Takedown Report

College Wrestling News – # 102

1 } – Getting II Know a DII Program: Notre Dame College
Arguably the program with the most success in the shortest amount of time in NCAA Division II wrestling history, the Falcons of Notre Dame College have two team National Championships and 12 individual National Champions in just eight years as a DII program. Long-time NDC assistant coach Sonny Marchette just closed out his first season as the head coach of the Falcons, in which he led Notre Dame to its fourth-straight and seventh total DII Super Regional title in 2020.
“We have an elite wrestling program that thrives on developing our student-athletes each and everyday,” Marchette said of his program. Included in the 12 Falcon National Champions is the only four-time, undefeated NCAA Division II Champion ever in Joey Davis. From 2013-16, Davis went 131-0, capping each of his four seasons with an NCAA Division II National Championship. Davis won the 165 title in 2013, 174 in both 2014 and 2015, and closed out his career with a 184 title in 2016. … rest of story at https://news.theopenmat.com/college-wrestling-news/getting-ii-know-a-dii-program-notre-dame/78222?mc_cid=d457d68b82&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

2 } – Collegiate wrestling struggling to keep its foothold in the West
TEMPE – Although wrestling is thriving at the developmental level in the West, the same can’t be said of the sport at Division I universities. And it’s prompting some of the best young talent to head east.
Of the country’s 79 Division I programs, only 18 are west of the Mississippi River and just 10 are within the Pac-12 Conference’s footprint. The conference itself has only six members for wrestling and just three – Arizona State, Oregon State and Stanford – are true members of the conference. The other half – Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield and Arkansas Little Rock – are considered affiliates. “There’s a lot of programs in the Pac-12 that I feel should have wrestling,” Fresno State coach Troy Stiener said. “There’s states that have large numbers in participation for wrestling and we don’t have a Division I program in Washington.” The decline is counterintuitive to what’s happening with younger wrestlers. … rest of story at _{https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2020/05/08/college-wrestling-struggling/?mc_cid=4570e96a5e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

3 } – 2020 PITT ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CLASS REVEALED
PITTSBURGH—University of Pittsburgh Director of Athletics Heather Lyke unveiled the 13-member Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame 2020 induction class during tonight’s “Panthers at Home” virtual gathering on Facebook Live.
The honorees, listed in alphabetical order, are: …
Pat Santoro (Wrestling) … rest of story at _{https://pittsburghpanthers.com/news/2020/5/12/general-2020-pitt-athletics-hall-of-fame-class-revealed.aspx?mc_cid=0f2858c4d6&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

4 } – Getting II Know a DII Program: Northern State
In 25 years as an NCAA Division II member, the Northern State Wolves have sent 43 to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, with 15 earning All-American status and former heavyweight Matt Meuleners winning two National Championships. The program, which competed for the first time in 1959, moved to NCAA Division II in 1995-96 and is currently headed by Rocky Burkett.  “At Northern State, we are committed to providing our student-athletes with a great overall experience,” Burkett said. “We focus on academics, community involvement, and athletic excellence. Northern has great relationships between our campus and the community of Aberdeen that allows us to provide our guys with that atmosphere.” In addition to Meulener’s pair of titles in 2011 and 2012, three others National Championships were won by Wolves in their NAIA days, along with 23 others earning All-American status prior to Northern State transitioning to Division II.  … rest of story at _{https://news.theopenmat.com/college-wrestling-news/getting-ii-know-a-dii-program-northern-state/77827?mc_cid=6299171a9e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

5 } – Myers Granted 6th year of Eligibility at Va. Tech
The three-time NCAA qualifier will return to Tech for 2020-21
BLACKSBURG – After missing the entirety of the 2019-20 season due to injury, Virginia Tech wrestling’s Korbin Myers has been granted a medical redshirt for the lost year and will be eligible to wrestle this upcoming season. Myers, a three-time qualifier for the NCAA Championships, will return to the Hokies for the 2020-21 season. The 133-pounder adds to the team’s depth at the lower weight classes which already includes last season’s 133-pound starter Collin Gerardi, 125-pound starter Joey Prata and redshirt freshman Sam Latona. … rest of story at _{https://hokiesports.com/news/2020/6/12/wrestling-myers-granted-sixth-year-of-eligibility.aspx?mc_cid=9214b6001a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

6 } – West Point NJ cadet killed in crash last June honored at graduation
WEST POINT, New York (WABC) — The West Point cadet killed after a truck overturned on a dirt road during a a training exercise last June was honored in a touching tribute during the military school’s graduation Saturday. A portrait of Christopher “C.J.” Morgan, who was set to graduate this year, was placed on a seat while speakers, including President Donald Trump, expressed their gratitude for the former New Jersey star high school wrestler. “Today we remember an extraordinary cadet who made the supreme sacrifice,” President Trump said. “CJ was something special.” The President also told Morgan’s father Christopher, a secret service agent, that his son is “looking down at us right now.” … rest of story at _{https://abc7ny.com/c-j-morgan-cj-west-point-cadet-honored-graduation/6246211/?mc_cid=f75b9fce50&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

7 } – California community colleges come up with three potential sports schedules for next school year
The board of directors for the California Community College Athletic Association unanimously approved three potential schedules that could be used to bring sports back during the 2020-21 academic year. The plan was approved Friday, June 5 during a teleconference meeting. The final vote on which schedule will be used will be held on July 17. The CCCAA shut down all of its sports programs in mid-March during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plans were put together by the CCCAA COVID-19 Working Group, which is comprised of coaches, athletic directors and athletic trainers, and is headed by Jill Board, president of Cerro Coso College, and Kanoe Bandy, vice chairman of the CCCAA Management Board and athletic director at Taft College. … rest of story at _{https://www.sgvtribune.com/2020/06/08/california-community-colleges-set-plans-on-how-to-move-forward-with-sports/?mc_cid=1ad1a557de&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

8 } – Getting II Know a DII Program: Minot State
The Minot State Beavers, a program established originally in 1958 and resurrected in 2010 after a 20 year hiatus, have been members of NCAA Division II for eight seasons. In that time, they’ve had four Division II National Qualifiers, with one of those wrestlers making it to the podium. Evan Forde has led the Minot State program since 2015.
“Minot State is an up-and-coming program that has seen a lot of growth in recent years,” Forde said. “We are very motivated to continue the improvement of our program.”  Two of the four Beaver National Qualifiers have been heavyweights, with … rest of story at _{https://news.theopenmat.com/college-wrestling-news/getting-ii-know-a-dii-program-minot-state/78094?mc_cid=3777fdd4a3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

9 } – Senior Sendoff: NCAA Division I Championship Seniors
The Senior Sendoff for the senior All-Americans in NCAA Division I for 2020. This tradition started with Todd Hibbs and has been carried on throughout college wrestling national championships, most noticeably at the Division I championships. It’s been present at D1, D2, D3 and the NAIA over the years, but this year, the three NCAA divisional championships and the NAIA women’s invitational didn’t get the chance to see its seniors compete for medals. … rest of details and podcast at _{http://www.mattalkonline.com/podcast/short-time/senior-sendoff-ncaa-division-i-championship-seniors/?mc_cid=1ad1a557de&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

10 } – Can wrestling survive a ‘broken’ college model?
Note: The following is an update to a story that appeared in the May issue of WIN Magazine. Click here or call 888-305-0606 to subscribe to WIN. Use Discount Code “May” to get a print copy of WIN’s annual Awards Issue.  Also, WIN will be publishing a special digital issue in June and look for WIN’s next printed issue in July.
By Mike Finn
This spring’s COVID-19 pandemic has certainly led to loss among an ongoing and countless number of people within this country.That would, of course, include the loss of lives as over 110,000 U.S. citizens had died as of June 7. There have been other departures from a normal way of the life, including in the sports world where both professional and amateur leagues have either canceled or postponed seasons and championships. That included NCAA wrestling, where all three national tournaments — set to take place in March — were canceled. Among those was the Division I tournament, where 330 wrestlers were set to compete in Minneapolis, including four wrestlers from Old Dominion: seniors Sa’Derian Perry (141) Larry Early (157) and Antonio Agee (184) and sophomore Killian Cardinale (125).
But two weeks later, the Monarch wrestling program, which has been around since the 1957-58 academic year, took a bigger hit when the school announced it was dropping wrestling. … rest of story at _{https://www.win-magazine.com/2020/06/can-wrestling-survive-a-broken-college-model/?mc_cid=1ad1a557de&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

July 8, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized