Takedown Report

TDR Top 12 Alumni Ryan Blackwell among those wounded at Pensacola Naval Air Station

TDR Notes ; Blackwell was honored on the TDR Top 12 list for four years. Only about six wrestlers a year are named to a 4th consecutive Top 12 list of the best wrestlers across all divisions in eastern North Carolina. Blackwell placed in the top 7 each year and was a three time state medalist and two time state champion with Croatan High School. He was awarded the ‘Roy Heverly Award’ as the top underclassman scholastic wrestler in eastern North Carolina when he won his first state championship in 2009 as a junior. He repeated as state champion his senior season and was a finalist for the James Johnson Award as the top senior in eastern NC. He went on to compete at UNC-Pembroke, where Heverly was a three time All-American.
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Wrestling coach among those wounded at Pensacola NAS
By Mark Palmer, Intermat
A high school wrestling coach was among those wounded in the mass shooting at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida on Friday. Ryan Blackwell is a staff member at Gulf Breeze High School, located near the Pensacola NAS in Florida’s western Panhandle, as well as coach of the Gulf Breeze Wrestling Club. In addition, the 27-year-old Blackwell is an active duty member of the U.S. Navy.
Here is the message the City of Gulf Breeze posted on its Facebook page Friday: “Gulf Breeze City Hall sends prayers and support for the recovery of Gulf Breeze High School assistant wrestling coach Ryan Blackwell. Coach Ryan is active duty Navy and was shot three times this morning in the senseless act of violence which killed three military people, injuring eleven in the Aviation Building. Coach Ryan’s thoughts were with his team before going into surgery, as Coach Ryan called head wrestling coach Dave Daily of Gulf Breeze Wrestling Club to tell him he won’t make this weekend’s wrestling tournament. Coach Ryan is in stable condition…” Blackwell was taken to Baptist Hospital, along with seven others who were also wounded in the shooting. According to WITN-TV, the NBC affiliate in Greenville, N.C., Ryan Blackwell is an Eastern North Carolina native who attended Croatan High School in Carteret County. Blackwell made history as a senior by becoming just the second wrestler in county history to win two North Carolina state championships. He later wrestled for the NCAA Division II program at the University of North Carolina Pembroke at 141 pounds. Rest of the story at http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/22679?fbclid=IwAR0jQ3QExwSWXBF7mL0nsCj46oNP87TvD4x2scfiwuGaEWLY23c1obK3rPM

December 9, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized