Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

Wrestling History – # 16

TDR Editor’s Notes ; Some of the stories go back almost 100 years in wrestling history while othes involve coaches that are still active. To learn history is to learn perspective on the present. One can learn from the successes and mistakes in the past by others and also learn of examples that we choose to follow. Keep wrestling, keep working to become better for yourself and for the good of others. Wear Masks, Stay Safe, Stay Healthy! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 } – Tom Clum: My Greatest Loss
Note: This is the second edition of the ‘My Greatest Loss’ series. In the weeks ahead, we’ll interview some of wrestling’s past and present stars to hear their thoughts on the losses that helped shape their careers and put them on a higher trajectory toward greatness. 
In 2001, Tom Clum, a senior at Pomona High School, entered the final match of his scholastic high school career with a 148-0 record and three Colorado state championships. He was on track to become the first Colorado wrestler to go undefeated. Clum led 12-8 with 10 seconds remaining the 125-pound 5A state championship when he was headlocked for five points, losing to Brett Roller of Wasson, 13-12. 
Clum attended the University of Wisconsin where was a two-time All-American, placing third at the 2005 NCAA championships and fifth in 2006.  The following are Tom Clum’s words on his match … rest of story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1597806724837&twSessionId=rymmfakhff&postId=859578135&mc_cid=503739b0f8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

2 } – .Harold DeMarsh: The First NCAA Wrestling Champion
A look at Oklahoma A&M’s wrestling program nearly a century ago.
Oklahoma State has countless footnotes in the history of the sport of wrestling. It’s no secret to people surrounding the sport or university as they’ve all likely heard bits and pieces about the legacy of the program in one way or another. One footnote in the history of the program that we don’t often hear discussed is Harold DeMarsh, the first-ever NCAA tournament champion. According to his obituary, DeMarsh was born into a family of five and lived in the Tulsa area for a bit before his father disappeared and was never seen or heard from again. His mother was then forced to give up all of their children. Some went to live with other family and Harold was ultimately placed in an orphanage. Before being split up from his family, they lived in the Tulsa area. After the split, he ended up in Cushing and was a National AAU champion in 1925, while still in high school! .. rest of story at https://pistolsfiringblog.com/harold-demarsh-the-first-ncaa-wrestling-champion/?mc_cid=503739b0f8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

3 } – .Penn State legend Kerry McCoy reflects on training Daniel Cormier, his legacy after his final fight
Kerry McCoy has never stepped foot in the Octagon professionally or pursued an MMA career. But the two-time Olympian has been around enough wrestlers turned fighters to know part of what gives them all — especially former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier — an edge: a wrestling background. “Right now, the greatest compliment that wrestling and MMA share is that if you’re successful in one, the odds of being successful in the other one are pretty good,” McCoy told The Daily Collegian. “So obviously, if you’re a successful wrestler, the odds of you being a successful fighter are pretty high.”
Cormier, who retired after a unanimous decision loss on Saturday night, made his mark as one of the UFC’s best fighters ever. But before that, he left his mark as a wrestler. The 41-year old Lafayette, Louisiana, native won two JUCO national champions at 197 pounds before transferring to Oklahoma State where he was a two-time NCAA qualifier and NCAA finalist in 2001 when he lost to Penn State coach Cael Sanderson in the finals. He also captured a World bronze medal and made two Olympic teams before bursting onto the MMA scene. .. rest of story at https://www.collegian.psu.edu/sports/wrestling/article_1c4836bc-e0f9-11ea-a9c2-6b0d6267b042.html?mc_cid=503739b0f8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

4 } – Sesker: Daniel Cormier is still a champion in my book
Daniel Cormier fell to Stipe Miocic at UFC 252 on Saturday night in their trilogy fight. He announced his retirement from MMA following the fight. Read Craig Sesker’s tribute to Cormier from August of 2019.
Daniel Cormier is an athlete I’ve seen at his very best. And very worst. I witnessed first-hand the struggles he had during an up-and-down wrestling career during my time at USA Wrestling. I saw him running sprints in the middle of the night down a hotel hallway in Guangzhou, China, to make weight in 2006. I saw him shed nearly 30 pounds in less than two weeks at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing before the tough weight cut cost him a chance to compete. I also saw him battle back with a courageous effort to win a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. He was the lone U.S. freestyle medalist that year and he also qualified the weight class for the Olympics. I interviewed him after he won his first and only world medal and he was as articulate, well-spoken and engaging as ever. He’s always been an excellent interview and that has translated to him becoming an outstanding broadcaster. I also watched Cormier’s ascent to becoming one of the best mixed martial artists of all-time. He made history by holding two belts from the Ultimate Fighting Championships at the same time. He turned his life and his fortunes around when he embarked on his post-wrestling career in the sport of MMA. I’m not sure many people in 2008 could have envisioned Cormier going on to this type of career in mixed martial arts. … rest of story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/22267?mc_cid=38a5eef6bd&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

5 } – Coe College Head Coach, John – Coach ‘O’ – Oostendorp
Oostendorp is a two-time Iowa Conference Coach of the Year and 2009 NWCA National Coach of the Year, leading the Kohawks to a second-place finish in 2008. His teams have consistently been nationally ranked and have been picked to be part of the NWCA National Duals the past six years. Oostendorp led the Kohawks to back-to-back fourth place finishes at the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Championships, the two highest finishes in school history. Oostendorp has coached 51 All-Americans during his time at Coe.
Oostendorp is a graduate of the University of Iowa, where he wrestled for legendary coach Dan Gable and graduated with a B.A. in sociology in 1993. At Iowa, Oostendorp was a four-year starter at heavyweight, where he posted an overall record of 108-26 with 40 pins. He was a two-time All-American and Big Ten Champion for the Hawkeyes, placing fifth and third in the NCAA Championships. Oostendorp also has considerable international experience. He was a member of the United States Greco Roman National Team from 1993-1998. His redshirt freshman year at Iowa, he … rest of story at https://wrestlingchangedmylife.com/john-oostendorp/?mc_cid=27a5988c78&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

6 } – Eye Openers: Q-C native Pendleton won silver a century ago
Here is a trivia question that probably very few people can answer.
Who is the only native born Quad-Citian ever to win a medal in the summer Olympics? The answer: Nat Pendleton.
If you didn’t know that, it could be because it happened 100 years ago. Or it might be because Pendleton wasn’t a Quad-Citian for very long. In any case, he did win a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. Pendleton was born in Davenport in 1895. His father, Nathaniel, an attorney, moved the family here about a year before that and Nat was less than a year old when the family moved again, to Cincinnati.
Nat attended high school in New York and developed into an outstanding wrestler at Columbia University, winning the AAU national championship at 175 pounds in 1916. He won another AAU title as a heavyweight in 1920 and very nearly added an Olympic gold medal.
After defeating wrestlers from Finland and Sweden in Antwerp, Pendleton dominated the gold medal match against Robert Roth of Switzerland and initially was declared the winner by the referee. But officials then overturned the decision, leaving Pendleton with the silver medal. … rest of story at https://qctimes.com/sports/baseball/professional/mlb/eye-openers-q-c-native-pendleton-won-silver-a-century-ago/article_1a787c83-7bfb-592f-b25e-a599402f60e2.html?mc_cid=3e7422f8f7&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

7 } – Whether Wrestling or Horse Racing, Caruso Has Excelled at Highest Levels
By Bill Finley
What Mike Caruso missed most when his collegiate wrestling career was over was the competition, the fierce desire to win and the nervous excitement that would build up in him before every match. It wasn’t just that he was good, it was that he felt he had to win every time. Forty-three years after he last wrestled and wrapped up his third NCAA championship, Caruso has recaptured those feelings, discovering them in horse racing. “I get butterflies in my stomach before every race,” he said. “That means it is meaningful. That’s what my coaches tried to communicate to me. He said that the really great athletes are great because winning and doing their best means everything to them We had kids on the team with a lot of talent but it wasn’t a big deal to them. If they lost they almost didn’t care.”
So he knows how he is going to feel watching at home before Uni (GB) (More Than Ready), a horse he owns along with Mike Dubb, Sol Kumin and Robert LaPenta, goes into the gate for Saturday’s GI Fourstardave H. at Saratoga. His stomach will churn and his palms may get a little sweaty. He says he will feel the same way when his $20,000 claimer Heavy Roller (Malibu Moon) goes in the day’s fourth race. … rest of story at https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/whether-wrestling-or-horse-racing-caruso-has-excelled-at-highest-levels/?mc_cid=3e7422f8f7&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

8 } – Waverly wrestling coaching legend Jim McCloe dies at 69
Jim McCloe, one of the winningest high school wrestling coaches in New York state history, has died at age 69. The longtime Waverly High School head coach died Aug. 17 at home in Williamsburg, Virginia, according to his obituary. He had been battling an aggressive form of cancer. McCloe retired from coaching after the 2006-07 season. Over 32 seasons, he guided Waverly to two small-school state titles, 14 Section 4 team championships and seven sectional runner-up finishes. He finished with 435 coaching victories, which at the time ranked first in Section 4 wrestling history and seventh in New York state history. Vestal’s Tony Policare passed McCloe for the Section 4 wins record in 2014. “Just a great all-around guy,” Policare said Thursday. “It saddens me because so many people looked up to Jim. He was a mentor to a lot of people. The impact that he had on many, many people’s lives I’m sure was immense, not only as a coach but as a teacher and administrator. … rest of story at https://www.stargazette.com/story/sports/high-school/2020/08/20/waverly-wrestling-coaching-legend-jim-mccloe-dies/5619479002/?mc_cid=3e7422f8f7&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

9} – Friday Features: The Greatest Wrestling Team Of All Time
Bronchos Set A Record That Still Stands Today
EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma is reviewing all of its 20 national championship teams and this week’s Friday Feature focuses on the 1980-81 wrestling team, which won the program its second national title.
What was evident in Hamilton Field House, March 1981 – Central put on one of the most dominating performances in the sports history – still holds true today nearly 40 years later. The Bronchos won the national title with ease, scoring 155 1/4 team points. That mark was 69 1/2 points more than the national runner-up. But what still makes that performance so great was how Central got that many points.
The Bronchos had six individual national champions that day. Six!
No other school in the history of collegiate wrestling has ever put a team on a mat and produced the same result. Many teams have had five national champs. That was the record before Central had six. And teams have had five since. But no other team has ever duplicated what the Bronchos did that day.  Dennis Kendrick (118 pounds), Todd Osborn (126), Ronnie James (134), Alan Maddox (142), Benny Coleman (167), and Bill Ameen (177) all won national titles. Central also had two other national qualifiers earn All-American recognition alongside the champs. Will Allen (158) and Ronnie Hawkins (190) finished fourth and eighth respectively.
 In what also could be considered an astonishing achievement, Kendrick, Osborn, James, and Coleman were all freshmen that season. Ameen just a sophomore. … rest of story at https://bronchosports.com/news/2020/8/21/friday-features-the-greatest-wrestling-team-of-all-time.aspx?mc_cid=3e7422f8f7&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

10 } – Jim Moulsoff: My Wrestling Hero
Today’s installment of My Wrestling Hero features Jim Moulsoff. The Augsburg coach hares his thoughts on his wrestling heroes, including former North Dakota State coach Bucky Maughan, the Peterson brothers and the Zilverberg brothers.  These are Moulsoff’s words on his wrestling heroes: “I grew up in Breckenridge, Minnesota, so I think about the wrestling experience there. I think about Bucky Maughan since North Dakota State was close. They were so tough and going to camp in 1979 and there were only 30 kids. I think about those experiences. 
“I think about the great coaches in our area, like Spencer Yohe and how it would be cool to wrestle for Spencer.  “I remember in 1976 really watching the Olympics and I was really tuned into the Peterson brothers. I remember going to the Bison Open and Minnesota was there and I remember the Zilverbergs — Dan and Larry Zilverberg. It was another set of brothers and I thought that was so cool. I remember sitting behind them and being fascinated by the Zilverbergs. It’s embarrassing when I tell Dan that it was a highlight moment getting that close to him in the bleachers.  “Fast forward into the middle 1980s and the Morgan brothers … rest of story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1598239612325&twSessionId=azfdajuchr&postId=861090135&mc_cid=22b2bd575c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

September 13, 2020 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment