Women Wrestling’s Exponential Growth
By Bill Poehler, Statesman Journal
A decade before Kiera Gabaldon was a college All-American wrestler, she was an elementary school student competing in a male sport.
When a high school near her home in Salem held a wrestling camp, she went. Among the other participants was a high school girl who had made a name for herself as a wrestler.
Gabaldon didn’t approve.
“When I was younger I had the same mindset boys did: Girls shouldn’t be here, not realizing what I was,” said Gabaldon, now a sophomore at Warner Pacific.
The 10-year-old version of Gabaldon matched up with that comparatively sized high school girl in the practice room, took her down with ease and threw her around the room.
“Wrestling with (her) and beating up on her, I’m like, is that wrestling like a girl?” Gabaldon said. “I don’t want to wrestle like a girl.
“Obviously, that mindset has changed. It’s something to be proud of to wrestle like a girl today, but back then it wasn’t. I guess I was ashamed of myself as a kid to be a women’s wrestler.”
Rest of the Story at http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/sports/high-school/2016/05/28/womens-wrestling-experiencing-exponential-growth/84501908/
Havelock Male, Female Athletes of the Year Named
Male, female athletes of the year named
By Ken Buday, Havelock News
The Havelock High School Rams Booster Club honored senior athletes at its annual banquet last week. And, the club also gave away a new car.
Michele Parker was outside her house when the phone call came that she had won the club’s car raffle. Her ticket was pulled of the 1,104 purchased for a chance to win the Ford Fiesta donated by Riverside Ford in Havelock.
“I never win anything,” she said after driving to the Havelock Tourist and Event Center to claim her prize. “I’m still in shock. It’s wild.”
Parker said the car would become her son Jacob’s vehicle. He is a rising senior at Havelock High and a member of the football team.
The booster club event celebrated the accomplishments of Havelock High senior athletes.
State wrestling champion Tanner Stamper-Smith was named the Male Athlete of the Year. He also received the James Johnson Trophy as the top wrestler in Eastern North Carolina from the Takedown Report wrestling website.
Dominique Martinez, a standout in soccer and also a member of the basketball team, was named the Female Athlete of the Year.
Other specialty awards included Cameron Gumbel as the Joe Hailey Sports Award winner, Alyssa Crowe as the Hoyt Hayes Memorial Scholarship winner and Martin Parada as the Andy Maness Manager of the Year winner.
Gumbel was also recognized as the athlete with the highest grade point average, and booster club member Kelly Webster received the Volunteer of the Year award from the club.
Rest of story at http://www.havenews.com/sports/20160608/havelock-booster-club-celebrates-seniors-gives-away-car
Tobias Named New Head Coach at Alma College
“Alma College Athletic Director Steven Rackley announced today (Monday, June 20, 2016) that Jeremiah Tobias has been named the head coach of the Scots’ wrestling program. Tobias, who has served as the associate head coach since May 2011, replaces Todd Hibbs, who resigned after five years at the helm of the program. Tobias becomes the seventh head coach in the history of the program, which resumed competition in 2011 after being dormant for 27 years.”
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
Takedown Report 