InterMat Staff

FARGO, N.D. -- Thanks to a pair of wins against ranked opponents, the Wisconsin wrestling team claimed its second win of the weekend, defeating North Dakota State to improve to 3-1 on the season. UW had a major comeback by winning five of the last six matches to drop NDSU, 25-9, in front of 523 fans at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse After two very close periods, No. 20 Ryan Taylor turned up the heat on NDSU's Kyle Gliva and recorded a pin at 6:13. Taylor registered his fifth win of the season since moving up to the 133 lbs. weight class. "Today was a good day for Wisconsin wrestling," Taylor said. "I didn't move my feet well today but I did keep my poise and really pushed the pace in the third period. "We also made some big jumps as a team with a lot of guys going on the attack right off the bat. We left a few matches out there that we can use to build toward March as a team." After trailing 5-2 after the second period, Jesse Thielke pivoted a comeback with a forced stall and hard takedown to go up 7-5 over No. 20 Mitch Bengston. The win was Thielke's first victory of the season. Jarod Donar and No. 6 Isaac Jordan logged back-to-back major decisions to pull the Wisconsin score up, 16-6. Frank Cousins defeated his first ranked opponent of the season with a 4-1 decision over No. 14 Kurtis Julson. No. 12 Timmy McCall posted a 6-3 decision over Tommy Petersen, while No. 6 Connor Medbery tallied a 4-0 decision over Evan Knutson to clinch the dual for the Badgers. In his second start of the season, Johnny Jimenez fell to No. 12 Josh Rodriguez at 125 lbs. after a 9-6 decision. North Dakota State's Clay Ream bested Andrew Crone with an 8-7 win, while No. 14 Hayden Zillmer edged No. 20 Ricky Robertson with an 8-7 decision to give NDSU its last points of the dual. UW is back in action at home against Indiana at the UW Field House on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. Results: 125: #12 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) dec. over Johnny Jiminez (WIS), 9-6 133: #20 Ryan Taylor (WIS) fall over Kyle Gliva (NDSU), 6:13 141: Jesse Thielke (WIS) dec. over #20 Mitch Bengtson, 7-5 149: Clay Ream (NDSU) dec. over Andrew Crone (WIS), 8-7 ***Referee takes away WIS team point for unsportsmanlike conduct 157: Jarod Donar (WIS) major dec. over Cole Sladek (NDSU), MD 9-0 165: #6 Isaac Jordan (WIS) major dec. over Anthony Caputo (NDSU), MD 15-7 174: Frank Cousins (WIS) dec. over #14 Kurtis Julson (NDSU), 4-1 184: #14 Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) dec. over #20 Ricky Robertson (WIS), 8-7 197: #12 Timmy McCall (WIS) dec. over Tommy Petersen (NDSU), 6-3 285: #6 Connor Medbery (WIS) dec. over Evan Knutson (NDSU), 4-0

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Sophomore Randy Cruz posted his second win by fall in as many days as No. 10 Lehigh completed its Midwestern trip with a 30-10 win over No. 17 Northwestern Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Lehigh won five of the eight contested bouts and benefitted from a pair of Wildcat forfeits to win its fourth straight dual as the Mountain Hawks improve to 5-1 on the dual season. Northwestern falls to 4-1. Lehigh captured the first three bouts to set the tone on Sunday and were competitive in two of the three losses. Freshman Scott Parker started strong at 125 but had to avoid a near disaster to defeat Garrison White in the opening bout of the dual. Parker locked up a cradle for an early 6-1 lead before being reversed to his back for five points. White escaped early in the second to take a 7-6 lead but Parker answered with a takedown and added a 2:29 riding time advantage. "He gave up a five point reversal in a match where you're thinking bonus points," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "All of a sudden you're almost pinned. He did a nice job of just keeping his composure, completing the match and wrestling hard and being the aggressor. That was nice to see." Junior Mason Beckman made it two straight wins with his 6-1 decision over Dominick Malone at 133. Beckman started slow but used a three-point near fall in the third period to build a 5-0 lead before adding the riding time point. Cruz pinned his second quality opponent in as many days, this time taking out Jameson Oster in 5:37. Cruz led 4-0 after one period and added a reversal in the second before once again using a cradle to gain control in the third period for the fall. "He's getting a little better each week and that's what we want to see out of Randy," Santoro said of Cruz. "He's moving his feet better. His hand fighting has been better and obviously he's good on the mat." Northwestern's first victory came at 149 as defending national champion Jason Tsirtsis held off a game Drew Longo 7-4. Tsirtsis scored three early takedowns but Longo controlled the pace after that. The Lehigh freshman was just unable to score offensively to pull closer. The Wildcats forfeited to sophomore Will Switzer at 157 as Lehigh led 18-6 at intermission. "Drew did a great job," Santoro said of Longo's effort. He did what you want everyone to do. He keeps fighting. He keeps working. Once he keeps that first period closer, he's going to win a lot of matches." The Wildcats posted a sudden victory win in the first bout following intermission as ninth-ranked Pierce Harger held off senior Santiago Martinez 3-1. Northwestern forfeited to senior Marshall Peppelman at 174 to extend Lehigh's lead to 24-6. Junior Nathaniel Brown took a while to get going against Mitch Sliga at 184 but takedowns in the second and third period were enough to win 7-2. Lehigh's final win came at 197 where sophomore Elliot Riddick returned to dual competition with a 7-5 win over ninth-ranked Alex Polizzi in the second sudden victory period. Riddick had the only three takedowns in the bout, including the winner on a low single shot in the second sudden victory period. Top-ranked heavyweight Mike McMullan closed the dual with Northwestern's only bonus win, a 9-1 major decision over sophomore Doug Vollaro. "Everyone wrestled really well," Santoro said. "In the last two matches at the end we could have been a little more aggressive. With the blood timeouts, Elliot kind of lost his roll, but against a top ten kid like that you have to stay focused the whole time." The Mountain Hawks will return home for a pair of duals next weekend inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Lehigh will face EIWA rival Penn Saturday at 2 p.m. and Rider Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets for both matches are available and can be purchased by visiting LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours. Results: 125 – Scott Parker (Lehigh) dec. Garrison White (NW) 9-7 133 – Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. Dominick Malone (NW) 6-1 141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Jameson Oster (NW) 5:37 149 – Jason Tsirtsis (NW) dec. Drew Longo (Lehigh) 7-4 157 – Will Switzer (Lehigh) won by forfeit 165 – Pierce Harger (NW) dec. Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) 3-1, s.v. 174 – Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh) won by forfeit 184 – Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. Mitch Sliga (NW) 7-2 197 – Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) dec. Alex Polizzi (NW) 7-5, s.v. 2 285 – Mike McMullan (NW) major dec. Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) 9-1

BOONE, N.C. -- Christian Barber pinned No. 8 Dylan Cottrell in overtime, while Ethan Ramos, Alex Utley and Joey Ward all earned bonus points to give North Carolina a 22-21 win over Appalachian State Sunday afternoon at Varsity Gym. John Michael Staudenmayer also won on the day as the Tar Heels grabbed their first dual win of the season. Appalachian State (1-4) jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead thanks to a pin by Dominic Parisi at 125 and a 16-11 decision from Vito Pasone at 133. Ward got Carolina (1-1) on the board at 141 thanks to a monster third period against Michael Longo. The redshirt sophomore from Cincinnati trailed 5-4 after one and led just 7-5 after a late takedown in the second. But Longo chose to start down at the beginning of the third, and Ward dominated with 10 points in the period to score a 17-6 major decision. Barber's dramatic pin at 149 then put the Tar Heels in front for the first time. The two ranked wrestlers were all square at 1 after three periods, and neither man was able to score in the first overtime. After no escapes in the 30-second overtime periods, No. 19 Barber pounced for a pin in the second sudden victory period to give UNC a 10-9 advantage. ASU took the lead into the break with Zack Strickland's 3-0 win over Chris Mears at 157 before Ramos put the Tar Heels back in front. After a 4-4 first period against Nick Kee at 165, Ramos exploded for 10 points in the final two periods to score a vital 14-5 major decision to make it 14-12 in favor of Carolina. No. 18 Staudenmayer took care of business at 174 with a 9-6 decision over Forrest Przybysz before Utley stretched the lead to 22-12 with a 16-1 technical fall against Nick Vetell. Utley built an 11-1 lead after one period and pushed it to 16-1 to score the tech fall and the five team points. Those bonus points proved critical after Appalachian State won the final two bouts, including a pin by Denzel DeJournette at heavyweight. Carolina will break from competition for final exams before returning to the mat Dec. 13-14 for a pair of duals against Purdue and Chattanooga in Atlanta. Results: 125: Dominic Parisi (A) pinned Cody Karns (4:31) - ASU leads 6-0 133: Vito Pasone (A) dec. Matt Williams, 16-11 - ASU leads 9-0 141: Joey Ward (C) maj. dec. Michael Longo, 17-6 - ASU leads 9-4 149: Christian Barber (C) pinned Dylan Cottrell, (SV-2, 10:33) - UNC leads 10-9 157: Zack Strickland (A) def. Chris Mears, 3-0 - ASU leads 12-10 165: Ethan Ramos (C) maj. dec. Nick Kee, 13-5 - UNC leads 14-12 174: John Michael Staudenmayer (C) dec. Forrest Przybysz, 8-6 - UNC leads 17-12 184: Alex Utley (C) tech fall Nick Vetell, 16-1 - UNC leads 22-12 197: Tyler Radford (A) dec. Chip Ness, 5-4 - UNC leads 22-15 Hwt: Denzel Dejournette (A) pinned Frank Abbondanza (1:57) - UNC wins 22-21

LAWRENCEVILLE -- Ranked 25th in the nation, the Rider University wrestling team overcame a 9-0 deficit and defeated the University of Pennsylvania 21-12 on Sunday afternoon in the second of two dual meets, winning six of 10 matches over the Quakers. “Today showed the balance of the team,” said head coach Gary Taylor. “The lower weights had been successful and wrestled harder but the Penn wrestlers competed a little smarter so we were down early and needed the upper weights to come back for us. It was a good match for the spectators with two teams going at it hard. We were fortunate to get the win.” For Rider (5-1) against Penn, red-shirt freshman 157 Chad Walsh (Cherry Hill/Camden Catholic) got the Broncs on the board with a 9-7 victory, his eighth of the season. Trailing 2-0, Walsh used a takedown and a near fall, all in the opening period to lead 4-2. After Penn cut the score to 8-7 on a late takedown, Walsh used over three minutes of riding time for the final score. Junior Conor Brennan (Brick/Brick Township) won his second match of the season, scoring a 9-3 victory at 165, cutting the Rider deficit to 9-6. Brennan used two first period take downs and a two-point near fall to open up a 6-1 first period lead. Another takedown in the second period made the score 8-1 with escapes by each wrestler accounting for the final score. Sophomore 174 Ryan Wolfe (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) rallied from a 6-2 deficit to win his match 10-7, his seventh victory of the season, tying the dual 9-9. Wolfe used a late escape at the end of the opening period to cut the deficit to three and two takedowns in the second period tied the score at 7-7. Wolfe used a takedown and riding time in the third period for the final score. “I knew my match would be important,” said Wolfe. “Usually our duals at 125 and 133 are pretty much automatic wins for us so that was a game changer. I was down early and I knew we needed for me to win since the team was down. My opponent ended up getting tired and I was able to get the victory. You have to stay mentally tough.” “Ryan’s match definitely swung the momentum,” Taylor said. “He is a very gifted wrestler and he has been working his way back from surgery last season. He is figuring a lot of things out timing wise and getting things back together.” Fifth-year senior 197 Donald McNeil (Plainville, Mass./Wyoming Seminary) picked up his seventh win of the season to tie the dual at 12-12. McNeil opened up the match with a takedown and near fall for a 4-0 lead and an escape and takedown put McNeil ahead 7-1. An escape, takedown and riding time made the final 11-5. Junior heavyweight Greg Velasco (Union Beach/Keyport) broke a scoreless tie with a second period escape and used 1:54 of riding time for a 2-0 victory, his fifth win of the season. “I thought Greg wrestled a great match,” Taylor said. “He wrestled a smart match and did exactly what he needed to do. We went over some things as far as what to do and his match was impressive. He controlled it the whole way from beginning to end.” Red-shirt freshman 125 J.R. Wert (Christiansburg, Va./Christiansburg) won his match by forfeit for the final dual score. “The team has been doing well,” Wolfe added. “There are no holes in the lineup or weaknesses. If someone is down, we help them up. It’s coming together this year. Usually the lower weights carry us and today, it was the upper weights. We knew we needed to pick it up when the team was down.” Rider opened Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) action earlier on Sunday with a convincing 38-3 victory over Clarion, winning nine of 10 matches. Rider travels to Lehigh on December 7. Results: 133: Richardson (PENN) dec. Deutsch (RID) 3-2 3-0 141: Canfora (PENN) dec. Zeisloft (RID) 6-4 6-0 149: Cobb (PENN) dec. Clagon (RID) 4-2 (ot/sv) 9-0 157: Walsh (RID) dec. Martino (PENN) 9-7 9-3 165: Brennan (RID) dec. Hiles (PENN) 9-3 9-6 174: Wolfe (RID) dec. McDevitt (PENN) 10-7 9-9 184: Thomas (PENN) dec. Morrison (RID) 5-3 (ot/sv) 12-9 197: McNeil (RID) dec. Stack (PENN) 11-5 12-12 Hwt.: Velasco (RID) dec. Garren (PENN) 4-0 15-12 125: Wert (RID) won by forfeit 21-12

Related: Live Blog Replay | Photos In its tightest dual so far this season, No. 1 Minnesota took six matches from No. 8 Oklahoma State to defeat the Cowboys, 19-15. The victory is Minnesota's first against a ranked opponent this season and improves the team's record to 5-0. With the win, the Gophers have now taken three straight in the series, tied for the longest winning streak the Maroon and Gold have ever posted over the Pokes. No. 2 Chris Dardanes scored the only bonus points for the Gophers on the night, posting a major decision at 133 over Brian Crutchmer, 20-8. Dardanes clearly knew the situation and had bonus points on his mind in the third period, as he repeatedly took down his opponent and released him to set the stage for more scoring opportunities. Over the final two minutes, Dardanes scored 13 points. "I felt good about [how I wrestled tonight]," said Dardanes. "There's always room for improvement [but] ... in the third period, it was one of those deals where I'm always looking for those extra points. It felt good." Dardanes' was the sixth match of the dual, which began at 174 and opened with three consecutive wins for the Gophers. No. 1 Logan Storley won an 8-1 decision over No. 19 Kyle Crutchmer in the night's opening bout. Storley's win maintained his perfect record on the season, but was his first in nine matches that didn't include bonus points for the Gophers. No. 15 Brett Pfarr stretched Minnesota's lead when he handed Nolan Boyd his first loss on the season, winning a 5-1 decision. No. 1 Scott Schiller followed and put the Gophers ahead 9-0 in the dual by knocking off No. 19 Austin Schafer, 11-4. The Gophers suffered their first loss of the night at 285, where Michael Kroells fell to No. 5 Austin Marsden in a 6-2 decision. In the last match before the halftime intermission, Eddie Klimara pinned No. 18 Sam Brancale at 4:58, scoring the only bonus points for the Cowboys on the evening and leveling the dual at nine at the break. Following the intermission, Dardanes put the Gophers ahead by four with his major decision victory and his brother, No. 3 Nick Dardanes, earned a 9-5 decision over previously undefeated Dean Heil to extend the Gopher lead to seven, 16-9, with three matches remaining. At 149, Jake Short hung tough with No. 3 Josh Kindig throughout their match, bringing the Pavilion crowd to its feet as he trailed by just a single point, 2-1, in the contest's final minute. Short took a few shots but was unable to score a takedown, falling to Kindig 4-1. No. 1 Dylan Ness took on Anthony Collica at 157 with the dual score now 16-12 and never looked back after an early takedown led to more than two minutes of first-period riding time. Ness took the match by decision, 6-0, and clinched the victory for the Gophers with one match remaining. That match, at 165, pitted No. 15 Nick Wanzek against No. 1 Alex Dieringer, the defending National Champion at 157. Wanzek earned a rousing ovation from the crowd for competing hard against Dieringer, but fell 9-2, cementing the dual's final score at 19-15. After three consecutive home events, the Gophers will hit the road this week and compete in the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday. Be sure to follow Gopher Wrestling on Twitter and check back here on GopherSports.com for daily recaps. Results: 174: No. 1 Logan Storley (M) dec. Kyle Crutchmer (OSU), 8-1 184: No. 15 Brett Pfarr (M) dec. Nolan Boyd (OSU), 5-1 197: No. 1 Scott Schiller (M) dec. No. 19 Austin Schafer (OSU), 11-4 285: No. 5 Austin Marsden (OSU) dec. Michael Kroells (M), 6-2 125: Eddie Klimara (OSU) pinned No. 18 Sam Brancale (M), 4:58 133: No. 2 Chris Dardanes (M) maj. Brian Crutchmer (OSU), 20-8 141: No. 3 Nick Dardanes (M) dec. Dean Heil (OSU), 9-5 149: No. 3 Josh Kindig (OSU) dec. Jake Short (M), 4-1 157: No. 1 Dylan Ness (M) dec. Anthony Collica (OSU), 6-0 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (OSU) dec. No. 15 Nick Wanzek (M), 9-2

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa wrestling team made it 11 in a row over Iowa State on Saturday night, topping the 15th-ranked Cyclones, 28-8, on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “It was workman-like, I think it was a little ho-hum,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “We left some team points off the board because we're not capitalizing on major decision opportunities. You have to score eight to get a major and you do that by getting the ball rolling earlier.” The Hawkeyes (4-0) won the first five matches, 8-of-10 overall, and got bonus points from Sammy Brooks and Bobby Telford to retain possession of the Dan Gable Trophy. Telford earned takedowns in the first and second periods, building a 5-0 lead before turning Quean Smith and earning a fall with 1:24 left. He has seven pins in seven matches this year. "Telford was very patient,” said Brands. “He had an opportunity with the leg in the air, finished, did it again. Very patient, not so scattered and then slow the rest of the match, it was very well wrestled. Very patient and mature, like he's on a mission.” Brooks earned his first major decision of the season by scoring eight points in the final 2:10. He scored an escape, takedown, and two nearfall points in the second period, and added a second takedown and 1:51 of riding time to defeat 18th-ranked Lelund Weatherspoon, 9-1. Iowa built a 15-0 lead at intermission with five consecutive decisions. Thomas Gilman kicked it off at 125, recording a pair of takedowns and 1:41 of riding time to defeat Kyle Larson, 6-1. "I needed to pick up the pace,” said Gilman. “He just tied me up, so I have got to pick up my pace. “They' were trying to keep it close and we have to go out there and put pressure on them, open them up and be physical. We (were) not opening them up enough and maybe we weren't ready enough for these guys to come in here and just keep it close." Cory Clark followed Gilman with an 8-3 win over returning All-American Earl Hall at 133. Hall fired first with a takedown at 1:36, but by the end of the first period Clark erased his deficit, grabbed a 3-2 lead, and saw Hall get dinged for stalling. Clark opened the second period with an escape, and finished a takedown seven seconds before the start of the third. He tacked on 1:24 of riding time to improve to 9-0 all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. "I feel like I wrestled to be comfortable and get the win instead of get myself a little uncomfortable and widen the gap to really dominate the match, which is what I'm about,” said Clark. “I might have maybe been a little tired out there but that's something that I can wrestle through. I just needed to get tougher.” Josh Dziewa used two takedowns and two nearfall points to defeat Dante Rodriguez, 9-2, at 141. Brandon Sorensen held on for a 7-6 win at 149 in his Carver-Hawkeye Arena debut. Sorensen led, 2-0, 15 seconds into the match and 4-1 after the first period, but Gabe Moreno closed the gap and evened the score, 6-6, with a takedown in the final minute. Sorensen escaped with 0:41 left to get the win. Michael Kelly had the Hawkeyes batting 5-for-5 when he reversed Luke Goettl in the final minute, picked up three nearfall points, and rode Goettl out in the third period to win 11-6. It was Kelly’s first win in three Cy-Hawk appearances. "I was a little bit more active this match,” said Kelly. “I think I can turn it up even more. A match like that doesn't have to be that close, where it comes down to the last 30 seconds, I have got to widen the margins a little bit and pick my pace up and not hang in positions." Mike Evans won his third straight Cy-Hawk matchup against sixth-ranked Tanner Weatherspoon. Evans scored takedowns in the first and second periods and finished with a 7-4 win. He improved to 27-2 all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Cyclones (4-1) picked up wins at 165 and 197. Third-ranked Mike Moreno topped sixth-ranked Nick Moore, 6-3, and third-ranked Kyven Gadson pinned Kris Klapprodt in 5:31. The Hawkeyes return to the mat Saturday, Dec. 6 hosting Michigan State on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “There are going to be some fireworks in that dual,” said Brands. “We have to keep getting better and be ready to go.” Notes: Attendance was 11,882, the 24th largest dual wrestling crowd in Carver-Hawkeye Arena history… Iowa retains possession of the Dan Gable Trophy… the Hawkeyes have won 11 straight in the series, including the last five meetings since the inception of the Dan Gable Trophy (2010)… head coach Tom Brands earned his 150th career win at Iowa (150-15-1)… Cory Clark is 9-0 all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena… Bobby Telford has pinned all seven opponents this season, he has one win via medial forfeit. Results: 125 – #4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. Kyle Larson (Iowa State), 6-1; 3-0 133 – #4 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. #14 Earl Hall (Iowa State), 8-3; 6-0 141 – #6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa) dec. Dante Rodriguez (Iowa State), 9-2; 9-0 149 – Brandon Sorenson (Iowa) dec. Gabe Moreno (Iowa State), 7-6; 12-0 157 – Michael Kelly (Iowa) dec. Luke Goettl (Iowa State), 11-6; 15-0 165 – #3 Michael Moreno (Iowa State) dec. #5 Nick Moore (Iowa), 6-3; 15-3 174 – #4 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. #6 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State), 7-4; 18-3 184 – #9 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) major dec. #18 Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State), 9-1; 22-3 197 – #3 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) pinned Kris Klapprodt (Iowa), 5:31; 22-8 * 285 – #3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) pinned Quean Smith (Iowa State), 5:36; 28-8 *Iowa State was deducted one team point following the 197 pound match

BROOKINGS, South Dakota -- As the Wisconsin football team fought for the Big Ten West Division title at home, the wrestling program was putting in work at South Dakota States' Frost Arena. With only three Wisconsin losses on the night, the Badgers wrestled to a 26-9 victory over the Jackrabbits. First-time starter, Johnny Jimenez started the night at 125 lbs. with a 5-2 decision over South Dakota’s Isaac Andrade to give Wisconsin three points. With four takedowns in the first period, No. 20 Ryan Taylor proved his talent once again with a 13-4 major decision over Brance Simms. Taylor brought the dual score to 7-0 in Wisconsin’s favor. Jesse Thielke and No. 12 Timmy McCall both fell to the Jackrabbits in decision by four or less points. No. 16 Cody Pack brought down Jarod Donar in a 7-3 decision. Sophomore TJ Ruschell won by decision over Luke Zilverberg, 10-5, with Frank Cousins following in similar fashion, marking a 10-4 decision over David Kocer. After going 7-0 in the first period, All-American No. 6 Isaac Jordan posted a 13-1 major decision over John Nething II to earn Wisconsin four points. Standout freshman Ricky Robertson ended the first period with a 4-1 lead and went on to defeat Brady Ayers 9-5. To round up the dual, No. 6 Connor Medbery recorded a pin at 1:26 over J.J. Everard to leave the Badgers with a 26-9 win. The Badgers take on North Dakota State tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Fargo, North Dakota before heading to the UNI Open next Saturday. Results: 125: Johnny Jimenez (UW) over Isaac Andrade (SDSU) - Dec., 5-2 133: #20 Ryan Taylor (UW) over Brance Simms (SDSU) - Maj., 13-4 141: Alex Kocer (SDSU) over Jesse Thielke (UW) Dec., 6-2 149: RJ Ruschell (UW) over Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) - Dec., 10-5 157: #16 Cody Pack (SDSU) over Jarod Donar (UW) - Dec., 7-3 165: #6 Jordan Taylor (UW) over John Nething II (SDSU) - Maj., 13-1 174: Frank Cousins over David Kocer (SDSU) - Dec., 10-4 184: Ricky Robertson (UW) over Brady Ayers (SDSU) - Dec., 9-5 197: Nate Rotert (SDSU) over #12 Timmy McCall - Dec., 5-2 285: #6 Connor Medbery over J.J. Everard (SDSU) - Fall, 1:26

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- No. 10 Lehigh won six of ten weight classes to post its first victory over Illinois since 1934 as the Mountain Hawks downed the 13th-ranked Fighting Illini 24-15 Saturday at Huff Hall. The Mountain Hawks won the first four weight classes, keyed by a first period pin by sophomore Randy Cruz at 141. Lehigh has now won three straight duals and improves to 4-1 on the dual season. Illinois, which was without two-time national champion Jesse Delgado at 125, falls to 6-1. Sophomore heavyweight Doug Vollaro started things well for the Mountain Hawks with a 3-1, sudden victory decision over Brooks Black in the opening bout of the dual. Vollaro countered a Black shot and secured the winning takedown with just three seconds remaining in the overtime period. "They're so talented in the middle of their lineup," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said of the Fighting Illini. "We knew we'd have to score early. Doug went out and got a big win as he had never beaten Brooks Black before. That really got things going." With Delgado unavailable, Illinois forfeited to freshman Scott Parker at 125 increasing Lehigh's lead to 9-0. Junior Mason Beckman followed with a 6-3 decision over Dominic Olivieri at 133 before Cruz took the mat against No. 16 Steven Rodriguez. Cruz won a scramble for an early takedown to go up 2-0 and after returning to the center of the mat, slapped on a cradle to put Rodrigues on his back before earning the fall at 1:30. "He's getting a little better each week," Santoro said about Cruz. "Sometimes coming off a deferred year it takes a little bit of time to get your motor going again. We knew it would be a big swing match and getting the pin there was huge." Trailing 18-0, the Fighting Illini responded with four straight victories to climb within 18-15 with two bouts remaining. Kyle Langenderfer won by major decision over freshman Drew Longo at 149 while eighth-ranked Isaiah Martinez won by technical fall over sophomore Will Switzer at 157. Wins by Jackson Morse over Santiago Martinez and Zac Brunson over Marshall Peppelman brought Illinois within three. Junior Nathaniel Brown helped right the ship for the Mountain Hawks with a 2-1 win over Nikko Reyes in a battle of ranked wrestlers at 184. After a scoreless first period, Brown rode Reyes for more than 1:40 in the second and escaped early in the third to win on a 1:32 riding time advantage. In the final bout of the dual, junior John Bolich forced a majority of the action and benefitted from a second period takedown to defeat Jeff Koepke 4-3 at 197. "This was a good one to win because Illinois has a really good team," Santoro said. "We'll have to build off of this with another good Big Ten opponent coming up tomorrow." The Mountain Hawks will conclude their trip to Illinois on Sunday when they visit No. 17 Northwestern for a 1 p.m. (CT) match. The match will be broadcast on WLVR-FM (91.3) as well as WLVR.org. Results: 285 – Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) dec. Brooks Black (Illinois) 3-1, s.v. 125 – Scott Parker (Lehigh) won by forfeit 133 – Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. Dominic Olivieri (Illinois) 6-3 141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) 1:30 149 – Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois) major dec. Drew Longo (Lehigh) 17-7 157 – Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) tech fall Will Switzer (Lehigh) 24-9, 6:47 165 – Jackson Morse (Illinois) dec. Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) 7-5 174 – Zac Brunson (Illinois) dec. Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh) 6-2 184 – Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. Nikko Reyes (Illinois) 2-1 197 – John Bolich (Lehigh) dec. Jeff Koepke (Illinois) 4-3

TROY, N.Y. -- The Northern Illinois University wrestling team extended its winning streak to six Saturday with a 3-0 day at the Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Duals. The Huskies opened the day with a tight 18-17 win over West Virginia, then capped the day by pounding Binghamton, 27-13, and Sacred Heart, 40-3. "We took three duals today and that was what we set out to do," said NIU Head Coach Ryan Ludwig. "We were on the attack and working to our positions. It's about wrestling hard in crucial situations and we are making gains in that regard. We will feel good about today right now. Tomorrow, it's back to work looking forward to the next challenge." Dual One: NIU Rallies Past West Virginia, 18-17 Facing a 10-0 deficit early, the Huskies won five of the final seven matches to knock off West Virginia, 18-17. The victory was NIU’s first over a Big 12 foe since Feb. 16, 2003, when NIU scored a 21-16 triumph over Missouri. The Mountaineers put the Huskies in an early hole with decisions at 125 and 133, followed by a major decision at 141 for a 10-0 WVU advantage. Gabe Morse (Alto, Mich./Lowell) got NIU on the board at 149 with a tight 3-2 victory over James Dekrone. However, the Huskies’ big break came moments later when Andrew Morse (Alto, Mich./Lowell) pinned Brutus Scheffel in the 157 match and getting NIU within one at the intermission. Shaun’Qae McMurtry (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Twp.) put the Huskies on top following his 8-3 win against Tim Wheeling at 165. Yet, WVU reclaimed the lead with a decision at 174 and a major decision at 184 to make it a 17-12 lead for the Mountaineers. Needing a win to stay alive, Shawn Scott (Holly, Mich./Holly) scored a 5-0 decision against Jake A. Smith to get the Huskies within two and set up a winner-take-all bout at heavyweight. Despite the pressure, Arthur Bunce (Munith, Mich./Dansville) emerged victorious in the final match, defeating A.J. Vizcarrondo, 5-2, to clinch the Huskie victory. NIU 18, West Virginia 17 125: #19 Zeke Moisey (WVU) dec. Derek Elmore (NIU), 10-7 133: Cory Stainbrook (WVU) dec. Danny Carlson (NIU), 9-3 141: Mike Morales (WVU) maj. dec. Tyler Argue (NIU), 13-3 149: Gabe Morse (NIU) dec. James Dekrone (WVU), 3-2 157: Andrew Morse (NIU) pins Brutus Scheffel (WVU), 3:15 165: Shaun’Qae McMurtry (NIU) dec. Tim Wheeling (WVU), 8-3 174: Ross Renzi (WVU) dec. Trace Engelkes (NIU), 6-4 184: Bubba Scheffel (WVU) maj. dec. Quinton Rosser (NIU), 12-4 197: Shawn Scott (NIU) dec. Jake A. Smith (WVU), 5-0 285: Arthur Bunce (NIU) dec. A.J. Vizcarrondo (WVU), 5-2 Dual Two: Huskies Breeze Past Bearcats, 27-13 NIU used a fast start in the second dual of the day to coast to a 27-13 victory over the Binghamton Bearcats. True freshman Alijah Jeffery (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) got the Huskies started with a pin of Thierno Diallo at 125 for a 6-0 NIU lead. Danny Carlson (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) followed that up with a tight 5-3 double overtime victory over David White at 133, while Tyler Argue (Matteson, Ill./Mt. Carmel) won at 141 with a 14-10 triumph against Nick Tighe. The Morse twins pushed the Huskie lead to 18-0 at halftime. At 149, Gabe earned a 7-3 decision against Dylan Caruana, while Andrew defeated Vincent Deprez, 6-0, at 157. The Bearcats got on the board with a pin at 165, but NIU countered when Trace Engelkes (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) defeated Steve Schneider with a 9-7 decision at 174. Following a BU win at 184, Shawn Scott (Holly, Mich./Holly) stuck Caleb Wallace in the 197 match. The Bearcats got the final points with a major decision at heavyweight, but it wasn't nearly enough to catch NIU. NIU 27, Binghamton 13 125: Alijah Jeffery (NIU) pins Thierno Diallo (BU), 4:40 133: Danny Carlson (NIU) dec. David White (BU), 5-3 (2OT) 141: Tyler Argue (NIU) dec. Nick Tighe (BU), 14-10 149: Gabe Morse (NIU) dec. Dylan Caruana (BU), 7-3 157: Andrew Morse (NIU) dec. Vincent Deprez (BU), 6-0 165: Zack Zupan (BU) pins Shaun'Qae McMurtry (NIU), 2:18 174: Trace Engelkes (NIU) dec. Steve Schneider (BU), 9-7 184: Jack McKeever (BU) dec. Quinton Rosser (NIU), 6-0 197: Shawn Scott (NIU) pins Caleb Wallace (BU), 2:11 285: #17 Tyler Deuel (BU) maj. dec. Arthur Bunce (NIU), 10-0 Dual Three: Huskies Rout Pioneers, 40-3 In the final dual of the day, NIU made quick work of Sacred Heart with a 40-3 victory. Once again, Alijah Jeffery got the Huskies off to a quick start, as the Marion, Iowa, native pinned SHU's Tim Johnson in just over a minute to put NIU up, 6-0. Danny Carlson followed that up with a 17-4 victory over Robert O'Neill, while Tyler Argue and Gabe Morse both scored technical falls to quickly put the Huskies at a 20-0 lead. Andrew Morse kept the dominant showing going with an 11-1 win over Matt Fisher at 157. After the break, Dylan Dobzanski (Franklinville, N.J./Delsea Regional) earned a tough 6-4 decision against Johnny Vrasidas, while Bryce Gorman (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) grabbed a 7-4 victory against Conan Schuster. The Pioneers averted the shutout with a decision at 184, but Shawn Scott and Arthur Bunce finished the dual with convincing wins. Scott took a 21-10 major decision against Sasha Oliinyk at 197, then Bunce followed that up with a first period pin of Daniel Hayden. NIU 40, Sacred Heart 3 125: Alijah Jeffery (NIU) pins Tim Johnson (SHU), 1:11 133: Danny Carlson (NIU) maj. dec. Robert O'Neill (SHU), 17-4 141: Tyler Argue (NIU) tech. fall Jay Oakes (SHU), 24-9 149: Gabe Morse (NIU) tech. fall Paul Curtin (SHU), 17-2 157: Andrew Morse (NIU) maj. dec. Matt Fisher (SHU), 11-1 165: Dylan Dobzanski (NIU) dec. Johnny Vrasidas (SHU), 6-4 174: Bryce Gorman (NIU) dec. Conan Schuster (SHU), 7-4 184: Elliott Antler (SHU) dec. Quinton Rosser (NIU), 6-4 197: Shawn Scott (NIU) maj. dec. Sasha Oliinyk (SHU), 21-10 285: Arthur Bunce (NIU) pins Daniel Hayden (SHU), 2:27 The Huskies return home next week when they host Big Ten foe Michigan State Friday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. in the Chick Evans Field House.

TROY, N.Y. -- Mizzou wrestling improved to 7-0 this season after claiming four consecutive wins Saturday on the campus of Hudson Valley Community College. The Tigers biggest victory came against No. 19 Oklahoma, as they tallied a 27-9 win over the Sooners. On the day, Mizzou grapplers picked up three wins over nationally ranked wrestlers. In the second dual of the day against Purdue, redshirt senior Johnny Eblen defeated No. 8 Braden Atwood with a 3-0 decision. Against Oklahoma, sophomore Joey Lavallee (157) defeated No. 13 Justin DeAngelis with a 3-1 decision, while sophomore J'den Cox (HWT) defeated No. 12 Ross Larson with a 3-1 decision as well. The Tigers kicked things off Saturday morning with a 33-9 dual win over Hofstra. Miklus and Cox highlighted the team's victories with a 21-4 tech fall and fall (1:25), respectively. Redshirt sophomore Matt Manley also earned an impressive win, recording a 10-0 major decision win at 133 pounds. Up next, Mizzou earned a 23-9 dual victory over the Purdue Boilermakers. Along with Eblen's big ranked win, Cox and Miklus once against provided big points by each earning major decision wins. Cox finished with a 14-4 MD, while Miklus earned a 12-3 victory. Against the lone ranked team of the day, No. 19 Oklahoma, the Tigers were led by a fall (4:13) from redshirt senior Drake Houdashelt. Redshirt senior Alan Waters also chipped in with a big opening dual 16-0 tech fall win. In the tournament finale, Mizzou took care of business quickly over Nassau Community College with a 43-6 dual victory. Mizzou swept their individual matchups aside from a forfeit in the heavyweight matchup. Redshirt sophomore Lavion Mayes picked up an impressive fall (1:30) win at 141 pounds and was followed by a 21-6 tech fall by Houdashelt. Redshirt junior Cody Johnston (3:24), redshirt senior Mikey England (4:02) and Eblen all recorded wins via fall to round out the team's impressive day. Mizzou competes next with back-to-back challenging duals in the state of Ohio. On Dec. 13, the Tigers head to Athens, Ohio to square off against No. 24 Ohio. The following day on Dec. 14, Mizzou heads to Columbus, Ohio for a showdown with No. 7 Ohio State. Check-in to MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media, by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter (@MizzouWrestling). Link: Results

Results: 174: No. 1 Logan Storley (M) dec. Kyle Crutchmer (OSU), 8-1 184: No. 15 Brett Pfarr (M) dec. Nolan Boyd (OSU), 5-1 197: No. 1 Scott Schiller (M) dec. No. 19 Austin Schafer (OSU), 11-4 285: No. 5 Austin Marsden (OSU) dec. Michael Kroells (M), 6-2 125: Eddie Klimara (OSU) pinned No. 18 Sam Brancale (M), 4:58 133: No. 2 Chris Dardanes (M) maj. Brian Crutchmer (OSU), 20-8 141: No. 3 Nick Dardanes (M) dec. Dean Heil (OSU), 9-5 149: No. 3 Josh Kindig (OSU) dec. Jake Short (M), 4-1 157: No. 1 Dylan Ness (M) dec. Anthony Collica (OSU), 6-0 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (OSU) dec. No. 15 Nick Wanzek (M), 9-2 Live Blog Oklahoma State at Minnesota

The Brazil Cup kicks off today and that means weigh-ins for many wrestlers landed on Thanksgiving. Not only were these young men wrapped in sweatpants and hooded sweatshirts running through Rio de Janeiro (a city of sex and sin) on America's day of Turkey and green bean casserole, but in every turn they were smacked by the vision of Cariocas drinking fresh orange juice and scooping heaps of frozen acai into their mouth. In addition to your healthy family and wonderful friends, be thankful that you're not cutting weight this Thanksgiving. Be thankful that despite the digital distractions of the modern world there are still a stock of young men willing to eschew short-term pleasure for long-term gains; young men willing to be warriors for the sake of the battle and the never-ending climb to self-improvement. Happy belated Turkey Day. To your questions ... Q: I have noticed your posting on BJJ (a hobby I have found my way into post-wrestling) and I see many parallels between the two disciplines and see how they could be mutually beneficial to each other. I am pretty surprised how much interest there is in the BJJ community to train takedowns with elite wrestlers. I would like to get your opinion on how a higher level BJJer might go about training in a college room. Is that even a possibility? -- Dave in Norfolk Foley: Marcelo Garcia recently stated that he saw little use for judo in jiu-jitsu, since the techniques were best used only with a gi and often outdone by simple wrestling. Marcelo Garcia is a smart man, and arguably the greatest grappler in the world, and almost certainly the best grappling instructor. I'm in Rio this week for the Brazil Cup and in between photo sessions and stories I've been able to squeeze in training at Nova Unaio and Nova Geracao, the latter of which I've chosen as my school for these two weeks. At Unaio I train nogi and you'd be surprised how few grapplers want to roll with a wrestler. Because the control and balance of a wrestler causes them fits in 90 percent of position, their counter becomes avoidance. I agree that there are jiu-jitsu fighters who want to learn takedowns from wrestlers, but the majority would rather dismiss the lot of us a lower form of grappler. In their opinion the control and simplicity of wrestling -- the balance we show -- is an affront to the beauty of the roll. Like a kid explaining why he doesn't like broccoli, their reasoning often teeters on the edge of the ridiculous. For those that do embrace the skills of wrestling there are massive gains: Marcelo and Cyborg as examples. Everything in wrestling is legal in jiu-jitsu, while the opposite can't be true. That means we are a bringing a skill to their sport that is otherwise lacking -- to not replicate that, or train for it is a mistake. As for BJJ'ers in college wrestling rooms we've scene a few over the past few years with the most prominent being Ricky Lundell and his time in the Iowa State wrestling room. There are, of course, a bunch who've transitioned from the mats to good careers in BJJ including Jerry Rinaldi (Cornell), AJ Agazarm (Ohio State), Jeremy Jackson (Eastern Michigan) and about 100 more. Q: What is going on with Joey McKenna? He's not listed on Stanford's roster and I saw him at Who's Number One last month. He wrestled 60 kilos for Junior Worlds, then 65 kilos at Bill Farrell and will be traveling with the senior team to wrestler 61 kilos in Brazil. Did he defer his enrollment to Stanford? Because his Twitter says "Future Student-Athlete at Stanford '19." Is he doing a post-grad year at Blair, or just training at the LVAC with his mentor Buxton? -- Dan L. Foley: Personal Twitter accounts are a fairly valid form of confirmation in reporting, especially with teenagers. Assuming he's not been hacked you have to conclude that he's heading to Stanford in 2015 to wrestle. If you don't assume that to be intention then you'd think he's being manipulative and is indeed changing plans but doesn't want anyone to know. If there is doubt, then I'm sure it's internal but with some comments here or there to stoke the gossip fire. He'll wrestle tomorrow and I'll be sure to update the United World Wrestling Twitter and my personal account as I can. Cael Sanderson returned to competition in 2011 after a seven-year layoff and made the U.S. World Team, defeating Jake Herbert in the finals of the Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: 84 kilos has seen a number of top Americans step aside from competition while still in (arguably) the prime of their careers. So, suppose I put up the money to arrange a four-man freestyle round-robin between Cael Sanderson, Ben Askren (OK, he was 74 kilos, but that was a long time ago), Jake Herbert and Ed Ruth. One of the best parts about this is that all of these guys love to go after it and score points. So, since my fabulous wealth set up the tournament, I'll add a rule: you get one placement point for winning your round-robin match, another placement point for scoring 5 or more points in the match (win or lose). This is a ridiculous amount of talent (in terms of NCAA careers, 11 championships [10 undefeated seasons], 3 runners-up, 2 third-placers). Wrestling today (in 2014), who wins? My placement guessing: Cael, Ben, Ed, Jake. Or maybe Ben, Cael, Jake, Ed. Or Ed, Cael, Ben, Jake? -- Ron M. Foley: This is a creative bracket, and one that might just put a ton of butts in an auditorium. You'd need some real chedda' to get it started, but I think you would see a return! However, what you just did right there was point out one of the main issues wrestling faces in the promotion of professional leagues: sustainable, marketable name ID packaged into the same single event. The FPL and GWC are focused on current talent, and while that is productive for the athletes, when it comes to marketing super matches it's tough to push Ramos and Hazewinkel like you would guys who've had more time to create name appeal and success. Wrestling burns out athletes and that means you can't get them to show up for tournaments in their thirties as almost no wrestler is still training and those who do are in the role of coach. For a point of contrast the jiu-jitsu organization Metamoris just hosted a match between two guys in their 40s who'd last fought each other more than 15 years ago. As you might expect it was a bonanza of media attention. The equivalent would be Sergei Beloglazov and John Smith hitting the mats at NCAAs for a rematch of their first promotional bout. Wrestling needs to see a bracket like yours. There needs to be a big money event of HUGE names willing reignite the competitive passions of those studly guys in their late twenties and early thirties. Only idea I'd bring in it to expand a touch and allow for two pools of five wrestlers with a constant flow of action on one mat. Top placewinners in each pool wrestle for championship. Oh, the answer is Cael, Jake, Ed and Ben. Q: How do you see the 74-kilo freestyle weight class in the states shaking out this year? -- Scott M. Foley: Burroughs, Taylor, Dake and Howe. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME The only thing I can catch with my bare hands is a cold. This guy catches a deer. Link: Technique over strength: Tim Spriggs taps the Hulk Q: Should Kyle Snyder consider pulling a Deron Winn and drop from 97 kilos to 86 kilos? I know Kyle has won back-to-back junior world medals at the higher weight, that he wrestled 220 in high school and now 197 for Ohio State. But his height will be a real issue. I have no idea how he expects to hang with taller wrestlers like Jake Varner long term. Weight cutting is becoming anathema in wrestling nowadays, but I would think a guy with Olympic dreams like Snyder would be realistic about dropping to fit in better with his body type. -- Dan L. Foley: That's one hell of a cut for a barrel-chested boy like Kyle Snyder. Think he'd make that deep of a cut when he's pretty close to being the man at 97 kilos? Meh. Lots of short people win championships, and you can't discount Snyder's success at home and abroad. Any BODY can wrestle and Snyder seems to be pulling down some decent hardware. Given a few more flips of the calendar and I think he'll have success. Also, there is precedent since Reza "Lion of Joybar" Yazdani has a very similar body type, if not a *touch pudgier. Q: What do you think about the international judo governing body's new rules prohibiting ranked judo players from entering BJJ tournaments, the new rules that prohibit grabbing the pants and other maneuvers that were invented in judo, to limit wrestlers and BJJ players from beating ranked judo players. Finally, I believe the judo federation can learn a lot from wrestling and what happened regarding being thrown out of the Olympics and having to make major changes in order to get back in. -- Vin Foley: I was shocked. Like, floored, that they would insist their athletes not compete in other sports. First, it's just a component sport so why not let them try that skill in other aspects. Second, does this limit Mongolians from competing in traditional tournaments? Who is he trying to stop? What is the motivation? I don't know the answers, but I have heard that Marcus Vizer is a bright man so there must be some logic behind the announcement that extends past the letter he submitted to the public. Judo does a great job with their presentation and fan interaction, but this was a bit of a PR disaster. Q: What is it with international officials and cautions for keeping your head up when neutral? I know this has been called a long time, but it just seems stupid. Someone working a tie-up and trying to use good head position to open up an attack is not stalling. It's OK to call stalling, but using your head is not automatically stalling. I was wondering your insight as the same thing is never mentioned in folkstyle? -- Tom B. Foley: I think you see that call much more in Greco-Roman. When you do see it in freestyle it's on the edge of the mat when a wrestler is trying to prevent hitting the edge, but not wanting to work for an attack. Folkstyle doesn't call it because shot attempts can't be countered with exposure dumps. The folkstyle point structure comes from establishing control rather than points from techniques. That's also something to remember whenever thinking about the difference between NCAA and freestyle rules. COMMENT OF THE WEEK By Paul R. Last week I was extremely excited to read the news that Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, announced the addition of wrestling as a varsity sport for the 2015-2016 school year. This is great news for the future of wrestling in Florida. However, no major wrestling media outlets have provided coverage. Although it was a huge weekend for college wrestling competitions, this news is as important as any one dual meet. This will be the first varsity wrestling program in a state that once had 19 varsity programs. Florida NCWA programs have flourished, led by the University of Central Florida with three NCWA national championships and countless All-Americans. According to the NFHS, last year Florida ranked seventh in terms of number of high school wrestling programs and 11th in terms of high school participants. Two Florida wrestlers represented Team USA in the 2012 Olympics. Not to mention that the Sunshine State hosts the NWCA Annual Meeting and multiple Florida programs received NWCA Best of Brand honors. Florida is a wrestling-rich state and institutions should be celebrated for their efforts to grow wrestling. Especially in the South, which has been underrepresented and overlooked for years. Please help spread the word. Thanks!

The Cleveland State wrestling team earned a 39-9 victory over John Carroll in the Vikings' first dual match of the season on Tuesday night. Behind bonus points victories at seven weight classes, Cleveland State advanced to 1-0 on the season while John Carroll fell to 5-4. Ben Willeford received a forfeit to start the match at 125, followed by an injury default victory for Dan King six minutes into the match at 133. At heavyweight, Riley Shaw capped the CSU victory with a pin in only 44 seconds. Nick Montgomery and Xavier Dye both scored 18-3 technical falls at 149 and 184 respectively. Mike Carlone at 141 and Matt Donohoe at 165 both had shutout major decisions. The only regular decision for CSU came by true freshman Kanez Omar who won a tight 3-1 contest against John Carroll senior Todd Gaydosh. The two wins for John Carroll came at 157 by pin and 174 by decision which gave John Carroll 9 points on the night. The Viking wrestlers will dive into EWL action next in a dual at Edinboro on December 4th. Edinboro is currently ranked #14 nationally in Intermat's dual rankings and holds a 3-1 record. Edinboro also has the most wrestlers of any EWL team ranked in the individual top 20 rankings released today. Five Edinboro wrestlers are in the top 20. CSU and Rider have the next most in the top 20 with two each. No other EWL teams have wrestlers ranked in the top 20. Ben Willeford is #20 at 125 and Riley Shaw is #19 at 285 in Intermat's recent rankings. This marks the first time that CSU has had multiple wrestlers ranked in the top 20 since November 2005 when three wrestlers were ranked in the preseason poll. Results: 125 Ben Willeford (CSU) winner by default 133 Dan King (CSU) injury default over Sal Corrao (JCU) 141 Mike Carlone (CSU) 11-0 major decision over John Connick (JCU) 149 Nick Montgomery (CSU) 18-3 technical fall over Blake Dixon (JCU) 157 Tom McNulty (JCU) by fall in 2:40 over Chas Busz (CSU) 165 Matt Donohoe (CSU) 9-0 major decision over Jordan Victor (JCU) 174 Matt Tusick (JCU) 12-5 decision over Gabe Stark (CSU) 184 Xavier Dye (CSU) 18-3 technical fall over Steven Schmitz (JCU) 197 Kanez Omar (CSU) 3-1 decision over Todd Gaydosh (JCU) 285 Riley Shaw (CSU) by fall in 0:44 over Mike Andelbradt (JCU)

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- The No. 18 York College wrestling team swept the final six bouts to complete a 26-12 come-from-behind win on the road against non-conference neighbor Elizabethtown College on Tuesday night. York (8-2) got off to a rough start, only winning one of the first four bouts, which came courtesy of Jeffrey Walker (Bristow, Va. / Brentsville) with a 6-0 decision at 133. The Spartans then went on a tear, taking the final six bouts from Elizabethtown (1-5) Cory Rank (Wyomissing, Pa. / Wyomissing) started the Spartan run with a 5-2 decision at 157 and Mitchell Ramsey (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg) tied the overall match score at 12-12 with a pin in 1:34 at 165. YCP continued to roll as Tyler Rhoads (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East) collected a 7-3 decision at 174 before Nick Zak (Jackson, N.J. / Jackson Liberty) broke the Spartan lead open to 16-12 with a 10-1 major at 184. John Shorter (Lancaster, Pa. / Manheim Township) clinched the win with a 4-0 shutout decision at 197 and Troy Urhin (Archbald, Pa. / Valley View) added insult to injury with a 12-2 major decision at 285. The Spartans take a break from dual match wrestling and gear up for the New Standard Corp. Invitational held on December 6 at the M&T Bank Field House at the Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center. York's next dual match will be on January 9, 2015 at the Bud Whitehill Duals in Williamsport, Pa. Results: 125 John Archangelo (E) pinned Lake Laughman (Y), 6:59 6 0 133 Jeffery Walker (Y) dec. Bryan Pflanz (E), 6-0 6 3 141 Chris Kummerer (E) dec. Thomas Moss (Y), 11-6 9 3 149 Chad Lammer (E) dec. Drew Spector (Y), 6-3 12 3 157 Cory Rank (Y) dec. Mike Lammer (E), 5-2 12 6 165 Mitchell Ramsey (Y) pinned Rafi Sayada (E), 1:34 12 12 174 Tyler Rhoads (Y) dec. Zeke Zimmer (E), 7-3 12 15 184 Nicholas Zak (Y) maj. dec. Luke Fernandez (E), 10-1 12 19 197 John Shorter (Y) dec. Jared Weaver (E), 4-0 12 22 285 Troy Uhrin (Y) maj. dec. Eric Eckstein (E), 12-2 12 26

Pitt-Johnstown broke open a four-point match with three straight wins, including a major decision from Tyler Reinhart at 165 lbs., on its way to a 20-12 PSAC victory over East Stroudsburg University in Tuesday's 2014-15 home opener in the Sports Center. The Mountain Cats improved to 2-1 overall and evened their record in the PSAC at 1-1. Pitt-Johnstown got off and running with an 11-4 decision by Evan Link at 125 lbs., but East Stroudsburg came right back to tie it at 133 lbs. when Marius Kola used a stalling point and a takedown with under 10 seconds remaining to defeat Jim Harrison, 4-3. Returning National Qualifier Sam Hanau got the Mountain Cats back on track. Hanau got an early first- period takedown and finished with 6:21 of riding time in a 9-0 major decision over Eric Januszkiewicz. Eighth-ranked Cole Landowski held off Ryan Todoro, 5-4, at 149 lbs. to increase the Pitt-Johnstown lead to 10-3, before the Warriors cut it to four with Joey Kratochvil's 7-3 victory over Steve Edwards in the 157-lb. bout. However, the Mountain Cats took control. Tyler Reinhart remained unbeaten with a 14-3 major decision over Joey Fogle at 165 lbs., and John Blankenship shut out Dan Ingulli, 5-0, at 174 lbs. to push the Pitt-Johnstown lead out to 17-6. Pitt-Johnstown sealed the victory at 184 lbs. Adam Nickelson trailed by one with less than a minute left in regulation, but got three back points and went on the defeat Luke DeLuise, 8-4 to extend it to 20-6 with just two bouts left. East Stroudsburg finished with a pair of decision wins at 197 and 285 lbs. to set the final score at 20-12. With the loss, the Warriors slipped to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the PSAC. Pitt-Johnstown closes out the first semester at the 2014 PSAC Championships in Bloomsburg on December 6. After breaking for the holiday season, Pitt-Johnstown will travel to the Franklin & Marshall Open on January 3, before hosting Ashland (OH) on January 9 at 7 p.m. in the Sports Center. Results: 125 lbs. Evan Link (UPJ) Decision Connor Maliff (ESU) 11-4 3-0 UPJ 133 lbs. Marius Kola (ESU) Decision Jim Harrison (UPJ) 4-2 3-3 TIE 141 lbs. Sam Hanau (UPJ) Major Decision Eric Januszkiewicz (ESU) 9-0 7-3 UPJ 149 lbs. #8 Cole Landowski (UPJ) Decision Ryan Todoro (ESU) 5-4 10-3 UPJ 157 lbs. Joey Kratochvil (ESU) Decision Steve Edwards (UPJ) 7-4 10-6 UPJ 165 lbs. Tyler Reinhart (UPJ) Major Decision Joey Fogle (ESU) 14-3 14-6 UPJ 174 lbs. John Blankenship (UPJ) Decision Dan Ingulli (ESU) 5-0 17-6 UPJ 184 lbs. Adam Nickelson (UPJ) Decision Luke DeLuise (ESU) 8-4 20-6 UPJ 197 lbs. Tyler Richardson (ESU) Decision Nikos Garafola (UPJ) 6-2 20-9 UPJ 285 lbs. Tyson Searer (ESU) Decision D.J. Sims (UPJ) 8-5 20-12 UPJ

No. 8 Luther rolled to a 36-12 season opening victory over UW-Eau Claire tonight in the Regents Center. The Norse picked up bonus points from Cody Hanson (133), Dakota Gray (149) and Jayden DeVilbiss (184). Hanson got things started with a fall at 6:15 over Scott Worlund. Gray posted a 45 second fall over Ty Griffin, and DeVilbiss recorded a fall at 1:55 over Alex Knutson. Luther also tallied 12 points thanks to forfeits by the Eau Claire at 125 and 141. Javier Reyes (165) and Justin Kreiter (174) added to the point total with decisions. Reyes defeated Brandon Stradel 6-3, while Kreiter posted a hard-fought 8-6 victory over Mathew Laugen. Luther returns to action when it will travel to No. 22 Cornell College on Wednesday, Dec. 3. This match will begin at 7:00 p.m. Results: 125 Julian Gendreau - L Forfeit Open – UWEC 6 0 133 Cody Hanson - L Fall (6:15) Scott Worlund - UWEC 12 0 141 #3 Drew Van Anrooy - L Forfeit Open - UWEC 18 0 149 Dakota Gray - L Fall (0:45) Ty Griffin - UWEC 24 0 157 Robert Rocole - UWEC Dec. (6-1) Tristan Zurfluh - L 24 3 165 Javier Reyes - L Dec. (6-3) Brandon Stradel - UWEC 27 3 174 Justin Kreiter - L Dec. (8-6) Mathew Laugen - UWEC 30 3 184 #6 Jayden DeVilbiss - L Fall (1:50) Alex Knutson - UWEC 36 3 197 Josh Cormican - UWEC Fall (1:44) Paxton Jordahl –L 36 9 285 Justin Karkula - UWEC Dec. 3-2 Tom Tourdot - L 36 12

Link: Grade Rankings With the 2014-15 season unofficially underway for most wrestlers already, here is the first update to the grade rankings for the year. This update is reflective of preseason activity. There are no changes to the top wrestler within each of the grade levels: Anthony Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) still leads the Class of 2015, Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) is the anchor in the Class of 2016, Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.) tops the 2017 class, Cade Olivas (St. John Bosco, Calif.) is best in the Class of 2018, while Josh McKenzie (New Jersey) is best among Junior High wrestlers. Among the most notable movement for the Class of 2015 is the slight upticks for Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) and Matthew Kolodzik (Blair Academy, N.J.); Valencia is up two spots to third, while Kolodzik is also up two spots to fifth. Two major movements within the top 50 were 16-spot improvements for No. 18 Larry Early (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) and No. 34 Davion Jeffries (Broken Arrow, Okla.). New wrestlers in the top 100 include Preseason Nationals runner-up Cameron Loving (Altus, Okla.) at No. 68; Preseason Nationals champion Luke Fortuna (Montini Catholic, Ill.) and Alex Rich (Crescent Valley, Ore.) in at No. 79 and 94 respectively; and Super 32 champion Patrick Grayson (Colonial Forge, Va.) enters in position No. 100. Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga.) moves up 20 positions to No. 22 in the Class of 2016 rankings after winning a Super 32 Challenge title (Photo/Rob Preston)The most significant upward movement in the Class of 2016 came from Super 32 Challenge champion Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga.), who moves up 20 positions all the way to No. 22. The most notable new wrestlers in the top 50 are Julian Flores (San Marino, Calif.), a Southwest Kickoff Classic placer now ranked No. 21; InterMat JJ Classic runner-up Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.), now in at No. 32 after also placing at the Super 32 Challenge; and Super 32 Challenge runner-up Brett Donner (Wall Township, N.J.), who enters in the rankings at No. 33 overall. For the Class of 2017, the most notable upward mover in the rankings was Jared Verkleeren (Belle Vernon, Pa.), now up to No. 6 overall after placing fourth at the Super 32 Challenge. The highest ranked debutant is Jake Brindley (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), in all the way at No. 23 after his placement in the 126 pound weight class at the Super 32 Challenge. For the freshmen class, there are two debutants into the rankings primarily based on preseason tournament performance -- Preseason Nationals champion Nate Jimenez (Marmion Academy, Ill.) sits at No. 16, while Jaden Mattox (Grove City Central Crossing, Ohio) slots in No. 21. InterMat Platinum is required to view all the rankings. InterMat ranks the top 100 seniors, top 50 juniors, top 50 sophomores, top 25 freshmen, and top 15 junior high wrestlers.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team claimed nine of 10 matches to roll to a dominant 30-3 victory over in-state rival Central Michigan on Tuesday evening (Nov. 25) at McGuirk Arena. The Wolverines closed the dual with back-to-back technical falls from its captains at 197 pounds and heavyweight. Fifth-year senior Max Huntley and sophomore Adam Coon earned similar 24-9 technical falls in the final two matches. Huntley, ranked 13th in the latest InterMat poll, scored 11 takedowns, including four apiece in the second and third periods, and rode for 3:13 in time advantage against Austin Severn at 197 pounds. The tech fall was the first of Huntley's collegiate career. Coon, ranked fourth nationally, exploded in the third period to claim his first collegiate tech fall against Newton Smerchek at heavyweight. The offensive surge followed a CMU counter takedown out of a flurry early in the second period; Coon escaped and scored to close out the second before finishing on six third-period takedowns. He drove Smerchek to his back on a late double leg, adding three near-fall points at the buzzer. The Wolverines opened the dual with consecutive decision wins at 125 and 133 pounds. Junior/sophomore Conor Youtsey shut out Brent Fleetwood, 4-0, in the former bout, scoring on a single leg midway through the first period and riding out the third period to accumulate 3:33 in time advantage. Junior Rossi Bruno, ranked ninth, fell just shy of bonus points in the subsequent bout, scoring two takedowns, three back points and 1:53 in riding time en route to a 10-3 win over Tyler Keselring. Central Michigan picked up its only win at 141 pounds, where 12th-ranked Zach Horan used two takedowns to edge sophomore/freshman George Fisher, 5-2, in the latter's varsity debut. Fisher had a chance to even the score late but lost a wild scramble on the edge of the mat. Michigan won the final six matches to seal the non-conference win. Freshman Alec Pantaleo claimed his first varsity win with a 10-5 decision over Colin Heffernan at 149 pounds, scoring four takedowns -- two apiece in the first and third periods. Sophomore Brian Murphy and junior/sophomore Taylor Massa followed with decisions at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively. Murphy, ranked 11th, earned an 8-4 win over Malcolm Martin, scoring on takedowns in the first and third periods and riding for 1:14. Massa, ranked 11th, fell just short of bonus points with his 8-1 decision over former high school teammate Jordan Wohlfert. He jumped out to an early advantage with a head-in-the-hole takedown and two-point tilt before adding another takedown in the second and 2:26 in riding-time advantage. Freshman Davonte Mahomes, ranked 18th, earned a 6-3 decision over Jordan Ellingwood at 174 pounds to remain unbeaten on the season. After a scoreless first period, Mahomes escaped quickly in the second and struck deep on a single-leg at the period buzzer. The Wolverines coaches challenged the no-call, and it was reversed to award Mahomes a takedown. He gave up a reversal in the third but added a takedown midway through the ice the decision. He improved to 8-0 in his collegiate career. After missing the season's first two duals with injury, sophomore Domenic Abounader earned a 9-3 decision over Jackson Lewis in his season debut. Abounader, ranked 11th, scored two takedowns -- single legs in the first and second periods -- and added a three-point leg turk and 1:17 in riding-time advantage. The Wolverines will take a break for the holiday before heading to Las Vegas, Nev., for the annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5-6, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Competition is slated to begin at 9 a.m. PST each day. Results: 125 -- Conor Youtsey (U-M) dec. Brent Fleetwood, 4-0 U-M, 3-0 133 -- #9 Rossi Bruno (U-M) dec. Tyler Keselring, 10-3 U-M, 6-0 141 -- #12 Zach Horan (CMU) dec. George Fisher, 5-2 U-M, 6-3 149 -- Alec Pantaleo (U-M) dec. Colin Heffernan, 10-5 U-M, 9-3 157 -- #11 Brian Murphy (U-M) dec. Malcolm Martin, 8-4 U-M, 12-3 165 -- #11 Taylor Massa (U-M) dec. Jordan Wohlfert, 8-1 U-M, 15-3 174 -- #18 Davonte Mahomes (U-M) dec. Jordan Ellingwood, 6-3 U-M, 18-3 184 -- #11 Domenic Abounader (U-M) dec. Jackson Lewis, 9-3 U-M, 21-3 197 -- #13 Max Huntley (U-M) tech. fall Austin Severn, 24-9 (7:00) U-M, 25-3 Hwt -- #4 Adam Coon (U-M) tech. fall Newton Smerchek, 24-9 (7:00) U-M, 30-3

Much of the coverage that InterMat provides for high school wrestling is driven by the national context, whether it is discussion of the top individuals or the top teams. However, this weekly commentary is going to be drilled down to the state level with an elite eight of narratives worth watching during the 2014-15 scholastic season. 1. State tournament reorganizations mired with disagreement Two of the major wrestling states have had a bit of change to the structure of their state tournaments for the 2014-15 season. Pennsylvania approved a change to expand brackets in the individual state tournaments to 20 wrestlers per weight, as opposed to 16. In Class AAA (big-school), it means that four wrestlers from each of the five regions will advance to the state; while in Class AA (small-school), six wrestlers each will make state in the southwest and southeast regionals, with four each making state in the northeast and northwest regions. A full analysis and commentary of this structure change is an article in and of itself. Three major arguments against the change: (1) the addition of state qualifiers dilutes the tournament, and the concept of state qualification (2) the asymmetries already present within the state tournament brackets are exacerbated by this change (3) wrestling on the Thursday of the state tournament is going to start earlier and/or end later than it already does (9 a.m., 9 p.m.). The rationale for adding state qualifiers is pretty simple: more wrestlers get to compete in the state tournament, which makes more wrestlers feel accomplishment, engages more schools and stakeholders in the state tournament, and almost assuredly increases attendance. While in New Jersey, the structure for their state dual meet tournament underwent change. Garden State football is known for its overkill when it comes to "state champions" -- a term that is technically inaccurate, as winning a state football title is actually only a championship within your given region of the state and enrollment classification. At least in wrestling, the geographic champions for a given group meet for an overall state title in each enrollment classification. Prior to this year, in wrestling there were six team state champions, four for public schools and two for private schools. This year, there will be seven, with a fifth public school state champion added to the mix. One can see where the arguments reside in this debate as well. In addition, some more cynical people will say there is a political ingredient as well; however, the reclassification did not placate the complaining politician (Paulsboro remains in the same group with Bound Brook anyway, which was also the case last year). 2. Iowa 3A came down to the last match in 2013-14 ... Same this year? In both the dual meet and individual state tournaments, the state championship was not yet decided when the last match took to the mat. In the case of the dual meet final, Bettendorf used pins in the last two matches of the dual meet (at 106 and 113) against Southeast Polk to win the title by 35-27 score. The Bulldogs won eight of the fourteen matches, which included an overtime decision at 182 pounds. While in the individual tournament, Bettendorf led by a score of 162-to-158 headed into the 285 pound final, where a decision victory by the Rams' Jacob Marnin would have given Southeast Polk a share of the title; however, Kaleb Staack (Waverly-Shell Rock/South Dakota State) upended Marnin 3-1 to give the Bulldogs a sweep of the titles. Despite finishing second in both tournaments, Southeast Polk enters the season ranked higher than Bettendorf in the national rankings. The Rams return 12 of the 14 wrestlers that competed in the state dual meet finals match, as well as 11 of their 12 state qualifiers, and every single individual state tournament point that they obtained. Bettendorf counters with 9 of 14 from that state dual meet finals lineup returning, along with 7 of 9 state qualifiers back in the lineup (the impact transfer of Dayton Racer in some ways compensates for the loss of state champion Logan Ryan, while the Bulldogs also graduated state 8th placer Michael Belanger). Southeast Polk and Bettendorf do not have a common event on the schedule in December, while their only guaranteed common event prior to the state tournament is the Ed Winger Invitational at Urbandale on January 24. However, there is talk of a mid-January dual meet at Iowa State between the two squads, which is what happened last season as well. 3. Can somebody, anybody, beat Apple Valley in the state of Minnesota? Apple Valley has won nine consecutive state dual meet state titles in the big-school division, Class AAA (though the 2013 state final was actually a tie with St. Michael-Albertville); as well as 15 of the last 16. Even with the Eagles having a pair of national No. 1-ranked wrestlers in Mark Hall (170) and Bobby Steveson (195), there is a thought that this year's team is susceptible to being knocked off. The thought being that the rest of the lineup doesn't have its traditional firepower. However, much more will be known about the exact nature of the Eagles' lineup after their opening week dual meet against Prior Lake, as well as after the Minnesota Christmas Tournament two weekends later. Fellow Fab 50 member St. Michael-Albertville is considered the primary challenge to Apple Valley, and they will be led by defending state champion Mitch McKee (126) along with 2013 state champion Jordan Joseph (182). The other primary contender in the state dual meet tournament will be whichever team advances out of Section 2 between Prior Lake and Shakopee; Prior Lake is led by their upperweights in Rylee Streifel (220) and Alex Hart (285), while Shakopee is anchored by nationally ranked Owen Webster (160), state champion Brent Jones (120) and InterMat JJ Classic champion Alex Lloyd (126). 4. The rest of Pennsylvania Class AA rejoices as Bethlehem Catholic chooses to move up to Class AAA Winners in more or less a dominant fashion of the last three individual and four dual meet state titles in Class AA (small-school), Bethlehem Catholic has chosen to move up to Class AAA (big-school). For that, the rest of Class AA is more than thankful. Southern Columbia is the obvious expected beneficiary in the Class AA individual tournament. They return three state runners-up from last season's squad, Todd Lane (132), Kent Lane (145), and Blake Marks (152); and add via transfer another state runner-up in Billy Barnes (152). Without anything else, replicating four state runner-up finishes would net 75 or so state tournament points, and in all likelihood a state title. From the standpoint of the team tournament, things are much more wide open. In fact, Southern Columbia -- fourth in last year's individual tournament -- did not earn one of the two state dual meet tournament qualifying spots out of District 4. Multiple teams will be in the hunt for the dual meet title in Class AA. Lead contenders include Boiling Springs (District 3), Brookville (District 9), Burrell (District 7), along with Fort LeBoeuf and Reynolds (District 10). 5. Does Bethlehem Catholic become an immediate state title contender in Pennsylvania Class AAA? In the individual tournament, not only is the answer "no" ... It's "hell no." Franklin Regional won last year's Class AAA title with 119 points, which happens to be tied for second most in the 12 years Pennsylvania has had fourteen weight class (Northampton in 2004 scored 132.5, while Central Dauphin also scored 119 back in 2009). Six Panthers wrestlers finished inside the top three of the state tournament. One month before, Franklin Regional earned the dual meet title as well. This year's edition features five of those wrestlers returning -- Devin Brown (113), Spencer Lee (120), Michael Kemerer (145), Josh Maruca (152), and Josh Shields (160). Given a similar performance track, that's 100 points for the Panthers, a mark that has only been reached five times in the last 12 years. However, the dual meet tournament is much more open-ended. Though it is not a total "stars and scrubs" model, there is a clear drop from the top five to the rest of the Franklin Regional roster. From the standpoint of state qualification, only Gus Solomon (126) is a viable contender -- but some of that can be attributed to the climate within the WPIAL meet. Challengers to the Panthers start within the WPIAL (i.e. District 7) with nationally ranked Belle Vernon Area and Greater Latrobe in the area, along with a pesky North Allegheny squad; three of those four will qualify for state (two directly to Thursday, one to an earlier in the week "play-in" match). There are two other nationally ranked teams within Class AAA, and both could upend Franklin Regional at the dual meet state tournament: Bethlehem Catholic (District 11) and Cumberland Valley (District 3). Justin Mejia of Clovis was a state champion last season, and is ranked No. 3 in the country at 113 pounds by InterMat (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)6. Can anyone derail the Clovis "drive for five" in California? Clovis is the four-time defending state champions in the single-class state tournament, and are the flagship program in California wrestling with 12 state titles in the just over 40 years a state tournament has been held. They'll enter the season favored for a five-peat, which would add to their record for most consecutive state titles, led by defending state champion Justin Mejia (113). Three-time state placer Isaiah Hokit (145) leads five other wrestlers with a past state placement finish, and ten others with a past state tournament appearance. That strength up-and-down the lineup makes them a supreme team. All that said, there are three other top 30 teams in the Golden State this year, which will make the drive for five by no means a coronation. Archrival Buchanan matches Clovis wrestler-for-wrestler in terms of state tournament experience, though only three have a state placement finish during their careers, led by two-time state placer Durbin Lloren (126). Poway brings eight wrestlers with state tournament experience to their lineup, three whom have placed at state, led by state champion Colt Doyle (170) and two-time state placer Ralphy Tovar (145). Bakersfield counters with six state tournament experience wrestlers, including a pair of state placers in Navonte Demison (113) and Carlos Herrera (120), along with another pair of Fargo All-Americans in the lineup. 7. Non-public domination in New Jersey As many know, the New Jersey individual state tournament is unscored from a team standpoint, so determination of the best teams in the Garden State come solely through the dual meet tournament. Five teams which compete in NJSIAA competition (No. 1 Blair Academy does not) start the year in the Fab 50. Bound Brook (Group 1, smallest classification) and Phillipsburg (Group 4, second biggest) are public; while St. Peter's Prep, Bergen Catholic, and Don Bosco Prep are all in Non-Public Group A. Furthermore, all three of these top 20 teams in the country are in the North section of Non-Public Group A, which pretty much means the Non-Public Group A champion will be determined before the championship match on Sunday, February 15. During that week, the semifinal and final involving those three schools and Delbarton will be a worthwhile follow. The four non-public squads also compete in multiple common events (Beast of the East, along with dual meet matches) prior to the North A semifinal and final rounds. 8. Will Massillon Perry head coach Dave Riggs retire as a repeat state champion in Ohio Division I? News broke last week in the Canton Repository last week that the 2014-15 season will be the last for Dave Riggs as head coach at Massillon Perry. Riggs is retiring as a teacher, and also head coach, after a long career at the high school; one that has seen the program emerge as a state and national power. The Panthers have produced 27 individual state champions, which is tenth most in Ohio history, with all of them coming since 1989; most notably NCAA Division I champions Dustin Schlatter and Steve Luke. However, it had taken until last year for Massillon Perry to earn a maiden state title, as St. Edward stood in their way on a perennial basis. The Panthers swept championships in both the dual meet, including a win over St. Edward during the semis, and individual tournaments. The individual tournament saw them advance seven wrestlers to the state championship match, three winning titles; ten wrestlers in all placed, as they scored 185 points to more than double second place. In 2014-15 season, Massillon Perry enters the season as slight favorites to repeat as champion in both tournaments, with the dual meet tournament having more potential for a tightly contested event. The other primary challengers are follow nationally ranked squads in St. Edward and Brecksville. Leading the way for the Panthers will be returning state runners-up Jake Newhouse (120); Jose Rodriguez (126), who did win a state title in 2013; and Nick Steed (145).

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and USA Wrestling are proud to announce a new, joint event to coincide with the Division I Championships. The NCAA USA Wrestling Youth Showcasewill be the final event of the year in USA Wrestling's popular Folkstyle Tour of America tournament series. It will feature folkstyle wrestling for USA Wrestling's Bantam through Junior age groups (roughly 7 years old through high school) and will also feature a Junior Women's division. The NCAA is committed to connecting the wrestling community at all levels, and adding a youth component to the Division I Championships helps bridge the gap between youth competition and the pinnacle of collegiate athletic success. USA Wrestling is excited to add another event to the Folkstyle Tour of America, especially one that strengthens the ties between USA Wrestling and the NCAA. Weigh-ins for the event will be between sessions on Saturday, March 21st at the Fan Fest. Following weigh-ins participants will be recognized and celebrated with a special NCAA Experience. Competition will take place on March 22nd at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. "USA Wrestling is excited to continue to strengthen our relationship with the NCAA. This is a great opportunity for both organizations to promote wrestling at all levels. We're committed to the success of this event and hope to see it become a permanent part of the NCAA Division I Championship experience," said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. "We are excited to develop this new platform with USA Wrestling as we believe it will help grow the sport while exposing youth to an NCAA championship. The possibilities and opportunities around this initiative are endless and we are excited to launch our inaugural event with wrestling in St. Louis," said Jeff Jarnecke, NCAA Director of Championships and Alliances. The Tour of America is in its eighth season, and currently features five other events, with this event being the sixth and final for the 2014-15 campaign. Total participation in the series has grown in each year of its existence.

The Oregon State wrestling team opened its Pacific-12 Conference season on Monday with a 16-15 victory over Arizona State before a crowd of 1,287 at Gill Coliseum. The 20th-ranked Beavers (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) led 15-3 after Seth Thomas won at 165 pounds. They seemed to be positioned for their eighth win over the Sun Devils (3-2, 0-1 Pac-12) in the last nine duals in the series. However, ASU rallied to win the final four weight classes to forge a 15-15 standoff, forcing a tie-breaker. Each team won five bouts and neither team had a major decision, but the Beavers outscored ASU 51-43 in match points and earned a decisive team point. “We just didn’t finish matches,” OSU coach Jim Zalesky said. “Even in the lighter weights we came out strong but just didn’t finish strong and looked a little sluggish for some reason. “You put six freshmen in there and they haven’t been in the fire a lot. You have to get that experience. We have to get better angles on our shots. The last four weights we didn’t put ourselves in scoring positions. “The guys just looked sluggish. We had a good training phase last week. Maybe that had an effect. We just didn’t have the energy I like to see. We needed more energy.” Ronnie Bresser (125), Jack Hathaway (13) and Devin Reynolds (141) all won by decision to give OSU a 9-0 lead. Wins by Alex Elder (157) and Thomas (165) made it 15-3 before ASU stormed back. The Beavers are now idle until the annual Cliff Keene Las Vegas Invitational, set for Dec. 5-6. Their next dual is Dec. 13 at Boise State in the first edition of the two-part Border War with the Broncos. For more information on the Oregon State wrestling team, follow the club’s official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OSU_Wrestling or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateWrestling. Results: 125: Ronnie Bresser (OSU) dec. Ares Carpio 12-8 133: Jack Hathaway (OSU) dec. Cord Cordero 4-0 141: Devin Reynolds (OSU) dec. Mech Spraggins 8-2 149: Matt Kraus (ASU) dec. Abraham Rodriguez (OSU) 6-0 157: Alex Elder (OSU) dec. Oliver Pierce (ASU) 8-5 165: Seth Thomas (OSU) dec. Jacen Petersen (ASU) 9-5 174: Ray Waters (ASU) dec. Joe Latham (OSU) 5-3 184: Blake Stauffer (ASU) dec. Taylor Meeks (OSU) 6-3 197: Josh DaSilveria (ASU) dec. Cody Crawford (OSU) 3-2 Hwt: Chace Eskam (ASU) dec. Nate Keve (OSU) 3-2 Tiebreaker: Wins 5-5; no major decisions; OSU awarded one team point for most team points (51-43) in the dual. Att.: 1,287

