InterMat Staff

ADA, Ohio. -- A pin by Kevin Birmingham and a pair of major decisions by Anthony Elias and Nick Pappayliou propelled the Davidson wrestling team to a 23-17 win over Ohio Northern at the Sports Center Fieldhouse in Ada, Ohio, Wednesday afternoon. The win marks the first ever for the Wildcats (3-4) over the Polar Bears (4-3), who took a 20-18 decision at Belk Arena in Davidson last season. The 'Cats picked up 10 early points as Jordan Wang won by forfeit at 125-pounds and Elias earned a 10-1 major decision over Cole Cochran at 133-pounds. A 6-1 decision by Cody Harting over James McCord at 141-pounds got the Polar Bears on the board with the 'Cats still leading 10-3. Birmingham (141) won by fall over ONU's Steven Feucht in 47 seconds to pick up his team-leading seventh pin of the season, pushing the Davidson lead to 16-3. Pappayliou (157) tacked on four more points with a 14-2 major decision over Kyle Brezovec as the Wildcats' advantage increased to 17 at 20-3. The Polar Bears struck back with two in a row, as Colt Lovejoy earned a 5-0 decision over Patrick Devlin at 165-pounds and Tyler Gargano won a 10-6 decision over Nathaniel Powers at 174-pounds to allow ONU cut into the deficit by six points. Scott Patrick got the Wildcats back on track, picking up a 2-0 decision over David Woolley at 184-pounds to remain undefeated in dual match action and keep the 'Cats ahead 23-9. The Polar Bears took 197, with Michael Pawlitz earning a 15-1 major decision over Michael Moore and claimed four more points at the heavyweight division with Cody Lovejoy taking an 11-1 major decision from Ed Isola. However, it wasn't enough for ONU to make the comeback as the 'Cats took the match 23-17. Davidson will travel to Pittsburgh, Pa., this weekend to take part in the Pitt Duals at the Fitzgerald Field House on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. The Wildcats will face Clarion, Seton Hill and Pittsburgh starting at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. Results: 125 – Jordan Wang (DAV) by forfeit 133 - Anthony Elias (DAV) major dec. Cole Cochran (ONU), 10-1 141 - Cody Harting (ONU) dec. James McCord (DAV), 6-1 149 – Kevin Birmingham (DAV) pinned Steven Feucht (ONU), 0:47 157 – Nick Pappayliou (DAV) major dec. Kyle Brezovec (ONU), 14-2 165 – Colt Lovejoy (ONU) dec. Patrick Devlin (DAV), 5-0 174 – Tyler Gargano (ONU) dec. Nathaniel Powers (DAV), 10-6 184 - Scott Patrick (DAV) dec. David Woolley (ONU), 2-0 197 – Michael Pawlitz (ONU) major dec. Michael Moore (DAV), 15-1 HWT – Cody Lovejoy (ONU) major dec. Ed Isola (DAV), 11-1

Jason Renteria of OPRF is currently ranked No. 6 at 106 (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Detroit Catholic Central will host its annual Super Duals on Saturday in Novi, Mich. Twelve teams, including the host Shamrocks, will compete over five rounds of wrestling. Each squad will wrestle four dual meets against formidable opposition. Teams from Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois make up the field, which features six members of the InterMat Fab 50. Teams Fab 50 Teams: No. 3 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. Ranked No. 1 in Illinois Class 3A No. 11 Montini Catholic, Ill. Ranked No. 1 in Illinois Class 2A No. 20 Detroit Catholic Central, Mich. Ranked No. 2 in Michigan Division 1 No. 23 Brecksville, Ohio Ranked No. 3 in Ohio Division I No. 26 Davison, Mich. Ranked No. 1 in Michigan Division 1 No. 38 St. Johns, Mich. Ranked No. 2 in Michigan Division 2 Other Teams: Dundee, Mich. Ranked No. 2 in Michigan Division 3 Hudson, Mich. Ranked No. 1 in Michigan Division 4 Bedford, Mich. Ranked No. 4 in Michigan Division 1 Clarkston, Mich. Ranked No. 10 in Michigan Division 1 Rochester, Mich. Advanced to the Division 1 team state semifinals in Michigan last year Solon, Ohio Finished sixth in the individual Division I state tournament in Ohio last year Wrestlers The talent from an individual standpoint is also sensational, with 16 wrestlers in this field appearing in the Jan. 8 edition of the InterMat national weight class rankings. Another measure of the talent present is that over 20 wrestlers appeared in their respective state championship finals bout last season. Below is a weight-by-weight listing of the key wrestlers present in the field. 106: No. 6 Jason Renteria (OPRF), Jimmy Pawleski (Montini), Jarod Bronstrup (Brecksville), Tyler Rogaliner (Bedford) 113: Dylan Duncan (Montini), Alex Madrigal (OPRF), Ian Parker (St. Johns), Max Johnson (Davison), Robby Hamdan (Hudson), Daniel Clement (Solon), Ken Reinhart (Dundee) 120: No. 11 Austin Assad (Brecksville), Gabe Townsell (OPRF), Kegan Calkins (Montini), Zach Blevins (Dundee), Jacob Madrigal (Davison) 126: Lincoln Olson (Davison), Isaac Dusseau (Hudson), Evan Toth (Detroit CC), Justin Demicco (Brecksville), Tyler Dukart (Rochester), Cameron Wilkie (Clarkston) 132: Brendan O’Connor (Dundee), Austin Hiles (Brecksville), Derek Humphrey (Davison), Jake Helminski (Bedford), Chris Wymer (Solon) 138: No. 3 Zac Hall (St. Johns), No. 8 Isaiah White (OPRF), No. 15 Cole Weaver (Hudson), No. 16 Justin Oliver/Matthew Miller (Davison), Vincent Turk (Montini), Myles Amine (Detroit CC), Brad Scholl (Dundee), Sonny Lucas (Brecksville) 145: No. 16 Larry Early (OPRF), Chris Garcia (Montini), Malik Amine (Detroit CC), Doug Rojem (Dundee), Mark Bozzo (St. Johns), Dominic Russ (Davison), J.D. Waters (Hudson) 152: No. 4 Logan Massa (St. Johns), No. 12 Nick Bennett (Detroit CC), Matt Rundell (OPRF), Luke Fortuna (Montini), Grayson Davis (Brecksville), Brennan McRill (Davison) 160: No. 14 Xavier Montalvo (Montini), Kamal Bey (OPRF), Austin Strnad (Brecksville), Thomas Garty (Davison), Drew Wixson (St. Johns), Tyler Moreland (Detroit CC), Kyle Johnson (Hudson) 170: No. 9 Davonte Mahomes (OPRF), No. 12 Andrew Garcia (Detroit CC), Tye Thompson (Dundee), Shane Shadaia (Rochester), Troy Lang (Brecksville) 182: No. 12 Angus Arthur (St. Johns), No. 14 Jordan Cooks (Davison), No. 16 Logan Marcicki (Detroit CC) 195: Andre Lee (OPRF), Shwan Shadaia (Rochester), Josh Murphy (Brecksville), Tyler Wildmo (St. Johns), Anthony Ferraro (Montini), Nick Giese (Detroit CC) 220: Edgar Ruano (Montini), Jimmy Russell (Detroit CC), Emonte Logan (OPRF), Jake Morgan (Hudson) 285: No. 9 Michael Johnson, Jr. (Montini), Adam Lemke-Bell (OPRF), Adam Ortman (Hudson), Cameron Daniels (Rochester) Schedule Wrestling will begin at 10 a.m. ET. There will be three mats in the main gymnasium with two mats in the auxiliary gym right down the hallway. 10 a.m. (main gym) OPRF vs. Montini, Detroit CC vs. Brecksville, St. Johns vs. Hudson (auxiliary) Dundee vs. Clarkston, Solon vs. Bedford 12:15 p.m. (main gym) Montini vs. Davison, Detroit CC vs. OPRF, Brecksville vs. St. Johns (auxiliary) Bedford vs. Rochester, Solon vs. Hudson 2:30 p.m. (main gym) Montini vs. Brecksville, OPRF vs. St. Johns, Davison vs. Dundee (auxiliary) Clarkston vs. Bedford, Solon vs. Rochester 4:45 p.m. (main gym) OPRF vs. Davison, Detroit CC vs. Montini, Brecksville vs. Dundee (auxiliary) Hudson vs. Rochester, Solon vs. Clarkston 7:p.m. (main gym) Davison vs. Bedford, Detroit CC vs. Hudson, Dundee vs. Rochester (auxiliary) St. Johns vs. Clarkston Live results will be available here.

Randy Rager is in his ninth season as head wrestling coach at Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC). InterMat recently caught up with Rager. RCTC is ranked No. 11 in the NJCAA team rankings. What is this year's team capable of accomplishing? Rager: This year I have a pretty good group. I have a really good national tournament team. We have guys not ranked that could very easily be in the top five at the national tournament, and that should help move us up in the rankings. There was talk about them bringing back the (NJCAA) Division III national championship. We're currently just one group for the NJCAA. It used to be that we were two different groups, but competing at the same national championship. So if they bring back Division III, I think we could win that. As far as the whole thing, I would like to be in the top five. That's kind of the goal. I think that's something we can do. Randy Rager (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)In January you're competing at the National Duals for the first time. How much are you looking forward to that opportunity? Rager: I think it's going to be a great opportunity for these guys to be in that type of setting and that type of venue. As far as our dual meet team, I think we could be a spoiler team. Down low we're really good. If we get some momentum going there's no reason we shouldn't be able to carry it through the dual meet. If they do the seeding by the rankings, I think there will be a top team that gets knocked off. I think we're good enough that we can be a spoiler. Joe Munos, a three-time state champion, transferred to your program from a Division I wrestling program, Ohio University, and will be eligible this semester. What does he bring to your program? Rager: Joe is a great guy. He's a little bit older, so that helps out. He's a great practice partner for our lighter weights, and they're making each other better. Has Munos expressed interest in getting back to the Division I level? Rager: He's definitely talked about moving on from here and continuing to wrestle. At the Division I level? He's talked about it, but I think he's more interested in a Division II or Division III type of school. I don't know if it was the grind at the Division I level or what it was. Joe is a very, very smart kid. But does he have the ambition to do the grades? Not always. So when you combine that with a Division I type atmosphere, I don't know if that's what he's looking for. Dakota Trom (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)You also have another three-time state champion in Dakota Trom of Apple Valley on your roster. He has battled some injuries. What's his status with the program? Rager: Dakota will be ready to go at National Duals. That's been kind of the goal we've talked about. Getting his weight down hasn't been a problem. We're just going to kind of pick and choose when we're going to use him. But Nationals Duals will probably the first time we see him on the mat wearing an RCTC singlet. Garrett Miller was an All-American for you last season at 174 pounds, but hasn't been competing lately. What's his status? Rager: He had broken some cartilage in his wrist, so he's been out for a while. The last time he competed was at the Auggie Open. He's just a tough kid. He still goes home and does chores at the farm. He's going to wrestle at National Duals. Right now he's in a cast, but he has told me over and over that he's just going to put tape on it and wrestle. He doesn't care. He is supposed to be getting that cast off and he'll be ready to go. Rochester hosts some top high school wrestling events, including The Clash, Minnesota Christmas Tournament, JJ Classic. How much does that benefit your program? Rager: It helps out quite a bit. It gets athletes on our campus. It gets them into our athletic facility. A lot of kids I talk to don't even realize that it's a college they are wrestling at when they're there. It has definitely been a benefit for us. It has helped us make connections with kids that are from outside the state of Minnesota. You have a handful of kids not from Minnesota on your roster. Do you recruit much outside the state? Or do those kids seek out the program? Rager: Usually it's that they seek us out. A lot of it is just the connections I've made through the years. Coaches will contact me and say, 'I've got a kid who will fit in your program. I know you'll take care of him.' We have a kid named Label Lewis from South Carolina, who is down at 133 pounds. He was a two-time state champion and the OW in the big class. He's a great kid. Last year I had a kid out of Texas that was really good. RCTC head wrestling coach Randy Rager receiving the Academic Award, given to the team with the highest GPALast season your team won the Academic Award for having the highest team GPA among all NJCAA wrestling programs. How much pride do you take in getting that award? Rager: We take a lot of pride in that. That's one of our goals. I've said it over and over to people, but there are three things we tell the kids to focus. Number one: become a better person. Number two: become a better student. Number three: become a better wrestler. We focus on the academics because if you can't pass the classes you're not eligible anyway. If you're not working on the academics you're not going to have a good team. As a competitor, you're the all-time winningest Division II wrestler. What does that record mean to you? Rager: Not a whole lot. For me it was about durability more than anything. I always wrestled. If I was sick I wrestled. If I had a bum knee I wrestled. These days sometimes kids have a sniffle and want to sit out of practice. But the record doesn't mean a whole lot to me. When you look back on your own competitive wrestling career, do you have any regrets? Rager: Oh yeah. For sure. There's always that extra you could have done to make yourself better. You think about matches ... and they're usually the ones you lost that keep you up at night. There are always things you could have done. But it doesn't do a whole lot of good to dwell on them. You just try to pass on what you learned to the guys you're coaching. You served as an assistant coach at St. Cloud State, a Division II program, prior to taking over at RCTC. How does recruiting differ from Division II to NJCAA? Rager: Well, in the NJCAA I'm everything. Sports information director ... that's me. Head wrestling coach ... that's me. Head recruiter ... that's me. I'm a full-time instructor as well. While I was at St. Cloud State I was a grad assistant. But when I was there I was specifically coaching wrestling and recruiting. That's it. At the NJCAA level it's a lot more responsibility ... and I'm not saying that at the Division II level it's not a lot of responsibility. It's just that I think there are more resources and help at the Division II level than at the NJCAA level. Throughout the years several NCAA Division I wrestling champions and All-Americans have come from the NJCAA. Names like T.J. Williams, Tony Davis, and Brock Lesnar immediately come to mind. Also, current UFC champions Chris Weidman, Jon Jones, and Cain Velasquez wrestled at the NJCAA level. What does that say about the talent at the NJCAA level? Rager: A lot of people don't realize what we have going on at our level. Some people think it's actually a lesser division of wrestling ... almost like it's high school. Like I tell recruits, we all wrestle at the same tournaments. We go to the Auggie Open. We go to the St. Cloud State Open. We go down to Luther and see some Division I teams. Wrestling is wrestling. At our level you might have a Division I type kid who is working on their academics or their clearinghouse to get to that next level. Some years it's very, very talented ... and some years it's not as talented. It's kind of up and down. This story also appears in the Jan. 3 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.

Walnut Ridge, Ark. -- Williams Baptist College announced in August it was adding a wrestling program to its collegiate competitive athletic teams. On Monday, Jan. 6, WBC announced the squad's first coach in the person of Kerry Regner. "We are excited to start our tenth varsity sport at the college, and we are very excited about having Kerry Regner lead and build our program. He is very knowledgeable and comes with a great work ethic. He also brings an energy level that will breed success, and he is a perfect fit for this campus on and off the court," said WBC Director of Athletics Jeff Rider. A national search landed Regner, who comes to Williams from Clarion University in Clarion, Pa. The coach was serving as a graduate assisting for the NCAA school. "For a really long time I wanted to be a coach. It has been a long journey and a dream come true. I cannot wait to start and build this program. I was drawn to Williams because they have shown a strong commitment to wrestling," said Regner. He has coaching experience on the community, high school and collegiate level. Through his experience, he has always held onto his faith and values. "I have had great mentors, and I grew up in a Christian home with Christian parents. My parents have taught me about honoring Christ through my athletics. Williams is a faith-based institution, which was a big deal for me when I accepted this position, not only being able to coach kids on wrestling but being able to help them in their walk with Christ will allow me to have a positive impact on their lives," he added. Regner has worked with high profile coaches and mentors throughout his career. "Ivan Ivanov is my mentor and one of the greatest wrestling influences on my life. He taught me discipline, structure and learning how to deal with wrestlers to help them succeed, while Jim Gruenwald was a spiritual mentor in my life," said Regner. The new Williams coach concluded, "My wife Sarah has had a huge impact on my life by supporting me and always being there for me." Williams is a four-year, liberal arts college at Walnut Ridge. The Eagles compete in the American Midwest Conference of the NAIA. Those who are interested in the WBC wrestling program can get more information online at www.wbceagles.com.

Millersville, Pa. -- The Millersville wrestling team ran its record to 2-0 on the season with a 22-14 victory over visiting Seton Hill Tuesday evening. Millersville's win was also the second in as many PSAC matches, keeping the club in first place early in the season. The Marauders rallied with four consecutive wins from 165 pounds to 197 pounds, and freshman 197-pounder Aram Moffitt's major decision clinched the victory. Four of the six Marauder wins came by decision. Austin Camacci accepted a forfeit at 125 pounds, and that started the Marauders' with a 6-0 lead. At 141 pounds, David Charles kept the Marauders in front with a narrow 6-4 decision. Seton Hill won the next two bouts--one by decision and one by major decision--to take a 10-9 lead into the 165-pound match. Senior Zach Pincus and Brett Smith were deadlocked at 1-1 until the waning seconds of the third period when Pincus scored a takedown. Smith escaped, but there was not enough time left for another shot. Pincus held on for the 3-2 decision. Mitchell Ball picked up his second collegiate victory at 174 pounds, racing to an early lead with a couple early takedowns. He finished Chrisian Bosco by an 8-2 score. Redshirt sophomore Shane Gilmore made his season debut at 184 pounds with a 6-2 decision. Moffitt boosted his team-leading win total to 11 with a convincing 13-0 win over Tyler Dombrowski. Moffitt hit an early takedown and recorded a pair of nearfalls in the match. The win was Millersville's first over Seton Hill since 1997. The Marauders have not started 2-0 since 2008-09. Millersville faces a pair of PSAC opponents on Friday at Mercyhurst. The Marauders face Gannon at 5:30 p.m. and wrestle Mercyhurst immediately after. Results: 125 Austin Camacci (Millersville) won by forfeit 133 Andrew Schutz (Seton Hill) won by decision over Kyle Loeb (Millersville) 4-0 141 David Charles (Millersville) won by decision over AJ Fisher (Seton Hill) 6-4 149 Kevin Laubach (Seton Hill) won by decision over Shane Miller (Millersville) 11-6 157 Zach Voytek (Seton Hill) won by major decision over Zac Wawrzyniak-Bush (Millersville) 14-3 165 Zach Pincus (Millersville) won by decision over Brett Smith (Seton Hill) 3-2. 174 Mitchell Ball (Millersville) won by decision over Christian Bosco (Seton Hill) 8-2 184 Shane Gilmore (Millersville) won by decision over Tyler Mohlhenrich (Seton Hill) 6-2 197 Aram Moffitt (Millersville) won by major decision over Tyler Dombrowski (Seton Hill) 13-0 285 Ryan Simonica (Seton Hill) won by major decision over Kyle Wolfe (Millersville) 11-3

The first weekend for wrestling competition in 2014 was a huge one with a mixture of dual meets and tournaments that shook up the national landscape. However, one thing remained constant, and that was the status of Blair Academy, N.J. as the nation's best team. Friday night in Ohio's Stark County, the Buccaneers shutout Massillon Jackson 76-0 before a decisive 37-15 victory No. 8 Massillon Perry in which they won 11 of 14 weight classes. Then, on Saturday night at No. 5 St. Paris Graham, it was more of the same in a 38-20 victory over the host Falcons, as Blair Academy won nine matches. Links: Recap | Results NHSCA Final Four Wrestling Festival This coming Saturday, the top ranked Buccaneers travel to the York (Pa.) Expo Center for the NHSCA Final Four Wrestling Festival. Should things go to plan, come 4:40 p.m. ET, No. 1 Blair Academy would face No. 7 Wyoming Seminary, Pa., in the championship bout. In preliminary competition, the top-ranked Buccaneers will have matches against Tukhannock and Bishop McDevitt; while the seventh-ranked Blue Knights have matches against Benton, Pennsbury, and East Stroudsburg South. Presuming each squad goes undefeated in the preliminary rounds, they would have a bye into the semifinal round, which is slated for a 3 p.m. start. In all probability, Blair Academy is looking at a semifinal against either DePaul Catholic (N.J.) or John Carroll (Md.), while Wyoming Seminary would likely meet either Spring Grove or Pen Argyl. Link: Pools and Bracket Projected matchups for the Blair Academy vs. Wyoming Seminary dual: 106: Zach Sherman (B) vs. John Busiello/Will Moss (WS) 113: Requir van der Merwe (B) vs. Trent Olson/TBD (WS) 120: No. 17 Chaz Tucker (B) vs. Jimmy Overheiser (WS) 126: No. 8 Matthew Kolodzik (B) vs. Danny Boychuck (WS) 132: Jordan Kutler (B) vs. Will Crisco (WS) 138: No. 1 Joey McKenna (B) vs. Will Verallis (WS) 145: Walker Dempsey (B) vs. Tyler Ponte (WS) 152: No. 8 Mason Manville (B) vs. No. 10 Nick Reenan (WS) 160: No. 3 Dylan Milonas/Michael Monica (B) vs. No. 20 Chris Weiler (WS) 170: No. 16 Brandon Dallavia (B) vs. Ryan McMullan (WS) 182: Nicholas DiNapoli (B) vs. Greg Kleinsmith/Sal Diaz (WS) 195: David Showunmi (B) vs. Michael Rogers (WS) 220: Neil Putnam (B) vs. Matthew Doggett (WS) 285: Will Cooley (B) vs. Jake Scanlan (WS) Catch up on the Cheesehead Invitational While on Sunday up in Green Bay, the Packers and 49ers froze their behinds off in a NFL playoff game at Lambeau Field, some of the nation's more formidable high school wrestlers and teams battled it out in nearby Kaukauna on Friday and Saturday. After two days of competition, No. 11 Montini Catholic (Ill.) stood on top of the 26-team field with its second Cheesehead Invitational title in the 16-year history of the event. The Broncos were anchored by five finalists -- including weight class titles won by Vincent Turk (138) and No. 9 Michael Johnson, Jr. (285) -- and another five wrestlers who finished between third and sixth on the way to a 554.5 point finish. Runner-up finishes came from Chris Garcia (145), Xavier Montalvo (160), and Edgar Ruano (220). The next two teams in the standings, Kaukauna (Wis.) and Lockport (Ill.), were previously not ranked in the InterMat Fab 50 and will now move into the rankings at No. 34 and No. 50 respectively. The host Kaukauna squad was led by weight class champion Robert Lee (132), seven other wrestlers who placed in the top eight, and three other wrestlers who finished in ninth -- meaning that they were “champions” of the second-tier bracket. The most notable other contributors in their 521 team point effort were third place finishers Ty Lee (106) and Bailey VanHandel (138). Third place Lockport scored 492 points, and were led by a pair of weight class champions in Brian Rossi (113), who is now No. 11 nationally after beating No. 15 Anthony Bosco (Marmion Academy, Ill.) by 4-3 decision in the tiebreaker in his debut at the weight class; and No. 12 Tyler Johnson (195). The Porters also had six other wrestlers place between third and seventh. Defending tournament champions Southeast Polk (Iowa), which is ranked No. 25 nationally, finished a very narrow fourth place with 491.5 points despite the absence of returning state placer Keegan Shaw (132). The Rams were led by five wrestlers in the top three places, and four others within the top nine (one seventh, two eighth, and one ninth). Weight class champions were Nolan Hellickson (113) and Ethan Andersen (220), runner-up finishes came from Aaron Meyer (138) and Jake Marnin (285), while Briar Dittmer (145) placed third. Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa), ranked No. 39 nationally, finished fifth with 442 points. The Go-Hawks were led by weight class champion Bryce Steiert (145), two runners-up, and a single wrestler each in third and fourth. No. 29 in the nation Marmion Academy (Ill.) finished seventh in the standings with 392.5 points despite having a pair of wrestlers each finish first, No. 13 Johnny Jimenez (126) and Nathan Traxler (182); second, No. 15 Anthony Bosco (113) and Trace Carello (152), and third. The Cadets were without two key starters who placed the prior week at the Dvorak. Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 8 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita, Ill.) at 106 pounds, No. 1 Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) at 152, No. 12 Gable Frandsen (Ellsworth, Wis.) at 160, and No. 10 Beau Breske (Hartford Union, Wis.) at 170. Of note among those titles was the run by the previously unranked Frandsen, who beat a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers -- No. 17 Spencer Derifield (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa) and No. 13 Xavier Montalvo (Montini Catholic, Ill.) -- on the way to his title. Link: Brackets and Results Nation's oldest high school wrestling tournament: Geary Invitational turns 70 Twenty-four teams, including four members of the InterMat Fab 50 will assemble in Geary, Okla. for the nation's oldest high school wrestling tournament this Friday and Saturday. Competition will be held in two sessions on each day, 11:30 a.m./ 6 p.m. CTl on Friday, and 10 a.m./6 p.m. on Saturday. The tournament, as tradition holds, is totally unseeded and has challenge matches for true second -- if applicable -- after the championship finals. Team points are also only awarded for placement and bonus accruals. Teams to watch in the field include No. 12 Edmond North, No. 15 Broken Arrow, No. 30 Tuttle, No. 46 Lawton McArthur, Collinsville, and Tulsa Union. The following nationally ranked individuals appear in the field: 106: No. 13 Paxton Rosen (Edmond North) 113: No. 8 Christian Moody (Collinsville) 120: No. 12 Markus Simmons (Broken Arrow) 126: No. 17 Davion Jeffries (Broken Arrow) 132: No. 13 Jacob Rubio (Canyon Randall, Texas) 138: No. 10 Gary Wayne Harding (Collinsville) 145: No. 17 Tanner Bailey (Broken Arrow) 170: No. 13 Lance Dixon (Edmond North) 182: No. 11 Joel Dixon (Edmond North) 195: No. 4 Derek White (Edmond North) 220: No. 12 Andrew Dixon (Edmond North) Clovis makes a big statement at home in the Doc Buchanan Invitational For anyone who had doubts about the caliber of squad for No. 4 Clovis, Calif., this year, those should be eliminated once and for all after their total domination of the Doc Buchanan Invitational this past weekend. Rated as the best tournament in the western third of the country, some view it as almost a de facto California state tournament. While I wouldn't go that far, the field was formidable. The host Cougars scored 239.5 points to win by almost 90 points. They were led by a trio of weight class champions: No. 11 Justin Mejia (106), Matt Weiss (220), and No. 1 Nick Nevills (285). Eight additional Clovis wrestlers earned a spot on the placement podium: Khristian Olivas (132) was second, Dominic Kincaid (152) and Josh Hokit (160) were third, Julian Gaytan (120) was fifth, Isaiah Hokit (138) and Adam Prentice (195) were sixth, Tristian Gilliland (113) was seventh, while A.J. Nevills (182) took eighth. After a runner-up finish in the event, Buchanan moved up 12 spots in the Fab 50 to No. 33 nationally. The neighboring Bears placed seven wrestlers, which were led by the weight class title won by Durbin Lloren (120), who upset defending state champion Israel Saavedra (Modesto) 11-6 in the final; as a result, Saavedra dropped eight spots in the rankings to No. 14 in the country. Despite the absence of their best wrestler, No. 13 Ralphy Tovar (145), No. 31 Poway finished in third place with 128 points. The Titans placed seven wrestlers of their own, led by a third place finish from Segio Enloe (138). The other two Fab 50 teams in the field -- No. 35 Clovis West and No. 40 Pleasant Grove, Utah -- occupied the next two spots in the standings. Clovis West placed six wrestlers -- including a trio of runners-up in No. 11 Michael Knoblauch (126), Chris Garcia (145), and Tyler Zimmer (152) -- on the way to 122 points, while Pleasant Grove placed five wrestlers -- led by a pair of third place finishes from Nelson Jones (106) and Zach Dawe (285) -- on the way to 100.5 points. Two weight class finals featured a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers. At 126 pounds, No. 9 Mason Pengilly (Porterville) upended No. 11 Michael Knoblauch (Clovis West) 3-2; while at 182 pounds, Nick Fiegner (Folsom) defeated Corey Griego (Sultana) 4-2, as a result Fiegner moved up three spots to No. 6 while Griego dropped one spot to No. 7. Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 20 Adrian Camposano (Central) at 113 pounds, No. 1 Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco) at 132, Uzo Uwoama (Bloomington) at 138, No. 8 Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy) at 145, No. 15 Paul Fox (Gilroy) at 152, Bryan Salinas (Northview) at 160, No. 2 Anthony Valencia (St. John Bosco) at 170, and Cody Vigoren (Lake Stevens, Wash.) at 195. Link: Brackets and Results Virginia Duals -- National H.S. Division This year marks the 20th edition of the National High School Division as a part of the Virginia Duals, an event which started with the National College Division in 1981. This event serves as the innovator for the team advancement concept within the dual meet structure. Come Friday and Saturday at the Hampton Coliseum, there will be three divisions on college competition and two divisions of high school competition. The defending champion in the National H.S. Division is South Plainfield (N.J.). The Tigers are seeded fourth after suffering massive graduation losses from last year's squad, which was anchored by four-time undefeated New Jersey state champion Anthony Ashnault among others. McDonogh (Md.), which was runner-up in last year's event and is ranked No. 32 in the nation, enters the tournament as the second seed. This year's top seed is No. 14 Nazareth (Pa.), a three-time champion of this event most recently winning the tournament in 2007. The Blue Eagles will open competition on Friday with Gloucsester (Va.) at 9 a.m. ET, and are most likely positioned to wrestle in a 1 p.m. quarterfinal against either Timber Creek (N.J.) or St. Anthony's (N.Y.). Two wins would put them into Saturday's semifinal round at 2:00 p.m. The defending champion Tigers would be who the Blue Eagles should see by seed; however, No. 5 seed Colonial Forge (Va.) could upend South Plainfield on Friday afternoon. McDonogh anchors the lower half bracket, and is slated to face St. Christopher's (Va.) in the opening round at 11 a.m. The Eagles then likely will face either Lexington (S.C.) or Camden Catholic (N.J.) in a 3 p.m. quarterfinal. The two seeded teams in the other quarter of the lower half are No. 37 Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) and Arvada West (Colo.) Quick bits of look ahead An event-specific preview on the Detroit Catholic Central Super Duals to be held on Saturday in Novi, Mich. will be posted on Thursday. Six Fab 50 teams are among the twelve school field: No. 3 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 11 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 20 Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.), No. 23 Brecksville (Ohio), No. 26 Davison (Mich.), and No. 38 St. Johns (Mich.). Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. ET. On Thursday night, No. 12 Broken Arrow and No. 15 Edmond North are slated to wrestle each other as part of a triangular meet at Putnam City, Okla. On Sunday, No. 25 Southeast Polk will wrestle No. 27 Bettendorf in a dual meet at 10:30 a.m. Central Time at Hilton Coliseum prior to the Iowa State dual meet against Oklahoma. No. 21 St. Edward, Ohio will host No. 29 Marmion Academy, Ill., as part of a quadrangular meet that includes Toledo Central Catholic, Ohio and Marysville, Ohio. Wrestling starts at 11:00 a.m. Eastern in Lakewood. No. 6 Bergen Catholic and No. 19 St. Peter's Prep are among the teams slated to compete in the Garden State Duals this Saturday at Rutgers University. No. 35 Clovis West, Calif. will be among the over 130 teams slated to compete at the Eastern States Wrestling Classic at Sullivan Community College in New York State this coming Friday and Saturday. Wrestling starts at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday, with Saturday's competition slated for a 9:15 a.m. start with the quarterfinals and medal matches being conducted at approximately 4:15 p.m. Brief notes from the past weekend For a full recap of The Clash XII -- National High School Wrestling Duals, read this article. As a result of the tournament Apple Valley (Minn.) and Oak Park River Forest (Ill.) flipped positions between No. 2 and No. 3 nationally. With their championship at the Rollie Lane Tournament in Idaho, Crook County (Ore.) moves into the Fab 50 at No. 42. A runner-up finish in the event sees Kuna (Idaho) move up six spots to No. 44, while a third place finish causes Centennial (Idaho) to slide back four spots to No. 47. It was certainly a dramatic day in Lakewood, Ohio as No. 21 St. Edward, No. 28 Claymont, and Wadsworth split dual meets against one another. The host Eagles beat Wadsworth 39-15 (11 matches to 3) in round one, Wadsworth upset Claymont 31-29 (8 matches to 6) in round two, while Claymont upset St. Edward 31-29 despite winning only six weight classes in the final round. After placing eight wrestlers in the top three -- including four weight class champions -- in one of the tougher in-season tournaments in the state of Michigan, Lowell moved up six spots to No. 17 in the nation. Winning titles for the Red Arrows were Lucas Hall (112), Bailey Jack (130), Jordan Hall (135), and No. 13 at 220 Josh Colegrove (215). Runner-up finishes for Lowell came from Zeth Dean (119) and Garrett Stehley (189), while Kanon Dean (160) and Max Dean (171) finished third. After winning the Class 3A IHSWCA Team State Duals in Westfield, Ind. this past weekend Franklin moved into the Fab 50 as the No. 49 ranked team in the country. The Grizzly Cubs won their opening round bout 41-21 over Warren Central. They followed that up with a 27-26 victory in the semifinal round against perennial state champion Perry Meridian, which was ranked No. 30 headed into the event. The crucial bouts for Franklin in that dual meet came at 182 pounds where Mike Petrole won a 3-1 overtime decision against Nathan Warman, and the 4-3 decision from Quinn York in the penultimate bout at 285 pounds against Shane Corman to clinch the dual meet. Then, in the finals, the Grizzly Cubs upended Evansville Mater Dei 30-27 when returning state third placer D.J. Smith closed out the dual meet with a 15-4 major decision against Kyle Luigs at 113 pounds.

WATERLOO, Iowa -- The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum got wet again. It certainly wasn’t the magnitude of the flood damage from 2008, but the museum suffered water damage after a sprinkler pipe broke in the wall due to frigid temperatures that Iowa is experiencing. Water flowed out of the pipe for 15 minutes at an estimated speed of 500 gallons per minute. The fire department arrived around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 7 and shut off the water to the sprinkler system. "The Waterloo Fire Department, MaGee Construction, and Harris Cleaning Service have been fantastic," said Kyle Klingman, director of the Dan Gable Museum. "They helped us get ahead of the problem and we are grateful to them for that. Everyone has been gracious and cooperative through this process.” Nearly half of the main floor of the museum was soaked with water. Several walls, flooring and cabinets may have been damaged. No memorabilia was destroyed. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum is grateful for those who have called to offer support. The best way to support our restoration efforts is to consider a financial donation to the Dan Gable Museum Restoration Fund. Anyone interested in contributing to the museum can call (319) 233-0745 or visit our website at nwhof.org.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The North Dakota State University wrestling team earned victories in the final five weight classes to claim a 27-12 victory at CSU Bakersfield on Monday night. NDSU (4-3) trailed 12-6 through the first five matches of the dual, but the Bison outscored Bakersfield 21-0 over the final five matches to earn the easy 27-12 victory. NDSU redshirt freshman Hunter Weber opened the dual with a pin of Matt Correa at 125 pounds, but Bakersfield responded by winning decisions in each of the next four weight classes to take a 12-6 lead. No. 4-ranked Steven Monk swung things back in NDSU's favor with an 8-2 decision over David Meza at 165 pounds, and No. 16-ranked Hayden Zillmer followed up with his second straight technical fall at 174 pounds to give the Bison a 14-12 lead. NDSU junior Kurtis Julson won a 13-4 major decision over Sean Pollock at 184 pounds, and Tyler Lehmann sealed the dual victory for the Bison with his second consecutive fall at 197 pounds, this time pinning Reuben Franklin in just 44 seconds. Junior heavyweight Evan Knutson posted a 2-1 decision for the Bison to close out the dual. NDSU will return to action when it travels to Boise State for a dual on Friday, Jan. 17. Results: 125 - Hunter Weber (NDSU) won by pin over Matt Correa (CSU Bakersfield), 4:17. 133 - Jose Mendoza (CSU Bakersfield) won by decision over Justin LaValle (NDSU), 9-4. 141 - Ian Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) won by decision over Clay Cathey (NDSU), 7-4. 149 - Dalton Kelly (CSU Bakersfield) won by decision over Tyler Diamond (NDSU), 9-7 (SV1). 157 - Spencer Hill (CSU Bakersfield) won by decision over Nick Olejnik (NDSU), 3-1. 165 - Steven Monk (NDSU) won by decision over David Meza (CSU Bakersfield), 8-2. 174 - Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) won by tech fall over Jesus Ambriz (CSU Bakersfield), 6:21, 17-0. 184 - Kurtis Julson (NDSU) won by major decision over Sean Pollock (CSU Bakersfield), 13-4. 197 - Tyler Lehmann (NDSU) won by pin over Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield), 0:44. 285 - Evan Knutson (NDSU) won by decision over Sam Cervantes (CSU Bakersfield), 2-1.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team kicked off 2014 in commanding style, cruising to a 28-10 victory over future Big Ten Conference opponent Maryland on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 5) at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines won seven individual matches, earning bonus points in four. The dual started at heavyweight -- the scorecard's tightest matchup -- and freshman Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich./Fowlerville HS) secured his second win over seventh-ranked Spencer Myers in week with a 4-1 decision. After earning two escapes in the second, including one on injury time, Coon, ranked No. 3 in the latest InterMat poll, iced the match with a late single-leg takedown. He improved to 20-0 on the season. The Wolverines followed the marquee match with back-to-back wins at the lowerweights. Like Coon, sophomore/freshman Conor Youtsey (Parma, Mich./Mason HS) repeated his Midlands result against Billy Rappo at 125 pounds, rallying from an early deficit to win 6-2 on a first-period double leg, second-period reversal and third-period rideout. Sophomore Rossi Bruno (Brandon, Fla./Brandon HS) dominated Paul O'Neill at 133 pounds, scoring nine takedowns and a late three-point tilt in the third to earn a 22-7 technical fall -- the first of his collegiate career. Maryland put its first points on the board with a narrow decision at 141 pounds, but the Wolverines responded with four straight wins -- earning bonus in three -- to seal up the dual victory. Fifth-year senior Dan Yates (Hesperia, Mich./Hesperia HS), ranked eighth, pinned Josh Snook early in the 165-pound match, converting on a quick single leg before using a head scoop to stick the Terrapin wrestler at 1:21 mark. Fifth-year senior Eric Grajales (Brandon, Fla./Brandon HS) and senior/junior Collin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) also earned bonus points with major decisions at 149 and 174 pounds, respectively. Grajales, ranked 12th, cruised past Frank Goodwin, scoring on an early single leg and three-point turn in the first, two reversals in the second and another three-point bow and arrow in the third. He wrapped the match with 5:21 in riding-time advantage to cap a 13-2 victory. Zeerip boasted a similar five-point start against Tony Gardner before adding three takedowns, three more back points and 3:18 time advantage en route to a 17-3 major decision. Freshman Brian Murphy (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North HS) returned to the lineup at 157 pounds, where he used a late takedown to clinch a 3-1 decision against Ben Dorsay. With the score tied midway through the third period, Murphy, ranked 16th, shot in deep on a single leg and locked up a cradle on the edge to secure the winning takedown. Maryland challenged the takedown but were denied as Murphy claimed his first collegiate dual win. With Michigan's team win secure, the Terrapins narrowed the final score with victories from their top-10 upperweights in the final two bouts. Senior/junior Chris Heald (West Bloomfield, Mich./West Bloomfield HS) took 10th-ranked Christian Boley to overtime at 197 pounds before narrowly losing 3-1 on a high crotch midway through the extra frame. The Wolverines (4-2) will kick off Big Ten competition next Friday (Jan. 10), hosting Purdue at 7 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena. Results: Hwt -- #3 Adam Coon (U-M) dec. #7 Spencer Myers, 4-1 U-M, 3-0 125 -- Conor Youtsey (U-M) dec. Billy Rappo, 6-2 U-M, 6-0 133 -- Rossi Bruno (U-M) tech. fall Paul O'Neill, 22-7 (6:47) U-M, 11-0 141 -- Shyheim Brown (MD) dec. Angelo Latora, 7-6 U-M, 11-3 149 -- #12 Eric Grajales (U-M) major dec. Frank Goodwin, 13-2 U-M, 15-3 157 -- #16 Brian Murphy (U-M) dec. Ben Dorsay, 3-1 U-M, 18-3 165 -- #8 Dan Yates (U-M) pinned Josh Snook, 1:21 U-M, 24-3 174 -- Collin Zeerip (U-M) major dec. Tony Gardner, 17-3 U-M, 28-3 184 -- #2 Jimmy Sheptock (MD) major dec. Domenic Abounader, 10-2 U-M, 28-7 197 -- #10 Christian Boley (MD) dec. Chris Heald, 3-1 SV U-M, 28-10

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Back-to-back pins by freshman 141-pounder Tyson Dippery (Harrisburg, Pa.) and sophomore 149-pounder Ken Theobold (Toms River, N.J.) gave the Rutgers wrestling team (8-2, 5-0 EIWA) enough cushion to take down Harvard, 24-15, Sunday afternoon at the College Ave. Gym. “It’s a hard thing to do –score falls at this level,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “The forfeit certainly helped but [Dippery and Theobold] were big. When Tyson can score a lot of points, and that was out approach – you’re going to need some bonus points – and Kenny, he leads our team in falls right now so that wasn’t shocking. “It allowed us to build somewhat of lead because we know they were pretty through the middle. Then Phil Bakuckas was huge – that’s a huge win for him. Hopefully we just keep carrying this momentum and get better every day.” Harvard forfeited at 125 pounds to begin the matchup but for the second consecutive dual, RU’s fate was determined in the final bout at heavyweight. The Crimson won four of five bouts from 157 to 197 pounds to cut the RU lead to 21-15. Harvard (1-1, 0-1 EIWA) needed David Gadzjik to top Rutgers 285-pounder Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) by fall to tie the match and send it to criteria tiebreakers. The win by fall would have given Harvard wins in six of 10 bouts, giving the Crimson the team criteria point and 22-21 win. However, No. NR/19/19 (AWN/InterMat/W.I.N.) Smith and Gadzjik went into the second round of sudden victory, where Smith outlasted the Crimson wrestler to secure a 24-15 Rutgers win. The dual began with a Harvard forfeit at 125 pounds, giving RU an early 6-0 lead. The Crimson took a sudden victory decision at 133 pounds to cut the lead to 6-3 early, as Jeffrey Ott scored a takedown 23 seconds into the overtime period to defeat redshirt senior Vinnie Dellefave (Toms River, N.J.). 4-2. The Scarlet Knights quickly distanced themselves in the next two bouts with consecutive wins by fall. Dippery was ahead 8-0 on Harvard’s Colby Knight less than two minutes into the first period after a takedown and two three-point near falls. Soon after, the Central Dauphin (Pa.) product got Knight on his back for good (2:09), recording his third pin of the season and first in dual action. Theobold rallied behind the pin to take down Harvard’s Nicholas Stager by fall even faster at 149 pounds. Theobold attacked quickly to begin the bout, winning by fall (0:36) to put Rutgers ahead, 18-3. The pin was his fifth of the season, tied for the team lead, as he leads the squad with four wins by fall in dual action. Following a pair of Harvard decisions at 157 and 165 pounds, redshirt freshman Phil Bakuckas (Hammonton, N.J.) came through late to defeat Eric Morris at 174 pounds. The bout was tied, 1-1, with 13 second to go, when Bakuckas took a shot to earn a takedown and seal a 3-1 win. The win gave Rutgers a 21-9 lead, which allowed the Scarlet Knights to outlast the Crimson despite falling at 184 and 197 pounds. Rutgers improved to 20-4 all-time against Harvard and has won the last 13 matchups between the two schools. Harvard last defeated RU on Feb. 16, 1971 by a 19-15 margin. Further, a pair of Scarlet Knights built upon winning streaks. Redshirt freshman Sean McCabe (Connetquot, N.Y.) bumped his streak to six straight wins with the Harvard forfeit, while Smith won his fourth consecutive bout. McCabe and Dippery are currently tied for the team’s wins lead at 18. RU returns to the College Ave. Gym on Friday, Jan. 10 or its third consecutive EIWA home dual. Rutgers will wrestle American University, as the bout is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on RVision, presented by AT&T, via scarletknights.com. Rutgers and American have not faced off since Feb. 9, 2011, when RU knocked off the No. 11 Eagles, 19-15, amid the Scarlet Knights’ record 2010-11 season. Goodale and Co. finished the year 21-2, which still stands as the most single-season dual wins in program history. Results: 125: Harvard forfeit 133: Jeffrey Ott (HU) dec. over Vinnie Dellefave (RU), 4-2 SV 141: Tyson Dippery (RU) wins by fall over Colby Knight (HU), 2:09 149: Ken Theobold (RU) wins by fall over Nicholas Stager (HU), 0:36 157: Tyler Grimaldi (HU) dec. over Corey Stasenko (RU), 8-5 165: Devon Gobbo (HU) dec. over Nick Visicaro (RU), 7-3 174: Phil Bakuckas (RU) dec. over Eric Morris (HU), 7-2 184: Cameron Croy (HU) dec. over Dan Seidenberg (RU), 6-4 197: James Fox (HU) dec. over Hayden Hrymack (RU), 6-4 HWT: No. NR/ 19/19 Billy Smith (RU) dec. over Nicholas Gadzjik (HU), 3-2 SV2

Related: Results | Day 1 Photos | Day 2 Photos ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The championship match of the Clash XII came down to the last bout of the evening, and it was a battle of two InterMat JJ Classic champions. Dayton Racer edged Matthew Rundell to help propel Apple Valley over OPRF (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)No. 2 Oak Park River Forest, Ill., and No. 3 Apple Valley, Minn., had been dominant through three matches of preliminary bracket competition and the first two matches of the championship pool. This last dual meet was tied at 27-all headed into the last weight class. In fact, the bout at 152 pounds between No. 13 Dayton Racer (Apple Valley) and Matthew Rundell (OPRF) was tied 2-2 headed to the third period. Racer chose the down position to start the period, scored an early reversal, and rode out Rundell to secure the Clash XII championship for his Eagles squad with a 30-27 dual meet victory. It was a fifth title for Apple Valley in twelve editions of the Clash. The championship bout started with No. 3 at 170 Mark Hall, who weighed in down at 160 on day two of the Clash, scoring a pin against No. 19 Kamal Bey in 1:40. Oak Park River Forest responded with a pin from No. 10 Davonte Mahomes in 1:52 against Jackson Graham. Apple Valley’s strategy of shifting Hall down one weight class in some ways did work as it yielded a wash in points between the two weight classes. Another strategic gambit from Apple Valley came in the next two weights, where the Eagles flipped the Steveson brothers from the weights they had competed in the first portion of the season. Eighth grader Gable competed down at 182 pounds, where he scored a 5-3 decision over Malik Stallings; while junior Bobby -- ranked No. 14 nationally at 182 -- upended a very formidable Andre Lee 3-2 in the ultimate tiebreaker at 195 pounds. This strategy was a plus-six for Apple Valley, while their “normal” lineup would have been a net zero. Leading 12-6, the Eagles had two swing bouts go in their favor at 220 and 285 pounds. First, at 220, it was state champion Paul Cheney upending Emonte Logan by a 3-1 decision; while at 285, Lord Joshua Hyemang scored a fall at 1:54 against Cadet National double All-American Adam Lemke-Bell. This gave Apple Valley a 21-6 lead at the turn. The lower weight wrestlers for the Huskies showed dominance to shrink the deficit down to 21-20 with four matches remaining in the dual meet. No. 7 Jason Renteria earned the 15-7 major decision over Kyle Rathman at 106 pounds, Alex Madrigal earned an 11-3 major decision over Jalen Thul at 113, Gabe Townsell secured the 10-6 decision over Gannon Volk at 120, and Jamie Hernandez with a 7-4 decision over Zack Chytka at 126. Apple Valley would come up with a crucial response at 132 pounds, a pin in 2:54 from junior two-time state champion Maolu Woiwor against Savonne Brunette. Consecutive wins from nationally ranked Huskies wrestlers would set up that ultimate winner-take-all bout between Racer and Rundell. No. 6 Isaiah White scored the 15-5 major decision over Brock Morgan at 138, and No. 14 Larry Early earned a 7-4 decision over No. 10 at 138 Seth Gross, as the Eagles flipped wrestlers in those weight classes. Apple Valley Coaches (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)All in all, this championship dual meet showed two extremely talented and even teams doing battle. It came down to crucial gambits of strategy that Apple Valley got right, as well as the ability for the Eagles to better seize the bonus points over the dual meet. In earlier dual meets on Saturday, Apple Valley defeated No. 6 Bergen Catholic, N.J. 38-12 (11-3 bouts) and Hastings, Minn. 56-12 (12-2); while Oak Park River Forest upended Hastings 43-13 (11-3) and No. 6 Bergen Catholic 35-25 (8-6). Championship Pool: No. 3 Apple Valley, Minn. 3-0; No. 2 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. 2-1; No. 6 Bergen Catholic, N.J. 1-2; Hastings, Minn. 0-3 Second Pool: No. 13 Marist, Ill. 2-1; No. 32 Bettendorf, Iowa 2-1; No. 19 St. Peter’s Prep, N.J. 2-1; No. 17 Bound Brook, N.J. 0-3 Third Pool: No. 48 Vacaville, Calif. 3-0; St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. 2-1; Timberland, Mo. 1-2; Prior Lake, Minn. 0-3 Fourth Pool: Hononegah, Ill. 3-0; Glenbard North, Ill. 2-1; Mediapolis, Iowa 1-2; Woodbury Central, Iowa 0-3 Fifth Pool: Skutt Catholic, Neb. 2-1; Jackson County Central, Minn. 2-1; Carl Sandburg, Ill. 2-1; Totino-Grace, Minn. 0-3 Sixth Pool: No. 41 West Fargo, N.D. 3-0; Grand Island, Neb. 2-1; Bay Port, Wis. 1-2; Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. 0-3 Seventh Pool: Parkston, S.D. 3-0; New Prague, Minn. 2-1; No. 18 Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio 1-2; Thompson, Ala. 0-3 Eighth Pool: Adrian, Minn. 3-0; Independence, Iowa 2-1; Alburnett, Iowa

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa wrestling team swept 10 matches from Michigan State on Saturday night to defeat the Spartans, 41-0, on Mediacom Mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa recorded 43 takedowns, allowed just two, and scored bonus points in six matches to improve to 8-1 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes opened with offense early, scoring with bonus points at 125, 133, 141, and 157 to build a 27-0 led before intermission. Thomas Gilman used nine takedowns and 3:24 of riding time to earn his third major decision of the season at 125. "Gilman wanted to get the first takedown and ride before he opened up his eyes and realized he's hitting right-handed stuff, left-handed stuff, no-handed stuff," said UI head coach Tom Brands. "That' s the kind of thing you can figure out when you let it go." Tony Ramos registered his eighth pin of season at 133, and Josh Dziewa used five takedowns and five nearfall points to win, 16-5, at 141. Derek St. John extended his win streak to 26 matches with a 22-7 technical fall at 157. St. John's 10th takedown terminated the match at 6:37 and secured his 10th bonus-point victory of the season. Nick Moore and Alex Meyer added bonus points after the break. Moore had built an 11-1 lead before recording his third fall of the season at 165, and Meyer scored a technical fall, 21-6, at 174 in his Carver-Hawkeye Arena debut. Brody Grothus, Ethen Lofthouse, Nathan Burak and Bobby Telford all won by decision. Grothus won for the second time in as many nights at 149. He gave up an early takedown, but used a pair of escapes and a second period ride-out to earn a riding time point and a 3-2 victory. The Hawkeyes went 3-0 over the final three weights without scoring a takedown. Lofthouse used one escape, two points for stalling, and 1:52 of riding time to win, 4-2, over No. 20 John Rizqallah at 184. Burak scored a reversal in the second and added 3:36 of riding time to win, 3-0, at 197, and Telford used an escape and 1:54 of riding time to win, 2-0, at 285. "Eighty-four and heavyweight were two big matches," said Brands. "They don't have to be that close. Eighty-four dug himself out of a hole, but we can hand-fight harder at `84 and `97 to create some openings. We could also work misdirection, especially at heavyweight. We have a pretty quick athlete at heavyweight." Iowa returns to the mat Friday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. (CT) when No. 4 Oklahoma State visits Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for youth, and free for UI students and youth five-years old and younger. "We have got to get ready for Oklahoma State," added Brands, "and we have to get better in all positions, no doubt." Notes: Attendance was 6,661... Ramos (30-0) and St. John (29-0) remain undefeated inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena... Iowa shutout its opponent for the fourth time this year. Results: 125 - #3 Thomas Gilman (IA) major dec. Brenan Lyon (MSU), 20-7; 4-0 133 - #4 Tony Ramos (IA) pinned Garth Yenter (MSU), 5:25; 10-0 141 - #9 Josh Dziewa (IA) major dec. Brian Gibbs (MSU), 16-5; 14-0 149 - #15 Brody Grothus (A) dec. Nick Trimble (MSU), 3-2; 17-0 157 - #1 Derek St. John (IA) tech. fall Roger Wildmo (MSU), 22-7; 21-0 165 - #5 Nick Moore (IA) pinned Bobby Nash (MSU), 6:51, 27-0 174 - Alex Meyer (IA) tech. fall Kevin Nash (MSU), 21-6; 32-0 184 - #3 Ethen Lofthouse (IA) dec. #20 John Rizqallah (MSU), 4-2; 35-0 197 - #11 Nathan Burak (IA) dec. Nick McDiarmid (MSU), 3-0; 38-0 285 - #4 Bobby Telford (IA) dec. #9 Mike McClure (MSU), 2-0; 41-0

EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 13 Northwestern opened it’s Big Ten home schedule by defeating the No. 23 ranked Indiana Hoosiers 27-12 Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. NU won seven of the 10 bouts, including two by bonus points to improve to 6-1 and 1-1 in conference play. The Hoosiers dropped to 5-2 and 0-1 in their first Big Ten match of the year.. Indiana’s Taylor Walsh, ranked No. 5 at 157 lbs. who finished in second place at the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships last week, began the match pinning the Wildcats Dylan Marriott at 6:18, giving the Hoosiers bonus points and a 6-0 advantage. NU responded to tie the match with back-to-back shutout victories at 165 lbs. and 174 lbs. Pierce Harger(16-3) defeated Ryan LeBlanc by a 2-0 decision. No. 9 Lee Munster (5-1) returned to the lineup and defeated Nate Jackson 3-0 to tie the match at 6-6. At 197 lbs., No. 17 Alex Polizzi (16-3) propelled the ‘Cats into the lead, earned bonus points for NU with a 15-0 tech fall win over the Hoosiers Garret Goldman. Polizzi registered the ‘Cats third shutout of the match, putting NU ahead 11-9. Indiana’s No. 8 Adam Chalfant (16-1) dealt No. 2 heavyweight Mike McMullan (3-1) his first loss of the season. Chalfant grabbed an early lead and never led it go, scoring nearfall and take down points in the second period and an escape and take down in the third period to secure a 9-4 decision. With the ‘Cats lead down to just 12-11, NU pulled away winning at the lower weights from 125 lbs. to 149 lbs. After Garrison White won by forfeit at 125 lbs., Dominick Malone put NU up 20-12 with a 9-4 decision over IU’s Chris Caton and Pat Greco defeated Kyle Springer 10-7, as each wrestler earned an extra point with riding time. No. 5 Jason Tsirtsis closed out the match for NU, giving the ‘Cats bonus points at 149 lbs. He upended Eric Roach 17-4, winning by major decision. Results: 125: Garrison White (Northwestern) won by forfeit over Unknown (Unattached), NU 17-12, NU 27-12 133: Dominick Malone (Northwestern) won by decision over Chris Caton (Indiana) 9-4, NU 20-12 141: Pat Greco (Northwestern) won by decision over Kyle Springer (Indiana) 10-7, NU 23-12 149: Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) won by major decision over Eric Roach (Indiana) 17-4. 157: No 5. Taylor Walsh (Indiana) won by pin Dylan Marriott (Northwestern), 6:18, IU 6, NU 0 165: No. 9 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) won by decision over Ryan LeBlanc (Indiana) 2-0, IU 6, NU 3 174: No. 9 Lee Munster (Northwestern) won by decision over Nate Jackson (Indiana) 3-0, NU 6, IU 6. 184: No. 19 Lucas Sheridan (Indiana) won by decision over Jacob Berkowitz (Northwestern) 3-2, IU 9, NU 6. 197: Alex Polizzi (Northwestern) won by tech fall over Garret Goldman (Indiana) 0:37 15-0, NU 11-9. 285: No. 8 Adam Chalfant (Indiana) won by decision over Michael McMullan (Northwestern) 9-4, NU 12-11.

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. -- The Harvard wrestling team won seven of 10 bouts, including six in a row to close out the meet, en route to a 25-13 win at Rider Saturday afternoon. The victory marked the third straight year that the Crimson has opened the dual meet portion of its schedule with a win over Rider (6-3, 1-1 EWL), and is the team's sixth straight overall dating back to last season. Harvard will remain on the road to face EIWA foe Rutgers tomorrow at 1 p.m. Rider opened the meet with wins at 125 lbs. and 133 lbs. before Todd Preston got Harvard on the board at 141 lbs. The sophomore pinned John Gentile at the 4:34 mark for his second fall of the year, pulling the Crimson to within 9-6 in the team scores. Rider rebounded with its third win at 149 lbs., but it was the last victory the hosts would get. Tyler Grimaldi began Harvard's run with an 11-5 decision over Wayne Stinson at 157 lbs. Devon Gobbo followed with a 6-4 upset of No. 19 Ramon Santiago, his second straight victory over the nationally ranked Bronc. Eric Morris picked up a 3-2 decision against Connor Brennan at 174 lbs. to give the Crimson its first lead, 15-13, before Cameron Croy extended Harvard's advantage with a 6-4 victory over Jim Resnick. James Fox put the match out of reach with his third major decision of the year, 10-1 against Jeff McElwee, and David Ng capped off the day with a 3-1 win versus Greg Velasco at heavyweight. Results: 125: No. 20 Robert Deutsch (RU) won by forfeit, 0-6 133: Chuck Zeisloft (RU) dec. Jeffrey Ott (HU), 9-5, 0-9 141: Todd Preston (HU) fall John Gentile (RU), 4:34, 6-9 149: Curt Delia (RU) major dec. Nicholas Stager (HU), 10-1, 6-13 157: Tyler Grimaldi (HU) dec. Wayne Stinson (RU), 11-5, 9-13 165: Devon Gobbo (HU) dec. No. 19 Ramon Santiago (RU), 6-4, 12-13 174: Eric Morris (HU) dec. Connor Brennan (RU), 3-2, 15-13 184: Cameron Croy (HU) dec. Jim Resnick (RU), 6-4, 18-13 197: James Fox (HU) major dec. Jeff McElwee (RU), 10-1, 22-13 Hwt: David Ng (HU) def. Greg Velasco (RU), 3-1, 25-13

MASSILLON, Ohio -- After a trek from New Jersey to Ohio that took longer than expected, No. 1 Blair Academy did pretty much what was expected of them in a match against No. 8 Massillon Perry on Friday evening. That would be a decisive victory over a formidable Panthers squad. It was hoped that the host Panthers would get defending state champion Jose Rodriguez, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation at 113 pounds, back for tonight's competition; however, he did not weigh-in, still recovering from a knee injury sustained at the Walsh Ironman. That development derailed any remote, outside hope they had of an upset over the nation's top ranked team. As did the opening match of the dual meet. Coming off the momentum of beating two returning state placers to win a title at the Medina Invitational, junior Jake Newhouse entered tonight's dual meet with hope of potentially upsetting No. 17 Charles Tucker at 120 pounds. Tucker's performance year-to-date had been particularly uneven. Tonight, he demonstrated the extremely good side of that. Two takedowns in the first period, and single takedowns in the second and third period led to a 9-5 meet opening victory for the Blair Academy grappler. However, the evening's second match would offer hope for the host Panthers, but it ended up being a rare highlight for them. Senior David Bavery, a three-time state placer who won state as a sophomore, came up with a massive 9-8 upset victory over No. 4 Matthew Kolodzik at 126 pounds. For most of two periods, nothing suggested such an upset was possible. Kolodzik had the two takedowns in the match, while Bavery had escapes off of each takedown and to start the second period. However, with short time in the second period, Bavery secured a takedown and was able to exit two periods with a 5-4 lead. "It made something click," said Bavery about the late second-period takedown. "The match was now in reach. I was able to pick it up, and boost the intensity level for the third period." However, Kolodzik came out strong at the start of the third period with an early reversal. In the next sequence, Kolodzik was able to expose Bavery with a tilt, but no near fall points were awarded. A subsequent Bavery escape, and Kolodzik's second stalling call gave Bavery a 7-6 lead. Kolodzik would then counter with a takedown, but Bavery responded with a reversal for a 9-8 lead with 45 seconds left. Bavery then was able to ride out the match in one sequence, and pick up the victory, which tied the dual meet at 3-3. "This is what I train for, and it was great to persevere and get the win," added Bavery. The response from Blair Academy was sudden, it was stark, and it was decisive. In the very next match, at 132 pounds, junior Jordan Kutler got a takedown right off the whistle against fellow junior Jason Spencer. Kutler was able to ride out the duration of the first period. An escape, takedown, and two-point near fall in the second period would extend Kutler's lead to 7-0, and that was how the match would end. Seven more Blair Academy victories later, all but two coming by decision, the top-ranked Buccaneers had clinched the dual meet. "It was humbling," said Massillon Perry head coach Dave Riggs. "We knew they were a tough team coming in, tonight (obviously) showed it, but this will motivate us to be a better team going forward." Following Kutler's 7-0 decision victory was a pair of decisive victories for the future Stanford Cardinal duo of No. 1 Joey McKenna (138) and Walker Dempsey (145) against a pair of juniors, who were returning state qualifiers. McKenna upended Nick Steed 9-2 with two takedowns in the first period, and single takedowns each in the second and third period; while Dempsey earned a 7-1 victory over Austin Phillips with a takedown in the first period, two takedowns in the second period, and riding out Phillips from the top position in the third period. The next two matches featured clashes of nationally ranked wrestlers. At 152 pounds, No. 8 Mason Manville replicated his semifinal victory from the Beast of the East, this time upending No. 14 Casey Sparkman by a 5-2 score. Takedowns in the first and third period were the difference. Dylan Milonas (Photo/Rob Preston)That was followed up by a clear statement from No. 2 Dylan Milonas at 160 pounds, who started extremely strong with a four-point move right off the bat. It was unlike the Ironman quarterfinal in which Milonas had to rally back from a deficit in order to beat Tony Dailey. In this match, Milonas augmented that with single takedowns in the second and third period to earn the 9-4 victory over the nation's No. 11 ranked wrestler. Sophomore Brandon Dallavia, who is ranked No. 18 nationally, followed up with an 8-0 major decision over two-time state placer Isaac Bast at 170 pounds. The major decision was confirmed with a two-point near fall in the last seconds of the bout. To close out the string of eight consecutive victories, Nick DiNapoli would score a 3-2 decision over Brady Durieux at 182 pounds, and David Showumni earned a fall in 39 seconds against Timmy Armstrong. Stopping the bleeding, ever so briefly, for the Panthers was senior Stefano Millin, a two-time state qualifier. Millin scored a fall at the 7:20 mark, when he reversed sophomore Neil Putnam to his back in the first portion of the ":30-:30" tiebreaker. Blair Academy would put a stop to that tempest with a 2-1 decision from Will Cooley, who beat fellow senior Seth Maylor in the 285 pound bout. The difference in the match was two stalling infractions called against Maylor while he was in the bottom position, as Cooley was trying to set up a near fall opportunity in the top position during the second period. The penultimate match gave Massillon Perry another positive moment, as senior Thomas Genetin earned a pin at the 1:32 mark against freshman Zach Sherman at 106 pounds. That match marked the first time all night in which the Panthers were able to score the first takedown of the bout. To close out the dual meet, sophomore Requin van der Merwe scored a 6-1 decision victory over Zac McCauley at 113 pounds to make the dual meet score 37-15 in favor of the top-ranked Buccaneers. "It was gratifying to get that (11-3 match) split against such a formidable team (as the No. 8 ranked Panthers)," said Blair Academy head coach Solomon Fleckman. "We made progress tonight, but we'll have to wrestle better going forward (most notably in the Saturday night dual meet at No. 5 St. Paris Graham)." Results: 120: No. 17 Chaz Tucker (B) dec. Jake Newhouse, 9-5 126: David Bavery (MP) dec. No. 4 Matthew Kolodzik, 9-8 132: Jordan Kutler (B) dec. Jason Spencer, 7-0 138: No. 1 Joey McKenna (B) dec. Nick Steed, 9-2 145: Walker Dempsey (B) dec. Austin Phillips, 7-1 152: No. 8 Mason Manville (B) dec. No. 14 Casey Sparkman, 5-2 160: No. 2 Dylan Milonas (B) dec. No. 11 Tony Dailey, 9-4 170: No. 18 Brandon Dallavia (B) maj. dec. Isaac Bast, 8-0 182: Nick DiNapoli (B) dec. Brady Durieux, 3-2 195: David Showunmi (B) pinned Timmy Armstrong, 0:39 220: Stefano Millin (MP) pinned Neil Putnam, 7:20 TB 285: Will Cooley (B) dec. Seth Maylor, 2-1 106: Thomas Genetin (MP) pinned Zach Sherman, 1:32 113: Requin van der Merwe (B) dec. Zach McCauley, 6-1 Other dual meets of the triangular: No. 8 Massillon Perry 59, Massillon Jackson 3 No. 1 Blair Academy 76, Massillon Jackson 0

