SMC Athletics Hires Juan Stimpson to Lead Wrestling Program
Spartanburg, SC – SMC athletic director Megan Aiello is pleased to announce that Juan Stimpson will be the new men’s wrestling coach. Stimpson replaces Matt Oliver, who left SMC in June to join the coaching staff at Huntingdon College. Stimpson comes to Spartanburg Methodist College from UNC Pembroke, where he spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach. During his time with the Braves, he assisted in coaching 12 NCAA National Qualifiers and 4 NCAA All Americans. An accomplished college athlete in his own right, Stimpson was a NJCAA All-American for Rend Lake College in 2013 and a NCAA Super Regional Champion and DII National Qualifier for UNC Pembroke in 2015. Rest of the story at
https://www.gosmcpioneers.com/sports/wrest/2019-20/releases/20190723fomncj
Husker Wrestling Announces Schedule
The Nebraska wrestling team will face a challenging schedule which features duals against four of the top-five team finishers from last year’s NCAA Championships, and eight of the top-25 finishers overall, Head Coach Mark Manning announced on Thursday. The Huskers kick off the season with their annual Coaches Clinic followed by the Nebraska Duals on Nov. 7 before heading to the Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y. on Nov. 10 to compete in a round-robin format with different teams. The Huskers then participate in the Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D. on Nov. 17.
Wyoming comes to Lincoln on Nov. 22 looking to avenge a 22-12 loss to the Huskers last season. The Big Red then hit the road to take on Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Nov. 24. The Panthers are coming off a 13th-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships. After NU competes in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev., Dec. 6-7, the Huskers return to Lincoln on Dec. 20 to face Oregon State, who finished in the top 20 at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Big Ten dual action kicks off after the holiday break on Jan. 12 when Nebraska travels to Madison, Wisc., to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. The Huskers will be back on the road less than a week later to face the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa, on Jan. 18. Iowa took fourth at the 2019 NCAA Championships. NU then has three consecutive home matches against Big Ten competition. Rest of the story at https://huskers.com/news/2019/9/5/husker-wrestling-announces-schedule.aspx?mc_cid=41b415c641&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Tickets on sale for 4th Annual Wrestle Like A Girl Gala in Washington, D.C., October 30
The 2019 4th Annual Wrestle Like A Girl Gala season is in full swing! “The Art of Wrestling” will be held Wednesday, October 30 at the National Museum for Women in the Arts, at 1250 New York Avenue NW, Washington DC 20005. The event will be held from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Click here for tickets to the event
The evening features dinner, entertainment, and a live & silent auction. A special guest will receive the Afsoon Johnston Courage Award and esteemed D.C. painter Maggie O’Neill’s iconic custom piece ‘Wrestler Girl’ will be on display and auctioned off. There will be more exciting announcements in coming days about the Gala, so please stay tuned! Proceeds from the WLAG Gala benefit Wrestle Like A Girl’s initiatives such as High School State Sanctioning, the NCAA Championship Status Initiative, Empowerment Camps and more. Female wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in middle school and high school, yet the current NCAA structure does not recognize women’s wrestling as an official sport. Rest of the story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/September/05/WLAG-Gala-in-DC-on-October-30?mc_cid=41b415c641&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
InterMat Reads: A Wrestler’s Curse
Dr. Bill Welker has plenty to share with the amateur wrestling community.
The former wrestler/coach/official has been generous in sharing his knowledge and experience about the sport over the decades. Welker produced the classic instructional DVD titled The Pancake Takedown Series … and continues to share his insights into wrestling in ongoing ways, as co-host with his son on The Rick Welker Show radio broadcast, and in his own “Mat Talk” column which appears in every issue of Wrestling USA magazine.
If that weren’t enough, Welker has found time to write books about the oldest and greatest sport. authored The Wrestling Drill Book , the classic instructional which earlier this summer earned an award at the 2019 Independent Press Awards Program. Just two years ago, Welker shared his life story on and off the mat in his 2017 memoir, A Sparrow’s Spirit, which was declared winner in the sports category by the Beverly Hills Book Awards judges.
Now Welker shares his passion for wrestling with a brand-new novel, A Wrestler’s Curse, now available from RoseDog Books.
Meet Bill Welker
Welker — widely known in the wrestling community as Billy — was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania — coal country — where he was introduced to wrestling in third grade. He won a PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) state title in 1963, following in the footsteps of his older brother Floyd (1959 champ) and a cousin Harold who won his PIAA crown at the Keystone State’s very first state championship in 1938. Welker went on to be a teacher for 40 years, as well as serve as a wrestling coach and wrestling official, and was involved in crafting the rules for the sport.
For all his contributions to wrestling, Welker has been welcomed into a number of wrestling Halls of Fame, including the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame, and National Wrestling Hall of Fame, West Virginia Chapter.
Meet Jacob Christian, star student-athlete
A Wrestlers Curse tells the story of Jacob Christian, a high-achieving young man in the classroom and in wrestling. On top of that, Jacob was “raised right” by loving, supportive parents who have instilled in him a strong moral compass, a well-developed spiritual sense, and sincere empathy for others. Rest of the story by Mark Palmer at
http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/22306?mc_cid=1788af9e74&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
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 