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.

Mitch Lofstedt of Southern Oregon won the championship at 125 lbs, and Southern Oregon finished as the team runner-up for the second straight year. Notre Dame College won the championship, and have risen quickly as program after only being in existence 3 1/2 years. The Notre dame team scored 179.5 points to easily win the team title.  Southern Oregon was second at 120 pts., followed by western rival Great Falls at 118.5 pts.

Lofstedt was also named the NWCA/NAIA Wrestler of the Year for the outstanding season he produced for the Raiders. Teammate Barry Johnson chalked up a championship as well, defeating teammate Kyle Wirkuty in the finals, 6-4. Enoch Francois of California Baptist also finished as runner-up.

http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/030610aah.html

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)

Notre Dame College has all but wrapped the NAIA team championship up, but individual titles are on the line as the championships head into the final day. The Notre Dame has put on a very impressive performance and lead the team race by 47 points earlier this morning. 

A few western teams appear to be in position to battle it out for 2nd place.  Southern Oregon and rival Great Falls are in race for the runner-up honors. SOU advanced seven wrestlers into all-American, including three wrestlers who will go for individual titles tonight.  Mitch Lofstedt at 125 returns to the finals for the second time. Last year he finished as runner-up.  He will face Chauncey Phillips of Cal Baptist.  The Raiders will also watch as Kyle Wirkuty and Barry Johnson will face each other for the national title.  Defending champion Chris Platt was eliminated for the Raiders.

Top ranked Augsburg led the tournament after the first day of action.  They held a 13 point lead over Wisconsin-Lacrosse, and 15.5 point lead over the defending champion Wartburg Knights. The Auggies have already secured eight individual all- Americans and will be looking to win the team race and individual championships.

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 heads to a few tourneys this weekend for coverage. UC Davis is the site of the 2010 Pac 10 Championships and we are there.  We will also be on hand for the 2010 Oregon High School State Championships, live from Portland, Oregon.

Stay tuned for our coverage of the great action.