InterMat Staff

St. Cloud, Minn. -- The St. Cloud State University wrestling team (13-6, 4-1 NSIC), which is ranked #9 at the NCAA Division II level, charted a 22-17 victory over visiting St. John’s University (9-8-1), which is ranked #9 at the NCAA Division III level, on Thursday, Feb. 11 in SCSU’s Halenbeck Hall. The match opened with action at 149-pounds, as St. John’s Drew Larson gained a 13-5 major decision over Jacob Horn of SCSU. The Huskies took command of the match with a big pin by John Sundgren of SCSU over SJU’s John Vaith at 1:22 in the match at 157-pounds. The victory gave the Huskies a 6-4 edge in the match. In action at 165-pounds, #6 Matt Baarson of SJU posted an 11-4 decision over Joe Andersen of SCSU to let the Johnnies regain the lead at 7-6. SCSU’s Shamus O’Grady scored a 7-2 win at 174-pounds of SJU’s Dustin Raygor before Mitchell Hagen posted a 6-4 upset win over SCSU’s #3 Derek Skala at 184-pounds. The victory by Raygor gave SJU a brief 10-9 lead in the match. The Huskies’ upper-weight dominance was too much for the Johnnies as #6 Lucas Munkelwitz carded a 19-5 major decision over James Carlson of SJU at 197-pounds. The Huskies stretch the lead to 16-10 with an 11-6 victory at 285-pounds by #6 Jake Kahnke over SJU’s Tony Willaert. The match was then decided on a forfeit, as SCSU’s Trent Herold grabbed the important six points needed for the win with a forfeit victory at 125-pounds. SJU narrowed the gap at 133-pounds with a thrilling 15-14 comeback victory by #6 Mogi Baatar over SCSU’s Shane McQuade. The final match of the night saw SJU’s #2 Minga Batsukh score a 13-3 major decision over SCSU’s Gabe Suarez. The Huskies will continue their 2009-10 season on Sunday, Feb. 13 with a 2 p.m. showdown in Halenbeck Hall against #3 ranked Upper Iowa. This match will mark Senior Day for the Huskies as they salute Husky seniors Ted Saatzer, Jake Roberts and Adam Minnette. Tickets for the match can be purchased at the gate. The match will also mark a battle for first place in the NSIC, as the Peacocks bring a 6-0 NSIC record into the match. SCSU is 4-1 in NSIC action this winter.

TDR packs up the Brute adidas studios once again and heads to the great State of Pennsylvania. 02-12-10 Friday we'll be the guests of the Penn State Wrestling Club. Joining Scott Casber for the broadcast will be former PSU wrestler Chad Dubin. We'll broadcast the meet between Cael Sanderson's Top 10 ranked Nittany Lions of PSU and Coach Tom Minkel and his Spartans of Michigan State. Scheduled to get underway at approx. 6:30 PM Eastern. This broadcast is Audio only and FREE to our national and international audience at http://www.Takedownradio.com. 02-13-10 "America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show", Takedown Wrestling Radio with Scott Casber will broadcast live from State College this Saturday morning from 10 AM to 12 Eastern. The dual meet against Michigan State and the radio program will be broadcast FREE at: http://www.Takedownradio.com. Saturday's morning broadcast will feature several interviews, including Coach Sanderson a review of the previous nights meet and a forecast of the Big 10 Championship. Thank you to the fans of PSU Wrestling at the Penn State Wrestling Club. Wrestling fans- Please note that Episode 44 of TDR TV is now available on all the top web sites and cable systems around the country. TDR every week! It's appointment Radio and TV! Join us at Takedownradio.com. America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show airs on Supertalk 1570 in Michigan, AM 1460 KXNO in Iowa and on a radio station near you or on line at many of our broadcast partners around the world including Livesportsvideo.com. TDR "the Radio Program" airs 9 AM to 11 AM CST every Saturday morning we look forward to having you listen. Thanks for tuning in!

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Demetrius Johnson, a wrestler at Chattanooga, has been honored as the Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week for February 10. The sophomore from Memphis, Tenn., is majoring in criminal justice and has a 3.42 GPA. He finished the fall semester with a 4.0 GPA and earned Dean's List honors. Johnson recorded a win in each of Chattanooga's two victories during the weekend. In the 30-9 win against Appalachian State, Johnson pinned his opponent at the 4:53 mark to give the Mocs a 12-0 lead after three matches. With the victory, Chattanooga clinched at least a tie of the Southern Conference championship, the team's sixth straight. Against Northern Iowa, Johnson posted a 3-1 overtime win, which ended a two-match slide for UTC and pulled the Mocs within three points of the Panthers. Chattanooga went on to win 16-15. Johnson is 17-8 this season and a perfect 4-0 in league action. Other nominees included Davidson wrestler Alex Radsky, UNC Greensboro men's track & field runner Joey Thompson and Western Carolina women's basketball player Kristen Feemster.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Heavyweight Eloheim Palma defeated Peter Sturgeon 8-2 in the final bout of the night to lift NC State to a 19-14 Wednesday night at Reynolds Coliseum. The victory lifted the Wolfpack to 6-11 on the season and snapped a four-match losing streak. NC State won five of the nine bouts, with one match being a double forfeit. The loss dropped the Spartans to 5-7. Neither team had a wrestler available at 125 pounds, so the match started at 133, and freshman Dale Shull got the Wolfpack off to a fast startby pinning Casey Boyle. Shull worked Boyle for a takedown 18 seconds into the match and methodically worked him to his back, getting the pin at the 0:47 mark. The pin gave the Wolfpack a 6-0 lead in the team scoring, but Ivan Lopouchanski got half of those back with a 4-1 decision over Scott Norris. Lopouchanski got an escape to start the second period and then took Norris down, ending ther period with a 3-1 lead. A point for riding time provided the final point. The most entertaining match of the night was at 149. Greyson Mills, wrestling as an emergency starter for NC State in place of the injured Bobby Mills, came away with a 12-10 victory over Alejandro Soto-Perez in a match filled with sudden momentum shifts. Mills opened the match with a quick takedown, but Soto-Perez escaped and then got a takedown midway through the period, which ended in a 3-3 tie after a Mills escape. Mills opened the second period in the down position and escaped, but not before Soto-Perez had a minute of riding time. Soto-Perez carried a 5-4 lead into the third period thanks to a takedown late in the second, and Soto-Perez picked up three quick points to start the third with a 9-5 lead. With time tiocking away, Mills struck for a takedown and a three-point near fall late in the period to take a 10-9 lead. The minute of riding time Soto-Perez picked up in the second period made it a 10-10 tie at the end of regulation. Mills got a takedown to win the match 15 seconds into sudden victory. That gave the Wolfpack a 9-3 lead in the team scoring. NC State made it 13-3 with Brett Farina’s 15-7 major decision over Travis Sheehy. Farina actually trailed 6-2 late in the first period before a late reversal made it 6-4. With Sheehy battling cramps in his left calf, Farina rode him the entire second period and threw in a three-point near fall to take a 7-6 lead. Farina started the third period down, escaped and then got two points when stalling was called on Sheehy. Sheehy got a point back for an illegal hold by Farina, but Farina put the match away with another three-point near fall and a point for riding time. Ray Ward extended NC State’s lead to 16-3 with a 7-5 decision over Victor Hojilla at 165. Ward had a pair of takedowns and a reversal in the decision. Byron Sigmon got UNCG back on the scoreboard with a 5-3 decision over Quinton Godley at 174. Sigmon rode Godley for most of the second period and started the third with a reversal after opening in the down position. The cut the NC State lead to 16-6. Andrew Saunders made it two matches in a row for the Spartans and got them right back into the match with a 20-4 technical fall over Colin Genthert at 184. Genthert, who weighed in at 174, gave up 10 pounds to Sauders and it showed. Saunders took a 6-2 lead after on period on three takedowns, then blew the match open in the second period with a reversal, a takedown and a pair of near falls. Leading 15-3 after two periods, Saunders got a takedown and a near fall early in the third period to end the bout with NC State leading 16-11. Ryan Sughrue made it a one-bout match with one bout remaining when he handed Christian McClean a 9-3 defeat at 197. Sughrue built a 5-0 lead through two periods with more than three minutes of riding time, then overcame a McClean takedown to pick up the decision. Palma dominated the heavyweight bout from the start. He took Sturgeon down in the first 30 seconds and rode him out the rest of the first period. Palma then started the second period down, escaped and got another takedown, this time riding Sturgeon until late in the period to take a 5-1 lead into the final period. Palma’s third takedown of the match plus a point for riding time made the final score 8-2. NC State will return to action on Saturday with a home doubleheader against Virginia Tech and Virginia at Reynolds Coliseum. The VPI match will start at 11 a.m., with the Virginia match following at 1 p.m. Results: 125 - no match 133 - Dale Shull (NCS) pinned Casey Boyle, at 0:47 141 - Ivan Lopouchanski (UNCG) dec. Scott Norris, 4-1 149 - Greyson Mills (NCS) dec. Alejandro Soto-Perez, 12-10 sv 157 - Brett Farina (NCS) major dec. Travis Sheehy, 15-7 165 - Ray Ward (NCS) dec. Victor Hojilla, 7-5 174 - Byron Sigmon (UNCG) dec. Quinton Godley, 5-3 184 - Andrew Saunders (UNCG) tech fall Colin Genthert, 20-4 197 - Ryan Sughrue (UNCG) dec. Christian McClean, 9-3 Hwt - Eloheim Palma (NCS) dec. Peter Sturgeon, 8-2

The 18th-ranked Pitt wrestling team claimed their school-record 15th dual win of the season Tuesday night with a 19-15 win on the road at West Virginia to improve to 15-1-1 on the year. The 2009-10 Pitt squad surpassed its 1994-95 team, which tallied a 14-9 record. The Panthers tied the record last week against Millersville with a 53-0 win and now sit at 15-1-1 overall and 4-0 in EWL action. Pitt and Eastern Wrestling League rival West Virginia split the 10 bouts, but the Panthers came up with two bonus-point wins to take the four-point victory. Sophomore Tyler Nauman (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) pinned Ryan Romano at 141 in 2:30. At 184 Zac Thomusseit (St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham) earned a 10-2 major decision over Robert DeSano. Also earning wins on the night were Anthony Zanetta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) with a 5-4 decision over Shane Young at 125; Donnie Tasser (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) defeated Kyle Easton 4-2 at 157 and David Sullivan (Dingmans Ferry, Pa./Delaware Valley) earned a decision over Matt Weston, 2-1 at 174. Pitt returns to action Thursday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. as the Panthers host Clarion at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers have just two regular season matches remaining this season, including Thursday against Clarion and Feb. 19 against Edinboro at home. Results: 125: #19 Anthony Zanetta (PITT) dec. Shane Young (WVU), 5-4 133: #18 Colin Johnston (WVU) dec. Jimmy Conroy (PITT), 5-3 141: #18 Tyler Nauman (PITT) pinned Ryan Romano (WVU), 2:30 149: Mike Rowe (WVU) dec. Eric Albright (PITT), 4-3 157: Donnie Tasser (PITT) dec. Kyle Eason (WVU), 4-2 165: Donnie Jones (WVU) dec. Adam Counterman (PITT), 10-3 174: David Sullivan (PITT) dec. Matt Weston (WVU), 2-1 184: Zac Thomusseit (PITT) major dec. Rob DeSano (WVU), 10-2 197: Kyle Rooney (WVU) dec. #19 Matt Wilps (PITT), 5-2 HWT: Brandon Williamson (WVU) dec. #6 Ryan Tomei (PITT), 2-1

It sounds like something out of a movie: self-described "corn-fed white guy" from a small town in Washington State becomes wrestling coach in an inner-city high school with a 98% Hispanic population outside Los Angeles. He has to deal with challenges such as wrestlers who don't show up for practice, blow off dual meets and tournaments to visit family or for similarly lame reasons, and put up with parents who don't see the value in their kids being involved in any extra-curricular activity, let alone wrestling. All in a community that was grappling with poverty, drugs, gang activity, undocumented workers, and other societal challenges. This story is not from movie ... but it is the real-life experience of Scott Glabb, head wrestling coach at Santa Ana High School in California. Coach Glabb tells his story in the brand-new book, A Saint in the City: Coaching At-Risk Kids To Be Champions, published by Tate Publishing. Taking on a program that was in a predicament When Glabb came to Santa Ana in 1990, he inherited a program that was flat on its back. Here's the opening paragraph of A Saint in the City: Scott GlabbSeventy-two to zero. That was not a score. It was a massacre. Christians fed to lions, Reagan over Mondale, Custer at Little Big Horn. It seemed like more than mere cross-town wrestling rivals facing off in a hot Orange County, California gym. As I sat on the bench, watching the slaughter through the cracks of my fingers, I knew I had a long, difficult road ahead. The humiliation that ran through my body, coupled with embarrassment, told me that the coaching gig at Santa Ana High School would prove much more challenging than I expected. After the match, a lone fan from the crowd consoled me, "You can always look at the bright side; you could have lost seventy-eight to zero." That is the highest possible margin of defeat in a dual meet in high school with thirteen weight classes. That was just one loss in Glabb's first season at Santa Ana in 1990. That year, his team compiled an 11-16 record. Then Scott Glabb had an epiphany. "God spoke to me," said the long-time wrestling coach. "He said, 'You are never going to win.'" I gave up on the idea of winning, and instead, decided to invest in the kids, helping them in character building, developing their spiritual side, making them better individuals. I threw my life into these kids." "I had found my calling." Scott Glabb's investment in his wrestlers paid off. By his third season at Santa Ana, the Saints wrestling team won the league title ... and, in the 20 seasons since arriving at the school, Glabb has coached state and national champions. One coach's journey ... Just to be clear, A Saint in the City is not a how-to manual to guide coaches on how to turn around a struggling program. At least not in the technical sense of providing pointers on running a practice, or what workout techniques work best to turn out champions. Instead, it is the story of the individual journeys of a young coach who had been battling depression ... and wrestlers who overcame various challenges of their own to find redemption in wrestling, and for their lives beyond the mat. Scott Glabb discovered wrestling in seventh grade in Vancouver, Washington, thanks to neighbor kids who had gone out for the sport. His first year, he won one match -- "and that was in the practice room," according to the Santa Ana coach. "I loved wrestling, and really needed it," Glabb continued. "My parents were going through a divorce, and I was dealing with self-esteem issues." Glabb won a league championship in high school, and took up freestyle wrestling, too. He went to Pacific University, where he wrestled a couple years. "I got pounded on. I wrestled only in a few tournaments." "My coach said, 'You've got a good heart, but no talent.'" Glabb transferred to Eastern Washington University, where he continued to wrestle, and did some coaching. He earned a bachelor's degree and a master's, and his Washington State teaching certificate. He was drawn to southern California to be closer to his girlfriend at the time, and, once settled, became head wrestling coach at Marina High School in upscale Huntington Beach. However, dealing with his own depression and lack of experience as a high school coach -- and frustration in dealing with some athletes who did not share his commitment to the sport -- Glabb resigned, and, in the fall of 1990, took the head coaching job at Santa Ana, a school that was 180 degrees different than Marina. "It's a real blessing to have had the wrestling career I had, to prepare me to be the coach I was to become." Here's how the 47-year-old Glabb described himself -- and his situation at Santa Ana High -- in A Saint in the City: I came from the old-school command style approach of coaching: I call the shots, you do what I say, and don't question me. I always stressed dedication, discipline, commitment, and hard work for success as an athlete. These words were light years away from my team's vocabulary." I finally concluded that they did not wrestle for the same reasons I did ... As I worked with them over the months, the wrestling room became a haven. A place that attracted the lost and lonely on campus, the talentless and clumsy, as well as the corrupt, the angry, and the misguided. In fact, wrestling their opponents was effortless compared to the real matches they faced off the mat ... ... and a journey for his wrestlers The prime focus of A Saint in the City isn't on Coach Glabb, but on the wrestlers at Santa Ana High School. Left to Right: Jose Leon, Alex Becerra, Fernado "Rat" Serratos, Scott Glabb, Roger Santiago, (Kneeling) Miguel Valencia, Froilan Gonzales and Alfonso "Bubba" Perez, (Back) Alex PerezAt the beginning of the book, Glabb describes Santa Ana High as being a beautiful old building, constructed in the late 1800s, "cleaner than most suburban high schools." Then he paints an overall picture of the neighborhood as it was in the 1990s, an area where drug deals and random gang violence were such an integral part of the landscape, some parents would not permit their sons to walk home after wrestling practice. Most of the book is devoted to individual profiles of some of the most notable wrestlers ever to wear a Saints singlet. Some are notable for their considerable on-the-mat accomplishments, while, for others, the glory has come since, in their lives after high school. Glabb tells the story of each wrestler as he remembers him on his team, then concludes each profile with a concise "Reflections" write-up that gives the reader an idea of what that individual ultimately meant to the coach -- how that wrestler touched Glabb's life beyond wrestling. If the book can be boiled down to an overarching theme, it would be one of overcoming considerable odds to achieve great things in wrestling -- and beyond. Most of Scott Glabb's wrestlers had never seen a wrestling mat until coming into Santa Ana High's wrestling room. Most of their parents had no experience as athletes themselves, so they were not necessarily the most supportive in terms of their sons' wrestling careers. (In the book and in the interview for this article, Glabb provided examples of parents' indifference, such as taking their kids out of wrestling events to visit family ... or not bothering to attend state tournaments, even when provisions for their travel were offered.) Here's an excerpt from the book that sums up coach Glabb's attitude toward his wrestlers: My hope as a coach and educator is to see more people in my profession drawn to work in inner-city, urban schools. So many of us have a fairytale picture of working in the best schools and coaching the best teams. We think of how much it would do for our self-esteem if we have successful students and athletes. I have taught and coached high schools from one end of the socio-economic conditions to the other and I can honestly say I have gotten more satisfaction and pride from teaching and coaching those students who were challenged and at a disadvantage than I did from working with those who had it all. To see miraculous metamorphosis of individual from the time they entered the ninth grade to the day they graduate and to know I was a part of that change is the most gratifying and remarkable feeling one can have. The spirit to coach Scott Glabb is a man of faith. Not just in terms of having faith in his wrestlers' ultimate success ... but in terms of having a personal relationship with God. Glabb became a born-again Christian at age 13. That was about the time his parents were going through a divorce. Santa Ana wrestlers on summer trip to Washington State in 1995"I was going to a Catholic church, but really going through the motions," Glabb disclosed in the interview for this article. "My sister was going to a little church across the street. I really liked the pastor, and came to join that church." "It was there that I found the Lord, and truly became serious about my faith." "I am still close to that pastor, and, in fact, he married my wife and I." "Kids at Santa Ana, a lot of them were lost. I took some of them to church, or introduced them to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes." When asked if there were any concerns expressed by parents or school administrators about bringing faith into a public high school wrestling program, Glabb immediately answered, "We had a shooting in the crosswalk in front of the school, gangs on campus." Then he added, "I was doing these activities after class, and after practice. It was all strictly voluntary, no pressure to participate ..." "No one said a thing to me ... Most parents came from a Catholic background, so they did not have an issue with what we were doing." How the book came together A Saint in the City has been a decade in the making. "I started writing in 1999," Scott Glabb disclosed. "At the time, our team doctor liked what we were doing, and encouraged me to write a book, to share our story with others." "You second-guess yourself, wondering, 'Would anybody want to read this?'" But that questioning didn't stop the Saints coach. "I did interviews, looked back at newspaper coverage." "I worked with a ghostwriter (John Scott Lewinski) who typed the manuscript, and provided some direction as to how to organize it." "I had a publishing deal but waited 4-5 years while a movie deal was in the works," continued Glabb, reinforcing the notion that his story as coach at Santa Ana High School sounded like something out of a Hollywood film. "However, that hasn't come through, so we went ahead with our original publisher." Asked if there were any issues that have sprung from the book being published, Glabb responded, "I haven't received any negative feedback about it. I thought there might be some, especially since Santa Ana has changed a lot since I arrived in the early 1990s." "Santa Ana wrestling has developed a reputation for tough wrestlers. I wanted to tell their stories, let people know what these kids went through ... There aren't a lot of wrestling programs in inner-city schools." Winners by any measure Even if the real-life story of a small-town coach transforming the wrestling program at an inner-city high school has yet to be made into a movie, the results seem to be straight out of a feel-good summer blockbuster. In 1993, the Saints won their first league titleAt the direction of coach Scott Glabb, the Santa Ana High School wrestling program has come a long way in the past two decades since that 11-16 season in 1990. In 1993, the Saints won their first league championship, followed by sixteen more league titles in a row. Glabb's teams have also won eleven CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) titles, with 23 individual CIF champs, 48 state qualifiers, and 15 state placers. He can also claim two national championship wrestlers: Tony Perez in 1998, and Jose Leon in 1999. Overall, the Saints have compiled a 312-56 record under Glabb. Perhaps more significantly is the difference the program has made in the lives of so many individuals and their families. Before stepping into the wrestling room, many of the athletes profiled in A Saint in the City appeared to be headed in the wrong direction ... yet redirected themselves into productive careers with rewarding family lives. For more information on Scott Glabb and the Santa Ana Saints wrestling program -- and to purchase a copy of A Saint in the City: Coaching At-Risk Kids To Be Champions -- visit the Web site http://www.sawrestling.com

NORFOLK, Va. -- Redshirt freshman Brennan Brumley stepped into the starting lineup and picked up a win over a ranked opponent at 149-pounds to lead the No. 25 Old Dominion wrestling Monarchs past N.C. State, 34-9, Tuesday evening at the Constant Center. Old Dominion won eight of the 10 matches to improve to 9-4-1 overall and 5-1 at home this season. Brumley picked up the biggest win of his young career, topping No. 20 Bobby Ward, 4-2 at 149-pounds. Senior Jesse Strawn and sophomore Joe Budi highlighted ODU’s other wins with technical fall victories. N.C. State forfeited the opening match which allowed No. 7 James Nicholson to have the night off at 125-pounds. The Wolfpack quickly tied the score though as Dale Shull dropped from 141-pounds to wrestle his first match of the year at 133. Shull was able to pin ODU freshman Justin LaValle to tie the team scoring at six. The Monarchs then went on to win the next seven matches to go up 34-6. Freshmen Craig Wilson and Joey Sheridan each cruised to major decisions, while senior Eric Decker won a hard-fought 5-3 decision over N.C. State’s Quinton Godley at 174-pounds. No. 13 Chris Brown nearly had a fall in the third round at 165-pounds, but the senior had to settle for the 13-3 major decision. N.C. State falls to 5-11 overall and lone winner Dale Shull improves to 15-11 on the year. Old Dominion will compete in its final home match on Monday, Feb. 15 against American at 7 p.m. before traveling to Virginia Tech on Feb. 18 to wrap up the regular season. Results: 125: #7 James Nicholson (ODU) wins by forfeit. 133: Dale Shull (NC State) fall over Justin LaValle (ODU), 1:00 141: Craig Wilson (ODU) wins by major decision over Scott Norris (NC State), 15-6 149: Brennan Brumley (ODU) wins by decision over #20 Bobby Ward (NC State), 4-2 157: Joey Sheridan (ODU) wins by major decision over Brett Farina (NC State), 16-3 165: #13 Chris Brown (ODU) wins by major decision over Ray Ward (NC State), 13-3 174: Eric Decker (ODU) wins by decision over Quinton Godley (NC State), 5-3 184: Joe Budi (ODU) wins by tech fall (6:37) over Cedric Moore (NC State), 16-0 197: No. 14 Jesse Strawn (ODU) wins by tech fall (5:28) over Christian McClean (NC State), 16-0 HWT: Eloheim Palma (NC State) wins by decision over Grant Chapman (ODU), 5-1

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Virginia Tech 141-pound junior Chris Diaz has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week after posting a wild, last-second win in a battle between nationally ranked opponents during the 15th-ranked Hokies match at eighth-ranked Lehigh. The 10th-ranked Diaz picked up a takedown with one second left in the match to capture a 4-3 win over 17th-ranked Seth Ciasulli. Ciasulli got a first-period takedown and a stall warning point against Diaz to take a 3-2 lead. But Diaz kept fighting and was awarded the two points at the buzzer much to dismay of the Lehigh faithful, beginning a run of three straight weight-class wins by the Hokies. Diaz, a native of Camden, Del., improved to 25-3 on the season and 18-1 in dual matches. With much of last week’s schedule canceled or postponed due to winter storms, ACC teams are hopeful of getting back into full action this week. NC State kicks off a busy five days tonight, when the Wolfpack travels to 25th-ranked Old Dominion for a match that was originally scheduled for last Sunday. The Wolfpack returns home to face UNC Greensboro on Wednesday night, then plays host to 24th-ranked Virginia and now 14th-ranked Virginia Tech on Saturday. For Virginia and Virginia Tech, Saturday’s matches will conclude a two-day ACC swing. Those teams will wrestle at Duke on Friday in another conference twin bill. Duke then hits the road on Sunday for a match at The Citadel. Maryland will be at home this weekend for a pair of non-conference matches vs. American (Friday) and Hofstra (Sunday). Meanwhile, North Carolina has a non-conference road trip scheduled. The Tar Heels will visit 21st-ranked Edinboro on Friday night and remain in the state of Pennsylvania for a Sunday doubleheader against host Clarion and Cleveland State.

Ernest Middleton of United Sport and Athlete and Jeff Byers, voice of Penn State wrestling, will go "On the Mat" this Wednesday, February 3. "On the Mat" is a presentation of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:05 - 6:00 p.m. CST on AM 1650, The Fan. E-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show. Middleton is the director at United Sport and Athlete, a training facility in Waterloo that includes an extensive wrestling, martials arts and weightlifting programs. Middleton was a state champion for West Waterloo in 1992. Byers, the long-time voice of Penn State wrestling, has been broadcasting meets since 1990. In 2006 he was named broadcaster of the year by the National Wrestling Media Association.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- After toppling the reigning NCAA champion last Sunday, Oklahoma State heavyweight Jared Rosholt was recognized as the Big 12 wrestler of the week, the conference office announced today. It is the first such honor of the season for Rosholt and marks the second time in his career that he has secured the recognition. The honor marks the fourth time this season that a Cowboy has been singled out as Big 12 wrestler of the week. Freshman 165-pounder Alex Meade is a two-time honoree, with junior 184-pounder Clayton Foster taking home the accolade last week. Highlighting Rosholt's effort last week was a 3-2 win over reigning NCAA champion Mark Ellis as part of the Cowboys' 24-9 win at Missouri on Sunday. The win improved Rosholt's career mark over Ellis to 6-2 and marked Rosholt's 24th consecutive win this season. After a scoreless first period, Rosholt was in the down position to start the second period. He escaped, then bagged a takedown to go up, 3-0. Ellis escaped on the edge of the mat with five ticks left in the period to bring the score to 3-1. Ellis took the down position to start the third and escaped before Rosholt could mount over one minute of riding time. From that point on, Ellis was on the attack but didn't generate any serious threat to the victorious Cowboy. Earlier in the week, Rosholt was a 10-2 major decision winner over Northern Iowa's Christian Brantley. After a scoreless first period, Rosholt scored a takedown and escape in the second period before adding three more takedowns in the third period to add bonus points for his team. The No. 1-ranked heavyweight in the nation, Rosholt has won his last six bouts against ranked opponents, including four straight over opponents ranked in the top 10. He has added bonus points in seven of his last 11 wins overall. Rosholt and the Cowboys host Nebraska at 7 p.m. on Feb. 12. A win in that dual would be the 118th of Rosholt's career and would tie him for 14th on Oklahoma State's all-time list with Chris Pendleton and Ricky Stewart.

Joe Warren

Sammie Henson

Scott Goodale

John Dergo

Christian Bailey

Heath Grimm

Tyler Mumbulo

Mitch Norton

The debate up top Although InterMat does not conduct national high school team rankings, it cannot be oblivious to the debate that has occurred on multiple wrestling message boards across the nation and in the localities from which the teams preside over the last 15-20 days. Ever since Blair Academy, NJ narrowly escaped with a 33-30 victory against No. 9 Collins Hill, GA on the afternoon of January 23 -- with Graham, OH having traveled to St. Edward, OH later that evening and laying a 39-21 defeat on the hands of the host Eagles -- many wondered if the defending national champion Buccaneers were truly the nation's best. With seven wrestlers included in the most recent national weight class rankings, all of whom are inside the top 10, Blair's status as a dominant tournament team is obvious. Tournament victories in the nation's two toughest tournaments -- Walsh Ironman and Beast of the East -- bear that out. However, as the dual meet against Collins Hill crystallized, there are some liabilities within the other half of the lineup that tournament wrestling has a way of massaging. The next weekend, Blair was scheduled to travel to Graham for a dual meet. When examining the matchups involved in that dual meet, InterMat came to the conclusion that the teams would split the 14 dual meets at seven apiece. Bear in mind that of the five nationally-ranked wrestlers on the Graham roster, only three of them wrestled in the Walsh Ironman when the Falcons came in second place approximately forty points behind Blair; Bo Jordan (130) and Felipe Martinez (140) being out of the lineup. Admittedly Blair was without the services of Austin Ormsbee (135). That dual meet saw its course with the host Graham taking home nine of 14 matches for a second consecutive week against a nationally elite team, the final score being 36-20. A big point of contention in that meet was that with a lineup hole at 145, Blair chose to cover that hole by bumping up everyone from 112 to 140. The Bucs hoped to capitalize on the created tossup match at 112 -- they were unable to do so -- and get victories at 140 and 145 from Ormsbee and Chris Villalonga, of which they only got victory from Villalonga. In terms of how the teams look at tournament-style lineups, there was only one outcome on the net that deviated from expectation, a 7-3 upset victory by Ryan Taylor of Graham against Max Hvolbeck at 103 pounds. Read InterMat recap. However, lost in the shuffle of this Blair vs. Graham debate is a very talented squad from Apple Valley, MN which has been more or less dominant in its competition this season. The Eagles have six wrestlers ranked by InterMat -- though beyond the sensational Destin McCauley (152), all are ranked in the lower half of the rankings. These are their key tournament results season to date: champions of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament -- the toughest tournament involving primarily in-state teams -- with five finalists (four champions), with only 12th ranked Simley, MN coming remotely close; outlasting fourth-ranked Brandon, FL to win the Cheesehead -- while also distancing themselves somewhat significantly from a field that included three additional top 15 teams in the nation; champions of The Clash National Duals with victories over three top 15 ranked teams in the country -- only Simley, MN coming relatively close losing by a 32-20 score. This past weekend was supposed to provide some clarity into the rankings debate at the top. Chapter 1 of that designed clarity was when No. 8 Wadsworth, OH -- a team that beat St. Edward in dual meet competition earlier this year -- was slated to travel to Graham for a battle of top 10 teams in the nation. However, the weather across the Buckeye State on Friday was not particularly good, and that match got canceled. Then on Saturday, two other top 10 teams -- No. 10 St. Edward and No. 5 Wyoming Seminary, PA -- traveled to Blair Academy as part of a quadrangular. Though a prediction of record was not made in the notebook column last week, it was my belief that both St. Edward and Wyoming Seminary could split the 14 matches with Blair in a dual meet. This is despite the Eagles and Blue Knights having to combine squads to equal the number of ranked wrestlers that Blair has in its lineup -- St. Edward having four, and Wyoming Seminary with three. At the end of the afternoon, that is exactly what happened -- the two dual meets ended up split at seven apiece, with Blair narrowly escaping with a pair of two point victories. The final scores were Blair Academy 31-29 over Wyoming Seminary, and 30-28 over St. Edward. Read InterMat recap. Looking forward, Blair is now focused on its Prep State Tournament and then the National Prep Championships, which will be held at Lehigh University the last weekend of February. Also in those championships are Wyoming Seminary, Bishop Lynch, TX, along with some other notable squads. Graham will compete in its league championships this coming weekend, and then close its year with the three-weekend state tournament series. Being in Division II, the state title is more or less a lock -- the only question being if the Falcons can match and/or exceed their record performances from last year; seven state titles and 282 points. Apple Valley will host Simley this coming Friday night, a matchup of the defending Class AAA and Class AA state champions. Then, will come their run through the state tournament series in both the individual and dual meet competitions; one that should be rather unchallenged. Three crowned dual meet champions in Volunteer State This past weekend, three schools -- two in the public school division and one in the private school grouping -- stood atop the State Dual Meet Wrestling Tournament held at the Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin, TN. Bradley Central won the Class AAA title in Division I (public schools) with a 33-28 victory over Cleveland in the final. Prior to that match -- they had victories of 41-30 over Science Hill, 45-15 over Ravenwood, and 51-20 over Cordova. Hixson won the Class AA-A title with a 41-36 win over East Literature. However, they had a narrow first round escape, 36-33, against Greenback before a more comfortable 40-20 victory in the semifinal against Chattanooga Central. The Division II (private school) tournament bracket was hotly contested between the top four teams, after each dominated their first round opponent. In the semifinal round, Father Ryan defeated McCallie, 34-33, and Christian Brothers defeated The Baylor School, 29-28. Baylor defeated McCallie, 41-23, in the third place match. The championship match was similarly narrow in margin, with Father Ryan upending Christian Brothers, 28-24. Weather makes mess of PA dual meet district tournaments The same weather front the wiped out the Wadsworth at Graham matchup on Friday night messed up many of the district dual meet tournaments this past weekend in the Keystone State. In Class AAA (big-school), four tournament champions will advance to the quarterfinal round on Friday afternoon in Hershey. No. 6 Central Dauphin -- District 3 champions -- and Easton -- District 11 champions -- appear in the top half of the draw; while the District 1 champion Boyertown, along with the winner of this afternoon's District 7 championship match between Kiski Area and Canon-McMillan populate the bottom half. Central Dauphin should have no problems in setting up its anticipated clash with No. 7 Central Mountain in the semifinal round. The Rams will most likely face the 7 runner-up in the quarterfinal round. This presumes that said team wins their preliminary matchup tomorrow, and then defeats (most likely) Council Rock North in the opening round Friday morning. On the other hand, the Wildcats still have to win the District 6 championship this evening, and then most likely face Council Rock South in an opening round dual meet Friday morning. After that, it will be a clash with District 11 champions Easton. The Red Rovers are wondering why such a great tournament gets them rewarded with that draw. They survived a very tough matchup with Bethlehem Liberty, winning 29-25 in the quarterfinal Sunday afternoon prior to sweeping matches on Monday night. With District 11 only taking the top two to state, the semifinal match with rival Nazareth was "winner moves on, loser stays home." With a victory from Joey Rizzolino in the last match, Easton defeated No. 26 Nazareth, 31-29. The championship final saw Easton upset No. 27 Parkland by a 28-21 score. The third quarter of the Class AAA draw looks to be the most unpredictable. After losing 33-27 in the semifinal round to Kiski Area, No. 38 Connellsville defeated Penn Trafford, 36-20, to take third place in District 7. Should they defeat Clearfield tonight, and Parkland do the same against Cedar Cliff, then it will be two nationally-ranked teams wrestling in Friday morning's preliminary round. The winner of which would advance to the quarterfinal to take on District 1 champion Boyertown. The bottom quarter of the draw will most likely see the champion of this afternoon's District 7 final advancing to the semifinals. Likewise, four teams will also advance to the Class AA (small-school) quarterfinals in Hershey on Friday afternoon through district competition this weekend. The winner of the District 7 title match this afternoon between Burrell and Shady Side Academy will join District 10 champion Reynolds in the top half of the draw, while Benton and Schuylkill Valley -- District 4 and 3 champions respectively -- advance to the quarterfinal round in the bottom half. Analysis of the bracket, seems to show that the District 7 champion and Reynolds have pretty favorable quarterfinal matchups and should see each other in a very intriguing semifinal matchup. On the other hand, life will be tougher for Benton and Schuylkill Valley in their opening match of the tournament during the quarterfinal round. It is likely that Benton will have to face the District 7 runner-up, while Schuylkill Valley draws Bedford. The week ahead … *Apple Valley, MN hosts Simley, MN in a battle of state champions as part of Cancer Awareness Night on Friday 2-12-10. The dual meet starts at 7:30 p.m. CST and will be broadcast live on the Minnesota Sports Broadcast Network. *The dual meet state championships for the Keystone State will be held in Hershey, PA this Friday and Saturday in both Class AAA and AA. Preliminary play-in dual meets were scheduled for Tuesday evening, though weather issues over the weekend may back some of those later into the week. *The Garden State will be holding its state championships in four public and two non-public groups. New Jersey conducts its individual state tournament as a single-class event that is un-scored. Teams qualified for the brackets based on power points accrued during the course of the season. Twenty-four teams qualified in the public groups, and 12 in the non-public groups. Quarterfinal matches were held last night, semifinals will be held tomorrow (Wednesday), and finals on Friday in each of the sections. The public group semifinals and finals, along with the non-public group finals, will be held this coming Sunday (2-13) at the Ritacco Center in Toms River, NJ. *Other state dual meet championships in Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. Individual state tournaments will be held in Alabama, Arizona (Class 1A/2A, 3A, 4A-I, and 4A-II), Montana, and Utah. Individual rankings are from InterMat, while team rankings are courtesy of Amateur Wrestling News (1-25-10 update).

TEMPE, Ariz. -- It was a big win. For Iowa State head wrestling coach Kevin Jackson, it was the 11th victory of his coaching career, but for the vaunted Cyclone wrestling program, it was a more tremendous milestone. No. 2-ranked ISU posted the 1,000th dual win in program history Sunday afternoon in Wells Fargo Arena, beating Arizona State, 30-10. Iowa State turned up the heat on the Sun Devils, winning seven of the nine contested matches to become the first collegiate program to reach 1,000 wins. Jackson recognized the magnitude of his team’s win, but stressed to importance of further improvement from the Cyclone grapplers. “We’re happy with the victory,” Jackson said. “We’re glad this group of guys was able to accomplish that for our university and for all Cyclones out there. “I don’t believe we wrestled to our full ability today. Overall, we’ll take the win, but we have to improve. We have to wrestle the way we want to wrestle at the Big 12 Championship and the NCAA tournament. That will be our focus over the next few weeks.” Four Cyclone win results added bonus points towards the team’s effort, with 157-pounder Andrew Sorenson scoring the biggest victory. The sophomore Iowa Stater pinned ASU’s Michael Swigart in the first period at the 1:53 mark. Sorenson drove the Sun Devil straight to his back after finishing a double-leg takedown. Top-ranked Cyclone Jake Varner also earned six team points after being forfeited to at 197 pounds. The two teammates hold season records of 22-6 and 22-0, respectively. ISU 165-pound junior Jon Reader recorded his fifth technical fall of the season against Arizona State’s Kyle DeBerry. Reader powered his way to a 13-0 lead to finish the first period. Starting in neutral, the two-time All-American ended the match with a takedown at the 3:23 mark. Reader improves to 19-3 and 11-2 in dual matches. Senior 133-pounder Nick Fanthorpe scored bonus points for Iowa State with a 12-3 major decision of ASU’s Ben Ashmore. Fanthorpe (13-6) nears the 100-win plateau with a 95-29 overall record for his career. Cyclones Mitch Mueller (149), Duke Burk (174) and David Zabriskie (HWT) notched victories by decision in their matchups against Arizona State. Mueller edged Sun Devil Vicente Varela by a score of 3-2. Burk was victorious over ASU’s Eric Starks, 7-2. Zabriskie concluded the dual meet with a 4-1 win over Erik Nye of Arizona State. The ISU-ASU dual began with fireworks at 125 pounds with a matchup of top-five individuals. Fifth-ranked Cyclone Andrew Long was unable to finish off an upset of No. 3 Anthony Robles of ASU after leading 10-2 in the second period. The Sun Devil went on a run of 10 points to close the match against the redshirt freshman Cyclone, 12-10. The Cyclones return home to Hilton Coliseum Feb. 14 to dual Big 12 foe Missouri. Mat competition begins at 2 p.m. Results: 125 pounds – No. 3 Anthony Robles (ASU) dec. No. 5 Andrew Long (ISU), 12-10 133 pounds – No. 10 Nick Fanthorpe (ISU) major dec. Ben Ashmore (ASU), 12-3 141 pounds – No. 18 Chris Drouin (ASU) major dec. No. 13 Dalton Jensen (ISU), 10-1 149 pounds – No. 10 Mitch Mueller (ISU) dec. Vicente Varela (ASU), 3-2 157 pounds – Andrew Sorenson (ISU) pinned Michael Swigart (ASU), 1:53 165 pounds – No. 2 Jon Reader (ISU) tech. fall Kyle DeBerry (ASU), 15-0 (3:23) 174 pounds – Duke Burk (ISU) dec. Eric Starks (ASU), 7-2 184 pounds – Jake Meredith (ASU) dec. No. 10 Jerome Ward (ISU), 3-2 197 pounds – No. 1 Jake Varner (ISU) won by forfeit HWT – No. 4 David Zabriskie (ISU) dec. No. 14 Erik Nye (ASU), 4-1

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- No. 21 Illinois and No. 13 Wisconsin split the 10 bouts, but the Fighting Illini scored one more bonus point to upset the Badgers by a 19-18 score in front of 518 fans at Huff Hall Sunday. The win continues Illinois’ recent dominance of the Badgers, improving the Illini’s record to 11-0-1 in their last 12 duals against Wisconsin. Clint Arlis started the day with a technical fall at 157 and No. 14 Ryan Prater thrilled the crowd with a 15-1 major decision to provide the deciding team points. Illinois improves to 8-6 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten. “We wrestled hard, did some good things and made some adjustments from Friday night,” Illinois coach Jim Heffernan said. “We needed bonus points at a few weights and it was important to get off to a good start, and we did both of those things.” Arlis really opened up against Jesse Hintz as the dual started at 157, with Arlis scoring an early takedown and adding two near-fall points before riding Hintz out for the first period. Arlis started down in the second and escaped quickly before getting two takedowns and allowing two escapes in the period to go up 9-2 after five minutes. Hintz started down in the third and Arlis went to work, turning him three times for six near-fall points before cutting Hintz loose. Arlis was able to finish the takedown with 15 seconds left and added the riding-time point for the 18-3 technical fall at 7:00 to put the Illini up 5-0. Conrad Polz looked to fend off No. 1 Andrew Howe at 165 and did as much through two periods, with Howe taking a 7-2 lead into the third period. But Howe switched into quick takedown mode, scoring three takedowns and adding the riding-time point for a 14-6 major decision, cutting Illinois’ lead to 5-4. No. 14 Jordan Blanton gave up a quick takedown to Brendan Ard off a scramble, but he escaped and got a takedown with less than a minute left in the first period to take a 3-2 lead. Blanton started down in the second period and escaped before getting two takedowns in the period for an 8-3 lead. Ard started down in the third and Blanton rode him for 37 seconds before the Badger escaped, but Blanton took him down and rode him out for the 14-4 major decision, pushing the Illini lead to 9-4. Second-ranked John Dergo faced No. 16 Travis Rutt at 184 and got a takedown with 24 seconds left in the first period and rode out Rutt for the 2-0 lead. Rutt started down in the second and escaped quickly, but Dergo rebounded with a takedown at the 1:15 mark. Rutt escaped 30 seconds later but Dergo notched a takedown with 28 seconds remaining in the period and rode him out to go up 6-2. Dergo started down in the third and escaped, and the two wrestled at neutral for the rest of the period before Dergo tacked on his riding-time point for the 8-2 win and a 12-4 team lead. At 197, No. 14 Patrick Bond and No. 8 Trevor Brandvold battled through a scoreless first period before Brandvold started down in the second and escaped quickly. Bond started down in the third and escaped quickly to tie the score 1-1 but neither man was able to land a shot as the bout went to sudden-victory time. Nearly halfway through the extra period, Bond got in on a double-leg and looked to have control of both ankles as both wrestlers flew toward the edge of the mat, but they were ruled out of bounds and no takedown was awarded. They continued scoreless through the sudden-victory time and went to the tie-breaks where Brandvold started down first and got out in 10 seconds. Bond went down in the second tie-break period and Brandvold rode him out to win 2-1 and bring the Badgers within 12-7. Eric Bugenhagen and Pat Walker also didn’t score in the first period, then Bugenhagen started down in the second and escaped quickly. Walker started down in the third and escaped, but it took him 1:10 to do so, giving Bugenhagen the riding-time advantage. Walker couldn’t put together any late offense and the Badger won by a 2-1 margin, cutting Illinois’ lead to 12-10. In one of the day’s swing matches, John Deneen recorded a takedown with 59 seconds left in the first period against Drew Hammen at 125 and rode out Hammen. Hammen started down in the second and fended off Deneen’s attempts to turn him, but the Illini junior was able to ride Hammen for the entire two minutes. The pair started neutral in the third and Hammen got a takedown to tie the score 2-2, but he gave up a point on an illegal hold with six seconds left in the bout, and Deneen tacked on his riding-time point for a 4-2 win, pushing the Illini ahead 15-10. But No. 7 Tyler Graff controlled Daryl Thomas from the start at 133, recording five takedowns in the first period and adding two near-fall points near the end of the period for a 12-4 lead after three minutes. Graff started down in the second and escaped before adding three more takedowns and a three-point near-fall with 36 seconds left to finish the 22-6 technical fall in 4:27, tying the match 15-15. With the Illini needing bonus points from him at 141, No. 14 Ryan Prater scored a takedown with 1:22 left in the first period against Cole Schmitt and rode him out but wasn’t able to turn him. Schmitt started down in the second and Prater rode him hard, turning him three times for a seven-point period and a 9-0 lead. Prater chose top position in the third and added another three-point near-fall before Schmitt was able to escape, making the score 12-1. With Prater needing four points to get the technical fall, he got a takedown with 14 seconds left but wasn’t able to turn Schmitt again, riding him out and adding the riding-time point for a 15-1 major decision and a 19-15 team lead. In the day’s final bout, No. 19 Eric Terrazas gave up an early takedown to No. 5 Kyle Ruschell and escaped 40 seconds later. Ruschell scored another takedown with 54 seconds left in the period but Terrazas escaped quickly and the Badger took a 4-2 lead after the first period. Ruschell started down in the second and got out quickly before extending his lead to 7-2 with another takedown. He rode out Terrazas to lock up the riding-time point after two periods. Terrazas started down in the third and escaped in 21 seconds to cut Ruschell’s lead to 7-3. The Badger looked to have both legs on the edge of the mat but Terrazas spun out and shot in for a takedown of his own to get within 7-5, bringing the crowd to its feet. Ruschell escaped and fended off Terrazas’ late offense before adding his riding-time point for the 9-5 win. But by losing only by decision, Terrazas sealed the team win by a 19-18 margin. The Fighting Illini return to action on Friday, Feb. 12, when they host No. 3 Ohio State at 7 p.m. The Buckeyes are 16-1 and 5-0 in the Big Ten after dispatching Northwestern by a 37-6 score on Sunday. Results: 157: Clint Arlis (ILL) tech. fall Jesse Hintz (WIS), 18-3 (7:00) (5-0) 165: #1 Andrew Howe (WIS) maj. dec Conrad Polz (ILL), 14-6 (5-4) 174: #14 Jordan Blanton (ILL) maj. dec. Brendan Ard (WIS), 14-4 (9-4) 184: #2 John Dergo (ILL) dec. #16 Travis Rutt (WIS), 8-2 (12-4) 197: #8 Trevor Brandvold (WIS) dec. #14 Patrick Bond (ILL), 2-1 TB1 (12-7) HWT: Eric Bugenhagen (WIS) dec. Pat Walker (ILL), 2-1 (12-10) 125: John Deneen (ILL) dec. Drew Hammen (WIS), 4-2 (15-10) 133: #7 Tyler Graff (WIS) tech. fall Daryl Thomas (ILL), 22-6 (4:27) (15-15) 141: #14 Ryan Prater (ILL) maj. dec. Cole Schmitt (WIS) 15-1 (19-15) 149: #5 Kyle Ruschell (WIS) dec. #19 Eric Terrazas (ILL), 9-5 (19-18)

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State wrestling team won several close bouts and held off a feisty Purdue squad en route to a 20-13 win on Sunday afternoon at Jenison Field House. With the win, MSU improved to 8-5-1 and 2-3 in the Big Ten while No. 24 Purdue fell to 10-9 and 1-5 in the conference. "Purdue is a good team and we had to fight hard for the win today, so I was pleased with our effort and our kids gave it everything they had," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel. After Purdue's Cashe Quiroga opened the dual with a 14-4 major decision over MSU's Brennan Lyon at 125 pounds, the Spartans' Franklin Gomez responded for the Green and White with a technical fall. Taking on the Boilermakers' Matt Fields at 133 pounds, Gomez got a quick takedown and scored six more near fall points in the first period for the early lead. The fourth-ranked Gomez controlled the remainder of the bout with over six minutes of riding time for the 17-1 win. With MSU leading 5-4, the Spartans' Dan Osterman defeated No. 20 Juan Archuleta, 8-5, in a thriller at 141 pounds. Osterman led, 2-1, after the first period, but in the second, Archuleta fought back with an early escape, followed by a takedown. Osterman got an escape near the end of the period to cut the deficit to 4-3 entering the third period. Starting the third in the defensive position, Osterman got an escape to tie the score at four and then went on the offensive, getting a reversal and to grab a 6-4 lead. Osterman gave up another escape point before sealing the bout with a takedown in the final seconds for an 8-5 win. The Spartans' 12th-ranked David Cheza made it three consecutive wins for MSU as he defeated Purdue's Nick Bertucci, 8-2, at 149 pounds and extended the team lead to 11-4. Cheza led just 2-1 entering the third period but after an escape, Cheza got a takedown and near fall and picked up his 20th win of the season. Purdue's Colton Salazar won a tight bout at 157 pounds, holding off MSU's Anthony Jones Jr. for a 4-3 decision. With the score tied at two at the start of the third, Jones began in the offensive position and let Salazar escape to take a 3-2 lead. With less than 20 seconds remaining, Salazar was called for stalling - tying the match at three. Salazar prevented Jones from scoring in the final seconds and won the match, 4-3, with riding time. Kyle Bounds gave MSU a 14-7 lead when he defeated Purdue's Jason Martin at 165 pounds. Bounds got two first-period takedowns and held Martin to just three escape points en route to the 6-3 decision. At 174 pounds, the Spartans' Ian Hinton gave sixth-ranked Luke Manuel a battle but takedown with 12 second remaining in the third period gave Manuel the win. With the score tied at four in the third, Manual broke the stalemate when Hinton was called for stalling and later got the takedown for a 7-4 decision - cutting MSU's lead to 14-10. The closely-contested bouts continued at 184 pounds when MSU's Curran Jacobs and Purdue's Nick Corpe went to overtime. After a scoreless first, Corpe took a 3-0 lead with an escape and takedown before Jacobs fought back to tie it with an escape and takedown of his own. After Corpe got an escape just before the second period ended, Jacobs picked up an escape early in the third to make the score 4-4. With neither wrestler able to score anymore points in the third, the bout went to overtime where 36 seconds in, Jacobs took down Corpe for the 6-4 win. "In overtime there I just gave it every last bit of energy I had into that takedown," said Jacobs. In the 197-pound bout, No. 11 Logan Brown defeated Tyler Dickeson, 4-2. The score was tied through two periods, but Brown got an escape in the third and added another riding-time point to make the score 17-13 MSU heading into the find dual. In the day's final bout, Alan O'Donnell sealed the win for the Green and White when he defeated Purdue's Adam Walls, 1-0; giving the Spartans the 20-13 victory. Michigan State will return to action at Penn State on Friday (Feb. 12) for a 7:30 p.m. dual with the Nittany Lions. "Hopefully, we can build off this and use what we learned and give two good, solid performances next week at Penn State and Ohio State," Minkel said. Results: 125: Cashe Quiroga maj. dec. Brennan Lyon, 14-4; Purdue leads, 4-0 133: No. 4 Franklin Gomez tech. fall Matt Fields, 17-1; MSU leads, 5-4 141: Dan Osterman dec. No. 20 Juan Archuleta, 8-5; MSU leads, 8-4 149: No. 12 David Cheza dec. Nick Bertucci, 8-2; MSU leads, 11-4 157: Colton Salazar dec. Anthon Jones Jr., 4-3; MSU leads, 11-7 165: Kyle Bounds dec. Jason Martin, 6-3; MSU leads, 14-7 174: No. 6 Luke Manuel dec. Ian Hinton, 7-5; MSU leads, 14-10 184: Curran Jacobs dec. Nick Corpe, 6-4 SV; MSU leads, 17-10 197: No. 11 Logan Brown dec. Tyler Dickenson, 4-2; MSU leads, 17-13 HWT: Alan O'Donnell dec. Adam Walls, 1-0; MSU wins, 20-13

VERNAL, UT -- The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team posted its seventh shut out of the season Saturday night, blanking Utah Valley, 38-0, at Uintah High School in Vernal, UT. The trip served as a homecoming for Hawkeye senior 184-pounder Phillip Keddy, who was a two-time state champion at Uintah. Iowa (19-0, 4-0 Big Ten) extended its winning streak to 57 overall duals and 39 road duals with the win over Utah Valley (8-3, 2-1 WWC). Both streaks, as well as the seven shut outs, are school records. Head Coach Tom Brands also picked up his 95th career victory as Iowa only allowed three Wolverine takedowns. Hawkeye redshirt freshman Matt McDonough, who is ranked fourth in the nation, opened the dual at 125 pounds with a 7-4 decision over #11 Ben Kjar to remain undefeated at 25-0 this season. McDonough scored the first takedown of the bout, but Kjar escaped and scored a takedown of his own to take a 3-2 lead. McDonough responded with a reversal and two nearfall points to end the first period with a 6-3 advantage. Kjar escaped in the second period, but McDonough escaped in the third for the 7-4 win. Iowa senior Daniel Dennis scored a takedown with three seconds left in his 133-pound match with Utah Valley's Flint Ray to score a 6-5 victory and collect his 60th career win. Dennis, who was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday, led the match 3-0 early in the second period, but Ray scored a takedown and two nearfall points to end the period and take a 4-3 lead. Ray chose the down position to start the third period and escaped to take a 5-3 lead, but Dennis scored the takedown and added a point for riding time to snatch his fifth-straight win. At 141, Hawkeye sophomore Montell Marion scored Iowa's first team bonus points of the night with a 20-7 major decision over Wolverine Jeff Newby. Leading 2-0 after the first period, Marion scored seven takedowns in the last five minutes to improve to 16-3 this season. Hawkeye senior Brent Metcalf scored his 14th pin of the season and the 45th of his Iowa career, sticking Justin Morrill in 1:43 at 149. It was the third-straight pin for Metcalf, who is 25-0 this season and now ranks eighth on Iowa's all-time career pins list with former Hawkeye Mark Reiland (1989-92). Iowa junior Jake Kerr scored four third-period takedowns to beat Utah Valley's Clay Frost, 12-4, at 157. It was Kerr's second-straight win, and his first major decision of the season. At 165, Hawkeye senior Ryan Morningstar scored his 100th career victory with a 3-1 decision over Jeb Clark. Morningstar scored two nearfall points in the second period and an escape in the third to win his fifth-straight bout. He is now 20-3 this season. Hawkeye senior Jay Borschel kept his season record of 24-0 perfect with an 8-2 decision over Brad Darrington at 174. Borschel scored a takedown in each period to post his 85th career victory. Utah natives Keddy and Iowa junior Luke Lofthouse added two more Hawkeye wins in the final contested matches of the night. Keddy improved to 18-6 in front of his hometown crowd with a 9-3 win over Casen Eldredge. Lofthouse, who is a native of Avon, UT, picked up his third-straight victory with a 12-5 decision over Josh Wood at 197. Hawkeye senior heavyweight Dan Erekson received a forfeit to end the dual. Seven other Hawkeyes competed unattached at the DuHawk Open at Loras College in Dubuque, IA, Saturday. Sophomore Brodie Ambrose (197) and true freshmen Tony Ramos (133) and Dylan Carew (149) each won individual titles, while sophomore Blake Rasing (Hwt.) and true freshmen Ethen Lofthouse (174) and Tomas Lira (184) each placed second. Iowa returns to Big Ten dual competition next weekend. The Hawkeyes will host Northwestern (5-9-1, 0-4 Big Ten) Friday, February 12 at 7 p.m. and will wrestle at #5 Minnesota (10-4, 5-0 Big Ten) Sunday, February 14 at 6 p.m. The Iowa-Northwestern dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena will be streamed live on www.bigtennetwork.com at a cost of $2.99. The Iowa-Minnesota dual, which will be held at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Results: 125 - Matt McDonough (I) dec. Ben Kjar (UV), 7-4 133 - Daniel Dennis (I) dec. Flint Ray (UV), 6-5 141 - Montell Marion (I) maj. dec. Jeff Newby (UV), 20-7 149 - Brent Metcalf (I) pinned Justin Morrill (UV), 1:43 157 - Jake Kerr (I) maj. dec. Clay Frost (UV), 12-4 165 - Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Jeb Clark (UV), 3-1 174 - Jay Borschel (I) dec. Brad Darrington (UV), 8-2 184 - Phillip Keddy (I) dec. Casen Eldredge (UV), 9-3 197 - Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Josh Wood (UV), 12-5 Hwt. - Dan Erekson (I) won by forfeit

Bloomington, Ind. -- Another night, another top ranked opponent, and another win for the Golden Gopher Wrestling team with their 23-18 decision over Indiana. Much like the night before, tonight (Feb. 6) the Gophers overcame a forfeit at 125 to lodge a convincing victory. No. 5 Minnesota (11-4, 6-0) was facing their fourth consecutive opponent ranked in the top-25 in No. 14 Indiana (13-3, 2-3). The Gophers won their previous three dual meets by a combined score of 77-40, and kept with the trend tonight. A night ago, the Gopher gave up the first win, but responded with six straight wins as they beat Illinois, and tonight was no different. Zach Sanders (Wabasha, Minn.) missed his second straight match, allowing the Hoosiers to take an early 6-0 lead. However, at 133, Jayson Ness (Bloomington, Minn.) got the Gophers back on the match with his 16th fall of the season, making the match 6-6. Ness is now just four falls away from tying the school record for falls in a season, which he co-owns with former national champion and assistant coach Marty Morgan. With the match tied, Mike Thorn (St. Michael, Minn.), Mario Mason (Moorestown, N.J.) and Dustin Schlatter (Massillion, Ohio) went back-to-back-to-back at to give the Gophers a 16-6 lead at the midway point of the match. No. 6 Thorn won by tech fall at 141, 24-9 over Nick Viterisi, while No. 18 Mason and No. 2 Schlatter each scored identical 6-0 shutouts at 149 and 157 respectively. Mason beat Matt Coughlin while Schlatter won over Kurt Kinser. At 174, Scott Glasser (Bismarck, N.D.) stayed on his blazing streak of late, winning for the seventh straight time and 17th in his last 18 matches. Eighth ranked Glasser won by 12-4 major decision over Ryan Kronz extending the Gophes lead to 20-12. Reminiscent of last week, Sonny Yohn (Alamosa, Colo.) was faced with his second ranked opponent in as many days. No. 10 Yohn was coming off a disappointing loss just last night, but tonight he left no doubt with his 8-2 win over No. 13 Matt Powlesss. With the regular season road schedule wrapped up, the Gophers now return home to finish out the season, hosting Iowa and Penn State. The current run of ranked opponents will continue as Minnesota hosts No. 1 ranked and defending national champion Iowa to Williams Arena on Sunday Feb. 14. Results: 125: #1 Angel Escobedo (IU) wins by forfeit (Team Score: 6-0) 133: #1 Jayson Ness (MINN) pins Geno Capezio (IU), 3:35 (6-6) 141: #6 Mike Thorn (MINN) tech falls Nick Viterisi (IU), 24-9 (6-10) 149: #18 Mario Mason (MINN) dec. over Matt Coughlin (IU), 6-0 (6-13) 157: #2 Dustin Schlatter (MINN) dec. over Kurt Kinser (IU), 6-0 (6-16) 165: #12 Paul Young (IU) pins Cody Yohn (MINN), 2:46 (12-16) 174: #8 Scott Glasser (MINN) maj. dec. over Ryan Konz (IU), 12-4 (12-20) 184: Eric Cameron (IU) dec. over Kaleb Young (MINN), 3-1 SV (15-20) 187: #10 Sonny Yohn (MINN) dec. over #13 Matt Powless (IU), 8-2 (15-23) 285: #2 Nate Everhart (IU) dec. over Ben Berhow (MINN), 7-3 (18-23)