InterMat Staff

125: No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 10 Tyler Cox (Wyoming) No. 3 Alan Waters (Missouri) vs. No. 11 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) 133: No. 5 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) vs. No. 13 Earl Hall (Iowa State) No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) vs. No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) 141: No. 8 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) vs. No. 14 Joey Ward (North Carolina) No. 10 Zach Horan (Central Michigan) vs. No. 17 Geo Martinez (Boise State) 149: No. 2 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) vs. Edgar Bright (Pittsburgh) No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) vs. No. 17 Zack Beitz (Penn State) 157: No. 2 James Green (Nebraska) vs. Aaron Walker (The Citadel) No. 12 Russ Parsons (Army) vs. Jason Nolf (Penn State) 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 15 Peyton Walsh (Navy) No. 2 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) vs. Chance Marsteller (Oklahoma State) 174: No. 1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. John Eblen (Missouri) No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) 184: No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 9 Willie Miklus (Missouri) No. 1 Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 3 Nate Brown (Lehigh) 197: No. 3 J'den Cox (Missouri) vs. No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke) vs. No. 15 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) vs. Nick Nevills (Penn State) No. 8 Adam Coon (Michigan) vs. Devin Mellon (Missouri)

125: No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) maj. dec. No. 17 Tim Lambert (Nebraska), 10-2 No. 10 Tyler Cox (Wyoming) maj. dec. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), 17-7 No. 11 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) dec. Ben Willeford (Cleveland State), 8-3 No. 3 Alan Waters (Missouri) tech. fall No. 20 Sean Boyle (Chattanooga), 15-0 133: No. 5 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) dec. No. 15 Kevin Devoy (Drexel), 7-2 No. 13 Earl Hall (Iowa State) pinned No. 10 George DiCamillo (Virginia), 5:34 No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) maj. dec. Troy Heilmann (North Carolina), 11-1 No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 15 (at 141) Mark Grey (Cornell), 3-2 TB 141: No. 8 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) dec. Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), 3-1 SV2 No. 14 Joey Ward (North Carolina) by medical forfeit over Nick Arujau (Cornell) No. 17 Geo Martinez (Boise State) maj. dec. No. 20 Anthony Abidin (Nebraska), 10-2 No. 10 Zach Horan (Central Michigan) dec. Isaiah Locsin (Stanford), 3-2 149: No. 2 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) pinned Luke Frey (Penn State), 5:22 Edgar Bright (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 14 Gabe Moreno (Iowa State), 10-6 No. 17 Zack Beitz (Penn State) pinned Matthew Cimato (Drexel), 6:35 No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. No. 15 Mike Racciato (Pittsburgh), 11-7 157: No. 2 James Green (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 19 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State), 11-3 Aaron Walker (The Citadel) pinned No. 8 Dylan Alton (Penn State), 6:24 Jason Nolf (Penn State) dec. Thomas Gantt (North Carolina State), 6-1 No. 12 Russ Parsons (Army) dec. Max Hvolbek (Stanford), 7-1 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Dakota Friesth (Wyoming), 18-1 No. 15 Peyton Walsh (Navy) dec. No. 13 Jim Wilson (Stanford), 5-4 Chance Marsteller (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 6 Dylan Palacio (Cornell), 11-10 No. 2 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) maj. dec. Chandler Smith (Army), 16-2 174: No. 1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 18 Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State), 14-1 John Eblen (Missouri) dec. No. 7 Trent Weatherman (Iowa State), 7-3 No. 5 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) dec. Andy McCulley (Wyoming), 5-2 No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State) dec. Jordan Rogers (Oklahoma State), 11-6 184: No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) maj. dec. No. 16 Domenic Abounader (Michigan), 13-5 No. 9 Willie Miklus (Missouri) maj. dec. Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State), 18-10 No. 3 Nate Brown (Lehigh) dec. Matt McCutcheon (Penn State), 4-2 No. 1 Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 15 Ben Stroh (Wyoming), 7-4 197: No. 3 J'den Cox (Missouri) maj. dec. No. 16 Zach Nye (Virginia), 12-4 No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) dec. No. 12 Max Huntley (Michigan), 7-4 No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke) dec. Bryce Barnes (Army), 7-0 No. 15 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) by medical forfeit over Spencer Johnson (Nebraska) 285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 14 Collin Jensen (Nebraska), 7-1 Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. No. 19 Riley Shaw (Cleveland State), 6-1 No. 8 Adam Coon (Michigan) dec. Jon Gingrich (Penn State), 2-0 Devin Mellon (Missouri) dec. Jared Johnson (Chattanooga), 2-0

Happy New Year! The mailbag this week is straddling the Southern Scuffle, so making prognostications of the event is both disingenuous and meaningless. However, the Midlands Championship did end earlier this week and with nationwide coverage on BTN, the tournament left many fans feeling underwhelmed by NCAA wrestling. Not often does the wrestling community reach consensus, but the shocking lack of offense in the Midlands finals seemed to generate a lot of similar critiques. Very few takedowns and a dearth of stalling calls and what felt like hours of edge-wrestling left fans frustrated for action. While the event suffered from a lack of action the wrestling community took to social media and batted around the same ideas regarding pushout rules and increased stall calls. We know from watching international wrestling that a strictly enforced out-of-bounds rules results in more scoring. We've seen over the years that a pushout often penalizes defensive wrestlers, increases technical actions and draws in fans. The rule would also speed up matches, which can seem to average more than 12 minutes from first whistle to final handshake. When will the NCAA listen to reason? The hope is that the rules committee does something before the falloff in viewership becomes appreciable. As someone close to international wrestling I recognize the importance of making subtle shifts in the rules. Tweaking of rules prevents gamesmanship that often comes from a few years of coaches mulling over how best to limit risk while maximizing wins. Changing the rules -- in this case changing the out-of-bounds -- should create a waterfall of action in the center of the mat. NCAA wrestling has a multitude of other issues, including proper dual meet scoring, administration of overtime and adaptation of fan-friendly uniforms. However, nothing is as quickly solved, or has as high a return, as the creation of a rule that doesn't allow wrestlers to flee the action and wrestle on the edge. A rule that should increase scoring techniques more than 30 percent in the first year. Wrestling is a beautiful sport that deserves more attention, but with the current set of rules the sport those in charge of leading it haven't earned the viewership. Q: How many NCAA finals matches have had two future Olympic/World gold medalists? I can only think of Mark Schultz vs. Ed Banach. What about two future Olympians? -- Sean M. Foley: Yeah, I scanned my brain and the Internet and this feels about right. I'd think that there are some from the late 60s who might've hopped into the mix, but I'm battling through a New Year's hangover and lost inspiration in trying to prove you, and my instinct, wrong. Future Olympians will require more attitude than I can muster. On a related note: sweet mother did Mark Schultz spin out of control this week on social media. The author of the book Foxcatcher and the inspiration behind the Bennet Miller directed film, took to Twitter to lampoon IN ALL CAPS the work of the director. Apparently the two are not on close speaking terms and Mark carries anger about the way in which the story was portrayed to audiences. Take a read for yourself ... Screaming on social media is almost never a good look and even worse when your product is on the shelves. But at the heart of the issue, I think, is the fragility of being portrayed on the big screen by someone you barely know and on their terms. Q: Maybe an individual state by state breakdown of toughest tournaments in state. Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc.? -- Zach S. Foley: We've done this dance a few times, but it's always worth a stab. 1. Pennsylvania 2. Ohio 3. New Jersey 4. Illinois 5. California Multimedia Halftime A reminder that somewhere in the Caucuses right now Abdulrashid Sadulaev is hitting a fireman's carry. DC vs. Jones is a must-watch UFC event. But after the event I'm leaving MMA to the WWE crossover fans. Dana White and the Fertitta bros. are losing money for a reason, and it's not for a lack of available worldwide fight talent (Ahem, Ben Askren). But for the night, this will be must-watch TV ... #BreakBones Q: One of the great things about wrestling is that so many good wrestlers are also excellent students who go on to have successful careers in many different fields. Not long ago I read that two recent All Americans, Eric Tannenbaum and Kyle Ott, are both doing their medical residencies now. It would be great if you could shine a spotlight on a few other recent, high-level college wrestlers who've been successful off the mat. Information such as this should serve as an inspiration for our middle and high school wrestlers. -- Stan S. Foley: Thanks for bringing to light the recent accomplishments of former Big Ten wrestlers Tannenbaum and Ott. Oddly, I think that wrestlers tend to encounter many of their successful counterparts during alumni events. At Virginia we were fortunate to have alums who spanned industries and were often among the best in their chosen professions. I remember meeting a few and it clicking that not only was wrestling going to be over one day and that "real life," whatever that might be, would be starting at the sunset of those days. My relationship with wrestling has become a touch more protracted than I originally believed, but I've watched with pride as all my friends have moved on to successful and fulfilling careers. Maybe we can start to spotlight more former athletes in the media. Conduct follow-ups, video some interactions. One thing that does occur is that the only former wrestlers we tend to see in our media web are those that coach. Since they aren't far removed, but likewise are also not active, the former wrestlers we see aren't (in our eyes) diverse, though often that's not the case. Thanks for the submission. Interesting note to consider. Q: The Midlands finals showed what is wrong with college wrestling. It puts you to sleep. How many overtime or no takedown in first period matches were there? BORING! Is that what wrestling wants to promote so people want to watch? -- Tim J. Foley: Per the opening, I'm in agreement. Jack Dechow won a Midlands title at 184 poundsNorthwestern and the BTN did a fantastic job of presenting the event. (I think Tim Johnson and Jim Gibbons do good work.) However, the wrestling was fairly abysmal in terms of action. Until he pancaked Lorenzo Thomas of Penn in the 184-pound finals, Old Dominion's Jack Dechow had moved backwards and out of bounds FIVE TIMES in 20 seconds, with another minute or so remaining. The pancake really only came after Thomas had to continue pressing for points, only to be lulled into a sloppy over-under from his knees. Dechow deserved to win the match, is an aggressive wrestler, and I think a candidate to be the NCAA champion. He's coached by a go-getter, all-the-time guy in Steve Martin, and yet even he is on ice skates late in the match. Something has to give. Poem of the Week By Ken B. 'Twas two nights before Christmas, in the Thompson Street Gym, the wrestlers weren't scared, they all felt prepared. New Beat The Streets singlets, strapped over shoulders with care. Anticipation of victory hung in the air. The wrestlers were jogging, stretching, and warming up in pairs, visions of doubles practiced with care. Two new PSAL teams, and two veteran refs, all had just shaken hands, slapped teammates on backs. When all of a sudden, the ref blew his whistle, people sprang to their feet to cheer on friends as they wrestle. Center of the mat, instructed the official. Stay in your stance, head up, move forward and grapple. The sweat on the brow, oh how it glistened. The coach shouted sprawl, the wrestler she listened. On the side of the mat teammates suddenly appeared, a small one, a big one, a stick through a pear. A coach with a tie, a coach in a sweater, lessons to teach to make these NYC kids life's winners. Some got pinned, and some did the pinning, but the wise coach knew it wasn't just about winning. Coach whistled, coach clapped, coach turned bright red, then coach cupped his hands and he said, 'now move, now sprawl, now take a shot. On the whistle you stand, on the whistle head up, on the whistle keep moving, keep moving don't stop!' Match after match, not a single wrestler did stall. Congrats boys and girls, we're proud of you all ... Great effort tonight by several of our new PSAL developmental teams, and thank you to our donors for making it possible. If you'd like to make a donation to Beat The Streets go to: BTSNY.org > Donate

Isaiah White was a Walsh Ironman champ, and is ranked No. 1 at 152 pounds (Photo/Rob Preston) The Clash XIII National Wrestling Duals come to Rochester, Minn. on Friday and Saturday. Ten of the Fab 50 nationally ranked teams are among the field of 32. The format of the Clash is that on Friday the 32 teams are split into four eight-team brackets, where each squad will get three matches to determine their placement. Then on Saturday, there will be eight four-team pools, each involving the quartet of teams earning the same placement on Friday; again, the teams will compete in three matches. On Friday, two of the brackets will be conducted in a morning/afternoon session, matches scheduled for 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. Central Time starts; while the other two brackets will be contested in the afternoon/evening session, matches stating at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. The morning/afternoon session on Saturday will involve teams that finish fifth through eighth place on Friday, while the afternoon/evening session features those that finish in the top four (i.e. win their opening dual meet on Friday). Even though the event takes on a dual meet format, there are many excellent individuals across the 32 teams competing at The Clash XII. The following individuals appear in the most recent national weight class rankings: 106: No. 14 Kirk Johansen (Glenbard North, Ill.), No. 16 Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 113: No. 4 Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), No. 5 Austin Gomez (Glenbard North, Ill.), No. 19 Alec Kelly (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.) 120: No. 16 Alex Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 126: No. 2 Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 20 Alex Lloyd (Shakopee, Minn.) 145: No. 2 Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa), No. 3 Max Thomsen (Union, Iowa), No. 4 Larry Early (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 152: No. 1 Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 160: No. 10 Dayton Racer (Bettendorf, Iowa), No. 17 Matthew Rundell (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 170: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 6 Kamal Bey (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), No. 8 Josh Ugalde (Bound Brook, N.J.), No. 10 Jacob Holschlag (Union, Iowa), No. 17 Luke Norland (Jackson County Central, Minn.) 182: No. 4 Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central, Minn.), No. 8 Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy, Ill.), No. 16 Tyler DeMoss (Hononegah, Ill.) 195: No. 1 Lance Benick (Totino-Grace, Minn.), No. 2 Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 12 Steven Holloway (Mediapolis, Iowa) 220: No. 12 Christian Colucci (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.), No. 14 Lucas Warren (Marmion Academy, Ill.), No. 19 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) 285: No. 9 Brady Reiff (Parkston, S.D.), No. 15 Alex Hart (Prior Lake, Minn.) Brackets "B" and "D" have been assigned to the Friday morning session. Bracket "B" The top seed in Bracket "B" is No. 19 St. Peter's Prep, N.J. They have a pretty balanced team across the lineup. Notable pieces include nationally ranked Kelly at 113, a state alternate from last year at 126, a Beast of the East placer at 132, two-time state placers in Connor and Ryan Burkert at 138 and 145, state qualifiers at 152 and 195, nationally ranked Colucci at 220, and a state placer at 285. Their first round opponent is Parkston, S.D. That should be a mismatch, though the opportunity to see Reiff facing legitimate competition is a good thing. The likely semifinal opponent for St. Peter's Prep will be Marist, Ill. The Redhawks are not as balanced as they have been in past years, and it has shown in some early season dual meet losses. Key wrestlers include a state qualifier at 120, two-time state placer David Kasper at 145, a two-time state qualifier at 152, three-time state placer Alex Benoit at 182, along with formidable competitors at 195 and 285. The other half of the bracket is looking at a likely semifinal battle between No. 26 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. and No. 42 Carl Sandburg, Ill. That presumes those teams clear Totino-Grace, Minn. and Grand Island in their opening matches respectively, which they should; an interesting note is that STMA and Totino-Grace are both ranked No. 2 in their respective Minnesota state tournament classification. Looking at that semifinal more closely, it will be a clash between the star power of STMA and the across the board lineup balance of Carl Sandburg. Predicted finishes: (1) St. Peter's Prep (2) Carl Sandburg (3) St. Michael-Albertville (4) Marist (5) Totino-Grace (6) Vacaville (7) Grand Island (8) Parkston Bracket "D" The top seed in Bracket "D" is No. 17 Marmion Academy, Ill. The Cadets are led by a pair of nationally ranked upper-weights in Traxler at 182 and Warren at 220; Warren has been held out of tournaments so far this season, but should compete during dual meets. Additional known commodities include state qualifier and Cadet freestyle All-American A.J. Jaffe (132), returning state placer Trace Carello (160), along with a pair of 2013 Cadet freestyle All-Americans in Matt Ferraro (152) and Riley DeMoss (170). They also got placement finishes at the Dvorak out of a freshman at 106, a senior first-time starter at 120, sophomores at 126 and 138, and a junior at 145 whom is in his first year as the full-time starter. One other name to watch out for in dual meets should Marmion flex the back half of the lineup is freshman Nate Jimenez (160-182). Marmion draws Lake Crystal in the first round, but beyond multi-time state champion Louis Sanders (132/138), there is little in that squad. The semifinal bout should be against either Hastings, Minn. or Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Iowa. Jefferson may be under-seeded as a five in the brackets, featuring six state ranked wrestlers (big-school division) in the lineup: returning state placers Brendan Baker (No. 2 at 113) and Kyle Briggs (No. 5 at 132); along with state qualifier Tavian Rasheed (No. 7 at 152), Luke Sedlacek (No. 6 at 160), Kelly May (No. 9 at 182), and Dalton Kuehl (No. 6 at 285). No. 24 Bettendorf, Iowa is the second seed in this bracket. The Bulldogs fit the description of a "stars-and-scrubs" squad. In their last competition, they had five weight class finalists at the Kansas City Stampede; however, only two other wrestlers even appeared in the upper bracket (i.e. top 16 overall from 30-plus person weight classes). Nationally ranked wrestlers Stroker (145) and Racer (160) anchor the squad; while returning state champions Jack Wagner (113) and Jacob Schwarm (120), along with state runner-up Paul Glynn (132) and 2013 state champion Jacob Woodward (152) are the other core pieces. Also ranked in Iowa is Jackson Gallagher, sixth at 126. They face Adrian, Minn. in a relatively non-competitive first round match. That squad is anchored by state champion Skyler Hieronimous at 113. The other opening match in that half-bracket places Hononegah, Ill. against Anoka, Minn. It should be Hononegah to clear that, but it's not likely that they are capable of upending Bettendorf. Predicted finishes: (1) Marmion Academy (2) Bettendorf (3) Cedar Rapids Jefferson (4) Hononegah (5) Hastings (6) Anoka (7) Adrian (8) LCWM Brackets "A" and "C" have been assigned to the Friday afternoon session. Bracket "A" Bracket "A" is anchored by No. 2 in the nation Oak Park River Forest, Ill., which finished as runners-up in last year's edition of The Clash. However, the Huskies enter this year's event as the prohibitive favorites. They have seven wrestlers within the national weight class rankings: 106, 113, 120, 145, 152, 160, and 170. Where there is not a nationally ranked wrestler, there is a darn good wrestler: for instance returning state placer Townsell at 126, Cadet freestyle runner-up Hernandez at 132, state qualifier Bennette at 138, and state qualifier Stallings at 220. Pleasant Valley, Iowa is the opening first round match for the Huskies, and the only question in that one is how many bouts OPRF takes. The opening bout for the right to face OPRF in the semifinal features teams ranked first in Minnesota Class AA and Class A, Simley and Minneota. Interestingly, neither Simley nor Minneota not feature a single wrestler ranked first in their weight class; Simley is led by returning state placers Anthony Jackson (132) and Jack Ryan (195/22), while Minneota is led by returning state runner-up Brock Buysse at 113. Moving onto the other half of Bracket "A", there are a pair of nationally ranked teams seeded second and third. No. 41 Union, Iowa is the two seed, and No. 46 Shakopee, Minn. is the three seed. Union should clear their opening round bout against Kenyon-Wanamingo (Minn.), which is led by junior Ethan Cota at 106. The nationally ranked Knights are led by nationally ranked wrestlers in Thomsen at 145 and Holschlag at 170. Other returning state placers Derek Holschlag (113) and McLaughlin (160), while additional notables appear at 106, 126, 138, and 220. Shakopee should clear their opening round match against Wasatch, Utah, whose notable wrestler is two-time state runner-up Spencer Heywood (160). Key wrestlers for Shakopee are state champions Brent Jones (120) and Owen Webster (160), along with nationally ranked Alex Lloyd (126). One concern in their lineup is the lack of quality past Webster; while they have projected state placers in seven of nine weight classes through 160, only King (10th at 182) is state ranked among their back five weight classes. Predicted finishes: (1) OPRF (2) Union (3) Shakopee (4) Simley (5) Minneota (6) Wasatch (7) Pleasant Valley (8) Kenyon-Wanamingo Bracket "C" Finally, defending Clash champions Apple Valley, Minn. are the top seeds in Bracket "C", which is the strongest and most wide open of the four brackets. The No. 17 ranked Eagles showed some susceptibility for dual meet competition during the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, as they only placed wrestlers in six weight classes. However, they have three absolute hammers in the back five weight classes: Hall at 170, Bobby Steveson at 195, and Gable Steveson at 220. Those wrestlers can obviously be flexed around as necessary in the back five weights. Other wrestlers to note are at 106, 113, 145, and 152; so they are vulnerable to a team with really good down low into the middle. The opening round match against Fox Lake Grant, Ill. is a non-issue. Looking ahead to the semifinal, Apple Valley could hit just the wrong matchup in Glenbard North, Ill. The Panthers are superlative in the lower weights with nationally ranked wrestlers in Johansen and Gomez at 106 and 113. Joining those two in placing at the Dvorak were wrestlers at 120 through 132. Other Dvorak placers came at 160, 182, 195, and 220; while they also have wrestlers ranked around the top ten at 170 and 285. Of course that presumes Glenbard North is able to clear Prior Lake, Minn. in the opening match. That squad is anchored by nationally ranked Hart at 285 pounds and Junior freestyle All-American Streifel at 220. Other key wrestlers are at 106, 120, 138, and 145. The second seed in this bracket is No. 25 Bound Brook, N.J. They are led by nationally ranked Ugalde at 170, state placer Lewis at 138, along with state qualifiers at 132, 152, and 182. Other solid wrestlers are at 106, 126, 138, 160, and 195. Their opening match is against Jackson County Central (Minn.), who would be very dangerous if they had anything to go with the three hammers on their team at 160-182 in Paden Moore, Norland, and Keegan Moore; however, they really don't. The third seed here is Mediapolis (Iowa), which is led by nationally ranked Holloway at 195. They also have returning state placers in Swofford (126), Buster (138), Cole Erickson (152), and Conley (160); along with state ranked wrestlers at 132 and 170. First round opposition for the Bulldogs comes in the form of Jefferson (Ga.), which is led by state champions Chase Piperato (145) and Caleb Little (170). Predicted finishes: (1) Bound Brook (2) Glenbard North (3) Apple Valley (4) Mediapolis (5) Prior Lake (6) Jefferson (7) Jackson County Central (8) Fox Lake Grant Based on the finishes this preview predicts for the Day 1, these are projected finishes for Day 2: Championship Pool: (1) Oak Park River Forest (2) Marmion Academy (3) St. Peter's Prep (4) Bound Brook Second Pool: (1) Carl Sandburg (2) Glenbard North (3) Bettendorf (4) Union Third Pool: (1) Apple Valley (2) STMA (3) Shakopee (4) Cedar Rapids Jefferson Fourth Pool: (1) Mediapolis (2) Marist (3) Simley (4) Hononegah Fifth Pool: (1) Prior Lake (2) Minneota (3) Hastings (4) Totino-Grace Sixth Pool: (1) Jefferson (2) Vacaville (3) Wasatch (4) Anoka Seventh Pool: (1) Grand Island (2) Pleasant Valley (3) Adrian (4) Jackson County Central Eighth Pool: (1) LCWM (2) Parkston(3) Kenyon-Wanamingo (4) Fox Lake Grant

Honolulu, Haw. -- Senior 184-pounder Taylor Meeks won all three of his matches on Tuesday to win his weight class at the Aloha Open. Meeks edged Minnesota’s Brett Pfarr 4-3 in the deciding bout to earn OSU’s lone title at the four-team, round-robin event, which also featured No. 2 Minnesota, Oklahoma and American. Redshirt freshmen Jack Hathaway (125), Abraham Rodriguez (149) and Cody Crawford (197) each took second place. Hathaway and Rodriguez were 2-1; Crawford went 3-1. The Beavers are now idle until a Jan. 10 home dual with Pacific-12 Conference rival Stanford. It starts at 5 p.m. and will be televised by Pac-12 Networks. For more on the wrestling team, follow the club’s official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OSU_Wrestling or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateWrestling.