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Fourth-ranked Ohio State won eight of 10 matches, highlighted by a pin from redshirt senior Logan Stieber and a major decision by true freshman Kyle Snyder, to defeat No. 9 Virginia, 30-7, on Monday evening at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va. The win snapped Virginia’s 23-match win streak at JPJ Arena and improved the Buckeyes record to 4-1. Tenth-ranked Nathan Tomasello got the evening started on the right foot for Ohio State, earning a 18-8 major decision over Will Mason to give the Buckeyes a 4-0 lead. Tomasello scored points early and often in the match, jumping out to a 6-2 lead after the first period. He then scored on an escape and three takedowns for a 13-5 lead at the end of the second period. With the win, Tomasello improved to 8-1 on the season. In the next match at 133, eighth-ranked Johnni DiJulius topped 10th-ranked George DiCamillo 6-2, giving Ohio State a 7-0 edge in the match. DiJulius, who is now 9-0 on the season, scored a takedown in the first period, had a second-period escape and then was awarded a point for a DiCamillo penalty early in the third period. He held on thanks to a late escape in the third period. At 141 pounds, Logan Stieber recorded his second fall in as many matches, pinning 12th-ranked Joe Spisak at 1:46 of the first period. The three-time NCAA champion is now 5-0 on the season and 95-3 in his career. All five of his wins this year have been by bonus points (three falls, two tech falls). Randy Languis then put Ohio State ahead 16-0 with a 12-5 decision over Chris Yankowich. Languis led 3-1 at the end of the second period and then surged ahead in the third, scoring on four takedowns and three escapes. Josh Demas remained unbeaten on the year (8-0) with an 8-3 decision over Andrew Atkinson at 157 pounds. The redshirt senior from Westerville, Ohio, had a takedown in the first period and an escape-takedown in the second period to take a 5-1 lead entering the third. From there, he scored three third-period points to distance himself for the victory. Virginia got on the scoreboard for the first time thanks to a 23-8 major decision victory by Nick Sulzer at 165 pounds over Justin Kresevic. Sulzer, ranked second nationally, placed fourth at the NCAA Championships last year. In another matchup of top-15 ranked wrestlers at 174 pounds, 11th-ranked Blaise Butler second two points in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and edged 13th-ranked Mark Martin, 4-2. Kenny Courts made sure Virginia’s momentum was short-lived, securing a 7-4 decision over Billy Coggins at 184 pounds. Courts, now 9-0 on the season, took a 2-1 lead into the third period but was able to get two takedowns and an escape in the third to distance himself for the victory. Kyle Snyder continued his impressive freshman campaign at 197 pounds, jumping out to a 9-2 lead at the end of the first period and never looking back in a 20-6 major decision over Chance McClure. Snyder (8-0), ranked seventh nationally, now has three major decisions to his credit this season. The match was rounded out at 285 pounds by Nick Tavanello’s convincing 13-4 major decision over Collin Campbell at 285 pounds. In all, Ohio State earned bonus points with three major decisions and a pin. The Buckeyes return to action Dec. 5-6 at the CKLV Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev. Results: 125: Nathan Tomasello (OSU) major decision over Will Mason (UVA) 18-8; OSU 4, UVA 0 133: Johnni DiJulius (OSU) decision over George DiCamillo (UVA ) 6-2; OSU 7, UVA 0 141: Logan Stieber (OSU) fall over Joe Spisak (UVA) 1:46; OSU 13, UVA 0 149: Randy Languis (OSU) decision over Chris Yankowich (UVA) 12-5; OSU 16, UVA 0 157: Josh Demas (OSU) decision over Andrew Atkinson (UVA ) 8-3; OSU 19, UVA 0 165: Nick Sulzer (UVA) major decision over Justin Kresevic (OSU) 23-8; OSU 19, UVA 4 174: Blaise Butler (UVA) decision over Mark Martin (OSU) 4-2; OSU 19, UVA 7 184: Kenny Courts (OSU) decision over Billy Coggins (UVA) 7-4; OSU 22, UVA 7 197: Kyle Snyder (OSU) major decision over Chance McClure (UVA) 20-6; OSU 26, UVA 7 285: Nick Tavanello (OSU) major decision over Collin Campbell (UVA) 13-4; OSU 30, UVA 7

A pair of NCAA champions -- Ed Ruth and Keith Gavin -- will wrestle this Saturday, Nov. 29 live on Flowrestling.com. The two, which previously battled for the 86-kilo U.S. World Team spot, will headline Flowrestling's second Flo Premier League event: FPL 2. Saturday's headline match up will mark the fourth time Ruth and Gavin have competed against each other (Gavin won the first meeting; Ruth won the following two). This time, the wrestlers will match up at 190 pounds. Serving as the co-main event is a 165-pound match up featuring UFC stars Gray Maynard and Dennis Bermudez. Maynard was originally slated to battle Penn State NCAA champion Frank Molinaro, unfortunately Molinaro pulled out of the match just last week, which opened the door for Dennis "The Menace," a former Division I college wrestler at Bloomsburg who is currently the No. 7-ranked featherweight in the world by Sherdog. Both matches, Ruth vs Gavin IV & Maynard vs Bermudez, will be wrestled in Troy, New York at the Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals and will operate under the newly established 'Tirapelle Rules,' a hybrid form of wrestling featuring freestyle and folkstyle scoring. FPL 2 will take place at approximately 1:30 p.m. ET. To watch the event live on Flowrestling, you must be a FloPRO subscriber. Click here to sign up for FloPRO and watch Ruth vs Gavin IV & Maynard vs Bermudez this Saturday, November 29th on Flowrestling. For more information on this and other Flo Premier League match ups, follow our Flo Premier League Facebook and Twitter pages as well as our up-to-date posting on Flowrestling.com and associated social media channels.

CHICAGO -- With the Big Ten seeking its ninth-straight national championship, BTN's 2014-15 wrestling coverage, presented by returning sponsor Cliff Keen Athletic, will be the most extensive in network history. "With Big Ten programs consistently among the nation's best, fans will see a lot of high-quality wrestling on BTN," said BTN President Mark Silverman. "Each week will feature an extremely competitive matchup." The television schedule includes a dual between Penn State and Iowa, winners of the past seven national titles; the Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern; the semifinals and finals of the Cliff Keen National Duals at Iowa; and live coverage of the entire Big Ten Wrestling Championships in Columbus, OH. The championships' final session will be televised live at 3 PM ET on Sunday, March 8. Additionally, a record 51 events will be streamed live on BTN Plus. A large number of those streamed events will also be televised on delay as part of BTN's Student U initiative. According to InterMat's rankings, the Big Ten has the three top squads in the country with No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Iowa. Also projected as top-10 teams are No. 5 Penn State, No. 8 Illinois and No. 9 Nebraska. The Nittany Lions have won four consecutive Big Ten and National titles. 2014-15 Big Ten Wrestling on BTN and BTN Plus (all times ET) Sunday, November 30 Lehigh at Northwestern 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Saturday, December 6 Cal Poly at Northwestern 12:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Saturday, December 6 Drexel at Northwestern 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Saturday, December 6 Davidson at Northwestern 4:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Saturday, December 6 Princeton at Northwestern 6:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Thursday, December 11 Penn State at Maryland 6:00 PM (Live on BTN) Thursday, December 11 Indiana at Wisconsin 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Saturday, December 13 SIUE at Indiana 10:00 AM (Live on BTN Plus) Saturday, December 13 Manchester at Indiana 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Thursday, December 18 Northwestern at Minnesota 8:00 PM (Live on BTN) Friday, December 19 Virginia Tech at Penn State 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Monday, December 29 Midlands Championship at Northwestern All Day (Live on BTN Plus) Tuesday, December 30 Midlands Championship 8:00 PM (Live on BTN) Friday, January 2 Iowa at Rutgers 8:00 PM (Live on BTN) Sunday, January 4 Iowa at Ohio State 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 9 Wisconsin at Northwestern 8:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 9 Michigan at Minnesota 9:00 PM (Live on BTN) Sunday, January 11 Penn State at Ohio State 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, January 11 Minnesota at Rutgers TBA (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 16 Ohio State at Michigan State 7:00 PM (Live on BTN) Friday, January 16 Northwestern at Purdue 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 16 Penn State at Rutgers 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 16 Illinois at Iowa TBA (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, January 18 Ohio State at Michigan 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, January 18 Northwestern at Indiana 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, January 18 Illinois at Minnesota 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 23 Wisconsin at Michigan 7:00 PM (Live on BTN) Friday, January 23 Nebraska at Illinois 8:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 23 Northwestern at Iowa 8:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, January 25 Rutgers at Nebraska 1:00 PM (Live on BTN) Sunday, January 25 Michigan at Indiana 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, January 25 Illinois at Northwestern 3:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 30 Penn State at Michigan 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 30 Iowa at Minnesota 7:00 PM (Live on BTN) Friday, January 30 Purdue at Ohio State 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 30 Nebraska at Northwestern 8:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, January 30 Maryland at Illinois TBA (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, February 1 Illinois at Purdue 2:00 PM (Live on BTN) Friday, February 6 Minnesota at Ohio State 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, February 6 Iowa at Maryland 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, February 6 Nebraska at Michigan 8:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, February 6 Rutgers at Wisconsin 8:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, February 8 Iowa at Penn State 1:00 PM (Live on BTN) Sunday, February 8 Minnesota at Maryland 1:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, February 8 Wisconsin at Illinois 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, February 8 Nebraska at Michigan State 3:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, February 8 Rutgers at Northwestern 6:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, February 13 Michigan State at Indiana 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, February 13 Michigan at Iowa 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, February 13 Stanford at Nebraska 8:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, February 13 Maryland at Northwestern 8:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, February 15 Michigan State at Purdue 1:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Friday, February 20 Duke at Michigan State 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Saturday, February 21 Cliff Keen National Duals - Semifinals at Iowa 4:00 PM (Live on BTN) Saturday, February 21 Duke at Michigan 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Saturday, February 21 Central Michigan at Michigan State 7:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, February 22 Cliff Keen National Duals - Finals at Iowa 12:30 PM (Live on BTN) Sunday, February 22 Rider at Penn State 2:00 PM (Live on BTN Plus) Saturday, March 7 B1G Championships TBA (Live on BTN Plus) Sunday, March 8 B1G Championships 3:00 PM (Live on BTN) All dates/times of scheduled events are subject to change. Please check www.BTN.com for most updated listings. About BTN: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, BTN is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 1,000 events across all platforms, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. BTN2Go is the digital extension of the Big Ten Network, delivering live games and on-demand programming to Big Ten Network customers via the web, smartphones, and tablets. Events include football, men’s and women’s basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Olympic sports and championship events; studio shows; and classic games. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation’s finest universities. The groundbreaking Student U initiative provides real-world experience for students interested in careers in sports television. The network is in more than 60 million homes across the United States and Canada, including carriage by all the major video distributors, such as DIRECTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Charter Communications, Comcast Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Cox Communications, Mediacom, RCN, WOW!, and approximately 300 additional video providers across North America. For additional information, go to www.BTN.com.

Seth McLeod signed with Boise StateSeth McLeod (Post Falls, Idaho), ranked No. 79 in the Class of 2015, signed with Boise State University. The three-time state finalist, 2013 state champion, is ranked No. 7 to start the 2014-15 season at 182 pounds. Projected as a 174/184 in college, McLeod also placed fourth in Junior Greco-Roman this summer at 182 pounds. Jonathan Viruet (Springfield Central, Mass.), ranked No. 88 in the Class of 2015, committed to Brown University. A New England regional champion this past year, he starts the season ranked No. 12 at 170 pounds. Projected as a 157/165 in college, Viruet also is a two-time All-American in Junior Greco-Roman and was a NHSCA Junior Nationals champion this spring. Ben Darmstadt (Elyria, Ohio), ranked No. 15 at 182 pounds to start the season, committed to Cornell as part of the 2016 recruiting class. He finished as a state runner-up last season, was third in Cadet freestyle this summer, and placed fourth in the Super 32 Challenge earlier this month. Darmstadt projects as a 197 in college.