Takedown Report

More College Coaches’ Changes

RUDIS Wrestling Podcast #139: Campbell Wrestling Head Coach Scotti Sentes
On this special edition of the RUDIS Wrestling Podcast, Matt Dernlan is joined by new Campbell wrestling head coach Scotti Sentes. Sentes, a two-time NCAA All-American for Central Michigan University, served as head assistant coach at Cal Poly before spending five seasons at Campbell under then head coach Cary Kolat. Together, they brought the Campbell program back from the ashes, transforming the SoCon team into a regional powerhouse. Dernlan and Sentes discuss the transition from head assistant to head coach, how Sentes has been leading his team virtually and what the future looks like for the Camels. …. story at https://therudis.com/rudis-wrestling-podcast-139-campbell-wrestling-head-coach-scotti-sentes/?mc_cid=c504aeb86a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

PLETCHER JOINS WRESTLING STAFF AS VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT
PITTSBURGH – University of Pittsburgh head wrestling coach Keith Gavin announced the addition of two-time All-American Luke Pletcher to the staff as the volunteer assistant coach.
 “We couldn’t be more excited about Luke joining our staff,” Gavin said. “He is obviously a very skilled and accomplished wrestler, but on top of that, I have always respected him for his approach to the sport, the way he competes and his character. Luke is from Western Pennsylvania and is a great overall fit for us. He will have an immediate impact here.”
 Pletcher will join the staff following his graduation from the Ohio State University this spring.  
“I’m really excited to join the team and start working with the guys,” Pletcher said. “Getting a chance to come back home to chase my Olympic dreams and help the guys on the team attain their goals was something that I couldn’t pass up.”  
A native of Latrobe, Pa., Pletcher spent four seasons as a Buckeye, reaching All-American status in 2018 and 2019 and was a four-time NCAA qualifier. The 141-pounder earned his first Big Ten title this season after reaching the finals as a sophomore and junior.
 Pletcher was hoping to earn All-America status one last time this season, as he would’ve been the No. 1 seed at 141 pounds at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. He finished his senior campaign with a 26-1 record and leaves Ohio State with a 108-21 career record. …. rest of story at https://pittsburghpanthers.com/news/2020/4/8/pletcher-joins-wrestling-staff-as-volunteer-assistant.aspx?mc_cid=8b4f87fbcb&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Catching Up With Head Wrestling Coach Cary Kolat
Navy host Breanna Sorensen interviews Coach Kolat on his reaction to becoming Navy wrestling’s new head coach, his own wrestling journey, and more!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nZRayb7E0A
Story or release at https://navysports.com/news/2020/4/7/catching-up-with-head-wrestling-coach-cary-kolat.aspx?mc_cid=9b0303e966&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Four Time All-American and Olympian Frank Molinaro Set to Join ASU Wrestling Staff
TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State head wrestling coach Zeke Jones announced the addition of former four-time All-American and 2016 Olympian Frank Molinaro to the coaching staff on Thursday. 
 “Frank Molinaro is an outstanding addition to our staff and will now leave his mark by adding to the history and tradition of Sun Devil Wrestling,” Head coach Zeke Jones said. “As an NCAA, Pan Am, and World Cup Champion, and one who also represented his country on the 2016 US Olympic team – he has competed at the highest level and will share those experiences. He also has a considerable track record as an assistant coach. We look forward to watching him guide our team.”
 Most recently, Molinaro trained with Oklahoma RTC to prepare for a chance at making it back on Team USA’s roster for the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo before the Olympic Committee announced postponement of the games to 2021. Now, he hangs up his wrestling shoes and will make his way back into coaching with the Sun Devils after previously working as an assistant coach with Virginia Tech in 2017-2018. 
 “I am excited to work with Zeke (Jones) and coach (Lee) Pritts,” Coach Frank Molinaro said. “They have a ton of experience and they have a great pedigree of success. I’m joining a staff with two really good coaches and also the opportunity to be able to win an NCAA Championship. Arizona State’s trajectory has gone up every single year and I feel like I can bring a lot of enthusiasm, energy, experience, and a positive impact as soon as possible to this team.” 
 During his time in Blacksburg, he played a key role in the development of four individual ACC champions while also helping guide the Hokies to their second consecutive ACC title …. story at https://thesundevils.com/news/2020/4/9/four-time-all-american-and-olympian-frank-molinaro-set-to-join-asu-wrestling-staff.aspx?mc_cid=e9d5e5bec8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

‘Daddy day care’: IU wrestling head coach learns to handle life away from sports
Angel Escobedo has a new job now. One that doesn’t require countless hours in a wrestling room dripping in sweat. Instead, he coordinates a small but daunting program he dubbed “Daddy day care.” The IU wrestling season is over. The schools are closed, and the YMCA’s are deserted. That means the head coach is home with his kids: Malachi, 4, Saniyah, 3, and Zoe, 1.  He picks up assignments from pre-school. He colors pictures of the Little Mermaid. He helps them learn to count. Malachi is up to 30 and Saniyah has reached 15. They’ve been revisiting the ABC’s.  He’s played a lot of Bad Guy. Malachi and Saniyah dress up in their new Power Ranger costumes and Escobedo, 33, and his kids go tearing around the house as he pretends to take away their superpowers. Malachi and Saniyah finally catch their enemy and send him to jail — a corner in the house. 
He is a four-time All-American, three-time Big Ten champion and NCAA national champion. When he is in jail, his kids beat him up.  His wife Pauli, who’s swamped with work at home, yells at the misfits to calm down. Sometimes Escobedo thinks being at home is more exhausting than running a collegiate program. Nothing has been broken yet. But there’s still time. On the night of March 23 in the Escobedo household, the coach couldn’t hold back anymore. Malachi climbed onto Escobedo’s lap and caught him staring at his screen watching wrestling. …. story at https://www.idsnews.com/article/2020/03/daddy-day-care-iu-wrestling-head-coach-learns-to-handle-life-away-from-sports-power-rangers-angel-escobedo?mc_cid=1270ffe756&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 14, 2020 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

High SchoolOT Honors

Fans, coaches, athletes, and athletic pundits, your input is requested.

April 14, 2020 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

College Wrestling News — # 90

Moving Forward
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In all six years of his collegiate wrestling career, Shakur Rasheed never thought it would end like this.  The 197-pound senior battled injury after injury, fluctuated his weights to meet the team’s needs and surmounted every conceivable obstacle thrown his way. And as the NCAA Championships loomed ahead, Rasheed buckled down for his final career performance.  Stepping into a starting position previously occupied by Kent State transfer Kyle Conel, Rasheed always felt like he had something to prove. His eyes were dead-set on the March tournaments and little could shift his focus – that is until an unprecedented pandemic swept through the nation. “We went from preparing for the biggest tournament of the year to going home and doing pretty much nothing,” Rasheed said. “There’s not much to do because everything’s shut down. I am able to go to the field and work out, but it’s hard to find motivation without a tournament to look forward to. You just have to do it for yourself.” Luckily, six years of constantly overcoming adversity have prepared Rasheed, both mentally and physically. He’s been taking time to relax with family but finds himself missing the structure and discipline he had during the season. To stay motivated, Rasheed plans on continuing his rigorous workout regimen. …. story at https://gopsusports.com/news/2020/4/6/wrestling-moving-forward.aspx?mc_cid=91538a90c1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Pat Lugo reflects on 2019-20 wrestling season, Hawkeye career
Pat Lugo did not get the storybook finish to his career that he had hoped for, but he won’t let that define his character or his career.
After a long day of practice, a short walk is all that stands between Pat Lugo and the comforts of his apartment. On March 12, the short stroll from Carver-Hawkeye Arena proved to be agonizing. At practice, Lugo had learned that the NCAA was forced to cancel its 2020 Division I Wrestling Championships as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to grow. The senior’s season and career were both taken away from him. “To be honest, I didn’t really feel it until I left Carver,” Lugo said. “I remember walking back to my apartment from Carver. It’s usually a quick walk, like a five-minute walk. I would stop and think. I felt a lot of emotions there. A couple tears were shed. I felt a little down. I wanted to be alone after that.” Lugo is a Homestead, Florida, native, and wrestled for two seasons at Edinboro in Pennsylvania before becoming a Hawkeye. As a senior, he rose to the top of the 149 pound weight class and was the top seed at that weight going into the NCAA Championships. Coming off of a Big Ten title March 8 in Piscataway, New Jersey, Lugo had all the momentum with him going into the biggest meet of the season.  He didn’t get to carry that momentum out. “I told [Lugo] point blank, with very much emphasis placed on it, what he means to our team, what he continues to mean to our team, and how big a part he was in all this,” head coach Tom Brands said. “I told that to all our seniors, even the ones that weren’t in the lineup. I told [Lugo] that very directly and didn’t beat around the bush. I told him that two or three days after the NCAA canceled. Then, I told him two or three days later that he’s not going to get another year left, count on it.” The NCAA decided to give its spring sport athletes an extra year of eligibility March 30. It did not extend the same offer to winter sport athletes like Lugo. …. story at https://dailyiowan.com/2020/04/06/pat-lugo-reflects-on-2019-20-wrestling-season-hawkeye-career/?mc_cid=91538a90c1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Video Q & A with Scott Goodale and Anthony Ashnault
All is quiet on the NCAA wrestling front because of the restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis. Rutgers wrestling came to a premature halt before six Scarlet Knights could try their luck at the 2020 NCAA Championships. On Friday, Rutgers wrestling head coach Scott Goodale and reigning NCAA champion at 149-pounds Anthony Ashnault jumped online to host a LIVE chat, which allowed fans to ask questions. The chat was a presentation of Malka Sports and the complete video is available. Goodale has been running the Rutgers wrestling program since 2007 and strung together another Top 25 finish this past season. Ashnault finished off his Rutgers career in 2019 by dominating the NCAA final at 149 pounds in what was an undefeated season. “First and foremost, I just want to thank everybody for jumping on or even if you are just listening. I know this is a very, very tough time with the virus going around and this pandemic,” Goodale said to start the chat. “…Hopefully, this hour gets you away from it for a little bit and you can talk wrestling and anything else you would like to ask us. So we’re here for you.” Goodale is the winningest coach in the history of Rutgers wrestling as he now has 173 victories to his credit. Last year, he earned the honor of Goodale NCAA Tournament Coach of the Year after seeing two of his wrestlers win national championships. Goodale was unable to return to the NCAA Championships as they were canceled on March 12th, less than two weeks before they were set to commence. Rutgers finished this past season with a 10-7 record in what was a bit of a rebuilding year. …. story at https://247sports.com/college/rutgers/Article/WATCH-Video-Rutgers-Wrestling-Scott-Goodale-Anthony-Ashnault-145714183/?mc_cid=3d6cefac15&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

30 and No: Drew Kasper’s Admirable Journey
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Undefeated Drew Kasper (30-0) never got his final chance to win a national title, but he’s been told no before. He battles depression. He was cut from a travel wrestling team. He’s overcome a learning disability and will soon graduate college. He never got to take the elevated center mat on NCAA Championship Saturday night, but hopes his story can help the next kid accomplish that.. and so much more. FULL STORY AT https://otterbeincardinals.com/news/2020/4/6/wrestling-30-and-no-drew-kaspers-admirable-journey.aspx?mc_cid=91538a90c1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

A Quarantine Marathon: Mizzou Wrestling’s Allan Hart Inspires Fans Everywhere With Impromptu Marathon
Without any formal training, Mizzou’s Hart completed the 26.2-mile trek Monday. After placing second at 133 pounds at last month’s Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships, Mizzou redshirt sophomore Allan Hart earned his first-ever berth to the NCAA Championships. Unfortunately, that was taken away from him and Mizzou’s other eight qualifiers as the COVID-19 pandemic brought sports at all levels to a standstill. So, during a time of social distancing and quarantining, athletes around the country are trying to fill the void left by their daily competitions. Hart, in a very on-brand venture, found a pretty incredible way to continue to challenge himself during social distancing: without any formal or informal training, he was going to take a crack at running his first-ever marathon. “You always see people driving around town with the 26.2 stickers, and in my head I’m like ‘if all of these people can do it, it can’t be that hard’ and honestly I just wanted to challenge myself,” Hart said.
Sunday @alllan_hart decided he wanted to run a marathon. Today he went out and did it!!!  #Tigerstyle @MizzouWrestling pic.twitter.com/AmxFx9xW44— Brian Smith (@mutigerstyle) April 7, 2020
So like that, Hart turned in his wrestling shoes for a pair of worn-down Nikes and messaged the team’s GroupMe Sunday night to let them know he was going to run a marathon Monday. To the ordinary person, running a marathon without any training or any cardio since the end of the wrestling season may seem crazy, to the wrestling program that preaches an expectation of winning, the entire team was completely behind him. “I put it in the GroupMe and everyone started to get hyped up, I was like: I guess I gotta to do it now!” Hart said. So Monday afternoon, with nothing but a belly full of ramen, oatmeal and other carbs, Hart left from his house and ran three miles to Columbia’s Cosmo-Bethel Park with Rodrigo Diaz and Wyatt Koelling – his roomates and teammates – on bikes behind him. “There was very little thought in the route, actually,” Hart said. “We pretty much just pulled up a running app that tracked the miles and just kinda went.” After running a few laps – okay, a lot of laps – on the track at the park, he headed back to his home and in about two hours, he had completed the first 13 miles. He was halfway done. “I cruised through that,” Hart said. “I was feeling good, had a little fuel break and got some Gatorade and granola bars and then after that was when it really started to hurt.” …. story at https://mutigers.com/news/2020/4/9/a-quarantine-marathon-mizzou-wrestlings-allan-hart-inspires-fans-everywhere-with-impromptu-marathon.aspx?mc_cid=e9d5e5bec8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Cole Erickson ponders life beyond wrestling
By Matt Levins for The Predicament
CEDAR RAPIDS — Cole Erickson was supposed to be wrestling for a national championship this weekend, completing his senior season on the mat for Coe College at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at the U.S. Cellular Center. Instead, the Mediapolis High School graduate was sitting in his apartment, trying to wrap his head around all that had transpired in the past 24 hours after the NCAA canceled all of its winter and spring championships because of the coronavirus outbreak. And it left Erickson to ponder what the future holds, both short term and long term after his wrestling career came to an abrupt halt. “(Thursday) was interesting, to say the least. I am still shell-shocked as to how everything played out,” Erickson said. “You feel like the carpet has been pulled out from underneath you, but there’s nothing you can do about it.” Erickson, along with every other qualifier for the tournament, was at the arena on Thursday afternoon awaiting weigh-ins. Two hours later, the tournament was canceled, leaving hundreds of wrestlers, coaches and fans wondering what to do next. “The whole thing is really weird,” Erickson said. “The weirdest part is the DIII’s is that everyone was already here. Everyone was in the arena before they made the decision. We had to be here by two o’clock for weigh-ins and then around four o’clock they canceled it.” Erickson did go out on a winning note, beating Rafael Roman of North Central, 12-0, in the 157-pound third-place match at the Lower Midwest Regional in Dubuque on March 1. But it wasn’t the way Erickson wanted to end his wrestling career. …. story at https://www.thepredicament.com/2020/04/cole-erickson-ponders-life-beyond-wrestling/?mc_cid=8b4f87fbcb&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

R.I.P. Former Edinboro All-American Shaun Shapert
EDINBORO, Pa. – It is with great sadness that the Edinboro University Athletic Department sends its condolences to the family of Shaun Shapert. A former wrestler at Edinboro, Shapert’s body was found on a hillside in Shaler Township, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh, on Monday night.  He had turned 42 on January 1. Shapert was originally a native of Glenshaw, Pa. and attended Shaler Area High School. He would join the Edinboro wrestling program in 1997 along with twin brother Ryan. Shaun would go on to post a 60-28 career record and was a two-time national qualifier, in 1999 and 2000, while competing at 157 lbs. The highlight of his career came in the 1999-2000 season, as he finished third at the EWL Championships at 157 lbs. to earn a berth in the NCAA Division I National Championships. He went on to earn All-American honors with a seventh-place finish, upsetting third-seeded Bryan Snyder of Nebraska along the way. …. story at https://gofightingscots.com/news/2020/4/7/wrestling-r-i-p-former-edinboro-all-american-shaun-shapert.aspx?mc_cid=9b0303e966&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

For Maryland wrestling and Youssif Hemida, new uniforms mean more than style
It all started with a tweet. On Feb. 16, Team USA wrestler Pat Downey III quote-tweeted a video posted nearly a month prior from Maryland wrestling. That original tweet, from Jan. 20, showed a video about the program’s switch to “Fight Kits,” a newly-allowed uniform style with tight-fitting t-shirts and loose-fitting shorts. Downey, a 2016 All-American with Iowa State at 184 pounds and a member of the 2019 US Senior World Championships team, summed up his response in the first two sentences of his tweet: “This is an awful focal point. Usually winning precedes becoming the trailblazer for anything.” A day later, former Maryland wrestler Youssif Hemida responded. A two-time All-American while in College Park, Hemida opted for a more positive outlook on the Terps’ new digs. “I know a lot of people have their views on the two-piece,” Hemida said. “Anything new, anything out of the status quo is always going to get hated on, whatever it is. My idea was that let’s make the sport be more modern and appeal to more people.” …. story at http://dbknews.com/2020/04/07/maryland-wrestling-youssif-hemida-new-uniforms-more-than-style/?mc_cid=9b0303e966&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 14, 2020 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment