Takedown Report

College News # 89

CJ LaFragola enjoyed, however briefly, being a rare 3-sport college athlete
CJ LaFragola sat on the bench in the top of the ninth inning. There was no guarantee he would make his collegiate baseball debut in the 0-0 game March 6 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. But Sacred Heart University coach Nick Restaino called LaFragola’s No. 11 to pinch run after Stephen Thibault walked. The 22-year-old from Little Egg Harbor Township persisted through several pickoff attempts, stole second base and then scored for a 1-0 Pioneers win over Ball State. Almost a year ago to the day, LaFragola wasn’t digging into the dirt looking to make a break for second base. He wasn’t even at Sacred Heart. LaFragola was rolling around the mat at Brown University preparing for his third and final appearance in the NCAA Division I wrestling championships. Last fall, the 2015 St. Joseph High School graduate wasn’t taking batting practice during fall baseball sessions. He donned a Pioneers football helmet and participated in thud contact practices in preparation for the season. …. story at https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/cj-lafragola-enjoyed-however-briefly-being-a-rare–sport/article_b7076d61-e9fb-5a3a-a13e-1d619126d1d9.html?mc_cid=1270ffe756&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

WolfPack Wrestling Sweeps ACC Season Honors
Hidlay brothers named Wrestler and Freshman of the Year, Popolizo top coach
RALEIGH, N.C. – Led by a historic first by brothers Hayden and Trent Hidlay, ACC champion NC State has swept the league’s season honors for the 2019-20 season.  Hayden Hidlay (157 pounds) was selected the ACC Wrestler of the Year in a vote by the league’s head coaches, while younger brother Trent (184) earned ACC Freshman of the Year honors. In addition, the Wolfpack’s Pat Popolizio was chosen by his peers as the ACC Coach of the Year.  Hayden and Trent Hidlay are the first pair of brothers to claim both ACC major season wrestling awards (in the same year or otherwise). It marks the 10th time that an NC State student-athlete has been voted the ACC Wrestler of the Year and the fourth time a Wolfpack wrestler has been named the ACC Freshman of the Year. Three NC State coaches have earned ACC Coach of the Year honors a total of nine times.  …. story at https://gopack.com/news/2020/3/31/-packwrestle-sweeps-acc-wrestling-season-honors.aspx?mc_cid=1f2298c90d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Southeastern University Wrestling Battles Through Peaks and Valleys during Historic Season
The 2019-20 Southeastern University wrestling started and finished with the program’s best rankings at those two points, but there’s much more to the story than that. In Brandon Jorge‘s first season as the head coach, the Fire recorded their highest preseason, in-season, and postseason NAIA rankings, the first top-ranked wrestler, most national qualifiers, and most dual meet victories in program history. Again, there’s much more to the story than that. Southeastern entered its annual Fire Duals tournament ranked seventh nationally and sporting a 6-0 record, and played host to three of the Top 20 programs in the NAIA. The Fire scored just 21 points in the three matches, and lost two-time All-American and top-ranked Ethan Owen for the season. The Fire dropped out of the Top 10, and easily could have folded up camp for the season, but the team bounced back with an excellent showing in the second half of the season.  “I am most proud of how hard this team worked towards our goals,” said Jorge of his maiden voyage as head coach. “Even through all the ups and downs of the season, through all the injuries, and through all the big wins we had – we stayed focused and worked hard. “We broke a number of program records this year, but most importantly we had our highest ever team GPA in the fall semester.” In the tournament following the Fire Duals, Southeastern went 4-0 at the Cascade Duals in Arizona, which featured a pair of Top 15 victories and was highlighted by Dylan Chatterton’s convincing win over then-No. 1 Casey Dobson of Providence (Mont.). …. story at https://fire.seu.edu/news/2020/3/31/wrestling-battles-through-peaks-and-valleys-during-historic-season.aspx?mc_cid=1f2298c90d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Penn State Keeping Busy
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Going from weeks of carefully-crafted practices to self-isolation in an eerily empty State College, Vincenzo Joseph faced the largest match-up of his career – quarantine. The 165-pound senior was weeks away from his last NCAA Championships appearance where he planned on making his third trip to the top of the podium. Joseph, who clinched two NCAA titles and a runner-up finish last year, had one last shot before he’d pursue a post-graduate wrestling career with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. But as the tournament neared, Joseph worried his biggest obstacle wouldn’t just be the top-notch competition, but instead, a pandemic rapidly spreading through the nation.  It felt like every day the wrestlers would gradually hear more rumors about possible delays, postponements and cancellations of the season. Coaches pushed for consistency in practices. Athletes continued with their training routines. But Joseph had his own reservations. “I was walking to practice the day that they canceled the tournament,” …. story at https://gopsusports.com/news/2020/3/30/wrestling-keeping-busy.aspx?mc_cid=864912e0e4&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Rutgers’ Alvarez reflects on 1st collegiate season in interview
After a regular season that saw him compile a 26-10 record, true freshman 133-pounder Sammy Alvarez was able to claim the 10th seed at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships before the event was canceled due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).  Alvarez was already having a successful season. Wrestling at the Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC), Alvarez earned sixth place in his weight class at the Big Ten Championships.  During the regular season, Alvarez was crowned the Southern Scuffle champion. He defeated No. 4 Micky Phillippi from Pittsburg and No. 9 Cam Sykora from North Dakota State. Additionally, Alvarez claimed victory against eight ranked opponents. Alvarez recalls important lessons learned and experiences gained from his first year on the Rutgers wrestling team. 
Q: Besides the season ending early, what did you think about your first year at Rutgers? 
A: I thought it was a big growing period. I learned a lot on the mat as well as off. It was a good year. It was important to my development as a wrestler and it will definitely carry into the next season.
Q: What was the significance for you to stay home and wrestle instead of going to North Carolina State? 
A: Staying home and wrestling for your home state is definitely a big factor. It’s a huge difference, rather than being eight hours away and in a totally different conference. It’s a different scale. I think it’s more important to me to stay home and wrestle in front of the people I’ve wrestled in front of my entire life. 
Q: Did you feel like you had big shoes to fill with the departure of Anthony Ashnault and Nick Surino redshirting? 
A: It was definitely more of an expectation that we set as a team and a program. It wasn’t just about me, it’s always more than one guy … I think it was definitely exciting, and it was definitely something that was always in the back of our minds, that we’re capable of putting Rutgers on the map and competing at a high level. …. rest of story & interview at https://www.dailytargum.com/article/2020/04/rutgers-wrestling-sammy-alvarez-reflects-feature-2020?mc_cid=3d6cefac15&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Drury University wrestling head coach featured on the Panthers Podcast
On this week’s Drury Panthers Podcast, we visit with wrestling head coach James Reynolds.  The Panthers had two wrestlers set to compete at the NCAA-II championship tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but the event was canceled the day before it was scheduled to start. Coach Reynolds talks with us about dealing with the cancellation, the accomplishments of Peter Kuster and Jared Rennick in getting through a tough SuperRegional bracket to qualify for nationals, and why he’s excited about next season.  We also start our Senior Day recognition.  On this week’s show – we’ll acknowledge seniors …. story at https://drurypanthers.com/news/2020/4/4/general-du-wrestling-head-coach-featured-on-the-panthers-podcast.aspx?mc_cid=3d6cefac15&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

FOR BARONE, LESSONS LEARNED AS ILLINI WILL CARRY OVER
By Matt Daniels, The News-Gazette
mdaniels@news-gazette.com
Read on News-Gazette.com
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Jim Heffernan described Eric Barone in a pretty apt way. “If there’s something to do,” the Illinois wrestling coach said of his fifth-year senior, “he’s not going to procrastinate.” Case in point: Barone’s future job prospects. The Crystal Lake native earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting last May from Illinois. By August, he had a job lined up at Deloitte, where he will work in the financial company’s tax division. Even with one season of eligibility remaining to wrestle with the Illini before the start of the 2019-2020 season. “My parents were definitely happy that I had a job before starting my last year of school,” Barone said with a laugh of the job he’s planning on starting in July. “It was a relief, too.” Barone has extra time on his hands, now, to prep for his entry into the business world after his final season wrestling at Illinois was cut short. Barone was one of three seniors at Illinois, along with Travis Piotrowski and Joey Gunther, who had qualified for the NCAA Championships before the event in Minneapolis – scheduled for last week – was canceled on March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic. …. story at https://fightingillini.com/news/2020/3/23/illinois-wrestling-and-academics-prepared-barone-for-future.aspx?mc_cid=a94878ac8d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 10, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized