Davidson Coach Lausier Announces the Incoming Class of 2024
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Head wrestling coach Andy Lausier officially announced the nine-man Class of 2024 Monday.
“This class is a tremendous addition to Davidson wrestling. These scholar-athletes will make an immediate impact by adding impressive talent and needed depth to our roster,” said Lausier. “In addition, they are all a great fit for the culture of Davidson wrestling and they share this team’s aggressive vision and ambition.”
Sam Congleton | 125 | Woodbridge, Va.
Congleton was a High School All-American and Virginia 6A State finalist his senior year at Woodbridge Senior High School. He was a two-time Virginia State placer in his career.
Gavin Damasco | 141 | Commack, N.Y.
Damasco had no trouble in his league, earning four straight championships at Commack High School. He placed as high as fourth at New York State’s and sixth at Eastern State’s, both in his senior season. Damasco won 199 career bouts and travels to Davidson’s wrestling room after a 49-5 year.
Garrett Stewart | 141/149 | Sparta, N.J.
Stewart heads south from New Jersey after a stellar career at Sparta High School. A three-time NJ state qualifier, Stewart finished in the top-12 in the state and was a Reno Worlds All-American. He won three district titles and was a NJ Freestyle State runner-up. Both his career wins (147) and single-season victories (42) are Sparta High records.
Dan Yetsick | 149/157 | Ambridge, Pa.
Yetsick saw his hand raised a record 125 times at Ambridge Area High School, breaking the previous record by seven. He was a two-time Outstanding Wrestler Award recipient and helped lead his team to a Southwest Regional title.
Bryce Sanderlin | 157 | Chesapeake, Va.
Sanderlin was a staple in the final day of the Virginia State Championship, twice earning State Champ laurels (2018, 2020) and was a two-time runner-up (2017, 2019). He won a school record 158 bouts to just 15 losses over his career at Landstown High School. Sanderlin comes to Davidson on the heels of a 43-1 senior campaign that included ending on a high note as Virginia State Champion.
Jaden Hardrick | 165 | Dayton, Ohio
Hardrick was a two-time state qualifier in Ohio, representing Wayne High School. He placed three times as a member of the Ohio Freestyle and Greco National Team. Hardrick earned All-Ohio Academic Team recognition his final two years and was also named to the All-Area first team. He finished strong at Wayne, going 40-6 his final campaign for a career mark of 100-25. Hardrick leaves with the school record fastest technical fall of 1:06.
Anthony Spera | 165/174 | Budd Lake, N.J.
Spera, a product of Mount Olive High School, is the second member of the Class of 2024 from the Garden State. A two-time NJAC All-Conference grappler, Spera finished his final season 35-6 and 88-27 overall. He also helped lead his team to a 2020 NJSIAA State Sectional title. …. rest of story and list at https://davidsonwildcats.com/news/2020/4/27/wrestling-coach-lausier-announces-the-incoming-class-of-2024.aspx?mc_cid=9b182d31f3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Podcast Interview with Pat Popolizio
HMA Interview #35: Pat Popolizio
After Mason Beckman’s hit article on the success of the NC State Wolfpack, he brought the man responsible for it all on the show. Coach Popolizio went in deep detail on how he took to the program to where it is now.
Listen on iTunes, Spotify, Anchor, and many more platforms! …. Listen in on the podcast at http://www.hmawrestling.com/podcast/hma-interview-35-pat-popolizio/?mc_cid=78e39ca524&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Eastern N.C. Coaches
Asking for wrestling coaches, wrestlers, parents and fans to contact us to send us information contact information for the head coaches at C.B. Aycock, Fike, Laney, North Brunswick, Pamlico County and Swansboro. With the schools being closed it makes it harder to find them. Look forward to hearing from you with the names and e-mails. Send it to martinkfleming@gmail.com
Women’s Wrestling News – # 34
TDR Editor’s Notes ;
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Player Spotlight: Abby Nette’s lone season at CU is one for the record books
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The Mid-South Conference Wrestler of the Year and 2020 Patricia Miranda Medal Award winner wore Campbellsville University maroon and gray and her name is Abby Nette. The senior from St. Rose, La. was in her first and only season as a Lady Tiger wrestler going unbeaten at 20-0 with WCWA and MSC Championships at 130 lbs., helping CU earn the team titles at each event. Not only was Nette undefeated, she was dominant in her 20 wins, earning 17 wins either by pin or tech fall. She mainly competed in the 130 weight class with only one win coming from the 136 lbs. weight class. Nette was the third Lady Tiger to win MSC Wrestler of the Year and the second to earn the Patricia Miranda Medal Award as Kayla Miracle previously accomplished both in 2017-18 …. story at https://campbellsvilletigers.com/news/2020/4/22/womens-wrestling-player-spotlight-abby-nettes-lone-season-at-cu-is-one-for-the-record-books.aspx?mc_cid=547ad9bd30&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
South Dakota H.S.A.A. approves adding girls’ wrestling
Next year will likely see the start of SDHSAA-sanctioned girls’ wrestling in South Dakota schools. The first reading approving the new sport was taken Tuesday by the South Dakota High School Activities Association’s board of directors. Meeting via teleconference, the board acted on the first reading of a variety of recommendations for changes to the SDHSAA Athletics Handbook that came out of the annual meeting of the state’s athletic directors. In the case of girls’ wrestling, the board agreed to follow a pattern established in Missouri that provides four weight classes for girls’ wrestling at the state tournament. The sport would be integrated into schools based on the interest shown in each school district. The vote by athletic directors was 91-10 in favor of adding girls’ wrestling. Last year, without a separate girls’ division, nearly 40 females competed in SDHSAA-sanctioned wrestling meets. About another 100 girls competed in club-only events. …. complete story at https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/sdhsaa-approves-adding-girls-wrestling/article_5911f2d0-8841-5b77-ab6b-9c9d99787133.html?mc_cid=17ded1ad3b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
A SENIOR SEASON CUT SHORT: RACHEL’S WATTERS STORY
The 2019- 2020 season started out as a weird season for me, little did I know that it would end just as bizarre. In my 2018- 2019 season I only wrestled at the NAIA national championships for the Oklahoma City Stars. I had knee surgery in November of 2019 immediately following the U23 World Championships. The idea was that I would be able to compete in the majority of the post-season for OCU. Sadly, my surgery was much more intense than we thought. I had to have part of my kneecap removed and replaced with calcium. This pushed back my recovery and I ended up missing every tournament that year except for the NAIA National Championships. I fell short that tournament and I was hungry to return to Jamestown in 2020. I continued to compete on the senior level that spring, but to my dismay I wasn’t wrestling at the level I wanted to. After a rough couple of months, I decided to take the summer off from wrestling completely. I hadn’t done this since junior high, but my mind and my body needed it. When the 2019 season started, I was honestly a little scared. I was beginning my senior season with a brand-new coach and I hadn’t wrestled for months. I even remember calling miss y fiancé and asking him, “Do you think I remember how to wrestle? What if I forgot everything?”. He assured me with a chuckle that I would be fine. I was legitimately so scared to get back out on the mat. My senior season started out great. My knee was feeling much better and I was getting my weight management under control. I felt unstoppable. We went to the Missouri Valley Open tournament and I remember having the same fears I did at the start of the season. I just had to wrestle past them. …. story at https://www.wreaperwrestling.com/a-senior-season-cut-short-rachels-watters-story/?mc_cid=8ec233ede0&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Augustana, Aurora and MacMurray are the latest program changes in Illinois
Female wrestling in Illinois has made some loud noises across the wrestling community this year. And, in the last few weeks, the state just gained two more NCAA DIII women’s wrestling programs. Only a five hour drive apart, Aurora University and Augustana College announced the addition of women’s wrestling programs within a week of each other. The programs in Aurora and Rock Island provide more options for student-athletes across the nation. Aurora is among only a handful of collegiate women’s wrestling programs in close proximity to a large metropolitan area. It’s similar to North Central in distance to Downtown Chicago at approximately 45 minutes. Two other programs near metropolitan areas include Augsburg University in Minneapolis, and Life University that’s just a quick 30 minutes from Atlanta. Illinois powerhouse McKendree University won the first-ever NCAA member exclusive national championships this spring, the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships, and the first-year program at North Central had five All-Americans of their own. The state has four opportunities for girls to wrestle in college, but high school girls wrestling is not sanctioned in Illinois. …. story at https://www.transitionwrestling.com/augustana-aurora-and-macmurray-are-the-latest-program-changes-in-illinois/?mc_cid=0abef116e3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Oklahoma S.S.A.A. Board approves to sanction Girls Wrestling in Oklahoma in 2020-21
BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING | APRIL 21, 2020,
The Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA), the state high school association in Oklahoma, voted to officially sanction Girls Wrestling in their state, starting in the 2020-21 school year. The OSSAA posted the following statement on its website today, confirming this decision. “The OSSAA Board of Directors voted at their April 20, 2020 Board Meeting to sanction Girls Wrestling beginning with the 2020-21 school year.” According to an article in the Daily Oklahoman, the vote of the board of directors was unanimous. Oklahoma becomes the 22nd state to officially sanction girls wrestling or approved the path for it to become an official sport. In 2020, Oklahoma hosted a successful exhibition girls event during the boys state high school championships. USA Wrestling has been an active leader in helping develop girls high school wrestling, led by the USA Wrestling Girls High School Development Committee, which is co-chaired by Joan Fulp and Andrea Yamamoto. …. story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/April/21/Oklahoma-adds-official-girls-state-championships?mc_cid=945de33a33&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Vladislav “Izzy” Izboinikov named 2019 USA Wrestling Women’s Coach of the Year
BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING | APRIL 21, 2020,
Vladislav “Izzy” Izboinikov of Colorado Springs, Colo. has been named 2019 Women’s Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling. It is the second time in his career having won this award, along with receiving the award in 2012. Izboinikov has been an active women’s wrestling coach in the USA for close to two decades, both as a top volunteer coach as well as a stint on USA Wrestling’s national staff as an Assistant National Coach. Most recently, Izboinikov was a member of the women’s coaching staff at the 2019 Senior World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The USA placed third in the team standings, led by three individual champions: Jacarra Winchester, Tamyra Mensah-Stock and Adeline Gray. s also a coach for the USA at the 2020 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier in Ottawa, Canada, where the USA qualified all four of its remaining weight classes for the 2020 Olympic Games. As a volunteer coach, Izboinikov regularly helps coach the resident athletes at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He also regularly attends Women’s National Team training camps, both domestic and overseas. He is a women’s coach with the Titan Mercury WC, one of the world’s most successful wrestling clubs. He serves as a personal and club coach for a number of top Senior and age-group women wrestlers. …. story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/April/21/Izzy-named-2019-Womens-Coach-of-the-Year?mc_cid=945de33a33&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
Takedown Report 