Takedown Report

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Wrestling History

Gable the GOAT: A Dan Gable Documentary Podcast
Gable the GOAT is an original podcast documentary presented by the Wrestling Changed My Life Podcast. The documentary explores how Dan Gable – the most popular American wrestler – created a wrestling dynasty at the University of Iowa, winning 15 NCAA team titles in 21 years; he also won an incredible 21 consecutive Big 10 crowns during that same time.
Part 1 (launched in November of 2019) explores Gable’s collegiate and Olympic career, and weaves the listener through the creation of the Dan Gable wrestling dynasty at the University of Iowa, culimating with the 1987 NCAA Wrestling Championships. …. Story and podcast at https://wrestlingchangedmylife.com/goat/?mc_cid=9e69424014&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Lee Kemp documentary a riveting tale about Chardon native, world champ wrestler
A “Lee Kemp” Google search will tell anyone interested about the exploits of the Chardon High graduate — that being he’s one of the great wrestlers in the history of wrestling-rich Ohio. That alone says a lot about the two-time state champion and multiple world champion. There’s a lot more to Kemp’s story, and it’s all played out in the riveting documentary “Wrestled Away: The Lee Kemp Story,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime. As a Chardon sophomore, Kemp had an 11-8-3 mark, but by his junior season won a state title for the Hilltoppers, then repeated as a senior. In college, he was a national runner-up as a freshman at Wisconsin then won three straight NCAA titles to close out his career. The stretch included 101 straight victories. His wrestling career was far from over. As an 18-year-old, he defeated the legendary Dan Gable, then 26, in an open event when Gable came out of retirement to make another run at the Olympics. Gable was the reigning Olympic champion at the time but Kemp won, 7-6. By age 21, he became the youngest American world champion and eventually the country’s first three-time world champ in wrestling. Kemp’s ultimate dream was as an Olympic champion, and as the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow approached, he was at the top of his game. Then President Jimmy Carter boycotted the United State’s involvement in the Olympics as a sign of protest when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. From there, Kemp’s career and life took unfortunate turns. …. story at https://www.news-herald.com/sports/lee-kemp-documentary-a-riveting-tale-about-chardon-native-world/article_2ca07a5e-6865-11ea-98ce-2f0b8125efa4.html?mc_cid=9e69424014&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Reliving Josh Glenn’s 2007 National Championship Run
With no current sports to follow, we’ll be looking back at #AmericanHistory, starting with Josh Glenn’s national title run in March 2007.
One season after finishing in fourth place at 184 pounds and dropping a tight 8-7 match in the semifinals to the eventual national champion, Glenn’s mindset before the tournament is simple: “My thoughts are, ‘I got to win five more matches.’ Riding a 19-match winning streak and holding a record of 22-1, Glenn receives the No. 2 seed at 197 lbs. He’ll take on Andrew Anderson of Northern Iowa in the first round. Glenn scores seven takedowns en route to a convincing 14-2 win in his first match of the tournament. He advances to face Patrick Bond of Illinois in the Round of 16. After a scoreless first two periods in the Round of 16, Josh gets a quick reversal and rides out the rest of the third period for a strong 3-0 win. He advances to the quarterfinals for the second straight season. He will take on No. 7 seed Charles Brester of Nebraska for a chance to move into the semifinals. After one period in the quarterfinals, Josh has built up a 6-1 advantage thanks to two takedowns and some near fall points. Brester narrows the gap in the second and third period, but Josh breaks loose and secures the fall! He moves into the semifinal round for the second straight season.
Josh builds a 6-4 lead over Charles Brester of Nebraska before getting the fall! He moves into the semifinal round for the second straight season. #AmericanHistory pic.twitter.com/3AOgADOhHw— AU Wrestling (@AU_Wrestling) March 17, 2020
He’ll be taking on No. 11 seed, and returning All-American, Chris Weidman from Hofstra. After a scoreless first period in the semifinals, Josh scores a reversal and then slaps a cradle on Weidman to get the fall. He is AU’s first NCAA finalist. …. story at https://aueagles.com/news/2020/3/18/wrestling-reliving-josh-glenns-national-championship-run.aspx?mc_cid=a4e126b07e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Mark Ironside reflects on winning the Hodge Trophy, Iowa’s 2020 season
Mark Ironside won the 1998 Hodge Trophy, becoming the award’s fourth recipient. He looks back on his time at Iowa, shares his thoughts on the 2020 Hawkeyes, his career as a racecar driver, Iowa commit Drake Ayala and more. …. story and podcast at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPlayer.jsp?TIM=1585449382580&twSessionId=mjzhelvyju&videoId=778945135&mc_cid=b9ab82d4d9&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Penn Athletics Mourns Passing of Hall of Famer Dick DiBatista C’43
PHILADELPHIA – Penn Athletics was saddened to learn about the passing of Richard “Dick” DiBatista on February 29 at the age of 99. A member of the Inaugural Class inducted into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996, DiBatista remains arguably the greatest wrestler in program history. He ended his Penn career as a two-time NCAA champion—only Matt Valenti C’07 joins him in this club among Quaker grapplers—and likely it was only World War II that kept DiBatista from becoming a three-time NCAA champion. He also won three Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) championship in his weight class, from 1941-43. (The NCAA canceled its Championships from 1943-45.)  
“Dick DiBatista was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time,” said Penn’s current head wrestling coach and fellow Penn Athletics Hall of Famer Roger Reina. “Dick was a champion, an educator, a veteran, a loyal Penn alumnus, and a revered community member. He was a stalwart of Coach Austin Bishop’s incredible, undefeated Penn teams. Dick will be missed by our community, and his legacy will always be honored at Penn.”
 DiBatista posted an incredible 137-0 career record on the mat that included high school, prep school, college and amateur competition. He won a Pennsylvania state championship in 1938 while at Lower Merion High School, then a National Prep School title in 1939 while at Franklin & Marshall Academy. DiBatista also was named to the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Teams, although the Games were not held because of WWII. During the War, DiBatista served as 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines and was stationed in the South Pacific. …. story at https://pennathletics.com/news/2020/3/25/wrestling-penn-athletics-mourns-passing-of-hall-of-famer-dick-dibatista-c-43.aspx?mc_cid=0750227b4f&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Five of the Worst March Moments for OSU Wrestling Fans
BySeth Duckworth
Normally I’m the most upbeat writer you’d ever come across. I try to look at the positive side of everything in life and really try and write from that angle as well. But with everyone already down in the dumps over the canceling of sports all over the world, COVID-19, and being quarantined at home, I’m going to try and take things down one more notch by sharing my list of some of the harder-to-choke-down things Oklahoma State fans have endured at the NCAA wrestling tournament over the years.
1. Johny Hendricks Falls to Mark Perry
This one popped up on my Twitter a few days ago and actually helped to inspire this story angle. Most OSU wrestling fans know the background on this, Johny Hendricks comes to OSU out of Edmond, Okla. and John Smith’s nephew Mark Perry, who was in the recruiting class the year after Hendricks, chooses to go to Iowa. Hendricks ends up as a two-time NCAA champion and a focal point of OSU’s run of four straight NCAA team titles from 2003-06. In Johny’s senior year and Mark’s junior year they matched up in the NCAA finals. Hendricks had beat Mark every time they met during the regular season, but fell to him 4-3 in the NCAA tournament final. …. story at https://pistolsfiringblog.com/five-of-the-worst-march-moments-for-osu-wrestling-fans/?mc_cid=5dfdb1c828&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

A Look Back at 1983

Well, we had planned on today, Sunday – March 22, to be a travel day for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team.  Junior Fabian Gutierrez and sophomores Tanner Smith and Matthew Waddell, along with the coaches and staff, were set to make the trip home from the 2020 NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. 
All three had favorable draws in the brackets that were released on March 11, so who knows what could have happened over three days in U.S. Bank Stadium.  With all NCAA sports being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is not much news coming out of college athletics.  We thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the Mocs’ most successful showing at the NCAA Division I Championships.  The Mocs had some really strong Division II squads in the 1970s, but made the jump to Division I for the 1977-78 season. UTC had some individual success early in the 1980’s, including the 1983 squad that seven qualifiers to the national tournament in Oklahoma City, Okla.  The Mocs scored 20¼ points, tying for 14th overall in the team race with Arizona State.  It is still the highest Division I finish in school history at UTC. That year was highlighted by junior Charlie Heard’s runner-up at 118 pounds.  It was the second of three All-American honors for the LaGrange, Ga., native and 1992 inductee into the UTC Athletics Hall of Fame. …. story at https://gomocs.com/news/2020/3/22/wrestling-a-look-back-at-1983.aspx?mc_cid=e20a7e57a4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 7, 2020 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

College Coaching Awards

Brands named InterMat Coach of the Year
Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands has been named 2020 InterMat Coach of the Year, the amateur wrestling website announced Friday. This award, presented each year since 2006 to the best college wrestling coach in all divisions for his/her college wrestling coaching performance during the 2019-2020 season, is based exclusively on the balloting of writers at InterMat. Each staff member is asked to select five coaches and rank them from first to fifth. Point values are assigned to each placement, ranging from one point to a wrestling coach listed fifth on a voter’s ballot, up to nine points for a first-place vote. Iowa’s Tom Brands received a total of 84 points — including eight out of ten first-place votes from the InterMat staff — to propel him to the top of the balloting for the 2019-20 season. The only other college wrestling coach to get any first-place votes was Chris Ayres, head coach of the Princeton University mat program. Two InterMat writers voted Ayres as their choice for the nation’s top collegiate coach, for a total of 39 points, placing him second in the rankings for this season. …. story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/23466?mc_cid=5dfdb1c828&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

St. Cloud State’s Steve Costanzo named NWCA Div. II Coach of the Year
The National Wrestling Coaches Association has selected St. Cloud State University’s Steve Costanzo as the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year Award winner for 2019-20. Presented annually, this honor goes to a coach who has demonstrated outstanding effort in developing and elevating their program on campus and in the community. The coach of the year awards program is presented by Defense Soap, the official Hygiene partner of the NWCA. This award was scheduled to be presented at the NWCA 2020 Jim Koch Division II Hall of Fame Banquet on the eve of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. Unfortunately, the event was canceled along with the Division II Championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Costanzo is in his fourteenth year as head coach and his 2020 squad captured its fourth consecutive NWCA Division II National Duals championship and his teams have won four of the past five NCAA Division II National Titles. The Huskies finished the season with a 16-0, 8-0 NSIC record and claimed its ninth consecutive NSIC championship in 2019-20. SCSU won the NCAA Division II Super Region 5 title in 2019-20 and saw seven Huskies win individual region titles and nine individuals qualify for the 2020 NCAA DII championships – the most of any team in the nation. SCSU broke its own NCAA record this season and currently has won 64 consecutive dual matches dating back to 2017. The Huskies finished the season as the nation’s number one ranked team in the Division II poll and nine SCSU wrestlers were individually ranked in the final NCAA DII poll. …. story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/23497?fbclid=IwAR0DJOTzmTbbc8cyY-soCVmP7xVFzAFWH9G3-XHsH00WmcHfSZ90fwJzC9k

NWCA ANNOUNCES NCAA WOMEN’S NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR WINNER
Manheim, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association has announced the 2020 NCAA Women’s Wrestling Coach of the Year Award winner. The award was given following the conclusion of the inaugural Cliff Keen WCWC National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships hosted by Arian College. The award, which is presented to a coach that has demonstrated outstanding effort throughout the season in developing and elevating their program on campus and in the community, is presented by Defense Soap, the official Hygiene partner of the NWCA. “In continuing our mission, Defense Soap is proud to partner with the NWCA to keep wrestlers on the mat with our products and education in hygiene.” Guy Sako, Founder, and CEO of Defense Soap
The recipient of this year’s NCAA Women’s National Coach of the Year is Sam Schmitz of McKendree University. Coach Schmitz has served as the head coach since the announcement of the program in 2013.  …. story at http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwca-announces-ncaa-womens-national-coach-of-the-year-winner/

NWCA ANNOUNCES NAIA WOMEN’S NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Manheim, PA – On Thursday, the National Wrestling Coaches Association announced the NAIA Women’s National Coach of the Year Award winner.  This award was scheduled to be presented on the eve of the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Championships at the University of Jamestown. Unfortunately, the championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presented annually, this honor goes to a coach who has demonstrated outstanding effort in developing and elevating their program on campus and in the community. The coach of the year awards program is presented by Defense Soap, the official Hygiene partner of the NWCA. he recipient of this year’s NAIA Women’s National Coach of the Year is Lee Miracle of Campbellsville University.  Coach Miracle is in his seventh year as head coach and his squad took home a Runners-up trophy from the NWCA National Dual Championships while capturing their second WCWA National Championship. …. story at https://portal.nwcaonline.com/articles/NWCA_News/NWCA-ANNOUNCES-NAIA-WOMEN-S-NATIONAL-2-4-2020

Zeke Jones Named Pac-12 Coach of the Year
SAN FRANCISCO – As announced by the Pac-12 Conference on Thursday, Arizona State wrestling head coach Zeke Jones has been named Pac-12 Coach of the Year.  Jones becomes the first ASU wrestling head coach to win the conference award three times since Thom Ortiz did so in 2003, 2005 and 2006. The sixth-year head coach was also selected for the Pac-12 honor in 2017 and 2018 after winning the Pac-12 Championship in back-to-back seasons.  The Sun Devils made their run at the program’s 21st all-time conference championship and 19th in the Pac-10/12 era in early March at Stanford. With a well-rounded team performance, ASU posted its highest conference tournament point total (141.5) since 1993, with the help of five weight classes taking home a title. ASU recorded an incredible 15-2 dual meet record this season with seven top-25 wins and four top-15 wins. It was the largest win total for an ASU wrestling team since 1989-90. …. story at https://thesundevils.com/news/2020/3/26/wrestling-zeke-jones-named-pac-12-coach-of-the-year.aspx?mc_cid=97441c20ca&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Foley Named NEWA Assistant Coach of the Year
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Dylan Foley, assistant wrestling coach at the Coast Guard Academy, has been named the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Assistant Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Foley is in just his second year as the assistant wrestling coach at the Academy under head coach Kevin Bratland, who is in his sixth season. “Dylan has made a tremendous impact in raising the level of Coast Guard wrestling,” said Bratland. ” It is exciting to see his efforts rewarded.” Coast Guard finished the season ranked seventh nationally.  …. story at https://uscgasports.com/sports/wrest/2019-20/releases/20200327jvp1jg?mc_cid=5dfdb1c828&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 7, 2020 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Cancellation – 3rd Reports

Ohio State wrestlers Kollin Moore, Luke Pletcher moving on to next challenge
They believe with all their hearts that they would be NCAA champions right now, their collegiate wrestling careers capped off with hands raised in glory. Instead, as with so many other athletes in this coronavirus-stricken world, Kollin Moore and Luke Pletcher’s dreams were stopped without the resolution they wanted — or any resolution at all. The Ohio State senior wrestlers were seeded No. 1 in their weight classes for the NCAA championships scheduled for Minneapolis two weeks ago. With a 27-0 record, Moore was a strong favorite in the 191-pound division. “I was wrestling the best I’ve ever been wrestling up to that point,” he said. “I feel like I was the mentally toughest I’ve ever been. I was just really calm and very prepared for nationals. “I’m very confident that me and Pletcher and (third-seeded redshirt freshman Sammy) Sasso would have won. The whole team, I just think we were ready to make a splash at nationals.” At 141 pounds, Pletcher had lost only once, and he avenged that dual-meet loss to Penn State’s Nick Lee by beating him in the Big Ten finals. “Going into the (NCAA) tournament, I was as confident as I could have been,” he said. “There was no doubt in my mind that that Saturday night my hand was going to get raised.” Instead, Moore and Pletcher have to cope with the knowledge that their dreams of a national title are over. The NCAA Division I Council granted spring-sport athletes an extra year of eligibility but did not extend that to winter-sport athletes. The pain of not being able to compete for a national title is particularly acute for Moore and Pletcher because they had come up short in their previous NCAAs. Moore, a native of Burbank, Ohio, was runner-up in 2019 and fourth a year earlier. Pletcher, who’s from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, finished fourth each of the past two years. Ohio State coach Tom Ryan used the word “devastation” to describe his emotions about his seniors being denied their final chance. …. story at https://www.buckeyextra.com/sports/20200403/ohio-state-wrestlers-kollin-moore-luke-pletcher-moving-on-to-next-challenge

Tecumseh graduates Marten, Pelham reflect on qualifying for wrestling nationals
Thursday was supposed to be a dream come true for Tecumseh graduates and current Central Michigan University wrestlers Drew Marten and Landon Pelham. Both had qualified for the NCAA Division I national championships in Minneapolis for the first time, but instead of competing U.S. Bank Stadium, their seasons are over. “It’s a dream to go to nationals,” Pelham said. “I had gone a few teams to watch and I told myself I was done buying a ticket to this thing. It’s like a wasted year.” The Tecumseh graduates and MHSAA state champions punched their tickets to nationals at the Mid-American Conference championships back on March 8. Marten qualified by getting hot late in the season after dropping to the 133 pound weight class after starting at 141. He entered the MAC tournament with a 17-12 record and dropped an 9-3 decision to top-ranked and eventual champion Tim Rooney of Kent State. …. story at https://www.lenconnect.com/sports/20200320/tecumseh-graduates-marten-pelham-reflect-on-qualifying-for-wrestling-nationals?mc_cid=db245e6947&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

NCAA Wrestling Championships: A look at what would have happened with no coronavirus
This is the weekend all wrestling fans would have been glued to what was happening at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. However, the NCAA has canceled all its tournaments through the spring because of the coronavirus pandemic. We are left to wonder what might have been when it comes to who would have been crowned a national champion.  Would New Jersey, which had four national champions last year in Rutgers’ Nick Suriano (133 and Bergen Catholic)) and Anthony Ashnault (149 and South Plainfield), Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis (165, Bound Brook) and Penn State’s Anthony Cassar (heavyweight and Montgomery), have had another banner year?
College wrestling:  Canceled NCAA Tournament hits Rutgers coach Scott Goodale hard
New Jersey had three top three seeds in Northwestern’s Sebastian Rivera (No. 1 at 133 and Christian Brothers Academy); Princeton’s Pat Glory (No. 2 at 125 and Delbarton) and Stanford’s Shane Griffith (No. 3 at 165 and Bergen Catholic). There were others among the 33 wrestlers with New Jersey ties who would have had a chance to win either a national championship. The most notable among them was Princeton’s three-time All-American Matthew Kolodzik (No. 6 seed at 149 and Blair Academy). …. story at https://www.app.com/story/sports/college/rutgers/2020/03/20/ncaa-wrestling-championships-look-what-would-have-happened-no-coronavirus/2876703001/?mc_cid=db245e6947&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Instead of wrestling at nationals, former Becahi wrestler Mikey Labriola home and in desperate need of a jump rope
Mikey Labriola was home less than a week, when he pleaded with his mother, Barbara, to buy him a jump rope so he could work out in the garage. Labriola’s mother, a nurse, still leaves their Easton home to go to work while he waits to return to the University of Nebraska wrestling room to learn from the setbacks he endured during his sophomore season. “There are lessons to learn from every loss,” the Bethlehem Catholic graduate said. “I had a decent amount of losses, so I’ve got a lot of lessons to learn.” Labriola, an All-American last season as a redshirt freshman, was 20-10 in 2019-20 and prepared to make amends for the setbacks as the 10th seed at 174 pounds for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. But like every other national qualifier, Labriola never got the chance after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the NCAA event that was set for this weekend in Minneapolis. …. story at https://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/wrestling/mc-spt-mikey-labriola-nebraska-wrestling-20200320-kzoxqvb5b5bydgrwxvisrm7f6e-story.html?mc_cid=db245e6947&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Havre’s Parker Filius ready to ‘gain some ground’ after canceled trip to NCAA Championships
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue’s Parker Filius, the former Havre High four-time state wrestling champion, was excited for the opportunity to compete in his first NCAA Championships — college wrestling’s biggest stage. But following the cancellation of the tournament, Filius is already at work for next season. The redshirt sophomore saw one of the greatest turnarounds from the year before, flipping a 9-20 campaign as a freshman in 2018-19 to a 19-10 record this winter, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 141-pound division. Filius was set to compete in the pigtail match — a wrestle-in contest where the winner advances to the first round, while the loser drops to the consolation bracket. …. story at https://www.montanasports.com/college-sports/ncaa/havres-parker-filius-ready-to-gain-some-ground-after-canceled-trip-to-ncaa-championships?mc_cid=64d98db446&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Bad script: Until pandemic hit, Lex grad looked like NCAA champ
MANSFIELD – Someday, if he has a future in the theatrical world of professional wrestling, Drew Kasper will look back on the global health crisis of 2020 as the first time he didn’t have a say on whether he won or lost.  He can blame a lousy script. Kasper, a 2015 Lexington High School grad, was 30-0 and the No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the country for Otterbein University when the NCAA Division III Wrestling Nationals were canceled one day before he was to embark on what likely would have been a historic weekend in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The odds strongly favored Kasper becoming the first national champion in wrestling in school history and the first in any sport at Otterbein since pole vaulter Chris Swanson in 2005. The achievement also would have mirrored the way his high school career ended. “If I could have just wrestled one more week and shown everyone … I could have gone my whole life saying I was an NCAA champ and a state champ,” Kasper said. “It’s just a shame it didn’t end the way we wanted to or go out on our own terms. …. story at https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/sports/2020/03/21/coronavirus-covid-19-sports-ncaa-wrestling-otterbien-drew-kasper/2882399001/?mc_cid=64d98db446&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Missing the NCAAs? Jason Bryant’s preview guide is available as a de facto tourney program and yearbook
For the past six NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, longtime wrestling writer and broadcaster Jason Bryant has produced a digital preview guide for the wrestling fans and media. Despite there the 2020 NCAA Division I Championship being canceled, Bryant continued to produce the 217-page guide, which now serves as a de facto tournament program and yearbook. Included annually are the individual results of all 330 wrestlers, dual meet polls and standings, comparative media rankings and historical breakout stats published only in Bryant’s guide. Mike Couzens, ESPN’s lead broadcaster for the last several Division I Championships, is one of many media members who use the guide for their live coverage and prep work. “Jason’s guide is the most comprehensive source of information I’ve ever used on any sport – period.” Bryant has made his guide available for fans who still crave the history and information about the 330 athletes. Some of the other exclusive content within is a historical capsule on each Division I program, the home state of every Division I All-American dating back to the start of the NCAA wrestling tournament as well as breakouts from the 2020 qualifiers. …. story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/March/20/2020-Guide-available-for-home-reading?mc_cid=db245e6947&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

N.J. native was NCAA Wrestling Championship’s Cinderella story who didn’t get a chance to dance
By Bill Evans | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
In some ways, Antonio Mininno was the biggest long shot of the 330 wrestlers to qualify for the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The Drexel University sophomore took a 14-34 career record – including 6-12 this year – into the EIWA Tournament at Lehigh two weeks ago, where he was the No. 14 seed in a 16-man bracket at 125 pounds. Mininno stunned third-seeded and nationally-ranked Michael Colaiocco of Penn with a pin in the opening round, then after an overtime loss in the quarterfinal that would have punched his ticket to nationals, rallied to win two of his next three matches and clinch the seventh and final automatic qualification spot for this week’s championships in Minneapolis. …. story at https://www.nj.com/sports/2020/03/nj-native-was-ncaa-wrestling-championships-cinderella-story-who-didnt-get-a-chance-to-dance.html?mc_cid=db245e6947&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Popolizio: ‘At Some Point a Life Lesson Will Be Learned’

Fresh off a perfect 15-0 dual meet season and a second straight ACC tournament championship, the NC State wrestling team was poised to bring home even more honors — along with a national title or two — from the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis this weekend. But the Wolfpack never got the chance to put the anticipated exclamation point at the end of its season. Despite having gone unbeaten on the mat, coach Pat Popolizio and his team were left with the ultimate feeling defeat when the national tournament, along with all other NCAA championship events, was canceled because of the ongoing coronavirus crisis. “This sport teaches you a lot about life and then when you have to deal with these kind of situations, it’s like taking a really bad loss,” Popolizio said on his #PackMentality — Pop-Ins Podcast on GoPack.com “Your guys compete, you take a loss and it hurts, it burns. Everybody’s been through it at some point in their career and this one’s probably the worst one yet because it was out of your control.” The third-ranked Wolfpack was heading into the national meet on a high after winning the ACC crown , then learning last Wednesday that four of its wrestlers had received top-10 seeds for Minneapolis. …. story at https://www.si.com/college/ncstate/sports/popolizio-addresses-wrestling-cancellation?mc_cid=db245e6947&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 7, 2020 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment