Lance Palmer came out on top in a big scramble, and defeated Brent Metcalf 9-3.  With the score deadlocked at 3-3- late in the match, Palmer was able to score a takedown and backpoints. He added riding time to win 9-3.  The loss is the first for Metcalf this year, and only second in two seasons (the other being in the NCAA finals last March).

Iowa won the team championship, with six finalists and tow champions. Minnesota placing second, also with two champions. Wisconsin was third, followed by Ohio State and Penn State.

Jayson Ness remained undefeated at 26-0, and won his second career Big 10 Championship with a 9-3 win over Hawkeye Daniel Dennis.  Ness won the Big 10 Wrestler of the Year Award as well.

Other champs were Angel Escobedo at 125, Mike Thorn at 141, Cyler Sanderson at 157, Andrew Howe at 165, Jay Borschell at 174, John Dergo at 184, Trevor Brandvold at 197, and Dan Erickson at Hwt.

The team race came down to the wire, with OSU and Iowa State fighting it out and Oklahoma trying to make a run. OSU and ISU each advanced 6 to the finals and only a few points separated them. OU had four to the finals and made it interesting, but fell to third. Oklahoma State crowned champions at 133, 141, 184 and won by 1 1/2 points over Iowa State. Clayton Foster upset Max Askren to boost the Cowboys.  Dave Zabriskie and Jake Varner won the last tow weight classes for Iowa State but they fell just short of overtaking the Cowboys.

The finals are set and the team race is basically over, but there is still a lot to be decided as the Big 10 gets going on day two. There are still some big individual matches for spots in the NCAA Championships and bragging rights. Eight of the eleven schools in the conference are represented in the finals. Iowa has six in the finals. Minnesota advanced four, and Ohio State pushed three to the finals. The team standings are as follows:

1. Iowa 137.0
2. Minnesota 104.5
3. Ohio State 86.0
4. Wisconsin 82.0
5. Penn State 66.0
6. Purdue 65.0
7. Michigan State 58.5
8. Indiana 55.0
9. Illinois 48.5
10. Michigan 46.5
11. Northwestern 17.0

The individual championship matches are set:

125- #1 Angel Escobedo (Indiana) vs. # 3 Matt McDonough (Iowa)
133- # 1 Jayson Ness (Minnesota) vs. # 3 Daniel Dennis (Iowa)
141- # 2 Reece Humphrey (Ohio State) # No. 8 Mike Thorn (Minnesota)
149- # 1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) vs. # 2 Lance Palmer (Ohio State)
157- # 6 Cyler Sanderson (Penn State) vs. Colton Salazar (Purdue)
165- # 1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) vs. # 6 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State)
174- # 2 Jay Borschel (Iowa) vs. # 7 Scott Glasser (Minnesota)
184- # 2 John Dergo (Illinois) vs. # 10 Phil Keddy (Iowa)
197- # 7 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin) vs. # 13 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota)
285- # 2 Nathan Everhart (Indiana) vs. # 10 Dan Erekson (Iowa)

Apparently Minnesota 3x all American Dustin Schlatter will default out of the Big 10 Championship meet this weekend. The seeds were changed yesterday at the coaches meeting, and Schlatter was moved to an unseeded position, after J Robinson revealed that he was injured during the week and would attempt to get an at large berth for NCAA's. The move means that Schlatter will weigh-in for the championships, then default in his first match. He will therefore not place in the meet, but will likely still receive a spot in the 2010 NCAA Championship bracket in two weeks, based on his season record and current #2 NCAA ranking.

Also of note, Ryan Prater of Illinois apparently did not make weight at 141 lbs.  This means his season is over. Prater would have almost certainly qualified for the NCAA Championships, as he has had a strong season and been nationally ranked for the Fighting Illini.

With the exception of the Pac 10 Championships which were held last weekend, all conference championship tourneys are being held today.  All these tournaments will have a strong bearing on setting the qualifiers and seeds for the NCAA Championships in two weeks in Omaha, Nebraska.

Oregon State came in to the tournament needing a strong team effort, and that is what they got this weekend.  The team placed eight wrestlers in the top 4, and every man in the top 5 to bring the championship by two points over Boise State. Cal Poly was 3rd, after having a great tournament and being the first day leader.

Oregon State overcame a sluggish first session to put four wrestlers into the finals in session two.  Cal Poly put five wrestlers into the finals to lead after day 1. BSU placed three into the championship bout. Day two was set up to finish as a three team race, with several key head to head match-ups between the three teams.  

In the finals, Boise State won  two of the three, including Adam Hall's victory over Cal Poly wrestler Chase Pami.  Kirk Smith had a fall to get valuable points, but Oregon State had taken command after Colby Covington defeated BSU wrestler Nate Lee at 174 lbs. OSU won key 3rd place matches at 133 and 141, and when Matt Casperson defeated Chad Hanke by decision for 3rd place, OSU had won the team championship.

Overall, it was a great Pac 10 tournament, every team won at least one individual championship.  Cal State Bakersfield came ready to wrestle as well, putting three wrestlers into the finals and taking home two individual championships.  They wore black warm-up sweats and black singlets, rather than their traditional blue and gold school colors.  The Bakersfield administration informed the team and public two weeks ago that they would be cutting the program at the end of this year. The Roadrunner coaches and athletes, as well as wrestling community are still hopeful that they can save the program.

Individual winners were:  Anthony Robles-ASU, Boris Novatchkov-Cal Poly, Adin Duenas-Fullerton, Barrett Abel- UC Davis, Adam Hall- BSU, Nick Amuchastegui- Stanford, Colby Covington-OSU, Kirk Smith-BSU, Riley Orozco-Bakersfield, Mitch Monteiro-Bakersfield.

Adin Duenas (141) was named the tournament outstanding wrestler after winning the very tough 141 lb. weight class.

This is a good read from Roger Moore. Article touches on a little Pac 10 history, this year's teams and individuals to watch and the Cal State Bakersfield fiasco. Davis should be a happening place on Friday and Saturday.

http://www.ncaa.com/blog/200910d1wrestling/2010/02/3-in-a-row-for-boise.html

LCW will have a busy week of action.  We will be in Boise, Idaho for the meet between Boise State and Oregon State.  Also, we will attempt to cover the Region 18 junior college finals.  Stay tuned for coverage. Both events should provide for some excellent competition. 

BSU and OSU will wrestle Friday night, where Oregon State will put their 17 match win streak on the line, and try to turn around the early season defeat to BSU. The loss is the only blemish on Oregon State's current 18-1 season. Boise State has been ranked as high as 6th this season and has won the last two Pac 10 titles.

Region 18 is expected to be a closely contested tournament with Clackamas and North Idaho expected to battle it out.  Highline has a very solid team as well and could challenge with a good tournament.

Boise State will take on Oregon State in a marquee showdown on Friday night at Taco Bell Arena. This is the last weekend of dual meet competition before the post season.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/story/1077288.html

The Pac-10 Conference is represented by three teams in the latest Intermat Top 25 Poll.  Boise State dropped to #12 after its' defeat to unranked Utah Valley last weekend.  It is worth noting that the Broncos were not at full strength last week in their loss.  The status of their lineup remains a question heading into this weekends showdown with Oregon State. 

Oregon State comes in to this week at #15, after their victory over Fullerton and #16 Cal Poly last weekend.  Cal Poly remained at #16.  The Mustangs defeated Arizona State 20-18, and fell to Oregon State 21-18.  Arizona State who had previously been as high as #16, is not ranked this week. The Pac 10 season is heading into the stretch run, with the Pac-10 Championships slated for February 26/27. 

Arizona State showed some good signs against the #2 team in NCAA, but came up short on Sunday.  ASU was able to win three of the ten bouts, but lost 30-10 to the Cyclones.

Anthony Robles trailed Andrew Long by a 10-2 margin, before going to work on top.  Robles scored three sets of nearfall points to earn a hard fought 12-10 victory at 125 lbs. Also winning for the Devils were Chris Drouin at 141, over #13 Dalton Jensen. Jake Meredith got the win at 184 for ASU. 

Vincente Varella came up a point short to nationally ranked Mitch Mueller at 149, falling 3-2. Eric Nye also dropped a 4-1 decision to highly ranked heavyweight David Zabriskie.

For the Cyclones, the win marked the 1000th victory in school history. They became the first school to gain this feat.