Takedown Report

Women’s Wrestling – # 14

Richards wrestler Mia Palumbo has an eye for the final of the state, future Olympic Games
It has been a quiet few years for Richards’ Mia Palumbo, but that is going to change. In 2018, Palumbo broke into the preparatory wrestling scene during a historic freshman season. Before that year, only two girls had qualified for the state wrestling tournament, which began in 1937. Palumbo and Quiovany Santos of Dunbar both qualified in 2018 and Palumbo became the first girl to win a competition in the state. In fact, she won two – one of them apparently after she had shed two tears in the labrum of one of her hips in a quarter-final loss. That injury did not stop Palumbo from struggling – or winning. She won two girls’ national titles that summer before finally having the injury diagnosed and repaired. “I just had to struggle with it,” said Palumbo. “” I struggled with it all summer. And I was operated on when I returned from [nationals in] Fargo [North Dakota]. “ That speaks to Palumbo’s tolerance for pain and her determination. Story at https://gotechdaily.com/richards-wrestler-mia-palumbo-has-an-eye-for-the-final-of-the-state-future-olympic-games/?mc_cid=cc61b35bf8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

University of the Ozarks Adds Women’s Wrestling
Courtesy of Ozarks Athletics – Link

Clarksville, Ark. – University of the Ozarks will launch a women’s wrestling program beginning the 2020-21 academic year, Eagles Athletic Director Jimmy Clark announced today. The program will be a club sport for the 2020-21 year and will move to an NCAA Division III varsity intercollegiate program starting in the fall of 2021, according to Clark. The new team will expand Ozarks’ varsity sports offerings to 21 intercollegiate programs. The University has offered men’s wrestling since 2014. The current men’s wrestling head coach, LeRoy Gardner, will also lead the women’s program. The University plans to hire an additional assistant coach to assist with the new program. “Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in this country in both college and high school and we’re excited about offering this opportunity for women who want to compete on the collegiate level,” Clark said. “We’ve been considering adding it for a couple of years and with our men’s wrestling program thriving, we felt it was the right time to add it. We’ve got the facilities and infrastructure in place, so it just seemed like a natural fit.” In 2019, the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) sanction women’s high school wrestling in Arkansas, becoming the 18th state to have the sport at the high school level.  Nationally there were 2,980 high school sponsoring teams and 21,124 girls wrestling at the high school level in 2018-19, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations. That’s up 5,000 from the previous year. …. rest of the story at https://portal.nwcaonline.com/articles/NWCA_News/University-of-the-Ozarks-Adds-Women-s-10-2-2020

She’s the first girls wrestling coach in Idaho. But she won’t be the last.
Amber Quintana patrols along the edge of the mat in the Columbia High wrestling room before spotting someone struggling with a drill. She drops down to all fours, fires out her legs and demonstrates how to spin out of an opponent’s grasp. The rookie wrestlers nod in agreement, and Quintana pops back up and offers one bit of parting advice.
“A good wrestler is going to follow you,” she says.
She ought to know.
The 23-year-old Quintana joined the Columbia wrestling staff this season with a mile-long list of accomplishments on the mat, including multiple national titles. Now she’s taking her place as a pioneer in Idaho — the first high school girls wrestling coach in state history. “I hope that other schools can find a way to get another coach for the girls, whether that’s a female (or not),” Quintana said. “These girls have the right to have another coach. “They don’t need to be chasing a coach down in another gym, because that’s what usually happens at a tournament. The girls are in one gym, the boys are in the other and now you’ve got these girls running back and forth for their coach.” …. rest of the story at https://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/high-school/article239582558.html?mc_cid=376d1632c5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Registration is now open for USA Wrestling’s Girls Folkstyle Nationals in Colorado Springs
BY USA WRESTLING EVENTS | JAN. 28, 2020,USA Wrestling is excited to announce the 2020 Girls Folkstyle National Championships are moving to Colorado Springs, to be held at the Broadmoor World Arena on March 26-29, 2020. This event showcases the quickly growing sport of girls folkstyle on a national stage. This is the largest and most prestigious girls national folkstyle championship in the nation. Last year wrestlers from 46 states participated in the Girls Folkstyle Nationals, and we expect the tournament to continue to expand in Colorado Springs, which is called #OlympicCityUSA. …. details and story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/January/28/Registration-now-open-for-Girls-Folkstyle-Nationals-in-COS?mc_cid=da11b81f16&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

February 12, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized