InterMat Staff

Lehigh claimed the EIWA title HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Lehigh's 35th EIWA team championship was sealed with a pin. Needing a victory from junior Ryan Preisch to clinch their first title since 2006, the Mountain Hawks clinched the title in style as Preisch used a half nelson to pin Cornell's Max Dean in 4:31 Sunday at Hofstra's Mack Sports Complex. The Mountain Hawks went 5-for-5 in finals bouts, claiming five individual champions for the first time since 2003, and after leading Cornell by a slim margin for most of the two-day event, it was the fourth individual title that sealed the deal. Lehigh finished with 164.5 points, to defeat the Big Red by 18.5 points. Senior Darian Cruz won his third consecutive EIWA title at 125, while junior Scott Parker won his second straight at 133. Sophomore Jordan Kutler (174) and freshman Jordan Wood (285) also claimed individual titles. The Mountain Hawks placed nine wrestlers and qualified nine for the NCAA Championships in Cleveland. "That was a great way to seal it," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said of Preisch's pin. "I'm just proud of these guys. They've worked really hard. We've wanted this for a long time. Cornell's a great team. They've done amazing things over the last decade, so we're happy about getting this one." Lehigh also swept the major individual awards with Preisch claiming both the Coaches' Trophy (Outstanding Wrestler) and Sheridan Trophy (Most Falls in the Championship Bracket). Cruz won the Fletcher Trophy (Career Team Points Scored at EIWA Tournament), while Santoro was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time. Remarkably, Lehigh won five finals bouts with the aid of just one takedown. "When you get to the finals, there's a lot of game-planning going on," Santoro said. "You have to be mentally tough. You have to be really tough when you come to this tournament or the NCAA Tournament. You have to win matches that you don't feel comfortable winning and that's what a lot of our guys did today." After a 14-1 major decision over Binghamton's Joe Nelson in the semifinals, Cruz met Noah Baughman in the first of three head-to-head finals battles between Lehigh and Cornell. A second period escape by Cruz proved to be the only points in a 1-0 decision. Parker also had a tough battle against a Big Red foe. Tied 1-1 with Chaz Tucker through regulation and sudden victory, Parker escaped in the first half of the tiebreaker and then rode out to win 2-1. Earlier in the day, Parker posed an impressive 10-3 decision over American's Josh Terao. "I'm happy for both those guys at the top," Santoro said. "Scott has been through a lot this year and to win this in Darian's senior year has been great for him too. Those guys got it started tonight. We wanted to win five. That was the goal, and they accomplished it." Kutler became Lehigh's third champion with a 2-0 decision over Navy's Jadaen Bernstein. He used a strong ride to ride out the second period and escaped early in the third for the only scoring of the bout. Earlier Kutler advanced to the finals with a 9-2 win over Cornell's Brandon Womack. Preisch posted two falls on day two, opening the day by pinning CJ LaFragola of Brown in 3:54 in the semifinals. In his finals match with Dean, Preisch scored a takedown and two point near fall to lead 4-0 after one period, then added four near fall to open the second period before flattening Dean with a lethal power half, getting the mat slap in 4:31 and sending Lehigh's team and fans into a frenzy. "He started getting his timing back," Santoro said of Preisch. "Being out for two months is tough. He was just tenacious. He really wanted to get this done." Lehigh's finals run concluded with a win by Wood over 10th-ranked Michael Hughes of Hofstra, the No. 1 seed. Tied 1-1 through regulation and sudden victory, Wood escaped 12 seconds into the first half of the tiebreaker and was able to keep the 285-pound Hughes down in the second half to seal the 2-1, tiebreaker win. Wood is the first Lehigh freshman to win an EIWA title since Randy Cruz in 2013 and just the second since 2003. He advanced to the finals with a 4-1 win over Columbia's Garrett Ryan in the semifinals. Freshman Luke Karam rebounded from a 5-2 semifinal loss to Bucknell's Tyler Smith in the semifinals to win a pair of 1-0 matches in the consolations to finish third and punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships. At 149, junior Cortlandt Schuyler secured his first NCAA berth with a fourth place finish. Schuyler fell in the semifinals but earned his trip to Cleveland with a takedown and four point near fall in sudden victory to knock off American's Michael Sprague 7-1. Junior Gordon Wolf will return to the NCAA Championships for the second time, this time following a fifth place finish at 165. Wolf claimed his NCAA bid with a technical fall victory over Drexel's Ebed Jarrell. After a loss to Penn's May Bethea in the consolation semifinals, Wolf earned two big bonus points as we was awarded a medical forfeit win in the fifth place bout. Freshman Chris Weiler's day started strong with a 3-0 takedown edge against top seed Ben Darmstadt of Cornell in the semifinals at 197, but a third period reversal from Darmstadt and four-point near fall gave him a 10-6 decision. Weiler dropped his next two bouts and finished sixth, but qualified yesterday for the NCAA Championships. Two-time EIWA Champion and three-time All-American Joe Peritore '67 and the late John Harmon '59, a generous Lehigh benefactor known in particular for his support of Lehigh wrestling, who passed away in September were among the members of the EIWA Hall of Fame Class inducted prior to the start of the finals session. Lehigh's nine automatic qualifiers will now move on to the NCAA Championships, March 15-17 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Junior Ian Brown, the only Mountain Hawk EIWA entrant to not place, will learn his NCAA fate when at-large selections and brackets for the NCAA Championships are announced Wednesday. "This was a great win tonight, but we have to look forward," Santoro said. "We want to be celebrating in two weeks with guys that are national champions and All-Americans. That's the goal for us." Top Five Team Scores 1. Lehigh 164.5 2. Cornell 146 3. Princeton 93 4. Drexel 86.5 5. Navy 83

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Ohio State sits atop the team standings after Day One of the 2018 Big Ten Wrestling Championships at the Breslin Center. The Buckeyes racked up 137.5 points, building a 13.5-point cushion over No. 1 Penn State (124 points) entering Sunday's action. Michigan rounds out of the Top-3 with 100.00 points. BUCKEYE BITS • Seven Buckeyes advanced to the finals • Nine tickets were punched to the NCAA Championships for Ohio State • Ohio State registered an overall record of 23-4 on the day • Bonus points came in 11 bouts for Ohio State (four pins, three tech falls and three major decisions) Micah Jordan advanced to the finalsSession III begins at noon ET on Sunday with consolation action. The finals are set to air live on the Big Ten Network starting at 3 p.m. The seven Buckeye finalists are: Nathan Tomasello (125 lbs), Luke Pletcher (133 lbs), Joey McKenna (141 lbs), Micah Jordan (157 lbs), Myles Martin (184 lbs), Kollin Moore (197 lbs) and Kyle Snyder (HWT). Micah Jordan delivered the night's biggest highlight, pinning previously-unbeaten and top-seeded Michael Kemerer of Iowa in the semifinals. The Hawkeye had entered the bout at 24-0 and was leading 1-0 when Jordan took him to his back and finished off the fall. It marks Jordan's team-leading ninth pin of the season and the 20th in his career. This came after Jordan topped All-American Tyler Berger (Nebraska) in the quarterfinals. Nathan Tomasello and Luke Pletcher also had thrilling semifinal triumphs, both getting through via one-point wins. Tomasello's advancement came in a vengeful manner, handing Iowa's Spencer Lee a 2-1 season equalizer after coming up short against Lee back in the January dual. A takedown with 25 seconds remaining in the bout was the difference, causing an `O-H I-O' Chang to breakout inside the MSU arena. Pletcher flashed some late-match heroics in the semifinals as well, picking up the tying takedown with 20 seconds left in regulation. He completely erased a 3-0 deficit by garnering three consecutive takedowns, the third of which came quickly in sudden victory for the 6-4 win over Minnesota's Mitch McKee. Pletcher walked the tight rope all day long, registering his three wins by a total of just five points. Joey McKenna pinned 2017 B1G finalist, Javier Gasca III (Michigan State), in the opening round before shutting out the subsequent two opponents by final tallies of 6-0 and 4-0. It took less than five seconds for his first semifinals takedown, riding out Nate Limmex (Purdue) for 2:55 in the first period. He would then grind out the 6-0 decision. Myles Martin maintained his blistering bonus point pace, notching a pin and tech fall in the first two rounds. He now owns 11 tech falls, six major decisions and five pins in 27 total wins. Kollin Moore followed up a first-round bye with 10-4 and 5-3 decisions for his slot in the 197-pound finals. Kyle Snyder banked a boat-load of bonus points much like Martin did. He earned two major decisions and a tech fall during his three-bout run to the heavyweight finals. Most impressive, he served fourth-ranked Nick Neville's of Penn State a 14-5 loss. Ke-Shawn Hayes and Bo Jordan also chipped in to the team score by advancing to the semifinals. Both were bonus point contributors as well, donating a major decision from Hayes and Jordan's fall.

Joey Lavallee is one of seven MAC finalists for Missouri (Photo/MUTigers.com) MT. PLEASANT, Mich. -- No. 3 Mizzou Wrestling (19-0, 7-0 MAC) closed an extremely successful first day of the 2018 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships by advancing seven wrestlers to the tournament's finals on Sunday. In the 14 matches wrestled by Mizzou's seven finalists, 11 matches were won by bonus points, including six by fall. In addition to seven wrestlers wrestling for a conference championship tomorrow, four Mizzou grapplers have already qualified a spot at the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Redshirt junior 133-pounder John Erneste (Kansas City, Mo.), redshirt sophomore 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman (Columbia, Mo.), redshirt senior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.) and redshirt junior 174-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) each punched their trips to Cleveland with two wins on Saturday. TEAM SCORES Mizzou finishes the opening day of competition with a commanding lead, as its 134.5 points sits 34 points ahead of second-place Eastern Michigan, who has 100.5 points. Mizzou has its sights sets on resetting the conference point record for the third time since joining the league in 2013, as it needs just 20 points to surpass its 2017 record-total of 154.5 points. NOTABLE TIGERS Eierman was the lone Tiger to pick up two falls on the day, as the Tiger sophomore never made it past the first period, pinning Northern Illinois' Anthony Rubino at 0:58 and Ohio's Mari Guillen at 1:29. The falls were Eierman's 13th and 14th on the season, as he improves to 27-1 on the season with 20 wins coming with bonus points. Eierman will face Central Michigan's Mason Smith tomorrow in the finals. At 174 pounds, Lewis recorded a fall and technical to improve to 28-0 on the season and advance to the MAC finals for the third consecutive season. The Tiger junior pinned Buffalo's Austin Weigel at 1:57 in his opening match before defeating Kent State's Dylan Barreiro by 15-0 technical fall (7:00) in the semifinals. The technical fall was Lewis' 10th career technical fall, which moves him into a four-way tie for eighth place all-time in program history. Lewis will wrestle Central Michigan's CJ Brucki in the finals. Wrestling in his first MAC Tournament, redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Connor Flynn (Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) advanced to the finals with a 16-0 techincal fall (4:49) over Old Dominion's Shane Jones and a fall at 2:58 over Kent State's Isaac Bast. In tomorrow's finals, Flynn will wrestle Eastern Michigan's Zac Carson. At 197 pounds, Miklus clinched a spot in the finals with two technical falls, beating Northern Illinois' Max Ihry 16-1 (5:29) and Ohio's Aaron Naples 16-1 (7:00). The two 15-point wins gives Miklus 11 career technical falls, which moves him into a tie for sixth-most all-time. Miklus will wrestle Eastern Michigan's Derek Hillman tomorrow in the finals. UP NEXT Mizzou looks to capture its seventh straight conference championship tomorrow as it wraps up competition at the MAC Championships. The action will begin with the consolation semifinals at 11:30 a.m. (ET), with the finals and remaining place matches beginning at 1 p.m. (ET). A live stream of the event will be available on ESPN 3. For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).

Virginia Tech won its second straight ACC title CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Virginia Tech claimed its second straight ACC Championship, the fourth in program history, on Saturday at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C., edging out second place NC State by a score of 81.0-73.0. Individually, the Hokies had four wrestlers earn individual titles out of seven finalists. The winners were redshirt senior Dennis Gustafson at 133 pounds, redshirt freshman Brent Moore at 141, redshirt sophomore David McFadden at 165 and redshirt senior Jared Haught at 197. Redshirt junior Ryan Blees, freshman Hunter Bolen and redshirt junior Zack Zavatsky placed second. Moore was the named the tournament's Most Valuable Wrestler. He went 2-0 on Saturday with a major decision over North Carolina's A.C. Headlee and a 6-4 decision in sudden victory overtime over two-time defending ACC champion Kevin jack of NC State, the nation's fifth-ranked wrestler at 141. Moore is the Hokies' first MVW since Devin Carter earned the award at the 2014 tournament. The Hokies' four individual titles was their least at an ACC Championship in which they took home the team title. Bonus points in the quarters and semifinals helped propel Tech to its fourth ACC title in program history. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FINALS Trialing Virginia's Jack Mueller 7-5 with under a minute left in the third period, Gustafson got deep on a shot and secured the takedown on the edge of the mat. He then was able to get Mueller on his back and picked up four near fall points. With riding time, he registered up an 11-7 decision, book ending his Virginia Tech career with another ACC title. Two weeks ago, NC State's Kevin Jack defeated Moore by technical fall in Raleigh. The bout at 141 on Saturday between Moore and Jack was completely different than the first from the whistle. Despite a scoreless first period, Moore was cautioned for stalling. Moore started the second period on top but Jack struck first on a reversal. He picked up two more on a takedown with the clock expiring in the second period that made it 4-1 entering the third period. Moore quickly escaped at the start of the third and picked up two to tie the score at 4-4. McFadden's win at 165 was a workmanlike, 22-9, major decision over Duke's Zach Finesilver. It was the redshirt sophomore's first ACC title and his record improved to 31-0 on the season. Haught's win over second-seeeded Michael Macchiavello of NC State in the finals was nothing short of epic. It took five tiebreaker periods to decide the winner. In the final tiebreaker, Haught secured a reversal that made it 6-3. Macchiavello escaped to make it 6-4 but it wasn't enough as Haught defended his conference title. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MORNING Bonus point wins proved to be key in the Hokies' run to the ACC title as Tech tallied six bonuses between the quarters and the finals. Along with Moore's major decision over Headlee, the Hokies saw majors from Blees over Brandon Leynaud of Duke in the quarterfinals, McFadden over Pitt's Jake Wentzel, Zavatsky over Pitt's Gregg Harvery and Haught's major over Duke's Alec Schenk. After Blees' major over Leynaud, he avenged a regular season loss to second-seeded Beau Donahue of NC State in the semifinals with a 6-4 decision that clinched him a spot in the finals and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The Hokies have eight wrestlers that automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship in Cleveland on Saturday; Gustafson, Moore, Blees, McFadden, Bolen, Zavatsky, Haught and redshirt freshman Andrew Dunn. Tech's eight qualifiers are its most since 2015-16 when the Hokies also sent eight grapplers to nationals in New York City. FINAL TEAM SCORE 1. Virginia Tech, 81.0 2. NC State, 73.0 3. North Carolina, 52.5 4. Duke, 47.5 5. Virginia, 34.0 6. Pitt, 33.5

Grand View claimed its seventh straight NAIA national title (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) DES MOINES, Iowa -- (Team Scores | Brackets) The Vikings of Grand View (Iowa) continues the rewrite the wrestling record book as the program won an unprecedented seventh straight team title at the 2018 NAIA Wrestling National Championships. The 61st annual event took place at the Jacobson Exhibition Center. Grand View, fueled by 10 All-Americans, scored 171.5 team points. The victory makes the Vikings the fourth program in collegiate wrestling history to win seven-straight team titles, joining NCAA Division I Iowa (nine-straight 1978-86), NCAA Division I Oklahoma State (seven-straight 1937-1949) and then-NCAA Division II Cal Poly (seven-straight 1968-1974). All three of Grand View's finalists won national titles. Grant Henderson at 165 pounds was the first champion on the night for the Vikings, as the senior downed Andrew Simmons of Missouri Valley, 6-2, to claim his second-straight individual medal. Two weight classes later, Evan Hansen joined in with a major decision (17-4) against Dalton Bailey of Life (Ga.) in a rematch of the 2017 banner match. Four-time All-American Dean Broghammer capped the evening for Grand View - and his career - with an 8-4 win against returning national champion Demetrius Thomas of Williams Baptist (Ark.). Broghammer also won the national title in 2016. Cumberlands (Ky.) found itself securely in second-place in the team standings with 107.0 team points, followed by Williams Baptist (86.5 points) and Montana State-Northern (81.5 points). The Patriots' Jake Sinkovics ended his tremendous collegiate career with his first national title. The 133-pounder used a takedown in the closing seconds of the third period to win 9-6 over Erique Early of Indiana Tech. Hayden Lee at 125 pounds also won a title for Cumberlands, while 149-pounder Tres Leon finished second to Lindsey Wilson's Cam Tessari. Program history was made for Life (Ga.) this evening, as Nosomy Pozo won the 157-pound championship. He defeated returning national champion Brandon Weber of Montana-State Northern, 4-3, in a highly contested bout. The victory makes him the first-ever national champion in school history. Seniors Charles Sharon of Campbellsville (Ky.) (184 pounds) and Tyler Fraley of Williams Baptist (Ark.) (141 pounds) both ended their careers with medals. Sharon, who finished second at the 2017 championships, knocked off Zach Linton of Doane (Neb.), 10-3, while Fraley defeated Matt Weber of Montana State-Northern in sudden victory, 6-4. Lastly, Baker's Lucas Lovvorn won the fourth national title in program history with a 6-2 decision against Adrian Lyons-Lopez at 174 pounds.

Lock Haven won its first EWL title since 1997 EDINBORO, Pa. -- The nationally-ranked Lock Haven University wrestling team crowned three individual champions and nine Bald Eagles placed as LHU powered its way to the 2018 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) team title. It marked the second EWL championship in school history and the first since the Bald Eagles won the title in 1997. Ronnie Perry (Christiana, Pa./Solanco), Alex Klucker (Summerdale, Pa./East Pennsboro) and Corey Hazel (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) all claimed individual EWL titles while Chance Marsteller (New Park, Pa./Kennard-Dale) and Thomas Haines (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) both placed second. Those five along with Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs) all booked trips to the NCAA Division I Championships. The six NCAA qualifiers mark the most since LHU had six in 2005 and the three individual EWL champions are the most since the Bald Eagles also had three in 2001. Perry's title marked the second straight season he claimed an individual title. Last season he won the 141-pound title. He's also now a three-time NCAA championship qualifier and will make his second straight trip the sports' biggest stage. For Shoop and Haines, it also marks back-to-back NCAA trips. Klucker, Hazel and Marsteller will all make their NCAA debuts for Lock Haven later this month in Cleveland. Tristan Sponseller (East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs), who hadn't competed since the Virginia Duals on January 12, returned to the Bald Eagle lineup and took third at 197. He was 3-1 on the day. Shoop was third at 141 and earned a trip to the NCAA tournament. He was 3-1 on the day. Luke Werner (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) was fourth at 125 after going 2-2 and DJ Fehlman (Warren, Pa./Warren) added a fourth-place finish at 133. Perry, ranked No. 15 nationally, entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed at 149 and received a bye into the semifinals. In the semifinals, he downed Justin Yorkdale (George Mason) in dominating fashion. He won by tech fall 19-4 (5:54). In the finals, Perry rolled past Clarion's Taylor Ortz 8-3. With the win, Perry became a two-time EWL champ and three time NCAA qualifier. His two wins today also ran his career total to 100 as he became the 20th member of LHU's 100-win club. Klucker, ranked No. 33 nationally, was the No. 3 seed at 157 and moved into the finals after a pair of wins. He opened the day with a win (INJ. DEF) over Cleveland State's John Vaughn and followed it up by knocking off No. 2 seed BJ Clagon of Rider, a former All-American. Klucker downed Clagon 8-3 in the semifinals. In the finals, Klucker took down No. 1 seed (No. 25 DI) Andrew Shomers of Edinboro in thrilling fashion. Klucker needed just 52 seconds before he earned the fall and individual EWL crown. The win helped Klucker book his first trip to the NCAA tournament. Hazel entered the day as the No. 1 seed at 184. He's ranked No. 22 in the nation and after a first-round bye, he downed Bloomsburg's Trevor Allard 7-4 in the semifinals. In the finals, Hazel used a sensational effort and six-point second period to drop Clarion's Greg Bulsak, 6-1. With the win, Hazel claimed the 184-pound title and booked a trip to the NCAA tournament. Marsteller, the top-seed at 165, rattled off two dominating wins to earn a spot in the 165-pound finals. He majored Garrett Griffith 14-4 to open the day, before downing Georgio Poullas (Cleveland State) 7-3 in the semifinals. In the finals, Marsteller, ranked No. 5 nationally, locked up with Chad Walsh of Rider. Walsh is ranked No. 6 in the nation and Walsh's only loss of the regular season came to Marsteller when the two met in the dual meet in late January. Walsh edged Marsteller 2-1 thanks to one minute of riding time in the finals tonight. The loss to Walsh pushed Marsteller into a "true-second place bout" for NCAA qualifying purposes. Although it had no impact on the team score, Marsteller held nothing back and went right back to work and posted 10-2 major decision over Clarion's Max Wohlabaugh. The win secured Marsteller's trip to the NCAA championships, his first trip as a Bald Eagle. Haines, ranked No. 13 nationally and the No. 2 seed at 285, used a pair of hard-fought wins to earn a spot in the finals where he met his biggest EWL rival in Edinboro's Billy Miller. Haines opened the tournament with a 10-0 major decision over Bruce Graeber (Bloomsburg) and in the semifinals, Haines edged George Mason's Matt Voss 4-2. In the finals vs. the top-seed Miller, the Fighting Scot escaped with a hard-earned 4-2 win. UP NEXT: The 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are scheduled for Thursday, March 15 - Saturday, March 17 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. On Tuesday, March 6, the NCAA will announce the at-large bids for the championships. Check www.GoLHU.com in the coming days for more information regarding the NCAA tournament. FINAL TEAM SCORES 1. Lock Haven, 81.5 pts. 2. Rider, 72.5 pts. 3. Edinboro, 72 pts. 4. Clarion, 55 pts. 5. Bloomsburg, 28 pts. 6. Cleveland State, 25.5 pts. 7. George Mason, 15 pts. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER Evan Cheek, Cleveland State

Appalachian State won the team title at the SoCon Championships CHARLESTON, S.C. -- It's a SoCon Sweep for Appalachian State's wrestling team. After wrapping up a third straight regular season championship in the same venue last month, App State completed a sweep of Southern Conference titles by winning the eight-team championship tournament with 110.0 points on Saturday at McAlister Field House. Second-place Chattanooga finished 22 points behind the Mountaineers, who benefited from individual titles by top-seeded senior Forrest Przybysz at 174 pounds and fourth-seeded tournament MVP Irvin Enriquez at 141 pounds. Redshirt freshman Alan Clothier joined Przybysz and Enriquez in clinching an NCAA Championships berth by securing the SoCon's second automatic spot at 184 pounds. App State dominated the 10 weight classes with eight finalists, four more than the second-place total, and two wrestlers in third-place matches. As a result, JohnMark Bentley was named the league's coach of the year for the third time in the last four seasons and the fourth time in his nine seasons as the Mountaineers' head coach. "Today was a great day for Appalachian," Bentley said. "We came in, and our guys responded. They were ready to go this morning. We had really good quarterfinal and semifinal rounds to put eight in the finals and placed all 10 of our guys in the top four in the tournament. That's really important as far as the team title. I just can't say enough about our guys because we have a young group and have a lot of these guys coming back. We're growing and continuing to improve." The 2018 team joined the groups from 2016, 2003, 2001 and 1997 as two-way champions in the Southern Conference. In addition to Przybysz, Enriquez and Clothier, App State was also represented by De'Andre Swinson-Barr (125 pounds), Codi Russell (133 pounds), Gavin Londoff (149 pounds), Angel Najar (157 pounds) and Cary Miller (285 pounds) in championship matches. An at-large berth into the NCAA Championships is still possible for Randall Diabe, who finished third at 197 pounds thanks to an escape in the Tiebreaker-2 period against Campbell's Chris Kober, and Laken Cook placed fourth at 165 pounds. Enriquez opened with an 11-2 major decision against SIUE's Dakota Leach and reached the final with a 3-1 upset of top-seeded Chattanooga standout Mike Pongracz, who had claimed a victory by major decision against Enriquez during the regular season. Enriquez then won by a 14-3 major decision against Campbell's Jonathan Ryan in the final. "I came in here and obviously had some nerves, but I knew I could win this tournament," Enriquez said. "I knew people were going to sleep on me. I came here to have fun, wrestle as hard as I could and attack. It paid off." Przybysz, who competed at the NCAA Championships two years ago as a sophomore, secured a return trip with an 11-1 major decision against The Citadel's Robert Tywater, a 5-1 decision against Gardner-Webb's Christian Maroni and a 3-2 decision against Campbell's Andrew Morgan. Morgan officially took a 2-1 lead on a takedown with 1:02 left in the final, but Przybysz already had a point locked up for riding time. He executed an escape with 45 seconds left to regain control and win his first conference title. "I can't even describe how much better it is to go out like this than had I lost," said Przybysz, who also received the Pinnacle Award that goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on the championship team. "It's just a night-and-day difference." Clothier dropped an 8-2 decision against Chattanooga's Bryce Carr, the SoCon Wrestler of the Year, after recording a 10-1 major decision against Gardner-Webb's Cole Graves in the semifinal round and a 4-2 decision against Campbell's Charlie Andrews in the opening round. Since Clothier hadn't faced third-place finisher Conor Fenn of Davidson during the tournament, they concluded the event by wrestling for the league's second automatic NCAA berth at 184 pounds, and Clothier won by an 11-3 major decision. Diabe, who went 7-0 against his SoCon competitors during the regular season, is one wrestler who could still join three of his teammates in Cleveland from March 15-17. With 33 wrestlers filling every bracket at the NCAA Championships, there are five at-large spots available for the 197-pound wrestlers who don't qualify automatically, and those selections are based on head-to-head competition, quality wins, coaches' ranking, results against common opponents, RPI, qualifying event placement and winning percentage. Those announcements are scheduled for Tuesday. As a No. 5 seed, Swinson-Barr had the most improbable run to the championship round Saturday. He collected a third-period pin against VMI's Clifton Conway and moved on to the final because of a medical forfeit by SoCon freshman of the year Korbin Meink from Campbell. Russell followed an 18-1 technical fall against The Citadel's Nicholas Long with an 11-5 decision against reigning SoCon champion Chris Debien, and Londoff reached his final thanks to a Tiebreaker-1 takedown that helped him claim a 4-2 semifinal win against The Citadel's Tyler Buckiso. Londoff started his day with a first-period pin of VMI's Kevin Keaveney. Najar had technical falls by scores of 20-2 and 20-3 to advance to his final, and Miller posted an 11-0 major decision against Chattanooga's Connor Tolley in the semifinals after winning with a first-period pin against VMI's Jake Tomlinson in the opening round.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The Lehigh wrestling team scored bonus points in 9-of-10 first round wins and advanced eight wrestlers to the semifinals to lead the team race after day one of the EIWA Championships Saturday at Hofstra's Mack Sports Complex. The Mountain Hawks scored 19 bonus points, by way of eight falls, and three major decisions, with seven of the eight pins coming in Saturday's morning session. Lehigh finished day one with 88.5 points and holds an 8.5 point lead over Cornell heading into the final day of competition. The Mountain Hawks posted a 19-3 record on the tournament's opening day. "Overall a good day," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We have eight in the championship bracket and one on the back side. We've put ourselves in a good position but we have to wrestle really well tomorrow. "We needed bonus points," Santoro added about the day's early bonus barrage. "We knew they'd be available early in the tournament, and sometimes on the back side. We needed to take advantage of that. Our guys were looking for them and did a nice job getting them." Senior Darian Cruz led the way with falls in both of his matches Saturday to reach the semifinals at 125. Cruz built a 14-0 lead over Navy's Aslan Kilic in the semifinals before picking up Lehigh's eighth pin early in the third period. He will face Binghamton's Joe Nelson in the semifinals Sunday morning. Lehigh's two other top seeds, sophomore Jordan Kutler (174) and junior Ryan Preisch (184) were part of the group of eight that advanced to the semifinals. Both wrestlers opened with first period falls in their opening bouts. Kutler needed a strong second period ride to defeat Drexel's Austin Rose 2-0 in the quarterfinals, while Preisch was in control throughout in an 8-1 win over Bucknell's Drew Phipps. Freshman heavyweight Jordan Wood joined Cruz as the lone Mountain Hawks to post two bonus point wins Saturday. Wood opened with a first period fall over Binghamton's Sean Dee before riding a strong third period to a 10-2 major decision over Princeton's Christian Araneo. Next up for Wood is defending champion and No. 3 seed Garrett Ryan of Columbia. Second seeded junior Scott Parker advanced to the semifinals in his bid for a second EIWA title. Leading late, Parker left no doubt by pinning Princeton's Jonathan Gomez with four seconds remaining in his first bout, before recording a takedown in each period to defeat Navy's Cody Trybus 7-4 in the quarterfinals. Parker will next face No. 3 seed Josh Terao of American in the semifinals. Freshman Luke Karam and junior Cortlandt Schuyler made the semifinals as No. 3 seeds at 141 and 149, respectively. Karam won by major decision in his opener against Hofstra's Vinny Vespa, then edged Joe Russ of Binghamton thanks to a strong third period ride. He will look to avenge a loss to Bucknell's Tyler Smith in Lehigh's season opener last November. Schuyler was the lone Mountain Hawk not to score bonus points on Saturday, holding off Zach Krause of Brown 6-4 before posting a solid 6-3 win over Harvard's Hunter Ladnier. He will next face No. 10 seed Frank Garcia of Binghamton. Lehigh's eighth semifinalist is freshman Chris Weiler, who needed just 29 seconds to pin Joe Toci of Sacred Heart, then dominated Jeric Kasunic of American with more than four minutes of riding time in an 8-1 decision. Wins by Preisch and Weiler in the quarterfinals make them Lehigh's first two automatic NCAA qualifiers. Sunday's semifinal round will feature two head-to-head matchups: Kutler and Brandon Womack at 174 and Weiler against top seed Ben Darmstadt at 197. Juniors Ian Brown and Gordon Wolf both opened with bonus point wins before suffering close losses in the quarterfinals. A second period ride out was the difference as Brown lost to Brown's Justin Staudenmayer 2-1 at 157 with riding time the deciding point. Brown was then eliminated by Binghamton's Tristan Rifanburg. Wolf held a late lead on riding time against Navy's Drew Daniels in the quarterfinals at 165, but a stall warning sent the match to overtime and Daniels converted a double leg takedown to win 5-3. He fell into an early 6-0 hole against Binghamton's Vincent DePrez in the second round of consolations, but battled back to claim a 12-10 decision. While Lehigh and Cornell both have eight semifinalists, Wolf is the only wrestler on either team currently alive in the consolations. "We have to put guys in the finals," Santoro said. "We have eight in the semifinals. They have eight in the semifinals. It's basically even and will come down to how many guys can punch through. It's a big day tomorrow. For both teams. Both teams know what's at stake and both teams will wrestle hard tomorrow. We just have to be ready for the dog fight." The EIWA Championships conclude Sunday at Hofstra's Mack Sports Complex. Session three, featuring the championship semifinals and two rounds of consolations, begins at 10 a.m. while the final session with bouts for first, third and fifth place will begin at 3 p.m. Video for the entire tournament is available on FloWrestling.org while Lehigh will offer audio of the finals session on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) and ESPNLV.com. Top Five Teams 1. Lehigh 88.5 2. Cornell 88 3. Princeton 56.5 4. Drexel 53 5. Navy 52

TULSA, Okla. -- The Oklahoma State wrestling team qualified six Cowboys to the finals of the 2018 Big 12 Wrestling Championship Saturday, wrapping up day one of the two-day event in first place with a 28.5-point lead on the rest of the field. OSU's six finalists are the most of any team in the 12-team event, with no other school having more than three. Cowboy finalists include Nick Piccininni (125 pounds), Kaid Brock (133 pounds), Dean Heil (141 pounds), Boo Lewallen (149 pounds), Chandler Rogers (165 pounds) and Derek White (heavyweight). Heil and Piccininni both already have Big 12 titles to their credit, with Heil winning each of the last three at 141 pounds and Piccininni winning at 125 pounds as a freshman last season. It marks the third Big 12 finals for Rogers, who has twice finished runner-up, and the second for Brock, who finished runner-up at 133 pounds last year. Lewallen and White are making their first appearances in the Big 12 finals, with this season also marking their first appearances at the event. Also of note, Rogers, Heil and Brock will compete in rematches of last year's Big 12 finals at their respective weight classes, with Rogers facing North Dakota State's Andrew Fogarty, Heil facing Wyoming's Bryce Meredith and Brock facing South Dakota State's Seth Gross. Rogers earned his spot in the finals after he picked up his team-leading 11th pin of the season in a first-period fall over Utah Valley's Demetrius Romero. The Cowboy opened with a pair of takedowns before turning Romero to his back to seal the match. "Pins are always something that changes the momentum and builds a lot of confidence," Rogers said. "I'm just going in with the same attitude. Whatever happens, happens. At this point in the year, you've got nothing to lose. You've kind of just got to go for everything and not hold anything back." Piccininni started the evening with a bang for the Cowboys as he turned a tight bout into an 11-3 major decision with a late takedown and four-point nearfall at the horn against No. 4 Christian Moody of Oklahoma. It was his 11th bonus-point win of the season and places him in the Big 12 finals for the second-straight season. "Nick had a little bit of a slow start and strong finishes in both of his matches" head coach John Smith said. "The match was a little bit tight and he went and scored the last takedown and back points so those are the things you like to see. You aren't leaving it in the hands of a ref. You're separating the scores and making sure you get your hand raised so that's good for him" Kaid Brock will wrestle in the 133-pound finals for the second-straight season after recording a 6-2 decision over Wyoming's Montorie Bridges. Brock was able to record a couple of takedowns in the win over Bridges -- a rematch of the December contest in Cheyenne, Wyo., that Bridges took, 11-10. Heil will attempt to become the ninth Cowboy in school history to win four conference titles on Sunday, as he's set to match up with rival Bryce Meredith for the second consecutive season. Heil edged No. 3 seed Josh Alber of Northern Iowa, 2-0, in a tight match to advance. Lewallen recorded a thrilling, 10-4 win over Oklahoma's Davion Jeffries in sudden victory on Saturday night to move onto the finals. After ending regulation tied at four, the redshirt sophomore was able to convert a takedown and quick four-point nearfall with just seconds remaining to lock up the win and move onto his first career conference finals appearance. Lewallen will take on Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen in the finals on Sunday. "It was a tough match. People wrestle a little differently in postseason," Smith said. "You've got to expect a little bit of a tougher match. If you don't continue to score, you find yourself in overtime and tied. I'm happy with where he's at. He's wrestling a guy that made the semifinals last year so it's a chance to build your confidence and see where you're at going into the NCAA Championships." White will also be competing in his first career Big 12 finals on Sunday, as he scored three takedowns en rout to an 8-1 win over Utah Valley's Dustin Dennison in the heavyweight semis. He will face Fresno State's AJ Nevills in the championship bout, who he defeated in the Cowboy win over the Bulldogs last month. "Derek is continuing to score points and you like to see that against the competition," Smith said. "These are probably not the guys he's going to need to beat at the NCAA Championships but you're seeing him stretch the score, which you like to see. You don't want to see your athlete wrestling to his competition." Saturday's second session also brought tough losses for Keegan Moore and Jacobe Smith to higher-ranked foes. Smith and Moore both took leads at one point in their matches against top-seeded Taylor Lujan and Drew Foster, respectively, but came up just short of moving on to the finals. Preston Weigel also dropped a tough, semifinal match to West Virginia's Jacob Smith, 4-3. The Cowboys will continue their Big 12 title defense Sunday at noon with consolation action. The finals will be wrestled at 6 p.m.

125: Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) by medical forfeit over Nick Suriano (Rutgers) Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. Spencer Lee (Iowa), 2-1 133: Stevan Micic (Michigan) tech. fall Jason Renteria (Nebraska), 19-3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 6-4 SV 141: Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. Nate Limmex (Purdue), 6-0 Michael Carr (Illinois) dec. Nick Lee (Penn State), 10-6 149: Zain Retherford (Penn State) maj. dec. Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State), 10-0 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), 7-2 157: Micah Jordan (Ohio State) pinned Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 5:48 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) by medical forfeit over Jason Nolf (Penn State) 165: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. Richie Lewis (Rutgers), 8-5 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. Logan Massa (Michigan), 5-4 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern), 4-1 Myles Amine (Michigan) pinned Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 5:30 184: Bo Nickal (Penn State) dec. Emery Parker (Illinois), 5-2 Myles Martin (Ohio State) dec. Dom Abounader (Michigan), 7-3 197: Kollin Moore (Ohio State) dec. Kevin Beazley (Michigan), 5-3 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) maj. dec. Christian Brunner (Purdue), 10-2 285: Adam Coon (Michigan) pinned Sam Stoll (Iowa), 2:12 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) maj. dec. Nick Nevills (Penn State), 14-5

125: Louie Hayes (Virginia) dec. Lorenzo Bentley (Pittsburgh), 3-1 SV Sean Fausz (NC State) dec. Kyle Norstrem (Virginia Tech), 9-3 133: Jack Mueller (Virginia) dec. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), 6-0 Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech) dec. Tariq Wilson (NC State), 7-5 141: Kevin Jack (NC State) dec. Nick Zanetta (Pittsburgh), 2-0 Brent Moore (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. A.C. Headlee (North Carolina), 11-2 149: Troy Heilmann (North Carolina) dec. Sam Krivus (Virginia), 3-0 Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech) dec. Beau Donahue (NC State), 6-4 157: Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec. Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh), 6-4 SV Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. Kennedy Monday (North Carolina), 6-0 165: David McFadden (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh), 13-4 Zach Finesilver (Duke) dec. Andrew Atkinson (Virginia), 8-3 174: Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec. Daniel Bullard (NC State), 7-4 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) dec. Matt Finesilver (Duke), 11-5 184: Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh), 15-3 Pete Renda (NC State) dec. Chip Ness (North Carolina), 4-2 197: Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Alec Schenk (Duke), 13-4 Michael Macchiavello (NC State) dec. Daniel Chaid (North Carolina), 5-3 285: Jacob Kasper (Duke) by injury default over Ryan Solomon (Pittsburgh) Cory Daniel (North Carolina) dec. Michael Boykin (NC State), 3-2

125: Nick Suriano (Rutgers) dec. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 9-2 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) dec. Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern), 3-2 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) maj. dec. Luke Welch (Purdue), 14-3 Spencer Lee (Iowa) pinned RayVon Foley (Michigan State), 2:43 133: Stevan Micic (Michigan) maj. dec. Ben Thornton (Purdue), 10-2 Jason Renteria (Nebraska) dec. Scott Delvecchio (Rutgers), 3-1 Mitch McKee (Minnesota) dec. Corey Keener (Penn State), 9-4 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 4-3 141: Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. Vince Turk (Iowa), 4-0 Nate Limmex (Purdue) dec. Chad Red (Nebraska), 6-4 Michael Carr (Illinois) dec. Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), 8-6 Nick Lee (Penn State) maj. dec. Cole Weaver (Indiana), 13-3 149: Zain Retherford (Penn State) maj. dec. Steve Bleise (Minnesota), 14-1 Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State) dec. Colton McCrystal (Nebraska), 7-6 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj. dec. Eleazar Deluca (Rutgers), 11-1 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. Alfred Bannister (Maryland), 4-3 157: Michael Kemerer (Iowa) maj. dec. John Van Brill (Rutgers), 15-5 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) dec. Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 4-3 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. Andrew Crone (Wisconsin), 7-3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) maj. dec. Jake Short (Minnesota), 15-2 165: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. Isaiah White (Nebraska), 7-4 Richie Lewis (Rutgers) dec. Evan Wick (Wisconsin), 6-4 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) maj. dec. Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 18-10 Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. Alex Marinelli (Iowa), 8-6 SV 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) pinned Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 0:47 Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) dec. Dylan Lydy (Purdue), 2-1 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. Devin Skatzka (Indiana), 9-5 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) dec. Joey Gunther (Iowa), 8-3 184: Bo Nickal (Penn State) pinned Brandon Krone (Minnesota), 1:25 Emery Parker (Illinois) dec. Nick Gravina (Rutgers), 5-2 Dom Abounader (Michigan) dec. Tyler Venz (Nebraska), 6-4 Myles Martin (Ohio State) tech. fall Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin), 23-8 197: Kollin Moore (Ohio State) dec. Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 10-4 Kevin Beazley (Michigan) pinned Hunter Ritter (Wisconsin), 6:29 Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. Cash Wilcke (Iowa), 8-2 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) dec. Zack Chakonis (Northwestern), 11-8 285: Adam Coon (Michigan) maj. dec. Rylee Streifel (Minnesota), 12-2 Sam Stoll (Iowa) dec. Youssif Hemida (Maryland), 8-1 Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. Conan Jennings (Northwestern), 5-0 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) maj. dec. Shawn Streck (Purdue), 17-6

View all the results from the NCAA Division I conference tournaments. . Big Ten Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: Jack Breslin Student Events Center (East Lansing, Mich.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates | Pick 'Em Contest Big 12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: BOK Center (Tulsa, Okla.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates MAC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: McGuirk Arena (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EIWA Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex (Hempstead, N.Y.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates ACC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 Venue: Carmichael Arena (Chapel Hill, N.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EWL Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 Venue: McComb Fieldhouse (Edinboro, Pa.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates SoCon Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 Venue: McAlister Field House (Charleston, S.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates Pac-12 Wrestling Championships Date: Sunday, February 25 Venue: Gill Coliseum (Corvallis, Ore.) Event Website | Results

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

DES MOINES, Iowa -- (Brackets | Team Scores |

The brackets have been released for the 2018 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, which take place Saturday-Sunday in Tulsa, Okla. Link: Brackets

The brackets have been released for the 2018 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The event takes place Saturday-Sunday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. Link: Brackets

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Rasoul Khadem (left) coaching Hassan Yazdani Cherati at the Olympics (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The head of Iran's wrestling federation has resigned after criticizing the authorities for letting athletes be punished because of his nation's ban on facing Israeli opponents, according to multiple media reports. Rasoul Khadem, an Olympic gold medalist for Iran who was reelected as president of the wrestling federation just two months ago, wrote a letter published on the organization's website, suggesting he had been forced from the job, stating "apparently it is not going to work out" because of "my awkward mentality." "I cannot lie. Sometimes the best way to take a stand is not to stand," he also wrote. Upon learning of Khadem's resignation, the councils for freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling said they were resigning en masse, the semiofficial ISNA Iranian news agency reported. These resignations are a product of an incident at the 2017 U23 World Senior Wrestling Championship in Poland last November, in which Iran's Alireza Karimi-Machiani, 23, was wrestling Alikhan Zhabrailov of Russia when a sideline coach told him to lose the match so that he would not have to wrestle an Israeli opponent in the next round. Iran does not recognize the state of Israel and forbids its athletes from competing against Israelis at international sports events.