Takedown Report

Women’s Wrestling News # 43

1 } – Push being made to sanction girls wrestling in Alabama
Growing the sport is always a goal, especially on the high school level and even more especially for smaller sports. Wrestling is one of those that’s a niche in most people’s eyes and it can be tough to break into the world of wrestling. Slowly but surely though, wrestling has grown around the state of Alabama. The AHSAA just recently announced it was making a change to its classification for the 2020-22 cycle and most coaches are in agreement there’s hope wrestling will grow enough by the next reclassification to require four class divisions. Now even more eyes are focused on growing wrestling in the state as the Alabama Girls High School Wrestling Task Force has announced the launch of #SanctionAL, which is an effort to try to get girls wrestling sanctioned by the AHSAA. … rest of story at _{https://www.alexcityoutlook.com/sports/push-being-made-to-sanction-girls-wrestling-in-alabama/article_b8f43e74-baee-11ea-8062-efde03f6b5e9.html?mc_cid=7a484e7dde&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

2 } – William Jewell to Add Women’s, Reinstate Men’s Wrestling
LIBERTY, MO– William Jewell College is pleased to announce the addition of women’s wrestling and the reinstatement of the men’s wrestling program beginning in 2021-2022 which will bring Jewell’s varsity sports to 24. “It feels great to be bringing wrestling back to The Hill,” said Director of Athletics, Tom Eisenhauer. “The sport has a long tradition here and has seen a resurgence across the globe. The commitment and perseverance it takes to be a successful wrestler are the same traits it takes to be successful in the classroom. Wrestling complements our other sport offerings so it a natural fit on our campus. Women’s wrestling will come to The Hill for the first time after receiving emerging sport status in January of this year following a vote at the NCAA Convention. Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in the nation with the first collegiate varsity team created in 1993. Jewell will become the third Great Lakes Valley Conference institution to add the sport, joining McKendree and Lindenwood. The Cardinals will also be the seventh collegiate program in the state of Missouri but the first in the Kansas City metro. Additionally, the Missouri High School Activities Association (MSHAA) began offering a state championship in girls wrestling in 2019 with more than 25 local high schools now fielding teams. Kansas has also recently added the sport at the high school level with nearly 150 schools fielding varsity programs. … rest of story at _{https://portal.nwcaonline.com/articles/NWCA_News/William-Jewell-to-Add-Women-s-1-6-2020}

3 } – Ries likes WIAA wrestling ruling
BELOIT—Matt Ries says high school wrestling in Wisconsin received a big boost last week when the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association decided to add a girls division to the state wrestling tournament series. Starting with the 2021-22 wrestling season, a girls-only individual tournament will be held. Boys and girls will be able to wrestle one another during the regular season, but the postseason will be gender exclusive. Ries had four girls in his Beloit Turner wrestling program last season and appreciates that he’ll have another recruiting tool when he looks to add more. “In our Beloit Area Youth Wrestling Club we have had quite a few girls in the past, but we’ve lost a lot of them because they don’t see a future in it,” Ries said. “When they get to high school, they can generally only wrestle against guys and that can be frustrating. Now when we’re out recruiting the halls we’ll be able to tell them you won’t have to wrestle just boys. We’re going to take care of you at the end of the season with their own tournament. I think that will help grow the sport.” … rest of story at _{https://www.beloitdailynews.com/sports/ries-likes-wiaa-wrestling-ruling/article_949a5c26-8af5-5ac9-9e53-9e90648d1062.html?mc_cid=24498831e8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

4 } – NWCA/NAIA WOMEN’S COACHES GROUP ANNOUNCES 2020 ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
Manheim, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association has announced the 2020 NAIA Women’s All-American teams. Each year the NWCA recognizes the outstanding work of the 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. 
First Team All-Americans 
Honorable Mention All-Americans 

“During difficult times there are always people who rise to the occasion and I’m proud of the action that the NWCA/NAIA Women’s Leadership Group in providing direction for honoring the 2020 NAIA Women’s All-American team.  It’s important that these athletes’ efforts and successes during the season are recognized.  Congratulations to each of this year’s honorees.“ 
Mike Moyer, NWCA Executive Director … rest of story at http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwca-naia-womens-coaches-group-announces-2020-all-america-teams/?mc_cid=24498831e8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

5 } – .Easton’s first girls wrestling coach, Lehigh grad Jordan Kutler, ready to immerse himself in another new venture
Jordan Kutler had an inordinate amount of energy built up when the cancellation of the NCAA Wrestling Championships abruptly ended his stellar career at Lehigh. After taking time to grieve and vent, Kutler transferred that energy to the next phase of his life. He is a technology consultant for Novus Surgical, a company that provides medical products and educational services for orthopedic and podiatric surgeons and their patients. “I threw my focus into my job,” he said. “I hit the ground running and have been learning a lot and making progress during the last month when things started to pick up.” .. rest of story at _{https://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/wrestling/mc-spt-easton-girls-wrestling-jordan-kutler-20200701-ybsociuyzffrlcccrm5bvg32za-story.html?mc_cid=24498831e8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

6 } – Alli Ragan: My Wrestling Hero
The 68th installment of My Wrestling Hero features Alli Ragan. The two-time World silver medalist shares her thoughts on her wrestling heroes: Patricia Miranda and her father, Dennis Ragan. 
These are Ragan’s words on her wrestling heroes: “My first was probably Patricia Miranda. She was my favorite growing up because she was our first Olympic medalist. She was a rock star. She wrestled on the Stanford team. I actually haven’t met her, which is crazy. When I came on the scene she had already moved on. I became really good friends with Randi Miller when I first moved out to Colorado Springs and the training center. Once I told her I was such a big Patricia Miranda fan. She would tell me stories and I would think, ‘Wow, she’s a badass.’ She’s a really successful lawyer now. She has moved on and done some really awesome things outside the sport of wrestling. She was the first girl to wrestle on a men’s team and it was Stanford. … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1593651692469&twSessionId=xhffiszike&postId=783641135&mc_cid=24498831e8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

7 } – ‘Let’s make it happen:’ Former Northeastern standout now a leader in girls’ wrestling movement
It was about two years ago when Dan Heckert really saw the potential of girls’ wrestling as a growing sport.  An assistant for the North Allegheny wrestling team, Heckert began working with two young women who tried out for the varsity team. One made the Tigers starting lineup, and Heckert was soon taking her to compete at the girls’ freestyle national championships in Fargo.  The Northeastern High School grad said he realized the sport needed more opportunities for girls.  “We saw that the girls on our team embraced wrestling other girls,” said Heckert, who finished a standout career for the Bobcats in 1999. “We asked them what they would think of having a girls’ team. We heard from other girls not on the wrestling team that they were interested in the sport. “That was when we started to move forward with things.”  As girls’ wrestling continues to grow in Pennsylvania, Heckert will lead one of the first official teams in the state. … rest of story at _{https://www.ydr.com/story/sports/high-school/wrestling/2020/07/06/girls-wrestling-dan-heckert-lead-new-north-allegheny-program/5360629002/}

8 } – Former Daphne High student Michaela Childs paving way for future women’s wrestlers
Michaela Childs remembers her first experience with wrestling. It came as a member of a middle school club team in California. “I wasn’t horrible,” she said. “I started with the very basics. I got the moves down pretty well, but I was going against kids with a lot more experience. I was getting my butt kicked a lot. I just had to keep going regardless.”
Childs did just that. She continued to wrestle throughout high school, even after her family’s move to Alabama meant competing mostly against boys. … rest of story at _{https://www.al.com/highschoolsports/2020/07/former-daphne-high-student-michaela-childs-paving-way-for-future-womens-wrestlers.html?mc_cid=74c2efdb11&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

9} – Women Wrestle 2 – Tweef Resolutions & Inequality Solutions w/ Sarah Hildebrandt
About The Open Mat’s “Women Wrestle 2”:
This is a weekly podcast that will be hosted by recent McKendree University graduate Alexis Porter. Alexis was a four-time All-American at the WCWA level, a three-time Junior National Champion in Fargo, a Junior World bronze medalist and an active competitor on the Senior level. Alexis will be joined by her co-host Arian Carpio, a two-time Cadet Pan-American medalist and 2019 U23 World Team member, who is also training to compete in the 2020 Olympics. … podcast & story at _{https://news.theopenmat.com/womens-wrestling/women-wrestle-2-tweef-resolutions-inequality-solutions-w-sarah-hildebrandt/78453?mc_cid=c193cf2791&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

10 } – Women’s Wrestling Adds 23 in 2020 Recruiting Class
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women’s wrestling team has signed 23 student-athletes for its 2020 recruiting class, head coach Paul Rademacher announced. According to The Open Mat Women’s Collegiate Recruiting Rankings, Coach Rademacher’s 2020 recruiting class is ranked eleventh in the country. This class includes four ranked wrestlers, two of which are Hoosier state natives, and two Tricia Saunders Award Winners. In total, the 2020 class will have eleven states represented with seven student-athletes from Indiana, three from California, two from Michigan and Nevada, and one from Georgia, Wyoming, Arizona, Missouri, Massachusetts and Tennessee.
Charmayne DeLong
DeLong is from Weston, Wyoming where she wrestled at Moorcroft High School. She is currently ranked fifteenth and has wrestled for the Wyoming National Women’s Wrestling Team and the Moorcroft Mat Masters. DeLong is a three-time State Qualifier, three-time National Champion and four-time All-American. DeLong also was a Tricia Saunders Award Winner this past year. She is intending to major in Exercise Science.
Ellyana Kuzma
Kuzma comes to Indiana Tech after a successful career at Oscar A. Carlson High School in Gibralter, Michigan. … rest of story at _{https://indianatechwarriors.com/news/2020/7/13/womens-wrestling-adds-22-in-2020-recruiting-class.aspx?mc_cid=c193cf2791&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

July 26, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized