Takedown Report

College Coaches’ News

Azevedo To Be Inducted into California Wrestling Hall of Fame
PHILADELPHIA – Mert and Joanne Hill Head Coach of Wrestling Matt Azevedo will be one of 11 inductees into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame, when the organization holds its banquet on June 13.  
Azevedo is in his ninth season at the helm with Drexel. He has coached the Dragons to their first appearance in the USA Today/NCWA DI Coaches Poll and kept Drexel in the Top 25 for six weeks in the 2016-17 season. The next year, Drexel finished the season ranked in the coaches poll as well as three other rankings compiled by national media outlets Intermat and FloWrestling. The Dragons have won 10 or more duals in three of the last four complete seasons. Twenty-eight Drexel wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships under Azevedo’s watch. …. story at https://drexeldragons.com/news/2020/2/12/azevedo-to-be-inducted-into-california-wrestling-hall-of-fame.aspx?mc_cid=e1e9966c02&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson speaks out on how to grow wrestling
Cael Sanderson is a titan at seemingly every level of the wrestling world. He’s the most successful collegiate wrestler in NCAA Division I history, won an Olympic Gold and has won eight NCAA titles as a head coach. And yet, one of the sport’s biggest names at one of the country’s most well-known universities, feels he only has so much pull when it comes to changing and growing the sport he’s made his livelihood. “I just try to do the best that I can with the job I’ve been hired to do. That’s how we try to do our best to make the sport more interesting, more competitive and I think that’s happening as we’re seeing just with numbers alone,” Sanderson said. “We’re just gonna do what we can control. That’s always been my philosophy — just do the job I was hired to do.” Sanderson knows wrestling is a niche sport that is difficult to follow and understand at times. Of the nine NCAA sanctioned men’s team sports at the Division I level, wrestling ranks fifth with 75 programs, well behind the next closest sport, swimming and diving, which has 131 teams competing. … story at https://www.collegian.psu.edu/sports/wrestling/article_1fd672e0-4d32-11ea-9957-0fde7402caf6.html?mc_cid=e1e9966c02&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Univ. Pitt-Johnstown’s Pecora alone at the top of the mountain
No coach in college wrestling history has won more dual meets than Pat Pecora. The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown coach watched his Mountain Cats defeat Mercyhurst, 22-12, last Friday – giving him 617 career victories, one more than Dale Thomas of Oregon State. The man who said he always thought of coaching as a family was surrounded after the match by current and former wrestlers who helped him reach that remarkable wins total. “When I started coaching, I was 22 years old. What did I know? I never was even an assistant coach in my life,” Pecora said at the UPJ Wellness Center. “I ran a team like my parents raised a family. That’s all it was. That’s what I try to do in everything I’m in.” Pecora arrived at UPJ in 1976 to take over a young Mountain Cats program, and his first team went 4-12. But the Cats have had only one losing season since, and have rolled up 29 straight winning campaigns. …. story at https://www.tribdem.com/news/editorials/editorial-upj-s-pecora-alone-at-the-top-of-the/article_acbf4f6a-4d0a-11ea-8257-57b3979032fe.html?mc_cid=e1e9966c02&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Family-first mentality propels Pat Pecora to all-time NCAA wins record
By STEVE ROTSTEINPittsburgh
Post-Gazette srotstein@post-gazette.com
story at https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/other-colleges/2020/02/12/pat-pecora-pitt-johnstown-mountain-cats-wrestling-chris-eddins-jody-strittmatter/stories/202002120026?mc_cid=e1e9966c02&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

March 15, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized