason Manville waiting for two more years to compete as a junior at 165 pounds. Maybe he could wrestle down at 157 pounds after next year, but then what happens with Jarod Verkleeren and Brady Berge? Seems like Verkleeren is the logical fit at 149 pounds. I'm sure it's a problem most programs would love to have, but do you see any of these kids exiting to get a chance to get on the mat sooner? -- Justin N. Foley: Penn State's recruiting mentality is to look at the absolute best wrestlers available to them and make offers. Like Iowa in the 1980's the Sanderson approach seems to ask the wrestlers why Penn State should want them in the program -- almost like a job interview more than a champagne and caviar recruiting weekend. That mentality extends to the room. If you are the best 165-pound wrestler in the country then you will be the starter. If you aren't then one of the other wrestlers will step in to perform. There are a lot of coaches with limited resources and recruits who need to plan exactly where and when each of their top recruits might see the lineup. Between resources, interest and on-the-mat coaching the Penn State coaching staff isn't required to make that effort. Gable Steveson (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: Is Gable Steveson good enough right now to win the U.S. Open at 125 kilograms? Obviously, Nick Gwiazdowski won't be there, but there is still plenty of talent. -- Mike C. Foley: Adam Coon, Zack Rey and Dom Bradley are all heavy hitters for Gable to confront. That said, until he loses a match I'm not confident betting against Gable for any reason. Heavyweight can be tricky -- not a lot of points, which means that a few calls could dictate the Open champ. ANALYSIS OF THE WEEK As a long-time reader of your InterMat mailbag column, I thought that I'd share a recent research paper I published examining the coin toss decision in NCAA wrestling. The article appears online here. This article examines outcomes in the 2014 NCAA wrestling tournament. (The article was initially submitted in September 2016, peer review and revisions are the reason that it's finally appearing now, nearly two years later.) The question examined here: What is the impact of the defer/don't defer decision made by the coin toss winner at the end of the first period? Now, to be perfectly clear, this research doesn't *prove* anything, we're examining a set of data and conducting statistical tests. That's all. What was interesting to me is the comparison with other sport situations facing a similar decision. When a tied soccer game goes to penalty kicks, the team winning the coin toss almost always elects to kick first, yet the most-thorough analysis to-date (Kocher et al., 2012) found no statistically significant advantage for the team kicking first. What we find in the wrestling analysis is quite different. Wrestlers don't exhibit a clear preference for deferring or not deferring (the coin toss winner elected to defer in 47.3 percent of the matches). However, in this set of matches, there appears to be a statistically significant advantage for not deferring, particularly when the match is close (within two points either way), or when the coin toss winner is leading the match by 3-5 points at the end of the first period. From the conclusions section of the paper: In each of the states, it appears that, having gained the match lead in the first period, the [coin toss winner] should immediately attempt to extend his advantage, and increase his control of the match. In these states, a strategy of retaining the [coin toss winner's] advantage for the latter part of the match by deferring his choice appears to, counterproductively, allow the [coin toss loser] to take control of the match and perhaps wrest momentum away from the [coin toss winner], with the [coin toss winner's] advantage at the start of the third period not compensating for his loss of match control.

A host of Eastern Michigan University students, alumni, faculty, parents and other sports stakeholders plan to rally on the college's campus to protest proposed athletic program cuts on Friday, April 20. The event will take place exactly one month after the EMU Board of Regents announced a plan to eliminate four athletic programs including tennis, wrestling, softball and men's swimming. Hundreds are expected to turn out for the event. "Eastern Michigan University needs to consider the long-term effect these cuts will have on current and prospective students in other sports or considering attending the school to continue their athletic careers," said Kevin Doak, an EMU swimming alumnus who also is organizing Save EMU Sports, a social media group which already has 40,000 signatures on a Change.Org petition calling for the cancellation of these proposed cuts. "This rally is designed to present university officials with alternative solutions, in addition to supporting our student-athletes and staff." The rally will begin at 10 am outside Welch Hall, located on North Summit Street in Ypsilanti. EMU alumni, including numerous former student-athletes, will speak at the event. More information about the rally and the proposed athletic cuts can be found at www.saveourstudentsports.com and www.saveemusports.com.

