Takedown Report

27th College News, Notes and Results

IOWA-PENN STATE DUAL MEET, SEASON TICKETS SOLD OUT
The hype for Iowa wrestling this season has been at a level unseen in years — and for good reason. Iowa has the best team they’ve had since they last won a national championship, in 2010. They’re the consensus #1 team in the nation right now. They also have the best home dual meet schedule they’ve had in ages, with visits from Wisconsin, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Minnesota, and Oklahoma State to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Those are the teams currently ranked #8, #2, #7, #3, #16, and #9 right now.  So it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that Iowa announced that season tickets are sold out — and that all tickets for the massive Iowa-Penn State dual on 1/31/20 are also sold out. 
Ranked #1 in the country.
The #1 fans in the world.
Season tickets are SOLD OUT. https://t.co/7c04btmgbe pic.twitter.com/1ZNep6VUhk— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) December 6, 2019
And yet… this is still a really big deal. Iowa says they’ve sold a school-record 7,715 season tickets for this season. To put that into perspective, that figure alone would rank #2 in last season’s average attendance rankings — and, again, that’s only season tickets. It doesn’t include any tickets sold for individual dual meets. Iowa has led the nation in attendance for 13 straight years and it’s a virtual certainty that they’ll be able to extend that streak to 14 straight years this season.  The better questions are perhaps whether Iowa can top 100,000 fans in total attendance for their dual meet slate this year — or whether they can average over 10,000 fans per dual. The latter seems very plausible, while the former will be impossible. Iowa’s already had 10,000+ in attendance for each of their first two home duals — 10,466 at the UT-Chattanooga dual and 10,603 at the Wisconsin dual. They have five duals remaining against Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Minnesota, and Oklahoma State.  Rest of the story at https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-wrestling/2019/12/4446/iowa-penn-state-dual-meet-season-tickets-sold-out?mc_cid=0fa14e78f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Grand View’s win streak, Kaleb Young, Iowa’s 2010 team vs. this year, Iowa State
The Grand View wrestling team’s last dual loss came 2,224 days ago, a thrilling, 22-18 defeat to then-16th-ranked Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones took six of 10 matches that day — Nov. 7, 2013 — but four were decision victories. Isaiah Tatum and Eric Thompson both scored pins for the Vikings to keep the score close. Since then, Grand View has rattled off 81 straight dual victories, their latest a 27-15 win over Baker last week. It is the nation’s longest active dual winning streak and the second-longest for any college at any level. The record is 92, by State University of New York Delhi, from 1979-1983. The Vikings’ win streak gained a little notoriety after Arizona State beat Penn State 19-18 a couple of weeks back, snapping the Nittany Lions’ 60-match winning streak. And looking back, it’s truly incredible just how dominant Grand View has been during this run. The streak has now spanned seven seasons and counting. The Vikings have posted 26 shutouts during the run and have held another 30 teams to six points or less. Only 11 opposing teams have scored double digits on Grand View. That’s a little ridiculous, but that tells you how good Grand View has been. The dual winning streak has coincided with the Vikings’ run of eight straight NAIA national titles. A ninth would tie Iowa for the longest championship streak at any level of college wrestling. Rest of the story at https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/2019/12/10/wrestling-mailbag-grand-views-win-streak-kaleb-young-iowas-2010-team-vs-year-iowa-state-cyclones/4387734002/?mc_cid=0fa14e78f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Ferrum Beats Southern Virginia 39-9
FERRUM, Va. – Ferrum College picked up a non-conference wrestling win tonight at home over Southern Virginia University, winning 39-9 in front of a crowd of 400+ fans at Swartz Gym.
RECORDS
Ferrum (3-1)
Southern Virginia (2-5)THE BASICS
JD McMillin (125 lbs) accepted a forfeit to open the match. Levi Englman (133), currently ranked #1 in the nation, posted a 3-0 win over Aaron Friedhof to remain unbeaten this season and put the Panthers out in front 9-0. Southern Virginia’s Aldair Moran beat Hayden Funk 6-4 at 141 pounds to trim the lead to 9-3, but that’s as close as the Knights would get. Austin Smith (149), Elijah Martin (157) and Galilee Kissell (165) posted back-to-back-to-back pins, to extend the Panther lead to 27-3. Smith went out in front 12-0 over Southern Virginia’s Nicolas Korhonen before posting the pin at 2:19. Martin barely broke a sweat, taking the Knights’ Matt Rosson down directly to his back and getting the fall in just 13 seconds. Kissell recorded a first-period pin over Kyle York in just under two minutes. Rest of the story at https://www.ferrumpanthers.com/sports/wrest/2019-20/releases/20191210wg97nx?mc_cid=0fa14e78f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Ben Stahlman named GLVC Wrestler of the Week
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– Drury University wrestler Ben Stahlman was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Wrestler of the Week for his dominating performance in the Drury Open last weekend.
Stahlman won twice by Fall, won two Major Decisions, and did not allow a point to any of his opponents as part of his 4-0 day en route to winning the 157-pound division in Saturday’s event. The junior from House Springs, Missouri, won his opening round match with a pin of his opponent in just 20 seconds. He then earned a 9-0 Major Decision in the quarterfinals against Scott Radke of Northeastern Oklahoma and won by Fall in 1:26 over Dallas Boone of Neosho County in the semis. Stahlman took the 157-pound division tournament championship with a 10-0 Major Decision against Anthony Michaels of Lindenwood. Rest of the story at https://drurypanthers.com/news/2019/12/10/wrestling-ben-stahlman-named-glvc-wrestler-of-the-week.aspx?mc_cid=0fa14e78f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Central Michigan tops two ranked conference opponents, moves into Top 25
Manheim, Pennsylvania – A weekend trip out east to face new conference foes was beneficial for coach Tom Borrelli’s Central Michigan squad as the Chippewas downed ranked opponents Rider 28-10 and Lock Haven 24-12 to enter this week’s NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll at No. 24. The Chippewas (2-1) faced off with both schools for the first time as conference mates as the Mid-American Conference absorbed the Eastern Wrestling League, creating a 15-team conference alignment. Central Michigan reappears in the Top 25 for the first time since February of 2018. A large portion of Division I competition centered around tournaments, with the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational highlighting the action and shaking up the individual rankings. The team rankings were largely unaffected. Top-ranked Iowa improved to 4-0 after beating host Princeton 30-9 on Sunday. It capped off a monster travel and competition weekend for the No. 12 Tigers, who went on the road to Stillwater, Oklahoma and split 10 matches with ninth-ranked Oklahoma State, but fell 18-15. No. 3 Penn State (3-1) picked up a pair of wins over in-state opponents from the EIWA. First, before a Stabler Arena record crowd of 6,047, the visiting Nittany Lions topped then-No. 13 Lehigh 23-10. Penn State followed with a 33-7 win at home against Penn. The only other ranked team in dual action was No. 10 Pittsburgh, which improved to 4-1 after topping West Virginia 29-6 and shutting out Drexel 33-0. Rest of the story, team rankings and records at http://www.nwcaonline.com/central-michigan-tops-two-ranked-conference-opponents-moves-into-top-25/?mc_cid=0fa14e78f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Wuest named CC Wrestler of the Week
LANCASTER, Pa. – Tony Wuest (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna), a sophomore on the McDaniel wrestling team, has been named the Centennial Conference (CC) Wrestler of the Week for the week of Dec. 2-8. It is the third time this season that he has earned the honor. Wuest won the 197-pound individual title at the Petrofes Invitational, leading the Green Terror to a sixth-place team finish at the 19-team event. The sophomore remained undefeated on the season with a 5-0 record and three pins.  Rest of the story at https://www.mcdanielathletics.com/sports/wrest/2019-20/releases/20191210_wuestaow?mc_cid=0fa14e78f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Mueller Named ACC Wrestler Of The Week
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Senior Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas) has been named the ACC Wrestler of the Week by the league office after claiming the 125-pound title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this past weekend it was announced on Tuesday (Dec. 10). Mueller improved to 6-0 on the season with his run at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational that saw him pick up five victories at the two-day event. The senior won three bonus-point victories on the opening day of competition, including a first-period win by fall over Malik Heinselman of seventh-ranked Ohio State and a major decision against ninth-seeded Patrick McKee of 15th-ranked Minnesota. On day two of action, Mueller posted a shutout decision of Michael DeAugostino of 14th-ranked Northwestern before taking a 6-2 decision from ninth-ranked Devin Schroder of No. 23 Purdue in the finals. Rest of the story at https://virginiasports.com/news/2019/12/10/wrestling-mueller-named-acc-wrestler-of-the-week.aspx?mc_cid=0fa14e78f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Lydy Takes Home 2nd B1G Weekly Honor
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After taking home the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational 174-pound title Saturday, Purdue senior Dylan Lydy kept adding awards being named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday by the conference office. Lydy knocked off four straight ranked wrestlers on his way to the top of the podium and remains undefeated at 14-0 this season, earning his second weekly conference honor of 2019.
After opening his tournament with a 15-5 major decision over Michigan’s Max Maylor, Lydy went a full 11 minutes with Utah Valley’s Kimball Bastian, earning an escape and a takedown in the final tie-break period to secure a 5-3 win, and defeating Bastian for the second time this season.
Lydy followed up with a 5-3 decision over Oklahoma’s Anthony Mantanona, scoring takedowns in the second and third periods in the quarterfinal win before needing overtime to earn his wins in the semifinals and finals. Lydy took down No. 5 Michael Labriola of Nebraska in the semifinals, scoring a 3-1 win with a sudden-victory takedown, and then repeated the feat with an overtime takedown against No. 4 Bryce Steiert of Northern Iowa. Rest of the story at https://purduesports.com/news/2019/12/10/wrestling-lydy-takes-home-2nd-b1g-weekly-honor.aspx?mc_cid=0fa14e78f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Brayton Lee Earns First Big Ten Award
Redshirt freshman Brayton Lee earned his first Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award after claiming the 149-pound Cliff Keen Las Vegas title, the conference announced on Tuesday. Lee, who shares this week’s award with Purdue’s Dylan Lydy, went 5-0 on the weekend including his final three victories over top-ten opponents. As the five-seed Lee was the lowest seeded wrestler to win the title as well as the youngest wrestler to accomplish the feat this weekend. After reaching the semifinals, Lee fell behind to then-No.5 Max Thomsen of Northern Iowa. Still, Lee showed off his conditioning with a late takedown to force sudden victory before he finished another leg attack early in the extra period. Lee then took care of business against Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso with a pair of takedowns in the championship bout for a 6-4 decision victory.  Rest of the story at https://gophersports.com/news/2019/12/10/wrestling-brayton-lee-earns-first-big-ten-award.aspx?mc_cid=0fa14e78f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Steiert Named BIG 12 Wrestler of the Week
IRVING, Texas – Bryce Steiert has been named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week for Week six after going 4-1 for the week and leading UNI to a fourth-place finish at the prestigious Cliff Keen Invite. This serves as the first Conference honor of the senior’s career. Steiert was one of just two Big 12 wrestlers to make the finals in Las Vegas. He took down a pair of ranked opponents on the path to the championship, including a major decision over No. 8 Anthony Valencia from Arizona State in the semifinals. His lone loss came in overtime of the championship match.  Rest of the story at https://unipanthers.com/news/2019/12/10/wrestling-steiert-named-big-12-wrestler-of-the-week.aspx?mc_cid=0fa14e78f4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

