Takedown Report

College Wrestlers Awards & Honors

Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa wrestlers named All-Americans by NWCA
There were no NCAA Wrestling Championships to decide All-Americans and national champions, but the National Wrestling Coaches Association offered something in the way of recognition last week. The NWCA announced Division I All-American teams for the 2019-20 season. First-, second- and honorable mention teams were selected based off the seeds for the 2020 NCAA Championships, which were canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. “I’m proud of the action that the NWCA Division I Leadership Group in providing direction for honoring the 2020 Division I All-American team,” NWCA executive director Mike Moyer said in a statement.
“It’s important that these athletes’ efforts and successes during the season are recognized. Congratulations to each of this year’s honorees and national qualifiers.” Iowa’s three Division I programs combined 21 total selections, including 14 first-team picks. Of the 21 picks, all but four are expected to return for the 2020-21 season. Iowa led all teams with 10 total selections, including nine on the first-team: Spencer Lee (125), Austin DeSanto (133), Max Murin (141), Pat Lugo (149), Kaleb Young (157), Alex Marinelli (165), Michael Kemerer (174), Jacob Warner (197) and Tony Cassioppi (285). Abe Assad was a second-team pick at 184. Lee, the 2020 Hodge Trophy winner, as well as Lugo and Marinelli were all 1-seeds at the 2020 NCAA Championships. DeSanto, Murin, Young, Kemerer, Warner and Cassioppi were all seeded eighth or better. Assad was the 11-seed. All 10 wrestlers’ names will be added to the wall honoring the program’s All-Americans inside the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex. The Hawkeyes were the favorites to win the national team title after going 13-0 in duals and winning the Big Ten Championships. …. rest of the story at https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sports/college/northern-iowa/uni-panthers/2020/04/20/wrestling-iowa-iowa-state-northern-iowa-wrestlers-named-all-americans-nwca-hawkeyes-cyclones-panther/5163834002/

Recapping App State’s Historic Wrestling Season
BOONE, N.C. — There were no shortages of team and individual accomplishments during a record-breaking wrestling season for App State.
The season ended earlier than scheduled, before the start of the NCAA Championships because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the Mountaineers had a school-record six NCAA qualifiers, including all four NCAA qualifiers who were products of North Carolina high schools.
To conclude a 2019-20 season in which App State led the country with four dual meet shutouts en route to a 9-3 team record and second-place finish in the Southern Conference, four wrestlers won SoCon titles: Cary Miller (heavyweight), Matt Zovistoski (157 pounds), Demazio Samuel (197 pounds) and Jonathan Millner (149 pounds). Thomas Flitz followed an unbeaten SoCon regular season at 174 pounds by earning the league’s second automatic NCAA berth, and Codi Russell received an at-large berth at 133 pounds. “I thought we would be a lot better than most people expected,” said head coach JohnMark Bentley, whose coaching staff this past season included Josh Roosa, Ryan LeBlanc and Randall Diabe. “I think a lot of our competition and a lot of wrestling fans thought this might be a down year because we lost six starters from the 2018-19 team, but we knew we had a lot of good, young guys that were going to be coming into our lineup.
“I think our team and our staff knew we could be very competitive and probably surprise a lot of people.” App State was one of only three Division I teams nationally with at least four conference champions, and it was one of only six teams that had all 10 starters finish the season with a winning record. That hadn’t happened in Boone since the 1983-84 season. …. rest of the story at https://appstatesports.com/news/2020/5/1/-27-wrestling-recapping-app-states-historic-wrestling-season.aspx?fbclid=IwAR17PW_6CZwN7iW6m-UnoY825qtVYiE7sKyEdZLu7Et24Z9ybkNplx8uz0I

Despite NCAA cancellation, 10 N.J. wrestlers 1st-team All-American; 2 are 4-timers
By Bill Evans | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
David McFadden and Matt Kolodzik have become their program’s first four-time Wrestling All-Americans after all.
The National Wrestling Coaches Association announced first- and second-team All-Americans as well as honorable mention late Friday. All-American honors are typically awarded to wrestlers based on their finish at the NCAA Wrestling Championships with the top eight earning spots on the podium and All-American honors. But this year’s event was canceled because of coronavirus precautions. The All-American selections were based on regular season and conference tournament performances. The NCAA Championships were seeded prior to the cancellation, so the seeds were able to guide the All-American selections. “During difficult times there are always people who rise to the occasion and I’m proud of the action that the NWCA Division I Leadership Group in providing direction for honoring the 2020 Division I All-American team,” said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer in a statement. “It’s important that these athletes’ efforts and successes during the season are recognized.” …. rest of story at https://www.nj.com/south/2020/04/despite-ncaa-cancellation-10-nj-wrestlers-1st-team-all-american-2-are-4-timers.html?mc_cid=c43b02d0ed&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Aaron Brooks named 1st-team All-American
Although the wrestling season didn’t end the way he hoped, Hagerstown’s Aaron Brooks still received the honors he deserved. Brooks, a Penn State freshman, was named a Division I First Team All-American in the 184-pound weight class by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Usually All-American status is earned at the NCAA championships, but this year’s national tournament, scheduled for March 19-21 in Minneapolis, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NWCA decided the honors still needed to be awarded, and based them on each wrestler’s overall body of work through the conference tournaments. …. story at https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/sports/aaron-brooks-named-1st-team-ncaa-all-american/article_bf119ff2-81b6-11ea-a7a6-9f7bb07d341b.html?mc_cid=c43b02d0ed&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Cardinale and Early Named NWCA Honorable Mention All-Americans
MANHEIM, Pa. – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) announced the 2020 Division I All-American teams and two members of the Old Dominion wrestling team, Killian Cardinale and Larry Early, were named Honorable Mention All-Americans.
 Each year the NWCA recognizes the outstanding work of Division I student-athletes by naming the All-Americans based on their achievements in the national championships, however, this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic the championships were canceled. All-American honors were based on each wrestler’s overall body of work through the conference tournaments and up to the national championships.
 Cardinale, who ended the season ranked in the top-15 in four national polls and was a first-time NCAA Qualifier in 2020, earned a team-high 25 wins this season while wrestling at 125 pounds. The Bristow, Virginia native earned a runner-up finish at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Wrestling Championships, winning three of his four bouts at the tournament.
 Six of Cardinale’s 25 wins came against ranked opponents, including a 2-1 win by decision over No. 8 Brock Hudkins of Indiana at the Journeymen Classic. He was named the MAC Wrestler of the week twice and the redshirt sophomore was successful off the mat as well, as he was named to the 2020 MAC All-Academic Team for the second consecutive year.  …. story at https://odusports.com/news/2020/4/22/wrestling-cardinale-and-early-named-nwca-honorable-mention-all-americans.aspx?mc_cid=547ad9bd30&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Stanich Named D3Wrestle’s Wrestler of the Year
Senior 141-pounder becomes first Wrestler of the Year in program history
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (April 23, 2020)  – Senior Troy Stanich of the Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team was named Wrestler of the Year, D3Wrestle.com announced Thursday. Stanich is the first student-athlete in program history to earn a national Wrestler of the Year honor and the first wrestler from a program based in the eastern portion of the United States to be recognized with D3Wrestle.com’s highest individual honor. Each of the organization’s previous honorees came from either Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin or Minnesota. The organization began recognizing a Wrestler of the Year in 2010.
“For four seasons, we have aimed to not just win a national championship, but to be the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler; the best of the best,” said head coach Joe Favia. “In the last six weeks, Troy has been named a Scholar All-American, the number one seed at his weight, a First Team All-American, the nation’s Most Dominant Wrestler and now the D3Wrestle Wrestler of the Year. Without the national championships being wrestled, this is the closest you can get to achieving those goals. Troy’s goal might not have come to fruition the way he planned it to, but make no mistake, he achieved his goals.”
Stanich posted a 26-2 record in his final season of collegiate competition and totaled 152 wins over his remarkable four-year career. A four-time NCAA qualifier, Stanich concluded his career on Castle Point as a three-time All-American and a three-time regional champion. The Succasunna, New Jersey native captured three Centennial Conference titles and one in the Middle Atlantic Conference and was named the MAC’s Wrestler of the Year. Division III’s Most Dominant Wrestler, Stanich also topped the field at 141 pounds at the season-opening Washington & Jefferson Invitational, as well as the New Standard Invitational, and was ranked No. 1 in the country in his weight class from January 29 through the end of the regular season. He was previously recognized by D3Wrestle as its Rookie of the Year in 2017. …. story at https://stevensducks.com/news/2020/4/23/wrestling-stanich-named-d3wrestles-wrestler-of-the-year.aspx?mc_cid=17ded1ad3b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Millersville wrestling honors 2019-2020 award winners
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Millersville wrestling team has announced its team award winners for the 2019-2020 season. Five total wrestlers were honored with awards that were voted on by fellow members of the team. The list of awards includes the Dr. Ted Rupp Award, which was awarded annually to the most valuable Millersville wrestler from 1946 to 2013. The award was brought back in 2018 to honor the history of the program as well as the modern evolution of the roster.
“I’ve always been told that Dr. Rupp loved wrestling and had grit and tenacity,” said Marauders head coach Kerry Regner. “The word grit kept coming back, so we used it as an acronym (Greater than, Results, Integrity, and Tenacity.) Those things are considered when deciding who the award goes to. I wanted to make it more than just an outstanding wrestling award and have it match our values and our current program right now.”
Josh Walls: Winner of the 2019-2020 Dr. Ted Rupp Award
Sophomore Josh Walls served as the team’s captain in 2019-2020, was the starter at 285 pounds in 12 dual meets, and led the Marauders in four statistical categories. He led the team in total wins (17), falls (five), bonus wins (nine), and was tied for the team-high in Division II wins (eight).
Walls finished as runner-up at the season-opening Washington & Jefferson Invitational, third place at the Wilkes Open, and fifth place at the NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Championships. …. story at https://millersvilleathletics.com/news/2020/4/28/millersville-wrestling-honors-2019-2020-award-winners.aspx?mc_cid=b693ccac6a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

New Hartford’s King named RIT’s top male athlete
When he was a Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) freshman, Dempsey King (New Hartford) wanted to help the Tigers’ wrestling program rise again to national prominence. Four years later, it’s obvious that mat mission was accomplished, and so much more – enough to make King the RIT athletic department’s choice as the 2019-20 Male Athlete of the Year. The recipient of that honor, given to a senior “student-athlete in the final year of eligibility based on career athletic performance, leadership and academic performance,” was released on Sunday afternoon – the last of several athletic award-winners announced this past week on the RIT athletics website. The 165-pound King, a two-time All-American, was a three-time NCAA Division III tournament qualifier whose last shot at becoming a national champion – he was runner-up as a junior and seeded sixth this year – was denied when the COVID-19 pandemic ended his final season just days before the NCAAs. King, RIT’s captain the last three seasons, helped this year’s Tigers go 8-3 in dual meets and rank No. 20 in the Division III rankings. He finished 30-1 overall and was named the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference (ECWC) Wrestler of the Year earlier this month.
“As a freshman, I kind of envisioned us building the program and getting it to where it is now,” King said by telephone Monday. “I take pride in where we are and I take pride in my accomplishments. … It does feel good to know that hard work didn’t go unnoticed. “I definitely feel like I did play a part in where the program is right now, but it’s really more of a team accomplishment and I’m really proud to be a part of that.” King finished his RIT career with a 108-24 record. His 108 wins ties him for the fourth-highest total in program history and he also ranks fourth with 35 career pins. “In my time at RIT, no wrestler has meant more to our program than Dempsey King,” RIT wrestling coach Jason Bovenzi said in Sunday’s online announcement. “A three-year captain, his fingerprints are on every aspect of our transition into one of the top teams in NCAA Division III.” …. story at https://www.uticaod.com/sports/20200428/college-notebook-new-hartfordrsquos-king-named-rits-top-male-athlete?mc_cid=b693ccac6a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

May 5, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized