Takedown Report

NCAA Division II Programs & News – # 6

TDR Editor’s Notes ; While we are still waiting until the start of the new year when the the start of the postponed season for the NCAA Division II. Until then here are a selection of articles about the coaches, teams, recruits and wrestling stars, +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 } – Five D2 hammers you need to know about
Sophomores dominated the big stage at the 2019 Division II NCAA Championships with nine finalists and six champions, stockpiling the D2 level with recognizable names for the next two seasons.  Many of those headliners are seniors now and still winning big. And several others have elevated their game to join the elite category. 
Here’s a look at five D2 hammers you should know about: 
Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma) — The 2020 NWCA Division II Wrestler of the Year finished the season with a 29-1 record and 21 bonus-point victories at 184. Gray finished the season with 28 consecutive wins after dropping an early-season decision against Oklahoma State’s Dakota Geer. The senior from Chandler, Oklahoma posted a 36-2 record as a sophomore and placed third at the 2019 NCAA Championships. 
Matt Malcom (Nebraska-Kearney) — A three-time All-American who placed fourth at the NCAA Championships as a freshman, won a national title at 157 as a sophomore and posted 21 bonus-point wins last year during a 30-8 junior season at 165. 
Colby Smith (Lindenwood) — A three-time Missouri state high school champion who experienced success at the Division I level, qualifying for the NCAA Championships as a freshman at Appalachian State before transferring to Missouri, where he placed third at the 2018 Southern Scuffle. Posted a 13-0 record last year in his first season at Lindenwood at 141. … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/PortalPost.jsp?postId=877853135&mc_cid=46ecd7f19c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

2 } – SCSU Wrestling inks four student-athletes
St. Cloud, Minn. – St. Cloud State University head wrestling coach Steve Costanzo has announced the Huskies wrestling team’s 2021 recruiting class Wednesday with the addition of three high school standouts and one junior college standout.
The signees, who plan to enroll at SCSU next fall include:
Augustus Donovan, 157 pounds, Richland Center, WI
Anthony Herrera, 157/165 pounds, Stansbury Park, UT
Tyson Meyer, 184/197 pounds, Glenwood, MN
Nicholas Novak, 141/149 pounds, New Prague, MN
“We look forward to bringing in these fine student-athletes to the Huskies wrestling program,” Costanzo said. “These young men are all outstanding students in the classroom and have displayed a lot of potential on the mat. … rest of story at _{https://scsuhuskies.com/news/2020/11/14/scsu-wrestling-inks-four-student-athletes.aspx?mc_cid=0db378071a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

3 } – College Recruiting: state champion Steele to Augsburg University
Derek Steele of Sibley East has committed to wrestling for Augsburg University next season. Steele is a two-time state finalist winning the 113-pound Class A title in 2020 as a junior. He was runner-up at 113 pounds as a sophomore and was a state entrant at 113 pounds as a freshman. Steele has had success at the state level in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. … rest of story at _{https://theguillotine.com/2020/10/college-recruiting-state-champion-steele-to-augsburg-university/?mc_cid=a5e2a6cc0d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

4 } – SCSU Quarantine Convos – Assistant Wrestling Coach Brady Wilson
Watch the latest episode of the SCSU Quaratine Convos with Huskies assistant wrestling coach Brady Wilson … rest of story at _{https://scsuhuskies.com/news/2020/11/18/scsu-quarantine-convos-assistant-wrestling-coach-brady-wilson.aspx?mc_cid=d63f9879b6&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

5 } – Colt Sponseller Announced As Eagles’ Head Wrestling Coach
A familiar name and face in Ohio wrestling circles is the new name and face leading Ashland University’s wrestling program. Al King, Ashland Director of Athletics, announced on Monday (Nov. 23) morning that Colt Sponseller, former wrestler at nearby West Holmes High School and The Ohio State University, is the 10^th head coach in the six-decade history of Eagle grappling. Sponseller has spent the last five years as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Ohio University.  
“I’m super excited,” Sponseller said. “The history of Ashland wrestling and the University, it’s a long history of success. I’m really excited to have my first head-coaching job be here. My first experience in college wrestling was here at the Wendy’s Duals. Coming up here for camps and knowing a lot of the alumni…just knowing the history and tradition of success here, I couldn’t be more thrilled.”  
“Our hope is Colt will bring some new perspectives, ideas and energy to our wrestling program,” King said. “He’s been mentored by some veteran coaches who know how to build and direct an entire wrestling program, one that focuses on academic and athletic success.  
“Colt brings an interesting background to campus. He grew up close to Ashland and got his first taste of college wrestling coming to AU to watch our teams and wrestle in summer camps. He competed at Ohio State and coached at Edinboro and Ohio University. Our hope is those experiences are going to help generate some new features for our program.” Sponseller takes over at Ashland for Josh Hutchens, who spent seven seasons leading Ashland wrestling before leaving in September to take an athletic director position in the Daleville (Ind.) Community School District. Sponseller is coming into a program right before a new season – and with the added challenges that come with navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. … rest of story at _{https://goashlandeagles.com/news/2020/11/23/colt-sponseller-announced-as-eagles-head-wrestling-coach.aspx?mc_cid=638194e439&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

6 } – Colin Johnston Named Head Wrestling Coach
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Fairmont State University Director of Athletics Greg Bamberger has named Colin Johnston head wrestling coach as the Falcons enter their second season competing at the NCAA Division II level.  Johnston was a standout wrestler at West Virginia University and has coaching experience at multiple levels of NCAA wrestling. Johnston was also inducted into the Southwest Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018. The prep standout earned Hall of Fame recognition after winning four WPIAL titles from 2005-08 at Canon-McMillan High School in Pennsylvania, including a trio of PIAA top-three finishes.
 “We are extremely excited to welcome Colin and his family to Fairmont and look forward to his leadership for our wrestling program,” said Bamberger. “Colin is a young, energetic coach that has a great vision for our young program.
 “Colin brings experience from multiple levels of collegiate wrestling and will be able to relate to and lead our student–athletes based on the experiences he has had as a student-athlete, assistant coach, and head coach,” Bamberger continued. … rest of story at _{https://fightingfalcons.com/news/2020/11/25/colin-johnston-named-head-wrestling-coach.aspx?mc_cid=de5a36abdc&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

7 } – Andy Bricker Named Director Of Wrestling
First coach in program history; comes to LMU from Tampa Prep (Fla.)
HARROGATE, Tenn. – Director of Athletics Jasher Cox has selected Andy Bricker as the inaugural Lincoln Memorial University director of wrestling, the LMU athletic department announced Wednesday afternoon.
Coach Bricker, a former Division I wrestler at Campbell University, arrives in Harrogate after spending the last 12 years as the head coach of Tampa Preparatory School.
“I am elated to have Coach Bricker launch our men’s and women’s wrestling programs,” Cox said. “His understanding of the sport and recruiting experience in our region will be extremely valuable to our institution. We feel fortunate to have someone of his caliber and level of knowledge here at LMU. He also understands the value having a great experience both academically and athletically here in Harrogate.”
During his time at Tampa Prep, Bricker was in charge of instructing technique, designing a strength and conditioning program, scheduling competitions, organizing travel, communicating with the local media, and managing the team’s Twitter account. He coached seven wrestlers to individual state championships and had nine state runners-up. The team finished in the top five at the state championship on four occasions, and several wrestlers continued their careers at NCAA Division I and II schools. “I’m honored and grateful to be selected by LMU to serve as the Director of Wrestling,” … rest of story at _{https://lmurailsplitters.com/news/2020/12/2/mens-wrestling-andy-bricker-named-director-of-wrestling.aspx?mc_cid=580d0bc2a3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

