Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

High School News (2021) – # 3

TDR Editor’s Notes ; Scholastic wrestling is active from coast to coast as can be read in the following articles. Some of the news is of postponement of competition while other news is of competition and plans for events. In the full stories that can be read often pictures and videos are included along with links to more wrestling news stories. E-mail us at the Editor’s office at martinkfleming@gmail.com
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1 } – Wrestling In The Time Of COVID-19 – The Complete Coach’s Handbook
Not only will following these guidelines help to keep you and your athletes safe, it’ll keep you covered from a liability standpoint. Of course, good coaches go beyond ticking boxes. Putting athlete welfare at the forefront of your season doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice development. Successful wrestling in the time of COVID might be a bit of a balancing act. But when done correctly, you’ll inspire the type of buy-in from athletes (and their parents) that translates to an aggressive, technical, and committed program.
That being said, here are 7 key steps you can take today – pulled straight from “Wrestling In The Time Of COVID-19 – The Complete Coach’s Handbook” – to get started down the right path.
The complete Handbook can be downloaded at this site … rest of story at https://www.attackstylewrestling.com/wrestling-in-time-of-covid-19/?mc_cid=c19dc39a02&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

2 } – Southern ARIZONA Wrestling Preview: Sunnyside moved to D-I; 14 individual champions return
The winter season is slated to start on January 18 and the regular season ending on March 5. All AIA sport modifications are required and are not up to each high school to decide. For wrestling, there will be no invitationals or regional tournaments. Teams cannot leave the state to compete in tournaments. In addition, fans will not be allowed at meets until metrics are determined.
Salpointe and Catalina Foothills have opted out of wrestling this year.
LINK: COMPLETE WINTER MODIFICATIONS
Sunnyside brought home its 33rd state title last year by putting up 277.5 points which is the third most in Arizona history. The Blue Devils hold six of the top eight scoring totals including the state record of 282 scored in 2000. The Blue Devils held off Mountain View 277.5 to 176 to capture the Division II championship held in Prescott Valley.  … rest of story at http://allsportstucson.com/2020/12/30/southern-arizona-wrestling-preview-sunnyside-moved-to-d-i-14-individual-champions-return/?mc_cid=e4f16a9e0e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

3 } – (New Jersey) Wrestlers, coaches hopeful COVID doesn’t take away trips to A.C.
Most wrestlers in the state have one goal in common each winter: to reach the podium at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
But that might not be possible this season.
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association pushed back all winter sports, with wrestling practices not permitted to begin until March 1 and competition tentatively scheduled for March 16 to April 24.
Cape-Atlantic League schools can wrestle up to 15 conference-only matches. Some leagues, like the Shore Conference, have not announced scheduling specifics. For now, only dual-matches are permitted in the state. … rest of story at https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/high-school/wrestlers-coaches-hopeful-covid-doesnt-take-away-trips-to-a-c/article_651979aa-1dd9-5156-a6a6-a587f44e7957.amp.html?mc_cid=3c167aa54c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

4 } – (Nebraska) 2021 AAU Winter Nationals Preview
AAU Wrestling will return to the mat this weekend in Ralston, Nebraska with 2021’s Winter Nationals. Despite the challenges the pandemic has presented in hosting a tournament of this caliber, tournament director Daniel Vacha has seen substantial early-entry numbers. As of Monday, wrestlers from 18 states, some as far as Georgia and Florida, have already registered. “I have also seen a large number of teams bringing their whole team. We have 10 teams bringing over 20 wrestlers and four teams with 40 wrestlers each”, Vacha says. 
To accommodate local COVID-19 restrictions, there will be several modifications in the tournament’s format. There will be three, three and a half-hour sessions on Saturday to account for the wrestlers and their spectators. In between, each will be a 90-minute break for sanitation purposes. The tournament format will also see most of the early round concluded on Saturday with placement matches for most brackets on Sunday.  In 2020, the tournament debuted its electronic tapper system. This will be used again in 2021 and is a feature that other events may look to adopt as they increase safety measures. … rest of story at https://news.theopenmat.com/aau-wrestling/2021-aau-winter-nationals-preview/79720?mc_cid=3c167aa54c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

5 } – Wrestling’s elite – rankings the top wrestlers in ARIZONA history
The history of Arizona wrestling is unique and pretty special. We can’t match the history and depth midwestern powers of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, and the like, simply because of a lack of population and popularity.
With that said, Arizona can build a strong case with an Olympic champion (Henry Cejudo), an Olympic team member (Billy Rosado) who missed out because of the 1980 boycott, UFC Champions (Cain Velazquez, Justin Gaethje (interim), Cejudo), national high school champions (numerous including Roman Bravo-Young), a triple-crown winner (Danny Vega), NCAA National champions (Anthony Robles, Eric Larkin, Eddie Urbano, etc.), Outstanding wrestler awards at NCAA tournament (Robles), a Hodge Trophy winner (Larkin) as the NCAA wrestler of the Year, members of Arizona State’s 1988 national championship team (Thom Ortiz, Jim Gressly, Chip Parks) and have a motion picture made about their life (Robles – Unstoppable – there is no release date). … rest of story at https://arizonavarsity.rivals.com/news/wrestling-s-elite-rankings-the-top-wrestlers-in-arizona-history?mc_cid=b46d50bbf8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

6 } – (California) Dominic Mendez, Righetti’s standout wrestler, grapples with distance training and distance learning
Righetti sophomore wrestler Dominic Mendez’s goal before the 2019-20 season started was to place in the top eight at the 2020 CIF State Tournament. He did just that, finishing fourth at 108 pounds in the state tournament at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield. “I placed fourth, so that was good,” Mendez said by phone. The Righetti sophomore was the Mountain League champion at 108 pounds. Mendez won at the CIT meet at Morro Bay early in the year. The Morro Bay meet regularly draws some of the top wrestlers in the state. Mendez finished seventh at 108 pounds at the Doc Buchanan Invitational in Clovis, an even more prestigious meet, later in the season. Participation in the Doc Buchanan meet is by invitation only.
“That’s a tough meet,” said Mendez. “A lot of the top kids, from California and out of state, wrestle there.” Mendez said, “About two weeks before the Doc Buchanan meet I started training harder because that’s when the tougher meets started.” … rest of story at https://lompocrecord.com/b/dominic-mendez-righettis-standout-wrestler-grapples-with-distance-training-and-distance-learning/article_1851a276-9932-522c-996e-190f5cc2d5e6.html?mc_cid=6915204714&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

7 } – (Illinois) #190 Mike Bukovsky – Led Montini to 8 Team State Championships
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Mike Bukovsky created the Montini Wrestling Dynasty.  He led the Broncos to 8 Illinois team state titles, a 397-35 record and coached 3 different 4x state champions. A ridiculous resume to say the least. Today, Coach Bu leads the Montini Football program. 
In this episode we talk about

8 } – The Men Behind Western IOWA Wrestling
The men who started or guided high school wrestling programs in their early years in northwest Iowa made up for what they lacked in experience with fierce determination that often transferred itself to their wrestlers.
Lacking the tradition programs on the eastern side of the state had built, coaches like Kingsley-Pierson’s Rich Krosch, Maple Valley’s Dick Kingsbury and Ida Grove’s Herb Irgens went about building their programs in the 1960s through two hallmarks of wrestling: Hard work and dedication.
They were all members of the Maple Valley Conference — Holstein, Ida Grove, Kingsley-Pierson, Lawton-Bronson, Maple Valley, West Monona, Westwood and Wooodbury Central. The early years helped lay the foundation for programs that now find consistent success on the state’s biggest stage.
The facilities may not have been ideal and the days were long, but more than a half century later the coaches speak with the same fire and fondness for their programs and wrestlers. Krosch gets K-P going
Krosch started the Kingsley-Pierson wrestling program with his brother, Stan, in 1965 having wrestled in high school in Elmore, Minnesota. He would go on to work out on occasion with the wrestling team at Mankato State College before finding his way to Iowa where he was asked to lead the wrestling program because of his experience in the sport. … rest of story at https://www.thepredicament.com/2020/11/the-men-behind-western-iowa-wrestling/?mc_cid=46ecd7f19c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

9} – (Texas) UIL postpones wrestling indefinitely
Wrestling coaches around the state are getting somewhat of a taste of how spring coaches felt almost a year ago. Around Dec. 17, the UIL sent out an email to school superintendents and wrestling coaches indefinitely delaying the season. While the spring season ended up getting canceled, wrestling will happen.
It’s just a matter of when and not if. “I just think they need some extra time as far as to develop a plan like how many teams are we going to have at each dual?” Estacado girls wrestling coach Casen DeLucia said. “Are we going to be allowed to have tournaments? If we’re not going to have tournaments, is it just going to be duals until district and so on and so forth.”
In the meantime, programs are still allowed to practice. In some ways, Matadors’ first-year coach Matthew McHugh sees the silver lining to the extra time. … rest of story at https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/high-school/wrestling/2021/01/04/uil-postpones-wrestling-indefinitely/4132253001/?mc_cid=afb669e366&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

10 } – (Kansas) KSHSAA postseason wrestling changes meet with mixed reviews
The postseason for high school wrestling in Kansas will have quite a different look this year because of COVID-19 considerations. Very different, in fact. In order to avoid the large gatherings that traditionally accompany postseason wrestling regional and state tournaments, the Kansas State High School Activities Association completely revamped the format for qualifying for the state tournament as well as the state tournament itself. A fixture at the end of February for years, the road to the state tournament now begins in early February for Class 4A and below and girls’ programs, which now will be split into two Divisions (6A/5A in Division I and 4A/3A/2A/1A in Division II). Two-day regionals and state tournaments have been reduced to one-day settings with fields reduced at those tourneys by the addition of district and sub-state rounds. Naturally, the new-look format approved by the KSHSAA Executive Board was met with mixed reactions.
“I respect those that have placed time and energy into developing what they feel is the best postseason tournament format for wrestling, Shawnee Heights coach Chad Parks said. “I can’t say that I’m a fan of the format, but I will state that I’m grateful we get a postseason and we plan to make the best of it … rest of story at https://www.cjonline.com/story/sports/high-school/wrestling/2021/01/04/postseason-wrestling-changes-meet-mixed-reviews/4129059001/?mc_cid=afb669e366&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

11 } – Why is GEORGIA wrestling on our minds?
Cliff Fretwell had no intention of getting involved in wrestling. That’s not to say he wasn’t a wrestler and that he didn’t appreciate the sport, but other parts of the world caught his eye.  Fretwell wanted to make his mark in Hollywood. He was getting a degree in 3D animation and design, so he wanted to put his knowledge to use as a special effects coordinator for films. Besides, the dot-com boom had just hit so everyone was eager to get something started with the latest and greatest technology.
Despite all of the online advancements and Fretwell’s expertise with computers, it was a single sheet of paper that would change the direction of his life. His oldest son, Anthony, brought home a flier for middle school wrestling. The coach of the program was among the most respected coaches in Georgia so Fretwell was intrigued by the possibility of getting his son involved.  “That’s how I got back into wrestling during the early 2000s,” Fretwell said. “The more I got involved, the more I saw the divide between middle school and high school, and high school and college. There weren’t enough people involved that cared about growing wrestling in Georgia. “We had 10,000 kids wrestling in Georgia when I was wrestling, but they all sucked. It’s great they’re wrestling, but I wanted them to get better.” … rest of story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1610165795337&twSessionId=wvbstjdkts&postId=940312135&mc_cid=c6c3fe425c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

12 } – (Montana) Highly touted college football prospect Zac Crews trades in basketball jersey for wrestling singlet at Missoula Sentinel
MISSOULA — Missoula Sentinel’s Zac Crews had a full smile to flash when he won his high school wrestling debut in the team’s upset win over Missoula Big Sky in the season opener on Tuesday. It was his first competition since he broke one of his front teeth in the football state title game, which capped a season in which he proved himself as one of the top juniors in the state. He picked up full-ride offers from Montana and Montana State during the fall and said he began talking with perennial title-game participant North Dakota State and Eastern Washington. Crews is now tackling wrestling, trying to cut his teeth on the mat as he traded in his basketball jersey for a wrestling singlet. The Spartans basketball team, like the football team, is a state title favorite and includes his older brother Haiden Crews and his friends, but he turned down the lure of another state title to pursue one of his childhood loves. … rest of story at https://406mtsports.com/high-school/wrestling/highly-touted-college-football-prospect-zac-crews-trades-in-basketball-jersey-for-wrestling-singlet-at/article_e9ebf6b2-b872-5979-8ccc-ba516bb6a9ce.html?mc_cid=4a4f0e7778&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

January 20, 2021 - Posted by | Uncategorized

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