Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

Chapman: Since the beginning, WIN has promoted wrestling

What kind of a year was 1994? Well, try this: Bill Clinton was President of the United States, “Schindler’s List” won the Academy Award for best film and Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers was the MVP of the National Football League.

Mike and Bev Chapman

The nation was rocked by the brutal murders of O. J. Simpson’s former wife Nicole and her friend, Ron Brown, and riveted by the chase of Simpson’s white Bronco down a California highway. It was also the year that Richard Nixon, the nation’s 37th president, and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, former first lady, died.

More important to this column, it was the year that Pat Smith of Oklahoma State became the first wrestler to win four NCAA Division I titles, helping the Cowboys to a runaway team title, with Iowa and Penn State taking second and third, respectively.  And it was also the year that WIN was born.  The date was November 15, 1994, when that premiere issue debuted. The cover was adorned by a tremendous photo of Bruce Baumgartner doing a back lift on Tom Erikson, with this headline: “Bruce Baumgartner: Is He the Best Big Guy Ever?”

The Top 25 Greatest Wrestling Moments in the history of WIN

I was the publisher and my wife, Bev, the office manager. At the time, I was executive editor of Sauk Valley Newspapers in Dixon, Ill., and had pondered starting a new wrestling magazine for several years. There were several reasons for taking on such a new venture:

First, I had 25 years of experience producing a daily newspaper and felt I could put my journalism background to good use;  Rest of the story at https://www.win-magazine.com/2018/11/chapman-since-the-beginning-win-has-promoted-wrestling/?mc_cid=4e0244dd3c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

November 23, 2018 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

UNC’s O’Connor Named Wrestler of the Week

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference has recognized North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor (149 pounds) as the ACC Wrestler of the Week for November 20.  O’Connor defeated No. 11 Josh Maruca 3-2 to give UNC its first lead of the dual as the Tar Heels knocked off No. 8 Arizona State last Saturday afternoon in Tempe. O’Connor improved to 6-1 on the year with the victory and 2-0 in dual action.

The key victory also boosted O’Connor to the No. 9 spot in this week’s InterMat Division I weight class rankings. The redshirt freshman from Lockport, Illinois, held the No. 16 spot prior to last weekend’s match. UNC also made a significant jump in the dual team rankings, climbing from No. 21 to No. 15 in this week’s poll.  Rest of story at http://theacc.com/news/2018/11/20/wrestling-acc-announces-wrestler-of-the-week.aspx?mc_cid=47cb015509&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

November 23, 2018 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

How wrestling molded Clay Webb into an elite football prospect

As he was heading into the eighth grade, Clay Webb approached his mother, Dana Webb, to express his birthday wish: Clay wanted to go to football camp. Dana didn’t previously know such things existed. She researched football camps and signed her son up for the one a hundred miles away at Auburn. In just over three years since that moment, her youngest child and only son is the top-ranked center in the 247Sports Composite and narrowing in on a decision between a sampling of elite college football programs: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and Auburn.

But before Webb makes his college selection, there’s his senior season to worry about. Each Friday night the 6-foot-3, 295-pound lineman puts on his Oxford (Ala.) High football helmet for potentially the last time ever as he and his teammates navigate the state playoffs in pursuit of a championship.  “This year we’ve taken it really slowly,” said Dana. “He’s really enjoyed his high school career.”  Rest of the story at https://247sports.com/Article/college-football-recruiting-clay-webb-announcement-alabama-auburn-clemson-georgia-125096879/?mc_cid=6afdde464d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

November 23, 2018 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment