UW Badger Recruits Freestyling in Fargo

Pritzlaff Ready to go for Gold
Former Badger Olympians to Reunite at Trials
A moment with the Coach: Time out with Coach Davis Let's Talk Recruiting

9th Annual UW Wrestling Sporting Clay Bucky Shoot
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Milford Hills Hunt Club
Milford, Wisconsin

http://www.buckyshoot.com/

From: Barry Davis < BAD@athletics.wisc.edu >
Sent: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 8:40 am
Subject: Wisconsin Wrestling

This upcoming weekend the US Nationals will be held in Las Vegas -this tournament sets the ladder for the Olympic Trials in June. Guys participating from Wisconsin are Coach Donny Pritzlaff and student athletes Kyle Ruschell and Justin Peterson.

We also have 2008-09 recruits participating -
Tyler Graff (Loveland, CO)
Andrew Howe (Cedar Lake, IN)
Travis Rutt (Belle Plain, MN), &
Cole Schmitt (New Glarus, WI)
There will be other young men competing that we will be taking a look at as recruits for 2009-10. We will get you the results of the tournament on Monday.

Since the NCAA's our team has had a break and they are now back on the mat two days a week wrestling and lifting three days a week.
We have already seen improvements in them from a physical and technique point of view.

Barry

A moment with the Coach!

University of Wisconsin Coach Barry Davis

Tuesday, April 15, 2008


Wisconsin Wrestling Online:
Season’s over, banquet is all wrapped up, so what’s next on your plate?

Coach Davis:
Right now Donny is getting ready to wrestle in Vegas as a first step towards qualifying for the Olympic games. We are starting to look at High School Juniors for next year’s recruiting class. We are preparing for summer camps. But the most important thing we are doing is getting our athletes ready for the next wrestling season. The guys come in 3 days a week to lift and 2 days to be on the mat.


Wisconsin Wrestling Online:
Are you busier now, or during the wrestling season?

Coach Davis:
During the season it is more intense because you are constantly thinking about your athletes, watching films, and keeping track of where each athlete is from a training and mental point of view and trying to stay on top of all of that.

In the off-season, it’s more daily routine~ More administrative type of duties that have to be taken care of year round.


Wisconsin Wrestling Online:
What about the recruits coming in next fall? Do you have much contact with them between now and when school starts in the fall?

Coach Davis:
We call them once a week to get a feel on what kind of training they are doing, if they are going to be at Jr. Nationals this summer, when training camps start, etc. because we like to watch them compete. It also gives us a chance to look at upcoming recruits for the following year. Along with that you have to line up the incoming recruits to come in for SOAR (Student Orientation and Registration) and we need to stay in touch to make sure they are getting all their NCAA Clearinghouse paperwork in order.


Wisconsin Wrestling Online:
If you were to predict next year’s line-up, what would you say?

Coach Davis:
Things could pan out like this:
Either Hammen or Reeve at 125 – or possibly Tyler Graff (new recruit)
Tanelli – 133
Ruschell – 141
Vogel – 149
Andrew Howe – 157 (new recruit)
Felling or Stoppelmoor – 165
Sarbacker – 174
Peterson or Bugenhagen – 184 (Brandvold Redshirting)
Herbst – 197
Massey or Hein – HWT


Wisconsin Wrestling Online:
One last question. I hear that the tentative schedule that you are planning is much different from the past couple of years.

Coach Davis:
Yeah. We’re planning on going to the Midlands in Evanston, IL on December 29-30 this year as well as the National Duals that will be held in Cedar Falls, IA the second week in January. We are looking forward to these two events as it will give us just that much more competition and the match ups that we need in preparing for later in the season.

UW Updates from 2008 NCAA Nationals
Herbst Takes Sixth, Massey Places Eighth at NCAAs
Massey and Herbst Earn All-American Status, Both Still Alive in Consolation Round
Herbst and Massey Still Wrestling at NCAAs
Badgers Complete Day One of NCAA Championships
UW in 10th After Session I

Final Standings

Final Brackets

Expanded Live Coverage of the NCAA Division I Championships on ESPNU, ESPN360.com,ESPN

Badgers Look for Strong Showing at NCAAs

UW: Herbst out to prove he has what it takes to win NCAA ...

NCAA D1 Brackets

Badger Wrestling Championship Headquarters UW Website

Former Winneconne wrestler a bright spot for Badgers

Cudd, Brandvold qualify for nationals

A Note From The Coach: UW Badgers; NCAA Championships
Last week at Big Tens we qualified 8 out of 10 athletes for the NCAA Championships. Our goal was to get 10 guys thru but we knew that would require some guys to wrestle their absolute best. The qualifiers are as follows:

Cudd - 125
Tanelli - 133
Ruschell - 141
Donar - 165
Clum - 174
Brandvold - 184
Herbst - 197
Massey - HWT

You are probably wondering about Craig Henning and why he is not on the list. He had a bad match at the wrong time and it cost him a bid to the NCAA's.
Also, you could say that out of the 8 guys that did qualify, 4 of them were not expected to advance based on the rankings. You win some - you lose some.
We still feel that we can reach the goals that we have set as a team this year - that being to bring home a Team Trophy.
Going into the NCAA's, we will have 4 of the 8 guys seeded. Tanelli (9) Ruschell (5) Herbst (5) and Massey (5). The other four will be
thrown into the draw.
The pre-seed brackets will come out Tuesday. You can go to http://intermatwrestle.com after 2 PM on Tuesday to check it out.

Barry

A Moment With Coach Davis!: A Look at the Big Ten Conference Tournament

Pre-Seeds Announced for 2008 Big Ten Championships
MADISON, Wis.

The Big Ten Conference announced the pre-seeds for the 2008 Big Ten Championships Monday evening. Wisconsin has six pre-seeded grapplers and sophomore Kyle Ruschell, a 2007 Big Ten runner-up, received the highest pre-seed for Wisconsin at No. 2 for 141 lbs. Six different schools are represented as No. 1 seeds in the 10 weight classes. Illinois, Iowa,
Michigan and Ohio State all lead the way with the most top seeds at two each.

Ruschell finished the regular season 23-5 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten duals. Michigan’s Kellen Russell has the top spot and is one of two conference wrestlers to defeat Ruschell this year in Big Ten duals.

Junior Kyle Massey received the next highest pre-seed at No. 3 for heavyweight. J.D. Bergman from Ohio State and Dustin Fox from Northwestern occupy the top two spots, respectively. Massey upset the then-undefeated and top-ranked Fox in his final dual of the season on Feb. 22. Massey also faced Bergman on Dec. 10 and that was the last time the Badger grappler lost. Since then, he has been on an 11-match winning streak and finished the regular season 25-5 and 7-1 in the Big Ten.

Junior Zach Tanelli also received a high pre-seed and is No. 4 at 133 lbs. In Tanelli’s last seven duals, he faced five Big Ten opponents that were ranked within the top 10. He went 2-3 during that span of ranked opponents but lost by no more than three points in the three losses.

At 197 lbs., junior Dallas Herbst received a No. 4 pre-seed. Northwestern’s Mike Tamillow has the top seed and he is one of two Big Ten opponents that defeated Herbst this season. Herbst did not face Phil Davis from Penn State, the No. 2 seed, this season but did fall to the third-seeded Patrick Bond from Illinois. Herbst will take a 25-3 record into the Big Tens as well as his 14 pins so far this season.

Two-time All-American Craig Henning has a No. 5 pre-seed at 157 lbs. Henning finished third at last year’s championships by defeating the then top-seeded Mike Poeta from Illinois, who is again this year’s No. 1 seed, in the third place bout.

Seniors Collin Cudd and Dan Clum round out the Badger pre-seeds at No. 8 for 125 lbs. and 174 lbs., respectively. Cudd will be competing in his fourth consecutive Big Ten Championship while Clum will be competing in his first.

The 2008 Big Ten Championships will take place this Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9 in Minneapolis, Minn. at the Williams Arena. The official Big Ten bracket will be finalized on Friday. Be sure to check back to uwbadgers.com throughout the week for updates on the Badgers’ trip to the 2008 Big Ten Championships.

2008 BIG TEN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS PRELIMINARY SEEDS

125 lbs.
1. Jayson Ness, Minnesota
2. Charlie Falck, Iowa
3. Angel Escobedo, Indiana
4. Brandon Precin, Northwestern
5. Gabriel Flores, Illinois
6. Mark McKnight, Penn State
7. Nikko Triggas, Ohio State
8. Collin Cudd, Wisconsin

133 lbs.
1. James Kennedy, Illinois
2. Joe Slaton, Iowa
3. Franklin Gomez, Michigan State
4. Zach Tanelli, Wisconsin
5. Mack Reiter, Minnesota
6. Andrae Hernandez, Indiana
7. Reece Humphrey, Ohio State
8. Tim Haas, Penn State

141 lbs.
1. Kellen Russell, Michigan
2. Kyle Ruschell, Wisconsin
3. J Jaggers, Ohio State
4. Dan LeClere, Iowa
5. Garrett Scott, Penn State
6. Manuel Rivera, Minnesota
7. Keith Sulzer, Northwestern
8. Ryan Prater, Illinois

149 lbs.
1. Brent Metcalf, Iowa
2. Joshua Churella, Michigan
3. Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota
4. Bubba Jenkins, Penn State
5. Lance Palmer, Ohio State
6. Jake Patascil, Purdue
7. Ryan Lang, Northwestern
8. Grant Paswell, Illinois

157 lbs.
1. Michael Poeta, Illinois
2. Dan Vallimont, Penn State
3. Brandon Becker, Indiana
4. C.P. Schlatter, Minnesota
5. Craig Henning, Wisconsin
6. Jeff Marsh, Michigan
7.

165 lbs.
1. Mark Perry, Iowa
2. Eric Tannenbaum, Michigan
3. Tyler Safratowich, Minnesota
4. Colt Sponseller, Ohio State
5. Roger Smith-Bergsrud, Illinois
6. Matt Coughlin, Indiana
7. Dave Rella, Penn State
8. Rex Kendle, Michigan State


174 lbs.
1. Steve Luke, Michigan
2. Jay Borschel, Iowa
3. Gabriel Drestch, Minnesota
4. Nick Hayes, Northwestern
5. John Dergo, Illinois
6. David Erwin, Penn State
7. Nick Corpe, Purdue
8. Dan Clum, Wisconsin

184 lbs.
1. Mike Pucillo, Ohio State
2. Tyrel Todd, Michigan
3. Phil Keddy, Iowa
4. Roger Kish, Minnesota
5. Phil Bomberger, Penn State
6. Marc Bennett, Indiana
7. Ben Friedl, Illinois
8. A.J. Kissel, Purdue

197 lbs.
1. Mike Tamillow, Northwestern
2. Phil Davis, Penn State
3. Patrick Bond, Illinois
4. Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin
5. Joe Williams, Michigan State
6. Justin Bronson, Minnesota
T7. Chad Beatty, Iowa
T7. Anthony Biondo, Michigan

HWT
1. J.D. Bergman, Ohio State
2. Dustin Fox, Northwestern
3. Kyle Massey, Wisconsin
4. Matt Fields, Iowa
5. John Wise, Illinois
6. Chris Kasten, Purdue
7. John Laboranti, Penn State
8. Ben Berhow, Minnesota

Massey Named Big Ten Wrestler of Week
MADISON, Wis.

After upsetting the No. 1 wrestler in the country last Friday, Wisconsin junior Kyle Massey was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, the conference announced Wednesday. This is the final wrestler of the week award for the 2007-08 season and the fourth time a Wisconsin wrestler has been recognized this season. This is Massey’s first Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award.

Last Friday, Massey, then ranked No. 4 at the time, faced Dustin Fox from Northwestern and prior to Friday’s bout, Fox had a 17-0 record and a No. 1 ranking. The Badgers trailed the Wildcats 19-18 heading into the final bout, which was at heavyweight. Both wrestlers were scoreless in the first period but in the second, Massey struck first with a two-point reversal. Fox earned a point of his own off an escape but Massey still led 2-1 heading into the third period. In the third, Fox evened the score with an early escape but Massey scored another takedown with just 46 seconds remaining and had a point of riding time in the 5-3 victory. The win was Massey’s 11th-straight and the third time in as many duals that the heavyweight scored the winning points for
Wisconsin.

With the win, Massey moved up to No. 2 in the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA poll. This is the highest ranking of his career. Massey has not lost since Dec. 10, 2007, which was against J.D. Bergman from Ohio State. Bergman now occupies the top spot at heavyweight.

The Badgers broke a few records with the conference’s weekly award this season. It was the first time in school history that three different Badgers have earned the award. It is also the first time Wisconsin has earned four weekly awards in one season and is the first time UW wrestlers have earned back-to-back honors. Last week junior Zach Tanelli was the co-wrestler of the week.

Massey and the rest of the Badgers are preparing for the 2008 Big Ten Championships which span from March 8-9 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Massey Upsets Top-Ranked Wrestler, UW Wins, 21-19
MADISON, Wis.

The No. 8 Wisconsin wrestling team hosted No. 10 Northwestern Friday and closed out the 2007-08 regular season with a 21-19 win in front of 1,947 fans at the UW Field House. Wisconsin junior Kyle Massey upset the top-ranked wrestler in the nation during the heavyweight bout, which was the final match of the night, to clinch the victory. Wisconsin won five matches to conclude the regular season at 14-4-1 overall and 5-3-0 in the Big Ten. Northwestern drops to 8-8 overall and 3-4 in the conference.

The match began at 125 lbs. and No. 20 Collin Cudd faced No. 5 Brandon Precin from Northwestern. Neither wrestler scored in the first period but Precin scored three points in the second before pinning Cudd in 4:42 to give the Wildcats the 6-0 lead.

Wisconsin got on the board though with a win of its own at 133 lbs. UW junior and current Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, Zach Tanelli, faced Eric Metzler and won in an 8-1 decision. Tanelli got out to a 4-1 lead in the first period and after neither wrestler scored in the second, the Badger grappler added four more points in the third.

Northwestern then expanded its lead by winning the next two bouts. Wisconsin was without starters Kyle Ruschell (141 lbs.) and Kendall Voge l (149 lbs) and at 141 lbs., sophomore Eric Senescu started in place of Ruschell. Senescu matched up against No. 14 Keith Sulzer and fell in a 7-2 decision. At 149 lbs., sophomore Trevor Bowers started for the second time this season and faced NU’s No. 11 Ryan Lang. Lang scored seven points in the third period for the 16-3 major decision win.

Down 13-3, Wisconsin then looked for a win at 157 lbs. UW’s two-time All-American, Craig Henning, faced Andrew Nadhir in the bout and Henning got out to a 2-0 lead in the first. In the second, Henning, who is ranked No. 5, scored another takedown for the 4-0 lead. In the third, Nadhir managed to score five points but Henning added five of his own for the 9-5 win which put the team score at 13-6.

The Badgers then got a boost and were within one point (13-12) after senior Jake Donar pinned Northwestern’s Dominic Marella. Donar did score a takedown before pinning Marella in 1:04. The pin was Donar’s sixth of the season.

The match then moved onto one of the closest bouts of the night. At 174 lbs., senior Dan Clum matched up against No. 12 Nick Hayes from NU. Clum stormed out to a 4-1 lead in the first and maintained a 5-4 lead heading into the third period. In the third, Clum had an 8-5 advantage but Hayes scored seven points in the third, including a reversal with just one second left on the clock, to tie the score at 11 at the end of three periods. The bout then went onto a sudden victory period and Hayes captured the 15-11 win by scoring four points with a takedown and nearfall points.

Down 16-12, another Badger grappler stepped up with a pin to give Wisconsin its first lead of the night. Sophomore Trevor Brandvold, who is in his second match back after sitting out for an injury, faced Adil Kolovic and pinned the NU grappler in 2:10.

Despite the 18-16 UW advantage, the match then moved on to two of the toughest bouts of the evening at 197 lbs. and heavyweight. At 197 lbs. Wisconsin’s No. 8 Dallas Herbst met No. 2 Mike Tamillow. In the first period, Tamillo got out to a 2-0 lead with a takedown. In the second, Tamillow added three more points and had a point of riding time in the third for the 6-1 win. The loss was just the third for Herbst this
season.

With Northwestern leading 18-19, it all came down to the heavyweight battle which featured UW’s No. 4 Kyle Massey and the undefeated, top-ranked wrestler in the country, NU’s Dustin Fox. Neither wrestler scored in the first period but Massey struck first in the second with a reversal at 1:51. Fox responded with an escape at 1:16 but Massey held onto the 2-1 lead heading into the third. In the final period, Fox had an escape at 1:22 to tie the score at two but Massey scored a takedown with 46 seconds left to take the 4-2 advantage. Fox would score an escape with just 39 seconds remaining but Massey did not allow any more points and with a point of riding time, upset the top-ranked wrestler,
5-3.

Even though the 2007-08 regular season is in the history books, the UW wrestling team now looks to the post season. Wisconsin will begin the post season at the 2008 Big Ten Championships, which run from March 8-9 in Minneapolis, Minn. Be sure to check back to uwbadgers.com frequently for updates on the Wisconsin wrestling team.


University of Wisconsin Wrestling
WISCONSIN VS. NORTHWESTERN
Friday, February 22, 2008 ● UW Field House ● Madison, Wis.

Referee: Mike Allen
Attendance: 1,947

Dual Meet Recap Team Scoring
Wisconsin 21, Northwestern, 19
WIS NW

125: No. 5 Brandon Precin (NU) pin No. 20 Collin Cudd (UW), 4:420 6
133: No. 8 Zach Tanelli (UW) dec. Eric Metzler (UW), 8-1 3 6
141: No. 14 Keith Sulzer (NU) dec. Eric Senescu (UW), 7-2 3 9
149: No. 11 Ryan Lang (NU) maj. dec. Trevor Bowers (UW), 16-3 3 13
157: No. 5 Craig Henning (UW) dec. Andrew Nahir (NU), 9-5 6 13
165: Jake Donar (UW) pin Dominic Marella (NU), 1:04 12 13
174: No. 12 Nick Hayws (NU) dec. (sv) Dan Clum (UW), 15-11 12 16
184: Trevor Brandvold (UW) pin Adil Kolovic (NU), 2:10 18 16
197: No. 2 Mike Tamillow (NU) dec. No 8 Dallas Herbst (UW), 6-1 18 19
Hwt: No. 4 Kyle Massey (UW) dec. No. 1 Dustin Fox (NU), 5-3 21 19

A Moment With Coach Davis: Big Ten dual meet during State Tourney

Tanelli Named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week
MADISON, Wis.

After going 2-0 on the weekend, Wisconsin junior Zach Tanelli earned the Big Ten Conference’s Co-Wrestler of the Week honors, the conference announced Wednesday. Tanelli shares the honor with Iowa’s Chad Beatty.

This is the first time in school history the Badgers have had three Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors in one season. Junior Dallas Herbst already received the honor twice earlier this season (Jan. 23 & Nov. 20). The conference began the weekly award in the 1998-99 season and had a monthly award from 1989-98.

Last weekend, Tanelli , the Badgers’ 133 lbs. wrestler, played a big part in Wisconsin’s two upset wins over top 10 opponents. The Short Hills, N.J., native began the weekend with a 14-1 major decision over Michigan’s Chris Diehl last Friday. On Sunday, Tanelli, who was ranked No. 11, faced Minnesota’s then-No. 5 Mack Reiter, and won in a 5-1 decision. Reiter was Tanelli’s fifth top 10 opponent in the last six duals.

With the wins, Tanelli improved to 20-8 overall and 12-5 in dual action. He also cracked the top 10 in the rankings and moved up to No. 8 at 133 lbs.

This is Tanelli’s second Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honor. He also won the award last year (Jan. 24) after upsetting then-No. 6 Jake Strayer from Penn State.

Tanelli and the rest of the No. 8 Badgers close out the 2007-08 regular season this Friday at home against No. 10 Northwestern. Match time is set for 4:30 p.m. at the UW Field House.
 

Badgers Move Up in the Polls......................... Date: Tue 02/19/08 04:48 PM
MADISON, Wis.

After upsetting two Big Ten opponents ranked in the top 10 this past weekend, the Wisconsin wrestling team (13-4-1, 4-3-0) moved up to the No. 8 spot of the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll that was released Tuesday. This is the Badgers’ highest ranking of the 2007-08 season. Wisconsin was previously ranked No. 13 and held that ranking for the past five polls.

A few individual wrestlers also moved up in the polls. Junior Zach Tanelli jumped from No. 11 to No. 8 at 133 lbs. after going 2-0 over the weekend. One of Tanelli’s wins was an upset of Minnesota’s then-No. 5 Mack Reiter on Sunday.

Sophomore Kyle Ruschell also received the highest ranking of his career at No. 4 for 141 lbs. Ruschell faced two top 10 opponents last weekend and despite falling, 6-4 to then-No. 10 Kellen Russell from Michigan Friday, rebounded with a 6-1 upset over Minnesota’s then No. 3 Manuel Rivera. Ruschell is now the highest ranked Big Ten wrestler at 141 lbs.

To see the complete Feb. 19 rankings, click
http://www.intermatwrestle.com/college/rankings/d1ranks021908.aspx

The Badgers close out the regular season this Friday against another top 10 opponent, when No. 10 Northwestern comes to Madison. Match time is set for 4:30 p.m. inside the UW Field House.

No. 13 Badgers Upset No. 4 Gophers, 20-17
MADISON, Wis.

In a match that had five lead changes, the No. 13 Wisconsin wrestling team came out on top and captured its second upset of the weekend by knocking off No. 4 Minnesota, 20-17 in Sunday’s Border Battle. The Badgers won five bouts in front of 2,957 fans at Williams Arena to improve to 13-4-1 overall and 4-3-0 in the Big Ten. Minnesota drops to 13-7 overall and 4-3 in the conference.

Minnesota got on the board first with a win at 125 lbs. No. 19 senior Collin Cudd matched up against the top-ranked Jayson Ness and fell in an 8-0 major decision. Ness added to his undefeated season and is now 32-0 while Cudd drops to 17-7 overall.

The Badgers then responded with an upset win at 133 lbs. Junior Zach Tanelli, ranked No. 11, took on his fifth top-10 opponent within the last six duals and faced No. 5 Mack Reiter. Tanelli got on the board first with a takedown in the first period but Reiter responded with an escape to begin the second period. Tanelli scored another takedown in the second and an escape in the third to upset Reiter, 5-1.

Down just one, UW sophomore Kyle Ruschell pulled off another upset win. Ruschell is ranked No. 6 and faced No. 3 Manuel Rivera. Both wrestlers were held scoreless after the first period but Ruschell struck first in the second with an escape and a takedown. The bout was close until the end and Ruschell scored two nearfall points just as time expired and had a point of riding time for the 6-1 victory.

With Wisconsin up 6-4, the match then moved onto 149 lbs. Badger freshman Kendall Vogel took on No. 3 Dustin Schlatter, who was a 2006 NCAA Champion, and the Badger grappler fell in a 13-3 major decision. Minnesota again took the lead, 8-6.

At 157 lbs. Badger returning All-American Craig Henning matched up against Luke Mellmer and scored the Badgers five points with a tech fall. Henning came close to pinning Mellmer twice and had six nearfall points. His win put the Badgers back on top again, 11-8.

Minnesota then evened the score and re-took the lead with wins at 165 and 174 lbs. Senior Jake Donar met No. 20 Tyler Safratowich and fell in a 5-3 decision. Senior Dan Clum suited up at 174 lbs. and met No. 11 Gabe Dretsch. Dretsch scored four takedowns in the 12-6 win.

With the Gophers up, 14-11, the match moved onto the 184 lbs. bout. Sophomore Trevor Brandvold, ranked No. 17, returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 1 and met No. 10 Roger Kish. Neither wrestler scored in the first and Brandvold got on the board first in the second with an escape. Kish then responded with a takedown but Brandvold scored another escape for the 2-2 tie at the end of the second. In the third, Kish had another takedown and Brandvold another escape and Kish hung on
for the 4-3 win.

Despite the 17-11 deficit, the Badgers again looked to their 197 lbs. and heavyweight wrestlers to dig them out of the hole and both responded. No. 8 junior Dallas Herbst pinned his second opponent this weekend, this time in 1:03 against Minnesota’s Yura Malamura. It was Herbst’s 14th pin this season, putting him just three away from tying Lee Kemp’s school record of 47 career pins. The pin tied the score with just one bout remaining.

At heavyweight, No. 4 junior Kyle Massey, a Champlin, Minn., native then gave the Badgers the win with a 6-2 decision over Ben Berhow. On Friday night, Massey had a major decision victory to give the Badgers the 20-18 win over No. 10 Michigan. Today, his win knocked off the No. 4 Gophers, 20-17.

Wisconsin closes out the 2007-08 regular season at home next Friday against No. 12 Northwestern. Match time is set for 4:30 p.m. at the UW Field House.

Wisconsin 20 Minnesota 17

125: No. 1 Jayson Ness (MIN) major. dec. Collin Cudd (UW), 8-0 4-0 Minn.
133: No. 11 Zach Tanelli (UW) dec. Mack Reiter (MINN), 5-1 4-3 Minn.
141: No. 6 Kyle Ruschell (UW) dec. No. 3 Manuel Rivera (MINN), 6-1 6-4 UW
149: No. 3 Dustin Schlatter (MINN) major. dec. Kendall Vogel (UW), 13-3 8-
157: No. 5 Craig Henning (UW) tech fall Luke Mellmer (MINN), 15-0 11-8 UW
165: No. 20 Tyler Safratowich (MINN) dec. Jake Donar (UW), 5-3 11-11
174: No. 11 Gabe Dretsch (MINN) dec. Dan Clum (UW), 12-6 14-11 MINN
184: No. 10 Roger Kish (MINN) dec. Trevor Brandvold (UW), 4-3 17-11 MINN
197: No. 8 Dallas Herbst (UW) pin Yura Malamura (MINN), 1:03 17-17
285: No. 4 Kyle Massey (UW) dec. Ben Berhow (MINN), 6-2 20-17 UW

No. 13 UW Comes Back to Upset No. 10 Michigan
Date: Fri 02/15/08 09:41 PM

After trailing by as many as eight points down the stretch, the No. 13 Wisconsin wrestling team won the final two bouts of the evening to upset No. 10 Michigan 20-18 during senior night at the UW Field House. Wisconsin won five total bouts in front of 814 fans and improves to 12-4-1 overall and 3-3-0 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines drop to 15-7-0, 2-4-0.

The match began at 125 lbs. and No. 19 Collin Cudd defeated Michigan’s Michael Watts, 9-5. Watts got out to a 3-2 lead in the first period but Cudd scored a takedown in the second and Watts had an escape to even the score at four. In the third, Cudd scored five points off of a reversal, a takedown and 1:49 of riding time to put the Badgers up, 3-0.

At 133 lbs., No. 11 junior Zach Tanelli scored four points for the Badgers with a major decision victory over Chris Diehl. Tanelli had three takedowns and scored six nearfall points in the 14-1 victory.

Michigan then got on the board with a win at 141 lbs. Badger sophomore, No. 6 Kyle Ruschell, met No. 10 Kellen Russell and both wrestlers were scoreless after the first period. In the second, Russell had a reversal and two-point nearfall for the 4-1 advantage. Ruschell struck first in the third with an escape to put the score at 4-2 but Russell would notch another takedown to expand the lead at 6-2. Shortly after, Ruschell scored a reversal but that was all the Badger grappler would score in the 6-4 Michigan victory.

The Wolverines then came within one point (7-6) with another win at 149 lbs. Badger freshman Kendall Vogel met Justin Chrzanowski and fell in a 7-2 decision.

Wisconsin then continued to build on its lead with another win at 157 lbs. No. 5 senior Craig Henning matched up against No. 20 Jeff Marsh and got out to a 2-1 lead in the first. Marsh scored an escape to even the score at two at the end of the second. In the third, Henning scored four points to capture the 6-2 victory and put the team score at 10-6.

Wisconsin’s lead did not last long as Michigan won the next three bouts to eventually take an 18-10 lead. At 165 lbs., senior Jake Donar met the third-ranked Eric Tannenbaum and fell, 6-3. The Wolverines scored three more points at 174 lbs. and took over the lead (12-10) when No. 4 Steve Luke defeated the Badgers’ senior Dan Clum, 10-3. Michigan then had yet another wrestler ranked in the top five of their weight class with No. 3 Tyrel Todd at 184 lbs. Todd met Wisconsin junior Justin Peterson and pinned him in 2:58.

Despite the eight point deficit, No. 8 junior Dallas Herbst helped Wisconsin get back into the match by recording his 13th pin of the season at 197 lbs. Herbst matched up against No. 15 Anthony Biondo and pinned him in 1:17 which put the match score at 18-16. Herbst now has 43 career pins and is four away from tying Lee Kemp’s school record of 47.

Down two, the Badgers then looked to junior Kyle Massey to give them the win. Massey, ranked No. 4 at heavyweight, met Michigan’s Chad Bleske and got out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first period. Massey then added to the lead by scoring three points in both the second and third periods to secure the Badger victory with an 11-0 major decision win.

The Badgers continue the weekend with a dual on the road against No. 4 Minnesota Sunday. Match time is set for 2 p.m. inside the Williams Arena. Sunday’s match is part of the Border Battle and the winning team will score 40 points for their school. www.UWBadgers.com will also be blogging live from the dual as part of the 2008 Border Battle Blog which can be found at http://www.uwbadgers.com/blogs/default.aspx?postid=669

University of Wisconsin Wrestling
WISCONSIN VS. MICHIGAN
Friday, February 15, 2008 ● UW Field House ● Madison, Wis.

Referee: Pat Fitzgerald
Attendance: 814

Dual Meet Recap Team Scoring
Wisconsin, 20 Michigan, 18
WIS / Michigan

125: No. 19 Collin Cudd (UW) dec. Michael Watts (Michigan), 9-5
133: No. 11 Zach Tanelli (UW) major. dec. Chris Diehl (MICH), 14-1
141: No. 10 Kellen Russell (M) dec. No. 6 Kyle Ruschell (UW), 6-4
149: Justin Chrzanowski (M) dec. Kendall Vogel (UW), 7-2
157: No. 5 Craig Henning (UW) dec. No. 20 Jeff Marsh (M), 6-2
165: No. 3 Eric Tannenbaum (M) dec. Jake Donar (UW), 6-3
174: No. 4 Steve Luke (M) dec. Dan Clum (UW), 10-3
184: No. 3 Tyrel Todd (M) pinned Justin Peterson (UW), 2:58
197: No. 8 Dallas Herbst (UW) pinned No. 15 Anthony Biondo, 1:17
Hwt: No. 4 Kyle Massey (UW) major. dec. Chad Bleske (M), 11-0

Badgers Fall to Illini, 24-13
MADISON, Wis.

The No. 13 Wisconsin wrestling team traveled to Champaign, Ill., Friday for a dual against No. 9 Illinois. The Badgers dropped a 24-13 decision to the Illini and are now 11-4-1 overall and 2-3-0 in Big Ten action with just three duals left. Illinois improves to 10-2-0, 2-1-0.

The match started at 125 lbs. and put UW’s No. 18 senior Collin Cudd against No. 9 Gabe Flores. The Illini grappler struck first with a takedown in the first period but Cudd earned a point after an illegal hold by Flores. Cudd then tied the score with an escape at 1:29 in the second but Flores would win the bout 4-2 with an escape and a point of riding time in the third.

At 133 lbs. Wisconsin junior Zach Tanelli, ranked No. 11, took on his third top-10 opponent in as many duals, No. 9 Jimmy Kennedy. Tanelli took a 2-0 lead with an escape at 1:09 in the first but Kennedy responded with three points of his own to end the period. In the second, Kennedy scored another escape to go up 4-2 and at 1:24 in the third, Tanelli evened the score with a reversal. Kennedy broke the tie though with an escape 14 seconds later for the 5-4 win and extended the Illini lead to 6-0.

Another close bout took place at 141 lbs. when UW’s No. 7 sophomore Kyle Ruschell matched up against No. 10 Ryan Prater. Illinois had a 3-2 lead after the first period but Ruschell would take a 5-3 lead with 1:08 left in the second. Prater evened the score at five with a reversal at 10 seconds left in the second. In the third, Prater scored an escape with just one second left but Ruschell had 3:25 of riding time and the third ended in a 6-6 tie. In the sudden victory period, Prater secured the match with a takedown and snapped Ruschell’s 12-match winning streak.

Down 9-0, the Badgers then looked to Kendall Vogel to get them on the board at 149 lbs. The Badger freshman responded and got Wisconsin six points by pinning Grant Paswall in 6:51. Illinois had a 3-0 lead with 1:58 left in the third period but with just nine seconds left in the bout, Vogel pinned Paswall to put the Badgers within three. It was Vogel’s second pin of the season and his first Big Ten dual win.

The match then moved onto one of the biggest bouts of the night featuring UW’s No. 3 senior Craig Henning and No. 1 Mike Poeta from Illinois at 157 lbs. The match remained close for the whole seven minutes and neither wrestler scored a point, but it was Poeta’s 2:00 of riding time that gave him the 1-0 win and put Illinois up 12-6.

Illinois then extended its lead with wins at 165 lbs. and 174 lbs. At 165, Roger Smith-Bergsrud defeated UW’s senior Jake Donar, 4-3 and at 174 lbs., No. 16 John Dergo pinned senior Dan Clum in 2:38.

Junior Justin Peterson, who usually wrestles at 174 lbs., suited up at 184 lbs. and faced Ben Friedl. Peterson captured the 5-1 victory to put the score at 21-9 in favor of Illinois with just two bouts remaining.

At 197 lbs., junior Dallas Herbst, ranked No. 4, faced No. 13 Patrick Bond from Illinois. Neither wrestler scored in the first period and both grapplers scored two points in the second for a 2-2 tie heading into the third. Again, neither wrestler scored in the third but Bond had 1:12 of riding time for the 3-2 win. The loss was just the second of the season for Herbst and snapped his 10-match winning streak.

Even though the match was out of reach, Wisconsin junior, No. 4 Kyle Massey scored four more team points with a major decision victory over No. 17 John Wise at heavyweight. Massey scored seven points in the third period in the 9-0 victory that put the final score at 24-13.

The Badgers return to action next weekend with a 7 p.m. home dual Friday, Feb. 15 against No. 6 Michigan and then face No. 4 Minnesota on the road Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.


Wisconsin 13 Illinois 24

125: No. 9 Gabe Flores (ILL) dec. No. 18 Collin Cudd (UW), 4-2, 3-0 ILL
133: No. 9 Jimmy Kennedy (ILL) dec. No. 11 Zach Tanelli (UW), 5-4, 6-0 ILL
141: No. 10 Ryan Prater (ILL) dec. Kyle Ruschell 7-5 SV 9-0 ILL
149: Kendall Vogel (UW) pin Grant Paswall (ILL), 6:51, 9-6 ILL
157: No. 1 Mike Poeta (ILL) dec. No. 3 Craig Henning (UW), 1-0, 12-6 ILL
165: Roger Smith-Bergsrud (ILL) dec. Jake Donar (UW), 4-3, 15-6 ILL
174: No. 16 John Dergo (ILL) pin Dan Clum (UW), 2:38, 21-6 ILL
184: Justin Peterson (UW) dec. Ben Friedl (ILL), 5-1, 21-9 ILL
197: No. 13 Patrick Bond (ILL) dec. No. 4 Dallas Herbst (UW), 3-2, 24-9 ILL
Hwt.: No. 4 Kyle Massey (UW) major. dec. No. 17 John Wise (ILL), 9-0,
24-13 ILL

Live webcast of the Wisconsin vs. Illinois dual meet Friday, February 8th - 7:00 PM Central

This Friday the Badgers face Illinois (#15).
Match-ups:

125 Collin Cudd (#18) vs. Flores (#9)
133 Zach Tanelli (#11) vs. Kennedy (#9)
141 Kyle Ruschell (#7) vs. Practer (#11)
149 Kendall Vogel vs. Undecided
157 Craig Henning (#3) vs. Poeta (#1)
165 Jake Donar vs. Undecided
174 Danny Clum vs. Dergo (#16)
184 Trevor Brandvold (#16) vs. Friedl
197 Dallas Herbst (#4) vs. Bond (#13)
HWT Kyle Massey (#4) vs. Wise (#17)

Poeta has defeated Henning twice this year (NWCA All-Star Dual and at Las Vegas).
Herbst is 1-1 versus Bond. Of note: Herbst is 6'6" and Bond is 6'8".

No. 13 UW Edged by No. 1 Iowa, 22-20

MADISON, Wis.

The 13th ranked Wisconsin wrestling team hosted No. 1 Iowa Sunday and despite a strong comeback, fell in a close 22-20 decision in front of 2,534 fans at the UW Field House. The Badgers drop to 11-3-1 overall, 2-2-0 in the Big Ten with four duals remaining, while Iowa improves to 16-1 overall and 5-0 in conference action.

The Badgers won five matches which included two major decision victories as well as a pin in the loss. The bout started at 125 lbs. and No. 18 senior Collin Cudd took on Iowa’s No. 3 Charlie Falck. Falck struck first in the opening period with a takedown and had an escape in the second to go up 3-0 on Cudd. The Badger grappler would score an escape in the third but fell in a 6-1 decision to put the Hawkeyes up, 3-0.

Iowa then extended the lead with a win at 133 lbs. UW junior Zach Tanelli, ranked No. 11, matched up against No. 3 Joey Slaton. Neither grappler scored in the first period but Tanelli struck first in the second with an escape to go up 1-0. Slaton then responded with a takedown in the second and an escape in the third to win, 3-1.

The Badgers then battled back with a major decision victory at 141 lbs. to put the score at 6-4. No. 7 sophomore Kyle Ruschell faced No. 9 Dan LeClere and Ruschell scored the first point of the bout with an escape in the second period. Leading 1-0 going into the third, Ruschell tallied four nearfall points, two takedown points and added a point of riding time for a 8-0 major. Ruschell remains undefeated in dual action and is now on a 12-match winning streak.

UW sophomore Trevor Bowers started for the first time this season and matched up against the top-ranked grappler at 149 lbs., Brian Metcalf. Bowers tallied two escapes in the first period but Metcalf countered that with six points off of takedowns before pinning the Badger grappler in 4:02.

Wisconsin senior Craig Henning then cut the lead to five with a win at 157 lbs. over Iowa’s Ryan Morningstar. Henning, ranked No. 4, scored the first points of the match with just 43 seconds remaining in the third period off of a takedown. Morningstar, who is ranked No. 15, was in position to score and had a riding time point but time expired and Henning captured the 2-1 decision.

Senior Jake Donar got a big win for Wisconsin with a major decision victory over Iowa’s Aaron Janssen at 165 lbs. Donar scored seven points in the first period and had over four minutes of riding time in the 13-1 victory. Donar’s win then put the Badgers within one point at 12-11.

Iowa would take the next two matches though and again extend the lead. At 174 lbs., junior Justin Peterson met Iowa’s #2 Jay Borschel and lost in a 15-7 major decision. UW sophomore Eric Bugenhagen started in place of Trevor Brandvold at 184 lbs. and was pinned in 3:00 by No. 8 Phillip Keddy at 184 lbs.

Despite the 22-11 Iowa advantage, the Badgers were still in it and needed two pins to win the bout. UW junior and pin leader Dallas Herbst got the job done by pinning Iowa’s Chad Beatty in just 41 seconds. It was the second fastest fall of the season for Herbst, who is ranked No. 4, and his 12th this season. He is now just five pins away from tying Lee Kemp’s school record 47 career pins.

The Badgers then needed a pin to win or a tech fall to tie the Hawkeyes and it all came down to the heavyweight match. No. 10 junior Kyle Massey faced Iowa’s No. 6 Matt Fields and got out to a 2-1 lead in the first period. Massey would score three more in the second but Fields kept it close with three points of his own in the third period. The Badger grappler ultimately upset Fields with a 6-5 decision, but final score stood at 22-20 in favor of Iowa.

Wisconsin continues Big Ten action next weekend when it travels to Champaign, Ill., for a bout against No. 15 Illinois. Match time is set for 7 p.m. and be sure to check back to uwbadgers.com for a match recap.

Badgers Take Down Spartans, 26-12
Madison, Wis.

The No. 13 Wisconsin wrestling team returned home Friday night and captured a 26-12 victory over Michigan State in front of 763 fans at the UW Field House. The Badgers improve to 11-2-1 overall and 2-1-0 in the Big Ten while the Spartans fall to 3-8-0, 0-3-0. Wisconsin won six bouts and had two pins in the victory.

The match began at 165 lbs. and UW senior Jake Donar matched up against MSU’s Rex Kendle. Both grapplers wrestled to a scoreless first period and Kendle led after the second, 2-1 with a two –point reversal. Kendle ultimately won the bout and scored another point off riding time to capture a 3-1 decision and put the Spartans on the board first, 3-0.

The Badgers quickly responded though with a win of their own at 174 lbs. Senior Dan Clum suited up again at 174 lbs. and pinned MSU’s John Murphy in 6:24. Clum got out to a 2-0 lead in the first and Murphy tied the score with a takedown in the second but Clum captured the six team points with the pin in the third period.

Michigan State came right back and knotted the score at six with a win at 184 lbs. Wisconsin’s No. 15 Trevor Brandvold met MSU’s Nick Palmieri and fell in a 7-2 decision.

