InterMat Staff

The finals matches will begin at 7 p.m. ET 125: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) 133: No. 1 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 17 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) 141: No. 2 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 19 Joe Spisak (Virginia) 149: No. 1 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) 157: No. 2 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 8 Ian Miller (Kent State) 165: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) 174: No. 2 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State) 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) vs. No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) 197: No. 1 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) 285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) vs. No. 5 Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State)

125: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. No. 14 David Terao (American), 7-3 No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Josh Martinez (Air Force), 7-2 133: No. 1 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 11 Joe Roth (Central Michigan), 3-2 No. 17 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) dec. No. 10 David Thorn (Minnesota), 4-3 141: No. 19 Joe Spisak (Virginia) dec. No. 4 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota), 5-2 No. 2 Zain Retherford (Penn State) dec. No. 7 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), 2-0 149: No. 1 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) by medical forfeit over No. 8 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) No. 2 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. No. 3 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State), 6-3 157: No. 2 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 11 Brian Realbuto (Cornell), 7-6 No. 8 Ian Miller (Kent State) pinned No. 3 Dylan Ness (Minnesota), 0:44 165: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) pinned No. 9 Zach Toal (Missouri), 4:59 No. 2 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 3 Nick Sulzer (Virginia), 2-1 174: No. 2 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 8 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh), 2-1 No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Logan Storley (Minnesota), 3-2 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) tech. fall No. 12 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn), 23-7 No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 4 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota), 3-2 197: No. 1 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) dec. Nick Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh), 6-3 No. 2 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) dec. No. 14 J'den Cox (Missouri), 3-1 SV 285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No. 12 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State), 3-1 No. 5 Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) dec. No. 11 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio), 7-3

125: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) maj. dec. No. 17 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State), 16-5 No. 14 David Terao (American) dec. Caleb Richardson (Penn), 4-3 No. 6 Josh Martinez (Air Force) pinned Paul Petrov (Bucknell), 5:00 No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 12 Evan Silver (Stanford), 12-4 133: No. 1 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 18 Mack McGuire (Kent State), 4-0 No. 11 Joe Roth (Central Michigan) dec. Jordan Conaway (Penn State), 7-6 No. 10 David Thorn (Minnesota) maj. dec. No. 15 Nick Soto (Chattanooga), 10-2 No. 17 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Ryan Mango (Stanford), 2-1 141: No. 4 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) maj. dec. No. 14 Luke Vaith (Hofstra), 15-4 No. 19 Joe Spisak (Virginia) dec. Tyler Small (Kent State), 5-4 No. 7 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) dec. No. 6 Evan Henderson (North Carolina), 3-2 No. 2 Zain Retherford (Penn State) dec. No. 11 Zach Horan (Central Michigan), 2-0 149: No. 1 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. Matthew Frisch (The Citadel), 10-4 No. 8 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) dec. Zach Beitz (Penn State), 3-1 No. 3 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 10 Gus Sako (Virginia), 3-1 No. 2 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. Alex Richardson (Old Dominion), 3-2 157: No. 2 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. Luke Smith (Central Michigan), 7-1 No. 11 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) pinned No. 13 R.J. Pena (Oregon State), 4:39 No. 8 Ian Miller (Kent State) dec. No. 6 Kyle Bradley (Missouri), 8-3 No. 3 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) dec. No. 14 Nestor Taffur (Boston), 6-4 165: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 15 Dylan Palacio (Cornell), 17-6 No. 9 Zach Toal (Missouri) dec. Peyton Walsh (Navy), 4-3 No. 3 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) dec. No. 13 at 174 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (Citadel), 8-4 No. 2 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 16 Joe Booth (Hofstra), 7-0 174: No. 2 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State), 10-2 No. 8 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 10 Stephen Doty (Virginia), 8-4 No. 5 Logan Storley (Minnesota) dec. No. 14 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State), 6-3 No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State) pinned Joe Latham (Oregon State), 4:25 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) pinned No. 15 Sam Wheeler (Kent State), 1:07 No. 12 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) dec. Matt McCutcheon (Penn State), 4-2 No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), 6-1 No. 4 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) dec. No. 18 Jon Fausey (Virginia), 6-1 197: No. 1 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) pinned No. 15 Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma State), 2:32 Nick Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) dec. Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion), 2-0 No. 14 J'den Cox (Missouri) dec. No. 3 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State), 2-0 No. 2 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) dec. No. 12 Brandon Palik (Drexel), 5-1 285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. Blake Herrin (American), 4-0 No. 12 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State) dec. No. 15 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State), 3-2 TB No. 11 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) dec. Devin Mellon (Missouri), 11-8 No. 5 Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) dec. Jon Gingrich (Penn State), 4-2

Last year's Clash XI was a drama-laden event, one in which the champion was decided by tiebreaker criteria. In the day two champions bracket, St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.), Brandon (Fla.), and Montini Catholic (Ill.) all went 2-1. The three squads split matches against one another and earned a victory over Carl Sandburg (Ill.). The criteria tiebreaker gave St. Michael-Albertville the championship. Apple Valley (Minn.) has won the most Clash championships with four, and is after a fifth title in this year's edition of the Clash National High School Duals. Other past Clash champions in this year's event are St. Michael-Albertville; Glenbard North (Ill.), which won the initial edition of the event; and two-time champions Carl Sandburg (Ill.) Coach Mike Powell leads No. 2 OPRF (Photo/The Guillotine)Ten Fab 50 ranked teams are among the 32 squads in this year's event, which starts on Friday, January 3rd and continues on Saturday, Jan. 4. The first day of competition features two sessions of competition. The first session has matches at 9 a.m., 11 a.m, and 1 p.m. CT; while the second session has matches at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. Schools were assigned to one of four eight-team brackets, in which a first round victory assures a top four finish. For the second day of competition, there are also two sessions with the same scheduled times. Teams will be assigned to a round-robin pool involving the other three squads to finish in the same position in their respective brackets. Schools finishing fifth through eight on day one (i.e. lose first round on Friday) will compete in the morning session on Saturday, while those finishing first through fourth (i.e. win first round) will compete in the afternoon/evening session. Below are the first-round matchups in Friday's competition: Bracket A (morning session): No. 2 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.) vs. Adrian (Minn.), No. 41 West Fargo (N.D.) vs. Mediapolis (Iowa); No. 48 Vacaville (Calif.) vs. Totino Grace (Minn.), Parkston (S.D.) vs. No. 32 Bettendorf (Iowa) Bracket B (morning session): No. 3 Apple Valley (Minn.) vs. Thompson (Ala.), Jackson County Central (Minn.) vs. Glenbard North (Ill.); Timberland (Mo.) vs. Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.), Mason City (Iowa) vs. No. 19 St. Peter's Prep (N.J.) Bracket C (afternoon session): No. 6 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) vs. New Prague (Minn.), Skutt Catholic (Neb.) vs. Hononegah (Ill.); St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.) vs. Alburnett (Iowa), Bay Port (Wis.) vs. No. 13 Marist (Ill.) Bracket D (afternoon session): No. 18 Cincinnati Moeller (Ohio) vs. Woodbury Central (Iowa), Grand Island (Neb.) vs. Hastings (Minn.); Prior Lake (Minn.) vs. Carl Sandburg (Ill.), Independence (Iowa) vs. No. 17 Bound Brook (N.J.) The following is a list of the nationally ranked wrestlers slated to compete in the Clash XII: 106: No. 7 Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), No. 18 Austin Gomez (Glenbard North, Ill.) 113: No. 2 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) 126: No. 7 Tommy Thorn (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) 132: No. 5 Jered Cortez (Glenbard North, Ill.) 138: No. 2 Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa), No. 6 Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), No. 10 Seth Gross (Apple Valley, Minn.) 145: No. 14 Larry Early (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), No. 16 Logan Ryan (Bettendorf, Iowa), No. 19 Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) 152: No. 13 Dayton Racer (Apple Valley, Minn.) 160: No. 19 Kamal Bey (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 170: No. 3 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 10 Davonte Mahomes (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), No. 17 Adam Drain (Mediapolis, Iowa) 182: No. 2 Johnny Sebastian (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 12 Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central, N.J.), No. 14 Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) 195: No. 1 Lance Benick (Totino Grace, Minn.) 220: No. 4 Jeramy Sweany (Vacaville, Calif.), No. 5 Chalmer Frueauf (Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio), No. 20 Brady Reiff (Parkston, S.D.) 285: No. 3 Sam Stoll (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) Predicted Order of finish for Friday competition: Bracket A: 1. OPRF 2. Bettendorf 3. Mediapolis 4. Vacaville 5. West Fargo 6. Totino Grace 7. Parkston 8. Adrian Bracket B: 1. Apple Valley 2. St. Peter's Prep 3. Glenbard North 4. Timberland 5. Jackson County Central 6. Mason City 7. Kasson-Mantorville 8. Thompson Bracket C: 1. Bergen Catholic 2. Marist 3. St. Michael-Albertville 4. Skutt Catholic 5. Hononegah 6. Alburnett 7. Bay Port 8. New Prague Bracket D: 1. Cincinnati Moeller 2. Bound Brook 3. Prior Lake 4. Grand Island 5. Hastings 6. Carl Sandburg 7. Independence 8. Woodbury Central Predicted Order of finish for Saturday competition: Eighth Pool: 1. Adrian 2. New Prague 3. Thompson 4. Woodbury Central Seventh Pool: 1. Bay Port 2. Kasson-Mantorville 3. Independence 4. Parkston Sixth Pool: 1. Alburnett 2. Carl Sandburg 3. Mason City 4. Totino Grace Fifth Pool: 1. West Fargo 2. Hononegah 3. Hastings 4. Jackson County Central Fourth Pool: 1. Vacaville 2. Grand Island 3. Timberland 4. Skutt Catholic Third Pool: 1. Mediapolis 2. Glenbard North 3. Prior Lake 4. St. Michael-Albertville Second Pool: 1. Marist 2. St. Peter's Prep 3. Bound Brook 4. Bettendorf Champions Pool: 1. OPRF 2. Apple Valley 3. Bergen Catholic 4. Cincinnati Moeller

A big weekend of wrestling just came and went, with another big weekend of wrestling just ahead. It's the New Year's wrap-around edition of the National High School Wrestling Lowe Down. Dvorak = Alber's playground For a second consecutive year, the Dvorak Invitational (held in Machesney Park, Ill.) turned into a show ground for Josh Alber from Dakota. Last year, Alber kept alive his undefeated career with a 3-2 victory over Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy) in the 120-pound finals showdown between (at the time) two-time state champion juniors. This year, Alber is up at 132 pounds, and was facing a showdown with a fellow three-time state champion Jered Cortez (Glenbard North). Alber got the 5-3 overtime decision over Cortez to keep the undefeated career alive, the wrestlers respectively are now No. 4 and No. 5 in the nation at 132 pounds. In terms of the team race, Marist (207.5 points) came up with a somewhat unexpected championship, with Montini Catholic (186.5) in second, followed by Marmion Academy (186). Led by a joint tournament high ten placers, all but one of them inside the top four, the RedHawks move up five spots to No. 13 nationally after their title at the Dvorak. Anchoring the performance were weight class titles won by Nick Lukanich (113), who upset No. 15 Anthony Bosco (Marmion Academy) 4-2 in the final, and Alex Benoit (182). Runner-up Montini Catholic drops five spots to No. 11 nationally, but they did impress with seven top three placement finishes; however, the Broncos were only able to have one other wrestler earn a spot on the placement podium. Leading the way were weight class titles won by No. 20 Chris Garcia (145), No. 12 Xavier Montalvo (160), and No. 9 Michael Johnson, Jr. (285). Third place Marmion Academy moved up five spots in the Fab 50 to No. 25 nationally, as they matched Marist in terms of having 10 placement finishes; however, only No. 15 Johnny Jimenez (126) won a weight class title. Additionally, the Cadets only had four other finishes within the top three, two each runner-up and third place. Additional nationally ranked wrestlers to win weight classes at the Dvorak were No. 9 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita) at 106 pounds, No. 20 Stephen Polakowski (Libertyville), No. 19 Nicholas Gil (Crystal Lake South) at 138, No. 2 Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel) at 152, and No. 12 Tyler Johnson (Lockport). Link: Brackets/Results Golden State Showcase this weekend at Clovis This weekend's Doc Buchanan Invitational at Clovis H.S. near Fresno, Calif. serves as a de facto state tournament right at the midpoint of the regular season. Virtually every one who is anything in the state of California will be in the field, as well as some formidable wrestlers from other west coast states. Four nationally ranked teams -- No. 4 Clovis, No. 33 Poway, No. 36 Clovis West, and No. 45 Buchanan -- along with seventeen nationally ranked wrestlers are expected to compete this weekend. Wrestling starts on Friday at 9 a.m. PT (noon ET), with the quarterfinals during that evening. The tournament resumes on Saturday also at 9 a.m. Pacific, semifinals about an hour later, and then the championship match in each weight will take place at 5 p.m. Pacific (8 p.m. ET) on one mat. A pair of national number one's will be in the tournament, Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco) at 132 pounds and Nick Nevills (Clovis) at 285. Aaron Pico, ranked first at 152 pounds, is not expected to be competing in scholastic competition until very late January or early February. Valencia will face a stern test in this event with two other nationally ranked wrestlers, No. 9 Isaiah Locsin (Gilroy) and No. 10 Emilio Saavedra (Modesto), expected to be in his weight class. Eight other weight classes will feature at least one nationally ranked wrestler. They are as follows: 106: No. 12 Justin Mejia (Clovis) 113: No. 18 Adrian Camposano (Central), No. 19 Joey Cisneros (Redwood) 120: Israel Saavedra (Modesto) 126: No. 9 Mason Pengilly (Porterville), No. 12 Johnny Parada (San Fernando), No. 13 Michael Knoblauch (Clovis West) 145: No. 9 Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy), No. 18 Ralphy Tovar (Poway) 152: No. 15 Paul Fox (Gilroy) 170: No. 2 Anthony Valencia (St. John Bosco) 182: No. 6 Corey Griego (Sultana), No. 9 Nick Fiegener (Folsom) Franklin Regional's Super Six comes up strong at POWERade With the transfer eligibility saga of Devin Brown (106) finally settled, and Tyler Smith (132) down to his weight class, all six pieces of the core for Franklin Regional were present and in place for the 2013 edition of the POWERade Christmas Wrestling Tournament held just south of Pittsburgh, Pa. Five of those Panthers wrestlers won weight class titles, while a sixth finished as runner-up. Only one additional wrestler, Brandon Yant in fifth at 160 pounds, was on the podium, but it was more than enough -- No. 9 Franklin Regional won the POWERade title with 236.5 points. Panthers to win weight class titles included No. 4 Devin Brown (106), No. 1 Spencer Lee (113), No. 2 Tyler Smith (132), No. 3 Michael Kemerer (138), and No. 11 Josh Shields (152); while two-time state placer Josh Maruca (145) was runner-up, losing 13-7 to No. 2 Jason Nolf (Kittaning) in the final. Highlighted among those championships was the dominance of Lee, who had four pins (three in the first period) and a 14-4 major decision over last year's National Prep runner-up Ethan McCoy (Greater Latrobe) in the final; as well as the 7-0 decision victory for Smith over fellow state champion Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area), who was ranked No. 2 in the nation last week at this weight class. Finishing as runners-up in the event was No. 44 Greater Latrobe, with 207 points, which was led by three weight class champions: newly minted No. 1 Luke Pletcher (120), No. 17 Dom Scalise (160), and No. 5 Zack Zavatsky (182). Those performances were augmented by a runner-up finish from Ethan McCoy (113), a pair of fourth place finishes from Jake Shaffer (152) and Dylan Davis (220), and a seventh place finish from Ethan Smith (145). Most impressive was the tournament for Pletcher, whose 3-2 victories over No. 3 Sean Russell (Collins Hill, Ga.) and No. 4 Ethan Lizak (Parkland) in the semifinal and final were his second over each foe in ten weeks. Additional nationally ranked wrestlers to win weight class titles were Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan), who moves up five spots to No. 5 after an 8-6 upset victory over No. 3 Ryan Millhof (Collins Hill, Ga.) in the 126-pound final; No. 2 Jason Nolf (Kittaning) at 145; No. 1 Chance Marsteller (Kennard Dale) at 170, who became a four-time champion in this event; No. 3 Chip Ness (Buford, Ga.) at 195; and No. 2 Thomas Haines (Solanco). Link: Brackets/Results Blair Academy dual meet journey This past Saturday, No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. opened its dual meet schedule as it hosted No. 19 St. Peter's Prep, N.J. The Buccaneers came away with wins in 10 of 14 weight classes for a 43-13 victory. St. Peter's Prep earned a victory in the opening match of the dual, as Alec Kelly upended Zach Sherman 5-2 at 106 pounds. However, it was counted by five successive Blair Academy victories, before Ryan Burkert came up with a 3-1 decision over National Prep runner-up Walker Dempsey at 145 pounds. Four further consecutive Buccaneers victories made the dual meet score 37-6. The last three matches involved St. Peter's Prep wrestlers bumped up one weight class each. State qualifier Christian Colucci earned a 5-1 victory over National Prep placer David Showunmi at 195 pounds; before Blair Academy's Neil Putnam countered with a fall in overtime against state placer Jordan Fox at 220; and the dual meet ended with a 13-4 major decision in favor of St. Peter's Prep wrestler Armond Cox, a state qualifier last year, over Will Cooley. Link: Brackets/Results This weekend, the Buccaneers will travel to Ohio for a pair of dual meets on Friday night and then a single dual meet on Saturday night. On Friday, they travel to Stark County in Ohio for a 5 p.m. triangular meet at Massillon Perry. The host Panthers, ranked No. 8 nationally will take on Federal League rival Massillon Jackson; then at 6, the Polar Bears will wrestle Blair; and finally at 7, it will be No. 1 Blair Academy against No. 8 Massillon Perry. For Saturday, Blair Academy will travel a few hours southwest, where they will take on No. 5 St. Paris Graham, Ohio in a dual meet slated to start at 7 p.m. The following represents projected lineups for Blair Academy, Massillon Perry, and St. Paris Graham. 106: Zach Sherman (B), Tanner Smith/Justin Stickley (G), Thomas Genetin (MP) 113: Requin van der Merwe (B), No. 7 Eli Stickley (G), Evan Snow (MJ), No. 3 Jose Rodriguez/Zac McCauley (MP) 120: No. 17 Chaz Tucker (B), Mario Kastl (G), Jake Newhouse (MP) 126: No. 4 Matthew Kolodzik (B), No. 18 Eli Seipel (G), David Bavery (MP) 132: Jordan Kutler (B), Brent Moore/Nate Henkle (G), Jason Spencer (MP) 138: No. 1 Joey McKenna (B), Kyle Lawson (G), Nick Steed (MP) 145: Walker Dempsey (B), No. 1 Micah Jordan (G), Austin Phillips (MP) 152: No. 8 Mason Manville (B), Garrett Jordan (G), No. 14 Casey Sparkman (MP) 160: No. 2 Dylan Milonas (B), No. 6 Alex Marinelli (G), No. 11 Tony Dailey (MP) 170: No. 18 Brandon Dallavia (B), Lane Thomas (G), Isaac Bast (MP) 182: Nicholas DiNapoli (B), Hayden Bronne (G), Brady Durieux (MP) 195: David Showunmi (B), Josh Couchman (G), Chris Ruby (MP) 220: Neil Putnam (B), Brandon Hayes (G), Stefano Millin (MP) 285: Will Cooley (B), Dylan Nave (G), Seth Maylor (MP) Cheesehead Invitational this weekend in Wisconsin The 16th annual Cheesehead Invitational will be held this Friday and Saturday at Kaukauna High School, just outside of Green Bay, Wis. Four nationally ranked teams -- No. 11 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 25 Marmion Academy (Ill.), No. 28 Southeast Polk (Iowa), and No. 35 Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa) -- are among the 26 squads in the field. Wrestling will begin at 5 p.m. Central Time (6 p.m. ET) on Friday afternoon, with resumption on Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. Cetnral (9:30 Eastern), and finals slated for an approximately 5:30 p.m. Central start on Saturday evening. A television broadcast of the championship matches is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on Monday, January 13th on some local Fox Sports Network affiliates. Eleven nationally ranked wrestlers from ten weight classes headline the field. No. 9 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita, Ill.) at 106 pounds, No. 15 Anthony Bosco (Marmion Academy, Ill.) at 113, No. 15 Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy, Ill.) at 126, No. 20 Chris Garcia (Montini Catholic, Ill.) at 145, No. 2 Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) at 152, No. 12 Xavier Montalvo (Montini Catholic, Ill.) and No. 15 Spencer Derifield (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa) at 160, No. 11 Beau Breske (Hartford Union, Wis.) at 170, No. 7 Javaughn Perkins (Omaha North, Neb.) at 182, No. 12 Tyler Johnson (Lockport, Ill.) at 195, and No. 9 Michael Johnson, Jr. (Montini Catholic, Ill.) at 285. Quick notes for the coming weekend A separate event-specific preview for The Clash XII National Wrestling Duals, to be held on Friday and Saturday in Rocheter, Minn., will be posted today. The field of 32 teams features ten Fab 50 squads: No. 2 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 3 Apple Valley (Minn.), No. 6 Bergen Catholic (N.J.), No. 13 Marist (Ill.), No. 17 Bound Brook (N.J.), No. 18 Cincinnati Moeller (Ohio), No. 19 St. Peter's Prep (N.J.), No. 32 Bettendorf (Iowa), No. 41 West Fargo (N.D.), and No. 48 Vacaville (Calif.) No. 21 St. Edward will play host to a quadrangular meet on Saturday in Lakewood, Ohio, starting at 1 p.m. Joining the Eagles in competition will be No. 29 Claymont, Wadsworth, and Westerville North. This is the second year for the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA) State Duals, which will be held on Saturday at Westfield H.S. The event came into play when the IHSAA decided to eliminate team state, and instead crown a state team champion based on the scored individual tournament. Though the individual tournament is single class, the State Duals will have three classes. The lone Fab 50 team in the field will be No. 30 Perry Meridian, who seeks the Class 3A (big-school) title. The Rollie Lane Invitational at the Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho will be held on Friday and Saturday. It traditionally is one of the showcase events of the Idaho high school wrestling season. This year's field includes both Fab 50 teams in the state, No. 43 Centennial and No. 50 Kuna. Quick highlights from past weekend No. 3 Apple Valley, Minn. dominated their way to the title at the Rumble on the Red held in the FargoDome with 343 points. The Eagles were led by with nine finalists, including six weight class champions: Maolu Woiwor (132), No. 13 Dayton Racer (152), No. 3 Mark Hall (170), No. 14 Bobby Steveson (182), Gable Steveson (195), and Paul Cheney (220). Runner-up in the tournament was No. 41 West Fargo, N.D. with 187.5 points, as the Packers had eight placers, including two runners-up in Jordan Shearer (132) and Weston Dobler (160). The most notable individual result was the upset victory by No. 20 Ryan Schuman (Tri-Valley, S.D.) in the 138-pound final, 4-3 over No. 10 Seth Gross (Apple Valley, Minn.) No. 5 St. Paris Graham, Ohio was upended in the GMVWA Tournament this past weekend at Wright State University near Dayton by No. 10 Archer, Ga. The 10th-ranked Tigers used 13 place-finishers, including four weight class champions to upend the Falcons by a score of 332.5 to 319.5. Champions for the Tigers were Chris Diaz (132), Thomas Bullard (152), Elliott Lee (195), and M.J. Couzan (285). Despite the absence of Brent Moore at 132 pounds, the Falcons still had five weight class champions: Justin Stickley (106), No. 7 Eli Stickley (113), No. 18 Eli Seipel (126), No. 1 Micah Jordan (145), and No. 6 Alex Marinelli (160). No. 7 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. won the Bethlehem Holiday Classic at Liberty H.S. this past weekend. The Blue Knights were led by four weight class champions -- No. 10 Nick Reenan (152), No. 18 Chris Weiler (160), Michael Rogers (195), and Matthew Doggett (285) -- and five other place-winners to score 220 points. Runner-up Nazareth, Pa. moves up ten spots in the Fab 50 to No. 14 overall after a 215 point performance on the strength of ten total placers, including three weight class champions -- No. 17 at 132 Chase Zemenak (138), Sage Karam (145), and Nicolino Sevi (182). A short-handed Bound Brook, N.J. squad finished fifth with 150 points, which was 18.5 points out of third, and the Crusaders drop five spots to No. 17 in the nation. Despite the absence of their best wrestler, No. 3 Jose Rodriguez (113), No. 8 Massillon Perry (233 points) earned an impressive victory at the Medina Invitational Tournament this past Friday and Saturday in Ohio. The Panthers had seven wrestlers finish inside the top three, including a trio of weight class champions in Jake Newhouse (120), David Bavery (126), and No. 11 Tony Dailey (160); another pair of wrestlers placed seventh and eighth respectively. No. 21 St. Edward finished as runner-up with 200 points, anchored by the title won by the tournament's Most Oustanding Wrestler L.J. Bentley (113), who moves up seven spots to No. 10 nationally. Nine other wrestlers placed for the Eagles. Finishing third was Claymont with three champions -- No. 3 Tyler Warner (106), Cody Burcher (138), and Garrett Harding (220). Four other Mustangs wrestlers placed on the way to a 199 point performance, as they move up nine positions to No. 29 nationally. The fourth Fab 50 team in the field is No. 20 Detroit Catholic Central, Mich., which placed fourth with 163.5 points despite the absence of two likely tournament finalists; and the Shamrocks still had two wrestlers win weight class titles, No. 12 Nick Bennett (152) and No. 13 Andrew Garcia (170). No. 24 Brecksville, Ohio won its home tournament for the second consecutive year this past Sunday and Monday, as they scored 216 points. Key to the Bees success was a five-for-six run in the semifinals, which culminated in weight class titles won by No. 12 Austin Assad (120) and Austin Strnad (160). The other Fab 50 team in the field, Davison (Mich.), finished third in the event with 174 points led by a pair of champions in No. 15 Justin Oliver (138) and No. 13 Jordan Cooks (182); as a result, the Cardinals dropped eight spots to No. 27 nationally. Runner-up in the tournament was Delta, Ohio with 191.5 points led by a pair of champions in Drew Mattin (106) and No. 20 Jake Spiess (113). Outstanding Wrestler honors went to No. 14 Anthony Tutolo (Lake Catholic, Ohio), who upended two-time state champion Lincoln Olson (Davison, Mich.) 8-6 at 126 pounds.

1. Minnesota 53.5 2. Penn State 53 3. Oklahoma State 50.5 4. Cornell 40 5. Iowa State 39.5 6. Missouri 35.5 7. Virginia 33.5 8. Kent State 31 9. Oregon State 29.5 10. Air Force 28 11. Old Dominion 27 12. South Dakota State 26 13. Boston 25 13. Ohio 25 13. Pittsburgh 25 13. Stanford 25 17. Chattanooga 23 18. Central Michigan 21.5 19. Pennsylvania 20 20. North Carolina 19.5 21. Duke 18.5 22. Hofstra 16 22. Northern Colorado 16 24. Navy 15.5 25. North Carolina State 13.5 26. The Citadel 13 27. Appalachian State 11 27. Drexel 11 29. American 10 29. Arizona State 10 31. Bucknell 9 32. Army 8 33. Cleveland State 7 34. Campbell 6.5

The quarterfinals will take place at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday 125: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 17 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) No. 14 David Terao (American) vs. Caleb Richardson (Penn) No. 6 Josh Martinez (Air Force) vs. Paul Petrov (Bucknell) No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 12 Evan Silver (Stanford) 133: No. 1 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 18 Mack McGuire (Kent State) No. 11 Joe Roth (Central Michigan) vs. Jordan Conaway (Penn State) No. 10 David Thorn (Minnesota) vs. No. 15 Nick Soto (Chattanooga) No. 5 Ryan Mango (Stanford) vs. No. 17 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) 141: No. 4 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) vs. No. 14 Luke Vaith (Hofstra) No. 19 Joe Spisak (Virginia) vs. Tyler Small (Kent State) No. 6 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) vs. No. 7 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) No. 2 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 11 Zach Horan (Central Michigan) 149: No. 1 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) vs. Matthew Frisch (The Citadel) No. 8 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) vs. Zach Beitz (Penn State) No. 3 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 10 Gus Sako (Virginia) No. 2 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) vs. Alex Richardson (Old Dominion) 157: No. 2 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. Luke Smith (Central Michigan) No. 11 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) vs. No. 13 R.J. Pena (Oregon State) No. 6 Kyle Bradley (Missouri) vs. No. 8 Ian Miller (Kent State) No. 3 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) vs. No. 14 Nestor Taffur (Boston) 165: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) vs. No. 15 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) No. 9 Zach Toal (Missouri) vs. Peyton Walsh (Navy) No. 3 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) vs. No. 13 at 174 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (Citadel) No. 2 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 16 Joe Booth (Hofstra) 174: No. 2 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) No. 8 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 10 Stephen Doty (Virginia) No. 5 Logan Storley (Minnesota) vs. No. 14 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State) vs. Joe Latham (Oregon State) 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) vs. No. 15 Sam Wheeler (Kent State) No. 12 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) vs. Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) No. 4 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) vs. No. 18 Jon Fausey (Virginia) 197: No. 1 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) vs. No. 15 Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) Nick Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) vs. Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion) No. 3 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) vs. No. 14 J'den Cox (Missouri) No. 2 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) vs. No. 12 Brandon Palik (Drexel) 285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) vs. Blake Herrin (American) No. 12 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State) vs. No. 15 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) No. 11 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) vs. Devin Mellon (Missouri) No. 5 Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) vs. Jon Gingrich (Penn State)

All times ET Wednesday, Jan. 1 9 a.m. Championship Round of 64 Noon Championship Round of 32/1st Round of Consolations 3 p.m. 2nd Round of Consolations 5:45 p.m. Championship Round of 16/3rd Round of Consolations Thursday, Jan. 2 9 a.m. Championship Quarterfinals 11:30 a.m. Consolation Round 5 12:30 pm. Consolation Round 6 1:30 p.m. Championship Semifinals/Consolation Quarterfinals 3:30 p.m. Consolation Semifinals 7 p.m. Championship Finals/Medal Matches

The pre-seeds have been released for the 2014 Southern Scuffle, which takes place Wednesday and Thursday in Chattanooga, Tenn. InterMat is providing a live blog throughout the two-day event for fans to follow the action and interact. 125: 1. Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) 2. Nico Megaludis (Penn State) 3. Josh Martinez (Air Force) 4. Corey Keener (Central Michigan) 5. David Terao (American) 6. Anthony Zanetta (Pittsburgh) 7. Nathan Kraisser (North Carolina) 8. Evan Silver (Stanford) 9. Earl Hall (Iowa State) 10. Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) 11. Jerome Robinson (Old Dominion) 12. Paul Petrov (Bucknell) 133: 1. Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) 2. Ryan Mango (Stanford) 3. David Thorn (Minnesota) 4. Joe Roth (Central Michigan) 5. Shelton Mack (Pittsburgh) 6. Nick Soto (Chattanooga) 7. Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) 8. Mack McGuire (Kent State) 9. Colton Rasche (Navy) 10. Jamel Hudson (Hofstra) 11. Joe Martinez (Virginia) 12. Jordan Conaway (Penn State) 141: 1. Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) 2. Zain Retherford (Penn State) 3. Evan Henderson (North Carolina) 4. Mike Nevinger (Cornell) 5. K. Undrakhbayar (Citadel) 6. Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) 7. Zach Horan (Central Michigan) 8. Luke Vaith (Hofstra) 9. Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) 10. Edgar Bright (Pittsburgh) 11. Lavion Mayes (Missouri) 12. Joe Spisak (Virginia) 149: 1. Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) 2. Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) 3. Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) 4. Chris Villalonga (Cornell) 5. Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) 6. Gus Sako (Virginia) 7. Dyllan Cottrell (Appalachian State) 8. Ray Borja (Navy) 9. Matthew Frisch (Citadel) 10. Luke Frey (Penn State) 11. Alex Johnson (Navy) 12. Cody Ruggierello (Hofstra) 157: 1. Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) 2. Dylan Ness (Minnesota) 3. Kyle Bradley (Missouri) 4. Brian Realbuto (Cornell) 5. R.J. Pena (Oregon State) 6. Ian Miller (Kent State) 7. Nestor Taffur (Boston) 8. Tristan Warner (Old Dominion) 9. James Vollrath (Penn State) 10. Thomas Gantt (North Carolina State) 11. Raamiah Bathea (Penn) 12. Alex Hudson (Chattanooga) 165: 1. David Taylor (Penn State) 2. Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) 3. Nick Sulzer (Virginia) 4. Michael Moreno (Iowa State) 5. Corey Mock (Chattanooga) 6. Zach Toal (Missouri) 7. Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (Citadel) 8. Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota) 9. Casey Kent (Penn) 10. Dylan Palacio (Cornell) 11. Joe Booth (Hofstra) 12. Jim Wilson (Stanford) 174: 1. Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) 2. Matt Brown (Penn State) 3. Logan Storley (Minnesota) 4. Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) 5. Stephen Doty (Virginia) 6. Mike Ottinger (Central Michigan) 7. Mathew Miller (Navy) 8. Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) 9. Kevin Radford (Arizona State) 10. Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) 11. Mike England (Missouri) 12. Joe Latham (Oregon State) 184: 1. Ed Ruth (Penn State) 2. Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) 3. Gabe Dean (Cornell) 4. Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) 5. John Eblen (Missouri) 6. Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) 7. Boaz Beard (Iowa State) 8. Jon Fausey (Virginia) 9. Sam Wheeler (Kent State) 10. Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) 11. Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) 12. Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) 197: 1. Scott Schiller (Minnesota) 2. Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) 3. Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) 4. Daniel Mitchell (American) 5. Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) 6. Phillip Wellington (Ohio) 7. J'den Cox (Missouri) 8. Brandon Palik (Drexel) 9. Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) 10. Francis Mattiace (Penn) 11. Conner Hartmann (Duke) 12. Zach Nye (Virginia) 285: 1. Tony Nelson (Minnesota) 2. Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) 3. Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) 4. Jimmy Lawson (Penn State) 5. Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) 6. Joe Stolfi (Bucknell) 7. Amar Dhesi (Oregon State) 8. Blake Herrin (American) 9. Josh Marchok (Stanford) 10. Jonathan Gingrich (Penn State) 11. Devon Mellon (Missouri) 12. P.J. Tasser (Pittsburgh)

Links: Brackets | Schedule Southern Scuffle

EVANSTON, Ill. -- North Dakota State's Steven Monk earned the school's first individual title at the prestigious Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern University on Monday night, claiming a 4-2 decision over No. 4-ranked Nick Moore of Iowa in the 165-pound championship match. Monk improved to 16-1 this season and 114-23 in his career – a mark that ranks him second in school history in wins. Monk placed fourth at Midlands in each of the past two seasons. "This is another stepping stone for Steve," said NDSU head coach Roger Kish. "He'll be the first one to tell you that he has bigger plans and a lot of his goals are down the road in March." Monk registered a 7-2 decision over fifth-seeded Cooper Moore of Northern Iowa in the semifinals. Moore is the only wrestler to defeat Monk this season, but Monk swung the season series to 2-1 in his favor with his second win over Moore on Monday. NDSU sophomore Hayden Zillmer went 4-0 on Monday in the consolation bracket to earn a third-place finish at 174 pounds, making him the second-highest Midlands finisher in school history behind Monk. Zillmer won by decision in all four matches, with the final two of the day coming in overtime periods, to finish the tournament with a 6-1 record. Zillmer avenged his only defeat with a 2-1 decision over Southern Oregon's Brock Gutches in the tiebreaker period to take third place. Bison junior Kurtis Julson placed seventh at 184 pounds. Julson pinned Michigan's Domenic Abounader in his first match on Monday before dropping a 2-1 decision to No. 7 seed Sam Brooks of Iowa in the first tiebreaker period. Julson took seventh place by virtue of a medical forfeit over eighth-ranked Vic Avery of Edinboro. NDSU placed 11th as a team with 54 points. NDSU will travel to California later this week for duals at Cal Poly on Jan. 4 and CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 6.

EVANSTON, Ill. – Mitch Minotti became the first Lehigh freshman wrestler to win an undergraduate Midlands title as he captured the 149 pound title Monday night as the Mountain Hawks wrapped up action at the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championship at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. Minotti came from behind twice to defeat Eric Grajales of Michigan 5-4 in the tiebreakers, becoming Lehigh's fifth undergraduate Midlands champion while capturing the school's sixth title. After advancing to the finals with a 2-0 win over Blake Ruolo of George Mason, the No. 6 seed Minotti took on the fifth-seeded Grajales for the title. Grajales opened the scoring with a cradle on the edge for a takedown and built up 1:25 of advantage time before Minotti escaped to make the score 2-1 after one period. In the second, Minotti chose neutral and secured a late takedown to take a 3-2 lead into the third. Grajales chose bottom in the third and escaped to tie the match at 3-3. Minotti got in on a deep shot late in the third but no points were awarded and the match went to sudden victory. Following a scoreless sudden victory period, Minotti was down for the first 30 second tiebreak period but Grajales managed to ride out. In the second half of the tiebreak Grajales escaped to go in front 4-3 but Minotti grabbed an ankle after a single leg shot and finished the takedown with eight seconds remaining to win 5-4. "It's a great feeling, especially getting revenge on a guy that beat me last year in this same tournament," Minotti said after his triumph. "The coaches always preach about scoring as many points as you can and scoring late in periods. I knew that's what they were thinking and that's what was going through my head. I just made something work. "He found a way," added Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "You have to keep wrestling as long as there's time on the clock. He needed to score quickly and that's what he did." Lehigh wrestlers have now won titles in three of the last four Midlands Championships as Minotti joined Robert Hamlin (2011) and Zack Rey (2010) as recent Midlands champs. Minotti was one of four Lehigh wrestlers to place in the top eight in their respective weight classes, along with sophomores Mason Beckman (133) and John Bolich (197) and junior Nathaniel Brown (184), who competed unattached. As a team, Lehigh finished in ninth place with 60.5 points. Brown was Lehigh's other semifinalist in Monday's morning session but he fell 5-3 in sudden victory to Maryland's Jimmy Sheptock, the eventual champion at 184. The No. 3 seed at 184 Brown wrestled back to defeat post graduate Keegan Mueller, and then dominated Brown's Ophir Bernstein in the third place match, winning by technical fall 17-2 in 7:00. The No. 9 seed at 197, Bolich scored a first period takedown that proved to be the difference in a 3-2 win over sixth seed Chris Penny of Virginia Tech which guaranteed his first Midlands medal. Following an injury default and a medical forfeit, Bolich found himself wrestling for third place but came up on the short end of a 3-1 decision against Iowa's Nathan Burak and had to settle for fourth. Beckman placed at 133 for the second straight year, coming in fifth this year after placing fourth last year. He earned a spot in the top eight with a 7-3 decision over Cashe Quiroga of Purdue, then defeated Devon Lotito of Cal Poly to guarantee himself top six. Beckman fell to top seed A.J. Schopp of Edinboro 5-0 in the consolation semifinals in a rematch of the NWCA All-Star Classic exhibition, won by Beckman 5-1. In the fifth place match, Beckman avenged a semifinal loss to Alan Waters of Missouri with a 5-2 tiebreaker win. Beckman built a 1:10 riding time advantage to force overtime at 1-1 then mustered a pair of escapes in the first half of the tiebreaker (after a Waters injury timeout) and added an insurance takedown in the second half. Of the five Mountain Hawks who advanced to Monday, only freshman Elliot Riddick failed to place. Riddick dropped a 5-3 sudden victory decision to Iowa's Alex Meyer in what was his fourth overtime match in five Midlands bouts. Riddick opened the scoring with a low double leg takedown late in the first period, but with a late 3-1 lead was taken down in the final 15 seconds of regulation. In the sudden victory period, Meyer countered a Riddick shot for the winning score after just 14 seconds. "I'm pleased with the finishes we had," Santoro said. "Winning three of our last four was good, but we need more guys in championship finals and more guys wrestling tonight. We saw a lot better fight overall today, but we still have some issues we need to work on when we get back. We need to fight all the time. We can't have these letdowns in these big matches. That's the difference between being an All-American and not being an All-American. Iowa rolled to the team title with a Midlans record 187.5 points. Northern Iowa's Joe Colon was named both the Art Kraft Champion of Champions and the Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler. The Mountain Hawks will return to action on Sunday January 12, when they travel to EIWA rival Cornell for a 2 p.m. dual. The match will be broadcast on WLVR-FM (91.3) and WLVR.org. Lehigh's next home will be Friday January 17 against Navy inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Fighting Illini placed fourth at the 2013 Midlands Championships after totaling 83 points, just one less point than third-place Michigan. Five Illini placed in the top-eight, as Steven Rodrigues (141) finished second, Jesse Delgado (125) placed third, Mario Gonzalez (197) finished sixth, Zac Brunson (157) placed seventh, and Christopher Lopez (HWT) finished in eighth place. Iowa took the team title with a tournament-record 187.5 points and crowned three champions. "This weekend really took a toll on us physically," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "We were battling everything from injuries to the flu throughout the tournament. After getting upset in the semifinals, Jesse Delgado did a very good job of fighting back and getting third place. Steven Rodrigues had a great run getting to the finals and wrestled well. We had to withdraw Jackson Morse and Mario Gonzalez on the second day due to injuries, and that really hurt out team point total. We need to use the next couple weeks to get healthy and get some solid training in to get ready for Big Ten season." Rodrigues started the day with with a 4-3 decision over No. 7 Josh Dziewa to advance to the championship match, where he squared off against top-seeded Mitchell Port of Edinboro. Port, currently the top-ranked 141-pounder in the country by Intermat, controlled the first period, taking a 5-0 lead after a takedown and three-point near fall. Rodrigues held the 2013 national runner-up to three points in the second period, making the score 8-0 going into the third. Rodrigues started the final period in the down position and scored his first point of the match with an early escape. After another takedown by Port, Rodrigues responded with an escape to make the final score 11-2. Rodrigues, who entered the tournament unseeded, defeated four seeded opponents to get to the championship match. Delgado began the day with a 3-1 loss to fourth-seeded Thomas Gilman of Iowa, his first loss of the season, to move into the consolation bracket. In the consolation semifinals, the reigning NCAA and Big Ten champion defeated Sean Boyle of Michigan in a 12-3 major decision to advance to the third-place match. Delgado began the match by taking down No. 5 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa), but Peters scrambled out for the escape. After another takedown, Peters responded with a reversal, but Delgado was able to escape before the end of the period, making the score 5-3 after one. Delgado began the second period in the down position and managed to escape early, while Peters did the same in period three, making the final score 6-5. Gonzalez lost his first matchup of the day to No. 4 Braden Atwood due to an injury default. The top-seeded 197-pounder suffered an injury shortly into the first period of the semifinals, but attempted to continue after a short timeout. After being taken down less than a minute later, Gonzalez was unable to continue and moved to the consolation bracket. The Aurora, Ill., native was unable to compete in the next two consolation matches, and ended up finishing in sixth place. Fifth-seeded Brunson suffered a loss to Chad Ryan of Columbia in the first session, but won three consolation matches to advance to the consolation quarterfinals, where he was defeated by teammate Isaiah Martinez. In the seventh-place match, Brunson squared off against Ryan once again, this time coming away with a tech. fall victory to place seventh. Lopez's eighth-place finish is a career best, while unattached wrestler Isaiah Martinez placed fourth in his collegiate debut.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Freshman Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich./Fowlerville HS) kept his unbeaten season alive, capturing the heavyweight title to headline the No. 19-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team's performance at the 51st annual Midlands Championships on Monday (Dec. 30) at Welsh-Ryan Arena. With Coon's victory, the Wolverines jumped into third place in the final team standings behind six individual placewinners. Coon, seeded third, knocked off Iowa's top-seeded -- and third-ranked -- Bobby Telford, 3-2, on an incredible third-period takedown. The Wolverine wrestler shot in on a double leg late in the frame, but Telford countered, locking up a tight cradle. After several precarious moments, Coon ducked under, coming around top to score. Telford escaped to narrow the score but could not get off a quality shot. Coon also scored while locked in a cradle in the semifinals, where he defeated Maryland's second-seeded Spencer Myers, 4-1. The Wolverine freshman improved to 19-0 in his collegiate career. It is the best start for a Michigan true freshman in program history. Fifth-year senior Eric Grajales (Brandon, Fla./Brandon HS) lost a 5-4 overtime heartbreaker to Lehigh's sixth-seeded Mitch Minotti, giving up a low single leg in the waning seconds of the first tiebreaker. Grajales, seeded fifth, struck first with a first-period cradle, but ran out of mat room to turn Minotti. The Mountain Hawk wrestler evened it up with a takedown late in the second before Grajales escaped to even the score. Grajales rode out the first 30-second frame and escaped quickly in the second to have the match in hand before the winning Minotti takedown. Grajales knocked off Northwestern's top-seeded Jason Tsirtsis, 6-3, in the semifinal round, rallying from an early first-period deficit with an arm drag and two-point tilt in the second. He added an escape in the third and just missed on a riding-time point, ending the match with 56 seconds time advantage. Sophomore Taylor Massa (St. John, Mich./St. John HS), competing unattached at 165 pounds, bounced back from a controversial semifinal loss to earn back-to-back consolation matches and claim third place. Massa defeated Northwestern's seventh-seeded Pierce Harger, 5-3, in the placing bout, overcoming an early deficit with a first-period arm drag and 3:25 in riding time. Massa sacrificed an early lead in a 4-3 semifinal loss to Iowa's second-seeded Nick Moore. The Wolverine put Moore on his back out of a late scramble in the first but settled only for the takedown. The wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third before Massa was called for a second stall warning and Moore finished on a single leg in the waning seconds to steal the match. The Wolverines placed three at the lowerweights as fifth-year senior Sean Boyle (Lowell, Mass./Blair Academy) and sophomore/freshman Conor Youtsey (Parma, Mich./Mason HS) claimed fifth and eighth at 125 pounds, respectively, and sophomore Rossi Bruno (Brandon, Fla./Brandon HS) took eighth at 133 pounds. Boyle went 3-1 on the day, earning extra points with a pair of bonus victories, to register his first Midlands placing performance. He opened the day with back-to-back wrestleback wins, including a dominant 9-0 major decision over Brown's Billy Watterson -- on two takedowns, a three-point tilt and 3:03 riding time -- in his first morning match, before falling to Illinois' defending NCAA champion Jesse Delgado in the consolation semifinals. He accepted a forfeit victory in the fifth-place match. Youtsey and Bruno both opened the day with falls to secure placing performances before dropping consecutive matches to similarly settle for eighth place. Youtsey pinned Maryland's Billy Rappo, using a head-and-arm to reverse the Terrapin to his back at 3:31. Bruno stuck Rider's Chuck Zeisloft out of a wild scramble late in the first period, initiating the flurry with a single-leg shot before putting Zeisloft on his back at 2:57. Senior/junior Collin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) and freshman Domenic Abounader (Gates Mills, Ohio/St. Edward HS) were eliminated one match shy of placing at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, after dropping their morning wrestleback matches. Abounader was beating North Dakota State's 12th-seeded Kurt Julson, 3-0 with riding time, midway through the second period when he was headlocked and pinned at 4:15. The Wolverines will resume dual-meet competition on Sunday (Jan. 5), hosting Maryland at 2 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena. The Terrapins, who will join the Big Ten Conference next season, took sixth place at Midlands.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- UNI wrestler Joe Colon knocked off the nation’s top two wrestlers and led the Panthers to a fifth-place finish at the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. Colon dominated the championship match, pinning No. 2 Tony Ramos of Iowa in 2 minutes, 37 seconds. Colon is the only wrestler to pin Ramos in his college career. “He beat three highly ranked guys. He showed he could find a way to win. He needs to build on it,” said head coach Doug Schwab. “He’s going to have to do that at the national tournament. He was the same tonight as he always is. He just wants to go and wrestle guys and attack his opponent.” Colon struck first with a takedown early in the match, but he wasn’t able to keep Ramos down. Ramos earned an escape about midway through the first. However, Colon countered with a takedown that put Ramos directly to his back, giving him the fall. Colon is UNI’s highest finisher at the prestigious competition since Nick Baima won the 165-pound weight class in 2005. Dylan Peters earned two falls early in the second day of competition to become the team leader in pins - 12 total - and keep his chances alive for a third-place finish in the 133-pound weight class. However, top-ranked Jesse Delgado of Illinois stood in his way. Delgado got a takedown early, but Peters earned an escape and reversal to close the gap, 4-3. Delgado got an escape to extend his lead 5-3 after the first period. An early escape in the second period put Delgado ahead 6-3. Peters escaped in the third to keep Delgado within two points. Despite earning a point for stalling, Peters eventually fell 6-5 to Delgado. “Peters is close with all the top guys in the country,” said Schwab. “There are just some small finishing touches. He isn’t happy with where he is at. We get a great effort from him every time. We just have some small things to tweak.” Cooper Moore earned his fourth major decision, beating Josh Houldsworth of Columbia, 8-0, to take fifth place. “He wrestled really well,” said Schwab. “He was aggressive, and he attacked. It was like a flip that switched. He’s been wrestling well all season, but there was a different look in his eye. We have to keep him with that attitude.” Moore fell to 165-pound top seed Steven Monk of North Dakota State to start the second day of competition. Moore beat Monk early in the season to earn his national ranking, but Monk has won by decision in their last two meetings. Moore’s loss to No. 13 Pierce Harger of Northwestern bumped him out of contention for third. “It’s a mixed bag anything you have a tournament,” said Schwab. “We need to have more guys go out and lay it on the line. Colon is laying it on the line. He is ready to go toe to toe with anyone. “We have to dig in and put more in. It has to burn you. It’s only January, but the clock is ticking, and we have to make some gain. But we have some guys we can rally around, too.” MORE PANTHER RESULTS Four other Panthers got knocked out of medal rounds on the second day of competition. Returning NCAA qualifier Levi Wolfensperger lost to No. 10 Devon Lotito of Cal Poly in the 133-pound weight class. In addition to pinning Moore, Harger of Northwestern earned a fall against Curt Maas in the 165-pound weight class. Basil Minto and Blaize Cabell also lost their opening matches of the day in the 197-pound and 285-pound weight classes, respectively. NEXT UP UNI will be on the road this weekend and face two Mid-American Conference foes. The Panthers face Buffalo Jan. 4 and Eastern Michigan Jan. 5. On Jan. 11, the team hosts Central Michigan at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to buy tickets early, as fans were turned away at the first home dual because of limited seating. To purchase tickets, go online at UNIPanthers.com or call (319) 273-4849.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Jimmy Sheptock and Christian Boley took home titles at the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Northwestern University Monday night. Sheptock took down Iowa’s Ethen Lofthouse to win the 184-pound title, while Boley ran past Braden Atwood of Purdue to claim the crown at 197 pounds. The pair’s wins propelled the Terps to an overall team finish of sixth, with a total of 68.5 points. The double titles were the Terps’ first at the Midlands since 2009, when Alex Krom took home the title at 141 pounds. Maryland has never had two champions at a single Midlands Championships. "Today was a great day for our program," head coach Kerry McCoy said. "Jimmy and Christian did a great job. Spencer wrestled well and overall, our guys did a good job. We are really close to being a top team and in March, we'll be there." In the 184-pound title bout, Sheptock and Lofthouse wrestled methodically for all three periods, with neither competitor registering much offense. Lofthouse notched an escape in the second period, with Sheptock returning the favor in the third. With the score tied 1-1, the match entered the sudden death period. The Terrapin senior was able to bring Lofthouse down with a single leg shot, adjust to the Lofthouse's roll-through, and secure the winning takedown and a 3-1 win. Sheptock’s victory over Lofthouse was his fourth over a ranked opponent this season and third over a top-10 foe. The All-American’s best previous finish at the Midlands came last year when he came in fifth. Boley continued his recent strong run of form, coming back to defeat the fourth-seeded Atwood. Down 3-1 in the second period, The New York native used an explosive move to register a takedown and near fall in quick succession. A third round takedown sealed the title for Boley, who won by a final score of 9-5. Earlier in the day, Spencer Myers dropped his semifinal match to Michigan’s Adam Coon, 4-1, before placing sixth overall at the tournament. The junior also finished sixth at the 2011 Midlands. Maryland’s team finish tied for its highest in all-time at the tournament. The Terps also took home a sixth place finish in 2009. The Terps return to the mat in dual action on the road against Michigan. Action is scheduled to being at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 5.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Edinboro wrestling team matched its best finish ever at the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships and Mitchell Port became the first Fighting Scot to take home first place since 2011 as the second day of competition concluded on Monday. Iowa ran away with first place, totaling 187.5 points, with Edinboro capturing second place with 102.5 points. Michigan finished third in the 47-team field at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. Edinboro had five wrestlers medal, led by Port's first place showing at 141 lbs. The redshirt junior became the Boro's first titlist since Chris Honeycutt won at 197 lbs. in 2011. Port, the number one seed and ranked number one nationally, improved to 14-0 with an 11-2 major decision over Illinois' Steven Rodrigues in the finals. A year ago Port finished fifth. The Fighting Scots added third place finishes by A.J. Schopp at 133 lbs. and Johnny Greisheimer at 157 lbs., while Ernest James took home fifth place at heavyweight and Vic Avery was eighth at 184 lbs. The national runner-up at 141 lbs. a year ago, Port dominated the final against Rodrigues, who came in unseeded but had upset four seeds to reach the finals. He would record the first of three takedowns less than 20 seconds into the match, and with just over a minute remaining picked up three back points for a 5-0 lead. An escape and takedown late in the period boosted the lead to 8-0 after two periods. Rodrigues would get on the board with an escape, but Port added another takedown midway through the third period and owned over three minutes in riding time. Schopp, meanwhile, overcame a 3-0 loss to fourth-seeded Joe Colon of Northern Iowa in the semifinals to win two more matches and take home third place at 133 lbs. He had placed fifth the previous two years. Colon would go on to record a first period pin over second-seeded Tony Ramos of Iowa in the finals. Ranked number one by InterMat and the top seed, Schopp won a 5-0 decision over Mason Beckman of Lehigh in the consolation semifinals. The victory over the third-seeded Beckman avenged an earlier loss to Beckman in the NWCA All-Star Classic. The redshirt junior then overcame another nemesis in the third place match, prevailing 3-0 over Wisconsin's Tyler Graff, the fifth seed. A year earlier Graff had defeated Schopp in the Midlands Championships and in the NCAA's. Schopp is now 18-1. Greisheimer, the number eight seed, turned in some of the best wrestling of his career the last two days. The fifth-year senior won six of seven matches, with his lone loss to top-ranked Derek St. John of Iowa, who went on to win the Midlands crown. Greisheimer upset second-seeded Nick Brascetta of Virginia Tech in the consolation semifinals, winning by fall at 4:42, before winning a 9-6 decision against Isaiah Martinez of Illinois in the third place match. He is now 14-6. James, another fifth-year senior, came in as the tenth seed at heavyweight and would boost his season record to 14-5 while capturing fifth place. He was another Fighting Scot to exact some revenge. He would advance in the consolation round with a fall over ninth-seeded Ty Walz of Virginia Tech at 3:27, after previously losing to Walz in the early-season dual. James eventually won a medical forfeit over Spence Myers of Maryland, the number two seed. Avery may have finished higher but the redshirt sophomore forfeited his final two bouts in the consolation quarterfinals and seventh place match with an injury. He had previously missed a month with an ankle injury early in the year. He is now 7-2.

Related: Blog Replay | Final Results EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Iowa wrestling team won three individual titles and scored a tournament-record 187.5 points to win the 51st annual Midlands Championships on Monday night. Thomas Gilman (125), Derek St. John (157), and Mike Evans (174) each won their first career Midlands titles as the Hawkeyes won their record 23rd Midlands team championship. Iowa placed 14 wrestlers in the top eight, including 10 inside the top three. Gilman scored takedowns in the first and second periods to defeat defending Midlands Champion Jarrod Garnett, 6-1, in the 125-pound finals. St. John used three takedowns and a reversal to defeat Indiana's Taylor Walsh, 9-3, at 157. St. John extended his winning streak to a career-best 24 matches, and stopped Walsh's streak of consecutive falls at 15. Evans built a 5-0 lead before closing the 174-pound finals with a half-nelson at 2:15. Evans pinned three opponents and scored two major decisions en route to the tournament title. The Hawkeyes' 187.5 team points broke their previous record of 185, set in 2007. Edinboro placed a distant second with 102.5 points, and Michigan (84), Illinois (83), and Northern Iowa (70.5) rounded out the top five. Tony Ramos (133), Nick Moore (165), Ethen Lofthouse (174), and Bobby Telford (285) each finished runner-up at their respective weight class. Josh Dziewa won a 3-1 decision in the 141-pound third-place match, and Brandon Sorensen topped Brody Grothus, 4-2, for third place at 149. Nathan Burak placed third at 197, and Sammy Brooks (184) and Cory Clark (125) each placed sixth. Iowa returns to action Jan. 3 at Purdue. The Hawkeyes host Michigan State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. (CT). Visit hawkeyesports.com or call the UI Athletic Ticket Office (800-IA-HAWKS) for ticket information.

125: Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. Jarrod Garnett (Bison WC), 6-1 133: No. 7 Joe Colon (Northern Iowa) pinned No. 2 Tony Ramos (Iowa), 2:37 141: No. 1 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) maj. dec. Steven Rodrigues (Illinois), 11-2 149: No. 18 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. No. 13 Eric Grajales (Michigan), 5-4 TB 157: No. 1 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. No. 7 Taylor Walsh (Indiana), 9-3 165: No. 5 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) dec. No. 4 Nick Moore (Iowa), 4-2 174: No. 6 Mike Evans (Iowa) pinned Shane Hughes (Columbia), 2:14 184: No. 3 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) dec. No. 2 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa), 3-1 SV 197: No. 11 Christian Boley (Maryland) dec. No. 19 Braden Atwood (Purdue), 9-5 295: No. 4 Adam Coon (Michigan) dec. No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa), 3-2

The finals of the Midlands Championships will take place at 8 p.m. CT and will be aired live on the Big Ten Network. 125: Thomas Gilman (Iowa) vs. Jarrod Garnett (Bison WC) 133: No. 2 Tony Ramos (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Joe Colon (Northern Iowa) 141: No. 1 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) vs. Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) 149: No. 13 Eric Grajales (Michigan) vs. No. 18 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 157: No. 1 Derek St. John (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) 165: No. 4 Nick Moore (Iowa) vs. No. 5 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) 174: No. 6 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs. Shane Hughes (Columbia) 184: No. 2 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) vs. No. 3 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) 197: No. 11 Christian Boley (Maryland) vs. No. 19 Braden Atwood (Purdue) 295: No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) vs. No. 4 Adam Coon (Michigan)

125: Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. No. 1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois), 3-1 Jarrod Garnett (Bison WC) dec. No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa), 10-8 SV 133: No. 7 Joe Colon (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 1 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro), 3-0 No. 2 Tony Ramos (Iowa) dec. Alan Waters (Missouri), 5-0 141: No. 1 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) pinned Pat Greco (Northwestern), 6:53 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) dec. No. 9 Josh Dziewa (Iowa), 4-3 149: No. 13 Eric Grajales (Michigan) dec. No. 2 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern), 6-3 No. 18 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Blake Roulo (George Mason), 2-0 157: No. 1 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. No. 9 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), 5-3 SV No. 7 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) pinned Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech), 1:58 165: No. 5 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) dec. No. 14 Cooper Moore (Northern Iowa), 7-2 No. 4 Nick Moore (Iowa) dec. Taylor Massa (Michigan), 4-3 174: No. 6 Mike Evans (Iowa) maj. dec. Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech), 10-1 Shane Hughes (Columbia) dec. Brock Gutches (Southern Oregon), 5-3 184: No. 2 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) dec. No. 14 Ophir Bernstein (Brown), 8-2 No. 3 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) dec. Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh), 5-3 SV 197: No. 19 Braden Atwood (Purdue) by injury default over No. 7 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) No. 11 Christian Boley (Maryland) dec. No. 10 Nathan Burak (Iowa), 3-2 285: No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. No. 6 J.T. Felix (Boise State), 4-2 No. 4 Adam Coon (Michigan) dec. No. 7 Spencer Myers (Maryland), 4-1

125: No. 1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) vs. Thomas Gilman (Iowa) No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. Jarrod Garnett (Bison WC) 133: No. 1 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) vs. No. 7 Joe Colon (Northern Iowa) No. 2 Tony Ramos (Iowa) vs. Alan Waters (Missouri) 141: No. 1 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) vs. Pat Greco (Northwestern) No. 9 Josh Dziewa (Iowa) vs. Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) 149: No. 2 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) vs. No. 13 Eric Grajales (Michigan) No. 18 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) vs. Blake Roulo (George Mason) 157: No. 1 Derek St. John (Iowa) vs. No. 9 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) No. 7 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) vs. Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) 165: No. 5 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) vs. No. 14 Cooper Moore (Northern Iowa) No. 4 Nick Moore (Iowa) vs. Taylor Massa (Michigan) 174: No. 6 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs. Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) Brock Gutches (Southern Oregon) vs. Shane Hughes (Columbia) 184: No. 2 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) vs. No. 14 Ophir Bernstein (Brown) No. 3 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) vs. Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) 197: No. 7 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) vs. No. 19 Braden Atwood (Purdue) No. 10 Nathan Burak (Iowa) vs. No. 11 Christian Boley (Maryland) 285: No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) vs. No. 6 J.T. Felix (Boise State) No. 4 Adam Coon (Michigan) vs. No. 7 Spencer Myers (Maryland)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) and Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) made their season debuts today at the Wilkes Open, competing at the open event after off-season surgeries delayed their season starts. The twin brothers, ranked No. 7 at 149 and No. 5 at 157 respectively, combined to go 5-0 before taking medical forfeits as planned. Wrestling in their first live action in almost nine months and after off-season shoulder surgery, the duo fared very well. Andrew went 3-0 at 149, including a technical fall and a fall before medically forfeiting out of the tournament as previously planned. Dylan posted a 2-0 mark at 157 including a pin before taking medical forfeits as planned as well. The wins do count towards each man's season records and so the tandem heads into the New Year with 3-0 and 2-0 marks respectively. The Lions will head to Chattanooga, Tenn., for New Year's Day once again as Sanderson's crew will look for its fourth straight Southern Scuffle crown. The 2014 Southern Scuffle, hosted by UT-Chattanooga, takes place on Jan. 1-2, 2014. At this time, the participation of the Alton brothers in the Scuffle is doubtful. Penn State's next home dual is set for Sunday, Jan. 12, when the Lions welcome Purdue to Rec Hall for a 2 p.m. showdown. 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.

Midlands Championships

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Big Ten Network will air the finals of the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championship live at 8:00 p.m. CT. The 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships first session begins at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 29, followed by the second session at 7:00 p.m. The action continues Monday with the third session, semifinals, consolation matches and seventh place matches at noon. Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #Midlands51 to join the conversation on social media.