December 11, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

TDR Editor’s Notes

The Dec. 15th, 2019 issue of Wrestling USA (www.WrestlingUSA.com) includes the TDR’s article on Division II Championship Coaches. The issue also includes a Division II Preview and Rankings by Dan Fickel and Mat Thoughts by Bill Welker. Well worth the subscription. The address below is a picture of the page with the TDR article.

https://cloud.3dissue.com/6856/7747/152403/4-vol55dec15-preview/index.html?r=34

December 11, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2nd Women’s Wrestling Notes, Results & News

Utah High School Athletics Assoc. sanctions girls’ wrestling in Utah
By Mark Palmer, InterMat Wrestling
Add the state of Utah to the growing list of states to officially sanction girls’ wrestling. The Board of Trustees of the Utah High School Athletics Association — governing body for prep sports within the state — has approved girls’ wrestling beginning in the 2020-21 school year, the Standard-Examiner newspaper has reported. The Ogden, Utah-based newspaper added that the inaugural official girls wrestling state tournament could be anticipated to take place sometime in February or March 2021. “There’s much to figure out in the meantime,” the Standard-Examiner continued. “The Board of Trustees’ approval simply approved sanctioning and nothing else at the moment. “Details like how many classifications, weight classes, regions, state tournament logistics and many more have yet to be figured out,” UHSAA assistant director Jon Oglesby said. The National Federation of State High School Associations reports that Utah high schools added 23 participants in girls wrestling for a total of 124 when comparing the 2017-18 school year to 2018-19. Girls’ high school wrestling has enjoyed tremendous growth in the past couple years. By InterMat’s count, Utah becomes the 20th state to officially add girls’ wrestling to the list of officially sanctioned high school sports. In calendar year 2019, five states have sanctioned girls’ wrestling, including New Mexico, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas and Maryland.  Rest of the story at http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/22682?fbclid=IwAR3Mk35h6mDN-7iv4wS-Nqlw7kvtPVyLX7XM4eAbFNqJy3X3n7SSDW_d7iw

Presbyterian College PC pulls out all the stops on its women’s wrestling program
Women’s wrestling made its first home mark on Presbyterian College on Saturday, and it was just as clear that PC wants to make a mark on wrestling. It was a big deal, publicized weeks in advance. The Blue Hose, the only such sports program at the moment in NCAA Division I, split matches against Limestone and Life University of Marietta, Ga. Women’s wrestling is on the fast track to championship status by the governing body of intercollegiate athletics. College president Bob Staton and athletics director Robert Acunto aim to make PC prominent in wrestling. The program handed out at the door had printed on its cover: “Witness History in the Making.” It drew a crowd. A good portion wandered off after the grand entrance, a 38-11 win over Limestone, but when Cassandra Lopez, Jaslynn Gallegos and Rita Morales – freshmen all – pinned their opponents in the first three matches, the roars in Templeton Center were reminiscent of District 6 playoff basketball games in the 1980s. Scott Casbar came from Iowa to describe the action. He dressed in black tie, describing the action as if he was on national TV instead of public address. He led into the matches with a Michael Buffer-like delivery of “let’s do this thing!” Mike Moyer of Lancaster, Pa., was there in his capacity as director of the National Wresting Coaches Association. He seemed vitally interested and thoroughly impressed. Casbar’s expert function was to produce a roaring crowd consisting largely of people whose roars concerned something they knew relatively little about. Adding to the theatrics was an inserted exhibition between two little girls, and the most disapponted loser of the whole afternoon was one of those girls, who looked as if she had just discovered, much to her shock, that she wasn’t the greatest wrestler in the world. If this reads as judgmental, it isn’t meant that way. Her tender feelings were quite heartwarming. Out in the lobby, spectators perused plans for a wrestling arena. The possible site is near the baseball and softball fields, possibly servicing those sports with restrooms and concessions, as well as providing needed office space for a variety of sports. VIPs and board members watched the new women’s sport from close range. They all seemed delighted. Rest of the story at http://www.golaurens.com/goclinton/pc-pulls-out-all-the-stops-on-its-women-s/article_e8fc3150-192f-11ea-978b-97a41a55c156.html?mc_cid=4692e6bf0d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

PELAYO WINS HER FIRST MSC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Bowling Green, KY – Freshman, Cynthia Pelayo, wins the Mid-South Conference Wrestler of the Week honor, announced by the conference office on Monday. Pelayo competed in her first collegiate match on Friday against conference rival, third-ranked Campbellsville. She was able to defeat fifth-ranked Charlotte Fowler by pin fall after 2:06. This is the first time that Fowler, a redshirt senior, has lost by pin fall this season. Unranked Pelayo was one of just two wrestlers on either team to defeat an opposition ranked higher than them and she was the only wrestler to upset her opponent by pin fall. The Bakersfield, CA native is the first freshman to win MSC Wrestler of the Week this year and only the second freshman to win the award since its inception. This is the second time this season a UC women’s wrestler has taken home the MSC Wrestler of the Week award. Junior, Bridgette Duty won the award to open the season last month. The Patriots will return to action starting on December 19 for the two-day tournament, The U.S. Open, in Dallas, TX. Rest of the story at https://cumberlandspatriots.com/news/2019/12/9/womens-wrestling-pelayo-wins-her-first-msc-wrestler-of-the-week.aspx?mc_cid=4692e6bf0d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Oklahoma City University’s Freund takes first SAC women’s wrestler of week
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University’s Sydney Freund became the first Sooner Athletic Conference women’s wrestler of the week. Freund, a junior from San Tan Valley, Ariz., captured the 143-pound title in the Wayland Baptist Invitational on Saturday at the Laney Center in Plainview, Texas. Freund won all four of her matches by fall to match the most pins in the tournament. Freund pinned Jessica Carbajal from Richland (Texas) in 20 seconds in the championship final. Freund began her day by defeating Texas Wesleyan’s Elizabeth Harris, ranked 17th in the NAIA at 143 pounds, in a 49-second fall. She has a 6-2 record this season with five falls for the Stars, ranked seventh in the NAIA. Rest of the story at https://www.ocusports.com/news/2019/12/9/womens-wrestling-ocus-freund-takes-first-sac-womens-wrestler-of-week.aspx?mc_cid=4692e6bf0d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Sooner Athletic Conference SPONSORS WOMEN’S WRESTLING AS LEAGUE SPORT
Courtesy of the SAC – Link

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference will offer a women’s wrestling championship in the upcoming year as part of the league’s continued growth. Four full-time conference member institutions – Central Christian, Oklahoma City University, Texas Wesleyan and Wayland Baptist – field women’s wrestling teams. Lyon will compete with those schools as a per-sport SAC member in the inaugural SAC women’s wrestling championships Feb. 29, 2020 in Plainview, Texas. The SAC could include more schools competing in women’s wrestling before the championship meet in February. Presidents of the SAC member institutions approved the league’s sponsorship of women’s wrestling in June. In more than 40 years of existence, the Sooner Athletic Conference has set itself apart by winning more NAIA championships than any other conference (109). The league will now award 14 team championships. “Women’s wrestling is really gaining momentum in the collegiate ranks, and the SAC is eager to continue that upward swing,” SAC Commissioner Stan Wagnon said. “We are starting with a solid group of teams and hope to add more quality members in the not too distant future. It’s an exciting opportunity to come alongside these programs for the purpose of providing well deserved support and recognition.” The SAC Championships figure to be a competitive meet. All five competing teams received votes in the most recent NAIA poll with Wayland Baptist garnering the No. 6 spot. Oklahoma City stood seventh, while Lyon held the 10th slot. Texas Wesleyan was 19th in the rankings. The SAC will award women’s wrestlers of the week. Women’s wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the NAIA. The sport has grown tremendously from just a handful of institutions that sponsored it to 28 member schools in 2019-20. Continued growth at this rate could signal the sport’s movement from invitational to championship status in the future. The SAC will join the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and the Mid-South Conference as NAIA leagues sponsoring women’s wrestling. Rest of the story at https://portal.nwcaonline.com/articles/NWCA_News/SAC-SPONSORS-WOMEN-S-WRESTLING-AS-10-12-2019

December 11, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment