WIN Magazine: Amateur Wrestling News

Training Technique of the Week: Stability Ball Neck Bridges

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:49:13 +0000

By Scott Goodpaster

The Stability Ball Neck Bridge is one of Cincinnati Functional Fitness’ favorite neck exercises for our wrestlers. These stability ball neck bridges develop the neck in conjunction with the back, hamstrings and glutes. In the picture below wrestler Ryan Gordon demonstrates a stability ball neck bridge.

• Start with your head on top of the stability ball.

• Bridge up in a controlled manner with neck and hips.

• Keep focused during this exercise and take your time.

• Perform 20 repetitions.

(Scott Goodpaster, CSCS, is the Director of Cincinnati Functional Fitness, an MMA Certified Strength & Conditioning coach and nationally recognized in the field of strength & conditioning for wrestlers.)

The “I’s” Have It: Midwest Championships Highlight Great Week of Prep Wrestling

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:44:23 +0000

By Willie Saylor

In a busy week for high school state championships across the country, the big storylines came out of the “I” states: Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, as many of the Midwest states culminated their seasons.

Willie Saylor

In a continuing series of enews updates recapping this championship season, we keep you abreast of some of the biggest news from last weekend’s 19 state competitions.

First are briefings on the state team race. Then we’ll follow it up with breakdowns of some of the most compelling individual brackets.

Perry Meridian Dominates, Jason Tsirtsis wins fourth

In Hoosierland, the state doesn’t calculate team scores during the individual championships, but it’s a safe assumption that WIN’s No. 21 squad, Perry Meridian, would have won the title going away.

Exemplifying their team balance, the Falcons crowned just one champion in 132-pounder Jared McKinley, who won his second in a row. Perry Meridian also sent two others to the finals, and placed a total of eight out of the state-high nine qualifiers.

On the individual side, Northwestern-bound Jason Tsirtsis made state history by becoming just the eighth individual in Indiana to win four titles. The consensus No. 1 wrestler nationally, Tsirtsis won his final title at 145 pounds. His three previous championships came at 125, 130 and 140 pounds.

Four-time Indiana champ Jason Tsirtsis will wrestle for Northwestern next winter.

Bulldogs Win the War in Iowa

In a much disputed scheduling change, Iowa held their state dual competition the day before starting the individual championship tournaments.

In 3A, No. 24 Southeast Polk and No. 13 Bettendorf had battled all year. First, Bettendorf out-pointed SEP in the Cheesehead tournament. Then, Southeast Polk pulled the upset in the Ed Winger Classic and in their dual.

Thinking it more appropriate to have their kids at their best for the individual portion, the SEP coaches wrestled a line-up containing only their back-ups and non-state qualifiers. Bettendorf beat No. 19 Iowa City West in the quarterfinals, 55-22, before shellacking West Des Moines Valley, 75-6 in the finals.

But that wouldn’t be the last hurrah for the Bulldogs. On the strength of a tournament-high ten state placers, the Bulldogs edged Southeast Polk 170 to 156.5. Iowa City West was 3^rd with 126.5.

Southeast Polk placed five in the finals and won three of them. Cory Clark (126) won his fourth title, and finished his career with just one loss.

At 138, John Meeks completed his high school career undefeated and 4-for-4 in state titles. The Des Moines Roosevelt product will head to Iowa State next fall to wrestle for the Cyclones.

In 2A, Denver-Tripoli won the individual team title, while Davenport Assumption laid claim to the dual-meet crown.

1A saw Don Bosco win the individual side. Nashau, who won the dual meet title on Wednesday, were runners-up on Saturday.

Montini Rolls in 2A, Parity in 3A

Like Indiana, Illinois doesn’t keep a team tally at their individual championships. But Montini Catholic made its mark with a whopping nine state placers. Three Broncs made the finals; Tommy Pawelski (106) won the title while Kevon Powell (120) and Chris Garcia (132) were runners-up.

Marmion Academy had four placers, all of which were top-three finishers. Johnny Jimenez (113) and Angelo Silvestro (138) won titles.

The story was different in 3A where no team dominated quite like Montini. Six teams had at least four placers. Leading the way was Marist with six medalists. Glenbard North had five. Carl Sandburg, Oak Park-River Forest, Lockport and Plainfield Central each had four.

Individual Showdowns:

Several tournaments offered weight classes with multiple nationally-ranked kids. The following state brackets offered plenty of intrigue for those who follow the nation’s top individuals.

Iowa 3A – 126

Top Contenders: Eric Devos (Waverly Shell-Rock) Cory Clark (Southeast Polk), Jack Hathaway (Iowa City West)

Result: Cory Clark entered the season without ever suffering a career loss. That changed a few weeks ago, when fellow-ranked Iowan, Hathaway, upset him in the finals of the Ed Winger Classic. Devos, who Clark beat in a close Cheesehead final, also presented a hurdle for Clark in his pursuit of his fourth crown.

Last weekend, Clark and Hathaway met in the quarterfinals, with Clark taking it 3-0. Devos cruised through the other side of the bracket with a fall and two techs.

In the final, Clark was commanding in a 6-2 win.

Iowa 3A – 132

Top Contenders: Dakota Bauer (Iowa City West), Kyle Larson (West Des Moines Valley)

Result: These two have been going at it for years. Most recently, Larson beat Bauer in a dual at the Battle of Waterloo. Next year, they’ll be teammates at Iowa State, but first they had one last score to settle.

Meeting in the semifinals, Bauer scored the decisive takedown with just 26 seconds remaining. He’d go on to win his first state title with a win in the finals.

Illinois 2A – 113

Top Contenders: Barlow McGhee (Rock Island), Jordan Laster (Montini), Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy)

Result: Jimenez had a couple studs to get through to defend his state title, but he did just that. McGhee, who placed fourth in Fargo, and Cheesehead runner-up Laster, met in quarters. McGhee scored a takedown in each period in a 6-3 win then made his way to the finals to face Jimenez, who repeated with a 4-2 decision.

Illinois 3A – 145

Top Contenders: Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel), Kevin Moylan (Stagg), Collin Holler (Carl Sandburg)

Result: This trio has met several times over the course of the year. In fact, all three were representatives of the De La Salle sectional from which they qualified for the state meet. In that sectional, Brill, the defending state champ, beat both Moylan (in the semis) and Holler (in the finals).

At the state tournament, Moylan beat Holler in a wild 10-8 bout. In the finals, he outlasted Brill in a wholly uneventful ultimate ride-out victory.

Illinois 3A – 182

Top Contenders: Taylor McGiffin, Sammy Brooks, Jordan Ellingwood

Result: Last year Brooks was upset in the state finals. He wasn’t going to let that happen again.

McGiffin had beaten Ellingwood soundly in the sectional finals. And Brooks did the same in the state semi’s to meet McGiffin, last year’s NHSCA Junior national runner-up.

In the finals, Brooks used a seven-point second period en route to a 9-2 victory in his final high school bout before heading to wrestle for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Indiana – 106

Top Contenders: Nathan Boston (Lawrence North), Stevan Micic (Hanover Central), Jacob Cottey (Perry Meridian), Hayden Lee (Garrett), Tommy Cash (New Palestine)

Result: The state of Indiana has been producing little guys at a fantastic pace the last few years. Their 106-pound bracket kept that trend going with four high-profile wrestlers (two of whom are ranked nationally).

Nathan Boston, the returning state champion and FloNationals runner-up, and Micic, who navigated an absolute minefield in winning a Fargo freestyle title this summer, were on opposite sides of the bracket, and made their way to the finals.

Cottey, a Fargo AA, was pinned by up-and-comer Lee in the quarters. Cottey wrestled back to seventh. Lee was taken out the next round by Micic and finished third.

While Micic went through the bottom bracket gauntlet, Boston breezed through the top half. In a rematch of last year’s state semi where Boston won, this year Micic built up a solid 6-2 lead. Boston scored a late takedown to make it 6-4, but it was too little too late in one of the best state finals we’re likely to see this season.

Virginia AAA – 160

Top Contenders: Jacob Crawford (Millbrook), Zach Epperly (Christiansburg)

Results: Epperly just keeps getting better and better. Epperly won the Beast of the East title in December. This weekend, he took out October’s Super 32 champ Crawford, 6-4. Crawford, who’s headed to UNC next fall, was in pursuit of his fourth state title. In the process, Epperly helped his Christiansburg team win their 11^th straight state title.

Here is our previous eNews updates from the championship run:

http://www.win-magazine.com/2012/02/ready-for-high-school-state-tournaments-here-are-some-unique-stories/

http://www.win-magazine.com/2012/02/high-school-championship-runs-get-started-off-with-a-bang/

Next week, look for recaps from other big state tournaments including Wisconsin, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon and the National Preps … as well as state dual championships from Michigan, Illinois and Indiana.

Can National Duals champ Minnesota also win the NCAAs?

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:36:24 +0000

By Mike Finn

When the University of Minnesota won the recent NWCA National Duals, Jan. 19, in Stillwater, Okla., it surprised many considering the Gophers had to beat two teams — Iowa and Oklahoma State during the Final Four — that Minnesota lost to earlier in the season.

The University of Minnesota wrestling team won 30 of 40 individual matches agaiinst four opponents over a two-week period to claim the school's sixth NWCA National Duals championship.

If the Gophers are able to capture the NCAA team championship in St. Louis this March, it would be even more surprising.

That’s because coach J Robinson’s 2012 squad is ranked a distant third in WIN’s most recent Tournament Power Index, which ranks teams on how many NCAA points they could generate based on their current individual rankings.

Leading WIN’s Feb. 21 TPI is Penn State, which did not compete in the National Duals, while Iowa — which finished third in the National Duals — ranks second in the TPI.

(Click here for WIN’s Feb. 21 Tournament Power Index)

But it should also be pointed out that Minnesota defeated Penn State in a dual meet, Nov. 20, in State College, Pa.

Here is a breakdown of that dual:

125: Zach Sanders MINN dec. Nico Megaludis, 6-2
133: David Thorn MINN maj. dec. Derek Reber, 14-5
141: Nick Dardanes MINN maj. dec. Sam Sherlock, 19-6
149: Frank Molinaro PSU dec. Dylan Ness, 16-10
157: Jake Deitchler MINN dec. Dylan Alton, 9-4
165: David Taylor PSU tech. fall Cody Yohn, 16-1 (4:29)
174: Ed Ruth PSU pinned Eric Ortiz (2:28)
184: Kevin Steinhaus MINN dec. Quentin Wright , 6-1
197: Sonny Yohn PSU dec. Morgan McIntosh, 4-3
285: Tony Nelson MINN dec. Cameron Wade 5-0

It should be noted that Minnesota’s current line-up does not include Deitchler, who was forced to quit wrestling because of problems with concussions, and features different wrestlers at 133 and 174 pounds, where Chris Dardanes and Logan Storley are competing and are nationally ranked.

The Gophers will get a good idea where they could finish nationally at the Big Ten tournament, March 3-4, in West Lafayette. Ind.

Of the past 23 NWCA National Duals champions, 15 have gone one to win the traditional NCAA tournament championship. The following list breaks down illustrates where the Duals champ finished at the NCAAs. If they did not win the NCAAs, the list includes what team won the Nationals and where that team finished in the National Duals.

NWCA/Cliff Keen Nat. Duals History

Year Duals Champ NCAA Finish (Champ)

2012 Minnesota To be determined

2011 Cornell Second (Penn State/dnc)

2010 Iowa First

2009 Iowa First

2008 Iowa First

2007 Minnesota First

2006 Minnesota Second (Oklahoma State/2nd)

2005 Oklahoma State First

2004 Oklahoma State First

2003 Oklahoma State First

2002 Minnesota First

2001 Minnesota First

2000 Iowa State Second (Iowa/dnc)

1999 Oklahoma State Third (Iowa/3rd)

1998 Minnesota Second (Iowa/2nd)

1997 Oklahoma State Second (Iowa/2nd)

1996 Iowa First

1995 Iowa First

1994 Oklahoma State First

1993 Penn State Second (Iowa/3rd)

1992 Iowa First

1991 Penn State Third (Iowa/3rd)

1990 Oklahoma State First

1989 Oklahoma State First

WIN’s Feb. 21, 2012 TPI, Dual and Individual Rankings

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:17 +0000

NEWTON, Iowa — The following are WIN’s current Tournament Power Index (TPI), Team Dual and individual rankings. The previous rankings were Feb. 13, 2012. WIN will continue to release its TPI and individual rankings every week through the NCAA qualifying tournaments in early March.

In working to compile the most accurate rankings possible, WIN Magazine seeks to subjectively combine both the most recent week’s and season’s results with past performance and proven records of consistency. The current results, in regards to who’s wrestling well, are balanced against who have proven they can win the big matches towards the end of the year and those who will most likely place high or win the national tournament in March.

Also, if a wrestler has not competed for several weeks, he will be removed from WIN’s rankings until he competes again and is successful.

The WIN TPI is compiled by awarding points to each team for the ranked wrestlers they have in WIN’s current individual rankings that can be found below in all 10 weight classes. In a sense, it suggests how many points these teams could score at this year’s NCAA tournament, March 15-17, in St. Louis, Mo. TPI points will not match the final NCAA tournament points because it does not include bonus points for pins, technical falls, major decisions and forfeits/defaults.

Teams are awarded points based on how many potential All-Americans (Top 8 wrestlers) they could have and get advancement points for wrestlers ranked No. 9-20. The order of teams in the TPI vary greatly from dual meet rankings, as some teams have a number of highly-ranked individuals but may have holes in their dual meet line-up.

Point totals associated with individual rankings are as followed: 1st – 20 (16 AA points + 4 advancement points); 2nd – 16 (12+4); 3rd – 13.5 (10+3.5); 4th – 12. 5 (9+3.5); 5th – 10 (7+3); 6th – 9 (6+3); 7th – 6.5 (4+2.5); 8th – 5.5 (3+2.5); 9th/12th – 2; 13th/16th – 1.5; 17th-20th – 1.

The rankings are subject to change if wrestlers decide to change weights or take an Olympic redshirt. The WIN TPI does not rank teams according to dual meet performances.

WIN’s Feb. 21, 2012 Tournament Power Index

Rank College Top 8 TPI

1 Penn State 6 92.5

2 Iowa 6 70

3 Minnesota 6 65.5

4 Cornell 4 59

5 Oklahoma State 3 57

6 Lehigh 3 41.5

7 Wyoming 2 39

8 Nebraska 5 38

9 Michigan 3 37

10 American 2 36.5

11t Ohio State 2 32

11t Missouri 2 32

13 Edinboro 3 30.5

14 Kent State 2 29.5

15 Cal Poly 2 28.5

16t Oklahoma 2 28

16t Illinois 2 28

18 Oregon State 2 27

19 Iowa State 2 25.5

20 Clarion 2 22.5

21 Maryland 1 21.5

22 Northwestern 1 21

23 Stanford 1 20

24t Northern Iowa 2 16

24t Central Michigan 1 16

26 Penn 1 15.5

27t Pittsburgh 1 14

27t Indiana 1 14

29 Air Force 1 13.5

30t Virginia Tech 1 13

30t Binghamton 1 13

32 Rutgers 1 11

33 Ohio 1 10

34 Virginia 0 9

35 Michigan State 1 8

36 Northern Illinois 1 7.5

37t NC State 1 6.5

37t Northern Colorado 1 6.5

37t North Dakota State 1 6.5

37t Hofstra 0 6.5

41 Boise State 0 5.5

42t Purdue 0 5

42t Harvard 0 5

44 Appalachian State 0 3.5

45t Navy 0 2

45t Princeton 0 2

45t Bloomsburg 0 2

45t Arizona State 0 2

45t Rider 0 2

45t Drexel 0 2

51t Wisconsin 0 1.5

51t The Citadel 0 1.5

51t Boston U. 0 1.5

54t Utah Valley 0 1

54t Old Dominion 0 1

54t Chattanooga 0 1

54t Eastern Michigan 0 1

54t West Virginia 0 1

WIN’s Feb. 21, 2012 Individual Rankings

125 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Matt McDonough (1st) Jr. Iowa

2 Zach Sanders (2nd) Sr. Minnesota

3 Alan Waters (3rd) So. Missouri

4 Nic Bedelyon (4th) Sr. Kent State

5 Jesse Delgado (5th) Fr. Illinois

6 Frank Perrelli (6th) Sr. Cornell

7 Jarrod Patterson (7th) Jr. Oklahoma

8 Ryan Mango (8th) Jr. Stanford

9 Nico Megaludis (9th) Fr. Penn State

10 Levi Mele (10th) Jr. Northwestern

11 Steve Bonanno (11th) Jr. Hofstra

12 Anthony Zanetta (12th) Jr. Pittsburgh

13 Ryak Finch (13th) Fr. Iowa State

14 Matt Snyder (14th) Jr. Virginia

15 Jon Morrison (15th) So. Oklahoma State

16 Joe Roth (16th) So. Central Michigan

17 Michael Martinez (18th) Sr. Wyoming

18 Trent Sprenkle (17th) Jr. North Dakota State

19 Johnni DiJulius (19th) Fr. Ohio State

20 Nick Smith (NR) So. Northern Illinois

133 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Jordan Oliver (1st) Jr. Oklahoma State

2 Logan Stieber (2nd) Fr. Ohio State

3 Tony Ramos (3rd) So. Iowa

4 B.J. Futrell (4th) Jr. Illinois

5 Devin Carter (5th) So. Virginia Tech

6 Joe Colon (8th) Jr. Northern Iowa

7 Chris Dardanes (7th) Fr Minnesota

8 A.J. Schopp (6th) Fr. Edinboro

9 Cashe Quiroga (9th) So. Purdue

10 Zac Stevens (10th) Sr. Michigan

11 Nathan McCormick (11th) Jr. Missouri

12 Jordan Keller (12th) Sr. Oklahoma

13 Zach Zehner (13th) Fr. Wyoming

14 Brian Owen (14th) Jr. Boise State

15 Mason Beckman (15th) Fr. Lehigh

16 Ridge Kiley (16th) Jr. Nebraska

17 Steven Keith (18th) Jr. Harvard

18 Aaron Kalil (19th) Sr. Navy

19 Matt Nelson (20th) Sr. Virginia

20 Nick Soto (NR) Fr. Chattanooga

141 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Kellen Russell (1st) Sr. Michigan

2 Boris Novachkov (2nd) Sr. Cal Poly

3 Kendric Maple (3rd) So. Oklahoma

4 Montell Marion (4th) Sr. Iowa

5 Mike Mangrum (5th) So. Oregon State

6 Hunter Stieber (6th) Fr. Ohio State

7 Darrius Little (7th) Sr. North Carolina St

8 Jake Sueflohn (8th) Fr. Nebraska

9 Nick Nelson (9th) Sr. Virginia

10 Zack Kemmerer (10th) Sr. Penn

11 Matt Mariacher (11th) Sr. American

12 Nick Dardanes (13th) So. Minnesota

13 Josh Kindig (14th) So. Oklahoma State

14 Steve Dutton (15th) So. Lehigh

15 Mitchell Port (12th) Fr. Edinboro

16 Tyler Small (16th) Fr. Kent State

17 Adam Krop (17th) So. Princeton

18 Luke Goettl (18th) Fr. Iowa State

19 Luke Vaith (19th) Sr. Hofstra

20 Zach Neibert (20th) So. Virginia Tech

149 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Frank Molinaro (1st) Jr. Penn State

2 Jamal Parks (2nd) Sr. Oklahoma State

3 Cole Van Ohlen (3rd) Jr. Air Force

4 Ian Miller (4th) Fr. Kent State

5 Donnie Vinson (6th) Jr. Binghamton

6 Mario Mason (7th) Jr. Rutgers

7 David Habat (5th) Fr. Edinboro

8 Eric Grajales (8th) So. Michigan

9 Corey Jantzen (9th) Sr. Harvard

10 Dylan Ness (10th) Fr. Minnesota

11 Scott Sakaguchi (11th) So. Oregon State

12 Tyler Nauman (14th) Sr. Pittsburgh

13 Kyle Bradley (12th) So. Missouri

14 Nick Lester (13th) So. Oklahoma

15 Ivan Lopouchanski (15th) So. Purdue

16 Taylor Walsh (16th) Fr. Indiana

17 Eric Terrazas (17th) Sr. Illinois

18 Cam Tessari (18th) Fr. Ohio State

19 Gus Sako (19th) So. Virginia

20. Josh Wilson (20th) Jr. Utah Valley

157 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Kyle Dake (1st) Jr. Cornell

2 Jason Welch (2nd) Jr. Northwestern

3 Ganbayar Sanjaa (3rd) Sr. American

4 James Fleming (4th) So. Clarion

5 Dylan Alton (5th) Fr. Penn State

6 James Green (6th) Fr. Nebraska

7 Anthony Jones (7th) Sr. Michigan State

8 Steven Monk (8th) So. North Dakota State

9 Walter Peppelman (9th) Jr. Harvard

10 Drake Houdashelt (10th) Fr. Missouri

11 Derek St. John (11th) So. Iowa

12 Frank Hickman (12th) Jr. Bloomsburg

13 Justin Lister (13th) Jr. Binghamton

14 Matt Lester (14th) So. Oklahoma

15 David Bonin (18th) Jr. Northern Iowa

16 Albert White (15th) Sr. Oklahoma State

17 George Ivanov (16th) So. Boise State

18 Dan Kolodzik (17th) Sr. Princeton

19 R.J. Pena (19th) So. Oregon State

20 Josh Demas (20th) Fr. Ohio State

165 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 David Taylor (1st) So. Penn State

2 Josh Asper (2nd) Jr. Maryland

3 Shane Onufer (3rd) Sr. Wyoming

4 Andrew Sorenson (4th) Sr. Iowa State

5 Bekzud Abdurakmanov (5th) Sr. Clarion

6 Robert Kokesh (6th) Fr. Nebraska

7 Gabe Burak (7th) Sr. Northern Colorado

8 Mike Evans (9th) Fr. Iowa

9 Conrad Polz (8th) So. Illinois

10 Paul Gillespie (10th) Sr. Hofstra

11 Peter Yates (11th) Jr. Virginia Tech

12 Cody Yohn (15th) Jr. Minnesota

13 Pat “Bubby” Graham (12th) Jr. Oklahoma

14 Ben Jordan (13th) Sr. Wisconsin

15 Kyle Blevins (14th) Sr. Appalachian State

16 Nick Sulzer (16th) Fr. Virginia

17 Joe Booth (17th) Jr. Drexel

18 Scott Winston (18th) Jr. Rutgers

19 Dallas Bailey (19th) So. Oklahoma State

20 Joe Phillips (20th) So. Eastern Michigan

174 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Nick Amuchastegui (1st) Sr. Stanford

2 Ed Ruth (2nd) So. Penn State

3 Chris Perry (3rd) So. Oklahoma State

4 Ryan DesRoches (5th) Sr. Cal Poly

5 Ethen Lofthouse (8th) So. Iowa

6 Logan Storley (4th) Fr. Minnesota

7 Justin Zeerip (6th) Sr. Michigan

8 Chris Spangler (7th) Jr. Iowa State

9 Nick Heflin (9th) So. Ohio State

10 Jim Resnick (10th) Jr. Rider

11 Jordan Blanton (11th) Jr. Illinois

12 Jimmy Sheptock (12th) So. Maryland

13 Curran Jacobs (13th) Sr. Michigan State

14 Lee Munster (14th) Fr. Northwestern

15 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (15th) Jr. The Citadel

16 Dorian Henderson (16th) Sr. Missouri

17 Te Edwards (17th) Sr. Old Dominion

18 Greg Zannetti (18th) Jr. Rutgers

19 Pat Martinez (19th) So. Wyoming

20 Tyler Koehn (NR) Jr. Nebraska

184 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Joe LeBlanc (1st) Sr. Wyoming

2 Robert Hamlin (2nd) Jr. Lehigh

3 Quentin Wright (3rd) Jr. Penn State

4 Ben Bennett (4th) Sr. Central Michigan

5 Steve Bosak (5th) Jr. Cornell

6 Kevin Steinhaus (7th) So. Minnesota

7 Josh Ihnen (8th) Sr. Nebraska

8 Ryan Loder (6th) So. Northern Iowa

9 Austin Trotman (9th) Sr. Appalachian State

10 Cody Mangrum (10th) So. Ohio State

11 Jake Swartz (11th) So. Boise State

12 Jon Fausey (12th) So. Virginia

13 Braden Atwood (13th) Fr. Purdue

14 Mike Larson (14th) Jr. Missouri

15 Boaz Beard (15th) So. Iowa State

16 Ben Clymer (16th) Sr. Hofstra

17 Luke Rebertus (17th) Sr. Navy

18 Grant Gambrall (NR) Jr. Iowa

19 Brad Dieckhaus (19th) Sr. Northern Illinois

20 Casey Newburg (20th) So. Kent State

197 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Cam Simaz (1st) Sr. Cornell

2 Chris Honeycutt (2nd) Sr. Edinboro

3 Micah Burak (3rd) Jr. Penn

4 Matt Powless (4th) Sr. Indiana

5 Matt Wilps (5th) Jr. Pittsburgh

6 Brent Haynes (6th) Jr. Missouri

7 Joe Kennedy (7th) Sr. Lehigh

8 Sonny Yohn (8th) Sr. Minnesota

9 Christian Boley (9th) So. Maryland

10 Blake Rosholt (10th) So. Oklahoma State

11 Alfonso Hernandez (11th) Jr. Wyoming

12 Jerome Ward (12th) Sr. Iowa State

13 Taylor Meeks (13th) Fr. Oregon State

14 John Hall (14th) Sr. Boston U.

15 Keldrick Hall (15th) Jr. Oklahoma

16 Mario Gonzales (16th) So. Illinois

17 Morgan McIntosh (17th) Fr. Penn State

18 Dan Mitchell (18th) Jr. American

19 Max Huntley (19th) So. Michigan

20 Brent Chriswell (20th) Jr. Boise State

Heavyweight

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Ryan Flores (1st) Sr. American

2 Zach Rey (3rd) Sr. Lehigh

3 Anthony Nelson (4th) Jr. Minnesota

4 Clayton Jack (5th) Sr. Oregon State

5 Cameron Wade (6th) Jr. Penn State

6 Jeremy Johnson (7th) So. Ohio

7 Tucker Lane (8th) Jr. Nebraska

8 Bobby Telford (9th) Fr. Iowa

9 Ben Apland (10th) Jr. Michigan

10 Brendan Barlow (11th) Sr. Kent State

11 Peter Sturgeon (12th) Sr. Central Michigan

12 Levi Cooper (13th) Jr. Arizona State

13 Spenser Myers (14th) So. Maryland

14 Matt Gibson (15th) Jr. Iowa State

15 Mike McMullan (16th) Fr. Northwestern

16 Nick Gwiadowski (18th) Fr. Binghamton

17 Devin Mellon (19th) Fr. Missouri

18 Brandon Williamson (NR) Sr. West Virginia

19 Ernest James (20^th) So. Edinboro

20 Kyle Frey (NR) Sr. Drexel

WIN’S Feb. 21, 2012 Team Dual Rankings

Rk School (Previous) W-L

1. Minnesota (4th) 14-3

2. Oklahoma State (1st) 15-1

3. Penn State (2nd) 13-1

4. Iowa (3rd) 14-4

5. Illinois (5th) 16-4

6. Cornell (6th) 10-1

7. Ohio State (7th) 13-4

8. Nebraska (8th) 14-3

9. Wyoming (9th) 7-3

10. Missouri (10th) 14-3

11. Oklahoma (11th) 12-4

12. Pittsburgh (12th) 13-1

13. Maryland (13th) 14-1

14. Michigan (14th) 6-6

15. Lehigh (15th) 9-5

16. Kent State (16th) 13-5

17. Virginia (17th) 9-1

18. Oregon State (18th) 9-2

19. Hofstra (19th) 11-2

20. Purdue (20th) 9-9

• through Feb. 19 competition

High School Championship Runs Get Started off With a Bang

admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:57:06 +0000

By Willie Saylor

You can safely point to early February as “Championship Season” for the bulk of the country. Last week we noted each state’s tournament dates. There were 11 championships staged last weekend. Sixteen more will be contested this weekend, with another fifteen the following week.

Willie Saylor

We’re right in the midst of culminating state supremacy in every nook of the country.

And last week, three biggies were determined, in some of the most tradition-rich wrestling hotbeds; dual champions were crowned in Oklahoma, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, featuring numerous squads appearing in WIN’s team rankings.

We’ll recap them here, and give a brief preview of the action that this week offers.

Oklahoma

All season last year, Tulsa Union was considered the best team in Oklahoma. That was until Broken Arrow threw a monkey wrench in that assessment by beating the Redskins for the state title.

All year this season, Broken Arrow, ranked by WIN at No. 16, was universally considered the best team in Oklahoma. And even though Union, our No. 25^th-ranked team, beat BA in their dual last week, some thought it was an anomaly, and that when the two squads met at the state duals, the previous decision would be reversed.

But Union did it again.

In a back-and-forth battle, Union built a 21-9 lead before BA studs Clay Archer and state champion Chase Ferman posted pins.

Union’s State Champion Kyle Ash (152) was upset by talented sophomore Tanner Bailey, making things tighter than ever.

Later, Union bumped future Oklahoma State Cowboy, 182-pounder, Kyle Crutchmer, up to 195 to face fellow state champion Seth Calvert. Tied at nine, Crutchmer converted the decisive takedown with eight seconds to go, making the Union deficit, 27-25.

Broken Arrow’s 220-pounder, Steve Allen, earned a decision, putting them up by five heading into the final bout, where Union got the fall they needed for a 31-30 win, and their first state dual title since 2008.

Other OK State Dual Results:

5A: Collinsville def. MacArthur, 52-17

4A: Tuttle def. Blackwell, 31-16

3A: Perry def. Berryhill, 40-18

New Jersey

The New Jersey State Group Championships took place Sunday. Contenders had spent nearly a week wrestling through qualifying duals. Most notably, the state’s No. 1- and No. 2- ranked teams (Jackson Memorial and St. Peters Prep, respectively) were bounced before reaching the Group Finals, which placed the final four teams in each division at The Pine Belt Arena in Toms River South.

The state is divided into six groups; four public and two private, according to size.

Here were your finals:

Group 4: Phillipsburg def. Brick Memorial, 29-27

Group 3: South Plainfield def. Ocean Township, 31-27

Group 2: Raritan def. Delsea, 30-28

Group 1: Bound Brook def. Hanover Park, 40-24

Non-Public Group A: Bergen Catholic def. Christian Bros. Academy, 54-18

Non-Public Group B: Camden Catholic def. DePaul, 54-18

Pennsylvania

No. 7 Canon McMillan survived a scare from four-time defending state dual champions, Central Dauphin. In a semifinal that was the de facto title match, Canon-Mac escaped with a 28-25 win over the Rams in the bottom half of the bracket.

Easton, the District 11 champs, came in as the top-half favorites. And history was on their side; they had a state record, eight, finals appearances.

But someone forgot to tell that to Erie McDowell.

The King of the Mountain champs entered with an unblemished record this season. But no District 10 team had ever made the state finals in AAA.

McDowell was able to win all the close ones as they ousted Easton, 30-25, in the quarters before getting to the finals via a 31-28 win over Mechanicsburg, who featured a tough upper half of the line-up.

McDowell was a game opponent for Canon-Mac in the finals, but couldn’t overcome the Big Macs firepower. CM took the title, 35-20.

It was Canon Mac’s first state dual championship and, surprisingly, just District 7’s second ever (Connelsville, 2005).

In AA, No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic made it two in a row, blitzing the field with wins over Bermudian Springs, last year’s runner-up, Ft. LeBoeuf and Brookville, before meeting Boiling Springs in the finals.

“The Bubblers,” Boiling Springs rolled through their half of the bracket and created a murmur within the Giant Center confines that perhaps they could pull an upset.

But BECA flexed its muscles in the finals in a lopsided, 52-15 affair.

This Week:

Now we really get busy. There’ll be no shortage of intrigue as 16 states hold championship events, including major wrestling hotbeds, Illinois, Iowa and, one of my favorite state tournaments: Indiana.

Iowa:

Iowa’s 3A classification is annually one of the best high school tournaments in the country. On Wednesday, they’ll hold the state dual championships where Southeast Polk, No. 13 Bettendorf, No. 19 Iowa City West, and perennial-power Waverly-Shell Rock will all square off.

On the individual side, 16 kids appearing in WIN’s national rankings will compete for a state title. And what an interesting group there is. Corey Clark, Topher Carton and John Meeks will attempt to win their fourth straight, while national studs like Justin Koethe, Gabe Moreno, Alex Meyer and Willie Miklus all look for their first crown.

An early look at brackets notably includes Jack Hathaway, who gave Clark his first and only career loss earlier this year, potentially meeting Clark in the quarterfinals.

Indiana:

With restricted competition regulations that preclude the Hoosier state from wrestling other national powers, the mat prowess of Indiana is often marginalized. But make no mistake about it, there’s tons of talent here. Leading the way is WIN’s 22^nd-ranked Perry Meridian squad, which qualified nine individuals to this weekend’s state tournament. That’s no small feat in a single-class system.

Illinois:

As evidenced by their impressive runs at Cadet and Junior Duals and in Fargo, Illinois is home to a bevy of individual talent. Twenty-two individuals from Illinois populate WIN’s national rankings.

The Illinois High School Association does not keep official team scores, but leading the way should be Wilmington (1A), Montini Catholic (2A) and Oak Park-River Forest (3A), who are ranked tops in the state.

Follow along here with these links to state championships this week:

Alabama: http://www.trackwrestling.com

Colorado: http://www.chsaa.org/sports/wrestling

Connecticut: http://www.casciac.org/wrest.shtml

Florida: http://www.fhsaa.org/sports/wrestling

Georgia: http://www.ghsa.net/wrestling

Illinois: http://ihsa.org/SportsActivities/BoysWrestling/StateSeriesInformationResults.aspx?url=/data/wr/3ibrac.htm

Indiana: http://www.ihsaa.org/dnn/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=NaY0_vjMcZk%3d&tabid=38

Iowa: http://www.iahsaa.org/wrestling/index.html

Kentucky: http://www.khsaa.org/wrestling/2012/

Maine: http://www.mpa.cc/tourneyinfowinter12.html

Missouri: http://www.mshsaa.org/Activities/Info/Wrestling.aspx

Nebraska: http://www.nsaahome.org/wr.php

New Mexico: http://www.trackwrestling.com

North Dakota: Both Duals and Individual at http://www.trackwrestling.com

Tennessee: http://www.tssaa.org/2011Champions/StateWrestling/home.htm#DI

Utah: http://www.trackwrestling.com

Virginia: http://www.vhsl.org/athletics.wrestling.vhsl-wrestling-championships

Washington: http://www.wiaa.com/subcontent.aspx?SecID=319

Previewing the 2012 NWCA National Duals Final Four

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:58:31 +0000

By Mike Finn, WIN Editor

Oklahoma State — with eight titles — has won more NWCA National Duals championships than any other Division I program in the 24-year history of the annual event.

None of them have happened in the state of Oklahoma, much less on their home campus of Stillwater.

That could change this Sunday as the lone unbeaten Division I program will play host to the 2012 NWCA National Duals at Gallagher-Iba Arena in what has become the Final Four of Mat Mayhem.

The closest Oklahoma State came to losing a dual meet this year was against rival Iowa when the Cowboys needed criteria to beat the Hawkeyes. Amidst the drama before 15,400 fans in Carver Hawkeye Arena was the 174-pound match where OSU's Mark Perry and Iowa's Ethen Lofthouse had to be separated.

The No. 1-ranked Cowboys (13-0) must first out-dual No. 5 Illinois (16-2) in a 2 p.m. semifinal before reaching a 6 p.m. championship final against the winner of the other NWCA National Dual semi between Big Ten-rivals No. 3 Iowa (13-3) and No. 4 Minnesota (12-3), which rank second and third, respectively, with six and four National Duals championships.

All four schools advanced to Stillwater — chosen last Sunday by the NWCA to host this year’s Final Four — by winning one of four regionals held last weekend. (Oddly, OSU must also face rival Oklahoma, this Thursday in Norman, Okla., in the second match-up of their Bedlam series.)

Breaking down the Final Four teams

Three of the Final Four squads were seeded No. 1. The lone exception was Illinois, which upset Cornell, 19-16, on the Big Red’s home mat in Ithaca, N.Y.

The Illini will need an even bigger upset if coach Jim Heffernan’s squad hopes to beat John Smith’s Cowboys. (Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 12-1. The last time they met were in the finals of the 2008 Virginia Duals — the precursor of the NWCA National Duals — and one of the Cowboy wins against the Illini came in the finals of the 2005 National Duals, the last time OSU won the duals crown, in Cleveland, Ohio.)

Based on WIN’s rankings, Oklahoma State should be favored to win seven of the individual match-ups. But one of those “sure” wins for the Cowboys nearly turned into a season-opening upset at the NWCA All-Star Classic, Nov. 21, in Tempe, Ariz., where OSU’s defending national champion, Jordan Oliver, need a riding-time advantage to win 8-7 over Illinois’ B.J. Futrell, who scored three takedowns in the final period to overcome a 6-2 deficit.

(This team dual also features somewhat of a reunion for Illinois assistant coach Mark Perry, the two-time NCAA champion from Iowa, who is a native of Stillwater and the nephew of OSU’s head coach John Smith. Perry’s younger brother, Chris, a sophomore, is the Cowboy starter at 174 pounds.)

In the other semifinal, the Hawkeyes and Gophers meet for a second time this season and just 21 days after Iowa defeated Minnesota, 19-17. In that meeting in Iowa City, both schools won five matches. The Gophers actually won the final four matches but that could not overcome bonus points scored by the Hawkeyes, including Mike Evans’ pin against Cody Yohn at 165 pounds.

If coach J Robinson, whose last National Duals championship came in 2007, wants his Gophers to reach this year’s finals, his 125-pounder, No. 2-ranked Zach Sanders, must find a way to beat Iowa’s top-rated Matt McDonough, who has won all five of the wrestlers’ past meetings, including a 7-1 victory this winter.

Iowa coach Tom Brands, who saw his Hawkeyes win three straight National Duals championships (2008-10) when the event was held in Cedar Falls, Iowa, is still trying to solidify his line-up.

That includes the 157- and 184-pound weight classes where 2011 All-Americans Derek St. John and Grant Gambrall are trying to overcome past physical ailments. St. John, battling a knee injury, wrestled just once last weekend and lost by a 9-1 major decision to Oregon State’s R.J. Pena. Gambrall, who dealt with a concussion since last summer, is expected to return to 184 pounds — where he finished third nationally last March — after wrestling primarily at 197 this winter.

Neither Iowa nor Minnesota beat the Cowboys this winter. OSU defeated Minnesota, 23-14, on Dec. 4 in Stillwater, and later edged Iowa, 17-16 (on criteria), on Jan. 7 in Iowa City.

In the OSU-Minnesota match-up, which increased OSU’s all-time series lead over the Gophers to 21-10, three Cowboys — Jamal Parks (149), Albert White (157) and Chris Perry (then at 184) — won by one-point margins.

If Oklahoma State and Iowa meet for the 46^th time — the Cowboys lead the all-time series, 26-18-2 — it will be hard to match the drama that 15,400 fans witnessed in Carver-Hawkeye in January when both schools each won five weight classes and the final outcome was decided by the NCAA’s No. 3 criteria: most individual points (OSU’s squad tallied 54 points to 51 by Iowa.)

The most dramatic matches in that first meeting came at 133 pounds, where Iowa’s Tony Ramos handed Jordan Oliver his only loss this season (by a 4-3 overtime margin), and at 174 pounds, where OSU’s Chris Perry also needed overtime to edge Ethen Lofthouse, 3-2. The wrestlers needed to be separated at the end of that hotly-contested match.

If Illinois is able to upset the host school, it would give the Illini a chance to avenge earlier-season losses to the Hawkeyes and Gophers. If there is a second meeting between these Big Ten schools, the most notable individual match-ups will come at 125, where Illinois’ Jesse Delgado handed Matt McDonough his only loss of the season. Meanwhile, Delgado would try to avenge a 14-13 loss to Minnesota’s Zach Sanders.

Training Technique of the Week: Power Development

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:10:21 +0000

By Scott Goodpaster

At Cincinnati Functional Fitness, we love to use a power development phase in-season for our wrestlers.

The power phase uses a traditional exercise for five heavy reps, but not to failure. Rest one minute and follow it up with an equivalent unloaded explosive exercise.

The whole idea behind the minute recovery is you want to give enough time for the energy system to be restored in the muscles you just targeted, but not too much time where the central nervous system calms down and falls asleep. Periodizing a wrestler’s program is paramount.

Using the power phase in-season will bring strength performance to a peak. This is complex training at its best. The power phase will keep your wrestlers strong and powerful during the season.

Wrestler Patrick Campbell performs five pull-ups using a 40-pound vest.

Patrick performs five explosive pull-ups.
Wrestler Tommy Kimbrell performs a heavy set of deadlifts for five repetitions.
Tommy prepares to perform five explosive spawls to a jump.

(Scott

WIN’s Feb. 13, 2012 TPI, Dual & Ind. Rankings

admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:42:17 +0000

NEWTON, Iowa — The following are WIN’s current Tournament Power Index (TPI), Team Dual and individual rankings. The previous rankings were Feb. 6, 2012. WIN will continue to release its TPI and individual rankings every week through the NCAA qualifying tournaments in early March.

Also, if a wrestler has not competed for several weeks, he will be removed from WIN’s rankings until he competes again and is successful.

The rankings are subject to change if wrestlers decide to change weights or take an Olympic redshirt. The WIN TPI does not rank teams according to dual meet performances.

WIN’s Feb. 13, 2012 Tournament Power Index (TPI)

Rank College Top 8 TPI

1 Penn State 6 91.5

2 Oklahoma State 4 73

3 Minnesota 6 64.5

4 Cornell 4 59

5 Iowa 4 56.5

6 Michigan 3 39.5

7t Wyoming 2 39

7t Lehigh 3 39

9 Edinboro 3 38

10 American 2 36.5

11 Nebraska 5 36

12 Missouri 2 32.5

13 Ohio State 2 32

14 Kent State 2 29.5

15 Illinois 3 29

16 Oklahoma 2 28.5

17 Iowa State 2 26.5

18 Cal Poly 2 26

19 Oregon State 2 24.5

20t Clarion 2 22.5

20t Maryland 1 22.5

22 Northwestern 1 21

23 Stanford 1 20

24 Virginia Tech 1 16.5

25 Central Michigan 1 16

26t Penn 1 15.5

26t Northern Iowa 2 15.5

28 Indiana 1 14

29t Air Force 1 13.5

29t Pittsburgh 1 13.5

31 Binghamton 1 11.5

32t Michigan State 1 9

32t Virginia 0 9

34 Rutgers 1 8.5

35 Ohio 1 7.5

36t Northern Illinois 1 6.5

36t North Carolina St 1 6.5

36t Northern Colorado 1 6.5

36t North Dakota St 1 6.5

36t Hofstra 0 6.5

41 Boise State 0 6

42t Harvard 0 5

42t Purdue 0 5

44 Appalachian State 0 3.5

45 Boston U. 0 2.5

46t Rider 0 2

46t Bloomsburg 0 2

46t Princeton 0 2

46t Navy 0 2

50t Wisconsin 0 1.5

50t The Citadel 0 1.5

50t Arizona State 0 1.5

53t Utah Valley 0 1

53t Old Dominion 0 1

53t Drexel 0 1

53t Eastern Michigan 0 1

53t West Virginia 0 1

WIN’s Feb. 13, 2012 Individual Rankings

125 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Matt McDonough (1st) Jr. Iowa

2 Zach Sanders (2nd) Sr. Minnesota

3 Alan Waters (3rd) So. Missouri

4 Nic Bedelyon (4th) Sr. Kent State

5 Jesse Delgado (5th) Fr. Illinois

6 Frank Perrelli (6th) Sr. Cornell

7 Jarrod Patterson (7th) Jr. Oklahoma

8 Ryan Mango (8th) Jr. Stanford

9 Nico Megaludis (9th) Fr. Penn State

10 Levi Mele (10th) Jr. Northwestern

11 Steve Bonanno (11th) Jr. Hofstra

12 Anthony Zanetta (12th) Jr. Pittsburgh

13 Ryak Finch (13th) Fr. Iowa State

14 Matt Snyder (14th) Jr. Virginia

15 Jon Morrison (15th) So. Oklahoma State

16 Joe Roth (16th) So. Central Michigan

17 Trent Sprenkle (17th) Jr. North Dakota State

18 Michael Martinez (18th) Sr. Wyoming

19 Johnni DiJulius (19th) Fr. Ohio State

20 Shane Gentry (20th) So. Maryland

133 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Jordan Oliver (1st) Jr. Oklahoma State

2 Logan Stieber (2nd) Fr. Ohio State

3 Tony Ramos (4th) So. Iowa

4 B.J. Futrell (5th) Jr. Illinois

5 Devin Carter (3rd) So. Virginia Tech

6 A.J. Schopp (6th) Fr. Edinboro

7 Chris Dardanes (7th) Fr Minnesota

8 Joe Colon (12th) Jr. Northern Iowa

9 Cashe Quiroga (10th) So. Purdue

10 Zac Stevens (13th) Sr. Michigan

11 Nathan McCormick (8th) Jr. Missouri

12 Jordan Keller (9th) Sr. Oklahoma

13 Zach Zehner (14th) Fr. Wyoming

14 Brian Owen (NR) Jr. Boise State

15 Mason Beckman (NR) Fr. Lehigh

16 Ridge Kiley (16th) Jr. Nebraska

17 Fred Santaite (15th) Sr. Boston U.

18 Steven Keith (11th) Jr. Harvard

19 Aaron Kalil (18th) Sr. Navy

20 Matt Nelson (20th) Sr. Virginia

141 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Kellen Russell (1st) Sr. Michigan

2 Boris Novachkov (2nd) Sr. Cal Poly

3 Kendric Maple (4th) So. Oklahoma

4 Montell Marion (5th) Sr. Iowa

5 Mike Mangrum (3rd) So. Oregon State

6 Hunter Stieber (6th) Fr. Ohio State

7 Darrius Little (7th) Sr. North Carolina St

8 Jake Sueflohn (8th) Fr. Nebraska

9 Nick Nelson (9th) Sr. Virginia

10 Zack Kemmerer (10th) Sr. Penn

11 Matt Mariacher (11th) Sr. American

12 Mitchell Port (12th) Fr. Edinboro

13 Nick Dardanes (13th) So. Minnesota

14 Josh Kindig (14th) So. Oklahoma State

15 Steve Dutton (15th) So. Lehigh

16 Tyler Small (17th) Fr. Kent State

17 Adam Krop (16th) So. Princeton

18 Luke Goettl (18th) Fr. Iowa State

19 Luke Vaith (19th) Sr. Hofstra

20 Zach Neibert (20th) So. Virginia Tech

149 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Frank Molinaro (1st) Jr. Penn State

2 Jamal Parks (2nd) Sr. Oklahoma State

3 Cole Van Ohlen (3rd) Jr. Air Force

4 Ian Miller (4th) Fr. Kent State

5 David Habat (5th) Fr. Edinboro

6 Donnie Vinson (7th) Jr. Binghamton

7 Mario Mason (8th) Jr. Rutgers

8 Eric Grajales (6th) So. Michigan

9 Corey Jantzen (9th) Sr. Harvard

10 Dylan Ness (10th) Fr. Minnesota

11 Scott Sakaguchi (11th) So. Oregon State

12 Kyle Bradley (12th) So. Missouri

13 Nick Lester (13th) So. Oklahoma

14 Tyler Nauman (14th) Sr. Pittsburgh

15 Ivan Lopouchanski (15th) So. Purdue

16 Taylor Walsh (16th) Fr. Indiana

17 Eric Terrazas (17th) Sr. Illinois

18 Cam Tessari (18th) Fr. Ohio State

19 Gus Sako (19th) So. Virginia

20. Josh Wilson (NR) Jr. Utah Valley

157 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Kyle Dake (1st) Jr. Cornell

2 Jason Welch (2nd) Jr. Northwestern

3 Ganbayar Sanjaa (3rd) Sr. American

4 James Fleming (5th) So. Clarion

5 Dylan Alton (7th) Fr. Penn State

6 James Green (8th) Fr. Nebraska

7 Anthony Jones (9th) Sr. Michigan State

8 Steven Monk (10th) So. North Dakota State

9 Walter Peppelman (12th) Jr. Harvard

10 Drake Houdashelt (11th) Fr. Missouri

11 Derek St. John (4th) So. Iowa

12 Frank Hickman (15th) Jr. Bloomsburg

13 Justin Lister (6th) Jr. Binghamton

14 Matt Lester (13th) So. Oklahoma

15 Albert White (14th) Sr. Oklahoma State

16 George Ivanov (16th) So. Boise State

17 Dan Kolodzik (17th) Sr. Princeton

18 David Bonin (18th) Jr. Northern Iowa

19 R.J. Pena (20th) So. Oregon State

20 Josh Demas (NR) Fr. Ohio State

165 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 David Taylor (1st) So. Penn State

2 Josh Asper (2nd) Jr. Maryland

3 Shane Onufer (3rd) Sr. Wyoming

4 Andrew Sorenson (4th) Sr. Iowa State

5 Bekzud Abdurakmanov (5th) Sr. Clarion

6 Robert Kokesh (6th) Fr. Nebraska

7 Gabe Burak (7th) Sr. Northern Colorado

8 Conrad Polz (8th) So. Illinois

9 Mike Evans (9th) Fr. Iowa

10 Paul Gillespie (10th) Sr. Hofstra

11 Peter Yates (11th) Jr. Virginia Tech

12 Pat “Bubby” Graham (12th) Jr. Oklahoma

13 Ben Jordan (13th) Sr. Wisconsin

14 Kyle Blevins (14th) Sr. Appalachian State

15 Cody Yohn (16th) Jr. Minnesota

16 Nick Sulzer (18th) Fr. Virginia

17 Joe Booth (19th) Jr. Drexel

18 Scott Winston (20th) Jr. Rutgers

19 Dallas Bailey (20th) So. Oklahoma State

20 Joe Phillips (NR) So. Eastern Michigan

174 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Nick Amuchastegui (1st) Sr. Stanford

2 Ed Ruth (2nd) So. Penn State

3 Chris Perry (3rd) So. Oklahoma State

4 Logan Storley (5th) Fr. Minnesota

5 Ryan DesRoches (4th) Sr. Cal Poly

6 Justin Zeerip (6th) Sr. Michigan

7 Chris Spangler (8th) Jr. Iowa State

8 Ethen Lofthouse (9th) So. Iowa

9 Nick Heflin (7th) So. Ohio State

10 Jim Resnick (10th) Jr. Rider

11 Jordan Blanton (12th) Jr. Illinois

12 Jimmy Sheptock (11th) So. Maryland

13 Curran Jacobs (13th) Sr. Michigan State

14 Lee Munster (14th) Fr. Northwestern

15 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (15th) Jr. The Citadel

16 Dorian Henderson (20th) Sr. Missouri

17 Te Edwards (16th) Sr. Old Dominion

18 Greg Zannetti (17th) Jr. Rutgers

19 Pat Martinez (19th) So. Wyoming

20 Nick Purdue (18th) Sr. Ohio

184 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Joe LeBlanc (1st) Sr. Wyoming

2 Robert Hamlin (2nd) Jr. Lehigh

3 Quentin Wright (3rd) Jr. Penn State

4 Ben Bennett (4th) Sr. Central Michigan

5 Steve Bosak (5th) Jr. Cornell

6 Ryan Loder (6th) So. Northern Iowa

7 Kevin Steinhaus (7th) So. Minnesota

8 Josh Ihnen (8th) Sr. Nebraska

9 Austin Trotman (9th) Sr. Appalachian State

10 Cody Mangrum (10th) So. Ohio State

11 Jake Swartz (11th) So. Boise State

12 Jon Fausey (12th) So. Virginia

13 Braden Atwood (14th) Fr. Purdue

14 Mike Larson (15th) Jr. Missouri

15 Boaz Beard (16th) So. Iowa State

16 Ben Clymer (13th) Sr. Hofstra

17 Luke Rebertus (17th) Sr. Navy

18 Matt Ryan (18th) So. West Virginia

19 Brad Dieckhaus (19th) Sr. Northern Illinois

20 Casey Newburg (20th) So. Kent State

197 Pounds

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Cam Simaz (1st) Sr. Cornell

2 Chris Honeycutt (2nd) Sr. Edinboro

3 Micah Burak (3rd) Jr. Penn

4 Matt Powless (4th) Sr. Indiana

5 Matt Wilps (5th) Jr. Pittsburgh

6 Brent Haynes (9th) Jr. Missouri

7 Joe Kennedy (7th) Sr. Lehigh

8 Sonny Yohn (6th) Sr. Minnesota

9 Christian Boley (8th) So. Maryland

10 Cayle Byers (NR) Jr. Oklahoma State

11 Alfonso Hernandez (11th) Jr. Wyoming

12 Jerome Ward (NR) Sr. Iowa State

13 Taylor Meeks (12th) Fr. Oregon State

14 John Hall (13th) Sr. Boston U.

15 Keldrick Hall (18th) Jr. Oklahoma

16 Mario Gonzales (14th) So. Illinois

17 Morgan McIntosh (16th) Fr. Penn State

18 Dan Mitchell (15th) Jr. American

19 Max Huntley (17th) So. Michigan

20 Brent Chriswell (NR) Jr. Boise State

Heavyweight

Rk Name (Prev.) Yr. School

1 Ryan Flores (1st) Sr. American

2 Alan Gelogaev (2nd) Sr. Oklahoma State

3 Zach Rey (3rd) Sr. Lehigh

4 Anthony Nelson (4th) Jr. Minnesota

5 Clayton Jack (5th) Sr. Oregon State

6 Cameron Wade (6th) Jr. Penn State

7 Jeremy Johnson (7th) So. Ohio

8 Tucker Lane (9th) Jr. Nebraska

9 Bobby Telford (10th) Fr. Iowa

10 Ben Apland (8th) Jr. Michigan

11 Brendan Barlow (11th) Sr. Kent State

12 Peter Sturgeon (12th) Sr. Central Michigan

13 Levi Cooper (13th) Jr. Arizona State

14 Spencer Myers (15th) So. Maryland

15 Matt Gibson (16th) Jr. Iowa State

16 Mike McMullan (17th) Fr. Northwestern

17 Mike McClure (14th) So. Michigan State

18 Nick Gwiadowski (18th) Fr. Binghamton

19 Devin Mellon (NR) Fr, Missouri

20 Ernest James (NR) So. Edinboro

WIN’S Feb. 13, 2012 Team Dual Rankings

Rk School (Previous) W-L

1. Oklahoma State (1st) 13-0

2. Penn State (2nd) 12-1

3. Iowa (3rd) 13-3

4. Minnesota (4th) 12-3

5. Illinois (6th) 16-2

6. Cornell (5th) 10-1

7. Ohio State (7th) 13-4

8. Nebraska (8th) 14-3

9. Wyoming (9th) 7-3

10. Missouri (10th) 14-3

11. Oklahoma (11th) 12-4

12. Pittsburgh (12th) 13-1

13. Maryland (13th) 14-1

14. Michigan (14th) 6-6

15. Lehigh (15th) 9-5

16. Kent State (16th) 13-5

17. Virginia (17th) 9-1

18. Oregon State (18th) 9-2

19. Hofstra (19th) 11-2

20. Purdue (NR) 9-9

• through Feb. 12, 2012 competition

Updated NCAA Top 33 and RPI

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:48:00 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA released the second of three coaches’ panel rankings and
the first Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2011-12 wrestling season. The final rankings and
RPI will be two of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for
the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

Potential 2012 NCAA qualifiers per conference

Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by Division I winning percentage, RPI
and coaches’ rankings to earn spots for the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
The coaches’ rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches across the nation. Each qualifying
tournament has five coaches rank the top 33 wrestlers in two weight classes. For ranking
purposes, coaches must select a wrestler as a starter at a designated weight class. In addition,
coaches may only select one wrestler per weight class.

To be eligible for an RPI ranking, a wrestler must have a minimum of 17 Division I
matches at a given weight class. The top 33 wrestlers in the RPI are listed for each weight class.

The top-ranked wrestlers at each weight class in the second rankings are: Matt
McDonough, University of Iowa (125 pounds); Jordan Oliver, Oklahoma State University (133
pounds); Kellen Russell, University of Michigan (141 pounds); Frank Molinaro, Pennsylvania
State University (149 pounds); Kyle Dake, Cornell University (157 pounds); David Taylor, Penn
State (165 pounds); Nick Amuchastegui, Stanford University (174 pounds); Joe LeBlanc,
University of Wyoming (184 pounds); Christopher Honeycutt, Edinboro University of
Pennsylvania (197 pounds) and Ryan Flores, American University (Heavyweight).

Coaches Feb 7, 2012 Rankings

Feb. 9, 2012 RPI Rankings

What Dual teams will make up wrestling’s first Final Four?

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:24:41 +0000

By Mike Finn

In college basketball, there is no bigger goal than to be part of the Final Four, representing the four schools which have one final weekend to win a national championship.

2012 Mat Mayhem Regional Brackets

College wrestling hopes to create the same feeling the next two weeks with the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Promoted as “Mat Mayhem” by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, a champion — for the first time in the 24-year history of the event — must first go through one of four regional tournaments.

Stillwater, Okla., Ames, Iowa, Piscataway, N.J., and Ithaca, N.Y., will each play host to six team this Saturday or Sunday. The winners of each regional will then compete for the championship, Feb. 19, at a site to be determined after the regionals are done.

NWCA Statement on the Location of the Mat Mayhem Finals

In the future, the NWCA would like teams to actually earn a spot in this tournament, depending primarily on their placement in their conferences. But for this year, the 24 teams competing were invited by the NWCA and all but one of WIN’s Top-10 dual teams accepted the invite.

So what schools will emerge from the regional tournaments and make up the first Final Four of the national dual tournament?

The remaining four schools — No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Minnesota and No. 5 Cornell — have all been separated and should be the favorites to win this weekend.

But what schools could provide the upset and join the Final Four party?

The following is a breakdown on each regional tournament that includes special storylines and potential match-ups of ranked wrestlers.

Stillwater Regional Team Lineups

Stillwater, Okla., Regional, Feb. 12

Action begins at 1 p.m. in Gallagher-Iba Arena with the final slated for 5 p.m.

Major Storyline — Are the Oklahoma State Cowboys this good, especially against upstarts like Ohio State and Wyoming?

#1 Oklahoma State — The unbeaten Cowboys (11-0), whose closest victory this season was a 17-16 criteria win at Iowa, features eight ranked wrestlers, including defending national champion Jordan Oliver (133) and three wrestlers ranked in the top three: #2 Jamal Parks (149), #3 Chris Perry (174) and #2 Alan Gelogaev (Hwt).

But there may be some chinks in the Cowboys’ armor as Josh Kindig (No. 14 at 141) has been suspended by OSU coach John Smith and Blake Rosholt (No. 10 at 197) has struggled recently, had an injury the weekend of Feb. 4 and may be replaced by George Mason-transfer Cayle Byers who started the year before being replaced by Rosholt.

#7 Ohio State — Coach Tom Ryan features seven freshmen in his Buckeye line-up that upset Iowa, 21-9, this winter. Of those youngsters, four came to Columbus from the small town of Monroeville, Ohio, including the Stieber brothers — Logan is ranked No. 2 at 133 and Hunter (a true freshman) is rated No. 6 at 141 — and Cam Tessari (No. 18 at 149).

#8 Nebraska — The Huskers — competing in their first season in the Big Ten —feature three notable wrestlers in the middle of their line-up who are ranked: Jake Sueflohn (#8 at 141), James Green (#8 at 157) and Robert Kokesh (#6 at 165). Green reminds many Husker fans of the man he has replaced in the line-up this season: Jordan Burroughs, the Hodge Trophy winner, two-time NCAA champion and 2011 World freestyle champion, who like Green also hailed from New Jersey.

#9 Wyoming — It has been nearly 50 years since the Cowboys of Laramie, Wyom., have been this good. And coach Mark Branch — who is in his fourth year at Wyoming and returns to his alma mater on Sunday — features six ranked wrestlers, including two who could be NCAA finalists: Joe LeBlanc (#1 at 184) and Shane Onufer (#3 at 165).

Boise State — Coach Greg Randall lost nearly his entire 2011 team to graduation and one of the few returning All-Americans, 149-pound Jason Chamberlain, is taking an Olympic redshirt. The most notable of the Broncos is 157-pound junior George Ivanov, who was part of the NCAA Div. II national championship program at Nebraska-Omaha that was dropped last March.

Chattanooga — As the only Division I program in Tennessee — and one of few schools south of the Mason-Dixon line that feature wrestling — the Mocs have an uphill battle, especially after Appalachian State ended their 39-match Southern Conference streak last weekend. Chattanooga has just one ranked wrestler: freshman Nick Soto (#17 at 133).

KEY POTENTIAL MATCH-UPS IN THIS REGION:

• At 133 pounds — #1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Logan Stieber (Ohio State)

• At 141 pounds — #6 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) vs. #8 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) in a battle of ranked freshmen.

• At 165 pounds — #3 Shane Onufer (Wyoming) vs. #6 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska)

Ames Regional Team Lineups

Ames, Iowa, Regional, Feb. 12

Action begins at 11 a.m. at Hilton Coliseum with the final slated for 3 p.m.

Major Storyline — Will Iowa emerge from a region where five of the six teams are coached by former Hawkeyes? Those former Iowa stand-outs are Iowa’s Tom Brands, Oregon State’s Jim Zalesky (who led the Iowa program to three NCAA titles before being replaced by Brands), Northern Iowa’s Doug Schwab, Virginia Tech’s Kevin Dresser and Wisconsin’s Barry Davis.

#3 Iowa — Have the Hawkeyes, ranked No. 1 earlier this year, overcome the January thaw, when they lost matches to Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Penn State? Coach Tom Brands does not want to hear that Iowa has dealt with injuries, including those that sidelined 2011 All-Americans Derek St. John (157) and Grant Gambrell (who has moved up to 197 this season, but is looking to come back down to 184). The Hawkeye coach wants his stars to provide better leadership, especially 125-pound Matt McDonough (the 2010 national champion and 2011 runner-up) and 141-pound Montell Marion (NCAA runner-up in 2010 and third-place finisher in 2011).

#18 Oregon State — Coach Jim Zalesky — who led Iowa to the 1998, 1999 and 2000 NCAA titles before arriving in Corvallis, Ore., on April 14, 2006 — has his finest Beaver team yet as five OSU wrestlers are ranked. Of those, the most notable are Mike Mangrum (#3 at 141) and Clayton Jack (#5 at Hwt), who each won championships at this season’s Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December.

Iowa State — Patience is the No. 1 thing being preached by Cyclone coach Kevin Jackson, who is still rebuilding the program that finished third two years ago in the NCAAs when he was coaching many of the wrestlers recruited by former ISU coach Cael Sanderson. While the Cyclones have suffered the most dual losses in the history of the program, Jackson does feature a probable All-American in Andrew Sorenson (#4 at 165) who missed the 2011 postseason when he suffered an elbow injury prior to last year’s Big 12 tournament. Speaking of injuries, ISU should return Chris Spangler (#8 at 174) and former All-American Jerome Ward, who has missed the entire season because of a past injury but is expected to compete this Sunday at 197 pounds.

Northern Iowa — Doug Schwab, now in his second year in Cedar Falls, is slowly rebuilding the talent in his wrestling room. The most notable Panthers are sophomores Ryan Loder (#6 at 184) and Joe Colon (#12 at 133).

Virginia Tech — Kevin Dresser, whose Hokies finished second to Cornell in last year’s NWCA National Duals, features three ranked wrestlers … and none have been more impressive than sophomore Devin Carter (#3 at 133) who defeated Iowa’s Tony Ramos in this season’s Midlands final; just a day after his father suffered a heart attack.

Wisconsin — Barry Davis, who is in his 19^th season in Madison, is just two years removed from seeing his Wisconsin team finish fourth nationally. Unfortunately, Davis is suffering through perhaps his toughest season. After winning their first five duals this season, the Badgers have lost ten straight prior to the National Duals. But then again, Davis is without two 2011 All-Americans — 133-pound Tyler Graff and 165-pound Andrew Howe — who are taking Olympic redshirts this season.

KEY POSSIBLE INDIVIDUAL MATCH-UPS:

• At 133 pounds — #3 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) vs. #4 Tony Ramos (Iowa)

• At 141 pounds — #3 Mike Mangrum (Oregon State) vs. #5 Montell Marion (Iowa)

• At 165 pounds — #4 Andrew Sorenson (Iowa State) vs. #8 Mike Evans (Iowa)

Rutgers Regional Team Lineups

Piscataway, N.J, Regional, Feb. 11

Action begins at 2 p.m. at Rutgers Athletic Arena with the final slated for 6 p.m.

Major Storyline — Will the champion have an “M” in its name — Minnesota, Missouri or Michigan — or will the upstarts from Kent State provide an even bigger surprise?

#4 Minnesota — Coach J Robinson — now in his 26^th year in Minneapolis — has perhaps his best Gopher team since Minnesota won the 2007 NCAA championship, especially considering his team is the only one to beat Big Ten co-champs Penn State in November.

And while the veteran coach features a pair of senior leaders in Zach Sanders (#2 at 125) and Sonny Yohn (#6 at 197), Robinson also features six underclassmen, including four freshmen who are ranked: the Dardanes twins (Chris, #7 at 133, and Nick, #13 at 141), Dylan Ness (#10 at 149), the younger brother of 2010 Hodge Trophy winner Jayson Ness, and Logan Storley (#5 at 174) who is one year removed from winning the Junior Hodge Trophy last winter.

#10 Missouri — Coach Brian Smith’s Tigers recently defeated Oklahoma, 25-12, after losing to the Sooners, 19-18, in November. The best Tiger is sophomore Alan Waters (#3 at 125) but now many of Missouri’s wrestlers are starting to emerge as All-American threats, including Nathan McCormick (#8 at 133) and Brent Haynes (#9 at 197).

#14 Michigan — Coach Joe McFarland’s Wolverines have not fared that well in dual competition — 6-5 entering the National Duals — but there is no question he has a strong individual tournament team as Michigan finished second at the Las Vegas Invite and won the Mat Town in January.

But the Wolverines have the talent to be tough in dual competition now that defending national champion and senior Kellen Russell (#1 at 141) has regained his top spot at that weight — after losing to Ohio State’s Hunter Stieber in Vegas. Then there are three other probable All-Americans in sophomore Eric Grajales (#6 at 149), senior Justin Zeerip (#6 at 174) and junior Ben Apland (#8 at HWT).

#16 Kent State — Perhaps no dual team is hotter than the Golden Flashes. After his team opened the season with a 1-4 record, coach Jim Andrassy has seen his squad win ten straight dual meets: highlighted by an 18-14 victory against Missouri (which beat Kent State earlier 34-12) and Central Michigan, 22-13, to help KSU capture its second MAC duals title in four years.

What is surprising about this Kent State team is that many thought the Flashes would be weaker after the Ohio school’s first national champion Dustin Kilgore (197) chose to take an Olympic redshirt this year. But in his absence are five nationally-ranked wrestlers, including senior Nic Bedelyon (#4 at 125) and freshman Ian Miller (#4 at 149).

Cal Poly — The Mustangs have not enjoyed a banner dual season but individuals like seniors Boris Novachkov (#2 at 141) and Ryan DesRoches (#4 at 174) are in line to earn at least All-American honors this March.

Rutgers — The region’s host school hopes the home mat advantage will help the Scarlett Knights, who have lost four of its last five duals to Lehigh, Hofstra, West Virginia and Virginia. But remember this Rutgers team, which lost in the opening round at the Virginia Duals, came back to win three straight duals. The most notable Knight is Mario Mason, a former Minnesota wrestler, who transferred back to his home state two years ago and is ranked #8 at 149.

KEY POSSIBLE INDIVIDUAL MATCH-UPS:

• At 125 pounds — #2 Zach Sanders (Minnesota) vs. #3 Alan Waters (Missouri) vs. #4 Nic Bedelyon (Kent State)

• At 141 pounds — #1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) vs. #2 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly) — This would be a rematch of last year’s NCAA final, won by Russell, and a meeting from the Las Vegas tourney that the Wolverine also won in double overtime.

• At 149 pounds — #8 Mario Mason (Rutgers), a former Minnesota wrestler, vs. #10 Dylan Ness (Minnesota).

• At 174 pounds — #5 Logan Storley (Minnesota) vs. #6 Justin Zeerip (Michigan)

Ithaca Regional Team Lineups

Ithaca, N.Y, Regional, Feb. 12

Action begins at 10 a.m. at Newman Arena with the final slated for 2 p.m.

Major Storyline — Can Cornell stay unbeaten against improved Illinois and Oklahoma teams?

#5 Cornell — The Big Red (9-0) is one of just two undefeated teams in this year’s National Duals. And while the first of those wins was against Minnesota, 21-16, in November, the rest of the duals have been against primarily Ivy League competition; giving coach Rob Koll his tenth Ivy League crown.

But don’t ignore the national power of this line-up that includes two-time defending national champion Kyle Dake (now up to 157 after winning NCAAs at 141 and 149 the last two years) and seniors Steve Bosak (#5 at 184) and Cam Simaz (#1 at 197).

#6 Illinois — Coach Jim Heffernan’s Illini have recorded the most dual victories (14-2) in the history of its program, thanks primarily to the opening 1-2 punch of freshman Jesse Delgado (#5 at 125) — who defeated Iowa’s Matt McDonough in Iowa City this winter — and junior B.J. Futrell (#5 at 133). There are at least four other ranked wrestlers in Blue and Orange, including a pair of juniors in Conrad Polz (#9 at 165) and Jordan Blanton (#12 at 174).

#11 Oklahoma — In his first year in Norman after recreating an American University program, coach Mark Cody has enjoy a “rookie” campaign with seven ranked wrestlers.

Leading this group is sophomore Kendric Maple (#4 at 141), who defeated Iowa’s Montell Marion for the Midlands championship. Then there is junior Jarrod Patterson (#7 at 125) and the Lester brothers (Nick, #13 at 149, and Matt, #15 at 157) who make this Sooner bunch pretty stiff competition.

#20 American University — While ranked, the Eagles (6-6) have an interesting team with a lot of talent at some select weights. They’re led by senior Ryan Flores (#1 at Hwt), who finishes second nationally last March, and senior Ganbayar Sanjaa (#3 at 157), who finished second in this year’s Midlands.

Central Michigan — One reason coach Tom Borrelli’s Chippewas are not as dominant as they’ve been in the past is that two All-Americans — Scott Sentes (141) and heavyweight Jarrod Trice — are taking Olympic redshirts. Picking up the pace is junior Ben Bennett (#4 at 184) and senior Peter Sturgeon (#12 at Hwt), who transferred to CMU after UNC-Greensboro dropped its program last year.

Purdue — Another former UNC-Greensboro alum — Ivan Lopouchanski (#15 at 149) —has provided punch to the Boilermakers who did beat American U, 24-22, in November.

KEY POSSIBLE INDIVIDUAL MATCH-UPS:

• At 125 pounds — #5 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) vs. #6 Frank Perrelli (Cornell) vs. #7 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma)

• At 157 pounds — #1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. #3 Ganbayar Sanjaa (American) in what may also be an EIWA final