Kenny Courts after earning a fall over junior world champion Arsenali Musalaliev at the Bill Farrell International (Photo/Justin Hoch) Last month, Arsenali Musalaliev, a junior world champion who recently finished third at the Russian nationals, appeared to be well on his way to moving into the finals of the Bill Farrell International. He was leading 9-0 over former Ohio State All-American Kenny Courts in the semifinals. One more point would have sealed the technical fall for the Russian. Instead, Courts hit a snap down, positioned himself properly and finished the match with a mixer for the fall. "I've been hitting that move since I was 7 years old," Courts said. "People have been like, 'I can't believe you hit that.' What the heck else are you supposed to do when you are down by nine and have to win a match? You don't ever just give up. You have to go big." Courts went big on the mat that day. In the process, he qualified for the World Team Trials as the highest finishing American in the tournament. In wrestling, "going big" means having faith in yourself and trusting your abilities. It means believing that all the time and energy spent in the practice room will payoff when it matters most. In that sense, Courts went big six months ago when he returned to competition following a two-year absence. Kenny Courts defeated PSU's Matt McCutcheon in the NCAA quarterfinals in 2014 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) As a junior at Ohio State, Courts made a memorable run through the NCAA tournament. He picked up a pair wins in sudden victory over Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State) and Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) en route to a fifth-place finish. His victory in the fifth-place match clinched Buckeye's first-ever team title. Courts returned for his senior season as a favorite to repeat as an All-American. However, it was clear from the start that it was going to be a struggle. "I came in 30 pounds overweight," Courts said. "The whole season was basically a lot of running on the treadmill, a lot of bad matches, and that really killed my love for the sport. I went 0-2 that season at Nationals, after coming into the season ranked fifth. I actually lost my wrestle-off that year to a freshman. After that season, I was over it." Courts thought he was done competing. After finishing his eligibility at Ohio State, he stayed away from the sport until receiving a somewhat unlikely call. Maryland coach Kerry McCoy needed someone to help work with his upperweight wrestlers, including David-Brian Whisler and Youssif Hemida. Shyheim Brown, Courts' high school teammate, was on the team at Maryland and made the connection. Even after agreeing to come in, Courts made it clear he would just be coaching. "Coach McCoy reaching out didn't even really get me back into competing," Courts said. "I told him that I would come back to help the guys, because I still had a lot of skill that I could give the guys, but I didn't want to compete by any means." For an entire year, Courts worked with the Maryland team in a strictly coaching capacity. Along the way, he helped Hemida have his best season in a Terps singlet and become an All-American for the first time. All the while, McCoy kept prodding. "Coach thought I would be fine to wrestle at the U.S. Open [last year] at 97 kilograms," Courts, who wrestled in college at 184 pounds, said. "I know he believed in my ability. He was trying to get me to wrestle up for [U23 Nationals] too, and I said, 'Coach, no way." Six months ago, Courts relented and decided to return and compete on the freestyle circuit. While he says that the addition of the 92-kilogram weight class was not a determining factor in his decision to return, it certainly helped push him in that direction. After having his senior season defined by weight issues, the opportunity for an easier cut was very appealing. "When I saw the 92 weight class, I was like, 'Dang, that would be a nice little comeback weight for me," Courts said. "It would mean that I would not be cutting too much weight, and I could actually come in and wrestle and show people what I can do and actually be shooting, showing some offense, not just on an energy conservation management plan. The weight class definitely helps, but it was not a make or break." When Courts talks about training now, he sounds like someone who never took a break from the sport. Despite qualifying for the World Team Trials, he will compete at the U.S. Open. After years of avoiding the mat, he is looking for every chance to set foot on the Resilite. "I just went out to Ohio State this past weekend," Courts said. "I got some good training there. Now, I am back at Maryland getting ready. Coach McCoy is going to have me ready to go. I did qualify for the World Team Trials, but I really didn't want to wait for the Trials. The more I compete, the better I'm going to get. Competition is my friend at this point." When it comes to his second-place finish that the Bill Farrell, Courts might have even surprised himself. "The Farrell was my first tournament back in two years," Courts said. "Maybe I set my expectations too low, because sometimes when you haven't been on the mat, you have some doubts. Coach McCoy told me I was ready to go, and regardless for me, that was just a stepping stone. Either I won the tournament, or I lost my first match. Either way that was just building me up for where I want to go." No matter where his freestyle career ends up, Courts' performance at the Farrell has already proven something. Whether he has been out of the sport for two years or down 9-0 against a world champion, he will believe in himself and go big.

Harvard head wrestling coach Jay Weiss (Photo/Harvard) MANHEIM, Pa. -- Harvard's reputation as one of the top academic institutions in the world is widely known. In the wrestling world, Harvard continues to be the gold standard when it comes to measuring academic success among its peers. For the fifth time in the past six years, Harvard is the top team in the annual NWCA Division I All-Academic team standings released Wednesday by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. The Crimson achieved a team GPA of 3.5654 and placed four individuals on the individual All-Academic team. Link: Top 30 All-Academic Teams Link: NWCA Division I All-Academic Individuals "We've said it time and time again, Jay Weiss runs one of the most complete and challenging academic and athletic teams in the country," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "The Ivy League notwithstanding, coach Weiss does a tremendous job in ensuring his athletes get the most out of their athletic and academic experience. It shows you can have brains and brawn." Harvard is followed by Kent State of the Mid-American Conference in second. Sacred Heart, American and Stanford round out the top five, followed by Utah Valley, North Dakota State, Drexel, Campbell and Ohio State to complete the top 10. Awarded annually, the NWCA All-Academic team is comprised of 155 student-athletes. Five Division I champions made the team, while seven additional runners-up were included. In all, 42 All-Americans were All-Academic selections. Of the 155 individuals, 123 were at minimum NCAA Division I qualifiers, up from 115 a year ago. The team GPA was determined using a system that includes 12 student-athletes from each program. A total of 10 of these came from the wrestlers that were entries in the NCAA tournament conference qualifier. Ohio State finished with seven wrestlers on the All-Academic team, six of them All-Americans including three-time NCAA champion and recent AAU Sullivan Award winner Kyle Snyder. The Buckeyes' seven individuals is the best of any program in 2017-18. Five schools featured five individuals on the team -- Drexel, Kent State, NC State, Stanford and NCAA champion Penn State. Of Penn State's five individual All-Academic selections, three were All-Americans including NCAA individual champions Jason Nolf and Zain Retherford. Joining Nolf, Retherford and Snyder on the All-Academic team were NCAA champions Spencer Lee of Iowa and Michael Macchiavello of NC State. "Half of our NCAA Division I champions and 12 of our 20 Division I finalists were represented this year from nine different programs," said Moyer. "We're seeing how and why wrestling brings a certain level of quality student-athlete to campuses nationwide." Eastern Michigan, which recently announced it was dropping wrestling along with three other sports, came in ranked 11th in the All-Academic Top 30 and had three wrestlers on the All-Academic team - Kyle Springer, Zachary Carson and Kayne MacCallum. Twelve different teams had at least four representatives on the All-Academic team: American, Campbell, Harvard, Iowa, Lehigh, Lock Haven, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wisconsin. The EIWA had eight of its 16 member schools listed in the Top 30, followed by the MAC with six teams. The Big 12 had five teams represented, while the Big Ten had four. Questions regarding individuals and team placement on the NWCA All-Academic team can be directed to Jim Beeghley at the NWCA at jbeeghley@nwca.cc.

Cohlton Schultz is the nation's top-ranked wrestler in the Class of 2019 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) Link: Top 50 Junior Rankings For the last time, the Class of 2019 will be ranked as a junior grouping with a top 50 published. Remaining the top wrestler in this group is Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo), who finished the season undefeated at 285 pounds winning titles at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, Reno Tournament of Champions, Doc Buchanan Invitational, Top of the Rockies Tournament, and the Rocky Welton Invitational to go with his state championship. Along the way very few matches ended in something other than a pin, with most of those first-period pins. The signature match of his season came in the final of the Doc Buchanan Invitational when he beat Penn State signee Seth Nevills, a four-time California state champion, by a 3-2 decision. Ranked second and third in this class are fellow Cadet world champions Daniel Kerkvliet (Simley, Minn.) and Kurt McHenry (St. Paul's, Md.). Kerkvliet won his world title at 100 kilos in freestyle, while Schultz was the champion at 100 kilos in Greco-Roman; his scholastic season yielded a third state title, with his lone loss coming by a 3-2 score up a weight class against the nation's top senior Gable Steveson. For McHenry, his second Cadet world title in freestyle came this past summer at 46 kilos; his lone blemish came in the National Prep final against Trevor Mastrogiovanni by a 3-1 score in overtime, an opponent he had beaten earlier in the season to win the Beast of the East. Rounding out the top five are Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) and Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.). Decatur won a second state title this season; while Ramirez earned a first National Prep title to go with his third-place finish in that event last year, and Florida state titles that he earned in 2015 and 2016. Decatur is joined by nine other Ohio wrestlers in the top fifty of this class. The group includes Jordan's twin brother Jacob, who also attends CVCA; as well as a pair from St. Edward and Olentangy Liberty. Ramirez headlines seven other wrestlers that attend high school in the Garden State of New Jersey, including Blair Academy teammates Michael Colaiocco and Chris Cannon; also among that group are a pair of Bergen Catholic wrestlers. Five wrestlers each from Illinois and Pennsylvania appear in the top fifty. The only other set of teammates in the top fifty comes from Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.), Kevon Davenport and Cameron Amine.