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- With the Rutgers wrestling team facing a 15-12 deficit entering the final matchup after losing five consecutive bouts, redshirt sophomore Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) pinned Columbia’s Wyatt Baker (1:20) to seal an 18-15 win at the College Ave. Gym Friday Night. The first round pin was Smith’s second consecutive pin in dual action, giving RU (7-2, 4-0) a thrilling win to stay perfect in EIWA action. “I told [Billy] before he went out we need at least a major because I understood the criteria and where it would go,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “The biggest thing was getting on top and scoring early. He and Coach Leonardis go over that situation, [where he ties to] transition to a turk or leg and if he gets you on his back he’s pretty good. He’s an exciting wrestler because he scores points as a heavyweight. The crowd really enjoys him and good for them, because they got their money’s worth tonight.” The Scarlet Knights jumped on the Lions (1-3, 0-2) early on, winning the first four bouts of the match. Redshirt freshman Sean McCabe (Connetquot, N.Y.) kicked things off with a 6-2 win at 125 pounds, allowing only a reversal as time expired. McCabe, wrestling in place of usual starter Scott DelVecchio (South Plainfield, N.J.) accrued 2:28 of riding time to improve his record to 3-1 in dual action, giving him a share of the team wins lead with 17. Redshirt senior 133-pounder Vinnie Dellefave (Toms River, N.J.) followed McCabe up with a 4-1 victory over Angelo Armenta, scoring a takedown at the 0:56 mark of the third round to seal the win. Freshman 141-pounder Tyson Dippery (Harrisburg, Pa.) earned his first win over a ranked opponent, topping No. 13/NR/NR Matt Bystol, 3-0. Following a commanding, 5-0 decision by sophomore Ken Theobold (Toms River, N.J.) over Connor Sutton at 149 pounds, the Lions shifted the momentum by taking the next five bouts. Freshman Corey Stasenko (South Plainfield, N.J.), wrestling up at 157 pounds from 141, fell behind 9-2 midway through the second period in a bout that looked like bonus points for Columbia. However the rookie battled back, closing the gap to 10-8 with 16 seconds left in the third period. Scheidel eventually took an 11-8 win over the freshman despite the furious comeback. The next four bouts went to the Lions by decision, with sophomore 197-pounder Hayden Hrymack (Lincroft, N.J.) losing a heartbreaker to Matt Idelson courtesy of an Idelson reversal with four seconds remaining in the bout. The win made it 15-12 Columbia, giving the Lions their first lead of the match. But Smith responded in a big way at heavyweight, giving RU the bonus points it needed to secure its third straight dual victory. Rutgers is now 35-17 all-time against Columbia and 4-0 in Goodale’s tenure. The Scarlet Knights return to “The Barn” on Sunday, Jan. 5 to face another EIWA opponent in Harvard. The match, which will be broadcast live on RVision, presented by AT&T, begins at 1 p.m. and represents “Youth Recreation Day.” RU will hold a pre-match clinic for club teams interested, which will begin at approximately 11 a.m. Harvard assistant coach J.P. O’Connor, a three-time All-American and 2010 NCAA Champion at 157 pounds, will assist with the clinic. The squad will also hold a post-match poster autograph session for all. The first 100 kids in attendance will receive a complimentary Rutgers water bottle. If interested in bringing your youth club out to the match to participate in the pre-match clinic, please contact the RU Ticket Office. The ticket rate for groups of 15 or more is $5 a ticket, as all ticket purchases must be done through the RU Ticket Office in order to ensure a spot at the clinics. To purchase tickets, please call 1-866-445-GORU (4678). Results: 125: Sean McCabe (RU) dec. over Penn Gottfried (CU), 6-3 133: No. NR/NR/20 Vinnie Dellefave (RU) dec. over Angelo Armenta (CU), 4-1 141: Tyson Dippery (RU) dec. over No. 13/NR/NR Matt Bystol (CU), 3-0 149: Ken Theobold (RU) dec. over Connor Sutton (CU), 5-0 157: Matthew Gancayco (CU) dec. over Corey Stasenko (RU), 11-8 165: Josh Houldsworth (CU) dec. over Nick Visicaro (RU), 11-4 174: Shane Hughes (CU) dec. over Phil Bakuckas (RU), 7-2 184: Zack Hernandez (CU) dec. over Dan Seidenberg (RU), 3-1 197: Matt Idelson (CU) dec, over Hayden Hrymack (RU), 4-3 HWT: No. NR/ 19/19 Billy Smith (RU) pin over Wyatt Baker (CU), 1:20

Lincoln, Neb. -- Trailing Wyoming 9-12, the No. 8 Nebraska wrestling team (6-0) won the final five matches of the dual en route to a 26-12 triumph over the Cowboys at the Devaney Center on Friday night. Ranked wrestlers Jake Sueflohn (149), James Green (157), Austin Wilson (165), Robert Kokesh (174) and TJ Dudley (184) all earned victories during the Huskers’ closing run. No. 6 Sueflohn tied the dual at 12 following his 4-0 decision over Brandon Richardson. After a first-period takedown for the junior from Watertown, Wis., Sueflohn added a second-period escape before an additional point for riding time. No. 4 Green improved to 19-0 on the season after notching a 5-1 decision over No. 20 Andy McCulley on Friday night. Following a scoreless first period, Green earned a reversal in the second period and tacked on a takedown in the third period with a point for riding time. At 165 pounds, No. 14 Wilson struck first against Wyoming’s Dakota Friesth to take a 3-0 lead into the third period. Friesth responded with a takedown to cut the lead to 3-2 before a stalling penalty gave Wilson a 4-2 advantage. Wilson, a sophomore, earned a riding time point to win by a 5-2 margin. No. 4 Kokesh dominated from start to finish in a 19-4 technical fall over the Cowboys’ Jace Jensen. Kokesh earned six takedowns in the match en route to his third technical fall of the season. In the final match of the dual, No. 16 Dudley battled Benjamin Stroh back and forth before emerging with a 9-6 victory. Dudley trailed 0-2 in the first period before a last-second takedown gave him a 3-2 lead. The pair traded reversals in the second period before a late nearfall for Dudley. Nursing a 7-4 lead in the third period, Dudley chose down and earned a pair of escapes for the final result. Nebraska collected victories in two of the first five matches, with Collin Jensen (HWT) and Colton McCrystal (133) adding points for the Huskers. After Spencer Johnson (197) fell by a 4-3 decision in the opening match of the dual, Jensen responded with an 8-3 triumph over Leland Pfeifer. Jensen earned two takedowns in the first period and added a third in the final period before notching a riding time point at the finish. No. 10 Tim Lambert (125) fell in a back-and-forth match against No. 8 Tyler Cox, 3-1, before McCrystal won by forfeit at 133 pounds. At 141 pounds, redshirt freshman Ben Morgan was pinned by Cole Mendenhall in 6:11. The Huskers return to the Devaney Center next weekend for two duals. On Friday night, Nebraska hosts Big Ten foe Indiana at 7 p.m., before Saturday night’s showdown against Penn at 6 p.m. The Penn dual will be part of Nebraska’s “Tumble and Rumble” event with the women’s gymnastics team. Both matchups will be streamed on the Big Ten Digital Network. Results: 197: Shane Woods (WYO) by dec. over Spencer Johnson (NEB), 4-3 (WYO 3, NEB 0) HWT: Collin Jensen (NEB) by dec. over Leland Pfeifer (WYO), 8-3 (NEB 3, WYO 3) 125: #8 Tyler Cox (WYO) by sudden victory over #10 Tim Lambert (NEB), 3-1 (WYO 6, NEB 3) 133: Colton McCrystal (NEB) wins by forfeit (NEB 9, WYO 6) 141: Cole Mendenhall (WYO) by fall over Ben Morgan (NEB), 6:11 (WYO 12, NEB 9) 149: #6 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) by dec. over Brandon Richardson (WYO), 4-0 (NEB 12, WYO 12) 157: #4 James Green (NEB) by dec. over #20 Andy McCulley (WYO), 5-1 (NEB 15, WYO 12) 165: #14 Austin Wilson (NEB) by dec. over Dakota Friesth (WYO), 5-2 (NEB 18, WYO 12) 174: #4 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by tech. fall over Jace Jensen (WYO), 19-4 (NEB 23, WYO 12) 184: #16 TJ Dudley (NEB) by dec. over Benjamin Stroh (WYO), 9-6 (NEB 26, WYO 12)