8 } – NSIC Welcomes Parkside Wrestling for 2021 Season
KENOSHA, Wis. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has announced it has approved Parkside wrestling to join as an associated member for the 2021 season, one year earlier than previously announced. The Rangers wrestling program was slated to officially join the NSIC for the 2021-22 season, but faced scheduling difficulties during the pandemic. The announcement creates a 6-dual schedule for the Rangers in 2021 and a chance to compete for a conference championship.  
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK: Parkside Ranger Athletics 
“On behalf of the Parkside wrestling program, we’d like to thank Commissioner Erin Lind, the conference office, and the wrestling coaches and administrators around the NSIC for being so accommodating to us during this time,” head coach Dr. Corey VanGroll ’09 said. “The team is excited to have competition on the calendar after a long summer and preseason of uncertainty.  We look forward to our first season in NSIC.” 
The NSIC Wrestling schedule will be six duals starting the second week of January and concluding the second week of February. Schools will compete against six of its nine conference opponents. A regular season champion will be crowned based on win percentage from the six duals.
Parkside is scheduled to open the 2021 season at home against Augustana on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. … rest of story at _{https://parksiderangers.com/news/2020/11/16/nsic-welcomes-wrestling-for-2021-season.aspx?mc_cid=7e05e44971&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

9} – Friday Feature: Lapping The Field
Friday Features Are Brought To You By UCO ROTC
EDMOND – Coming off back-to-back national championships and with a veteran squad returning, Central Oklahoma entered the 1993-94 wrestling season as the heavy favorites to continue its reign as the class of NCAA Division II. “We have high expectations,” 12^th-year head coach David James said in the media guide’s preseason outlook. “Obviously we’ve got to be optimistic and excited about the season, but you try to keep those things in prospective. Hopefully the guys all came back with positive attitudes, attitudes like ‘let’s work hard like we have in the past and not let down.'”
The Bronchos didn’t disappoint.
Top-ranked UCO performed at an elite level all season and capped the campaign with a dominating national tournament performance in staking its claim as one of the best teams in the program’s storied history. Senior veterans Keith Cunningham (167 pounds) and Randy Zellner (118) were the unquestioned leaders among Central’s returners, with the Bronchos also benefitting from the addition of two newcomers who ended up as national champions. UCO went 12-2 in duals, which included a surprise seventh-place finish in the NWCA National Duals. The Bronchos beat defending NCAA Division III champion Wartburg (37-2), No. 4 Michigan (24-13) and No. 10 Fresno State (43-9) while losing to No. 6 Penn State (30-12) and No. 11 Nebraska (25-10) to become the first non-Division I team to place in the 16-team event. “That was probably the biggest win since I’ve been involved with UCO,” James told the Vista after … rest of story at _{https://bronchosports.com/news/2020/10/30/wrestling-friday-feature-lapping-the-field.aspx?mc_cid=69b31ff737&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

10 } – TOM’s Thanksgiving Food Finals
Before you sit down with family and friends (or meet over Zoom/Skype/FaceTime) to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast, let’s reevaluate your meal. Look at your food items through the lens of a college wrestling program. What are your favorite Thanksgiving-related choices and which leave a little bit to be desired? I know I have my favorites! Today, we’ve listed most of the staples of a Thanksgiving dinner and matched them up with a potential member of a college team. Let us know your feedback and how you would label your meal. I expect this will be more controversial than trying to pick a side in an Iowa/Penn State dual meet.  Oh and we’re just evaluating main course items. No desserts. We’re wrestlers, we’ll probably eat whatever dessert we can get our hands on.
National Champion (Green Bean Casserole) – It’s potential is endless. A national title may be too low of a bar for this awesome side. Any dinner with green bean casserole automatically gets about 20 team points for the head of the household. This really should be a normal part of your repertoire rather than a holiday favorite.  The High-Ceiling Potential (Stuffing) – I expect to get varying opinions on this one. For me, stuffing is neck-and-neck with the green bean casserole. On a good day, prepared by the right person, maybe it wins the national title. Some may be quick to throw it in the “did not qualify” category, though. It’s the most volatile choice, here. 
The Low-Floor Potential (Macaroni and Cheese) – I don’t expect the macaroni and cheese to blow my mind with its awesomeness, but at the same time, it will be one of the better options on the table. You can be safe in assuming this favorite will make an appearance on the medal stand. 
The One that Bumped Up Two Weights and AA’ed (Mashed Potatoes) – What does this mean? The mashed potatoes are versatile; they’re a team player. If you’re someone that likes to mix your foods together, … rest of story at _{https://news.theopenmat.com/05-feature-articles/toms-thanksgiving-food-finals/79514?mc_cid=de5a36abdc&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

December 13, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized