Takedown Report

Women’s Wrestling News – # 33

Key coaches and leaders begin plans to launch a Community College Women’s Wrestling Nationals for 2021
BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING | APRIL 09, 2020
A group of women’s college wrestling coaches and administrators from two-year universities held a historic meeting with members of the USA Wrestling staff on Wednesday, Feb. 26, to begin planning to launch a Community College Women’s Wrestling National Championships in 2021. With the rapid growth of women’s college wrestling, as well as the development of specific national tournaments for NCAA and NAIA women’s programs, these leaders have agreed to organize a women’s national championships in freestyle wrestling for community college teams and athletes next year. They asked USA Wrestling to organize a conference call to being work on this project.
The plan which was developed in the meeting is to finalize a date and location for this first national competition, tentatively targeted for February 2021. Teams and individual athletes from any community college will be invited to participate, regardless of what national or regional sports organization oversees their school’s sports program.
Those teams invited will include community college programs affiliated with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA), the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) and others, as well as wrestling-related college organizations including the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA). In addition to organized teams, community college women student-athletes who wrestle on a men’s college team or club will also be invited to participate and challenge themselves against other community college women wrestlers. …. story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/April/09/Plans-set-for-Community-College-womens-nationals-in-2021?mc_cid=e9d5e5bec8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

HOW-TO TAKE DOWN QUARANTINE
RESOURCES & SUGGESTIONS FOR TACKLING SOCIAL DISTANCING
Due to COVID-19, the world as we know it came to a crashing halt. NCAA’s? Cancelled. Olympic Trials? Cancelled. The Olympic Games? postponed until 2021. In a world filled with fear and uncertainty, how can you keep getting better at your craft? With no wrestling events on the horizon, this time right now is incredibly valuable. While social distancing may seem boring, it is a window of opportunity to get in better shape, learn new skills, recover, and even watch film. No matter how unlikely it seems at the current moment, life will go back to normal eventually. That being said, you can be bitter about the current circumstances, or you can use them to your advantage.  …. story and many good ideas at https://www.wreaperwrestling.com/how-to-take-down-quarantine-resources-and-suggestions-for-tackling-social-distancing/?mc_cid=1270ffe756&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Another step forward: Community College National Championships planned for 2021
It’s not news that the landscape of women’s wrestling is actively changing.
The NAIA and NCAA are moving toward championship status and, as a result, the WCWA—historically home to nearly all collegiate women’s wrestling programs across organizations—faces drastic reductions in membership. Only 26 programs renewed memberships for the 2019-20 season, and the future and purpose of the organization is in question.
But as the NAIA and NCAA picked up the sport under their organizational umbrellas, the questions turned into: What about programs at community colleges? Who builds their structure? Do they wrestle folksytle or freestyle?
USA Wrestling’s announcement on Thursday (Key coaches and leaders begin plans to launch a Community College Women’s Wrestling Nationals for 2021) answered some of those questions and provided even more to think about. In short, a group of coaches and administrators met late February to discuss plans for a Community College Women’s Nationals. It would be the first time an exclusive championship event for two-year programs has been established, and it’s tentatively scheduled for February 2021. “Teams and individual athletes from any community college will be invited to participate, regardless of what national or regional sports organization oversees their school’s sports program” (Abbott, 2020).
The effort is huge for community colleges and women’s wrestling at large. …. story at https://www.transitionwrestling.com/another-step-forward-community-college-national-championships-planned-for-2021/?mc_cid=ddb6bdf133&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Sarah Hildebrandt’s five “must-read” books
Five “must-read” books by Sarah Hildebrandt.
1) The Name of The Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss
I’m fairly certain it is illegal to not include this book as part of my book recommendations. It goes far beyond being a great fantasy novel. The world, the storytelling, the characters, every aspect is a wonder. To top it all off, Rothfuss writes so exquisitely. You’ll find yourself rereading pages multiple times just to feel those words hit again. You’ll think, “Dang, I didn’t even know you could make the English language do that!” The story is exciting and will leave you conjuring up your own personal theories for what will happen next. A book that I think has changed the Fantasy genre forever, in the best way possible. Believe the hype. Read this book.
2) The New Toughness Training for Sports, by James E. Loehr
This is an older book, but what it teaches is timeless and beneficial. Reading a sports psychology book is a great way to stay involved with your training when you might not be able to physically train. Loehr dives into tons of different avenues throughout the book, adequately covering each one. I read this book late into my career and still learned so much. It is also filled with exercises and progress trackers that allow you to not just think, but also understand, and design a plan to get you where you want to be. U.S. women’s coach Terry Steiner first recommended this book to me, …. story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1586845533520&twSessionId=rtszqjjvtg&postId=779419135&mc_cid=2380a36a7a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Abby Nette becomes second Lady Tiger in three years to earn Patricia Miranda Medal award
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — The Open Mat announced on Tuesday the third annual winner of the Patricia Miranda Medal is Abby Nette of Campbellsville University. Nette is the second Lady Tiger to earn the award as Kayla Miracle did so in 2018.
Through the final two years of her collegiate career, Abby had only one loss on her record and collected a pair of WCWA National Championships. The first came in 2019 with Emmanuel College, while the most recent was with Campbellsville. In her four years of collegiate competition, Abby finished as an All-American three times. She was previously third as a sophomore in 2018. 
“I feel like this was a goal coming into this year and I’m glad I achieved this goal,” stated Nette when asked about winning the Miranda Medal. “I thought about it at the beginning of the year and I thought about it last year, and I wanted to make it happen this year, for sure.” 
“It makes me feel really special. In high school, I wasn’t sure I was going to wrestle in college. So, where I am now, receiving this award, it’s special. It’s a pleasure. I’m excited for the future generations who will get to compete for this award, so it’s pretty exciting and being one of the first three to receive it”. Abby also calls the previous two winners of the award, Miracle and Parrish, her “two best friends.” She admits that she “looks up to both of them,” which makes the honor all the better.
The Patricia Miranda Medal aims to honor one outstanding athlete from women’s college wrestling who embodies the spirit of the pioneers that came before them. A panel of voters that includes each of the past four-time WCWA champions, Helen Maroulis, Victoria Anthony, Emily Webster, and Kayla Miracle, along with 2019 winner Dominique Parrish, in addition to representation from the media selected a winner based on four criteria: record, dominance, past credentials, and additional accomplishments.
Abby went 15-0 as a senior, …. story at https://campbellsvilletigers.com/news/2020/4/14/womens-wrestling-abby-nette-becomes-second-lady-tiger-in-three-years-to-earn-patricia-miranda-medal-award-winner.aspx?mc_cid=48a895b9a1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Tamyra Mensah-Stock named 2019 USA Wrestling Women’s Wrestler of the Year
BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING | APRIL 16, 2020
Tamyra Mensah-Stock celebrates after winning her 2019 World title.
Tamyra Mensah-Stock (Colorado Springs, Colo./Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC) was named 2019 Women’s Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling. It is the second time in her career winning this prestigious award, to go along with the 2017 award. Mensah-Stock won the 2019 Senior World Championships at 68 kg in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan in September, her first World title and second consecutive World medal after winning a World bronze medal in 2018. She was one of three U.S. women to win World gold medals in 2019. Mensah-Stock finished the entire 2019 year undefeated. Mensah-Stock was also named United World Wrestling’s Women’s Wrestler of the Year in 2019, based upon her results in UWW Ranking Series competitions.
At the Senior World Championships, Mensah-Stock defeated World champion and Olympic medalist Jenny Fransson of Sweden in the finals, 8-2. She won five matches in the event, all in dominant fashion, including a 10-1 victory over 2016 Olympic champion Sara Dosho of Japan in the quarterfinals. Overall, Mensah-Stock won gold medals in five other international events, and also went undefeated in the 2019 Women’s World Cup in November in Narita, Japan. …. story athttps://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/April/16/Mensah-Stock-named-2019-Womens-Athlete-of-the-Year?mc_cid=c40241fd14&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Women’s Wrestling to Join Mid-South Conference
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Indiana Tech women’s wrestling program will have a conference home in its inaugural season for the 2020-21 academic year as the university was officially announced as an affiliate member of the Mid-South Conference Wednesday.  
The Mid-South Conference is one of three conferences (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and Sooner Athletic Conference) in the NAIA to sponsor the sport of women’s wrestling. The MSC was the first conference in the NAIA to sponsor the sport after adding women’s wrestling in 2017. Tech will join fellow first-year program Lourdes University as the newest members of the conference and join Brewton-Parker College, Campbellsville University, Life University and the University of the Cumberlands.  
Campbellsville finished the 2019-20 season ranked first in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 20 Poll and a nation-leading 13 women qualify for the 2020 NAIA National Invitational prior to the event being canceled due to COVID-19. The Tigers also won the 2020 Women’s College Wrestling Association (WCWA) National Championship back in February and swept the Mid-South Conference regular season and tournament titles this season. “We are super excited to join one of the elite conferences in women’s wrestling,” head women’s wrestling coach Paul Rademacher said. “We will get to test our athletes on a regular basis to make sure they are ready for the NAIA National …. story at https://indianatechwarriors.com/news/2020/4/15/womens-wrestling-to-join-mid-south-conference.aspx?mc_cid=eb28f2fdb6&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Girls Wrestling in Pennsylvania to grow
…. story at https://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/wrestling/mc-spt-sanctionpa-girls-wrestling-20200415-j5m7ujfzzrfh3gswptpeczbmei-story.html?mc_cid=eb28f2fdb6&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 22, 2020 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Eastern N.C. High School — # 12

Wilmington area athletes will still get their night in the spotlight, with celebrity athletes helping
The show must go on, and the StarNews still plans to honor the best high school athletes in Southeastern North Carolina amid the coronavirus pandemic. The StarNews is, however, changing its annual Best of StarNewsVarsity Preps Awards Show from a physical event to a star-studded online awards show on June 18 that will be available at no charge. The festivities will begin at 6 p.m., and the show will feature more than 20 professional athletes as hosts and award announcers.
This show will provide the community with an on-demand broadcast to maintain the annual tradition of honoring hundreds of student-athletes for their hard work and dedication in their sport during the past school year. “This is such an incredible event each year for high school athletes,” said Pam Sander, Gannett Southeast Regional and StarNews Executive Editor. “We’d all like to be there in person — celebrating those who had their seasons and those who didn’t get the chance. We’re thrilled the StarNews could change gears and get these kids honored in a safe way.” The event will be hosted by television sports anchors Jesse Palmer and Sage Steele. Celebrities athletes will be participating in the awards presentation. Confirmed award presenters include New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, seven-time tennis major winner Venus Williams, and Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps, Gabby Douglas and Misty May-Treanor. More celebrity athletes will be announced in the coming weeks. The awards show will be available to watch on any smart device through YouTube and the event website, bestofstarnewsvarsity.com, thanks to the continued support of area business leaders, like partners Carolina Sports Medicine, NHRMC Wilmington Marathon and Victory Awards and Trophies. The show will also feature opportunities to win autographed gifts and other prizes both before the debut and during the show. Students who register online by May 10 on the event website will receive updates and be included in any gift mailings. … rest of story and web site links at https://www.starnewsonline.com/sports/20200419/starnewsvarsity-banquet-moving-to-online-awards-show

All-Area Wrestling: Aragao, Samuel reach the mountaintop
Laney and North Brunswick standouts use perfect seasons to share all-area honors
Laney’s Mark Samuel and North Brunswick’s Bryan Aragao took different paths, but their respective wrestling journeys finished with similar results: an undefeated season and an individual state championship. “There’s honestly no way to describe it. All the hard work you put in, it’s for those five seconds after wining the state championship. It was just awesome,” Aragao said. The duo will share one more honor. Samuel and Aragao are the StarNews All-Area co-Wrestlers of the Year. Samuel started his wrestling career when he was still in elementary school, perfecting his craft with the Port City Pirates club team before arriving at Laney last year. He immediately dominated the local scene, but fell short of his ultimate goals with a fifth-place finish competing in the 106-pound weight class at the NCHSAA 4A State Championships. “It motivated me a lot to do better this year,” Samuel said. “I was pretty confident I had what it took to win it. Coming in, I had already beaten the top-eight guys, so I just had to stay consistent.” Samuel did just that at this year’s state finals, winning his first two matches with pins before a 6-0 victory in the semifinals. In the championship, the Laney sophomore got ahead early and finished off a 7-2 victory over Hough’s Brandt Fajerman to finish the season 55-0. “The nerves just went away, and I wrestled like I could,” Samuel said. “As soon as I won, it hit me, and it was really cool.” While Samuel can hardly remember a time in his life he wasn’t wrestling, Aragao didn’t get started in the sport till his freshman year. North Brunswick head coach Tom York had to recruit Aragao to join the team. …. rest of story and full line-up at https://www.starnewsonline.com/sports/20200326/all-area-wrestling-aragao-samuel-reach-mountaintop

PHOTOS: All-Area Wrestling
Portraits and Action photos of wrestlers in Southeastern North Carolina by Wilmington Star News at … https://www.starnewsonline.com/photogallery/NC/20200326/PHOTOGALLERY/326009997/PH/1

Three local wrestlers win state titles
Laney’s Mark Samuel and Marcus Mondragon, and North Brunswick’s Bryan Arago all won championships Saturday.
GREENSBORO — Three local wrestlers reached the mountaintop Saturday inside the Greensboro Coliseum. Laney’s Mark Samuel (4A 106), Laney’s Marcus Mondragon (4A 138) and North Brunswick’s Bryan Aragao (3A 182) all won individual state titles. They were the only three local wrestlers to reach the championship round. Mondragon was the first local wrestler to compete in the finals, and he came flying out of the gates with a pair of takedowns and led 6-1 after the first period. Mondragon wrestled smartly over the final four points, matching his opponent and finishing with a major decision victory of 10-4. Aragao was up next, and after a quiet first period, Aragao jumped ahead with four-straight points in the second period. With his opponent looking to make up the ground in the final period, Aragao got a reversal to seal the victory at 6-2 and the championship. Samuel was the final local wrestler in the final round, and he won his championship match 7-2. Samuel earned points in all three periods and didn’t give up anything more than one take down in a convincing win that gave Laney its second championship of the night. Three local wrestlers finished in third place Saturday. West Brunswick’s Christian Zickefoose (106 3A), Laney’s Conner Johnson (132 4A) and Laney’s Devon Bell (170 4A) all earned a bronze medal. … story at https://www.starnewsonline.com/sports/20200222/three-local-wrestlers-win-state-titles

2020 All-Coastal 8 1-A/2-A Conference winter list
The Coastal 8 1-A/2-A Conference recently released its all-conference winter list. All-conference and player and coach of the year awards are either voted by the league’s coaches or determined by the conference’s championship events.
WRESTLING
Wrestler of Year: Andrew Edens, Dixon, and Jacob Caldwell, Croatan
Coach of Year: Maury Vanderpool, Southwest
Croatan: Jacob Caldwell (106), Drake Egan (145), Ryan Lindsay (195)
Dixon: Logan Pugh (113), Dallas Senay (120), Keagan Bolman (126), Ethan Millis (138), Tyler Proffitt (170), Andrew Edens (182)
Trask: Rogan Heath (132)
Southwest: Ezekiel Jones (152), Jason Rodriguez (160)
Pender: Da’Jon Smith (220)
East Carteret: Ezekiel Jayne (285) …. story at https://www.jdnews.com/sports/20200325/2020-all-coastal-8-1-a2-a-conference-winter-list

2020 All-Coastal 3-A Conference winter list
The Coastal 3-A Conference recently released its all-conference winter list for the 2019-2020 season. All-conference and player and coach of the year awards are either voted by the league’s coaches or determined by the conference’s championship events.
WRESTLING
Wrestler of Year: River Carroll, Swansboro
Coach of Year: Kevin Smith, West Carteret
Havelock: Brooke Hermen (106), Cody Rutherford (120), Nate Lucio (132), Xavier McCullough (145), Jamie Duffy (152), Tate Cringan (195), Derek Waiau (220), Isaiah Verspoor (285)
White Oak: Michael Delacruz (106), Jacob Timberlake (120), DeJon Fifer (138), Marcellous Owens (152), Sam Ellison (182)
Swansboro: Isaac Gawronski (113), River Carroll (160)
West Carteret: Ariana Wolkerstorfer (113) Jacob Bennett (126), Christian Mezzaroba (132), Austin Thompson (138), Jaiden Rittenhouse (145), Clayton Wilson (160), Hiroki Cruz (170), Josh Henderson (182), Jake Reynolds (195)
Northside: Josh Myers (126)|
Jacksonville: Razel Rainey (170), Xavier Tabb (285) … story and lists at https://www.jdnews.com/sports/20200325/2020-all-coastal-3-a-conference-winter-list

April 22, 2020 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

College Wrestlers (#92)

The Silver Lining: Wrestling injuries helped lead Moricone to physical therapy career
Few wrestlers had a more up-and-down collegiate career than former Pinkerton standout Phil Moricone. The two-time New England champion, who was 50-0 as a senior in 2005 and 178-8 for his career with the Astros, became a three-year starter at Edinboro (Penn.) University. This was at a time when the Fighting Scots were a Division 1 powerhouse. During a six-year span, while Edinboro was EWL champs five times and enjoyed a 74-24-2 record, Moricone was a league champion twice, twice qualified for the NCAA tournament and compiled a fine 81-31 record at 174 pounds while wrestling some of the best competition in the country. Those were great times that Moricone can look back at with pride. But the other side of it was that he was often injured and underwent shoulder and neck surgery, both of which cost him near full seasons of competition and resulted in the NCAA granting him a rare sixth year of eligibility. …. story at https://www.eagletribune.com/sports/the-silver-lining-wrestling-injuries-helped-lead-moricone-to-physical-therapy-career/article_3775ba2c-7c45-11ea-807d-ab1aa6e31cae.html?mc_cid=ddb6bdf133&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Latrobe’s Luke Pletcher presses forward after NCAA title dreams evaporate
Luke Pletcher is a two-time All-American wrestler at Ohio State and a legitimate Olympic hopeful. He has to wrap up only two more online classes before he graduates, and he has a coaching job — a volunteer assistant position at Pitt — lined up once he does. Yet at the moment, he’s sleeping in his childhood bed in Latrobe. Given the stay-at-home restrictions in place in Ohio and Pennsylvania because of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s not like Pletcher can hang out with his teammates in Columbus or go look for an apartment in Oakland. For now, he’s stuck in neutral, just like everyone else. “It’s not terrible,” Pletcher said. “You’re 23, and you want to do whatever you want, but with what’s going on, you’ve got to be safe.” It’s an unusual ending to what was shaping up to be a perfect season for the three-time PIAA champ. After finishing fourth at NCAAs the previous two seasons, Pletcher took a new aggressive attitude into his senior year. He went 26-1. He had 16 bonus-point wins after recording 15 as a sophomore and junior combined. “It’s something I’ve been told for six, maybe seven years, to not be as conservative,” Pletcher said. “It’s hard to flip that switch because you care so much about the outcome, but until you can forget about the outcome and just wrestle as hard as possible, you’re not going to be able to flip from being conservative to more of an open style.” The only hurdle that appeared to standing between Pletcher and a national title was Penn State junior Nick Lee. …. story at https://triblive.com/sports/latrobes-luke-pletcher-presses-forward-after-ncaa-title-dreams-evaporate/?mc_cid=ddb6bdf133&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Wrestling sophomore DePrez “I feel like I was in a good spot to win it all”
No. 4 seed was poised for run in Minneapolis
Lou DePrez of the Binghamton University wrestling team was poised for a deep run at NCAA Championships before the season abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The 184-pound redshirt sophomore standout had already garnered a No. 4 seed and had notable wins over a majority of the top ten wrestlers in the country.
DePrez shared his thoughts on the last six weeks.
Prior to the end of the season, talk about the rigor of the competition you faced at Cliff Keen, Southern Scuffle, and select duals. Tell us how that prepared you to win an EIWA Championship and how you felt going into Minneapolis.
Coach did a great job getting us a tough schedule this year. We really got out of the EIWA and competed against the best guys in the country. I know at Cliff Keen I had all the top eight guys in the country at my weight, even our dual season had three top ten teams in it. Although wrestling a tough schedule is a grind, being able to wrestle the top competition is always a positive, win or lose. It allows you to see what you need to improve on as well as giving you an idea on where you are compared to the rest of the field. Going into the postseason I felt that I could beat everyone.
As one of the top wrestlers in your weight class in the country, take us through the events of COVID-19 and what you were feeling as those transpired.
To complete the majority of the season and not finish the most important part was kind of devastating, the only reason you wrestle the season is to get ready for nationals. I felt like I put in all the hard work and I did everything right to get me to a good spot in the tournament. To have it taken away is heartbreaking. …. story at https://bubearcats.com/news/2020/4/13/wrestling-sophomore-deprez-i-feel-like-i-was-in-a-good-spot-to-win-it-all.aspx?mc_cid=2380a36a7a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Alumni Spotlight: Eleazar DeLuca Inspires Next Generation of Wrestlers
2018 NCAA qualifier produced electric moments during time “On the Banks”
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The 2017-18 Rutgers wrestling season was filled with plenty of memorable moments, as the Scarlet Knights hosted Big Ten bluebloods Iowa, Ohio State and Penn State at the Rutgers Athletic Center that winter. Six qualifiers made their way to nationals that year, with Nick Suriano becoming the program’s first NCAA finalist with his appearance against Spencer Lee for the 125-pound title. But the loudest the RAC erupted two seasons ago came courtesy of Eleazar DeLuca, who muscled a comeback for the ages during RU’s dual with the No. 2 Buckeyes on Jan. 7, 2018 in front of 5,109 fans. All 10 of OSU’s starters were within the Top 15 of their respective weight classes, including DeLuca’s opponent Ke-Shawn Hayes, who was No. 5 at 149 pounds with a 17-1 record. Hayes – a two-time national qualifier and bronze medalist at the Big Ten Championships that season …. story at https://scarletknights.com/news/2020/4/14/wrestling-alumni-spotlight-eleazar-deluca-inspires-next-generation-of-wrestlers.aspx?mc_cid=48a895b9a1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Anthony Cassar’s journey through hardship inspires those around him
The moment Cael Sanderson randomly assigned three-time NCAA Champion Bo Nickal and NCAA Champion Anthony Cassar to room together freshman year, Nickal knew Cassar was going to make history. But, according to Nickal, the challenge was getting the Penn State program to see that too. After redshirting his freshman season and experiencing a shoulder injury that cost him the following two seasons, Cassar’s role within Sanderson’s team was questionable. “Nobody knows what he went through behind the scenes, I’m telling you this dude didn’t mess up one diet or miss one rehab session when he was hurt,” Nickal told The Daily Collegian. “People didn’t know why he would win, they don’t know the times he ate chicken with no salt, made vegetable juices for an hour in the kitchen or how he has taken 60 different pills for his supplements. “They just saw him get his hand raised at the end of the match.” That being said, after years of competing together, living together and forming a bond beyond the spotlight, Nickal — and now Penn State coaches, fans and teammates — knows what Cassar is capable of despite the adversity he’s faced. …. story at https://www.collegian.psu.edu/sports/wrestling/article_bf90edcc-7f7f-11ea-aee6-4f44085dd044.html?mc_cid=c40241fd14&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Nebraska-Kearney wrestlers become delivery drivers to support community, Hot Meals USA
By TYLER ELLYSON UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Classic rock played on the stereo as Matt Malcom and Anthony Mancini cruised the streets of Kearney, looking for the next address on their list. Cartons of milk and takeout containers loaded with roasted pork, potatoes and green beans filled the backseat of the Jeep Compass, which served as their delivery vehicle on Tuesday. “This is my favorite part – getting out of the car,” Mancini joked as they pulled up to a small house in the heart of the city. The University of Nebraska at Kearney wrestler – wearing a large brace on his left knee and holding a crutch under one arm – is recovering from an ACL reconstruction surgery he underwent last week. But that wasn’t going to stop him from helping people in need. “In the grand scheme of things, a torn ACL really isn’t that bad,” said Mancini, a graduate student studying higher education student affairs. “There are people who have lost their sources of income and elderly people who can’t go out because of the risk. Yeah, it’s not the most convenient thing for me, but it’s nothing compared to what a lot of these people are facing.” Like several other members of the UNK wrestling team, Mancini and Malcom are volunteering their time to assist Hot Meals USA, a Kearney-based nonprofit that provides food to people impacted by disasters. The organization recently mobilized in response to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has forced businesses and schools to close and altered everyday life for many Nebraskans. Supported by donations, Hot Meals USA provides free meals 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. …. story at http://unknews.unk.edu/2020/03/25/unk-wrestlers-become-delivery-drivers-to-support-community-hot-meals-usa/?mc_cid=0750227b4f&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Former Virginia wrestler makes up for missed marathon by creating his own
By BENNETT CONLIN bconlin@dailyprogress.com
Jim Harshaw’s first marathon won’t come in front of a big crowd. He won’t receive swag from a marathon event. Harshaw’s marathon isn’t officially sanctioned, but it still counts just the same. A former three-time ACC wrestling champion and a 1999 UVa alumnus, Harshaw planned to run the Pittsburgh Marathon this May with his neighbor Jeff Schwalm, a former Bridgewater College basketball player and current teacher in the Albermarle school district. Instead, COVID-19 caused the cancellation of the event. Rather than giving up midway through their training — they had logged a training run of 17 miles before the cancellation — they opted to create their own course staring near their homes in Forest Lakes and ending in downtown Charlottesville. “We’ve gotten this far,” Harshaw said. “Let’s keep this thing going.” Race day has arrived. Their journey begins at 7 a.m. Saturday and they plan on ending at roughly 10:30 a.m. “We’re in it for the challenge as much as anything,” Harshaw said. “It’s as much of a challenge, maybe more of a challenge, doing it on your own without the big crowds and the festive atmosphere.” Running 26.2 miles consecutively challenges even the fittest runners. It’s a long distance that takes the average runner hours to complete, and the race is both a mental and physical test. Luckily for Harshaw, who was an assistant wrestling coach at UVa for a few years and now works as a speaker and performance coach, he and Schwalm have a friend tagging along on a bike at a safe distance to provide both emotional and physical support when needed. They’ll use their mutual friend to act as a hydration station without the typical fueling stations at official marathon events. …. story at https://www.dailyprogress.com/sports/former-virginia-wrestler-makes-up-for-missed-marathon-by-creating-his-own/article_28e48166-7c11-5185-b154-b104211211ae.html?mc_cid=87a316c4d5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 22, 2020 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment