Takedown Report

NAIA Division News & Results (2021) – # 4

TDR Editor’s Notes ; Since we praised the NAIA in the last blog we should present the stories from their championship tournament and teams. The last three articles announce the appointment of new head coaches. The NAIA had almost all teams in competition and most teams had a full schedule of matches or closer to a full schedule than any of the other divisions. Keep Wrestling On! E-mail us at the Editor’s office at martinkfleming@gmail.com
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1 } – Tom Molony’s path at Calumet and an NAIA Championship Tournament Preview
Join host Jason Bryant for a look into this weekend’s upcoming NAIA National Championships. Joining the show will be Tom Molony, the first-year head coach at Calumet College of St. Joseph, an NAIA program in Indiana to talk about his post as well as the tournament overall.
Show Segments
0:30 – Welcome friends and Patron Shout Outs to Barry Jenkin and Cliff Fretwell.
1:45 – Meet Tom Molony, head coach at Calumet College of St. Joseph
42:00 – NAIA Tournament Preview … rest of story at https://www.mattalkonline.com/podcast/short-time/tom-molonys-path-at-calumet-and-an-naia-championship-tournament-preview/?mc_cid=e764d9125d&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

2 } – NWCA Announces 2021 NAIA Men’s National Coach of the Year – Nick Mitchell Grand View University
Park City, KS – On Thursday evening the NAIA hosted a virtual National Championship Coaches Social.  At the conclusion of the event, National Wrestling Coaches Association Executive Director Mike Moyer recognized the 11 finalists for the NAIA Men’s National Coach of the Year and announced the winner as selected by his peers. The award is presented to the coach that has demonstrated outstanding effort throughout the season in developing and elevating their program on campus and in the community. The NWCA National Coach of the Year awards program is presented by Defense Soap, the official Hygiene partner of the NWCA. “In continuing our mission, Defense Soap is proud to partner with the NWCA, to keep wrestlers on the mat with our products and education in hygiene.” Guy Sako, Founder and CEO of Defense Soap.
The recipient of this year’s NAIA Men’s National Coach of the Year is Nick Mitchell of Grand View University (IA).  Coach Mitchell is in his 13th year as head coach and his achievements this season include a 14-0 dual meet record which has pushed their collegiate all-time dual win streak to 103 consecutive victories. His squad also captured its sixth straight Heart of America Athletic Conference championship with eight individual conference champions while qualifying 12 athletes for the NAIA Championships.  His current roster has an incredible 66 wrestlers. … rest of story at https://www.nwcaonline.com/nwca-announces-2021-naia-mens-national-coach-of-the-year-winner/?mc_cid=463361f6e9&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

And Nick Mitchell: What I learned from Jim Miller
Grand View University, led by head coach Nick Mitchell, will compete for a record 10th consecutive NAIA Championship on March 5-6 in Park City, Kansas. Mitchell was a three-time All-American at Division III Wartburg under Jim Miller, a 10-time NCAA championship coach.  Mitchell reflects on what he has learned from Miller as he and his team are on the cusp of making history later this week. 
DO IT ANYWAY
“The most famous was “Do It Anyway.” That was a game-changing moment in my life. I heard it lots of times before but that day it actually sunk in. I was probably 19 or 20 and I’m 42 and I pretty much think of it every day. That had a huge impact. “My freshman year I was at Wartburg and I was just a guy on the team. I wouldn’t say I bought into the culture. I think there were six of us at my weight class that year. I had pretty good success against those guys but not enough to be anything special the next year.  “The next year, between guys quitting and graduation, I was the only guy in the weight class. I didn’t know it at the time, but I’m sure Coach Miller was recruiting his butt off to find someone to replace me. 
“Early in the season during one of the pre-practice talks was the first time I heard him talk about doing it anyway. For some reason, that day, it really clicked for me. Maybe he said it before — I’m sure he had — but I heard it that day. … rest of story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1614572553095&twSessionId=phqmpdlmfg&postId=1095965135&mc_cid=6c7ef6b094&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

3 } – Grand View sets its sights college wrestling history at the NAIA Championships
College wrestling’s greatest dynasty operates out of an old bowling alley that’s been transformed into an assembly line of All-Americans on Des Moines’ north side.  For the past decade, Nick Mitchell has turned Grand View wrestling from an upstart program into a record-setting behemoth at the NAIA level. 
The division itself has doubled in the nine years since the Vikings first put their fingerprints on a national championship trophy. The field is palpably deeper and more talented, and in many ways, the NAIA competition level is at an all-time high. Wrestlers from eight different schools won individual national titles last March. Six programs have staked claim to the runner-up trophy in the last nine years. 
None of them, though, have been able to keep pace with Grand View. Oftentimes, they haven’t been close. 

Mitchell and the Vikings take aim this weekend at college wrestling history. No program has ever won 10 consecutive national titles. Not even Dan Gable’s Hawkeyes. … rest of story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1614918655342&twSessionId=nqzcxbqxyo&postId=1107214135&mc_cid=463361f6e9&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

4 } – Jensen Beach alum Kyle Kirkham wins NAIA national title
Jensen Beach alum Kyle Kirkham entered his final wrestling tournament at the NAIA National Championship unseeded and historically had not had much success at the national tournament with just one win in two prior appearances.
The Southeastern senior made a lasting memory in Wichita, Kansas, as he dispatched four seeded opponents, scoring a takedown with two seconds remaining in the third period to down No. 8 Frederick Padilla from Vanguard on Saturday night in the 165-pound title match.
The ride all the way to the title for Kirkham began as he earned a wild card berth just to make the tournament field after finishing second in his weight class at the Mid-South Conference Southeast Championship.
Opening nationals against No. 10 Chris Paulsen of Briar Cliff, Kirkham won with an 8-6 decision. He defeated No. 7 Joe Koontz of Lindsey Wilson 7-2 and in the quarters, Kirkham again won via decision with a 7-3 win over unranked David Rubio of Corban. … rest of story at https://www.tcpalm.com/story/sports/high-school/wrestling/2021/03/08/jensen-beach-alum-kyle-kirkham-wins-naia-national-title/4630226001/?mc_cid=b1fa7a1c33&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

5 } – Move south pays off for Lakeview native with national championship victory
Nolan Saxton won the NAIA title at 157 lbs.
Saturday night Reinhardt University’s Nolan Saxton won an individual NAIA national championship in wrestling at 157 pounds. “It was amazing,” Saxton, a Lakeview native said. “It was very satisfying. Definitely a big relief, a lot of weight off the shoulders. Life long dream accomplished so it was a really good feeling, just really happy to go all the way and get it done.”
Saxton only wrestled two matches this season before fracturing his elbow in practice back in November.
He didn’t return to the mat until the conference tournament which was right before nationals.
“That was a really hard time because that was the first time in my career I had ever been injured,” Saxton said. “That was a lot of adversity, mentally very challenging. I was questioning my abilities towards the end of the year a little bit but I just had to be confident and trust myself and trust the training that I had and I ended up getting it done so it all worked out.”
Saxton becomes the first individual national champion in program history for the Eagles. “That means a lot to me especially breaking through and winning that national title proving to all the young guys coming in and my teammates that it can be done at Reinhardt and it will be done in the future,” Reinhardt said. … rest of story at https://www.fox17online.com/sports/ncaa/move-south-pays-off-for-lakeview-native-with-national-championship-victory?mc_cid=b1fa7a1c33&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

6 } – Boldmaa Named Wrestler of the Year; Seven Named All-GPAC
Doane Wrestling placed seven athletes on the 2020-21 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) All-Conference list. Previously, the most Doane had placed on the all-conference list was three in 2016. The Tigers, the 2021 regular season GPAC Champions, had six wrestlers qualify for nationals.
Leading the way for Doane was Baagii Boldmaa (JR/Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) at 141-lbs, named the GPAC Wrestler of the Year. Undefeated on the season at 20-0, Boldmaa has backed up the national championship he won a year ago with dominance on the mat this season. In 20 matches, he has won by tech fall, pin, or forfeit in 19 of those decisions. Joining Boldmaa on the First Team All-GPAC list were Daniel Vargas (JR/San Diego, Calif.), Tristan Zamilpa (SO/Madera, Calif.), Bradley Antesberger (FR/North Pole, Alaska), and Brandon Antesberger (SO/North Pole, Alaska). Earning Second Team honors was Michael Scarponi (SO/Temecula, Calif.). Garrett Cornwell (JR/Albion, Neb.) received honorable mention honors as well. Each of Doane’s honorees this year has hit the 20-win mark.
Vargas sits at a 9-0 record at 125-lbs and holds a 21-4 overall record this season. … rest of story at http://www.doaneathletics.com/article/5188.php?mc_cid=463361f6e9&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

7 } – Swafford wins back-to-back national championships
Growing up, Brennan Swafford was always the hard-luck kid, the bridesmaid, the guy who had all the skill and talent to win, yet came up short in the big matches.
Those days are long since past for the Mediapolis High School graduate. Swafford takes a backseat to no one now. Swafford, a junior at Graceland University, won his second straight NAIA national wrestling championship on Saturday night at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas. Swafford completed a perfect 18-0 season, rallying for a 10-7 win over Asher Eichert of Life University in the 174-pound national championship match. Swafford, who has won 33 straight matches dating back to Jan. 17, 2020, plays second fiddle to no one. “It’s definitely a monkey off my back for the season,” Swafford said. “I proved to myself and others that I could do it when I had a target on my back. I was always the one people wanted to win because I’ve had a lot of crappy luck my whole life.”
Swafford, who came into the tournament ranked No. 1 and seeded No. 1, breezed into the finals. After receiving a first-round bye, he pinned Chase Short of Montana State-Northern in 2 minutes, 38 seconds, then registered consecutive 13-3 major decisions over Jonah Egli of Morningside College in the quarterfinals and Isaiah Luellen of Baker University in the semifinals. … rest of story at https://www.thepredicament.com/2021/03/swafford-wins-back-to-back-national-championships/?mc_cid=2a2fd7a25b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

8 } – WHARTON COMPETES AT NATIONALS IN INAUGURAL SEASON
WICHITA, Kan.— At the NAIA Wrestling National Championships, freshman Braden Wharton represented the Montreat wrestling program in its first year of competition by competing in the 133-pound bracket.
In his opening bout of the championships, Wharton took on No. 8 seed Dominick Arellano of Baker (Kan.) in the Round of 16. The No. 9 seed ultimately fell via a 17-1 tech fall in the second period to open the tournament after allowing Arellano to score a quick takedown and back points in the first period.
Following his defeat, the freshman faced an uphill battle, having to ultimately win his next six matches to place third at the championships or his next four and five of his next six to place seventh.
Wharton then wrestled unseeded Isaiah Vizcarrando of Williams Baptist in the consolation bracket. The Hickory, N.C. native notched an early takedown; however, Vizcarrando picked up the victory by fall at 4:35 of the contest. … rest of story at http://www.montreatcavaliers.com/article/3393

9} – Isaac Bartel Interview after his NAIA National Championship
Isaac Bartel is the 197 NAIA National Champion for Montana State Northern. A Nora Springs native and state champion from Mason City.  He was a third place finisher as a freshman at Montana State, then followed that with two runnerup finishes before becoming this years national champion.  He talked about his season and summer job. … rest of story and video at https://www.thepredicament.com/2021/03/isaac-bartel-interview-after-his-naia-national-championship/?mc_cid=1a80b5744e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

10 } – Nick Soto Named Head Wrestling Coach
Director of Athletics Kris Swogger announced the hiring of Nick Soto as the new Head Coach of the Keiser University Wrestling team.
Soto said on being named the head coach, “If you’re on the Flagship Campus, it doesn’t take long to realize that Keiser University is a special place. As a Florida native, I know first-hand how great the wrestling community is. From the start, this program has taken pride in being a home to seniors in Florida and across the country and I plan to build on the foundation that Coach Bertolone has laid alongside Coach Marcus. I want to thank President Vonk, Athletic Director Kris Swogger, and the incredible leadership team at Keiser University for trusting me with this position. The future is bright for this program and let’s get to work!”
Soto arrives at Keiser after spending the previous two seasons at St. Andrews University as the Head Coach. In his time, he coached five conference placers and had four Academic All-Conference honorees. In his second year, he started the women’s program for the Knights. Off the mat, he completed the NWCA CEO Leadership Academy. Soto began his coaching career as a Graduate Assistant at NCAA Division II, Seton Hill University. Soto was a four-time NCAA Division 1 Qualifier and four-time SoCon Champion at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. … rest of story at https://kuseahawks.com/news/2021/3/30/nick-soto-named-head-wrestling-coach.aspx?mc_cid=44df579129&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

11 } – Southeastern Names Travis Patrick to Wrestling Post
LAKELAND, Fla.—Southeastern University Director of Athletics Drew Watson has announced the hiring of Travis Patrick as the school’s new head wrestling coach. 
Patrick comes to the Fire after starting the program at Arizona Christian, qualifying five wrestlers for NAIA Nationals this past season and were ranked as high as 18th in the coaches’ poll. After going 9-9 in duals in the first year of competition, ACU posted a 7-3 record last season and had its first All-American in Jack Latimer at 149 who placed fourth.  “Travis brings a unique combination of strengths to the table as a coach and a mentor,” said Watson. “He has a passion for Christ and for student-athletes and cut his teeth in coaching at one of the most competitive wrestling programs in the NAIA. He is a proven winner who will continue to build our wrestling culture and the tradition of excellence we have seen on the mat at SEU.”  Prior to ACU, Patrick was the Associate Head Coach at Menlo College and … rest of story at https://fire.seu.edu/news/2021/4/2/southeastern-names-patrick-to-wrestling-post.aspx?mc_cid=7136a52740&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

12 } – ROBERT PARLAND NAMED NEW HEAD WRESTLING COACH AT ST. ANDREWS
Laurinburg, N.C. – Robert Parland has been hired as the new Head Coach of the St. Andrews Wrestling Program.  The Brunswick, G.A. and Jacksonville, F.L. native comes to the Knights Wrestling team after coaching at Coker University as an Assistant Coach. 
While Coaching at Coker, Parland coached six National Qualifiers, multiple Regional Placers and one Regional Champion.  The Coker Wrestling program ranked as high as 25^th in the Nation in 2020.  Parland has also helped coach multiple Nationally Ranked wrestlers.
Off the mat, Parland’s teams have held an average GPA of 3.10 and he’s had over 15 Academic All Americans wrestle for him.  Parland also wrestled on the Coker Cobras.  Parland was a part of the Cobras Inaugural team in 2013, wrestling at 197.   Parland became the all-time win leader during his time at Coker. … rest of story at https://www.sauknights.com/article/mens-wrestling/robert-parland-named-new-head-wrestling-coach-at-st-andrews?mc_cid=480d7959b9&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 20, 2021 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized