InterMat Staff

"Stand Up" is a documentary about Central Dauphin East High School's wrestling program The high school wrestling documentary "Stand Up" is now coming to theaters, with the first showing booked for Friday, March 3 at Midtown Cinema in Harrisburg, Pa., with additional screenings planned for across the nation. "Stand Up" is about a high school wrestling program -- Central Dauphin East in central Pennsylvania -- that hasn't had a state qualifier in five years. However, in 2014, the team had two seniors -- both best friends and rivals -- whose whole wrestling careers had built up to a season to remember. The film will be touring Pennsylvania and surrounding states in March, and then other states like California, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Iowa in April, according to the "Stand Up" website ... with the opportunity for wrestling teams to bring the movie to their hometown as a possible fundraiser. "Stand Up" producers have partnered with Tugg.com, a web platform that makes it possible for individuals, groups, and organizations to set up personalized screenings of the documentary in theaters and community venues across the country. Teams can use the screening as a fundraiser by collecting audience contributions, a portion of ticket sales, or sale of team merchandise (if permitted by the host venue). It can also build community support for wrestling, as well as motivate and inspire wrestlers, their families and fans. What's more, a team hosting a "Stand Up" screening can invite the film's director -- either in person or via Skype -- to share his motivational story of how "Stand Up" came together, with the opportunity to ask questions. For those unable to make it to a theater, there are other opportunities for viewing "Stand Up." It's already available for viewing online via VHX. Standard DVDs will be available for purchase on Amazon and the official "Stand Up" website in late February ... with special-edition DVDs available in March. Want to know more about "Stand Up"? Check out this InterMat feature from November 2016 about the documentary and its director, Abdullah Abu-Mahfouz, who was wrestling team captain at Central Dauphin East High School who returned to his alma mater to help coach the program and capture the team's story on film.

USA Wrestling has seen the media reports that the Iranian Foreign Ministry plans to deny visas for the United States freestyle wrestling team to travel to Kermanshah, Iran to participate in the 2017 Freestyle World Cup, Feb. 16-17. At this time, neither USA Wrestling nor United World Wrestling have been officially notified that these reports are accurate. We have no official documentation that the USA Wrestling team will be denied the opportunity to participate at the Freestyle World Cup. The Freestyle World Cup is the annual World dual meet championship, one of the most important events that United World Wrestling hosts each year. If these reports are true, USA Wrestling is extremely disappointed about this, which we believe would be an unacceptable situation. Wrestling is about competition and goodwill through sport, and is no place for politics When or if USA Wrestling can confirm these reports officially, we may provide additional commentary.

Wrestling fans can now watch the documentary "Four for Four: The Kyle Dake Story" digitally online with the knowledge that they are contributing to USA Wrestling. For each purchase of a copy of "Four for Four" now available digitally on demand, filmmakers will donate $2 to the nonprofit USA Wrestling. Kyle Dake defeated David Taylor to win his fourth NCAA title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)"I want to use this film to inspire the next generation of wrestlers and give back to the sport I love," said Patrick Hadley, "Four for Four" producer. "Four for Four" focuses on Kyle Dake -- the first four-time NCAA Division I champ to win titles in four different weight classes in four straight years -- following him through his senior season at Cornell University, culminating at the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Des Moines. The documentary provides wrestling fans with an all-access view of Dake's journey on his way to his place in the history books, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the upstate New York native in training sessions, in the weight room, hotel rooms, and in actual matches, taking the viewer from the first wrestling practice at Cornell to that epic 165-pound title match vs. Penn State's David Taylor at the 2013 NCAAs. The 44-minute documentary, directed by Greg Accetta, with story editor John Courtmanche, is available online for $6.99, or for rent for $4.99, with $2 donated to USA Wrestling, the national governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling, affiliated with the United States Olympic Committee. With nearly a quarter-million members -- athletes, coaches, officials, family members and fans -- USA Wrestling charters over 4,500 wrestling clubs and sanctions over 2,100 local, state, regional and national competitions. To watch "Four for Four: The Kyle Dake Story" online, click here. To read more about the documentary, check out this InterMat story.

Nearly four months after being compelled by state government to study the feasibility of bringing back an NCAA wrestling program to the University of Delaware, the school decided now is not the time. As InterMat reported in early October, the Delaware legislature approved -- and the governor signed -- an appropriations measure which required a study group be formed to explore the possibility of wrestling returning to UD after it was eliminated in June 1991. That group -- which included high school coaches and athletic directors, Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association personnel, UD administrators and state government representatives -- was to report back to the state by Feb. 1. In its recommendation, the study group stated the university "is not in the position at this time to add an athletic program," said group member Rep. Paul Baumbach (D-Newark) primarily because it's still trying to outline its long-term strategic plan under athletic director Chrissi Rawak who was installed in May 2016, The News Journal reported this week. "This is not an excuse, it is a reality," Rawak told the group. " … To jump into a decision right now is not the right thing for us to be doing. There is a process for that that we will be very thoughtful about." Rawak cited the importance of sustainability through funding, staffing, facilities and other issues for a new intercollegiate wrestling program to be consistently successful. Estimates have been that a wrestling program would likely cost UD approximately $800,000 annually. Funding is a major issue. Nearly 80 percent of UD's $32 million annual athletics budget comes directly from the state. Jeffrey Garland, UD vice president and secretary, stated that the state of Delaware has $500 million in deferred maintenance right now, which makes it difficult to justify adding a new sports program. "The pie is only so big and that's the challenge we're facing right now," according to Garland. Money isn't the only hurdle. The wrestling study group also expressed concerns about Title IX gender equity being impacted by the addition of a men's wrestling program at UD. Approximately 57 percent of University of Delaware's undergraduate enrollment is female. UD has chosen the proportionality prong to meet Title IX standards. That means percentages of expenditures within the athletic department should also reflect overall student-body percentages. Even now without men's wrestling, that is not the case, as University of Delaware devotes 57% of its athletics budget, 51% of its financial aid, 65% percent of its recruiting expenses and 60% of its salaries to men's sports. That is not unusual for schools such as Delaware that have football. But adding wrestling would sway those percentages even more toward male athletes. The UD wrestling study group did not close the door completely on a possible return of wrestling to the school's intercollegiate sports roster. One of the possible scenarios mentioned in their final report was to link a returning men's program to a new women's mat program if the NCAA were to grant women's wrestling "emerging status." Matt Robinson, director of UD's sport management program, said that twinning a returning wrestling program with a new women's program under "emerging status" -- along with the generous participation of major donors -- would be a great opportunity for the sport overall at the school. Another possible scenario outlined in the report would be to link a men's wrestling program to another new women's sport other than wrestling, such as ice hockey. The task force also encouraged UD to continue to cultivate possible donors with an "affinity" to wrestling who could also contribute to additional athletic ventures. The report also suggests that perhaps other colleges within the state of Delaware consider adding wrestling as a way to increase male enrollment. The wrestling task force has completed its mission prior to the deadline set by the state legislation, and has no further obligations. Although University of Delaware presently does not have an intercollegiate wrestling program, the school is home to a wrestling club. In addition, UD is host to the Beast of the East, one of the nation's top high school mat tournaments, held the weekend before Christmas at the Carpenter Center. Established in 1743, University of Delaware describes itself as "one of the oldest universities in the U.S." The four-year, public university, located in Newark, has a total enrollment of approximately 23,000 students. The school's sports teams, the Blue Hens, compete in NCAA Division I.

Dick Ballinger, the only NCAA champion wrestler for the University of Wyoming, died Jan. 26 in Loveland, Colo., according to multiple news reports Thursday. He was 79. Dick BallingerA native of Cody, Wyo., Ballinger finished his collegiate career by winning the 167-pound title at the 1960 NCAA Wrestling Championships at the University of Maryland. The top-seeded Wyoming Cowboy senior defeated No. 2 seed Oklahoma State Cowboy wrestler Ronnie Clinton, 6-4, in the finals. For his stellar senior season, Ballinger was honored as the 1960 Admiral Land Award winner as Wyoming's top student-athlete. As a Wyoming wrestler for head coach Ev Lantz, Ballinger was a three-time NCAA All-American. As a sophomore, Ballinger made it to the 167 finals at the 1958 NCAA championships in his home gym at Wyoming, losing to Oklahoma State's Duane Murty, 4-2. At the 1959 NCAAs at University of Iowa, Ballinger placed fourth in the 167-pound bracket, losing in the third-place bout to familiar foe Murty. Ballinger helped guide his team to a sixth-place finish in the team standings at the 1959 NCAAs, and a Wyoming all-time best third-place finish in 1960. A three-time Skyline Conference Champion, Ballinger led Wyoming to three straight conference championships while never losing a regular-season match as a Cowboy. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named Ballinger one of "The Fifty Greatest Sports Figures from Wyoming," ranked No. 39. (Other native Wyoming wrestlers who made the list: Rulon Gardner and David Zuniga). Ballinger was welcomed into the University of Wyoming Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class in 1993. Ballinger is survived by his wife Sharon. No funeral service is planned.

J'den Cox after beating Iran's Alireza Karimi at the Freestyle World Cup in Los Angeles (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Iran on Friday banned U.S. wrestlers from participating in the Freestyle World Cup competition this month in response to President Donald Trump's executive order forbidding visas for Iranians, the official IRNA news agency reported. This news comes days after USA Wrestling announced that it would be sending wrestlers to this international tournament, which will be held Feb. 16-17 in Kermanshah, Iran. In its Jan. 30 announcement, USA Wrestling's Gary Abbott wrote, "This is the annual World dual meet championship for men's freestyle wrestling and one of the most prestigious competitions each year in international wrestling." IRNA quoted Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying a special committee reviewed the case of the U.S. wrestling team and "Eventually the visit by the U.S. freestyle wrestling team was opposed." The decision marks the first action taken by Iran in response to Trump's executive order banning visas for seven Muslim countries. Earlier this week, Iran said it would take retaliatory action. Ghasemi said the policy of the new U.S. administration left Iran no other choice but to ban the wrestlers. U.S. freestyle wrestlers have competed in Iran since the 1998 Takhti Cup in Tehran, which followed an absence of nearly 20 years, according to the Associated Press. Since then, Americans have attended Iran-hosted wrestling competitions 15 times. The American athletes were warmly welcomed by cheerful Iranian spectators and sport centers were packed as they appeared on the mats to compete. Iranian wrestlers have made 16 visits to the U.S. as guests of USA Wrestling since the 1990s. The 2018 Freestyle World Cup is scheduled to take place at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- It came down to two men from Wisconsin to determine a big dual meet in the state of Michigan. Central Michigan's Newton Smerchek held on for a 1-0 win over Ayoola Olapo in the heavyweight bout Thursday night, giving the 17th-ranked Chippewas a 19-18 upset of 10th-ranked Michigan in a nonconference wrestling dual before a raucous crowd of 1,187 at McGuirk Arena. It was the Chippewas' first dual win over the Wolverines in four years. Michigan (7-5) was coming off a weekend in which won dual meets against Rutgers and Lehigh, two teams that were ranked higher than the Wolverines. "I think it's important for our guys to be competitive against them," said CMU coach Tom Borrelli, whose team won its third consecutive dual to improve to 6-2. "We've got mostly Michigan guys and they have a lot of Michigan guys. You wrestled against them in high school, they were recruited by Michigan, a lot of times our guys weren't. It adds a little bit more fuel to the fire I'd say." And that fired burned hot in front the largest crowd McGuirk has seen for a wrestling meet in quite some time. CMU's Jordan Ellingwood put a charge into the crowd with a first-period pin in the 184-pound match to put CMU in front, 16-15. U-M went back in front, 18-16, when Jackson Striggow defeated Austin Severn, 3-1, at 197, setting the stage for the dramatic heavyweight bout. Smerchek, a native of Casco, Wis., scored an escape early in the second period, then locked up with Olapo, who hails from Menominee Falls, Wis., the rest of the way and held on for the win and the three team points for the decision victory. "It's a real special opportunity, but it isn't just me who's getting to do that," Smerchek said of having the dual come down to his match. "There were a lot of great matches that we had tonight. Everyone wrestled to do what they needed to do to make that opportunity happen." It was the first time that Smerchek had ever faced Olapo, who wasn't listed on Michigan's lineup card and is listed on the team roster as a 197-pounder. "That was a surprise that I had that kid, but that kid's from Wisconsin so I've seen him wrestle before, but I'd never wrestled him," Smerchek said. "I really had to just focus on the game plan. Did a lot of praying as well, but just focused on the game plan that coach and I had gone over for the entire season so far. It's really focusing on getting my positions that I'm comfortable with." Brent Fleetwood, who is unranked, got the Chippewas off to a good start with a 4-0 win over 10th-ranked Conner Youtsey at 125. CMU freshman Mason Smith took an 8-0 major decision at 141 and Justin Oliver won by decision at 149 to give CMU a 10-4 lead. "Mason Smith getting the major -- we won the dual meet by one point so those two bonus matches (with Ellingwood's pin) were huge," Borrelli said. "I thought Brent Fleetwood wrestled a great match. Controlled that kid from the top position almost the whole match." Michigan won the next three matches, including one on a technical fall by No. 2-ranked Logan Massa at 165, to forge a 15-10 lead. That's when Ellingwood stepped up and delivered the pin. "I knew we needed bonus points and I had every intention of going out there and trying to get bonus points," Ellingwood said. "I knew I had to score points. "It was really big for us. We were confident the whole time. We were getting early takedowns, we just went out and attacked them." The atmosphere was indeed electric as the Chippewas delivered a big victory over a higher-ranked opponent, and it gave them a sweep of the state's Big Ten schools. CMU defeated Michigan State, 23-12, in mid-January. "You like that atmosphere, but your guys have to be able to ignore that and they have to be able to execute under pressure," Borrelli said. "I tell our guys all the time the difference between a good wrestler and a great wrestler is someone who can execute when the pressure's on and there's a lot going on around them and there's a lot on the line. "I think our guys for the most part did a good job of that tonight." Results: 125: Brent Fleetwood (CMU) dec. Conner Youtsey, 4-0 133: Stevan Micic (UM) major dec. Corey Keener, 16-6 141: Mason Smith (CMU) major dec. Sal Profaci, 8-0 149: Justin Oliver (CMU) dec. Malik Amine, 8-2 157: Brian Murphy (UM) dec. Colin Heffernan, 4-2, SV-1 165: Logan Massa (UM) tech. fall Logan Parks, 21-6, 5:28 174: Myles Amine (UM) dec. CJ Brucki, 8-2 184: Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) pinned Aaron Calderon, 1:02 197: Jackson Striggow (UM) dec. Austin Severn, 3-1 HWT: Newton Smerchek (CMU) dec. Ayoola Olapo, 1-0

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- The Lock Haven University wrestling team won six of 10 bouts including pins from Adam Mackie (Bechtelsville, Pa./Brandywine Heights) and Thomas Haines (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco (Ohio State)), and the Bald Eagles cruised past Clarion (4-8, 1-3EWL) 27-12 tonight in Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) action. With the win, Lock Haven (7-8) finished its 2016-17 EWL slate at 4-2, marking the most EWL wins in 15 years. It's the most wins for the Bald Eagles in league duals since LHU finished 6-1 in what, at the time, was an eight-team EWL in 2001-02. Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs) picked up a tech fall and Jonathan Ross (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) won by major decision, while both Tristan Sponseller (East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs) and DJ Fehlman (Warren, Pa./Warren) won by decision as Lock Haven proved too strong for the Golden Eagles tonight at home. Mackie quickly brought the packed Thomas Fieldhouse crowd to its feet in the night's opening bout at 174 pounds as he pinned Dominic Rigous at the 5:33 mark. A first-period takedown had Mackie up 2-1 after one period and he led 6-3 after two. Mackie started the third in the down position and Rigous notched a pair of near falls points before Mackie earned a reversal and quick pin. Mackie led 8-5 when he earned the fall, putting Lock Haven up 6-0. No. 28 Corey Hazel (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) and Scott Marmoll remained scoreless after one period at 184 despite a late first-period furry of offense from Hazel. Marmoll led 1-0 after two thanks to late escape, but not before Hazel racked up 1:29 of riding time in the second. A third-period takedown from Marmoll proved to be the difference as he knocked off Hazel, 3-2. For Hazel, his return to the lineup helped the Bald Eagles get back to full strength however, as he hadn't wrestled for LHU since January 14 at the Virginia Duals. For two periods at 197 Sponseller pushed the offense and took shot after shot, but he only led 1-0, thanks to a second-period escape. Dustin Conti took the lead with a reversal in the third, but Sponseller tied it late on an escape as the two were deadlocked 2-2 after three periods. With just four seconds left in overtime, Sponseller recorded the takedown and win. Sponseller's 4-2 decision put Lock Haven up 9-3 in the team score. Haines dug himself out of an early hole and stretched the Lock Haven lead to 15-3 after four bouts, thanks to a pin (4:42) at 285. Clarion's Evan Daley was game early and led 2-1 after one and stretched it to a 3-1 lead late in the second, before Haines struck with a big throw that put Daley on his back and allowed for Haines to stick him for the fall. As the seconds ticked down to end the first period at 125, No. 30 Jake Gromacki earned a takedown to lead Jake Field (South Elgin, Ill./Marmion Academy) after the opening three minutes. A Gromacki escape and late second-period takedown stretched the lead for the Golden Eagle to 5-0 after two. Gromacki rode out the third period for a total of 1:43 in riding time advantage which pushed him to the 6-0 win over Field. After five bouts, Lock Haven led Clarion, 15-6. At 133, Fehlman dominated Roshaun Cooley for a 5-0 victory. Fehlman led 2-0 after one period on a takedown and 3-0 after two. In third Fehlman went to work on top, erasing the hint of riding time in Cooley's favor. In the end, Fehlamn rode out the third, racked up 1:31 of riding time of his own and won 5-0. For the first time since January 7 at the Franklin & Marshall Open, No. 21 Ronnie Perry (Christiana, Pa./Solanco) found himself in the Lock Haven lineup and he quickly locked up with No. 16 Brock Zacherl in the night's premier bout. The two were tied 2-2 after two periods and a Zacherl escape in the third proved to the difference in his 3-2 win. Shoop was dominant at 149 pounds and broke open the match in the second period. After a scoreless first, Shoop went to work on Jake Keller in the second, earning a takedown, before eight near-fall points on the way to a 10-0 lead. Shoop's hardwork paid off as he pushed the offense and earned the 15-0 tech fall with 20 seconds left in the third. Shoop's tech fall stretched the Lock Haven lead to 23-9 and sealed the Bald Eagles victory. Ross followed up Shoop's dominance with some of his own as he majored Taylor Cahill, 16-4. The two were tied 4-4 after two periods and Ross started the third down, but after a quick escape-takedown combo, the offense exploded, and he used tilt after tilt to power his way to the big win. Jared Siegrist (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) looked poised for an upset of his own, but Evan Delong, the 2016 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship's Outstanding Wrestler, held on for a 4-3 victory. Today's dual with Clarion was the first of three events for Lock Haven this week. Tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 3), LHU will host Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. and the Bald Eagles will host the Mat-Town Open II Tournament on Sunday (Feb. 5) at 9:30 a.m. Results: 174: Adam Mackie (LHU) pinned Dominic Rigous (CU) 5:33; LHU leads 6-0 184: Scott Marmoll (CU) dec. #28 Corey Hazel (LHU) 3-2; LHU leads 6-3 197: #30 Tristan Sponseller (LHU) dec. Dustin Conti (CU) 4-2 SV; LHU leads 9-3 285: #15 Thomas Haines (LHU) pinned Evan Daley (CU) 4:42; LHU leads 15-3 125: #30 Jake Gromacki (CU) dec. Jake Field (LHU) 6-0; LHU leads 15-6 133: DJ Fehlman (LHU) dec. Roshaun Cooley (CU) 5-0; LHU leads 18-6 141: #16 Brock Zacherl (CU) dec. #21 Ronnie Perry (LHU) 3-2; LHU leads 18-9 149: Kyle Shoop (LHU) tech fall Jake Keller (CU) 15-0 (6:40); LHU leads 23-9 157: Jonathan Ross (LHU) major dec. Taylor Cahill (CU) 16-4; LHU leads 27-9 165: Evan Delong (CU) dec. Jared Siegrist (LHU) 4-3; LHU wins 27-12

BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Campbell won 9-of-10 matches en route to a convincing 42-3 victory against Davidson Thursday evening inside Carter Gym. CU scored bonus points in 8-of-9 match wins, including a pair of fall victories by Quentin Perez and Jere Heino. The dual opened at the 141 bout, where Joshua Heil put Campbell on the board with a 16-1 tech fall win in the first period. After a quick takedown and four-point near fall, Hunter Costa earned a one-point escape to get on the board. Heil continued his offensive attack on Costa with another takedown and back-to-back four-point nearfalls to finish the match. At 149, Benjamin Barton opened with a 6-2 lead after the first period by way of a quick reversal and four-point nearfall. After Barton notched three points in the second, he held on for the 11-3 major decision win to put Campbell ahead 9-0. Austin Kraisser garnered six points for Campbell with a forfeit victory at 157-pounds. Quentin Perez increased the lead to 21-0 after his pin just 42 seconds into the 165-pound match over Noah Satterfield. Campbell's shutout continued through the 174-pound bout as John Weiss won by an 11-2 major decision win over Conor Fenn. Weiss sprinted out to a 6-1 lead after the first and continued with a reversal and takedown in the third to put the Camels ahead 25-0. Ville Heino was the third Camel to gain a major decision victory Thursday, with his 14-4 result over Konner Pritchard. Heino took a 5-0 lead into the third period, where he notched four takedowns in the two-minute session to put CU ahead 29-0. At 197, Willie Bivens III picked up a 7-3 decision over Ryan Devlin. Bivens notched three takedowns and one escape in the match. With Bivens' victory, Campbell led 32-0 with three matches remaining. Jere Heino, the SoCon Wrestler of the Week, picked up the second fall of the night at 2:58 of the first period in the 285-pound match. After a takedown of Will Cooley, Heino just beat the clock to pick up the first period win. Camden Bertucci picked up the lone points for Davidson with his 6-0 decision over Aaron Burton at 125-pounds. In the final match of the evening, Jonathan Ryan used his riding time advantage to claim the fourth major decision victory of the night. Ryan tallied four takedowns, including a pair in the second period, en route to the 10-2 win. Campbell wrestling alum, Anthony Cox, was recognized in front of the Carter Gym crowd, prior to Thursday's dual. Cox will be inducted into the Campbell University Sports Hall of Fame Friday evening, Feb. 3. Campbell is back in action, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. at The Citadel. You can follow along at @GoCamelsWrestle on Twitter and via live stats on TrackWrestling. Results: 141: Joshua Heil (Campbell) tech. fall over Hunter Costa (DC), 16-1 (3:00) 149: Benjamin Barton (Campbell) maj. dec. over Aidan Conroy (DC), 11-3 157: Austin Kraisser (Campbell) winner by forfeit 165: Quentin Perez (Campbell) fall over Noah Satterfield (DC), 0:42 174: John Weiss (Campbell) maj. dec. over Conor Fenn (DC), 11-2 184: Ville Heino (Campbell) maj. dec. over Konner Pritchard (DC), 14-4 197: Willie Bivens (Campbell) dec. over Ryan Devlin (DC), 7-3 HWT: Jere Heino (Campbell) fall over Will Cooley (DC), 2:58 125: Camden Bertucci (DC) dec. over Burton Aaron (Campbell), 6-0 133: Jonathan Ryan (Campbell) maj. dec. over Dustin Runzo (DC), 10-2

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Thursday which allows a Utah girl to be allowed to try out for her junior high wrestling team this week. Kathleen JanisKathleen Janis, a ninth-grader at Central Davis Junior High School, has been trying for more than a year to compete for a place on her school's wrestling team -- presently all-male -- but has been denied by school officials who claim the district's policy does not allow it. According to a lawsuit filed by Kathleen and her mother Kelly Janis, the 15-year old student-athlete said she has been denied membership on the wrestling team because of her gender, even though the Davis School District offers co-ed wrestling at the high school level. U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby heard arguments Wednesday on Kathleen's request for an injunction allowing her to join the team now as the season begins while her lawsuit remains in court. He granted the injunction Thursday, in time for the school's wrestling tryouts on Friday. "(Kathleen) is forced to wrestle at the high school level instead of the junior high level. But her male peers can make this choice freely in consultation with their parents after considering their school schedules, athletic abilities and goals, and personal preferences," Shelby wrote in his decision. "This was obviously a very time-sensitive issue," said the Janises' attorney, Stewart Gollan. "My client's daughter needs to be able to have access to the wrestling program within the next couple of days to be able to participate on the same basis as a male would." Kathleen attempted to try out for the school team both this year and last year but was told females could only serve as team managers because, according to the lawsuit, officials had concerns about "inappropriate or sexual touching." "We weren't asking them to start a girls' wrestling program," Kelly Janis said. "We were asking them to allow Kathleen and other girls to wrestle if they wanted to on the junior high team." Kathleen began wrestling two years ago and currently competes at a local wrestling club, practicing and competing with male and female athletes. She came into wrestling after being introduced to the sport by her stepfather Lee Garcia, who is now her coach. "My biological father abused me and I was broken," Kathleen told the Fox affiliate in Salt Lake City. "There's a lot of training that goes into it," Kathleen said. "You work hard. I practice three or four hours a day." Garcia believes it has made a positive difference for his stepdaughter, saying, "What it has done for her has been phenomenal. And I've seen it do the same for so many other women: their confidence, their self-esteem."

MINNEAPOLIS -- The top-ranked Wartburg College wrestling team claimed victories in six of the 10 bouts on Thursday, edging No. 2-ranked Augsburg College 20-13 in the annual "Battle of the Burgs" dual meet at Si Melby Hall. THE BASICS FINAL SCORE: Wartburg 20, Augsburg 13 LOCATION: Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis RECORDS: Augsburg 10-2 overall, Wartburg 19-0 overall HOW IT HAPPENED Augsburg, ranked No. 2 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national poll, claimed victories in three of the first five bouts to take a 9-6 lead into the halftime break, but top-ranked and defending national champion Wartburg responded with wins in four of the last five to capture the dual win. The Auggies jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, as No. 5-ranked 125-pounder Victor Gliva (FY, Farmington, Minn.) improved to 25-4 on the season with a 6-1 triumph over Wartburg's No. 6-ranked Arnulfo Olea, Gliva's second head-to-head win over Olea this season. Gliva built a 5-0 lead and collected 2:46 in riding time to score the win. Sam Bennyhoff (SO, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) claimed his second win of the year over Wartburg's Connor Campo, this time a 9-4 decision at 133 pounds. Bennyhoff overcame an early deficit with three takedowns and 1:25 in riding time to improve to 21-7 on the season. The biggest win of the first half of the dual for the Auggies came at 157, as Tanner Vassar (FY, Maple Lake, Minn.) -- competing for the first time in the varsity lineup in an Auggie dual meet -- claimed an 8-7 upset victory over Wartburg's No. 2-ranked Logan Thomsen. Scoring an early takedown, he converted a four-point near-fall to take a 6-0 lead after one period, then held off three Thomsen takedowns with two escapes to preserve the win, improving to 26-8 on the season. No. 1-ranked 184 pounder Owen Webster (FY, Shakopee, Minn.) improved to 25-1 on the season with his 22nd straight victory, a 10-2, major-decision win over Wartburg's No. 5-ranked Bryan Levsen, his second win over Levsen this year. Webster scored four takedowns and 2:33 in riding time to collect his ninth major-decision win of the year and 18th bonus-point victory (nine major decisions, four technical falls, five pins). FOR THE FOES One of the closest bouts of the evening came at heavyweight, as Wartburg's No. 2-ranked Lance Evans improved to 20-0 with a 5-4 win over Augsburg's No. 3-ranked Donny Longendyke (SR, Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake HS). Longendyke scored two takedowns, but Evans scored an escape and two reversals, including the bout-deciding reversal with 1:39 left in the third period. Longendyke is now 16-2 on the season, with both his losses coming to Evans. After Augsburg opened the match with two wins, the Knights tied the score with two wins in battles of ranked wrestlers. No. 4-ranked Chris Cannone edged Augsburg's No. 7-ranked David Flynn (FY, Jordan, Minn./Scott West) at 141, and top-ranked 149-pounder Kenny Martin claimed a 7-5 win over Augsburg's No. 9-ranked Ryan Epps (FY, Cannon Falls, Minn.). After the halftime break, No. 3-ranked 165-pounder Andrew Steiert claimed a 7-1 win over Lucas Jeske (FY, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS), and No. 2-ranked 174-pounder Eric DeVos claimed a 21-6, third-period technical-fall win over Austin Boniface (SR, Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS). The Knights took a 17-13 win into the final bout, when No. 2-ranked Kyle Fank scored four points in the third period to pull away from Sebastian Larson (JR, River Falls, Wis.) in a 5-1 decision at 197. BEYOND THE BOXSCORE Thursday's dual meet also served as a fundraiser for the TakeDown Cancer charity, honoring former Augsburg assistant coach and Auggie All-American Donny Wichmann '89, who is battling cancer. TakeDown Cancer is an effort by wrestling teams from all over the Midwest to fight cancer, raising money for the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund, benefiting cancer research and patient aid programs. The dual also featured a reunion of three Augsburg wrestling championship teams -- the 1987 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title team, and the 1997 and 2007 NCAA Division III national championship teams. UP NEXT Augsburg competes at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Don Parker Open on Saturday (2/4) at 9 a.m. Results: 125: No. 5 Victor Gliva (AUG, 25-4) dec. No. 6 Arnulfo Olea (WAR, 19-7) 6-1 (Augsburg 3-0) 133: Sam Bennyhoff (AUG, 21-7) dec. Connor Campo (WAR, 6-8) 9-4 (Augsburg 6-0) 141: No. 4 Cross Cannone (WAR, 23-3) dec. No. 7 David Flynn (AUG, 23-7) 4-3 (Augsburg 6-3) 149: No. 1 Kenny Martin (WAR, 9-0) dec. No. 9 Ryan Epps (AUG, 24-5) 7-5 (TIED 6-6) 157: Tanner Vassar (AUG, 26-8) dec. No. 2 Logan Thomsen (WAR, 25-2) 8-7 (Augsburg 9-6) 165: No. 3 Andrew Steiert (WAR, 7-0) dec. Lucas Jeske (AUG, 11-5) 7-1 (TIED 9-9) 174: No. 2 Eric DeVos (WAR, 11-0) tech. fall Austin Boniface (AUG, 16-9) 21-6 at 5:36 (Wartburg 14-9) 184: No. 1 Owen Webster (AUG, 25-1) maj. dec. No. 5 Bryan Levsen (WAR, 16-6) 10-2 (Wartburg 14-13) 197: No. 2 Kyle Fank (WAR, 26-2) dec. Sebastian Larson (AUG, 8-14) 5-1 (Wartburg 17-13) HWT: No. 2 Lance Evans (WAR, 20-0) dec. No. 3 Donny Longendyke (AUG, 16-2) 5-4 (Wartburg 20-13)

This week's Takedown TV encompasses both on collegiate and international wrestling. Among this week's features: Highlights from Iowa vs Ohio State Highlights from Missouri vs Oklahoma State Paris International recap, with interviews with Nico Megaludis, Jimmy Kennedy, Chase Pami, Kyle Dake and David Taylor Feature on Purdue's Alex Griffin Look into Central College's million-dollar athletics complex Watch this week's episode here … or at the Takedown Wrestling's YouTube Channel. In addition, Takedown Wrestling TV is aired on these television networks. All air times are Central. Cablevision: Sundays at 4 p.m. Charter Cable: Thursday at 6:30 p.m., Friday 11:30 p.m. and Monday 2:30 p.m. Comcast Cable: Friday at 5:00 p.m. Cox Cable: Sunday 9:30 a.m. Fight Network HD: Sundays at 4:00 p.m. KWEM, Stillwater, Oklahoma: Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Long Lines Cable: Daily at 5:30 p.m. Mediacom Cable: Sundays at 10:30 a.m. MidCo Sports Network: Saturday 10:00 a.m. and Sunday at 9:00 a.m. SECV8: Friday at 5:00 p.m. Suddenlink Cable- Check your local listings. Multiple air times. Time Warner Cable Sports- Saturday at 12:00 p.m. Western Reserve Cable- Tuesday at 11:00 p.m., Friday at 5:30 p.m., Saturday at 10:00 p.m.

After a contentious week of international politics, the wrestling world was left uncertain about Team USA's participation at this month's Freestyle World Cup in Iran. While the politics behind the issue may look problematic, the mechanics on why Team USA might be restricted from travel is ordinary. When the President of the United States signed an executive order barring Iranians -- and citizens from six other countries -- from entering the United States, he initiated a series of reciprocal protocols against citizens of the United States traveling to those seven countries. The limitation of movement by Iran, and later Iraq, are common reactions to this type of travel restriction by another country. Anyone who has traveled to Brazil has likely dealt with all types of hurdles with visas, registration, and even disclosing bank account information. The reason the Brazilians ask for that information is because the U.S. government asks that of their visiting citizens. Hence, reciprocity. No matter how common a response, the wrestling world was left in limbo. Like our wrestlers, I was also meant to travel to Iran for the World Cup -- the third time I'd be traveling to the country in three years. However, due to the travel ban and subsequent reciprocal measures, I can't attend the World Cup (even if the U.S. visas are approved). I was looking forward to tea with my friends, photographing the countryside and sharing meals with my coworkers. I'm disappointed that it will no longer happen, but the larger loss is to those who will never visit Iran. How else can they interact with a culture they'll never see, taste, or feel up close but for journalists, photographers and videographers? No matter your politics more interaction improves understanding and leads to a world with more empathy and understanding. As citizens, we can improve our dialogue, expand our comfort zone and learn about those we'd otherwise never consider. There is an exchange of ideas and trust that you simply can't acquire without personal interaction, or a common thread through the sport of wrestling. I hope that our wrestlers are awarded their visas and travel safely to Iran. I don't want that trip to happen just for the wrestling, but also so that they can return and tell family, friends and fans about the real Iran -- the people, not the government. Conversely, it would be wonderful for more Iranians to learn more about the American people and try for a moment to forget about the words of our government and instead look at the character of our citizens. Let there be diplomacy. Let there be wrestling. To your questions … Pat Downey gets his hand raised after a victory at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: Did you happen to read Pat Downey's Twitter this past week? If so, what did you make of his comments? -- Mike C. Foley: Well, from what I gather he took a heel turn and started a Mac Life (Conor McGregor) approach to pre-match provocation with Gabe Dean. I appreciate the effort, but those in wrestling (and jiu-jitsu) need to recognize that these are not fighting sports. You don't have a full arsenal of attacks, which means every besting of another man comes with an asterisk. I could do without the hype, but I also recognize that could make me sound like an old fuddy-duddy. Q: Why did the USA spend the money to send so many (something like 17) wrestlers to Paris only to have them wrestle each other. It was not a major international tournament. The Dave Schultz Memorial is this coming weekend in Colorado, where they all could have competed at a much lower cost. Who does pay these travel expenses? USA wrestling? Clubs? The wrestlers themselves? Doesn't seem to make good economic sense. -- JM Foley: The Paris tournament is traditionally a pretty tough tourney. Until a week before the tournament it was reported that Iran was sending 2016 Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani Charati (Iran) to compete at 86 kilograms along with a handful of other Iranian standouts. Olympic bronze medalist Frank Chamizo (Italy) was also scheduled to attend, but changed tactics at the last minute. Unfortunately, there is still some trouble securing guaranteed competition at early season competitions, and while the travel might have seemed excessive, remember that the World Championships will also be held in Paris, giving the wrestlers (and coaches/staff) a little more insight into travel, accommodation and food. Also, although they did wrestle each other, the simple fact of making weight overseas and working one's self through a tournament is good for most guys, especially Kyle Dake who hasn't wrestled in many overseas tournament over the past three years. Would it have been nice to have more competition? Absolutely. Will USA Wrestling take that into account for next year? Most likely. Waste of time and money? Not in my opinion. Q: The United States had great success this past weekend highlighted by Kyle Snyder winning Yarygin. Is Paris an open tournament where any U.S. wrestler could enter and Yarygin by invitation only based on international wrestling success? -- David D. Foley: Kyle Snyder's dominating performance at the Yarygin was one of the most welcome surprises of the week! It seems that more than most wrestlers, Snyder faces a lot of questions about his ability to keep winning. Overseas fans doubted him after he won the 2015 World Championships and heading into the 2016 Olympics you would have thought he was an outside shot to medal, if you'd only read blogs. Again, Snyder proved that he's always improving and put on an absolute whipping in Krasnoyarsk. Plenty for him to be proud of, and for the American fan to cheer. Only one thing was missing in Krasnoyarsk … Abdulrashid Sadulaev, who is reported to be making his way up to 97 kilograms. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Kyle Dake on FIRE Kyle Snyder takes Yarygin Q: The more I thought about this, I think let's stick with the 2-point takedown. Give the person on bottom 30 seconds to get out. If he gets ridden out for the 30 seconds the top wrestler can let a guy up without giving up a point for the escape. We could also remove riding time as well. This would create a more aggressive match I feel. What are your thoughts on that? -- Nick D. Foley: We are of one mind. NCAA wrestling needs to do a lot to clean up their rule set and incentivizes action. Like it or not, the action within freestyle is proving to be a more consumable product. Fans, coaches and wrestlers want more engagement and I think that it's time for the NCAA to deliver on their mission to develop the rules. Q: So, ISU. Want to speculate about a possible replacement for Coach Jackson? They need a big name. Iowa State has been bad for too long. -- John G. Foley: Top five candidates: Kevin Dresser (Virginia Tech) Pat Poplizio (NC State) Travis Paulson (Iowa State) Mark Perry (Illinois) Chris Bono (South Dakota State) To me it's clear that any job Kevin Dresser wants he would get, Iowa State included. He built the Virginia Tech wrestling program up from a lower place we now see the Cyclones. He teaches the technique of the sport better than most, motivates extremely well and is an institutional type leader. Next up could be Pat Popolizio, though I wonder if Iowa State would fit his goals. For now, he seems to be a better fit for the culture he created at NC State -- tough, fun and unique in style. Chris Bono is the second-best option for the Cyclones, but even as his personal story would progress full circle, I don't know enough about his relationships with the administration or the alumni, and both play the primary role in recruiting and signing a new head coach. He's showing early signs of creating a competitive program at South Dakota State and given extra resources it's not unforeseeable that he could make Iowa State into a top five program. Paulson and Perry would both be solid choices, but I think the school will first look to tap an experienced head coach before handing the keys to an assistant. Q: Does Ohio State have a shot to knock off Penn State tonight? Kyle Snyder will be back in the Buckeye lineup! -- Mike C. Foley: The promotion for this dual meet has been fantastic. The Ohio State fans are expected to wear all black and the school has already sold more than 10,000 seats. If Penn State comes out flat they'll be in a dog fight for the W. Ohio State 20, Penn State 18 125: Nick Suriano (PSU) dec. Jose Rodriguez (OSU), 11-8 (3-0 PSU) 133: Nathan Tomasello (OSU) pinned George Carpenter (PSU)/Triston Law (6-3 OSU) 141: Luke Pletcher (OSU) dec. Jimmy Gulibon (PSU), 9-4 (9-3 OSU) 149: Zain Retherford (PSU) dec. Micah Jordan (OSU), 8-3 (9-6 OSU) 157: Jason Nolf (PSU) tech. fall Anthony DeCarlo (OSU), 15-0 (11-9 PSU) 165: Vincenzo Joseph (PSU) dec. Cody Burcher (OSU), 10-4 (14-9 PSU) 174: Bo Jordan (OSU) dec. Mark Hall (PSU), 5-1 (14-12 PSU) 184: Bo Nickal (PSU) maj. dec. Myles Martin (OSU), 11-2 (18-12 PSU) 197: Kollin Moore (OSU) dec. Matt McCutcheon (PSU), 6-3 (18-15 PSU) 285: Kyle Snyder (OSU) tech. fall Nick Nevills (PSU), 21-6 (20-18 OSU)

Ohio State's Myles Martin defeated Penn State's Bo Nickal to win the NCAA title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) No. 2 Penn State puts its undefeated dual meet record on the line against No. 4 Ohio State on Friday night at Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. The dual meet is slated for 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Last season the Nittany Lions topped the Buckeyes 24-14 at the Bryce Jordan Center in front of nearly 16,000 fans. However, only one of the 10 matchups from last season's dual meet is expected to happen on Friday night. Ohio State won the last meeting in Columbus, in 2015, 22-15. Below are five matchups to watch in the dual meet. 141: No. 15 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) vs. No. 11 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) Both Pletcher and Gulibon are from the same hometown in Pennsylvania, Latrobe. The wrestlers are five years apart in age and attended different high schools, but both trained with the Young Guns Wrestling Club. Gulibon, a 2015 All-American, started the season slowly, going 5-4 in his first nine matches. However, he has been wrestling well of late. He notched a win over NCAA qualifier Tommy Thorn of Minnesota on Jan. 6, and is currently riding a three-match winning streak, with two of those wins coming over ranked wrestlers. Pletcher has put together a remarkable true freshman campaign. He has gone 21-2, with his only two losses coming at the Midlands Championships. Pletcher is coming off a 5-4 win last Friday night over Iowa's Topher Carton. 149: No. 5 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) Retherford, the returning NCAA champion, has been the nation's most dominant wrestler this season in Division I, according to the NCAA's most dominant wrestler award standings. He is currently 15-0 this season, with 11 pins, a technical fall and a major decision. He was pushed by Iowa's Brandon Sorensen on Jan. 20 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but prevailed 9-8 in the second tiebreaker. Micah Jordan, who won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December, took his first loss of the season last Friday night against Sorensen, 2-0. He has earned bonus-point victories in 14 of his 21 wins this season. 174: No. 1 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 7 Mark Hall (Penn State) Bo Jordan, a two-time All-American (third twice), has held the No. 1 ranking at 174 pounds all season. He has seen limited action this season due to injury, but has yet to suffer a defeat. After not practicing for two weeks, Jordan took the mat last Friday night against All-American Alex Meyer and picked up a 3-2 victory. That victory was Jordan's first victory over a ranked wrestler this season. Hall, the nation's No. 1 recruit last year, won a Southern Scuffle title in early January while redshirting, which included victories over three ranked wrestlers. He made his debut in the Nittany Lion lineup on Jan. 20 against Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and fell 7-5 to Meyer. Last weekend he rebounded with two wins to improve his record to 20-2 on the season. 184: No. 10 Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. No. 2 Bo Nickal (Penn State) Nickal and Martin are expected to renew their rivalry at a new weight class as both moved up from 174 pounds this season. The two met four times last season, with Nickal winning the first three meetings before Martin came back to win in the NCAA finals. While both are having strong seasons, Nickal has been far more dominant. He is undefeated with 11 pins and has picked up bonus points in 13 of his 14 victories. The only match in which he didn't earn bonus points was a 10-5 win over retuning NCAA runner-up T.J. Dudley of Nebraska. Last season Martin became just the 15th true freshman wrestler ever to win an NCAA title. He started the season ranked No. 2 behind Cornell's Gabe Dean, but has fallen to No. 10 in the rankings after taking four losses. He was edged by Iowa's Sammy Brooks 5-3 in his most recent match. 285: No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) vs. No. 3 Nick Nevills (Penn State) Snyder, the reigning world and Olympic champion, won the Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia last weekend, becoming the first American wrestler to accomplish the feat since 2009. He has wrestled only six matches for the Buckeyes this season because of his international wrestling schedule. He has gone 6-0, with four pins, a technical fall and a major decision. Nevills, a three-time California state champion, has put together a strong season, winning 13 of his 14 matches. His most notable win this season came over two-time All-American Michael Kroells of Minnesota on Jan. 6. Nevills' lone blemish came against second-ranked Connor Medbery of Wisconsin on Jan. 27.

Life: February 27, 1939 issueImagine the buzz in the wrestling community if one of the most popular TV news programs or non-sports websites came to your college campus for a major story on your school's wrestling program. Well, 78 years ago last week, that happened, as Life magazine -- one of the nation's biggest newsmagazines at the time -- came to do a photo shoot of some of the wrestlers and legendary head coach at the nation's leading college wrestling program of that era, Oklahoma State, which claimed three individual titles and the team championship at the 1938 NCAAs. One month later, a dozen photos of the Cowboys and coach Ed Gallagher appeared in the February 27, 1939 issue of the popular magazine. How big a deal was this? At the time, Life magazine -- published by Time, Inc., which now produces Sports Illustrated and People, among other publications -- was a weekly magazine showcasing photos of major news events, as well as images of Hollywood stars, athletes, politicians and other newsmakers, and amusing pics that would now go viral on Facebook or Instagram. In its glory days, Life had a circulation of over 10,000,000 readers, a significant percentage of the population back when the U.S. had approximately 132,000,000 residents. (Life magazine is no longer published weekly, but produces special issues to commemorate major events.) Let's take a look back ... Wrestlers ready to strike a pose In late January 1939, Life magazine sent photographer Bernard Hoffman to Stillwater to take photos of the top college wrestling program in the nation. Armed with multiple cameras -- and countless rolls of film and flashbulbs -- Hoffman spent at least two full days on campus, with most of the photo shoot taking place at the just-opened fieldhouse that is now known as Gallagher-Iba Arena. "Bernard Hoffman, ace cameraman of the magazine, arriving on the campus late Tuesday evening, spent nearly all day Wednesday posing and snapping Gallagher and his grapplers, who took to the posing and demonstrating with the aplomb of a bunch of prima-donnas," the Daily O'Collegian -- the school's student newspaper -- reported in its Jan. 26 issue. "Altogether Hoffman must have snapped several hundred pictures with one or the other of his three cameras, while Gallagher put his national champions through their paces, holds and counters." The article -- titled "Gallagher and Aggie Wrestlers Snapped by Life Magazine Ace" -- went on to report that Hoffman took three snapshots of each pose, usually using two cameras. One month later, featured in the pages of Life Four weeks later, all that hard work on the part of photographer Bernard Hoffman, Ed Gallagher, and his wrestlers were revealed in a three-page story in the February 27, 1939 issue of Life titled "'Gibraltar of Grappling' Produces Another Great Oklahoma A&M Team." Those three pages featured just over a dozen photos of Oklahoma State wrestlers working out and demonstrating holds ... all under the watchful eye of Ed Gallagher, long-time head coach of the Cowboy mat program. Coach Gallagher and the Oklahoma State wrestlers in a ringThe opening two-page spread is dominated by a large, attention-getting photo of a dozen or so pairs of bare-chested wrestlers, wearing trunks, demonstrating holds in a raised wrestling ring while coach Gallagher stands in the corner of the ring, observing the action. Considering what the wrestlers are wearing -- and where they are working out -- the image looks like it could be from a present-day WWE training camp. However, back in the 1930s, grapplers at Oklahoma State wore wool trunks without shirts (this was decades before the NCAA approved singlets for college wrestling) ... and they competed in a roped-off wrestling ring, raised a couple feet off the floor, like those we associate with boxing or pro wrestling. (Some other colleges, including Indiana University, and University of Iowa, placed ropes around the mat which was placed on the floor.) The NCAA banned wrestling rings in the early 1940s. The opening paragraph of the brief article describes the image: Coach Gallagher demonstrates a move on Joe McDaniel"The ringful of struggling, squirming youths in the picture above is the wrestling squad of Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical College [the school's name until the late 1950s]. Every afternoon these rugged young muscle-men take orders from a wiry little Irish coach named Ed Gallagher, who has earned the name "Gibraltar of Grappling." Pushing and tossing each other around the ring, they grunt and groan and, like the wrestler to the right, sometimes suffer pain. They and their coach have brought fame to Oklahoma A&M by giving it the country's best wrestling teams, which in 22 years have won 125 meets, lost only five. This year, when the national tournament is held March 17 at Lancaster, Pa., Oklahoma seems sure to win, becoming intercollegiate champion for the tenth time in twelve years." (Life was right; the Cowboys won the team title at the 1939 NCAAs at Franklin & Marshall, tallying nearly three times as many team points as runner-up Lehigh ... and three individual champs: Joe McDaniel at 121 pounds, Stanley Henson at 155, and Johnny Harrell at heavyweight.) McDaniel and Henson are featured prominently in the Life magazine photos. McDaniel is shown in a two-photo sequence where Gallagher uses him to demonstrate a further-arm and leg roll. (Gallagher was a multi-sport athlete at Oklahoma State in the early 1900s, but never wrestled.) Henson, a three-time NCAA champ, is visible in a half-dozen photos, including one where he puts teammate Clay Albright in painful-looking body-scissors with a double bar-arm. Lasting legacies ... A couple elements from that Life magazine photo-article live on today. The site of the photo shoot, originally called the 4-H Building, had just opened. Nicknamed "the Madison Square Garden of the Prairie", the nearly half-million dollar fieldhouse hosted its first wrestling event on Feb. 3, 1939: a dual meet with Indiana University, one of the top programs in the nation at the time. Back in 2001, the building -- now named Gallagher-Iba Arena -- was expanded and upgraded ... but the original wood basketball floor installed in 1939 is still in place, ready to be covered with wrestling mats. Stanley Henson is also still around. The retired surgeon and sports medicine pioneer celebrated his 100th birthday in November 2016. A couple weeks ago, Henson returned to his alma mater to be presented with the Gallagher Award, an annual honor given to a former Cowboy wrestler who "exemplifies the spirit and leadership eminent in the tradition of champions." Sadly, coach Edward Clark Gallagher died less than 18 months after Life magazine came to Oklahoma State. Gallagher passed away in August 1940, after returning from a hunting trip. He was just 53 years old. He had battled Parkinson's disease -- a disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement, often including tremors, that affected Muhammed Ali, actor Michael J. Fox, and approximately one million other individuals in the U.S. -- for about a decade. Gallagher's funeral was held in the fieldhouse that had been named in his honor before his death. Under Gallagher, the Cowboys lassoed a 138-5-4 overall record for an amazing .952 winning percentage (a greater win ratio than most all-time great college mat coaches can claim). Gallagher coached 22 wrestlers to earn 37 individual national championships; seventeen of his Cowboys wrestled in Olympic competition, with three winning gold medals. A substantial number of his wrestlers went on to serve as high school and college wrestling coaches. Sixty-five years after his death, Gallagher was named one of three "Best Wrestling Coaches" in an online poll of wrestling fans for the NCAA 75th Anniversary Team honors in 2005. (The other two coaches so honored: Iowa State's Harold Nichols, and University of Iowa's Dan Gable.) Life magazine's three-page tribute to the "Gibraltar of Grappling" and his Oklahoma State wrestlers wasn't the last time the photo-magazine visited a wrestling room. Over the years, Life did a number of photo shoots involving U.S. amateur wrestlers, including images of the matmen of Mepham High School on Long Island, New York ... Michigan State's Merle and Burl Jennings, twin two-time NCAA champs (1941, 1942) ... and the "Dream Team" of Cornell College, the smallest school to win an NCAA team title (1947).

Zain Retherford (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has released the updated standings for the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, II and III Wrestling Championships. The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. For falls and tech falls to be counted they must come against opponents in the same division. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. In Division I, Penn State 149-pounder Zain Retherford leads the first release of standings for the Most Dominant Wrestler Award. Retherford is contributing 5.60 team points per match for the 2016 national champions. Teammate Bo Nickal is second with 5.50 points at 184 pounds, while Cornell 184-pounder Gabe Dean and Penn State 157-pounder Jason Nolf are third with 5.40 points. Francis Mizia of Mercyhurst leads Division II with an average of 5.00 points at 165 pounds, while Montrail Johnson of Wisconsin-Parkside is second with 4.71 points. Lance Evans of Wartburg has a commanding lead in Division III with an average of 5.56 team points per match at heavyweight. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Points per match are awarded as follows. Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss) Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss) Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss) Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss) The initial Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated with a 14-match minimum against wrestlers from the same division. Dean maintains his hold on the national lead for falls in Division I with 14, while Chad Walsh of Rider is second with 12 at 165 pounds. Heavyweight Garrett Gray of Tiffin leads Division II with 11 falls, while Kevin Barrett of Nebraska-Kearney and Ronald Wardleigh of Western State each have 10. Hunter Harris of Messiah has pulled ahead in Division III with 24 falls this season at 141 pounds, six more than his nearest competitor. True freshman Jack Mueller of Virginia leads Division I in tech falls with nine this season at 125 pounds, but is only holding off heavyweight Thomas Haines of Lock Haven by aggregate time. Mueller's nine tech falls have come in 33:47, 20 minutes less than Haines. Division II features a logjam of six wrestlers that have tallied six tech falls this season. Aggregate time comes into play again with 184-pounder Nicholas Fiegener of California Baptist tallying his tech falls in 19:38 to take the top position, two minutes less than Martin Ramirez of Adams State in second. Stephen Jarrell of Johnson & Wales (Rhode Island) has 14 tech falls at 174 pounds to hold a lead of two over Jason Lynch of Chicago at 197 pounds. Awards Standings

Austin Gomez claimed a Junior freestyle title in Fargo this past summer (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) The new development of Kevin Jackson stepping down as Iowa State's head wrestling coach as of the end of the 2016-17 season has now yielded its first domino on the recruiting front. Austin Gomez (Glenbard North, Ill.), a Junior National freestyle champion last summer and the anchor of a very strong early signing group for the Cyclones, has indicated his desire to consider other options for his collegiate wrestling career. The No. 26 overall prospect in the Class of 2017 has stated his wish to be released from his National Letter of Intent with Iowa State. Gomez will be considering other schools at which to compete during his collegiate career. His state tournament series starts this Saturday in Illinois, where he will be seeking a third straight state title; this one in the 138 pound weight class, where he is ranked No. 6 nationally.

Kevin Jackson (Photo/Iowa State Athletics) AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State head wrestling coach Kevin Jackson announced today that he will leave his current position at the conclusion of the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championship to assume an administrative role within the athletics department. "Iowa State has a great wrestling tradition and everyone involved with the program has very high expectations," Jackson said. "We have not consistently met those expectations recently which has been disappointing to me, my staff, our current and former wrestlers, the wrestling donors and our fans. I feel that a number of wrestlers on our team have the potential for strong tournament runs and making this announcement now relieves some pressures and uncertainties for our current student-athletes as well as for incoming recruits." Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard told Jackson that he will explore potential roles on campus or in the athletics department beyond his current contract's end. Jackson has just more than one year left on his coaching contract. "Kevin has worked tirelessly at Iowa State to develop a first-rate program on and off the mat and we are appreciative of those efforts," Pollard said. "He is a man of great integrity, a terrific ambassador for the Cyclones and a talented coach but we agreed that our program isn't performing at the level we expect. I truly appreciate the way Kevin has handled this situation by putting his student-athletes and Iowa State University first. His decision to step away from coaching at the end of the season is a great example of his selfless leadership." Jackson coached four Cyclone NCAA champions, 14 All-Americans and nine Big 12 champions at Iowa State. His first ISU team finished third at the NCAA Championship and boasted two national champions (Jake Varner and David Zabriskie). His other two national champs were Jon Reader (2011) and Kyven Gadson (2015). Jackson's Iowa State dual record of 68-54 includes a 1-9 mark this season. A member of several national wrestling halls of fame, Jackson was the National Freestyle Coach for USA Wrestling (2001-08) prior to coming to Iowa State. Jackson is also in the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame. As a competitor, he is a former Olympic Gold Medalist (1992), World Champion (1991 and 1995) and NCAA Runner-up (1987, the last time Iowa State won the team championship). "As for the future of the program, it's time for someone else to take the reins," Jackson said. "When I came back to Iowa State as head coach, I had very high goals for the program and we simply haven't achieved those goals. I'm very grateful for the opportunities that Iowa State has provided me as both a student-athlete and as the head coach for the last eight years."

MINNEAPOLIS -- The annual "Battle of the 'Burgs" wrestling dual meet between small-college powerhouses Augsburg College and Wartburg College will be held on Thursday (2/2) at 7:30 p.m. at Si Melby Hall, and will also include a high school dual and a reunion of three Augsburg championship teams. Augsburg, Wartburg meet Thursday (Photo/Augsburg Athletics)The main event pits the No. 2-ranked Auggies and No. 1-ranked Knights, the teams that have combined to win every NCAA Division III wrestling national title since 1995. Both Augsburg and Wartburg have won a record 12 Division III national crowns in wrestling. Thursday's dual meet is slated to include 14 nationally ranked wrestlers in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national poll -- five Auggies and nine Knights. This is the second time the Knights and Auggies have met this season; Wartburg bested Augsburg 31-9 in the finals of the NWCA Division III National Duals on Jan. 6 in Fort Wayne, Ind. The teams now wrestle for the "Swens/Milboy Belt," a traveling trophy created in 2015 for the series between the two schools. The trophy is named for the two coaches who built the Lutheran colleges to national prominence in small-college wrestling -- Augsburg's Jeff Swenson (1980-84, 1986-2007) and Wartburg's Jim Miller (1991-2013). Both coaches led their teams to 10 NCAA Division III national titles during their careers. (Read more about the history of the Augsburg-Wartburg wrestling rivalry in this 2012 article from the New York Times). Check out this podcast, featuring former coaches Jeff Swenson and Jim Miller, previewing the 2017 "Battle of the 'Burgs." In addition to the collegiate dual, there will also be a high school dual between two powers in Minnesota and Iowa, Scott West (Jordan/Belle Plaine, Minn.) and Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa), which will begin at 5:30 p.m. Scott West is currently ranked No. 2 in the Minnesota Class AA state rankings by The Guillotine newspaper, while Waverly-Shell Rock is ranked No. 5 in the latest Iowa Class 3A state rankings by The Predicament newspaper. Augsburg will also welcome back three of its wrestling championship teams on Thursday for the "Reunion of 7s" -- the 1987 MIAC championship team, the 1997 NCAA Division III national championship team and the 2007 NCAA Division III national championship team. There will be a reception prior to the Augsburg-Wartburg dual in the Kennedy Center, beginning at 5 p.m. The 1986-87 Auggie squad claimed the MIAC crown, its 15th in a stretch of 32 conference championships and the first of 18 consecutive titles from 1987 to 2004 (when the MIAC dropped wrestling as a conference sport). John Beatty (126 pounds) and Donny Wichmann (142 pounds) won MIAC titles that year, with Wichmann earning both tournament MVP and the most falls awards at the conference meet. Augsburg finished 10-5 in duals in the 1986-87 season. The Auggies finished 17th at the NCAA Division III National Championships, with Beatty earning All-American honors with a second-place national finish at 126 pounds. The 1996-97 Augsburg squad won the school's fourth NCAA Division III national championship, claiming eight All-Americans, the most the Auggies had ever earned to that point. Henry Gerten (118 pounds) and Dan Lewandowski (190 pounds) won national titles, while Jesse Bakalyar (150) and Justin Hahn (158) were national runners-up. Brian Jones placed third at 126, Wade Johnson (142) and John Pena (heavyweight) each placed fourth, and Jim Peterson placed seven at 167. The team went 14-1 in dual meets and claimed the MIAC title for the 25th time, claiming five league titlists -- Gerten (118), Jamie Larkin (134), Johnson (142), Lewandowski (190) and Pena (heavyweight). The 2006-07 Augsburg squad claimed the school's 10th NCAA Division III national championship, and last under head coach Jeff Swenson '79, now Augsburg's athletic director. Swenson earned NWCA Division III National Coach of the Year honors for the sixth time in his career. Nine Auggies earned All-American honors, led by 165-pounder Marcus LeVesseur, who became the only NCAA Division III wrestler ever to earn four national titles and just the second collegiate wrestler in history to finish a career unbeaten and untied, as he finished 155-0 in his career. Quincy Osborn (141 pounds) and Jeremy Anderson (157 pounds) also won national titles for the Auggies, and joined Jafari Vanier (second, 133), Seth Flodeen (second, 125), Jared Evans (fourth, 149), Robbie Goteau (fifth, 174), Andrew Neumann (fifth, heavyweight) and Wally O'Connor (eighth, 197) as All-Americans. The Auggies finished 14-1 in duals in the 2006-07 season and qualified wrestlers in all 10 weight classes to the national tournament, winning the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, with George Lynaugh (184) joining the other All-Americans at the national meet. Augsburg won nine of the 10 individual weight-class titles at the regional. Thursday's dual will also include a "Takedown Cancer" recognition prior to the dual, honoring Donny Wichmann '89 in his fight against cancer. Wichmann was a three-time MIAC champion in his Augsburg career and earned All-American honors in 1989 with a fourth-place finish at 150 pounds at the Division III national meet. An Augsburg co-Senior Honor Athlete in 1989, he later served as an assistant coach for the Auggies for 19 seasons (1990-2007, 2008-09), and was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. For more information on Thursday's events, contact the Augsburg Athletic Department office at 612-330-1249.

Troy Steiner and Brandon Eggum will be the guests on this week's edition of the On the Mat wrestling broadcast on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Steiner, a four-time NCAA All-American and 1992 NCAA champ at University of Iowa who has been on the coaching staff at Oregon State for the past decade, has been named head coach of the newly resurrected wrestling program at Fresno State in California. Eggum, a three-time NCAA All-American and two-time Big Ten champ at the University of Minnesota, joined the Gophers coaching staff upon graduation in 2000, having been recently named head wrestling coach at his alma mater. On the Mat is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday at 5 p.m. Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on mattalkonline.com.

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- A takedown by heavyweight Cody Crawford with 13 seconds remaining in sudden victory gave him a 3-1 victory over Nathan Butler of Stanford on Monday, powering the Oregon State wrestling team to a 18-15 triumph over the 21st-ranked Cardinal in their Pacific-12 Conference opener. Crawford and Butler, ranked 9th nationally, each had an escape in regulation and entered the one-minute sudden-victory period tied 1-1. Inspired by a cheering Gill Coliseum crowd of 917, Crawford fought off a shot and turned the tables on Butler with a takedown of his own as the Beavers (3-6, 1-0 Pac-12) snapped a three-match losing streak in their first home appearance since Nov. 20, 2016. "I felt him get on my leg, and I had to keep my hips in, like we worked on all week," Crawford said in describing the decisive moment. "I kept my hips in, went around behind him, keeping my hips in the whole time," and took Butler to the mat to improve to 17-5. "I pride myself on endurance; we come out here and work hard," he added. "We don't come out here to go easy; we put it all out there. "I definitely heard the crowd. I'm from Oregon [Turner], all the people in the stands get me going and get our team going. We love competing in Gill. " A 197-pounder his first three seasons, Crawford moved up when incumbent All-American heavyweight Amarveer Dhesi suffered a season-ending knee injury just before the season started. He now weighs about 245 pounds. "I love it," Crawford said of his new weight class. "Best decision I ever made. I had a tough time making weight and did not feel I could compete at 197. It was the right move to go up." The Beavers built a 6-0 lead on decisions by Kegan Calkins (125) and Joey Palmer (133), who topped 13th-ranked Connor Schram 2-1. Joey Delgado built the lead to 9-3 with a decision at 149 but the Cardinal (8-3, 2-1), who have already defeated Boise State and Arizona, won three matches in a row for a 15-9 advantage. However, Boise State transfer Seth McLeod won at 184 in his home debut and Corey Griego prevailed at 197, tying the match 15-15 and setting up the thrilling Crawford-Butler finale. "It was a much better effort," OSU coach Jim Zalesky said. "The lineup changes we made, putting Bob Coleman down to 174 (from 184), his natural weight, he fought hard and getting (transfer) Seth McLeod in there just helps our lineup. "It was a hard-fought match. I told them we need better fight and better effort, and that is the first time I've seen our team have the fight and effort I want to see, up and down the lineup." The Beavers resume a busy week of Pac-12 action on Friday when they face the host Boise State Broncos. The annual Border War begins at 1 p.m. at Taco Bell Arena and will be televised by the Pac-12 Network. OSU returns home on Sunday to battle Arizona State in a 1 p.m. dual at Gill Coliseum. It will be televised by the Pac-12 Network. "We need to keep getting better, and peak at the end of the year," Crawford said. "That's what we always do; right now we're just getting ready for March," and the Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments. For more information on the Oregon State wrestling team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/Beaverwrestling, or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateWrestling. Results: 125: Kegan Calkins (OSU) dec. Brian Rossi (S), 5-2 133: Joey Palmer (OSU) dec. Connor Schram (S), 2-1 141: Joey McKenna (S) dec. Jack Hathaway (OSU), 5-1 149: Joey Delgado (OSU) dec. Tommy Pawelski (S), 5-0 157: Paul Fox (S) dec. Abraham Rodriguez (OSU), 7-4 165: Keaton Subjeck (S) pinned Weston Dobler (OSU), 2:42 174: Peter Galli (S) dec. Bob Coleman (OSU), 6-2 184: Seth McLeod (OSU) dec. Zach Nevills (S), 9-2 197: Corey Griego (OSU) dec. Josh Marchok (S), 9-5 Hwt.: Cody Crawford (OSU) dec. Nathan Butler (S), 3-1, SV

AFTON, Wyo. -- The University of Wyoming hammered home a 32-6 dual victory over Boise State on Monday night. Head coach Mark Branch's squad won eight of the ten bouts in front of 2,065 fans at Star Valley high school. “There was a lot of good that I saw tonight,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “But with that there is still work to be done. We were hesitant at times, and we definitely don't want that, especially early on in matches. This crowd was unbelievable here in Afton. They did a great job of hosting.” Branson Ashworth started the dual off on the right foot for UW. The redshirt sophomore earned a second-period takedown over Demetrious Romero to give Wyoming a 6-0 lead to begin the dual. Kyle Pope was up next and fell just short in a 3-2 decision that went to Austin Dewey. Luke Paine moved up to 197 for the Pokes and held on to a 6-5 decision to give the Brown and Gold its second victory of the night. The win was the first of seven in a row on Monday evening. Drew Templeman followed Paine with a 12-0 major decision over Will Bardezbain. Templeman scored a third-period reversal and four point near fall en route to his bonus point win. Ronnie Stevens added a 4-3 decision for the Pokes. He recorded a whopper of a takedown in the final period to secure the victory. In what was probably the highlight of the evening, Bryce Meredith pinned Rami Haddadin early in the opening period for what was his team-leading ninth fall of the season. It took the sophomore from Cheyenne just 21 seconds to take the win. Cole Mendenhall added another bonus point win for UW with a 13-5 major over Dakota Wall. Mendenhall secured three separate takedowns in the second period in addition to one final takedown in the third period. Archie Colgan closed out the victorious evening for the Cowboys with a 9-3 decision. Colgan had four total takedowns in the match, with three of those in the second frame. The Pokes will be back in action on Saturday in the UniWyo Sports Complex. The dual against Air Force will begin at 7 p.m. MT. Results: 165: Branson Ashworth fall Demetrious Romero (4:22) 174: Austin Dewey dec. Kyle Pope, 3-2 184: Kadyn Del Toro de. Lucas Lovvorn, 7-1 197: Luke Paine dec. Harley DuLulo, 6-5 285: Brandon Tribble dec. Garbriel Gonzalez, 3-0 125: Drew Templeman maj. dec. Will Bardezbain, 12-0 133: Ronnie Stevens dec. Josh Newburg, 4-3 141: Bryce Meredith fall Rami Haddadin (0:21) 149: Cole Mendenhall maj. dec. Dakota Wall, 13-5 157: Archie Colgan dec. Fred Green, 9-3

USA Wrestling plans to send an official delegation to participate in the Freestyle World Cup, set for Feb. 16-17 in Kermanshah, Iran. This is the annual World dual meet championship for men's freestyle wrestling and one of the most prestigious competitions each year in international wrestling. “This tour continues a long history of goodwill and cooperation between the United States and Iran through wrestling, which is an impressive example of diplomacy between the people of these nations through sport. This is an important international competition, and we look forward to competing against the World's best wrestling teams,” said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director. USA Wrestling sponsored the first American sports team to compete in Iran after an absence of nearly 20 years, when a U.S. freestyle wrestling team competed in the 1998 Takhti Cup in Tehran. A U.S. team has competed in the Takhti Cup in various Iranian cities nine times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015). The U.S. also competed at the 1998 World Championships held in Tehran. The U.S. sent a team to the Emam Ali Habibi and Abdollah Movahed Cup in Qaemshar in 2010. The U.S. competed in the 2013 Freestyle World Cup in Tehran and the 2014 Greco-Roman World Cup in Tehran. In addition, the U.S.-based Titan Mercury Wrestling Club competed in the Freestyle World Club Championships in Joybari in 2014 and Mazandaran in 2015 That makes it 15 times USA Wrestling has been in Iran for wrestling since the Iranian Revolution. Iran has competed in wrestling in the United States numerous times. This included the 1995 World Championships in Atlanta, the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and the 1998 Junior World Championships in Primm, Nev., the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York City, the 2003 World Championships in New York City and the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas. In addition, the Iranian team competed in the World Cup held in the United States seven times (1995 in Chattanooga, 1998 in Stillwater, 1999 in Spokane, 2000 in Fairfax, Va. and 2001 in Baltimore, and three times in Los Angeles, 2014, 2015 and 2016). We also had an Iranian team in the USA for training at the Olympic Training Center in 2012. Iran competed in the 2013 Beat the Streets event in Grand Central Station and the 2016 Beat the Streets event in Times Square, both in New York City. That makes it 16 times the Iranians have come to the USA as guest of USA Wrestling since the 1990s. The U.S. Freestyle World Cup delegation will feature 13 athletes, two coaches, a referee, a medical staff member and a videographer, plus other official delegates. USA Wrestling has a long tradition of competing with nations which may not have a strong relationship between their governments. During the Cold War, U.S. wrestling teams regularly competed in the Soviet Union and in other nations in Eastern Europe, and teams from those nations competed in the United States often. Since the Cuban Revolution, U.S. wrestling teams have competed in Cuba on almost an annual basis, and Cuban teams were regular participants in U.S.-based competitions.

Despite growing up legally blind, a high school wrestler overcomes great odds and attempts to win a New Jersey state championship A filmmaker has kicked off a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to generate funding to complete his feature documentary about a blind high school wrestler. "I need your help to raise $40,000 to finish post production on my film 'A Shot in the Dark,'" filmmaker Chris Suchorsky wrote in his introduction to his Kickstarter page established this past week. "I actually need $51,350, but I'm trying to be realistic. This is my first attempt at Kickstarter and I'm hoping my film and rewards will motivate you to help me finish the film." "A Shot in the Dark" is about Anthony Ferraro, a blind high school wrestler in New Jersey who had been coached by a former wrestling teammate Seton Hall University in the late 1990's. Suchorsky had reconnected with his ex-teammate, who introduced the filmmaker to the story by sharing a two-minute "sizzle reel" about Anthony Ferraro by his brother Ollie, who wanted to make an 8-10 minute film about the wrestler. (That original sizzle reel, along with a trailer put together by Suchorsky, are both available for viewing at the Kickstarter page for "A Shot in the Dark.") After meeting with Ollie Ferraro, Suchorsky agreed to take on the project, with one change: the film would be a feature-length documentary. Suchorsky traveled to New Jersey to start filming, while Ollie stayed in Los Angeles for his job. "Over the next year, I spent every free moment I had pointing the camera at Anthony and the St. John Vianney wrestling team," Suchorsky wrote on the Kickstarter page. "Ollie and I would talk every few days about the project. He'd tell me who to interview, what questions to ask, etc. He would also periodically fly back to New Jersey to help film." "After a year of shooting, the film ended up in the proverbial can. Work, marriage, and a mortgage became priorities for me. Ollie left Hulu, moved back to New Jersey, and took a job as a producer. Life essentially got in the way of finishing the film." "In the summer of 2015, I decided to pull the film off the shelf," Suchorsky continued. "The film had been hanging over my head for two years. By late August, I had found enough free time to rough out the first 15 minutes of the film. Ollie and I had been working on a number of projects since he had moved back to New Jersey. I was trying to set up a time for us to sit down and watch what I had cut together. Sadly, on August 28th, 2015, Oliver Ferraro passed away. He never saw what I had cut together." At Oliver's funeral, his mother said she would do what she could to get the documentary about Anthony Ferraro finished. That propelled Suchorsky to continue working on his film. Now he needs financial help to complete post-production, and has established his Kickstarter page to reach out to the wrestling community (and others) to generate the funds he needs to finish "A Shot in the Dark." Of interest to wrestling fans -- and fans of wrestling films: Suchorsky said he had contacted singer/songwriter Tom Cochrane of Red Rider, seeking permission to use the band's classic song "Lunatic Fringe" as featured in the 1985 movie "Vision Quest" in his documentary. Cochrane said yes ... apparently making the song available to Suchorsky "for pennies on the dollar." To learn more about "A Shot in the Dark" (and see the trailer and Ollie Ferraro's original sizzle film) -- and make a donation -- click here.

Marquise Overton, sophomore defensive lineman for the University of Oklahoma, intends to join the Sooner wrestling program, according to multiple media reports ... and the 2015 high school state wrestling champ's own Twitter account. Marquise Overton"I have been thinking long and hard on this decision of mine but I would like to let friends and family know that I will be now playing football and wrestling at OU!!!" Overton tweeted. While the news is being widely reported by media throughout the state of Oklahoma and nationwide at college football websites, the OU wrestling program has not made any official announcement of its own. When contacted late Friday afternoon, sports information director for Sooner wrestling, Micah Thompson, responded, "I have to receive confirmation from our department before he is officially on the team. I have yet to receive anything ..." This is not a case of a star in one sport suddenly deciding to dabble in a new, unfamiliar sport. The 6'1", 295-pound Overton was a two-sport star at Jenks High School in Oklahoma. In fact, not long after he signed his National Letter of Intent to play football at Oklahoma in 2015, Overton won the 285-pound Oklahoma Class 6A state wrestling title, scoring a 3-1 decision over Midwest City's Korey Walker in the championship finals to finish his senior season with a 37-1 record. "Last year, I lost in the semifinals and it was very heartbreaking," Overton told The Oklahoman, the daily newspaper of Oklahoma City, back in March 2015. "I wanted to make sure that I got the state title this year. This was really important to me." At that time, Overton was already entertaining the idea of continuing his wrestling career as well as play football in Norman. "I asked (OU football coaches) if I could wrestle and they told me it's my choice," Overton said after winning the 2015 state mat title. "But they also said that I should know football would come first. I've heard from people that (Mark Cody, OU wrestling coach at the time) may want me to come wrestle for him. Right now it's just a maybe." Overton's grappling and gridiron credentials were impressive, even in high school. He was a four-star football recruit by Rivals.com and was ranked No. 20 in the nation at 285 pounds by InterMat. After playing in eight games in 2015 as a freshman, Overton participated in just two games as a defensive tackle this past season before suffering what turned out to be a season-ending ankle injury, the NBCSports.com College Football Talk website reported. Overton certainly isn't the first college athlete to step onto the wrestling mat after stepping off the gridiron at the end of football season. In fact, this was a common phenomenon through decades of college sport, with one of the most outstanding examples being two-sport superstar Curley Culp of Arizona State who won the heavyweight title at the 1967 NCAAs, then embarked on a long and successful NFL career which earned him a Super Bowl ring and a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. More than one media source named the same two Sooners who played football and wrestled: the late Steve "Dr. Death" Williams, a four-time NCAA All-American wrestler and four-year letterman as an offensive lineman who graduated from OU in 1981 ... and Jake Hager, who, while in Norman, left the football field to focus on wrestling, becoming an NCAA All-American heavyweight. Both went on to successful pro wrestling careers (Hager as WWE star Jack Swagger).