InterMat Staff

125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. No. 1 Alan Waters (Missouri), 3-2 TB No. 2 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) dec. No. 6 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell), 10-5 133: No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) tech. fall No. 4 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro), 18-2 No. 2 Tony Ramos (Iowa) dec. No. 3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin), 6-4 SV 141: No. 4 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) dec. No. 1 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State), 7-6 No. 2 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) dec. No. 6 K. Undrakhbayar (The Citadel), 4-0 149: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. No. 5 Steve Santos (Columbia), 14-3 No. 2 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) dec. Drake Houdashelt (Missouri), 7-3 157: No. 1 Jason Welch (Northwestern) dec. David Bonin (Northern Iowa), 7-1 No. 2 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. No. 6 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State), 3-2 TB 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) dec. No. 4 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State), 2-0 No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State) pinned No. 3 Peter Yates (Virginia Tech), 3:24 174: No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 4 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska), 4-2 SV1 No. 2 Matt Brown (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Logan Storley (Minnesota), 3-2 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) dec. No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell), 4-1 No. 3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) dec. No. 2 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan), 3-2 197: No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) dec. No. 5 Taylor Meeks (Oregon State), 8-6 No. 2 Quentin Wright (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Matt Wilps (Pitt), 4-3 Tb 285: No. 5 Mike McMullan (Northwestern) dec. No. 1 Dom Bradley (Missouri), 3-1 SV1 No. 2 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State), 5-4

The NCAA semifinals and All-American round is the most exciting two hours in sports. In addition to compelling individual matchups, Penn State and Oklahoma State will be looking for their five semifinals a piece to secure advancement points and earn a lead in the team race. 125: The Nahshon Garrett upset of Matt McDonough makes two plotlines for the All-American round tonight. First, it'll be interesting to see what Garrett's shots can do against Jesse Delgado of Illinois, who had consistently stymied McDonough's offense this season. If Garrett can find a way to take down Delgado, he has the type of top game that could manage the match enough to squeak out a win. Do you really bet against a Cornell lightweight at the NCAA tournament? According to Troy Nickerson and Travis Lee you don't. The second is just how will McDonough wrestle in the consolations, a place he's never seen at the NCAA tournament? The top side matchup between Missouri's Alan Waters and Nico Megaludis will most likely be decided by a single takedown. Low-scoring matches means it's likely that the result will come down to Megaludis' ability to defend Waters' early offense. Look for a Megaludis' to use his patented splits on the edge of the mat. If he can control the early aggression, and escape from bottom, I like his counter offense to deliver the Nittany Lions their first finalist of the night. 133: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) showed just how dominant he can be when he exploded for a 17-1 quarterfinal technical fall of Cody Brewer (Oklahoma). He'll face A.J. Schopp who impressed from top in his quarterfinal matchup, but even that won't be enough to overcome the skills of the top-seeded Buckeye. This match will be decided on the mat, and that should favor Stieber. Tony Ramos (Iowa) and Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) will renew their rivalry on the other side of the bracket. Though Ramos won the last match 3-1 and is wrestling at home with the support of a rabidly Iowa crowd, expect Graff to stick with them on their feet. The edge, where Ramos pushes opponents and finds the space to score, will decide this match. If Graff relaxes on the edge, Ramos will earn the takedown and the win. 141: Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) escaped the grasp of No. 9 Richard Durso (Franklin & Marshall) in the quarterfinals, but in doing so showed some vulnerability from his feet and in transitional positions. He's in trouble against Mitchell Port. The Edinboro No. 4 seed is a wrestler with similarities to Durso, but with the additional help of being trained by Tim Flynn. Call for the upset. The Citadel's K. Undrakhbayar (Meaning: Effusive Happiness) upset No. 3 Mike Mangrum of Oregon State in double OT rideout. In winning, Ugi became the second Citadel semifinalist in school history, the second All-American, and the first Mongolian since Ganbayar Sanjaa to place at NCAAs. He's a feel-good story, but Ugi is going to have trouble slowing down Kendric Maple of Oklahoma. If he does it'll be from the left side front head that he's used all season to frustrate and open up his opponents. Maple is still the heavy favorite. 149: Jordan Oliver will face Steve Santos of Columbia in the top quarterfinal. Santos is that school's first semifinalist since 1978 and has been wrestling well. Unfortunately he's run into a buzzsaw. Bracket buster Drake Houdashelt of Missouri needed every ounce and every second of two rideouts to get past Kevin Tao of American. The Missouri wrestler is hot, and will face Boise State's Jason Chamberlain who won a 2-1 rideout against Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State). Chamberlain is excellent at winning tight matches and this should be the end of Houdashelt's run. However, with an excellent top game, the Sammie Henson effect and a serviceable and solid defense on his feet, I'd look for a much closer match than expected in the semifinals. 157: The match of the tournament might belong to Jason Welch of Northwestern and Dylan Alton of Penn State. Welch utilized aggressive but loose attacks to create scrambles where he could find takedowns and back points. His big-move style and control on top will be more than enough to beat David Bonin, the unseeded bracket buster from Northern Iowa. Derek St. John (Iowa) and Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) are meeting in what might be an entertaining clash of styles, or a snoozer. St. John won the first match 8-4, but the Cowboy wrestler is competing like he's a brand new version of his youthful self. If Dieringer can finish clean and avoid funk rolls he should be able to keep it closer. Both are areas you might expect to head coach John Smith would have worked before the semifinals begin. Dieringer is special and could prove it this round with the upset of the returning NCAA finalist. 165: The collision course is still set, but as Taylor seems to be enjoying the spotlight and wrestling like an NCAA champion, Dake is much more tentative. The Cornell wrestler earned a 13-0 win in the quarters but wasn't his normal cheery self. Meanwhile Taylor is 3-3 on falls after a 24-second fall in the quarters, and will meet Peter Yates of Virginia Tech. Dake will have the tougher of the two matchups, facing off against Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) who he beat 4-1 earlier in the season. Caldwell is a difficult matchup for Dake, but I'd still expect a several point victory and a meeting with Taylor in the finals 174: Maybe the best matchup of the semifinals comes in a weight class many thought was in utter disarray heading into these championships. Logan Storley (Minnesota) will face Matt Brown (Penn State) in a rematch of the Southern Scuffle semifinals where Storley caught Brown on his back in a scramble. The Nittany Lion will look to avenge the loss and is wrestling tough enough to get the job done. If Brown can control the mistakes from scrambles that cost him in their first match, and the dual meet against Mike Evans, then he should come away with the victory and finals appearance. The topside has Oklahoma State's Chris Perry facing Nebraska's Bob Kokesh. Perry looked sloppy against Nick Helfin of Ohio State, gutting out an overtime win, while Kokesh earned a major against Josh Asper of Maryland. If Kokesh can get his offense going early, it should be his match to lose. If he hesitates and keeps it close until the final whistle, Perry will find a way to squeak it out. 184: Ed Ruth and Steve Bosak will meet as returning NCAA champions looking for a chance to repeat. Boask, who started the season late is finally starting to catch form, but will it be enough to stop Ruth who has cruised in all his matches? Unlikely. Though Bosak has found his way to the semifinals, expect to see Ruth continue his domination and earn a spot in the finals. Ben Bennett of Central Michigan and Robert Hamlin meet in the other semifinal. Bennett is now a four-time All-American with a chance to make the finals in his senior season. Bennett beat Bosak 2-1 at Midlands and with a healthier body and the type of style it takes to beat Hamlin, look for Bennett to win and make his first NCAA finals. 197: Penn Stater Quentin Wright's headlock of Scott Schiller (Minnesota) was the highlight of the 197 quarterfinals. The senior is a pinner and he's "feeling it" on Friday. He'll meet Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh) who he recently pinned during their dual meet, but who likewise earned the fall against Q in the NWCA All-Star Classic. Wilps looked like a hammer against Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) in the quarterfinals. But expect Quentin to throw too much at Wilps, find back points and earn another trip to the finals. Kent State's Dustin Kilgore will meet Taylor Meeks of Oregon State in a match that should've been a walk through for Kilgore, but after quarterfinals might be tighter than expected. Meeks has strong top game and is an adept scrambler. If he can hand fight with Kilgore and score on a reshot of his won, he can make the match much closer than many would expect. However, if Kilgore can find his attacks and win even one scramble, he'll open up a lead that would be difficult for Meeks to overcome. 285: Mizzou's Dom Bradley was contented with an overtime ride-out win in the quarters against Zac Thomusseit (Pitt). He'll need to bring a lot more to his semifinals match against returning All-American and No. 5 seed Mike McMullan of Northwestern. The B1G Ten wrestler is a mover, and though he'll be outweighed by 20-plus pounds, he's always willing to cause a scramble and take shots. Bradley won the first match 3-2 and will need to stay in good position again to find energy for the reshots. If Bradley stays in position, he can win, but if he stands too tall or gets into an unnecessary scramble, then it'll be McMullan's match and first trip to the finals. Returning NCAA champion, Tony Nelson of Minnesota will face Oklahoma State's Alan "Z" Gelogaev, who the Gopher has bested twice this season, once by decision and once by pin. It's worth noting that last season Z earned a 16-5 major decision against Nelson. The results are all over the place, but if Nelson can keep it close, he'll win. That simple. But if the scoring starts early it'll be tough for the big man to generate his offense and climb back from even a two-point hole.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Returning NCAA champions Kyle Dake of Cornell and David Taylor of Penn State moved one step closer to a potential showdown on Saturday night at the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Both Dake and Taylor earned bonus-point victories in their quarterfinal matches at 165 pounds on Friday morning. Dake registered his third straight shutout, defeating Virginia's Nick Sulzer 13-0. The Big Red senior has outscored his competition 26-0 over the past two days. Taylor, the returning Dan Hodge Trophy winner, now has three pins in three matches after a 24-second pin in the quarterfinals over Conrad Polz of Illinois. Dake will meet Oklahoma State's Tyler Caldwell tonight. The two wrestlers met at the Grapple at the Garden in December, with Dake winning 4-1. Taylor's semifinal opponent will be Virginia Tech's Peter Yates, who needed overtime to edge Minnesota's Cody Yohn, 5-3. Cael Sanderson (Photo/Austin Bernard, Tech-Fall.com)Two-time defending national champion Penn State continues to rack up bonus points and extend its lead in the team standings. The Nittany Lions went 5-1 in the quarterfinals, with all five of their quarterfinal winners earning bonus points. Oklahoma State remains in second place and sits 12 points behind Penn State after Session III. The Cowboys, like the Nittany Lions, have five semifinalists. Minnesota sits in third place, 16 points behind second-place Oklahoma State. Iowa and Missouri are in fourth and fifth place respectively. For the first time since 2010 all ten No. 1 seeds advanced to the NCAA semifinals. Drake Houdashelt of Missouri (149) and David Bonin of Northern Iowa (157) were the lone unseeded wrestlers to advance to the semifinals. Houdashelt topped fellow unseeded wrestler Kevin Tao of American in the quarterfinals, and will now face No. 2 Jason Chamberlain of Boise State in the semifinals at 149 pounds. Bonin advanced with a 3-0 shutout over over Virginia's Jedd Moore. Nahshon Garrett won in sudden victory over Matt McDonough (Photo/Austin Bernard, Tech-Fall.com)Two freshmen, both No. 6 seeds, advanced to the semifinals: Nahshon Garrett of Cornell (125) and Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State (157). Garrett stunned two-time NCAA champion Matt McDonough of Iowa 4-2 win in sudden victory, avenging a loss from earlier this season. He becomes Cornell's first freshman semifinalist since Kyle Dake in 2010. Dieringer scored a late takedown to pull ahead and defeat Boise State's Georgi Ivanov, 4-2. He will now meet Iowa's Derek St. John, who advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0 victory over Ohio State's Josh Demas. St. John defeated Dieringer earlier this season, 8-4. Ten wrestlers will take undefeated records into their semifinals matches: Alan Waters of Missouri (125), Logan Stieber of Ohio State (133), Hunter Stieber of Ohio State (141), Kendric Maple of Oklahoma (141), Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State (149), Dake (165), Ed Ruth of Penn State (184), Ben Bennett of Central Michigan (184), Dustin Kilgore of Kent State (197), and Quentin Wright of Penn State (197). Team Standings (Top Ten) 1. Penn State 77.5 2. Oklahoma State 65.5 3. Minnesota 49.5 4. Iowa 39 5. Missouri 38.5 6. Cornell 37 7. Ohio State 30.5 8. Edinboro 27 8. Nebraska 27 10. Oregon State 26 Quarterfinal Results 125: No. 1 Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. No. 8 Matt Snyder (Virginia), 4-0 No. 4 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) maj. dec. Dominic Parisi (Appalachian State), 12-4 No. 6 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. No. 3 Matt McDonough (Iowa), 4-2 SV No. 2 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) dec. No. 7 Nathan Kraisser (North Carolina), 10-7 133: No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) tech. fall No. 8 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma), 17-1 No. 4 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) dec. No. 5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota), 11-7 No. 3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) dec. No. 6 Nathan McCormick (Missouri), 5-3 No. 2 Tony Ramos (Iowa) dec. No. 7 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State), 6-1 141: No. 1 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) dec. No. 9 Richard Durso (Franklin & Marshall), 9-8 No. 4 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) maj. dec. No. 5 Evan Henderson (North Carolina), 13-5 No. 6 K. Undrakhbayar (The Citadel) dec. No. 3 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State), 3-2 TB1 No. 2 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) maj. dec. No. 7 Mark Ballweg (Iowa), 12-3 149: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. No. 9 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska), 11-3 No. 5 Steve Santos (Columbia) dec. No. 4 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force), 5-4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. Kevin Tao (American), 3-2 TB No. 2 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) dec. No. 7 Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State), 2-1 TB 157: No. 1 Jason Welch (Northwestern) dec. No. 8 Dylan Alton (Penn State), 8-3 David Bonin (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 12 Jedd Moore (Virginia), 3-0 No. 6 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. Georgi Ivanov (Boise State), 6-4 No. 2 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. Josh Demas (Ohio State), 4-0 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) maj. dec. No. 8 Nick Sulzer (Virginia), 13-0 No. 4 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 12 Taylor Massa (Michigan), 3-1 No. 3 Peter Yates (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 11 Cody Yohn (Minnesota), 5-3 SV2 No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State) pinned No. 7 Conrad Polz (Illinois), 0:24 174: No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 8 Nick Heflin (Ohio State), 3-2 TB No. 4 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 5 Josh Asper (Maryland), 11-3 No. 6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) dec. No. 3 Mike Evans (Iowa), 3-2 No. 2 Matt Brown (Penn State) maj. dec. Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State), 13-5 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) maj. dec. Max Thomusseit (Pitt), 11-1 No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell) dec. No. 12 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa), 4-1 No. 3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) dec. No. 6 Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa), 2-1 No. 2 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) dec. No. 7 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland),1-0 197: No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) dec. No. 8 Micah Burak (Penn), 7-0 No. 5 Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) pinned No. 4 Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming), 4:54 No. 3 Matt Wilps (Pitt) dec. No. 11 Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma State), 7-1 No. 2 Quentin Wright (Penn State) pinned No. 10 Scott Schiller (Minnesota), 2:49 285: No. 1 Dom Bradley (Missouri) dec. No. 9 Zac Thomusseit (Pitt), 2-1 TB No. 5 Mike McMullan (Northwestern) dec. No. 4 Chad Hanke (Oregon State), 5-3 No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 11 J.T. Felix (Boise State), 10-5 No. 2 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No. 10 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan), 1-0

Related: Coverage Section DES MOINES, Iowa -- Two-time defending national champion Penn State extended its lead at Session II of the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships after four Nittany Lion wrestlers from 157 pounds through 184 pounds earned bonus points in their second-round matches. Penn State has six quarterfinalists and sits 3.5 points in front of second-place Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have seven quarterfinalists, which is more than any other school, and have all ten wrestlers alive heading into Friday's competition. Minnesota remained in third place in the team standings, five points behind Oklahoma State, despite a tough second round that saw All-Americans Dylan Ness (149) and Kevin Steinhaus (184) lose. The Gophers advanced five wrestlers to the quarterfinals. Iowa put six wrestlers in the quarterfinals and sits in fourth place, two points behind third-place Minnesota and 10.5 points behind first-place Penn State. Oregon State is in fifth place, six points behind Iowa. Missouri and Ohio State are tied for sixth. The 157-pound weight class saw its third top-five seed fall on Thursday when fifth-seeded James Fleming lost 4-0 to Virginia's Jedd Moore. No. 3 Joey Napoli of Lehigh and No. 4 James Green of Nebraska lost in Thursday morning's Session I. Napoli was knocked out the tournament in Session II when Minnesota's Danny Zilverberg defeated the Lehigh wrestler 7-1. Eight unseeded wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals. Nahshon Garrett was one of six freshmen to advance to the quarterfinals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Six freshmen earned berths in the quarterfinals: Nahshon Garrett of Cornell (125), Nathan Kraisser of North Carolina (125), Cody Brewer of Oklahoma (133), Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State (157), Taylor Massa of Michigan (165), and Tanner Weatherman of Iowa State (174). Thursday's total attendance was 32,262. Below is a weight class-by-weight class summary of results from the second round. 125: Unseeded Dominic Parisi of Appalachian State picked up his second win over a seeded wrestler when he downed Wyoming Tyler Cox, 5-4. Parisi's quarterfinal opponent will be Penn State's Nico Megaludis, who advanced with a 5-2 victory over Central Michigan's Christian Cullinan. The rest of the 125-pound matches were won by higher seeded wrestlers. Top-seeded and undefeated Alan Waters of Missouri was pushed by Michigan's Sean Boyle, but came away with the 4-2 victory. 133: All eight higher seeded wrestlers moved onto the quarterfinals. The top two seeds, Logan Stieber of Ohio State and Tony Ramos of Iowa picked up pins. Stieber will meet Oklahoma's Cody Brewer in the quarterfinals. Brewer notched a win over Stieber in freestyle two years ago at the FILA Junior Nationals. Ramos will meet Oklahoma State's Jon Morrison, who reached the quarterfinals with a 3-1 victory over Central Michigan's Scotti Sentes. 141: Richard Durso of Franklin & Marshall's punched his ticket to the quarterfinals by edging Minnesota's Nick Dardanes 5-4 in tiebreaker. With the win, Durso improved to 39-3 on the season. Durso will face a tall order in his next match as he meets top-seeded and undefeated Hunter Stieber of Ohio State. Stieber advanced with a 7-3 win over All-American Steven Keith of Harvard. Missouri's Drake Houdashelt defeated NCAA runner-up Dylan Ness of Minnesota (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)149: Missouri's unseeded Drake Houdashelt picked up his second win of the day over a seeded Big Ten wrestler by beating NCAA runner-up Dylan Ness of Minnesota. Houdashelt and Ness were tied 2-2 in the third period before the Missouri Tiger earned a takedown with 12 seconds left to get the 5-2 victory after securing a riding time point in the closing seconds. Interestingly, Houdashelt will face another unseeded wrestler, Kevin Tao of American, in the quarterfinals. Tao, who knocked off third-seeded Donnie Vinson of Binghamton in the opening round, moved on with a 9-3 win over Raymond Borja of Navy. 157: Virginia's Jedd Moore, seeded 12th, upset fifth-seeded James Fleming of Clarion, 4-0. He will meet surprise quarterfinalist David Bonin of Northern Iowa, who advanced with a 4-0 victory over Missouri's Kyle Bradley. Bonin was one of three unseeded wrestlers to reach the quarterfinals at this weight class, along with Boise State's Georgi Ivanov and Ohio State's Josh Demas. Kyle Dake (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)165: Michigan freshman Taylor Massa moved into the quarterfinals with a 7-5 victory over fifth-seeded Steven Monk of North Dakota State. Massa, the nation's No. 2 recruit in the Class of 2012, is one of six freshmen who advanced to the quarterfinals, and one of only two true freshmen to advance. The top two seeds, Kyle Dake of Cornell and David Taylor Penn State, earned bonus-point victories. Dake blanked Indian's Ryan LeBlanc 10-0, which was his second shutout victory of the day. Taylor earned his second first-period pin of the day by decking Appalachian State's Zac Strickland at 2:42. 174: Iowa State's unseeded Tanner Weatherman earned a thrilling 16-14 victory over seventh-seeded Jordan Blanton. It marked Weatherman's second straight win over a seeded Big Ten wrestler after beating Michigan's Dan Yates in the opening round. Blanton was the only top-eight seeded who failed to advance to the quarterfinals at 174 pounds. 184: Pitt's Max Thomusseit continued his impressive run in the bracket by defeating Nebraska All-American Josh Ihnen, 3-1. (Thomusseit defeated ninth-seeded Chris Chionuma of Oklahoma State earlier in the day. Iowa's Ethen Lofthouse earned a takedown in the finals 25 seconds to edge Minnesota's Kevin Steinhaus 3-2 in a battle of returning All-Americans. The top four seeds advanced to the quarterfinals. 197: Oklahoma State's Blake Rosholt, seeded 11th, won a tight battle, 8-7, over Iowa State's Kyven Gadson. Rosholt had lost three previous meetings this season to Gadson. Tenth-seeded Scott Schiller of Minnesota defeated seventh-seeded Nate Scheidel of Binghamton, 9-5. 285: It was chalk at the top of the heavyweight division as the top five seeds advanced to the quarterfinals. Iowa's Bobby Telford, seeded sixth, lost by injury default to Boise State's J.T. Felix. Tenth-seeded Jarod Trice of Central Michigan topped Wisconsin's seventh-seeded Connor Medbery, 6-4. Team Standings (Top Ten) 1. Penn State 32.5 2. Oklahoma State 29 3. Minnesota 24 4. Iowa 22 5. Oregon State 16 6. Missouri 14.5 6. Ohio State 14.5 8. Nebraska 13.5 9. Oklahoma 13 10. Boise State 12 10. Cornell 12

Related: Coverage Section Below is a selection of key matches to watch in Friday's quarterfinals, which get underway at 10 a.m. CT. 125: Dominic Parisi (Appalachian State) is looking to be the tournament's first Bracket Buster after wins against No. 5 Jarrod Garnett and No. 12 Tyler Cox. Up next for Mountaineer is No. 4 seed Nico Megaludis who looked solid in a decision victory against Christian Cullinan (CMU). I still like Nico to pull out the win, but the Iowa fans will be pulling for the App State Cinderella to help their push for a title in Des Moines. 133: In a subplot that won't likely influence the outcome of the overall bracket, you should know that No. 8 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) has beaten No. 1 Logan Stieber (tOSU). It wasn't recent, and it wasn't folkstyle, but it happened at Fila Jr. Nationals when Brewer won back-to-back periods. Otherwise the matches are all pretty static predictions. Ramos is on a tear and should be able to handle Morrison in the bottom quarterfinals. Look for McCormick to try and earn the upset over Graff. 141: Richard Durso became the crowd favorite in his second round win over Nick Dardanes of Minnesota. The Franklin & Marshall wrestler isn't a tricky one-off who was able to cement job his way through the EIWA tournament. He'll have Hunter Stieber (tOSU) but that's not as lopsided as the schools suggest. Durso is an All-American quality wrestler, and if Hunter doesn't respect his tank, skills and crowd appeal, it'll be a long seven minutes. 149: Steve Santos and Cole VonOhlen are meeting in the 4/5 match-up in the bottom side of the top bracket. VonOhlen was injured at the Western Regional tournament and gritted out a won against Dan Osterman (Michigan State), but he'll need more tomorrow to get past Santos who put a definitive well-wrestled match against Eric Grajales (Michigan). This will be entertaining, and also historic -- should Santos win he'll become the first semifinalist in modern Columbia wrestling history. Also Drake Houdashelt continues his run after beating No. 6 Dylan Ness of Minnesota in the second round. He'll face fellow unseeded wrestler Kevin Tao (American) for the right to be the tournament's first Bracket Buster! Look for Houdashelt to have his way. 157: Jason Welch of Northwestern squeezed past longtime nemesis Scotty Winston of Rutgers in an unimpressive second-round match. He'll need to be at his best tomorrow morning when he faces No 8 Dylan Alton of Penn State, the man he lost to in consolation finals last year. Just down the line is an on-fire No. 12 Jedd Moore of Virginia who bested No. 5 James Fleming of Clarion. He'll face unseeded David Bonin (UNI) for the other semifinal spot. Also keep an eye on Josh Demas (Ohio State) who wrestled No. 2 Derek St. John (Iowa) tight earlier in the year. Demas is unseeded and was able to get past Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech in the second round. Unseeded Georgi Ivanov (Boise State) and No. 6 Alex Dierenger (Oklahoma State) face off in the other quarterfinals. Ivanov was my Bracket Buster. 165: While Kyle Dake and David Taylor eye each other up from across the gym, the battle to meet them in the semifinals is happening with two very competitive quarterfinals. The leader of the Dake lottery is No. 12 Taylor Massa who is wrestling lights out and will face Oklahoma State's No. 4 Tyler Caldwell. I like Massa. Also, be sure to see if No. 3 Peter Yates will be able to wrestle from his knees and make it past No. 11 Cody Yohn, who will work the front headlock series many have thought would work 174: If the first meeting of Iowa and Minnesota on Thursday night was any indication (Ethan Lofthouse beating Kevin Steinhaus), the best match of the morning might be Mike Evans (Iowa) and Logan Storley (Minnesota). They're evenly matched and have a tradition, but when it comes to the brightest lights, Evans will have the edge in front of a very home crowd. The other match to watch is Matt Brown (Penn State) to see how he handles the upset special Tanner Weatherman who has beaten the No. 10 and No. 7 wrestler to make the quarterfinals. Superman Brown has it all figured out, earning a fall in his last match and looking like the best in the weight class. 184: It could be argued that No. 7 Jimmy Sheptock is wrestling the most impressive tournament at 184 outside of Ed Ruth. He'll face undefeated No. 2 Ben Bennett (CMU) in the bottom quarterfinal. Bennett is a monster of a human, as is Sheptock, so it'll come down to who can show some grit in getting off bottom, or staying off bottom in the case of Sheptock. To win, he'll need to earn takedowns, keep up the pressure and remain off his belly. I also like No. 6 Ryan Loder (UNI) to find the upset against No. 3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh), mostly by working Hamlin on the mat. 197: Planet Kilgore. Watch and learn what domination and enjoyment look like on the wrestling mat. But lurking is Penn State's Quentin Wright, who would love to earn another title. Collision Course, people. BOOM. 285: Minnesota's Tony Nelson knew it would be a tough tournament, but he probably didn't think he'd be facing Jarrod Trice of Central Michigan in the quarterfinals. Expect Nelson to control the action on his feet and possibly even find a ride time point, but also know that Trice doesn't stop. If there's an opening late, then Trice will be attacking all angles. Another fun matchup will be No. 11 J.T. Felix of Boise State and No. 3 Alan Gelogaev of Oklahoma State, who opened up the tournament with an 18-second fall over Ben Apland of Michigan, a record time for the heavyweight division at the NCAA tournament.

Related: Coverage Section DES MOINES, Iowa -- The 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships kicked off at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines shortly after 11 a.m. CT with 330 wrestlers representing 72 schools. Two-time defending national champion Penn State sits in first place with 14.5 points after the opening session despite having four wrestlers suffer losses, with two of those wrestlers being seeded. Oklahoma State is in second place with 13 points. Minnesota (11) and Iowa (10) sit in third and fourth place respectively. Host Iowa State is tied for fifth with Northern Iowa and Oregon State. Two No. 3 seeds suffered losses in the opening session: Donnie Vinson of Binghamton (149) and Joey Napoli of Lehigh (157). Of the 120 seeded wrestlers, 20 lost in the opening session. Below is a weight class-by-weight-class summary. 125: The highest seeded wrestler to lose was No. 5 Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech, who fell to Dominic Parisi of Appalachian State, 7-6. The other seeded wrestlers to lose at 125 pounds were No. 10 Josh Martinez of Air Force and No. 11 Nikko Triggas of Ohio State. Martinez's loss came to unseeded All-American Steve Bonanno of Hofstra, 9-2. Triggas, a past All-American, fell 5-2 to Stanford's Evan Silver. 133: The No. 11 and No. 12 seeds, George DiCamillo of Virginia and Jordan Conway of Penn State, fell in the first round. It was Boston's Dane Harlowe who knocked off DiCamillo, 9-7, while Vincent Dellafave of Rutgers defeated Conaway in sudden victory, 3-1. 141: Zach Neibert of Virginia Tech used a reversal in tiebreaker to defeat No. 11 Mike Nevinger of Cornell, a returning All-American, 3-1. 149: Third-seeded Donnie Vinson of Binghamton fell 3-2 in tiebreaker to American's Kevin Tao. Tao used a reversal in the tiebreaker to propel him to the victory. Penn State's Andrew Alton, seeded 11th, lost to Missouri's Drake Houdashelt 4-1. Indiana's Taylor Walsh upset No. 3 Joey Napoli of Lehigh (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)157: Five of the 12 seeds lost in the first round, including No. 3 Joey Napoli of Lehigh and No. 4 James Green of Nebraska. Napoli was blanked 6-0 by Indiana's Taylor Walsh, while Green's loss came to Missouri's Kyle Bradley in tiebreaker, 4-3. The No. 9 and No. 11 seeds, Bloomsburg's Frank Hickman and Harvard's Walter Peppelman, were pinned. Hickman was decked in the first period by Rider's Zac Cibula. Peppelman, a two-time All-American, was pinned in the first period by Ohio's Spartacus Chino. R.J. Pena of Oregon State, seeded 10th, lost a tight match, 7-6, Ohio State's Josh Demas. 165: Tenth-seeded Nick Moore of Iowa lost 5-3 to instate rival Michael Moreno of Iowa State , reversing a result from earlier this season. Tanner Weatherman upset No. 10 Dan Yates at 174 (Photo/Simon Jimenez, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)174: Four seeded wrestlers lost in this weight class: No. 9 Nathaniel Brown of Lehigh, No. 10 Dan Yates of Michigan, No. 11 Blake Stauffer of Arizona State, and Matt Miller of Navy. Brown dropped a 5-3 match to Gardner-Webb's Hunter Gamble. Yates fell to Iowa State's Tanner Weatherman, 6-4. Stauffer was upended by Northern Illinois' Matt Mougin, 4-2. Miller was edged 5-4 by Buffalo's John-Martin Cannon. 184: Ninth-seeded Chris Chionuma of Oklahoma State, an NAIA national champion, lost 4-1 to Pitt's Max Thomusseit. 197: Missouri's Brent Haynes, seeded 12th, was taken down in sudden victory to lose to Wisconsin's Jackson Hein, 6-4. 285: No seeded wrestlers lost first-round matches at heavyweight. Team Standings (Top Ten): 1. Penn State 14.5 2. Oklahoma State 13 3. Minnesota 11 4. Iowa 10 5. Iowa State 9 5. Northern Iowa 9 5. Oregon State 9 8. Missouri 8 8. North Carolina 8 10. Oklahoma 7.5

Related: Coverage Section Below is a look at some key matches in tonight's Session II, which gets underway at 6:30 p.m. CT. 125: Alan Waters had trouble handling David Thorn (Minnesota) in the first round, a compliment to the Gopher wrestler, but also a possible indication of how Waters will wrestler early. To that point, watch the match between No. 9 Trent Sprenkle (NDSU) and No. 8 Matt Snyder (Virginia) to give Waters trouble. Both are funky, big-point wrestlers with unique styles that could endanger the Tigers' title run. 133: The matchup to meet No. 2 Tony Ramos (Iowa) will be between No. 7 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) and No. 10 Scotti Sentes (CMU). While the 7/10 matchup is always entertaining, Sentes is also a two-time All-American. Watch to see if either of these guys is showing something exceptional, because they'll need it to beat Ramos in Iowa (He has a banner of I-80!) 141: The weight's No. 3 Mike Mangrum (Oregon State) had to battle to get past Nick Hucke (Missouri) in the first round, using a challenge en route to an overtime win. That's compelling in how it might effect the winner of the second-round match between Virginia Tech's Zach Neibert who beat No. 11 Mike Nevinger Ugi (Citadel) in a second-round matchup that could give the Hokie a winnable match. Ugi won their first meeting 3-1, but look for Neibert to give him a battle and work from top. 149: The marquee second-round matchup will be Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) versus No. 5 Dylan Ness (Minnesota). The Gopher wrestler squeaked by Daniel Young (Army), while Houdashelt looked complete in upsetting No. 11 Andrew Alton (Penn State). The winner will face Kevin Tao (American) who upset No. 3 Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) in the first round. 157: The matchup that's five years in the making, No. 1 Jason Welch (Northwestern) versus Scotty Winston (Rutgers). The duo have met twice in college, splitting their matches with Welch winning their 2009 NCAA matchup 9-1. Since then Welch has placed the past two seasons at the NCAA tournament, while Winston has been the face of Rutgers' frustrations at the Big Show. Could be interesting considering their history. Also keep an eye on Georgi Ivanov (Boise State) versus Taylor Walsh (Indiana), who upset No. 3 Joey Napoli, and No. 5 James Fleming versus No. 12 Jedd Moore. The winner of that bout will face whoever comes out of the former No. 4 seed helped by James Green (Nebraska) who lost first round. 165: The No. 12 and No.5 matchup is always the upset in NCAA men's basketball. Could it happen at 165 pounds Taylor Massa, the No. 12 from Michigan, has caught fire at the end of the year and was a stud in the first round. He'll be facing Steven Monk of North Dakota State who is salty on his feet and a backpack on the mat. 174: There were a few upsets in the first round (No. 9 - No. 12), but nothing was as surprising as No. 1 Chris Perry's awful mat wrestling against Cody Weishoff (Oregon State) in the first round. He'll face Jonathan Fausey (Virginia) in the second round. Fausey won a convincing 3-0 decision against Stephen West (Columbia) in the first round. Interesting matchup because Perry and Fausey split in high school postseason all-star events as seniors, and Fausey is a hammer on top. 184: Watch Ed Ruth wrestle lonely and perfect on his own planet on dominance. Poetry. 197: Iowa State's No. 6 Kyven Gadson and Oklahoma State's No. 11 Blake Rosholt will meet in the second round, who the Cyclone has beaten three times this season. Gadson recently lost his father and as a strong No. 6 seed would be an emotional favorite to get past Wilps and Wright to make the finals. 285: The top four are secure, so the interesting matches will be in the middle seeds where No. 9 Zac Thomusseit (Pitt) meets No. 8 Mike McClure (Michigan State). The winner will take on Dom Bradley in the first session tomorrow morning.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Follow the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships by clicking on the links below. Results: Team Scores | Brackets | InterMat Live Blog InterMat Session Recaps: I | II | III | IV | VI (Finals) InterMat Session Previews: II | III | IV | VI (Finals) InterMat Previews: Betting | Bracket Busters | Seeding Blunders Predictions/Contest: InterMat Staff | U.S. Journalists | Pick 'Em Contest Links: Schedule | ESPN3 Webcast | Seeds | InterMat Rankings Photos: WrestlersAreWarriors.com | Tech-Fall.com | The Guillotine

ESPN began airing wrestling championships in 1980, its first year as a network, and the sport continues to find a home on ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN3 and WatchESPN with full coverage of the First Round, Second Round, Quarterfinal, Semifinal, Medal Round and Final match from the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, March 21-23. ESPN networks’ commitment to the championships extends through 2024 as the worldwide exclusive multimedia rights holder. Technology: The 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships begins with ESPN3’s exclusive live coverage of the First and Second Rounds on Thursday, March 21 at noon and 7:30 p.m. ET. For the fifth year the multi-screen sports network will provide an exclusive four-screen, four-mat viewing experience unique to wrestling in the First, Second and Quarterfinal Rounds. The technology was introduced in 2008 in the Quarterfinals and has expanded as coverage has grown. A growing destination for avid fan viewing, the NCAA wrestling championships on ESPN3 was up 108 percent in live minutes consumed across computers, smartphones, tablets and Xbox compared to 2011. For the seventh consecutive year, two of the four Quarterfinals, as well as the Semifinals, will be televised on ESPNU in a side-by-side format to maximize the HD viewing experience, allowing viewers to catch the action in two matches at the same time. During the Finals on ESPN Saturday, March 23 at 8 p.m., referees will wear a microphone, providing fans with even more access and understanding of the action. ESPN Analysts: In addition to enhanced viewing and audio access, ESPN wrestling analysts Tim Johnson and Anthony Robles will offer expert analysis alongside play-by-play Adam Amin on ESPN and ESPNU. Johnson has been the voice of NCAA wrestling matches for more than 25 years and brings a wealth of knowledge as a former wrestler and coach. Robles provides an in-depth understanding of the current competition as the NCAA national champion in the 125-pound division in 2011. He debuted as an announcer last year on ESPN. Special Features: Cornell senior, Kyle Dake, is attempting to make NCAA history as the first wrestler to win a title in four different weight classes. He is currently No. 1 in the 165 lbs. weight class, and has previously won at 141 lbs. (2010), 149 lbs. (2011) and 157 lbs. (2012). Penn State’s David Taylor, No.2, is the reigning 165-pound national champion and Hodge Trophy winner. NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs will narrate this year’s opening feature. This year’s features will include a special tribute in memory to longtime ESPN analyst and Olympic gold medalist Jeff Blatnick who saw national coverage of the NCAA Wrestling Championships expand from 90 minutes to 11-hours and won the NCAA Division II heavyweight championship in 1978 and 1979. Schedule Date/Time (Eastern)/Match/Network Thursday, March 21 Noon - NCAA Wrestling Championships First Round,(Session 1: Mat 1, Mat 2, Mat 3, Mat 4). Shawn Kenney & Jim Gibbons on ESPN3 7:30 p.m. - NCAA Wrestling Championships Second Round (Session 2: Mat 1, Mat 2, Mat 3, Mat 4), Shawn Kenney & Jim Gibbons on ESPN3 Friday, March 22 11 a.m. - NCAA Wrestling Championships Quarterfinals (Session 3: Mat 1, Mat 2, Mat 3, Mat 4), Adam Amin, Tim Johnson, Anthony Robles & Quint Kessenich on ESPNU/ ESPN3 7 p.m. - NCAA Wrestling Championships Semifinals (Session 4) Adam Amin, Tim Johnson, Anthony Robles & Quint Kessenich on ESPNU Saturday, March 23 11 a.m. - NCAA Wrestling Championships Medal Round, Shawn Kenney, Tim Johnson & Anthony Robles on ESPNU 8 p.m. - NCAA Wrestling Championships Finals, Adam Amin, Tim Johnson, Anthony Robles & Quint Kessenich on ESPN ESPN will air more than 250 hours of NCAA winter championship games live across platforms throughout March and April, including all 63 games of the 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, as the worldwide, multi-media rights holder to 24 NCAA championships. Viewers will see the crowning of NCAA winter champions in eleven events – Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field (March 8-9), Men’s & Women’s Fencing (March 22-24), Men’s Ice Hockey (March 29 – April 14), Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving (March 22, 23, 29-30), Wrestling (March 21-23), Women’s Basketball (March 23 – April 9), Women’s Bowling (April 13) and Women’s Gymnastics (April 20-21) - on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3.

Note: All times Central Thursday, March 21 11 a.m. Session I (Eight Mats - Pigtails and First Round) 6:30 p.m. Session II (Eight Mats - Preliminaries: Wrestleback Preliminaries, Wrestleback First Round; Championship Round: Second Round, Consolation Round) Friday, March 22 10 a.m. Session III (Eight Mats - Quarterfinals and Wrestlebacks) 6 p.m. Session IV (Six Mats - Semifinals and Wrestlebacks) Saturday, March 23 10 a.m. Session V (Three Mats - Wrestleback Semifinals and 3rd-8th Medal Rounds) 7 p.m. Session VI (One Mat - Finals and Awards Ceremony)

T.R. Foley, Brian Muir, and Will Durkee talk about the NCAAs in Des Moines. They cover the importance of the event ... and give their tournament predictions. Check out our Tumblr page at backpoints.tumblr.com. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by searching "back points" and pushing SUBSCRIBE. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

125: Jesse Delgado (Illinois) over Alan Waters (Missouri) The weight class with the most upsets each year isn't likely to see many before the quarterfinals. Matt McDonough (Iowa) will search for third title from the third seed, but won't be able to figure out his nemesis Jesse Delgado. Alan Waters falls short of the perfect season. 133: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) over Tony Ramos (Iowa) Logan Stieber won't be challenged until reaching the finals against Iowa's Tony Ramos. Look for Ramos to put on an inspired performance in front of his fans, but drop a close decision to the much larger Stieber. 141: Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) over Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) The most overlooked weight class in the NCAA this season will feature two undefeated, and largely untested wrestlers, Hunter Stieber and Kendric Maple. Look for Stieber to slow Maple down and earn a 4-3 decision. 149: Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) over Dylan Ness (Minnesota) He's wrestling on the same planet as Ed Ruth, so look for Oliver to find his second NCAA championship. Ness will be a tough opponent, only losing 6-4 in their last meeting and wrestling his best at the end of the year. Call it 9-5 Oliver. 157: Jason Welch (Northwestern) over Derek St. John (Iowa) Jason Welch versus his nemesis Derek St. John could be the second best finals matchup of the night. DSJ owns all the wins in their series, but with one final shot at an NCAA title and wrestling his best when it matters the most. I like Welch in a tight battle 165: David Taylor (Penn State) over Kyle Dake (Cornell) Really, what don't you know about these guys at this point? Back your horse. I've got Taylor. 174: Matt Brown (Penn State) over Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) I'm the Illinois Chapter President of the Matt Brown fan club. He'll need to get past a game Todd Porter of Missouri in the first round, but should he show his talents early, I'll bet him late. 184: Ed Ruth (Penn State) over Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) Should he dominate like he did last year at the NCAA tournament, then look for Ruth to win the InterMat Wrestler of the Year. Ben Bennett is all man, but he'll drop a three-point decision. 197: Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) over Quentin Wright (Penn State) Were it not for Dake and Taylor, then Dustin Kilgore and Quentin Wright's matchup would be the most expected of the tournament. Both are national champions with big move potential. Kilgore will control the pace and the scoring. 285: Tony Nelson (Minnesota) over Dom Bradley (Missouri) There isn't much movement at the heavies, and when the top three wrestlers have all beaten each other, I'll lean on the team (Minnesota) that produces heavyweight champions. Look for Nelson to repeat. Team: 1. Penn State 2. Oklahoma State 3. Minnesota 4. Missouri 5. Iowa

NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships

The InterMat staff writers and executives have broken down the brackets for this week's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, and made their predictions. Andrew Hipps T.R. Foley Josh Lowe Mike Riordan Steve Elwood Jim Beezer

125: Jesse Delgado (Illinois) over Alan Waters (Missouri) Coming into this season it was hard to envision Matt McDonough not capping off a sensational collegiate wrestling career with a third NCAA title in his home state. Obviously, he still has that opportunity, but I just don't see how he can overcome his kryptonite Delgado. Last year Alan Waters' season ended with a loss to Delgado in the round of 12. This year it's going to end with another loss to Delgado, but this time in the NCAA finals. 133: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) over Tony Ramos (Iowa) Logan Stieber is in the conversation for the best wrestler in college. Logie Bear has a clear path to the NCAA finals. In the bottom half of the bracket I'm expecting another Ramos-Graff battle in the semifinals, with the Hawkeye coming out on top again. This time Stieber defeats Ramos in regulation. Chalk in this weight class. 141: Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) over Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) Hunter Stieber doesn't mind being in his brother's shadow. Press him on it and he will tell you that he actually prefers it that way. The Stieber bros. have always fed off each other, and will feed off each other again this week in Des Moines. Hunter puts the only blemish on Kendric Maple's record, and the Stieber bros. finish the season with a combined record of 62-0. 149: Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) over Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) Hopefully after this weekend Chamberlain starts getting the recognition he deserves. I see him as the best technical and tactical wrestler in this weight class, and that's why the Boise State wrestler is my pick to win the title. JO finishes his career as one of the best one-time champions in recent memory. 157: James Green (Nebraska) over Derek St. John (Iowa) Green is supremely talented, but has struggled at times closing out big matches. Call it a hunch, but I see everything coming together for Green this week. DSJ finishes as NCAA runner-up for the second straight season. 165: David Taylor (Penn State) over Kyle Dake (Cornell) It may be impossible for this match to live up to the hype, but I think it may come very close. I expect Taylor to commit to more attacks against Dake than he has in the three previous meetings. Taylor remembers the feeling of losing in the NCAA finals all too well ... and he's not going to let it happen again. History will not be made on Saturday night. 174: Logan Storley (Minnesota) over Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) On paper this weight class is a crapshoot. There is no clear-cut favorite and 8-10 wrestlers have the ability to make the finals. Perry and Storley were the most consistent wrestlers in the weight class this season. Matt Brown has the most momentum heading into the tournament. Mike Evans is more than capable of finishing on top, especially wrestling in the Hawkeye State. Two-time All-American Josh Asper is a dangerous No. 5 seed. Many (including members of the NCAA Wrestling Committee) have overreacted to Storley's Big Ten tournament performance. He lost two extremely close matches to top wrestlers in the nation's toughest conference tournament. Storley over Perry is the prediction. 184: Ed Ruth (Penn State) over Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) Crazy things happen at the NCAA tournament, but don't expect anything crazy to happen here. I like the top two seeds to cruise to the finals. Ruth is the biggest lock of any wrestler in the country to win a title this weekend. Last year Ruth gave Nick Amuchastegui his only loss of the season. This year he gives Ben Bennett his only loss of the season. 197: Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) over Quentin Wright (Penn State) Kilgore is wrestling at such a high level that I can't envision him losing. Alfonso Hernandez gave him toughest match of the year in Las Vegas, and the two will likely meet in the semifinals on Friday night. I think Kilgore makes a statement in that match and wins comfortably, and then takes out Wright in the finals. 285: Tony Nelson (Minnesota) over Chad Hanke (Oregon State) Like 174 pounds, heavyweight is difficult to forecast because the top ten seeds are so evenly matched. In the semifinals I see Nelson defeating Alan Gelogaev for the third time this season, and Hanke avenging a loss earlier this season to Dom Bradley. Nelson wins his second title. Team: 1. Penn State 2. Minnesota 3. Oklahoma State 4. Iowa 5. Missouri

125: Matt McDonough (Iowa) over Alan Waters (Missouri) Let's see, McDonough is a two-time national champion. He's wrestling a stone's throw away from where he grew up. He will have the Hawkeye contingent reinforcing every good deed he does. If it weren't for the inspiring and improbable story of Anthony Robles, we would be talking about the next four-time national Champion. Sounds like a no-brainer. McDonough outworks an overwhelmed Waters in the finals. 133: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) over Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) Graff knocks off Ramos in the semis, but doesn't have what it takes to upend Stieber, who is the sport's next big thing. 141: Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) over Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) Maple has been nothing short of dominant this year, and will knock off the younger Stieber in a matchup of unbeaten wrestlers. 149: Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) over Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) There is no doubt that Donnie Vinson has been on a tear lately, but his dominance has come at the hands of mediocre competition. Jordan Oliver has proven he can be as dominant (or more) at a bigger, more comfortable weight class. Oliver caps off an impressive career by capturing his second NCAA title. 157: Derek St. John (Iowa) over James Fleming (Clarion) Derek St. John knows what it's like to be on the big stage having lost to Kyle Dake last year in the NCAA finals. James Fleming's obscure storybook career ends in front of the Hawkeye faithful. 165: Kyle Dake (Cornell) over David Taylor (Penn State) David Taylor may say he doesn't consider himself the underdog, but he knows what we all know: Kyle Dake owns him. Taylor wanted nothing to do with him at the 2012 Olympic Team Trials, and has competed valiantly this season out of obligation. Some people say it's hard to beat someone three times in a season. Ask Lincoln McIlravy and Chris Bono what they think. 174: Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) over Logan Storely (Minnesota) Chris Perry follows in brother Mark's footsteps after capturing his first title. Somewhere, Mark Smith feels vindicated. 184: Ed Ruth (Penn State) over Robert Hamelin (Lehigh) I made the mistake of betting against Ed Ruth last year. After seeing him tear through the 174-pound weight class last year before pummeling Nick Amuchastegui in the finals, I learned my lesson. I won't make the same mistake twice. Ruth wins in dominant fashion. 197: Quentin Wright (Penn State) over Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) Quentin Wright is the present day Johnny Thompson. He is a gamer. Didn't Dustin Kilgore use up his eligibility three years ago? This one seems all too scripted. 285: Tony Nelson (Minnesota) over Dom Bradley (Missouri) Minnesota heavyweight pedigree continues after Nelson tops Bradley in a riveting pushing contest. Team: 1. Penn State 2. Iowa 3. Minnesota 4. Oklahoma State 5. Cornell

125: Jesse Delgado (Illinois) over Alan Waters (Missouri) There will be no fairytale ending for Matt McDonough. I think Matt probably has the second best chance for Iowa to win a title, but I don't think he can beat the man from Illinois. Jesse Delgado is on a mission after cruising through Big Tens. I like him over Waters in a wide open final. 133: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) over Tony Ramos (Iowa) Like 165, this is a weight I can't imagine anyone not named Stieber or Ramos (Iowa's best chance for a champion) making the finals. Can the beast from Glenbard North finally figure out the returning national champion? I don't think so. This one should be more fun than the slow pace of the Big Tens. Logan wins in Overtime. 141: Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) over Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) I think Hunter Stieber may be the most underrated wrestler in the tournament. I like him to overwhelm his way to the finals where he should get the much anticipated match with Kendric Maple. I like Stieber going away. 149: Dylan Ness (Minnesota) over Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) A month ago very few fans thought Jordan Oliver could be beaten by anyone at this weight. He simply overwhelmed all his opponents, that is… until the National Duals finals. Minnesota's Dylan Ness came pretty close to pulling off the upset. I like these two to meet again in the finals, and with a major upset I like Ness in a wild one. 157: Joey Napoli (Lehigh) over Jason Welch (Northwestern) Oh boy … Is there a more wide open weight than this one? I have picked several different guys to win it over the last two weeks. I like the No. 3 seed Joey Napoli in a close match over Jason Welch. 165: David Taylor (Penn State) over Kyle Dake (Cornell) Not much more can be said about the two biggest stars in our sport. If Dake wins, he has to be linked with the very best of all time. If Taylor wins, he's known as the giant slayer. I am picking David Taylor in a match to remember. 174: Matt Brown (Penn State) over Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) This is another crazy weight with several talented guys. I really like the way Matt Brown is wrestling right now. The momentum from the Big Tens carries him to a close decision over Nebraska's only finalists, Robert Kokesh. 184: Ed Ruth (Penn State) over Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) The next two weights seem way too easy. I wonder if Kevin Steinhaus can find a way to get some offense against Ed Ruth in the semis. I doubt it. I like Ed Ruth to roll into the finals and take the crown with a win over Robert Hamlin. 197: Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) over Quentin Wright (Penn State) Can anyone stop the Dustin Kilgore train? Nope. This man isn't losing. I like him to tear his way to the finals and shouldn't have much trouble defeating Quentin Wright. 285: Tony Nelson (Minnesota) over Mike McMullan (Northwestern) Many people think this is Tony Nelson's title to lose. He's the returning champion and just capped off a great season. I like him here to make the finals and look for a rematch with Big Ten runner-up McMullan. I'm staying with the champ in a one-point decision. Team: 1. Penn State 2. Minnesota 3. Oklahoma State 4. Missouri 5. Iowa

125: Jesse Delgado (Illinois) over Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech) A milestone for the Virginia Tech program as they earn a national finalist. Delgado proves too much for Garnett this time around as the result from the Midlands finals is reversed. 133: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) over Tony Ramos (Iowa) I don't see this playing out much differently than the Big Ten finals. The two best guys at the weight, only Stieber is just a little bit better 141 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) over Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) This is potentially the match of the tournament. These two well be in deep plenty of times on one another. Expect fireworks. 149: Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) over Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) Jordan beats Sakaguchi in workmanlike fashion here. Sakaguchi upsets his rival Jason Chamberlain and then faces a surprise Cinderella wrestler in the semis. 157: Derek St. John (Iowa) over Dylan Alton (Penn State) Dylan Alton defeats Jason Welch and James Green again to make a surprise appearance in the finals. There, St. John beats him by five points. 165: Kyle Dake (Cornell) over David Taylor (Penn State) This is the big one. Not much scoring here, but Dake pulls off the impossible and becomes four-for-four at four weights. 174: Dan Yates (Michigan) over Josh Asper (Maryland) Maryland gets a finalist, but something weird happens. Michigan's Dan Yates and goes on an incredible run through his bracket, winning this wide open weight. 184: Ed Ruth (Penn State) over Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) More of the same for Ruth, who ekes out a major in the final seconds of his final against Bennett. 197: Alphonso Hernandez (Wyoming) over Matt Wilps (Pitt) Much like Nickerson/Escobedo a few years ago, the one versus two final everyone anticipates will occur in the consolation finals. Instead, the three and four seed meet in the finals. Wyoming's Hernandez barely edges Pitt's Wilps 285: Chad Hanke (Oregon State) over Jarod Trice (Central Michigan) Chad Hanke notches the first national title of Jim Zalesky's tenure. Trice caps off a nice career with an impressive run to the finals. Team: 1. Penn State 2. Iowa 3. Minnesota 4. Oklahoma State 5. Missouri

125: Matt McDonough (Iowa) over Nico Megaludis (Penn State) It's "all in" for the senior McDonough , already twice a national champion and three times a national finalist before his senior year NCAA tournament. Hard to believe that he's in such a bind, but I think he has a magical weekend -- though it could just as easily end up in a sixth or seventh place finish for McDonough. Alan Waters (Missouri) is the No. 1 seed here, but has failed to wrestle to seed in either of his two prior NCAA tournaments; something that could happen here in the form of a loss before the semis. 133: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) over Tony Ramos (Iowa) Outside of Dake/Taylor, this has to rate right up there with the most likely of finals matchups. Other than Ramos, nobody has found a way to neutralize Stieber's attacks from neutral and/or his turns from the top position. While outside of Stieber, next to nobody has managed the relentless pace of match that Ramos puts together on his feet. Look for these two foils to meet on Saturday night, with yet again Stieber winning a one score bout. 141: Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) over Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) Being the highest returning place finisher in this weight class, and working with an undefeated season, I'm quite frankly perplexed how Maple did not get the number one seed in this weight class. However, it's of limited relevance, as he's the two seed to fellow undefeated Stieber as the one seed. Maple is looking at a finals path, which centers around Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) as his toughest opposition; while Stieber could run into past nemeses Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) and Evan Henderson (North Carolina) along the way. 149: Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) over Dylan Ness (Minnesota) Oliver is an eyelash and/or the judgment of a referee away from going for a third consecutive national title, with two of them possibly being of the undefeated variety. Nonetheless, should he win all five of his front side matches this weekend, this sensational senior would end his career with a record of 127-6 and two undefeated championship seasons. It is quite frankly lunacy to pick against him. However, there is one wrestler in this bracket that could find a way to get it done, and that is Mr. March himself Dylan Ness, who was national runner-up last year from the seven seed. This year, he'll have to work from the six seed. 157: Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) over Jason Welch (Northwestern) Along with 125 and 174, this is one of the three weights which are truly wide open in nature; and befitting the weight class, I'm going to take the sixth seeded Dieringer to surprise top seeded Welch in the championship bout. 165: David Taylor (Penn State) over Kyle Dake (Cornell) Within traditional wrestling media circles, and especially from less traditional outlets for covering wrestling, this championship bout will have more words written or spoken about it than all the others put together. Simply put, it is a match for the ages. Dake goes for his fourth championship in four seasons across four weight classes, and would be the first four-time champion to do so without a redshirt season. Countering Dake is a prodigal talent in Taylor, who seeks his third finals bout in as many years -- losing in 2011 and dominating to a victory last year. Among Taylor's 26 victories this year, only six have not been pins or technical falls (five majors and one decision). While this is a straight homer pick for the Buckeye State native, I think the key to this match will be scoring a takedown in the first period, which I see Taylor being able to do this go around. 174: Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) over Logan Storley (Minnesota) Two reasons for picking Perry to win this weight class: (1) he's the most talented wrestler in this weight class (2) he has the most manageable path to winning a championship. Simply put, the next four best wrestlers in this weight class are all on the opposite half of Perry -- Storley, Michael Evans (Iowa), Jordan Blanton (Illinois), and Matt Brown (Penn State). Once any of those four gets to the finals, it's a 50/50 proposition between them and Perry, but determining which one is a next to impossible task. For that, I just went to the overall resumes, and Storley has the best of them. For him to be the sixth seed is a simply absurd and rash overreaction to the Big Ten tournament, failing to consider the overall season as a whole. 184: Ed Ruth (Penn State) over Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) Simply put, Ruth is a man child, and has as good a case as anyone for the InterMat Wrestler of the Year Award as well as the Hodge Trophy come season's end. He is 28-0, and only five matches have even been decision victories. He'll be in the semifinal round without a challenge, where I think either Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) or defending champion Steve Bosak (Cornell) can put up a fight -- namely maintain contact with Ruth, but not be in position to win. I think the other half of the draw appears very favorable for fellow undefeated Bennett, a three-time All-American in his own right, when considering questions about the health of Robert Hamlin (Lehigh). 197: Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) over Quentin Wright (Penn State) Picking against Wright in March is something done at great peril; however, Kilgore's performances over the last three years provides that impetus. Winning the national title in this weight in 2011, Kilgore then had a superlative Olympic redshirt year at 96 kilos (211.5 pounds) last year, and has been even better in the 2012-13 season -- one in which he's a listed 38-0 with just four matches being decided by decision. Looking at draws, it would be a shock if Kilgore was not in the final, while Wright is looking at a challenging semi against Matthew Wilps (Pittsburgh). 285: Tony Nelson (Minnesota) over Dom Bradley (Missouri) There's something super special about this weight class this year, a notion confirmed by the presence of two-time All-American Jarrod Trice (Central Michigan) as a No. 10 seed and a pair of past All-Americans (Jeremy Johnson and Levi Cooper) as unseeded wrestlers. However, there is a sense that this ends up being a three-person weight class with Bradley in the top half of the draw and Nelson facing Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) in a possible bottom half-bracket semifinal. It becomes hard to pick against the defending national champ Nelson, who has truly grown into the weight class -- maintaining the athleticism of a high school 215-pounder, while growing to have the necessary tools in all three positions to thrive as a 285-pound wrestler. Team: 1. Penn State 2. Oklahoma State 3. Minnesota 4. Iowa 5. Ohio State

On Thursday the nation's top wrestlers will meet in Des Moines to put their wrestling careers to the test and their legacies on the line. Likewise, die-hard college wrestling fans will flock to online and offline sports books to place action on the best-valued wrestlers in the tournament. If you're not in a tournament pool right now, then you're missing out on the excitement. Though betting the NCAA wrestling tournament used to be the best-kept secret in Vegas, the lines for the NCAA tournament have tightened up over the years. Still, there is value to be had, and I'm here to help you identify that value and make better, more profitable bets. Remember, I'm in no way responsible for what you bet, or if you bet. Please, ask your wife before laying down JR's college fund this year on a bet for an unseeded wrestler to win the title at 165 pounds. For the newcomers, here's how it usually works: Each weight class is broken down with a money line on the top two or three individuals (usually by seed). Then the remaining wrestlers, or the Field, are given a collective money line to win. For clarity purposes each line uses a base amount of $100. So if the line is +150, that means you risk $100 to win $150. Likewise, if the line is -150, you risk $150 to win $100. A few numbers for thought before we break down the weight classes (all data is since the 2003 NCAA tournament): The top seed at the NCAA tournament has won almost exactly 50% of the time. A wrestler seeded third or lower has won approximately 30%. A wrestler seeded fourth or lower has won approximately 20%. The Field comes in on average twice a year. The last time all ten NCAA champs came from a third seed or higher was 1999. The last time all 10 champs came from one of the top two seeds? ... John Smith was wrestling Joe Melchiore for his second NCAA title . A winning Field bet usually pays well. Steve Bosak belonged to the 184-pound field last year that was offered at +1450 ... Let that sink in ... Got it? OK. Find the Field bet you like, and you might find your NCAA tournament expenses paid. You might also cover your flights, lodging, drinks, and more Des Moines corn than you can handle. On to this year's weight classes and my personal (pre-official) lines: 125: Alan Waters is undefeated and is rightfully your top seed. The round-robin between Matt McDonough-Nico Megaludis-Jesse Delgado had been following ro-sham-bo rules until Delgado broke format at last weekend's Big Ten tournament. ACC champ Jarrod Garnett owns a win over Delgado and should join Megaludis, Nahshon Garrett and a few more capable ACC wrestlers in the field. Tempting. The lines: Waters +135, Delgado +150, McDonough +200, Field +450 The play: McDonough's third title looks like a long shot at this point, but it's unwise to count him out, especially in his own backyard. "Dirty" Waters and Delgado have been great but if the field comes in any better than +450, it could be a nice value bet to take a chance on a pretty wide-open weight class at this point. I like the field and/or McDonough. 133: Logan Stieber proved two weekends ago at the Big Tens that he's still a notch above Tony Ramos, though the Iowa wrestler has undoubtedly closed the gap by showing an ability to escape from bottom. Tyler Graff stuck with Ramos to the end at Big Tens and Chris Dardanes is the only wrestler in the bracket who owns a win over the top seed. They will join A.J. Schopp, Jon Morrison, and a game Scotti Sentes in the field. The lines: Stieber -250, Ramos +200, Field +1450 The play: I think Logan Stieber is the biggest "lock" to win a title behind Ed Ruth. This Field line will be high, but stay away from it if you like money. Ramos has a reasonable chance to take the title and will be charged in front of a Hawkeye-heavy crowd. But ... he also has a tough lower bracket and a chance to be upset before the final, while Stieber does not. If Stieber comes in any lower than -250, bet him hard. Even with the black & gold factor, the Buckeye is still one notch above. To read the rest of this story, plus get access to all InterMat Platinum content, subscribe today. Already an InterMat Platinum subscriber? Read complete story.

On Thursday the nation's top wrestlers will meet in Des Moines to put their wrestling careers to the test and their legacies on the line. Likewise, die-hard college wrestling fans will flock to online and offline sports books to place action on the best-valued wrestlers in the tournament. If you're not in a tournament pool right now, then you're missing out on the excitement. Though betting the NCAA wrestling tournament used to be the best-kept secret in Vegas, the lines for the NCAA tournament have tightened up over the years. Still, there is value to be had, and I'm here to help you identify that value and make better, more profitable bets. Remember, I'm in no way responsible for what you bet, or if you bet. Please, ask your wife before laying down JR's college fund this year on a bet for an unseeded wrestler to win the title at 165 pounds. For the newcomers, here's how it usually works: Each weight class is broken down with a money line on the top two or three individuals (usually by seed). Then the remaining wrestlers, or the Field, are given a collective money line to win. For clarity purposes each line uses a base amount of $100. So if the line is +150, that means you risk $100 to win $150. Likewise, if the line is -150, you risk $150 to win $100. A few numbers for thought before we break down the weight classes (all data is since the 2003 NCAA tournament): The top seed at the NCAA tournament has won almost exactly 50% of the time. A wrestler seeded third or lower has won approximately 30%. A wrestler seeded fourth or lower has won approximately 20%. The Field comes in on average twice a year. The last time all ten NCAA champs came from a third seed or higher was 1999. The last time all 10 champs came from one of the top two seeds? ... John Smith was wrestling Joe Melchiore for his second NCAA title . A winning Field bet usually pays well. Steve Bosak belonged to the 184-pound field last year that was offered at +1450 ... Let that sink in ... Got it? OK. Find the Field bet you like, and you might find your NCAA tournament expenses paid. You might also cover your flights, lodging, drinks, and more Des Moines corn than you can handle. On to this year's weight classes and my personal (pre-official) lines: 125: Alan Waters is undefeated and is rightfully your top seed. The round-robin between Matt McDonough-Nico Megaludis-Jesse Delgado had been following ro-sham-bo rules until Delgado broke format at last weekend's Big Ten tournament. ACC champ Jarrod Garnett owns a win over Delgado and should join Megaludis, Nahshon Garrett and a few more capable ACC wrestlers in the field. Tempting. The lines: Waters +135, Delgado +150, McDonough +200, Field +450 The play: McDonough's third title looks like a long shot at this point, but it's unwise to count him out, especially in his own backyard. "Dirty" Waters and Delgado have been great but if the field comes in any better than +450, it could be a nice value bet to take a chance on a pretty wide-open weight class at this point. I like the field and/or McDonough. 133: Logan Stieber proved two weekends ago at the Big Tens that he's still a notch above Tony Ramos, though the Iowa wrestler has undoubtedly closed the gap by showing an ability to escape from bottom. Tyler Graff stuck with Ramos to the end at Big Tens and Chris Dardanes is the only wrestler in the bracket who owns a win over the top seed. They will join A.J. Schopp, Jon Morrison, and a game Scotti Sentes in the field. The lines: Stieber -250, Ramos +200, Field +1450 The play: I think Logan Stieber is the biggest "lock" to win a title behind Ed Ruth. This Field line will be high, but stay away from it if you like money. Ramos has a reasonable chance to take the title and will be charged in front of a Hawkeye-heavy crowd. But ... he also has a tough lower bracket and a chance to be upset before the final, while Stieber does not. If Stieber comes in any lower than -250, bet him hard. Even with the black & gold factor, the Buckeye is still one notch above. 141: The "other" Stieber doesn't get as much recognition as his older sibling, but he has been just about as impressive this season and is (somewhat surprisingly) your top seed. Kendric Maple, the current Usain Bolt of college wrestling, hasn't really been touched either. Returning All-American Michael Mangrum has previous wins over the top seed, including one by fall in last year's medal round. He will enter a field with Mitchell Port, Evan Henderson and Citadel's "Ugi" ... by way of Mongolia. An impressive group that will try to play spoiler to a finals matchup of undefeated wrestlers. The lines: Stieber "even," Maple -150, Field +700 The play: Maple or Stieber? Every wrestling fan has been looking forward to watching this collision in Des Moines since early December. I think Maple has been very slightly more impressive and I like him to win. This is a field to keep an eye on though and Nick Dardanes should give Hunter all he can manage in the quarters. I'll take Maple at -150 and if he comes in closer to even money, even better. 149: Jordan Oliver is your top seed. Jason Chamberlain and Donnie Vinson have each avenged their only losses for the year. Dylan "Honey Badger" Ness shook off some early season injury concerns to make Oliver look human and capture the Big Ten title in dramatic fashion. He'll join Steve Santos, Scott Sakaguchi, Jake Sueflohn, Nick Brascetta and Andrew Alton in the field. They can all scrap. The lines: Oliver -185, Chamberlain +200, Vinson +350, Field +500 The play: JO dominated his way to one title and has come a hair away from winning two more. It's not hard to imagine him in a position to be wrestling for his fourth title this weekend and he has absolutely dominated at 149 pounds. That being said, this weight class offers more than meets the eye and Oliver will be harder pressed than you think to end his career atop the podium. Chamberlain is great on his feet and has a motor. Vinson has shown he's capable of big things at the dance and is relentless on top. Don't be surprised if you see Ness earn his own line from the sixth seed. If so, it will change the field line dramatically. Ness is the most dangerous wrestler in the country and puts himself in bad positions to earn rewards like nobody else, much like the honey badger. Many will take Oliver but if Ness is in the field, I like it. However, I'd urge you to think twice before touching a weight class that includes the honey badger. Might be best to leave this one alone unless the lines come in substantially different. 157: Jason Welch earns the top seed after a late rally in the Big Ten final to avenge his lone loss of the year against "Mean" James Green. Derek St. John has had Welch's number in the past and is the highest returning placer. The field is deep and STACKED. The lines: Welch +140, DSJ +120, Field +325 The play: Did I say Kendric Maple was the current Usain Bolt of college wrestling? I may have meant James Green. The guy is basically a Jordan Burroughs clone (including the south Jersey origin). It will be interesting to see if he is included in the field or gets his own line. That will be an important distinction to follow and will obviously move things accordingly. This is one of two weight classes that we've been preaching as a sure-fire field bet on the podcast all season. That has not changed. DSJ is actually my pick to win the weight class, but upsets will happen here and the field has too much value to ignore. I may combine a bet on the field with a DSJ bet. ... We'll follow suit and save 165 for last ... 174: Has there ever been a weight class this close between the 1-8 seeds in NCAA history? Not while I've been around. Chris Perry is your one seed and has taken losses by major decision and fall this season. Logan Storley took the baton shortly, before dropping two matches at his conference tourney. Mike Evans doesn't lose in Iowa and has the best 'stache in the game. Matt Brown, Josh Asper, Robert Kokesh, Jordan Blanton and Nick Heflin are all capable of winning this weight class on their given day. The lines: Perry +160, Brown +225, Evans +225, Field +200 The play: You see where I'm going with this. Evans is actually my pick to win, but this is the one weight class where I would probably take the field for even money. It will most likely pay a much better return than that. Pay attention to who it includes, but ultimately you want this field. Seeds will not hold here. 184: Ed "The Truuuuuuth" Ruth comes in top seed. Shocker. He hasn't been truly tested in two full seasons now. Ben Bennett is an undefeated three-time All-American but had some close calls at his conference tournament. Strange seeding here between Robert Hamlin and returning champ Steve Bosak considering their EIWA tournament, but that's been covered elsewhere. Hamlin and Kevin Steinhaus have both kept Ruth from running up the score. The lines: Ruth -285, Bennett +250, Bosak +250, Field +950 The play: Ruth is your biggest favorite to win his weight class as mentioned earlier and you'll have to pay up to take him. Keep an eye on that semi-final matchup with Bosak, though. I have a strange feeling about that one. The health status of Hamlin and the possible inclusion of Bosak could change this field line quite a bit. If Hamlin is healthy and Bosak is in the field, I'll take it. If not, I'll probably take a chance on Bosak to upset Ruth in the semis and repeat as champ. Nobody is a lock, not even The Truth. 197: Dustin Kilgore has a nickname but he doesn't need it. This Golden Flash has put together arguably the most dominant season of any wrestler in the tournament. Also, his 'stache status is surpassed only by Evans. Quentin Wright (the other most dangerous wrestler in the country) is also officially undefeated, though he was pinned by Matt Wilps at the All-Star classic. Wright returned the favor to Wilps in their dual. Alfonso Hernandez, Taylor Meeks, Kyven Gadson and Scott Schiller join Wilps to round out the weight class for our field. The lines: Kilgore -175, Wright +150, Field +1500 The play: Let's steer clear from the field and hope the battle of 2010 NCAA champs takes place in the final. Wright always wrestles his best when the lights are on and seems to win with technique we were all taught at the REC level. But this is a classic battle between rock and scissor. What beats rock? Nothing beats rock. Kilgore looks to be just a little too solid for Q. I'll give up the odds and put my money on him while enjoying the most exciting match of the tournament. 285: Dom Bradley comes in at the top of the bracket after his win over defending NCAA champ Tony Nelson earlier in the year. He has one loss this season to Alan "Z" Gelogaev. Z is always a threat and puts up more points than any big man since Stephen Neal. Chad Hanke, Bobby Telford and Mike McMullan are some notable names in the field. The lines: Bradley "even," Nelson +110, Gelogaev +165, Field +1150 The play: Yet another weight class with a rock-paper-scissor scenario ... Z>Bradley>Nelson>Z. I like Nelson to win but he is the slight underdog since he has to pass both Z and Bradley. Never count Z out. If you're looking for some excitement with your choice, he will deliver. I like seeds to hold until the final and I like Nelson to repeat at anything better than even money. Drum roll ... 165: Who's at this weight class again? Oh yeah ... the two best wrestlers in NCAA ... That's, right! Kyle Dake is going for "4-for-4-at-4" while David Taylor is looking to put the block on and make a case for better overall career of the two. Headlining the field will be Tyler Caldwell and Peter Yates. Caldwell has two head-scratching losses as well as a loss to each of the big two. Yates avenged his only loss of the season and is healthy sized at the weight. The lines: Dake -135, Taylor +110, Field +1500 The play: Our top two seeds will both have dangerous semi matchups but let's be serious, we're looking at a two horse race here. This is the most anticipated match in NCAA history. Why talk about anything else? The Magic Man seemed to lose focus for a split second in their Scuffle match. That's one split second too much against Kid Dynamite. The winning formula to take out the three-time champ may very well be beating him at his own game with tight defense and a riding advantage. DT looks to be the only wrestler in the country capable of executing such a game plan. My take: If Taylor couldn't do it in January, how's he going to do it when the lights are on in March? Enjoy the atmosphere, the hype and the match, and take Dake to accomplish something that will NEVER be duplicated. Official lines are usually out by mid-week (Wednesday) and individual finals lines are released the day of. Sometimes that's a good way to hedge your action or double-up if you like. Bet with your head and not your emotions. Good luck and enjoy the winnings!

Steve Elwood found three dream matches to follow in the recent Minnesota state wrestling tournament. He asked three of the participants if he could follow them as they made their way to their shot at the gold medal. All three wrestlers are former state champions and their potential rivals were also defending state champions. Two out of those six former champions had multiple titles going into the weekend. There was no way of knowing who was going to come out on top, but Elwood was going to follow it through to the end. On a mission for God Nate Thomas won a Minnesota Christmas Tournament title as a freshman in 2009 with a victory over Chad Bartschenfeld (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Four years ago, a young fresh face burst onto the Minnesota wrestling scene with a surprising holiday championship early into his freshman campaign. This annual event, better known as the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, brings all three classes from the state together in an individual format one week after the Walsh Ironman. Most well-versed fans know this holiday tournament is tougher to win than the state championship. There are many reasons for this. They include wrestlers not quite being down to weight, football recently ending, but most important, all the tough hammers are together instead of splitting into the three classes. Nate Thomas (103 pounds from Kasson-Mantorville) managed to get his arm raised in his last match to take home the gold. Three weeks later Thomas opened eyes nationally, going 6-0 at The Clash. He finished his breakthrough season with a state championship over friend and fellow future star Kyle Gliva (Simley). There were whispers about Thomas being a four-timer and hopeful future Minnesota Gopher. Jordan Kingsley defeated Nate Thomas in the Minnesota Christmas Tournament finals at 113 pounds in 2010 (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Entering his sophomore year, Thomas moved up a weight to 113 and was the obvious No. 1-ranked wrestler in class AA. Like usual, the Minnesota Christmas Tournament was scheduled early and Thomas was set for a collision with highly ranked AAA state placer (senior) Jordan Kingsley from Apple Valley. Kingsley was a bit too seasoned for Thomas and his length gave Nate trouble. Jordan Kingsley ended up winning his first Minnesota Christmas Tournament title and Thomas felt the bitter taste of losing in a high profile match for the first time in his high school career. It wouldn't be the last. Thomas didn't have much time to feel pity. The Clash was a few weeks away and Kasson was starting to show up on national polls. Kasson-Mantorville had their eyes on a state title against rival Simley. Nate is a deeply spiritual young man and trusts his Creator to guide his career. This isn't just a sometime thing, it's an everyday thing. Nate does not believe in superstitions and good luck charms. He believes in God. That's enough. Anything else is worshipping SOMETHING else. Little did Thomas know, a few weeks later, his faith and life were about to be tested like never before. In the second round of The Clash, Thomas had a large and muscular opponent from Grand Island. In the middle period, Nate's arm was completely pulled out of his shoulder. The pain was immediate and acute. It shot through his body like lightning and Thomas fell to his knees screaming in agony. He knew he was in trouble as the trainer looked him over and left it up to Thomas to decide to continue. "The team needed me and I wasn't going to give up six points." He finished with a win and went on to wrestle the next round with the injury. Amazingly, Thomas won all three matches the next day with a severe torn labrum, going 6-0 at The Clash for the second straight year. He visited the first of many doctors on Monday and was given the bad news. He could either have surgery right away or make it through the season and get it done at the end of the year. He was warned of the possibility of permanent paralysis if he chose to keep going. He prayed about this and after several days he chose to stay on. The team decided to keep it quiet and Nate did everything he could to protect the shoulder in each match. But at some point during every match, he had his arm pulled out of the shoulder socket. He endured that same pain as the Grand Island match, for every single match during the rest of the season. Nate Thomas fell to Brett Stolarzyk in the state championship match in 2011 (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)He made it to the state finals confident he had enough to beat Brett Stolarzyk from Stewartville. This time he lost. This was way more emotionally painful to lose than the Christmas Tournament three months earlier. "I was so confused. No one works harder than me. I thought I was the best. I didn't understand how it was possible. I cried harder than I ever had in my life." Thomas had the surgery in the summer and looked forward to his junior year. He knew if he could get his strength back he would likely face a new rival in Juan Torres, another powerful wrestler from Simley. It never happened. Thomas spent the entire season on the bench after another surgery. The pressure to return was overwhelming. Kasson had yet to knock off Simley in the team portion and they had a great shot if only Nate Thomas would get back in the lineup. Nate missed the Minnesota Christmas Tournament and The Clash. He finally made an appearance at the team sections, only to limp to a few rough wins. His coach Jamie Heidt made the tough decision of benching his superstar for the individual portion of the postseason and only using him sparingly during the team duals. Juan Torres dominated the his way to the state title at 120 pounds and Simley walked away with their fifth straight state team title. Nate Thomas won his second Minnesota Christmas Tournament title (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Now comes the senior year and the comeback. Nate started out very strong winning the prestigious Christmas Tournament for the second time, but found his first loss ever at The Clash. However, this group of seniors had been building toward this magical season for many years and they placed higher at The Clash than they ever had before. They had their eyes on the state team title a few months away. Kasson has never won a state team title in ANY SPORT and the pressure was building. Thomas knew he had several dates with Juan Torres coming up. The first showdown was set two weeks after The Clash in the Swalla Duals. It was a high-scoring affair in Nate's favor 8-5. Torres ran out of gas in the third period since this was his first competition of the season. Everyone knew they would meet two more times at the state tournament. Torres would be in much better shape by then. Minnesota is one of the few state tournaments combining the team dual championship with the individual championship ... on the SAME weekend. In the team finals, Kasson was staring down Simley. There were several important matches, but none bigger than the match at 126 pounds. Thomas had to get a win over Juan Torres. In the first period, neither wrestler was able to get the takedown. In the second, Thomas escaped and again neither managed a takedown. Kasson-Mantorville wrestlers and fans celebrate after winning the state title (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine)The third started with Torres down needing points. Nate cut Torres to tie the score at 1-1. Both wrestlers were no longer tentative and both had great opportunities to score. Midway through, Thomas used a nice double leg takedown at the edge of the circle to take the all-important 3-1 lead. Torres quickly escaped and Thomas again scored a takedown. Torres got another escape, but time was running out. Thomas won the match 5-3 to help propel Kasson to their first ever state team title. The Kasson fans were dancing in the aisles and the celebration went on for over 10 minutes. Nate knew his match was the turning point. The individual portion started the next day (Friday) and would finish on Saturday night. This part of the state tournament is not seeded, and mostly by luck, Thomas and Torres were on opposite sides of the bracket. By the time they reached the semifinals on Day 2, Thomas and Torres had taken apart their opponents. However, Torres was about to face returning state champion Ty Griffin. Nate didn't know if Torres had enough to win. He was wrong. Torres destroyed Griffin with a first-period pin. Nate Thomas and Juan Torres lock up in the state championship match (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine)Now comes the showdown. This is Nate Thomas's last match as a high school wrestler. He is signed to wrestle for the University of Minnesota Gophers and is hoping to wrestle in the Olympics someday. But he has the biggest showdown of his high school career coming. Nate talks about God like some guys talk about a girlfriend. I asked him if he thinks God cares whether he wins or not. He thought hard about this: "I think I owe God the honor of using the skills he gave me. He probably doesn't care whether I win. However, winning is a bit more glorious than losing!" We shared a good laugh at that line. The time is here. The two rivals shake hands and like the first match, neither wrestler manages a takedown for the first two minutes. Both wrestlers are cautious and don't want to make a mistake. There is no room for error here. Nate Thomas gets his hand raised after winning the state championship (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine)The second period starts with Thomas on top. Torres gets a quick escape in just six seconds. Again, neither wrestler manages a takedown in the period and it's 1-0 Torres. The third period starts with Thomas down with a quick explosion to a standing position to tie the score at 1-1. Forty seconds later, Thomas is in on a deep shot and lifts Torres into the air and slams him into the mat. It's a clean takedown and it's now 3-1. Torres wiggles out for a quick escape, but time is now running out. Torres tries a few more desperate shots, but the end is coming. Nate Thomas has made it all the way back to the top of the podium as the Class 2A state champion. The Baby-Faced Assassin vs. The Phenom Kyle Gliva gets a pin at the The Clash in late December (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Kyle Gliva (Simley) is perhaps the most underrated wrestler in the state of Minnesota. He is the two time defending state champion, but it's his two larger teammates that seem to get all the attention. Jake Short and Nick Wanzek are two of the nation's top seniors. Both have decided to stay in Minnesota and wrestle for the Gophers. Neither has lost a high school match in several seasons. Kyle Gliva has always been in their shadow, but it has never bothered him. Yeah, he would have liked to have the press oohing and aahing at his every move, but his personality and serious workmanlike attitude wasn't nearly as fun to notice. Still, he was highly recruited by several Ivy League schools, including Columbia and Penn. He ended up choosing a neighboring state and rising power NDSU. Kyle carries an incredible 3.95 GPA and is planning on a career as an engineer. But that is going to have to wait. He is about to face "The Phenom" Brady Berge twice in the state tournament. Brady Berge has been well known in these parts since he first started wrestling as a young boy. He must have a roomful of trophies. Last year he was the state champion at 106 pounds as a seventh-grader. This year he grew to 132 pounds and is in line to become a six-time state champion, which has never been accomplished in Minnesota. Brady Berge defeated Kyle Gliva in the Minnesota Christmas Tournament finals (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)These two have met twice already this season and will meet two more times this weekend. Their first match this season was in the finals of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament. It was a back-and-forth battle with Gliva nursing a one-point lead with 20 seconds to go. I was on the top of the gym and made a comment about this match being over. I had watched Kyle wrestle since his freshman year and he never gives up a lead that late in a match. Berge obviously didn't know this ... or maybe he did. Either way, he took a desperate shot at Gliva's legs and took him to the mat with five seconds left to secure the win. The Kasson crowd rose to their feet and the screaming went on for a full minute. Gliva simply went to his corner, mad at himself for being so sloppy. "I was devastated. I had him and I let it slip away!" I have some friends who are Clash loyalists that travel from New Jersey to Minnesota to take in the event. They have been weight judges at 106 for the last four years. During Kyle Gliva's freshman year, one of them made a comment about how young he looked, and I heard the phrase "baby face." Later they watched him run the table, going 6-0 and for the first time I heard the term, "Baby-Faced Assassin." It stuck. Every year I get messages from those guys asking me how the "Assassin" is doing. He's one of their favorite wrestlers from Minnesota. I relayed this story to Kyle's mom Sue and not surprisingly, she wasn't nearly as amused as I thought she might be. Gliva and Berge Act 2 took place three weeks after that first meeting. It went into two overtimes, with Berge getting a surprising and somewhat controversial reversal as time was running out. The final score was 3-2 and now Berge (The Phenom) had beaten Gliva (The Assassin) twice. Kyle claims he has never been more motivated in his career since taking that loss. Kyle is a very hard-working young man. His coach Will Short simply loves Kyle. He has been in his corner for over a decade, and Will had a sad look on his face while talking about Kyle not being on the team next year. "I love that kid like he's my son. He's everything I could hope for in a student-athlete. Nobody outworks him in the wrestling room or the classroom. When he's gone, I'm going to tell the new kids to reach for the goals Kyle Gliva did. I'm so proud of him. The good news is I get to watch him wrestle in college!" I don't often get the chance to see Will get emotional, but he stood there beaming at me about Gliva and I swear I saw a tear in the corner of his eye. Thursday night: State team dual finals: Simley vs. Kasson-Mantorville Simley is in real trouble by the time the match at 132 pounds is about to begin. They have already forfeited a match at 106 and they had another forfeit coming at 285. It was 12 wrestlers (Simley) vs. 14 wrestlers (Kasson-Mantorville) and this was going to be a must-win for Gliva. The match starts out like a chess game with plenty of hand fighting and collar ties, but no real good scoring chances. The time goes by fast and the period ends 0-0. Berge starts the second period on top and 18 seconds later Gliva is out to take the all-important 1-0 lead. The next minute and a half was full of wild action as both guys attempted shots and both almost scored. The scrambles had every eye in the arena on them. In the end, neither was able to score and we are now finished with the second period with Kyle Gliva nursing a 1-0 lead. The third period starts with Brady Berge taking down, and to no one's surprise he escapes 16 seconds later. The electricity in the air is thick and over the next 90 seconds we were privileged to watch some of the more intense scrambles of the weekend. Still, no one could score. Overtime! Kyle Gliva celebrates with his Simley teammates after defeating Brady Berge in the state team championship (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)The next minute had both young men neutral and on their feet. The action was crazy fast and Gliva almost secures control with 14 ticks left on the clock. But again, neither wrestler could secure the takedown during the extra 60 seconds. The next 30 seconds of overtime had Gliva in the down position and he was able to break free and take a one-point lead 2-1. The next 30 seconds of overtime started with Brady Berge down and sure enough, he was able to tie it up at 2-2. Now there is only one overtime left. Gliva gets the choice since he scored the first point and to no one's surprise he chooses bottom. Halfway through the period, a mad scramble occurs and Gliva turns his hips into Berge and manages to get behind Brady. It's a reversal and Gliva officially wins 4-2. Simley uses that win to go on an amazing run only to come up three points shy of winning its sixth state title. Kasson-Mantorville, at last, earns a state championship! I saw Nate Thomas crying happy tears. Most of his teammates joined in. Friday night: Individual quarterfinals -- Gliva vs. Berge IV The Minnesota state tournament is not seeded for the individuals. There is plenty of controversy about this, but it doesn't appear like it's going to change anytime soon. As a result, the top two wrestlers in Class AA at 126 pounds were about to meet in the quarterfinals. In all likelihood, one was going to be the champion and the other would wrestle back for third. There wasn't any rational wrestling fan at the Xcel Energy Center who believed Kyle Gliva vs. Brady Berge wasn't for the state championship. One thing this non-seeding deal does is guarantee huge crowds for both days. Theirs was not the only great match on Day 1 of the individual portion that many wish would be in the state finals 24 hours later. Kyle asked for me to skip meeting him before this match. It gave me the chance to visit with his parents Keith and Sue. To say Sue gets excited for Kyle while wrestling is like saying the sun just might come up tomorrow. Intensity doesn't quite do her fanaticism justice. She can be seen matside during Kyle's match losing her voice screaming for her son to make the move she knows so well. Keith (father) is the polar opposite and seems more relaxed. They both talk of Kyle like they are lucky to have such a fun kid in the family. He has a dry sense of humor and his energy keeps their home warm. They talk of how difficult it is to eat normally as a family while Kyle is watching his weight. The answer to that dilemma is to simply eat before he gets home. Usually he can smell what they eat no matter how hard Sue tries to cover it up. Kyle loves pasta more than just about any other food. Sue makes a special red sauce with garlic and no matter how hard she tries, Kyle is going to sniff it out. He spends some of his free time gazing at the food channel and has a secret mission to visit as many "diners, drive-ins, and dives" as he can in Minnesota. Kyle Gliva gets a takedown on Brady Berge in their state quarterfinal match (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine)It's time. This match begins where the last one left off with fast and furious shots taken by both young men. Both wrestlers know they must not give up a takedown in the first period. With just seconds to go, Brady Berge gets in deep on a double leg takedown and secures the 2-0 lead. The period ends this way, 2-0 Berge. You might wonder what goes through an athlete's mind when giving up an all-important, last-second takedown: "I immediately thought, 'I am going to finish third.' Then I thought, 'Forget that! I'm not giving in that easy!'" The second period starts with Gliva down and he escapes 15 seconds in, to cut the lead in half. Gliva now is stalking Berge and takes several shots only to be countered with spin moves and great defense by Brady. With 29 seconds left, another mad scramble ensues and with just four seconds on the clock Gliva was able to finally take Berge down and retake the lead 3-2. Now Berge is down to start the third. Gliva must have known it was fruitless to try a two-minute ride and cuts Berge to tie the score 3-3. The next 60 seconds followed form with both wrestlers attempting leg shots only to run into a counter move that could have easily resulted in a quick two points. With 37 seconds to go, Gliva is in on a single leg, but this time it's deep. He isn't letting go and powers his way around Brady to take a 5-3 lead. There is a break and they both head back to the center with 15 seconds. Berge gets out and it's the Minnesota Christmas Tournament all over again. But this time Kyle is dialed in. He is backpedaling and blocking everything Berge throws at him. Brady tries one more desperate move only to come up empty. Kyle Gliva hugs his coach Will Short after winning his third state title (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine)A day later Gliva puts the finishing touches on his third state title with a 10-1 victory over Scottie Bonds of St. Paul Humboldt. Later he told me he probably won't be remembered for the three championships, but would likely be known as the guy who stopped Brady Berge from getting six. He tipped his hat to Berge, claiming that Brady was in the top three of all the wrestlers he has ever faced in Minnesota. That says a lot about Brady. He's still has four more years of varsity. Dream Killer Although the last two bouts I described were within most fans' "sweet spot" to watch, there wasn't a fan who didn't believe the two warriors facing off in AA at 195 pounds was THE MATCH. This one also involved another Kasson-Mantorville grappler named Berge -- Broc, Brady's older and much bigger brother vs. Lance Benick from Totino-Grace. They will only meet once in the finals on Saturday night. No way was anyone leaving before these two muscular athletes met in the center of the circle. Lance invited me along for the ride and I attached my seat belt. What a ride it was. Broc Berge edged Lance Benick in the Minnesota Christmas Tournament finals (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Broc Berge is the two-time defending state champion and finished as a Junior National freestyle finalist in Fargo last summer. Every Big Ten school took a run at him, only for Iowa to land this top recruit. He is mentioned as one of the nation's very best seniors in his class. In his career he has only one match with Benick, which happened at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament in December. It went into overtime with Berge squeaking out a late takedown in sudden victory, 5-3. After that bout, everyone expected Lance to go down to his natural weight of 182. It never happened. "There is no way I was going down to 182," said Benick. "I would much rather lose to Berge than win a state title at 182. I couldn't live with myself knowing I was running from him." I asked if it mattered if he was a three-time state champion as opposed to a four-timer. "I would rather not lose, but I would rather lose to Broc Berge than to live the rest of my life wondering if I could have beaten him." There were 17,000 people in the stands that wondered the same thing. Lance Benick went 18-0 in three Cadet National competitions in 2012, winning national titles in folkstyle, Greco-Roman, and freestyle. (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)How good is Lance Benick? Last season he easily dispatched his opponents for his first state title as a freshman. But it was four months later in July where he proved how dominant he really is. As a first-year Cadet, Lance won the USA Wrestling National Triple Crown. In Fargo, there wasn't a match that was decided by less than a technical fall or a pin. He destroyed everyone in the country. That kind of domination doesn't come around very often and the knowledgeable wrestling fans in Minnesota were licking their chops at this sophomore sensation. What motivates Lance Benick? Well, besides the thrill of being the best, he is wrestling for his mom, Joanne. She has a very serious tumor in her brain and no one really knows how much time she has left. Lance adores his mom and many times when he thinks he is completely gassed and can go no further, he thinks, "If only I go five minutes longer, and if only by doing that, my mom might live longer." He wants to win this state championship more for her than any person on the planet. Lance also designed a T-shirt for Joanne that helped raise several hundred dollars for her medical care. How serious of a student is Lance Benick? He works all year to come up with the $12,000 tuition it requires to attend Totino-Grace High School. Yep, he pays his own tuition. He doesn't think it's that big of a deal. He started buying and selling wrestling shoes over the Internet and is known as the kid with over two dozen of his own. He also works all summer with his dad on construction to raise the money. He told me he is hooked on marketing and would love to be a successful business owner someday. I'll only be surprised if he doesn't. Lance is a large young man, but gentle, and is amazingly laid back. During our interviews he yawned several times and took every hard question I could come up with a simple smile and an "aw-shucks" attitude. It's impossible to not like this guy. Saturday night: 195-pound Class AA championship Lance Benick and Broc Berge tangle in the state finals (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine)The air is heavy as these two big men enter the circle. As the match unfolds I hear a fan mention how ridiculously small the circle seems for these two giants. Both start out very tentative with neither trying anything crazy. There's simply too much respect for either opponent to try anything foolish. With just under 20 seconds, Broc Berge tries the closest thing to a successful shot of the period only to be blocked cleanly by Lance. The second period starts with Berge winning the coin toss and choosing down. Within 15 seconds Broc Berge escapes to take the early lead 1-0. Now they start to open up and at the 53-second mark, Lance Benick is in deep only to have Berge scramble away grabbing onto Lance's ankle and both end up out of bounds. A few more halfhearted shots take place in the last 30 seconds and Berge keeps the 1-0 lead. Berge lets Benick up to start the third period. It's now 1-1 and the crowd is quiet and anxious. Everyone knows if there is a takedown, it will likely decide the match. There is a crazy flurry with just over a minute to go, but neither can score. The Kasson crowd starts the "Here we go, Broc ... Here we go" chant. It travels as fast as these two guys go at one other. With just under 40 seconds in regulation, Lance gets a hold of Berge's right leg and lifts him up in the air. Berge takes two hops and gets out of bounds. Time is up and it's tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. The next two minutes will go down in Minnesota wrestling lore. It will be told for years to come. The first minute of sudden victory finds both men back on their feet looking for that takedown to win the match. By now Lance Benick is no longer tentative and he tries every move he has in his offense. He tries three different times to get in on Berge's legs and arms looking for any opening. Berge does a masterful job of holding Benick at bay. The action is nonstop and the fans are holding their breath. They finish the period in another wild scramble, but there are no points awarded. Broc Berge wins the coin flip and chooses the down position for the next 30 seconds of overtime. No one expects Lance to ride Broc, but Benick has a secret weapon he was waiting to use. He calls it a "Zuniga," named after a favorite coach of his. Dave Zuniga, a 1996 Olympian and All-American Gopher wrestler, taught Lance this crossface arm headlock and Lance secured it tight for the first 12 seconds until the referee broke it. When the whistle blew again, Lance reached across Berge's upper torso and locked the Zuniga again. This time he held it while both wrestlers were standing as Lance tried to bring Broc down to the mat. It worked to perfection and the period ended still tied 1-1. Lance Benick sporting his "Dream Killer" T-shirtHere's where it became surreal. Broc Berge was in the top position for the next 30 seconds of overtime. Only, he decides to cut Benick. A friend of mine to my right asked, "What is going on? They have just wrestled seven minutes on their feet and neither could get a takedown. Now Lance doesn't need one and Broc does." Later I asked Lance what he thought about being cut loose at that moment. "I knew I was going to win," Lance said. "I had no stall calls against me and there was no way I was giving up a takedown." He was right. Berge tried everything he could, but came up short. The final score was 2-1 in favor of Lance Benick. The curious part of this match is Lance Benick won without scoring an offensive point. Later, Lance was met in the tunnel by one of his summer coaches with a T-shirt that he had been waiting for the beaming redhead to finally put on. The front of the black T-shirt had only 11 gold letters, but the two words were prophetic: "Dream Killer." Steve Elwood can be reached at steveel@rstransportinc.com.

Basketball's bracket busters make upsetting a top seed look easy. A few talented roundballers in unfamiliar jerseys tossing alley-oops year-in and year-out make the idea of a major upset seem normal across all sports. But they're not, and in wrestling upsets by unseeded wrestlers are extraordinarily rare. And yet it happens. There were unseeded semifinalists each of the past two years, and three in 2010: 2012: Hofstra's Justin Accordino (149) who beat No. 12 seed Ivan Lopouchanski (Purdue), No. 5 seed Ian Miller (Kent State) and unseeded Nick Lester (Oklahoma) before losing to Frank Molinaro 5-0. Accordino finished in sixth place. 2011: Utah Valley's Ben Kjar (125) beat unseeded Steve Bonnano (Hofstra), No. 4 seed James Nicholson (Old Dominion) and No. 5 seed Zach Sanders (Minnesota) before losing to eventual champion Anthony Robles (Arizona State) 4-2. Kjar took fourth place. 2010: Purdue 125-pounder Cashe Quiroga (Purdue) beat No. 7 seed James Nicholson (ODU), unseeded Joe Langel (Rutgers), and unseeded Fred Santaite (Boston) to make the semifinals where he lost to eventual champion Matt McDonough 14-3. Quiroga finished in sixth place. Binghamton's Justin Lister (157) beat No. 11 seed Neil Erisman (Oklahoma State), unseeded Thomas Scotton (North Carolina) and No. 3 seed Jesse Dong (Virginia Tech) before losing to runner-up Chase Pami (Cal Poly) 14-3. Lister finished in fourth place. Oklahoma's Tyler Caldwell (165) beat No. 12 seed Paul Young (Indiana), No. 5 seed Colt Sponseller (Ohio State) and unseeded Chris Brown (ODU) to make the semifinals and where he lost to Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) 4-1. Caldwell earned in fifth place. It's a statistical improbability that your wrestler will be Cinderella. Of the 120 available semifinal spots over the past three years only FIVE went to unseeded wrestlers. That means 630 unseeded wrestlers had an opportunity to make the semifinals, but only FIVE of those men accomplished the task. Your unseeded wrestler has less than a .8 percent chance of being this season's bracket busters. Even when given ten chances over two years we've been unable to guess these upsets correctly. So your wrestler becoming this season's bracket buster is about as likely as your nephew catching this bear in a spladle. The wrestlers listed below are not necessarily the best unseeded wrestlers, just the ones who might have a path to the semifinals that is both conceivable and assisted by other upsets. If you look above at the last three years you can see that almost all the semifinalists ran into an unseeded wrestler in the quarterfinals or second round. They didn't have to wrestle three consecutive top 12 opponents, because other potential busters were assisting them on their forward march. Also a factor is the pre-existing injuries to seeded opponents in your quarter of the bracket. If just one No. 5 seed comes in with a broken rib and it could signal an upset that could lead to the type of runs we read about above. But again, let's play this honest, there is less than a one-percent chance of any unseeded wrestler making it to the semifinals, much less the ones you or I select and justify. I recommend you just enjoy the process and if one of them hits be sure to leave your congratulatory notes in the comments section! 125: Christian Cullinan (Central Michigan) The Tom Borrelli-coached wrestler is coming off a disappointing MAC tournament, which dropped him out of seeding contention. However, if he's able to capture his midseason form, he's capable of wrestling for an upset. First Round: Joe DeAngelo (North Carolina State) DeAngelo (7-7) stole the fourth qualification spot when Shane Gentry (Maryland) was injured in the semifinals. Second Round: No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) Cullinan split his two matchups this season with Pitt's Anthony Zanetta, who beat Nico Megaludis of Penn State 3-2 in December. Quarterfinals: Nick Soto (Chattanooga) Soto could wrestle No. 5 Jarrod Garnett in the second round. Though Garnett is capable of winning the tournament, one of his two losses this season came to Soto, a 10-9 decision in November. 133: Vinny Dellefave (Rutgers) Another wrestler with a disappointing conference tournament, Dellefave was pinned by Matt Bystol (Columbia) in the EIWA quarterfinals. First Round: No. 12 Jordan Conaway (Penn State) Lowest seeded wrestler in the bracket, Conaway has improved all season. He beat Dellefave 6-1 in February, but with some familiarity and tape, Dellefave could manage his first upset. Second Round: No. 5 Chris Dardanes There is little objective reason to think that Dellfave would pull the upset. However, Dardanes wrestles a lot of close matches, which could allow for an inspired Dellefave to create a tight match and create opportunities to win late. Quarterfinals: Sam Speno (North Carolina State) The unseeded NC State wrestler has a win over Jordan Conaway and is a dangerous, salty wrestler. Given head coach Pat Popolizio's tendency to get his wrestlers to perform at NCAAs, there's a chance Speno could be the guy to make a streak, though ultimately fall to Dellefave. Zach Neibert enters the NCAAs with a 16-9 record (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)141: Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech) The No. 13 ranked wrestler has seen a lot of very tough opponents this season. He’s lost many of his close matches to top opponents but with that experience could find ways to improve once at the tournament. First Round: No. 11 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) The Cornell wrestler is coming off a surprising 4-3 loss to Franklin & Marshall's Richard Durso in the EIWA semifinals. Second Round: No. 6 K. Undrakhbayar Neibert lost the first meeting 3-1, but if he makes it past Nevinger, and figures out Ugi's style on their feet, he should be in position for the upset. Quarterfinals: No. 3 Mike Mangrum (Oregon State) Nevinger lost to Mangrum 7-3 in February, but with their first match behind him, Neibert can defend against the attacks that caused him problems. 149: Donnie Corby (Central Michigan) Corby is still one of the most accomplished unseeded and unranked guys at the weight with wins over No. 15 David Habat (Edinboro) and No. 19 Derek Valenti (Virginia), a 2011 All-American. The Chippewa's advancement will be dependent on the health of Air Force's Cole VonOhlen. First Round: Dan Osterman (Michigan State) Corby won their last meeting 3-2. Second Round: No. 4 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) If VonOhlen's shoulder isn't better by this match he'll be in for a long seven minutes against the heavy-handed Corby. Quarterfinals: No. 5 Steve Santos (Columbia) I like Santos to be an All-American, but Corby matches up well, and when it comes to quarterfinals anything is possible. 157: Georgi Ivanov (Boise State) Ivanov is on a 12-match win streak since losing to R.J. Pena (Oregon State) in a dual meet on January 5. He avenged that loss at the conference tournament and picked up a win against No 12 Jedd Moore (Virginia) First Round: Dan Zilverberg (Minnesota) Tough opponent for Ivanov to face first round, but has lost to common opponent R.J. Pena. Second Round: Taylor Walsh (Indiana) Walsh lost a 4-3 decision to No. 3 Joey Napoli at Midlands. Familiarity breeds opportunity and Walsh wins their match only to get knocked off by Ivanov. Quarterfinals: No. 11 Walter Peppelman (Harvard) If Peppelman can hold Alex Dieringer down he's advancing to the quarters. Ivanov gave Moore fits on bottom at Virginia Duals and earned a reversal. He can repeat the same against Peppelman. 165: Pierce Harger (Northwestern) Talented training partner to top-seeded 157 Northwestern wrestler Jason Welch, Harger is in the best position in a bracket that doesn't offer much hope on the top and bottom quarters versus Kyle Dake and David Taylor. First Round: No. 4 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) Everyone is on the lookout for Dake and Taylor to screw up in the first round. Maybe Caldwell gets distracted and Harger converts an early takedown to a tough ride from top? As we know, there will be upsets in the first round and given the emotional ups and downs Caldwell has experienced in 2012-2013, he's as ripe as any wrestler to fall in an early round. Second Round: Johnny Greisheimer (Edinboro) Harger won their December matchup 5-3. Quarterfinals: No. 5 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) When you're hot, you're hot. Monk's top game is a watered down version of what Harger gets every day from Welch. The Wildcat can create scoring opportunities from overly aggressive tilt attempts and high leg rides. 174: Bryce Hammond (Cal State-Bakersfield) A much tougher wrestler than his 32-8 record indicates. Hammond is capable of big points from creative scrambles. First Round: No. 6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) Maybe Storley's Big Ten tournament was as a fluke, or maybe he was hurt. Either way, there is a possibility that he's not emotionally or physically 100 percent. Hammond has seen the brackets and knows he's wrestling a possibly wounded opponent. Second Round: No. 11 Blake Staufer (Arizona State) Hammond won their last meeting at Pac-12's by a 10-4 decision. Quarterfinals: Lee Munster (Northwestern) On a run of his own, Munster beats Mike Evans (they haven't met this season), but is tripped up by Hammond who has found his form as a freshman. 184: Daniel Rinaldi (Rutgers) With the exception of last week's 7-2 decision loss to Brown wrestler Ophir Bernstein, the Rutgers wrestler's only losses came to top five opponents. He's way undervalued as an athletic talent and one of the best unseeded wrestlers in the tournament. First Round: C.J. Magrum (Ohio State) They've lost to the same people, but not much else to go on except Rinaldi and Rutgers have something to prove in 2013. Second Round: Casey NewBerg (Kent State) Ductin Kilgore's wrestling partner knocks off the dinged up Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) in the first round, setting up the meeting with Rinaldi. The Rutgers wrestler pulls out the hard-fought win. Quarterfinals: No. 11 Mike Larson (Missouri) Larson is 1-2 versus No. 6 Ryan Loder during the year and faces him in the second round. Rinaldi wins the quarterfinal matchup and moves onto the semifinals. Mario Gonzalez was edged by Blake Rosholt at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals last month, but could get another crack at him in the second round of the NCAAs (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)197: Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) There aren't many quadrants from which to launch a successful semifinal run, and with Matt Wilps as his expected opponent, Gonzalez is the longest shot on the list. He is coming off a nice Big Ten tournament where he beat Nathan Burak (Iowa). Pigtail: Jace Bennett (Cornell) Gonzalez has a win over common opponent Caleb Kolb of Nebraska, who Bennett lost to 7-5. First Round: Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) Though I have Gadson as an All-American, I can see a warmed-up Gonzalez doing well against an emotionally-drained Gadsen in the first round. I'll be pulling for Gadson, who did win the pair's only matchup of the season, 9-5. Second Round: Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) The duo wrestled to sudden victory in late February, with Rosholt coming away the 3-2 winner. Gonzalez earns the tight win at NCAAs. Quarterfinals: Richard Perry (Bloomsburg) Perry wrestled No. 3 Matt Wilps to a 5-4 decision at the EWL conference tournament and sudden victory tiebreaker in January. If Perry upsets Wilps, which is the tightest matchup any of the top four seeds face at 197, it could give Gonzalez a matchup he likes. Perry has only faced one other Big Ten wrestler this season, Northwestern's Alex Polizzi. 285: Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) Heavyweight is the most dependable 1-2-3-4 semifinal showcase in the tournament. Unseeded wrestlers almost never make a run, and that'll stay the same this season, with the possible exception of Jeremy Johnson. First Round: Jimmy Lawson (Penn State) Johnson beat Lawson 5-2 at the Southern Scuffle. Second Round: Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) This will be a battle of mobile, high-scoring heavyweights, making almost anything possible, including the major upset. The two haven't met this season, though Z pinned Johnson last season at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Quarterfinals: No. 10 J.T. Felix (Boise State) Felix is a huge talent that could give Telford a challenge in the second round. Johnson lost a lopsided 8-3 decision to Felix in December, which doesn't bode well. But if he's made it this far, let's face it, just about anything is possible.

PITTSBURGH -- When the score was 16-6 in favor of Team USA after seven matches of the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic, things seemed somewhat bleak for the Pennsylvania squad. Six matches remained, and the Keystone State seniors would probably need five wins to take the dual meet. In addition, two of the remaining Team USA wrestlers were ranked No. 1 in the nation. However, one upset over a national No. 1 later, and with four wins in five matches, it was now Pennsylvania which entered the last match of the dual favored in spite of facing a 19-18 deficit. Taking to the mats for the Keystone State was No. 1 Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan), a four-time state finalist and three-time state champion. However, it was not to be as No. 3 Zach Beard (Tuttle, Okla.) would score two first-period takedowns off of throw-by's and never look back in a 7-4 upset victory over Wiercioch to clinch the United States' 22-18 victory in the 2013 Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. With that performance, Beard was named Outstanding Wrestler for Team USA. "It put pressure on me, but at the same time created a surge of energy," said Beard about last match dynamics. "Getting the lead set the tone of the match, and it kept me going. It is really meaningful to win, and it's important to me, and also to represent the state of Oklahoma and University of Wyoming (where I'll be wrestling in college) in a positive light." Beard was but one of three wrestlers able to upset a national No. 1 on Sunday evening. Right before the mid-point of the dual meet, No. 2 Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio) upended Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary) 1-0 with a second period escape and keeping Morris down for the full two minutes of the third period. "I knew that (Morris) was a strong wrestler, very good in both mat positions (top/bottom), and had come through in close matches during the season," said Abounader. "However, I knew victory could be had, and it feels great to come through with one, and it's a big step for me." The other upset of a national No. 1 came from No. 8 Austin Matthews (Reynolds) as the second of the four Pennsylvania victories in their late comeback attempt. For Matthews, it was an 8-2 decision over Jake Short (Simley, Minn.) at 152 pounds keyed by an opening period takedown right into a tilt that provided a 5-0 cushion with one-third of the match gone. "It's something that I hit a lot in matches," said Matthews about that big move. "I scored on it twice in an 18-6 regional final victory, and got it right off the bat in a 16-6 state semifinal victory. Getting out to a big lead makes it easier to break the opponent, as it's hard to come back from such a deficit." Matthews got it out to 6-0 with a second period escape. Short would cut it to 6-2 with a takedown, but a late period reversal and then a third period ride out would provide Matthews with the final details in an 8-2 victory. "I had no pressure, was able to let it go, and do what I do best: just wrestle and hold nothing back," added Matthews about facing, and beating, a national No. 1. The first four matches of the dual meet featured the USA and Pennsylvania squads trading decision victories. In the opening bout, No. 1 Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.) used takedowns in each period on the way to a decisive 7-3 decision against No. 5 Mike Racciato (Pen Argyl) at 145 pounds. No. 10 Zach Fuentes (Norristown) would then make a first period takedown stand up in a 3-2 victory over No. 17 Paul Mascarenas (Cleveland, N.M.) at 113 pounds, which tied the dual meet up at 3-all. Despite being outwrestled for most of the match from the neutral position, it was No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, Ohio) who came up with the match's only takedown early in the third period, as he squeezed out a 3-2 victory over No. 3 Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic). This came despite a late match surge in which Cruz was close to scoring on two different leg attack sequences within the last thirty seconds of the match. Then to tie the dual meet up at 6-all, No. 7 Paul Bradley (Nazareth) came up with a 3-1 overtime victory over No. 2 Brooks Black (Blair Academy, N.J.). This avenged a previous Black victory, 2-1 in the tiebreaker) at the Beast of the East three months ago. "I knew that (Black) like the Russian, and didn't really like to shoot from neutral," answered Bradley when asked about what he learned from their earlier meeting. "He's a very big and strong kid, so I'm glad I was able to get the takedown in overtime, and end my high school experience with a win." At present, Bradley remains uncommitted for collegiate wrestling. However, he does have two or three visits lined up before making a decision. In addition, Bradley is also considering when to complete his two-year church mission; be it before he enrolls in college or during his collegiate career. With the score tied at 6-6, the only true one-sided match of the main event occurred with No. 3 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.) dominating No. 14 Cody Law (Forest Hills) 20-8. Martinez scored three takedowns in the first period, two in the second, and five in the third period. It was an extreme statement made by the three-time California state champion, who is bound for the University of Illinois for 2013-14. The 1-0 decision victory for Abounader, combined with a 6-1 victory for fellow St. Edward wrestler Dean Heil, would stretch the USA lead out to 16-6. Heil, ranked No. 3 nationally at 132 pounds, would score his needed points in the first period off a takedown and three-point near fall against fellow four-time state champion Ryan Diehl (Trinity), who is ranked No. 5 down a weight class at 126. The next match, which was the eighth of the evening, featured a pair of 195 pound wrestlers competing up at 220 pounds. No. 1 Ryan Solomon (Milton, Pa.) was able to stem the USA momentum with a 2-1 tiebreaker victory over No. 2 Frank Mattiace (Blair Academy, N.J.). The wrestlers traded escapes in regulation, and were otherwise scoreless during regulation and sudden victory overtime. Then, in the tiebreaker portion, Solomon scored his point when Mattiace was hit for a stalling from the top position – his second of the match – during the first part of the 30/30. After Matthews scored the 8-2 victory to cut the Pennsylvania deficit to 16-12, Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.) scored a crucial victory for the USA squad at 126 pounds against No. 2 Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan). Yet again, the wrestlers traded escapes in regulation, but were otherwise held without points in regulation and the sudden victory overtime. In this match, Dance scored on an escaped in the first portion of the 30/30, and held Schram down during the second part for a 2-1 tiebreaker victory. "I knew I could hold him down with the lift & return sequence," said Dance about wrestling in the tiebreakers, after virtually letting Schram loose in the second period during regulation. "(The lift & return) is something we do as conditioning in (high school) practice, and I also work on it over at Virginia Tech club practice against (NCAA qualifiers) Jarrod Garnett and Erik Spjut." Dance is bound for Virginia Tech in 2013-14, and plans on being ready to step in right off the bat for the Hokies at 125 pounds. With the score 19-12 in favor of the USA, Pennsylvania would put Zach Beard in the position where he needed to pull off the last-match upset with consecutive victories from No. 8 Jake Hart (Hampton) and No. 1 Zain Retherford (Benton) at 195 and 138 pounds respectively. Hart scored a 3-2 victory over No. 11 Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville). During this match, state champion Hart rode out 2011 and 2012 state champion Berge during the second period, was let loose to start the third period, but then gave up a late match takedown to Berge. However, with virtually no time on the clock, Hart would turn around a 2-1 deficit into the 3-2 victory with a match-winning reversal. Retherford, who has won everything under the sun in the last calendar year – NHSCA Junior Nationals, FILA Cadet National freestyle, Junior National freestyle, FILA Cadet World freestyle, Super 32 Challenge, Ironman, Powerade, and Pennsylvania Class AA state title – would face four-time state champion and career undefeated Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) in the evening's penultimate match. Despite the lack of scoring, it was not for a lack of action and intensity from the top two ranked 138 pound wrestlers in the country. Scoreless after one, Ashnault responded with an escape midway through the second period. Then, it was Retherford's turn in the down position during the third period. A position from which he scored a reversal with just under a minute left in the match. From there, he held Ashnault down and secured the 2-1 victory. It was a performance that earned Retherford Outstanding Wrestler honors for the Pennsylvania squad. "I had to be deliberate because he's quick like a cat," said Retherford about facing the very accomplished and talented Ashnault. "I also had to keep a high-level for the full six minutes against such a tough opponent. Getting the win here sets a very positive tone going forward." USA 22 Pennsylvania 18 145: No. 1 Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.) dec. No. 5 Mike Racciato (Pen Argyl), 7-3 113: No. 10 Zach Fuentes (Norristown) dec. No. 17 Paul Mascarenas (Cleveland, N.M.), 3-2 120: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, Ohio) dec. No. 3 Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic), 3-2 285: No. 7 Aaron Bradley (Nazareth) dec. No. 2 Brooks Black (Blair Academy, N.J.), 3-1 SV 160: No. 3 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.) maj. dec. No. 14 Cody Law (Forest Hills), 20-8 182: No. 2 Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio) dec. No. 1 Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary), 1-0 132: No. 3 Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio) dec. No. 5 (at 126) Ryan Diehl (Trinity), 6-1 220: No. 1 (at 195) Ryan Solomon (Milton) dec. No. 2 (at 195) Frank Mattiace (Blair Academy, N.J.), 2-1 TB 152: No. 8 Austin Matthews (Reynolds) dec. No. 1 Jake Short (Simley, Minn.), 8-2 126: No. 5 (at 138) Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.) dec. No. 2 Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan), 2-1 TB 195: No. 8 Jake Hart (Hampton) dec. No. 11 Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.), 3-2 138: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Benton) dec. No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.), 2-1 170: No. 3 Zach Beard (Tuttle, Okla.) dec. No. 1 Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan), 7-4 WPIAL scores 28-19 victory over Virginia This was the third time in the 39 editions of the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic that the WPIAL and Virginia met in the undercard event. Both of the matches prior to tonight had resulted in wins for the WPIAL, 30-22 in 1986 and 29-24 in 2003. However, tonight's match was expected to be a stern examination. It certainly appeared to be headed that way, and possibly even towards the favor of the Virginia squad after wins from No. 9 Dennis Gustafson (Forest Park) and No. 12 Andrew Atkinson (Liberty Christian Academy), who was wrestling up a weight, gave "The Commonwealth" a 12-7 lead after five matches. In the evening's sixth match at 145 pounds, it was three-time Virginia state champion Beau Donahue (Westfield) facing Phil Marra (Burrell, Pa.) Donahue also had amassed over 200 wins in his four year high school career, while Marra placed just once at state – fourth this year -- and ended his career at just under 100 wins. However, Marra got the match's only takedown with inside 20 seconds remaining to win 2-0. "I don't even know who the opponent is (in any match), and nothing bothers me," said Marra in response to having to face an opponent as accomplished as Donahue. "There's no way (my opponent) was in as good of condition as I was coming off the state tournament last weekend (Virginia had their state tournament two weeks prior to Pennsylvania)." The next match at 152 pounds featured a 6-2 decision for Heath Coles (Norwin, Pa.) over Sean Murphy (Colonial Forge, Va.) to give the WPIAL a 13-12 lead, which they would maintain for the rest of the match. That was followed by a third consecutive WPIAL victory, this one coming from Zach Voytek (Greensburg Salem) with a 4-3 decision over state champion Rory Renzi (Lake Braddock) at 160. A 5-2 decision victory at 170 pounds from Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, Va.), who is ranked No. 6 nationally up at 182 pounds, cut the Virginia deficit to 16-15. However, a pair of victories from highly credentialed WPIAL seniors would serve as the de facto clinchers. At 182 pounds, Dakota DesLauriers (Burrell) upended Ryland O'Brien (First Colonial) 2-0 with an extremely late takedown in a battle of state champions. Then, the 195 pound match featured 2012 state champion Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area), who is ranked No. 10 nationally, put the hammer down with a pin at the 4:14 mark against state champion Corbin Ramos (Matoaca, Va.). This performance from McCutcheon earned the two-time Super 32 Challenge champion Outstanding Wrestler honors for the undercard bout. "After the last couple of weeks (losses in the regional and state finals), it fel pretty good to end on a positive note," said McCutcheon. "I wanted to get back to how I normally wrestle, wrestling to win as instead of ‘not to lose', and to get my offense going." Outstanding Wrestler honors for the Virginia squad went to Atkinson, a four-time National Prep placer, who earned a pin against three-time state placer Ethan Kenney (Connellsville, Pa.). Atkinson trailed the match 4-0 after Kenney scored a takedown to the back right off the bat. However, the future University of Virginia wrestler Atkinson countered with an escape, takedown, and three near fall points by the end of the first period to lead 6-4. "I just got caught off guard and on my heels right off the bat," said Atkinson. "(Kenney) just took me straight to my back. However, I thought I would still win the match once I got my back." Kenney started the second period with a match-tying takedown. However, Atkinson would respond with a reversal and then the same tilt that he trapped for near falls in the first period would lead this time to a fall. "It's awesome to wrestle in this type of atmosphere (almost sold out crowd," added Atkinson. "I came here to win, and that's what I did." While Atkinson came in to win, it was the WPIAL squad that did the bulk of the winning, as they won eight weight classes out of the 13 contested. Augmenting the wins from Marra, Coles, Voytek, DesLauriers, and McCutcheon were a 4-2 decision victory for state runner-up Seth Carr (South Fayette) at 113 pounds, a 19-6 maj. decision for state third placer Tyler Walker (North Hills) at 126, and a 3-2 victory for state qualifier Antonio Broglia (Canon-McMillan) at 285. WPIAL 28 Virginia 19 113: Seth Carr (South Fayette, Pa.) dec. Sean Badua (Osbourn Park, Va.), 4-2 120: J.R. Wert (Christiansburg, Va.) dec. Nate Reckner (South Side Area, Pa.), 2-0 126: Tyler Walker (North Hills, Pa.) maj. dec. Gabe Lumpp (Christiansburg, Va.), 19-6 132: No. 9 Dennis Gustafson (Forest Park, Va.) dec. Nick Zanetta (Keystone Oaks, Pa.), 2-1 138: No. 12 (at 138) Andrew Atkinson (Liberty Christian Academy, Va.) pinned Ethan Kenney (Connellsville, Pa.), 3:54 145: Phil Marra (Burrell, Pa.) dec. Beau Donahue (Westfield, Va.), 2-0 152: Heath Coles (Norwin, Pa.) dec. Sean Murphy (Colonial Forge, Va.), 6-2 160: Zach Voytek (Greensburg Salem, Pa.) dec. Rory Renzi (Lake Braddock, Va.), 4-3 170: No. 6 (at 182) Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, Va.) dec. Dustin Conti (Jefferson-Morgan, Pa.), 5-2 182: Dakota DesLauriers (Burrell, Pa.) dec. Ryland O'Brien (First Colonial, Va.), 2-0 195: No. 10 Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area, Pa.) pinned Corbin Ramos (Matoaca, Va.), 4:14 220: Zach Roseberry (Brentsville, Va.) maj. dec. Garrett Vulcano (Chartiers Houston, Pa.), 12-3 285: Angelo Broglia (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) dec. Justin Williams (Skyline, Va.), 3-2

"I remember watching him wrestle at the '72 Olympics. Even as an eleven-year-old, I was mesmerized by his drive and competitive spirit. I couldn't imagine being so passionate and driven. It was very impactful for me -- I remember that he wasn't scored upon. Even my friends who aren't wrestling fans are impressed by that feat." Dan Gable and Mark DollinsFour decades later, the man who cherishes the memory of watching on a little black-and-white TV as Dan Gable dominated his way to a gold medal at the Munich Games recently spent some quality time in the company of his hero ... all thanks to eBay. Mark Dollins was one of two individuals who won "The Ultimate Dan Gable Experience" online auction, a fundraiser for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa this past December. It almost didn't happen. "I had been alerted to the Gable experience auction on eBay," said Dollins, who is now a corporate communications consultant in Connecticut, and a lifelong fan of Dan the Man. "I thought I was playing it cool, waiting ‘till the last moment to swoop in with the winning bid. However, there was a glitch, a technical issue on eBay." "A guy in Wisconsin officially won." Kyle Klingman of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum confirmed the story, adding, "The original winner was Bryan Koontz from Wisconsin. He brought his twin boys -- both wrestlers -- and Dennis Hall, the 1995 World champion and 1996 Olympic silver medalist. (Mark's wife) Angie contacted us about the possibility of an additional winner." "We enjoyed the same Gable experience as offered on eBay," said Mark Dollins. "I know that Kyle scrambled to make it happen for us." "I'm glad it worked out," said Klingman. "I really enjoyed meeting Mark and Angie, and so did Dan." "Angie likely envisioned a romantic get-away for two with palm trees and white sands. This would be -- uh -- a different kind of weekend trip," Dollins wrote in his "Wandering Yank" blog. "We caught a flight from New York to Cedar Rapids, via Chicago O'Hare, and arrived to a balmy -8 degrees F. And yes, that was the air temperature, not the wind chill." Mark and Angie DollinsSo, besides bone-chilling cold, what exactly what did Mark and Angie Dollins experience from the Ultimate Dan Gable Experience? First stop for the Dollinses was at the Cedar Rapids sports apparel store owned by Mark Ironside, one of the Hawkeyes' mat stars when Gable was head coach at the University of Iowa. According to Mark Dollins, the couple stocked up on black-and-gold wearables. The Dollinses also received a personal tour of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Gable's hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, conducted by facility director Kyle Klingman. Also on the itinerary was quality time at the Gable homestead outside Iowa City, spending an hour-and-a-half with the former Iowa State mat champ who, after winning the gold medal at the 1972 Olympics, joined the coaching staff at cross-state rival Iowa as an assistant to then head coach Gary Kurdelmeier [link to InterMat Rewind feature]. When Gable took the helm in the fall of 1976, he built a dynasty that, over the next two decades, included 21 Big Ten team titles, 15 NCAA team championships, 45 individual NCAA titles, and eight Olympians. Here's how Dollins described the Gable house in his blog: "His home was warm and comfortable, a lot like any home you'd expect to see in middle America. His wife, Kathy, was cooking for a large crowd expected for a family baptism the next day. But there was nothing middle America about his family room. Above the fireplace on a brick wall were trophies and plaques from his big wins across the globe. They included his Olympic gold medal and awards from the famed Tbilisi wrestling tournaments in what was formerly the Soviet Union. And how many of us have works of art by LeRoy Neiman -- of us -- over our mantles? He looked over many of them, thought about others, and spoke about only a few." When asked for this interview about what Gable talked about during their private house tour, Dollins replied, "He had so much to share about his career, pointing out awards and telling stories about a particular honor." "On the stairway down to his wrestling room, he has the yearly Iowa wrestling posters on display. He would point to individual wrestlers in a poster and share specific stories about that guy. He talked a great deal about the relationships he had with the parents of his wrestlers. He also shared about how he cared about his guys and kept watch over them." (As Dollins points out in his blog, "He made the rounds through Iowa City bars at 11 p.m. to ensure his wrestlers were home.") Dollins described the wrestling room with mats in Iowa school colors of black and gold covering the floor and walls. Addressing the tight confines of the room, Gable told Dollins, "When you wrestle here, there's nowhere to go. It's so small that you can't escape. You just keep wrestling." One piece of non-wrestling artwork on display at the Gable house that caught Dollins' eye was a neon sign for Mountain Dew. Dollins, who at one time was in corporate communications for Pepsi (makers of Mountain Dew), had to ask Gable about it. His host said he rewards himself with a Dew after his intense daily workout in his well-equipped gym in a barn behind his home. At the conclusion of the Ultimate Dan Gable Experience, Mark and Angie Dollins took in the Feb. 2 dual meet between Iowa -- then the No. 3 ranked program in the country -- and the defending NCAA team champs, Penn State. The Dollins were part of a sellout crowd of just over 15,000 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the University of Iowa campus. It was Angie's first collegiate dual. "My wife said, 'I didn't know a whole lot about wrestling until hearing fans sitting near us talking about what was going on,'" said Mark Dollins, citing specific examples of how nearby fans would predict what the referee would do seconds before he'd make his call. "Iowa fans are not only knowledgeable, but passionate. They really understand the intricacies of the sport in a way that fans of other sports don't necessarily share." "The fans know the discipline that goes into the sport and appreciate it," Dollins added. Mark DollinsWhat did the former high school wrestler who reconnected with the sport about 15 years ago in veteran folkstyle competition say about the overall impact of meeting the man who captured his imagination during the 1972 Olympics and served as an inspiration for the past four decades? "For me, following the sport as I have all my life, there's one iconic figure for me, and that's Dan Gable," said Dollins. "I'm not sure there's anyone else quite like him in any other sport in terms of greatness as an athlete and as a coach." "Gable is a spokesperson and champion for the sport," continued Dollins, who, after a brief stint as a reporter in Auburn, Indiana, has worked in corporate communications for major utilities and top consumer goods companies such as Quaker Oats and Pepsi during his professional career before launching his own consulting business in 2011. "He's all about advancing the image of the sport. The fact he's made himself available to the wrestling community, the media and to the general public makes him all the more special." "He transcends all aspects of wrestling, from youth to high school to college to Olympics." Dollins sees Gable's influence in a very personal way that goes beyond a big-picture perspective on what he does to promote the sport. "I have a passion about wrestling," said Dollins. "The impression I got from Gable is you never stop. That really speaks to me." "When you spend time with him, and realize all the surgeries he's had, it's incredible to see that he still works out like a fiend. He still lives that never-quit attitude."