Takedown Report

High School News – # 27

TDR Editor’s Notes ; A look at some of the changes and announcements of wrestling seasons in various states. While these articles are dated and the season may have been changed again since then so we will track that down and look to update soon.
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1 } – (Arizona) AIA board eliminates wrestling invitationals, reduces basketball, soccer tourneys amid pandemic
Arizona high school winter sports will look different this year because of the pandemic. There will be no more wrestling invitationals but muti-team meets can be held for schools that don’t have enough wrestlers, as long as no more than one match is conducted per wrestler that day, under revised guidelines approved by the Arizona Interscholastic Association Thursday. For basketball and soccer, only one tournament per school can be played and only during winter break when the schools are not in session. The tournaments can include no more than eight teams with no out-of-state teams and no adjacent courts and fields to be used, under the revisions. The jump ball still will be used for basketball. And, like fall sports, there will be no handshake line post-game. If a tournament is held at a soccer complex, every other field has to be used to provide spacing between teams. The revisions were passed by the AIA’s Executive Board after meeting … rest of story at _{https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/high-school/2020/10/29/aia-board-eliminates-wrestling-invites-modifies-basketball-soccer/6077828002/?mc_cid=69b31ff737&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

2 } – (Virginia) VHSL approved to move forward with plan for return to sports
HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – High school sports are returning to Virginia in December. The Virginia High School League announced Friday it will move forward with the previously adopted “Championships +1” model after “Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the fourth amended Executive Order 67 which includes changes to Section 12 related to recreational sports.” According to a release from the VHSL, “the amended Executive Order did not change the number of attendees permitted at a sporting event, which cannot exceed the lesser of 50% of the occupancy load or 250 persons. For sports played on a field, attendees are limited to 250 person per field.” High school sports competitions in Virginia have been shut down since March due to COVID-19. Teams are currently permitted to hold offseason workouts. … rest of story at _{https://www.whsv.com/2020/10/30/vhsl-approved-to-move-forward-with-plan-for-return-to-sports/?mc_cid=69b31ff737&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

3 } – Wrestling, track canceled for winter season
MONTPELIER — The state of Vermont put out its winter sports guidance on Tuesday during the governor’s press conference and while there’s good news for some, there’s horrible news for others. While sports like basketball and outdoor sports like Nordic skiing will happen this winter, two major offerings — wrestling and indoor track — will not be played this year. Mount Anthony wrestling coach Brian Coon said that the coaches came up with a couple of proposals but they weren’t considered. “I want the kids to have basketball and we should have wrestling as well,” Coon said. “We came up with two or three different proposals — only wrestling dual meets, only in-state teams, only wrestling two or three matches in a week, not having any crowds, but the governor’s group didn’t seem [to take that into account].”
Other states are getting ready for or having wrestling events. Pennsylvania, for example, is hosting the sport with many changes for safety. The Super 32 meet, one of the more prestigious events in the national wrestling scene, went down a couple of weeks ago in Myrtle Beach, S.C. “Things are happening all over, down south and out west,” Coon said. … rest of story at _{https://www.benningtonbanner.com/sports/wrestling-track-canceled-for-winter-season/article_37f69d8e-1e22-11eb-a299-37ac2577ccb4.html?mc_cid=1abb33fe3e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

4 } – (Illinois) Wrestling coaches relish chance to give athletes delayed opportunity
Wednesday’s IHSA Board of Directors special meeting was widely talked about because of the group’s decision on basketball. Specifically, deciding to start it as scheduled on Nov. 16 despite pushback from Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state departments about playing the sport amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But that meeting addressed more than one sport.
Boys’ swimming and diving, competitive cheer, competitive dance, bowling and girls’ gymnastics all will go on as planned, the board determined. Practices can begin Nov. 16, and competition will end Feb. 13.
Then there’s wrestling. “My thought all along, all school year long, was just that it was going to be canceled this season,” Monticello wrestling coach Andy Moore said. “As these (COVID-19) cases grew in Illinois, I really felt they would cancel it for the year,” Champaign Central wrestling leader Merle Ingersoll added.
The IHSA board had a surprise in store for Moore, Ingersoll and others following their train of thought. That being a postponed — not canceled — season for this school year. The board decided to shift the campaign from its planned Nov. 16-Feb. 13 timeline to the IHSA’s one-year summer season of April 19-June 26. This decision fell in line with a September proposal to the IHSA from some of the state’s wrestling coaches and officials. … rest of story at _{https://www.news-gazette.com/sports/wrestling-coaches-relish-chance-to-give-athletes-delayed-opportunity/article_0cdc36b6-e27a-5e99-9a41-2621a9220e53.html?mc_cid=69b31ff737&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

5 } – Minnesota/USA Wrestling Produces COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for Tournaments
MN/USA Wrestling has published a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for MN/USA Wrestling Tournaments on their website along with the following statement:
“Minnesota/USA Wrestling is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all our members, workers, officials, coaches, parents, and participants. To ensure we have a safe and healthy environment, MN/USA Wrestling has developed the following COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tournament organizers and hosts are all responsible for implementing this plan. Our goal is to mitigate the potential for transmission of COVID-19 in our tournaments and communities, and that requires full cooperation among our workers and management. Only through this cooperative effort can we establish and maintain the safety and health of all persons in our workplaces.” … rest of story at _{https://theguillotine.com/2020/10/mn-usa-wrestling-produces-covid-19-preparedness-plan-for-tournaments/?mc_cid=8d4526dbd7&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

6 } – SEVEN RETURNING CHAMPS STILL IN MIX AT BRIAN KECK MEMORIAL PRESEASON NATIONALS
By Taylor Miller, USA Wrestling | Oct. 30, 2020
DES MOINES, Iowa – The first day of the 2020 Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals wrapped up on Friday night with the high school boys divisions wrestling through the round of 16, setting up for Saturday’s quarterfinals. Among those that advanced to the quarterfinals include seven returning Preseason Nationals champions, a 2019 Cadet World Team member and a 2019 U15 World silver medalist. They are listed below: … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/October/30/Preseason-Nats-HS-boys-1?mc_cid=69b31ff737&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}
MANTANONA AND STRICKENBERGER WIN OW AWARDS AT BRIAN KECK MEMORIAL PRESEASON NATIONALS By Taylor Miller, USA Wrestling | Oct. 31, 2020
DES MOINES, Iowa – The high school boys divisions of the Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals wrestled to completion with two athletes—Beau Mantanona (California) and Jett Strickenberger (Colorado)— claiming the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler accolades on Saturday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa.
9th-10th grade recap
Recording six falls and one major decision, Mantanona was the 120 pound champion in the 9th-10th grade division. Representing the CVBJJ, Beau wasn’t the only one from his club to find success. In fact, the CVBJJ, based in California, brought four athletes to the competition and left with four champions in the 9th-10th division, including Brock Mantanona at 100 pounds, Sonny Kling at 195 pounds and Daniel Herrera at 285 pounds. “It’s been tough to train in the middle of the pandemic, but these guys really train hard when there’s a tournament to prepare for,” CVBJJ coach Anthony Mantanona said. “We’ve had this tournament in our sights for a while. The kids were excited and really stepped it up. They all wrestled really tough. Their confidence built as the tournament went on and these guys were awesome.” … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/October/31/HS-boys-preseason-nats-2?mc_cid=41fa5d2268&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

7 } – (Oklahoma) Former NFL linebacker named Po-Hi Interim Wrestling Coach
PONCA CITY — Former NFL linebacker and 2004 Ponca City High School graduate, Justin Roland has been named Interim Head Wrestling Coach at Ponca City High School. Roland is the third Po-Hi graduate to lead the wrestling program in over 90 years. Roland has been involved in the PCPS wrestling and football programs for the past 10 years. “I’m excited to be the leader of this program that taught me about toughness and discipline. I plan to bring toughness, discipline, and sweat equity to the program. In addition, it is imperative to me for this program to be a positive influence on our school and community.” said Roland.  Roland spent eight years as a junior high assistant wrestling coach and two years as the junior high head wrestling coach. During that time, he guided multiple state placers and champions. In addition, his junior high team captured the 2019-20 State Championship. He was selected as the Junior High Coach of the Year.  Roland has spent 10 years on the high school football staff, serving as an assistant for six years and defensive coordinator for four years.  … rest of story at _{https://kaynewscow.com/2020/11/03/former-nfl-linebacker-named-po-hi-interim-wrestling-coach/?mc_cid=1abb33fe3e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

8 } – Wrestling fighting to go maskless as Delaware’s fall sports’ social distancing called a ‘nightmare’
Delaware is one of two states, along with Michigan, that are requiring mask use for most of its high school athletes, but one winter sport is trying to crack that trend. The Delaware Wrestling Coaches Association has submitted a letter to the Division of Public Health and the DIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee saying that wrestling should be exempted from the rule. DWCA President David Williams, head coach at Newark Charter, told WDEL that current facial coverings would be essentially useless, especially if you’re trying to shorten contact time between wrestlers.
“A facial covering won’t stay on in wrestling. It will continually come off during the match. The referee will have to keep on stopping that match, and that will prolong the match. Even though a match is six minutes, it actually takes about nine minutes. With facial coverings, the matches will take 18-20 minutes more than likely with the amount of times the referee will have to start and restart.” While one mild concern could be a mask snap being a distraction, Williams said the masks could also hurt in another key part of the sport. “You can’t breathe as you wrestling as it is. … rest of story at _{https://www.wdel.com/news/wrestling-fighting-to-go-maskless-as-delawares-fall-sports-social-distancing-called-a-nightmare/article_92bf5a10-1d84-11eb-b95f-03f8ec0dcd21.html?mc_cid=1abb33fe3e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

9} – (Wisconsin) Senior National wrestling title the latest accomplishment for Olympic hopeful and Elkhorn grad Peak
When the 2017-18 high school wrestling season rolled around, one name from the area was notably absent. Benji Peak had won the WIAA Division 1 state title at 126 pounds in February 2017 as a junior for Elkhorn Area High School. There would be no title defense in 2018, however. Peak had bigger goals in mind. “Once you win state, there’s not really—in high school at least—much else to do,” he said in a recent phone interview. “And I was like, I’m not going to go wrestle college folkstyle, so I’m leaving now.”
Peak moved to Marquette, Michigan, finished his high school credits online, enrolled at Northern Michigan and began Greco-Roman wrestling training there at the United States Olympic Education Center. Three years later, Peak said he has absolutely has no regrets. And his recent accomplishments are solid proof that he has not looked back. Peak won the 2020 Senior Nationals in Iowa last month. He was named the event’s Most Outstanding Wrestler after outscoring his competition 46-0 over five matches in the 67-kilogram bracket. … rest of story at _{https://www.gazettextra.com/sports/local/senior-national-wrestling-title-the-latest-accomplishment-for-olympic-hopeful-and-elkhorn-grad-peak/article_a29b6275-4d36-5579-bcc1-f5139590bf29.html?mc_cid=1abb33fe3e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

10 } – Penna. High school wrestling: Bethlehem Catholic standout makes college commitment, Powerade tournament venue change
Senior Evan Gleason is the latest Bethlehem Catholic wrestler to commit to Harvard, according to a Facebook post Wednesday by his father, Michael. “We are humbled to announce Evan’s commitment to the Harvard University admissions process,” Michael Gleason wrote. “Evan will be continuing his academic and wrestling career there. Thank you to all our friends and family who have helped accomplish this goal.”
Evan Gleason was 37-13 last season for coach Jeff Karam’s Golden Hawks. He won District 11 Class 3A gold at 138 pounds, then was second at regionals and fifth in the state. He is a two-time district and regional placewinner with a 72-32 career record. Gleason will join Bethlehem Catholic graduates Kenny Herrmann and Dillon Murphy at Harvard.
Powering on: The 54th annual Powerade tournament is moving its event from Canon-McMillan High School to Monroeville Convention Center and it will be Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 28-29, according to a release Thursday morning by tournament director Frank Vulcano Jr. … rest of story at _{https://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/wrestling/mc-spt-lehigh-valley-wrestling-commitment-20201029-5at52pac3zhqfoltxoztgwtp2u-story.html?mc_cid=69b31ff737&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

December 6, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized