Takedown Report

NCAA Division I News (2021) – # 13

TDR Editor’s Notes ; The “Big Show” – The NCAA Division I National Championships in St. Louis start today! Here are some of the background and human interest stories in Division I wrestlers and teams to keep in mind during the tournament. The end of the season tournament has been eagerly looked forward to even more than usual this year as it has been 2 years since the last championships. So starting 11:00 a.m. Eastern it starts and can be seen on the ESPN channels. Let’s get Ready to Wrestle! (or Rumble if you prefer). Keep Wrestling On!
Contact us at the Editor’s office at martinkfleming@gmail.com
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1 } – 2021 NCAA Division I Qualifiers with Home States and Hometowns
With the release of the at-large berths today, we know know the full field of 330 competitors that will be competing for 10 national titles. Here are all 330 wrestlers sorted by weight class, along with their home states, hometowns, and conference finish.

Weight	Name	School	Year	Hometown	Home State	Conference	Conf Place
125	Sam Latona	Virginia Tech	Freshman	Alabaster	Alabama	ACC	1st
125	Jakob Camacho	NC State	Sophomore	Danbury	Connecticut	ACC	2nd
125	Patrick McCormick	Virginia	Sophomore	Poquoson	Virginia	ACC	3rd
125	Spencer Lee	Iowa	Senior	Murrysville	Pennsylvania	Big Ten	1st

Seeding and brackets for this year’s event will be revealed tomorrow, March 10, during the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Selection Show on NCAA.com at 6 p.m. ET. … rest of story and details at _{^{https://news.theopenmat.com/college-wrestling-news/2021-ncaa-division-i-qualifiers-with-home-states-and-hometowns/80190?mc_cid=2cfe70fede&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

2 } – NCAA announces at-large selections for Division I Wrestling Championships
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA announced the 64 at-large selections for the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The at-large selections, listed in alphabetical order by weight class, join the 266 student-athletes that qualified through their conference tournament finishes over the last two weekends. The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins (defined as wins against wrestlers already in the field), coaches ranking, results against common opponents, conference tournament placement and winning percentage. The committee was also able to use subjective criteria such as, but not limited to, historical performance. MORE: Follow the 2021 NCAA wrestling championships | Complete brackets
Seeding and brackets for this year’s event will be revealed tomorrow, March 10, during the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Selection Show on NCAA.com at 6 p.m. ET.
Click or tap here for more information about this year’s championship. … rest of story at _{^{https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/article/2021-03-09/ncaa-announces-large-selections-division-i-wrestling-championships?mc_cid=2cfe70fede&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

3 } – THOMAS NAMED BIG 12 WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
NORMAN — Oklahoma redshirt senior Justin Thomas was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon. Thomas, ranked No. 10 in the country entering his match with Oklahoma State’s No. 15 Wyatt Sheets on Sunday afternoon, took control of the match early and then used a late third-period takedown to earn a major decision for the Sooners, winning 13-5. The win over Sheets comes two weeks after the 157-pounder defeated Sheets, then ranked eighth in the season’s first edition of Bedlam.  It’s the 51st wrestler of the week honor for an Oklahoma wrestler, the third-most in the conference. It’s Thomas’ second weekly honor of the season as he bookends the 2021 regular season with the accolade. He joins Dom Demas (2019), Kendric Maple (2013), Teyon Ware (2003) and Michael Lightner (2001) as the only Sooners to win the league’s wrestler of the week twice in a season. … rest of story at _{^{https://soonersports.com/news/2021/2/23/wrestling-thomas-named-big-12-wrestler-of-the-week.aspx?mc_cid=9c47fa024a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}
AND Mizzou head coach Brian Smith – OTM629
Missouri head coach Brian Smith goes On The Mat
Brian Smith and his Missouri Tigers are fresh off their 10th straight conference championship and ninth Mid-American Conference title. Coach Smith joins the show to talk about Missouri qualifying all 10 wrestlers to the Division I Championships the third weekend in March as well as setting a new MAC record and losing just six matches as a team the entire tournament. Join Kyle Klingman and Andy Hamilton as they talk about the world of wrestling on the flagship podcast of Trackwrestling.com. … restof story at _{^{https://www.mattalkonline.com/podcast/trackwrestling/on-the-mat/mizzou-head-coach-brian-smith-otm629/?mc_cid=e764d9125d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

4 } – Freshman heavyweight makes surprising, impressive debut for Penn State wrestling team
UNIVERSITY PARK — Monday night may have been Penn State wrestling’s last dual meet of the season, but there was still plenty of time left for surprises. Redshirt freshman Greg Kerkvliet got the call at heavyweight in the Nittany Lions’ regular season finale at Rec Hall, after coach Cael Sanderson had previously indicated the former No. 1 recruit wouldn’t be available to wrestle this season. Kerkvliet started the dual out at 258 pounds with a pin as the Nittany Lions routed Maryland 44-0 for their first shutout since Dec. 2, 2018. One pin wasn’t enough for the four-time Minnesota state champ, as he got another in extra matches. Despite that performance, Sanderson still wasn’t ready Monday to publicly commit to a heavyweight between Kerkvliet and Seth Nevills for the postseason.
“It is something we’ll have to figure out between now and next weekend,” Sanderson said. “He was cleared to compete, so he competed.” Kerkvliet didn’t waste any time in his debut. He secured a takedown 15 seconds into the bout and proceeded to recorded two others. Kerkvliet locked up a cradle on his third takedown and stuck Maryland’s Garrett Kappes in 1:12. … rest of story at https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/sports/college/psu/2021/02/23/freshman-heavyweight-makes-impressive-debut-penn-state/4559534001/?mc_cid=9c47fa024a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

5 } – Navy wrestler Tanner Skidgel finds an edge as he seeks third straight EIWA championship
Every wrestler is looking for an edge, a little something to get him going. Tanner Skidgel can seize upon an apparent slight going into the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championship tournament. Skidgel is the two-time defending champion at 165 pounds after beating Bucknell’s Zach Hartman in the last year’s finals. Despite that proven track record, Skidgel is seeded second behind Hartman going into the 2021 EIWA Championships, being held Friday at Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Pennsylvania. “It definitely motivates me, although I don’t think anyone out there is purposefully trying to disrespect me,” Skidgel said. “That seed by my name is not going to change my approach. I know and everyone else knows that is my weight class, and come this Friday I’m going to do what needs to be done out on the mat.” To be fair, seeding for the EIWA Tournament was extremely difficult this season because of limited competition caused by coronavirus. Head-to-head matches or others used for comparison purposes did not happen often, forcing coaches to rely on results from the 2019-20 season in some cases. … rest of story at https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/navy/ac-cs-tanner-skidgel-feature-20210224-5yjw7zixy5hexli7pvpjdr6qz4-story.html?mc_cid=7c3cd1ad34&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

6 } – Life as a Mountaineer – Peyton Hall
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Peyton Hall said his love of wrestling was nurtured at a young age growing up in Chester, West Virginia, at the top of the state’s Northern Panhandle. That is if you consider four to be young.  “I kind of loved it from the beginning,” he says. “I don’t think there was ever a time when I didn’t like it. Whenever I started getting older and competing at national tournaments and becoming more competitive, I really fell in love with it then.”  Hall said his No. 1 goal competing at Oak Glen High was to earn a college scholarship.  “I always knew I wanted to wrestle in college since I was little watching the NCAA Tournament on TV and just being around people that were in college wrestling,” he says. “I put way more time into (wrestling) than any other sport, and I knew I wanted to go to college to wrestle.”  West Virginia coach Tim Flynn believes Hall is the type of high-quality individual around which good programs can build. He’s already got one of those in junior Noah Adams, the nation’s No. 7 ranked 197-pounder. Presently, Hall is ranked 22^nd as a 165-pounder.  “He’s a guy you can build a program around,” Flynn explains. “We’ve already got Noah here, who is doing all the right things, and now you get someone like Peyton to come in a few classes behind, and I think what it does is it gives us some peace of mind that we have leadership in our program for a number of years to come.” … rest of story at _{^{https://wvusports.com/news/2021/2/25/wrestling-life-as-amountaineer-peyton-hall.aspx?mc_cid=327be7a669&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

7 } – #214 Rob Koll – Cornell Head Coach, Dynasty Builder
Rob Koll is the head coach at Cornell University. Since taking over at Cornell in the early 1990’s, Coach Koll has created a dynasty: crowning 16 individual NCAA Champions, placing at least three wrestlers on the All American stand for 17 straight years, and Cornell is one of only two schools (Iowa being the other) to finish in the top 10 every year since 2008. Before coaching at Cornell, Rob Koll was a NCAA champion for UNC and qualified for the 1990 US World Team. Coach Koll is a real master and I hope you enjoy this podcast!
PRESENTED BY SPARTAN COMBAT
This episode is brought to you by the Spartan Combat Nationals, taking place this May 21-23 in Jacksonville Florida. Register now at SpartanCombat.com … rest of story at _{^{https://wrestlingchangedmylife.com/214-rob-koll-cornell-head-coach-dynasty-builder/?mc_cid=327be7a669&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

8 } – NCAA releases second coaches ranking for 2021 Division I Wrestling Championships
The NCAA has announced the second coaches ranking for the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each conference. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. For the second ranking, wrestlers must have three Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days.  For the final coaches ranking that will be utilized during the at-large selection and seeding process, wrestlers will need a minimum of four Division I matches in the weight class. Eight different schools are represented by the 10 wrestlers ranked at the top of the weight classes.  Debuting at the top position this week are Daton Fix of Oklahoma State at 133 pounds and Ryan Deakin of Northwestern at 157 after not having enough matches to qualify for the first ranking.  Shane Griffith of Stanford is the new top-ranked wrestler at 165 pounds moving up from his ranking of No. 3 in the first release two weeks ago.
DON’T MISS: 2021 college wrestling championship: Selection show time, key dates
Remaining at the top spot for the second release of rankings are the Iowa trio of Spencer Lee at 125 pounds, Jaydin Eierman at 141 and Michael Kemerer at 174 as the only school with multiple top-ranked wrestlers.  Joining them are Sammy Sasso of Ohio State (149), Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech (184), Eric Shultz of Nebraska (197) and Gable Steveson of Minnesota (heavyweight). … rest of story at _{^{https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/article/2021-02-25/ncaa-releases-second-coaches-ranking-2021-division-i-wrestling-championships?mc_cid=327be7a669&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

9} – MAC PREVIEW: SEVEN WRESTLERS WILL ATTEMPT TO REPEAT AS CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS WITH NCAA BERTHS ON THE LINE
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) Wrestling Championships kick off tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. EST at the Cure Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J. While there will be no fans in attendance this year due to COVID-19, the tournament will be streamed live. Below, let’s take a look at each weight class and the contenders.
125 pounds
2020 champion – Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan) NCAA Berths Available: 4
Wrestlers ranked in the D1 coaches rankings: No. 2 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan), No. 19 Connor Brown (Missouri), No. 23 Jake Ferri (Kent State) No. 2 ranked Drew Hildebrandt of Central Michigan will look to repeat as the MAC champion at 125 pounds. Hildebrandt was also a 2019 MAC finalist. He is undefeated on the season, sporting a 7-0 record. Missouri’s Connor Brown, the No. 2 seed, had a tight 7-5 sudden victory match with Brown earlier this year and will be looking to exact revenge. Nationally ranked Jake Ferri of Kent State and 2020 NCAA qualifier Luke Werner of Lock Haven, who has not wrestled a match yet this year, will also be in the hunt.
133 pounds
2020 champion – Tim Rooney (Kent State) … rest of story at _{^{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2021/February/25/MAC-Preview-Seven-wrestlers-will-attempt-to-repeat-as-conference-champions-this-weekend?mc_cid=327be7a669&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

10 } – Stanford’s Nathan Traxler named 2021 Pac-12 Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year
SAN FRANCISCO – STANFORD redshirt senior Nathan Traxler has been named the 2021 Pac-12 Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced today. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline. Traxler, a graduate student from St. Charles, Ill., graduated from Stanford in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a cumulative 3.54 grade-point average. The seventh Stanford wrestler to be named the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Traxler is currently pursuing his master’s degree in computer science and will graduate this spring.  A three-time team captain for Stanford, Traxler has compiled a 74-25 career record as a member of the Cardinal. A three-time NCAA qualifier, he was named a National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Second Team All-American in 2020. In 2019, he was an individual Pac-12 champion at 197 lbs., leading Stanford to its first Pac-12 team championship in program history. He’s also earned Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week on three separate occasions. … rest of story at _{^{https://pac-12.com/article/2021/02/25/stanfords-nathan-traxler-named-2021-pac-12-wrestling-scholar-athlete-year?mc_cid=02f3563d01&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}
And Brains and Brawn
Traxler named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
STANFORD, Calif. – Fifth-year senior Nathan Traxler has been selected the Pac-12 Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced today. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline. A native of St. Charles, Illinois, Traxler graduated in 2020 with 3.54 cumulative GPA in computer science. He will complete his master’s degree in the same field this spring. He is a three-time NWCA Scholar All-American and a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree. A 2019 Pac-12 champion at 197 pounds, Traxler helped guide the Cardinal to its first-ever Pac-12 team title that same season. A three-time NCAA qualifier, he boasts a 74-25 career record and was tabbed an NWCA Second Team All-American in 2020. Traxler has held two internships as a software engineer at Apple (summer of 2019 and summer of 2020). In 2019, he worked on a team of integral engineers building and improving tools that are used to efficiently operate Apple data centers across the world. As a full stack engineer, he worked on frontend and backend of those tools. In 2020, worked on the Apple.com search bar incorporating AppleTV+ content into the search results. … rest of story at _{^{https://gostanford.com/news/2021/2/26/wrestling-brains-and-brawn.aspx}}

11 } – From Garage Gym To B1G Championships
Spartan wrestling used unique summer training to prepare for season.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Last summer, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, a standard college student-shared home on Stoddard Avenue in East Lansing underwent an unexpected transformation. It became the new unofficial training facility for the Michigan State wrestling team, as the athletes tried to safely keep their training going.  Two large audio speakers, countless free weights, and up to eight wrestlers filled the garage, driveway and front lawn at any given time. The wrestlers worked hard, using the bench, dumbbells or even doing lunges across the length of the front yard with sandbags strapped on their shoulders. Their goal was simple: stay in shape for the upcoming wrestling season.  Roger Chandler, MSU wrestling head coach, heard about the home gym and had to see it for himself. He soon learned the house and gym will not be featured on HGTV for a sophisticated renovation reveal. “I’m sure we could use our best imagination to visualize what a typical college house looks like off campus. When I walked in, I told myself, ‘I will never set foot in this house ever again,'” Chandler said with a laugh. “When I went outside, I checked out their garage gym, I think I would have felt safer sleeping in the garage than their house.” The garage gym was at the home of redshirt-senior Jake Tucker. It was created to be the new training center for the wrestling team but out of necessity: Tucker wanted to keep training during the shutdowns due to COVID and keep up his preparations for the upcoming season as best as he could. MSU shut down its facilities, along with the state of Michigan closing gyms to prevent the pandemic from spreading. … rest of story at _{^{https://msuspartans.com/news/2021/3/2/wrestling-from-garage-gym-to-b1g-championships.aspx?mc_cid=bd28fec561&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}
And Always Aggressive Podcast: Season 2, Episode 19
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Boilermakers welcomed a special guest to the Always Aggressive Podcast as they prep for this weekend’s Big Ten Championships. Willie Saylor of MatScouts joined to talk all things Purdue wrestling and conference tournament as Purdue sets sail for Penn State and the Bryce Jordan Center. A former employee of The Open Mat and FloWrestling, Saylor currently runs his own site through Rokfin.com, and offers content that varies from high school wrestling to NCAA predictions to his own podcast show, “The First Word.” … rest of story at _{^{https://purduesports.com/news/2021/3/3/wrestling-always-aggressive-podcast-season-2-episode-19.aspx?mc_cid=e764d9125d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

12 } -‘It’s right in my sights’: Gopher wrestling star seeks perfect season
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Since his time at Apple Valley High School, Gable Steveson has been a man among boys in the world of wrestling.  But as a Gopher the last two years, he’s been a machine on the mat. Steveson has not lost a college match in more than 700 days.  The junior heavyweight star is undefeated heading into the Big Ten Championships this weekend, seeking a second straight heavyweight conference title in 2021. “I’m locked and I’m ready to take care of my business,” Steveson told FOX 9. “Whoever stands in front of me, I just have to take them out one man at a time.” This run is similar to Steveson’s last year. In 2020, he owned a perfect record while and pursing a national title in his home state. The NCAA Champions were set to be at U.S. Bank Stadium last year, but were cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Missing out on that opportunity a year ago continues to fuel this mission in 2021. “I wish my time would’ve come last year, but it didn’t,” Steveson said. “This year I came in with that mentality.” His mentality is also more mature too, growing on and off the mat since his first college season.  “Freshman year, I was just a little kid that wanted to create a highlight for everyone, and just be cocky,” Steveson said. “Now it’s all about just business and winning.” Steveson has the wins this season. He’s 9-0, including two pins in 34 seconds or less, but admits it’s been hard to win over some in the wrestling world. “The showmanship that I bring always comes out,” Steveson said. … rest of story at _{^{https://www.fox9.com/sports/its-right-in-my-sights-gopher-wrestling-star-seeks-perfect-season?mc_cid=e764d9125d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}
AND Hildebrandt Named MAC Scholar Athlete Of The Week
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan wrestler Drew Hildebrandt has been named the Mid-American Conference Male Scholar Athlete of the week. Hildebrandt, a senior from Granger, Ind., successfully defended his MAC championship at 125 pounds with three victories, including a major decision at the league tournament. His is a finance major who carries a 3.64 grade point average. The No. 1 seed in the tournament who is ranked fifth nationally by flowrestling.com, Hildebrandt has qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third-consecutive year and will vie to become a two-time All-American March 18-20 at the national tournament in St. Louis. … rest of story at _{^{https://cmuchippewas.com/news/2021/3/3/wrestling-hildebrandt-names-mac-scholar-athlete-of-the-week.aspx?mc_cid=e764d9125d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

March 18, 2021 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized