Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

2020 Michael Stokes Award winner

Aaron Bancroft named the 29th Michael Stokes Award wrestler.

Undefeated State Champion Aaron Bancroft of Fike High School won his 2nd state title in 2020 in the 3-A 170 lbs. Division with 51 wins.  Last year he was named the Lee Carroll Award winner as top underclassmen in the area.  Aaron also has earned his 4th TDR Top 12 engraved wooden plaque this year as being a top wrestler class in eastern North Carolina.  More details will be announced once a time and place for the award presentation is determined.

            Last year Bancroft earned his first State Champion medal, at 160 pounds, with a (52-1) record.  His only loss was to a Virginia State Champion in finals of the WRAL Holiday tournament.  He was the first state champion in wrestling for Fike.  As a sophomore, Bancroft won his first district title yet fell short of placing at the state tournament while finishing with a (49-5) record.  As a freshman Aaron had a (45-6) record, placed 2nd in districts and placed 5th in the state tournament. His overall scholastic career record is 197 wins and 12 losses in his four years of competition.

Michael Stokes wrestled the 1981-1984 seasons at Tarboro High School and with a (96–4) career record.  He was North Carolina’s 2nd 3-time State Champion when there was only one individual champion at a weight in the state. He wrestled for N.C. State and won ACC wrestling titles in 1988 and 1989 and was named the ACC Most Valuable Wrestler both years.  His record of 68 wins 8 losses and 3 ties (.879) is the best career winning percentage at NC State.  He finished second at the NCAA Nationals at 126 lbs. in 1989 to Kendall Cross, the eventual Olympic Gold medalist. Stokes co-captained the Wolfpack in 1989 and one of the ACC’s all time 50 greatest wrestlers as recognized during the conference’s 50th anniversary celebration.  Stokes credits wrestling as “providing me with a mental toughness that enables me to remove boundaries that stand in my way.  Wrestling has given me the sheer determination to believe that I can conquer anything that I set my mind to do.”

            Previous Stokes Award wrestlers include Ray Darden of Ayden-Grifton and Jordan Todd of Rosewood tied for the award in (2019), Michael King of North Pitt (2018), Quadarrius Hopkins of Tarboro (2017), Wilson Smith of Rocky Mount (2016), Angel Najar of North Pitt (2015), Reggie Huff of Southern Nash (2014), David Guevara of Tarboro (2013), Alexander Knight and Jaciento Williamson of Rocky Mount (2012), Xavier Najar of North Pitt (2011), Joe Young of Northern Nash (2010), Corey Smith of Tarboro (2009), Jasmine Cooper of Nash Central (2008), Eric Wischhusen, (2007), Roylando Lucas (2001) and Ira Bing (2000) of Southern Nash, John Brewer (2006) of Wilson Fike, Anthony Taylor (2005) of Rocky Mount, Sammi Hadi (2004) and Ryan Huffman (1997) of SouthWest Edgecombe, Charles Washington (2003) of Northern Nash, Quadric Eason (2002), Mike Christopher (1999 & 1998), Tony Mercer (1996) and Lee Carroll (1994 & 1995) of Tarboro.          

June 16, 2020 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Women’s Wrestling News – # 38

1 } – Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award Regional Winners
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Tuesday announced the regional winners of the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award (TSHSEA). First presented in 2014, the TSHSEA is named for Tricia Saunders, a four-time World Champion and women’s wrestling pioneer. Saunders was the first woman to be inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011. The TSHSEA recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior female wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service. …. rest of the story at https://nwhof.org/blog/tricia-saunders-high-school-excellence-award-regional-winners-announced/?mc_cid=09c8756a50&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

2 } – Girls wrestling state finals at Ford Field may not be far away
By Patrick Nothaft | pnothaft@mlive.com
When Rayana Sahagun started wrestling at age 5, the number of girls competing at weekend tournaments was limited to herself and one or two close friends. The Sparta High School senior never could have predicted a time when 167 individuals gathered in one spot for Michigan’s inaugural girls wrestling state championships in February 2019, nor could she have foreseen the number expanding to more than 250 a year later and forcing tournament host Adrian College to open up another gym. …. rest of story at … https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/2020/05/girls-wrestling-state-finals-at-ford-field-may-not-be-far-away.html?mc_cid=97df5e5b46&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

3 } – World medallist Odunayo Adekuoroy: Parents almost disowned me due to wrestling
World medallist Odunayo Adekuoroye has made a shocking revelation about her parents. In conversation with the Olympics Channel she revealed that she was almost disowned by her parents because of her love for wrestling. The Nigerian wrestler began her wrestling journey at a young age. But while she continued to rise in ranks on the mat, informing her parents about it was a different ball game altogether. Adekuoroye says that she had to lie to her folks to attend her first wrestling tournament.
This is how UWW is celebrating “World Wrestling Day”
“For my first competition, I told my parents I am going to school, but I left with the wrestling team. When I didn’t come back, they were worried and went looking for me everywhere, at the police station. Later I called them. I told them I am fine and I was at a wrestling competition,” she told Olympic Channel. …. rest of story at … https://wrestlingtv.in/world-medallist-odunayo-adekuoroy-parents-almost-disowned-me-due-to-wrestling/?mc_cid=97df5e5b46&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

4 } – Nebraska Girls Wrestling to be Adopted as an Emerging Sport
By Colin Pfeiffer / May 21, 2020
Today was a big day for girls wrestling in Nebraska. Earlier this morning in a 7-1 vote, the NSAA board passed girls wrestling as an emerging high school sport. This afternoon, the NSAA Repsententative assembly voted against sanctioning the sport 28-23, in a vote that needed 31 to pass. While it is sad to see it not pass as a fully sanctioned sport, recognizing it as an emerging sport is a huge step in the right direction. Now that it has passed as an emerging sport, we will likely see the numbers increase of girls participating and some ground work start to be developed for when the sport becomes fully sanctioned. Seeing numbers increase will be one of the key factors the NSAA board of directors will watch, to help them determine when they will sanction it.
What does it mean for girls wrestling to be an emerging sport? 
This means that the NSAA notices that girls wrestling is growing in the state and has a close eye on it. From what we understand, it also means that the NSAA board can now vote to adopt Girls wrestling as a sanctioned sport whenever they feel they are ready. This also allows girls to continue to compete on both the boys and girls teams. The NSWCA would still hold and be responsible for the girls state wrestling tournament. This also allows the state time to lay some ground work for when it does become sanctioned. …. rest of story at … https://newrestle.com/2020/05/21/nebraska-girls-wrestling-to-be-adopted-as-an-emerging-sport/?mc_cid=97df5e5b46&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

5 } – NWCA 2019-2020 NCAA WOMEN SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICA AWARDS
Manheim, PA – On Thursday, the National Wrestling Coaches Association announced the full slate of 2019-2020 Scholar All-American Team and Individual honorees for NCAA Women with awards going to 68 individuals representing 15 institutions.
LINK: Top 6 Scholar All-American Teams
LINK: Individual Scholar All-Americans
“On behalf of the NWCA and our Board of Directors, we are excited to honor the amazing academic achievement demonstrated by this year’s Scholar All-American teams and individuals from the NCAA institutions that sponsor Women’s Wrestling,” said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. In the team race, Adrian College finished atop the field with a 3.65 GPA followed by Colorado Mesa University (3.41) and King University (3.38). For the individual awards, the Colorado Mesa University led the list of honorees with nine …. rest of story at … http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwca-2019-2020-ncaa-women-scholar-all-america-awards/?mc_cid=97df5e5b46&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

6 } – Girls will have a league of their own in wrestling this winter, boys volleyball and coed cheer will not
MIDVALE — Utah girls will have a league of their own this winter — a wrestling league, that is. On Thursday, girls wrestling was officially sanctioned by the board of trustees of the Utah High School Activities Association. Two other sports — coed competitive cheer and boys volleyball — were not sanctioned.
While coed competitive cheer failed by a vote of 6-5 after coaches said they’d prefer the sport not be sanctioned until they could work out a few issues, the UHSAA Board of Trustees didn’t even vote on boys volleyball. “We get why they didn’t (sanction volleyball), and we’re working on building a partnership with the UHSAA,” said Jill Davis, Utah Boys Volleyball Association co-founder and president, who made a presentation to the board Thursday morning on behalf of boys the high school club volleyball program. …. rest of story at … https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/5/21/21266556/utah-high-school-sports-girls-wrestling-boys-volleyball-co-ed-cheer?mc_cid=97df5e5b46&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

7 } – Where does women’s wrestling go from here?
Is the momentum still there?
Many key wrestling figures, including Oklahoma State head coach John Smith, said we are in the midst of the greatest era in our sport. Among the positives was the rapid growth of women’s wrestling at the high school and college level.  Women’s college wrestling split into two divisions (NAIA programs and NCAA programs) this season and there was constant talk about official NCAA and NAIA sanctioned women’s wrestling tournaments in the near future.  Then the coronavirus hit. 
Fortunately, the Cliff Keen National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCAA programs competing against each other in an exclusive tournament) took place on March 6-7 in Adrian, Michigan. The NAIA women’s championships were scheduled to take place the following week but COVID-19 canceled all championship events that weekend. …. rest of story at … https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1589997765364&twSessionId=pzdkojobbh&postId=782056135&mc_cid=a518fb1f79&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

8 } – LuchaFIT captures personal stories in a new COVID-19 Section; National Coaches Chun and Medina featured in first post
BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING | MAY 19, 2020
LuchaFIT, the ultimate source for female wrestling, has launched a new online series featuring personal stories about how the wrestling community has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These unique and interesting stories, directly from those who have been impacted, are being posted twice a week in LuchaFIT’s new COVID-19 Special Section. The first story comes from USA Wrestling Assistant National Women’s Coaches Clarissa Chun and Jessica Medina in an entry entitled “Six Feet Apart: Clarissa Chun and Jessica Medina.” It was posted today. Users can read a transcript of what Chun and Medina shared through the story, and also listen to an audio version of the story in which they are featured. LuchaFIT explains the reason for this new adventure:
Inspired by the athlete articles displayed by The Player’s Tribune known as “The Iso,” LuchaFIT was spirited to create our own, unique version of experiences while sheltering at home. The desire is to provide insight on how wrestling communities around the world have been impacted by coronavirus. From athletes to coaches, individuals to organizations, everyone has a story to tell about their experiences. …. rest of story at … https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/May/19/LuchaFIT-tells-personal-stories-in-its-new-COVID-19-Special-Section?mc_cid=09c8756a50&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

9 } – HEART OF AMERICA TO SPONSOR WOMEN’S WRESTLING IN 2020-21
Women’s Wrestling – Fri, May 22, 2020
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Heart of America Athletic Conference will add women’s wrestling to the list of conference sponsored sports, beginning with the 2020-21 academic year, as part of the league’s continued growth. The addition bumps the conference’s list of sponsored sports up to 22. “Women’s wrestling has really been gaining momentum at the collegiate level,” stated Commissioner Lori Thomas. “We have a great core group in our conference and we’re looking forward to providing them with the support and recognition at the conference level.” Five full-time conference member institutions – Baker, Central Methodist, Grand View, Missouri Valley, and William Penn – will field the women’s wrestling teams with the potential for associate members to join at a later date. Grand View (No. 11), Missouri Valley (No. 15), and Central Methodist (No. 20) were each named in the final edition of the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll back in February. Women’s wrestling currently is recognized by the NAIA as an invitational sport with 28 institutions sponsoring the sport in 2019-20. The Heart will join the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, Mid-South Conference, and Sooner Athletic Conference as NAIA leagues sponsoring women’s wrestling. Invitational distinction indicates that sport has enough schools to support it, is developing administrative rules, and is on the path to becoming a fully sponsored championship. …. Rest of Story at … http://www.heartofamericaconference.com/article/4197.php?mc_cid=4b3d9c77ea&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

10 } – South Carolina girls wrestling for respect and love of the sport
LEXINGTON, S.C. — It’s mid-January, and the gym of Lexington High School is packed with wrestlers competing at the Carolina Invitational Wrestling Tournament. Though the girls’ side of the ledger isn’t an officially sanctioned sport of the SCHSL, it’s growing. WYFF News 4 photojournalist Chip Baysden went to Lexington to tell their story. “20 years ago, you might have had three girls maybe in the state that were competing,” says Brandy Green. “To now having over 100 girls competing today, it’s absolutely amazing. This is real life for these girls.”
Green, the Head Wrestling Coach at Limestone College and former four-time Wrestling Association High School National Champion is leading the push to have girls wrestling acknowledged as a high school sport in the state of South Carolina. “We still have a lot of convincing to do at the state level,” Green says. “We’re looking at just over 20 states right now that have sanctioned high school state tournaments. All the surrounding states have either sanctioned it or the proposals have gone through and they’re waiting for votes.” …. rest of story at … https://www.wyff4.com/article/south-carolina-girls-wrestling-for-respect-and-love-of-the-sport/32677694?mc_cid=a56cef7301&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b#



June 16, 2020 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment