InterMat Staff

DES MOINES, Iowa -- For the second straight season, Lindsey Wilson is coming home from the NAIA Wrestling National Championships with an individual winner, as Jameel Bryant earned an 8-4 decision in tonight's finals at the Jacobson Exhibition Center. The Blue Raiders finished fifth as a team with 78.5 points, while Grand View (Iowa) won the team championship with 159. Southern Oregon finished second with 153 points and Montana State-Northern took third with 104. Bryant was the aggressor from start to finish in his 184-pound title match against fifth-ranked Jesse Hellinger of Dickinson State (N.D.). Despite being taken down early in the first period, Bryant turned the match in his favor with a hard-fought reversal to knot the score at 2-2. Bryant then brought Hellinger's leg high to get him off balance and powered him to the ground on his back for a two-point near fall. Leading 4-2, Bryant gave up an escape, followed by gaining one of his own to lead 5-3 in the second period. The best move of the match came late, as Bryant swooped under Hellinger to grab a single leg and gain a takedown once again to build a 7-3 lead and cruise to the championship with an added riding-time point at the end. With the win in the final, the junior-college transfer Bryant ends his first season at Lindsey Wilson with a 31-9 overall record. Lindsey Wilson also had Joe Cozart wrestling in a final, up against fifth-ranked Chad Lowman from Grand View at 157 pounds. Cozart fell victim to an early takedown and could only muster an escape the rest of the way. Lowman opted to take the down position in the third period and added an escape to win the national title 3-1. Cozart, who transferred in to Lindsey Wilson at the semester break from Iowa State, ended his year with a 17-6 record. Five Blue Raiders were named NAIA All-Americans with top-eight finishes in their weight class, including Cozart, Bryant, Jacob McCombs (133), Wismit Moinius (141) and Ian Stephens (184).

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Junior Bret Baumbach captured the 165-pound title as Stanford finished fifth overall (103.5 points) at the 2013 Pac-12 Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. Baumbach becomes the 15th conference champion in school history. He posted a 4-1 decision over Boise State’s Holden Packard in the semifinals and a 7-1 decision over top-seeded Seth Thomas of Oregon State in the final. Baumbach, a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, is now 22-10 and receives an automatic berth into the 2013 NCAA Championships, held this year in Des Moines, Iowa. Redshirt freshman Evan Silver was the runner-up for the Cardinal at 125 pounds. He defeated Oregon State’s Joey Palmer, 8-3, in the semifinal. Silver fell to top-seeded Tyler Iwamura of CSU Bakersfield, 6-2, in the finals. He is now 25-13 this season. Junior heavyweight Dan Scherer took fourth for Stanford and receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career. He fell to fourth-ranked Chad Hanke of Oregon State in the first round, 5-1. Scherer captured a 2-0 decision over CSU Bakersfield’s Sammy Cervantes in the consolation round before falling 4-2 to No. 16 Levi Cooper of Arizona State in the second tiebreaker. Also finishing fourth for Stanford was sophomore Alex Manley (133 pounds), senior Timmy Boone (149 pounds), junior Kyle Meyer (157 pounds) and redshirt freshman Michael Sojka (197 pounds). Oregon State won its second straight Pac-12 team championships, nabbing three individual titles and scoring 158.0 points overall. Boise State finished second with 136.5 points, while host Arizona State took third with 110.5 points. CSU Bakersfield (108.5) finished just ahead of the Cardinal, while Cal Poly finished sixth (82.0) Stanford now awaits the announcement of the at-large berths to the NCAA Tournament to see if any other Cardinal wrestlers will join Baumbach and Scherer in Des Moines, Iowa, March 21-23.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- George Ivanov took home the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award as the Boise State wrestling team took second at the 2013 Pac-12 Championships, Saturday. The Broncos finished with 136.5 points while Oregon State tallied 158. Ivanov was one of three Boise State champions, joining Jason Chamberlain and Jake Swartz at the top of the podium. It was a short trip for Ivanov, the 18th ranked wrestler at 157 pounds, who received a first-round bye before defeating Adam Fierro in the semifinal. He advanced to the finals where he faced No. 9 RJ Pena of Oregon State. Ivanov pulled out a 3-2 decision after trailing 2-1 heading into the final period. The senior from Council Bluffs, Iowa started the final period on top and quickly picked up a two-point near fall to take the lead and rode out until the final whistle. It is the second-consecutive year a Bronco has taken home the Outstanding Wrestler Award. Brent Chriswell was given the honor last year. Chamberlain won the third conference championship of his career by defeating No. 7 Scott Sakaguchi in the championship bout, 3-1 in overtime. It was the rubber match of the series and the second time the two went to overtime this season. Chamberlain's road to the finals was filled with bonus points after getting a pin in the first round and a technical fall in the second. Chamberlain is the 10th wrestler in school history to win three conference titles for the Broncos. Swartz defended his conference crown at 184 pounds with three wins at the tournament this season. The redshirt junior earned a pair of decisions against Sean Pollock and Ryan Davies in the morning session to advance to the finals. There he faced Arizona State's Kevin Radford and won by a 3-1 decision Brian Owen (133) and J.T. Felix (285) each made appearances in the finals of their weight classes but each lost by decision. After Felix upset Levi Cooper in the semifinals he faced Chand Hanke of Oregon State in the finals. Felix took an early lead but Hanke was able to ride him out in the final period, secure the riding time point, and win by a 3-2 decision. Owen wrestled to a 3-1 victory in the semifinals but was upended by Devon Lotito of Cal Poly in the finals, 5-2. Travis Himmelman (141) and Holden Packard (165) and Cody Dixon (197) each finished third. Himmelman and Packard each went 3-1 for the tournament while Dixon advanced on a first-round bye and finished 2-1. Scott Bacon finished 1-2, losing his first-round match but rebounding with a 9-2 decision in the consolation semifinal. In the third-place match, he lost a heartbreaker as Cody Weishoff picked up a reversal and near fall with four seconds left in the second tiebreak period to win 7-4. Rami Haddadin finished the tournament 0-3. In all, five Broncos are locked in for the NCAA tournament later this month. Each of the three champions and two runner-up finishers will go with automatic qualification. At the conclusion of the conference tournament schedule next week, at large bids will be announced. Scott Bacon will be one of the hopefuls as he was ranked in the top 33 of both the latest coaches' poll and RPI ratings. The NCAA Tournament will be held March 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa.

DES MOINES -- Four Raiders claimed individual titles and nine earned All-American honors as the second-ranked Southern Oregon wrestling team fell six points shy of a team title at the 2013 NAIA National Championships. Southern Oregon totaled153 points to finish as the national runner-up for the second straight year and fourth time in the past five years. Tournament host Grand View won its second consecutive national title with 159 points. The Vikings did not clinch the outright title until the final bout of the weekend, when Grand View's Eric Thompson won the heavyweight final to break a 153-153 tie atop the team leaderboard. Mitchell Lofstedt (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) pinned his way to his third national title and yet another SOU record to close out his career. Lofstedt pinned all five of his opponents on the weekend in a total time of 9:11to earn Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament honors for the second straight year. He narrowly missed out on his second consecutive Gorriaran Award – given to the wrestler with the most pins in the least amount of time – as teammate Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond) finished with five pins in a total time of 6:50 to earn the honor. Head coach Mike Ritchey was named NAIA Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. He also received the honor in 2001 and 2009. Lofstedt topped the 125-pound rankings all year and became the 25th individual in the 56-year history of the NAIA Tournament to win three titles. He is the first 125-pounder to achieve the feat, along with the first three-time champion at SOU and the fifth four-time All-American. He also won national titles in 2010 and 2012 and finished second as a freshman in 2009. Lofstedt concludes his final season with a 37-1 overall record and 27 pins. His .974 season win percentage is the highest in SOU history, and his 27 pins broke his own school record of 26 set last season. He also holds program records for career victories (156), career win percentage (.891), career pins (86) and 30-win seasons (4). Brock Gutches (Central Point, Ore./Crater) also retained his wire-to-wire top ranking in the national championships, claiming his second consecutive title at 174 lbs. Gutches went 4-0 on the weekend with a pair of pins and two decisions, taking down seventh-ranked Jose Alvarez of Wayland Baptist 5-2 in the final. With two titles in his first two years of eligibility, Gutches will have two more years to try become the 26th three-time NAIA champion. After falling in the final last season, Jimmy Eggemeyer (Kodiak, Alaska/Kodiak) closed out his SOU career on top with a championship in the 149-pound bracket. Eggemeyer eked out three close wins in four matches this weekend, decisioning sixth-ranked Nick Haugen 2-1 in his first matchup and defeating eight-ranked Sean Elkins 6-2 in the quarterfinals. He earned a 15-6 major decision victory over 10th-ranked Chase Burns in the semifinal and clinched the championship with a 3-2 win over third-ranked Isaiah Tatum on Saturday. Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) gave SOU a program-record four individual titlists, going 5-0 with three major decisions, a technical fall and a pin. The third-ranked Raider pinned No. 2 Angel Garcia in 1:14 in the semifinal and claimed a 16-7 major decision victory over top-ranked Cameron Neiss to reclaim the top spot that he held in half the rankings this season. Along with Southern Oregon's four individual champions, five other Raiders earned All-American honors. Third-ranked Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond) concluded the weekend with five pins and a 5-2 record, including a 1:43 pin in the fifth-place match to claim a fifth-place finish. Ninth-ranked Miguel Baltazar (Culver, Ore./Culver) finished 4-2 at the national tournament to place sixth in the 133-pound bracket after dropping a major decision in the fifth-place match. Derek Mestrovich (Boise, Idaho/Skyview) earned a 3-1 decision victory to claim seventh place at 165 lbs. and Jacob Abrams (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles-Wahtonka) won the seventh-place match in the 184-lb. bracket. Dalton Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon) dropped a 9-2 decision in the 157-lb. seventh-place match to finish eighth.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Claiming two individual champions and qualifying eight individuals to the NCAA Division III National Championships, the Augsburg College wrestling team claimed a regional championship for the 11th straight year, winning the NCAA Division III West Regional on Saturday afternoon at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall. Augsburg has won every NCAA regional it has participated in since going to a regional qualifying format in 2003. It's the fifth straight regional title for Augsburg head coach Mark Matzek. The Auggies accumulated 143.5 points to win the regional, ahead of second-place Concordia-Moorhead's 133.0 points and third-place St. John's (Minn.) 127.0 points. Augsburg was one of four schools to claim two individual champions, joining Concordia, St. John's and Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Concordia-Wisconsin and Wisconsin-Eau Claire also claimed individual champions on Saturday. Defending NCAA Division III heavyweight national champion Chad Johnson (JR, Ferryville, Wis./De Soto HS) reached a career milestone on Saturday, claiming his 100th career victory in scoring the regional title and a national tournament berth. The top-ranked heavyweight in the latest Division III national poll, Johnson opened with a first-period pin and claimed two more wins, including a 2-1 triumph over No. 4-ranked Tom Bouressa of Concordia-Moorhead in the championship match. Johnson is now 101-13 in his three seasons at Augsburg, including a 65-2 record the last two seasons. Johnson is unbeaten over his last two years against Division III opponents; his only two losses have come to the two-time defending national champion and two-time defending national runner-up in Division II. Augsburg's Matt Hechsel (SO, Apple Valley, Minn.) qualified for his first national tournament with a dominating performance at 197 pounds, winning the regional title for the first time. Hechsel opened with a 53-second pin, then claimed a 13-0, major-decision win in the quarterfinals, a 16-0, technical-fall victory in the semifinals and a 5-4 win over Nathan Schmitz of Concordia-Moorhead in the finals. Hechsel is now 32-9 on the season. #Tossaporn (Boyd) Suparat# finished second at the regional finished second at the regional at 133 pounds, qualifying for the national tournament for the first time in his career. Suparat improved to 28-12 on the season, scoring a 14-0, major-decision win and a third-period pin en route to his regional runner-up finish. Five Auggies finished third in their weight classes at the regional, earning spots in the national tournament field. This is the first year of the new regional format for NCAA Division III wrestling, where the top three finishers in each weight class in each of six regionals earn national tournament berths. Two Auggies will make their second trips to the national tournament -- 125-pounder Mike Fuenffinger (SO, Hibbing, Minn.) and 174-pounder Josh Kohler (SR, Monticello, Minn.). Fuenffinger scored three pins on the day, improving to 26-6 on the season with his third-place finish at 125. Kohler claimed a first-round pin and went 4-1 on the day, improving to 27-12 on the season with his third-place finish. Tom Kuehn (SO, Fargo, N.D./West Fargo HS) earned his first trip to the national tournament with a third-place finish at 141, improving to 24-6 on the season. Justin Bowland (JR, Foley, Minn.) also qualified for the national tournament for the first time, finishing third at 165 pounds and moving to 20-17 in the process. Kurt Knutsen (SO, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) had a dramatic comeback after losing his first match on Saturday to finish third at 157 pounds. Now 13-21 on the season, Knutsen won four straight matches, including a 4-3 win in the third-place match, to qualify for the national tournament for the first time. Minnesota schools claimed 20 of the 30 qualifiers from the West Regional to the national tournament. Both Concordia-Moorhead and St. John's had six national tournament qualifiers, while St. Olaf had one qualifier. Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Concordia-Wisconsin and Wisconsin-Eau Claire had two qualifiers each, and Wisconsin-Platteville, Pacific (Oregon) and Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) each had one qualifier. The NCAA Division III National Championships will be held March 15-16 at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Augsburg has won 11 Division III national championships since 1991, and will aim to extend two unique streaks; Augsburg has finished among the top four at the national championships for 24 straight years, and has also had five or more All-Americans at the national tournament for 24 straight years.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will be represented by eight wrestlers -- the school's largest contingent ever to qualify for a national championship -- at the NCAA III Wrestling Championship at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa March 15-16. The Warhawks captured the team title at the NCAA III Midwest Regional hosted by Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois Saturday. UW-W coach Tim Fader was named Midwest Region Coach of the Year. Team scores were: UW-Whitewater 121, Elmhurst College 108, UW-La Crosse 89, UW-Stevens Point 83.5, Olivet College 82.5, Wabash College 64, Trine University 53.5, Alma College 53, Wheaton College 43.5, North Central College 30, University of Chicago 28.5, and Manchester College 5.5. Wrestlers advance to the national tournament based on their finish at the regional, one of six qualifying regionals. The top three in each weight class advance, which will make a field of 180 wrestlers at the NCAA III championship. The Warhawks had four weight class champions. Elroy Perkin (Greenfield/Whitnall) won the 149 pound class. He opened with an 8-0 win over Brady Schrupp of La Crosse, followed with a 12-4 win over Joseph Ruettiger of Chicago, and edged Gage Pederson of Olivet 9-8 in a semifinal. Perkin, the fourth seed, defeated third seed Ben Strobel of Stevens Point 13-7 in the title bout. With four victories in the regional Perkin stands at 35-7. Cedric Gibson (Plainfield, IL) won all three of matches to capture the 165 pound class. After a first round bye, Gibson topped Josh Sampson of Wabash 10-3, and then won 8-3 over James Myers of Olivet to move into the championship. He beat Jordan Schulte of Stevens Point 3-1 in the final match to raise his record to 14-5. Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel) had a first round bye at 197. He beat Mario Palmissano of Chicago 14-12 to advance to the semifinals, and then won 6-2 over Dustin Wozniak of Point. In the final match Siefert defeated Darren Faber of Wheaton College 4-2. Siefert upped his season record to 28-8. Anthony Edgren (New Lisbon/New Lisbon) earned the 285 class title, winning four times, with two pins. Edgren, the number two seed, pinned Abraham Hall of Wabash in 1:23 in the first round, squeaked by Mitchell Steed of Wheaton 1-0 in the second, and beat Adam Robinson of Alma 6-1 in round three. Edgren came through with a pin, in 1:29, of William Mayer of La Crosse in the class title match. Roland Dunlap (Muskego/Muskego ) had a bye, and then won 10-6 and 3-2 to advance to the championship match at 184 pounds. Dunlap was defeated, 8-3, by Josef Rau of Elmhurst in the title match. It was the first loss of the season for Dunlap, now 11-1. Three Warhawks placed third. That group included Grant Sutter (Dodgeville/Dodgeville) at 133, Jake Fredrickson at 141, and Cade Sarbacker (Mineral Point) at 157 pounds. Sutter won, then lost, then came back with a pair of wins to up his mark to 21-3 this season. After an opening round win by technical fall, Fredrickson went down to the wire. He won 1-0 in round two, lost 3-2 in the third round, and then bounced back with a 3-1 overtime win over Jordan Kust of Stevens Point for third place. Sarbacker entered the meet with a 9-0 record, but lost his first match in the regional. He rebounded from that loss with four consecutive wins, including a technical fall and a 17-3 superior decision to finish third and up his season mark to 13-1. UW-W will enter the NCAA III championship as the number four team in the Division III poll.

ADA, Ohio -- The switch to regional qualifying tournaments seems to suit Elizabethtown wrestling just fine. The Blue Jays won the team title at the inaugural NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championships Saturday hosted by Ohio Northern University. They did it on the strength of a 141-pound championship from freshman Jesse Meaney, and runner-up finishes by Chad Lammer (133), Julian Meaney (184), Phil Landis (197) and Jeremy Rieth (285). All five guys are headed to the national tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in two weeks time. Meaney, a freshman, blew through the 141-pound bracket with three falls and a decision. Seeded fourth, he opened the tournament with a 93-second pin of Ohio Northern's Shaun Lee. Meaney moved into the semifinals with his second victory over York's Chuck Glatz in the last 15 days. Meaney saved his best for last, pinning No. 1 seed Wayne Black (Mount St. Joseph) in the semis in 5:15, and doing the same to No. 7 seed Jordan Dyer (Brockport) for the championship victory. Meaney, from Toms River, N.J., improved his season record to 17-5 with seven pins. He wasn't the only family member doing work. Older brother Julian Meaney also secured his first spot at the NCAA Division III Championships by advancing to the championship match at 184 pounds. Julian pinned his way through the first two rounds, and took down Thiel's Jacob Lowry 11-6 in the semifinals. He was forced to retire due to injury in the championship against nationally ranked Josh Thomson of Messiah. Jesse and Julian follow in the footsteps of older brother Bill Meaney, who was a national qualifier and All-American at last year's NCAA Championships. Elizabethtown placed more grapplers in championship matches, and its the reason why the Blue Jays are coming home with a team title. Landis, ranked ninth by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) dropped Pierce Curran of Case Western in 30 seconds, before earning wins by decision in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The 197-pound weight class' top seed, Landis fell 9-4 to No. 2 seed Andrew Lovins (Heidelberg) in the final. Rieth, seeded second, had a typical Rieth day filled with close matches. The Philadelphia native entered the tournament having wrestled in 13 matches decided by two points or less. He added to that total by four Saturday, as every bout he was involved in came down to the wire. In the opening round, Rieth used a 3-1 sudden victory over Case Western's Dale English to move on. He needed two overtime periods to hold off John Carrol's Will Porter in the quarterfinals. A 3-2 decision over Nino Majoy of Heidelberg put him in the finals against No. 9 John Wilkinson of Brockport. Wilkinson came out on top, 4-2, in the second overtime period. The Brockport heavy also edged Rieth by two, 5-3, back in December at the York New Standard Corporation Invitational. Chad Lammer's supurb efforts in tournaments continued in Ada, Ohio, as he reached the finals from his spot as the 133-pound weight class' fifth seed. Lammer, already a champion at the Messiah Invitational, and a fifth-place finisher at the Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational, used a forfeit victory in the first round to stay frest for his quarterfinal match against Ohio Northern's Jeremy Jones. Lammer scratched out a 4-3 win, and went on to defeat Rory Bruce of RIT, 8-4. He claimed runner-up honors after falling to No. 2 seed Joey Giaccio of York (Pa.). The five national qualifiers for the Blue Jays are the most sent to one national championship tournament in program history. Coach Eric Walker has completed reinvigorated a program that suffered through back-to-back winless dual seasons before he took over in 2003. Under his guidance, E-town has had four grapplers earn All-America honors, and now the program has a strong chance to add to that number. Bill Meaney and Quint Eno each took home All-America honors last season. Zeke Zimmer came up one spot shy of making it a six-spot for the Jays in Cedar Rapids. The sophomore settled for fourth at 174 pounds after losing the third-place match to Waynesburg's Anthony Bonaventura. Junior 125-pounder Kyle McNulty fought back from a quarterfinal defeat at the hands of nationally ranked Matthias Ellis II of Brockport to finish fifth in his weight class. The NCAA Championships will be held two weekends from now, starting on Friday, March 15.

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Led behind three third-place finishes and a pair of first-place victories, the No. 6 Centenary College wrestling team was crowned the 2013 NCAA East Region Wrestling Champions on Saturday after topping the 17 team field with a total 109.5 points. The Cyclones picked up the championship title after finishing the tournament with 109.5 team points, beating out second place No. 8 Delaware Valley College (108) and No. 7 Wilkes University (106.5). Leading the way for the Cyclones were their two returning All-American captains Chris Burdge (Newton, N.J., Kittatinny) and J.D. Zitone (Montague, N.J., Port Jervis) who each took home first place victories at 157 lbs. and 285 lbs. respectively. As the top seed at 157 lbs., Burdge had a short road ahead of him as he took down James Dugan of Delaware Valley with a pin just over the first minute into the match before an 8-2 decision over Brandon Yeik of Merchant Marine in the semi-finals sent him into the championship match. Faced with second seeded and fourth-ranked Kris Krawchuk of Wilkes, Burdge showed his strength, topping Krawchuk with an 11-1 major decision to give him the first-place finish and a spot at the 2013 NCAA Championship. Zitone took advantage of his top seed as well at 285 lbs., opening his day with an injury default before a pair of decisions over Chris Galletta of Muhlenberg and Mike Boardman of Delaware Valley sent him into the championship bout. Paired up with eighth ranked and second seeded Joe Camlin of McDaniel College, Zitone came out strong, forcing a 9-4 decision on Camlin for the championship title and a spot in Cedar Rapids on March 15th. After a quick pin and a 6-2 decision to open his day at 133 lbs., Zach Huxford (Jackson, N.J., Jackson Memorial) dropped a match to top-seeded Brandon Jones to send him to the consolation bracket, but Huxford wouldn't stay quiet there for long. Opening the consolation bracket with a 7-0 decision over Ryan Wilson of Stevens, Huxford found his way to the third-place match, pinning Johns Hopkins' Ray Yagloski in 42 seconds to earn him the right to go to Cedar Rapids in two weeks for the Division III NCAA Championship Tournament. At 141 lbs., Cory C. Vernon (Great Meadows, N.J., Hackettstown High School) continued to do exactly what he's done all year as he battled his way through three matches in the consolation bracket, including a close 2-1 decision over Elisha Gaylor of Ursinus to send him to the third-place bout against TCNJ's Dylan Thorsen. After losing to the fourth seeded Thorsen earlier in the day to send him to the consolation bracket, the fifth seeded Vernon stepped up, shutting out Thorsen with a 7-0 decision in the third place match to earn him at spot in the NCAA Tournament at 141 lbs. Ninth-ranked Owen Vernon (Great Meadows, N.J., Hackettstown) also found himself a spot at the NCAA Tournament with his four teammates as the took home a third place finish as well at 165 lbs. After a pair of pins to open the day, Vernon dropped a 4-1 decision to top-seeded Joey Favia of Stevens, sending him to the consolation bracket where he picked up an 8-2 decision to put him into the third place match with David Rice of NYU. Vernon battled his way through the bout with Rice, picking up a 6-3 decision over the third seeded and sixth ranked NYU star for a spot on the podium. Although only those five earned their automatic bids to the NCAA Championships on March 15th in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Cyclones got a lot of help from the rest of their squad to take home the East Regional championship title. Seniors Kevin Dufresne (Newark, N.J., St. Benedicts Prep.) and Craig Montgomery (Roselle Park, N.J., Roselle Park) finished the day with fourth place finishes at 174 lbs. and 149 lbs. respectively, each falling in an intense third place bout to a member of the Delaware Valley squad. Dufresne found himself in the third place match with Dallas Winston after a tough 6-5 decision sent him into the consolation bracket, but was unable to take down the Aggie as he lost a 3-2 decision for a fourth place finish. Montgomery found himself in a tough spot in the third place bout as he was faced with second seeded Emmanuel Ajagbe, but was unable to take him down as he dropped an intense 4-3 decision in the second tie breaker at 149 lbs. Erick Orellana (Brentwood, N.J., Brentwood High School) earned himself a win at 125 lbs. for the Cyclones as well while Khalid Shakir (Bordentown, N.J., Bordentown Regional) picked up a pair of his own at 184 lbs. to help the Cyclones to victory. The first place finish for the Cyclones marks the first championship under the new style of regional tournaments as the Cyclones look to start a tradition of winning the NCAA East Regional tournament. With the win, the five Cyclones who placed in the top three of their respective weight classes will head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to compete in the 2013 Division III NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 15-16, 2013 at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- The No. 1 ranked Wartburg wrestling team won the NCAA Central Regional title with 161.0 team points. Most importantly, the Knights had all 10 competitors qualify for the NCAA National Championships in Cedar Rapids in two weeks. "Our game plan going into today was just that, to qualify all 10 guys," said co-head coach Eric Keller. "We knew it wouldn't be easy and we knew it was going to be a fight." Co-head coach Jim Miller echoed Keller's thoughts as he said, "we did what we needed to do (in having everyone qualify). This is how you win a championship as guys stepped up when other things went wrong." "The National Championships are going to be hard and we'll need to work hard in these next two weeks," he continued. The Knights had five individual regional champions in Gilberto Camacho, 125; Kenny Anderson, 133; Kodie Silvestri, 149; Cole Welter, 157 and Landon Williams, 165. Dylan Azinger, Puna Soriano and Ryan Fank all placed second at 174, 197 and 285, respectively. Anderson and Silvestri scored bonus points in all of their matches on the day. Tommy Mirocha and Sam Upah completed the Orange and Black's quest for all ten competitors to qualify as both won the third-places matches. All ten also received All-Conference honors as the top three IIAC place finishers in each weight received this honor. Wartburg returns to action in two weeks at the NCAA National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This marked the third time in program history that the Knights had 10 qualifiers, with the most recent being last season. "We will use these next two weeks to really focus in on little things we need to improve on as some mistakes were made," said Keller. "While the rest of the school is on school break, our guys will be in two-a-day practices."

WORCESTER, MASS. -- Six wrestlers for the nationally third-ranked Red Dragons earned berths into the NCAA Div. III Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, March 15-16, by virtue of top-three finishes at the NCAA Div. III Northeast Regional Wrestling Championships at Worcester, Mass., hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Cortland had four individual champions and two third-place showings. Freshman Bobby Dierna (Webster/Wayne), the top seed at 149 pounds, took the title in his weight class. He pinned fifth-seeded Anthony Medina of Western New England in the semifinals before earning a 10-6 decision over third-seeded Jorge Lopez of Williams in the title bout. Second-seeded senior Troy Sterling (Uniondale) earned his trip to Cedar Rapids with a pair of wins over Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference opponents at 157 pounds on Sunday. He recorded a 10-5 decision against unseeded Dan Graff of Oneonta in the semifinals and wrapped up the title with a 3-2 decision in the finals versus Oswego’s Blake Fisher, the fourth seed. At 174 pounds, second-seeded sophomore Lou Puca (Huntington) captured the title with a 13-1 major decision over third-seeded Kyle Roosa of Wesleyan in the semifinals and a medical forfeit victory against top-seeded Jules Doliscar of Ithaca in the championship match. Senior Jared Myhrberg, the top seed at 197 pounds, captured Cortland’s fourth individual title at the tournament. In the semifinals, Myhrberg pinned fifth-seeded Blake McNulty of Johnson & Wales in 3:56, his third pin of the championships. Myhrberg then earned a 3-1 decision in the first tiebreaker over Springfield’s Jeremy Burns, the third seed, in the title bout. Freshman Alec Dierna (Webster/Webster Schroeder), seeded second at 133 pounds, earned a trip to the national meet with his third-place finish. After dropping to the consolation bracket on Saturday, Dierna recorded three wins on Sunday. He opened with a pin versus third-seeded Benjamin Mikac of Oneonta. He moved onto the third-place match with a 9-5 decision over fourth-seeded Robert Ferrante of Western New England and punched his ticket to Cedar Rapids with a 5-2 decision versus Oswego’s Omar Santiago, the fifth seed. Second-seeded senior Corey James (Kingston) captured the Red Dragons’ final spot to the national meet with a third-place finish at 285 pounds. James fell to third-seeded Jamison Sacco of Western New England in the semifinals but bounced back with a 3-1 decision in the second sudden-victory period versus Rhode Island College’s Brian Nicoll, the fifth seed and earned his spot at the national championship meet with a 3-2 decision versus Kyle Mcquire of Trinity in the third-place bout. The Red Dragons had two wrestlers earn sixth-place finishes. At 165 pounds, third-seeded senior Jonathan Conroy (South Plainfield, NJ) lost to second-seeded Colin Crowell of Roger Williams by injury default in the semifinals. He then lost to fifth-seeded David Pinto of Norwich, 5-0, before medically forfeiting the fifth-place match. Fourth-seeded senior Will Parks (Shoreham/Longwood) suffered three tight setbacks at 184 pounds. In the semifinals, he lost to top-seeded Colin Lenhardt of Johnson & Wales, 5-3. In his next bout, Parks lost a 4-3 decision to thirded-seeded Shane Parcel of Roger Williams. In the fifth-place match, Parks dropped a 5-3 decision to Southern Maine’s Jonathan Deupree, the sixth seed. Eighth-seeded sophomore Paul Fields (Clarkstown/Clarkstown North) finished the competition with a 2-2 record, falling in the consolation quarterfinals, 10-7, to fifth-seeded Joe Pronk of Johnson & Wales.

NCAA automatic qualifier allocations were released this week giving wrestling geeks everywhere reasons to celebrate, visions of the fourth weekend in March dancing in their heads. This list of automatically qualified wrestlers, indexed per weight class and per conference, serves as a sort of "state of the union" of college wrestling. The conference with the most automatic qualifiers has performed at the highest level in individual matches throughout the regular season. The Big Ten stands tall as this year's king of automatic qualifiers with 74. This should not serve as a surprise to anyone who follows wrestling. What may be surprising are the number of automatic qualifiers awarded to both the MAC and ACC. The MAC and the ACC have both received an impressive 30 qualifiers, and while the MAC has benefited greatly from the addition of the powerful Missouri Tigers, the ACC has earned their qualifiers with the same roster of teams as last year. In one year, the ACCs six teams have gone from earning 25 automatic qualifiers to earning 30, a 20 percent increase. Most impressive about this number -- the ACC will now be automatically sending at least half of its wrestlers to the NCAAs. Not long ago, this sort of percentage would have been unthinkable. Not long ago, the ACC kind of stunk. I think back to 2001, where I was present for the ACC Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C. The ACC would not generate a single All-American that year. If you wrestled on one of the ACCs then five teams, qualifying for NCAAs probably necessitated an ACC championship. Wild card bids to NCAAs were hard to come by. Probably only about a quarter of the ACC wrestlers wrestled at NCAAs that year. Since then, in a little more than a decade the ACC has added a team and has more than doubled the rate at which its wrestlers qualify for NCAAs. [Authors note: The SoCon Championships and CAA Championships took place the same day, in that same gym at the University of North Carolina. Neither of these tournaments would yield a national placewinner. I am not going to research this claim, but off the top of my head I believe the only wrestler in action that day who would ever go on to achieve All-American status was Appalachian States' Mark Fee. Virginia's future All American Tim (T.R.) Foley was on the Virginia wrestling team at the time, but did not compete.] Imagine what this means from a recruiting standpoint. In the past, if an ACC coach wanted to recruit a top high school wrestler with serious All-American potential, he would have to sell his school to the recruit despite the fact that one bad break at the conference tournament could ruin the recruit's entire season. Now an ACC coach can reassure a recruit by pointing to the fact that ACC wrestlers automatically qualify for nationals at a higher rate than even the powerful EIWA. The ACC has five programs with the resources and support to make a mark on the national wrestling scene (this excludes Duke, though I must admit my admiration for the admirable performance of head coach Glen Lanham thus far in his tenure), and with the impending addition of a very strong Pitt program, the percentage of automatic qualifiers may only increase in the coming years. At the very least, the allocation of automatic qualifiers reveals that the ACC has evolved from an irrelevant wrestling conference, to a league of great national consequence, in a relatively short period of time. Pac-12 Championships I remember when I first began to follow wrestling the lineup of teams at the Pac-10 championships baffled me. More than half of the teams were not even real members of the Pac-10. Fast forward years later and the now Pac-12 has even fewer teams, with fewer teams who claim regular membership in the conference. Jim Zalesky guided the Oregon State Beavers to their second straight Pac-12 title this past weekend in Tempe, Ariz. (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)The Pac-12 wrestling tournament frightens me, if for no other reason that it reminds me of Division I college wrestling's thin representation on the west side of this country. Big time western college wrestling is in big trouble, and if it goes, who knows what becomes of wrestling in the rest of the country. I wish that I could do more to help the situation. In happier news, some great wrestling took place in Tempe, Ariz., this past weekend, and Oregon State took home another Pac-12 championship. Jim Zalesky might be building his Beavers into a dynasty, and he has the reigns of a powerful program sitting atop the west coasts gold mine of talent. In the coming years, this team could hoist a trophy at nationals, culminating a career revitalization for Zalesky of post-Gallipoli Winston Churchill levels. Looking ahead to next week The other conference championships are coming. I know people don't care much about the Southern Conference, but it means everything to the wrestlers and coaches fighting tooth and nail for a SoCon championship. The SoCon team race could be very interesting, and if what I hope happens comes to pass, expect me to write about it at length next week. Of course we can also look forward to some of the nation's very best banging heads at Big Tens. The finals will no doubt be broadcast in beautiful high-definition. One thing we don't have access to is the Big Ten seeding meeting. I've been in some contentious seeding meetings on the high school level. I can only imagine what happens when the Big Ten's alpha dog coaches get together in one room. Now we should be able to see that in high-definition.

Related: Team Scores | Brackets DES MOINES -- With the score tied heading into the final bout, Grand View's (Iowa) Eric Thompson first-period fall at 285 pounds scored the decisive points as Grand View won its second straight title at the 2013 NAIA Wrestling National Championships on Saturday at the Jacobson Exhibition Center. The Vikings tallied 159 points to edge second-place Southern Oregon (153). Montana State-Northern came in third with 104.0 points, while Dickinson State (N.D.) took fourth-place with 84.5 points and Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) finished fifth with 78.5 points. Grand View won its second straight NAIA national title"I'm feeling good right now," said Grand View head coach Nick Mitchell. "It was really nerve wracking. This tournament was so back-and-forth. The crazy thing was, it didn't matter how much we won by, Southern Oregon still stuck around. We had eight guys in the semis and you'd think that would be enough to start pulling away and we never pulled away; they were right there. Coach Mike Ritchey, he had a great team." "I was so impressed with our crowd tonight," said Mitchell. "Every win we had in the finals, you'd look up and see them going crazy. You get choked up looking up there because they are so supportive. It was awesome." Deadlocked at 159 points with just the heavyweight championship match remaining, the see-saw battle between Grand View and Southern Oregon was to be decided by Thompson and Brandon Gebhardt of Baker (Kan.). A win by Thompson would give Grand View the outright team title, but a win by Gebhardt would result in the Vikings and Raiders sharing the trophy, something that had only occurred once in the event's 56-year history. Thompson wasted no time with his offensive attack, taking the Wildcat down at the 2:23 mark in the first period. A quick escape by Gebhardt put the match at 2-1. Thompson whipped Gebhardt over to his back and pinned him with a minute left in the opening period to give Grand View its second-consecutive national title. Thompson's victory is his second-straight title at 285 with both victories coming against Gebhardt. Thompson is the eighth champion in Grand View history and only the second heavyweight to win back-to-back titles in the 285-pound era. In addition to Thompson, Gustavo Martinez (141), Chad Lowman (157) and Jimmie Schuessler (165) claimed national crowns, while Isaiah Tatum finished runner-up after dropping a 3-2 decision to Southern Oregon's two-time All-American Jimmy Eggemeyer at 149 pounds. In total, Grand View had eight individuals earn All-America honors. Martinez, the first of five Vikings to battle for a title, pulled Grand View even with Southern Oregon at 145-145 with a 5-2 decision over Great Falls' (Mont.) Myles Mazurkiewicz at 141 pounds. Escapes early in the second and third periods by both wrestlers evened the bout at 1-1. With 24 seconds remaining, Martinez stuck and took Mazurkiewicz down for a 3-1 advantage. Mazurkiewicz was able to escape from Martinez's hold seconds later to make it 3-2. Martinez was not done though. He secured his first title with eight seconds remaining by taking Mazurkiewicz down again. Three matches later, Schuessler had to rally late in the third period in order to get a 4-3 decision over Eric Lopez of Menlo (Calif.) for the 165-pound championship. After three minutes of scoreless action, Lopez started the second stanza from the down position and escaped to take a 1-0 advantage. He added to his lead with a takedown only to have Schuessler respond with an escape. Facing a 3-1 deficit to start the final two minutes, Schuessler escaped and took to the offensive. The winning takedown came with short time and Schuessler rode Lopez out the remaining 22 seconds en route to his first national crown. Southern Oregon's senior 125-pounder Mitchell Lofstedt closed out his illustrious career in typical fashion with a first-period stick (2:31) of Dickinson State's Bryden Lazaro. With the victory, Lofstedt became the 19th three-time NAIA champion and the first wrestler to win three titles at 125 pounds. The senior tied for the tournament-high with five falls, all of which came in the first period. "This one (national championship) feels great," said Lofstedt. "My team has been awesome. The best part is being a member of a great team. We've hit some bumpy times and it has been a grind, but I've loved every minute of it." The Raiders finished the championships with an event-best nine All-Americans, including four national champions in Lofstedt, Prescott Garner (133), Eggemeyer and Brock Gutches (174 pounds). Gutches, who is just the second wrestler to win back-to-back titles at 174 pounds, now owns two titles in two seasons. Additionally, his victory gave Southern Oregon 32 all-time national champions, which moves the Raiders into second-place on the NAIA's all-time individual championships list. Three individuals earned their first national title and their first All-American honor in the finals: Garner, Jameel Bryant of Lindsey Wilson and John Sievert of Morningside (Iowa).

Related: Brackets TEMPE, Ariz. -- The No. 8/9/11 ranked Oregon State wrestling team took home its second straight Pac-12 Championship and third in the last four years with 158 total points, Saturday in Tempe. OSU added three individual championships into the mix plus an additional three who finished as runners up in their weight class. The Beavers who claimed the second-to-last Pac-10 Championship in 2010 and the first Pac-12 title in 2012, finished 21.5 points ahead of second place Boise State (136.5) and saw Mike Mangrum (141 lbs.), Taylor Meeks (197 lbs.), Chad Hanke (HWT), win individual weight class crowns. For Mangrum it was his second straight Pac-12 Championship, while Meeks and Hanke each walked away with their first. As a unit OSU did not have a wrestler place lower than third, as Scott Sakaguchi (149 lbs)., RJ Pena (157 lbs.), and Seth Thomas (165 lbs.) were runners up in their weight classes, while Joey Palmer (125 lbs.), Drew Van Anrooy (133 lbs.) and Ty Vinson (184 lbs.) all finished third. Mangrum (3-0), Meeks (3-0) and Hanke (2-0) were perfect on the day going a combined 8-0, while Palmer, Van Anrooy, and Weishoff went 3-1 in competition. Pena also earned a 3-1 mark including his wrestle off with CSU Bakersfield’s Adam Fierro following the awards ceremony. Mangrum, competing in his final Pac-12 Championships received the award for the most pins as he earned two falls out of the three matches he wrestled in, including one over CSU Bakersfield’s Timmy Box (3:33), in the 141 lb. title bout. As a team, Oregon State went 26-7, in its 33 total matches during Pac-12’s and eclipsed its 2012 point total of 138.0 by 20. The 158 points put up on the board by Jim Zalesky’s squad was the most by a conference school since Boise State scored 172.5 in 2009. Looking ahead toward the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Oregon State will send at least seven members, including Mangrum, Sakaguchi, Pena, Weishoff, Vinson, Meeks and Hanke. First timers Weishoff and Hanke will join Meeks and Vinson who are making their second straight appearance. Sakaguchi and Pena will be making their third, while Mangrum will make his fourth straight trip to Nationals. The 2013 NCAA Wrestling Championships will take place from March 21-23 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. OSU Pac-12 Championship gear is available for purchase by going here: www.gamedaymerchandising.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has announced the qualifier allocations for the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as listed in the chart below. Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage at the weight class; rating percentage index (RPI); and coaches ranking. For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his qualifying tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each qualifying tournament, with automatic qualifying status, was awarded a minimum of one wrestler per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA tournament spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at the tournament based solely on place-finish. After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 40 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 13. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; qualifying event placement; quality wins; results against common opponents; winning percentage; RPI; coaches ranking and the number of matches contested at that weight class.

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account. Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives. Three work weeks have passed since the announcement that wrestling might be eliminated from the Olympics in 2020, and slowly more information is coming to light about how we plan to pursue the problem. Everyone with a voice box has sounded off about the indescribable lunacy of the decision, but the leaders of USA Wrestling and the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) are taking a more measured approach. FILA didn't do its job, and it's our task to do more than just direct anger at the IOC's executive board, but listen to what the IOC wants from wrestling. Is it rule changes? More women? More action? The process is tedious -- effective lobbying takes time and relationship building. No amount of greased palms can deliver you what you want when votes are cast. That comes from personal relationships, and more investment in the Olympic movement. Right now America doesn't contribute any money to the IOC, and while that might seem justified, a more proactive and generous approach might've helped keep our interests in consideration. The IOC consists of former athletes and business people from 79 countries. That's 79 interests, needs and wants. The business of changing their mind won't come from making the most trouble, or being the loudest advocate for the sport of wrestling. It'll take diplomacy, patience and consideration. We'll need to create media events in their countries that highlight the importance and history of wrestling. Gentle guidance, not head snapping. But mostly the lobbying process will mean relaxing our throats to give our ears the chance to hear what needs to be done to repair our relationships and save our sport. That's true Cauliflower Diplomacy. To your questions ... Q: Why do we have riding time in college when it is not in middle school, high school, or the Olympics? And what other sport gives you a point for possession? I thought the name of the game was to PIN your opponent, not ride 'em bronco. -- Joey B. Foley: Because you asked a question that asks for a peek behind the curtain of history, I'm going to wind you around for a minute. The goal in most traditional wrestling styles is to pin your opponent. In the American style of the sport, first popularized in the early 19th century by Irish and Scottish immigrants in New England, the pin was the only way to win a wrestling match. However, as life outside the barn halls of Vermont got more hectic and the sport increased in popularity (wrestling was arguably the most popular sport in America in the first two decades of the 20th century) promoters and rules committees at school boards began to shorten matches for the fans and added times as well. Those rule changes have expanded to govern all types of scoring situations, moves and boundaries. American wrestling was once the wild collision of men filled with bull testosterone hashing out grudges. Today it's a friendlier, more accessible sport that rewards technique and trickery more than aggressiveness. But we're not alone. After 600 years with no significant rule changes the Kirkpinar wrestling tournament added a time component to their oil wrestling competition. They've since added scoring, which has alienated traditionalists inside the country. The longest continuously competed athletic event in course of recorded human history is adding rules for the sake of fans. I like pins, but it's apparent that we need to understand that fan interest is what keeps us afloat. Tune into this coming week's Back Points podcast and listen to Coyte Cooper recap what more we can do to promote fan-friendly rule changes. Until then, "Ride 'em Bronco!" Q: Based on your travels, what do wrestlers from other countries think about American folkstyle? Do they watch it? Do they know about the NCAAs? How do you think the top level Russians/Iranians would do in say the Midlands? I think a lot of them would be fine on their feet but hate all the funk rolls and eventually end up getting killed on bottom. I'd argue the wrestling community should push for it but the injury What are your thoughts? -- Bryan R. Foley: The Russians and Iranians would be an awesome addition to any American-styled wrestling tournament. I'm sure that many of them wouldn't have to worry about what happens on bottom, since they on average have some of the best neutral attacks in the world. The majority of wrestlers that I've met around the world want to know how I've done at the international level. In India this month there was little understanding of folkstyle's existence and no accommodations made for success at the NCAA level. I was even introduced at tournaments, and while many fans and wrestlers recognized the cauliflower ears to mean that I'd competed, it was my journalism that was mentioned. No terms existed to quickly inform the crowds of time spent as a wrestler or coach. Mongolians have a better sense of American folkstyle. They keep a very close eye on the wrestlers who've come to America and have watched Turtogtokh, Ugi, Ganabayar and Minga compete through YouTube and Flo. Most of the talented wrestling population lives in the capital of Ulaanbaatar, so as you progress into the countryside there is less certainty about the American style (even as freestyle schools remain). The best question is to ask yourself what you know of other traditional styles and how success is gauged in their competitions. Some Indians are contented to only wrestle Kushti. They receive money and acclaim and eventually they earn coveted jobs in the military, police force and working for the railroad. There are plenty of NCAA-obsessed wrestlers in America that follow a similar path. Q: Do you think we will ever see women's wrestling at the college level? Has there ever been a women wrestling in college? Will we ever see a women's NCAA wrestling championship? -- Gregg Y. Foley: My man, we HAVE a women's wrestling at the collegiate level and it's growing every year. The Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association boasts 22 women's programs, with more coming every year! The WCWA even has a national dual team tournament. The women compete using FILA's freestyle rules. Wrestling is the fastest growing women's sport at the high school level and the NYC public school system just announced a 16-team league complete with 12 weight classes. Women are hitting the mats and making all wrestling fans proud. Q: Why does Penn State shy away from the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, and how do they remain No. 1? -- Leo Foley: They remain No. 1 because they are the best team in the country in terms of individual performance at the NCAAs. They choose not to wrestle the National Duals, and the reasons might change year to year, but I just don' think they see the upside. They have talents. They already wrestle the big teams and they're two-time defending NCAA champions. Why give up their edge? Agree or disagree, they are doing what they feel is right for their program. If the National Duals become a compulsory NCAA event then they'll attend. Until that time, they are without question the top team in the country. If there are people who really think otherwise I know that Joey Odesssa will be setting lines for the team race for several sites. I suggest you lay down a mortgage payment and make some cash. Q: Everyone is dying to see Kyle Dake and David Taylor go head-to-head once more in the NCAA finals. Any chance that either one of them is too focused on their third match and gets tripped up before the finals? -- Tim M. Foley: The temptation is to agree and give you a trope about how you can't look ahead, but I'll save you the speech. Kyle Dake and David Taylor will be in the finals. They're on that different planet, and unless they suffer a catastrophic injury in training, they'll be the two in the finals. Multimedia Halftime Gotta love a leader with a heart for the sport, and the passion to dismiss diplomacy in favor of full-throated attacks on referees. (We've ALL been there.) Link: Bethlehem mayor ejected from wrestling tourney Fortress CEO and longtime wrestling philanthropist Mike Novogratz took to CNBC to discuss his position within CPOW, an organization formed to lobby members of the IOC. Link: Fortress' Novogratz 'wrestles' with Olympic Committee Q: With Ed Ruth being a junior and king of the weight class, could you see Minnesota's Kevin Steinhaus trying to bulk up to 197 and switching with Scott Schiller in the Gopher lineup next season? Seems he would be a favorite for a title there. -- John M. Foley: Most college coaches aren't going to ask for one of their most talented wrestlers to move weights in order to dodge a tough opponent. However, I don't know that we've seen anyone as dominant as Ed Ruth, and to be honest depending on how things play out at NCAAs there is a chance that the Minnesota wrestler could make that decision in the offseason, giving the "Bear-Jew" time to bulk up and win an NCAA title. Steinhaus is an absolute stud and one of the favorite wrestlers to discuss on the BP podcast. He deserves an NCAA title, and if he decides that bulking up is the best way to win, he'll have the support of the fans. Q: It seems to me that Kyle Dake is getting far less attention than Cael Sanderson did four years ago despite the fact they are both going for No. 4. Is this a product of the fact that Cael was undefeated and Dake has several losses, or other factors such as program, personality etc.? -- Josh Z. Foley: Two is a couple, three is a few, and four is several, but it still feels wrong to read that he has "several" losses. The wrestling media is larger than it was in 2001 so I think that Dake's quest is receiving much more attention overall. However, you're right in thinking that Sanderson was afforded more national media attention due to the fact he was both undefeated and the first wrestler capable of winning four titles since Pat Smith. Should Dake win his fourth title he'll be lauded in the mainstream media for his achievement and possibly be mentioned as the better wrestler given his ability to win it across four weights. As for personality and program, as a writer I think both favor Dake in terms of appeal and storyline. Q: Given all the things that make our sport unique, do you ever see the advanced stats craze making its way into wrestling? Things like PER for basketball, WAR for baseball and DYAR for football are now routinely discussed whenever debates about MVPs and All-Stars come up. Because wrestling is an individual sport with only four ways of scoring, I don't believe it ever will but I'd love to hear your take. -- Dan L. Foley: The advanced stats craze has made its way into MMA, so it's difficult to write that we'll never see them appear in wrestling. I was recently contacted by a man who has been following interesting stats from the past ten years, and was impressed with things I didn't know, like how many wrestlers who placed at the 2012 NCAA tournament hadn't won a state championship. The answer is six. Statistics make sports more accessible, and I'd welcome any meaningful role they could have in helping promote the sport to a new demographic of fan. The problem with statistics is their applicability to on-the-mat results. Stats are a great way to justify an inkling you have about the habits of a wrestler, but as a predictive measure -- in MMA, and wrestling -- they'd fall short of forecasting future behavior. Nothing can overcome the weight with which we learn to value certain positions, opponents and timing. All takedowns aren't equal. Hitting a successful double leg against Ed Ruth in the second period is much different than hitting a first-period takedown against the fourth stringer from a tiny DIII school. Statistics haven't yet made an accommodation for that type of human computation or pattern recognition. Q: I know you have answered plenty of questions when it comes to rankings ... so here is one more! Why is it that when wrestlers do not compete they hold on to their rankings? Many athletes suffer illness, injury, and even giving up forfeits during the last match of a dual if the match is no longer in contention ... examples of this has been Mike McMullan and Andrew Compolattano, both have missed several matches against ranked opponents or have been out of the lineup due to injury but both remain in the top 15, at least on the InterMat site. -- Confused Big Ten Fan Foley: I think it would be foolish to assume that either of the wrestlers you mention in your question were ducking opponents in order to preserve a ranking, or a seed at NCAAs. McMullan placed third at NCAAs last season and Camp is a legitimate stud. It's much more likely that they were managing small setbacks, like ankle tweaks than actually dodging opponents. Tough to penalize them in the rankings for suffering from injuries that could happen to any wrestler. Q: Was looking through the InterMat rankings and see that at 174 8 of the top 10 ranked wrestlers are in the Big Ten. I'm interested in your breakdown of the Big Ten tourney at 174. So many interesting matchups and more than one possible champion. This is going to be a great bracket!!! -- Tom G Foley: Your exclamation marks say it all. Let's get to the wrestling already! Anything could happen once the shoes hit the Resilite, but we know that the quarterfinals should break into something like this (expected seeds): Quarterfinals: No. 1 Logan Storley (Minnesota) vs. No. 8 Dan Yates (Michigan) No. 4 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) vs. No. 5 Matt Brown (Penn State) No. 3 Bob Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. No. 6 Jordan Blanton (Illinois) No. 2 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Lee Munster (Northwestern) Semifinals: No. 1 Storley vs. No. 5 Brown No. 2 Evans vs. No. 3 Kokesh Finals: No. 5 Brown vs. No. 3 Kokesh Champion: Bob Kokesh

The 41st annual California Interscholastic Federation state wrestling championships will commence on Friday from Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, and conclude Saturday evening with the finals slated to kick off at 7:15 p.m. PT (10:15 ET). No. 8 Clovis enters as favorites to earn their third straight title, which would be a fourth in six years, eleventh in all. No. 19 Poway represents the most realistic hope of derailing the Cougars' express, while No. 49 Vacaville and St. John Bosco should also achieve high positions in the team standings. The following represents a weight-by-weight breakdown of the single-class state tournament in the Golden State. 106: The pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight, No. 11 Gionn Peralta (Vacaville) and No. 17 Matt Gamble (Monache) are featured in opposite halves of this bracket. If weight class favorite Peralta is to win the title, he will for sure have to earn it. His path to the title would involve a potential round of 16 match against Junior Greco All-American Joey Cisneros (Redwood), a quarterfinal against 2011 state placer Alfredo Espinoza (Otay Ranch), and then Reno TOC champion Tirso Lara (Poway) in the semifinal. Similarly the path for Gamble is not easy either, with a possible quarterfinal against returning state placer Julian Gayton (Clovis) and semifinal against another returning state placer in Adrian Camposano (Central). 113: Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco) is the number one ranked wrestler nationally in this weight class, and has yet to lose a match in two seasons of high school. By virtue of those credentials, he enters this weekend as a prohibitive favorite. All that said, the winner of a quarterfinal bout between returning state placer Matt Smull (Shasta) and the formidable Sean Williams (Lemoore), who beat Reno TOC champion Sean Cannon in the Battle for the Belt semis, could provide a nominal test for Valencia in the semifinal round. The other nationally ranked wrestler here is freshman Israel Saavedra (Modesto), who is ranked No. 18 having placed at the Super 32 Challenge this fall and FloNationals last spring. Saavedra is in the opposite half of the draw from Valencia, and his primary challenge before the final would come in the form of a semifinal bout against returning state placer Isaiah Hokit (Wasco). 120: Four nationally ranked wrestlers are present in this weight class, and each is in separate quarter-brackets of the draw. No. 9 Mason Pengilly (Porterville) is a two-time state placer, FloNationals runner-up, and Junior National freestyle All-American; No. 11 Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak) is a two-time state finalist and was champion of the weight class that all four of these young men competed in at the state tournament last year; No. 13 Jonas Gayton (Clovis) is also a two-time state placer, was second at state last year, and fifth at the FloNationals; while No. 15 Micah Perez (Central Union) has twice finished third at state and was third in freestyle at the 2011 Junior Nationals. Bracketing would establish semifinal matchups of Perez vs. Pengilly, along with a rematch of last year's state final between Locsin and Gayton. Each opponent has at least one nominal stumbling block prior to the semifinal round: Perez could face Ricky Coster (Freedom) in the quarterfinal, Pengilly could face freshman notable Jeremy Thomas (Santiago Corona) in the quarterfinal, Locsin could face returning two-time state placer Arulfo Olea (Exexter) in the round of 16 and then Kasey Klaus (Vacaville) in the quarterfinal, while Gayon is looking at a quarterfinal match against state placer Jordan Gurrola (North Torrence). 126: For a lower-to-middle weight in the Golden State, things appear extremely shallow with no nationally ranked wrestlers and only two returning state placers. Those returning state placers would be Vincent Gomez (Bakersfield Frontier) and Victor Trujillo (Bella Vista), who have each placed sixth at a prior state tournament. A third contender for the championship would come in the form of Reno TOC champion Michael Knoblauch (Clovis West), a junior who is making his third state tournament appearance. Based on the bracket, Knoblauch is in the same half as Trujillo, and project to the semifinal round; while Gomez is alone in the bottom half of the draw. 132: Freshman sensation Aaron Pico (St. John Bosco) has been the dominant story in this weight class all season, as he has been dominant, and is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in all the land at this weight class. There are four returning/previous state placers in this weight class, and all are on the opposite half of the draw from Pico. Two-time state placer Paul Fox (Gilroy), last year a state runner-up, is looking at a preliminary round bout against returning state placer Adrian Panduro (Corcoran); however, the winner of that bout should clear to the semifinal in the lower half bracket. The other quarter of the lower half should yield a quarterfinal between No. 10 Javier Gasca (Kingsburg), who was third at state last year, and Ali Naser (El Camino Real), seventh at state in 2011. 138: The story of last year's state finals in California was the late-match heroics from Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy) to block Alex Cisneros from becoming a four-time state champion. This year, Villarreal is ranked No. 12 nationally in the weight class and a strong favorite to clear a weight class with limited challengers. The lone other placer in this weight class is Chris Garcia (Clovis West), who placed eighth at state last year. Some other challengers include Mike Longo (Santiago Corona), a Junior Greco All-American last summer; Elijah Davis (Riordan), a 2011 Cadet Greco-Roman national champion; and Sergio Enloe (Poway), who has been excellent in this his junior season. In terms of bracketing, the top semifinal would project to Garcia facing the winner of an Enloe/Davis quarterfinal; while the bottom semifinal lends itself to a Villarreal vs. Longo matchup. 145: Though no wrestler in this bracket appears in the national weight class rankings, there are four excellent talents here that can viably contend for the state championship. Each is in a separate quarter of the draw, which should make for excellent semifinal bouts. The top semifinal should place Anthony Valencia (St. John Bosco), last year's state champion at 126 pounds, and returning state fifth place finisher Jason Ladd (Clovis) against one another; while the bottom half features returning fifth place finisher Christian Pagdilao (Santiago Corona) against two-time state placer Victor Lopez (Poway), who was second at state last year. Lopez enters the tournament a slight favorite, as he beat Valencia by 15-6 major decision in the mid-January Battle for the Belt final and was a Super 32 Challenge placer. 152: The lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight is No. 12 Shayne Tucker (Bella Vista), a two-time state placer who was runner-up at state last season. In addition, Tucker was fourth at the Ironman and a Reno TOC champion this season, and is a two-time Super 32 Challenge placer. However, there are four other returning state placers, all whom have also proven it on the national state, with legitimate chances of knocking off Tucker for the state title: Coleman Hammond (Bakersfield), Kyle Perreault (Clovis East), Luke Wilson (Righetti), and Blayne Briceno (Crespi). In terms of the draw, Southern section champion Wilson and Central section runner-up Hammond should meet in the top semifinal; San Joaquin section champion Tucker should advance to the bottom semifinal against the winner of a round of 16 match between Central section champion Perreault and Southern section runner-up Briceno. 160: If it wasn't for Ironman finals matches against Bo Jordan the last two years, Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore) could be looking at a third straight undefeated state championship season. Ranked No. 2 in the nation, he has run rough-shod through virtually all of his competition on the way to being prohibitively favored for a third California state title. During the last off-season, he was champion at the FloNationals, Junior National freestyle championships, and Super 32 Challenge. In terms of a true challenger this weekend, the most plausible hope would be returning state placer Ray Lomas (Central Catholic). It is however unfortunate that these two wrestlers project to meet in the state semifinal round. It is likely that the other finals opponent will be Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Nick Fiegener (Folsom) or Bradley Christensen (Chapparral). 170: This is just a stacked weight class with four nationally ranked wrestlers, all who placed at state last year, being joined by a fifth returning state medalist. The draw places No. 14 Keaton Subjeck (Oak Ridge), runner-up of the San Joaquin section, in the top quarter of the draw; the second quarter of the bracket features both No. 13 Corey Griego (Sultana), who took a surprising sixth in the Southern section, and Steve Cervantes (Poway); No. 9 Peter Santos (Oakmont), champion of the San Joaquin section, is in the third quarter; while No. 16 Bryan Salinas (Northview), champion of the Southern section, appears in the bottom quarter bracket. Any one of these five young men could win the state title come Saturday evening in Bakersfield. 182: Adrian Salas (Clovis), a two-time state placer ranked No. 19 nationally, enters the weekend a slight favorite coming off his Central section finals victory over returning state runner-up Kyle Pope (Bakersfield). Other wrestlers to watch in this weight include returning state third place finisher Immanuel Barber (Canyon Springs) and Sohrab Movahedi (Granada Hills). The bracket sets up for semifinal matches placing Barber against Pope, and Movahedi against Salas. 195: This weight class features no nationally ranked wrestlers and only a pair of returning state placers in Jeramy Sweany (Vacaville) and Trevor Smith (Ripon). The junior Sweany enters as favorite coming into the weekend, as his only loss on the season was a tight one to two-time state champion Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.), who is ranked No. 6 nationally. During the course of the season he won major titles at the Reno TOC and Battle for the Belt. On paper, he appears a strong favorite to advance to the final, though a Battle for the Belt finals rematch against Matt Weiss (Clovis) -- one that he won 8-3 -- is possible in the round of 16. The other half of the draw features a likely state semifinal against returning state placer Trevor Smith (Ripon) and Junior Greco All-American Mason Kumashiro (Los Alamitos). 220: The lone returning state placer is No. 12 Sean Medley (Wasco), who finished fourth at state last year and was a FloNationals placer. His likely finals opponent will be either Jordan Sepeda (Natomas) or Derrick Jones (Bloomington), who meet in the bottom bracket semifinal. 285: Two returning state placers are featured among the field at this weight class, No. 3 Nick Nevills (Clovis) and Nour Abdullatif (Eleanor Roosevelt). Nevills won state as a freshman in 2011 at this weight class, and was third last year, while fellow junior Abdullatif placed sixth in this weight class last year. These two wrestlers are in opposite half-brackets, so they're likely to meet in the state final. It would be a rematch of the Battle for the Belt final, won by Nevills with a first period fall.

The highlight of UFC 157 by far proved to be the featherweight bout between Dennis Bermudez and Matt Grice; if not a fight of the year candidate, the final round produced as much action in five minutes as you can see in mixed martial arts. But all anyone is talking about is Ronda Rousey and the lackluster light heavyweight contest that saw Lyoto Machida eek out a split decision win over Dan Henderson. So in the interest of conformity, this episode kicks off with a discussion of the previous weekend's co-main events. After that Richard and John take a look at the UFC on FUEL 8 card going down this Saturday in Japan. Diego Sanchez is back in the lightweight division where he belongs, Mark Hunt and Stefan Struve will go toe-to-toe to see who is the heavyweight division's premier gatekeeper, and Wanderlei Silva will try not to get knocked out cold by Brian Stann. You get all of that plus a debate over whether this card has enough star power to draw a big crowd in the country that once kept the sport afloat as a major attraction. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Highlight matches from the past weekend No. 1 Evan Toth (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) pinned Derek Humphrey (Davison, Mich.), 5:25, 125-pound state dual meet final This was the last match of the Division 1 dual meet state championship match, and entering this match, Davison held a 26-22 lead in the dual meet. When these teams competed in a mid-December match, Detroit Catholic Central won 44-23. However, three key factors enabled Davison to be in position to win this meeting: (1) two-time state champion Justin Oliver made a late season return from injury at 130 pounds (2) Dominic Russ scored an unexpected first period pin against No. 12 (at 126) Ken Bade in the 135-pound match (3) Jordan Cooks scored a 5-3 decision at 160 over Logan Marcicki in a battle of past state champions, a match in which Marcicki won by fall two months before. In this particular match, Humphrey had a big lead with under a minute to go in the match. However, Toth came up with a miracle move to get the fall and ensure Detroit Catholic Central repeated as team state champions. After-effects of this dual from a ranking standpoint are the Shamrocks slide back a couple of positions to No. 17, while Davison returns into the Fab50 at No. 43. No. 2 Chris Pajak (Carl Sandburg, Ill.) dec. No. 17 Joe Ariola (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), 2-1, 182-pound state dual meet quarterfinal Heading into this match the teams split the first eight matches of this state quarterfinal dual meet (120 through 170). It was Oak Park River Forest hanging on to an 18-16 lead, which was the closes the match had been since the Huskies led 5-4 after Isaiah White's technical fall victory at 126 pounds. They were also favored in this key match, as undefeated state champion Ariola stepped on the mat to face an opponent he had beaten 5-2 in the opening round of the state tournament and 7-3 in their mid-January dual meet. However, this time around it was Pajak pulling off the upset, which gave the Eagles a 19-18 lead, their first since Sebastian Pique scored an 11-3 major decision in the opening match of the dual meet. Though the Huskies did respond with a technical fall in the next match from Andre Lee against a reserve wrestler, Carl Sandburg got a technical fall and pin at 220 and 285 from Ricky Robertson and Bill Gore, who each bumped up one weight class from normal. A decision victory from Christian Robertson at 106 then gave the Eagles an insurmountable 33-23 lead as the teams double forfeited the last match. Though this match was the de facto state final, Carl Sandburg had to earn a 36-23 victory over previously ranked Glenbard North in the semifinal, and then a 38-17 victory over No. 24 Marmion Academy in the actual finals match. The results of this weekend move Carl Sandburg up three spots to No. 10 nationally, while Oak Park River Forest drops two spots down to No. 11 in the nation. No. 3 Keegan Moore (Putman City, Okla.) dec. No. 12 Joseph Smith (Stillwater, Okla.), 13-12, 132-pound state final Defending state champion Joseph Smith, the son of Oklahoma State head coach John Smith, entered this state final with an undefeated mark of 62-0 through two years of high school wrestling. He was also a Cadet National freestyle runner-up last summer. His opponent, a fellow sophomore in Moore, placed third at state last year and entered this match with a 75-3 record. In a high scoring shootout, it was Moore who scored the upset victory to end the undefeated streak of the starlet Smith. No. 4 Jack Mutchnik (St. Paul's School, Md.) dec. No. 20 Judson Preskitt (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 5-4, 126-pound National Prep final This match featured a pair of wrestlers who had already placed twice at the National Prep tournament prior to this year. Walsh Ironman runner-up Preskitt, who is a senior, entered this match as the nationally ranked wrestler and the number one seed; while the junior Mutchnik was the second seed in the weight class. Trailing 4-3 and facing a fresh start sequence with less than five seconds remaining, Mutchnik was able to somehow launch an attack and secure the match-winning takedown before time expired. No. 5 No. 20 Rendaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) dec. Tristan Rifenburg (Norwich, N.Y.) 2-1, 132-pound final Despite possessing prodigal levels of talent, the junior Rodriguez-Spencer had not put it together in the form of a state championship until this past Saturday night, though he finished as state runner-up last year. It was an extremely tight finals battle against the sophomore Rifenburg, who placed sixth at state last year, but was a two-time finalist before even entering high school. No. 1 Blair Academy, superstar wrestlers dominate show at National Prep Championships In winning their 33rd consecutive National Prep title this past weekend, Blair Academy, N.J. put their final mark on yet another No. 1 team ranking as they crowned six champions: Charles Tucker (113), No. 2 Matthew Kolodzik (120), No. 6 Joey McKenna (132), No. 5 Russ Parsons (152), No. 3 Frank Mattiace (195), and No. 2 Brooks Black (285). All fourteen Buccaneer wrestlers earned placements, as the six champs were joined by runner-up finishes from Walker Dempsey (138) and No. 6 (at 138) Mason Manville (145); third place finishes form Alex Rinaldi (126) and Addison Knepshield (182); while Patrick Coover (170) was fourth, Matt Deehan (106) and David Showunmi (220) were sixth, and Jack Wedholm (160) finished seventh. The Buccaneers amassed 324.5 points. Second place with a rather impressive 236 points was the nation's third ranked team, Wyoming Seminary, Pa. Leading their effort was championships won by Nicky Hall (170) and No. 1 Eric Morris (182), who did not give up a single point in his five victories (2 pins, 2 technical falls, and a 10-0 major decision in the final); while No. 20 Judson Preskitt (126), No. 11 Garrett Ryan (220), and No. 8 Michael Johnson (285) added runner-up finishes. Six other Blue Knights wrestlers finished in the top six: third place finishers Will Crisco (120) and Tyrel White (145), fifth place finishers Danny Boychuck (113) and Chris Weiler (160), along with sixth place finishers Tyler Ponte (132) and Matt Doggett (195). Despite six wrestlers finishing in the top three, it was not enough to keep No. 31 McDonogh, Md. from finishing any higher than fourth in the team race. The Eagles were led by weight class champions No. 14 Jack Clark (145), who beat Manville 7-2 in the championship match; and No. 8 Myles Martin (160), who won his final by injury default over No. 10 Josh Llopez (St. Mary's Ryken, Md.). Tyler Patrick (182) finished as runner-up, while third place finishes came from T.K. Megonigal (106), Xavi Ramos (138), and Toby Hague (152). That performance yielded them 152 points. However, third place as a team went to Good Counsel, Md., which scored 160.5 points. This performance merits the Falcons inclusion in the Fab50 national team rankings in the No. 42 position. Like clockwork their effort was led by the dominance of No. 1 Kyle Snyder, who won the 220-pound weight class with four pins and a 21-6 technical fall over No. 11 Ryan in the final. Six other wrestlers earned placement finishes: Kevin Budock (120) and Spencer Neff (195) were runners-up; Adam Whitesell (106), Jhared Simmons (126), and Jemal Averette (285) finished fourth; while Phillip Robliotto (170) earned sixth place. Additional weight class titles were won by No. 12 Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Tex.), 15-13 in overtime against Ethan McCoy (Kiski Prep, Pa.) at 106; Jack Mutchnik at 126; and No. 5 Alfred Bannister (Bishop McNamara, Md.) at 138, who was named the tournament's Oustanding Wrestler. Championships this coming week Individual bracket championships start on Thursday in Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio; while Friday sees the start to championships in California, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, and the New England Regional. Minnesota will decide its dual meet champions on Thursday, while Wisconsin conducts its dual meet tournament on Friday and Saturday. Dual meet tournament recaps Illinois As mentioned previously, Carl Sandburg moves up to No. 10 nationally after repeating as Class AAA dual meet state champions. In Class AA, No. 12 Montini Catholic dominated their three opponents on the way to the title; 52-9 over Lincoln-Way West in the quarters, 43-25 over Sycamore in the semis, and 49-10 over Geneseo in the final. Winning the Class A title was Dakota with a 35-25 victory over Aledo in the final, and prior 41-25 win over LeRoy in the quarterfinal and 57-19 over PORTA in the semifinal. Michigan Detroit Catholic Central and Davison both reached the Division 1 championship match via dominant quarterfinal and semifinal victories: for the Shamrocks, it was a 62-7 win over Grandville followed by a 48-13 victory over Rochester, while the Cardinals accrued wins of 50-12 over Holt and 44-15 over Hartland. No. 4 St. Johns won yet another Division 2 championship, their only remotely close match being the 42-20 finals victory over Lowell. The Division 3 final went to Dundee, 35-25 over Richmond; while Division 4 was won by Hudson, 32-24 over Hesperia. Nebraska In Class A, Omaha Burke defeated Grand Island 30-27 to win the title, which reversed the order of their finish in the individual tournament the week before. Eventual champions Omaha Burke jumped out to a 30-12 lead after 170 pounds, and though the Islanders won the last four matches, they could not amass the bonus points necessary to rally back for the victory. As a result, the Islanders dropped out of this week's Fab50 national team rankings. Other dual meet champions were Skutt Catholic in Class B, 33-27 over Nebraska City; Madison in Class C, 31-28 over Central City; and Amherst in Class D, 52-21 over Pender. Other individual tournament recaps Arkansas Bentonville won the Class 6A/7A title with 254 points, while Catholic High and Rogers were just over 60 points back in the standings. The big school champions were led by three individuals -- Ryan Flynn (113), Aaron Grigsby (120), and Jeff Bizzle (132) -- who stood on top of the podium in their weight class. In the 1A-5A classification, it was Maumelle winning the title with 288.5 points, which were just over 90 more than runner-up Beebe and third place Central Arkansas Christian. Colorado Pomona won the big school Class 5A title with 125 points, with the state title won by Archie Colgan (160) highlighting their seven state placers. Finishing close behind in the standings were Ponderosa (107.5) and Greeley West (103.5). It was even closer for the Class 4A title, which was won by Broomfield with 140.5 points, while Discovery Canyon (129.5) and Windsor (129) were right on their heels. Weight class titles from Phil Downing (145) and Zach Stodden (170) led the way among Broomfield's eight state placers. Four teams went over 100 points in Class 3A, which was won by Alamosa with 136.5 points. Bennett finished runner-up with 118, Centauri was third at 115.5, while fourth place went to Valley with 108 points. Neff Malouff's title at 120 pounds, three runner-up finishes, and two third place finishers were among the seven Alamosa wrestlers to place. Extreme dominance came in small school Class 2A where Paonia led the way with 205.5 points, though Jesse Reed (120) was the lone champion among 11 placers; finishing in second and third were Highland and Baca County with 148 and 130 points respectively. Delaware This is an unscored individual tournament, as team titles were decided in a dual meet format. However, as usual, it was Smyrna and Caesar Rodney that showed their might. Smyrna had six finalists, with five winning titles: Alebbo Monsanto (106), No. 3 Brent Fleetwood (113), Tyler Carney (126), Jarred Wilson (160), and Zach Boyles (170). Caesar Rodney was right behind with four finalists, three champions in Micah Hight (120), Tony Scarfo (132), and Zach Parker (285). Idaho Centennial was absolutely dominant in the big school Class 5A tournament with 318 points, with second place Post Falls over 80 points back. The big school champions were led by a trio of state champions -- No. 3 Hayden Tuma (138), Jon-Jay Chavez (145), and Jon Fisher (220) -- among their litany of state placers. In Class 4A, it was Columbia winning the title with 306.5 points, while Kuna was the only team within even 100 points by tournament's end, as they scored 267. Six weight class titles -- those coming from Tomaz Gonzalez (138), Tristian Jarobe (145), Garrett Grigsby (160), Olin Vickers (170), Austin Schaffer (182), and Tim McDonald (195) -- led the way among a slew of placers for Columbia. It was Weiser winning the Class 3A title with 227.5 points, which second place Fruitland was 45 points back in the standings. Among the many placers for Weiser, Lionel Perez (126) was their lone champion. Finally, in the small school Class 2A tournament, Declo was on top of the closest team race with 176.5, while second place Melba (156) was about 20 points back. Kage Osterhut (220) was the only state champion for the small school team champions. Kansas Garden City dominated their way to the big school Class 6A title with 173.5 points, while Junction City was in second with 125.5 points. Leading the champs' eight placers were a pair of state champions in Michael Prieto (106) and Tevin Briscoe (132). Similarly dominant in Class 5A was Arkansas City, who won the title with 177-1/2 points, while St. James Academy was in second with 141, and St. Thomas Aquinas was third with 128. Among their ten state placers, Arkansas City had a trio of champions in Logan Terrill (106), Cody Eastman (145), and Wyatt Villres (152). The proceedings were much close in Class 4A, as four teams finished within 15 points, with Holton earning the title on 104.5 points; Colby with 96, Andale at 90.5, and Bonner Springs with 90 points were right on their heels. Holton won the title on volume, as Hunter Price (120) was the lone champion with six other placers (one in fourth and five in fifth). Finally, the small school Class 3/2/1A was won by Norton Community with 129.5 points, which was just over thirty more than second place Hoxie. John Risewick (132) was the lone state champion among Norton's eight state placers. New Mexico It was a joint championship in the big school Class 5A tournament as Cleveland and Rio Grande tied with 196 points, while Rio Rancho took third with 175 points. Cleveland and Rio Rancho had the joint most champions with three each. No. 15 Paul Mascarenas (113), Arturo Vigil (170), and Clayton Parkey (220) won for Cleveland; while Orlando Gutierrez (132), Miguel Barreras (152), and Jordan Lara (160) were champions for third place Rio Rancho. Cleveland also had a tournament-high ten placers, while Rio Grande and Rio Rancho had nine each. For Rio Grande, their sole title came from Nick Chavez (195); however, they had six other top three finishers, three each in second and third. Piedra Vista dominated the Class 4A tournament with 314.5 points, winning by almost 140 points. Their champions were Jacob Palmgren (120), Anthony Juckes (132), Ryan Rino (152), Wyatt Hardy (160), and Christian Acosta (220). While, the small school Class 3A title went to St. Michael's with 204 points, while Silver was second with 198 points. Leading the way for St. Michael's were state champions Geno Palermo (113), Mario Olivas (126), Jose Ocampo (138), Korey Windham (160), and Andres Blea (285). New York The two Long Island sections (XI and VIII) dominated the happenings in the Division I event, as they accounted for ten of the 15 weight class champions, while team champions Wantagh are a Section VIII squad. For the team leaders, Kyle Quinn (106) was the lone champion; other placements came in the form of a runner-up finish from James Corbett (182), third place finish from Dan McDevitt (170), and fourth place finish for Vinny Turano (132). Notable weight class champions included eighth grader Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton) at 99 pounds; No. 19 Nick Piccinnini (Ward Mellville) at 113, who dismantled two-time state champion Kyle Kelly (Chenango Forks) in earning a 14-4 major decision; Junior freestyle All-American Nick Kelly (Shenendehowa) getting a maiden title at 138; Cory Rahseed (Longwood), who dominated four opponents on the way to his title at 152; and No. 13 Tyler Grimaldi (Half Hollow Hills West) at 160. Division II joined the Division I tournament in having all fifteen of its weight class champions come from different schools. Highlight champions included John Aslanian (Edgemont) improving upon two previous runner-up finishes to win the title at 120; William Koll (Lansing) at 126, as he regained the state champion status he earned in 2011; No. 19 Rodriguez-Spencer with his title at 132; Nick Tighe (Phoenix) earning a second title, 3-1 over fellow defending champion Connor Lapresi (Lansing) at 138; as well as those from nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 11 Burke Paddock (Warsaw) at 160, No. 8 Zach Zupan (Conastota), for whom is was a second straight title, and No. 18 Zack Bacon (Hornell) at 220. Oklahoma No. 30 Edmond North ended the reign of No. 36 Broken Arrow on top of the Class 6A standings, as they out-pointed the Tigers 125.5 to 98.5 for the title. The Huskies were led by four state champions in the upper-weights from Derek White (170), No. 14 Lance Dixon (182), No. 18 Joel Dixon (195), and No. 6 Andrew Dixon (220); along with a runner-up finish from Jordan Prince (106) and third place finishes from Cy Trindle (113) and Josh Breece (126). Broken Arrow responded with a pair of titles from Tanner Bailey (145) and Carlos Taylor (285), a runner-up finish from Markus Simmons (120), and third place finishes from Zack Edwards (132), Paden Bailey (152), and Brock Warren (170). No. 13 Collinsville led an assault on the Class 5A field with 174 points, which was just over 50 points more than second place Lawton McArthur. Leading the way for the champion Cardinals were five state gold medalists: No. 4 Christian Moody (106), No. 6 Davion Jeffries (113), Will Steltzen (132), Gary Wayne Harding (138), and Dylan Helm (145). Another four wrestlers finished as runners-up, while an additional grappler placed fourth. No. 40 Tuttle won yet another Class 4A state title with 193 points, which was almost as many as the next three teams in the standings amassed. Six wrestlers earned titles for Tuttle: Blake Dauphin (113), Gunner Laffoon (132), Dakota Head (145), No. 5 Zach Beard (170), Dustin Mason (220), and Nathan Jackson (285). Four additional wrestlers earned placements, one in second and three finishing third. Rounding out the champions was Perry in Class 3A with 104 points, led by just one state champion in David Thomas (160), though they had four wrestlers take home second place. Oregon David Douglas won the big school Class 6A title, which was their first since 1966. They were led by three state champions -- Vagif Afrasov (138), Elijah Taylor (160), and Ihoghama Odighizuwa (195) -- on the way to scoring 146 points. Three-time defending state champions Roseburg were third with 120 points, while Oregon City took second with 126.5 points. No. 46 Hermiston made it a sixth title in seven years when they took the Class 5A title with 246 points, while defending state champions Dallas settled for second with 181.5 points. Four Bulldogs wrestlers led the way with state championships: Beau Gleed (132), No. 14 Tyler Berger (138), Abraham Rodriguez (160), and Samuel Shields-Colbray (195). Crook County won the Class 4A title, which was their first team title since 1975. They dominated the event with 290 points, which was almost 100 points more than second place Henley. Collban Meeker (138) and Jason Williams (285) were the squad's only champions out of 21 state qualifiers. Rounding out the state team champions were Glide with 205 points in Class 3A and Lowell with 115 points in Class 2A/1A. South Carolina Lexington won the big school Class 4A tournament with 93 points, while Beaufort took second with 78; the state champions were led by three state champions, Jackson Myers (113), Andrew Szlawinski (120), and Nate Meagher (220). Eastside was the dominant squad in Class 3A with 128 points, which it was about 50 points back to second and third place squads in Emerald and Socastee. Leading the way for Eastside were their four state champions: Cole Anderson (126), Clay Walker (138), Michael Fernandez (182), and Zach Lake (195). Finally, in small school Class 2A/1A, Bramberg-Ehrhardt was the dominant squad with 103 points, as second place Newberry was more than 40 points back. Three wrestlers won titles for the small school champions: Malcolm Jones (120), Player Long (152), and Mark Moody (182). Texas It was the first year for a two class format in the Lone Star State, and it was an unmitigated disaster in Class 5A, as No. 14 Allen ran laps around the big school field scoring 251.5 points. Things were so bad that it took the next four teams in the standings to out-point the dominating Eagles, and that was just by like ten points. Six Allen wrestlers were state champions: Daniel Cartagena (138), No. 4 Oliver Pierce (152), No. 3 Bo Nickal (160), Matt Meyer (182), Nick Cobb (195), and Stone Drulman (220). Things were much closer in Class 4A, as Canyon Randall won with 95 points, with Frisco (88) and Highland Park (76.5) close behind. State titles from Jacob Rubio (132) and Beau Henson (195) led the way for the small school state champions. West Virginia Huntington earned the state title in Class AAA with 200 points, while it was Parkersburg taking second with 160.5 points. Leading the way for Huntington were weight class championships won by Logan Grass (106), No. 16 Jordan Allen (113), and Jordan Arthur (145). In the small school Class A/AA tournament, it was much closer as Greenbrier West won with 131.5 points, while Independence was second with 119.5 points. The championship team had a trio of champions in Dustin Yoakum (132), Malik Boatwright (152), and Tyler Parker (170). Wisconsin The Division 1 team race was tightly contested with the champions from Wausau West finishing at 98 points, and two other teams within ten points of first place (Bay Port on 98 and Merrill with 88). Wausau West had Colin Baine (126) as their sole state champion with four other wrestlers finishing inside the top four; Bay Port had six total placers, but went 1-5 in their medal matches; and Merrill was led by state champion Tyler Schmidt (220), with three others finishing in the top three. Similarly, Division 2 had a tight team race with Luxemburg-Casco outlasting Oconto Falls 85 to 82-1/2, as each team had just four state placers. Oconto Falls finished second despite their trio of state champions -- Dewey Krueger (132), Mitch Friedman (183), and Jacob Morrissey (170); Luxemburg-Casco countered with a pair of champs of their own in Luke Distiche (220) and No. 16 Newton Smerchek (285), with two others finishing second and fourth. Division 3 was a relative blowout with the top three teams with 14 points of one another -- state champion Lancaster was on 99, Coleman at 91.5, and Edgar with 85.5 points. Despite a tournament high seven placers, Coleman was stuck in second as they had one champion in Mason Megener (152), with five of their placers finishing fourth or sixth. Lancaster and Edgar had three champs each with two other placers. For the champions, Lancaster, they were led by gold medals from Cole Martin (120), Trenton Carrell (145), and Ethan Soderstrom (160); while team bronze medalists Edgar got titles from Devin Lemanski (126), Matt Nowak (170), and Luke Nowak (182). Wyoming In Class 4A, Campbell County won the big school title by about 100 points over second place Cheyenne East, 324 to 229. Leading the way for Campbell County were championships from Trent Olson (106), Taylor Jeffries (113), Alex Lacasse (138), Dani Fischer (145), Jordan Fischer (152), Lukas Poloncic (160), Taylor Bigelow (170), and Taylor Barbour (285). Powell won the Class 3A title with 241.5 points, while close behind was runner-up Star Valley on 233, with third place was another 45 points back. Interestingly Kyle Catlin (138) and Zach Thompson (195) were the lone state champions for Powell. Finally, in Class 2A, Moorcroft/Hulett dominated their way to the small school title with 263 points -- a total that was over 90 points more than second place Cokeville. The small school champions were led by gold medals from Dallas Taylor (106), Kole Schell (113), and Tanner Allison (285).

Back Points can finally boast its first celebrity, Top Chef cheftestant Joshua Valentine. The Oklahoma native is a lifelong wrestler who found his way to the culinary arts through the pain of weight cutting. Valentine recaps highlights from the season and, of course, talks wrestling. Muir hops in to deny Foley a dinner date and make outrageous claims. 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.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team grabbed the outright 2013 Southern Conference Regular Season Championship with tonight's 30-4 win over Campbell in Maclellan Gym. The Mocs controlled the action from the opening whistle, ending the regular season with an 11-6 record and a perfect 7-0 league mark. The Camels dropped to 7-10 overall and tied for second in the SoCon at 5-2. "I don't think it's the championship that is special, I think it's the people represented with those championships that are special," stated head coach Heath Eslinger. "This is a great group of seniors and the fact that they got to go out in their last home match and get a win and a SoCon championship is important to us. They embody what Chattanooga Strong is all about and I'm excited for them." The match started at 197, as UTC senior Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) led off for the Mocs. He came into the bout ranked as high as No. 18 in the nation and undefeated in dual matches at 14-0. He was pushed by the Camel's John Merickel, but pulled out a 7-3 win. That upped his overall record to 27-3, including a perfect 7-0 in league matches. Sophomore Kevin Malone (Carrollton, Ohio) followed that with a double-overtime win against Joe Nolan at heavyweight. Malone scored a takedown in the second sudden-victory period for his 16th win of the year. "What I liked about tonight is that it was dominating," said Eslinger. "We won the close matches and we dominated the matches we were ahead. That's the momentum that we needed going into the SoCon and the national tournaments." Sophomore Nick Soto (Spring Hill, Fla.) had a tough challenge in Campbell's Eric Montoya. Both were undefeated in SoCon matches, with Soto ranked No. 17 at 125 and Montoya listed at No. 27. Soto posted an impressive 7-1 decision to improve to 24-6 overall and give UTC a 9-0 lead. Freshman Alex Ward (Chattanooga, Tenn.) continued to show his improvement with a 5-0 shutout over Tanner Bidelspach at 133. Senior Dean Pavlou (Cleveland, Tenn.) put UTC up 16-0 with his major decision (13-2) win over Michael Dahlstrom. For Pavlou, it was his career-best 22nd win of the season. Junior Alex Hudson (Marietta, Ga.) scored a tech fall at 149 before Campbell got its only win at 157. Senior Josh Condon (Powder Spring, Ga.) clinched the match with his 12-7 decision over Paul Duggan at 165. Condon improved to 6-0 in SoCon matches this season. He finishes his career with a 14-0 record in SoCon regular season matches. Freshman John Lampe (Fairdale, Ky.) got the crowd on its feet with a 3-1 decision over Taylor McGiffen. He scored a takedown at the buzzer to improve to 5-0 in SoCon matches. Senior Robert Prigmore (Southlake, Texas) close out the match with a comeback win at 184. He fell behind early to James Cook after a takedown and two back points in the first period. Prigmore wore Cook down over the next five minutes, scoring five unanswered points to take the win. "Dean Pavlou is what Chattanooga wrestling is all about," added Eslinger. "If I could make robots of him then we would be doing great. Josh Condon, again, he ends up dominating the guy and does a good job. He is undefeated in conference career as a student-athlete during the regular season and that's a big deal. Robert Prigmore did a nice job of fighting back in the match after he was down. He just wanted to go out on top and he got the win. Finally, Niko Brown just kept doing what he always does and got us a win. I'm very proud of those guys." The Mocs will now begin training for the 2013 Southern Conference Tournament. The event is scheduled to Saturday, March 9, at VMI in Lexington, Va. Be sure to check back to GoMocs.com for more details on the SoCon Championships. Results: 197: Nikolas Brown (UTC) - Dec. 7-3 - John Merickel (Campbell) - UTC 3-0 285: Kevin Malone (UTC) - 4-2 (2OT) - Joe Nolan (Campbell) - UTC 6-0 125: Nick Soto (UTC) - Dec. 7-1 - Eric Montoya (Campbell) - UTC 9-0 133: Alex Ward (UTC) - Dec. 5-0 - Tanner Bidelspach (Campbell) - UTC 12-0 141: Dean Pavlou (UTC) - MD 13-2 - Michael Dahlstrom (Campbell) - UTC 16-0 149: Alex Hudson (UTC) - TF 17-2 (7:00) - Cory Wagner (Campbell) - UTC 21-0 157: Nick Rex (Campbell) - MD 8-0 - Trey Stavrum (UTC) - UTC 21-4 165: Josh Condon (UTC) - Dec. 12-7 - Paul Duggan (Campbell) - UTC 24-4 174: John Lampe (UTC) - Dec. 3-1 - Taylor McGiffen (Campbell) - UTC 27-4 184: Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Dec. 5-4 - James Cook (Campbell) - UTC 30-4

Saturday night at "The Schott," the lights are out, and the stars come to shine. That will be the story come the early part of Saturday evening, when the finals of the 2013 OHSAA State Wrestling Tournament commences on the campus of The Ohio State University. Anthony Collica (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)It will be the culminating event for a group of excellent Class of 2013 wrestlers in the Buckeye State, which includes three wrestlers seeking their fourth state title, and three others after a third state championship. Assuming Nathan Tomasello (CVCA), Dean Heil (St. Edward), and Bo Jordan (St. Paris Graham) all win the titles they are prohibitively favored to win, it would mark 25 wrestlers to win four state titles -- all coming during the three class/division era that started in 1976. Seeking third state titles this year -- all in Division I (big-school) -- are Brandon Thompson (Solon), Anthony Collica (Solon), and Domenic Abounader (St. Edward) Division I The big-school tournament features four of the nation's top 30 squads -- No. 2 St. Edward, No. 16 Massillon Perry, No. 21 Cincinnati Moeller, and No. 26 Brecksville. After winning the dual meet championship earlier this month, and having won 15 of the last 16 individual state tournament crowns, the Eagles are favored to win their third consecutive title this weekend. Though they qualified eleven to state, which is a high across the three divisions, their path to a title is not one hundred percent clear. St. Edward suffered a potentially key setback when potential state finalist L.J. Bentley failed to qualify for the state tournament at 106 pounds, after losing a semifinal match against No. 3 Austin Assad (Brecksville) in the tiebreaker and then suffered a 7-5 defeat on a big five-point move by Mario Guillen (Perrysburg) late in the match. However, they still have five potential finalists -- and at worst top three finishers -- in No. 3 Dean Heil (132), No. 17 Colin Heffernan (138), No. 4 Edgar Bright (145), No. 9 Markus Scheidel (152), and No. 2 Domenic Abounader (St. Edward). Chance Driscoll (126) joins those five as a district champion heading into state this week. The other three nationally ranked teams each qualified nine wrestlers to the state tournament, though it is only Massillon Perry that can realistically match the firepower of the second-ranked in the nation Eagles. Leading the way for the Panthers are defending state champions David Bavery (120) and Joe Tayse (195) and New York state runner-up Jose Rodriguez (106), who is ranked No. 5 nationally. The Panthers also have high placement possibilities coming from district finalists Casey Sparkman (138), who beat Heffernan in the state dual meet final; Tony Dailey (152), who lost 2-1 to Collica in the district final this past weekend; as well as district champions Isaac Bast (145) and Bruno Millin (160). Brecksville does have three potential state champions in No. 3 Austin Assad (106), No. 11 Aaron Assad (113), and Quentin Hiles (160) -- all of whom were district champions -- but the other six qualifiers have ceilings of mid-to-low placement. Moeller is led by projected state champion Chalmer Frueauf (220), who is ranked No. 10 nationally; district champions Conner Zeigler (113), Andrew Mendel (132), and Jerry Thornberry (195); as well as returning state placer Dakota Sizemore (160), a district runner-up that could none the less be a state finalist. Some brief thoughts on every weight class: 106: This boils down to a two-person race between Assad and Rodriguez, who are bracketed to meet in the final. Assad won an earlier season meeting in the Beast of the East semifinals 5-4 with a third period three-point near fall and ride-out, though Rodriguez scored takedowns in each of the first two periods. 113: Assad and Armando Torres (Elyria) are the two favorites in this weight class. The pair of wrestlers have met four times already this season, including in the district final this past weekend, with Assad winning all the meetings by either one or two points. Torres does have the tougher path having to potentially beat returning state placer Jimmy Ferrito (St. Ignatius) first round, returning third at state Dakota Riley (Mt. Vernon) in the quarterfinal, and district champion Zeigler from Moeller in the semis. 120: This is the lone weight of the 42 this weekend to have two defending state champions present, as both Thompson (ranked No. 18 nationally) and Bavery reside here. The two wrestlers met in the district semifinal round this past weekend with two-time state champion Thompson winning 3-1. If they meet again, it would be in the state final, which would be a rematch from 2011 when Thompson won 2-0 in the final at 103 pounds. In order for Bavery to reach the final, he'll have to beat undefeated Artem Timchenko (Olentangy Orange) in the semifinal round. 126: Two-time state placer Ivan McClay (Massillon), who is ranked No. 17 nationally, is a strong favorite to win this weight class, which is the weakest in the big-school division. 132: Heil should have absolutely no problem getting his fourth state title. So far in seven state series matches, he has been on the mat for 5 minutes and 15 seconds, all pins with the longest being at the 1:11 mark. Expect four non-competitive matches at the state tournament, though probably not to this extreme. 138: The top two wrestlers in this weight class, No. 15 Noah Forrider (Marysville) and No. 17 Colin Heffernan (St. Edward), both took fourth at state last year, which did not afford them bracket protection after winning district titles. Unfortunately, they are slated to meet in the state semifinals. When the two squads competed in early February dual meet, Forrider weighed in at 145, where he scored a 3-2 win over Edgar Bright. The explosive Casey Sparkman (Massillon Perry) is in Forrider's quarter of the draw, and Forrider did score an 11-5 victory over his teammate Bast in the Top Gun final, when Sparkman was up at 145. The top half of the draw is wide open, and could potentially give Nick Montgomery (Madison) a chance to reach the final, which would give the Blue Streaks a chance for their first-ever state champion; they've had a joint state meet high seven runners-up without a champ over the years. 145: Yet again, the top two wrestlers will meet in the semifinals, as No. 4 Edgar Bright (St. Edward) -- a two-time state runner-up -- and Jake Ryan (Olentangy Liberty) are in the same half-bracket. This season, Ryan lost in the tiebreakers against Forrider in this weight class, lost in the tiebreakers to Collica up at 152, and lost 6-4 to Danishek in the Brecksville final. He is obviously the son of Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan. Bright is hoping not to join Brian Murphy in Illinois as a bona fide Class of 2013 star to never win state. 152: All signs point to a rematch of last year's state final between No. 6 Collica and No. 9 Scheidel, a match that Collica won 3-1. The wrestlers also met during the dual meet state series earlier this month, a match won by Collica 5-2. However, Tony Dailey (Massillon Perry) will try to spoil the party, drawing Scheidel in the quarterfinal round. The two wrestlers, both placers at the Walsh Ironman in December, met in the semis at the Medina Invitational -- a match won by Scheidel 5-4. 160: It's wide open, and that's the simplest way to say it. The early favorite might be returning state placer Quinton Hiles (Brecksville), who was a Beast of the East runner-up at 160 pounds. However, his challenges start in the opening round against returning state placer Jacob Globke (Middletown); Globke had to beat fellow 2012 state placer Joe Heyob (St. Xavier) in a go-to-state elimination bout this past weekend at a stacked district weight class. The winner of this match is likely to face that district's champion Detuan Smith (Colerain), the hottest wrestler in this weight class. The other half of the draw boils down to a probable quarterfinal between district champion Bruno Millin (Massillon Perry) and Dakota Sizemore (Moeller), who placed third at state last year, highest of anyone in this weight. 170: Yet another open preceeding, though the joint favorites -- Richard Robertson (Maple Hts) and Nick Corba (Beavercreek), who both won their district tournaments -- are in the same half of the draw. Things are so muddled here that my projected state champion as of late January, Rocco Caywood (Perrysburg), exited fourth from his district tournament yet could still take gold come Saturday. 182: If not for teammate Dean Heil, Domenic Abounader (St. Edward) -- going after his third state title, and ranked No. 2 nationally -- would be the most prohibitive favorite in this division. In seven state series matches, he's had six wins by fall and one that was a no contest. 195: Defending state champion Joe Tayse (Massillon Perry) lost by injury default in the district final against the previously undefeated Kyle Conel (Ashtabula Lakeside). It was precautionary in nature, as his knee buckled early in the match after giving up the first takedown against Conel. Tayse might have benefitted somewhat in terms of bracket position, as Conel is looking at a semifinal match against two-time state placer Adam Kluk (Medina Highland), while Tayse is likely to see returning state placer Aaron Tschantz (Barberton) in the semifinal round. 220: After missing the Ironman due to playing defensive line for a state title winning football team the weekend before, No. 10 Chalmer Frueauf (Moeller) has not lost a match, and hasn't really been tested, other than the loss to Kyle Snyder -- who is ranked No. 1 nationally -- during the semifinals of the Powerade. However, Frueauf should expect a stern test from returning state placer Evan Rosborogh (Painesville Riverside), who placed fourth at the Ironman, during the state semifinals -- which will be the de facto final in this weight class. 285: Three of the seven wrestlers in the big-school division who enter state undefeated do so in this weight class, a group that is led by returning state finalist Travis Gusan (Hilliard Davidson), who is ranked No. 18 nationally. That finals loss is the only one Gusan has taken in the last two seasons. He should face his sternest test of the season in the Friday night semifinal against fellow undefeated senior Truman Gutapfel (Harrison). Division II St. Paris Graham, winner of the last twelve individual state tournament titles in this division, also won the dual meet title earlier this month and enters the week ranked No. 5 nationally. The Falcons qualified a joint-most for the medium-school division eight wrestlers to the state tournament. However, among those eight are four nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 8 Eli Stickley (106), No. 2 Micah Jordan (132), No. 10 Alex Marinelli (152), and Bo Jordan (160). Those four, all who won district titles, along with fellow district champions in Eli Seipel (113) and Brent Moore (120) are projected to be state finalists. It is not a question of if the Falcons will make it thirteen in a row, it's a question of when it will be clinched. In assessing the battle for second place, one should look at CVCA as the favorites, as the Royals were the other team to advance eight to the state tournament. That group includes No. 1 in the nation Nathan Tomasello (120), along with four other wrestlers whom have previously placed in the state tournament -- district champion Ryan Bennett (113) along with district runners-up Josh Decatur (126), Jeff Hojnacki (145), and Matt Dobben (152). Other teams in the hunt for second include dual meet runners-up Claymont, Akron SVSM, and Clyde who all advanced six to the state tournament; though for Claymont that six is a marked disappointment, as the Mustangs were hoping to capitalize on a soft district tournament and advance eight or even nine to Columbus. Some brief thoughts on every weight class: 106: Though Eli Stickley (St. Paris Graham) is the lone nationally ranked wrestler present, it is really a weight class open to any of about six wrestlers – the other being senior John Martin (Wapakoneta), champion at the Top Gun; sophomore Evan Cheek (Milan Edison), a Cadet freestyle All-American; as well as freshman Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit), Seth Beard (Napoleon), and Tyler Warner (Claymont), who all were district champions this past weekend along with Stickley. Martin and Warner both have wins over Stickley in the last four weeks. 113: All signs point to a rematch between defending state champion Cameron Kelly (Bellbrook) and Eli Seipel (St. Paris Graham) in the state final. After Seipel placed at the Ironman, while Kelly did not, Kelly earned a 5-0 victory in the GMVWA in late December. However, the past two weekends, it has been Seipel coming away with 7-2 and 4-2 victories respectively. 120: Nathan Tomasello is the nation's No. 1 wrestler, and quite frankly is should be a coronation for his fourth state title; while the freshman Brent Moore (St. Paris Graham) is well positioned to be in the other finalist spot. 126: With Tomasello at the weight below, and Micah Jordan up above, this is a "collection pit." However, in its midst returning state runners-up Cody Burcher (Claymont) and Anthony Tutolo (Lake Catholic) are the joint favorites. This weight class did take a slight hit when returning state placer Mike Kostandaras (Walsh Jesuit) failed to qualify for state, losing 3-1 in the district quarter against Tutolo and then having to injury default in his go-to-state match against two-time state placer D.J. Schoeppner (Canton South). Seven wrestlers other than Burcher and Tutolo have placed at state before, including 2011 state champion Michael Rix (Akron SVSM), who is in the same half-bracket as Burcher -- the wrestler he beat for that 2011 state title. 132: Like Tomasello at 120, this weight is a similar coronation for junior Micah Jordan, who is ranked No. 2 in the nation and after a third state title in as many years. Two-time state placer Preston Bowshier (Kenton Ridge), also a junior, is the likely opponent for Jordan in the final; Jordan has scored a 10-4 decision and 16-4 major decision in finals against Bowshier the previous two weekends. 138: Signs point this to being a four-person battle between sophomore Kyle Kaminski (Padua), junior two-time state placers Ryan Skonieczny (Akron SVSM) and Alex Mossing (Toledo Central Catholic) along with senior returning state placer Dylan Kager (Crestwood). Mossing enters the favorite, as he out-placed Kager at state last year, beat Kaminski in the district final this past weekend, and has multiple victories by narrow margins over Skonieczny in the last two seasons. 145: Two-time state placer Max Rohskopf (West Holmes) enters as the clear favorite to win his first state title. He has just one loss on the season, 8-3 to Bright in the Medina final, and has dominated all other opposition this season. 152: Freshman sensation Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham), ranked No. 10 nationally, burst onto the scene with his runner-up finish at the Walsh Ironman. He has only one loss since then, that coming 9-7 to Scheidel in their mid-January dual meet against St. Edward, and enters this weekend as the favorite to be the next Falcon on the track for four state titles. He's likely going to have to beat two-time state placer, and only a junior, Seth Williams (Tiffin Columbian) in the final. 160: What more can be said about the incomparable Bo Jordan (St. Paris Graham), the nation's No. 1 Class of 2013 prospect, and future college star at Ohio State. In the last two state tournaments, he has pins in seven of eight matches, the only match not being a pin was a technical fall victory in last year's state semifinal round. Expect similar dominance this weekend, and a big standing ovation after the final on Saturday night. 170: Defending state champion Chris Moore (Clyde) comes in as a district four after losing 6-0 in the semifinal round to weight class favorite Luke Cramer (Oak Harbor), and then being disqualified due to stalling penalties in his consolation final. Moore will have to face district champion Lane Thomas (St. Paris Graham) in the opening round, and then battle Cramer in the semis -- Cramer has wins in both matches against Moore this year, and expect him to make it three-for-three on Friday night. 182: Yet again the top two wrestlers in this weight class met in last weekend's district semifinal round, where Josh Kasper (Lexington) earned a 6-0 victory over Brad Smith (Clyde) in a battle of state placers from last year. That was a second victory for Kasper over Smith this season, and it's likely those two will meet for a third time come Saturday night. One to watch in this weight though is freshman Jack Harris (Urbana), who enters the tournament as a district champion with a 48-1 record. 195: Defending state champion Josh Lehner (Lexington) is ranked No. 16 nationally and undefeated with a 48-0 record. In last year's state tournament, he earned all four victories by technical fall; and in eighteen state series matches the last two years, it's 14 out of 18 victories by pin or tech fall without giving up an offensive point. Expect similar dominance this weekend in a weight class that features many of the same key players as last year. 220: The two favorites, state runner-up Zane Krall (Wauseon) and state fourth placer Greg Moray (Steubenville) are paired in opposite halves of the draw, so they're well positioned to reach the final. 285: The joint favorites in this weight class have wrestled four times over the past two seasons, twice in each season, and have split those matches. Billy Miller (Perry) has won their district finals meeting in each of the last two years, while Connor Sharp (West Branch) won their match for third at state last year and a state dual meet series match this year. Miller should make the final, which would make it an eighth Perry Pirate to reach the finals over the years, and he seeks to become their first-ever champion. On the other hand, Sharp has a slightly tougher path. Division III Out of the three divisions, this is the one with the most realistic team race. This small-school division is also the only one in which the champion is likely to end up with under 100 points. The three key players here are dual meet state champions Delta, who qualified five for state; defending individual state champions Waynedale, which also qualified five; and returning runners-up Troy Christian, which qualified a surprising six to state. The district tournament could have offered Waynedale an opportunity to come in the clear favorite if they had gotten all seven of their projected key players to the state tournament. The more notable loss was returning state placer Brad Wardell failing to get out at 132 pounds. The Bears bring to state prohibitive favorite Zack Nelson (126), returning state runners-up Zane Nelson (138) and Brendan Stanley (170), state placer Dakota Stanley (160), and freshman Reid Stanley (145). In addition, they got bad news at the district tournament as Brendan Stanley sustained an injury during his semifinal win by disqualification and was unable to compete in the district final that evening; it is hoped he'll be able to compete at relative health this week. On the other hand, Troy Christian augmented their four wrestlers who combined for 81.5 points last year with two more state qualifiers in sophomore Zach Davie (106) and Chase Mayabb (132), though each would be at best projected to get one win. In an every match counts event, those outcomes could be the difference. Exiting as district champs for the Eagles were Garrett Hancock (120), as well as defending state champions Jordan Marshall (152) and B.J. Toal (182), while returning state finalist Jared Ganger (113) finished third at district. Those four could all be in the finals this weekend. The dual meet state champion Panthers, who finished third in last year's individual tournament, qualified five for the state tournament. That includes a quartet of district champions in freshman sensation Jake Spiess (106), returning state placers Kyle Keller (120) and Jared Mattin (160), along with state runner-up Tyler Fahrer (145). Freshman Dustin Marteney (126), their other qualifier, was second at district. Amanda-Clearcreek qualified the most of any team in the small-school division with eight to state; however, they don't realistically figure in this conversation, as they have no projected high state placers. The following are brief thoughts on each weight class: 106: Projected state champion Spiess (Delta) pinned primary challengers Alex Smith (Sandusky SMCC) and Evan Ullinski (Woodmore) in the district tournament this past weekend; those two wrestlers are both in the opposite half from Spiess, along with district champions in returning state qualifier Jake Adkins (Johnstown Northridge) and freshman Hunter Bray (Dayton Chrsitain). 113: Christian Clary (Dayton Christian), fourth and third at state the last two years, is the wrestler who upset Ganger with a pin in the district semifinals; he went onto win the district tournament, and is in the opposite half of a pair of returning state runners-up. Those wrestlers, Zack Durbin (Mapleton) and Jared Ganger (Troy Christian) will have to wrestle in the semifinal round. 120: Defending state champion Sammy Gross (Beachwood) enters the week as the slight favorite over Garrett Hancock (Troy Christian), whom he beat 4-2 in last year's state semifinal round at 113 pounds. Gross has state placer Chandler Minnard (Bloom-Carroll) in his half-bracket; while Hancock is joined by state placers in Francisco Alvarado (Defiance Ayersville), Mike Hozan (Black River), and Kyle Keller (Delta). 126: As previously mentioned Zack Nelson (Waynedale), undefeated on the season, is the prohibitive favorite in this weight class. His likely finals opponent is Andrew Hoskins (Greeneview), one he handled 6-2 in last year's consolation semifinal round. 132: The two best wrestlers in this weight draw each other in the semifinal round, two-time state placer Jared Van Vleet (Edgerton) and returning state third placer Jason Sandlin (Carlisle). In their match this season, Van Vleet did win 5-2 in late January. From the other half of the draw, returning state placer Gennar Feucht (West Jefferson) brings a 46-0 record to the table. 138: A pair of returning state finalists are present in this weight class, Austin Reese (Mechanicsburg) and Zane Nelson (Waynedale); Reese won a mid-December match between the two 5-0. However, despite failing to win a district title, Nelson got the more manageable (though not easy) draw. Reese is looking at a quarterfinal against two-time state placer Zach Niner (Liberty Center) and a semifinal against returning state placer J.J. Diven (Waterloo), who is undefeated and beat Nelson in the district semifinal. 145: Two-time state champion, and just a junior, Jacob Danishek (Dayton Christian) is one only two nationally ranked wrestlers in the small-school division. Ranked No. 9 nationally, he was runner-up at the Ironman to Bright and champion at Brecksville over Ryan. He should be unchallenged on the weekend outside of a competitive state finals bout against fellow Ironman placer Tyler Fahrer (Delta), who was also a state runner-up last year. 152: This has the feel of a four person weight class, with all four in differing quarter brackets: two-time state fourth placer Zach Wilson (Bluffton) and returning state third Alex Quinn (Shadyside) in the top half, with defending state champion Jordan Marshall (Troy Christian) and undefeated sophomore Kollin Moore (Norwayne) in the bottom half. 160: Already twice a state placer, and only a junior, Ryan Harris (Beachwood) is undefeated on the season and has only really been tested in his two matches against returning state placer Kurt Moore (Norwayne). Those two wrestlers could meet in the final; however, Harris will have to get past former state placers Max Erwin (Mechanicsburg) and Chase Kinemond (Shadyside), while Moore is looking at a quarterfinal against Jimmy Sandlin (Carlisle) and semifinal with returning state placer Jared Mattin (Delta). 170: Travis Linton (Rootstown) placed third at state last year in this weight class, and has this season placed seventh at Ironman and was runner-up at Medina up at 182 pounds before making the drop down here. He enters as the slightest of favorites, and a clear path to the final. The bottom half of the draw features defending state champion Zach Mays (Nelsonville-York) in one quarter and returning state runner-up Brendan Stanley (Waynedale) in the other. Stanley, already facing health issues, has a quarter-bracket featuring two matches against returning state placers. 182: The other nationally ranked wrestler in this division is B.J. Toal (Troy Christian), the defending state champion as well as Super 32 and Ironman runner-up enters the week ranked No. 11 nationally. His three lead challengers all are in the opposite half -- returning state runner-up Armani Robinson (Greeneview), who lost 3-2 to Toal in the district final, and returning state runner-up Kevin Stock (Garrettsville Garfield), who lost 3-2 to Toal in last year's state final, are projected to meet in the quarterfinal round. While the winner of that match is likely to face undefeated Sam Groff (Sandy Valley), who was third at state last year losing 3-2 to Toal in the state semis. 195: Dalton Ishmael (North Baltimore) has over 175 career wins and holds the state record for career pins with approximately 150. He is the biggest prohibitive title favorite in the small-school division. 220: Returning state placers Jake Moore (Rootstown) and Travis Boyd (Blanchester) are the clear favorites in this weight class; however, they are slated to meet in the semifinal round. In last year's state consolation semifinal, it was Moore who won a 3-2 decision on the way to placing fourth, while Boyd placed fifth. 285: Austin Cary (Loudonville) has been impressive in an undefeated season, one that he entered as a relative unknown. Last year he went 1-2 at the district tournament competing at 220. This weekend, he is a strong favorite to make the state final. Down in the other half of the draw, projected champion Patrick Garren (Bishop Ready), third at state and a Super 32 placer, will have to deal with Zach Srock (Chippewa), a returning state placer, in the semifinal round.

What do coaches say to their wrestlers when their wrestlers don't perform at their best? They can build them up; tell them to get their heads up and point out the positives. They show their anger and frustration, and let their athletes know in no uncertain terms that their performances were unacceptable. They can put it in perspective, and tell their wrestlers to put it behind them and embrace future competition. Any of these approaches can be appropriate. There is always a right thing to say to an athlete or group of athletes. One of the hardest parts of being a coach is finding the appropriate speech or picking the right advice based on whom you are speaking to. Coaching is not a "one size fits all" skill. Great coaches have to know their flock. Oklahoma State coach John Smith shares a moment with his top-ranked 149-pounder Jordan Oliver at the National Duals (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)This is why I'd love to have been a fly in the wall in the locker room of Iowa, Ohio State, an Oklahoma State's locker room after National Duals this past weekend. Tom Brands, Tom Ryan, and John Smith are all great coaches, and I would love to see what they said to their teams after disappointing outings. Ohio State, Stiebers aside, has a lineup full of young men capable of beating the very best on any given day. Not a single one of them were able to win against Missouri in the quarterfinals. Iowa saw its wrestlers fall in close matches against Missouri in the consolation finals; among them were the two Hawkeye stalwarts, returning national finalists Matt McDonough and Derek St. John, fall against Missouri. McDonough was shut out for the first time in his collegiate career by Alan Waters, who looks extra sharp under the tutelage of Sammie Henson. This was Missouri's first victory over Iowa in wrestling ... ever. In the National Duals finals Oklahoma State was beaten by a team they had previously defeated, the University of Minnesota. This loss was punctuated by two shocking pins scored on two of OSU's best, Chris Perry on top with both legs in had his head pulled down and was stacked up by Logan Storley in tie-breaking rideouts, and at heavyweight, Alan Gelogaev was run over and pinned by returning national champ Tony Nelson in a simple wrist and half. This certainly isn't the end of the world for any of the losing teams mentioned above, but it is certainly a teachable opportunity for their coaches. It will be interesting to see how they perform down the road. In more positive news, Minnesota is once again your National Duals champions, and a team which seemed to be fading just a bit a few weeks ago seems to be revitalized. Head coach J Robinson was present to watch over the victory. He apparently was coaching without a knee. That is correct; he completely did not have a knee in one leg. I, personally, have a hard time wrapping me head around this. I didn't know that one had the option of not having a knee if the entire rest of the leg was present. Apparently he is between surgeries, but still it amazes me. I guess if you want to set an example to your wrestlers as to what it means to be tough this is one way to do it. Other observations from National Duals ... Logan Storley, Minnesota's 174 pounder, has to be this weekend's MVP with wins over Mike Evans and Chris Perry. He is also one of the most dangerous wrestlers I have ever seen off the bottom position. Dylan Ness gave Jordan Oliver, Oklahoma State's top-ranked 149-pounder, quite the scare in their match. Ness seems to be rounding back into top form. I would never want to be a wrestling referee, I once was a scorekeeper at a small tournament and all I did was get yelled at. I have huge respect for NCAA refs, and think that 99 percent of the time they do a great job. That said, there must be greater consistency in what constitutes reaction time after a takedown. If a wrestler goes behind another, and the other wrestler supports his weight on his hand, how much time does he have to pop back up before the takedown is awarded? In a couple matches this past week refs would call this instantaneously, but in notable matches in the past, refs have been very generous with reaction time. The number one thing I want to see in a ref, other than a solid grasp of the rules, is consistency. I do not have a strong opinion one way or the other as to how this situation should be scored; I just want to see it scored the same way in every match. Call heavyweights boring. Don't watch them if you do not want to. Go for a bathroom break when they take the mat. But please do not insult their ethic and desire. During the Iowa and Missouri dual this weekend the color commenter on the webcast made a comment that characterized Bobby Telford and Dom Bradley as not wanting to wrestle. This rankles me. These two spend their lives wrestling in top Division I programs. If they did not possess a strong desire to wrestle and work every day, their coaches would have tossed them out on their respective ears a long time ago. Dom Bradley is a Junior World champion and Bobby Telford is an NCAA All American, and a giant. I am truly sorry if offense is hard to come by when the two lock horns, but please show the proper respect. In other news ... Penn State shuts out Rutgers. The National Collegiate Open took place, one of the coolest tournament concepts there is. All the great wrestlers not in starting lineups take part in this event. (Some are in starting lineups.) Unfortunately, I do not have results on hand at the time of writing this, though I would pencil in the nation's most exciting heavyweight, Nick Gwiazdowski, as the sure-fire champ. The rest of the country's teams seem to have finished up their dual meet schedules, onward to conference tournaments.

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- The Navy wrestling team won seven of the 10 bouts, including the first three of the night, to secure a 22-10 victory over arch rival Army in the annual Star Match held Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena in West Point, N.Y. The Midshipmen have won 13 consecutive matches against the Black Knights, including eight in a row at West Point, and boast a 47-5-5 advantage in the series. “I want to congratulate Army on its effort and how hard they wrestled,” said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett, who has never lost to Army in his 13 seasons. “While we had some guys that wrestled from start to finish, I think we got caught up in the fact that it was the Army-Navy match and we wrestled more to win the match as opposed to just wrestling. The last few weeks we’ve done a phenomenal job of keeping our nose to the grindstone and wrestling and wrestling and wrestling for bonus points, so I think this is something we need to correct moving forward. We did have some guys who were able to get some bonus points and who wrestled hard, but as a whole I don’t think we wrestled our best.” The Mids built an early 9-0 lead after taking victories in the first three matches of the afternoon, including the opening bout featuring senior heavyweight Dan Miller (Berlin, Md.). Miller easily defeated Army’s Bryce Barnes, 8-2, who was wrestling in his first collegiate Star Match, while Miller closed out his career against the Black Knights having won all three of his matches in the series. Navy took a 6-0 lead in the match when sophomore Patrick Prada (Laurel, Md.), riddled with injuries throughout the season, stepped in and took a 3-1 win in sudden victory over Army sophomore Hunter Wood at 125 pounds. Prada, whose last competition was January 26 where he dropped an 8-5 decision to Rutgers’ Joseph Langel, came into the match 0-4 in dual action this season and had lost four straight matches. Sophomore 133-pound Colton Rasche (Plano, Ill.), meanwhile, defeated Army senior Jordan Thome for a second time in the last three weeks by scoring an early takedown in what ended in a 3-1 decision. Rasche, who has won five of his last six bouts including four in a row, finished with a 4-3 mark in dual meets this season. Trailing 9-0 in the match, Army was able to put together a run of its own by winning three of the next four matches. Senior Connor Hanafee controlled his match against Navy junior Joe Locksmith (Kissimmee, Fla.) and gave the Black Knights their first win (8-5) at 141 pounds. Army closed to within a decision at 9-6 when Army senior Daniel Young returned to the mat and scored a 13-5 major decision over the Mids’ Raymond Borja (Virginia Beach, Va.). Young has fought off injury throughout much of the season and had been sidelined since the Virginia Duals in mid-January. Navy senior Bobby Barnhisel (River Forest, Ill.) was able to turn the match back in the Mids’ favor when he held Army junior John Belanger scoreless in a 14-0 major decision at 157 pounds. Barnhisel, who is ranked 14th nationally and fifth in the EIWA, owns a team-best 28-5 record including a 4-1 dual record this season. Meanwhile, with the return of Young to the Army lineup, Belanger was pushed up to 157 pounds from 149 where he had put together a 5-2 dual record. Army, though, kept fighting its way back into the match and once again closed to within three points when junior Paul Hancock dealt Navy junior Peyton Walsh (Glen Allen, Va.) his first dual loss of the season. Walsh was riding an eight-match winning streak that included five consecutive dual victories before Hancock bested Walsh on Sunday. It was retribution for Hancock who was over agreesive in his match against Walsh at the All-Academy Championship just a few weeks ago where Walsh got Hancock in the air and pinned him in under two minutes. Navy held a narrow 13-10 advantage going into one of the most anticipated matches of the afternoon. The 174-pound weight class featured Navy freshman Mathew Miller (Edgewood, Md.), ranked 12th nationally and No. 1 in the EIWA, against sophomore Cole Gracey from Army, who had a stellar rookie season and owned a 7-2 dual record going into Sunday’s match. Gracey got in on Miller’s legs early and scored a takedown for the quick lead. Miller took a few looks before he powered Gracey to ground and got him to his back for a five-point move which would prove to be the difference in a 5-3 Miller win. The Navy rookie is now 22-4 on the year, which has featured wins in each of his last seven bouts. The win by Miller provided some breathing room, but Navy could not let down its guard. Senior Mason Bailey (Fairmont, W.Va.), ranked 19th at 184 pounds, stepped to the mat to face Army junior Ryan Tompkins who entered the afternoon with a 4-3 dual record. Behind a 4-2 win, Bailey was able to clinch the win for the Mids, putting Navy up 19-10. While the final match didn’t matter in terms of the overall team score, it certainly was one of pride for senior team captain Oscar Huntley (Stafford, Va.) who was in search of his third straight win over Army in the Star Match. Surprisingly, Army moved senior Collin Wittmeyer to 197 pounds to face Huntley who held Wittmeyer scoreless in last year’s Star Match. Wittmeyer spent the majority of the season wrestling at 184 pounds, but was bumped up to heavyweight for the All-Academy Championship. Wittmeyer proved to be little match for Huntley, however, as the Navy senior scored his seventh straight victory by way of a 10-4 win and improved to 26-8 on the year. In dual action, Huntley finished the year 6-1. “I can’t say enough about our seniors this year,” added Burnett. “I am really proud of them and the way they stepped up and competed tonight. They’ve shown great leadership throughout the year, but it was big tonight.” Navy will use the next two weeks to prepare for the 109th EIWA Championship which will be held at Rutgers on March 8-9. Results: 285: Dan Miller (N) dec. Bryce Barnes, 8-2 125: Patrick Prada (N) dec. Hunter Wood, 3-1 (sv) 133: Colton Rasche (N) dec. Jordan Thome, 3-1 141: Connor Hanafee (A) dec. Joe Locksmith, 8-5 149: Daniel Young (A) maj. dec. Raymond Borja, 13-5 157: #14 Bobby Barnhisel (N) maj. dec. John Belanger, 14-0 165: Paul Hancock (A) dec. Peyton Walsh, 9-5 174: #12 Mathew Miller (N) dec. Cole Gracey, 5-3 184: #19 Mason Bailey (N) dec. Ryan Tompkins, 4-2 197: Oscar Huntley (N) dec. Collin Wittmeyer, 10-4

USAFA, Colo. -- In its final dual of the regular season, the Air Force wrestling team earned a 35-9 victory over Western Wrestling Conference foe Northern Colorado Sunday afternoon at Clune Arena. With the win, the Falcons close out their dual slate with an 11-4 record and 2-3 mark in the WWC. Northern Colorado (1-10, 0-5) got out to a quick 3-0 lead in the team scoring with a decision at 157 pounds, but the Falcons quickly pushed ahead with a fall from sophomore Jesse Stafford (Loomis, Calif.) in a time of 3:57. Senior Clay Gable (Dallastown, Pa.), competing in his first dual meet of the season, was up next for Air Force, earning a 7-3 decision in his return to action. Junior Devin Hightower (Colorado Springs, Colo.) turned in an impressive performance at 184 pounds, winning a 16-1 technical fall, while senior Josh Mohr (Pewaukee, Wis.) added a 12-3 major decision at 197 pounds to push the Falcons' lead to 18-3. The Bears got back on the board with a decision by Henry Chirino in the heavyweight bout, but Air Force picked up another victory at 125 pounds, as 10th-ranked Josh Martinez (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored a 17-1 technical fall. At 133 pounds, sophomore Dylan Hyder (Yelm, Wash.) tacked on the second fall of the day for the Falcons, pinning his opponent with just two seconds remaining in the first period. Northern Colorado earned another decision in the 141-pound match, while senior captain Cole VonOhlen (Jackson, Minn.) wrapped up the match with a dominant performance at 149 pounds. Ranked third in the nation, VonOhlen racked up a 13-4 advantage less than a minute and a half into his match before scoring a fall, his 14th of the season, with 1:23 on the clock in the first period. "I thought it was a great way to end the regular season," said Air Force head coach Joel Sharratt. "The guys went in and competed with heart and spirit, so we're proud to send our seniors off that way. Clay Gable back in the lineup was nice to see, and Logan Burch having an opportunity to compete there was positive. Cole VonOhlen, who's done everything we've asked of him, finished it in style, going out and scoring all those points in a minute and a half, and finishing with his signature hold." "Now we're gonna get 10 guys ready to send them to the conference tournament," continued Sharratt. "That's kind of what the whole season is about. The practice is over, now the real matches begin." With the regular season complete, the Falcons will now prepare to head to the 2013 NCAA West Regional, being held this year in Laramie, Wyo., on March 9. Results: 157: Mitchell Polkowske (UNC) dec. Logan Burch, 17-11 165: Jesse Stafford (AF) fall Iver Sandoval, 3:57 174: Clay Gable (AF) dec. Jesse Nielsen, 7-2 184: Devin Hightower (AF) tech fall Keith Johnson, 16-1 (6:17) 197: Josh Mohr (AF) maj. dec. Cody McAninch, 12-3 285: Henry Chirino (UNC) dec. Bentley Alsup, 8-4 125: No. 10 Josh Martinez (AF) tech fall Abe Fox, 17-1 (6:54) 133: Dylan Hyder (AF) fall Brandon Gallagher, 2:58 141: Nick Adams (UNC) dec. Carter McElhany, 6-3 149: No. 3 Cole VonOhlen (AF) fall Nick Alspaugh, 1:37

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- With the dual meet tied at 15 heading into the heavyweight contest, the West Virginia University wrestling team was propelled to an 18-15 victory over Clarion by Phil Mandzik. "Everyone needed that victory," said coach Craig Turnbull. "It would have been nice to get a victory at home, but this one felt pretty good. The guys responded this afternoon. There are a lot of different ways to win the match, and we figured out one of them." Mandzik earned his team the victory by defeating his opponent, 5-1. Mandzik scored a takedown in the first, secured the riding time point and notched a takedown in waning seconds of the third to collect the victory. "I haven't been winning as much as I would like to this season, so getting that win was very nice," Mandzik said. "It is a win that will boost team morale, and I think it will make the coaches happy. We have been struggling lately, and we really needed this one." Just as he did the previous evening, senior Shane Young (125) gave the Mountaineers an early lead, as he earned a 3-2 decision win over the Golden Eagles' Tyler Fraley. After a scoreless first period, Fraley earned an escape point in the second, while Young earned an escape in the third period. Young's escape came in the nick of time, as Fraley had accumulated 51 seconds of riding time. Young converted on a takedown attempt with less than 45 seconds remaining to seal the victory. Colin Johnston (133) followed the lead set by Young, as he earned his sixth win of the season against Clarion's Joe Waltko. After a scoreless initial period, Johnston chose bottom and got the escape point to begin the second. Then, Johnston hit on a fireman's carry to extended his lead to 3-0. It would be all that Johnston needed in the win. "Our two wins at 125 and 133 were critical as well," Turnbull said. "Those wins gave us an early advantage that allowed us to manage the match." The Golden Eagles (5-10) slowed the WVU momentum down at 141 pounds, as they got a win from Sam Sherlock. Sherlock defeated Sean Fee, 6-2. Clarion quickly followed its win at 141 pounds with a win by fall at 149 pounds. Tyler Bedelyon worked the Mountaineers' Tre Miller-Scott into a cradle near the end of the first period to earn the fall at the 2:53 mark of the match. Trailing 9-6 heading into the midpoint of the match, WVU's Roman Perryman was faced with the tough task of stepping into the lineup against No. 4 James Fleming. Perryman hung tough, as it was as close as 4-1 late in the third period, but Fleming was a 7-1 victor in the match. The win extended the Golden Eagles lead to 12-6. "Clarion expected to get bonus points at this match," Turnbull said. "Roman is one our better wrestlers from the bottom, and he was able to manage the match well. He frustrated his opponent, and that was critical in us getting the team victory." After the 12-point run by Clarion, Ross Renzi (165) was able to turn the tides in favor of the Mountaineers. Renzi collected his seventh win of the season – his first since Nov. 30 – to close the gap to 12-9. Renzi closed the first period with a 4-2 lead and the second period with a 7-3 lead on his way to an 8-4 win over Nick Milano. WVU evened the match at 12 with three matches remaining, as Bubba Scheffel earned his 10th win of the season and second of the weekend. Scheffel cruised to a 5-3 win over Ryan Darch, in which he led 3-0 at the mid-point of the second period and 5-1 late in the third period. Following Scheffel's win that knotted the match, Lance Bryson (184) gave the Mountaineers a 15-12 lead, with a 3-0 decision victory over Steven Cressley. Bryson converted a shot in the first period and accumulated nearly five minutes of riding time on the way to the win. Looking to extend its lead, WVU turned to Mark Colabucci (197) for the second consecutive evening. However, Clarion's Justin Ortega defeated Colabucci to tie the match at 15 heading to the dual meet's final match. "Each team knew going into heavyweight what was going to happen, and neither wanted to take it there," Turnbull said. "Mark did a great job of working hard in the third period to take the wind out of their sails." WVU (2-10, 0-3 Big 12) is idle next weekend and will return to action on March 8, as it travels to Stillwater, Okla., for the Big 12 Duals. Results: 125: No. 23 Shane Young (WVU) dec. Tyler Fraley (CU), 3-2 133: Colin Johnston (WVU) dec. Joe Waltko (CU), 3-0 141: Sam Sherlock (CU) dec. Sean Fee (WVU), 6-2 149: Tyler Bedelyon (CU) win by fall Tre Miller-Scott (WVU), 2:53 157: No. 4 James Fleming (CU) dec. Roman Perryman (WVU), 7-1 165: Ross Renzi (WVU) dec. Nick Milano (CU), 8-4 174: Bubba Scheffel (WVU) dec. Ryan Darch (CU), 5-3 184: Lance Bryson (WVU) dec. Steven Cressley (CU), 3-0 197: Justin Ortega (CU) dec. Mark Colabucci (WVU), 8-3 HWT: Phil Mandzik (WVU) dec. Phil Catrucco (CU), 5-1