Takedown Report

College Wrestlers (#93) Looking Ahead

Nittany Lion Wrestling Check-In with All-American Nick Lee
As of early March unfolded and changed all over the country, Penn State student-athletes found themselves facing uncertainty and transition in their academic and athletic realities. The Penn State wrestling team, winners of eight of  the last NCAA National Championships, were just days away from heading to Minnesota for the 2020 NCAA Championship when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted.  As the entire Penn State family works for ways to stay connected, we can check in with some of head coach Cael Sanderson‘s wrestling team to get some insight into how typical student-athletes reacted, adjusted and began the process of forging ahead in our current circumstance.  Today we check in with two-time All-American Nick Lee.  Lee was 20-1 when the season was ended and now has an 83-12 career record.  Lee earned All-American honors in 2018 and 2019 and was a 2020 NCAA qualifier. Lee took the time to answer some questions from GoPSUsports and offers some good insight into the daily life of a Nittany Lion during this time: …. story at https://gopsusports.com/news/2020/3/31/wrestling-nittany-lion-wrestler-check-in-with-nick-lee.aspx?mc_cid=1f2298c90d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

THE DRIVE FOR NATIONAL SUCCESS RUNS EVEN DEEPER NOW FOR ANDREW DUNN JR. AND COLLIN WICKRAMARATNA
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown University wrestlers Andrew Dunn Jr. (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) and Collin Wickramaratna (Malton, N.J./Cherokee), like many other student-athletes, had something ripped away from them this month. After ‘having a cup of coffee’ upon arriving in South Dakota, the duo received word that the NCAA had cancelled the Division II Championships at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls the weekend of March 13-14.
In a “tough guy” sport where competitors aren’t known to show much emotion or wear their hearts on their sleeves, the scene around the championship event was quite different. The ‘what ifs’ started to set in.  
“There was not much time to let it all set in,” said Dunn Jr. “It didn’t really feel real. It was confusing and annoying in the moment. The goal was flying out there to get a job done and come back a champion. But then you’re kind of left to kick rocks and leave with nothing. After all the work you’ve put in since you were a kid to get to these moments, that particular weekend, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. It was a quick trip to South Dakota, halfway across the country, and back. The whole way back we didn’t talk much about it. I’m understanding of the entire situation with this virus and I know that staying away from one another is the best solution and cancelling events is necessary. But selfishly I wish we could have moved the tournament up to Friday and wrestled all the matches in one day and get it over with. Last year it was a week earlier, and that was also one thing I kept thinking about over and over again.”  
Added Wickramaratna, “I had a long time in the car to think about it since we had a 21-hour car ride back to Kutztown and then a two-hour car ride back to my house. …. story at https://kubears.com/news/2020/3/31/wrestling-the-drive-for-national-success-runs-even-deeper-now-for-andrew-dunn-jr-and-collin-wickramaratna.aspx?mc_cid=1f2298c90d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

JWU Gives Tim Higginson a Second Chance
Five years ago, if you told Tim Higginson he’d be living in the city of Providence — and loving it — he would have laughed right in your face. The New Jersey born-and-bred Higginson never wanted to leave his small farm town, especially not for city life. This was a challenge for Johnson & Wales’ Wrestling coach, Lonnie Morris, who saw promise in Higginson as a high schooler and wanted to recruit him for the team. But Higginson had made his decision to attend a college close to home and pursue a wrestling career there.
“My freshman year in college, I blew out two discs in my spine and I fractured a vertebra, so wrestling was done,” Higginson says. “I just wanted to be done with school. Without wrestling in my life, it was kind of like a hole. I didn’t know what to do with myself.”
Two years later, Higginson was at a crossroads. He was unhappy at his school, his grades were slipping, and he saw himself heading down a bad path. He was close to graduation, but looked into transferring, remembering how Coach Morris had believed in him years before. For him, a transfer to JWU meant a second chance. “It was the best decision I made in my life,” Higginson says.
While he came here primarily to wrestle, Higginson soon found that the academics were much different — and even fun. “It’s such a different atmosphere here. It’s like family,” Higginson explains. “I’ll never forget the things my professors have done for me. Associate Professor Kevin DeJesus has opened so many doors for me and just treated me with pure kindness — and so have all my other professors.”
This family atmosphere has made all the difference for the Criminal Justice major, who came to JWU with a low GPA and has since seen his grades skyrocket. “I can wake up and say, ‘wow, I want to go to class. I want to go learn something,’” he says. “I could sit through a two hour class and not get bored. I will listen to your PowerPoint. Give it to me, I’m ready for it.” So, Higginson prepared for his senior year with anticipation and excitement. He had finally recovered from his slew of injuries and was ready to go out on top. The team arrived at the York tournament ready to win — and then the worst happened. During a tough match, Higginson was dropped straight on his head. He was knocked out for a few seconds and fractured a disc in his neck. For Higginson, it seemed his second chance was gone. …. story at https://www.jwu.edu/news/2020/04/tim-higginson-gets-second-chance.html?fbclid=IwAR2dz_IbKI8xhSopXXbGY33N6lMX39P97D4Qu9OqfUF9rz0RwAdQ5e3NHGM&mc_cid=2b0e4cf56d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Pennsylvania Wrestling Announces Class of 2024 Recruits
PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania head wrestling coach, Roger Reina, has announced #TheMovement’s incoming recruiting class for the 2020-21 season. Fourteen young men will begin their collegiate careers in West Philadelphia this upcoming winter.  
The Quakers wrapped up a shortened 2019-20 campaign having improved their finish at the prestigious EIWA Championships moving up the team standings, while doubling its number of placewinners with six underclassmen taking a spot on the podium. Additionally, three Quakers qualified for the NCAA Championships – all underclassmen – and Reina expects the incoming group of 14 will extend the streak to three years with freshmen qualifying for the NCAA Championships. …. story at https://pennathletics.com/news/2020/4/6/wrestling-announces-class-of-2024-recruits.aspx?mc_cid=8b4f87fbcb&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Wartburg Wrestling to Dual Iowa State in November 2020
WAVERLY, Iowa – The Wartburg wrestling team has scheduled a dual match at Iowa State University next season, set to face the Cyclones on November 6, 2020 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.  Wartburg, ranked tied for second in the final Division III National Wrestling Coaches Association team rankings, will compete against a Division I opponent for the first time since 2011, a 17-16 tiebreaker loss at the University of Wisconsin. 
Iowa State, eight-time NCAA Champions, took second at the Big 12 Championships this season. Wartburg is 0-2 all-time versus ISU, most recently a 23-16 loss in 1996, a season in which the Knights went on to earn their first NCAA National Championship in program history.  The Knights are 12-11-1 all-time against Division I schools, with the most recent victory coming against Portland State in 2001.  Wartburg finished the 2019-20 campaign with a 16-1 overall record while claiming the 12th NWCA National Dual Championship in program history while five Knights were named NWCA All-Americans. …. story at https://go-knights.net/news/2020/4/8/wartburg-wrestling-to-dual-iowa-state-in-november-2020.aspx?mc_cid=8b4f87fbcb&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Virginia Tech Wrestler Mitch Moore Enters The Transfer Portal
Virginia Tech Wrestling received some surprising news today as 141 starter Mitch Moore announced that he will be leaving Virginia Tech and entering the transfer portal. pic.twitter.com/BMgpSMsmzt— Mitch Moore (@m1tchmoore) April 14, 2020
Moore was quite successful in his two seasons competing for the Hokies as he was the 2019 ACC Freshman of the Year and qualified for the 2019 and 2020 NCAA Championships. Moore also finished second in the 2019 ACC Championships, but was unable to compete in this past year’s ACC Championship for medical reasons. He will have two years of eligibility remaining at his next school.
This news is definitely a major surprise as Moore was one of the Hokies’ top wrestlers this past season and even earned All-American honors in our simulation of the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Moore would have been a top contender for the ACC title at 141 this year as well if he would have been able to compete. …. story at https://techlunchpail.com/blog/virginia-tech-wrestler-mitch-moore-enters-transfer-portal?mc_cid=48a895b9a1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Editorial: Roses and Raspberries 
ROSE (roz) n. One of the most beautiful of all flowers, a symbol of fragrance and loveliness. Often given as a sign of appreciation.
RASPBERRY (raz’ber’e) n. A sharp, scornful comment, criticism or rebuke; a derisive, splatting noise, often called the Bronx cheer.
We hereby deliver:
• ROSES to Chris Pendleton, Oregon State University’s new wrestling coach. Pendleton said all the right things while being introduced to Beaver Nation in a conference call, including that he’d stock the program with in-state grapplers.
In recent years, some teen athletes have acted like they could get a point for an escape if they avoided Oregon State. …. story at https://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/editorial-roses-and-raspberries-april-12/article_1d22c085-3b92-5951-a5b7-7ce46c24272e.html?mc_cid=2380a36a7a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Hawkeyes’ Lee waits for his next ‘moment’
This was supposed to be Spencer Lee’s moment. Spots on the United States team for the 2020 Olympics were going to be earned this weekend at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center, and Iowa’s two-time NCAA 125-pound champion envisioned making it all happen in his home state. But just like he was denied the chance last month to become the Hawkeyes’ first three-time NCAA champ since Brent Metcalf when the national tourney was canceled because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the Olympics were postponed and the U.S. Olympic Trials aren’t happening this weekend.

While the 2020 Tokyo Games have been rescheduled for the same dates in 2021 and U.S. Olympic Trials will likely be held in Pennsylvania next April, that doesn’t make it any easier for Lee. “It’s all a little hard to swallow. This was supposed to be a big year for me, in my mind, you know?” Lee said last week after winning the Dan Hodge Trophy as the most dominant wrestler at the collegiate level in the United States. Lee did finish his collegiate season 18-0, win his first Big Ten championship and earned the top seed for the NCAA Championships. However, he was denied the chance to earn a return to the top of the podium in the NCAA finals and then learned that his Olympic hopes were being delayed as well. “I’m kind of in the state where I’m not sure what to do right now,” Lee said. “I’m just kind of going day-to-day on what’s the best thing for me.” Like his peers, Lee has no immediate competition to work toward and even if there was something on the immediate schedule, one-on-one workouts aren’t a possibility …. story at https://qctimes.com/sports/college/wrestling/hawkeyes-lee-waits-for-his-next-moment/article_bf0e1d58-54af-52a0-a225-41b1a99f9a1f.html?mc_cid=3d6cefac15&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

OSU Wrestling: Victor Voinovich Commits to Wrestle for Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State has locked down the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for 2020 and looks to be on pace to have another top class for 2021. …. story at https://pistolsfiringblog.com/osu-wrestling-victor-voinovich-mmits-to-wrestle-for-oklahoma-state/?mc_cid=ddb6bdf133&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Rutgers wrestling: Matt Correnti to enter transfer portal
Rutgers University red-shirt junior 197/heavyweight wrestler Matt Correnti announced Wednesday in an Instagram post he will finish his collegiate career at a different school.  “For my last year of eligibility, I have decided to leave Rutgers and enter the transfer portal,’’ Correnti wrote in his post. A former Holy Cross of Delran scholastic star, Correnti went 12-5 this past season while wrestling at both 197 and heavyweight.  He did not wrestle in the Big Ten Tournament March 7-8 at the Rutgers Athletic Center. He only wrestled in four dual meets. All of those bouts came at heavyweight between Jan. 10-Feb. 23. He went 2-2 in those bouts. His two losses in those bouts both came in overtime. …. story at https://www.app.com/story/sports/college/2020/04/15/rutgers-wrestling-matt-correnti-enter-transfer-portal/5140136002/?mc_cid=eb28f2fdb6&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 23, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized