InterMat Staff

Big Ten Network and ESPN wrestling analyst Jim Gibbons knows wrestling. One of the best broadcasters in the business, Gibbons knows what it takes to win an NCAA championship both as an athlete and a coach. Who does Gibbons see as the favorite coming into this year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis? Who does he think will have a breakout performance and exceed expectations as Mr. Upside? Gibbons will be previewing each of the 10 weight classes leading up to the NCAAs. Follow Jim on Twitter at @JGibLacesUp and let him know what you think if his previews and picks. J'den Cox (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)J'den Cox (Missouri) returns in his sophomore season looking to repeat as NCAA champion. I picked Cox last season to win mainly because he was sitting in a good place in the bracket. Watching him last year in OKC it was clear he was a good call. Cox is a gifted athlete, but he can get into trouble in this tournament if he's not moving on his feet and using good setups. The best athletes don't win unless they respect the skill of their opponent. There is enough skill in this field to make repeating difficult for J'den Cox, but he's the pick. Three guys are back that are all capable of taking home the belt: Big Ten champion Morgan McIntosh (Penn State), Big 12 champ Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) and Scott Schiller (Minnesota). McIntosh has been on a bit of a roll and seems to have a clear definition of how he wants to win matches. Gadson has career wins over every contender in the field and Schiller defeated Cox in the exhibition NWCA All-Star Classic, along with several career wins over Gadson. For Schiller and Gadson it's their last shot, but this weight class should be competitive for some time. The newcomer in the weight class is freshman Kyle Snyder (Ohio State). He owns season wins over McIntosh and Schiller. The Saturday morning consolation semifinals and medal round will be exciting. The top four favorites in the team race have guys that are seeded in the top six at 197 pounds. A win in the consolation semis gives a team 3.5 points. In head-to-head matches that's a seven-point swing, additionally a win in the medal round is one point plus any match bonus points along the way. For teams that struggle getting finalists this is their last chance to post a score and head to the clubhouse. It's a round where you see guys break through on sheer will. Hawkeye fans are hoping No. 6 Nathan Burak can catch someone sulking about not being in the finals. He has a win over Snyder, but hasn't yet been able break into this top group. Saturday morning may be his opportunity to show up, help himself and his team. There are two remaining All American spots I think are up for grabs. A perfect spot for a Mr. Upside. No. 12 Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) was the Big Ten Mr U. He performed admirably finishing sixth while being seeded eighth. No. 13 Shane Woods (Wyoming) is also a good candidate -- coached by Mark Branch. If you're a long shot there is no better guy to have in your corner than Mark -- the last unseeded NCAA champ. Conner Hartmann (Photo/Duke Sports Information)However, No. 10 Conner Hartmann (Duke) is Mr. Upside. He is only the second All-American in school history. Hartmann is from Port Orchard, Washington, and placed fifth last season at this weight class. He had no choice but to leave his home state if he wanted to compete at the Division I level and has found a home clear across the country. It' a big deal when these programs have All-Americans, proving it can be done. Pick: J'den Cox (Missouri) Mr. Upside: Conner Hartmann (Duke) Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285

Chris Watson capped an unblemished season with a 7-2 victory over Lake Erie's Matt Vandermeer to capture the 165-pound national title and earn Outstanding Wrestler honors here Saturday night at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. The Central Oklahoma senior wrapped up a 42-0 campaign -- just the second full-season perfect record in school history -- and gave the Bronchos an 18th-place finish in the team race by scoring 20 points himself in the two-day event at Chaifanx Arena. Watson's takedown with 26 seconds left in the opening period gave him a 2-0 lead in the finals, but Vandermeer cut that to 2-1 on an escape 20 seconds into the second stanza and that was the score entering the third period. Watson chose neutral for the final two minutes and sandwiched two takedowns around a Vandermeer escape while adding a riding time point to close out his final victory. "I'm just so proud of Chris for finishing off a great career and an unbelievable senior season with what he deserved," head coach David James. "He worked incredibly hard this year and stayed focused on the task at hand." Watson moved into the finals with a 7-1 victory over third-rated Gabe Fogarty of St. Cloud State in Saturday morning's semifinals. That match was scoreless after the opening period, with Watson breaking the deadlock on a reverse midway through the second stanza. He controlled Fogarty the rest of the period, added a takedown early in the third to make it 4-0 and followed an escape with another takedown before tacking on a riding time point.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- As the old adage goes, "Once is nice, twice is nice," and, well, three times is just flat out impressive. Joey Davis won his third consecutive NCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena with a 3-2 win over Maryville's Zeb Wahle in the 174-pound championship. With the win, Davis improves to 38-0 on the season -- and 110-0 in his career -- cementing a historic legacy for the Notre Dame College wrestling program as just a junior. The Falcons placed sixth overall at the NCAA D2 Wrestling Championships, led by Davis' first place performance, scoring 50 points as a team. Also placing for the Falcons was senior Maurice Miller (141 lbs), who ended his career as a Falcon with an impressive third place finish at the Championships, while Jonatan Rivera placed fourth in the 157 lb bracket for NDC. Ivan McClay also had a strong weekend for the Falcons, placing seventh in the 125 lb bracket. Miller started the Championships by going 1-1 in his first two matches before turning the intensity up a notch. After the 1-1 start, Miller won four straight matches, concluding with a 3-2 win over Tiffin's Michael Screptock in the 141 lb 3rd Place match. Miller's efforts scored 12.5 total team points for the Falcons. At 157 pounds, Jonatan Rivera was unable to repeat as National Champion, but still put together an impressive run at the D2 Wrestling Championships. In the Consolation Semifinals, Rivera defeated Mercyhurst's Francis Mizia in sudden victory overtime, 5-3. In the battle for third place, Rivera lost a nailbiter to Clint Poster (St. Cloud State), but still came away with a top-four placing for the Falcons. McClay placed seventh for the Falcons in the 125 lb bracket, defeating Mercyhurst's Willie Bohince 4-3 in the 7th Place match. McClay finished the weekend 3-2 overall, scoring 5.0 team points for NDC.

HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Wartburg wrestling team finished as the national runner-up at the NCAA National Championships Saturday. Round 4: 149: Kenny Martin (WB) win by 8-3 dec vs Vincent Fava (Delaware Valley) 184: Riley Lefever (Wabash) win by 5-3 dec vs Devin Peterson (WB) Other Notes: Wartburg takes second with 89.5 points. Martin is the first national champion for Wartburg at 149 since Jacob Naig in 2008. Martin is the third national champion at 149 in program history. This was Martin's 30th victory this season. Martin moved his winning streak to 19. Martin was the No. 4 seed. Lefever was the No. 1 seed and was undefeated on the season. Peterson is the national runner-up. Peterson is the highest placewinner for Wartburg since Romeo Djoumessi was the national champion in 2008. Peterson had his winning streak halted at 14. Wartburg finishes with eight AllAmericans, the most since 2012, when the Knights also had eight All-Americans. Wartburg has had multiple AllAmericans each year since 1991. Wartburg was not ranked in the NWCA Preseason Poll. The streak of either Wartburg or Augsburg winning the national title since 1995 continues. Wartburg has been the national champion or the national runner-up in 16 of the last 19 years.

The Nebraska Kearney wrestling team, led by national champions Romero Cotton and Daniel DeShazer, finished second at the 2015 NCAA Championships Saturday night in St. Louis, Mo. UNK tallied 76.50 points to come in behind first-time national champ St. Cloud State (84.50). The Huskies, with one national champ, two runners up and two third place finishers, finally get to the top of the award stand after finishing second in 2013, 2012 and 2011. To record the program's fifth national runner up finish and 14th straight Top 10 showing, the Lopers had five All-Americans in Cotton (1st/197 lbs.), DeShazer (1st/133 lbs.), sophomore Destin McCauley (3rd/149 lbs.), junior Devin Aguirre (4th/165 lbs.) and redshirt freshman Keith Surber (5th/141 lbs.). Cotton (Hutchinson, Kan.) and DeShazer (Wichita, Kan.) become UNK's 10th and 11th three-time All-Americans, respectively, while also joining Ali Elias ('90 & '91), Brett Allgood ('06 & '08), Tervel Dlagnev ('07 & '08) and Raufeon Stots ('12 & '13) as Lopers with two-time national titles. It wasn't easy for either Cotton or DeShazer as they had to work overtime in both of their semifinal and finals matches. At 133 lbs., DeShazer was just four seconds from reaching a minute of riding time in the finals against Michael Labry of Ashland (Ohio). A third period takedown by DeShazer put him up 4-3 but Labry squirted free just as DeShazer was about to reach the needed minute and an extra point. No one scored in either sudden victory period with both wresters also escaping in the first tie breaking period. In the second tie breaking period, both wrestlers again escaped but DeShazer rode Labry for 13 seconds, erasing Labry's nine second advantage and earning four seconds of riding time to win 7-6. Finishing the year 39-5 and improving to 62-3 all-time vs. D2 competition, DeShazer got past Nate Rodriguez of Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 2-1, in the semifinals. Two escapes, and riding Rodriguez out, provided the winning margin. Cotton won both his semifinal and final matches by identical 3-1 scores and in the first sudden victory period. He once again beat Julian Smith of McKendree (Ill.), getting a takedown 23 seconds into overtime. Last year, Cotton needed a furious rally to beat Smith for the national title. In the finals, Cotton faced Huston Evans of Newberry College (S.C.). Evans, a Virginia Tech transfer, fought off a couple of Cotton attacks in regulation but he couldn't stop him in OT, giving up a takedown at the 38 second mark. Also a two-time All-MIAA running back, Cotton concludes a short season with an 18-5 mark. McCauley (No. Sioux City, S.D.) fell to rival Terrel Wilbourn of Lindenwood in the 149 lbs. semifinals. Losing to Wilbourn by an 11-5 score in the regular season, McCauley was poised to grab a 2-0 lead late in the first period. However, Wilbourn not only fought off the shot but got a takedown and two near fall points to lead 4-0. McCauley tried to rally but lost 7-6. He came back to win two matches, using a third period takedown to beat Findlay's Nick Goebel, 3-2, for third place. McCauley ends 2014-15 with a 27-8 mark. At 141 lbs., Surber (O'Fallon, Ill.) fell to now two-time national champ Dan Ownbey of UNC-Pembroke, 6-4, in the semis and to Notre Dame's Maurice Miller, 9-5, in a consolation match. He finished off a 26-11 season by beating OBU's Josh Myers, 8-4, for a second time in this tournament to place fifth. Finally, Aguirre (Ponca City, Okla.) suffered a 5-2 loss to Lake Erie's Matt Vandermeer in the 165 lbs. semis. Vandermeer used a first period takedown and never let Aguirre go, building up over 2:00 of riding time. Aguirre, finishing 31-16, came back to major Nick Fischback of Wisconsin-Parkside, 12-3, his second win over Fischback in the tourney. SCSU's Gabe Forgarty came on strong late to beat Aguirre, 12-6, for third place. On Friday, UNK's other two qualifiers – juniors Connor Bolling (125 lbs.) and Chase White (157 lbs.) – went a combined 3-4. Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament - Chris Watson, Central Oklahoma Bob Bubb Coaching Excellence Award - Pat Timm, Northern State Most Falls in the Least Time - Larry Bomstad, St. Cloud State Coach of the Year - Mike Wehler, Mercyhurst (Pa.) NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler - Ziad Haddad, Kutztown (Pa.) NCAA Most Falls - Matt Vandermeer, Lake Erie (Ohio) NCAA Most Tech Falls - August Mizia, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

Results: Results St. Cloud State won the school's first national championship The St. Cloud State University wrestling team (17-2, 8-0 NSIC) wrote a new chapter in the history of the school's athletic program by capturing the Huskies' first-ever team national championship. SCSU brought home the 2015 NCAA Division II championship with a first place finish at the 2014-15 championships, which were held on March 13-14 at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo. The Huskies tallied 84.5 points to outpace second place Nebraska Kearney, which ended the tournament with 76.5 points. St. Cloud State University freshman Tim Prescott brought home SCSU's fifth NCAA Division II individual championship with a 3-2 victory over top seed T.J. North of Augustana. Prescott ended his trip to the NCAA finals with a perfect 4-0 record and is the first Huskies wrestler to win a national crown since Shamus O'Grady took the top spot at 184-pounds in 2013. He is the first SCSU wrestler to win an NCAA Division II title at 125-pounds. In the bout for 285, SCSU's Austin Goergen placed second in the tournament as he suffered an 8-6 loss to Ziad Haddad of Kutztown in the title match. On the weekend, Goergen posted a 3-1 record for the Huskies and earned his second consecutive All-America award. All six SCSU wrestlers gained All-America status for the Huskies. This included Prescott and Goergen along with three-time All-Americans Gabe Fogarty and Clint Poster. Fogarty placed third for SCSU at 165-pounds and Poster ended his season with a third place finish at 157-pounds. First time All-Americans for the Huskies included Larry Bomstad at 149-pounds and Mike Rhone at 133-pounds. Bomstad gained the tournament's award for most pins in the least amount of time. Results: 1. St. Cloud State 84.5 2. Nebraska-Kearney 76.5 3. Maryville University of St. Louis 61.0 4. Mercyhurst University 58.0 5. Ouachita Baptist University 55.5 6. Notre Dame College 50.0 7. McKendree University 44.5 8. Western State Colorado University 40.0 9. Tiffin University 37.5 10. Colorado Mesa University 34.0

Results: Results HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Augsburg College wrestling team claimed its record 12th NCAA Division III national championship, winning two individual national crowns and earning six All-Americans in the finals of the national tournament, completed on Saturday at the Giant Center. Augsburg claimed its record 12th Division III national titleNotes Augsburg claimed its NCAA Division III-record 12th national title and first since 2010, snapping a streak of four straight national titles by Wartburg (Iowa). Augsburg and Wartburg have combined to win every NCAA Division III national title since 1995. Augsburg claimed the championship with 100.0 points, its eighth national title scoring 100 or more points. Wartburg finished second with 89.5 points, while Wabash (Ind.) was third with 66.5 points, Wisconsin-Whitewater was fourth with 60.5 points and Delaware Valley (Pa.) was fifth with 58.5 points. Augsburg swept the awards presented by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Head coach Jim Moulsoff was named Division III National Coach of the Year and Division III Rookie Coach of the Year, while Tony Valek was named Assistant Coach of the Year. Augsburg 125-pound back-to-back national champion Mike Fuenffinger (Senior, Hibbing, Minn.) was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler, and 165-pounder Eric Hensel (Junior, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) earned the tournament's Most Falls in Least Time award. "As the season went on, we took our lumps, I know that, but it didn't make a difference," Moulsoff said. "We learned along the way and we grew, because (the wrestlers knew) they're going to crown a national champ come March, and that was their goal, and that's what they did. That's what we did." Augsburg's lead in the tournament came down to bonus points, which teams receive for recording major decisions, technical falls and pins. Augsburg received 24 bonus points in the team standings (seven pins, two technical falls, seven major decisions), while Wartburg recorded seven bonus points (two pins, four major decisions). In a rematch of last year's 125-pound national championship match, Augsburg's Fuenffinger dominated in a 15-2, major-decision victory over Lucas Malmberg of Messiah (Pa.), becoming the 11th Augsburg wrestler in school history to earn multiple national titles. Last year, Fuenffinger also claimed a major-decision win over Malmberg in the finals with a 12-4 triumph. Using five takedowns, two near-falls and a 4:02 riding-time advantage, Fuenffinger controlled the championship bout from start to finish, only allowing two escapes by Malmberg. "It was the same approach (as last year), just dominating every position," Fuenffinger said. "Just go out there, attacking and attacking, pressing forward the whole time. Just being dominant on top, trying to keep him down. It worked out." Fuenffinger finished his senior season with a 34-1 record, including a 31-match winning streak to end his collegiate career. Of Fuenffinger's 34 victories, 25 were bonus-point wins (nine pins, four technical falls, 12 major decisions). "A big part of any team is a good starter. Mike has done that for us for the last four years," Moulsoff said. "A great way to go out with his second national title, leading by example, out there on the mat for everyone else. He sets the tone right away, he goes out there and dominates, and what more can you ask for as a coach." The 41st Augsburg wrestler to earn three or more All-American honors, Fuenffinger finished his career with a 110-21 record, including 25 pins, 11 technical falls and 26 major decisions. Fuenffinger advanced to the national title match in come-from-behind fashion, rallying from an early 2-0 deficit with a pin in 6:27 over Guesseppe Rea of Wilkes (Pa.). "Faith is the biggest thing. I just went out there and stayed focused. I just wanted to go out there and fight for the glory of God. Jesus is what got me here. I owe it all to Him. Being able to represent Him in the best way I can, that's what I was striving for," Fuenffinger said. Heavyweight Donny Longendyke (Senior, Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) claimed his first national title, claiming a 1-0 win over Terrance Jean-Jacques of Rhode Island College. After a scoreless first period, Longendyke claimed an escape two seconds into the second period, the lone points of the bout. Neither wrestler scored in the third period, with the two trading shots. "You had two evenly-matched athletes right there. They're not your typical heavyweights," Moulsoff said. "Donny did a heckuva job for us this year, coming in and doing what he did. It's always nice to have a guy like that at the end of your lineup." Longendyke advanced to his first national championship match with an 8-4 victory over James Bethel of Oneonta State (N.Y.) in the semifinals earlier on Saturday. A transfer from Division I Nebraska, Longendyke finished 44-2 on the season, including a 32-0 NCAA record. He finished the season with a 36-match winning streak. Of his 44 wins, 33 were bonus-point wins (22 pins, three technical falls, eight major decisions). Chad Bartschenfeld (Senior, Amery, Wis.) saw his unseeded streak through the tournament come to an end in the national title match at 133 pounds, as he was edged 4-3 by No. 5-seed Matthew Grossman of Wilkes (Pa.). Bartschenfeld claimed the first takedown of the match, but gave up two escapes and a takedown with 25 seconds left in the second period. Earlier in the day, Bartschenfeld reached the finals with a 6-4 win in the second overtime tiebreaker session over No. 6-seed Evan Obert of Luther (Iowa), claiming an escape with 22 seconds left in regulation and a takedown with three seconds left to force overtime. After two sudden-victory sessions and a tiebreaker session, Bartschenfeld scored a reversal with 16 seconds left in his second tiebreaker, then rode out Obert for the final 30 seconds to collect the win. Competing in his second national tournament, Bartschenfeld finished his senior season with a 30-12 record, and capped his career at 75-46, including eight pins, three technical falls and 16 major decisions. Earlier in the day, three Auggies earned victories in their placing matches. Augsburg's six All-Americans are its most since claiming eight in the 2010 national title season. Augsburg has now earned 228 All-Americans in school history -- 192 in NCAA Division III competition (1983-present) and 36 in NAIA competition (1968-1983). Augsburg has had at least one All-American in national wrestling competition every season since 1977, and has had three or more All-Americans at 36 different national tournaments. At 165, Eric Hensel (Junior, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) finished fifth for his first career All-American honor, claiming two pins on Saturday, including a 1:43 pin over top-seed Andrew Steiert of Wartburg in the fifth-place match. A transfer from Clackamas Community College (Oregon), Hensel finished his first Auggie season at 22-14, and is 38-26 in his collegiate career. Hensel finished the national tournament with four pins, leading the tournament field. Will Keeter (Senior, Twin Falls, Idaho) finished his collegiate career with a seventh-place finish at 149 pounds for his second All-American honor in his third national tournament. He finished in third place at 141 pounds in 2012. On Saturday, Keeter suffered a pin in 4:53 by Brad Mayville of the Rochester Institute of Technology (N.Y.), but rallied back in the seventh-place match with a dramatic 11-9 win over Luke Lohr of Waynesburg, who had beaten Keeter 6-3 in their opening match on Friday. Keeter finished his senior season at 33-13, and finished his Augsburg career with a 129-59 record, with three trips to the national tournament to his credit. Matt Hechsel (Senior, Apple Valley, Minn.) finished his collegiate career with a seventh-place finish at 197 pounds, claiming a 13-3, major-decision win over Matt Seabold of Central (Iowa) in the seventh-place match. Earlier in the day, he dropped a 6-1 decision to Aaron Karns of Delaware Valley (Pa.) to fall to the seventh-place match. Hechsel finished his Augsburg career as a two-time All-American, finishing seventh both this year and in 2013 at 197. A three-time national tournament qualifier, Hechsel finished this season at 30-11, and capped his career with a 116-48 collegiate record. Team Standings (Top 10): 1. Augsburg (Minn.) 100.0 2. Wartburg (Iowa) 89.5 3. Wabash (Ind.) 66.5 4. Wisconsin-Whitewater 60.5 5. Delaware Valley (Pa.) 58.5 6. Messiah (Pa.) 48.0 7. Coe (Iowa) 40.5 8. Wisconsin-La Crosse 40.0 9. Luther (Iowa) 39.5 10. Williams (Mass.) 33.0

Big Ten Network and ESPN wrestling analyst Jim Gibbons knows wrestling. One of the best broadcasters in the business, Gibbons knows what it takes to win an NCAA championship both as an athlete and a coach. Who does Gibbons see as the favorite coming into this year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis? Who does he think will have a breakout performance and exceed expectations as Mr. Upside? Gibbons will be previewing each of the 10 weight classes leading up to the NCAAs. Follow Jim on Twitter at @JGibLacesUp and let him know what you think if his previews and picks. Isaiah Martinez (Photo/Joe Maiorana, USA Today)I have been saying this for a while, "guys show up," and no weight class is a better example than 157 pounds. Undefeated No. 1 seed Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) redshirted last season and finished fourth in the Midlands. He lost in that event to the defending NCAA champion Derek St. John (Iowa) in the second round and lost in the third-place match, 9-6, to the Midlands No. 8 seed Johnny Greisheimer (Edinboro). This year Martinez is on a roll. He picked apart Dylan Ness (Minnesota) in the Big Ten finals. He is always looking for points. Martinez is a special talent that appears to be very coachable and his comments afterwards were mature and thoughtful. This leads me to believe he will be the same competitor this week and has a great chance to win the title. James Green (Nebraska) lost 2-0 to Martinez earlier this season. Green is explosive and dangerous as the No. 4 seed. Remember he was the No. 1 seed last season and held the ranking for two months. Brian Realbuto (Cornell) has everyone's respect as the No. 2 seed. He won by decision over Ness at the National Duals, and is a gamer. NCAA fourth-place finisher Ian Miller (Kent State) is seeded No. 7, but has a surprising number of losses for the talent he showed in OKC. How about No. 5 Cody Pack (South Dakota State)? He is 34-4 on the year and getting jacked. Having an All American would be huge for Coach Chris Bono and his program. The team race gets started right away with No. 6 Josh Demas (Ohio State) up against Mike Kelly (Iowa) in the first round. Demas, a senior who has made it to the round of 12, has to be counted on to hold or improve on his seed for the Buckeyes to win the title. Missouri coach Brian Smith is looking for No. 9 Joey LaVallee to catch fire and be the sixth man for the Tigers. With Smith's five other highly seeded wrestlers they could be holding the big prize Saturday with an All-American performance from LaVallee. Dylan Ness (Photo/GopherSports.com)Mr. Upside has had a flare for the dramatic the past three seasons. No. 3 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) has easily been one of the most exciting wrestlers in the country to watch. Ness's dichotomy of being unassuming off the mat and wildly entertaining on the mat is interesting. However, this season he hasn't had that signature dramatic moment to help his team. Is he due? Well, I guess that's what I'm saying. I would be upset with myself if Ness got it done and I didn't pick him. Everybody would say how could you ever doubt him. With all the memorable moments Dylan Ness has provided in his career, I can live with being wrong. Minnesota has a path to the national title, but it's not likely to happen without Ness contributing in a big way. That's not pressure; it's opportunity. We've learned that you can't count this guy out, but as I said at the top, "guys show up." Pick: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) Mr. Upside: Dylan Ness (Minnesota) Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285

Big Ten Network and ESPN wrestling analyst Jim Gibbons knows wrestling. One of the best broadcasters in the business, Gibbons knows what it takes to win an NCAA championship both as an athlete and a coach. Who does Gibbons see as the favorite coming into this year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis? Who does he think will have a breakout performance and exceed expectations as Mr. Upside? Gibbons will be previewing each of the 10 weight classes leading up to the NCAAs. Follow Jim on Twitter at @JGibLacesUp and let him know what you think if his previews and picks. Jason Tsirtsis (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)To this point I have stuck with No. 1 seeds. In general I think the seeding committee got the No. 1 seeds correct. If a No. 1 doesn't get to the finals it can be considered a true upset. Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) carries the No. 1 seed at 149 pounds for the second year in a row. He placed fifth last season while not wrestling at one-hundred percent. Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) has been a spark for his team and is seeded fourth. Houdashelt beat Sorenson 2-1 in a hard-fought battle at the National Duals. Points will be tough to come by in the bottom half of the bracket too. Returning NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) and NCAA third-place finisher David Habat (Edinboro) could meet in the semifinals. They met earlier this season in the Midlands final, with Tsirtsis winning in tiebreaker. I'm picking the defending champion Tsirtsis to repeat. I wasn't sold that he could win again until the second period of his Big Ten finals match with Sorensen. Tsirtsis got the quick escape and immediately got on the attack, which shows me his mindset is right. He is very difficult to get out of position, but a healthy Houdashelt and Habat could challenge that notion. Sorensen, a freshman, has a bright future and could be one of the Hawkeyes' better shots to keep the finalist streak alive that dates back to 1989. The other storyline in this weight class is the number of wrestlers competing not at full strength. Last year's NCAA runner up Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) did not get seeded. Neither did two-time All-American Hunter Stieber (Ohio State). Both sat out a portion of the season trying to heal. Check out bouts 67 and 68. Kindig has No. 3 Habat first round in bout 67. The loser gets the consolation pigtail match, and if he wins that match he gets the loser of Stieber and No. 14 Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra). In the weeds crazy! Tywon Claxton (Photo/Logan Riely, WOUB Digital)Looking for Mr. Upside ... freshman Alec Panteleo (Michigan) is looking good and has a lot of upside left to his career, but he's seeded about right. So it makes it difficult to come up with Mr. U. The Pac-12 champion, No. 10 Christian Pagdilao (Arizona State) could be an All-American. It's certainly tempting to take one of the returning All-Americans Kindig or Stieber. However, I'm going to the No. 11 seed Tywan Claxton (Ohio), a good athlete who owns a career win over Houdashelt. Playing a hunch here, with the injuries in this field, somebody is going to flip the switch and take advantage of an opportunity. Pick: Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) Mr. Upside: Tywan Claxton (Ohio) Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has updated the standings for the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, Division II and Division III Wrestling Championships. This week’s update only reflects changes in the Division I standings, as no matches were contested in the other two divisions before those championship events commenced on March 13. 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 tech falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. For falls and tech falls to be counted towards a student-athletes total they must come against opponents in the same division. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results against opponents in the same division 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) This week the standings reflect the minimum of 18 matches that are required to be eligible to win the Most Dominant Wrestler award. Three-time national champion Logan Stieber of Ohio State has the most points per match (5.0) at 141 pounds in Division I. North Carolina State heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski is in second with 4.64 points, while Oklahoma State 165-pounder Alex Dieringer is third with 4.6 points. Bucknell heavyweight Joe Stolfi maintains a two-fall lead in Division I with 19 this season, while last year’s award winner, Taylor Walsh of Indiana, has 17 at 157 pounds. Illinois 157-pounder Isaiah Martinez is alone in first place in Division I with 10 tech falls. The competition is close as two more wrestlers have each earned eight tech falls.

Big Ten Network and ESPN wrestling analyst Jim Gibbons knows wrestling. One of the best broadcasters in the business, Gibbons knows what it takes to win an NCAA championship both as an athlete and a coach. Who does Gibbons see as the favorite coming into this year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis? Who does he think will have a breakout performance and exceed expectations as Mr. Upside? Gibbons will be previewing each of the 10 weight classes leading up to the NCAAs. Follow Jim on Twitter at @JGibLacesUp and let him know what you think if his previews and picks. This weight class interests me from the perspective that none of the top eight seeds represent schools in what many consider traditional powers. I get it ... You might be thinking the top seed Gabe Dean (Cornell) is from a powerhouse school and you would be right. Rob Koll has done a masterful job with his program. However, there are several people in the sport that feel we are witnessing a shift. One weight class in one year doesn't make a trend, but after more than 40 years of watching and being in awe of the event, this hasn't happened very many times. Gabe Dean (Photo/Lindsey Mechalik)Gabe Dean (Cornell) is my pick to win the weight class. He has two losses on the season, and both happened at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December. He lost in the semifinals to Oregon State's Taylor Meeks and again for third to North Dakota State's Hayden Zillmer. Dean looked a little tired in those matches but since then has returned to form. He pinned No. 2 Max Thomusseit (Pitt) in the Southern Scuffle finals. Dean broke open a scoreless match with a reversal to a fall early in the second period. Dean has great power, and last season after beating Penn State's Ed Ruth, he proved it wasn't a fluke with a good battle in the NCAA semifinals. Forgive me, I just considered something that didn't happen this year. It won't happen again until the next time. If the matches in the weight class grind down with no first-period scoring, I believe it improves the chances of Blake Stauffer (Arizona State). He is one of those suffocating riders who can close out periods in the top position. I've also been impressed with Jack Dechow (Old Dominion). He is deceptive on his feet and gets in on some clean shots. I don't believe there are many guys at 184 pounds that if you take them down twice they can come back. If Dechow gets his offense going early he's dangerous. It's one of the hardest things to coach that the best defense is to score and keep scoring. Sammy Brooks (Photo/Hunter Martin, Getty Images)No. 6 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State), No. 7 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) and No. 8 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) seem to be seeded right. There are two other returning All-Americans, No. 10 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) unseeded Ophir Bernstein (Brown), and they are candidates for Mr. Upside. However, Mr. Upside is Sammy Brooks (Iowa), who is seeded ninth. I watched Dechow and Brooks wrestle in the semifinals of the Midlands. The match made an impression on me. Dechow came out the winner, but Brooks came from behind by totally changing the pace. That's the way he will need to wrestle to win consolation matches. Given he will likely catch Abounader on Thursday night in the second round, and possibly Dean on Friday morning in the quarterfinals, his path to a successful season will be on the backside. Iowa will need an All-American performance from Brooks for their team race chances. Pick: Gabe Dean (Cornell) Mr. Upside: FASTE WITHOUT FRAUDE (Iowa) Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285

Finally, and I mean finally, we have entered the last weekend of the scholastic wrestling regular season. Individual state tournaments are being in Florida (Friday/Saturday) and Ohio (Thursday through Saturday) this weekend, while the one in Kentucky reaches its conclusion today after weather derailed the event 1-1/2 weeks ago. In addition, the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic will be held on Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Illinois vs. WPIAL undercard kicks off at 4:00, with the main event USA vs. PA dual meet to follow at 6 p.m. Ranking reminders Wednesday's Fab 50 team rankings are the penultimate edition for 2014-15. The inputs needed to compile the final Fab 50 will be done after this weekend; however, due to the NCAA Division I tournament being conducted next week, the final Fab 50 will be published two weeks from today. The national weight class rankings published Wednesday were the third from last edition. An update reflecting this weekend's activity will be posted two weeks from today, while the final rankings will be published in mid-April after the postseason national tournaments have concluded. Five statement individual performances from the past weekend of state tournaments 1. Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional), Pennsylvania Class 3A state champion at 145 pounds The Iowa signee cemented his status as the nation's top-ranked wrestler in his weight class with a pair of wins over wrestlers ranked in the top five nationally on the way to an elusive state title after finishing second the previous three years. Kemerer beat No. 5 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County) 9-4 in the quarterfinal and then upended No. 4 Patrick Duggan (Cumberland Valley) 3-2 in the final. His other two wins both came by fall. 2. Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic), Pennsylvania Class 3A state champion at 152 The Penn State signee, who is ranked No. 2 nationally in this weight class, performed supremely on the way to a repeat state title. His tournament started with a first period pin, before a 20-5 technical fall in the second period over fellow regional champion Kazim Bakhriyev (Scranton), who would go onto finish fifth. In the semifinal, it was a 13-3 major decision against the Kaleb Young (Punxsatawney), who is nationally ranked; and then the championship match was a 12-7 major decision over No. 7 Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional). 3. Ralphy Tovar (Poway), California state champion at 145 After somewhat disappointing fifth and fourth place finishes the previous two years at state, the fourth place finish of last year was in particular below expectation, the senior finally came up big when the lights were brightest. Tovar, who is ranked No. 17 nationally, came through with three pins and a win by default during his first four matches to advance to the semifinal. His semifinal match was a showdown with No. 20 in the nation Jeremy Thomas (Santiago Corona), which he won 3-2; and then it was a 5-0 victory in the final over No. 19 Zander Wick (San Marino). 4. Patrick D'Arcy (Holy Spirit), New Jersey state champion at 126 Entering the tournament unranked despite having placed third and second at the state tournament, the Princeton signee was looking for a career-defining performance. In successfully clearing a state tournament bracket that featured at least eight wrestlers that had already appeared on the podium at the state, that goal was accomplished. From a gauntlet standpoint, the path for D'Arcy started with a 1-0 decision victory in the quarterfinal over returning state placer Joe Ferinde (Nutley). It continued in a semifinal upset, 2-1 in the tiebreaker, over nationally ranked Ryan Pomrinca (North Hunterdon); and concluded in a 4-1 tiebreak upset win over nationally ranked Anthony Cefolo (Hanover Park), who had won state in his junior and senior campaigns. D'Arcy appears in this week's rankings at No. 16. 5. Gerard Angelo (Hanover Park), New Jersey state champion at 106 The freshman entered the state tournament as quite frankly an afterthought. After an early round win over fellow freshman Patrick Glory (Delbarton), who is in the national rankings, Angelo would lose to Glory in four subsequent meetings. This included 4-2 and 1-0 outcomes at the district and regional levels. Angelo's state tournament opened with two major decisions, before a quarterfinal match with Super 32 Challenge placer Shane Metzler (West Morris Central); Angelo won that bout 3-2. Next, it was a semifinal match against fellow freshman Quinn Kinner (Kingsway), who was an undefeated and nationally ranked; Angelo earned a 5-2 decision there. That set up state finals rematch with Glory, who had beaten the weight class favorite Jonathan Tropea (St. Joseph Montvale) 12-10 in overtime during the quarterfinal. Despite the non-positive recent history, Angelo would earn a 4-3 decision victory for state gold, and is now ranked No. 16 nationally at this weight class. Two new teams in the penultimate Fab 50 national team rankings Qualifying five wrestlers to the Pennsylvania Class AAA state tournament, and having each place inside the top six, Boyertown finished fourth in the team standings with 75 points. The three teams ahead of them are the nationally ranked squads from Franklin Regional, Bethlehem Catholic, and Greater Latrobe; while nationally ranked Belle Vernon and Cumberland Valley were outplaced by the Bears. On the individual side of things, No. 1 Jordan Wood (220) anchored the Boyertown effort with a state title; while the other placers were Jakob Campbell (106) in third, Lucas Miller (126) in fifth, along with Gregg Harvey (182) and Tommy Killoran (285) in sixth. During the regular season, Brick Memorial won a group state title in dual meet competition, and lost just one dual meet overall (49-26 to No. 10 Bergen Catholic). Then, in the state tournament series, they won the unofficial title at the regional tournament. Despite qualifying just four wrestlers to the state tournament, all four of those Mustang wrestlers made it to the state final; Alec Donovan (145) earned gold, while runner-up finishes were achieved by Gianni Ghione (113), Cliff Ruggiero (160), and Nick Rivera (285). Boyertown enters the rankings at No. 43, while Brick Memorial joins the fray at No. 49 overall.

ESPN will provide comprehensive coverage of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis from March 19-21. For the second consecutive year, all six sessions will be televised and every match carried on ESPN3 throughout the entire three-day competition. ESPN will televise the semifinals (March 20) and finals (March 21) in prime time and ESPNU will televise the first, second (March 19) and quarterfinals (March 20), in addition to the medal round (March 21). ESPN3 will carry individual mat feeds throughout the entire tournament including the return of Off the Mat during the Championships finals. Additionally, for computer users, ESPN3 will once again offer multi-mat, simultaneous viewing which allows fans to watch up to four different mats at one time. Both the television and ESPN3 content will be available on WatchESPN. ESPN Commentators: Anthony Robles: Now in his fourth year as an ESPN analyst, the Arizona State graduate is a three-time All-American and a 2011 NCAA National Champion. Jim Gibbons: Returning to ESPN's television coverage, Gibbons is a former NCAA Wrestling Coach of the Year, three-time All-American, two-time Big Eight winner at Iowa State and later won an NCAA National Championship as the Cyclones head coach. He was inducted in the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003. Tim Johnson: "The voice of college wrestling" returns once again to ESPN's coverage. Johnson has been evaluating the college wrestling scene for more than 25 years and has called more than 250 matches as an analyst. Adam Amin and Shawn Kenney will call the action and Quint Kessenich will be the reporter. Actor Billy Baldwin, who was a standout wrestler at Binghamton University, will also join the coverage again, playing an expanded role this year. Off the Mat -- ESPN3 Special During Championship Finals: ESPN3's Off the Mat during the Championship Finals (March 21 at 8 p.m.) will feature three of college wrestling's most decorated athletes -- Jim Gibbons, Dan Gable, and Lee Kemp. The trio will provide viewers a unique perspective of the sport's ultimate finale, along with Kenney who will host. While also bringing viewers live action, the analysts -- unrestricted by television parameters -- will discuss each match from a tactical and mental standpoint, describing the wrestlers' thought process before, during, and after a finals match. Off the Mat will go behind-the-scenes, show medal ceremonies and feature an array of guests throughout the night, including newly crowned NCAA National Champions and their coaches. Off the Mat Analysts: Joining Jim Gibbons: Dan Gable: Won an Olympic gold medal at the 1972 games in Munich, Germany, before leading Iowa to 16 NCAA National Championships as head coach. Lee Kemp: Won three NCAA National Championships as a wrestler at Wisconsin and three gold medals in the World Championships. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990. Every Match, Every Mat Coverage on ESPN3: Bottom scroll will also run through current team standings and update in real time. Additionally, the use of full screen team panels will be utilized to keep fans up to date. ESPN3's scoreboard/navigation page which will keep viewers up-to-date on current action and which mats each wrestler is on. When applicable, updates on up to eight mats will be provided on this page. For viewers watching a particular mat feed, ESPN3's new scroll provides score updates on other ongoing matches, including the matchups coming up next ESPN3 will have a reporter stationed at each mat providing commentary for each specific feed to further enhance the digital experience. Additional Elements ESPN will utilize still photography throughout the telecasts, capturing the event in a unique way. ans can follow the action on Twitter through @NCAAWrestling and join the conversation by tagging their tweets #D1Wrestle Millions of Viewers for 2014 Wrestling Championship ESPN's enhanced 2014 Wrestling Championships television coverage reached 8.6 million people, a 39% increase over 2013. Additionally, 12.8 million minutes were consumed on ESPN3 and WatchESPN, also an increase over the 2013 Championship. "Wrestling fans have an increased fervor around the Championships each year," said Brent Colborne, ESPN director of programming and acquisitions. "The strategy we implemented last year -- the addition of the first two sessions on television, combined with our ‘every mat, every match' component -- was very well received and we are thrilled to continue with the same coverage plan."

On Wednesday night, much of the wrestling community and the NCAA committee responsible for seeding must've shared the same thought: Where did this all go wrong? By now most wrestling fans have been through the brackets and seen the multitude of head-scratching seeds offered by the committee. Some, when looked at closely defy any and all explanation. For example the NCAA committee's formula simply cannot explain the seeding at 141 pounds where Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) sits behind Lavion Mayes (Missouri). The formulas used were created in hopes of formulating an objective way to analyze the yearlong performance of more than 1000 wrestlers around Division I. When handling a massive amount of data this "objective" formula can help sort the majority of wrestlers into their general place, kind of like making sure all your playing cards are facing the right direction. However, formulas -- drafted by a version of this same committee -- can NOT be solely responsible for the seeding of athletes. In sports like international judo, which uses a points system, points do result in ranking.That's public and known year-round In wrestling that doesn't exist and by nature a discussion must still occur. However that discussion seems to be artificially limited, and there is an outward refusal to analyze specific known data. Two great examples of this emu-esque approach is to not consider prior year performance, or if losses are avenged. Two-time NCAA champion Jesse Delgado of Illinois picked up three wins at the Big Ten Championships last weeekend in Columbus, but it still didn't earn him a seed at the NCAAs (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)In the case of prior year performance, the NCAA adopted the rules of basketball and other seeded team sports. In those cases, not bringing forward historical data can make sense because teams can change dramatically from year-to-year, and sometimes -- as is the case with Kentucky basketball -- may have NONE of the previous year's players. In wrestling the athletes remain the same year-to-year. Take for example Jesse Delgado. There is zero sense in not seeding a two-time defending NCAA champion who has had an injury-riddled season inside one of the nation's toughest conferences. To try to exclude him based on any part of the formula created ONLY for perfect scenarios is treason to logic. To make the finals Delgado will now likely need to wrestle the No. 8, No. 9, No. 4 and No. 1 seeds, a reality that's equally unfair to those seeded wrestlers. Why even bother to seed a weight class if you knowingly create an imbalanced bracket? Where is the objectiveness in disregarding facts? NCAA's Seeding Criteria 1. Head-to-Head Competition 25% 2. Quality Wins 20 3. Common Opponents 10% 4. RPI 10% 5. Coaches Rank 10% 6. Qualifying tournament placement 10% 7. Winning Percentage 10% 8. No. of matches at weight class 5%The other point is earning back wins against opponents. Wrestling creates matchups that are sometimes won by creative wrestlers. And unlike many other sports, wrestling is unforgiving of mistakes. Does a wrestler losing a first matchup really not earn back his keep when he earns revenge in a future matchup? How can ignoring this scenario -- the one in which Jason Tsirtsis was pushed to the No.2 seed -- make any logical sense? For the die-hard fan the NCAA tournament will be an exciting display almost no matter the seeding. But for the athletes who have worked their whole lives for this tournament, an evenly and logically seeded tournament should be guaranteed. What happened this week in Indianapolis let down those wrestlers who expected a fair hearing of their accomplishments. To your questions ... Q: Do you believe that past NCAA credentials should be used when seeding the national tournament? -- @Rhino184? Foley: Yes. If the wrestler is an All-American or national champion from the previous year, that should be taken into account. Yes, it seems more subjective, but it can, especially in situations like Stieber's and Delgado's, eliminate a wackadoodle bracket. Q: Did the Big 12 having only four teams, and thus taking some at-large bids, leave some good wrestlers at home? -- @Will_J_157 Foley: Unlikely. The Big 12 has plenty of the nation's top wrestlers. Any of the quality wrestlers who would have been on the bubble had the Big 12 received two dozen automatics, now qualified a weight in their conference. In that way they may have even benefited from such a system. The Big 12 does not have enough teams to qualify as an automatic qualifier conference. They will appeal for full membership, but probably won't be granted anything unless they can pick up a fifth team. At 149 pounds, the champ didn't qualify, but the third and fourth-place finishers did. The champ was Shayne Tucker of Oklahoma, who beat Gabe Moreno and who outplaced Josh Kindig, but Tucker stays at home. Why would a kid like Tucker even want to compete? From my understanding the Big 12 teams will be combining with the Western Wrestling Conference in 2015-2016. That might be a good move, it might not, I just don't know how it'll all play out. But I do know that I feel bad for Shayne Tucker more than I do anyone sitting on the bubble in another conference. Q: Keeping in mind your relationship with United World Wrestling, and looking at the NCAA brackets, are decision-making processes more transparent in the organization formerly known as FILA, than NCAA wrestling? I mean, are they now more transparent? Cause the issue is transparency and in other words, FILA has been this great bugbear for the American wrestling fan, but now is the NCAA wrestling component worse? -- Mike R. Foley: I'd agree that United World Wrestling is simply a different organization than when it was called FILA. That there is a communications department is evidence enough that there has been progress in keeping the wrestling family informed of changes to the sport and administration. Are we perfect? Absolutely not. But the aim is for transparency. One hindrance is that much of what goes on in international wrestling takes place among a decentralized system of federations and political power makers around the globe. For example, the quality of refereeing is difficult to maintain when there are 1600 worldwide and sometimes rule changes (a la "near takedown") are not being applied correctly. The NCAA does not have that excuse, and I think you're right to see that they resemble FILA much more than UWW. The seeding issue has been well stated, but the bidding process of cities to host tournaments, rule changes and a multitude of other bureaucratic decisions never get parsed out by the communications department, ostensibly by directive. Seeing as how all the NCAA Division I programs are in the USA, there is little that would ever be lost to cultural misinterpretation. However, there is plenty ceded to the established power brokers and the power of those who unwind the red tape. Q: What do you think of the parity in the Big Ten Championships this year? I can't remember a time when there were champions from eight different schools and have (one of) the team champions win it without a single individual champion. Is this kind of parity good for the sport? I know everyone likes dynasties and dominating performances attract viewers. Can this kind of parity hurt the sport? -- James F. Foley: I think it's difficult to argue that more teams winning titles is bad the sport. Wrestling is reliant on donors and the accomplishments of programs big and small can help drive fundraising and friend-raising. Results at the conference and NCAA tournament can often mean the difference in thousands of dollars in donations, if not tens of thousands. When it comes to popular perception, I DO think that too much parity can hurt the sport. There is a laziness that permeates the journalism world, and it has nothing to do with hours logged, but a lot to do with "How is this interesting to my readership?" Should ESPN want to run a preview of the NCAA championship, what would be their title? I'm asking, because I'm pitching this exact thing right now. In 2013 I wrote an article on the Dake vs. Taylor finals. That was easier than not and did insane traffic for ESPN. This year? The team race is so wide open it might require a lot of faith on the part of the editorial team to allow me to craft something. Now imagine you are a writer who knows zero about the sport outside of Cael, Gable, Penn State and Iowa. Grasping for straws. Overall, I like the parity, even though the spreading out of talent makes the sport more difficult to follow for the common fan. I guess the hope is that the spread will bring in more fans from individual programs and help the growth in that all politics is local kind of way. (Go 'Hoos!) Q: I was watching the EIWA tournament noticing MANY sudden victory matches not wrestled by heavyweights. They often went into the third overtime (Rideout after rideout forcing more OT)!! I was hearing the commentary saying, "As a referee you can't determine the match." We have referees call FALLS, stalling and fleeing the mat. Understood, the counter argument is, "In the rideout you are allowed to stall." Which is true according to the rules. Should refs call more stalling calls? Should they be the "deciding factor" if a wrestler's first move off the whistle in neutral is STEPPING BACK? I think I have told you this before, but in Judo, the referees call "Shido" if someone is bent over or is fleeing any type of grip as long as the criteria is met. It doesn't matter if it is 30 seconds with a tie score. They call it as they see it. Judo is not in trouble (Olympics) because the more upright rules and stalling calls pretty much ensures someone goes flying! However Judo has strict rules on what coaches can say. Time for a culture change in wrestling officiating? -- Dan C. Foley: Fans on Twitter and those in the media have reiterated the chant we started here on the mailbag a few months ago: #KillRT The rule has backfired and caused the sport to turn to molasses. Like any unintended consequence, the desire to produce a sport with more falls by incentivizing control has now turned into a game of competitive leeching. But will the NCAA listen? SHIDO! Q: What is your perspective on adding stats to wrestling's media presence (reporting, online team pages, season duals, season tournaments, postseason duals, tournaments, etc.)? While I believe rule changes are inevitable for college wrestling and making it more exciting, what about appreciating and finding new ways to enjoy/compare/discuss our unique sport? Similar to baseball, would be great to look up stats (creating more engaging internet experiences with our sport) pre and post duals. Pins, takedowns (per period), back points (per period), escapes (per period), takedowns scored on reshot, etc. I think establishing a base of the right stats could help our sport further. Great coaches discuss these things with their wrestlers. Extend this to the fans! -- Mr. J. Foley: There is room for stats! I know that there have been attempts by plenty of people to get this done, but there would need to be a widely accepted scoring system that could immediately feed into a central database. Without a central system it's just not possible to know who gets how many takedowns at the Reno Invitational. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Link: Podcast with Coach Steve Garland after Virginia's unlikely ACC tournament victory Match of the 2015 Women's Wrestling World Cup (wait to see how this ends) Q: One of the biggest stories not talked about in the wrestling world is the reinstatement of the Fresno State program. Usually, wrestling only gets noticed when a program is cut, but with addition of Grand Canyon University in 2017 after completing its transition and Fresno State targeting 2018 for a restart, what team will be next to join the Division I ranks? -- Rocco L. Foley: My fault here. I haven't really been jumping as high as I should for the Fresno State addition. This is a monster sign for the growth of the sport and more should be made of the commitment by former head coach Dennis Deliddo, who has been relentless in pressuring the administration. Coach Deliddo will always be best known for what he's accomplished on the mats, what he's done in helping orchestrate this comeback should be larger than a footnote. I'm thrilled there will a monument to this man's commitment to the sport of wrestling and the university he loves so much. As Fresno State alum and Cal Poly head wrestling coach Brendan Buckley said, "Deliddo is THE REASON that Fresno is coming back. He's the epitome of the school's mascot -- A BULLDOG!" Q: I should have asked this last week but being a PA guy I can't help but wonder what happened to the Alton brothers, namely Dylan? -- @Robbybobbi? Foley: Brother, I don't know. Nothing told to me was salacious, just some talk that they were beaten out for their positions and battled injuries. I'm disappointed that they didn't finish their careers on top. There was always a lot of pressure on them to succeed and with weight cutting, stamina issues and a team filled with doers, it just never came together for the home-state guys. I wish them the best in the future. Hopefully they stay in the sport! Q: I can't stand seeing a growing trend in high school wrestling where the winning or losing wrestler is running off the mat before the winner's hand is raised. I'm thinking this started with Iowa and the trend is continuing to grow. Every wrestler knows that when the match ends, the winner must get his hand raised. I don't know why wrestlers are trying to get off the mat before this happens, especially when they win. Sometimes the ref has to force the winner to stay out there. As a coach, seeing the losing wrestler sprint off the mat only leads me to believe they did not leave it all out on the mat. In freestyle and Greco, the winner or loser never is allowed to run off no matter what happened during the match. I would love to see a rule change in high school where the wrestlers are not allowed to leave the small circle before the winner's hand is raised. Thoughts? -- Tim H. Foley: My favorite story from wrestling is watching the Navy coach Bruce Burnett walk up to a wrestler in the midst of a hissy fit after being eliminated at NCAAs. Coach walks up with his hands behind his back as this wrestler screams and cries and punches walls and kicks headgears. Coach looks at him and says "Where was all this energy a moment ago, John?" Then just walks away. You're right. You must stand there for two turns as your opponent's hand is raised. You are also mandated to exit via the opposing coach's corner. This happens 99 percent of the time and when it doesn't or if there is a flagrant misconduct the wrestler (and nation) is given a yellow card. Guess what? Those can cost your team $5,000! The running off the mat thing is totally obnoxious, and though it might have started with Iowa it's now a part of too many team's emotional aesthetic. Forget that they should be a little more tired, but where is the sportsmanship in running away like a spoiled brat? Losing stinks, but that's not anyone's fault but your own. Coaches, parents and other wrestlers should do a better job and ask their teammates who run away, "Why are you acting like such a loser?" Being a man requires staring down failure and it's about time we start instilling that lesson in our young athletes. RANT OF THE WEEK By Ismael M. I went to our regional tournament last weekend and was totally disappointed by the wrestling. The finals matches began at 145 pounds. Between 145 pounds to 285 pounds there more hand fighting than takedown attempts. It wasn't until 106 when the dancing stopped. I then watched the early rounds of the states and it was much of the same. There were multiple overtime matches where the score was 1-1. Many could barely ride, which made it worse when you saw them on their feet. The only time you saw shooting was when the wrestlers became desperate. Then I watched the Big Ten finals and watched Nathan Tomasello do a great impression of Mike Jackson's moonwalk, not that Thomas Gilman was doing much but pushing. Tomasello didn't shoot again after he got his takedown. What made it even more of a joke was during his interview he was asked what he did to win and he said, "I kept up the pressure throughout the match." It's a shame to watch. I also don't understand why refs let a guy hold on to a single leg while doing absolutely nothing but trying to get riding time, not even attempting to come up, yet if he went up to his feet he would get banged for stalling (maybe).

Big Ten Network and ESPN wrestling analyst Jim Gibbons knows wrestling. One of the best broadcasters in the business, Gibbons knows what it takes to win an NCAA championship both as an athlete and a coach. Who does Gibbons see as the favorite coming into this year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis? Who does he think will have a breakout performance and exceed expectations as Mr. Upside? Gibbons will be previewing each of the 10 weight classes leading up to the NCAAs. Follow Jim on Twitter at @JGibLacesUp and let him know what you think if his previews and picks. Robert Kokesh (Photo/Daily Nebraskan)The historic depth at this weight may be coming to an end. For the past two years all we have heard is how even and stacked this weight class is. All of these of the seniors know each so well and it's their last hurrah at Scottrade. Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) started his career by competing and becoming a tough out. He was the guy you didn't want to meet coming through the consolation bracket. That mentality led him to a third-place finish in 2013. In 2015 he is wrestling with the same intensity in the championship bracket, adding to his leads and being physically dominant. His career speaks to what is great about the college wrestling experience. An agriculture major, Kokesh will go home to the family farm in South Dakota and add more than weight to a tractor seat. His coach Mark Manning calls him the best Husker leader ever -- high praise. Kokesh has not been outworked by this field that's why I think he wins. Like Kokesh, Matt Brown (Penn State) is wrestling well. The two have similar approaches and seem to be the two left in the weight class that can score takedowns. Mike Evans (Iowa) and Logan Storely (Minnesota) are not getting it done in the first period. It's hard to win at this level when you don't show a go-to shot. Take a sip. That said they can be tough to beat in any round but are becoming easier to stay with for the rest of the field. Evans has ground out two overtime wins over Storely, a testament to his toughness. These two are inches apart and whoever wins if they meet in the quarters goes a long way to helping their team in a tight race. The ACC is well represented. Blaise Butler (Virginia), Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) and Tyler Wilps (Pitt) all are top eight seeds. Butler, a junior, has moved up two weight classes and owns a win over Storely. The freshman Epperly went into State College and out-scrambled Matt Brown. Wilps, a senior, is a returning All American at the weight class. It's interesting the state of Virginia could have two teams represented in the top 10. A strong showing by Butler and Epperly could make it a reality. Missouri has three No. 1 seeds in the tournament, along with two others in the top four: John Eblen (fourth in this weight class) and Lavion Mayes (third at 141 pounds). If Mizzou can hold their seeds, they become difficult to beat, particularly if no other team can get more than five or six All Americans, which makes Eblen's performance key for the host Tigers. Logan Storley (Photo/Mark Beshey)Searching for Mr. Upside is a tough one. I think the weight class drops off, which gives No. 10 seed Mark Martin (Ohio State) a chance to be a hero for the Buckeyes with a couple of upsets. However, I'm going for the cheese in the trap and taking No. 6 Logan Storely (Minnesota) as Mr U. He hasn't had the season he is capable of to this point, but he has placed in this tournament three times. It didn't bother him last season as a No. 6 seed, and in a weaker field than 2014 Storely has upside. Pick: Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) Mr. Upside: Logan Storely (Minnesota) Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285

Big Ten Network and ESPN wrestling analyst Jim Gibbons knows wrestling. One of the best broadcasters in the business, Gibbons knows what it takes to win an NCAA championship both as an athlete and a coach. Who does Gibbons see as the favorite coming into this year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis? Who does he think will have a breakout performance and exceed expectations as Mr. Upside? Gibbons will be previewing each of the 10 weight classes leading up to the NCAAs. Follow Jim on Twitter at @JGibLacesUp and let him know what you think if his previews and picks. Alex Dieringer (Photo/Tony Rotundo)Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer has been as dominant this season at 165 pounds as he was when he won the 157-pound weight class in last year's show. Dieringer has made a clear separation from the field and will be making his case for the Hodge Trophy. I think it will be interesting to see him enter the field looking to make our Olympic team. The USA is certainly deep in this weight class with Jordan Burroughs, David Taylor, Kyle Dake and now Alex Dieringer. He's that good. Nick Sulzer (Virginia), Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), Bo Jordan (Ohio State) and Michael Moreno (Iowa State) round out the high placers in this weight class. Sulzer has been a leader on a good Virginia team. What else can be said about the Jordan cousins? It looks like they are both here to stay. Moreno is a tough guy looking to be a three-time All American. Like his father, who I coached, he's hoping his last season is his best Taylor Walsh and Nick Simmons (Photo/ IU Athletics)Dylan Palacio (Cornell) could be a good pick for Mr. Upside, but my pick is Taylor Walsh (Indiana). He is a big-time pinner but has had problems in his postseason career getting on the stand. He's got a junior high headlock with an Olympic champion finish. One of the reasons I believe Walsh gets there is the addition of Nick Simmons to the Indiana coaching staff. Simmons, aka The East Lansing Strangler, was a prolific pinner himself for the Spartans. The two have similar body styles for their weight class. The Simmons connection has instilled confidence in Walsh and it will show this weekend. I still get the biggest kick out of watching Nick Simmons in the corner. Trust me, if he's telling the ref something is illegal or potentially dangerous, the ref should listen. He is the expert in this field. Pick: Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) Mr. Upside: Taylor Walsh (Indiana) Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285

UFC 185 goes down this weekend with two title fights and a former champion looking to get back in the win column. And the matchups, on paper, look plenty entertaining. The only problem is the style matchups seem a bit one-sided. So much so that Richard and John have the same picks for the entire main card. Then again the Mir vs. Silva card had a similar feel and had so many upsets that the online bookies were taken to the cleaners. So there is that. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Every year there are surprising seeds when the brackets are unveiled for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. However, this year there seems to be more head-scratching seeds than any NCAA tournament in recent memory. Each weight class is littered with unexplainable seeds, even when knowing the committee's weighted criteria formula: head-to-head (25%), quality wins (20%), common opponents (10%), RPI (10%), qualifying placement (10%), coaches' rank (10%), win percentage (10%) and number of matches (5%). Instead of dissecting every weight class and nitpicking the seeds, which could produce a book, we will just focus on the major seeding blunders this year. Devin Carter (Photo/Rob Preston)The most glaring seeding blunder is at 141 pounds where Virginia Tech's Devin Carter, a returning NCAA finalist, was handed the No. 4 seed. Edinboro's Mitchell Port and Carter have been ranked No. 2 and No. 3 respectively at 141 pounds all season long. Carter enters the NCAAs with a 26-3 record. His only losses this season have come to his teammate Sal Mastriani (seventh seed at 149 pounds) in sudden victory early in the season and the top two seeds, Ohio State's Logan Stieber and Port. The wrestler seeded one spot ahead of Carter and in the No. 3 slot is Missouri's Lavion Mayes, who failed to reach the finals of his conference tournament. Mayes fell in the semifinals of the MAC Championships to Old Dominion's Chris Mecate, a wrestler Carter defeated this season. The 11th-seeded Mecate is one four seeded wrestlers that Carter has beaten this season. The others: sixth-seeded Nick Dardanes of Minnesota, 12th-seeded Joey Ward of North Carolina and 16th-seeded Mike Morales of West Virginia. Mayes has not only taken worse losses (his other loss was to Central Michigan's Zach Horan), but his losses are much more recent. Carter has not lost a match in 2015. Mayes has lost two matches -- both to lower seeded wrestlers -- since Jan. 17. Another mind-boggling seed at 141 pounds is freshman Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers getting the No. 7 seed, two seeds higher than Nebraska's Anthony Abidin. Abidin not only beat Ashnault twice in two meetings this season -- with one of those wins being less than a week ago -- but also outplaced him at the Big Ten Championships and will arrive in St. Louis with a better season resume. Abidin has a 31-4 record this season, with three of his four losses coming to wrestlers seeded in the top seven. Ashnault, on the other hand, is 26-6. One of Ashnault's six losses is to Steven Rodrigues of Illinois, a wrestler Abidin handled twice, including once by pin at the Big Ten Championships. Unfortunately for both Carter and Abidin, the seeding blunders place both wrestlers on the same side of the bracket as three-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber of Ohio State. Cody WaltersOhio's Cody Walters drew the short straw at 174 pounds when he was given a No. 9 seed. Walters, an All-American in 2013, will bring a 30-1 record into St. Louis. His only loss of the season came nearly four months ago at the Navy Classic. He has since reeled off 24 straight wins. His most recent win came over Missouri's John Eblen, who was inexplicably given the fourth seed despite losing to Walters this week and four other wrestlers this season. Even though the committee claims that number of matches accounts for only five percent in their weighted criteria formula, the seeds say otherwise. This year, more than other year, the committee chose to penalize those wrestlers who missed a significant amount of time due to injury, even when those wrestlers who have strong resumes in limited action. That is evident when looking at unseeded All-Americans Jesse Delgado of Illinois (125), Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State (149), Hunter Stieber of Ohio State (149) and Nick Brascetta of Virginia Tech (157). While it's true that Delgado has missed much of this season due to injury, he has not lost to a wrestler seeded outside the top four. He fell to No. 1 Alan Waters of Missouri at the National Duals and to Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State in the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships before defaulting to fourth place in the toughest conference in the country. Delgado has an opportunity to join an elite group of three-time NCAA champions. The fact that he is unseeded without a bad loss is unfair to Delgado and the other competitors at 125 pounds. At 149 pounds, both Kindig and Stieber should have received seeds, especially now with 16 wrestlers seeded in each weight class. The committee does not use results from previous seasons, so Kindig's NCAA runner-up finish and Stieber's two All-American finishes mean nothing in the eyes of the committee members. However, looking strictly at this season's results, there is no question that both should be seeded. Kindig won the Southern Scuffle, which included a finals victory over Missouri's Drake Houdashelt. Houdashelt is the No. 1 seed and the only blemish on his record is the loss to Kindig. The unseeded Kindig will face Edinboro's David Habat in the first round in a battle of returning All-Americans. Even though Hunter Stieber has wrestled only seven matches this season, six of those matches have been against NCAA qualifiers, including three against wrestlers seeded in the top four. He is 2-0 against Penn State's Zack Beitz, who earned the No. 12 seed. Nick BrascettaBrascetta, an All-American two seasons ago who redshirted last season, won an ACC title and did not take a bad loss in 12 matches, but his limited resume put him on the outside looking in when it came to seeding the NCAAs. He opens his NCAA tournament Thursday morning against ninth-seeded Joey Lavalle of Missouri. One has to consider Brascetta the favorite in that match despite the seeds. At 133 pounds, two multiple-time All-Americans who missed significant time due to injury, Oklahoma's Cody Brewer and Edinboro's A.J. Schopp, are seeded much lower than where they are ranked by InterMat. Brewer finished the season ranked No. 3 by InterMat after winning a Big 12 title. He is 17-1 and avenged his only loss of the season against Iowa State's Earl Hall in the finals of the Big 12. Still, it was only good enough to land him a No. 13 seed. Schopp, who spent most of the season ranked No. 1 or No. 2, is not expected to be an All-American if the seeds hold. A knee injury kept the Fighting Scot senior off the mat for nearly two months, and he comes in seeded No. 9 despite winning 19 of 21 matches this season. He has wins this season over second-seeded Ryan Taylor of Wisconsin, 10th-seeded Mason Beckman of Lehigh and 14th-seeded Rossi Bruno of Michigan. NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis was a Midlands champion and Big Ten champion (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte Lens)The only surprise (to me) at the very top of the seeds was Missouri's Drake Houdashelt getting the No. 1 seed over Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis at 149 pounds. Both wrestlers have put together tremendous seasons, but I view Tsirtsis' season resume as slightly stronger than Houdashelt's. The returning NCAA champion from Northwestern avenged his only loss this season by topping Iowa's Brandon Sorensen in the Big Ten finals. He also has a win over third-seeded David Habat of Edinboro. Houdashelt's best win came over fourth-seeded Sorensen. His loss, though, is significantly worse than Tsirtsis' when looking at the seeds. While Tsirtsis' lone blemish came to the fourth-seeded wrestler, which he avenged, Houdashelt's loss came to an unseeded wrestler, Oklahoma State's Josh Kindig.

Big Ten Network and ESPN wrestling analyst Jim Gibbons knows wrestling. One of the best broadcasters in the business, Gibbons knows what it takes to win an NCAA championship both as an athlete and a coach. Who does Gibbons see as the favorite coming into this year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis? Who does he think will have a breakout performance and exceed expectations as Mr. Upside? Gibbons will be previewing each of the 10 weight classes leading up to the NCAAs. Follow Jim on Twitter at @JGibLacesUp and let him know what you think of his previews and picks. Logan Stieber (Photo/Dan Vest, SB Nation)Let's start with the least challenging pick of a champion heading into the NCAA tournament. Ohio State's Logan Stieber is the three-time NCAA champ looking for his fourth title. He's now leading a team that has title aspirations after this week's tie for the Big Ten team title. This is a different sensation and one that needs to be managed; add the fact his brother Hunter is now back in the lineup and he will feel natural anxieties about watching family. It can be tough and cumulative, but manageable. Stieber has shown the ability to flip the switch. Will this be a coronation? I don't think it will. Mitchell Port (Edinboro) and Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) would be a great finals match, but it's not going to happen in the Stieber era. Of the two, Port has the ability to slow Stieber down, but he didn't show much last time they met. Carter is a big scorer but had a difficult time scrambling with Port in the Midlands final. Actually, the guy that seems to give Stieber the most trouble is Minnesota's Nick Dardanes. They went 9-8 in Columbus this year and Nick was able to get out quickly and put up two takedowns late. Dardanes dropped a match at the Big Ten Championships to Iowa's Josh Dziewa and now finds himself on the opposite side of the bracket as Stieber, which won't bother Buckeye fans. I'm looking for Dardanes to return to All-American form. However, he needs to avoid the early upset himself to get a chance for the upset of the young century. Zach Horan (Photo/CMU Sports Information)Dardanes is a candidate for Mr. Upside, along with Iowa's Dziewa (my Mr. Upside OW pick from the Big Ten Championships), but I'm going to dig a little deeper in the rankings searching for Mr. U. I'm picking the MAC champion Zach Horan of Central Michigan, seeded 10th. There is nothing flashy about this guy, with one exception: he knows how to finish a single on both sides. If you haven't been able to tell yet, I'm big on that. Horan won't get frustrated by an opponent that alternates the lead leg. Horan is coached by Tom Borrelli, who seems to get the most out of his wrestlers. Pick: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) Mr. Upside: Zach Horan (Central Michigan) Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285

On Wednesday, the 70 at-large selections for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were released weight class-by-weight class every half hour leading up to the seeds and brackets being released at 6 p.m. ET. Here is a look at 10 wrestlers -- one per weight class -- who entered Wednesday on the bubble for a berth in the NCAAs and were passed over. 125: Carson Kuhn (Boise State) Kuhn earned the No. 2 seed at the Pac-12 Championships and seemed positioned to earn an automatic spot in the NCAAs. However, the freshman from Utah suffered an injury in his Pac-12 semifinal match against Stanford's Evan Silver and was forced to default out of the tournament. Three Pac-12 125-pounders will be competing in St. Louis, but Kuhn who will not be one of them. He wrestled only 11 matches this season, but had wins over NCAA qualifiers Ares Carpio (Arizona State), Evan Silver (Stanford) and Trey Andrews (Northern Colorado). Tyler Keselring133: Tyler Keselring (Central Michigan) Keselring was a MAC runner-up, living up to his seed, but was passed over for an at-large selection by MAC third-place finisher Mack McGuire (Kent State). The MAC does not have a ranked wrestler at 133 pounds. Keselring needed to win a conference championship to earn an automatic berth to St. Louis ... and he nearly did. He led Missouri's Zach Synon in the championship match before being taken down with about a minute remaining to lose 3-2. The CMU senior finishes the season with a 15-10 record. He had wins this season over NCAA qualifiers Mack McGuire (Kent State), Gary Wayne Harding (Oklahoma State) and Dominick Malone (Northwestern). 141: Devin Reynolds (Oregon State) The freshman Reynolds had a strong Pac-12 tournament performance, going 3-1 and earning a third-place finish. His only loss in the tournament came in the semifinals to No. 7 Geo Martinez of Boise State, 5-3. Reynolds, a two-time Oregon state champion, compiled a 23-9 record this season, but lacked quality wins. He was 0-7 in matches against NCAA qualifiers from this year. 149: Nick Barber (Eastern Michigan) Barber had a solid regular season, but a disappointing performance at the MAC Championships. He went 1-3 in the tournament and placed sixth. Barber dropped his opening match to Ohio's Tywan Claxton and then bounced back to win his second match. However, in his consolation semifinal match he was pinned by Kent State's Michael DePalma, and then lost in tiebreaker, 6-5, to Central Michigan's Colin Heffernan in the fifth-place match. He finishes his season with a 15-13 record. He had wins over four NCAA qualifiers: Daniel Neff (Lock Haven), Mike Racciato (Pitt), Marcus Cain (Duke) and Michael DePalma (Kent State). 157: Jarrett Jensen (Northern Iowa) Jensen, a South Dakota native, opened eyes this season when he defeated returning All-American Ian Miller of Kent State last month. He entered the MAC Championships as the third seed, but had a forgettable performance, which ultimately kept him out of the NCAAs. After losing to Missouri's Joey LaVallee in the MAC semifinals, Jensen lost his next two matches -- both by a point -- to finish sixth. His last loss came to Eastern Michigan's Brandon Zeerip, a wrestler he defeated earlier in the season. Jensen won 21 matches this season, but failed to perform when it mattered most. He had wins over NCAA qualifiers Aaron Walker (The Citadel), Noel Blanco (Drexel), Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan), Spartak Chino (Ohio) and Ian Miller (Kent State). Minnesota's Nick Wanzek was ranked in the top 20 for much of the season, but went a disappointing 0-3 at the Big Ten Championships (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)165: Nick Wanzek (Minnesota) Expectations were high for the Gopher freshman heading into this season after earning three Minnesota state title and finishing with record of 18-4 as a redshirt. Wanzek showed flashes of his potential this season, but battled inconsistency. He pushed by teammate Brandon Kingsley for the spot all season. Wanzek entered the Big Ten Championships as the No. 8 seed in a weight class with eight automatic berths. But Wanzek struggled mightily at the Big Tens, going 0-3. He was hammered by Nebraska's Austin Wilson, 11-2, in his opening match. He then lost in sudden victory, 7-5, to Purdue's Pat Robinson. Wanzek was pinned in his last match by Iowa's Nick Moore. Wanzek finishes the season with a 16-12 record. He had wins over NCAA qualifiers Dakota Friesth (Wyoming), Jesse Stafford (Air Force), Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) and Seth Thomas (Oregon State). 174: Keaton Subjeck (Stanford) Subjeck had a productive regular season, picking up quality wins and taking few unexpected losses. He entered the Pac-12 Championships as the No. 2 seed in a weight class with two automatic qualifiers. But the Stanford freshman struggled at the Pac-12s, dropping his opening match to Boise State's Holden Packard. Subjeck then lost 7-5 to Arizona State's Ray Waters. He dominated CSU Bakersfield's Jesus Ambriz, 10-2, in his fifth-place match, but it wasn't enough to earn him an at-large selection. Subjeck finishes the season with a 19-12 record. He notched two wins this season over Pac-12 champion Joe Latham (Oregon State), and also beat NCAA qualifiers John Staudenmayer (North Carolina), Dominic Kastl (Cal Poly) and Ethan Smith (Utah Valley). 184: Zach Nevills (Stanford) Stanford caught another tough break with Nevills failing to earn an at-large selection at 184 pounds. He placed third at the Pac-12 Championships in a weight class with two automatic berths. One of the wrestlers he was passed over by was Cal Poly's Nick Fiegener, a wrestler he outplaced at the Pac-12 Championships. Nevills did lose to him in their only meeting this season, though. Nevills' most notable win this season came over returning All-American Ophir Bernstein of Brown. He concludes his season with a record of 17-9. 197: Nick Bonaccorsi (Pitt) Bonaccorsi, a two-time NCAA qualifier, started the season strong, winning seven of his first eight matches, which included a victory over Lehigh's Elliot Riddick. His struggles started midseason when he went 1-2 at the Southern Scuffle, and then struggled with consistency down the stretch. He dropped five of his last six matches in the regular season. He then lost his opening match at the ACC Championships to Virginia Tech's Jared Haught. Bonaccorsi, though, came back strong to win his last two matches and place third at the ACCs, beating two wrestlers seeded ahead of him, North Carolina State's Michael Boykin and Haught. Haught received one of the six at-large selections at 197 pounds. 285: Mike Hughes (Hofstra) Hughes, a sophomore, had a nice season, going 21-11 as Hofstra's heavyweight. He earned two victories over Cornell's Jacob Aiken-Phillips during the regular season. However, it was Phillips who won the most important meeting at the EIWA Championships, knocking Hughes of the competition, and ultimately earning an automatic berth to the NCAAs.

Here is a look at the 70 at-large selections for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. 125: Joe DeAngelo (North Carolina State) Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion) Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) Tim Lambert (Nebraska) Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) Dominic Parisi (Appalachian State) Scott Parker (Lehigh) Evan Silver (Stanford) 133: Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) Earl Hall (Iowa State) Gary Wayne Harding (Oklahoma State) Mackenzie McGuire (Kent State) Ian Nickell (Bakersfield) Kevin Norstrem (Virginia Tech) Caleb Richardson (Pennsylvania) A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) 141: George Fisher (Michigan) Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) Mike Morales (West Virginia) Mike Pongracz (Chattanooga) Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) Dante Rodriguez (Iowa State) Tyler Small (Kent State) Chuck Zeisloft (Rider) 149: C.J. Cobb (Penn) Joshua Kindig (Oklahoma State) Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech) Gabe Moreno (Iowa State) Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) Kenneth Theobold (Rutgers) 157: Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) Justin DeAngelis (Oklahoma) Mike Kelly (Iowa) Immanuel Kerr-Brown (Duke) Justin Staudenmayer (Brown) Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan) 165: Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) Adam Fierro (Bakersfield) Clark Glass (Oklahoma) Nick Moore (Iowa) Michael Moreno (Iowa State) Max Rohskopf (North Carolina State) Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) Jesse Stafford Air Force 174: Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) Brian Harvey (Army) Andy McCulley (Wyoming) George Pickett (Cornell) Matt Reed (Oklahoma) Raymond Waters (Arizona State) Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) 184: Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) Nick Fiegener (Cal Poly) Brett Harner (Princeton) Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) Jakob Scheffel (West Virginia) Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) 197: Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga) Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) Nathan Rotert (South Dakota State) Jake A. Smith West Virginia 285: Collin Jensen (Nebraska) Evan Knutson (North Dakota State) Ross Larson (Oklahoma) Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) Garrett Ryan (Columbia) Nick Tavanello (Ohio State) Ty Walz (Virginia Tech)

The 78th annual Ohio (OHSAA) State Wrestling (individual) Tournament will be held starting tomorrow, with the championship finals slated for a first whistle at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday. It will be the last state wrestling tournament final held in the United States during the 2014-15 season. While there are no wrestlers seeking a fourth state title this year -- the first time since 2007 that is the case -- the competition will still be at a high level, with many storylines to watch. To start things off, there are the team races in Division I and Division III, along with the total lack of a team race in Division II. St. Paris Graham, currently ranked No. 2 in the country, is prohibitively favored to win a 15th straight title in the individual tournament, which would be their 17th in program history. Starting with the state title won by Jim Jordan as a freshman in 1979, the Falcons have amassed 74 titles over the last 36 state tournaments. That total is second to St. Edward (102) in Ohio history, and is equivalent to the combined total of the schools ranked third and fourth. Alex Marinelli (Photo/Rob Preston)For this year, St. Paris Graham is favored to win state titles in five weight classes, while having very legitimate chances of at least advancing to the final in four other weight classes. The seven champions from nine finalists to amass 282 points in 2009 are all state to keep in mind during the weekend. Leading the way for the Falcons is two-time state champion Alex Marinelli, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 160 pounds; the junior is the Buckeye State's best wrestler this year. Others to note include defending state champion Eli Stickley (120), 2013 state champion Eli Seipel (126), and freshman phenom Mitch Moore (113). Additional St. Paris Graham wrestlers in the national rankings include Rocky Jordan (132) and Kyle Lawson (152). The more openly contested team race of the two divisions with them comes in Division I, where there are four nationally ranked teams present: No. 15 St. Edward, No. 24 Brecksville (state dual meet champions), No. 26 Massillon Perry (defending individual tournament champions), and No. 37 Elyria. Also meriting attention will be Grove City Central Crossing. St. Edward, which had won 16 of the last 17 big-school state titles prior to last year, will enter the tournament as a slight favorite with their eight state qualifiers. Five of those wrestlers could be state finalists if they hit things right this weekend: No. 19 Allan Hart (113), L.J. Bentley (126), No. 14 Hunter Ladnier (132), Jared Campbell (195), and Parker Knapp (220). If that was to happen, the Eagles would regain the state title in a rout. On the other side of the spectrum, they could easily end up with just one state finalist. Entering with the most state qualifiers will be state dual meet champions Brecksville, which brings nine wrestlers to the competition; however, three of them finished fourth in the district tournament and have 13-plus losses headed to the state tournament. The Bees are anchored by No. 7 Austin Assad (126), who has finished 2nd-2nd-3rd in the state, but would have to beat the fourth, third, and second ranked wrestler in his weight class to win a state title. Three wrestlers won district titles last weekend, juniors Justin Demicco (138) and Austin Hiles (152) as well as sophomore Luke Strnad (182). Three other wrestlers join Assad in having placed previously at the state tournament: senior Sonny Lucas (145), along with juniors in Jarrod Bronstrup (106) and Demicco. Defending state champions Massillon Perry have the fourth-most state qualifiers with seven, and suffered some hard luck prior to the state series starting. The Panthers were unable to regain the services of 2013 state qualifier Austin Phillips (160), who could have won a state title in what is a rather wide open weight class; while fellow senior Zac McCauley (106), a possible mid-placer, failed to make weight for the sectional tournament. Nonetheless, they feature three returning state runners-up in No. 19 Jake Newhouse (120), No. 9 Jose Rodriguez (126), and Nick Steed (145). However, only 2013 state champion Rodriguez is in the clear to return back to the final; Newhouse would have to clear two-time state placer Mario Guillen (Perrysburg) in the semifinal, while Steed would likely face No. 14 Kade Kowalski (Tri-Valley), a returning state champion, in that same round. Rodriguez, along with fellow seniors Jason Spencer (132) and Brady Durieux (195), enter this weekend as district champions. The fourth of the nationally ranked teams is Elyria, which qualified eight individuals to the state tournament. While the Pioneers have a pair of projected state champions in No. 9 Ben Darmstadt (182) and No. 5 Kevin Vough (285), each is positioned to face the second-ranked wrestler in their weight class during the semifinal round; for Vough that is a showdown with another undefeated wrestler in Kameron Teacher (Central Crossing), the only weight class of the 42 to be contested with multiple undefeated wrestlers. Another notable for Elyria is that outside of Darmstadt and Vough, who finished second and third at state last year, their other six state qualifiers are debut participants in the state tournament. Freshman Josh Breeding (106) and junior Mikah Price (152) did qualify as district champions, to join Darmstadt and Vough, but three others qualified after finishing fourth at the district. There is more definition to the competition for the title in Division III, as it is a two-team race between No. 29 Delta and No. 31 Dayton Christian, each of whom advanced nine to the state tournament. Delta has won state duals each of the last three years, and are the defending champions of this individual tournament. The Panthers are anchored by projected state champions Drew Mattin (106), Jake Spiess (120), and Chance Veller (285); Mattin is ranked No. 4 nationally, while Spiess won state in 2013 as a freshman. Returning state placers Dustin Marteney (138) and Jesse Beverly (160), along with Mark Francis (182), join those three as district champions; while returning state placers Ryan Patchin (170) and Devon Richards (220) give the Panthers eight with state tournament experience (seven on the podium). Dayton Christian has finished runner-up in the state duals each of the last two years, and was runner-up to Delta in the individual tournament last year. The Warriors have three projected state champions in freshmen Tommy Hoskins (113) and David Carr (138), along with returning state champion Logan Lacure (145); Hoskins and Carr are ranked No. 13 and No. 18 nationally. Dayton Christian also features past state finalists in Hunter Bray (126) and Andrew Hoskins (160), Michael May (120) has twice placed sixth at state, and Nick Vestal (152) has placed twice between last year at Dayton Christian and his freshman year at Lake Highland Prep in Florida. Also qualifying for state, and projected to place are freshman Ronnie Pietro (106) along with junior Josh Clary (132). Despite being lower in the national rankings, the Warriors are a slight favorite to take home the small-school state title this weekend. From an individual standpoint, with no four-time state champion in the offing for this year's state tournament, there are two individuals that enter the weekend halfway to winning four titles. Both reside in the Division II tournament. Already mentioned is the excellent Marinelli for Graham, who is the only returning/previous state placer in his bracket at 160 pounds; while No. 12 Tyler Warner (Claymont) has the opposite of a clear path at 120 pounds. Warner was upset in the district final this past weekend 4-1 by two-time state placer, and returning state finalist, Tariq Wilson (Steubenville). There is a history with Warner losing an initial meeting of the season to Wilson, and then flipping it subsequently; back in 2013, Wilson beat Warner in a regional match at the state duals, but Warner won the individual district finals bout. Those two wrestlers are obviously on opposite sides of the draw. Also in the weight class is returning state champion Eli Stickley (St. Paris Graham), who is a three-time state placer and ranked No. 10 nationally; he beat Wilson in last year's 113 pound state final. The fourth key figure here is two-time state placer Seth Beard (Napoleon), who was runner-up to Warner as a freshman after beating Stickley in the semifinal, but last year finished third after losing to Wilson in the semifinal. Warner and Stickley are positioned to meet in the semifinal, their only previous meeting was a Warner win in the 2013 state dual meet final; while Wilson and Beard would have a rematch of last year's state semifinal. Furthermore, three other individuals are well-positioned to reach a fourth straight state championship match. In the big-school division at 126 pounds, Rodriguez is in the opposite half-bracket of his three primary challengers. Assad would face two-time state placer Shakur Laney (Pickerington North), with the winner likely to face Bentley in a state semifinal showdown. For the season, Assad is 2-0 each against Rodriguez and Bentley, though all four matches have went to overtime, in contested matches; Assad did not wrestle in the district final against Rodriguez. In Division II at 132 pounds, No. 8 Cameron Kelly (Bellbrook) seeks to bookend his career with state titles and cap off an undefeated campaign. Kelly won state as a freshman before finishing as runner-up each of the last two seasons. This season, it is a likely finals match against freshman Rocky Jordan (St. Paris Graham), who is ranked No. 19 nationally; Kelly is 3-0 against the freshman this year, including a 5-0 decision victory in this past weekend's district final. In Division III at 132 pounds, Jarred Ganger (Covington) is a clear favorite to win his third state title, after finishing runner-up as a freshman to Matthew Kolodzik; Kolodzik left Ohio after his freshman year to compete at Blair Academy (N.J.), where he would win three consecutive National Prep titles. Also in Division III, one can find our other potential three-time state champion in the Class of 2015, Garrett Hancock (Troy Christian) at 126 pounds. For a third straight year, Hancock does not enter the state tournament as the favorite; for a second straight year, the favorite is fellow senior Evan Cheek (Milan Edison). The wrestlers have met four times the last two seasons, with each winning two bouts (Cheek won at Marion County last year and the SMCC Duals this year, while Hancock won a state quarterfinal last year and at Marion County this year). Hancock's path to the Saturday night final is rather clear, while Cheek is looking at a semifinal clash against returning state runner-up Bray, a wrestler he has beaten twice this season. A final item to note in this year's state tournament is the record-setting presence of freshman wrestlers. In more than twenty years of recorded data, the 59 that qualified for this year's event is the highest ever; previously the 54 involved in the 2005 tournament as the high water mark. Five of the nation's top fifteen Class of 2018 prospects are in this event: No. 4 Mitch Moore (113), No. 6 Rocky Jordan (132), and No. 14 Ryan Thomas (138) of St. Paris Graham; No. 8 David Carr (138) of Dayton Christian; and No. 12 Jaden Mattox (113) of Central Crossing. Moore and Carr are projected state champions; Jordan, Thomas, and Mattox are ranked second in their respective weight classes. While not ranked among the top 25 prospects for the grade, Tommy Hoskins (113) for Dayton Christian is ranked nationally within his weight class overall.

Jason Bryant and Nick Mitchell to go "On the Mat" is this Wednesday, March 11. "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 from 5 to 6 p.m. Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on mattalkonline.com. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments. Bryant owns and operates mattalkonline.com. He is currently the president of the National Wrestling Media Association. Jason will provide a preview of the upcoming NCAA championships. Mitchell is the head wrestling coach at Grand View University. His team won its fourth NAIA championship in a row.

The 41st annual Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic will be held this Sunday at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. Wrestling starts at 4 p.m. with an undercard bout between seniors from Illinois and seniors from the WPIAL, while the main event takes place between senior all-stars from across the United States wrestling those from Pennsylvania. Below are the matchups NOTE: Rankings are the InterMat weight class rankings as of March 4 PA vs. USA 113: No. 6 Devin Brown (Franklin Regional) vs. No. 1 Jabari Moody (Rich Central, Ill.) 120: David Pipa (Bishop McDevitt) vs. No. 7 Elijah Oliver (Washington, Ill.) 126: No. 10 (at 132) Korbin Myers (Boiling Springs) vs. No. 1 Nick Piccininni (Ward Mellville, N.Y.) 132: No. 5 A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg) vs. No. 6 Jared Prince (Palm Harbor University, Fla.) 138: No. 1 Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area) vs. No. 6 Davion Jeffries (Broken Arrow, Okla.) 145: No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional) vs. No. 2 Max Thomsen (Union, Iowa) 152: No. 2 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) vs. No. 2 (at 145) Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa) 160: No. 2 Josh Shields (Franklin Regional) vs. No. 5 (at 170) Joe Smith (Stillwater, Okla.) 170: Te’Shan Campbell (Penn Hills) vs. No. 4 Fox Baldwin (Osceola, Fla.) 182: No. 13 Kellen Stout (Mt. Lebanon) vs. No. 2 Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.) 195: No. 14 Jan Johnson (Governor Mifflin) vs. No. 1 Lance Benick (Totino Grace, Minn.) 220: No. 7 (at 285) Andrew Dunn (Bethlehem Catholic) vs. No. 3 Austin Myers (Campbell County, Ky.) 285: No. 15 Alan Beattie (Burrell) vs. No. 2 Zack Chaknois (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) Eight of the 13 wrestlers for the Pennsylvania squad come from the WPIAL, which obviously impacts the WPIAL lineup for the undercard bout WPIAL vs. Illinois 113: Austin McDermitt (Burgettstown) vs. Francis Edelen (Oak Forest) 120: Brendan Howard (Jefferson-Morgan) vs. No. 15 Michael Cullen (Cary Grove) 126: Tyler Kenney (Connellsville) vs. No. 17 Kris Williams (Thornwood) 132: Josh Ridgeway (Norwin) vs. Alec McKenna (New Trier) 138: Dom Giannangelli (Franklin Regional) vs. J.J. Wolfe (Dakota) 145: No. 7 (at 152) Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional) vs. No. 15 Eric Barone (Crystal Lake South) 152: Paul Dunn (Bethel Park) vs. No. 18 Luke Fortuna (Montini Catholic) 160: Jared Walker (South Fayette) vs. No. 18 Matt Rundell (Oak Park River Forest) 170: Brooks Wilding (Upper St. Clair) vs. Carver James (Dakota) 182: Josh Bahr (West Allegheny) vs. No. 8 Xavier Montalvo (Montini Catholic) 195: Zach Smith (North Allegheny) vs. No. 3 Andrew Marsden (Crystal Lake Central) 220: Fred Mantsch (Hempfield Area) vs. Tyler Johnson (Lockport) 285: Tyler Mears (Greater Latrobe) vs. D’Andre Johnson (Glenbard East) NOTE: matches in the undercard are two periods in length, with each period lasting 2-1/2 minutes, and starting in the neutral position

Pittsburgh, Pa. -- The 18th-ranked Virginia wrestling team pulled off a stunning upset by winning the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling championship by a comfortable margin at Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center. The Cavaliers entered the competition seeded fourth with an ACC dual meet record of 2-3. UVa managed to get six wrestlers to the championship finals and all 10 members of the team finished no lower than fourth place. The Cavaliers won two weight class titles and finished with 85.5 points. Pitt was second with 71 points, Virginia Tech scored 59.5 points, Duke was fourth with 44 points, UNC was fifth with 42 points and NC State was sixth with 31 points. The 10th-ranked Hokies, the defending ACC champions, cruised through the regular season, posting a perfect 5-0 dual-meet record. It was the fifth ACC title in the program's history. UVa also claimed championships in 1974, 1975, 1977 and 2010. It was the second title for ninth-year coach Steve Garland. "I don't think anyone predicted this was going to happen," Garland said. "It was a heck of an upset win and we are really excited about being a part of something that we think is going to be a good story about Virginia Wrestling for years to come. The biggest thing I'm proud of is we had all 10 guys contribute and all 10 guys placed in the top four. It's extremely difficult to do that with how tough this conference is, and that's what won us this tournament for us." Highlighting the championship were individual titles by redshirt sophomore George DiCamillo (Highland Heights, Ohio) at 133 pounds and senior Nick Sulzer (Cleveland, Ohio) at 165 pounds. Both championships were the second for each wrestler. DiCamillo won the 2013 ACC title at 133 and missed last season due to an injury. Sulzer repeated as the champ at 165. Sulzer, a two-time All-American who is ranked number-four nationally, became the 15th Cavalier to win back-to-back titles during their career. "I think it's great, but the even better part is the team title," Sulzer said. "We finally got the ACC title that has eluded us the last few years. It puts the cherry on top. "I think sometimes when we wrestle as the underdog, we wrestle better and when we are the favorites, we are a little too nonchalant or relaxed. I think the fact that we weren't picked to win it played into our favor." Also advancing to the championship matches were junior Nick Herrmann (Amarillo, Texas) at 125, redshirt freshman Andrew Atkinson (Lynchburg, Va.) at 157, junior Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill) at 174 and junior Zach Nye (Enola, Pa.) at 197. All six of the wrestlers who reached the finals received automatic berths to the NCAA Championships. Also earning an NCAA bid was senior Joe Spisak (Boiling Spring, Pa.) at 141. He placed fourth overall. "Sending seven out of 10 going to the show is a big deal," Garland said. "I'm hoping to get TJ Miller through and maybe a couple more guys, but definitely TJ has a shot with beating three highly-nationally ranked guys. But that number, if you had said that a couple months ago when we were in the deepest part of the valley, that we were going to scoot seven through, I would say you're crazy. So I feel really blessed and really thankful." The Cavaliers had a trio of competitors place fourth in their respective weight class. TJ Miller (Medford, N.J.) at 149, Tyler Askey (Newnan, Ga.) at 184 and Patrick Gillen (Shelton, Conn.) at 285 all lost in their third-place matches. "We finally came together as a team, and we struggled all year with this," Garland said. "Today these guys were faithful to each other, they were faithful with the gifts and talents they've blessed with and they were faithful with the opportunity, and they seized the moment. That's why we won." "It's an interesting dynamic," DiCamillo said. "Coach Garland said yesterday in our team meeting that for the first time, we're not on paper supposed to win. And that's when we wrestle our best. We wrestle our best when we have a chip on our shoulder and I feel like we did a good job of responding to some controversial seeding and some adversity. We took fourth in the conference during the regular season and to win this the way we did and to still have nearly the entire finals to wrestle, it's amazing. We couldn't have asked for a better situation." The NCAA Championships will be held March 19-21 in St. Louis. Team Scores 1. Virginia, 85.5 2. Pitt, 71.0 3. Virginia Tech, 59.5 4. Duke, 44.0 5. North Carolina, 42.0 6. NC State, 31.0 Most Valuable Wrestler--Tyler Wilps, Pitt Individual Results -- Championship Finals 125 Pounds: Joey Dance, Virginia Tech dec. Nick Herrman, Virginia, 6-2 133 Pounds: George DiCamillo, Virginia dec. Mitch Finesilver, Duke, 12-6 141 Pounds: Devin Carter, Virginia Tech dec. Joey Ward, North Carolina, 11-3 149 Pounds: Mikey Racciato, Pitt dec. Christian Barber, North Carolina, SV-1, 3-1 157 Pounds: Nick Brascetta, Virginia Tech major dec. Andrew Atkinson, Virginia, 13-4 165 Pounds: Nick Sulzer, Virginia dec. Ethan Ramos, North Carolina, 5-2 174 Pounds: Tyler Wilps, Pitt dec. Blaise Butler, Virginia, 4-1 184 Pounds: Max Thomusseit, Pitt major dec. Jacob Kasper, Duke, 14-6 197 Pounds: Conner Hartmann, Duke dec. Zach Nye, Virginia, 6-5 285 Pounds: Nick Gwiazdowski, NC State major dec. Ryan Solomon, Pitt, 14-3