Starts on Friday! Let's get some chatter going. Toughest weight? Predictions?


UNO Will likely have video links from their home page....not sure though.

http://www.omavs.com/index.aspx?path=wrestling

There will be live updated scores here

http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-wrestl/champpage/m-wrestl-div2-index.html

Here's a link to a great overview from Jason Bryant

http://www.themat.com/section.php?section_id=3&page=showarticle&ArticleID=21663

UNO will be webcasting the tournment.

if you click on the NCAA.com link Ike posted earlier and then click on the Schedule tab you will find the hyperlinks for streaming video of each session.

Friday morning session - http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ncaa&media=171693

Friday evening session - http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ncaa&media=171694

Saturday morning session - http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ncaa&media=171696

The finals link has not yet been posted.

NCAA Sports championship page also has live scoring for in progress matches....pretty neat feature too.

I wouldnt consider this to be a great overview..Jason Bryant didnt even mention #1 ranked Andre Harrison, He thinks that Andre isn't even a factor for Augustana's Sherer who lost to Harrison 5-2 earlier this year

That match at National Duals was a lot closer than the 5-2 score. I would not say that Harrison is a lock to beat Sherer who is a returning All American. Bryant's article featured the returning All Americans, not first time qualifiers. Harrison should not overlook Jeremy Parker either who is very capable of getting to the finals.

The most recent Div II rankings appear to be as of 2/17:

141 Pounds
1. Josh Hensley, Adams State (Colo.)
2. Andre Harrison, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
3. Mario Morgan, Nebraska-Omaha
4. Ben Lockett, San Francisco State (Calif.)
5. Adam Whetstone, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
6. Jeremy Parker, Limestone (S.C.)
7. Jay Sherer, Augustana (S.D.)
8. Nate Nauroth, Shippensburg (Pa.)


I do see that Harrison had a 4-3 decision over Hensley on 2/27, but the rankings were not updated after 2/17.

Lancer Lou the NWCA popped out a ranking following the regionals on March 4th. Here are the 141's...

141 Pounds
1. Andre Harrison, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
2. Josh Hensley, Adams State (Colo.)
3. Mario Morgan, Nebraska-Omaha
4. Jeremy Parker, Limestone (S.C.)
5. Brady Schneeberger, Minnesota State-Moorhead
6. Jimmy Savala, Chadron State (Neb.)
7. Jay Sherer, Augustana (S.D.)
8. Daniel Genetin, Ashland (Ohio)

The FINAL rankings will be decided by the wrestlers themselves Saturday night in the Sapp Fieldhouse on the Nebraska-Omaha campus...

Thanks. Where are these posted? I didn't see any new rankings on The Mat or on UNO's home page. Maybe I just missed them or I need a new source for info.

See you Friday in Omaha.

Here you go Lancer Lou...they are on the archived stories page of the UNO website...there is always a final rankings following the regionals...

http://omavs.com/documents/2010/3/3/mat_rankings.pdf?id=1083

Jason Bryant's overview was about more than just returning AA's. I imagine he just looked over Harrison by accident. There aren't many matches at this tourney that are a lock but I bet you Andre beats Sherer again. Harrison has beat all the serious contenders in this bracket...you can't argue that. Close only counts in horeshoes and hand grenades and this is wrestling.

Toughest weight?

I think 165 is probably the toughest top to bottom. 197 is pretty dang tough too.

There are some other weights with dogfights for the top three but 165 weights will be tough through the top eight.

Have Valko and Garcia ever wrestled?

While I agree the ommision of Harrison as a serious contender was possibly an oversite Bryant only talked about past qualifiers and AA's. If you cut to the chase based on wrestlers records Morgan, Hensley and Harrison are the best. Savala and Parker are next. But being realistic looking past Jeremy Parker would be a serious mistake. Harrison has not beat him or faced him. And I saw the Sherer vs Harrison match with my own eyes and Harrison did not dominate him. That was a close match with a close ending..as a matter of fact Harrison beat Hensley 4-3 but also lost to him 12-2...Harrison also beat Morgan 4-3 so neither one of those wins were dominating enough to say he would beat then again...Can Harrison win the whole thing-yes...is he the favorite...no...when the press looks at favorites they consider who is a returning All American (or champ) with a solid record first....next comes past national qualifiers then all others fall in line after that...141 will be interesting in the semis...Morgan better not look past Hensley or Savala (in the 1/4's) who he has beat at the NCAA's before and Harrison beter not look past Parker or Sherer (in the 1/4's) or neither one of them will be in the finals...

Championships are won in March not in Feb, Jan or Dec. so while past wins are nice they are by no means a guarantee (especially with so many competitors close in talent) to a title....

I don't want to drag on the fact that Bryant spoke of many other contenders besides returning DII AA's....but he did. Seth Wright, Laramie, Dallas Hall, Elijah Madison, Justin Decker,and a slew of other guys who aren't returning DII AAs.

Harrison was a Junior College All-American. I realize they are not the same level of wreslting but many many guys have been successful in that transition. Some have found more success at the DII level than at JC's. Tommy Edgemon never earned AA status in JC's but was a runner-up in DII's. You'll see Brian Melchori go into the DII Hall of Fame this weekend. He never earned AA status in JC's but was a two time National Champ in DII's. Like I said, I realize it isn't the same level but it isn't as if Harrison is a freshman rolling into his first high level tourney either. We all know that a wrestling match between two high caliber wrestlers can go either way, especially at the National Tourney. I'm excited to see how this wt. plays out. Don't underestimate Hensley either. A month ago I would have said he wouldn't be beat. Harrison proved that wrong by sticking to a smart strategy. Kudos to him and Coach T for that game plan.

Spladle...toughest wt. top to bottom?

How can you say Harrison is not the favorite at 141? No one in the bracket has beat him besides Hensley, who he's split with, but has the last win over. He is ranked #1 in the country for that reason.

That makes him the favorite. Whether he wins it or not, we'll see this weekend. Crazy things happen at national tournaments. But, he is the guy to beat this weekend.

I will be up there supporting the Tigers. Ike, are you going to make the trip?

No go for me Jobe...I'm bummed but I'll be glued to the computer. I've got a good feeling about this FHSU team. I think the "sleeper" on this team is Malloy (even though it is a brutal wt.)

It would be interesting to post this Harrison topic on USA Wrestling Nation forum (formerly The Mat). I often see Jason Bryant respond. Maybe he will explain his thoughts and we can give Div II some national exposure. I'll leave this idea to those of you who know more than I do.

http://www.usawrestlingnation.com/forum.php

Spladle U, You are retarded, no offense. Scores don't matter, a win is a win. Some wrestlers wrestle all matches close no matter who their opponent is. Comparing the scores of different matches is a gigantic waste of time. The omission of Harrison was a mistake, bottom line. He is ranked #1, he is the favorite. Doesn't mean anything more than that, its just a ranking.

It is hard for me to respect your opinion and post after you backhanded me and called me retarded. I am far from retarded. Just because my opinion is different from yours does not mean I am retarded. What I am is more respectful of others opinions and highly intellegent. With that said I will now dissmiss your crude post from my memory.

good points and that is why we wrestle the matches. The wrestlers decide the rankings. I believe the other contenders would prefer to be the hunter instead of the hunted. That top spot is a lot ot live up to. Let's see if Harrison can pull it off. What I do know is there are a lot of studs in that 141 bracket and they will be gunning for that top spot so Harrison better be on his A game because if he's not he won't be the champ.

165 toughest weight class top to bottom. No telling who will win that.

As far as 141 goes you have a good point about Harrison. I thought I already said that I thought Bryant ommitted Harrison by mistake. This time around there will be no cheering from the stands or questionable refs. It will just be straight up best man wins. I doubt anyone will understimate Hensley. And they should not understimate Morgan either. I think many don't give him a chance which is funny to me since he is the hotest wrestler entering the tournament. That is why Bryant featured him in his article. At the same time dont look past Savala. Or Parker. And of course there is always sleeper. As far as JUCO goes I know the kid that won Harrison's JUCO bracket is from my town and he told me all about that bracket and tournament. I know Harrison is good and I doubt anyone in the bracket is not respecting him. I would hope that Harrison has improved since a 7th in JUCO. Any All American placing is important and a sign of a successful wrestler. I still think Harrison will reach the finals (if he can get past Parker). I just don't think he will win it. I see the Kansas fans are staunch in their support but so are the fans from other teams. The other half of the bracket is tougher in MY opinion. Harrison has exposed how to beat Hensley and we will see if that works for others too. But make no mistake that Savala, Morgan or Parker could win this weight class too.

It will be a fun weight class to watch.

Bottom half of 141 is definitely the tougher side. There are two schools of thought on guys coming through the tougher side. The guy will be worn thin or he will be hittin' on all cylinders. I've heard Savala is nails but I think he's been injured. I don't know anything about Parker. Morgan is definitely in the mix to win this thing as his last loss was to Harrison back in...December?

Less than 24 hours to go time!

In the midst of rifling through the last four years of Division II championship brackets, regional results and my own memory from watching Division II wrestlers the past two years, I'll absolutely admit the look on Harrison, or lack there of, was an oversight. I wouldn't call it truly an error, since in my drawn out brackets, I've got him placing.

If anything, thanks for the fans in pointing this out. Back in the newspaper business, we had copy editors who checked for grammatical errors, but this was a statistical omission. Ike is right, in many weights, I mentioned wrestlers who were threats that weren't returning All-Americans. The focus of much of each weight breakdown was, in fact, on returning All-Americans, but let's be honest, those of us who know the Division II tournament know that nothing's a sure thing from one year to the next (RE: McMahill last season).

The one thing about the 'net vs. newspapers is I can go back and tweak things, but when it comes to previews, often times, I'll have the dubious distinction of making an upset pick abundantly clear within a preview. Sometimes a first trip to the big show can be a negative in terms of performance. I'm not clouding the fact I inadvertently looked over Harrison.

I keep a decent eye on Fort Hays State, since I work with former head coach Cody Bickley, but again, a 2,000-word preview in short time (err, quick turn-around), does lead to some things like this from time to time.

I admit the omission, don't take it personal, because it never is. There is the other side of the coin (if there was say, a fourth-place regional kid I overlook) is I can't list all 160 wrestlers in the preview, then it becomes relatively re-hashed bracket talk.

Harrison's a threat, to this I admit, as I do the oversight.

Thanks for the heads up -- Kyle Klingman and I will be on the webcast for NCAA.com starting Friday morning and Craig Sesker of USA Wrestling and myself will be there with full coverage on TheMat.com.

JB

Welcome to the forum Jason! Stick around, you'll see there is a pretty knowledgable fan base. We have more chat about Juco's and DII than anywhere I can find. I read your blog the other day and saw that your first trip through Kansas was just a couple weeks ago. You just happen to drive through the bleakest part of the state (no offense NW Kansas). By the way...Colby didn't drop their program they just hired former FHSU Tiger David Nordheus to take over. Thanks for the clarification on Harrison.

As soon as I wrote the note about Colby (because the last I'd heard was Lampe was leaving, starting a new program because Colby was axing it), Cody Bickley e-mailed me about the hiring of a new coach, which was a nice surprise.

I've been in Kansas before (Kansas City, but that hardly counts, yes, I drove across to the Kansas side, then I left and said "I'm not in Kansas anymore") ... but this was just a ride I'd never taken before. I've been to over 40-something states ... and then there was my trip to Azerbaijan along with USAWKS state chairman Mike Juby.

I've got a few KS shirts in my wardrobe.

Now that we've covered Harrison, what about my favorite, Cody Garcia? I hope he wins his 3rd National Championship. He's 45-0 with 29 pins and this year broke the previous UNO record for both season & career pins. He plans to teach and coach. I hope he will eventually settle down in Kansas where we can benefit from his talent and positive leadership. Here's a spotlight on Cody Garcia from the UNO website:


http://omavs.com/news/2010/3/8/WREST_0308103106.aspx?path=wrestling

Garcia is a beast. Valko was ranked ahead of him all season...Why? I know Valko is good but have the two ever went head to head? Garcia is definitely UNO's best wrestler.

Garcia may be the best this year, but UNO is full of very talented wrestlers. I think Elijah Madison is also a beast and one of the nicest guys you'll meet. He has the potential to be a 4 time All American and who knows, maybe multi-time champ.

Glad to see you on our pages JB!

If Harrison is not on his "A" game, he won't be champ? I think that goes without saying. I've never seen a National Champ who was not on their "A" game.

Jobe is fired up! I like him best that way. Come on somebody...talk some trash and keep him on his "A" game.

Well done Ike, well done.

Spladle - Your comments are valid. Harrison will certainly have to perform in order to win it. And, while I am as big of a supporter of Andre as anyone, he has had a few matches (wins and losses) in which he did not look as impressive as he is capable of.

One point of dissension I do have though is your implied discounting of his 7th place finish at juco nationals. He had four losses at the juco national tournament

Freshman year - first round loss to returning AA (and current teammate) Levi Younkin by one point and a loss in the All-American to Colby Crawford of Labette (believe he placed 4th that year) in the All-American round.

Andre's sophomore year, he lost to eventual finalist TJ Hepburn (who at the time was every bit as much of a DI talent as Albert White is/was) in the quarter-finals and then lost to the defending national Champion Matt Burns of Iowa Central in overtime to drop to the 7th place match.....and that was after beating a returning AA (and perhaps even a returning finalist - my memory fails me right now) just to earn AA status.

7th place at the NJCAA was nothing to sneeze about at 149 pounds that year and especially after considering the path Andre took to get there.

Thanks for the lively discussion. And good luck to all DII qualifiers and their fans this weekend.

Great post Les Brown and duly noted on the Juco Bracket. As I said before I don't "sneeze" at any All American achievement. If it appearded as a snub it definetly apogize.

I too applaude the lively discussion.

Good Luck to the Fort Hays State University wrestling team and bring back some hardware. RMG

Speaking of TJ Hepburn, he could win the thing! He is a stud on his feet.

Steel trap of a mind there Les. I'm sure I was at that tourney and I can't recall those details.

I agree with thinking Hepburn had the same heat that Albert White had. White wrestles more conservative and holds position better though.

Thanks, Ike. I missed a couple of things though and had to check the brackets when I got home.

It was at 149, not 141 as I had thought. And the name of the guy that Andre beat in the All-American round was Tim Burdine of Spartanburg.....although he was a returning finalist from the prior year as I seemed to recall.

It's been a while since Harrison had a tough loss though and his last two have been to dominant mat wrestlers. I think Hensley is good on his feet though too. He definitely won't be choosing down against the tough riders.

157...Grater has impressed me this semester with his chest out and radiating confidence. There is a lot of parity in this wt. but Grater can win this thing. I like that potential Ivanov match in the semi's. I don't like it so much if it isn't Ivanov. Still...I think this is Grater's time to shine and he is feeling it. He is better than Deguero (ranked #1) I don't care if he just lost to him. He was in so many times in that match. I loved the 30 second pin Grater had on him when they dualed. Deguero is slippery though and he knows how to scramble and spaghetti wrestle. That is the reason he is so tough. Spaghetti and Olive Oil is what I call him.

Ivanov is the real deal. I know this is folkstyle but he was a 4 time Bulgarian Freestyle national champion and was named outstanding wrestler of the Bulgarian national tournament in 2006. Also placed fifth in freestyle at the National European Tournament in 2006.

He is still young, but intense. He is 16-2 after the winter break. I also hope we get to see a Grater - Ivanov semi rematch of the MIAA Dual that had Grater winning 3-2.

Speaking of Garcia...Here is a story from yesterday on the NCAA link for the Tourney:

http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/031110aab.html

Edgemon with a tight 3-2 win in the first round. Former Labette Cardinal Scotty Berens with a 3-0 win first round. 125 Returning National Champ Barksdale was on the ropes and pulled out a pin.

Garcia first round pin.

does Morgan his weight? He gassed bad in that one.

Harrison won 3-2 and Grater is handling his guy 5-0 right now.

Thanks for the updates, keep em coming.

Any news on the Newman wrestlers?

Grater wins 11-0!

Hepburn got stuck in a otherwise tight match!

I haven't heard any Newman news. I'm getting calls and trying to watch video. I'm changing computers right now because the lag was so bad on my other computer. I'll post what I know.

133 lbs.
Todd Wilcox dec. Blake Fisher (Newman U); (6-4)

Richard, Have you found a link with live scores other than the video?

No, very frustrating!

You can watch live streaming video on at: http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ncaa&media-171693

It is a very good broadcast. It is awesome for us that cannot be there in person.

Chenowith goes down to Rynish.

Malloy wins 6-4.

Kuhlman was in a tight match and got cradled and beat.

I'm watching the webcast but I live in the sticks and my cable internet is not staying up to speed.

Good round for the Tigers 4 of 5 advance.

He told me he was cramping a bit but will be ok for tonight....at this point you just get your hand raised....

amen!

Who won that Sand vs. Griffin...video requires really good connection

As stated above Blake Fisher lost a close match 6-4.

Mitch Arnold knocked off the #2 kid in the country Mitch Smith 3-1 SV.

Big win for Arnold!

Griffin won ..I believe by one...

That win for Arnold puts him in great position to win his next one and be Newman's first DII AA. I don't know who won the match of the guys he might face, but both of them are around .500 wrestlers.

The Fort Hays guys will all have tough matches next round.

Themat.com now providing twitter updates for each match.

When will next session and video feed be going again??
.. as I clicked on this link and it states "the media you have selected is currently unavailable."

http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ncaa&media-171693

our tickets say next round starts at 5:30

the crowd is so large they brought in additional bleachers during the break. lots of fans from the surrounding area who follow wrestling and are not necessarily associated with any one team. Meeting lots of great people from other teams.

Below is the schedule listed on Themat.com

FRIDAY, MARCH 12
11:00 A.M. Session I - 1st Round Sapp Fieldhouse
80 matches, 6 mats, approx. 2.5 hours
6:00 P.M. Session II - 2nd Round Championship Sapp Fieldhouse
1st & 2nd Round Consolation
120 matches, 6 mats, approx. 3.5 hours

SATURDAY, MARCH 13
10:00 A.M. Session III - Championship Semifinals Sapp Fieldhouse
3rd Round consolation, consolation semifinals, 90 matches
6 mats, approx. 5.5 hours, 3rd, 5th, 7th place matches
8:00 P.M. Session IV - Championships Finals Sapp Fieldhouse
10 matches, 1 mat, approx. 2.5 hours

Sounds like it is a lot better turnout than last year in Houston And I bet you can have something to drink or eat while watching the matches!!!

UNO is tearing up the competition ! 10 for 10 with 6 falls and 2 major decisions after Rd 1. --Danny Grater->keep them wins coming ! and heck of a victory for Mitch Arnold over the # 2 ranked !

Yes, the facility is better than Houston last year, but I miss being able to sit together with all the other UNO fans. The box seats & reserved seats are a good idea, but we are spread throughout the fieldhouse. As for food, I didn't leave my seat because we were fortunate to have all 10 wrestlers qualify & I was afraid I'd miss a match! Wish you were here.

Is it possible that UNO could go 10 for 10 in the next round and wrap up the title before the session tomorrow? That would be awesome.

This is so much better than Houston. I sure hope the NCAA is noticing. It was announced that next year DII's are at Nebraska-Kearney.

The odds are certainly against Denson winning in the next round against cross state rival Usman. Personally, I will be pulling for fellow Kansan Blake Malloy of FHSU to defeat UNO's Pankoke.

I think last year UNO advanced 9 wrestlers into the second day.

125: Edgmon (Fort Hays State) dec. Trumbetta (SHU)

The twitter thing is great, talk about instant results

133 lbs.
Cody Garcia (UNO) WBF Pedretti (Upper Iowa)

141 lbs.
Unranked Cory Bloodgood of Central Missouri State decisioned No. 1 Josh Hensley of Adams State 5-3.

157 lbs.
Danny Grater decisioned Michael Williams 5-3 with a takedown in sudden victory overtime.

165lbs.
Pankoke (UNO) decisioned Blake Malloy (Fort Hays State), 3-2

149: Bomsted (Moorhead) dec. Arnold (Newman), 4-3

Tough losses for Harrison and Malloy this round. Big win for Edgemon and Grater to push them into the semi-finals and All-American Honors.

Looking at the brackets I just noticed that two former Kansans will be facing off on the backside at 174. Shawn Kuhlman of FHSU via Oakley will meet up with Matt Bailes of UCM via Kansas City Turner. When they met at the MIAA duals Bailes won by a 1st period fall.

184: Mallory (E. Stroudsburg) def. Derrick Ross (UNK) via Saint Francis.

I hope the default was not from a serious injury it would be nice to see another Kansas native All-American

Amazing win for Jarrett Edison on the backside over Kyle Sand (defending national champ).

Anyone got team scores?

Big win for Edison!

I see Pipher just got beat at 184...didn't think that would happen.

Team scores after first round (last update)

http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/Wres-D2-2010Standings

Marrs wins by TFall

Harrison wins in the back door to be an All-American. 3 All-Americans for Fort Hays so far. Kuhlman lost in the back door (in OT?) so he is out. He fought hard it sounded like. Congrats on a solid career.

Here are updated brackets:

http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/Wres-D2-2010Brackets

Updated Standings:

http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/Wres-D2-2010Standings

Fort Hays in 9th and climbing.

I should add...Harrison won by major (1 bonus point)

Malloy lost 11-9. He got hit with a headlock coming into a hard double in the first. He worked his way back into it but just couldn't quite get there. Tough loss for him and the Tigers. Again, Congrats on a solid career. 165 was a really tough weight this year. I think that puts the Tigers out of contention for hardware but they should still pull a top ten out of this weekend.

Chenowith was down 7-3 in the second.

End of Fridays Session:

Team Standings: http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/Wres-D2-2010Standings

Brackets:
http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/Wres-D2-2010Brackets

Former Labette Cardinal Scott Berens will be a two time DII All-American. He is a great example of wrestling with heart. He wrestles to win. You don't see him loss matches by one point because he will be going for it at the end of the mtch. Nobody wanted to give him any offers out of Juco's (or HS for that matter) and here he is. I'm happy for him.

Chenowith lost to Norton from Upper Iowa. Tough loss but a solid year. He's got another year.

Derek Ross earns AA honors.

Edison lost by fall. He'll be back. He did beat the defending National Champ in this tourney.

Cory Bloodgood from UCM was honored for having the highest GPA which I believe was 3.918. He is studying Finance. Wish I could remember the name of the award - it was 88 something.

Russell Weakley of UNCP via Chapman Kids Club will also be an All-American. He came out the back door and is assured 8th place.

TJ Hepburn of UNK via Colby CC is assured of All-American status. He came out the back door and is assured 8th place.

Mitch Arnold of Newman via Wichita Bishop Carroll is out of the tournament after losing 2 matches by a single point.

Matt Bailes of UCM via Kansas City Turner is assured of All-American status. He came out the back door and is assured 8th place.

He had to beat Shawn Kuhlman of FHSU via Oakley to advance out of the consolation 1st round. The match was tightly contested at a 9-7 mark in sudden victory. Bailes pinned his next opponent in the 1st period. It’s a shame that Bailes and Kuhlman, two MIAA foes and Kansas brethren had to meet in an elimination setting. If Kuhlman had a better spot in the bracket he might of placed.

Elijah Madison of UNO via Valley Center Kid Club, Salina Kids Club, and Salina South(freshman year) has advanced to the semifinals. He is assured a 6th place All-American status.

By my count that is 12 wrestlers who have claimed All-American status and have spent at least two seasons at one of the many Kansas wrestling programs whether it be kids, high school, junior college, or Division II. Seven of these wrestlers are Kansas high school graduates.

I think 6 of the 12 AA guys are in the semi-finals. Very nice.
Well it is off to USAWKS subdistricts in Pittsburg for me. For the parents and fans of these young men - tell them to make their own luck today.

RE: Kuhlman's spot in the bracket - am not sure there was an easy spot in the bracket for a 4th place regional finisher at 174. But am sure proud of Shawn. When you have a young man that committed in the practice room and class room, its easy to support him. He got the absolute most out of his personal skill set because he was so committed in the practice room....and he just never gave up when he was on the mat.

Ditto for Malloy. Was really hoping to see him close out his career with an All-American honor. The headlock he walked into was just too much to overcome. But Blake will be just fine, as he has his personal priorities in place.

Thanks to both Shawn and Blake for their dedication to FHSU wrestling over their 5 year careers.

Was glad to see Andre bounce back with some good offense in the All-American round. The quarterfinal match against Sherer was painful to watch. Sherer had the perfect game plan and lulled Andre into passivity for 9 minutes of wrestling......Andre never put himself into position to score and was content to dance around the entire match. Then when Andre gave up an escape with 29 seconds left in TB1, Sherer had the only opening he needed to win. Not a good tactical match for Andre, but he bounced back well.

The bracket is set up well for Andre to get to the 3rd place match. Another match with Suarez, who he dominated in National Duals and then a possible match-up with Bloodgood (assuming Morgan takes care of business). Hopefully Andre will get another shot at Sherer for 3rd.

Great wins for Grater and Edgmon in the quarters. Both have tough match-ups, but are capable of winning if they wrestle their match.

Go Tigers!

I looked at Harrison's bracket last night and thought the same thing. He has two guys that he has "handled" before. That is a good route to get to the 3rd/4th match. I like Andre's chances against Sherer again. This is assuming everything will go as it looks on paper, we know it doesn't always go that way.

Looking forward to this round.

Edgemon lost a tight one. I was told he should have had the takedown call at the end of the match. He was there for close to ten seconds and they wouldn't give him the call.

Grater lost a tough one. Ivanov took him down in a fireman's and got a two count to start the match. He didn't do a thing the rest of the match except defend takedowns and back off the mat. They gave Grater a stall call warning and one point as he continued to push Ivanov straight back off the mat. The ref didn't have the stones to make the call to send it to OT. The match was in front of the UNO crowd.

For a comparison...Upper Iowa's Mumbalo got two stall calls within 12 seconds to send the match to OT and get the win over returning champ Barksdale at 125. Backing off is an automatic stall call and it was called that way.

Grater didn't get the job done but you aren't going to get a call against UNO here from what I'm told. I'm sure the video will be available soon for all of our viewing.

Harrison beau Suarez easily to move through the back door.

Upper Iowa's Eggers will repeat as a finalist after a crazy win over UNO's Pankoke.

Les, I'd love to have your take on those matches. No one wants to blame the ref for a loss, but were they a factor?

It sounds like Garcia nearly got clipped too. I guess the guy had him nearly taken down at the end and the crowd (besides UNO) wanted two. He won by riding time. I thought Garcia would stomp through this tourney. He is going to have Valko in the finals...should be interesting.

I feel really bad for Danny, as I know he was going for the Gold. I hated back in my day, those wrestlers that wouldn't bring it and westled merely to keep the match close in attempt to eek one out by blocking, basing out or throwing in the legs/riding but being smart enough to make it appear as though they were working. I guess that strategy will always be a part of the game, but again, not a style of wrestling I care for. And in my eyes, kind of cowardly and it happens too much as I would compare it to No child left behind (teaching down to bottom feeders). It allows many mediocre wrestlers to stay in a match because they dont truly wrestle and open the action up~..but thats just my opinion. ...Come back strong and grab 3rd and finish out your career with your hand being raised as the Victor you truly are Danny !

Deaguero dropped his 157 match too...so he'll be on the backside. Danny may have him for third and fourth.

By the way...Harrison will have Bloodgood from Central Missouri next round to go for third and fourth. Harrison has beat him at least three times this year and it's gotten uglier each time.

Upper Iowa in second place behind UNO. Coach Grimm was my assistant and roommate in college...I like to see his squad up there in the hardware hunt. UNO has sealed up the Championship now...solid squad from 125 to HWT!

Tommy Edgemon just got 5th place.

Harrison up now for 3rd/4th

Grater will be going for 5th.


Former Cardinal Scotty Berens (UCO) finished 7th! A three time All-American!

is there a link that is working to view Danny's match ?

Sorry for the delayed response. You can probably still catch it. The link is on the very start of this thread. You will have to download their player which takes a few minutes.

Danny just won by Fall.

nice way to go out. Congrats FHSU All Americans !

Just got word all three of them won this round!

Edgemon with Fifth, Harrison with Third, and Danhy with Fifth!

It took Harrison 3 OT's before he got a TD to win. Grater demolished Deaguero. He was up 9-0 and headlocked him for the pin! Nice way to finish a career.

Derek Ross 3rd place for UNK

Hepburn third for UNK

Upper Iowa went 8-0 that session!

UNO ran away with the title but Upper Iowa and UNK are tied up at second with Augustana right on their heels. I considered this a down year at UNK...they came to wrestle though.

Matt Bailes (UCM) won his last match of the day to earn 7th place and All American status at 174 lbs. That's "Aliensteve" for those of you from Turner.

Link for the Live Stream?

The one posted at http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-wrestl/champpage/m-wrestl-div2-index.html
is showing a hockey game right now and has the finals listed to start at 10 Eastern.

It is being carried on one of the sports channels on my cable at 9:30pm.

For all of you with DirecTV the finals will be shown on channel 613 (CBS College Sports) at 9:30 after the hockey game is over.

Cox has it on CSTV at the same time.

Reminder again you can see live scores at www.twitter.com/usawrestling

You don't have to sign up for anything you just go to the link and wah lah.

Champs so far:

125 Wright - New Mexico Highlands

133 Valko- Pitt-Johnstown

141 Sherer - Augustana

149 Becker - Wisconsin-Parkside

157 Jackson - Anderson

165 Egger - Upper Iowa

174 starting now