Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

College Recruits & Transfers # 6


TDR Editor’s Notes ; Encouraging to see colleges and university coaches and programs eagerly recruiting incoming freshmen to wrestle later this year. The opening of practices and competitions are still in doubt. Oh yes, plans have been made and announced and we hope that they will be fulfilled but as we all have seen over the past 8 months plans are …. plans.
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1 } – A Look at Nebraska’s 2021 Recruiting Class
Nebraska has a seriously solid start on its 2021 recruiting class. Head Wrestling Coach Mark Manning and Associate Head Coach Bryan Snyder have been doing work the last few seasons on the recruiting front, and they’ve continued that this season.
The Huskers own only two commitments, but for what they lack in numbers they make up for with quality. Nebraska owns commitments from Jagger Condomitti and Lenny Pinto. Both are Pennsylvania boys, and if you didn’t know, Pennsylvania is a wrestling hotbed. Kind of like Texas for football.
A Pennsylvania man himself, Snyder has shown an ability to go into the state and pull top-tier talent. Mikey Labriola, a junior-to-be at 174 pounds and an All-American for Nebraska, is from Pennsylvania as well. And both Condomitti and Pinto have said Snyder and Labriola were influential in their recruitment. So let’s see what these two future Huskers have been up to. … rest of story at https://www.cornnation.com/2020/9/8/21424239/wrestling-a-look-at-nebraskas-2021-recruiting-class?mc_cid=99708d813d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

2 } – Penn State wrestling lands nation’s No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound high school recruit
Even with the college wrestling season in flux, there’s one constant — Penn State’s ability to land some of the nation’s top talent. Though it isn’t known yet when Cael Sanderson’s squad will step back on the mat and compete for a 10th NCAA title, the Nittany Lions’ chances at winning a title got a major boost on Monday. Senior Shayne Van Ness, the nation’s second-ranked pound-for-pound wrestler according to FloWrestling and MatScouts’ Willie Saylor, announced via Instagram that he’d be continuing his wrestling career at Penn State.
Van Ness won the 2020 national prep championship at 132 pounds at Blair Academy in New Jersey after finishing as the runner-up in 2019, and picked Penn State over Michigan, Cornell, Princeton and Rutgers. Van Ness is likely projected to compete anywhere from 133 to 149 in college and could provide Penn State with the spark it needs over the next few years to stay a title contender. … rest of story at https://www.collegian.psu.edu/sports/wrestling/article_441881f2-f156-11ea-9adb-8355fa5e0d07.html?mc_cid=72ed629a09&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

3 } – BUCKEYE WELCOME – ANTHONY ECHEMENDIA
Anthony Echemendia’s ascension into the national spotlight began in July 2019 in Fargo, N.D. There, he not only tech’ed his way into the freestyle semifinals en route to a title, but he also captured the Greco-Roman championship despite little-to-no previous experience in Greco-Roman. Next up was another dominating performance on the national stage, earning a tech fall in the Who’s #1 event. Echemendia had also ripped through an unblemished 52-0 season for Sunnyside High School (Tuscon, Ariz.) after leaving his native country of Cuba. In Cuba, he found much success in the freestyle world. The son of Davami Orduna and Rodolfo Echemendia was a two-time Senior-level medalist and U23 Cuba Freestyle National Champion (’17) as a teenager. He reached three straight Cuba Junior Freestyle finals from 2015-17, capped by back-to-back titles in ’16-17. Echemendia strung together a three-year national title run among the Cadet ranks from 2012-14 as well. … rest of story at https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/buckeye-welcome-anthony-echemendia/?mc_cid=48f6ce54f3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

4 } – Kisgen Adds Four Transfers to 2020-21 Roster
(LEBANON, Ill. – Sept. 10) – McKendree University men’s wrestling head coach James Kisgen announcers the addition of three transfers to the 2020-21 season roster.
Rozell Baker (Cahokia, IL/Cahokia) – Ellsworth Community College Baker spent the past two seasons at Ellsworth Community College, where he posted a 19-4 record and was the NJCAA National Runner-up in the 184-lb weight class. Prior to his collegiate career, Baker posted a 100-23 record for the Comanches of Cahokia High School.
Tyler Delaware (Washington, IL/Washington Community) – Old Dominion University
Delaware spent his past two seasons at Old Dominion University, where he posted a 10-15 overall record including, his Redshirt season. Prior to his collegiate career, Delaware was the 2016 Illinois State Wrestling Champion, competing in the 120-lb class, and was a two-time Illinois State Runner-Up. … rest of story at https://mckbearcats.com/news/2020/9/10/mens-wrestling-kisgen-adds-four-transfers-to-2020-21-roster.aspx?mc_cid=27cd8af936&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

5 } – .Little Rock Wrestling Completes 2020-21 Roster
LITTLE ROCK – Building upon the foundation set in its exciting inaugural year, head coach Neil Erisman has finalized the addition of nine newcomers to join Little Rock wrestling for the upcoming 2020-21 season. Bringing a mixed bag of maturity and depth to support the nine that committed this past fall, this new batch of Trojans includes two transfers from Oklahoma State along with seven incoming freshmen.
Join the Little Rock Trojans in welcoming Zeke Beach (Liberty, Missouri), Jakob Beene (Maumelle, Arkansas), Gabe Beyer (Tallahassee, Florida), Khyler Brewer (Kansas City, Missouri), Zane Davis (Allen, Texas), Caz Grabowski (Half Moon Bay, California) and Robby Vaughn (Pasco, Washington), along with transfers Bear Hughes (Coweta, Oklahoma) and Triston Wills (Derby, Kansas).
Read more about the incoming Little Rock wrestlers below:
Zeke Beach (Liberty, Missouri)
Beach is a Missouri high school State placer, helping the Liberty High School Blue Jays to a first-place team finish this February. The Victory Wrestling club member finished third at 195 pounds at the high school championships, and will likely be competing at 197 once at Little Rock.
Coach Erisman on Beach – “Zeke has great size and the frame to be big. We are excited to see his growth and development as a wrestler. Most importantly Zeke has great character and discipline to our squad. He is someone we are excited to have here.” 
Jakob Beene (Maumelle, Arkansas)
The sole in-state addition to the Trojans for this class, Beene is a three-time Arkansas high school State champion for Maumelle High School that will look to appear at 141 for Little Rock. Beene has progressed with the club Arkansas Wrestling Academy after finishing as runner-up his freshman year. .. rest of story at https://lrtrojans.com/news/2020/9/3/little-rock-wrestling-completes-2020-21-roster.aspx?mc_cid=fd098ddc36&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

6 } – ARIZONA CHRISTIAN ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL 2020 RECRUITING CLASS
Glendale, Ariz. – Led by second-year head coach, Travis Patrick, the Arizona Christian University men’s wrestling program is excited to officially announce the 24 members of its 2020 recruiting class. Coming off of a strong inaugural season, the Firestorm wrestling team is incredibly excited to welcome the 2020 recruiting class to campus. This class boasts seven state championships, 22 state finals appearances, three academic state champions, and two NJCAA National Qualifiers. 
Half of the members of this year’s class are homegrown talent from the state of Arizona, with the other members of the class coming as far as Alaska, California, Washington, New Mexico, Illinois, and Ohio.  When asked about his new recruiting class, Coach Patrick stated, “I am excited to welcome our program’s second recruiting class to campus.  We feel that each of these young men are strong fits for the university and the mission of our program, … rest of story at https://theguillotine.com/2020/09/college-recruiting-two-time-state-champion-meyer-to-st-cloud-state-university/?mc_cid=48f6ce54f3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

7 } – College Recruiting: two-time state champion Meyer to St. Cloud State University
Tyson Meyer of Minnewaska Area has committed to wrestling for St. Cloud State University after his upcoming senior season. Meyer is a two-time state champion, winning the Class A 170-pound title in 2020 as a junior and in 2019 as a sophomore. He was a state qualifier as a freshman (170-pounds) and as an eighth-grader (160 pounds). Meyer is also a two-time Big Bear Tournament champion. He is No. 12 on The Guillotine’s latest Pound-For-Pound Class of 2021 Rankings. Meyer is projected to wrestle at 174 or 184 pounds for the Huskies. … rest of story at https://theguillotine.com/2020/09/college-recruiting-two-time-state-champion-meyer-to-st-cloud-state-university/?mc_cid=48f6ce54f3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

8 } – Rutgers wrestling: Pennsylvania junior standout commits to Scarlet Knights
Another nationally ranked wrestler from the class of 2022 has committed to the Rutgers University wrestling program. Notre Dame (Pennsylvania) High School’s Brandan Chletsos, ranked No. 8 in the country by flowrestling.org at 126 pounds, announced Monday on Instagram he has committed to the Scarlet Knights. 
He is ranked just behind Brick Memorial’s senior three-time state placewinner and two-time state top three finisher Vincent Santaniello, who committed to Navy last month. St. John Vianney senior Dean Peterson, a two-time NJSIAA champion and three-time state finalist, is ranked No. 2 at 126. He has committed to Princeton.  Chletsos joins High Point’s returning state champion Brian Soldano, who is ranked No. 7 in the nation by flowrestling.org at 170, as nationally ranked ranked juniors who have committed to Rutgers. Soldano, the NJSIAA 160 pound champion last season, committed to Rutgers in July. … rest of story at https://www.app.com/story/sports/college/rutgers/2020/09/07/rutgers-wrestling-pennsylvania-junior-standout-commits-scarlet-knights/5739045002/?mc_cid=99708d813d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

9} – Waynesburg adds Ariz. wrestling champion as WPIAL sorts out-of-state transfers
For the second year in a row, Waynesburg’s wrestling team has added a state champion from another part of the country. The team’s newest transfer is junior Zander Phaturos, who won the 113-pound state title in Arizona last winter. The WPIAL processed his transfer paperwork Wednesday and granted him full eligibility. Phaturos also finished as Arizona’s runner-up at 103 pounds as a freshman. Combined, his two-year record is 81-11.
Now in the WPIAL, Phaturos can attempt to win a title his father won three decades ago. Lance Phaturos was a WPIAL wrestling champion for Riverview in 1984. Waynesburg athletic director Bob Stephenson said a desire to be closer to family brought them back to Western Pennsylvania. Lance Phaturos recently retired as a high school principal in Holbrook, Ariz. Stephenson said covid-19 also was a concern.
Zander Phaturos attended Trinity High School in Peoria, Ariz. Last fall, Waynesburg also added an out-of-state champion when Wyatt Henson transferred home after winning a 2019 Missouri state title. Henson won the PIAA title at 138 pounds as a junior this past season. Waynesburg is coached by Joe Throckmorton, who won two WPIAL titles and a state title in 1979-80 during his career wrestling for the Raiders. He later captained Pitt’s wrestling team. … rest of story at https://tribhssn.triblive.com/waynesburg-adds-ariz-wrestling-champion-as-wpial-sorts-out-of-state-transfers/?mc_cid=26de816f3c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

10 } – Trevor Mastrogiovanni Maintains OSU’s East-Coast Connection
STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State wrestling program has historically had great success taking talented wrestlers from the northeast and turning them into All-Americans and national champions. Cowboy legends such as Jordan Oliver, Coleman Scott and Teague Moore all hailed from the northeast and won individual national championships for OSU.  
Recent OSU All-Americans Nick Piccininni and Dakota Geer also came from the east coast and Trevor Mastrogiovanni is looking to be the next great Cowboy All-American from the region.  
Mastrogiovanni was born in Sparta, New Jersey, on March 29, 2001 to parents Dena and David Mastrogiovanni. He started his wrestling career at just four years old and said the biggest influence on his introduction to the sport was his grandfather.
 “My grandfather was the only one in the family to do sports so that was the sport we had to go into,” Mastrogiovanni said. “He got me into wrestling very young and I ended up picking it up pretty easily as a young kid and I kept with it.” He attended Blair Academy in New Jersey where he finished with an astounding 96-4 record in high school. … rest of story at https://okstate.com/news/2020/9/14/wrestling-trevor-mastrogiovanni-maintains-osus-east-coast-connection.aspx?mc_cid=aa5954ac13&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

September 27, 2020 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment