Takedown Report

Championship Wrestling Coaches – Division I

TDR Editor’s Notes ; When I saw an article on-line about the top coaches that have guided their teams to National Championships I naturally thought it was just about wrestling coaches since that is the main sport that I follow.  So it was surprising to see Dan Gable listed as having the 7^th most championships overall.  The top six coaches were mostly track coaches that could win as many as 6 championships in one year if they coached both men and women’s teams in Track, Indoor Track and Cross Country.  Coaching a team to a National Championship is commendable and worth recognition.  Thus prompted us to look into who was the coach of championship wrestling teams in NCAA Division I, II and III as well as NAIA and the National Junior College A.A.  This is what was revealed first in Division I.
The coach with the most Division I Championship teams is no surprise to fans of the sport in Dan Gable of Iowa as the leader with 15 championship teams in just a 20 year span from 1977 to 1997.  The next with championship teams is E.C. Gallagher who won 11 championships with Oklahoma A&M (now known as Oklahoma State) in just 13 seasons from 1927 to 1940.  His successor continued the march of championship performance with eight teams in the next 16 years.  There could have been more, but for three seasons there was no national championship tourney held due to the Second World War.  Thus Oklahoma A&M won 21 championships in 29 years.  Myron Roderick continues the Cowboys dominance with seven more championships in the next 12 years.  Thus behind Gable the next three coaches would be from Oklahoma State if not for the most recent dominate force in Cael Sanderson of Penn State.
Division I fans know that Penn State has been dominate in recent years with eight team titles in the last 10 years with Sanderson as the head coach.  He came east after three years as the head coach at his alma mater, Iowa State.  His teams placed in the top 5 each year and he qualified all 30 wrestlers possible for the nationals.  As a collegiate wrestler he achieved the unique feat of winning all (159) of his matches and four national titles in four consecutive seasons. 
Iowa State had established a history of success with coach Harold Nichols who led his teams to six team championships in the 1960s & 1970s.  Nichols ranks 6^th on the list behind Roderick.  Next with five championships is the current Oklahoma State coach, John Smith.  He directed his team to four consecutive titles in 2003-2006 and finished in the top five 11 times since then.  Smith ranks 2^nd in championships among active head coaches and will be looking to add to his total this season.
Four coaches are tied at 8^th place with three championship teams each.  Jim Zalesky and Tom Brands won championship titles while both coached at Iowa University.  Zalesky won his in three consecutive seasons, 1998 to 2000 but currently is the head coach at Oregon State. Brands is the current head coach and he won his also in three consecutive seasons, 2008-2010. J Robinson won three at University of Minnesota in the first decade of the 2,000s.  In the 1950s Port Robertson of Oklahoma University captured a trio of championships which keep them in the same state as the Cowboys who have won a record leading 34 team titles.
Tied at 12^th place with a pair of championships each are Gary Kurdelmeier of Iowa, Thomas Evans at Oklahoma University and Joe Seay of Oklahoma State.  Kurdelmeier won the first championships for Iowa in 1975 and 1976 then passed the reigns to Gable.  Evans led the Sooners to a pair of titles in the early 1960s while Joe Seay won two in 1989 and 1990 after moving up from coaching Division II championships but that is a story for next time. In 15^th place Twelve coaches have each won one of the remaining championships.  Tom Ryan of Ohio State is the 5^th active coach with a national championship team.  He has led the Buckeyes to a 2^nd place runner-up finish five times including the last three years.

‘* = active coach
** = active but with a different school

August 25, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Lessons Learned on the Mat

Washington and Lee University Wrestling has teamed up with a nonprofit called Beat the Streets to educate and empower young men and women through the sport of wrestling.
When Washington and Lee Head Wrestling Coach Nathan Shearer first attended the Beat the Streets gala in New York’s Times Square in 2012, he had no idea how personal his involvement with the organization would become. The gala serves as a celebration of wrestling and is a primary fundraiser for what would later become one of the top community outreach programs within wrestling circles. The Beat the Streets organization began in 2005 when a small group of passionate wrestlers had a vision centered around the idea that if the lessons learned on the wrestling mat— a strong work ethic, grit, perseverance, self-reliance, humility— are applied to other areas of life, then so much more can be achieved in a lifetime.

Beat the Streets gives underprivileged young men and women access to not only top coaching and wrestling programming, but also life opportunities like SAT preparation, job internships and college visitation programs. Shearer enjoyed his first experience at the Beat the Streets gala, and he so believed in the organization’s mission that he turned the annual gala into a gathering for W&L wrestling alumni as a way to give back. It also helped draw his program closer to the nonprofit organization and its goals. “I really want Washington and Lee wrestling to be aligned with this organization,” said Shearer. “They really are one of the top organizations providing outreach for young men and women interested in wrestling. Education is such a large part of what they are trying to impart, and I want W&L wrestling to be a part of that process for these young men and women.” When Shearer pondered what else he could do to help support Beat the Streets’ mission, it hit him: Why not include Beat the Streets in his Generals Wrestling Camp, a gathering that brings in his top prospects from around the country and introduces them to the opportunities available for wrestlers at Washington and Lee? Rest of the story and pictures at
https://columns.wlu.edu/lessons-learned-on-the-mat/?mc_cid=652fd4c019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

August 25, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Long Island University Announces 2019-20 Slate of Competition

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – Head coach Joe Patrovichannounced the inaugural LIU wrestling Division I schedule of competition for the 2019-20 season on Wednesday, August 21. The campaign features 15 dates of regular-season competition, including eight duals against Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association opponents. Earlier this year, the EIWA accepted LIU as the league’s 17th member, joining some of the most respected wrestling programs on the East Coast. Last season, nine EIWA schools finished the year ranked in the National Wrestling Coaches Association/National Duals Selection Committee Mid-Major Top-20 Poll.
LIU opens its season on Saturday, Nov. 2 when it takes on nationally-ranked Rutgers University, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Centenary University at the Rutgers Athletic Center. The following weekend, the Sharks travel to upstate New York to partake in the Journeymen Collegiate Classic, battling nationally-ranked opponents Virginia University and the University at Buffalo, along with Sacred Heart University on the opening day. Rest of the story at https://www.liuathletics.com/news/2019/8/21/wrestling-announces-2019-20-slate-of-competition.aspx?mc_cid=652fd4c019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

August 25, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2019-20 Iowa State Wrestling Schedule Announced

AMES, Iowa – The 2019-20 Iowa State wrestling schedule is here. The ’19-20 slate will feature seven home contests and includes matchups with eight Big 12 schools. The season kicks off on Nov. 10 with the annual Harold Nichols Cyclone Open, followed by a dual with Bucknell on Nov. 17. The Cyclones then welcome in-state rival Iowa to Hilton Coliseum on Nov. 24. The first-semester schedule is capped off with a dual against UT-Chattanooga on Dec. 14. ISU will be making a return trip to the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 6-7. Iowa State also will compete at the Southern Scuffle, ringing in the New Year in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Jan. 1-2.

The Cardinal and Gold then hit the road for the first half of January. They’ll take on Utah Valley on Jan. 9, followed by a quadrangular meet in Tempe, Ariz., featuring Campbell, Harvard and host Arizona State on Jan. 11. The stretch of road dates concludes on Jan. 17 when ISU takes on South Dakota State. Iowa State returns home for a pair of Big 12 contests on Jan. 19 and 26. The Cyclones will host North Dakota State and Oklahoma State, respectively. Coach Dresser and company will then head back west for a contest at Fresno State on Jan. 31, followed by a road dual at Oklahoma on Feb. 9. The home portion of the schedule concludes on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16 with Big 12 matchups against West Virginia and UNI.  Rest of the story at https://cyclones.com/news/2019/8/19/2019-20-iowa-state-wrestling-schedule-announced.aspx?mc_cid=652fd4c019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

August 25, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

IOWA WESLEYAN ANNOUNCES HEAD WRESTLING COACH

Robert Watson-Powell Named Head Men’s and Women’s Wrestling Coach 
Mount Pleasant, IA: August 21, 2019 – Iowa Wesleyan University announces that Robert Watson-Powell will serve as the men’s and women’s wrestling coach for the Tigers beginning on September 2, 2019. Coach Powell will relaunch the wrestling program and serve as the first NCAA Division III wrestling coach at Iowa Wesleyan, which recently added both men’s and women’s wrestling teams. The women’s program is the first NCAA Division III women’s program in the state of Iowa. The IW wrestling teams will begin competition during the 2020-2021 academic year. “We are excited to bring Coach Powell to the Iowa Wesleyan Community,” said Director of Athletics, Derek Zander. “Coach Powell’s vision for this program aligns with the mission and vision of Iowa Wesleyan University. He will bring a wide variety of experience in both freestyle and folkstyle wrestling to assist in recruiting high-quality student-athletes to compete for Iowa Wesleyan.” 

Coach Powell brings a vast amount of knowledge and coaching experience to the newly developed program. He is a 2014 graduate of Muskingum University in New Concord, OH where he received a BA in health and physical education. He went on to earn an MBA in sports and recreational management from New England College in Henniker, NH in 2019. Robert began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Maysville High School in Zanesville, OH. He was also a volunteer assistant at Muskingum University for two years. He went on to become the head coach at Willard High School in Willard, OH from 2014-16. After that, he became a volunteer assistant at the high school he graduated from, Kenston High School, in Chagrin Falls, OH from 2016-17. He also served as a graduate assistant and New England College from 2017-19 where he was highly involved in the recruiting efforts for the program.  “I am very blessed to have been given this opportunity to become the first NCAA Division III Head Wrestling Coach at Iowa Wesleyan University. In my short time on campus, the faculty and staff have made me feel right at home, and a part of Tiger Nation. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to be part of an athletic department that has grown tremendously over the past few years.  Rest of the story at https://www.iwtigers.com/article/2551?mc_cid=652fd4c019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

August 25, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Dan Gable Museum Announces 2020 Glen Brand Hall of Fame Class

WATERLOO, Iowa — Ten NCAA All-Americans, three state championship high school coaches, a record-setting high school wrestling team and five world team members will be inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa on Friday, June 19, 2020. Located inside the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, the Glen Brand Hall of Fame was established in 2002 to honor native-born Iowans and those who wrestled or coached for an Iowa school who have made an impact on wrestling on a national level or who have done extraordinary work in Iowa.

The Class of 2020 is Jason Kelber, Daryl Weber, Marv Reiland, Eric Akin, Alli Ragan and the 1982 Bettendorf High School wrestling team. The Carr Family will be presented with the Bowlsby Family Legacy Award while Josh Stephens will receive the Bob Siddens High School Coaching Excellence Award and Corky Stuart will be presented with the Russ Smith Community Impact Award. A banquet honoring the Class of 2020 will be held at Prairie Links Golf & Event Center in Waverly on Friday, June 19, 2020.  Rest of the story at https://nwhof.org/blog/dan-gable-museum-announces-2020-glen-brand-hof-class/?mc_cid=652fd4c019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

August 25, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment