InterMat Staff

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Columbia wrestling team won seven of ten bouts en route to a 27-12 win on the road at Harvard. With the win, the Lions improve to 5-4 on the season, and 4-4 in EIWA duals. Columbia earned bonus points right away in the match, when Harvard had a forefit at 125. Angelo Amenta gave the Lions a 9-0 lead when he earned a tough 1-0 win over Ryan Osleeb in the 133 pound dual. Harvard took the next two duals at 141 and 149 to make it a 9-6 Lion lead. The Crimson noise would become quieted after that, as Columbia took the next three matches, and five of the final six to earn the win. Tyler Ponte, Tyrel White, and Shane Hughes took the 157-174 bouts, which included a pin from Hughes. Matt Idelson and Garrett Ryan both earned wins in the final two matches to push the lead to 27-12 in the end. Tomorrow, Columbia will end the regular season dual matches at Brown with a 1:30 pm dual that will be broadcast on the Ivy League Digital Network. After that, the Lions will have two weeks to prepare for the EIWA Championships, March 6-7. Results: 125: Justin Choi (C) win by forfeit (H), 0-6 133: Angelo Amenta (C) dec. Ryan Osleeb (H), 1-0, 0-9 141: No. 14 Todd Preston (H) dec. Matt Leshinger (C), 5-2, 3-9 149: Patrick Hogan (H) dec. Connor Sutton (C), 4-3, 6-9 157: Tyler Ponte (C) dec. Nicholas Stager (H). 7-4, 6-12 165: Tyrel White (C) dec. Tyler Grimaldi (H), 10-4, 6-15 174: Shane Hughes (C) pinned Josef Johnson (H), 6:19, 6-21 184: Josh Popple (H) pinned Zack Hernandez (C), 4:13, 12-21 197: Matt Idelson (C) dec. Michael Mocco (H), 6-0, 12-24 285: Garrett Ryan (C) dec. David Ng (H), SV-1, 3-1, 12-27

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- The Broncs won five of the 10 bouts to defeat cross-town rival Princeton Friday evening. “We knew it was going to be a tough match,” said Rider head coach Gary Taylor. “We had strengths in certain places and they had strengths in certain places. It was a good match.” For Rider (13-7) junior Conor Brennan (Brick, NJ/Brick Twp.) upset the 20th ranked wrestler in the nation in overtime. “That was a good win for Conor,” Taylor said. “Both wrestlers did some nice things in that match. I was impressed with both wrestlers. They both competed hard.” “Going into the match I knew he was tough,” Brennan said. “We trained accordingly for that, setting up a different kind of style for tonight. It all worked out in the end.” Junior Rob Deutsch (Cherry Hill, NJ/Eastern Regional) won by fall, his fourth fall of the season, to give Rider a 9-0 lead. Deutsch improved to 16-4 in duals. “I loved that pin,” Taylor said with a smile. “We wanted to go out and score a lot of points,” Deutsch said. “That was our main goal.” Freshman Chad Walsh (Cherry Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic) improved to 26-7 with a victory at 157. Sophomore Ryan Wolfe (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) returned after missing several matches with an injury to win at 174, giving Rider an 18-6 lead. “It was good to have Ryan back in the lineup after almost a month,” Taylor said. Sophomore J.R. Wert (Christiansburg, Va./Christiansburg) won to get the match started. Princeton (9-7) won the final three bouts but it was not enough. Rider defeated Princeton 21-15 last year. Rider has now beaten Princeton six straight times. Rider travels to Penn State Sunday for a 2pm match. “It is going to be a tough time with the Nittany Lions,” Taylor said. “They are again a very solid team, a top five (in the nation) team. Some of our individuals need that level of competition.” “We saved the big one for last, Penn State,” Deutsch said. “To go in there and wrestle in front of thousands of people, that is going to be a great environment.” Last year Rider lost 34-8 to the three-time defending National Champions. “I’m excited about wrestling Penn State in front of a big crowd,” Brennan said. “They are a very tough team so it will be a big challenge but we’re tough this year.” The next time Rider returns to Alumni Gym it will be for the Eastern Wrestling League Championships. “If we don’t get anybody hurt this weekend the EWLs will be the first time since mid-season that we have everyone back and at full strength,” Taylor said. “So we are looking forward to that.” Results: 125 – J.R. Wert-R dec. Ryan Cash-P 8-2 3-0 133 – Rob Deutsch-R wbf Trey Asianian-P 5:41 9-0 141 – Jordan Laster-P dec. Chuck Zeisloft-R 5-4 9-3 149 –Chris Perez-P dec. Jimmy Morris-R 4-3 9-6 157 – Chad Walsh-R dec. Rich Eva-P 4-0 12-6 165 – Conor Brennan-R dec. No. 20 Jonathan Schleifer-P 6-4 ot 15-6 174 – Ryan Wolfe-R dec. Judd Ziegler-P 12-7 18-6 184 – Brett Harner-P dec. Clint Morrison-R 4-3 18-9 197 – Abram Ayala-P dec. Donald McNeil-R 7-4 18-12 285 – Ray O’Donnell-P dec. Greg Velasco-R 4-0 18-15

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Central Michigan Wrestling team was victorious Friday, winning seven of 10 weight classes en route to 24-12 win over Eastern Michigan in the Chippewas' final Mid-American Conference dual meet of the season. The Chippewas are 8-6 in duals after a 1-4 start, and 6-2 in the MAC. CMU finished 4-4 in league duals last season. One of those losses came to Eastern, 18-16, for the Eagles' first dual-meet win over CMU in 22 seasons. After an EMU Pin at 125 pounds to start the night, CMU recorded victories in each of the next seven weight classes. CMU freshman Colin Heffernan (149 pounds) and Cody LeCount (157) both earned wins via sudden victory, while Jordan Ellingwood came away with a pin, the first of his collegiate career, at 174 pounds. Tyler Keselring (133), Zach Horan (141) and Jordan Wohlfert (165) also claimed victories for the Chippewas. Keselring, who is ranked No. 4 in the MAC, defeated Vincent Pizzuto, 2-1. Pizzuto is ranked No.1 in the MAC. The Chippewas will travel to East Lansing on Saturday to take on Big Ten opponent Michigan State in what will be their final dual meet of the season. The MAC Championships are scheduled for March 7-8 in Columbia, Mo. Results: 125: Blake Caudill (EMU) fall Brent Fleetwood (CMU), 6:58 133: Tyler Keselring (CMU) dec. Vincent Pizzuto (EMU), 2-1 141: Zach Horan (CMU) dec. Michael Shaw (EMU), 7-2 149: Colin Heffernan (CMU) dec. Nicholas Barber (EMU), 5-1 (OT) 157: Cody LeCount (CMU) dec. Brandon Zeerip (EMU), 3-1 (OT) 165: Jordan Wohlfert (CMU) dec. Devan Marry (EMU), 7-2 174: Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) fall Kayne MacCallum (EMU), 3:43 184: Austin Severn (CMU) dec. Mike Curby (EMU), 4-2 197: Anthony Abro (EMU) dec. Jackson Lewis (CMU), 3-1 (OT) HWT: Gage Hutchison (EMU) dec. Adam Robinson (CMU), 7-5

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The ninth-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling squad wrapped up its regular season with a 21-12 win over the University of North Carolina Friday evening inside Fetzer Gymnasium. The Hokies won six of the 10 bouts, but Joey Dance’s pin in the first match gave them breathing room to pull away for the win. Dance, ranked fourth in the country at 125 pounds, was in control over Cody Karns when he flipped him to his back in the third period, pinning Karns at the 5:27 mark. Kevin Norstrem, ranked 19th, gave up a takedown late to fall to UNC’s Troy Heilmann 5-4 at 133 pounds. In a big matchup at 141 pounds, third-ranked Devin Carter pulled away late with a takedown and riding time to beat 19th-ranked Joey Ward 7-4. Ninth-ranked Sal Mastriani, in his first match back in two weeks, gave up a takedown and riding time to fall to Christian Barber at 149 pounds, 5-3. Fifth-ranked Nick Brascetta rolled to a 7-2 win over former Tech wrestler Chris Mears at 157 pounds to give the Hokies12-6 lead at the halfway point. At 165 pounds, unranked Chad Strube rode No. 12 Ethan Ramos the entire second period, but was assessed a penalty point for a technical violation while on top and was dinged for two stall warnings before Ramos got the takedown to seal the 4-2 win with 12 seconds left. Zach Epperly, ranked seventh at 174 pounds, couldn’t muster any offensive points against John Michael Staudenmayer at 174 pounds, but rode Staudenmayer for nearly 90 seconds in the period and made that hold up in a 2-1 win. Tae Leary, making his debut at 184 pounds for Austin Gabel, fell to Scott Marmoll 3-0 at 184 pounds to bring the Tar Heels within three, but Jared Haught and Ty Walz were impressive in the final two matches to seal the win. Haught used four takedowns (three in the first period) to cruise past Chip Ness at 197 pounds and then eighth-ranked Ty Walz used a takedown, a reversal and riding time to beat Frank Abbondanza 5-2 at heavyweight to wrap things up. "We have a lot of individual issues right now, and they are all different," said Tech head coach Kevin Dresser. "The good news is that they are all fixable. We need to step it upand take the bull by the horns going into ACCs. Lastly, a shout out to Coach Scot Thomas and the softball ladies for showing up to support our team this evening. We look forward to returning the favor on an 80-degree May afternoon." Virginia Tech, the 2014-15 ACC Dual Meet Champions, has won 33 of its past 36 ACC dual meets after winning all five this season. Tech was scheduled be back in action on Sunday at Hofstra in New York, but that match has been canceled due to weather and other considerations. The Hokies will now be back in action in two weeks as they begin postseason at the ACC Championships in Pittsburgh. Results: 125: #4 Joey Dance (VT) fall Cody Karns, 5:27 133: Troy Heilmann (NC) dec. #19 Kevin Norstrem, 5-4 141: #3 Devin Carter (VT) dec. #19 Joey Ward, 7-4 149: Christian Barber (NC) dec. #9 Sal Mastriani, 5-3 157: #5 Nick Brascetta (VT) dec. Chris Mears, 7-2 165: #12 Ethan Ramos (NC) dec. Chad Strube, 4-2 174: #7 Zach Epperly (VT) dec. John Michael Staudenmayer, 2-1 184: Scott Marmoll (NC) dec. Tae Leary, 3-0 197: Jared Haught (VT) dec. Chip Ness, 10-5 285: #8 Ty Walz (VT) dec. Frank Abbondanza, 5-2

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Duke wrestling team got off to a hot start with wins in six of the first seven matches and never looked back en route to a 19-13 victory over Big Ten foe Michigan State at Jenison Field House. The win is the second for the Blue Devils over a Big Ten opponent this season. Duke picks up win No. 11 to improve to 11-6 overall. The victory marks the first time in program history the Blue Devils have beaten two Big Ten teams in a season – they also defeated Maryland earlier in the year. The 11 victories are the most since the 2007-08 team had 12 and mark just the third time Duke has reached that benchmark since the 1990-91 campaign. The Blue Devils came out wrestling hard and opened up a 13-3 lead on the Spartans after five bouts. Duke led by as many as 16 before the Spartans made a late charge. Michigan State (5-12) won a tight match at 125 with Mitch Rogaliner holding off a third-period charge from Thayer Atkins for a 3-0 Spartan lead. However, it was all Blue Devils in the next four matches. True freshman Mitch Finesilver, coming off of a big ranked win at Virginia Tech, continued his winning ways with a solid 8-5 win over Garth Yenter. The pair was tied 3-3 after the first period, but it was all Finesilver in the final two periods as he took an 8-4 lead en route to his ninth win of the year. Evan Botwin was even more impressive at 141, picking up the 13-1 major decision for his 17th win of the year. Botwin, building a 10-0 lead after two periods, was relentless throughout the seven-minute match to give Duke its first lead of the night, 7-3. Marcus Cain and Immanuel Kerr-Brown added six more points to Duke’s team total with decisions at 149 and 157, respectively. Cain upended Nick Trimble 4-1 to earn his 17th win of the year, while Kerr-Brown wrestled a strong match for his 20th victory of the year and 75th of his career. With Duke holding a 10-point edge over the Spartans heading into the second half of the dual, Brian Dorsey picked up a crucial 2-0 decision over Matt Pasqualani to stretch the Blue Devil lead to 13, 16-3, with just four bouts remaining. Trey Adamson and Nick Proctor provided the most exciting match of the night that included a pair of reversed calls from the referee, great scrambles and overtime. Adamson, trailing 3-2 late in the third period, got the takedown call from the referee. However, he quickly decided to go to the table for the review and sent the score back to 3-2 in favor of Proctor with 44 seconds remaining. The Riverton, Utah native went right back to work and scored a takedown, but was unable to hold on as Proctor escaped to send the match into overtime. Adamson wasted little time in the overtime to score a takedown on the edge of the mat for his 13th victory of the year. Michigan State, trailing by 16, captured the final three matches of the night, but it was not enough to overcome Duke’s strong start. Results: 125 – Mitch Rogaliner (MSU) decision Thayer Atkins (Duke), 10-7; Duke 0, MSU 3 133 – Mitch Finesilver (Duke) decision Garth Yenter (MSU), 8-5; Duke 3, MSU 3 141 – Evan Botwin (Duke) decision Javier Gasca (MSU), 13-1; Duke 7, MSU 3 149 – Marcus Cain (Duke) decision Nick Trimble (MSU), 4-1; Duke 10, MSU 3 157 – Immanuel Kerr-Brown (Duke) decision Travis Curley (MSU), 6-2; Duke 13, MSU 3 165 – Brian Dorsey (Duke) decision Matt Pasqualani (MSU), 2-0; Duke 16, MSU 3 174 – Trey Adamson (Duke) decision Nick Proctor (MSU), 6-4 (SV-1); Duke 19, MSU 3 184 – John Rizqallah (MSU) decision Jacob Kasper (Duke), 6-2; Duke 19, MSU 6 197 – Nick McDiarmid (MSU) major decision Spencer Neff (Duke), 12-1; Duke 19, MSU 10 285 – Chris Nash (MSU) decision Brendan Walsh (Duke), 8-2; Duke 19, MSU 13

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 15-ranked University of Michigan team claimed eight individual matches, earning bonus points in two, to claim a dominant 28-9 win over No. 18 Pittsburgh on Friday evening (Feb. 20) at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines took each of the opening three matches to build up an early and sizable advantage. Junior/sophomore Conor Youtsey and junior Rossi Bruno claimed similar, controlling decision victories at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively. Youtsey, ranked 20th in the latest InterMat poll, earned a 6-0 shutout against Dom Forys at the opening weight, finishing on takedowns in the first and second periods, and riding for 2:42 time advantage. Bruno, who has missed most of the second semester with injury, cruised past Nick Zanetta, 6-1, in his return, scoring early off an arm spin in the first and adding a single-leg takedown in the third. He rode for 3:08. Sophomore/freshman George Fisher earned extra points with an 18-4 major decision against Ben Ross at 141 pounds. He locked up a standing cradle early in the first and earned a two count with it but could not hold Ross on his back, instead giving up a reversal. He reversed the position off a restart and added two more reversals in the match as well as four back points. After a late stall point, he had the technical fall in sight, but Ross escaped in the final seconds to avoid the additional bonus point. After Pitt got on the board with a second-period fall at 149 pounds, Michigan claimed the next two bouts, bookending the intermission break, to continue to pull away. Sophomore Brian Murphy used a big third period to break open the 157-pound match and defeat Ronnie Garbinsky, 7-0. Murphy struck first in the first period, scrambling for the takedown after Garbinsky had single leg in the air for nearly a minute. He countered another sloppy Pitt attack in the third, scrambling for a takedown and three back points in the waning moments. Freshman Garrett Sutton used a controlling second period and a big third to defeat Troy Reaghard, 5-1, and claim his first varsity win at 165 pounds. After a scoreless first frame, Sutton rode out the entirety of the second and scored an immediate reversal and late takedown in the third. He accumulated 2:39 in riding-time advantage. Junior/sophomore Taylor Massa fell to eighth-ranked Tyler Wilps, 4-2, in his debut at 174 pounds. With the score deadlocked at 1-1 midway through the third period, Wilps finished on a low single-attack to score the bout's only offensive points. Massa escaped quickly and drew a stall warning but could not get to the Panther wrestler's legs. The Wolverines closed out the dual with three straight wins at the upperweights. Sophomore Domenic Abounader secured his second fall of the season at 184 pounds, pinning Noah Wilps with a power half at the 4:16 mark. Abounader led by 10 points at the time of the fall after twice turning Wilps for three with a bow and arrow. Fifth-year senior Max Huntley scored takedowns in the first and third periods to claim a 5-1 decision over Nick Bonaccorsi at 197 pounds. Huntley spun behind the Panther to score late in the opening frame and countered a Pitt shot midway through the third. He rode for 1:44 time advantage. Sophomore heavyweight Adam Coon capped the dual with a controlling 8-2 decision against John Rizzo behind two takedowns, two stall points and 3:18 in riding-time advantage. Coon struck immediately with a double leg and despite struggling to keep Rizzo on the mat, added a single leg off a restart midway through the third. The Wolverines will close out their dual schedule tomorrow (Saturday, Feb. 21), hosting Duke at 7 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena. Results: 125 -- #20 Conor Youtsey (U-M) dec. Dom Forys, 6-0 U-M, 3-0 133 -- #9 Rossi Bruno (U-M) dec. Nick Zanetta, 6-1 U-M, 6-0 141 -- George Fisher (U-M) major dec. Ben Ross, 18-4 U-M, 10-0 149 -- #19 Mikey Racciato (Pitt) pinned Angelo Latora, 4:11 U-M, 10-6 157 -- #8 Brian Murphy (U-M) dec. Ronnie Garbinsky, 7-0 U-M, 13-6 165 -- Garrett Sutton (U-M) dec. Troy Reaghard, 5-1 U-M, 16-9 174 -- #8 Tyler Wilps (Pitt) dec. Taylor Massa, 4-2 U-M, 16-9 184 -- #11 Domenic Abounader (U-M) pinned Noah Wilps, 4:16 U-M, 22-9 197 -- #8 Max Huntley(U-M) dec. Nick Bonaccorsi, 5-1 U-M, 25-9 Hwt -- #6 Adam Coon (U-M) dec. John Rizzo, 8-2 U-M, 28-9

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- UNI took down its first top-25 team of the season with an 18-16 win over No. 21 Old Dominion on Senior Night. The win over second-ranked MAC team improves UNI to 8-8 overall and 5-3 in the MAC. ODU falls to 12-5 overall, 5-2 in the MAC. ODU jumped out to a nine-point lead before UNI’s lone senior in the starting lineup grabbed the Panthers’ first decision and start a Panther streak. After a scoreless first period in the 197-pound match, Basil Minto rolled out of the grasp of Kevin Beazley to go up 1-0. Beazley got an escape of his own, and Minto responded with the final takedown. Minto’s decision pulled UNI within six points and set up the heavyweight match with No. 10 Blaize Cabell and Matt Tourdot. Cabell grabbed five takedowns to get an 11-4 decision. Cabell is the lone Panther to finish the dual season undefeated, finishing 8-0 in the MAC and 16-0 overall in duals. The junior hasn’t lost a match since Dec. 6 at the Cliff Keen Invite. Tonight’s win extends his streak to 13 matches. No. 6 Dylan Peters racked up more than three minutes of riding time and tied up the team score with an 8-3 decision at 125 pounds over Brandon Jeske. Leighton Gaul would give UNI its first lead at 133 pounds. His 12-6 decision put the Panthers up 12-9. The Monarchs’ No. 12 Chris Mecate tied up the team score with a 9-2 decision over Tyler Willers at 141 pounds. ODU went on to win the next two to give the Monarchs a four-point lead. It came down to Jarrett Jensen at 157 pounds. He secured the team victory with a fall in 2 minutes, 14 seconds. Jensen enters the MAC tournament ranked fourth and on four-match streak, including a win over No. 4 Ian Miller of Kent State. “For our team, there is no better example of perseverance and sticking to it and believing the work is going to pay off than Jarrett Jensen,” said head coach Doug Schwab. “His first couple of years haven’t been great, but he comes out and battles every single time. He’s going to make every guy earn every penny." UP NEXT UNI will head to the MAC Championships in Columbia, Missouri, to compete March 7-8 to qualify for the NCAA tournament set for March 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri. Results: 165 – #15 Tristan Warner (ODU) dec. #13 Cooper Moore (UNI) 7-4 174 – Austin Coburn (ODU) dec. Curt Maas (UNI) 3-1 184 – #3 Jack Dechow (ODU) dec. Kyle Lux (UNI) 4-2 197 – Basil Minto (UNI) dec. Kevin Beazley (ODU) 3-1 285 – #10 Blaize Cabell (UNI) dec. Matt Tourdot (ODU) 11-4 125 – #6 Dylan Peters (UNI) dec. Brandon Jeske (ODU) 8-3 133 – Leighton Gaul (UNI) dec. Michael Hayes (ODU) 12-6 141 – #12 Chris Mecate (ODU) dec. Tyler Willers (UNI) 9-2 149 –#12 Lenny Richardson (ODU) maj. dec. Tyler Patten (UNI) 13-2 157 – #28 Jarrett Jensen (UNI) pinned Devin Geoghegan (ODU) 2:14

Live Blog Division I National Duals Finals

Live Blog Old Dominion at Northern Iowa

Minnesota's Dylan Ness is entering the final stretch of a college wrestling career that has included two trips to the NCAA finals and three All-American finishes. The Bloomington, Minn. native is undefeated this season at 26-0 and ranked No. 1 at 157 pounds. InterMat recently caught up with Ness. This has been your most consistent season of your college wrestling career. You are currently undefeated. In the three previous seasons you dropped six or more matches each season. What have been the keys to your consistency this season? Ness: I think just being a little more grown up, being a lot more focused on wrestling and staying healthy, wrestling for the right reasons, wrestling for the Lord. I'm going out there with no pressure. Win or lose, it doesn't matter. In previous years I've dealt with a lot more injuries. I was so focused on winning all the time. This season I'm just focusing on one match at a time, one practice at a time, and hopefully it all works out in the end. You were held out of a January dual meet against Illinois because of sickness. You would have faced Isaiah Martinez, an undefeated freshman who is currently ranked No. 2. Is that a matchup you're looking forward to in March? Ness: I'm looking forward to every match come March. But I'm excited for that matchup if it happens. He's having a really good year. He's getting a lot of tech. falls. He's a strong and aggressive wrestler, so it should be a fun match. Dylan Ness defeated Nebraska's James Green in Las Vegas (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Earlier this season you defeated Nebraska's James Green, 4-3, in Las Vegas. In that match you gave up the first takedown, but scored the go-ahead takedown late in the second period and then held him off in the third period. Do you find yourself approaching each match with Green differently? Ness: It's hard to tell because I'm just a different wrestler than most people. I don't necessarily go out there with a game plan. I just go out there and wrestle. I don't necessarily have a strategy. The last two matches I've won against him I have used two completely different styles. I'm sure he's been licking his chops to get back at me. We wouldn't meet until the Big Tens, so I'm not going to worry about that match until it gets closer to that time. The Gophers did not compete in the Southern Scuffle this season and instead wrestled in the first annual Aloha Open in Hawaii. What was your experience like in Hawaii? Ness: I thought it was a great experience. The college wrestling season is such a grind. It's the toughest few months you're going to have in your life. Just having a few months to be at the beach and away from the cold weather helps us relax and take our minds off wrestling for a little while, which I think can be a good thing every once in a while. When you think about wrestling too much it can wear on you mentally. It was also a great experience for the people in Hawaii. They never get to see college wrestling in person. They only get to watch online or on TV. The people out there were really excited and happy that we were out there. You were battling sickness when you wrestled against Iowa and still beat a solid wrestler in Mike Kelly. After the match your coach J Robinson praised you for the courage you showed in that match. How tough was that match for you? Ness: It was real tough. I didn't have much energy. I was kind of out of it the whole match. The whole week I was sick. We got back from Penn State on Monday morning, and right away I got the fever and was sick the whole week. But the whole time I kept telling myself that I'm going to wrestle. It was senior night and I figured possibly the team would need me. I had already missed one match against Illinois. Overcoming it was definitely tough, but everything happens for a reason and I think it's going to help me in March. At NCAAs no one feels one-hundred percent. When I'm down in a match I can think about the time I was feeling terrible and came out on top. Dylan Ness is currently undefeated and ranked No. 1 at 157 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Your team recently dropped consecutive dual meets to Iowa and Ohio State. What was the coaching staff's message to the team after the loss to Ohio State in Columbus? Ness: I think the main thing is we just didn't wrestle our style, our pace. I think a lot of the matches we let our opponents slow us down and we wrestled their style. It seemed like they just waited until the third period to do something and score and get that last takedown. We ended up losing on some late takedowns. Right now we're kind of transitioning to a different program for each individual to accomplish what we need to individually. We have been kind of on our own, working with our individual coaches and working on certain things we need to improve on. There's only a month to go until the NCAAs. Does it feel strange knowing that your collegiate wrestling career is nearing its end? Ness: To tell you the truth it hasn't really hit me. I was asked how I felt after my last home dual against Iowa and how I felt after my last dual on the road against Maryland, and it hasn't felt any different than the last couple years. I don't think it has really hit me yet. Jayson Ness talks to Dylan Ness during the Minnesota-Iowa dual meet (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) your brother Jayson shared any advice on how to handle the final stretch of your collegiate wrestling career? Ness: No, he hasn't mentioned anything yet. I'm not struggling. I'm excited. I have had the best run of my career so far. I haven't dropped any matches. I've stayed healthy besides being sick the last couple weeks. I'm sure he has advice if I need it. As of right now, though, I think he sees that I'm doing well and since I'm doing well he doesn't need to say much. You have a history of performing at your best in the biggest events. What is it about big events that allows you to thrive? Ness: It seems like the more fans or the bigger the stage the more comfortable I am out there. I think I'm more excited to be out there. I like to put on a show. When there is a big crowd, like at NCAAs, I get less nervous for some reason and more excited to wrestle. You are part of a senior class at Minnesota that includes four other All-Americans: Chris Dardanes, Nick Dardanes, Logan Storley and Scott Schiller. How special has it been to be able to go through your journey at Minnesota with those teammates? Ness: It has been a heck of a journey. It has been an awesome experience with the guys. I live with the Dardanes' and Schiller, and Storley is a couple blocks down, and we've always hung out. It has been a great experience. Ever since our freshman or sophomore year we have all been in the lineup together. There have been ups and downs, but we're getting ready to finish on top. Dylan Ness won 9-1 over Michigan State's Roger Wildmo (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)On paper, Iowa is the favorite to win the title in St. Louis. What's it going to take in March for Minnesota to win the NCAA title? Ness: I think us seniors need to step up and finish in the top three in our weight classes. Bonus points are going to be crucial. Our five younger guys are going to have to step up and win those close matches at NCAAs, earn All-American honors and score points for the team. Growing up you were active in the international wrestling styles. You have won national titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman. Do you plan to continue wrestling freestyle or Greco-Roman after your collegiate career is over? Ness: I'm so focused on this year and winning an NCAA title as a team and individual that I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do with my life after March 21, whether I'm going to keep training and wrestling or get a job. I haven't thought about that at all. All my focus has been on this season and wrestling. This story also appears in the February 20 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.

The NCAA released their first RPI of the season this week and if you watch Twitter then some of the rankings came as a surprise to wrestling minds. I won't weigh in on which seemed odd, but I think the first rankings do offer an opportunity to discuss the validity of building an RPI system in college wrestling. Subjective criteria the NCAA once used to decipher the number of allocations per conference was replaced (for good reason) by the objective criteria of the RPI system. Math over instinct. Each wrestler is assigned points and those shift depending on the strength of who he wrestles, defeats and loses to over the course of the season. The top wrestlers are divided into conferences which then gives each conference their automatic bids. Though the system does seem to take out the shifting sands of the "who is better now" criteria, there are flaws. The people who created the system saw value in certain achievements and milestones more than others (ex: the number of wins to make a wrestler eligible for ranking) and those subjective decisions do dictate some of the variance we are witnessing in the first rankings. The benefit is that at least they are known before the seeding meetings in March. The RPI might be a bit wonky in tight weight classes, but the system seems to give credit to those who perform all year while also allowing for the conference tournaments to remain an important event. To your questions ... Q: What was wrong with nine-minute matches that pitted the endurance of the wrestler along with the technique needed to win? My husband was a part of that era and I referred many of those in the popular video "Greatest Wrestling Highlight" and we can call most friends. It shows what our sport was and how much we have lost over the years. That is what we want our sport to be again! That should be the goal of every coach in the nation. -- D.R. Foley: Good gravy. I don't know that wrestling nine minutes would be very appealing to the YouTube generation. One of the appeals of the current format is that it can be displayed online and on television without much interruption. When you consider that an American football game is only 14 minutes of combined actions over the course of four hours, you can see that nine straight minutes of wrestling may bore viewers and scare off sponsors. Wrestling can be packaged in a variety of ways, but as a spectator sport it's important that it appeals to spectators -- and that will almost always mean action. You made a point in our email exchange that wrestling has changed since appealing to money, and I'd agree that from my perspective it's becoming a more professionalized and mature product. That can have negative side effects, but overall it allows for more individuals around the world to enter the sport. As for the highlight it is thrilling. I think that seeing that much red, white and blue will jazz up the base and that's not a bad thing, either. Q: Can Missouri, Ohio State, Minnesota or Cornell beat Iowa and win the National Duals this weekend? -- Mike C. Foley: No. Iowa has backups beating top ten wrestlers and I feel like this year they have backups of backups who Brands could slap on the rear and have them win a national title. I like all these other teams, but I just think Iowa is in the "Iowa gear" and nobody can catch them. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Link: In New York, Uzbek immigrants invigorate high school wrestling Link: Sport works to stay relevant in changing NCAA Q: What do you think of Ed Ruth moving from Penn State to Arizona State to train for 2016? Do you think it's for MMA? -- John R. Foley: I do think it's for MMA ... in the long run. From what I'm told Ed would love to wrestle in the 2016 Games but that he has his eyes firmly set on entering the cage. That Olympic success might be a springboard to an MMA career is obvious, but I also imagine that almost everyone he spoke with, from manager to friends to coaches, has told him that he's put in way too much work into the sport of wrestling to walk away with the Olympics in sight. Ed Ruth won his first U.S. World Team Trials title last summer (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)There are always grumblings about relationships and jealousy, but that aside a move to Arizona to train with Zeke Jones is a pretty smart move. No matter what his relationship with Cael, there is no question that Zeke can prepare Ed for any and all opponents. He's a helluva coach and if those two connect, then there isn't much more to the story. Should Ruth hunker down in Arizona it's plausible that MMA would be in the cards come October of next year. That's still a bit away, but with cross-training opportunities he could pick up some skills and start the slow build to his first cage fight. However, he should take caution. Not every talented wrestler that ventures into MMA is a household name or holding a belt. The fighting landscape is now littered with guys who almost made it to the top and I'd bet at least a few wishes they had another chance at Olympic glory. Q: Missouri and Illinois wrestle in the National Duals quarterfinals. Jesse Delgado vs. Alan Waters. Who are you taking? -- Mike C. Foley: This will be the big test Delgado has been missing much of the season. Coming off of a long injury to face a nails Alan Waters and the No. 2-ranked team in the country will be tough for Delgado. Still, as I've written before, many coaches compliment Delgado on his toughness and I'm sure he won't get on the mat unless he is 1000 percent ready for the challenge. I think Waters plays a smarter game than Delgado and earns the 4-3 victory.

Frank Mir vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva might've been a pretty big fight a few years ago. But at the moment both are on unimpressive losing streaks and nowhere near the title picture. So naturally they're fighting in a main event on Fox Sports 1! Let's be honest, it's not a great card (starting to sound like a broken record here). However, the co-main event between Edson Barboza and Michael Johnson should be entertaining. And Yuri Alcantara is fighting ... not against someone on his level, but welcome to UFC 2015. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- The No. 21 York College wrestling team closed out its dual season on Thursday night with a decisive 37-7 victory at Gettysburg College. After the Bullets (9-8) took the first match at 125, Ryan Flynn (Newtown Square Pa. / Marple Newtown) earned the first victory for York (21-5) with a dominating 11-0 major decision at 133. The Spartans' top wrestler extends his win streak to 14 matches and improves his season record to 37-9. Freshman Jeffrey Walker (Bristow, Va. / Brentsville) looked very comfortable in his new role at 144 pounds as he earned a second-period pin fall in 4:03 to put York ahead 10-3. Senior Drew Spector (West Deptford, N.J. / West Deptford) kept the wins coming for York as he methodically worked his way to a 6-3 decision at 149. Austin Barley (York, Pa. / Spring Grove) looked strong in the first period as he dictated the pace and jumped out to a 13-2 lead. Barely got into trouble in the second period and nearly gave up a pin fall, but he managed to get out the dangerous situation and went on to claim the 14-6 major decision. Tyler Rhoads (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East) put together a dominating performance en route to an 19-3 (4:46) technical fall at 174 as he capped off a run of six straight bout wins and clinched the dual win for York. John Shorter (Lancaster, Pa. / Manheim Township) got back to his winning ways as he found himself in a close battle at 197. The freshman gutted out a 6-4 decision as he battle through a lower body injury throughout the match. Shorter is now 31-8 in his first collegiate campaign. "Big Mike" Mike Spencer (Pompton Plains, N.J. / Pequannock Township) lived up to his namesake as York's heavyweight wrestler put an exclamation point on the Spartan victory with a big pin fall in 3:16. Spencer is now 31-15 with a team-leading 15 pin falls on the year. The Spartans will compete at the NCAA Mid-East Regionals hosted by Messiah College on Sunday, March 1. Results: 125: Lenny Ogozalek (GC) dec. Lake Laughman (YC), 3-0 0-3 133: Ryan Flynn (YC) major dec. Matt Laux (GC), 11-0 4-3 141: Jeffery Walker (YC) pinned Louie Carusillo (GC), 4:03 10-3 149: Drew Spector (YC) dec. Quinn Merrigan (GC), 6-3 13-3 157: George Baker (YC) won by forfeit 19-3 165: Austin Barley (YC) major dec. Pat Thomas (GC), 14-6 23-3 174: Tyler Rhoads (YC) tech. fall Shahn Savino (GC), 19-3 (4:46) 28-3 184: Camden Stoops (GC) major dec. Matt Zippilli (YC), 13-0 28-7 197: John Shorter (YC) dec. Anthony Puca (GC), 6-4 31-7 285: Mike Spencer (YC) pinned Joey Bragg (GC), 3:16 37-7

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall's wrestling team took a short trip across town on Thursday evening and returned home with a 24-12 win and in possession of the Rupp Cup after downing Millersville at Pucillo Gymnasium. The Diplomats closed out the regular season and improved their record to 3-8, while the Marauders fell to 6-9. F&M snapped one streak and continued another after overcoming a five dual winless streak and extending its consecutive victories in the Rupp Cup series with Millersville to five straight. The Diplomats now hold the 5-3 lead in the annual battle, which dates back to 2008 and is named in honor of Ted Rupp, the former F&M and Millersville coach. The Marauders only lead in the match came after the first bout, following a Millersville decision at 125 for the early 3-0 advantage. Patrick Quinlan knotted the match at 3-3 with a milestone win, capturing the 20th victory of his freshman campaign after downing his opponent by a 9-2 score at 133. Robert Ruiz faced little opposition at 141, dominating his bout with a 16-7 decision for the 69th victory of his career, moving him into sole possession of 13th on the program's all-time wins list. Tommy Quinlan was involved in a battle at 149. Ahead by a 7-6 margin heading into the third, Millersville's Nico Demetrio tied it up with an escape to start the period. Still knotted with 35 seconds remaining, Quinlan managed to gain control on the mat for two points and the 9-7 victory, handing the Diplomats a 10-3 lead in the contest. Rob King continued with another strong late-season performance, earning his fourth consecutive dual meet win with a narrow 3-2 decision after a third-period escape to break the tie. Andrew Francos followed at 165 with F&M's fifth straight victory, handling his opponent with a 10-1 major decision and extending the lead to 17-3. A Millersville pin at 174 made things interesting by cutting the score to 17-9, however a 6-4 decision from Anthony Mancini at 184 and Charles Kerkesner's fourth straight dual win at 197, a dominating 16-4 major decision, sealed the Diplomats' victory. F&M will return to the mat Friday, March 6-7 at the Eastern Collegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships, hosted by Lehigh. More information concerning the championships will be made available on GoDiplomats.com next week. Results: 125: Alex Baider (MILL) over Edgar Garcia (F&M) (Dec 10-4) 133: Patrick Quinlan (F&M) over Samuel Oberlander (MILL) (Dec 9-2) 141: Robert Ruiz (F&M) over Thomas Nulty (MILL) (MD 16-7) 149: Thomas Quinlan (F&M) over Nico Demetrio (MILL) (Dec 9-7) 157: Rob King (F&M) over Shane Ruhnke (MILL) (Dec 3-2) 165: Andy Francos (F&M) over Ian Shannon (MILL) (MD 10-1) 174: Brock Thompson (MILL) over Gordon Bolig (F&M) (Fall 3:26) 184: Anthony Mancini (F&M) over Kyle Narber (MILL) (Dec 6-4) 197: Charles Kerkesner (F&M) over Ryan Nielsen (MILL) (MD 16-4) 285: David Wuestner (MILL) over Alex Henry (F&M) (SV-1 3-1)

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- The Lock Haven University wrestling team won nine of 10 bouts and the Bald Eagles dominated Bloomsburg University on the way to a 31-3 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) win. Lock Haven (6-12, 3-3 EWL) won the first six bouts of the night and picked up bonus points in a pair of matches on the way to the lopsided win that snapped a 10-match losing streak to the Huskies. Jake Field (South Elgin, Ill./Marmion Academy), No. 33 Ronnie Perry (Christiana, Pa./Solanco), Bobby Rehm (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor), No. 24 Dan Neff (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco), Elias Biddle (Turbotville, Pa./Warrior Run), Aaron McKinney (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny), Adam Mackie (Bechtelsville, Pa./Brandywine Heights), Phil Sprenkle (Seven Valleys, Pa./Dallastown) and Brad Emerick (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Coughlin) all won for LHU. With the win, Lock Haven picked up its sixth win of the season and moved to 3-3 in EWL action. The third league-win marks Lock Haven's most EWL wins since the Bald Eagles were 3-3 during the 2004-05 season. Highlighting the win was Neff's major decision at 149 and a pin from Mackie, who was filling in at 184 pounds for Fred Garcia (Donora, Pa./Ringgold) tonight. Mackie needed just 52 seconds to drop Bloom's Brad Miccio. Garcia will enter tomorrow's match – his final match at home with 99 career wins, as he looks to become the 16th LHU wrestler to win 100 or more matches for a career. Bloomsburg's (0-11, 0-6 EWL) only win of the night came at 174 pounds. The Bald Eagles will turn right around and hit the mats at home tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 20) at 7 p.m. when LHU hosts Grand Canyon in The Haven's 2014-15 regular season-finale. Tomorrow marks Senior Night (Fred Garcia, Elias Biddle & Ty Albright), Military Appreciation Night and there will be a special LHU Wrestling National Champion Poster presentation. Festivities will begin at 6:45 p.m. Results: 125: Jake Field (LHU) dec. Jon Haas (BU) 3-1 | Lock Haven leads 3-0 133: #33 Ronnie Perry (LHU) dec. Andy Schutz (BU) 6-2 | Lock Haven leads 6-0 141: Bobby Rehm (LHU) dec. Tanner Cahill (BU) 8-6 SV | Lock Haven leads 9-0 149: #24 Dan Neff (LHU) major dec. Kevin Laubach (BU) 13-4 | Lock Haven leads 13-0 157: Elias Biddle (LHU) dec. Matt Hammerstone (BU) 9-4 | Lock Haven leads 16-0 165: Aaron McKinney (LHU) dec. Kurt Meske (BU) 4-0 | Lock Haven leads 19-0 174: Auston Hummel (BU) dec. Tyler Wood (LHU) 7-1 | Lock Haven leads 19-3 184: Adam Mackie (LHU) pinned Brad Miccio (BU) 0:52 | Lock Haven leads 25-3 197: Phil Sprenkle (LHU) dec. Michael Mirra (BU) 4-0 | Lock Haven leads 28-3 285: Brad Emerick (LHU) dec. Dominic (BU) 7-2 | Lock Haven wins 31-3

FAIRFAX, Va. -- The George Mason wrestling team won five out the six contested matches on Thursday evening to defeat Grand Canyon University 34-3 at the RAC. Mason earned its 10th dual victory of the season and equals its record at 10-10 with the win. The Antelopes forfeited three matches on the evening at 125, 141 and 197lbs. while both teams forfeited at 133lbs. Mason started each of its five seniors in the dual: Zach Isenhour, Ryan Hunsberger, Ryan Hembury, Derek Dwyer and Jake Kettler as they were honored prior to the match. Hunsberger won the first contested match, 8-1 over Austin Solari followed by Greg Flournoy’s decision over Matt Hernandez (4-2). Flournoy has not lost a dual match since a loss vs. Bucknell on January 17. Patrick Davis earned bonus points with a 12-4 major decision over Casey Larsen. Ryan Forrest and Hembury each won their matches at 174 and 184lbs. 7-4 and 2-1, respectively. Kettler suffered the only defeat of the evening falling to Marcus Haughian, 3-0. The Patriots wrap up the regular season on Saturday, February 21. They first host Northwestern at 11 a.m. in the RAC before heading to Washington, D.C. for a 6 p.m. scheduled dual with American University. Results: 125 – Ibrahim Banducka (GM) won by forfeit 133 – Double forfeit 141 – Zachary Isenour (GM) won by forfeit 149 – James Hunsberger (GM) def. Austin Solari (GCU) 8-1 157 – Gregory Flournoy (GM) def. Chayse Jackson (GCU) 4-2 165 – Patrick Davis (GM) def. Casey Larson (GCU) 12-4 174 – Ryan Forrest (GM) def. Pierre Gaud (GCU) 7-4 184 – Ryan Hembury (GM) def. Austin Trujillo (GCU) 2-1 197 – Derek Dwyer (GM) won by forfeit 285 – Marcus Haughian (GCU) def. Jacob Kettler (GM) 3-0

PHILADELPHIA -- Bonus-point wins at 141, 149, 157 and 285 pounds provided all the firepower necessary for the No. 23 Rutgers wrestling team Thursday night in a convincing 28-9 win against Drexel at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The victory closed the Rutgers dual season at 14-7, as the Scarlet Knights will now rest and prepare for the 2015 Big Ten Championships from March 7-8 in Columbus, Ohio. “I liked the way we wrestled,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “I think we wrestled really, really good on top. Our guys are starting to believe in that top-game and we’re winning matches there.” A pin by 141-pounder Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) in the second match of the night set the bonus-point trend and gave the Scarlet Knights a 6-3 lead they would not relinquish. The No. 9/7/11/9-ranked Ashnault, who has won six-straight, built upon his team-best overall and dual record entering the postseason, as he closes the regular season 23-4. A bout later, No.18/14/16/19 149-pounder Ken Theobold (Toms River, N.J.) turned Matt Cimato twice in the third period for five near fall points and a 9-1 major decision. The win allowed Theobold to surpass his career-best win total from last season, making him 23-5 on the year. Redshirt junior 157-pounder Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) continued his resurgence with his sixth win in a row, Thursday’s coming in the form of a 15-0 tech fall. Perrotti (18-6, 13-5 Duals), who continues to climb in the national rankings, has won four of his last six matches in bonus-point fashion. No. 15/17/19/13 heavyweight Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) made it two wins in a row with an 11-2 major over Drexel’s Alex Foley, his second victory against Foley on the year. Smith (14-6, 11-6 Duals) is now three wins shy of the 70-victory mark for his career. Along with the bonus points, RU registered a trio of wins by decision, the first coming at 174 pounds from redshirt sophomore Phillip Bakuckas (Hammonton, N.J.). Bakcukas (18-11, 12-9 Duals) and Stephen Loiseau went through seven minutes of scoreless wrestling to force sudden victory, where Bakuckas connected on a takedown 29 seconds in for the 2-0 decision. Also earning wins by decision were junior 197-pounder Hayden Hrymack (Point Pleasant, N.J.) and 125-pounder Josh Patrick (Rector, Pa.). Hrymack (12-9, 6- Duals) took control in the first period with a takedown and three-point near fall and cruised to a 7-2 victory with riding time. Patrick (22-9, 3-2 Duals) and the Dragons’ Zach Fuentes battled for the full seven minutes at 125 pounds. Patrick worked from the top position in the second, where the two traded escape-takedowns for a 6-5 Patrick edge heading into the third. With 1:19 left in the final period, Patrick slipped away from Fuentes for the 7-5 edge, fighting the Dragon off for the remainder of the match. Mikey Simmons (Middletown, Pa.) saw his first dual action of the year against Drexel’s Nick Elmer, losing 3-1. The other two Drexel victories on the evening came at 184 and 133 pounds. Redshirt sophomore Anthony Pafumi (Westfield, N.J.) lost a tough one at 184 pounds, where he fell, 4-2, in the second round of tiebreakers. Pafumi (13-13, 5-10 Duals) shook free in a hurry after starting TB1 down, but a takedown by Alex DeCiantis at the buzzer gave the opponent a 3-2 advantage. Pafumi cut him loose to start TB2 needing a takedown and had DeCiantis’ right leg clutched as time winded down, but was unable to kick him to the mat for two. Drexel’s No. 15/14/16/14 Kevin Devoy Jr. rebounded after surrendering the first takedown to No. 17/15/NR/16 Scott DelVecchio (South Plainfield, N.J.) to start the night at 133 pounds. Following a reversal from Devoy to close the first and a ride out in the second, DelVecchio (18-8, 12-6 Duals) couldn’t to get in on Devoy’s legs for the takedown to force sudden victory. The Scarlet Knights enter preparations for their first trip to the Big Ten Championships, scheduled for March 7-8 in Columbus, Ohio. Results: 133: No. 15/14/16/14 Kevin Devoy Jr. (DU) dec. over No. 17/15/NR/16 Scott DelVecchio (RU), 4-2; Drexel leads, 3-0 141: No. 9/7/11/9 Anthony Ashnault (RU) wins by fall over Andrew Mauriello (DU), 2:52; Rutgers leads, 6-3 149: No. 18/14/16/19 Ken Theobold (RU) major dec. over Matt Cimato (DU), 9-1; Rutgers leads, 10-3 157: No. 13/18/10/16 Anthony Perrotti (RU) tech fall over Noel Blanco (DU), 15-0; Rutgers leads, 15-3 165: Nick Elmer (DU) dec. over Mikey Simmons (RU), 3-1; Rutgers leads, 15-6 174: No. NR/19/NR/NR Phillip Bakuckas (RU) dec. over Stephen Loiseau (DU), 2-0 (SV); Rutgers leads, 18-6 184: Alex DeCiantis (DU) dec. over Anthony Pafumi (RU), 4-2 (TB2); Rutgers leads, 18-9 197: Hayden Hrymack (RU) dec. over Brandon Litten (DU), 7-2; Rutgers leads, 21-9 285: No. 15/17/19/13 Billy Smith (RU) major dec. over Alex Foley (DU), 11-2; Rutgers leads, 25-9 125: Josh Patrick (RU) dec. over Zach Fuentes (DU), 7-5; Rutgers wins, 28-9 Rankings (-/-/-): InterMat / The Open Mat / WIN Magazine/ Flo Wrestling (Feb. 17)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. -- Down 20-13 with only two bouts left, the 20th-ranked NC State wrestling team came back to down 13th-ranked Virginia 22-20 Thursday night in Charlottesville, Va. The Wolfpack (16-5, 3-2 ACC) had only the 285 and 125 pound matches left to pull off the road win. No. 1-ranked Nick Gwiazdowski made quick work of his opponent and scored a pin for NC State just 1:41 into his match to close the gap to 20-19 with a winner-takes-all match at 125 to close the ACC dual. NC State's #26 Joe DeAngelo was pitted against #29 Nick Hermann. The score was tied 6-6 going into the third period, but DeAngelo earned an escape to start the period and held on for a 7-6 decision to give the Pack the team win. The Wolfpack has now defeated #17 Old Dominion (21-15), #14 Pittsburgh (27-12), and now #13 Virginia (22-20) all since Feb. 6. "This was a big win over a great program tonight," said head coach Pat Popolizio. "Our guys showed a lot adversity battling back and winning the last few matches. "(Freshman) Kevin Jack had an impressive performance tonight winning in dominating fashion against a redshirt senior. Our lone senior (in the lineup) Joe DeAngelo showed great leadership today by closing out the dual in a very tight match with a lot of pressure on him. The two falls by Nick (Gwiazdowski) and Nicky (Hall) were critical to our success tonight." Gwiazdowski runs his school record to 47 consecutive wins dating back to last season. He has pinned each of his last six opponents, and finished the ACC season by pinning all five of his conference foes. DeAngelo finished the ACC season with a 4-1 mark, and has won five of his last six matches and 10 of 12 dating back to Jan. 7. The dual started at 133 pounds with a UVA pin. NC State quickly grabbed the lead with back-to-back wins by a pair of freshmen. At 141 pounds, freshman Kevin Jack scored his second straight bonus point win in ACC competition as he scored a 19-6 major decision. Followed up at 149 pounds by redshirt freshman Beau Donahue's 4-3 decision to put the Pack 7-6 after three bouts. Virginia then reeled off three straight wins, including a pair of major decisions, to take a 17-7 lead with four left. Another Pack freshman then stepped up, as Nicky Hall scored a pin at 184 pounds to cut into the UVA lead at 17-13. In a marathon OT affair, UVA won the 197-matchup 4-3 and had a 20-13 lead with only two bouts left. NC State has now recorded nine pins in ACC action this season, the other five ACC teams have combined for just six in all conference action. The Pack finished at 3-2 in the ACC this season, finishing in second place among the conference's six teams - four of who are ranked in the top-25. It marked the Pack's highest finish since also placing second in 2007, and is an improvement from last season's fifth place regular season finish. NC State's 16 dual wins this season are the third-most in school history, as only the 1985 (18) and 1989 (19) squads recorded more in a single season. Up Next: The Pack will host its final home dual of the year this Sunday vs. #6 Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum. In addition to Senior Day, the last home dual will be the Pack's Military Appreciation Day as Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer will be honored. Two current MMA fighters will also be making appearances in Reynolds, current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and UFC middleweight fighter Luke Rockhold. Results: 133: No. 14 George DiCamillo (UVa) fall Bryce Meredith (NCSU), 2:56; UVa 6-0 141: Kevin Jack (NCSU) major dec. No. 13 Joe Spisak (UVa), 19-6; UVa 6-4 149: Beau Donahue (NCSU) dec. TJ Miller (UVa), 4-3; NCST 7-6 157: Andrew Atkinson (UVa) dec. Chad Pyke (NCSU), 7-3; UVa 9-7 165: No. 4 Nick Sulzer (UVa) major dec. Max Rohskopf (NCSU), 12-4; UVa 13-7 174: No. 6 Blaise Butler (UVa) major dec. Pete Renda (NCSU), 17-6; UVa 17-7 184: Nicky Hall (NCSU) fall James Suvak (UVa), 6:17; UVa 17-13 197: No. 19 Zach Nye (UVa) dec. Mike Boykin (NCSU), 4-3 (TB-2): 20-13 285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) fall Patrick Gillen (UVa), 1:41; UVa 20-19 125: Joe DeAngelo (NCSU) dec. Nick Herrmann (UVa), 7-6; NCSU 22-20

GUNNISON, Colo. -- Trenton Piatt, Austin Harris and Peter Anguiano all recorded pins as No. 7 Western State Colorado University wrestling defeated Colorado School of Mines 42-9 in the dual season finale Wednesday night at Paul Wright Gym. At 125 pounds, Piatt (Fr., Olathe, Colo.) began the dual by earning a pin at 5:09 to give the Mountaineers (11-2, 7-1 RMAC) an early 6-0 advantage. Zane Rich (R-Fr., Syracuse, Utah) added to the Western lead at 133 pounds with a 5-3 decision for a 9-0 score before Corbin Bennetts (Jr., Buena Vista, Colo.) tallied a 10-7 decision in the 141-pound class to increase the Mountaineer lead to 12-0 through three matches. CSM (5-7, 2-6 RMAC) began to trim away at its deficit, earning a 9-5 decision at 149 pounds before recording a pin at 5:48 in the 157-pound match to make it 12-9 Mountaineers. Harris (Jr., Windsor, Colo.) quickly halted the CSM momentum as he recorded a pin in 28 seconds at 165 pounds for an 18-9 Mountaineer lead. The Orediggers forfeited matches at 174, 184 and 197 pounds to extend the Western advantage to 36-9 before Anguiano (Sr., Elk Grove, Calif.) ended the dual with a pin at 2:53 in the heavyweight match for a final 42-9. "I thought the dual went really well," said head coach Miles Van Hee. "The seven guys that did wrestle ended the season in Western fashion." Before Wednesday's dual, Western also honored five seniors with Elliot Copeland, Kyle Piatt, Sam Mangum, Peter Anguiano and CJ York making their final appearances at Paul Wright Gym as Mountaineers. "Wrestling with those guys (seniors) has been great," Copeland said. "They've been calling us murder row since we were freshmen. I'm going to miss wrestling with them." The Mountaineers will next travel to Pueblo for the NCAA Division II Region IV Championships at Massari Arena, Feb. 27-28. Results: 125: Trenton Piatt (WSCU) won by pin over Zachary Gracia (Mines) 5:09.: WSCU, 6-0 133: Zane Rich (WSCU) won by decision over Caleb Micho (Mines) 5-3.: WSCU, 9-0 141: Corbin Bennetts (WSCU) won by decision over Jacob Gerken (Mines) 10-7.: WSCU, 12-0 149: Skyler Lykins (Mines) won by decision over Devon Zavala (WSCU) 9-5.: WSCU, 12-3 157: John Crowley (Mines) won by pin over Shawn Beiriger (WSCU) 5:48.: WSCU, 12-9 165: Austin Harris (WSCU) won by pin over Ethan Ruby (Mines) 0:28.: WSCU, 18-9 174: Elliot Copeland (WSCU) won by forfeit.: WSCU, 24-9 184: Kyle Piatt (WSCU) won by forfeit.: WSCU, 30-9 197: Samuel Mangum (WSCU) won by forfeit.: WSCU, 36-9 285: Peter Anguiano (WSCU) won by pin over Nickolas DeBruyn (Mines) 2:53.: WSCU, 42-9

CORTLAND, N.Y. -- The ninth-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team won six of the 10 bouts in an 18-15 dual-meet victory at 27th-ranked Cortland on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Ithaca won a pivotal match between nationally-ranked wrestlers at 184 pounds as Carlos Toribio beat the fourth-ranked wrestler in the country to lead Ithaca's effort. Ithaca is 11-2 on the season and Cortland is 9-4. The dual started at 125 pounds and Jimmy Kaishian of Ithaca faced Mat Bradice of Cortland. Neither wrestler scored in the first period. Kaishian started the second period on bottom and got an escape 24 seconds into the period for the first point of the match. He added a takedown with 15 seconds left in the period for a 3-0 lead and rode out the rest of the period. Bradice started the third period on the bottom and escaped, but Kaishian had another takedown. He went on to a 7-3 decision victory. Kaishian is ranked 10th in the latest NWCA rankings at 125. Ithaca forfeited the 133-pound match and Cortland led 6-3. Nick Wahba had a first-period takedown to take a 2-0 lead. Berry started second period down and Wahba recorded two near-fall points before Berry was awarded a point for stalling. Berry then got a reversal, but Wahba answered with a reversal. A penalty-point to Berry sent Wahba to the third period with a 6-4 lead and two minutes of riding time. Wahba started down and escaped early in the period. His riding time point made for an 8-4 decision to tie the team score 6-6. At 149 pounds, Eamonn Gaffney had a late takedown and two near-fall points at the end of the first period against Cortland's Greg Cherry. Gaffney had an escape early in the second period to lead 5-0. Cherry had a third-period escape for his only point and Gaffney won a 5-1 decision. Kevin Collins took a 2-0 lead with a first-period takedown at 157 against Cortland's Mike Beckwith and rode out the rest of the period for a riding-time advantage of 2:15. Collins started down in the second period and reversed Beckwith to lead 4-0. An escape in the second and start of the third for Beckwith made it 4-2. Collins had a riding-time point guaranteed, and a late takedown in the third gave Collins a 7-2 decision. After five matches, Ithaca led 12-6 in the team score. At 165 pounds, Ithaca's Nick Velez and Cortland's Colin Barber met in a matchup of wrestlers who attended the same high school, Westfield High School in Westfield, N.J. Velez took the lead with a takedown in the first period, and Barber escaped in the second period. Velez started down in the third period and escaped for a 3-1 lead. A late penalty-point against Velez made it a 3-2 final and another decision victory for Ithaca. Nik Hansen had an early takedown but Joe Cataldo of Cortland scored a reversal to tie the score 2-2 after the first period. Cataldo started bottom in the second and had a reversal and rode out the rest of the period for a 4-2 lead and potential riding-time point. The third period started neutral and Hansen picked up a takedown to tie it, and then yielded an escape to Cataldo. The match stayed on its feet the rest of the way and Cataldo won a 6-4 decision. A matchup of nationally-ranked wrestlers at 184 pounds highlighted the dual in a high-scoring match. Ithaca's Carlos Toribio, ranked eighth, had a takedown and near-fall points in the opening 20 seconds of his match at 184 against fourth-ranked Tyler Beckwith. Toribio had another takedown, but was reversed by Beckwith before quickly escaping. Toribio led 7-3 after the first period and started the second period with the advantage, but was reversed and turned to his back. Near-fall points gave Beckwith an 8-7 lead, but Toribio escaped and had another takedown for a 10-8 lead, and he rode out the period. Toribio started down in the third period and escaped. A penalty point to Beckwith made it 11-9 in Ithaca's favor, and Beckwith got a takedown with one second left to tie the score 11-11. Toribio had a takedown nine seconds into sudden-victory for the decision win. Ithaca led 18-9 in the team score with two matches remaining. At 197, Cortland's third-ranked Joe Giaramita had three takedowns in the first two periods and held a 6-3 lead over Ithaca's Greg DuVall. Giaramita added an escape in the third period and another takedown, but DuVall escaped, and Giaramita won a 10-4 decision victory. That clinched the dual for Ithaca as even a win by pin for Cortland at heavyweight would only tie the match and Ithaca secured the tiebreaker criteria by winning six of the 10 bouts. It didn't come into play, however, as 10th-ranked Lance Moore of Cortland defeated Ithaca's Dan Glinko by 4-0 decision. Results: 125 – Jimmy Kaishian (ITH) dec. Mat Bradice (CRT) 7-3 133 – Paul Fields (CRT) won by forfeit 141 – Nick Wahba (ITH) dec. Adrian Berry (CRT) 8-4 149 – Eamonn Gaffney (ITH) dec. Greg Cherry (CRT) 5-1 157 – Kevin Collins (ITH) dec. Mike Beckwith (CRT) 7-2 165 – Nick Velez (ITH) dec. Colin Barber (CRT) 3-2 174 – Joe Cataldo (CRT) dec. Nik Hansen (ITH) 6-4 184 – Carlos Toribio (ITH) dec. Tyler Beckwith (CRT) 13-11 (ot) 197 – Joe Giaramita (CRT) dec. Greg DuVall (ITH) 10-4 HWT – Lance Moore (CRT) dec. Dan Glinko (ITH) 4-0

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Citadel wresting team garnered eight wins, including three by major decision, to close out the 2014-15 home slate with a dominating 36-9 victory over Southern Conference foe Davidson on Wednesday evening at McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs, who honored seniors Jack Duane, Jared Hemmings, R.J. Hicks, Joaquin Marquez and Kenneth Radford prior to the match, earned their fifth win at home while improving to 7-5 overall and 5-2 in league action. Meanwhile, Davidson slipped to 6-14 overall and 1-5 in the conference. Opening with the 125-pound match, The Citadel quickly took a 6-0 lead as Marquez won by forfeit. Davidson's Anthony Elias responded with a win by fall in the 133-poind bout when he took down Clarence Arrington at the 5:26 mark to knot the match at 6-6. The Dogs controlled the remainder of the match from that point forward as they collected a 9-1 major decision in the 141 classification match between Tyler Buckiso and the Wildcats' Dustin Runzo. In the 149-pound meeting, Matt Frisch came away with a win by fall at the 4:05 mark over James McCord to push the Dogs lead to 22-6. The Citadel's Aaron Walker continued the domination with another win by fall, this time at the 2:51 point, as he posted a win over Alex Palinsky. Radford added to the lead with a decision against Patrick Devlin in the 165 match, improving the score to 25-6 with four matches left. Davidson's Nathaniel Powers briefly halted the Dogs winning streak with a 12-5 decision over Will Connell in the 174 bout. However, The Citadel returned to its previous form with an 8-0 major decision victory by Hemmings in the 184 match with Ryan Devlin. Marshall Haas pushed the Dogs lead to 32-9 with an 8-5 decision in his meeting with Ian Solcz in the 197 pound match. The final team points of the night were tallied by Joe Bexley, who posted a 10-1 major decision over Ed Isola in the heavyweight battle. The Citadel concludes the regular season on the road at North Carolina on Feb. 22. Match time is set for 3:30 in Chapel Hill.

Aberdeen, S.D. -- The Northern State University wrestling team recorded their third home victory versus University of Mary from Wachs Arena. The 21-16 win marks their first of the conference season for the Wolves. Both squads left the 125 weight class open, while the Marauders took the forfeit at 133. The first contest of the night resulted in a win for Tyler Frost by fall over Michael Rivera. Frost took down Rivera and recorded the victory at 1:55 in the match. Grant Steen was up next for the Wolves and defeated Dane Fischer by a 12-6 decision in the 149 pound match. Sean Havlovic then recorded Northern's third win in a row, a 6-0 decision over Paul Michaelson. Anthony Navarro took the 174 pound match over Jered Keller by fall at 1:45 into the first. Joe Gomez recorded the fifth and final NSU victory of the night with a 9-4 decision over Tom DeVito. Seniors Tyler Frost and Dustin Caspers were recognized to begin the dual, marking their final matched from Wachs Arena and the Barnett Center. The Wolves will travel to MSU Moorhead for a Saturday make-up dual with the Dragons. Match start is schedule for 7 p.m. from Moorhead.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Coach Troy Nickerson and the Northern Colorado wrestling team headed south today to take on in-state rival Air Force in a dual match that would not disappoint. UNC trailee 19-13 heading into the final two matches, needing wins from Trent Noon and Brian Macchione. The Bears would get exactly that, ending the match in a 19-19 tie. UNC would get the win by dual match tiebreaker criteria 38-37. The Bears started the match off exactly how they liked picking up three wins in the first five matches. #20 Trey Andrews started things off, taking on Cassidy Oshirio. Andrews gave Oshirio more than he could handle earning a major decision win, 10-2. Ben Polkowske picked up the second win for UNC against Cody Hancock. Polkowske made quick work of Hancock pinning him :46 seconds into the match. Finishing out the successful first half for the visiting team was Tyler Kinn. Kinn battled against Samuel Kreimier for a solid three rounds, but eventually prevailed by one point, 6-5. The Bears entered intermission winning 13-7. Northern Colorado came out of the intermission a little slow dropping the first three matches and got behind 19-13 heading into the final two matches. The Bears needed Noon and Macchione to step up in a big way and they did. Noon would work to a 5-3 win over Jack Canda inching closer to a UNC victory only trailing 19-16 heading into the final match. Macchione capped off the comeback going the full three rounds against Marcus Malecek, entering the third all tied at zero. In the final period Macchione worked quickly catching Malecek off guard moving to a 5-0 victory, earning the Bears three more points. The match would enter in a 19-19 tie, but UNC would win 38-37 by tiebreaker criteria. The Bears move to 5-5 dual meet record on the year and have now won four straight matches. The Bears will back in action this Sunday, February 22 against Wyoming on senior night. Wrestling will begin at 2:00 p.m. Results: 125: Trey Andrews (UNC) maj. dec Cassidy Oshiro, 10-2/4-0 133: Anthony McHugh (AF) dec Michael Espinoza (UNC), 6-4/4-3 141: Benjamin Polkowske (UNC) fall Cody Hancock, 0:46/10-3 149: Jerry McGinty (AF) maj. dec Kyle Rodriguez (UNC), 13-2/10-7 157: Tyler Kinn (UNC) dec Sam Kreimier, 6-5/13-7 165: Jesse Stafford (AF) dec Mitchell Polkowske (UNC), 5-3/13-10 174: Scott Reilly (AF) dec Josh VanTine (UNC), 4-3/13-13 184: Zen Ikehara (AF) fall Keith Johnson (UNC), 2:48/13-19 197: Trent Noon (UNC) dec Jack Carda, 5-2/16-19 285: Brian Macchionne (UNC) dec Marcus Malecek, 5-0/19-19

Aaron Pico pulls up in the passenger seat of longtime friend Aaron Negrette's truck. They grew up together in Whittier, California, just outside of Los Angeles. Aaron, 18 years old now, doesn't have his driver's license. He says he doesn't need it: "My job is to focus on training. If I need to go somewhere my family doesn't have a problem taking me. I honestly like it. We get to talk and spend some time together." With his new-found sponsors, temptations, and money/contracts, I sense from his family a fleeting necessity to keep him home for a little while longer. To keep him their boy just for a little bit more. Aaron, known intimately by his close friends and family as Cheeks, is 5'7", 155 pounds, making regular cuts down to 65 kilos (145.5 pounds). The nickname stems from the plump cheeks he had as a child, now carved into high cheekbones, especially when he's down to weight. He's Hispanic, tan, and often there's a signature cut high across the bridge of his nose. Brown eyes, no facial hair. Not the clean shaven look, but of the age when you haven't truly begun to shave. Aaron Pico trains with Jason WelchAaron is forgoing the typical NCAA wrestling route to pursue Olympic goals and, at some point, an MMA career. In 2012 he was the U.S. age-group national champion in Greco-Roman, freestyle and folkstyle wrestling. His freshman year, before dropping out of folkstyle competitions altogether, he went 42-0, easily winning a state championship. His international freestyle career is noted by a 2013 Cadet World title, and a 2014 Junior World silver medal. That's not to mention his many boxing and pankration titles, most notably a 2009 National Junior Golden Gloves championship and 2010 Golden Cup European Prankration champ. Under the guidance of Zinkin Entertainment he has signed a long-term contract with Bellator. As much as Aaron hopes to be a World and Olympic champion wrestler, he hopes to fight. He smiles when he talks about fighting. It's a passion brewing inside of him, waiting for the opportunity to show itself. He's always loved to fight. To see him boxing is to see him much more zen than on the wrestling mat. His combination of striking and wrestling should be an ideal base when he moves into his MMA career. I'd roomed with Aaron in France a few weeks prior, watched him beat the 2013 World champ (David Safaryan of Armenia) 8-5 at the Henri Deglane in Nice. I planned to stay the week with his family to train and to figure out a little more about what Aaron is all about. "What kind of latte is that?" Aaron asks me before we start warming up. He grabs towards it as if he already knows the answer. "Vanilla," I say just before he picks it up. "It's always vanilla." And then my latte is gone. It's not that Aaron is selfish or won't ask me if he can have a sip. He knows I'd offer some to him, as he would me. It's that once you've become close to him you're part of the family. It's intimate. You share everything. Aaron Pico chats with his coach Valentin KalikaAaron's coach, Valentin Kalika, puts us through practice. It's sparring-based, the two Aaron's and I rotate so every rep is crisp. It's not about conditioning -- that's for a separate time -- it's about technique and explosion. We do everything hard over and over again. Coach Kalika is always tweaking us. He expects perfect technique. We finish up with a round-robin of matches. I square off with Aaron and we ease into it. It's not until we get in a rhythm that Aaron starts hand fighting me and snapping me as hard as he can. He works on other techniques. He knows he can snap down some of the best guys in the world, so it's not his go-to in a practice match. What makes his hand fighting unique is that they're more akin to strikes. They are more jabs or hooks than holds or slow pulls. When he gets going, either because he's especially happy or especially upset, I find myself thinking about blocking my head instead of holding position. I duck, weave, and take bad shots so that I don't get my head pummeled. That's where his strength lies. But he waits until he needs to use it. Aaron is a lot of things to the public. He's an Olympic hopeful, a boxer, a future MMA fighter. But at home he's the Pico prodigal son. The Picos have been here a long time -- Aaron's seventh generation Whittier, California. It's said he's a descendant of Pio Pico, the last governor of California while under Mexican rule. When I see Aaron, I don't see the beaches and blondes LA that most people see, but rather its predecessor. Deserts, cowboys, dirt biking -- this is the wild, tough LA I associate with Aaron. One night I catch up with the Pico family at Aaron's grandfather's house, about ten minutes from their own. I've spent the day surfing. Aaron's grandpa is hosting his great grandma's birthday, a pre-Christmas tradition. I catch the tail end and people are leaving, but the house is still full. There are maybe twenty of us who stay late. Aaron's grandpa is as big of an influence on him as anyone. Inside there's an MMA fight on and the tamales are gone, but Aaron's mom, Gina, helps me find a plate of rice, beans, chips and salsa. I have a drink with Aaron's dad, Anthony, and his grandfather. We sit on the couch chatting about life and wrestling. A little while later Aaron's grandpa is walking around. He gives Aaron a giant hug and then stands in the living room in front of him. Aaron has been telling us that one day he wants to have a house on the hill in the distance. "When Cheeks buys his house," he announces to everyone. "We can have the party at your place, right?" Aaron nods. "OK -- everyone heard that, right? We'll hold him to it." And then he adds again, "and it'll be in Whittier, right?" Later we play LCR. There's a large awning covering the backyard. We stand around a long table. We never play with chairs, someone tells me. In LCR the die rotates clockwise and you roll one to three die depending on how many dollars you have. Everyone starts with three dollars. The die faces: L (pass left), R (pass right), C (dollar in the pot), dot (keep). Everyone yells, cheers, and heckles. All ages play. We scream louder as people are out and pass or are passed money. Gina will win the pot -- maybe 60 bucks. But the money isn't the point, of course. One of Aaron's younger cousin's, a sixth-grader, hasn't been able to keep his rolls on the table. But, we've been playing it as it lies and giving him the benefit of the doubt. "Oooh," we start saying. "Just throw them on the ground. Dots every time!" When one of his die rolls between Anthony and me, it's a close call. It's caught on edge in the grass. "Center!" announces Anthony Pico. "No way," the cousin says. "Are you sure?" "It's center," I say. People are still skeptical. The cousin's mom especially. "Center!" Anthony yells, hanging on to the R with his voice. The young cousin is more upset. And then we are, that is most of the boys, yelling or laughing -- Center, Center! Anthony holds out a big C with his right hand over the table. Patrick says it right: he's like Brands calling two. The sound is contagious. We can't stop ourselves. Aaron is flexing both arms. All the boys yelling. The cousin storms away, knocking a plastic chair or two down. But someone, maybe Aaron or maybe Patrick, brings him back. We're sorry. We got a little excited. We extend the mercy of a dot, but the cousin strikes out the next roll anyway. When we go back inside Aaron is once again the center piece and he has a ton of energy still. We're all tired. I've never played such a fun, exhausting game of LCR. But Aaron is alive. He's home. This is where he's most comfortable and uninhibited. Aaron grabs Jared, his older cousin, and they roll around. Jared wants little to do with it, but what else can you do when you're challenged? He fights back. They wrestle for ten minutes or so, and eventually he plays dead, and Arron gets off. "Your hair," Aaron says, laughing. "Well you had me eating carpet for ten minutes," Jared says. His hair, dense with gel, is sticking all over the place. The Picos are hair people, guys and girls. The mornings are relaxed. Aaron has given me his bed, and sleeps in Patrick's, who has migrated over to his girlfriend's for the duration of my stay. Although we all have differing schedules, the house seems to awake around the same time. It's the way of tight-knit families and houses where you hear everyone wandering towards the coffee first thing. We're all calm in the mornings. Winter in LA is sunny and chilly in a refreshing sort of way. We drink coffee, chat, and Christmas music plays in the background. For a moment even the two dogs, Rudy and Davo, are relaxed. They're both small, high-energy terriers. They love petting and sprint to you when you walk outside the bedroom. They also refuse to do anything about a mouse that's been sneaking in through their doggie-door. One of those mornings we eat breakfast burritos from the Douglas burger joint. It's been a staple in Whittier for a long time. Anthony reminisces how the town has changed since he was a boy, the old combo-deal at Douglas' ... and that him and Gina have known each other since they were kids, long before they were romantic and long before Aaron. Anthony can chat. He's a first-class storyteller, and he gives me a history of Whittier through his eyes. At the end of breakfast Aaron walks in and hugs his mom. We've been talking about scheduling and the lifestyle it takes to be an international wrestler: the constant training, and the traveling for training camps and competitions overseas. This year Aaron will be gone many more days than he'll be home. "We travel so much," he says, still hugging Gina. "It's a gift just being home." The last night I drive Aaron to the Ponce De Leon Boxing Gym. This is his third workout of the day. Inside: boys sparring in pairs, men shadow boxing against the mirror, a girl on a speed bag, an 8-year-old finishing his bag work with unlimited punches to the abs of his giant, Mexican coach. There are two stages and a bench where I sit with a few parents. There's plenty more Spanish spoken than English. Aaron shakes hands with everyone and then sits in the corner of the room, wraps his own hands while talking to his longtime boxing coach Dominic Doloria. Aaron remembers Coach Doloria's two infants, now young boys sparring in front of the mirror. Then Aaron warms up by shadow boxing. He's wearing sweats, Nike boxing shoes (one of his newest sponsors), and a USA Wrestling shirt with a light v-neck cut into it. His hands are fast, deliberate. He looks more boxer than wrestler. Aaron has put in years of hard work with Coach Valentin, but he spent his childhood in a boxing gym with Coach Doloria. He loved it first. "I love boxing more," he tells me later. The club is crowded, but no one is asking for their own space, no one is territorial. They're punching and blocking and weaving and ducking in close proximity, like an over-crowded ballroom dance. It is a beautiful mix of chaos and order. There's an extreme sense of closeness and community here. In training so close and violently with one another there is a unique kind of trust that develops. Aaron continues fast, precise punches through the air, feet synched with hands synched with body. Then he shadow boxes around the slip rope next to another boy. A red head guard and blue gloves come on for sparring. He drops one guy with a left hook to the body. Aaron stays in after round, and then sits after the second. The kids take time out of their own workouts to be water boys and watch. While Aaron sits out he gets some pointers from Coach Doloria, and then is left alone. He's watching a boy, probably a fifth-grader, get some bag work in with another coach. Aaron's gaze relaxes, usually he is extremely focused and alert. But here he drifts out and he seems to be in deep thought, almost recalling a memory. I think about what Anthony told me, that Aaron always knew he was going to fight. That's the difference between him and people who decide to later on in life. But for now Aaron's mind is drifting elsewhere, perhaps thinking of his first days of bag work, then the bell rings, and he gets back in the fight.

Postseason activity, whether it is in the dual meet or individual format, is beginning in earnest across most of the country. The following is the schedule of competition for Fab 50 teams during the upcoming week. No. 1 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. -- compete in Class 3A state tournament tomorrow (2/19) through Saturday at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois; state dual meet play-in match vs. Evanston Township on Tuesday (2/24) at Niles West No. 2 St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- compete in CBC Tournament on Saturday at Indian Lake, Ohio No. 3 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- compete in State Prep tournament on Friday and Saturday at Mercersburg Academy No. 4 Blair Academy, N.J. -- compete in Prep states today (2/18), and then at the regional National Prep qualifier on Saturday No. 5 Clovis, Calif. -- compete in the Yosemite Divisional Valley Championships on Friday and Saturday at Lemoore No. 6 Buchanan, Calif. -- compete in the Yosemite Divisional Valley Championships on Friday and Saturday at Lemoore No. 7 Franklin Regional, Pa. -- compete in the WPIAL Class 3A Section 1 tournament on Saturday at Kiski Area No. 8 Southeast Polk, Iowa -- compete in Class 3A state dual meet championships today (2/18) and then in the individual state tournament tomorrow (2/19) through Saturday, both at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines No. 10 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. -- compete in the Class 3A District XI championships on Friday and Saturday at Bethlehem Liberty No. 11 Bergen Catholic, N.J. -- compete in District 7 tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 12 Poway, Calif. -- compete in CIF divisional tournament on Saturday at San Ysidro No. 13 Stillwater, Okla. -- compete in Class 6A West Regional meet on Friday and Saturday at Norman No. 14 Broken Arrow, Okla. -- host Class 6A state East Regional meet on Friday and Saturday No. 16 Montini Catholic, Ill. - compete in Class 2A state tournament tomorrow (2/19) through Saturday at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois; state dual meet play-in match vs. Chicago St. Patrick on Tuesday (2/24) at Lake Villa No. 17 Apple Valley, Minn. -- host 3-AAA individual sectional tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 18 Neosho, Mo. -- compete Class 3 state tournament tomorrow (2/19) through Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia No. 19 Carl Sandburg, Ill. - compete in Class 3A state tournament tomorrow (2/19) through Saturday at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois; state dual meet play-in match vs. Mt. Carmel on Tuesday (2/24) at Shepard No. 20 Bettendorf, Iowa - compete in Class 3A state dual meet championships today (2/18) and then in the individual state tournament tomorrow (2/19) through Saturday, both at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines No. 21 Glenbard Noth, Ill. -- compete in Class 3A state tournament tomorrow (2/19) through Saturday at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois; state dual meet play-in match vs. Conant on Tuesday (2/24) at Niles West No. 22 Massillon Perry, Ohio -- dual meet tomorrow night (2/19) at Uniontown Lake, Ohio No. 23 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. -- compete in 7-AAA individual sectional tournament on Friday and Saturday at Cambridge-Isanti No. 24 Tuttle, Okla. -- compete in Class 4A West Regional at Clinton on Friday and Saturday No. 25 Lowell, Mich. -- compete in team regional tournament tonight (2/18) at Thornapple-Kellogg, and the individual regional on Saturday at Byron Center No. 26 Brecksville, Ohio -- compete in SWC Tournament on Saturday at Amherst, Ohio No. 27 Evansville Mater Dei, Ind. -- compete in state tournament on Friday and Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis No. 29 Don Bosco Prep, N.J. -- compete in District 5 tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 30 Delta, Ohio -- compete in NWOAL Touranment at Liberty Center, Ohio on Saturday No. 31 Cumberland Valley, Pa. -- compete in South Central Regional (aka District 3) tournament on Friday and Saturday at HersheyPark Arena No. 34 Belle Vernon, Pa. -- compete in the WPIAL Class 3A Section 2 tournament on Saturday at Ringgold No. 35 DePaul Catholic, N.J. -- compete in District 4 tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 37 St. Peter’s Prep, N.J. -- compete in District 16 tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 38 Greater Latrobe, Pa. -- compete in the WPIAL Class 3A Section 1 tournament on Saturday at Kiski Area No. 39 Phillipsburg, N.J. -- compete in District 1 tournament at Mt. Olive on Saturday No. 41 Bound Brook, N.J. -- compete in District 18 tournament at Hillsborough on Saturday No. 42 Elyria, Ohio -- scored record number of points in winning Northeast Ohio Conference (NOC) Tournament this past weekend; compete in state dual meet tournament on the campus of The Ohio State University on Saturday No. 43 Kaukauna, Wis. -- host individual sectional tournament (second state series layer) on Saturday No. 44 Marmion Academy, Ill. -- compete in Class 3A state tournament tomorrow (2/19) through Saturday at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois; state dual meet play-in match vs. Lyons Township on Tuesday (2/24) at Shepard No. 45 Brighton, Mich. -- compete in team regional tournament tonight (2/18) at Holt; compete in individual regional tournament on Saturday at Howell No. 46 Delbarton, N.J. -- compete in District 9 tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 47 St. Johns, Mich. -- compete in team regional tournament tonight (2/18) at Dewitt; compete in individual regional tournament on Saturday at Eaton Rapids No. 48 Colonial Forge, Va. -- compete in Class 6A state tournament on Friday and Saturday at Robinson No. 49 North Allegheny, Pa. -- compete in the WPIAL Class 3A Section 3 tournament on Saturday at Fox Chapel No. 50 Brandon, Fla. -- compete in Hillsborough County Championships on Friday and Saturday at Wharton, Fla. Season completed: No. 9 Archer (Ga.), No. 32 Mesa Mountain View (Ga.) No competitions during the coming week: No. 15 St. Edward (Ohio), No. 28 Crook County (Ore.), No. 33 South Dade (Fla.), No. 36 Dayton Christian (Ohio), No. 40 Monroe Woodbury (N.Y.), and No. 42 Elyria (Ohio)