That was the closest Michigan State would get for the remainder of the match as Wisconsin won the next three bouts. Junior Dallas Herbst, ranked No. 4 at 197 lbs., met MSU’s No. 15 Joe Williams. The Spartan grappler jumped out to a 2-0 lead with 26 seconds remaining in the first period. Herbst came back though and scored five points in the second to take the 5-2 lead. In the third period, Williams scored a reversal to put the score at 5-4 but Herbst responded with an escape with 42 seconds remaining. Williams had a point of riding time but Herbst hung on for the 6-5 win and put the Badgers up, 9-6. With the win, Herbst extended his winning streak to nine matches.

At heavyweight, No. 12 junior Kyle Massey had six nearfall points and two takedowns in a 14-2 major decision win over MSU’s Alan O’Donnell. No. 18 senior Collin Cudd expanded on the Badgers’ lead and captured a 9-2 decision over MSU’s Joel Trombly.

With the Badgers up 16-6, the bout went into one of the key matches of the night at 133 lbs. UW junior Zach Tanelli, ranked No. 11, met the fourth-ranked Franklin Gomez from MSU. Gomez struck first in the bout with a takedown and had one more before the first period was over to take a 4-2 lead. Tanelli would score two more points in the second off of escapes but Gomez captured the 7-4 win and put the score at 16-9.

UW sophomore Kyle Ruschell then recorded the Badgers’ second pin of the night at 141 lbs. He matched up against MSU’s Micah Carter and had a 2-0 lead before pinning Carter in 3:51 and securing the Badger victory. It was Ruschell’s sixth pin of the season and he also extended his winning streak to 11 matches and is still a perfect 14-0 in dual action.

Badger freshman Kendall Vogel faced Eddie Skowneski at 149 lbs. and wrestled a tough bout. Vogel got out to a 2-1 lead in the first period but Skowneski would even the score at two in the second with an escape. Despite the tie as time expired, Skowneski captured the match, 3-2 with 1:09 of riding time.

Finally, at 157 lbs., No. 4 senior Craig Henning met MSU’s John Fulger. Henning scored 10 points in the first period and never looked back in the 13-0 major decision victory.

The Badgers continue their home stand Sunday when they host Big Ten rival, Iowa, who is ranked No. 1 in the country. Match time is set for 1 p.m. inside the UW Field House. Sunday is also UW Student Day and Youth Day. Students receive free admission with UW ID and there is also free admission for those 18 and under.


University of Wisconsin Wrestling
WISCONSIN VS. MICHIGAN STATE
Friday, February 1, 2008 • UW Field House • Madison, Wis.
Referee: Kevin Tann
Attendance: 763

Wisconsin 26, Michigan State, 12 WIS MSU
165: Rex Kendle (MSU) dec. Jake Donar (UW), 3-1 0 3
174: 184: Nick Palmieri (MSU) dec. #15 Trevor Brandvold (UW), 7-2 6 6
197: #4 Dallas Herbst (UW) dec. #15 Joe Williams (MSU), 6-5 9 6
Hwt. #12 Kyle Massey (UW) major. dec. Alan O’Donnell (MSU), 14-213 6
125 #18 Collin Cudd (UW) dec. Joel Trombly (MSU), 9-2 16 6
133 #4 Franklin Gomez (MSU) dec. #11 Zach Tanelli (UW), 7-4 16 9
141 #7 Kyle Ruschell (UW) pin Micah Carter (MSU), 3:51 22 9
149 Eddie Skowneski (MSU) dec. Kendall Vogel (UW), 3-2 22 12
157 #4 Craig Henning (UW) major dec. John Fulger (MSU), 13-0 26 12

Badgers Get First Big Ten Victory
Madison, Wis.

The No. 13 Wisconsin wrestling team captured its first Big Ten Conference victory of the season with a 20-15 win over No. 17 Indiana. The Badgers won five bouts and improve to 10-2-1 overall, 1-1-0 in the Big Ten while Indiana falls to 11-3, 0-1-0. The win also marked the fourth time in the last five years that the Badgers have won at least 10 dual matches.

The night started at 157 lbs. and pinned Wisconsin’s No. 2 Craig Henning against Indiana’s No. 9 Brandon Becker. These two grapplers are familiar foes and have faced each other five times throughout their careers, with all five meetings ending with a Becker win. On Friday, the first two periods were scoreless and Becker got on the board in the third period with an escape to take a 1-0 advantage. Henning stuck in it until the end but could not score and Becker captured a 2-0 win with riding time to give Indiana the quick 3-0 lead. The loss snapped Henning’s 10-match winning streak and was just his second loss this season.

Indiana then pushed ahead to a 6-0 lead with a win at 165 lbs. Wisconsin senior Jake Donar matched up against No. 9 Matt Coughlin and came back from a 3-0 deficit to knot the score at three in the third period. Coughlin broke the match open though with a takedown and a nearfall to put the score at 7-4. Donar would score one more point with an escape but Coughlin closed the bout with a takedown to win, 9-4.

Senior Dan Clum moved into the Wisconsin lineup Friday and got the Badgers on the board with a win at 174 lbs. Clum, who usually wrestles at 165 lbs., matched up against Indiana’s Trevor Perry and scored five points in the first period to go up 5-0. In the second, Perry came back with two takedowns to pull within two at 6-4. That was the closest the bout would get as Clum scored five more points to capture the 11-4 win.

Wisconsin sophomore Trevor Brandvold, ranked No. 13, then met Marc Bennett at 184 lbs and fell in a 9-3 decision. With Indiana up, 9-3 the match moved onto 197 lbs. and junior Dallas Herbst helped the Badgers pull within one with a tech fall victory over Joe Fagiano. Herbst, ranked No. 4 in the country, allowed Bennett to score just four points in the 21-4 win.

The Badgers then took their first lead of the night with a big win at heavyweight. No. 14 Wisconsin junior Kyle Massey had a 4-1 lead over Indiana’s Nathan Everhart heading into the third period but scored six points for the Badgers with a pin at 5:33 to put the score at 14-9.

Indiana then put the score at 14-12 with a win at 125 lbs. Badger senior Collin Cudd, ranked No. 18, faced 2007 NCAA runner-up Angel Escobedo, ranked No. 2, and fell in a 9-2 decision.

Wisconsin expanded on its lead with an upset win at 133 lbs. No. 12 junior Zach Tanelli faced Indiana’s returning All-American, No. 10 Andrae Hernandez and after a scoreless first period, the Badger grappler tallied three points in the second period. Tanelli allowed just two escape points in the bout and won, 5-2 to give Wisconsin the 17-12 advantage.

The Badgers then secured their first Big Ten victory of the season with a win at 141 lbs. No. 8 Kyle Ruschell met Scott Kelly in the bout and scored just two points in the second period but that was all he needed to capture the 2-0 victory.

Freshman Kendall Vogel closed out the night, facing Indiana’s Kurt Kinser at 149 lbs. and fell in a 5-0 decision.

After 13 matches away from home, the Badgers finally return to the UW Field House for Big Ten action next weekend. Wisconsin begins the weekend with a 7 p.m. match against Michigan State Friday, Feb. 1 and then host Iowa, the top ranked team in the country, at 1 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 3.

Wisconsin 20 Indiana 15

157 lbs.: No. 9 Brandon Becker (IU) dec. No. 2 Craig Henning, (UW) 2-0, 3-0 IU
165 lbs.: No. 9 Matt Coughlin (IU) dec. Jake Donar (UW), 9-4, 6-0 IU
174 lbs.: Dan Clum (UW) dec. Trevor Perry (IU), 11-4, 6-3 IU
184 lbs.: Marc Bennett (IU) dec. No. 13 Trevor Brandvold (UW), 9-3, 9-3 IU
197 lbs.: No. 4 Dallas Herbst (UW) tech fall Joe Fagiano (IU), 21-4, 9-8 IU
285 lbs : No. 12 Kyle Massey (UW) pin Nathan Everhart (IU) 5:33, 14-9 UW
125 lbs.: No. 2 Angel Escobedo (IU) dec. No. 18 Collin Cudd (UW), 9-2, 14-12 UW
133 lbs.: No. 12 Zach Tanelli (UW) dec. No. 10 Andrae Hernandez (IU), 5-2, 17-12 UW
141 lbs.: No. 8 Kyle Ruschell (UW) dec. Scott Kelly (IU), 2-0, 20-12 UW
149 lbs.: Kurt Kinser (IU) dec. Kendall Vogel (UW), 5-0, 20-15 UW

Wisconsin Continues Big Ten Action at Indiana

Madison, Wis.

The No. 13 Wisconsin wrestling team (9-2-1 overall, 0-1-0 Big Ten), is about to get into the thick of the Big Ten schedule, starting this Friday with a dual against No. 17 Indiana (11-2, 0-0-0). Match time is set for 6 p.m. at the University Gymnasium in Bloomington, Ind., and will broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.

Wisconsin and Indiana are two of nine Big Ten teams ranked within the top-25. The Badgers opened up the conference season on Dec. 10 against then-No. 13 Ohio State, while Indiana’s Big Ten opener will be against Wisconsin.

Indiana wrestled last weekend at the Hoosier Quad and came away 3-0 with wins over Air Force (32-3), Gardner-Webb (46-0) and Indianapolis (39-9). The Hoosier’s two losses of the season came against No. 16 Cornell and No. 11 Missouri at the National Duals on Jan. 12. The Badgers closed up the non-conference schedule last weekend and finished 1-1 with a 24-18 setback against No. 8 Iowa State and a comeback 18-15 win over No. 18 Oklahoma.

Last season, Indiana finished fifth in the conference and 14th at the 2007 NCAA Championship. This year, the Hoosiers return eight starters, including four All-Americans that are all ranked in the top-25 of their respective weight classes. Three matches will feature ranked grapplers from both teams and the one to watch will be at 157 lbs when Wisconsin’s No. 2 Craig Henning meets Indiana’s No. 9 Brandon Becker. Last year, Henning lost just three matches all season and all three were against Becker. Henning is 16-1 overall this season and is on a 10-match winning streak while Becker is 12-2.

At 125 lbs., Indiana’s undefeated Angel Escobedo is ranked No. 2 and will take on the Badgers’ No. 18 Collin Cudd. Another bout to watch will be at 133 lbs. when No. 10 Andrae Hernandez from Indiana battles UW’s No. 12 Zach Tanelli. The Badgers have four other ranked grapplers while Indiana’s Matt Coughlin is No. 9 at 165 lbs.

Be sure to catch Friday’s dual on the Big Ten Network and visit www.uwbadgers.com for final results.

Herbst Named Big Ten Wrestler of Week
Madison, Wis.

With a pin and an upset win over an undefeated wrestler, Wisconsin junior Dallas Herbst earned the Big Ten Conference’s Co-Wrestler of the Week honors, the conference announced Wednesday. Herbst shares this week’s honor with Iowa’s Brent Metcalf.

Last Friday, the 197 lbs. wrestler recorded his 11th fall of the season by pinning Iowa State’s No. 17 David Bertolino in 4:34. It was also his 41st career pin, which is just six away from tying Lee Kemp’s school record of 47 falls.

On Sunday, Herbst helped the Badgers’ comeback against No. 18 Oklahoma. Heading into the 197 lbs. bout, Wisconsin trailed the Sooners 15-12 and Herbst, then ranked No. 6, matched up against undefeated No. 3 Joel Flaggert. Herbst trailed 2-0 for most of the bout but with just 32 seconds left in regulation, tied the score at two with a nearfall. The
match went into a sudden victory and neither wrestler scored. Herbst captured the match though in the tie breaker with a two-point reversal to give Flaggert his first loss of the season and tie the team score at 15. The Badgers then went on to win the match, 18-15.

This is the third weekly honor in Herbst’s career at Wisconsin and his second this season. Herbst is now 20-1 and moved up to No. 4 in Tuesday’s USA Today/InterMat/NWCA poll.

The No. 13 Badgers return to Big Ten action this Friday with a dual against No. 17 Indiana. Match time is set for 6 p.m. in Bloomington, Ind., and will air on the Big Ten Network.

UW Hangs On For 18-15 Win, Davis Gets 150th Victory
Madison, Wis.

The No. 13 Wisconsin wrestling team closed out the non-conference schedule Sunday with an exciting 18-15 win over No. 18 Oklahoma at the ESPNU Invitational in Oklahoma City. With the win, Wisconsin head coach
Barry Davis earned his 150th career win and became the second coach in UW history to do so. The Badgers won six bouts to improve to 9-2-1 overall (0-1-0 Big Ten Conference) while the Sooners drop to 11-2 on the season.

The Badgers got out to a strong start and won their first three matches to go up 9-0. The dual began at 125 lbs. and No. 18 senior Collin Cudd
scored three takedowns and had a point of riding time to earn a 7-4 victory over Oklahoma’s Joey Fio. UW junior Zach Tanelli, ranked No. 12, added to the lead with a 10-5 win over John Starzyk at 133 lbs.

Wisconsin’s No. 8 sophomore Kyle Ruschell had a tough bout against Oklahoma’s No. 11 Zack Bailey at 141 lbs. After a scoreless first period, Ruschell scored a takedown with 39 seconds remaining in the second while Bailey had an escape with 24 seconds left in the period. In the third, Ruschell secured the victory with an escape at 1:25 and hung on for the 3-1 win.

The Sooners then got on the board with a major decision victory at 149 lbs. Wisconsin freshman Kendall Vogel met No. 9 Will Rowe and fell, 19-6 to put the score at 9-4.

Wisconsin rebounded though with a win at 157 lbs. Senior Craig Henning, ranked No. 2, held Oklahoma’s Chad Terry scoreless in a 4-0 win. Henning had a takedown in the first period, an escape in the third and one point of riding time for the victory that put the Badgers up 12-4.

At 165 lbs. senior Jake Donar met OU’s Shane Vernon and wrestled a close match. Donar had a 5-4 lead heading into the third period but a two-point reversal for Vernon gave the OU grappler a 6-5 advantage with 1:36 left. Donar had a reversal of his own to re-gain the lead at 7-6 but Vernon would score a final reversal with just 16 seconds left to win
the bout, 8-7 and put the team score at 12-7.

Oklahoma then pulled within one after a major decision win at 174 lbs and took the lead with another major decision win at 184 lbs. Badger junior Justin Peterson faced OU’s Jeff James and fell, 10-1 in the 174 lbs. bout. At 184 lbs., No. 14 sophomore Trevor Brandvold scored the first two points of the match with a takedown in the first period, but
Oklahoma’s No. 7 Josh Weitzel came back for the 11-2 win and put the Sooners up, 15-12.

Down three, the Badgers had another tough bout at 197 lbs., which pinned Wisconsin’s No. 6 Dallas Herbst against Oklahoma’s undefeated No. 3 Joel Flaggert. In the first period, Flaggert took a 2-0 lead with a takedown. After a scoreless second period, Herbst then evened the score at two with a nearfall with 32 seconds remaining in the third. With neither wrestler securing riding time, the bout went into a sudden victory period. After a scoreless minute, the match then moved on to a tiebreaker. In the first tiebreaker, Herbst did not allow Flaggert to score and rode out the 30-second period. In the second overtime, Herbst scored a reversal to put the score at 4-2 and maintained his riding time to give Flaggert his first loss of the season and tie the score at 15.

With the match on the line, UW junior Kyle Massey met OU’s Nathan Fernandez in the heavyweight bout. Fernandez struck first with an escape in the second period to put the score at 1-0. Massey then responded in the third with an escape of his own and a takedown to go up 3-1. Fernandez scored one more escape but it was not enough as Massey won the bout 4-2 with 1:13 riding time and secured the Badger victory.

The Badgers will now look to the Big Ten schedule as they travel to Bloomington, Ind. to face Indiana Friday. Match time is set for 4 p.m. (CT) and will broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Wisconsin-18 Oklahoma-15
125 lbs.: No. 18 Collin Cudd, (UW) dec. Joey Fio (OU), 7-4, 3-0 UW
133 lbs.: No. 12 Zach Tanelli (UW) dec. John Starzyk (OU), 10-5, 6-0 UW
141 lbs.: No. 8 Kyle Ruschell (UW) dec. No. 11 Zack Bailey (OU) 3-1, 9-0 UW
149 lbs.: No. 9 Will Rowe (OU) major. dec. Kendall Vogel (UW), 19-6, 9-4 UW
157 lbs.: No. 2 Craig Henning (UW) dec. Chad Terry (OU), 4-0, 12-4 UW
165 lbs.: Shane Vernon (OU) dec. Jake Donar (UW), 8-7, 12-7 UW
174 lbs.: Jeff James (OU) major. dec. Justin Peterson (UW), 10-1, 12-11 UW
184 lbs.: No. 7 Josh Weitzel (OU) major. dec. No. 14 Trevor Brandvold (UW), 11-2, 15-12 OU
197 lbs.: No. 6 Dallas Herbst (UW) dec. No. 3 Joel Flaggert (OU), 4-2 TB, 15-15
Hwt: No. 14 Kyle Massey (UW) dec. Nathan Fernandez (OU), 4-2, 18-15 UW

Badgers Stopped by Cyclones, 24-18
Madison, Wis.

The #13 Wisconsin wrestling team traveled to Ames, Iowa, Friday night for a non-conference dual against #8 Iowa State. The Badgers won four matches but could not overcome the Cyclones in a 24-18 loss. Wisconsin is now 8-2-1 overall this season (0-1-0 Big Ten Conference) while ISU improves to 10-3 overall.

The match began at 125 lbs. and Iowa State scored the first three points when Wisconsin senior Collin Cudd, ranked #18, faced ISU freshman Tyler Clark. Cudd had three two-point reversals in the bout and led 6-5 heading into the third period but an escape and 2:31 of riding time for Clark gave the Cyclone grappler the 7-6 win.

ISU then extended its lead to 6-0 with a win at 133 lbs. #12 junior Zach Tanelli faced #7 sophomore Nick Fanthorpe and the Badger grappler fell 11-4.

Wisconsin sophomore Kyle Ruschell then got the Badgers on the board with a shutout victory at 141 lbs. Ruschell, ranked #8, met #18 sophomore Nick Gallick and both wrestlers were scoreless in the first period. In the second, Ruschell scored two points with a nearfall and earned three more points in the third period. Ruschell won by a 6-0 score after 3:15 of riding time.

True freshman Kendall Vogel suited up for the Badgers at 149 lbs. and faced ISU’s sophomore Mitch Mueller. Mueller scored 10 points in the third period and won by tech fall to put the score at 11-3, ISU.

Wisconsin battled back though and won a key match at 157 lbs. The bout pinned #2 senior Craig Henning against #6 sophomore Cyler Sanderson. After a scoreless first period, Sanderson struck first with an escape at 1:11 in the second. In the third, Henning rattled off six-straight points with an escape, takedown and three-point nearfall and had a 6-1 advantage with just 18 seconds remaining. The match was not over though as Sanderson earned a point for a technical violation by Henning, scored an escape with 12 seconds left and a takedown with two seconds remaining to put the score at 6-5. Despite the late rally by Sanderson, Henning hung on for the 6-5 win and put the Badgers within five points at 11-6.

At 165 lbs., Wisconsin senior Dan Clum matched up against ISU freshman, #6 Jon Reader. Clum struck first with a two-point takedown at 2:35 in the first period, but that was all the Badger grappler would score as Reader pinned Clum 1:13 into the bout to put the Cyclones up, 17-6.

Iowa State won the next two matches at 174 lbs. and 184 lbs. In the 174 lbs. bout, UW junior Justin Peterson fell 7-3 to ISU senior Aron Scott. At 184 lbs., #14 sophomore Trevor Brandvold faced #1 sophomore Jake Varner and lost in a 14-2 major decision which put the team score at 24-6.

Wisconsin did not give up though and won the final two matches by pin. At 197 lbs. Badger junior, #6 Dallas Herbst recorded his 11th fall of the season with a pin of #17 David Bertolino in 4:34. Herbst now has 41 career pins and is just six away from tying Lee Kemp’s school record of 47 career pins.

In the heavyweight bout, junior Kyle Massey, ranked #13, had a big upset win for the Badgers with a pin of #4 David Zabriskie in 4:19 to put the final score at 24-18. It was the sixth pin for Massey this season.

The Badgers return to action Sunday with a 6 p.m. dual against #18 Oklahoma at the ESPNU Invitational in Oklahoma City, Okla. The match will broadcast live on ESPNU from the Ford Center.


Wisconsin-18 ISU-24
125 lbs.: Tyler Clark (ISU) dec. #18 Collin Cudd (UW), 7-6; 3-0 ISU
133 lbs.: #7 Nick Fanthorpe (ISU) dec. #12 Zach Tanelli (UW), 11-4; 6-0 ISU
141 lbs: #8 Kyle Ruschell (UW) dec. #18 Nick Gallick (ISU), 6-0; 6-3 ISU
149 lbs.: Mitch Mueller (ISU) tech. fall Kendall Vogel (UW), 20-5; 11-3 ISU
157 lbs.: #2 Craig Henning (UW) dec. #6 Cyler Sanderson (ISU), 6-5; 11-6 ISU
165 lbs.: #6 Jon Reader (ISU) pin Dan Clum (UW), 1:13; 17-6 ISU
174 lbs.: Aron Scott (ISU) dec. Justin Peterson (UW), 7-3; 20-6 ISU
184 lbs.:197 lbs.: #6 Dallas Herbst (UW) pin #17 David Bertolino (ISU), 4:34; 24-12 ISU
Hwt.: #13 Kyle Massey (UW) pin #4 David Zabriskie (ISU), 4:19; 24-18

UW Grapplers go 4-0 at Lonestar Duals (Saturday, January 5, 2008)

UW Badgers Recruiting Class ranked 2nd by W.I.N. Magazine
Big Ten teams the winners in early Div. I recruiting wars

On Sunday, January 20, at 6 p.m. CT, ESPNU will televise two matchups: Oklahoma vs. Wisconsin and Oklahoma State vs. Nebraska. The USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll released Nov. 26 ranks Oklahoma State at No. 3; Wisconsin is No. 9; Nebraska is No. 14; and Oklahoma is No. 21.

No. 10 UW Falls at No. 13 OSU, 23-13
Madison, Wis.
Dec. 10, 2007

The No. 10 Wisconsin wrestling team opened up the Big Ten Conference season Monday night against No. 13 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. Despite two upsets, the Badgers dropped their first match of the season by a 23-13 score. Wisconsin is now 4-1-1 overall, 0-1-0 in the Big Ten while the Buckeyes improve to 5-1-0, 1-0-0.

The match started at 125 lbs. and sophomore Drew Hammen got the start for the Badgers. He faced OSU’s Nikko Triggas and the Buckeye got his team on the board first, 5-0 with a tech fall (16-0).

At 133 lbs., junior Zach Tanelli, ranked No. 18, registered the first upset of the night with a 10-6 win over No. 15 Reece Humphrey. Humphrey
got out to a 5-4 lead after the first by registering two takedowns and escape. Tanelli came back in the second period with an escape and takedown of his own to go up 7-5. In the third, Humphrey registered just one more point with an escape and Tanelli scored a takedown and had over two minutes of riding time to win the match.

Sophomore Kyle Ruschell gave Wisconsin the 6-5 lead with another upset at 141 lbs. No. 13 Ruschell re-matched against No. 7 Jeff Jaggers and the Badger grappler avenged his loss against Jaggers at the Cliff Keen Invite and won by a 10-4 decision Monday night. Jaggers got on the board first with a takedown at 1:37 and held Ruschell scoreless in the first period. In the second, Ruschell had two takedowns with 14 and 12 seconds remaining in the period to go up 4-2. Ruschell scored six more points in the third, including a two-point nearfall with one second remaining in the match, to capture the win.

The Buckeyes regained the lead with a win at 149 lbs. Badger freshman Kendall Vogel matched up against No. 8 Lance Palmer and Palmer won by an 8-2 decision and put OSU up 8-6.

At 157 lbs., No. 3 Craig Henning faced OSU’s Jason Johnstone and again gave the Badgers the lead, 9-8 with a 1-0 decision. Henning scored the lone point of the match with an escape in the second period. Ohio State then regained the lead for good by winning the 165 lbs., 174 lbs. and 184 lbs. bouts. At 165 lbs, senior Jake Donar fell in a close 3-1 decision to Colt Sponseller. Junior Justin Peterson matched up against Alex Picazo at 174 lbs. and OSU won by a 7-4 score.

No. 12 sophomore Trevor Brandvold faced No. 5 Mike Pucillo at 184 lbs. and OSU’s riding time proved to be the difference in the 5-4 win for Pucillo. Both grapplers went scoreless in the first two periods. Pucillo got on the board first with an escape at 1:48 left in the third but Brandvold went up with a two-point takedown at 1:29 left. Each grappler scored a two-point reversal in the closing 1:17 and Pucillo’s one-point escape with two seconds left knotted the score at four. OSU then won the bout with 2:28 of riding time.

UW junior Dallas Herbst closed the gap with a 12-2 major decision win over John Weakley and put the score at 17-14 heading into the final bout.

At heavyweight, Badger junior, No. 11 Kyle Massey met No. 3 J.D. Bergman and OSU captured the bout and its first Big Ten dual with a Bergman pin 28 seconds into the match.

The Badgers will resume the season after the new year when they travel to Arlington, Texas for the Lonestar Duals on Jan. 5.


No. 13 Ohio State, 23 vs. No. 10 Wisconsin, 13
Dec. 10, 2007 St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio
Match started at 125 Attendance: 801

125: Nikko Triggas tech. fall Drew Hammen, 16-0
133: No. 18 Zach Tanelli dec. No. 15 Reece Humphrey
141: No. 13 Kyle Ruschell dec. No. 7 J Jaggers
149: No. 8 Lance Palmer dec. Kendall Vogel, 8-2
157: No. 3 Craig Henning dec. Jason Johnstone 1-0
165: Colt Sponseller dec. Jake Donar, 3-1
174: Alex Picazo (6-3) dec. Justin Peterson, 12-7
184: No. 5 Mike Pucillo dec. No. 12 Trevor Brandvold, 5-4
197: No. 4 Dallas Herbst major dec. John Weakley 12-2
Hwt: No. 3 J.D. Bergman pinned No. 11 Kyle Massey 0:28

Wisconsin Ties UNI, 16-16
Madison, Wis.
Dec. 8, 2007

The No. 10 Wisconsin wrestling team faced Northern Iowa Saturday night in Cedar Falls, Iowa and came away with a 16-16 tie. The Badgers are now 4-0-1 on the season.

The match started off at 174 lbs. and pinned UW junior Justin Peterson against UNI’s No. 16 Alex Dolly. Peterson was the first to score with a two-point takedown in the second period but scored just once more as
Dolly won, 7-3 and put UNI up 3-0.

At 184 lbs., No. 12 sophomore Trevor Brandvold held Andy O’Loughlin scoreless in the 5-0 victory for the Badger grappler and tied the score at three.

UNI again took the lead with a win at 197 lbs. Badger junior Dallas Herbst (No. 4) lost his first match of the season by a close 4-3 score against Andrew Anderson. The Panther grappler secured the victory with a one-point escape with eight seconds left in the match.

Junior Kyle Massey, ranked No. 11, then gave the Badgers the 7-6 lead with his major decision victory against Dustin Bauman at heavyweight. Massey also held his opponent scoreless with the 12-0 victory.

At 125 lbs., sophomore Drew Hammen wrestled for Wisconsin and added to the Badger lead with a 6-5 win over UNI’s Caleb Flores. Flores had a 5-2 lead heading into the third period but Hammen recorded an escape, a takedown and one point of riding time to capture the match, 6-5.

The bout at 133 lbs. had the most combined points scored of the night. No. 18 junior Zach Tanelli faced UNI’s Trent Washington and the grapplers were tied 6-6 heading into the third period. In the third, Washington had three takedowns and a near fall to beat out Tanelli, 14-11.

No. 13 sophomore Kyle Ruschell upset No. 10 C.J. Ettelson with his win at 141 lbs. and put Wisconsin up 13-9. Ruschell was also tied with Ettelson heading into the third period but his escape in the third won the match, 6-4.

UNI tied the score at 13 with a major decision victory at 149 lbs. Charlie Ettelson defeated Wisconsin true freshman Kendall Vogel, 13-0.

At 157 lbs., No. 3 senior Craig Henning scored just one point in the third period but that was all he needed to defeat Jarion Beets, 1-0 and put the Badgers ahead 13-16.

In the last bout of the night, senior Jake Donar faced No. 5 Moza Fay at 165 lbs. Fay got out to a quick 6-0 lead in the first period but Donar responded in the second, scoring five points of his own. Fay also had three points in the second period and with no one scoring in the third, Fay won the match 9-5 to put the final team score at 16-16.

Tonight’s match was the first tie for Wisconsin since a 15-15 tie against Illinois during the last dual of the 2005-06 season.

Wisconsin returns to action Monday night when it opens up the 2007-08 Big Ten Conference season. The Badgers head to Columbus, Ohio for a match at 6 p.m. against No. 13 Ohio State inside St. John’s Arena. Stay tuned to uwbadgers.com for complete results throughout the season.

Northern Iowa 16 Wisconsin 16
174 Alex Dolly (UNI) dec. Justin Peterson (UW) 7-3
184 Trevor Brandvold (UW) dec. Andy O’Loughlin (UNI) 6-4
197 Andrew Anderson (UNI) dec. Dallas Herbst (UW) 4-3
285 Kyle Massey (UW) major dec.. Dustin Bauman (UNI) 12-0
125 Drew Hammen (UW) dec. Caleb Flores (UNI) 6-5
133 Trent Washington (UNI) dec. Zach Tanelli (UW) 14-11
141 Kyle Ruschell (UW) dec. C.J. Ettelson (UNI) 6-4
149 Charlie Ettelson (UNI) major dec. Kendall Vogel (UW) 13-0
157 Craig Henning (UW) dec. Jarion Beets (UNI) 1-0
165 Moza Fay (UNI) dec. Jake Donar (UW) 9-5
Attendance: 806
 

Herbst Wins 197 lbs. Title, UW Places Fifth

Wrestling Signs Nine for 2008-09 Season

The No. 10 Badger wrestling team travels to Las Vegas, Nev., for the 26th annual Cliff Keen Invite at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Wisconsin is one of 49 teams at the invite and one of five Big Ten Conference teams. Last year, the Badgers placed fifth out of 47 teams and current sophomore Kyle Ruschell (141 lbs.) and senior Craig Henning (157 lbs.) finished third in their respective weight classes while junior Dallas Herbst (197 lbs.) finished fifth.

Badger Individuals Ranked in Top 16 in poll 11/26/2007)

Notes from Coach Davis:

The Wisconsin Badger Wrestling Team is currently ranked #10 in the country. The following individual rankings are listed:
125 lbs. Collin Cudd #6
133 lbs. Zach Tanelli #13
141 lbs. Kyle Ruschell #11
157 lbs. Craig Henning #2
184 lbs. Trevor Brandvold #11
197 lbs. Dallas Herbst #8
285 lbs. Kyle Massey #16

We have just signed the following recruits for the 2008-09 season:
Tyler Graff - Colorado 125-133 lbs.#1 in the country in his weight class #6 overall
Andrew Howe - Indiana 157 lbs. #1 in country in his weight class Top 5 overall
Ben Jordan - Ohio 165 lbs. #5 in his weight class #48 overall
Cole Schmitt - New Glarus, WI 141-149 lbs. #52 overall
Travis Rutt - Minnesota 174 lbs. #6 in his weight class #68 overall
Trey Bertram - Minnesota 133 lbs. 17th in his weight class
Tom Kelliner - Minnesota 125-133 lbs. #10 in his weight class
James Duffy - Illinois 157 lbs. State Runner-Up
Brad Nardick - Illinois 157-165 lbs.

Please Note:
The Wisconsin at Indiana wrestling match time has been changed to accommodate live airing on the Big Ten Network. The Friday, January 25th match will be held at 5:00 PM ET (formerly 7:00 PM ET). Please change your travel and viewing plans accordingly.

The team will be leaving Madison on Wednesday to depart for Vegas and the Cliff Keen Invite.

Tuesday - December 4th - 6 PM - Coaches will be available at the Stadium Bar and Grill to talk about season updates and the new recruits. All are welcome to join us.

Coach Davis

Wrestling Signs Nine for 2008-09 Season (11/26/2007)
Madison, Wis.
Nov. 26, 2007

Wisconsin wrestling head coach Barry Davis announced Monday that nine wrestlers signed National Letters of Intent and will join the Badgers for the 2008-09 season. Davis’s 14th recruiting class consists of wrestlers from Wisconsin, Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota and Illinois.

“I think it’s one of the better recruiting classes that we’ve ever had but again, you don’t really know until you get the kids in the room,” Davis said. “We have a lot of depth, we cover nine different weight classes in this recruiting class. We’re very fortunate to get a couple kids and we did our homework on them. It’s going to be great because we graduate six guys next year so it’s what we needed overall. They are a very physical group, and we’re really excited about that.”

Of the nine recruits, two are ranked No. 1 in the country and five are ranked within the top 20 in their respective weight classes. The Badgers
welcome Tyler Graff, (Loveland, Colo.), Andrew Howe (Cedar Lake, Ind.),
Ben Jordan (St. Paris, Ohio), Cole Schmitt (New Glarus, Wis.), Travis
Rutt (Jackson County, Minn.), Trey Bertram (Hastings, Minn.), Tom Kelliner (Apple Valley, Minn.), James Duffey (Naperville, Ill.) and Brad Nardick (Northbrook, Ill.).

Biographical information on each new signee follows:
Tyler Graff, Loveland Colo./Loveland
Going to the mat as a winner
Ranked No. 1 in the country at 130 lbs. … ranked No. 6 overall … three- time Colorado State Champion … 2006 USA Wrestling Junior National Freestyle Runner-Up … FILA Junior World Team Member … 2005 USA Wrestling Cadet Freestyle National Champion … 2004 USA Wrestling Cadet Freestyle National Runner-up … will compete at either 125 lbs. or 133 lbs.
Andrew Howe, Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central
Listed as No. 1 in the country for 152 lbs. … ranked 11th overall … two-time Indiana State Champion … 2007 champion at 152 lbs. … 2006 state champion at 140 lbs. … 2005 state runner-up at 130 lbs. … finished third at 2007 Junior Freestyle for 152 lbs. … took 3rd at 2005 Cadet Freestyle at 140 lbs. … projected to compete at 157 lbs.
Ben Jordan, St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham
Ranked fifth in the country for his weight class… listed as No. 48 overall … 2007 Ohio Division II State Runner-up … 2006 Ironman Runner-up… 2006 Ohio Division II State Champion … son of former Badger and two-time NCAA Champion, Jim Jordan … will wrestle at 165 lbs.
Cole Schmitt, New Glarus, Wis./New Glarus
Ranked No. 4 in the country at 145 lbs. … rated No. 52 overall … two-time Wisconsin State Champion … finished sixth at state his freshman season … overall high school record of 133-6 … Multiple State Greco Freestyle Champion … 2006 Fargo Cadet Greco Champion … 2007 USA Junior Folkstyle Champion … 2007 Fila Greco Champ … made all-tournament team at the 2006 Cadet Duals and at the 2007 Junior Duals … 2006 Cadet North Plains Freestyle and Greco Champion … also played football and was a first-team all-conference safety … projected to compete at either 141 lbs. or 149 lbs.
Travis Rutt, Jackson County, Minn./Jackson County Central
Listed as sixth in the country at 171 lbs. … ranked No. 68 overall … 2007 Minnesota State Champion … 2006 Cadet Freestyle All-American (finished sixth) … finished third at 2006 Minnesota State Championships …will compete at 174 lbs.
Trey Bertram, Hastings, Minn./Hastings
Ranked 17th in his weight class … has a career record of 119-20 … 2005
Minnesota State Champion … finished fourth at 2006 state championships
and third in 2007 … three-time all-state selection … three-time conference champion … three-time section champion … went undefeated at CLASH National Duals in both 2005 and 2006 … 2006 Fargo AA fourth-place freestyle … three-time State Freestyle Champion … 2006 State Greco Champion … 2006 Northern Plains Greco Champion, Freestyle runner-up … two-time member of Minnesota National Duals Team … member of 2006 WIN Magazine Super Summer Team … 2006 Minnesota/USA Top 10 Cadet … 2007-08 team captain … two-time all-academic team … projected to compete at 133 lbs.
Tom Kelliher, Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley
Ranked No. 10 at 125 lbs. … three-time Minnesota State Runner-Up (2005,
06, 07) … will compete at either 125 lbs. or 133 lbs.
James Duffy, Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley
2007 Illinois State Runner-Up … ranked No. 2 in Illinois at 145 lbs. during 2006-07 season … three-time state qualifier … finished third at Naperville North Sectional in 2006 … finished first at 2006 regional … 2006 Up-State Eight Conference Champion … Cadet All-American for freestyle … finished eighth at USA Wrestling National Championships … went 9-0 as a member of the Illinois Cadet Dual Team … USA Wrestling 2006 National Cadet Freestyle All-Dual Team … two-time Illinois State Freestyle Champion … Northern Plains Regional Cadet Freestyle Champion … will wrestle at 157 lbs.
Brad Nardick, Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North
2007 conference champion at 145 lbs … finished 31-5 at 152 lbs. during
2006-07 season … made all-conference team and team MVP honors … regional champion at 145 lbs. … finished fourth at sectionals … could compete at 157 lbs or 165 lbs.

Herbst Honored by Big Ten 11/20/2007
Madison, Wis.
Nov. 20, 2007

Wisconsin junior Dallas Herbst was named the Big Ten Conference’s Co-Wrestler of the Week after going 5-0 in Ithaca, N.Y., last weekend.

Herbst, a Winneconne, Wis., native, captured the Wisconsin victory in its dual against No. 8 Cornell Friday, Nov. 16, by pinning Matt Panasevich in 6:44 during the final bout of the evening. With the pin, the No. 11 Badgers edged out the Big Red 21-18. It was also the 33rd pin of Herbst’s career, which moved him into second all-time on UW’s career falls list.

On Saturday Herbst won the 197 lbs. division at the Body Bar Systems Invite. He pinned three-straight opponents to earn a spot in the championship match and beat Maryland’s Hudson Taylor, 4-3 for the first place finish. Herbst now has 36 career pins and is 11 falls behind UW’s career leader, Lee Kemp.

This is the second Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honor for Herbst and he shares this week’s accolade with Penn State’s Jake Strayer. Herbst was also honored by the conference on Jan. 10, 2007 after he went 4-0 at the Lonestar Duals. This is also the first Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honor for Wisconsin since current junior Zach Tanelli won the award on Jan. 24, 2007.

Wisconsin returns to action Nov. 30-Dec. 1 for competition at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev.

Badgers Take Second at Body Bar Invite
Madison, Wis.
Nov. 17, 2007

The No. 11 Wisconsin wrestling team captured a second place finish at the 11-team Body Bar Invite Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y. The Badgers finished with 130.5 team points and were just 8.5 points behind invite winner and host, Cornell (139).

Two Wisconsin grapplers won their weight class and six others finished within the top five of their respective classes. At 125 lbs., top-seeded senior Collin Cudd won three-straight matches to earn a spot in the finals. He faced the second-seeded Fernando Martinez from Army and won,
7-5.

After clinching the UW victory in its dual against Cornell last night, junior Dallas Herbst pinned three-straight opponents to make it into the finals. In the finals, top-seeded Herbst matched up against the No. 2 seed, Hudson Taylor from Maryland and Herbst won by a close 4-3 decision. Herbst now has 36 career falls and his fastest one of the day came in 41 seconds against Sacred Heart’s Brandon Lapp.

Sophomore Kyle Ruschell and senior Jake Donar also made it to the finals. Ruschell had two falls on the day and finished second at 141 lbs. after dropping a 7-4 decision to Kent State’s Drew Lashway. At 165 lbs., Donar had a chance for a rematch in the finals against Cornell’s Mack Lewness, who won with a pin in Friday’s dual. Lewness
again came away with the 17-5 win Saturday and Donar finished second.

Junior Zach Tanelli (133 lbs.) and sophomore Trevor Brandvold (184 lbs.) both finished third while junior Kyle Massey came away with a fourth place finish at heavyweight. Junior Justin Peterson competed at 174 lbs. and finished fifth.

The Badgers take a break before hitting the road again Nov. 30-Dec. 1 when they travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the Cliff Keen Invite. Before that though, Wisconsin senior Craig Henning and head coach Barry Davis will represent Wisconsin at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Eugene, Ore., on Monday, Nov. 19. Henning will compete at 157 lbs. against Mike Poeta from Illinois while Davis is one of the coaches for the event. Stay tuned to uwbadgers.com for results from Henning’s bout at the NWCA All-Star Classic and score updates throughout the season.

2007 Cornell Body Bar
11/17/07
Plc Points Team
1 139 Cornell
2 130.5 Wisconsin
3 113.5 Maryland
4 107 Kent St
5 89 Army
6 84.5 Buffalo
7 66 Pitt
8 56.5 Drexel
9 28 Binghamton
10 12.5 Ithaca
11 6.5 Sacred Heart

No. 11 Wisconsin Pins No. 8 Cornell, 21-18
Madison, Wis.
Nov. 16, 2007

It came down to the final bout, but the No. 11 Wisconsin wrestling team
upset No. 8 Cornell, 21-18 Friday night at the Newman Arena in Ithaca,
N.Y. Junior Dallas Herbst secured the Badger victory when he pinned
Cornell’s Matt Panasevich at 6:44 in the 197 lbs. match.

The night began at heavyweight and Cornell got on the board first. It
took an overtime and a tie breaker before the Big Red’s Zach Hammond
edged Wisconsin junior Kyle Massey, 2-1.

The Badgers responded though, winning the next three matches and taking
a 9-3 lead. Senior Collin Cudd tied the score at three with an 11-5
victory over Cornell’s Frank Perrelli at 125 lbs. and junior Zach
Tanelli helped the Badgers take the lead with a close 7-5 win against
Mike Grey at 133 lbs. Sophomore Kyle Ruschell wrestled at 141 lbs. for
Wisconsin and had four takedowns in his 12-3 win over Eric McGill.

The bout at 149 lbs. came down to the final seconds for Wisconsin
freshman Kendall Vogel and Cornell’s Adam Frey. Vogel scored a two-point
takedown with five seconds left in the third period and a three-point
nearfall as time expired to knot the score at seven, but Frey’s 2:17 of
riding time gave Cornell the 8-7 win at 149 lbs.

Wisconsin built on its lead with a win at 157 lbs. Only four points were
scored in the whole match but senior Craig Henning’s two-point reversal
in the third period and one point for riding time was what it took to
defeat Cornell’s Jordan Leen, 3-1.

Cornell then tied and regained the lead with pins at 165 lbs. and 174
lbs., but Wisconsin pulled within three at 18-15 with a win at 184 lbs.
Sophomore Trevor Brandvold captured the 7-4 victory over Cornell’s Nate
Holley.

Down three and with the match on the line, Herbst got out to a quick 4-0
lead in the first period. As the match continued, Herbst would score
five more points and allowed just one point for Panasevich before the
Badger grappler recorded his third pin of the season and the win for
Wisconsin. Herbst now has 33 career pins, which moves him into second
all-time on UW’s career falls list.

The Badgers return to the mat at the Newman Arena tomorrow for
competition at the Body Bar Invite. Wisconsin is one of 10 teams at the
invite and competition begins at 8 a.m. (CST).

Stats

Wisconsin-21 Cornell-18
HWT: Zach Hammond (Cornell) def. Kyle Massey (Wisconsin), 2-1; C:3, W:0
125: Collin Cudd (Wisconsin) def. Frank Perrelli (Cornell), 5-11; C:3,W:3
133: Zach Tanelli (Wisconsin) def. Mike Grey (Cornell), 4-7; C:3, W:6
141: Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin) def. Eric McGill (Cornell), 3-12; C:3,W:9
149: Adam Frey (Cornell) def. Kendall Vogel (Wisconsin), 8-7; C:6, W:9
157: Craig Henning (Wisconsin) def. Jordan Leen (Cornell), 1-3; C: 6,W:12
165: Mack Lewnes (Cornell) pinned Jake Donar (Wisconsin), 4:37; C: 12,W:12
174: Steve Anceravage (Cornell) pinned Justin Peterson (Wisconsin) 1:31;C:18, W:12
184: Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin) def. Nate Holley (Cornell), 4-7; C:18, W:15
197: Dallas Herbst (Wisconsin) pinned Matt Panasevich (Cornell), 6:44;C:18, W

UW Wins Gold Division of Pointer Open (11/10/2007)
Madison, Wis.
Nov. 10, 2007

The Wisconsin wrestling team scored 220 points to finish first out of 19
teams in the Gold Division of the Pointer Open Saturday. The Badgers
sent 15 grapplers to Stevens Point, Wis., Saturday for the open.

True freshman Ben Sarbacker competed unattached and placed the highest
of any Badger, with his first-place finish at 174 lbs. in the Gold
Division. The Verona, Wis., native had a bye in the first round but won
four straight matches, including a pin of UW senior Matt Maciag in 1:59,
to win the division. In the first-place match, Sarbacker defeated
UW-Parkside’s Corey Vangroll by a close 2-0 score. Sarbacker scored 30
points with his first-place finish, but they did not go towards the
Wisconsin team total because he wrestled unattached.

Maciag finished fifth overall while junior Justin Peterson also competed
at 184 lbs. and scored 21 team points while placing third. At
heavyweight in the Gold Division, sophomore Jordan Hein captured another
third-place finish for Wisconsin.

Three Badgers finished second in their respective weight class. They
include, redshirt freshman Eric Bugenhagen (184 lbs., Gold Division),
and true freshmen Kendall Vogel (149 lbs., Gold Division) and Weldon
Rogers, who competed unattached at 149 lbs. in the Silver Division.

Complete results from the Pointer Open can be found at
http://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/Login.jsp

Wisconsin continues the 2007-08 season next weekend when it heads east
to Ithaca, N.Y. for a dual against No. 8 Cornell on Friday, Nov. 16 and
then for competition at the Body Bar Invite, Saturday, Nov. 17.

Stats

Pointer Open
Nov. 10, 2007
Gold Division

Team Match Points
1. UW-Madison 220
2. Minnesota State University 205
3. Cornell College 191
4. UW- La Crosse 187
5. UW-Parkside 186
6. Upper Iowa University 178
7. Luther 172
8. North Central College 148
9. UW-Stevens Point 135
10. Indianapolis 128
11. UW-Oshkosh 96
12. Harper College 83
13. Ellsworth Community College 37
14. UW-Whitewater 35
15. Winona State University 19
16. Rochester Community & Tech College 18
17. UW-Milwaukee 13
18. UA 3

Badger Wrestling Update (11/8/2007)

Last weekend we wrestled the University of Dubuque, UW Oshkosh, and Tri-County of Indiana. Out of the 30 matches, we had 4 forfeits, so in the 26 matches that we competed in we had 24 wins, 20 by fall, and lost at 149 (Mike Metzger) and at 184 (Matt Maciag 5-4).

This weekend we are sending our back-up team to Stevens Point and the following week we leave to wrestle Cornell on Friday night and then attend the Body Bar Invite on Saturday.

Craig Henning will not be wrestling in the Body Bar Invite because he has been invited to wrestle in the All-Star meet which will be held in Eugene, Oregon. We will send you the line-ups for this meet next week.

Next Wednesday is the first official day to sign recruits. We are not able to give out information per NCAA rules, but as the signings come in, we will release the names of the recruits that will be joining next season. We can say that we may have the #1 recruiting class in the country.

ON WISCONSIN

Coach Davis

Badgers Start Season 3-0
Madison, Wis.
Nov. 2, 2007

The No. 12 Wisconsin wrestling team competed in the Hall of Fame Duals Friday at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay to open the 2007-08 season. The Badgers faced three Division III opponents and dominated all three duals with just nine points scored on them all day. Wisconsin kicked off the season with a 58-0 shutout of Dubuque (Iowa), a 45-9 win over Tri-State University (Indiana) and another 53-0 shutout of
UW-Oshkosh.

Wisconsin recorded 20 pins on the day and five Badger grapplers won by pins in each of their three matches. Seniors Collin Cudd (125 lbs.) Jake Donar (165 lbs.) and Craig Henning (157 lbs.), junior Kyle Massey (Hwt.) and sophomore Kyle Ruschell (141 lbs.) had three pins each. Junior Dallas Herbst had the fastest fall of the day, after he pinned Dubuque’s Matt Wonderlin in 28 seconds during the 197 lbs. bout. Herbst, Wisconsin’s leader in pins in 2006-07, had two pins and won his third dual by forfeit.

Some new faces also stepped into the lineup Friday. Redshirt freshman Eric Bugenhagen competed at 184 lbs. against Louis Posa from Tri-State and captured a close 7-5 overtime victory.

Junior Mike Metzger wrestled at 149 lbs. for the Badgers and tried to continue the success of last year’s starter, All-American Tyler Turner. Metzger went 2-1 on the day, winning by a forfeit against Dubuque and a 7-0 score over Oshkosh’s Derek Koenig.

With the win over Dubuque, Wisconsin improves to 14-0 overall under head coach Barry Davis in season opening duals.

The Badgers take a weekend off from competition but will resume the
2007-08 campaign with tough competition out east in Ithaca, N.Y.
Wisconsin will face No. 8 Cornell in a dual, Friday, Nov. 16 and then
compete in the Body Bar Invite, Saturday, Nov. 17. Stay tuned to
uwbadgers.com for updates and scores throughout the season.

University of Dubuque (Iowa) vs. University of Wisconsin
Bout Opponent UD UW
125 Collin Cudd (UW) Pinned Andrew Taylor (UD), 2:05 00/00 06/06
133 Zach Tanelli (UW) Won By Forfeit 00/00 06/12
141 Kyle Ruschell (UW) Pinned Mark Schultz (UD), 4:35 00/00 06/18
149 Mike Metzger (UW) Won By Forfeit 00/00 06/24
157 Craig Henning (UW) Pinned Matt Evans (UD), 2:24 00/00 06/30
165 Jake Donar (UW) Pinned Joshua Terrell (UD), 3:35 00/00 06/36
174 Matt Maciag (UW) Defeated Evan Brown (UD), 13-2 00/00 04/40
184 Trevor Brandvold (UW) Pinned Cesar Dominguez (UD), 1:16 00/00 06/46
197 Dallas Herbst (UW) Pinned Matt Wonderlin (UD), 0:28 00/00 06/52
285 Kyle Massey (UW) Pinned Nick Hagen (UD), 1:16 00/00 06/58

Final Score: University of Wisconsin 58, University of Dubuque 0
University of Dubuque Dual Meet Record: 0-1
University of Wisconsin Dual Meet Record: 1-0

Tri-State University (Ind.) vs. University of Wisconsin
Bout Opponent TSU UW
125 Collin Cudd (UW) Pinned Levi Mundy (TSU), 1:14 00/00 06/06
133 Zach Tanelli (UW) Pinned Thomas Pompei (TSU), 2:09 00/00 06/12
141 Kyle Ruschell (UW) Pinned Brian Wight (TSU), 4:52 00/00 06/18
149 Kyle Pittman (TSU) Pinned Mike Metzger (UW), 2:03 06/06 00/18
157 Craig Henning (UW) Pinned Zane Stenz (TSU), 2:32 00/06 06/24
165 Jake Donar (UW) Pinned Matt Perry (TSU), 3;13 00/06 06/30
174 Nick Kraus (TSU) Defeated Matt Maciag (UW), 7-6 03/09 00/30
184 Eric Bugenhagen (UW) Defeated Louis Posa (TSU), 7-5 (OT) 00/09 03/33
197 Dallas Herbst (UW) Pinned Alex Fleet (TSU), 0:58 00/09 06/39
285 Kyle Massey (UW) Pinned Kyle Brown (TSU), 6:05 00/09 06/45

Final Score: University of Wisconsin 45, Tri-State University 9
Tri-State University Dual Meet Record: 1-1
University of Wisconsin Dual Meet Record: 2-0

UW-Oshkosh vs. University of Wisconsin
Bout Opponent UWO UW
125 Collin Cudd (UW) Pinned Chad Leviner (UWO), 6:59 00/00 06/06
133 Zach Tanelli (UW) Pinned Jared Jaminski (UWO), 2:08 00/00 06/12
141 Kyle Ruschell (UW) Pinned Alex Mueller (UWO), 2:24 00/00 06/18
149 Mike Metzger (UW) Defeated Derek Koenig (UWO), 7-0 00/00 03/21
157 Craig Henning (UW) Pinned Dallas Moe (UWO), 3:37 00/00 06/27
165 Jake Donar (UW) Pinned Kevin Luedtke (UWO), 4:48 00/00 06/33
174 Justin Peterson (UW) Defeated Eli Felts (UWO), 11-0 00/00 04/37
184 Trevor Brandvold (UW) Defeated Pat Detmer (UWO), 14-5 00/00 04/41
197 Dallas Herbst (UW) Won By Forfeit 00/00 06/47
285 Kyle Massey (UW) Pinned Travis Stolze (UWO), 1:12 00/00 06/53

Final Score: University of Wisconsin 53, UW-Oshkosh 0
UW-Oshkosh Dual Meet Record: 1-2
University of Wisconsin Dual Meet Record: 3-0

UW wrestling: Henning has eyes on prize
By ANDY BAGGOT
608-252-6175
abaggot@madison.com
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/index.php?ntid=254314&ntpid=1

Enough time has passed since Craig Henning stumbled a few feet from the finish line that he's somewhat philosophical about the fall.

Henning capped his junior season with the University of Wisconsin wrestling team last March with a second-place finish in the NCAA tournament at 157 pounds.

After knocking off the Nos. 3 and 2 seeds, Henning dropped a 6-4 decision to senior Trent Paulson of Iowa State in the title match.

"Now that it's been over with for a little while, I'm looking at it more at what I can do to improve so what happened last year doesn't happen this year," Henning said of his 31-4 season.

The heart of that matter is this: Henning had never faced Paulson before and, looking back on the moment, Henning thinks he could have done more to familiarize himself with Paulson.

"He just kept coming with the (takedown) shots," Henning recalled. "Right away, they weren't working for him, but he just kept coming with them.

"He was real persistent and I think that kind of caught me off-guard because I wasn't used to people wrestling me like that."

A year later, Paulson is out of the picture, which means Henning has his eye on becoming the first UW individual national champion since 2001 when Donny Pritzlaff won his second straight title.

"It's mine to lose," Henning said.

An offseason in which Henning talked strategy with Pritzlaff and conditioning with three-time UW national champion Lee Kemp gave way to an immediate honor for Henning.

He's been chosen to compete in the 42nd annual National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic. Joining Henning will be UW coach Barry Davis, who needs nine wins to reach 150 for his 14th season at the school.

The idea of moving up isn't limited to Henning, 22-year-old co-captain from Chippewa Falls. His attitude represents that of the Badgers, who think they can improve on one of the best seasons in program history.

UW won a school-record 19 dual meets in 2006-07 — including 15 straight — finished second in the Big Ten Conference meet and placed 13th in the NCAA championships.

The Badgers return 10 NCAA qualifiers — eight from last season, two from 2005-06 — and have eight ranked among the top 20 in their weight classes by Amateur Wrestling News.

UW is ranked 12th in the AWN preseason poll, but its task is defined by the fact the top five schools in the ranking — Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, Northwestern and Ohio State — are from the Big Ten.

When the Badgers begin their season Friday with a triple-dual at UW-Oshkosh they will do so with a heady objective.

"This year, the main goal is we want to be top five in the country," Henning said.

UW STARTERS
125 pounds: Collin Cudd, sr. (ranked 14th by Amateur Wrestling News).
133: Zach Tanelli, jr. (ranked ninth by AWN).
141: Kyle Ruschell, so. (ranked eighth by AWN).
149: Kendall Vogel, fr.
157: Craig Henning, sr. (ranked second by AWN).
165: Jake Donar, sr.
174: Matt Maciag, sr. (ranked 18th by AWN).
184: Eric Bugenhagen, fr.
197: Dallas Herbst, jr. (ranked eighth by AWN).
Heavyweight: Kyle Massey, jr. (ranked 16th by AWN).

Kemp, Finalist for U.S. Olympics Coaching Spot
Madison, Wis. Oct. 31, 2007

Former Wisconsin wrestler, Lee Kemp, is one of five finalists chosen by USA Wrestling to serve as a coach for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in freestyle wrestling. Of the five finalists, two will be selected in mid-November by USA Wrestling’s Freestyle Coach Selection Committee.
The two chosen will work with USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson at the Beijing Games.

While this would be Kemp’s first time coaching an Olympic team, he has worked with World freestyle teams. In 2007, he coached the Junior World freestyle team that finished 11th in the standings and featured Junior World Champion Bubba Jenkins. During the 2006 World Championships in Guangzhou, China, Kemp helped coach a squad that won four individual World medals and placed third overall.

Kemp also competed at the World Championships in freestyle, winning three gold medals (1978, 1979, 1982) and a bronze medal in 1981. He was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team, but never competed in Moscow due to the U.S. government’s boycott on the games that year.

While at Wisconsin, Kemp was one of the most successful wrestlers in the program’s history. During his four years, he was a three-time NCAA Champion at 174 lbs., and still holds the record for most career falls (47). Kemp left Wisconsin in 1983 after earning a master’s in marketing. He currently coaches the Lee Kemp Cooler Wrestling Club in Georgia.

The other four finalists for the USA Wrestling coaching positions are Sean Bormet (founder and coach of the Overtime School of Wrestling in Illinois), Mike Duroe (head coach at Cornell College in Iowa), Kerry McCoy (head coach at Stanford) and Lou Rosselli (assistant coach at Ohio State).

Davis, Henning Chosen for NWCA All-Star Classic
Madison, Wis. Oct. 30, 2007

Two members of the University of Wisconsin wrestling team were selected to participate in the 42nd annual National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic. Badger head coach Barry Davis and two-time All-American Craig Henning will represent Wisconsin at the classic which takes place Monday, Nov. 19 in Eugene, Ore., at McArthur Court.

Davis has been selected as one of the coaches for the classic and Henning will wrestle at 157 lbs. against Big Ten Conference opponent Mike Poeta from Illinois. Both wrestlers faced each other at the 2007 Big Ten Championship. The third-seeded Henning upset top-seeded Poeta with a 7-2 decision in the third-place match. Both Henning and Poeta earned All-American status at the 2007 NCAA Championship with their second and third place finishes, respectively.

Henning is ranked No. 1 in two preseason polls and is the first Wisconsin grappler to be named an NWCA All-Star since current assistant coach Donny Pritzlaff in 2001. Eight other Big Ten wrestlers were also selected to compete at the classic.

More information on the NWCA All-Star Classic can be found at http://www.nwcaonline.com/allstarclassic.cfm

UW Determines Starting Lineup with Scrimmage  (Scoresheet)
Madison, Wis.
The Wisconsin wrestling team kicked off the 2007-08 season Thursday night in front of 647 fans at the UW Field House for the team’s annual Wrestle-Offs. The Badgers used ten matches to determine their starting lineup for the season.

“I liked how we wrestled overall as a team, I thought they looked good,” Wisconsin head coach Barry Davis said. “As a coach, what we look for is how the guys compete with each other and the tendencies of certain guys. I look for how we wrestle overall as a team, how we get to the mat, how they work in riding situations, that’s mainly what we’re looking for right now and we can find areas where each guy can improve.”

Things got started with a match at 125 lbs. featuring last season’s starter Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) and sophomore Drew Hammen (Random Lake, Wis.). Cudd got out to a 2-0 start in the first period and Hammen tallied just two escapes in the whole match. Cudd, a three-time NCAA qualifier captured the match, 7-2.

At 133 lbs., junior Zach Tanelli (Short Hills, N.J.) tallied two takedowns and two near falls in the first period to go up on sophomore Eric Senescu, 9-1 in the first. Tanelli controlled the rest of the match, and returns as Wisconsin’s starter at 133 lbs. with a 16-2 win over Senescu.

Badger co-captain, sophomore Kyle Ruschell (Crittendon, Ky.) faced junior Dan Sneider (Northbrook, Ill.) at 141 lbs. Ruschell stormed out to a 12-0 lead in the first period and finished with a tech fall, just 3:09 into the match to regain his starting spot.

With the departure of former All-American Tyler Turner, Wisconsin has a large gap to fill at 149 lbs. Two freshmen earned their way into the final match tonight as both won preliminary matches earlier in the week. Kendall Vogel (Westfield, Wis.) scored first with a takedown in the first frame but Weldon Rogers (Oak Park, Ill.) was the next to score with a one-point escape in the second period. With the score close at 2-1 heading into the third, Vogel tallied four points in the final frame to earn the match and the starting spot with a 6-1 score.

“Being a freshman, I thought Kendall Vogel used the mat really well, he knew where he was the whole time,” Davis said. “For a young kid doing that right away, I thought that was impressive.”

NCAA runner-up and another Badger co-captain, Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.), faced off against redshirt freshman Gabe Stoppelmoor at 157 lbs. Henning held Stoppelmoor scoreless in the match and captured a 12-0 decision. Stoppelmoor will compete at 149 lbs. this season but moved up for tonight’s match against Henning.

The bout at 165 lbs. was one of the closest of the night and featured senior Jake Donar (Cuba City, Wis.) and junior Mike Felling (Hutchinson, Minn.). Donar wrestled the most for Wisconsin at 165 lbs. last season and Felling moves down a weight class this year after wrestling at 174 lbs. in 2006-07. In Thursday’s match, Donar had a 3-0 advantage over Felling after a scoreless first period. Felling would score two points in the final frame, but Donar held on for the 3-2 win.

At 174 lbs., senior Matt Maciag (Sussex, N.J.) matched up against junior Justin Peterson (Comstock, Wis.). Peterson is another Badger moving down weight classes this season after he wrestled at 184 lbs. last year. In the match, Maciag defeated Peterson 9-1 to regain his starting position.

Badger fans got a first look at another freshman, Gage Szablewski. The Lake Park, Ill., native took on redshirt freshman Eric Bugenhagen at 184 lbs. Bugenhagen scored first with a takedown in the first period but Szablewski got on the board with an escape in the second. In the third, Bugenhagen tallied two more points to finish the match, 4-1.

Wisconsin’s final co-captain, Dallas Herbst (Winneconne, Wis.) faced redshirt freshman Calyn Hull (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at 197 lbs. The score remained close at 2-1 in the first but Herbst would score the final five points to earn his starting spot back with a 7-1 win.

Finally, the heavyweight match had the least scoring of the night. Junior Kyle Massey (Champlin, Minn.) took on sophomore Jordan Hein and after a scoreless first, Massey was the only one to get on the board with a one-point escape. Massey also regained his spot in the starting lineup with a 1-0 decision.

Wisconsin continues the 2007-08 campaign Friday, Nov. 2, in Green Bay when they take on UW-Oshkosh and Dubuque at the KI Convention Center. Stay tuned to uwbadgers.com throughout the season wrestling updates and scores.

Wrestle-Offs Scores (PDF)

Wisconsin Athletic Communications
Betsy Golomski 10/25/2007 9:23:51 PM

125 Collin Cudd dec. Drew Hammen, 7-2
133 Zach Tanelli dec. Eric Senescu, 16-2
141 Kyle Ruschell Tech Fall Dan Sneider, 3:09
149 Kendall Vogel dec. Weldon Rogers, 6-1
157 Craig Henning dec. Gabe Stoppelmoor, 12-0
165 Jake Donar dec. Mike Felling, 3-2
174 Matt Maciag dec. Justin Peterson, 9-1
184 Eric Bugenhagen dec. Gage Szablewski, 4-1
197 Dallas Herbst dec. Calyn Hull, 7-1
Hwt. Kyle Massey dec. Jordan Hein, 1-0

Wrestlers Start Season with Intra-Squad Scrimmage
Madison, Wis.
Oct. 24, 2007

The No. 12 Wisconsin wrestling team opens the 2007-08 campaign Thursday night at 7 p.m. inside the UW Field House for its annual Intra-Squad Scrimmage. Ten matches will be used to determine the Badgers’ starting lineup and the event is free to the public, with the doors opening at 6:15 p.m.

For the bout at 125 lbs., three-time NCAA qualifier Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) will face sophomore Drew Hammen (Random Lake, Wis.). Hammen earned his spot in Thursday’s match after defeating sophomore Kyle Reeve by a close 2-0 score at Tuesday’s preliminary wrestle-offs. Cudd started for the Badgers last season at 125 lbs. and compiled a 21-13 overall record and finished fifth at the 2007 Big Ten Championship.

At 133 lbs., junior Zach Tanelli and sophomore Eric Senescu will battle for the starting spot. In 2007, Tanelli, a Short Hills, N.J. native, represented the Badgers at 133 lbs., finishing 21-10 overall and scoring the second-most dual points on the team (80). He also made his first appearance at the NCAA championships.

After pacing Wisconsin with his second place finish at the 2007 Big Ten Championship, sophomore Kyle Ruschell (Crittenden, Ky.) will compete with junior Dan Sneider (Northbrook, Ill.) for the starting spot at 141 lbs. Ruschell was Wisconsin’s starter last season, going 30-9. Sneider enters his third season at Wisconsin and moves up a weight class after competing at 133 lbs. in 2006-07.

It took three preliminary matches but two Badger newcomers will fight for the starting spot at 149 lbs. Weldon Rogers (Oak Park, Ill.) began the week with a preliminary bout against fellow freshman Dan Rivers and won that match and another against junior Mike Metzger to move onto Thursday’s finals. Vogel faced sophomore Trevor Bowers (Mentor, Ohio) Tuesday and the Westfield, Wis., native captured a 5-2 decision to face Rogers in the finals.

As the runner-up at the 2007 NCAA Championships for 157 lbs. senior Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) will look to secure his starting spot when he faces redshirt freshman Gabe Stoppelmoor (Turtle Lake, Wis.). Henning is coming off his best season at Wisconsin, finishing 31-4 overall (18-2 in duals, 7-1 in Big Ten Conference duals), which includes his two upset wins en route to his spot in the title match at NCAAs.

At 165 lbs., senior Jake Donar (Cuba City, Wis.) will face junior Mike Felling (Hutchinson, Minn.). After tallying an 11-10 overall record at 174 lbs. last season, Felling moves down a weight class and earned a spot in Thursday’s bout after defeating redshirt freshman Jeremy Breen (Oak Creek, Wis.) 6-2 on Tuesday. Donar wrestled the most at 165 lbs. last year for the Badgers.

Senior Matt Maciag (Sussex, N.J.), another 2007 NCAA qualifier, defeated freshman Ben Sarbacker (Verona, Wis.) in a preliminary bout by a 7-1 score. Junior Justin Peterson (Comstock, Wis.), who is another Badger moving down a weight class (184 lbs. to 174 lbs.) faced senior Zach Menne (Richland Center, Wis.) in the second preliminary match and Peterson secured a spot in the finals, defeating Menne 10-4.

At 184 lbs. redshirt freshman Eric Bugenhagen (Franklin, Wis.) will take on true freshman Szablewski on Thursday.

Junior Dallas Herbst (Winneconne, Wis.) faces redshirt freshman Calyn Hull (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at 197 lbs. Herbst scored the most dual points of any Badger last season (97) and tied Lee Kemp’s single-season pin record (18).

Finally, at heavyweight, junior Kyle Massey (Champlin, Minn.) and sophomore Jordan Hein (Wausau, Wis.) will compete for the starting spot. Both wrestled at heavyweight last season but Massey started the most and finished 18-10 overall while earning his first trip to the NCAA championship.

For those unable to make it out to the UW Field House Thursday, the match will be live streamed and live stats will be available on uwbadgers.com.

Monday evening (October 22) the Badgers had their first round of wrestle-offs.
The results were as follows:

149 Pounds - Weldon Rogers defeated Dan Rivers
174 Pounds - Ben Sarbacker defeated Gage Szablewski

Tonight we have the second round of preliminaries with the following facing each other.

125 Pounds - Kyle Reeve vs. Drew Hammen
149 Pounds - Mike Metzger vs. Weldon Rogers
Trevor Bowers vs. Kendall Vogel
165 Pounds - Mike Felling vs. Jeremy Breen
174 Pounds - Matt Macaig vs. Ben Sarbacker
Justin Peterson vs. Zach Menne

Thursday night will be the final round of wrestle-offs. It will be held in the Field House at will begin at 7:00 PM. This is open to the public and the Badgers hope to have a large crowd on hand to support them. If you are unable to attend in person, go to www.uwbadgers.com and visit the wrestling site and check out the live video stream of the event.

• Craig Henning Invited to Wrestling In NWCA All-Star Classic

• UW Badger Wrestle-offs - October 25th 7:00 PM in Field House