Takedown Report

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Looking back at 20 years of the Super 32

It’s a special look back at 20 years of the Super 32 on the Short Time Wrestling Podcast! Back in 2000, I was still in college at Old Dominion. I was working on tracking down results from any and all high school tournaments and after attending my first USA Wrestling Cadet & Junior Nationals the summer prior, I started covering more off-season stuff for the first iteration of Mat Talk Online. This involved fall folkstyle events from USAW and the AAU, spring freestyle and paying attention to out-of-state tournaments where Virginia teams participated. One of those tournaments popped up in 2000, my fourth year in college at ODU and my fourth running Mat Talk Online. It was the Super 32. I first noticed it that fall when a local wrestler in the coverage area of the newspaper I was working at won at 119 pounds. George Dodson was an Eagle Scout from Denbigh High Sc hool who never reached the Group AAA state tournament. Then I saw Drake Dickenson’s name. Drake wrestled at Magna Vista in the Southwest portion of Virginia before crossing the state line to wrestle for Dave Barker at Eden-Morehead. And that’s how it all began for me.

This list is a look back at things that make me go “oh wow,” and is not designed to be an inclusive list. During the 2005-08 years, I ran InterMat for the NWCA, which then owned the site. So my knowledge of high school wrestling from that era was in top form. Prior to 2005, I worked and lived in Virginia, so that’s where the lion’s share of my knowledge existed.
In 2000, the very first champion was at 101.1 pounds and it was host Morehead’s Chris Moore defeating future Virginia four-time state champion Matt Epperly of Christiansburg, Virginia. Epperly went on to wrestle at Virginia Tech and qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships twice.

Current UNC Pembroke coach Othello “O.T.” Johnson claimed a title at 163 pounds, beating Chris Ward of James Madison High School in Virginia. One time in Fargo, Ward got out after curfew. Team Virginia coach Ben Summerlin ran him outside until he puked. In 2001, David Barker cites this as a turning point in the tournament’s second year. Virginia powerhouse Great Bridge shows up and crowns four champions. Daren Burns, who wrestled at UNC Greensboro, was third at 190 pounds. He got better. Rest of this most intriguing story at http://www.mattalkonline.com/podcast/short-time/looking-back-at-20-years-of-the-super-32/?fbclid=IwAR0YxRGR7283ETmga-K1lrK7i5WFeUyWqZG3rI6LdwoP0BhygLxPc3HO2uo

October 8, 2019 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

High school stars ready to compete at Flowrestling’s Who’s #1 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena

BY MIKE WILLIS, USA WRESTLING | OCT. 03, 2019
Starting in 2013, Flowrestling has annually held “Who’s #1”, an exhibition between some of the nation’s top-ranked high school wrestlers, in Grace Hall at Lehigh University. On Saturday, for the first time, Who’s #1 will take place at Carver-Hawkeye Arena at the University of Iowa. Like always, the card will feature elite high school wrestlers duking it out for the top spot in the country. Traditionally Who’s #1 features a four-man mini tournament at one weight class. This year, the weight class is 132 pounds, and it will feature No. 1 Jesse Mendez of Indiana vs. No. 4 Ryan Jack of Connecticut and No. 2 Dominick Serrano of Colorado vs. No. 3 Shayne Van Ness of New Jersey. The winners of the preliminary matches will square off in the finals.

Mendez, a sophomore, has had a tremendous 2019, winning the 2019 FloNationals Cadet freestyle tournament, 16U Folkstyle Nationals, and Cadet World Team Trials in men’s freestyle. Internationally, he was a Pan Am champion in men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman and placed 9th at the Cadet World Championships. Mendez is the only underclassman competing at the event. Jack, his opponent, is a senior committed to North Carolina State. He is a 2019 NHSCA champion and a 2018 Super 32 runner-up. Jack is the younger brother of two-time Wolfpack All-American Kevin Jack. At Super 32, Jack defeated both Serrano and Mendez. Serrano is also a senior and committed to the University of Nebraska. He is a two-time Fargo champion and a three-time Colorado state champion. He finished third at Cadet World Team trials this year, only losing to Mendez.

Van Ness is an uncommitted junior. Last season, he won Ironman, Beast of the East and Super 32 while finishing runner-up at the National Prep Championships. He has defeated all three of the other wrestlers in this mini bracket. After the opening bouts at 132, the action will shift to 120, where No. 1 Jesse Ybarra of Arizona will face No. 2 Jakason Burks of Nebraska. Ybarra is a senior committed to the University of Iowa. This year he finished second at Cadet World Team Trials and third at FloNationals in Cadet freestyle. Ybarra defeated Burks, 4-1, in the Cadet World Team Trials semifinals. Burks is a senior and committed to Oklahoma State University. In 2019, he finished third at Cadet World Team Trials, second at Fargo in Junior men’s freestyle and third in Fargo in Junior Greco-Roman. Burks was a 2018 Cadet Greco-Roman World Team member and a Fargo 16U Greco-Roman champion. Rest of the story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/October/03/Whos-number-one?mc_cid=493b0ed634&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

October 8, 2019 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

USA sends large men’s freestyle delegation to Continental Cup in Russia, Oct. 11-13

BY TAYLOR MILLER, USA WRESTLING | OCT. 03, 2019
USA Wrestling is sending 17 of the nation’s top men’s freestyle athletes to the 2019 Continental Cup in Khasavjurt, Russia, Oct. 11-13. Of those 17 athletes, four have medaled at a World Championships. Leading the way is 2017 Senior World silver medalist and two-time Senior World Team member Thomas Gilman, who will represent the USA at 57 kg. This will mark Gilman’s first international event since the Dan Kolov Tournament in Ukraine in March, where he finishes outside of the top-10. Prior to that, he won bronze at the prestigious Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in January, and last October, he was fifth at the 2018 World Championships. This season, Gilman is No. 2 on the National Team at 57 kg. 2018 Junior World champion Mekhi Lewis will enter the field at 74 kg. Lewis made his international debut at Junior Worlds in Slovakia, where he stunned the planet with a gold-medal finish. Shortly after, he started his freshman NCAA season for Virginia Tech. In March, he knocked off two-time NCAA champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State for the 2019 NCAA title at 165 pounds. In Russia, he will return to the international stage for the first time since 2018 Junior Worlds and only the second time in his career. Wrestling at 86 kg is 2017 Junior World silver medalist Zahid Valencia, who has not competed internationally since that outing. Valencia was a three-time Junior World Team member, representing the U.S. in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Recently he has put his international career on hold in order to pursue NCAA glory. Wrestling for Arizona State, Valencia is a 2018 and 2019 NCAA champion and took third at nationals in 2017. Rest of the story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/October/03/Continental-Cup-preview?mc_cid=493b0ed634&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

October 8, 2019 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Jamestown to host NAIA Women’s National Invitational through 2021

KANSAS CITY, M.O. – – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the University of Jamestown have agreed that the NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Invitational will remain in Jamestown through 2021. The NAIA granted women’s wrestling invitational status in the spring of 2018, meaning that efforts toward developing administrative rules for championship status are likely in the spotlight. There are 33 NAIA women’s wrestling programs competing or announced at this time. When that number reaches 40, the sport can apply for championship status.

The University of Jamestown hosted the inaugural event at the Harold Newman Arena in 2019. Winter storms presented significant challenges that consolidated two days of competition into one, but UJ proved highly capable of hosting a true championship experience. There were twenty-one member schools represented by women from thirty-three states and four countries pre-registered. As part of NAIA tradition, the night before featured a red carpet student-athlete experience with guest speakers Tamyra Mensah-Stock, Sandy Stevens and Captain Randow of the United States Marine Corps. The ladies also participated in a Champions of Character service event, packaging meals for the Orphan Grain Train.

Wayland Baptist’s Asia Ray (101-pounds) became the first individual NAIA national champion, and the ladies from Menlo College took home the team title. Get up to speed with an overall look at the 2019 event, here. Rest of the story at https://www.transitionwrestling.com/jamestown-to-host-naia-national-invitational-through-2021/?mc_cid=493b0ed634&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

October 8, 2019 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Appalachian State Wrestling Signs Team IMPACT Teammate Nate Brown

BOONE, N.C. — App State Wrestling officially welcomed 15-year-old Team IMPACT teammate Nate Brown to the program in a signing ceremony held in the Mark E. Ricks Athletics Complex on Thursday. Joined by his family, App State coaches and wrestlers in the App State program, Brown made it official by signing his letter of intent and putting on an App State hat to applause from the crowd.
“I’m really excited to add Nate to our program,” App State head coach JohnMark Bentley said. “I expect him to make as much of an impact on our wrestlers’ and coaching staffs’ lives as we do his. We’re thankful for this tremendous opportunity.”
Today we welcomed Nate to the @AppWrestling family through @GoTeamIMPACT.
Welcome to the team, Nate! #BeTheIMPACT #ReachTheSummit pic.twitter.com/9poDCR1Jtl— AppState Wrestling (@AppWrestling) October 3, 2019

Brown, a native of nearby Todd, is currently a member of the wrestling program at Ashe County High School. He and the Mountaineers were brought together by Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit foundation that connects children with chronic illnesses to local college athletic teams. That connection helps form life-long bonds and life-changing outcomes with everyone involved. Team IMPACT’s mission is to improve the youth’s quality of life by growing and cultivating lively team-based support networks. Brown is one of 30,000 patients in the United States living courageously with cystic fibrosis (CF), a disease predominantly diagnosed in children by the age of 2. Rest of the story at https://appstatesports.com/news/2019/10/3/wrestling-program-signs-team-impact-teammate-nate-brown.aspx?mc_cid=493b0ed634&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

October 8, 2019 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Open House for Bobby Douglas

The Dan Gable Museum will host a celebration for National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member and Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa member Bobby Douglas on Saturday, November 2 from 4-7 p.m.
Douglas was the first black American to wrestle in the Olympics, competing in 1964 and 1968, and the first to captain the U.S. Olympic team in 1968. He also wrestled on six World Championship teams, winning a silver medal in 1966 and a bronze medal in 1970. He was an assistant coach for 10 World and Olympic teams, was World Cup coach in 1987 and Olympic coach in 1992.
He had a long and distinguished college coaching career at Arizona State and Iowa State. In 1988 he led Arizona State to the national championship, the only wrestling team title won by a western school, and he led Iowa State to three runner-up finishes.
He was a two-time Ohio state high school wrestling champion and an NAIA national champion for West Liberty State in 1962. In 1963, he reached the NCAA Division I finals and finished second to defending national champion Mickey Martin of Oklahoma. Rest of the story at https://nwhof.org/blog/open-house-for-bobby-douglas/?mc_cid=493b0ed634&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

October 8, 2019 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment