Eight with @PackWrestle Ties to Compete at U.S. Senior Nationals
Top five in each weight class advance to the 2020 U.S. Olympics Trials RALEIGH, N.C. – Eight athletes that have ties to the NC State Wrestling program and Wolfpack Wrestling Club will in action at this weekend’s USA Wrestling Men’s Freestyle Senior Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas. Freestyle action will take place on Saturday and Sunday. This weekend’s competition will serve as the largest Olympic Team Trials qualifier of the year with 30 spots up for grabs across six Olympic weights (57 kg, 65 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 97 kg and 125 kg). The top five athletes in each weight will earn a bid to the US Olympic Trials to be held in April at Penn State, for a spot on the 2020 U.S. Summer Olympics team. Former Wolfpack All-American Tommy Gantt is the highest seeded former Wolfpack wrestler, as he earned the third seed at 74 kg. Current volunteer coach Timmy McCall enters as the seventh seed at 97 kg. Former Wolfpack grapplers Quinton Godley (74 kg) and Lee Davis (86 kg) still reside in Raleigh and continue to train at the Wolfpack’s RTC. Former Duke All-American Jacob Kasper (97 kg) splits his time training between his alma mater and the NC State mat room. A trio of former Wolfpack wrestlers who either coach or train at other schools will also be in action. Sean Fausz will wrestle at 65 kg. After winning silver at the U23 World Championships while at NC State last fall, Fausz graduated and is now an assistant coach at Cal Poly. Rest of the story at https://gopack.com/news/2019/12/19/wrestling-eight-with-packwrestle-ties-to-compete-at-us-senior-nationals.aspx
3rd High School News, Notes & Results
Bancroft leads Golden Demons to 3rd-place showing at WRAL Invite
RALEIGH — Led by senior Aaron Bancroft, the Fike High wrestling team enjoyed its best showing at the 48th annual WRAL Invitational tournament Friday and Saturday at Athens Drive High. Rest of the story at http://wilsontimes.com/stories/area-roundup-bancroft-leads-golden-demons-to-3rd-place-showing-at-wral-invite,197197?newsletter=197199
Wyoming Seminary dominates Walsh Jesuit Ironman, McNeil named OW
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. made a statement in a big way as they won the Walsh Jesuit Ironman by 45.5 points over No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. The Blue Knights placed 10 wrestlers, while their other three entrants were one match short of a top eight placement finish. They also went 4-0 in semifinal matches and had three wrestlers win weight class titles: No. 4 Nic Bouzakis (126), Drew Munch (132), and No. 4 Lachlan McNeil (145). Lachlan McNeil gets his hand raised after beating No. 1 Victor Voinovich (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)
McNeil was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament after his 5-1 finals victory over No. 1 Victor Voinovich (Brecksville, Ohio), a match decided by two takedowns scored within the first minute of the bout; the unranked Munch won his first five matches of the tournament all by fall before a 10-4 championship victory over No. 14 Ethen Miller (Park Hill, Mo.); while Bouzakis won the evening’s featured final 4-3 over No. 3 Ryan Crookham (Notre Dame-Green Pond, Pa.) in a match of the nation’s top two overall Class of 2022 wrestlers. Joining McNeil in knocking off a national No. 1 in the final was No. 10 Frankie Tal-Shahar (American Heritage, Fla.), who beat Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 3-2 in the tiebreakers; Tal-Shahar beat two additional ranked wrestlers earlier in the tournament. The lone top-ranked wrestler to win a title was Marc-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy, N.J.) at 106 pounds. Out of the four No. 2 ranked wrestlers in the bracket, only two won weight classes: Padraic Gallagher (St. Edward, Ohio) at 160 and Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) at 220; it was a third consecutive Ironman title for Amos, who steamrolled his way through the tournament, including wins over a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers.
There were three unranked wrestlers to win weight classes. Joining Munch were unranked wrestlers Dalton Harkins (152) and Cole Deery (285), both from Malvern Prep, Pa. Harkins beat three top ten-ranked wrestlers, including a pin at 6:17 of overtime against No. 2 Travis Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) in the final. Three unranked wrestlers were runner-up finishers: Jaden Bullock (Oscar Smith, Va.) at 170 pounds, Nicholas Feldman (Malvern Prep, Pa.) at 195, and Max Millin (Massillon Perry, Ohio) at 285; Bullock beat No. 2 Nevan Snodgrass (Kettering Fairmont, Ohio) 12-6 in the semifinal round. Further discussion of the tournament will come in an analysis article on Monday. Below are the team standings and medal match results.
Team Standings:
1. No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 234.5
2. No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) 189
3. No. 27 Malvern Prep (Pa.) 126.5
4. No. 22 Brecksville (Ohio) 119
5. No. 8 Montini Catholic (Ill.) 116
6. No. 7 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) 107.5
7. Notre Dame-Green Pond (Pa.) 101
8. No. 15 Elyria (Ohio) 95.5
9. No. 4 St. Edward (Ohio) 84.5
10. Waynesburg (Pa.) 82
Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/22700?mc_cid=654ae3350c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
WRAL Tournament Photos
Photos linked at https://www.highschoolot.com/wral-wrestling-invitational-dec-14-2019/18834604/
InterMat High School Rankings
Full rankings at https://intermatwrestle.com/rankings/high_school/Team?fbclid=IwAR1IRyy7HJ5Td5d2ebe3yLUOOV2lMcZfHZw2CXM44-VacnfxoywET8sIZsA
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 