Takedown Report

College News & Notes – # 106

TDR Editor’s Notes ; Included are several articles about college wrestlers winning or being named for awards from the past season. Then a couple of articles about wrestlers benefitting from scholarships. Last is an article about how one program is looking to reconnect alumni wrestlers with their current program. Som articles arefrom earlier in the summer.
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1 } – LANCE PALMER SELECTED FOR OSU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame will add 12 new members this fall. The Class of 2020 includes Aaron Brown (football), Eric Brunner (men’s soccer), Karen Dennis (director of track and field and cross country), Amanda Furrer (rifle), Steven Kehoe (men’s volleyball), Daren Lynch (men’s gymnastics), Regis Monahan (football), Lance Palmer (wrestling), Don Perry (men’s gymnastics), Samantha Prahalis (women’s basketball), Amanda Purcell (rowing) and Francis Schmidt (football coach).
As of this announcement, the Class of 2020 is scheduled to be officially inducted at a dinner Sept. 25 and introduced to the public at halftime of the Ohio State home football game vs. Rutgers Sept. 26. The Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame was created in 1977 and has inducted 446 athletes, coaches and administrators through 2019. Dennis and Schmidt will bring the number of head coaches in the hall to 30. … Palmer will be the 18th wrestling letterwinner placed in the hall … rest of story at _{https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ohio-state-athletics-hall-of-fame-class-of-2020-revealed-palmer/?mc_cid=5a3eb39922&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

2 } – Neal Richards Named SoCon Male Athlete of the Year
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – VMI redshirt senior wrestler Neal Richards was named the 2019-20 Bob Waters Southern Conference Male Athlete of the Year Wednesday.
Richards becomes the just the second VMI student-athlete to be named the SoCon Male Athlete of the Year and the first since Johnny Mapp in 1953-54. Richards also is only the second wrestler to earn the award, joining Appalachian State’s Austin Trotman, who took the distinction in 2011-12.
 “Neal will go down as one of the greatest to step on the mat for VMI,” said head Keydet wrestling coach Jim Gibson. “He has embodied everything that it means to be a cadet-athlete. It has been a tremendous honor to be in his corner.” Richards was named a second-team All-American by the National Wrestling Coaches Association this season, becoming just the third Keydet and first since 1999 to earn All-America honors. … rest of story at _{https://vmikeydets.com/news/2020/6/17/wrestling-neal-richards-named-socon-male-athlete-of-the-year.aspx?mc_cid=19bf6bc4f5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

3 } – Dan Hodge Trophy: History, winners and how it works
The Dan Hodge Trophy honors the top college wrestler every year. It was established in 1995 and is named after the legendary Dan Hodge, who was an NCAA champion, Olympic medalist, multiple-time NWA champion and ambassador for the sport of wrestling. The award was established by longtime wrestling journalist and wrestling hall-of-famer Mike Chapman and presented by his WIN Magazine. The Hodge is equivalent to college football’s Heisman Trophy and has been presented to 27 wrestlers in its 26-year history. Two wrestlers won the award in 2001, the only time in the award’s history that the trophy has been presented to more than one athlete per year.  Here’s a look at the history and selection process for the award, along with a complete list of the winners. 
Dan Hodge Award history
The Hodge Trophy has a long history, but there are a few special facts about the trophy: 
T.J. Jaworsky, the first winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy, is the only University of North Carolina wrestler to win the Hodge. Jaworsky won his third NCAA title in 1995 and was voted the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the NCAA tournament that same year 
Only one athlete has won the Hodge Trophy three times: Cael Sanderson. The Iowa State graduate is also one of just three sophomores to have won the award and one of five juniors. He’s also one of just four wrestlers to have won the award more than once. Of the other athletes who have won the award twice, Sanderson coached two of them: Zain Retherford and David Taylor. Retherford was also one of the five juniors to have won the award, while Taylor was one of the three sophomores to have taken home the Hodge. As the head coach of Penn State, Sanderson has coached a total of five Hodge Trophy winners … rest of story at _{https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/article/2020-06-24/dan-hodge-trophy-history-winners-and-how-it-works?mc_cid=825569db34&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

4 } – Johnson, Dellavecchia Selected 2019-20 Clair Bee Rider Athletes of the Year
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Rider University seniors Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) and Jesse Dellavecchia (Great River, NY/East Islip [Binghamton]) have been selected 2019-20 Rider University Clair Bee Athletes of the Year. Johnson rewrote the Rider Women’s Basketball record books, becoming the all-time scoring leader at the school, while Dellavecchia became Rider Wrestling’s first-ever Mid-American Conference Champion. Johnson became the Broncs’ first-ever All-American in women’s basketball, being recognized as an Honorable Mention honoree by three different outlets – the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the Associated Press (AP) and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).   Johnson became Rider’s first-ever Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year in women’s basketball and was selected in the third round of the WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury. … Dellavecchia became Rider’s first-ever MAC Champion at 157 lbs., defeating nationally-ranked wrestlers Larry Early (Old Dominion) and Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) to earn the title. He was an NCAA Qualifier for the second-straight year, taking the No. 4 seeding prior to the tournament’s cancellation. Dellavecchia posted a 30-2 record, winning his first 13 matches and final 13 bouts of the year. He finished first at the Keystone Classic and the Princeton Open, while taking second at the Southern Scuffle. His only two losses came to wrestlers ranked in the top five in the country – Hayden Hidlay (NC State) and Quincy Monday (Princeton). … rest of story at _{https://gobroncs.com/news/2020/6/29/general-johnson-dellavecchia-selected-2019-20-clair-bee-rider-athletes-of-the-year.aspx?mc_cid=7ba10e0d72&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

5 } – Checking In with Brayton Lee
By Logan Sass, Communications Assistant
Grateful.  If there was one word to describe Brayton Lee, that would be the one. The Brownsburg, Indiana native has always been mindful of the opportunities that he has been given through the sport of wrestling, but not once has he taken those opportunities for granted when he steps out onto the mat. The once blue-chip recruit turned 149-pound hammer in the Golden Gophers lineup turned in an outstanding 25-6 record during his redshirt freshman campaign, but with the NCAA Championships being cancelled just days before its scheduled start, Lee’s season came to a screeching halt.
Looking ahead to the 2020-2021 season, Brayton Lee is sure to be one of the most notable names in his weight class, as he competes for a national title once again. … rest of story at _{https://gophersports.com/news/2020/8/11/wrestling-checking-in-with-brayton-lee.aspx?mc_cid=44ca76fc30&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

6 } – WRESTLER AND UFC STAR JUSTIN GAETHJE NAMED TO NORTHERN COLORADO’S ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
GREELEY – The University of Northern Colorado Athletics Hall of Fame welcomes six new members in its 2020 class. The group of six achieved greatness to be elected including being All-Americans, conference champions and groundbreakers while at UNC. They have gone on to be at the top of their sports and bring great recognition to the university and athletic department after leaving Greeley. UNC Athletics is excited to welcome Justin Gaethje, Adrienne Jordan, Dr. Jim Kadlecek, Bill Kenny, Jed Roberts and D’shara Strange to the Athletics Hall of Fame. The newest class will be inducted in a ceremony in early 2021 with further details to be announced at a later date. … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/June/30/Justin-Gaethje-named-to-UNC-Athletics-Hall-of-Fame?mc_cid=7a484e7dde&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

7 } – Robinson, Hildebrandt Earn MAC Medal Of Excellence
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan’s Alexandria Robinson and Drew Hildebrandt have been named Mid-American Conference Medal of Excellence Award winners. Robinson, a member of the women’s track & field team, and Hildebrandt, an All-American wrestler, are two of 24 student-athletes — two from each full-time member institution — to be so honored by the league. …
Hildebrandt, a junior from Granger, Ind., led the Chippewas with 31 victories (against three losses) in 2019-20, winning the MAC title at 125 pounds and then earning First Team All-America honors from the National Wrestling Coaches Association. He finished the season ranked eighth nationally and was seeded sixth for the NCAA Championships, which were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.  A finance major who carries a 3.64 GPA, Hildebrandt is a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree and was named in 2020 at MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete. … rest of story at _{https://cmuchippewas.com/news/2020/6/3/general-robinson-hildebrandt-earn-mac-medal-of-excellence.aspx?mc_cid=1ad1a557de&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

8 } -Jordan’s Andrew Fogarty finds success on college mat
There have been a lot of Scott West wrestlers that have found success on the college mat. For Jordan’s Andrew Fogarty, he’s in the running to have one the best college wrestling careers of any Scott West wrestler after he wrapped up his college career this past spring. The other Scott West wrestlers in that conversation are Pat McNamara and Micheal Kroells, who both finished their careers as three-time All-Americans. Fogarty finished his four-year wrestling career at North Dakota State University with a career record of 96-35 (28 career pinfalls), a four-time NCAA Championships qualifier, three-time Big 12 runner-up, and with a 2020 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-America Team Honorable Mention honor. “My time at NDSU I would say was both very fast and very slow  … rest of story at _{https://www.swnewsmedia.com/jordan_independent/news/sports/jordans-andrew-fogarty-finds-success-on-college-mat/article_6ba9d063-b88a-5b8a-ae6f-daa1f8230c4d.html?mc_cid=2a2de153ce&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

9} – .Impact Of A Scholarship: Hudson Taylor
When former Maryland Terrapins wrestler Hudson Taylor visited campus for the first time he knew it was a place he could call home, just a drive down I-95 from where he grew up in New Jersey. Taylor, a three-time prep national champion at Blair Academy and a top 20 recruit in the country, was recruited by several proven Division I programs, but Maryland was unique to his desires. “Maryland was one of the only visits I took where I knew I could both excel as an athlete and an individual,” Taylor said. “I wasn’t just treated like an athlete, but found a community that cared about who I was and what I was about.” The three-time NCAA All-American had one of the best collegiate careers in NCAA wrestling history, finishing with the most wins (165), pins (87), and pins in a single season (24) in Maryland wrestling program history. He had a career record of 165-28 and was named the 2008 and 2010 ACC Wrestler of the Year, .. rest of story at _{https://umterps.com/news/2020/7/30/terrapin-club-impact-of-a-scholarship-hudson-taylor.aspx?mc_cid=b3b7655607&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

10 } – Yagla builds ties between current, former Hawkeyes
PARK VIEW, Iowa — When Chuck Yagla took on a building project earlier this summer, it wasn’t all about bricks and mortar. The two-time NCAA wrestling champion and 1980 Olympian agreed to chair an alumni advisory committee of former Hawkeye wrestlers to not only help lead the Carver Circle facility campaign, but to help build a bridge between the program’s past, present and future. “To a degree, that’s been missing,’’ Yagla said Monday before speaking to participants in the 22nd annual Hawkeye Wrestling Golf Outing at Glynns Creek Golf Course. “Iowa wrestling has produced great people, great leaders for years and part of our task is to strengthen the connection.’’ Yagla said current Iowa coach Tom Brands made that clear when he approached Yagla about chairing the new 12-member advisory group. He said Brands wants to find ways to involve today’s Hawkeyes with those who competed on Iowa teams coached by David McCuskey in the 1950s and Gary Kurdelmeier in the 1970s to those coached more recently by Dan Gable, Jim Zalesky and Brands. “I think Tom senses the value in that now … rest of story at _{https://qctimes.com/sports/college/wrestling/yagla-builds-ties-between-current-former-hawkeyes/article_1a88d233-b530-5617-b4db-a069c69213fa.html?mc_cid=a357f66b67&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

August 16, 2020 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment