Takedown Report

NCAA Division I News (2021) – # 14

TDR Editor’s Notes ; More Division I wrestlers and teams’ background stories for your review as we pause overnight after the first full day of the 2021 NCAA Division I National Championships. It is great to be back. From what we can see from afar the NCAA has made some sound, safe and reasonable in their adjustments to the timing and spacing of spectators and matches. We deeply hope that the proceedures continue to progress in a good way through the finals Saturday night. Keep on Wrestling! Contact us at the Editor’s office at martinkfleming@gmail.com
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1 } – Marinelli chases a Hawkeye rarity
Alex Marinelli expects to chase bigger goals later this month, but the Iowa wrestler can accomplish something of a Hawkeye rarity this weekend. It has been two decades since an Iowa wrestler put together a collection of three consecutive Big Ten titles, even longer since those three championships came in the same weight class.

Marinelli will take the mat at the Big Ten Championships beginning Saturday at University Park, Pa., looking to add his name to a group of 18 Hawkeyes who have achieved the feat of winning three Big Ten titles. No Iowa wrestler has won three straight Big Ten championships since T.J. Williams took first place at 149 pounds in 1999 and won titles at 157 in 2000 and 2001.

Mark Ironside was the last Hawkeye to win the same weight class three times, and he topped the 134-pound bracket four straight years from 1995-98.vvMarinelli, the top-seeded 165-pounder, appreciates the accomplishment but doesn’t want it to get in the way of his ultimate goal.vv“It’s an awesome thing to do and I don’t take it for granted, … rest of story at _{^{https://qctimes.com/sports/college/wrestling/marinelli-chases-a-hawkeye-rarity/article_0cfe54a5-cf7a-51c6-9e33-70e8942b4e39.html?mc_cid=463361f6e9&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

2 } – Bryan Pearsall Promoted to Associate Head Wrestling Coach
PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania’s head wrestling coach, Roger Reina, has announced the promotion of Bryan Pearsall to the position of Associate Head Coach. Pearsall has been on staff with the Quakers for the past four seasons.
 
“We are delighted to promote Bryan to the role of Associate Head Coach,” said Reina. “Since arriving at Penn in the summer of 2017, Bryan has continued to assume broader responsibilities and prove his effectiveness both on and off the mats. We see continued development potential in his future to deliver increasing momentum to #TheMovement at Penn Wrestling, as we climb the mountains of the NCAA Wrestling landscape.”
 
While at Penn, Pearsall has helped coach nine NCAA Championships qualifiers including a second-team NCAA All-American, nine All-Ivy wrestlers, and one EIWA champion as well as one National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Academic All-American. Pearsall has been instrumental in Penn’s Top-25 recruiting classes each of the last two years, including the No. 9 overall class in 2019 and No. 12 class in 2018. … rest of story at https://pennathletics.com/news/2021/3/5/bryan-pearsall-promoted-to-associate-head-wrestling-coach.aspx?mc_cid=92195b958e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

3 } – OU wrestling: Virginia Tech transfer Mitch Moore pressuring opponents in new home with Sooners
Mitch Moore sat in the locker room, calm and collected right before the Ohio High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament in 2018. Moore, a senior at Graham High School in St. Paris, was quietly confident and ready for the challenge ahead inside Schottenstein Center in Columbus — a place he knew well, having spent time around the Ohio State wrestling program while in high school. He was getting ready to compete in his fourth state championship in four years, yet he wasn’t focused solely on any individual accolades.

To those who know him best, that’s Mitch.ccMoore and four of his teammates won individual state titles and led Graham to its 18th-straight tournament team championship that day. Meanwhile, he became a four-time Ohio state champion. Growing up, wrestling came easy to Moore. He started competing at 5, and from then on, he didn’t want to do anything else. “From the minute he walked on the mat he was like a fish to water,” said Troy Moore, Mitch’s father. “It just fit him perfect. He always loved it and was willing to make every sacrifice it took to accomplish his goals.”

Moore’s natural talents helped him become a dominant high school wrestler and he then followed in his brother Brent’s footsteps by committing to Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, he never felt at home with the Hokies, leading him to depart the program May 18 via the transfer portal. … rest of story at http://www.oudaily.com/sports/ou-wrestling-virginia-tech-transfer-mitch-moore-pressuring-opponents-in-new-home-with-sooners/article_af88b366-7d0c-11eb-a09d-f71ae6a2a7ba.html?mc_cid=463361f6e9&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

4 } – BIG 10 PREVIEW: IOWA LOOKS TO REPEAT AS CHAMPIONS IN THE DEEPEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT IN THE COUNTRY
The Big Ten is objectively the toughest conference in NCAA Div. 1 wrestling right now. With 76 NCAA berths on the line, and nine of the top 25 teams from the most recent NWCA Division 1 coaches poll competing in this weekend’s conference tournament, the Big Ten Championships are must-watch wrestling. The event kicks off this Saturday, March 6, at 10:00 a.m. EST and the finals take place on Sunday, March 7 at 4:00 p.m. EST. The tournament will be streamed live via the Big Ten Network and Big Ten Network+.

No. 1 ranked Iowa will look to repeat as conference champions, while No. 2 ranked Penn State, No. 4 ranked Michigan and No. 8 ranked Nebraska, who finished runner-up in 2020, will all look to knock the Hawkeyes off. This season, Iowa and Penn State split the Big Ten Wrestling Dual Meet Championship after both finishing their seasons with unblemished records. The Hawkeyes went 5-0, while the Nittany Lions compiled a 6-0 record.

Other ranked teams in the Big Ten include No. 9 Minnesota, No. 11 Illinois, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 18 Purdue and No. 23 Michigan State.cc
Below let’s take a look at the individual brackets:
125 (8 allocations)
Iowa’s two-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee is the tournament’s biggest favorite regardless of weight class. Lee is 4-0 this season with four pins, including one over the No. 2 pre-seed Liam Cronin of Nebraska. Last year, Lee earned the No. 1 seed at the NCAA tournament with a sterling 18-0 record. … rest of story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2021/March/05/Big-Ten-preview?mc_cid=92195b958e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

5 } – Paul Bianchi Is Little Rock Wrestling’s First-Ever NCAA Qualifier
LITTLE ROCK – The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee announced the remaining at-large qualifiers for the Division I Wrestling Championships Tuesday afternoon, naming Little Rock’s Paul Bianchi as one of six remaining 133-pound wrestlers to punch his ticket to the 2021 Championships and the first Trojan in program history. … rest of story at https://lrtrojans.com/news/2021/3/9/paul-bianchi-is-little-rock-wrestlings-first-ever-ncaa-qualifier.aspx?mc_cid=2cfe70fede&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

6 } – Bruno Catch Up: Theo Powers, Wrestling
Brown University athletics will be recognizing its winter senior student-athletes who had competition cancelled for the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Senior student-athletes will be featured during the week on Brownbears.com and various social media platforms.  
Name: Theo Powers
Hometown: Mexico, N.Y.
Sport: Wrestling
Concentration: Business, Entrepreneurship and Organizations
Accolades: Represented the Bears at the 2019 EIWA Championships … Placed at the Wildcat Open in 2017 and 2019
                                                                                                  
Accomplishment you are most proud of:
I’m most proud of coming back from an array of injuries and setbacks to finish my college career in a way that I can be proud of!  
Plans after graduation:
While nothing is finalized yet, … rest of story at https://brownbears.com/news/2021/3/10/bruno-catch-up-theo-powers-wrestling.aspx?mc_cid=2a2fd7a25b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

7 } – Lehigh’s Ammerman taking advantage of opportunity to shine at national wrestling
Of Lehigh’s full house of 10 NCAA wrestling qualifiers, Dylan Ammerman might well be the least likely. It’s not just that the fifth-year 184-pounder had hardly wrestled this season, with five bouts, going 3-2 overall. Or, for that matter, he hadn’t wrestled much on his five-year career with the Mountain Hawks – 20 bouts total. That’s one year’s worth in a “normal” season.

Or that Ammerman wrestled one bout in a dual meet — Jan. 26, 2018, at 184 against Virginia Tech. Or that there was some pretty strong competition for the spot from his teammates. Or that he suffered a knee injury in December. Or that Anmerman contracted COVID in the middle of the season. It’s the combination of all of those factors — any one of which could have knocked Ammerman out — that make what Ammerman did so unlikely,

But when the national tournament opens March 18 in St. Louis, Ammerman will be there, set to pursue his dreams on the biggest stage possible. “It’s been frustrating with all the injuries and what-not at Lehigh,” Ammerman said. “But I have been just making the most of it and hoping an opportunity would come.” … rest of story at https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/2021/03/lehighs-ammerman-taking-advantage-of-opportunity-to-shine-at-national-wrestling.html?mc_cid=2a2fd7a25b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

8 } – Keating Follows Unlikely Path to NCAAs
CHARLOTTESVILLE –– Wrestlers who were state champions in high school abound on the University of Virginia roster, and many of them won multiple titles. Jake Keating is in another group. “I didn’t have a great high school career,” recalled Keating, who’s from the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Ill. “I got fifth my senior year, and that was the only time I placed at state.”

At UVA, however, he’s blossomed in head coach Steve Garland’s program. The ACC runner-up at 165 pounds, Keating is one of eight Cavaliers headed to the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 18-20 in St. Louis, Mo. The others are Patrick McCormick (125 pounds), Louie Hayes (133) Brian Courtney (141), Justin McCoy (157), Victor Marcelli (171), Jay Aiello (197), and Quinn Miller (285). For Keating, a redshirt junior, this will be his first appearance in the NCAAs. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “It was hard to wait this whole time, but I’m glad I’m finally going.”

Keating nearly qualified as a sophomore in 2019, when he competed at 157 pounds. Had Keating defeated Duke’s Ben Anderson in their consolation semifinal at the ACC tournament, he would have advanced to the NCAAs. Keating had won by technical fall over Anderson during the regular season and quickly built a 10-5 lead in the rematch. But Keating attempted an unnecessarily risky move that backfired on him, and Anderson pinned him with 1:01 left in the first period. … rest of story at https://virginiasports.com/news/2021/03/10/keating-follows-unlikely-path-to-ncaas/?mc_cid=2a2fd7a25b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

9} – DOMINATION IS THE GOAL FOR MINNESOTA’S GABLE STEVESON AT THE 2021 NCAA TOURNAMENT
Gable Steveson enters next week’s NCAA Tournament in St. Louis, Mo. as one of the biggest favorites to bring home a NCAA title. The Minnesota junior has bulldozed his way through the heavyweight field this season, compiling a 12-0 record with six technical fall victories, three pins, two major decisions and one injury default. For Steveson, winning isn’t enough. This season, he is out to assert his dominance over the competition.

“I think this year’s about proving that there’s a large gap between me and the rest of the field. I think overall just my preparation going into this was to score as many points as possible and put bonus points on the board, and I think that’s what is separating me right now from the pack,” Steveson stated in yesterday’s NCAA Pre-Championships Zoom press conference.

Steveson drove his point home in convincing fashion in the Big Ten Championship final with a 12-4 major decision over Michigan’s Mason Parris, a 2019 Junior World champion, and the No. 2 seed going into the NCAA Tournament. The duo also met in the 2020 Big Ten finals, which resulted in Steveson walking away with an 8-6 decision.

“I think my performance this year was a lot better than last year. Just the preparation, determination and knowing I can go out there and score a lot of points,” Steveson said while reflecting on the match. … rest of story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2021/March/12/Gable-Steveson-NCAA-domination?mc_cid=adf7973f0f&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

10 } – HUNSAKER’S OFFICIALLY IN, UVU WILL NOW SEND FOUR WRESTLERS TO NATIONALS
INDIANAPOLIS – Originally named an alternate for next week’s 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships, Utah Valley University sophomore Cameron Hunsaker has officially been named an injury replacement and will now also compete at nationals as UVU will now send four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. 
 
He will join the two-time Big 12 champion and second-seeded senior Demetrius Romero at 174 pounds, the seventh-seeded junior Taylor LaMont at 125, and the redshirt freshman and No. 28 seed Ty Smith at 133 pounds. By entering as an injury replacement, Hunsaker will enter the 2021 NCAA Championships as the No. 33 seed at 149 pounds.
 
Hunsaker will enter his first trip to the NCAA Championships off of a seventh-place finish in his weight class at the Big 12 Championships last week. He holds a 9-7 overall record on the year and is currently ranked 31st in the latest NCAA Coaches Panel Ranking. He will face the No. 32 seed Greg Gaxiola of Hofstra in a pigtail round match.  
 
The NCAA previously released seeding and brackets for the rest of the field on Wednesday and the No. 2 seed that Romero was awarded is UVU’s highest national seed in program history. … rest of story at https://gouvu.com/news/2021/3/11/wrestling-hunsakers-officially-in-uvu-will-now-send-four-wrestlers-to-nationals.aspx?mc_cid=1a80b5744e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

11 } – Alirez Withdraws from NCAA Championships
GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado sophomore wrestler Andrew Alirez has withdrawn from the 2021 NCAA Championships. Alirez, who qualified as an at-large selection, will not compete at the championships due to an injury sustained in practice prior to the Big 12 Championships.
“My heart breaks for Andrew. He had a tremendous fall and start to the season and was ready to compete for the NCAA title this season,” said head coach Troy Nickerson. “We look forward to getting him back to 100%.” The Greeley native is a two-time NCAA qualifier and will have a chance to be a five-time qualifier as the NCAA has already announced this year as a zero year. None of this year’s wrestlers lose eligibility for competing in the 2021 season.
Northern Colorado is still sending three wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Mosha Schwartz (133), Jackson Hemauer (174) and Alan Clothier (184). All three automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship based on their finishes at the Big 12 Championships.

The NCAA unveiled the 2021 NCAA Championship brackets on Wednesday. … rest of story at https://uncbears.com/news/2021/3/11/wrestling-alirez-withdraws-from-ncaa-championships.aspx?mc_cid=1a80b5744e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

12 } – CHECK OUT THE 11 INTERVIEWS FROM TODAY’S NCAA WRESTLING PRE-CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESS CONFERENCE
Today, the NCAA hosted a virtual press conference featuring some of the nation’s top Division I wrestlers and coaches. Altogether, the press conference, which was conducted via Zoom, featured 11 individual interviews. You can find the footage from each of the individual videos on USA Wrestling’s YouTube page below:
… rest of story at _{^{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2021/March/11/Pre-NCAA-interviews?mc_cid=1a80b5744e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}}

March 19, 2021 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized