Takedown Report

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