Takedown Report

NCAA Division I News (2021) – # 12

TDR Editor’s Notes ; Awards and recognitions for wrestlers from last month may be a bit behind in passing them along yet the news is worth reading as one awaits the brackets. They are to be released tomorrow for the Division I tournament. The Division II and III National tournaments will be wrestled this weekend. The D-II matches can be viewed at https://www.ncaa.com/live-updates/wrestling/d2/2021-ncaa-dii-wrestling-championship-selection-release-schedule?mc_cid=92195b958e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b Keep on wrestling! Contsct us at the Editor’s office at martinkfleming@gmail.com
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1 } – Will a college wrestling legend emerge from a global pandemic?
Until his final breath, Dick Hutton insisted that he defeated Verne Gagne in the heavyweight finals of the 1949 NCAA Championships. And he’s not wrong for thinking that way, either.  The Oklahoma State junior (known as Oklahoma A&M at the time) lost by split referees’ decision to Gagne — a senior from Minnesota who won the 191-pound title the year before. The fate of the match was left in the hands of someone else, and the outcome truly wasn’t settled on the mat.  This seminal moment in college wrestling history was multiplied when both pursued professional wrestling careers. It didn’t matter where they were or the circumstances of the gathering: Hutton said he was the rightful winner of the match. Gagne said the same thing. It always led to playful banter whenever they were in a room together. … rest of story at _{^{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1613968879360&twSessionId=zydvzxtigz&postId=1079962135&mc_cid=4fc5b594c8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

2 } – Hall of Fame Talk with Willie Williams
For one Illinois State Hall of Famer, an opportunity was the only thing he needed to change his life forever. At the age of six, Willie Williams and his family moved from Mississippi to Chicago Heights, Illinois. It wouldn’t be until much later and the influence of a high school coach that he would be introduced to the sport of wrestling. Prior to his senior year at Bloom High School (1963), Williams had never wrestled. After continual pressure from the high school coach, he eventually gave it a try. “The wrestling coach talked me into coming out for the wrestling team and I made the team,” Williams said. “I thank the wrestling team; that pretty much prompted me to go to college.” After making the team, continual practice, and study of the sport, Williams excelled on the mat in his first season. Willie earned both the South Suburban Conference and IHSA District Championships his senior year. “I began to learn more and more about wrestling and of course there were a lot of people who knew a lot of wrestling,” Williams said. “I pretty much mingled with them and got educated by them and it got to be interesting and exciting and I caught on and stuck with it.” … rest of story at _{^{https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2021/02/hall-of-fame-talk-with-willie-williams/?mc_cid=9c47fa024a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

3 } – Peyton Omania Named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week
Spartan redshirt-freshman registers emotional upset win
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State wrestler Peyton Omania was named the Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week, announced by the conference office Wednesday. Omania is Michigan State’s first Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award recipient since Drew Hughes earned the accolade on Dec. 11, 2018. A native of Concord, Calif., Omania is a redshirt-freshman 149-pounder. In Friday night’s dual vs. No. 4 Michigan, as a special tribute to his De La Salle High School and Greco-Roman coach, Mark Halvorson, who unexpectedly passed away last week, Omania upset No. 5 Kanen Storr of Michigan, 15-8. After the win, Omania collapsed on the mat in emotion, then celebrated, pointing up at his dad who traveled from California.
The Spartan used a frenzied start complete with two headlocks to open a 12-1 lead in the first period,  as Omania scored a pair of takedowns and ensuing four-point nearfalls. Omania’s 15 points was a new season-high for him and he now has double-digit points in all three wins. The 15 points were nearly twice as many as Storr’s previous high for points allowed against him, after an 8-1 loss on Feb. 12.  Omania, unranked in four of the five rankings and No. 32 in TheOpenMat rankings, upset the two-time All-American Storr, who was ranked in the top eight in all five rankings, including No. 5 in InterMat and TheOpenMat.  The emotional win was recognized by both NCAA Wrestling and USA Wrestling.  … rest of story at _{^{https://msuspartans.com/news/2021/2/24/wrestling-peyton-omania-named-wrestler-of-the-week.aspx?mc_cid=7c3cd1ad34&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

4 } – What the 200-win milestone means to Cael Sanderson and why there’s much more to his ultimate goal
Eleven years ago, Cael Sanderson issued then-senior Dan Vallimont a challenge. He wanted Vallimont, who by his own admission wasn’t known for his prolific offensive output, to score six takedowns in one minute and 15 seconds. It was Jan. 3, 2010, and Sanderson, Vallimont and the rest of the Penn State squad made the roughly 40-mile trip to take on in-state foe Lock Haven for a dual meet. The blue and white was up 19-3 in the match by the time Vallimont took the mat, and then as it progressed, there was one moment where Vallimont and his opponent went out of bounds. It was at that point when Sanderson issued his challenge.
“I was wrestling my match and I was winning by a good amount, … rest of story at _{^{https://www.collegian.psu.edu/sports/wrestling/what-the-200-win-milestone-means-to-cael-sanderson-and-why-theres-much-more-to/article_8561b7e4-7187-11eb-a0bf-0b6b590453c1.html?mc_cid=279b9a2f50&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}
AND Cael: Penn State’s Wrestling Coach Has Enjoyed Singular Success, but Caring and Gratitude Define Him More Than NCAA and Olympic Titles
There are a number of athletes and entertainers who are known by one name and one name only – Tiger, Shaq, Pele, Beyoncé, Bono, and Sting come to mind – but coaches … not so much. Around the world of college wrestling, the list of coaches who are that well-known has a solo entry: Cael.
Officially, he is Cael Norman Sanderson, 41. But drop that first name into a conversation about the sport in which he excelled as an athlete and is currently guiding Penn State to dynastic levels as a coach, and, yes, everybody knows his name. He became Penn State’s head wrestling coach in April 2009, after three seasons as head coach at Iowa State. To quickly summarize his success, Sanderson – let’s call him Cael – won four high school titles for Wasatch High School in Heber City, Utah (1994-97); four NCAA titles for Iowa State (1999-2002) while winning 159 straight matches; and earned the sport’s highest honor by winning an Olympic gold medal in 2004. As a coach, he has earned multiple Big Ten and national coach of the year awards while guiding Penn State to eight NCAA championship crowns. … rest of story at _{^{https://www.statecollege.com/cael-penn-states-wrestling-coach-has-enjoyed-singular-success-but-caring-and-gratitude-define-him-more-than-ncaa-and-olympic-titles/?mc_cid=7c3cd1ad34&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

5 } – Wrestling Mailbag! Off Mat Empire’s Center Circle picks their favorite freshman, plus rankings updates
Q: Who is your favorite freshman in the Big Ten this year?
HWAHSQB: Penn State freshmen were supposed to be the story this year, but they really haven’t been. Robbie Howard and Kerkvielet haven’t wrestled. Beau Bartlett has only wrestled extra matches as he declined to bump up to 149, but can’t displace Lee at 141. Finally, at 174, PSU’s next superstar, Carter Starocci lost his first match to my favorite freshman this year, Donnell Washington. Donnell or DJ depending on who you ask, puts up a lot of points and can occasionally give up a lot of points, but he’s going to get his money’s worth when he steps on the mat and what more could you ask for.
Atinat: Okay I loved DJ first but whatever, it’s cool. For real, Ohio State freshman Anthony Echemendia has an amazing story. He’s a Cuban defector, undefeated Arizona state champ in high school, amazingly decorated freestyle wrestler, and the starting 141-pounder for Ohio State. He won his first four matches before getting caught in an otherwise close match with #1 Jaydin Eierman. I’m definitely rooting for him personally and professionally, except when he’s wrestling Iowa. … rest of story at _{^{https://www.offtackleempire.com/2021/2/17/22286894/wrestling-mailbag-favorite-freshman-seeds-and-ducking?mc_cid=76aa098ad3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

6 } – Wrestling’s Ryan Hluschak ‘08: A Journey from Drexel to All-American and Beyond
Halfway through his freshman year of college at Lehigh University in the fall of 2003, Ryan Hluschak felt like he was missing something. He was on a football scholarship and had just finished his first season.  
Excelling in both football and wrestling in high school, Hluschak was recruited by many schools. Some like Lehigh offering him football scholarships, and others like Drexel offering him wrestling scholarships. Hluschak had to make a difficult decision. He ended up choosing Lehigh and football. But after football season ended in the fall, Hluschak still felt like he could wrestle. Sitting in his dorm in Bethlehem, Pa., he emailed the head assistant wrestling coach at Lehigh. … rest of story at _{^{https://drexeldragons.com/news/2021/2/15/wrestlings-ryan-hluschak-08-a-journey-from-drexel-to-all-american-and-beyond.aspx?mc_cid=9e45a80a12&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

7 } – Jason Borrelli: My Greatest Loss
Stanford coach Jason Borrelli wrestled at Central Michigan for his father, Tom, from 2002-06. Competing in the 133-pound weight class, Borrelli wrestled at the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Championships where he reached the round of 12 as a senior. Borrelli reflects on his performance at the 2006 NCAA tournament as a senior where he won his first two matches then lost back-to-back 8-4 matches on Friday of the national championships.
‘I WAS THE GUY WHO JUST MISSED AT EVERY LEVEL’
“I’ve had more losses that have stuck with me by far than wins. It’s hard to say why that is. You don’t train to lose. You always train to win. You expect to win so even when you have big wins oftentimes they’re not as memorable or celebratory because you train every day to win. The expectation is to win so when you lose you remember those. They stay with you and they motivate and drive you. 
“I’ve had a lot at all different levels.  “I was the guy during my career — at every level — who just missed. I just missed being an All-American or winning a big tournament. With the exception of the high school state tournament — especially in college — whether it was at FILA Juniors or the University Nationals or the NCAA tournament or at the US Open. All those tournaments I would get to that big match and lose. Maybe because I thought it was a big match and I put a lot of pressure on myself. I just never took that next step and that always weighed on me.” … rest of story at _{^{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1614143203583&twSessionId=vqqnbxgrqs&postId=1085009135&mc_cid=9c47fa024a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

8 } – How a recruiting ploy became a durable bond between Sun Devil wrestlers
Arizona State heavyweight wrestler Cohlton Schultz was just named Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week after going 10-0 this season. Schultz earned this award after a weekend of defeating two top-10 wrestlers. As Schultz and the rest of the Sun Devils look forward to competing in the Pac-12 Championships in Oregon on Sunday, ASU can thank a friendship that started before he was a Sun Devil for getting the four-time Colorado state champion to wear the maroon and gold. When Schultz was in high school, he was rated the No. 1 pound-for-pound recruit in the nation. He earned the prestigious Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, which “recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior male wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship and community service.” Although Schultz is a one-of-a-kind wrestler, his best quality is his character, his head coach says. “I can tell you, I’ve been around the best wrestlers in the world – world champions, Olympic champions,” Zeke Jones said before the season began in December. “Cohlton has three World medals and a World title under his belt already before he even went to college. … rest of story at _{^{https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2021/02/23/recruiting-bond-asu-wrestlers/?mc_cid=9c47fa024a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}
AND TOM’s College Wrestler of the Week
This week’s College Wrestler of the Week, Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State, went unbeaten in three contests for the Sun Devils. The redshirt freshman started the week with a forfeit from Pac-12 rival Cal Poly on Thursday. From there, the competition got much stiffer for Schultz. His schedule on Sunday included two of the top-six wrestlers in the nation, #5 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) and #6 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa). Cohlton’s first bout of the day pitted him against Gremmel with their dual hanging in the balance. The Sun Devils clung to a 17-15 lead, making the clash a “winner-take-all” affair. A hands-to-the-face call accounted for the first point of the match in Schultz’s favor. He added a second point with an escape, but only after Gremmel amassed more than a minute of riding time. That riding time coupled with an escape point for the Cyclone in the third stanza sent the bout to sudden victory. After no points were scored in that minute, Schultz managed to get an escape before riding out Gremmel for his portion of the 30-second top/bottom exchange, which gave him a 3-2 win. 
There was less suspense from an individual and team standpoint during the Sun Devils’ second match of the afternoon against Northern Iowa. With a victory for ASU already locked up, Schultz used a takedown in the opening period to cruise to a 4-0 win over Isley. The two wins helped Arizona State finish the regular season with a 6-0 dual record, … rest of story at _{^{https://news.theopenmat.com/college-wrestling-news/toms-college-wrestler-of-the-week-february-15th-2021/80026?mc_cid=9e45a80a12&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

9} – Limiting Mistakes and Making Improvements are the Keys for WVU Wrestling’s Postseason Preparation
There have been ups and downs during this 2021 West Virginia wrestling season, but as the postseason rapidly approaches, third-year head coach Tim Flynn plans to focus on “limiting mistakes” and making the “little improvements” as his young Mountaineers squad prepares for the 2021  Big 12 Championships and ultimately the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships next month. “I think there was good and bad, you know, we had some good matches, and some not so good,” Flynn said of WVU’s performance at the Cowboy Challenge on Sunday. “Maybe [we] gotta be a little more consistent. But it was nice to get a tournament in as opposed to a dual, just a little something different heading into Big 12s.”
While adjustments will be made between now and the postseason for this crop of inexperienced WVU grapplers, the key is to not “reinvent the wheel,” but rather just focus on fine-tuning smaller facets of their preexisting individual skillsets. For redshirt junior, Noah Adams, he will likely just make little tweaks, while also relying largely on his years of college wrestling experience, to help prepare him for the postseason. … rest of story at _{^{https://wvsportsnow.com/limiting-mistakes-and-making-improvements-are-the-keys-for-wvu-wrestlings-postseason-preparation/?mc_cid=279b9a2f50&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

10 } – Serrano Named Colorado Sports Hall of Fame High School Athlete of the Year
Dominick Serrano has been named Colorado’s 2020 High School Athlete of the Year, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee announced earlier this month.  Serrano, a freshman for the Nebraska wrestling program, won his fourth consecutive state wrestling title last February at 132 pounds for Windsor High School. He became just the second wrestler in state history to finish his prep career undefeated while being a four-time state champion. Serrano finished his high school career 168-0, with 122 victories coming by fall.  This season for Nebraska, Serrano made his Husker debut in an extra match against Michigan State on Feb. 6. He took the Spartans’ Andrew Chambal to overtime, ultimately falling 6-4 in the first sudden victory period. … rest of story at _{^{https://huskers.com/news/2021/2/22/wrestling-serrano-named-colorado-sports-hall-of-fame-athlete-of-the-year.aspx?mc_cid=9c47fa024a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

11 } – Big Ten co-champs Iowa, Penn State close out year atop NWCA Coaches Poll
Manheim, Pennsylvania – A shortened 2020-21 Division I wrestling season came to a close with Iowa going wire-to-wire as the top dual meet team in the nation as the final NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll was released on Tuesday. Match cancellations and no non-conference schedule left the top-ranked Hawkeyes with only five duals on the season – same as second-ranked Penn State. ACC regular season champions Virginia Tech finished the regular season third, followed by one-loss Michigan at No. 4 and unbeaten Missouri at No. 5. Oklahoma State, like Missouri, also finished 10-0 and ended at No. 6. The Big Ten closed out with nine teams in the Top 25, followed by the Big 12 with six teams and the ACC with five. … rest of story at _{^{https://www.nwcaonline.com/big-ten-co-champs-iowa-penn-state-close-out-year-atop-nwca-coaches-poll/?mc_cid=9c47fa024a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

12 } – Portage grad Donnell Washington thrives for Indiana wrestling
Donnell Washington was Angel Escobedo’s lab experiment. All he needed to do was get Washington into the Indiana University wrestling room. “DJ was a state runner-up (at Portage) — he wasn’t a big-time recruit,” said Escobedo, IU’s head wrestling coach. “We were so excited to get him, and the year he’s having, it only shows you how our program can make you better.”
Washington, a 174-pounder, wasn’t ranked to start the season. He wasn’t ranked in the second or third national poll, either. But Escobedo, a four-time state champion at Griffith, knew what he had in Washington. He’s not surprised at all by the redshirt sophomore’s success. Last season as a redshirt freshman, Washington led the Hoosiers — varsity or unattached — in victories with 22. He was sixth at the Midlands, won an open meet, and was second in four others wrestling unattached. He’s currently ranked sixth in the nation at 174 pounds on FloWrestling and was recently named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week. “DJ’s made a tremendous jump from last year — just an unbelievable leap,” said Escobedo, a national champion for IU in 2008 and a former member of Team USA. “To be honest, I talk to him all the time about how I was around world-level guys, world and Olympic champs, and he has the tools to be one of the best in the world — he can be a world champion.” … rest of story at _{^{https://www.nwitimes.com/sports/portage-grad-donnell-washington-thrives-for-indiana-wrestling/article_7ed5430d-4316-54c7-b7fb-4256f79c8cf2.html?mc_cid=329018bca1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

March 10, 2021 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized