December 2006 Wrestling Articles

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma scored 30 unanswered points after trailing early to dominate the North Carolina State Wolfpack by a score of 30-9 in Norman.

The Sooners trailed 9-0 after losing the first three matches of the evening. Taylor Cummings won in a 6-4 decision over Greg Cannon at 125 pounds, followed by 133-pound J.R. Roman falling to Ryan Tice by a 13-10 decision. The Wolfpack extended their lead 9-0 after a 5-0 decision by Joe Caramanica over Zack Bailey at 141 pounds.

Will Rowe at 149 pounds started the Sooner comeback with… more »

COLUMBUS, Ohio - After posting a 36-6 victory over Notre Dame College last Sunday to open the 2007-08 season, the No. 8 Ohio State wrestling team is preparing for the Chattanooga Duals Saturday at Maclellan Gym in Chattanooga, Tenn.

In addition to Ohio State and Chattanooga, Anderson and No. 15 (NAIA) Cumberland Universities are scheduled to compete.

Projected OSU Lineup at Chattanooga Duals
125 – Nikko Triggas (1-0)
133 – Reece Humphrey (1-0)
141 – J Jaggers (1-0)
149 – Lance Palmer (1-0)
157 –… more »

Line Up Set for Buckeye Wrestle Offs

COLUMBUS, Ohio – With the Ohio State wrestling team’s season beginning in less than a month, the squad held preliminary wrestle offs Thursday in the Steelwood Athletic Training Facility to narrow down potential starters for the 2007-08 season. The winners from the wrestle offs Thursday will compete in the finals at 8 p.m. Oct. 25 in St. John Arena.

Nine of the 10 weight classes will be featured next Thursday, as 141 will not be contested. At 125 pounds, freshman Nikko Triggas will match up against classmate… more »

GREENSBORO, NC ? All came down to the wire as top-ranked Missouri slipped passed two-time defending champion Minnesota to capture its second Southern Scuffle championship on Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum's Special Events Center.
Despite having four tournament champions, No. 2 Minnesota couldn't catch Missouri, who accumulating 179.5 points to the Golden Gophers 176 points. UNCG finished the two-day tournament with 25.5 points for 21st place.
In the 174 lbs. weight class, Missouri 's Ben Askren was named Most Outstanding Wrestler for his performance. He recorded five consecutive pins, including a fall victory over Navy's Matt Stolpinski to… more »

We all have had our turkeys, hams, mash-potatoes and gravy. We are stuffed (except those cutting all their extra pounds) and ready for the major mid season tournaments: Midlands and Southern Scuffle. These two tournaments are the test before the real deal.

Although Midlands isn?t what it used to be, it is still a premier tournament with a strong Big Ten showing. The real question at Midlands is how Iowa State is going to do against Iowa. Expect fireworks and a real battle for the team title. Iowa handily beat Iowa State earlier this month, but… more »

Tenth-ranked Central Michigan University advanced five wrestlers to the finals en route to the team title at the Reno Tournament of Champions.

The championship is CMU's first at the event. Oklahoma State had won the tournament four straight years and nine times in the 12 years it has been held. The Chippewas tallied 132.5 team points, while Oklahoma State was runner-up with 131. Oregon State was third with 96.5 team points.

CMU held a commanding lead in the team standings entering the medal round, as five Chippewas advanced to the finals of their respective… more »

...Ben and Maxwell Askren Ranked No. 1 in their Weight Class...
Columbia, Mo. - The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) together with USA Today and Intermat.com announced this afternoon that the Missouri wrestling team has been voted No. 1 in the nation with two Tiger grapplers, senior Ben Askren and younger brother, redshirt freshman Maxwell Askren, ranked No. 1 at 174 and 197 pounds, respectively. This marks the highest ranking ever for a Missouri wrestling team and first time since the 1989-90 men's basketball season that a Tiger team has been ranked at the top of a national poll. more »

Nick Simmons records 40th career fall and 115th career win.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 19 Michigan State wrestling team got off to a promising start with three straight wins in its dual meet with No. 2 Missouri on Sunday afternoon, thanks to a technical fall at 125 pounds by red-shirt freshman Franklin Gomez and a fall by the nation's top-ranked 133-pounder, Nick Simmons, but Missouri reeled off seven consecutive victories to clinch a 29-14 win at Jenison Field House.
"Well, it was a great start," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel. "I don't know if we've… more »

...Head Coach Brian Smith Hits the Century Mark...
Mount Pleasant, Mich. - The second-ranked Missouri wrestling team improved to 2-0 on the season after topping No. 11 Central Michigan, 31-9, in Rose Arena. With the victory, Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith collected his 100th career win since taking the helm of the program in 1998 and now owns a 100-53-1 mark and .653 winning percentage.
Opening the night at 125 pounds, redshirt freshman John Olanowski (Virginia Beach, Va.) suffered a 6-1 loss to No. 13 Luke Smith. Ranked No. 24 in the nation at 125 pounds, Olanowski is… more »

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan wrestling
team suffered its first loss of the season, falling to No. 11 Central
Michigan 21-12 in U-M's home opener Friday (Dec. 8) in front of 1,444
fans at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines won four bouts during the
contest, but could not recover after CMU built an early nine-point
advantage with wins in the first three matches.
With U-M trailing by three points entering the final bout,
senior/junior heavyweight Omar Maktabi (Iowa City, Iowa/West HS) scored
a takedown late in the… more »

The third-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team defeated its second top 10 opponent in three days with a 19-13 victory over No. 7 Iowa State on Friday night. Much like Wednesday night against top-ranked Oklahoma State, Gabriel Dretsch provided the pivotal win after the dual entered the 174-pound match in a deadlock.
Minnesota took a 9-3 lead after the first four bouts before ISU's Paulson brothers provided back-to-back decisions at 157 and 165 to tie the match at nine apiece. Enter Dretsch, who provided the most exciting victory of the night. After trailing 4-3 with less than a… more »

The No. 3 University of Minnesota wrestling team sent an early season statement Wednesday night with a 21-15 victory over top-ranked Oklahoma State. The Golden Gophers won three of the final four matches of the night to put the Cowboys away.
Minnesota has now won eight of the last 11 meetings between the two storied programs. The Gophers snapped a streak of eight consecutive duals between the two teams in which the home team was on the losing end. The Maroon and Gold earned its first victory over the Cowboys at home since a 23-16 victory on Feb. 5,… more »

...197 pound Grappler Starts Career with Perfect 10-0 Record...
Columbia, Mo. Redshirt freshman Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) was named November's Big 12 Wrestler of the Month after knocking off three of the nation's top-five wrestlers as announced today by the league office. A perfect 10-0 on the season, Askren most recently collected his first Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title at 197 pounds becoming Missouri?s first freshman to take top honors at the prestigious event.
Opening the season Nov. 16 against Ohio State, Askren, then ranked No. 12 in the nation, took down All-American and then No. 2… more »

IOWA CITY, IA -

The University of Iowa wrestling team won eight of 10 matches, including six by two points or less, to defeat intrastate rival Iowa State, 24-6, Sunday afternoon in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. A crowd of 13,732, which is the fifth-largest for a dual wrestling meet in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the 11th-largest in school history, turned out for the meet. Iowa improves to 3-0 on the season and bumped the Hawkeyes to a 7-4 lead in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series with the win. Iowa State falls to 2-1.
"I'm going to give our guys credit,"… more »

NORMAN, Okla. -

Oklahoma State's Jared Rosholt recorded a decision over Brad Farmer in the final match of the dual to lift the top-ranked Cowboys to a 17-15 victory over Bedlam rival Oklahoma at the McCasland Fieldhouse in Norman, Okla.
OSU extended its Bedlam winning streak to 17 consecutive matches and improved to 3-0 on the season. OU dropped to 3-1 on the year.

The Cowboys and Sooners traded victories following OU's victory at 157 by Will Rowe, which gave the Sooners a 9-8 lead in the dual. Johny Hendricks gave OSU the… more »

It?s a battle that will last for the next 20 years. It begins Sunday December 3rd 2006 in Carver Hawkeye Arena. Cael Sanderson and Tom Brands go at it, not on the mat of course, but directing their teams. You see, they no longer do the hand to hand combat; instead it?s a battle of two generals with vastly different styles and personalities.

An Unspoken Tension
Cael Sanderson never was the intense ?in your face? type guy ? at least not off the mat. He was a guy who loved wrestling and went out and competed.… more »