Ohio State wrestling coach receives eternal victory through unimaginable tragedy
Tom Ryan remembers well the day a two-word question became the most difficult he had ever been asked. It was Feb. 16, 2004, and Ryan was in his ninth season as Hofstra’s wrestling coach. Ryan and his wife, Lynette, had just returned from a New York hospital and were greeted by their three children.Nine-year old Jake posed the question that would change Ryan’s life forever. “Where’s Teague?”
Teague was Tom and Lynette’s 5-year-old son. The couple was only minutes removed from being informed that Teague had passed away due to a heart attack. It took years to discover what triggered Teague’s heart attack, but it was eventually discovered that Teague had ARVC, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. ARVC is a hereditary heart disease that causes the muscular wall of the heart to break down over time. This can lead to an abnormal heartbeat and death.
Teague’s death tore Ryan apart. His son Jake’s question pierced Ryan’s heart. He doesn’t remember what he said; he only knows that from that moment on he set off on a relentless pursuit for an answer.
Now, more than 15 years later, Ryan is in a new state and in a new phase of life as the wrestling coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He has 270 career wins, 161 of them in 13 seasons at Ohio State. Under his leadership, the Buckeyes have won 76 percent of their duals. But by far the biggest difference in Ryan’s life is that he now has an answer to Jake’s question, which plagued him for so long. And he found that answer through Christ. “I think my dad, in that season of life, was questioning, ‘My son’s not here, but where is he?’” Ryan’s daughter Mackenzie, now 18, said in The Lantern. “Which led him to open up himself into learning a bunch of different religions, search for the truth all over and ultimately found Christianity.” Rest of the story at https://sportsspectrum.com/sport/wrestling/2019/10/18/ohio-state-wrestling-coach-receives-eternal-victory-through-unimaginable-tragedy/?mc_cid=e2d879b5f8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
St. Olaf to discontinue men’s wrestling program
TDR’s – First the official story as…
NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College Department of Athletics announced on Friday that it will discontinue the sport of men’s wrestling, effective at the end of the 2019-20 academic year. The coaching staff and student-athletes were notified of the decision at a meeting prior to Friday’s announcement. “Providing our student-athletes with a quality experience is our top priority,” said St. Olaf College Athletic Director Ryan Bowles. “We are committed to ensuring that they have the opportunity to flourish academically, socially, and athletically. For wrestling, the demands of our small program and dwindling roster do not meet our standards or provide a sustainable model of excellence.” St. Olaf first offered wrestling as a varsity sport in 1949 and won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) team championship in 1950-51. The MIAC stopped sponsoring the sport of men’s wrestling after the 2002-03 academic year. Rest of the story at https://athletics.stolaf.edu/news/2019/10/18/st-olaf-to-discontinue-mens-wrestling-program.aspx?mc_cid=e2d879b5f8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
and Guillotine Grapevine Podcast: Parents perspective on St. Olaf dropping wrestling at https://theguillotine.com/2019/10/guillotine-grapevine-podcast-parents-perspective-on-st-olaf-dropping-wrestling/?fbclid=IwAR0QQigk8-8TZquUogEeZEhRT_WQvcv3J08BHBA2z9jHGtNRHl-x9RRoMD0
Connecticut wrestler connects to Guatemalan roots through USA Wrestling for Peace program
BY SYDNEY SAUSCHUCK | OCT. 18, 2019
Photo of Ben alongside coaches Curtis Urbina and Tom Maurath.
Photo by Gina Mazzriello.
On May 28, 2005, a wrestler was born. Connecticut wrestler, Ben Plaue was adopted from Guatemala by his loving parents David and Gina. This past Sunday was his “Happy Gotcha Day”, as October 13, 2005 was the official day of his adoption. Not knowing he would be introduced to the greatest sport in the world, Ben found himself at a local wrestling clinic in Newtown, Connecticut in fifth grade. He has been with the sport ever since. Five years later, he is growing to be the best he can be, on and off the mat. Highlighting the Plaue family means a great deal to the USA Wrestling for Peace (USAW4P) program. A lot of the initiative is dedicated to promoting wrestling as a positive global force. Considering our next trip is to Livingston, Guatemala, Ben took it upon himself to be an active helping hand in contributing to the start of a youth wrestling program in his native country. In addition to promoting the sport as a positive global force, USAW4P strives to develop impeccable character among the youth the program encounters. Asking Ben what encouraged his commitment to assisting USAW4P garnered a simple reply, “I felt I needed to do something,” he said. This epitomizes how wrestling is a powerful influence that can be shared with the rest of the world. Thus far, his efforts have been tremendous. His desire to engage his people in the wrestling community and motivate them to donate their gear has been exceptional. People want to help him, which is leading to the expansion of what USAW4P is able to provide to the Guatemalan youth. He connected with his coaches and they were all eager to assist Ben along the way. Ben’s mother Gina expressed that this is a special way Ben gets to marry his passions. She is proud that her son is using his love for wrestling to help improve the lives of others. Ben is incredibly modest, but what he has done speaks volumes to the type of young man he is becoming. With the help of his sister Celia, they exchanged old gear from various sports in return for wrestling gear. He is determined to advocate for his roots in Central America. Only a freshman at Newtown High, he entered as two-time youth state champion. Already owning a spot on the varsity line-up, he is projected to wrestle at 120 pounds for the Nighthawks. For the last five years, he has been a staple in the Newtown Youth Wrestling Association room. Now that he is in high school, he is also involved with the Empire Wrestling Academy in Somers, New York. Ben and his family speak very highly of his coaches, to whom they cannot thank enough for engaging Ben in the sport of wrestling and what it has done for him. Opinions of the sport can be diverse, but two words that are very common in the wrestling community are grit and respect. Rest of the story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/October/18/Connecticut-wrestler-connects-to-Guatemalan-roots-through-USA-Wrestling-for-Peace-program?mc_cid=e2d879b5f8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Record Breaking Wrestling Coverage on BTN in 2019-20
With the Big Ten seeking its 14th consecutive wrestling national championship, BTN will bring fans along for the ride with the most wrestling coverage in network history – a 40% increase from last season. BTN’s schedule begins with a non-conference matchup as No. 17 Virginia Tech heads to Columbus on Nov. 17 at noon ET to face the No. 4 Buckeyes and includes the Big Ten Championships, a Super Saturday dual between Rutgers and No. 7 Michigan from Madison Square Garden, a battle of last year’s top-two team finishers at the NCAA tournament in No. 1 Penn State and Ohio State and a primetime matchup between the top-ranked Nittany Lions and No. 2 Iowa on Friday, Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. ET. Jim Gibbons, Tim Johnson and Shane Sparks will once again anchor BTN’s coverage.
“The Big Ten is home to the most dominant wrestling programs in the country and that distinction has made wrestling the fourth most-watched sport on BTN,” said BTN President François McGillicuddy. “Our goal is to continue to showcase and amplify Big Ten Wrestling, including an increase in our live event broadcasts, a commitment to original storytelling and an investment in on-campus digital content.” BTN will debut a new wrestling-centric episode of The B1G Story, a documentary-style program produced by the Emmy-nominated BTN Originals team. At 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 1, The B1G Story: Alex & Eli will explore the friendship and bond of Iowa wrestler Alex Marinelli and former Wisconsin wrestler, Eli Stickley. Rest of the story at https://btn.com/2019/10/17/record-breaking-wrestling-coverage-on-btn-in-2019-20/?mc_cid=987ee111d5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
WolfPack Mentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 54 – Preseason Rankings with Earl Smith
Purchase 2019-20 NC State Wrestling Season Tickets | Upgrade Your Seats to Matside
RALEIGH, N.C. – Episode #54 of the #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast talks with head coach Pat Popolizio for the first official episode of the 2019-20 season now that practice has started. Host Brian Reinhardt and Popolizio run through a number of topics updating Wolfpack Wrestling fans on everything the team is doing now. Reinhardt also jumps into the Skype machine and chats with The Open Mat’s Earl Smith about his preseason NCAA rankings and where he sees the Wolfpack at the start of the season. Rest of the story and audio at https://gopack.com/news/2019/10/17/wrestling-packmentality-pop-ins-podcast-ep-54-preseason-rankings-with-earl-smith.aspx?mc_cid=987ee111d5&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 