Badgers' Howe wins national title with undefeated record

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OMAHA, Neb. - Sophomore Andrew Howe defeated Dan Vallimont of Penn State 9-3 Saturday to win the NCAA Division I Championship title at 165 pounds at the Qwest Center.

Howe finishes the season undefeated with a 37-0 record. He is just the fourth Badger to finish a complete season without a loss to go with Lee Kemp, Andy Rein and Matt Demaray, who was the Badgers' last undefeated champion in 1992.

Wisconsin finished the tournament in fourth place -- tying the best finish in school history which they reached in both 1976 and 1978. The Badgers had four All-Americans, the most since 1984. Also placing for Wisconsin were Tyler Graff at 133 pounds, Kyle Ruschell at 149 and Trevor Brandvold of River Falls at 197.

UW head coach Barry Davis was named National Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).

Iowa won the tournament for the third straight season followed by Cornell in second and Iowa State in the third place. The Hawkeyes had five wrestlers make the finals and came away with three champions while the Cyclones had two titlists and Cornell one.

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