BRADLEY, Ill. -- The University of Iowa wrestling team defeated No. 21 Purdue, 30-3, Friday night at Bradley-Bourbonnais High School in Bradley, Ill. The Hawkeyes scored 25 takedowns and surrendered just one to win their 16th straight Big Ten opener. Nick Moore and Ethen Lofthouse scored bonus points for Iowa. Lofthouse scored eight takedowns en route to a 20-7 win at 184, and Moore used three takedowns and nine nearfall points to earn the first technical fall of his career, 16-1, at 165. Third-ranked Iowa (7-1, 1-0) won five straight matches to build a 15-0 lead before intermission. Thomas Gilman (125), Tony Ramos (133), Josh Dziewa (141), Brody Grothus (149), and Derek St. John each won by decision. Grothus' 5-3 win was his first career Big Ten dual victory. St. John won 7-2 to extend his winning streak to a career-best 25 matches. Alex Meyer earned a win in his Big Ten debut, extending Iowa's lead to 23-0 with a 5-3 decision at 174 pounds. Meyer scored a takedown in the first, erased a 3-2 deficit with a reversal in the third, and added a point for riding time. Bobby Telford closed the dual with a 4-0 win at 285. Telford scored a takedown in the first, an escape in the third, and added a point for riding time. Purdue (3-2, 0-2) won its lone match at 197 pounds. Nathan Burak was unable to erase a 3-1 deficit to start the third, and No. 17 Braden Atwood, the 2013 Midlands runner-up, used a point for riding time to win 5-4. The match was Burak's first this year as an attached competitor. Iowa returns to the mat Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes host Michigan State at 7 p.m. (CT). Mediacom will televise the dual. Notes: Iowa has won 16 straight Big Ten openers... Iowa has won 27 straight against Purdue... St. John has won 25 straight matches... Alex Meyer was making his Iowa dual debut. Results: 125 - #3 Thomas Gilman (IA) dec. Camden Eppert (PU), 2-0; 3-0 133 - #4 Tony Ramos (IA) dec. Kyle Ayersman (PU), 11-5; 6-0 141 - #9 Josh Dziewa (IA) dec. Danny Sabatello (PU), 6-1; 9-0 149 - #15 Brody Grothus (IA) dec. Brandon Nelsen (PU), 5-3; 12-0 157 - #1 Derek St. John (IA) dec. Kyle Mosier (PU), 7-2; 15-0 165 - #5 Nick Moore (IA) tech. fall Pat Robinson (PU), 16-1; 20-0 174 - Alex Meyer (IA) dec. Patrick Kissel (PU), 5-3; 23-0 184 - #3 Ethen Lofthouse (IA) major dec. Tyler Lynde (PU), 20-7; 27-0 197 - #17 Braden Atwood (PU) dec. #11 Nathan Burak (IA), 5-4; 27-3 285 - #4 Bobby Telford (IA) dec. Alex White (PU), 4-0; 30-3

The mailbag is written during the time of most convenience between Thursday at 4 p.m. and Friday at 2 a.m. Not much wrestling happens on Thursday night, so I'm usually saved the unpleasant surprise of waking up in the morning to find that my article is meaningless. Usually. I'm still on the road, and not being back in Chicago means I grease my nightly slumbers downing libations in the company of family and friends. Last night I'd escaped to "The Pub" in Naples, Fla., to have drinks with my lass and her high school friend. The male servers at "The Pub" wear kilts. I ordered an Old Fashioned and nestled into high school stories as I checked Twitter for updates from the Southern Scuffle. My night was on the way to becoming a mega mixture of discussions about Justin Timberlake's relationship status and the "sweet, but oaky flavor of Knob Creek," when the Twitter machine popped up with another surprise. This one became the biggest name of the 2014 wrestling season. Gabe Dean. My Old Fashioned spit across the floor, I knew that my mailbag -- written down and including an 800-word diatribe on the NCAA team title, was dead. It was deader than a zombie apocalypse. It was a troglodyte embedded inside an Egyptian mummy, and buried at the bottom of the Dead Sea -- nails locking down my fate. There is no sense to the 2013-14 college wrestling season. None. There is no certainty, no truth, no given. Anybody can lose this season. If Jacob re-matched the Angel, Brian Muir would set the line at even money. The question is "Why?" Why did Jesse Delgado, Tony Ramos, Logan Stieber, Kendric Maple, and Ed Ruth all lose? And if those who beat them are more talented, how come the ascendants haven't fortified their position at No. 1 and instead given over to massive parity and top-level turnover? There is no definitive answer, and coincidence could be mistaken as causality, but the only massive difference between last season and this season is a change in rules which made takedowns less definitive and increased the size of the mat. That doesn't explain Ruth, but it does explain Maple, and maybe Stieber. Do quick takedowns (awful, terrible, no good, crap rule) and a larger mat make a big difference in the outcome of an NCAA wrestling match? I don't know. Parity is increasing, but why is just too tough to know. The explosion of upsets seem too numerous, and the variety of top-ranked wrestlers so great, that no one item can explain the change. The wrestling universe is upside down. Chances are that half of those who've been upset will find their way to the top of the podium in March For now let's sit back, tip back another drink and check the results one last time before we push "send" on our conclusions. Q: Speaking as an advertising professional, I would like to submit an idea for the NCAA wrestling tournament to help make it more palatable for casual and new viewers. Taking the MMA model (a phrase that turns some purist's stomachs), I would recommend we use the reordering of the finals matches from last year as a springboard to an even better system; order ALL bouts from top-to-bottom in order of importance, so we have a clear main event, co-main event, and so on, letting the momentum of the night build accordingly. It made no sense last year to have the first match of the finals be Chris Perry vs. Matt Brown, the match with the most team race implications. After the last session of Day 2, bring together all coaches with a wrestler in the finals, and poll them to find an aggregate list of matches that puts our best foot forward. Do you have an opinion on this thought? -- JG Foley: I think you're brilliant. Yours is a simple, easy plan to understand. It takes no money to institute and would result in more viewers and a better product. The arbitrary ordering of the finals was proven pointless last season when Dake and Taylor were moved into the headlines. Ordering a competition by weight is a false metric by which to gauge fairness. By reordering you can allow the drama to build and you can cater to your core audience. I guess there might be some hurt feelings among the first wrestlers to compete, but those are the breaks. Given the manner in which last year's move was made, I don't see why the competition committee couldn't review the proposal Draft one up and send it over on email. Q: What is the difference between Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, NJCAA wrestling programs? Are wrestlers that are not in Division I just as good as the wrestlers in Division I? Why do the Ivy League schools not offer athletic scholarships? -- Gregg Y. Foley: Some wrestlers at non-Division I schools can be as good, or better, than their Division I counterparts, but on average the Division I guys are better. At one time the best from NCAA Division II were able to compete at the Division I tournament, and guy would win the title, but it was less frequent than the Division I guys doing the same. The difference in the three NCAA divisions is here. The Ivy League does not give athletic scholarships because it has a tradition of putting academics first. That tradition has stuck and become a rule. However, the growth of their athletic departments, including wrestling, is based on an influx of money and competitive focus on improving their performance on the field. InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. Questions can be sent to Foley's email account or Twitter. Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 2 University of Minnesota Golden Gopher wrestling team finished in third place at the 2014 Southern Scuffle despite leading the competition field after the first day of the open tournament. The Gophers finished behind No. 1 Penn State (189.0) and No. 4 Oklahoma State (164.5) by racking up a final tournament score of 161.0. Two Golden Gophers took home individual crowns at the competition as Scott Schiller (197) and Tony Nelson (285) finished the competition with an undefeated record in their respective weight classes. This is Nelson's second Southern Scuffle victory after ending the tournament as the runner-up last year. He was able to win his respective weight class in 2012. Minnesota had six wrestlers finish in the top five of their weight class including David Thorn (133, 3rd place), Chris Dardanes (141, 4th place), Logan Storley (174, 3rd place), Brett Pfarr (184, 5th place) and Kevin Steinhaus (184, 4th place) while Nick Dardanes ended the tournament as the runner-up at 149 lbs. Full results from the tournament can be found here. The Golden Gophers will next take the mat on Friday, Jan. 10 as they travel to Purdue to resume Big Ten dual competition. Minnesota will return to the Sports Pavilion on Sunday, Jan. 12 as they welcome Wisonsin to their home mat beginning at 1 p.m.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- With sophomore Nahshon Garrett already having claimed a Southern Scuffle crown at 125 pounds with a win over Penn State's Nico Megaludis, freshman Gabe Dean figured he'd need to do something impressive to get noticed. Boy, did he ever. Dean set the wrestling world and all of social media on fire with an impressive 7-4 decision over top-ranked Ed Ruth in the 184-pound final, knocking off the two-time defending national champion and ending his personal 84-match win streak dating back to 2011. It was only Ruth's third career loss (now 118-3). Entering the finals, he had won each of his 16 matches this year by at least a major decision with six pins. Dean went right after Ruth from the opening whistle. Had a near takedown on a deep shot, followed up by another deep single that he was able to finish for a 2-0 lead. Ruth got a takedown but Gabe escaped. Ruth ended up with a ride time advantage before Dean could escape in the second, but Dean rode strong to start the third and got Ruth's ride time under a minute. The Nittany Lion was able to escape to get within one and with everyone in the building expecting a Ruth takedown to get the lead, Dean remained the aggressor and took down Ruth for a 7-4 lead that ended up being the final. Dean advanced to the finals at 184 pounds by knocking off Minnesota's top two wrestlers at the weight, earning a 6-1 decision over Brett Pfarr and then knocking off fourth-ranked Kevin Steinhaus by a 3-2 margin to get an opportunity to face Ruth in the finals. The win over Steinhaus alone was enough to get the attention of many for the seventh-ranked wrestler in the nation and earn him the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler Award. Cornell finished fourth as a team for the second year in a row thanks to its 114.5 team points and captured its 10th top four finish in the tournament in its 10 appearances dating back to 2004. The Big Red finished behind Penn State (189), Oklahoma State (164.5) and Minnesota (161) in the team race while holding off Missouri, Virginia, Iowa State and others in the 34-school field. Garrett grinded out a 7-3 semifinal victory over No. 14 David Terao of American, one of his top competitors in the EIWA. He overcame an early takedown by the sophomore to comfortably rally to set up a rematch of the finals of the 2013 Binghamton Open, where Garrett earned a 6-5 decision. His win in the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup was a typical Garrett-type win, as the sophomore took down Megaludis late in the first period and rode him out to take a 2-0 lead. He escaped from the down position and earned another takedown to head into the final period up 5-1, then held on late for the 6-4 decision to retain his top ranking. Chris Villalonga won his quarterfinal matchup against Penn State's Zach Beitz by a 3-1 score before medially forfeiting out of the tournament in sixth place at 149 pounds. At 157 pounds, freshman Brian Realbuto pinned No. 13 RJ Pena of Oregon State in the second period before dropping narrow decisions to No. 2 Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State and 14th-ranked Nestor Taffur of Boston University. Dylan Palacio continued an excellent tournament with a pair of wins over Ohio's Harrison Hightower and Navy's Peyton Walsh after falling in the quarterfinals to defending national runner-up and top-ranked David Taylor at Penn State at 165 pounds. He forfeited out to sixth place and finished the tournament with a 5-1 record. Jace Bennett won his way back to seventh place after dropping an early decision, going unbeaten against four unranked opponents and dropping matchups with No. 3 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) and No. 15 Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma State). Cornell returns to dual meet action when the Big Red meets No. 20 Lehigh on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. at Newman Arena.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Three members of the Iowa State wrestling team (6-1 overall, 1-0 Big 12) took home hardware at the 2014 Southern Scuffle tonight. No. 2 Kyven Gadson (197), No. 14 Tanner Weatherman (174) and Lelund Weatherspoon (174) each earned a spot on the podium at McKenzie Arena, helping the Cyclones finish eighth in the team race with 71.5 points. Gadson was the lone Cyclone grappler to wrestle in the finals tonight, as he was pitted against No. 1 Scott Schiller of Minnesota in the 197-pound title bout. The Waterloo, Iowa, native trailed late 4-2 and was unable to get the takedown he needed to tie the match, as he fell 6-3 to the Minnesota All-American. The redshirt junior finished the tournament with 5-1 record, scoring two pins and two wins over top-15 nationally ranked wrestlers. He was the Cyclones’ top point getter in the tournament, scoring 21 points in his five wins. Gadson is now 14-2 on the season, with his only losses coming at the hands of Schiller. The two All-Americans will have one more head-to-head matchup in the regular season finale, as Iowa State welcomes Minnesota to Hilton Coliseum on Senior Day Feb. 23. Weatherman and Weatherspoon were pitted against each other in the fifth-place bout at 174 pounds this evening. Head coach Kevin Jackson elected to medical forfeit Weatherman from the bout, giving Weatherspoon fifth-place and Weatherman sixth. Each team in the tournament was allowed to have 15 wrestlers in the competition field and multiple grapplers at the same weight. The top point scorer at each weight was counted in the team scoring. Weatherspoon held a slight edge in the team scoring at 174 with 12 points, as opposed to Weatherman’s 10, factoring into Jackson’s decision to forfeit Weatherman from the match instead of Weatherspoon. Weatherspoon finished the tournament 6-2 and was the Cyclones’ second highest point getter, scoring 15 points. He is now 21-6 overall on the year. Weatherman finished the tournament 5-2 and improved his overall record to 17-8. Iowa State returns to action Sunday, Jan. 12, as they host Big 12 foe No. 4 Oklahoma (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) in Ames. Wrestling begins at 1 p.m. CT in Hilton Coliseum.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Oklahoma State wrestling finished the 2014 Southern Scuffle in second place on Thursday with 164.5 points. The final day of competition for the Pokes produced three Scuffle champions in Jon Morrison, Alex Dieringer and Chris Perry. Again, the Cowboys finished the day leading all teams in pins (13) and technical falls (4). They also finished with the best overall win percentage (0.7576), winning 75 matches and losing only 24. “It was good to see three guys win their brackets. I’m proud of Perry and Morrison for their repeats,” coach John Smith said. “We like to have people at the top. As far as the finishing second, it’s not too bad but not enough. We need more bonus points if we want to keep up with teams like Penn State. Overall, I think we wrestled better as the tournament went on, which is a good sign.” Morrison won his second Southern Scuffle title at 133 pounds with a dominant performance, collecting more than four minutes of riding time in his 4-0 win over James Gulibon of Penn State. The top-ranked 133 pounder finished the tournament with six wins, including one fall and one major decision. “I feel like it was a good win. It’s kind of of like a midseason check, and that’s how I looked at it,” Morrison said. “It showed that I still have things to work on, but anytime you come out and win a tournament like the Southern Scuffle, that’s helps going into the second half of the year. Moving forward, I want to work on scoring more points and helping out the team more.” Dieringer was the second Cowboy crowned after he defeated Kent State’s Ian Miller, 2-1, on a ride out in the first tie breaker to win the 157-pound bracket. The sophomore tallied three bonus-point wins out of his total six wins in the tournament. Perry also earned his second-consecutive title at the tourney when he went against Matt Brown of Penn State in a rematch of the NCAA finals. Perry collected back points, an escape and riding time to defeat Brown, 4-0. No. 2 Tyler Caldwell met Penn State’s David Taylor in the finals after defeating Nick Sulzer of Virginia, 2-1, in the semis. Caldwell was not able to break away from top-ranked Taylor’s grip and suffered his first loss of the season, 9-1. Josh Kindig came back through his bracket after falling to Drake Houdashelt in a close semifinals bout. Kindig earned a third-place finish after Gus Sako forfeited the match. Four other Pokes finished in the top eight in Kyle Crutchmer (174), Nolan Boyd (184), Blake Rosholt (197) and Austin Marsden (285). Crutchmer finished seventh after falling in the round of 16. Boyd also finished seventh, wrestling his way back from a first-round loss. He finished the tournament 6-2. Blake Rosholt and Austin Marsden both produced fifth-place finishes at 197 and 285 pounds, respectively. The Cowboys will be back in action on Jan. 10 when they travel to Iowa City to take on No. 3 Iowa.

Related: Results CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 1 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, roared to the 2014 Southern Scuffle title, its fourth straight. Head coach Cael Sanderson's team crowned two champions and used a balanced team effort to move away from both Minnesota and Oklahoma State on day two. Penn State won the title with 189.0 points while Oklahoma State was second with 164.5 and Minnesota third at 161.0. The Lions used a balanced team effort, with 11 of its 17 competitors placing at the event. Day two began at 9 a.m. with the quarterfinals and fourth round of consolations. The Nittany Lions went 7-5 in the quarters. Junior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 125, opened up Penn State's run of 12 quarterfinalists with 12-4 major over No. 12 Evan Silver of Stanford. Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 17 at 133, posted his most impressive win to date, notching a hard-fought 2-1 win over No. 5 Ryan Mango of Stanford to move into the semis. Teammate Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) dropped a tough 7-6 dec. to No. 11 Joe Roth of Central Michigan in his quarterfinal bout at 133. True freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 141, posted a 2-0 win over No. 11 Zach Horan of Central Michigan to move into the semifinals while red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) lost a close 3-1 dec. to No. 8 Chris Villalonga of Cornell. All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) put on a takedown clinic in the third period to roll to a 17-6 major over No. 15 Dylan Palacio of Cornell. All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, pinned Oregon State at the 4:25 mark, shortly after fellow All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 184, pinned No. 15 Sam Wheeler of Kent State in just 1:07. True freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), wrestling unattached, dropped a tough 6-4 decision to No. 12 Lorenzo Thomas of Penn in his quarterfinal bout. Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 3 at 197, suffered a tough 2-0 upset loss to No. 14 J'Den Cox of Missouri and shifted into consolation action. Junior heavyweight Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.), ranked No. 12 nationally, posted a thrilling 3-2 (TB2; rt) decision over No. 15 Austin Marsden of Oklahoma State to move on to the semis while classmate Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) dropped a tough 5-2 decision to No. 5 Nick Gwiazdowski in his quarterfinal match-up. Penn State's seven semifinalists began action at 1:30 p.m. and Megaludis led things off got Penn State off to a fast start with a dominant 7-2 win over No. 6 Josh Martinez of Air Force. Gulibon then notched yet another huge win, this time over No. 10 David Thorn of Minnesota. Gulibon's 4-3 decision, fighting off a late shot by the Gopher, was key in the team race. True freshman Retherford was unfazed by his first Scuffle semifinal, rolling to a 2-0 win over No. 7 Chris Mecate of Old Dominion. Taylor took the mat at 165 and added to his gaudy career totals by pinning No. 9 Zach Toal of Missouri at the 4:59 mark. The pin, his second of the tournament, was the 46th of his career. Then at 174, Brown walked away with a hard-fought 3-2 win over No. 5 Logan Storley of Minnesota in his semifinal bout, notching another big win in the team race. Ruth made it six in a row for Penn State in the semis with a dominating 22-7 technical fall over No. 12 Lorenzo Thomas of Penn at 184. The win was Ruth's 84th straight. Heavyweight Lawson closed out Penn State's semifinalists with a tough 3-1 loss to No.1 Tony Nelson of Minnesota, dropping into the consolation semifinals. He took on teammate Gingrich in the consolation semifinal bout and posted a 2-1 decision to move into the third place bout. He took on picked up a medical forfeit win over No. 11 Jeremy Johnson of Ohio in the third place bout, to take bronze. Lawson, the No. 4 seed, placed third with a 5-1 record. In the finals, Megaludis took on No.1 Garrett first at 125. The Lion junior fell behind early and mounted a furious rally before dropping a tough 6-4 decision to the top ranked Garrett. Megaludis lost 6-4 and took second place with a 5-1 run, including three majors. Megaludis is 16-2 with his only two losses to Garrett. At 133, Gulibon, who entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed, took on No. 1-ranked Jon Morrison of Oklahoma State. Gulibon dropped a hard-fought 4-0 decision to the Cowboy grappler, taking second place. Gulibon's 5-1 run as was critical in Penn State's team-title run as the Lion improved to 9-7 on the year. Gulibon knocked off the 5th and 10th-ranked wrestlers during the tournament. True-freshman Retherford used a blistering double leg for a clinching takedown against No. 19 Joe Spisak of Virginia. Retherford led late but Spisak surprised the Lion with a late takedown and the bout moved to extra time thanks to riding time for Retherford. The Nittany Lion rookie remained unbeaten, however, and clinched the 2014 Southern Scuffle title for Penn State with a fast takedown in sudden victory. The 6-4 (sv) win gave Retherford the 141-pound Scuffle title and capped off a 5-0 run that included a pin and a major. Retherford is now 17-0 on the year with three pins, two tech falls and three majors. Taylor took on No. 2 Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma State in the finals and, after a sluggish first period, blistered the Cowboy All-American on his way to a dominating 9-1 major decision. The major was highlighted by two two-point near falls in the second period and one in the third. Taylor also totaled 3:36 in riding time in the victory. Taylor posted a 5-0 mark during his title run, winning his third Southern Scuffle title. Taylor is now 17-0 on the year. He leaves the Scuffle with a 117-3 career record with 46 pins (seven shy of Penn State's all-time record of 53), 38 tech falls and 26 majors. His 117 wins is 11th all-time at Penn State. Brown took on No. 2 Chis Perry of Oklahoma State in the finals at 174, a rematch of last year's NCAA title bout (won by Perry). Perry used two near fall points in the second period as the catalyst to a 4-0 win over Brown in the finals. Brown's second place finish at the Scuffle came off a 5-1 run which included two pins, a major and a forfeit. Brown leaves Chattanooga with a 17-1 record, including six pins, two techs and four majors. Then, at 184, Lion senior Ed Ruth had his 84-match win streak snapped with a 7-4 upset loss to No. 7 Gabe Dean of Cornell. Dean used a first and third period takedowns and great defense to grab the win and send Ruth to defeat for the first time since his freshman year. Ruth took second at the Scuffle, ending his bid to become a four-time Scuffle titlist as he already has three titles. Ruth is now 16-1 on the year with 41 pins (third all-time at Penn State), 22 tech falls and 27 majors. His 118 wins is 10th all-time at Penn State. Sophomore McIntosh rebounded from an upset loss earlier in the day to reel off three straight wins to advance to the third place bout at 197. He downed No. 16 Nick Bonaccorsi of Pitt in the conso semis to move to the third place bout where he was beaten again by No. 14 Cox and ended the tournament as the fourth place finisher. McIntosh's 5-2 showing has him at 16-2 overall heading into the Purdue dual. Gingrich had a strong tournament as well. Entering as the 10th seed, the Lion junior wrestled above that. The Lion went 2-2 today and placed sixth. He dropped a tough 2-1 decision to teammate Lawson in the conso semis, which slid him to the fifth place match. Gingrich took a cautionary medical forfeit in that match, pushing the 10th seed to the sixth place slot. Gingrich went 5-2 with two majors (the medical forfeit does not count as a loss). Conaway's strong run at 133 pounds ended in the fifth place match. The Lion began day two with a tough 7-6 loss to No. 11 Joe Roth but then responded with two wins, including a 7-4 victory over No. 18 Mark McGuire of Kent State. Following a loss in the consolation semifinals, Conaway ended his tournament with a tough 5-2 decision to No. 11 Roth and placed sixth. Conaway's 4-3 run to sixth as the No. 12 seed included two majors. Sophomore Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.) entered the tournament as the 10th seed and wrestled above that. The Lion, making his first appearance since an injury in his first match in November, Frey posted a 5-3 mark, including two majors, a pin and a forfeit. He placed eighth, having to take an injury default in the seventh place bout in the second period. Red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) had a nice run at 149 for Penn State. Beitz went 2-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals, including an early round 10-4 upset win over No. 9 Scott Sakaguchi of Oregon State. Beitz' final loss came to teammate Frey in the sixth round of consolations, a close 2-0 decision. True freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.) was also solid for Penn State, wrestling unattached at 184. McCutcheon posted a 3-2 record, advancing to the quarterfinals. He had a pin and a 5-4 win over No. 11 John Eblen of Missouri in the process. True freshman Garret Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.), wrestling unattached at 165, had a solid 3-2 tournament run at 165, including a tech fall and a pin. Red-shirt freshman Wes Phipps (Grove City, Pa.) was solid at 184, posting a 3-2 mark with a major and a win over No. 9 Boaz Beard of Iowa State. Junior Nate Morgan (McCook, Neb.) lost his only bout of the day and ended his tournament run at 141 with a 1-2 record. Senior James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) posted a 2-2 mark as Penn State's only 157-pounder. Penn State entered day two with a 38-5 overall record. The Nittany Lions then went 7-5 in the quarters, 6-1 in the semis and 2-4 in the finals as well as 14-13 in all the consolation and medal action combined on day two. Penn State leaves Chattanooga having posted a 67-28 overall record with 17 majors, three tech falls and 11 falls. Penn State returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 12, when the Lions welcome Purdue to Rec Hall for an already sold-out 2 p.m. showdown, returning home for the first time in nearly a month. With the full season of Rec Hall duals sold out prior to the start of the campaign, a very limited number of standing room only tickets are available to a few of the remaining Rec Hall duals. People may purchase tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting the Penn State Athletics ticket office located in the BJC. Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2013-14 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. 2014 SOUTHERN SCUFFLE FINAL TOP FIVE TEAM STANDINGS: Thursday, January 2, 2014 - Chattanooga, Tenn. 1: Penn State - 189.0 2: Oklahoma State - 164.5 3: Minnesota - 161.0 4: Cornell - 114.5 5: Missouri - 102.5 Attendance: 3,436 (Rankings Listed are National, InterMat as of 12/31/13)

125: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State), 6-4 133: No. 1 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 17 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), 4-0 141: No. 2 Zain Retherford (Penn State) dec. No. 19 Joe Spisak (Virginia), 6-4 SV 149: No. 2 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) pinned No. 1 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota), 2:52 157: No. 2 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 8 Ian Miller (Kent State), 2-1 TB 165: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 2 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State), 9-1 174: No. 2 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State), 4-0 184: No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State), 7-4 197: No. 1 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) dec. No. 2 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State), 6-3 285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No. 5 Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State), 1-0