Related: Results Live Blog Southern Scuffle

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Edinboro's Mitchell Port earned his second consecutive title at 141. lbs. at the 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Tuesday, as the Fighting Scots captured a fourth place finish. Iowa won the event in convincing fashion with a Midlands record of 189 points, followed by Illinois second with 130.5 points and Northwestern third with 106 points. The Fighting Scots tallied 101 points at the two-day event. Edinboro had five wrestlers medal, led by Port's first place showing at 141 lbs. Port was also named the Art Kraft Champion of Champions, voted on by the #Midlands52 title winners. The redshirt senior, who came into the event as the top seed and ranked second nationally, posted a 4-1 decision over Virginia Tech's Devin Carter in the final, improving to 19-0 on the season with the win. Carter was seeded second and was the NCAA runner-up at 141 lbs. last season. Edinboro added a second place finish by Dave Habat at 149 lbs., a pair of fourth place finishes by Kory Mines at 125 lbs. and A.J. Schopp at 133 lbs., while Vic Avery took home fifth place at 184 lbs. Habat, the second seed at 149 lbs., was edged by top-seeded Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern 2-1 in the first tiebreaker. Tsirtsis is the reigning national champion at 149 lbs., capturing the title as a redshirt freshman in 2013-14. Habat reached the finals by way of a 3-2 decision over Iowa's Brandon Sorenson in the semifinals. After rallying for three consecutive consolation victories, Kory Mines fell to fourth-seeded Sevan Micic of Northwestern by a 4-1 decision in the third place match at 125 lbs. Mines, who faced Micac yesterday in the quarterfinals, improved on yesterday's result of a 13-1 major decision. Mines topped third-seeded and 14th-ranked Josh Rodriguez of North Dakota State 3-1 in the consolation semifinals. Schopp, the top-seeded and top-ranked wrestler at 133 lbs., defeated Kevin Norstrem of Virginia Tech in the consolation semifinals by way of a 4-3 decision. He finished fourth after a medical forfeit in the third place match. Schopp was edged by Zane Richards of Illinois 1-0 in the semifinals earlier today, after winning by fall in three straight matches to open the event, including one victory over eventual third place finisher Ryan Taylor of Wisconsin. Schopp is now 15-1 on the season. Avery earned five wins en route to a fifth place finish at the event, capped by a 3-2 decision over Illinois' Nikko Reyes, boosting his record to 16-5 for the 2014-15 campaign. Avery dropped a 3-2 decision in the second tiebreaker to third-seeded Sam Brooks of Iowa in the consolation semifinals. All five of Avery's losses this season have come to wrestlers ranked in the top eight in the nation, including a narrow 5-3 loss in sudden victory to second-ranked Lorenzo Thomas of Penn in the quarterfinals yesterday. The redshirt junior responded by winning three out of his next four matches to earn fifth place at the event.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Indiana had two wrestlers place at the 52nd annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. Taylor Walsh dominated the field to win the 165-pound championship (pinning four of five), while Nate Jacksonearned eighth place after a strong 3-3 showing in the 174-pound class. Walsh made quick work of the field by pinning his first two opponents in under two minutes. In his quarterfinal match-up, Walsh won a rather uneventful bout in a 3-0 decision over eighth seeded Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton). For day two, Walsh kept up his pinning ways with a 47 second pin of the 12th nationally-ranked wrestler in the 165-pound class, Jackson Morse (Illinois). In the championship bout, Walsh fell behind early 4-1 after two takedowns by Harger (Northwestern). An escape to end the first period and another to start the second but Walsh down 4-3. He didn't wast much time from there, pinning the eighth nationally-ranked 165-pound wrestler in 4:06. Along with the championship, Walsh took home Most Falls Award, High Points Award and the Dan Gable Most Outstanding Wrestler Award. With the four pins for the tournament, Walsh now has 18 on the season. This puts him in a tie for third with now volunteer assistant Kurt Kinser (2008) on the Indiana single season list (Walsh holds the record with 26 set last season). The redshirt senior now has 116 career wins, which puts him in eighth on the all-time Indiana list. Redshirt sophomore Nate Jackson also advanced to the quarterfinals. He added yet another major decision to his total for the season with a 17-7 victory against Ben Hass. Up to that point, Jackson had outscored his opponents 45-18 in his past three bouts dating back to the December 13 match against Manchester's Dylan Lauffer. After defeating 12th seeded Ryan Wolfe (Rider) in an 11-7 decision, the 174-pounder lost a tough match against the number four seed Brock Gutches, 4-2. Jackson defeated David Kocer of South Dakota State with a 6-5 decision to advance to the podium rounds. In his final two matches, Jackson lost both on 3-2 decsions to earn eighth place. Heavyweight Garret Goldman wrestled well and finished with a record of 3-2 for his two days. He took down 12-seed Chris Lopez (Illinois) with a 5-2 decision in the first round. Against nationally ranked (13th) Evan Knutson, Goldman lost a hard-fought match 2-0. But in the wrestle backs, Goldman won two straight beating two Big Ten opponents -- Tyler Kral (Purdue) and Brooks Black (Illinois). In his final bout, Goldman lost another close one, 3-0 to the 11 seed Dawson Peck (Unat. Maryland). Luke Sheridan went 2-2 for the tournament with victories against Vincent Pickett (Edinboro) and Jack Carda (Air Force). In both of Sheridan's losses, it came down to the wire. In his third round bout, Sheridan and the eight seed, Jared Haught, were tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation. There was no score in the sudden victory period, but early in the first 30-second period, Haught got a takedown. Sheridan couldn't escape in the second 30-second period and thus did not advance. In his first consolation match, the senior took on four seed Patrick Downey of Iowa Central; Sheridan lost on a 3-2 decision. Unattached freshman Jake Danishek had a good showing, going 3-2. In the three matches he won, Danishek outscored his opponents 46-12, earning a technical fall and a major decision. Alex Gregoryfinished the day with two victories, defeating Grant Nehring (North Dakota State) and Brooks Marino (Penn). Gregory came close to advancing in consolation after losing 2-1 in a tiebreak. The Hoosier wrestlers take on Penn State in a Big Ten battle. Indiana wrestles the Nittany Lions in State College, Pennsylvania on January 9 (7 pm).

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 20 Wisconsin wrestling team finished out 2014, as five Badgers earned top-eight finishes and led UW to a seventh-place finish at the 52nd annual Midlands Championships on Tuesday. No. 14 Timmy McCall finished runner-up after a close finals match. McCall grappled with the No. 1 seed Nathan Burak from Iowa and kept a strong lead throughout the bout. McCall snuck in a quick takedown in the first period followed by an escape from Burak to give him the early advantage 2-1. McCall started on top going into the third period and upped his lead to 3-2 after a swift escape. Burak stunned McCal, however, with an abrupt takedown in the last seconds of the match to attain first place and a 4-3 win. McCall did have a huge win earlier in the day over Jeff Koepke of Illinois in the semifinals at 197 lbs, defeating the Big Ten foe with a 5-3 decision to move to the finals. No. 16 Ryan Taylor claimed third place after winning by medical forfeit over A.J. Schopp from Edinboro in the third-place match. Taylor started his day with a win by forfeit over Anthony Giraldo of Rutgers. He then faced Penn’s Caleb Richardson and won in a 7-3 decision. The two wins were a positive burst of energy for Taylor, who then went on to defeat Jarrod Garnett of Lehigh Valley Athletic Club in a 9-6 decision. No. 5 Connor Medbery suffered his first loss of the season in the heavyweight semifinals to Iowa’s third-ranked Bobby Telford. Telford earned the first points of the bout with a takedown at the end of the first period. Medbery then cut the lead by one after an escape near the end of the second period, 2-1. With just over a minute and a half remaining in the final period, Telford managed an escape and clinched the final score of 3-1. Medbery advanced to the third-place match after winning by decision over North Dakota State’s Evan Knutson, 5-2. At 174 lbs., Frank Cousins trounced three consecutive opponents by decisions to claim seventh place. No. 18 Ricky Robertson downed Princeton’s Brett Harner with a 5-4 decision to claim seventh place at 184 lbs. In yet another close thriller for Robertson, the fifth consolation round found him heading into overtime with the score tied at 3-3 against Edinboro’s Vic Avery. Robertson would drop the bout, however, in sudden victory, 5-3. Wisconsin will be back in action when it returns to Evanston, Illinois, for Big Ten action against Northwestern on Jan. 9.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Fighting Illini finished second at the 2014 Midlands Championships, tallying 130.5 points, behind only Iowa and its record 189 points. Seven Illinois grapplers garnered place-winner honors, led by Isaiah Martinez who took the crown at 157 pounds. Zane Richards (133) and Zac Brunson (174) advanced to the championships bout in their respective weight classes, earning runner-up honors after falling in the finals. Jackson Morse (165) finished third, while Steven Rodrigues (141), Nikko Reyes (184) and Jeff Koepke (197) finished sixth. Martinez started the day with 16-5 major decision over Iowa's Mike Kelly in the semifinals. In the 157-pound championship match, Martinez faced off with South Dakota State's Cody Pack. Martinez recorded two first-period takedowns, but Pack escaped from each, holding Martinez to a 4-2 lead. Martinez started down in the second period, escaping to earn a 5-2 lead. Pack chose down in the final period and escaped, but not before Martinez racked up the riding time. Martinez won the bout, 6-3, giving him his first Midlands Championships title of his career. Richards' day began with a 1-0 win over top-ranked A.J. Schopp of Edinboro to advance to the championship match. In the 133-pound final, Richards faced off with Iowa's Cory Clark. After a scoreless first period, Clark took a 1-0 lead with an escape in the second period. Richards matched Clark's escape with one of his own, tying the match at 1-1. Clark recorded another takedown to take a 3-1, but Richards was able to escape to make it 3-2. Richards was unable to record a takedown of his own, dropping the bout, 4-2, after Clark was awarded a point for riding time. Brunson began the day with an 8-0 major decision over Northwestern's Johnny Sebastian in the semifinals, advancing to the 174-pound championship bout where he faced Iowa's Mike Evans. Brunson and Evans produced a scoreless first period in the final, but a Brunson escape in the second gave him a 1-0 lead heading into the final period. Brunson started on top of Evans in the last period, but Evans rolled into a reversal and rode out Brunson to earn the 2-1 win. Morse began the day with a loss to eventually champion Taylor Walsh of Indiana in the 165-pound semifinals, falling to the consolation bracket. Morse battled back to take third, beating CSU Bakerfield's Adam Fierro and Iowa's Nick Moore in the process. After advancing to the semifinal, Rodrigues dropped the bout to Virginia Tech's Devan Carter, 15-6, falling to the consolation bracket. Rodrigues lost in the consolation semifinals to Joseph McKenna of Lehigh Valley Athletic Club, 8-3, before dropping the fifth-place match to Old Dominion's Chris Mecate, 6-2. Reyes wrestled all day in the consolation bracket after dropping a match in Monday's second round. After the loss, Reyes won four consecutive matches, before dropping decisions in the consolation semifinals and the fifth-place match. Koepke began his day in the championship semifinals, dropping a 5-3 decision to Wisconsin's Timmy McCall. In the consolation semifinals, Koepke fell to Alex Polizzi of Northwestern, 4-1, before falling to Princeton's Abe Ayala in the fifth-place match, 5-3. The Illini will return to action at the friendly confines of Huff Hall on Jan. 9 when they welcome Big Ten newcomer Rutgers to town. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT.

125: 1st: No. 6 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 3-1 SV2 3rd: Stevan Micic (Northwestern) dec. Kory Mines (Edinboro), 4-1 5th: No. 14 Joshua Rodriguez (North Dakota State) dec. Billy Watterson (Brown), 9-2 7th: Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) maj. dec. David White (Binghamton), 15-4 133: 1st: No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. No. 7 Zane Richards (Illinois), 4-2 3rd: No. 16 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) by medical forfeit over No. 1 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) 5th: Kevin Norstrem (Virginia Tech) dec. Jarrod Garnett (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club), 3-2 7th: Dominick Malone (Northwestern) dec. Caleb Richardson (Penn), 7-5 141: 1st: No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) dec. No. 3 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech), 4-1 3rd: Joey McKenna (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club) dec. No. 6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa), 3-1 5th: No. 9 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) dec. Steven Rodrigues (Illinois), 6-2 7th: Brandon Wright (Grand View) dec. Shyhiem Brown (Maryland), 3-2 149: 1st: No. 1 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) dec. No. 3 David Habat (Edinboro), 2-1 TB 3rd: No. 10 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech), 6-0 5th: Rick Durso (F&M) by medical forfeit over Brody Grothus (Iowa) 7th: No. 12 Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) dec. Seth Lange (Minnesota), 9-5 157: 1st: No. 9 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. No. 1 4 Cody Pack (South Dakota State), 6-3 3rd: Mike Kelly (Iowa) dec. Chad Walsh (Rider), 4-3 5th: No. 18 Justin Staudenmayer (Brown) dec. Louis Mascola (Maryland), 4-3 7th: Doug Welch (Purdue) dec. Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan), 7-0 165: 1st: No. 4 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) pinned No. 8 Pierce Harger (Northwestern), 4:06 3rd: No. 12 Jackson Morse (Illinois) dec. No. 7 Nick Moore (Iowa), 5-2 5th: No. 16 Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Ty Prazma (Missouri), 6-5 7th: No. 14 Tristan Warner (Old Dominion) pinned Pat Smith (Minnesota), 2:07 174: 1st: No. 2 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. No. 9 Zac Brunson (Illinois), 2-1 3rd: Alex Meyer (Iowa) maj. dec. Josh Snook (Maryland), 13-5 5th: Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) by forfeit over Brock Gutches (Southern Oregon) 7th: Frank Cousins (Wisconsin) dec. No. 19 Nate Jackson (Indiana), 3-2 184: 1st: No. 4 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) maj. dec. No. 2 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn), 13-5 3rd: No. 8 Sam Brooks (Iowa) dec. No. 10 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State), 3-1 5th: No. 14 Vic Avery (Edinboro) dec. No. 20 Nikko Reyes (Illinois), 3-2 7th: No. 18 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin) dec. Brett Harner (Princeton), 5-4 197: 1st: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. No. 14 Timmy McCall (Wisconsin), 4-3 3rd: James Fox (Harvard) dec. No. 8 Alex Polizzi (Northwestern), 6-4 SV 5th: No. 10 Abe Ayala (Princeton) dec. Jeff Koepke (Illinois), 5-3 7th: Ruben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois), 4-3 285: 1st: No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. No. 1 Michael McMullan (Northwestern), 4-2 3rd: No. 5 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) dec. No. 7 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), 2-1 5th: Dawson Peck (Maryland) dec. No. 13 Evan Knutson (North Dakota State), 1-0 7th: Garrett Ryan (Columbia) maj. dec. No. 18 Jake Henderson (Old Dominion), 10-1

1. Iowa 189 2. Illinois 130.5 3. Northwestern 106 4. Edinboro 101 5. Virginia Tech 99.5 6. Old Dominion 81 7. Wisconsin 80.5 8. Maryland 51.5 9. North Dakota State 45.5 10. Indiana 45 11. South Dakota State 42 12. CSU Bakersfield 39.5 13. Rider 39.5 14. Penn 37 15. Princeton 34.5 16. Purdue 33 17. Harvard 31.5 18. Lehigh Valley Athletic Club 31 19. Minnesota - Unattached 30.5 20. Brown 28

Related: Brackets | Standings | Placers EVANSTON, Illinois -- The University of Iowa wrestling team won four individual titles and scored a tournament-record 189.0 points to win the 52nd annual Midlands Championships on Tuesday night. The Hawkeyes' 189 team points broke their previous record of 187.5, set in 2013. Illinois was a distant second with 130.5, followed by Northwestern (106), Edinboro (101) and Virginia Tech (99.5). Iowa has won a record 24 Midlands team titles. Iowa crowned four champions -- Cory Clark, Mike Evans, Nathan Burak, Bobby Telford -- for the first time since 2007, when Joe Slaton, Dan LeClere, Mark Perry, and Brent Metcalf all earned first place finishes at their respective weights. No. 3 seeded Clark took the 133 title after advancing to the finals for the first time in three trips to the Midlands Championships. He previously collected a fourth-place finish in 2012 and a sixth-place finish in 2013. Clarkimproves his overall record to 14-0 after this championship win. "It felt good to have a first-place performance instead of a sixth and previous year fourth, so it's a big jump for me, especially going up a weight," Clark said. "At the same time, all this tournament is for me is a learning experience and I've learned a lot." Evans defended his championship at 174 after a 2-1 victory over the No. 2 seed Zac Bruson from Illinois. Evans is the first repeat champion since Brent Metcalf won three straight titles from 2007-2009. Iowa 197-pounder Nathan Burak, seeded first and wrestling unattached, collected his first Midlands Championship title. He took on the sixth-seeded Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) in the finals and clinched the match with a takedown in the final seconds to win, 4-3. Burak previously came in third during his first appearance and his all-time Midlands record stands at 10-1. Bobby Telford, the No. 2 seed at 285, walked away with a first-place finish after a battle with the top-seeded Mike McMullan of Northwestern. The pair had met five times previously and Telford improved upon his 2011 and 2013 second-place finishes. "It's a big win," Telford said. "I've been in this situation three times, I've gotten second twice and that kind of lingers with a guy. It was my last chance at it and it was my last chance to get the feather in my hat with a Midlands championship." Thomas Gilman, the defending champion at 125, fell to the second-seeded Joey Dance from Virginia Tech, 3-1, in the second sudden-victory period. It was Gilman's first loss of the season, tallying a record of 14-1 overall. The Hawkeyes also closed out the Midlands Championships with four third-place finishes. Sixth-seeded Brandon Sorenson (149), No. 5 seed Michael Kelly (157), No. 10 seed Alex Meyer (174), and No. 3 seed Sammy Brooks (184) each won their consolation finalsmatches. Josh Dziewa (141) and Nick Moore (165) both collected fourth-place finishes at the Midlands. Dziewa was defeated by the No. 10 seed Joseph McKenna (Lehigh-unattached), in a 3-1 decision. Moore ultimately fell to fourth-seeded Jackson Morse (Illinois) in a 5-2 decision. Iowa returns to action on Jan. 2 at Rutgers. The dual is set to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) and is televised on BTN. The Hawkeyes then travel to Ohio State to compete Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. (CT).

No. 1 Minnesota left its stamp on the first annual Aloha Open in Honolulu on Thursday, capturing six individual titles on the day. Noteworthy among those championships were No. 2 Chris Dardanes at 133 and No. 1 Dylan Ness at 157, both of whom continued undefeated seasons and will carry unblemished records into the new year. The four other individual champions for the Gophers were: Conrad Rangell (141), Jake Short (149), No. 3 Logan Storley (174) and No. 2 Scott Schiller (197). The first-year tournament featured a different format than most. The four teams competing in the event - Minnesota, No. 20 Oregon State, Oklahoma and American University - were allowed to enter more than 10 wrestlers into the event (the Gophers elected to enter 12). At each weight class, there was a round-robin to determine the champion. Because some teams brought more than one competitor at a specific weight class, some of these round-robins were three matches per wrestler, while others were four or five. At 133, Dardanes took the title with a 3-0 finish that included a pair of major decisions, giving him a team-high seven on the season, which accounts for half of his total victories. At 141 and 149, Rangell and Short also earned titles with 3-0 finishes, the only unranked Minnesota wrestlers to take first place at their weights. At 157, Ness kicked off his day with a pin, the 33rd of his career. That ties him with Jared Lawrence for 11th in program history and puts him one shy of cracking the top 10. At 174, Storley won all three of his matches in different fashions, racking up a technical fall, a decision and a major decision (respectively) on his way to the title. Finally, at 197, Schiller finished 4-0 with two major decisions and a pin. The second of those victories marked a career milestone for Schiller as it represented his 100th win for the Maroon and Gold. He joins teammate Storley in surpassing the 100-win mark this season after Storley did so at the Cliff Keen Invitational earlier this month. In addition to the six individual champions, the Gophers also had a pair of wrestlers place second, Brandon Kingsley at 165 and No. 11 Brett Pfarr at 184, and a three more finish third: Jordan Bremer at 125, No. 18 Nick Wanzek at 165 and No. 12 Michael Kroells at 285. A full listing of match results for each Gopher wrestler appears below. After enjoying the sun and beaches in the Aloha State for a few more days, the Gophers will return home and begin preparing for their next competition, a Big Ten dual on Friday, January 9 at 8 p.m. CT against No. 17 Michigan at the Sports Pavilion. That dual will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network and will also be available on the BTN2Go app. As always, to stay updated on the latest news around the Gopher Wrestling program, regularly check back here on GopherSports.com and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

125: No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. Stevan Micic (Northwestern), 4-3 No. 6 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 14 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State), 7-1 133: No. 7 Zane Richards (Illinois) dec. No. 1 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro), 1-0 No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. Jarrod Garnett (LVAC), 7-6 141: No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) dec. No. 9 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), 11-7 No. 3 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Steven Rodrigues (Illinois), 15-6 149: No. 1 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) dec. Brody Grothus (Iowa), 3-2 TB2 No. 3 Dave Habat (Edinboro) dec. No. 10 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), 3-2 157: No. 9 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) maj. dec. Mike Kelly (Iowa), 16-5 No. 14 Cody Pack (South Dakota State) dec. No. 18 Justin Staudenmayer (Brown), 5-1 165: No. 4 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) pinned No. 12 Jackson Morse (Illinois), 0:47 No. 8 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) dec. No. 7 Nick Moore (Iowa), 8-5 174: No. 2 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. Brock Gutches (Southern Oregon), 4-0 No. 9 Zac Brunson (Illinois) maj. dec. Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern), 8-0 184: No. 2 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) dec. No. 10 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State), 7-5 No. 4 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) dec. No. 8 Sam Brooks (Iowa), 6-5 197: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. James Fox (Harvard), 3-1 No. 14 Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) dec. Jeff Koepke (Illinois), 5-3 285: No. 1 Michael McMullan (Northwestern) dec. No. 7 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), 4-2 No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. No. 5 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin), 3-1

We are just two days away from the opening match at the 2015 Defense Soap & Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s McKenzie Arena is transforming into a premier wrestling venue and teams are starting to arrive in the Scenic City. TheSouthernScuffle.com has already broken down all 10 brackets with its #LetsScuffle previews, and things really get cranking with today’s release of the preseeds. Penn State and Oklahoma State lead the way with 11 each, while Missouri is next with 10. Cornell, Nebraska and Virginia each have seven. “When you look at the depth of this tournament, it shows why it is one of the best events in wrestling,” stated UTC head coach Heath Eslinger. “Anytime you have All-Americans filling in the No. 3, four and five spots, you know it is a deep tournament.” The Cowboys have three No. 1s, led by NCAA Champion Alex Dieringer at 165. NCAA runner-up Josh Kindig is atop to the 149 bracket, while fourth-ranked Austin Marsden is No. 1 at heavyweight. Cornell has a pair of top seeds in defending Scuffle champs in Nahshon Garrett at 125 and Gabe Dean at 184. Garrett was an NCAA finalist last season, while Dean was an All-American. Missouri’s returning NCAA Champ J’Den Cox is No. 1 at 197 while the Tigers’ Lavion Mayes is No. 1 at 141. Nebraska’s three-time All-American James Green leads the way at 157. The Huskers’ top-ranked Robert Kokesh is No. 1 at 174. Penn State is represented by last year’s Scuffle finalist Jimmy Gulibon at 133. The host Mocs have four seeded in the tournament. Senior Sean Boyle is No. 11 at 125 and Senior Nick Soto is No. 6 at 133. Soto finished fourth at 133 last season and was second as a freshman in 2012. Senior Shawn Greevy is No. 12 at 149, while junior John Lampe is No. 12 at 184. “This tournament is a lot like nationals where being seeded puts you in a good position,” added Eslinger. “Soto and Boyle have been ranked all season, while Greevy and Lampe are benefitting from some strong results in recent weeks.” The 2015 Defense Soap and Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle takes place at the McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Jan. 1-2. For tickets, local attractions and hotel information, visit TheSouthernScuffle.com. Flowrestling and Trackwrestling provide complete coverage of the event through live video and live scoring. Links for both are on TheSouthernScuffle.com. Once again, the official hashtag of the Southern Scuffle is #LetsScuffle. Last year, the tournament trended nationally on social media. Be sure to use the #LetsScuffle hashtag when tweeting about the 2015 tournament. 125: 1. Nahshon Garrett- Cornell 2. Alan Waters- Missouri 3. Jordan Conaway- Penn State 4. Tyler Cox- Wyoming 5. Darian Cruz- Lehigh 6. Eddie Klimara- Oklahoma State 7. Evan Silver- Stanford 8. Trey Andrews- Northern Colorado 9. Tim Lambert- Nebraska 10. Max Soria- Buffalo 11. Sean Boyle- Chattanooga 12. Dalton Macri- Unattached 133: 1. Jimmy Gulibon- Penn State 2. Mason Beckman- Lehigh 3. Rossi Bruno- Michigan 4. George DiCamillo- Virginia 5. Earl Hall- Iowa State 6. Nick Soto- Chattanooga 7. Mark Grey- Cornell 8. Mackenzie McGuire- Kent State 9. Kevin Devoy- Drexel 10. Matt Manley- Missouri 11. Troy Heilmann- North Carolina 12. Gary Wayne Harding- Oklahoma State 141: 1. Lavion Mayes- Missouri 2. Zach Horan- Central Michigan 3. Geo Martinez- Boise State 4. Joe Spisak- Virginia 5. Joey Ward- North Carolina 6. Anthony Abidin- Nebraska 7. Randy Cruz- Lehigh 8. Dean Heil- Oklahoma State 9. Tyler Small- Kent State 10. Dante Rodriguez- Iowa State 11. David Pearce- Drexel 12. Brandon Gambucci- Duke 149: 1. Josh Kindig- Oklahoma State 2. Drake Houdashelt- Missouri 3. Dyllan Cottrell- Appalachian State 4. Gus Sako- Virginia 5. Alec Pantelo- Michigan 6. Gabe Moreno- Iowa State 7. Edgar Bright - Pittsburgh 8. Zach Beitz- Penn State 9. Michael DePalma- Kent State 10. Luke Frey- Penn State 11. Mike Racciato- Pittsburgh 12. Shawn Greevy - Chattanooga 157: 1. James Green- Nebraska 2. Ian Miller- Kent State 3. Brian Realbuto- Cornell 4. Mitch Minotti- Lehigh 5. Dylan Alton- Penn State 6. Joseph LaValle- Missouri 7. Russell Parson- Army 8. Anthony Collica- Oklahoma State 9. Steven Hernandez- Boise State 10. Brian Murphy- Michigan 11. Tommy Gantt- North Carolina State 12. Immanuel Kerr-Brown- Duke 165: 1. Alex Dieringer- Oklahoma State 2. Nick Sulzer- Virginia 3. Dylan Palacio- Cornell 4. Jim Wilson- Stanford 5. Peyton Walsh- Navy 6. Mike England- Missouri 7. Austin Trott- Gardner Webb 8. Austin Wilson- Nebraska 9. Dakota Friesth- Wyoming 10. Chandler Smith- Army 11. Elton Ramos- North Carolina 12. Chandler Rogers- Oklahoma State 174: 1. Robert Kokesh- Nebraska 2. Matt Brown- Penn State 3. Tyler Wilps- Pittsburgh 4. Tanner Weatherman- Iowa State 5. John Eblen- Missouri 6. Andy McCulley- Wyoming 7. Jordan Rogers- Oklahoma State 8. Keaton Subjeck- Stanford 9. Brian Crutchmer- Oklahoma State 10. John Staudenmayer- North Carolina 11. Bo NIckal- Penn State 12. George Pickett- Cornell 184: 1. Gabe Dean- Cornell 2. Max Thomusseit- Pittsburgh 3. Nate Brown- Lehigh 4. Willie Miklus- Missouri 5. Nolan Boyd- Oklahoma State 6. Matt McCutcheon- Penn State 7. Ben Stroh- Wyoming 8. Dominic Abounader- Michigan 9. Timothy Dudley- Nebraska 10. Jacob Kasper- Duke 11. James Suvak- Virginia 12. John Lampe - Chattanooga 197: 1. J'den Cox- Missouri 2. Kyven Gadson- Iowa State 3. Conner Hartmann- Duke 4. Morgan McIntosh- Penn State 5. Max Huntley- Michigan 6. Nick Bonaccorsi- Pittsburgh 7. Elliot RIddick- Lehigh 8. Shane Woods- Wyoming 9. Zach Nye- Virginia 10. Jace Bennett- Cornell 11. Bryce Barnes- Army 12. Cole Baxter- Kent State 285: 1. Austin Marsden- Oklahoma State 2. Jimmy Lawson- Penn State 3. Adam Coon- Michigan 4. Denzel Dejournette- Appalachian State 5. Riley Shaw- Cleveland State 6. Jon Gingrich- Penn State 7. Devin Mellon- Missouri 8. Collin Jensen- Nebraska 9. Nathan Butler- Stanford 10. Josh Marchok- Stanford 11. Tanner Harms- Wyoming 12. Ethan Hayes- Virginia

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Two sessions into the 52nd annual Midlands Championships, the ninth-ranked Fighting Illini are in second place with 90 points, trailing only Iowa's 110.5 points. Zane Richards (133), Steven Rodrigues (141), Isaiah Martinez (157), Jackson Morse (165), Zac Brunson (174) and Jeff Koepke (197) all advanced to the semifinals in their respective weight classes. Brock Ervin (141) and Nikko Reyes (184) are still alive in the consolation brackets. At 133 pounds, Richards entered the day as the fourth seeded wrestler in the weight class. Richards received an opening round bye before pinning Old Dominion's Michael Hayes in his first bout of the day. Richards then defeated Ian Nickell of CSU Bakersfield, 8-4, to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal match, Richards earned a 12-1 major decision over Maryland's Geoffrey Alexander to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. Richards will open Tuesday's action by facing top-seeded A.J. Schopp of Edinboro. In the 141-pound weight class, Rodrigues began Monday's action by pinning Carter McElhany of Air Force. He then earned a 10-8 win over Eastern Michigan's Kyle Springer in sudden victory to stay alive in the winners' bracket. Rodrigues made sure his next match was not as close as the previous one, defeating Jeff Canfora of Penn with a 12-3 major decision to advance to the quarterfinals. In his quarterfinal bout, Rodrigues defeated Iowa's Jeff Dziewa 3-1, punching his ticket for tomorrow's semifinals. The sixth-seed entering the tournament, Rodrigues will face second-seeded Devin Carter of Virginia Tech in his first match on Tuesday. The top-seed at 157 pounds, Martinez received a first-round bye before earning an 18-2 technical fall against Indiana's Luke Blanton. Martinez advanced to the quarterfinal bout after Austin Eads of Old Dominion was forced to stop competing due to injury. In his quarterfinal match, Martinez faced Brandon Zeerip of Eastern Michigan, earning a 24-10 major decision to advance to the semifinals. Martinez will face Iowa's Mike Kelly in tomorrow's opening session. Morse, the fourth-seed in the 165-pound weight class, advanced to tomorrow's semifinal by earning four wins on Monday. He began his day with a 16-0 technical fall victory over Justin Samora of Adams State. In the second round, Morse defeated Eastern Michigan's Devan Marry, 5-0. A 7-1 decision over Northern Illinois' Shaun'Qae McMurty gave Morse a spot in the quarterfinals, where he defeated Jimmie Schuessler from Grand View to advance to the semifinals. Brunson had a bye in the first round before earning a 19-4 technical fall over Lehigh's Garett Stehley in round two. In his next bout, Brunson defeated Edinboro's Patrick Jennings, 3-0, to advance to the quarterfinals. In his quarterfinal bout, Brunson beat Frank Cousin of Wisconsin, 11-3, to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. Brunson, the second-seed at 174 pounds, will begin action tomorrow by facing Johnny Sebastian of Northwestern. At 197 pounds, Koepke made it six Illini in the semifinals after finishing Monday with a flawless record. He opened the day with a bye before earning a 12-4 major decision over Parker Hines of Air Force. A 5-3 win over North Dakota State's Thomas Petersen punched Koepke's ticket to the quarterfinals. In his final bout of the day, Koepke earned a 3-1 win over Ruben Franklin of CSU Bakersfield in sudden victory. The 10th-seed entering the tournament, Koepke will face Timmy McCall of Wisconsin in tomorrow's semifinal match. Session three (consolation rounds, semifinals and seventh-place matches) begins tomorrow at noon, while the final session (championships, third-place matches and fifth-place matches) will take place at 7 p.m. CT. The Big Ten Network will air the final session live.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Iowa wrestling team posted a 10-1 record in the quarterfinals of the Midlands Championships on Monday night. The Hawkeyes have individual title hopes at nine weights, including a pair of semifinalists at 149 pounds, and hold the lead with 110.5-points in the team race. Iowa sits in first place with 110.5 points. Illinois is a distant second with 89.5 points, followed by Northwestern (85.0), Edinboro (59.5), and Virginia Tech (54.5). The Hawkeyes won nine matches where they were favored, with an upset from number five seed Mike Kelly at 157 over the number five-seed Chad Walsh of Rider, 7-4. Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) upset Iowa's Josh Dziewa, 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Dziewa is the No. 3 seed at 141. This is the second year in a row the Hawkeyes advanced 10 wrestlers from quarterfinals onto the semifinal matches. Of the 10 to advance, eight were the first to score in their quarterfinal match-ups. Of those 10 winners, there were only four takedowns recorded against the Hawkeyes. Defending champions Thomas Gilman (125) and Mike Evans (174) move on to the semifinals, Gilman in his third appearance at the Midlands and Evans in his fourth. Gilman advanced over Ethan Lizak of Minnesota, wrestling unattached, with an 11-4 decision. Evans solidified another trip to the semifinals with a major decision, 9-0, win over the eight-seed Chad Welch from Purdue. No. 3 seed Cory Clark (133) and No. 2 seed Bobby Telford (285) both recorded falls in their quarterfinal matches. Clark pinned No.6 Danny Sabatello (Purdue) at 2:11 and Telford put No. 10 Garrett Ryan (Columbia) on his back at 2:51. Clark and Telford have placed at the Midlands in their previous two appearances. Clark took fourth in 2012 and sixth in 2013, while Telford placed second in both 2011 and 2013. Junior Brody Grothus advanced to the semifinal match at 149 after a 5-2 decision over the No. 5 seed from Penn, C.J. Cobb. Grothus placed fourth at the 51st Midlands Championships last season. Second-seeded Nick Moore was taken down by the No.7 seed Adam Fierro at the beginning of the match, but quickly recovered with an escape and a takedown in the second period to take the victory in a 4-3 decision. Michael Kelly (157) recorded a 7-4 decision over #4 Chad Walsh (Rider) and Sammy Brooks (184) used 12-3 major decision against #6 Ophir Bernstein (Brown) to continue into the semifinal matches. Nathan Burak, wrestling unattached and seeded number one at 197, went into the second period with no score, but collected an escape and subsequent takedown to tally three points. The match ended in a 3-1 decision in Burak's favor, advancing the junior to the semifinals. Session III of the Midlands Championships is set to begin at 12 p.m. (CT) Tuesday. Updated team standings and complete tournament brackets are available throughout the tournament at nusports.com and on trackwrestling.com.

125: No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) vs. Stevan Micic (Northwestern) No. 6 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 14 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State) 133: No. 1 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) vs. No. 7 Zane Richards (Illinois) No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. Jarrod Garnett (LVAC) 141: No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) vs. No. 9 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) No. 3 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) vs. Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) 149: No. 1 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) vs. Brody Grothus (Iowa) No. 3 Dave Habat (Edinboro) vs. No. 10 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) 157: No. 9 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. Mike Kelly (Iowa) No. 14 Cody Pack (South Dakota State) vs. No. 18 Justin Staudenmayer (Brown) 165: No. 4 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) vs. No. 12 Jackson Morse (Illinois) No. 7 Nick Moore (Iowa) vs. No. 8 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) 174: No. 2 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs. Brock Gutches (Southern Oregon) No. 9 Zac Brunson (Illinois) vs. Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) 184: No. 2 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) vs. No. 10 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State) No. 4 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) vs. No. 8 Sam Brooks (Iowa) 197: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) vs. James Fox (Harvard) No. 14 Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) vs. Jeff Koepke (Illinois) 285: No. 1 Michael McMullan (Northwestern) vs. No. 7 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) vs. No. 5 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin)

125: No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), 11-4 Stevan Micic (Northwestern) maj. dec. Kory Mines (Edinboro), 13-1 No. 14 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State) dec. Billy Watterson (Brown), 6-1 No. 6 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Lucas Malmberg (Messiah), 16-6 133: No. 1 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) pinned No. 16 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin), 3:59 No. 7 Zane Richards (Illinois) maj. dec. No. 11 Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland), 12-1 No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa) pinned No. 17 Danny Sabatello (Purdue), 2:12 Jarrod Garnett (LVAC) dec. No. 19 Kevin Norstrem (Virginia Tech), 3-1 141: No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) maj. dec. Michael Shaw (Eastern Michigan), 11-3 No. 9 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) dec. No. 16 Todd Preston (Harvard), 2-0 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) dec. No. 6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa), 3-1 No. 3 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Shyhiem Brown (Maryland), 17-9 149: No. 1 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) dec. B.J. Clagon (Rider), 2-1 TB Brody Grothus (Iowa) dec. No. 11 C.J. Cobb (Penn), 5-2 No. 10 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. Seth Lange (Minnesota), 9-6 No. 3 Dave Habat (Edinboro) maj. dec. No. 16 Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech), 14-4 157: No. 9 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) maj. dec. Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan), 24-10 Mike Kelly (Iowa) dec. Chad Walsh (Rider), 7-4 No. 18 Justin Staudenmayer (Brown) dec. Reece Lefever (Wabash) No. 14 Cody Pack (South Dakota State) dec. Doug Welch (Purdue), 9-4 165: No. 4 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) dec. Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton), 3-0 No. 12 Jackson Morse (Illinois) maj. dec. Jimmie Schuessler (Grand View), 13-1 No. 8 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) dec. No. 14 Tristan Warner (Old Dominion), 5-0 No. 7 Nick Moore (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield), 4-3 174: No. 2 Mike Evans (Iowa) maj. dec. Chad Welch (Purdue), 9-0 Brock Gutches (Southern Oregon) dec. No. 19 Nate Jackson (Indiana), 4-2 Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) maj. dec. Josh Snook (Maryland), 11-2 No. 9 Zac Brunson (Illinois) maj. dec. Frank Cousins (Wisconsin), 11-3 184: No. 2 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) dec. No. 14 Vic Avery (Edinboro), 5-3 SV No. 10 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State) dec. No. 18 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin), 4-3 TB1 No. 8 Sam Brooks (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 13 Ophir Bernstein (Brown), 12-3 No. 4 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) dec. Austin Gabel (Virginia Tech), 3-1 197: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. No. 20 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech), 3-1 James Fox (Harvard) dec. Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois), 14-7 No. 14 Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) dec. No. 10 Abe Ayala (Princeton), 3-2 Jeff Koepke (Illinois) dec. Ruben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield), 3-1 SV 285: No. 1 Michael McMullan (Northwestern) by medical forfeit over Nicholas Gajdzik (Harvard) No. 7 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 13 Evan Knutson (North Dakota State), 4-3 TB1 No. 5 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) pinned Dawson Peck (Maryland), 3:28 No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) pinned Garrett Ryan (Columbia), 2:52

Related: Results Live Blog Midlands Championships

The 48th annual Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament features a record 48 teams in the field. The event will be held on Monday and Tuesday at Canon-McMillan High School, which is south of Pittsburgh. The first day of competition will set up the semifinals on the front side, while the last consolation round will reduce the field down to 16 wrestlers. The medal matches (third/fifth/seventh) are slated for 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday evening, with first place matches set for 7:30 p.m. ET. No. 8 Franklin Regional, Pa. is the defending tournament champion, and one of five nationally ranked teams in the field. The Panthers are joined by two other top ten teams, both of which are newcomers, No. 6 Archer (Ga.) and No. 10 Buchanan (Calif.). The other two nationally ranked teams are relatively local squads, No. 33 Belle Vernon and No. 36 Greater Latrobe. Top-ranked Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) is after his second straight Powerade title (Photo/Rob Preston) Six wrestlers will seek to defend titles earned from the 2013 edition of the Powerade: No. 6 Devon Brown (Franklin Regional, Pa.) at 113 pounds, No. 1 Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.) at 120, No. 2 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe, Pa.) at 132, No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional, Pa.) at 145, No. 4 Josh Shields (Franklin Regional, Pa.) at 160, and Omar Haddad (Parkland, Pa.) at 220. Lee, Pletcher, and Kemerer are three of the seven wrestlers in this field ranked either first or second in the country at their weight class. The 132-pound weight class features the top two ranked wrestlers in the country, No. 1 A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa.) and No. 2 Luke Pletcher. Also ranked first nationally is Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area, Pa.) at 138, while Gavin Teasdale (Jefferson Morgan, Pa.) and Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.) are ranked second at 106 and 152 respectively. Below is a weight-by-weight overview of the field. 106: Freshman sensation Gavin Teasdale (Jefferson Morgan, Pa.), ranked No. 2 nationally in this weight class and also overall for the Class of 2018, is the top seed in the weight class. He is also the clear favorite, as the only nationally ranked wrestler present. Some non-freshmen to note are returning state placer Aaron Burkett (Chestnut Ridge, Pa.) and state qualifier Alan Diltz (Benton, Pa.). Freshmen to note in addition to Teasdale include Logan Macri (Canon-McMillan, Pa.), Patrick Glory (Delbarton, N.J.), and Job Chishko (Penn Trafford, Pa.) 113: Devin Brown (Franklin Regional, Pa.), ranked No. 6 nationally, is the top seed and clear favorite to repeat as Powerade champion. Others in the weight class include National Prep placer Daniel Planta (St. Paul's, Md.) along with state qualifiers Charlie Lenox (Eric McDowell, Pa.) and Cole Manley (Altoona, Pa.) 120: Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.) is arguably best high school wrestler in the country, and the favorite to take home the title in this weight class, which would be a second Powerade title in as many years for the sophomore. Two other nationally ranked wrestlers occupy the second and third seeds, No. 14 Tyler Agaisse (Delbarton, N.J.) and No. 8 Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio). Others to note in this weight class include state champions Logan Grass (Huntington, W.Va.) and Kyson Levin (Pleasant Grove, Utah), state runner-up Kennedy Monday (Arlington Martin, Texas), state placers Vinny Artigues (Archer, Ga.) and Trey Chalifoux (Father Ryan, Tenn.), as well as state qualifiers Brendan Howard (Jefferson Morgan, Pa.) and Conner Ziegler (Moeller, Ohio) 126: Gus Solomon (Franklin Regional, Pa.), ranked No. 9 nationally, will enter the Powerade as an un-seeded wrestler. I feel sorry for the first seed that he hits, whomever it is. Other primary contenders along with Solomon are the second seed Ethan McCoy (Greater Latrobe, Pa.), a National Prep runner-up in 2013; three-time National Prep placer Ryan Friedman (St. Paul's, Md.), the fourth seed; and two-time state placer Durbin Lloren (Buchanan, Calif.), the fifth seed. The top seed in the weight class is returning state placer Jacob Lizak (Parkland, Pa.), while the third seed is another returning state placer in Taylor Ortz (Brookville, Pa.). Joining Solomon as non-seeded wrestlers to watch are returning state placers Mike Stuart (Benton, Pa.) and Seth Hogue (Reynolds, Pa.), along with high profile freshman Justin McCoy (Chestnut Ridge, Pa.) 132: The top two wrestlers in the country are on a crash course to the final in this weight class, for what could be their first of likely many meetings this season. Two-time state and Powerade schampion Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe, Pa.), ranked second nationally, is the first seed; while tops in the nation A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa.) is seeded second. Also in the mix in this weight class is the third seed George Phllippi (Derry Area, Pa.), who is ranked No. 6 nationally. Beyond those three, and seeded fourth through eighth are three-time state champion Jordan Allen (Huntington, W.Va.), though he has struggled this season; two-time state runner-up Chris Diaz (Archer, Ga.); two-time state champion Ben Anderson (Pleasant Grove, Utah), who did place at the Ironman; two-time state champion Nic Campbell (Strasburg, Va.); and state champion Eli King (Father Ryan, Tenn.). An additional wrestler to watch is Matt Oblock (Canon-McMillan, Pa.); though not seeded, he did place at the Ironman earlier this month. 138: This weight sets up for yet another showdown between No. 1 Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area, Pa.) and No. 9 Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford, Pa.). The 2013 state champ Krivus beat the 2014 state champ Coy in the finals at the King of the Mountain, so this could be the second of many meetings on the season. Those seeking to spoil this finals showdown, as unlikely as that seems, include: state champions Grant Aycox (Archer, Ga.) and Dylanger Potter (Arlington Martin, Texas), three-time state placer Tyler Vath (Saegertown, Pa.), along with two-time state placer Jacoby Ward (Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio). 145: Three of the nation's top seven wrestlers populate this weight class; however, their seeds are first (No. 1 Michael Kemerer of Franklin Regional, Pa.), fourth (Hayden Hidlay of Mifflin County, Pa.) and seventh (Jared Verkleeren of Belle Vernon, Pa.). Two-time state champion Hunter Dean (Strasburg, Va.) is the second seed, though he quite frankly is but a bit player in this weight class. Seeded third is Beast of the East champion Travis Vasquez (Delbarton, N.J.), a returning state placer. Two-time National Prep runner-up Kevin Budock (Good Counsel, Md.) is seeded fifth, while state champion Jose Taylor (Arlington Martin, Texas) is the seven seed. Given the quality of depth in this weight class, it'll be hard for unseeded wrestlers to make "noise." However, two-time state qualifier and NHSCA Junior All-American Kyler Hansen (Buchanan, Calif.) is just the type of wrestler to do it. Also unseeded, and probably better than a couple of seeds, is two-time state placer Nick Monico (Saegertown, Pa.) 152: This is another deep weight class with three of the nation's top eleven wrestlers manning the top three seed lines. No. 2 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.) is the top seed, and is followed on the ladder by No. 7 Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional, Pa.) and No. 11 Jake Wentzel (South Park, Pa.). Something interesting to note if it should come to a Maruca vs. Wentzel semifinal is that Wentzel has wins over Maruca the last two years at the Super 32 Challenge. Returning state placers Conner Francis (Buchanan, Calif.) and Joseph Tavoso (Delbarton, N.J.), who also placed at the Super 32 Challenge this fall, occupy the fourth and sixth seed lines. 160: The top four seeds in this weight class are all nationally ranked, and are seeded in order of their weight class ranking: No. 4 Josh Shields (Franklin Regional, Pa.), No. 14 Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga.), No. 15 Cole Walter (Mifflinburg, Pa.), and then No. 20 D.J. Hollingshead (Altoona, Pa.). Returning Powerade runner-up Devin Austin (Penn Trafford, Pa.), but who failed to make the state tournament at season's end, is the fifth seed; state champion Trapper Hays (Parkersburg, W.Va.) is the six seed; with state placer Paul Dunn (Bethel Park, Pa.) the eight seed. Non-seeded wrestlers to watch include state placer Jimmy Miller (Brookville, Pa.) and Abner Romero (Buchanan, Calif.), Flo Nationals placer Tony Palumbo (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.), and freshman sensation Cody Mulligan (Saegertown, Pa.) 170: No. 16 Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) is the lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class, and enters the tournament as the top seed. Other seeded wrestlers to note include state champion Dontae McGee (Farragut Academy, Fla.), Super 32 placer Austin Bell (Belle Vernon, Pa.), state placer Jake Shaffer (Greater Latrobe, Pa.), and 2013 state placer Brendan Burnham (Pine Richland, Pa.) 182: Returning state runner-up Kellan Stout (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.), ranked No. 11 nationally, is the top seed in this weight class and its clear favorite. In what is not one of the tournament's deeper weights, the most notable threat to Stout is two-time state qualifier Josh Colello (Cedar Cliff, Pa.) 195: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class as the first and third seeds, No. 14 Dylan Reynolds (Saegertown, Pa.) is the top seed, and a two-time state placer, along with winning the Walsh Ironman earlier this month; while No. 19 Drew Phipps (Norwin, Pa.) placed fourth at state last year, and has placed fourth at the Super 32 each of the last two years. Seeded in between them is National Prep placer Kevin Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.), who did place at the Super 32 this fall. Others to watch include state qualifiers Young Woo An (Buchanan, Calif.) and Garrett Reinwald (Fort LeBoeuf, Pa.) 220: In a weight class with no nationally ranked wrestler, defending Powerade champion Omar Haddad (Parkland, Pa.), who also placed at state this past season, is the top seed. Other contenders include two-time state placer Robert Enmon (Farragut Academy, Fla.), state runner-up Quinn Miller (Archer, Ga.), state placers Fred Mantsch (Hempfield Area, Pa.) and Jacob Robb (Kittanning, Pa.), National Prep placer Nick Miller (Good Counsel, Md.), along with state qualifier Dylan Davis (Greater Latrobe, Pa.) and Kai Dill (Buchanan, Calif.). Another wrestler to watch in this weight class is Walsh Ironman placer Jack Meyer (Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio). 285: Neither of the back two weight classes in this tournament have a nationally ranked wrestler. The top seed though in this weight class is returning state and Super 32 third place finisher Alan Beattie (Burrell, Pa.). Notable challengers include state champion Jacob Lill (Archer, Ga.), state placers Zeynul Zaynullayev (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) and Gene Ringer (Reynolds, Pa.), along with Joe Hensley (Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio).

Ned Shuck, a native of Mapleton, Minnesota, is in his first season as head wrestling coach at UW-Whitewater. His Warhawks are currently ranked No. 1 in Division III. Shuck wrestled collegiately at the University of Iowa before entering the coaching ranks. Prior to taking over at UW-Whitewater, Shuck served as head wrestling coach at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, for three seasons, where he led the program to consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) championships. He was selected OAC Coach of the Year last season. Prior to his stint at Heidelberg, Shuck was an assistant coach at Augsburg College. InterMat recently went one-on-one with Shuck. You coached three seasons at Heidelberg and then were hired by UW-Whitewater in August. What has been the biggest change going from Heidelberg to UW-Whitewater? Shuck: Heidelberg is a private school. Whitewater is a state school. So with that comes different procedures. There's just a little different way a state system is run compared to a private system. In terms of wrestling, there isn't a whole lot of change, other than the clientele. We definitely have an extremely talented team right now. At Heidelberg we felt like were building to get to that. I'm coming into a pretty unique situation. I don't think a lot of coaches experience what I have. Usually coaches come in and say they're rebuilding. For me it's like, we're going to try not mess this up because we have a real talented team. Ned Shuck is in his first season as UW-Whiteater's coach (Photo/Michael McLoone, UW-Whitewater Athletics)Was it difficult getting your team to buy in to your coaching philosophies and style? Shuck: I wouldn't say it was difficult. What really helped in that whole process is that these guys are serious about winning a national championship. When you have a team that really wants to win and knows it's going to take and hard work in order to do that, I think you're willing to be stretched a little bit compared to a team that doesn't have those expectations. I have been really impressed with how they have been able to respond to my coaching style, the way we run the room. I challenge them in some ways off the mat that maybe they haven't been challenged before, and so far they have been stepping up and doing a real good job. When you see wrestlers come into college as freshmen, where do they struggle the most? Shuck: I think the easy answer to that is top and bottom. But for me it's more fundamentals. Fundamentals sometimes go by the wayside. I see our guys struggling sometimes with positions they had success in during their high school careers. For me it's about teaching them to keep what they do really well -- we wouldn't want to change everything -- but how to use it and still have the fundamental aspect in the picture. For me I think that's the biggest thing I see ... Just not an understanding of fundamental positions sometimes. You wrestled collegiately at the University of Iowa. How has that experience helped you as a coach? Shuck: I don't even know how to quantify it. It's ridiculous. I just think about all the coaches I had there ... Tom Brands, Dan Gable, Jim Zalesky, Lincoln McIlravy, Bill Zadick, Mike Zadick. I don't know how I could have replaced that. Not to mention all the multiple-time national champions we had. You're just surrounded on a daily basis with some of the wrestling minds in the country and world ... You can't help but get better and understand the sport even more and what it takes to win at a high level. I think I understand that. I know how to train and peak athletes. I think that's some of the stuff I picked up from them in observation. When I coached in high school I used to go down and watch Iowa train for the Big Tens and nationals, just do little things like that ... be a student of the sport. Watching them wrestle now I still pick up from them. It's exponential. It will continue to be because things I learn as a coach stem from that background and philosophy. When you look back on your own competitive career as a wrestler, do you have any regrets? Shuck: I had goals that I obviously didn't achieve. I wouldn't consider myself to be a successful college wrestler by any means, and that's disappointing. It's not something I talk about a lot. It's hard to talk about because I didn't reach my goals. In terms of regrets, I really believe that I was one of the hardest working guys there, even at Iowa. I was a guy that was putting in a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of energy, listening to coaches, doing those things ... even when you do those things, wrestling is a great sport in that there are no guarantees. Just because you do everything right, it doesn't mean it's going to happen. It wasn't in God's plan for me. So I don't know if regrets is the right word. I have a lot of disappointments for sure. All that stuff has helped me get to where I am now in my coaching career. Hopefully the guys I work with now don't have to experience the disappointment that I did. Ned Shuck served as head wrestling coach at Heidelberg for three seasons prior to arriving at UW-Whitewater (Photo/Kyle Youngblood)Having spent time in Division I as a wrestler and now Division III as a coach, what do you see as the biggest difference between Division I and Division III wrestling? Shuck: I think just the intensity level. I'm not saying Division III isn't as intense. That's not what I'm saying. I think just the intensity of your lifestyle is different in Division I. There are a lot of little things, but that's what comes to mind. The UW-Whitewater roster is comprised mostly of Wisconsin and Illinois natives. Do you expect that trend to continue? Shuck: I think maybe initially that will continue. Obviously, we would like to expand a little bit with recruiting. Having my ties to Minnesota, we would like to get in there a little bit, and having a little background in Iowa I think we can get in there too. There are a lot of opportunities with schools in the Midwest, so sometimes it's tough to get kids to travel. When you look at the Midwest, Whitewater is head and shoulders above the other schools cost-wise. It's really affordable, especially compared to the private schools. When you look at everything the school offers, it's worth it to travel and be a part of a championship program. I think kids will start to see that. So I think in the near future we'll start seeing states that haven't been represented on our roster be represented. Your 197-pounder Shane Siefert is a two-time All-American and currently ranked No. 1 in the nation. What's going to be the key for him to finish on top of the podium in March? Shuck: Shane is a really talented kid. He definitely has what it takes to win it. I think for him the key is staying hungry for it ... not being satisfied, remembering what it felt like to lose in the last second in the national finals. That's not a good feeling. If he can remember that I don't think there will be any issues. If he can remember that and help keep him motivated to keep training hard and living a disciplined life, then he's going to be in good place in March. So that's what we're shooting for. UW-Whitewater won the Messiah Petrofes Invitational earlier this season. (Photo/Messiah College Sports Information)When you look at your lineup, is your team better built for dual meets or tournaments? Shuck: That's a little tough to say. We have been able to have a lot of success in our dual meets. The National Duals will be a good measure for that. Obviously, we feel really confident in both. We feel tournament-wise we have some guys that can go really deep into a tournament and score a lot of points, not just advancement points but also bonus points along the way. In dual meets I think we have the same potential in terms of scoring bonus points, and sometimes that's going to be the big difference. Your program is currently ranked No. 1 in Division III. Do you feel added pressure because of that No. 1 ranking? Shuck: I enjoy it. Last year we had six national championships here at Whitewater ... men's and women's basketball, wheelchair basketball, gymnastics, football and baseball. So when I'm rubbing shoulders amongst my colleagues here, they're all shooting to win national championships, and they've done it. For me I enjoy that as opposed to looking at it negatively and saying, 'Oh man, they're expecting me to win. What's going to happen if we don't win?' I expect to win. Our team expects to win. Everybody expects to win. I like everybody being on the same page that way. For a long time the Division III wrestling landscape has been dominated by Wartburg and Augsburg. The programs have won every national wrestling title in Division III since 1995. That's so long that there are a lot of people that don't think any other program can win it. How do you overcome that challenge of getting past the 'Burgs? Shuck: It is a challenge. Any time you're the first it's kind of cool. We feel like we're going to be the first to break that trend. Those programs have done such a great job consistently through the years that is a tough feat to do. We know that past performances don't guarantee future performances. We're excited for that challenge. It's something our guys look to. We can't get too wrapped up in it. We can't control what they're doing. We can't control how they're training. We just need to take care of us, and that's going to give us the best chance to beat Augsburg and Wartburg for the first time in a long time. Have you thought about what it's going to take to finish with a national title this season in terms of All-Americans and national finalists or champions? Shuck: One of things I just focus on is what each kid needs. We need everybody. It's not just the 10 guys who are starters ... It's everybody fighting. You never know what's going to happen. We could have an injury and then someone has to step up. So you're looking at every kid in the room ... What does this kid need to do to become an All-American? So that's kind of my focus, instead of looking at it like we need five All-Americans, at least two of them need to be champs. I'm not necessarily a numbers guy who looks at like that. I'm sure there are a lot of people that are really good at that. It would probably take me a long time to figure it out, so maybe that's why I don't focus on it too much. We just try to focus on how to get each kid to where they need to be. This story also appears in the December 26 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.

Late December is always a heavy time of the wrestling season. Lots of tournaments involving elite teams with elite wrestlers battling it out for supremacy. So, let's take a look at what happened this past weekend, and what is coming up between Christmas and the New Year. Short-handed Blair still wins 15th straight Beast of the East title Despite being without the services of No. 7 Charles Tucker (132), No. 3 Mason Manville (160), and No. 7 Brandon Dallavia (170), No. 3 Blair Academy, N.J. had more than enough to win yet another Beast of the East title. The Buccaneers scored 203 points, led by the pair of titles won by No. 3 Matthew Kolodzik (138) and No. 3 Jordan Kutler (152). Seven other wrestlers earned a placement finish. Runner-up honors went to Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. with a very impressive tournament in their own right. The Hawks were led by weight class champions No. 12 Luke Karam (126) and No. 5 Andrew Dunn (220); Karam was unranked headed into the tournament, and earned Oustanding Wrestler honors with his performance, while Dunn moved up six spots in the rankings after his title. Three other wrestlers earned placement finishes, as they scored 152 points. They moved up eight spots in the Fab50 to No. 14 nationally. Impressive performances at the Beast of the East from Pennridge, Pa. and DePaul Catholic, N.J. earned them debut appearances in the Fab50 for 2014-15 at No. 48 and No. 44 respectively. Link: Results Short-handed OPRF still shines at the tough Rex Whitlach Even absent three starters -- No. 4 Larry Early (145), returning state placer Gabe Townsell (126), and state qualifier Allen Stallings (220) -- No. 2 in the nation Oak Park River Forest, Ill. still had a sizzling performance at the Rex Whitlach Invitational hosted by Hinsdale Central, Ill. The Huskies had five champions and five third place finishers on the way to 294 points and a tournament championship. Winning titles were No. 4 Jason Renteria (113), No. 16 Alex Madrigal (120), No. 1 Isaiah White (152), No. 17 Matthew Rundell (160), and No. 6 Kamal Bey; admittedly the replacement 145 for OPRF was among the third place finishers. Runner-up in the tournament with 243 points was Carl Sandburg, Ill. The Eagles jumped into the Fab50 this week at No. 42 on the strength of this performance. They were anchored by Rudy Yates (126), who was their sole champion. Three other wrestlers each finished second and third -- Louie Hayes (106), Brian Krasowski (170), and Patrick Brucki (182) were runners-up; while Robbie Precin (113), Tom Slattery (160), and Cole Bateman (195) finished third. Thirteen wrestlers in all placed, which was joint most with OPRF in the tournament. Third in the standings was No. 9 Montini Catholic, Ill. with 208 points. The Broncos were led by four weight class champions -- No. 10 (at 126) Dylan Duncan up at 132 pounds, No. 9 (at 138) Vincent Turk up at 145, No. 5 Xavier Montalvo at 182, and Real Woods at 106. The title won by Woods came with victories over nationally ranked Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest) in the semifinal and previously nationally ranked Louie Hayes (Carl Sandburg) in the final; as a result, Woods is now ranked No. 19 nationally. Runner-up finishes for Montini Catholic came from Jimmy Pawleski at 126 and No. 17 (at 152) Luke Fortuna up at 160. No. 1 Michael Johnson is still absent from the lineup at 285 pounds. Link: Results Pair of Ohio tournaments to provide stern tests While the Walsh Ironman is considered the best in-season tournament in the whole country, a pair of traditional tournaments held between Christmas and New Year's Day hold the position as "best of the rest" for in-season competition in Ohio. Five of Ohio's six Fab50 teams will be at these two tournaments. On a year-to-year basis, schools in these two tournaments produce more than one-third of the wrestlers who qualify for the OHSAA state wrestling tournament. The Medina Invitational celebrates its 40th edition on Saturday and Sunday. Its field is anchored by No. 20 St. Edward and No. 22 Massillon Perry. Additional credentialed teams in the field are Claymont and Richmond (Mich.), who both finished as state runners-up last year, along with state champion Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.). Schools in the field possess the following nationally ranked wrestlers: 113: No. 10 Jaden Mattox (Grove City Central Crossing), No. 18 Noah Baughman (Wadsworth), No. 20 Allan Hart (St. Edward) 120: No. 13 Tyler Warner (Claymont) 126: No. 13 Jose Rodriguez (Massillon Perry) 152: No. 6 Myles Amine (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) 160: No. 9 Devin Skatzka (Richmond, Mich.) 182: No. 12 Kollin Moore (Norwayne) The Brecksville Holiday Invitatonal celebrates its 54th edition on Monday and Tuesday. Three nationally ranked teams are in the field -- No. 32 Delta, No. 37 Brecksville, and No. 43 Elyria. Three other credentialed teams in the field all finished as state runners-up last year: Davison (Mich.), Dayton Christian, and Perrysburg. Schools in the field possess the following nationally ranked wrestlers: 106: No. 9 Drew Mattin (Delta) 113: No. 16 Tommy Hoskins (Dayton Christian) 120: No. 12 Devin Schroder (Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Mich.) 126: No. 8 Austin Assad (Brecksville) 132: No. 10 Lincoln Olson (Davison, Mich.) 138: No. 6 Nate Limmex (Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Mich.), No. 19 Richie Screptock (Oregon Clay) 145: No. 13 Wade Hodges (Wauseon) 152: No. 20 Kade Kowalski (Tri-Valley) 182: No. 7 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria) 195: No. 15 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay) 285: No. 5 Kevin Vough (Elyria), No. 11 Cale Bonner (Perrysburg) Apple Valley outlasts challengers to take home Minnesota Christmas Tournament title Though the three teams immediately behind in the standings had more overall placers, it was No. 17 Apple Valley, Minn. which came up with the tournament championship. The Eagles scored 188 points on the strength of six placers, all of whom finished in the top four. They were anchored by weight class titles earned by Kyle Rathman (113), No. 1 Mark Hall (170), and No. 19 Gable Steveson (220). Finishing as runner-up was Bobby Steveson (195), who lost to Lance Benick (Totino Grace, Minn.) by 3-2 decision in the final; Benick moved up from No. 3 to No. 1 with that victory, while Steveson dropped to No. 2 from No. 1. Runner-up in the standings was No. 26 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. with 170-1/2 points, led by a tournament high eight placers. However, the Knights only had two finalists -- No. 2 Mitch McKee (126) finished first, while Jordan Joseph (182) earned second. Other placers finished third, fourth, fifth (two wrestlers), seventh, and eighth. Finishing third in the tournament was No. 39 Kaukauna, Wis. with 164 points. The Ghosts were led by a pair of weight class champions in Tres Leon (132) and No. 16 Robert Lee (138), along with five other placers -- those wrestlers finishing third, fourth, seventh (two wrestlers), and eighth. In addition to the Steveson/Benick final, at least four other finals at the Christmas Tournament featured the top-ranked wrestler from two different Minnesota state tournament classifications going against one another. At 145 pounds, No. 6 Griffin Parriott (New Prague) defeated No. 12 James Pleski (St. Francis) 3-1; No. 13 Andrew Fogarty (Scott West) upended Paden Moore (Jackson County Central) 5-3 in overtime at 160; No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley) beat No. 17 Luke Norland (Jackson County Central) by 11-2 major decision at 170; while No. 4 Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central) earned a 3-2 victory over Jordan Joseph (St. Michael-Albertville) at 182. Link: Results Archer repeats as KC Stampede champions There are people out there who cast aspersions when they see a Georgia team ranked inside the top ten of the country. However, for a second straight year, Archer traveled to the Kansas City Stampede and stood out on top of a 40-team field that included four other nationally ranked teams and a slew of nationally ranked individuals. The sixth-ranked Tigers scored 593 points, led by five top three finishers, three others that placed fifth (best possible finish for a loser prior to the semifinal), and had three others make the upper-bracket (top 16). Elliott Lee (220) was the lone champion for Archer, No. 16 Daniel Bullard (170) and Jacob Lill (285) finished as runners-up, with Grant Aycox (138) and No. 14 Thomas Bullard (160) finishing third. The team was without star sophomore Quinn Miller at 195 pounds, as the NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion transitions back from football. The next four teams in the standings were No. 21 Neosho, Mo. (536), No. 13 Stillwater, Okla. (515-1/2), No. 23 Tuttle, Okla. (451-1/2), and No. 24 Bettendorf (432-1/2). Even though Kyler Rea was the lone finalist for Neosho, runner-up at 138 pounds, the Wildcats' squad depth and balance ruled the day. Thirteen wrestlers advanced to the upper bracket (most in the tournament), with eight in total earning a top eight position (joint most); those top eight placements were a pair in fourth, a pair in fifth, a pair in sixth, and one in eighth to augment the runner-up from Rea. The three titles won by Stillwater wrestlers No. 3 Kaid Brock (132), No. 6 Joe Smith (160), and Tyler Dieringer (182) was most in the tournament. However, the Pioneers only had six other upper-bracket wrestlers, all finishing in the top nine: No. 8 Tristan Moran (145) in third, one in fifth, one in seventh, two in eighth, and one in ninth. Bettendorf had a tournament-high five finalists, Jack Wagner (113) and No. 2 Fredy Stroker (145) won titles; while Jacob Schwarm (120), Jacob Woodard (152), and No. 10 Dayton Racer (160) earned runner-up finishes. However, the Bulldogs were hurt by only having two other wrestlers make it to the upper-bracket. A highlight individual performance came from Colston DiBlasi (Park Hill, Mo.) at 170 pounds, as he won the weight class with a pair of victories over nationally ranked wrestlers in the semifinal and final; a pin at 3:53 over No. 15 Isaiah Patton (Dowling Catholic, Iowa), which was his sixth of the tournament and first not in the first period, before a 4-2 decision over No. 16 Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) in the final. DiBlasi jumps into the rankings at No. 14 nationally this week. Link: Results Blair Academy gauntlet continues with dual meet at St. Peter's Prep After competing at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman and Beast of the East, which are the nation's two best in-season tournaments, the last two weekends -- No. 3 Blair Academy, N.J. travels to No. 19 St. Peter's Prep, N.J.) for a dual meet on Saturday. The following weekends feature a home dual meet against No. 1 St. Paris Graham (Ohio), a trip to Oklahoma for the Geary Invitational, multiple dual meets against ranked teams from New Jersey, a dual meet at No. 20 St. Edward (Ohio), and three top 25 opponents in a quad at No. 12 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) Below are the projected lineups for Saturday's matchup 106: Matthew Vinci (Blair) vs. Michael Simonetti (St. Peter's Prep) 113: Zach Sherman vs. No. 19 Alec Kelly -- Kelly beat Sherman 8-4 for third place at the Beast of the East 120: Require van der Merwe vs. Matthew Russo -- van der Merwe was third at National Preps last year 126: Andrew Monahan/Andrew Merola vs. Nicholas Santos -- if Merola is the starter, he's one of the better freshmen nationally; while Santos was a state alternate last year as a freshman 132: No. 7 Charles Tucker vs. Sonny Simonetti -- Tucker was a Junior National freestyle runner-up; Simonetti did not make the state tournament last year, but placed seventh at the Beast 138: No. 3 Matthew Kolodzik vs. Connor Burkert -- Kolodzik won the Beast of the East last weekend, after finishing second the previous two years; Burkert is a two-time state placer, but failed to place at the Beast this past weekend 145: Michael Monica vs. Ryan Burkert -- Monica beat two-time state placer Burkert by 2-1 score in the quarterfinals at the Beast, and Burkert lost his next match to not place in the tournament 152: No. 3 Jordan Kutler vs. Manny Ramirez -- Kutler, a Junior National freestyle All-American, won the Beast of the East; while state qualifier Ramirez was two matches from placement 160: No. 3 Mason Manville vs. Stephen Kellner -- Manville is a two-time National Prep runner-up, Kellner has yet to make a state tournament; Kellner failed to place at the Beast, while Manville's backup did 170: No. 7 Brandon Dallavia vs. Dan Sblendorio -- Dallavia was a Cadet National freestyle champion this summer 182: No. 13 Chase Singletary vs. Luke Leonard -- Singletary placed third at the Beast of the East, while Leonard went two-and-out 195: Neil Putnam vs. Dean Helstowski -- Putnam is a National Prep placer, while Helstowski qualified for state last season 220: No. 11 David Showunmi vs. No. 12 Christian Colucci -- Showunmi upended Colucci by 3-2 decision in the third place match at the Beast of the East 285: forfeit vs. Jose Palomino -- Palomino placed eighth at state in 2013 Poway repeats as champion at Reno TOC For the second straight year, No. 15 Poway, Calif. earned the title at the Reno Tournament of Champions in impressive fashion. Winning weight class titles for the Titans were No. 20 Colt Doyle (170) and Liam Sorahan, while Andrew Tausch (182) earned a runner-up finish after an upset victory over nationally ranked Jacob Armstrong (Salem Hills, Utah) in the quarterfinal round. Five additional wrestlers placed for Poway (two in 4th, one in 6th, two in 7th), which amassed 209 points. Finishing as runner-up was No. 38 Mesa Mountain View, Ariz. with 168 points. They had five podium finishers, led by the runner-up finish of Blake Monty (152). Other placers took third, seventh, and a pair in eighth. Third in the team standings was No. 31 Crook County, Ore. with 167 points, and they did it without their best wrestler -- FloNationals placer Collbran Meeker (160) in the lineup. Leading their four medalists were a pair of runner-up finishes coming from Gunner Roberts (195) and Trevor Rasmussen 285); additional wrestlers placed sixth and seventh. Among the highlight weight class winners were No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young (Sunnsyide, Ariz.) at 106 pounds, No. 11 Ian Timmins (Wooster, Nev.) at 113, No. 14 Taylor LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah) at 126, No. 12 Richard Montoya (Robertson, N.M.) at 132, No. 15 Alex Rich (Crescent Valley, Ore.) at 138, and No. 18 Bryce Parson (Lewiston, Idaho) at 145. Link: Brackets Link: Team Scores Bethlehem Holiday Classic No. 4 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. will be after a repeat title at the Bethlehem Holiday Classic hosted by Liberty High School in the Lehigh Valley. The 26-team field features another pair of nationally ranked teams in No. 28 Phillipsburg, N.J. and No. 48 Pennridge, Pa. Other notables in the field include perennial Lehigh Valley powers Nazareth and Northampton, as well as past Pennsylvania Class AAA state champion Central Dauphin. Link: Event Website Quick hitters No. 5 Clovis, Calif. traveled to No. 10 Buchanan, Calif. for the Zinkin Classic this past weekend, and it was those two teams battling it out nip-and-tuck for the championship. The visiting Cougars ended up with 330-1/2 points to the host Bears' 307. Clovis starters won eight weight class titles, one Clovis backup won a weight class title, while the other five weights were won by Buchanan starters. The dual meet between the two teams at the end of next month should be very interesting. Even absent No. 14 Lucas Warren at 220 pounds, No. 18 Marmion Academy, Ill. won the Dvorak Invitational earlier this week by thirty points over Glenbard North, Ill. (221.5 to 191.5). The Cadets were led by weight class champions Riley DeMoss (170) and No. 8 Nathan Traxler (182). Eight additional wrestlers earned placement finishes, including four taking third place -- Jake Polka (126), A.J. Jaffe (132), Michael Callahan (145), and Trace Carello (160). Other highlight Dvorak champions were No. 13 Zack Donathan (Mason, Ohio) at 106, No. 5 Austin Gomez (Glenbard North, Ill.) at 113, No. 19 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita, Ill.) at 132, and No. 7 Andrew Marsden (Crystal Lake Central, Ill.) at 195. Newcomers to the Fab50 this week include No. 42 Carl Sandburg (Ill.), No. 44 DePaul Catholic (N.J.), and No. 48 Pennridge, Pa. due to their performances noted earlier in the column this past weekend. Joining them as debutants are No. 45 Brighton, Mich. and No. 50 Post Falls, Idaho; Brighton beat previously ranked Dundee, Mich. 38-22 eight days ago, while Post Falls won the Tri-State Invitational this past weekend. To check out where all the Fab50 teams compete over the next two weekends, click here. Powerade An event specific preview for the prestigious Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament will be posted over the weekend. Five nationally ranked teams are among the record number 48 teams taking part in the event to be held at Canon-McMillan, which is south of Pittsburgh. Those ranked teams are No. 6 Archer (Ga.), No. 8 Franklin Regional (Pa.), No. 10 Buchanan (Calif.), No. 33 Belle Vernon (Pa.), and No. 36 Greater Latrobe (Pa.). In addition four top ranked wrestlers in their weight class are slated to compete: Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.) at 120 pounds, A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa.) at 132, Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area, Pa.) at 138, and Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional, Pa.) at 145.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Midlands Tournament Committee announced the pre-seeds for the 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Wednesday. The annual event will feature many of the nation's top wrestlers at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Monday, Dec. 29 and Tuesday, Dec. 30. Tickets to the event are available now online at NUSports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE. Fans are encouraged to join the conversation via social media by using the hashtag #Midlands52. The contenders list does not represent the final seeds and is subject to change. Final brackets will be released on Dec. 28. 125: 1 Jesse Delgado, Illinois 2. Thomas Gilman, Iowa 3. Joey Dance, Virginia Tech 4. Darian Cruz, Lehigh (Unattached) 5. Josh Martinez, Air Force 6. Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State 7. Brandon Jeske, Old Dominion 8. Kory Mines, Edinboro 9. Shayne Wireman, Eastern Michigan 10. Barlow McGee, Missouri (Unattached) 11. Stevan Micic, Northwestern (Unattached) 12. Ryak Finch, Grand View Lucas Malmberg, Messiah College 133: 1. AJ Schopp, Edinboro 2. Cory Clark, Iowa 3. Jarrod Garnett, Lehigh Valley Athletic Club 4. Zane Richards, Illinois 5. Geoffrey Alexander, Maryland 6. Ryan Taylor, Wisconsin 7. Danny Sabatello, Purdue 8. Kevin Norstrem, Virginia Tech 9. Robert Deutsch, Rider 10. Caleb Richardson, Penn 11. Ian Nickell, CSU Bakersfield 12. TBD based on entries Dominick Malone, Northwestern Josh Alber, Northern Iowa (Unattached) 141: 1. Mitchell Port, Edinboro 2. Devin Carter, Virginia Tech 3. Richard Durso, Franklin & Marshall (Unattached) 4. Josh Dziewa, Iowa 5. Chris Mecate, Old Dominion 6. Todd Preston, Harvard 7. Shyheim Brown, Maryland 8. Mitch Bengsten, North Dakota State 9. Stephen Rodriquez, Illinois 10. Alex Kocer, South Dakota State 11. Joey McKenna, Lehigh Valley Athletic Club 12. Brandon Wright, Grand View Jesse Thielke, Wisconsin Nick Lawrence, Purdue Jordan Laster, Princeton Chuck Zeisloft, Rider Jameson Oster, Northwestern Alfred Bannister, Maryland 149: 1. Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern 2. David Habat, Edinboro 3. Brody Grothus, Iowa 4. Lenny Richardson, Old Dominion 5. Adam Krop, Princeton 6. CJ Cobb, Penn 7. BJ Clagon, Rider 8. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa 9. Laike Gardner, Lehigh (Unattached) 10. Ryan Lubeck, Wisconsin 11. Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech 12. Kyle Langenderfer, Illinois Kevin Birmingham, Davidson Nick Barber, Eastern Michigan Gustavo Martinez, Grand View 157: 1. Isaiah Martinez, Illinois 2. Cody Pack, South Dakota State 3. Markus Scheidel, Columbia 4. Justin Staudenmayer, Brown 5. Mike Kelly, Iowa 6. Chad Welsh, Rider 7. Brandon Zeerip, Eastern Michigan 8. Doug Welch, Purdue 9. Edwin Cooper, Iowa 10. Andrew Morse, Northern Illinois 11/12. TBD based on entries 165: 1. Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin 2. Taylor Walsh, Indiana 3. Nick Moore, Iowa 4. Pierce Harger, Northwestern 5. Jackson Morse, Illinois 6. Nestor Taffur (Unattached) 7. Tristan Warner, Old Dominion 8. Adam Fierro, CSU Bakersfield 9. Jesse Stafford, Air Force 10. Jon Schleifer, Princeton 11. Connor Brennan, Rider 12. Pat Robinson, Purdue Pat Smith, Minnesota Connor McMahon, SIU-Edwardsville 174: 1. Mike Evans, Iowa 2. Zac Brunson, Illinois 3. Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech 4. Bryce Hammond, CSU Bakersfield 5. Kurtis Julson, North Dakota State 6. Alex Meyer, Iowa 7. Brock Gutches, Southern Oregon 8. Nate Jackson, Indiana 9. Burke Paddock, Iowa 10. John Sebastian, Northwestern (Unattached) 11. Chad Welch, Purdue 12. Connor Lefever, Wabash 184: 1. Lorenzo Thomas, Penn 2. Jack Dechow, Old Dominion 3. Sammy Brooks, Iowa 4. Hayden Zillmer, North Dakota State 5. Ophir Bernstein, Brown 6. Vic Avery, Edinboro 7. Nikko Reyes, Illinois 8. Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin 9. Austin Gabel, Virginia Tech 10. Clint Morrison, Rider 11. Brett Harner, Princeton 12. Zach Hernandez, Columbia Patrick Kissel, Purdue Riley Lefever, Wabash 197: 1. Nathan Burak, Iowa (Unattached) 2. Alex Polizzi, Northwestern 3. Abram Ayala, Princeton 4. Braden Atwood, Purdue 5. Nathan Rotert, South Dakota State 6. Timmy McCall, Wisconin 7. Joe Rau, Minnesota Storm 8. Jared Haught, Virginia Tech 9. Lucas Sheridan, Indiana 10. James Fox, Harvard 11. Vince Pickett, Edinboro 12. Shawn Scott, Northern Illinois Kevin Beazley, Old Dominion Anthony Abro, Eastern Michigan Shane Siefert, UW Whitewater Frank Mattiace, Penn (Unattached) Canaan Bethea, Penn 285: 1. Mike McMullan, Northwestern 2. Bobby Telford, Iowa 3. Connor Medbery, Wisconsin 4. Ty Walz, Virginia Tech 5. Evan Knutson, North Dakota State 6. Tyler Deuel, Binghamton 7. Jacob Henderson, Old Dominion 8. J.J. Everard, South Dakota State 9. Ray O'Donnell, Princeton 10. David Ng, Harvard 11. Garrett Ryan, Columbia 12. Brooks Black, Illinois Marcus Malechek, Air Force