Takedown Report

CANCELLATION!!!

Fresno State players, coaches react to NCAA cancellations
The NCAA came to a screeching halt on Thursday, impacting Fresno State’s athletics department and all the teams actively participating. Fresno State student-athletes and coaches immediately took to social media to express their disappointment, discontent, concerns or to reflect on all their hard work to this point. Five Fresno State wrestlers destined for the NCAA Championships this weekend – including football player Josh Hokit – were stopped just one week shy of their attempts to claim a national title. …..
Few student-athletes have dedicated as much time to their Fresno State careers as dual-sport athlete Josh Hokit. Hokit has been a key football player for the past four years and a standout wrestler for the past three years since the Bulldogs brought back the wrestling team.  Hokit and four other Bulldogs were set to compete in the NCAA Championships next week in Minnesota. The seedings were just announced on Wednesday with Hokit as the top-seeded Bulldog at No. 12 in the heavyweight division.  Hokit tweeted, “I’ve been wrestling since I was 4 and the NCAA tournament was going to be my last time ever competing in the sport and now this is how it all ends. (heart-break emoji)” Hokit went as far as to tweet, “Does the NCAA qualifiers at the heavyweight division want to meet up somewhere and have our own tournament? It’s gonna be hard for me to sleep at night if I don’t know who the top 8 are..” One wrestler responded, “I’m in.”  ,,,, rest of the story at https://247sports.com/college/fresno-state/LongFormArticle/Fresno-State-football-coronavirus-players-coaches-react-to-NCAA-cancellations-145002504/#145002504_7

SENIORS AT THE D-III NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
According to team rosters, there were 68 seniors set to wrestle in this weekend’s NCAA Championships. Ideally, the tournament would begin this afternoon, and those athletes would have the chance to put an exclamation mark on their careers. Sadly, they will not have that opportunity. For some of them, this was their one and one chance to compete in an NCAA Championship. For others, it was their last chance to get on the podium and forever be an All-American. Some were looking for a first NCAA title, and all were looking forward to one last competition in team colors. Here are the names of those 68 athletes listed by school. Please let me know if anyone is missing or on this list in error. They can be recognized here, even if they will not have that chance in Cedar Rapids.
Brendan Ladd, Alma, 141
Ryan Epps, Augsburg, 157
David Flynn, Augsburg, 141
Victor Gliva, Augsburg, 133
Lucas Jeske, Augsburg, 165
Tanner Vassar, Augsburg, 184
Aaron Wilson, Augsburg, 149
Zeckary Lehman, Baldwin Wallace, 197
Charlie Nash, Baldwin Wallace, 133
Nathan Fritz, Central, 184 …. rest of list and story at https://www.d3wrestle.com/seniors-at-the-ncaa-championships/?mc_cid=dd3ca5e7e5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Wartburg wrestles with tough NCAA decision
AVERLY – Joe Breitbach joined the Wartburg College wrestling program as a freshman in 1967. And he’s been affiliated with the program ever since as a wrestler, coach, announcer and booster. He has seen just about everything in his 53 years supporting the orange and black. But then came Thursday afternoon’s stunning news. The NCAA was cancelling all of its winter championships, including the Division III wrestling tournament. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Breitbach said while shaking his head Friday. “It’s been a crazy 24 hours. It’s just surreal.” Crazy and surreal are an understatement. The widespread coronavirus has essentially shut down professional and collegiate sports around the country and beyond. …. story at https://wcfcourier.com/sports/college/wartburg-wrestles-with-tough-ncaa-decision/article_307cbb59-ddb7-5a4d-b26c-37fbdc73a921.html?mc_cid=dd3ca5e7e5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

What Else Can I Say?
Everybody is hurting today.
In one way or another, very many people were effected by today’s news that the NCAA was cancelling it’s winter sports championships. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? As the leaks came through today that the NCAA tournament was cancelled, I didn’t really know what to do. I got the article ready for when then official word came down, and I waited. I was on Twitter, as was, seemingly, every other person in America, work be damned. …. story at https://iawrestle.com/2020/03/12/what-else-can-i-say/?mc_cid=dd3ca5e7e5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

OSU Wrestling: Five Thoughts on the Cancellation of the NCAA Tournament
How do we think about the 2019-20 wrestling season?
It’s been one of the weirdest weeks in all of sports media history as the COVID-19 pandemic has struck American sports and canceled nearly every major athletic event, including the NCAA wrestling tournament. After taking a day to digest everything here are my five thoughts on it.
1. It sucks
I don’t know any other way to really put it. It’s gut-wrenching to think about some of these seniors being set to wrestle in their final NCAA tournament, then suddenly told it’s not going to happen. Even looking at some of the younger guys like Anthony Montalvo and Travis Wittlake, who both had very real shots to be four-time All-Americans and may not have that opportunity. All the way around, it’s really tough to imagine what some of these kids are going through. Naturally, life goes on and they’ll all come out of it fine when you look at the bigger picture, but you really have to feel for them.
2. Will seniors get an extra year?
Probably the biggest discussion point that’s come from all of this is how will they handle the senior eligibility?  …. story at https://pistolsfiringblog.com/osu-wrestling-five-thoughts-on-the-cancellation-of-the-ncaa-tournament/?mc_cid=dd3ca5e7e5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Chuck Yagla reflects on the disappointment of the 1980 Olympic boycott
Chuck Yagla reflects on the disappointment of the 1980 Olympic boycott Two-time NCAA champion and 1980 Olympic Team member Chuck Yagla looks back on the American boycott of the Olympics in Moscow. … podcast program at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPlayer.jsp?TIM=1584420002432&twSessionId=taxyssaina&videoId=778468135&mc_cid=f6e5f3ba8d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Gannon, Mercyhurst wrestlers stunned by cancellation
Golden Knights, Lakers were already in South Dakota for NCAA tourney when they learned it was canceled Mercyhurst University wrestler Logan Grass was a redshirt junior when he competed in the 2019 NCAA Division II tournament. Grass qualified for that meet, held at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, in the 165-pound division. The 2014 West Virginia state champion felt primed to win another title at the college level. Then, in the midst of a workout the day before the meet, Grass felt immediate and undeniable pain. It was from a meniscus tear. The cartilage in one of his knees endured one twist too many. At that point, the only options for Grass were to wrestle and delay surgery until after the tournament or withdraw before his first match. The first option was a no-brainer for Grass. However, an inability to put full weight on the knee led to a 1-2 tournament record. Fast forward to Thursday, the eve of the 2020 Division II meet in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Grass once again qualified in the 165 weight class. Even better, he did so as the top seed out of Mercyhurst’s region. There was little chance that Grass could experience a wrestling fate worse than the year before.
He did.
Once again, there was pain. Only this time, it was emotional and not physical. Grass was among the wrestlers who learned the NCAA had canceled the meet because of the coronavirus pandemic while at Sioux Falls Arena or the hotels adjacent to it. Of those wrestlers, 14 represented Mercyhurst or Gannon University. Only one, though, was a senior: Grass.
Lakers coach Mike Wehler …. story at https://www.goerie.com/sports/20200316/gannon-mercyhurst-wrestlers-stunned-by-cancellation?mc_cid=f6e5f3ba8d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Wrestlers provide unfiltered voice in tough times
Heath Grimm was ready to go last Thursday.
“We’re wrestlers,” the Upper Iowa coach said. “We’re pretty good at scrambling.” Grimm had just come out of a coaches meeting is Sioux Falls, S.D., on the eve of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. At the time, the national championship was a go and Grimm was excited. “If we get this started … let’s just keep going,” he said. That attitude, that philosophy is what sets wrestlers apart from other athletes. It’s why I enjoyed covering the sport for more than 20 years and still keep a close eye on it. The announcement last week that the NCAA was shutting down all winter and spring championships — including the D-I, D-II and D-III wrestling tournaments — was a blow. It, of course, was the right decision. It is better to be proactive than reactive when dealing with something as sinister as the coronavirus pandemic. All athletes took it hard. Championship season is what every athlete dreams about and the possibilities during this “second season” are what makes sports so special. It’s why everybody loves the Cinderella of the NCAA basketball tournament. It’s why a wrestler with a .500 record can get hot and earn All-America stature. One of the first things I read after the NCAA announcement came from Tom Ryan, a former Iowa wrestler who has turned Ohio State into a perennial contender.
“Today was one of my toughest days as a coach,” he wrote on Facebook. “Our staff had to tell some amazing men that their season was over just 6 days before the NCAA Tournament. A few were seniors. A few were up and coming underclassmen. One was a frosh trying to make history and become our 4th freshman champ. Their hearts were torn out. Two seniors ranked #1 had poured their life into becoming an NCAA Champion. This end was unimaginable.
“The Coronavirus came fast and hard. I have learned in life that the things that are most impactful are the things that touch us personally. This one touched us. No one knows what it feels like to have a title shot taken away except someone who had a shot. I watched these men battle day in and day out. They gave so much. They sacrificed the painless things for the painful things. They did this every time.
“Sometimes life just sucks. In the same context no one knows what it’s like to watch a loved one suffer from a virus except one who is. In the end, we have to simply trust those who are making these decisions. I am proud of this team and these men. They are gladiators, but more importantly they are good men. God is always good.”
This is from a man who has been part of NCAA championship teams, who has directed a team to a national title. This is man whose son died in 2004 at the age of 5. Losing a championship season “sucks,” but this is man who can put things in perspective. …. story at https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/wrestlers-provide-unfiltered-voice-in-tough-times-20200316?mc_cid=f6e5f3ba8d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Rowley’s Boyle unable to defend national title due to coronavirus cancellations
John Boyle had already made the trip out to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Rowley resident and his teammates with the Western New England University wrestling team were gearing up for the weekend’s NCAA Division 3 Championships, and the next morning he was set to begin defending his national title. The wrestlers had been following the coronavirus story, but as far as they knew everything had been worked out and they were good to go. That was until Thursday afternoon, when the wrestlers were walking through the hotel lobby on their way to a training session and realized something was up. “I heard people start saying it’s over, it’s done,” said Boyle, a former state champion at Triton. “I was so confused, because this was after they gave us a compromise where we were allowed to let six people in. We had six tickets for immediate family so I thought since they did that, that was enough. But when this hit, I didn’t really know how to feel at first, it didn’t seem real. “I put in all the work in the season, everybody put in all the work to put it on display at the end. This is why you do it, and you get that opportunity ripped away,” he continued. “It’s one thing to lose, but to have the opportunity taken away is just devastating.” …. story at https://www.newburyportnews.com/sports/local_sports/rowley-s-boyle-unable-to-defend-national-title-due-to/article_69ccb244-84c5-57c6-8cde-80c5cd7bec98.html?mc_cid=f6e5f3ba8d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Unsatisfying ending: Millikin wrestler Bradan Birt reflects on losing his national championship chance
DECATUR — Millikin wrestler Bradan Birt felt this year’s trip to the NCAA Division III Championships was going to be special. Birt, the No. 2-ranked Division III wrestler at 165 pounds according to intermatwrestle.com, was at the top of the game and driving to improve upon his seventh-place finish as a freshman and sixth-place as a sophomore.  “I was feeling better than ever. I was feeling quicker and more on top of it than I have in a long time,” he said. As the championship approached its Friday start, it was clear that the event was going to be unlike any the wrestlers had participated in before, with the coronavirus pandemic suddenly cancelling sporting events around the country. The NCAA let the wrestling coaches know that if the tournament went forward, there would be no general admission fans in the stadium. At a 2 p.m. meeting on Thursday between the coaches and NCAA officials, teams were given six admission tickets for each athlete and one for each coach. “After we got our tickets, we thought we were in the clear, but it got pulled out from under us after that,” Millikin coach Ryan Birt said. Later that afternoon, Bradan Birt was at the championship location — U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa — completing a pre-tournament workout while his three other national-qualifying teammates, Zac Blasioli (125), Taylor McGiffen (174) and Logan Hagerbaumer (197), returned to the team’s hotel. Then an announcement came over the intercom system that touched every wrestler and coach there.  …. story at https://herald-review.com/sports/college/millikin/unsatisfying-ending-millikin-wrestler-bradan-birt-reflects-on-losing-his/article_07874e59-5ba6-542c-8f86-1d4d7ef33fc0.html?mc_cid=f6e5f3ba8d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

A LETTER TO COLLEGE WRESTLING
By Anthony Bonaventura
The month of March doesn’t have much meaning to the average person, but March signifies so much to the wrestling world. It is the peak of the college wrestling season, the culmination of a college wrestler’s work, and the opportunity to achieve the ultimate goal on the biggest stage. As a current college wrestling coach and fan, there is nothing I look forward to more than when the calendar flips from February to March. In my opinion the best month of the year! The month starts with the DII and DIII regional events concluding, setting the field for their NCAA Championships followed by the DI conference championships. Back to back weekends where each wrestler vies for their spot in their respective NCAA championships and tries to get one step closer to reaching the pinnacle of college wrestling, an individual national championship. The first week of March 2020 seemed like every other March, high-level wrestling, incredible storylines, and the DI, DII, DIII Championship fields were finalized. 690 NCAA wrestlers qualified for their respective championships across the three divisions and all seemed right in the world. Seven student-athletes qualified from the school I coach at, Stevens Institute of Technology, and I couldn’t wait to get out to Cedar Rapids, Iowa with the opportunity to compete for a team title and watch these wrestlers achieve lifelong dreams. They’re so many emotions that run through one’s mind when March arrives; optimism, excitement, restlessness, nervousness, and much more. However, everything would change on March 12, 2020. On March 11, the DII and DIII wrestling programs were on their way to their respective championship sites. Championship week was here for DII and DIII while DI coaches and wrestlers were just seeing their championship brackets for the first time. …. story at https://spark.adobe.com/page/jUPeosgDJo3FE/?mc_cid=f6e5f3ba8d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Noah Adams’s Dream Season is Cut Short Just Before His Shot at History
West Virginia wrestler Noah Adams had already made history in 2019-20. En route to his undefeated 32-0 season, Adams laid waste to the 197-pound weight class. He won three tournaments throughout the season, the Southeast Open, Mountaineer Invitational and Southern Scuffle. He shot up to No. 2 in the coaches’ panel rankings in his class, going a perfect 13-0 against the 11 other ranked wrestlers he faced. The 32 wins were the most ever by a WVU sophomore and it was the first time a Mountaineer has gone undefeated in the regular season since the great Greg Jones did it back-to-back in 2004 and 2005. On March 8 Adams also became just the second Mountaineer to ever win a Big 12 Championship, defeating South Dakota’s Tanner Sloan in the championship. With an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, Adams was ranked as the No. 2 seed, behind only Big 10 champion Kollin Morre from Ohio State. This upcoming weekend Adams would have had the opportunity to put a cherry on his dream season by winning a national championship for WVU, which would be the first, again, since Greg Jones did it 15 years ago. Adams will not get that chance, however. Due to the outbreak and spread of coronavirus, the NCAA canceled all Winter and Spring championships …. story at https://wvsportsnow.com/noah-adamss-dream-season-is-cut-short-just-before-his-shot-at-history/?mc_cid=f6e5f3ba8d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

OSU wrestling: Nick Piccininni, John Smith reflect on NCAA championship cancellation
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State coach John Smith was overseeing a workout for his nine wrestlers who were less than a week away from competing in the NCAA national championships in Minnesota when an OSU representative walked into the room. “He just showed me his phone,” Smith said.  That phone held the message that the NCAA championships had been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Smith called his wrestlers together and informed them of the news that would soon ripple through the sports world like an earthquake. 
For seven of the wrestlers, Smith was telling them their seasons were over. For two — seniors Joe Smith and Nick Piccininni — the coach was telling them they’d wrestled their last match at OSU, and hopes of adding to their already impressive lists of accomplishments had been snuffed out by something beyond their control. “It was just shock,” said Piccininni, who was seeded No. 3 with a 26-2 record heading into the NCAA championships. “When you hear something like that, at first, you don’t know how to comprehend what’s going on. It’s crazy news. It was a sad moment for me and the seniors. “But life goes on, and there’s more to it than having the tournament and, God forbid, something bad happening.” …. story at https://oklahoman.com/article/5657775/osu-wrestling-nick-piccininni-john-smith-reflect-on-ncaa-championship-cancellation?mc_cid=f6e5f3ba8d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 3, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized