Takedown Report

Wrestling History – # 17

TDR Editor’s Notes ; New book about one of the most famous matches in Colorado High School wrestling. Several coaches and wrestlers share about their heroes and a look at how Lee Kemp developed so fast into a great wrestler. Many OSU wrestlers under John Smith have gone on to become college coaches and our first story recognizes the passing of a wrestling leader in Nevada. As many state leaders are active and have sn impact on national wrestling.
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1 } – JIM RITTER, 85, USA WRESTLING LEADER IN NEVADA, PASSED AWAY ON MONDAY
James “Jim” Lee Ritter passed away on August 16, 2020 surrounded by his family. Jim was born in Swink, Colorado to Bertha and James Ritter Sr. on August 28, 1934. Jim was an icon in the world of both local and regional wrestling. He loved the sport and worked to bring USA Wrestling to Northern Nevada. In 2005, USA Wrestling named Jim “Person of the Year” for his commitment to the organization and the spirit he brought to the region.
Editor’s Note: His wife GeorgeAnne served many years as the USA Wrestling state chairperson for Nevada, as part of a family commitment to wrestling and USA Wrestling. He was an avid hunter, raised German Shorthair Pointers and hunted chukar until he was 84. Jim was a dairyman and owned the FalNeva Jersey Dairy until he retired at the age of 55. Jim was an animated storyteller and never missed an opportunity to tell an inappropriate joke. … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/August/23/Bill-Ritter-obituary?mc_cid=22b2bd575c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

2 } – Kamal Bey: My Wrestling Hero
Today’s installment of My Wrestling Hero features Kamal Bey. The 2017 Greco-Roman Junior World champion and 2018 World Team member shares his thoughts on his wrestling heroes, Dremiel Byers. 
These are Bey’s words on his wrestling heroes:
“I have so many wrestling heroes — people like Dave Schultz, Kenny Monday, TC Dantzler, Dremiel Byers, Steve Fraser. I like people who throw. I like people who shoot in on legs. John Smith is obviously one of them. I based my whole low single-leg game off of him. 
“The Greco dudes were ungodly tough. They’d go out there and pick people apart. It gave you a show and you really started to appreciate the fight that Greco-Roman was. You’d watch guys like that compete. “Dremiel taught me a lot of things. The first time I met Dremiel Byers was in a Best Buy and I went to go shake his hand. He punched me in the chest as hard as he can. I’m on the ground and I was like, ‘What was that for?’ … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1598326577822&twSessionId=dppjsiugne&postId=861258135&mc_cid=7d6595523f&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

3 } – Pat Santoro: My Wrestling Hero
Today’s installment of My Wrestling Hero features Pat Santoro. The Lehigh coach shares his thoughts on his wrestling heroes, including Darryl Burley and Pete Yozzo.  These are Santoro’s words on his wrestling heroes:
“Growing up in Lehigh Valley I had a ton of Lehigh wrestlers who were my heroes. I loved watching them. Some of the ones that come to mind are Darryl Burley, the Lieberman brothers since they were right there in my backyard. Those are my first memories of guys doing it at the national level. 
“One of my heroes was my dad (Dick). I didn’t get to watch him wrestle but he was someone who taught me about wrestling early on. He wrestled for Lehigh and was third in the country his junior year. My brother was the reason I got into wrestling and he wrestled at Lehigh, also. Rich is someone who was my hero when I was really young since that was all I knew. I only went out for wrestling because I wanted to be my older brother.  “It depends on how you look at it. My first heroes were my dad and my brother … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1598412488313&twSessionId=ftoqqqligb&postId=861679135&mc_cid=0b16b413d6&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

4 } – Erie’s Carr family honored by Wrestling Hall of Fame
Family of standout wrestlers receive Family Legacy award
Erie’s own Carr family was honored with the Bowlsby Family Legacy Award at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, on Saturday night. The Carrs, part of the Gable Museum’s 2020 Hall of Fame ceremony, were honored at the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa. A family of 16 children, including nine boys, the Carrs ascended to become one of the most successful wrestling families in the world. “It was exciting,” Nate Carr said Tuesday of Saturday’s honor. “To think about all that we accomplished as a family, it was definitely deserving when it comes to the wrestling world.”
Five of the Carr wrestlers were Division I All-Americans, an NCAA record. Fletcher Carr, an All-American for the University of Tampa (Florida), later became the first African-American head coach in NCAA Division I when he led the University of Kentucky. Jimmy and Joe Carr earned All-America honors at Kentucky. Nate Carr was an All-American at Iowa State and, later, was an assistant coach at West Virginia where younger brother Michael was an All-American. … rest of story at _{https://www.goerie.com/sports/20200826/eriersquos-carr-family-honored-by-wrestling-hall-of-fame?mc_cid=1f5a8a16f5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

5 } – Colorado’s greatest wrestling upset documented in Unmatched
Brady Buck grew up in the blue collar town of Wray in Eastern Colorado. A wrestler as a youth, he gravitated towards other sports before heading to college at Duke University in North Carolina. He always kept up with wrestling as a fan, but something drew him to tell the story about one of the greatest upsets high school wrestling in the West had ever known.
On Episode 615 of Short Time, Buck talks about chronicling the journey of Brett Roller and his quest to win a state title and stop Tom Clum from becoming the first undefeated four-time state champion in state history. It’s a lot of real life Vision Quest with a tale of two wrestlers who couldn’t be more different and how their careers went in different directions following the match.
Get Unmatched by going to www.unmatchedthebook.com
If you’d like to SUPPORT THE SHOW and all the on-demand audio offerings,  … rest of story at _{http://www.mattalkonline.com/podcast/short-time/colorados-greatest-wrestling-upset-documented-in-unmatched/?mc_cid=1f5a8a16f5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

6 } – HISTORY CLASS: How did Lee Kemp get so good, so fast?
Lee Kemp started wrestling in ninth grade. Four years later, he was in the finals of the 1975 NCAA championships. Kemp breaks down his improbable rise to winning three NCAA titles (1976-78) and three World titles (1978-79, ’82).  Lee Kemp: My Wrestling Hero … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPlayer.jsp?TIM=1598584845797&twSessionId=zmasstmtam&videoId=863939135&mc_cid=3ae5d43d10&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

7 } – Former OSU Wrestlers Make up Majority of African American Division I Coaches
One of the most talked about legacies credited to Coach Smith and Oklahoma State wrestling is the massive number of former athletes that go on to the coaching ranks. There are nine former Cowboys that are currently head coaches at the Div. I level and countless assistants in other positions across the country.
Another impressive part of that legacy is the significant number of color barriers broken in the sport by various Cowboys. The first black Big 8 champion, one of the first black Olympians, the first black Olympic Gold Medalist, one of the first black three-time NCAA champions, the first African American to hold two UFC titles at the same time, and the first and only black coach to lead a team to an NCAA title.
Bobby Douglas, who wrestled at Oklahoma State in the 1960s, is one of the best NCAA wrestling coaches ever, and most would also consider the best African American wrestling coach ever. In this article from The Open Mat, Earl Smith took a look at the current representation of African American coaches across the country in wrestling. As far as head coaches, it’s a somewhat alarmingly low number. There are only three black Div. I head wrestling coaches. Two of those three were Cowboys. Glen Lanham, who has been the head coach at Duke since 2012, and Chris Pendleton who was hired at Oregon State this summer, both wrestled at Oklahoma State. The third is Angel Escobedo who coaches at his alma mater Indiana. … rest of story at _{https://pistolsfiringblog.com/former-osu-wrestlers-make-up-majority-of-african-american-division-i-coaches/?mc_cid=3ae5d43d10&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

8 } – Lee Miracle: My Wrestling Hero
Today’s installment of My Wrestling Hero features Lee Miracle. The Campbellsville women’s coach shares his thoughts on his wrestling heroes: his daughter Kayla Miracle, and John Smith. 
These are Lee Miracle’s words on his wresting heroes:
“There are two that pop into my mind — one when I was growing up and one now. “When I was growing up, it was John Smith. He was absolutely the guy that I worshipped and watched and tried to emulate with his low-single. I love how he wrestled. I always liked his common-sense approach and he was always a nice guy. When I met him later on in life he was always a superstar in my eyes, but he was so humble. Even now, if we run into each other, I don’t know if we’ll talk about deer hunting, noodling or wrestling. Because he’s that kind of guy we’ll sit there and talk about something. He’s a good guy. That was my childhood hero. … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1598584845797&twSessionId=zmasstmtam&postId=863938135&mc_cid=3ae5d43d10&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

9} – Daniel Dennis: My Greatest Loss
Note: This is the third 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. 
Daniel Dennis of Iowa faced Jayson Ness of Minnesota in 133-pound finals of the 2010 NCAA championships in Omaha, Nebraska. Both were seniors and both were wrestling in their final college match. 
Dennis led 4-2 with less than 10 seconds remaining before Ness scored a takedown and two nearfall points for a 6-4 win. Ness finished the season undefeated and was a four-time All-American and 2010 NCAA champion. Dennis finished the season 22-4 and was a two-time All-American, placing seventh in 2009 and second in 2010. The former Hawkeye star eventually made the 2016 Olympic team at 57 kilograms and is the current head coach of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. 
The following are Daniel Dennis’s words on his match against Jayson Ness in the finals of the 2010 NCAA Championships. 
Breaking down the match
“It was a trilogy. I got my ass kicked by him two times earlier that year and they were pretty lopsided. I think I got majored in one — or it was close to a major — and the other he controlled the daylights out of me. I was nursing a sprained ankle that I was making a bigger deal out of it than I should have been.  “I remember distinctly (Iowa head coach) Tom Brands came up to me after the Big Tens … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1598584845797&twSessionId=zmasstmtam&postId=861836135&mc_cid=3ae5d43d10&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

10 } – Todd Beckerman: My Wrestling Hero
Today’s installment of My Wrestling Hero features Todd Beckerman. The Brown University coach shares his thoughts on his wrestling heroes: his parents.  These are Beckerman’s words on his wrestling heroes:
“My father is my wrestling hero. He didn’t wrestle growing up, but just getting me into the sport, teaching me along the way, tetting me some great coaches, taking us everywhere. My parents took us everywhere. I tell the story, we used to drive up to Foxcatcher and trained out of there. It was a 2.5-hour drive. We’d get in the car at 4 o’clock on a Tuesday, we’d get there for a 6:30 practice, and then turn around. They had to go to work and we had to go to school the next day. My parents —  my father and my mother — are my heroes for getting me to where I am today and helping to push me and my brother in all sports.  “It’s kind of wild. They were both teachers. … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1598671152126&twSessionId=fnhzbibpht&postId=864265135&mc_cid=ea5a873124&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

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