Takedown Report

Wrestling community applauds NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics decision

USA Wrestling, Wrestle Like a Girl, NWCA, NWHOF, NCWA, USOC 6/3/2019
The U.S. wrestling community, including its leading organizations, is celebrating today’s announcement from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) concerning women’s wrestling. The NCAA’s Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA) has “recommended that all three divisions of the NCAA governance structure add women’s wrestling as an NCAA emerging sport, effective August 1, 2020.” Each NCAA division (Division I, Division II and Division III) will address this recommendation separately, and will determine independently if women’s wrestling is added to the division’s Emerging Sports list.

Beginning in August 2017, a coalition of wrestling organizations, including Wrestle Like A Girl, the National Wrestling Coaches Association, USA Wrestling, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and expanding to include the National Collegiate Wrestling Association, worked together to submit an application to the NCAA CWA for women’s wrestling to attain Emerging Sport Status. All of the national leaders in wrestling have supported this effort and supplied information for the bid that was sent to the NCAA CWA, in compliance with all of the requirements of Emerging Sport Status.

The wrestling community applauds and thanks the NCAA’s Committee on Women’s Athletics for its governance and vision in reviewing the women’s wrestling application and recommending wrestling for NCAA Emerging Sport Status.  The wrestling community celebrates the role Title IX has played in developing women’s wrestling opportunities, and pledges to continue to build the sport with that spirit of inclusion until it achieves official Championship status within the NCAA, and thereafter. “This is a great day for wrestling. The recommendation from the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics could impact the lives of thousands of women student-athlete wrestlers for generations to come. We thank the efforts of all the wrestling organizations who have led the charge seeking Emerging Sport Status. USA Wrestling is fully committed to supporting wrestling for women and girls at all levels and is excited about the future. We are encouraged by today’s decision, and fully expect it to help accelerate the growth of women’s wrestling,” said Rich Bender, Executive Director of USA Wrestling. Rest of this great story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/21987

June 4, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

DII All-American Cole Laya will Transfer to West Liberty

West Liberty head coach Danny Irwin has picked up a colossal commitment with the announcement of 125 returning All-American Cole Laya. The sophomore from Fairmont, West Virginia capped off his true freshman campaign with a third-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Division II Men’s Wrestling Tournament. I asked the four-time West Virginia state finalist about the process making a decision to leave Wheeling Jesuit and follow Irwin to West Liberty University. “Well, the decision was extremely tough.  Leaving WJU was hard for the fact that I was leaving a family and a tradition I had learned to love.”

Cole Laya stays in the state where he won three titles and travels just 20 miles up the highway. A journey home will still take a little over an hour and that means he can wrestle in front of friends and family and be with the wrestling coach who kept him in state and helped him to become the only true freshman All-American last season.  It was not an easy decision and Cole had this to say about the process. Rest of the story at https://news.theopenmat.com/college-wrestling-news/dii-all-american-cole-laya-will-transfer-to-west-liberty/73232?mc_cid=36249f2efd&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

June 4, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Final X: Rutgers women’s freestyle championship series preview

BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING | JUNE 03, 2019, 
Final X: Rutgers will feature five women’s freestyle championship series, two in the 12:00 noon session and three in the 6:00 p.m. session. Seven of the 10 women wrestlers competing in Rutgers on Saturday are past Senior World Team members, including two Senior World medalists. All 10 of the women have competed on at least one U.S. age-group World Team, with a combined nine age-group World medals from this group. There is a rematch from Final X last year, the 50 kg battle between Whitney Conder and Victoria Anthony. Conder won the 2018 Final X series, needing three matches to get past Anthony.  Four of these pairings feature a rematch from the 2019 U.S. Open, which means most of these wrestlers have competed against each other recently. All of them have wrestled against each other during the past year. We provide a preview for each of the women’s freestyle matchups below for Final X: Rutgers.

Session One – 12:00 noon
Bout 2: Women’s FS 72 kg – U.S. Olympic champion Alyvia Fiske (Napa, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament champion Victoria Francis (Litchfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC)
This battle features one of the fastest rising young stars in women’s wrestling, Alyvia Fiske, against a veteran talent and past Senior World team member Victoria Francis, who did not compete last year and has been rounding into top form this season. This is a rematch of the U.S. Open finals, won by Fiske, 5-4.  Rest of the matches in the story at

June 4, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Minnesota votes down double-elimination wrestling

The Minnesota State High School League made some big decisions on Monday, including voting down the proposal of a shot clock for all classes of boys’ and girls’ basketball. The league’s board of directors voted 13-5 against a 35-second shot clock that has wide support among the state’s coaches but little among athletic directors and region committees. …. Wrestling had three proposals, including a change to the state tournament that would make the individual portion a full double-elimination. It was not brought to a vote. Voted on and approved are changes that allow two wrestlers from the same team in the same weight bracket at a regular season individual tournament if there are byes, and allowing a team with fewer than 20 wrestlers to participate in two scrimmages per week to help with training. Rest of the story at ††

June 4, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Friday in Stillwater: A bucket list event for wrestling fans

TDR Ed.; I hope to go to this event some year, hopefully within the next 5. Looking to go again to the HOF again to continue research on the history of college wrestling teams.
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Friday at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Honors Weekend is one of the most important days of the year in wrestling. That Friday, the plaques are unveiled and the award winners are introduced to the public. An informal gathering, Friday is one of those days every wrestling fan should experience.
Episode 511 talks to a dozen individuals who were involved or attending Honors Weekend. We’ll kick things off with the Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Lee Roy Smith, to get his take on the importance of the event as well as how much of the year builds towards this weekend.On this show: Order of Merit recipient Dave “Doc” Bennett, Distinguished Member Rick Tucci, Maryland inductee and announcer Natanya Levioff, Medal of Courage recipient Joe Russell, Chairman of the NWHOF Board of Governors Tom Slowey, Distinguished Member Dan Gable, former Board of Governors member Stan Zeamer, Distinguished Member John Smith, New York inductee and USA Wrestling Director of Communications Gary Abbott, Order of Merit recipient Nancy Schultz Vitangeli and Millersville head coach Kerry Regner. Rest of the story and links at http://www.mattalkonline.com/podcast/short-time/friday-in-stillwater-a-bucket-list-event-for-wrestling-fans/?mc_cid=36249f2efd&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

June 4, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment