Takedown Report

Generous gift helps seed return of varsity wrestling to Grand Valley

A generous gift from a former Grand Valley wrestling star and member of its Athletic Hall of Fame is laying the foundation for the return of varsity wrestling to the university after a nearly 30-year hiatus.

The $3 million gift from John Harris, ‘77, his wife, Diane, ‘76, and the Harris family provides substantial financial support toward wrestling achieving varsity status beginning in 2023 for men and introducing a women’s program.

“Thank you to John and Diane Harris and their family, who committed the generous lead donation, and the many generous supporters, assuring young men and women committed to collegiate wrestling can pursue the Grand Valley education that richly influenced their lives,” said President Philomena V. Mantella.
More than three-quarters of the target goal has been raised, but additional funding is required to support the department’s mission of building teams ready to compete for conference and national championships. “The rich and successful tradition we enjoyed with men’s wrestling, coupled with the new growth of the sport make for an exciting opportunity to expand our varsity lineup of sports,” said Director of Athletics Keri Becker.

The fundraising effort will help with the recruitment and retention of a top-level coaching staff, create and provide a competitive environment to recruit top student athletes, support an athletic training staff with expertise in wrestling and fund necessary equipment. “Intercollegiate athletics at GVSU seeks to enhance the educational experience beyond the classroom,” said Becker. 

“Bringing men’s wrestling back and adding women’s wrestling  will attract quality prospective students, who will help continue to build the brand of championship excellence.” The Lakers’ first stint as a varsity program began with the 1967-68 season. 

Over the next 26 seasons, the program achieved national recognition competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) then at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II level.

Grand Valley won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) championship five times and finished runner-up 10 times. On the national level, the Lakers finished runner-up twice and in fourth place three times at the NAIA national tournament. … rest of story at https://portal.nwcaonline.com/articles/NWCA_News/Generous-gift-helps-seed-return-of-1-11-2021

November 1, 2021 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

USA WRESTLING SANCTIONED EVENTS

FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS, AS OCTOBER 25, WITH 61 NEW EVENTS

Each week, USA Wrestling will update its list of sanctioned events, clinics and camps being held around the United States over the next three months. For those looking for a chance to compete or to train, there will be a variety of opportunities available. The events listed today are those sanctioned for the 2021-22 membership system

In this article, there are 224 tournaments, clinics or camps listed from 29 different states through late-January

There are 61 new sanctions during the next three months added since last week.

Illinois had the most events added with 16, followed by Kansas with 13 events. Missouri added nine competitions and Washington had seven more events. Oregon added three sanctions. Coming in with two more events were Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah. States adding a single event were California, Minnesota, New Jersey and Tennessee.

The list provides an easy reference for athletes, coaches and families, in order to make plans for competitions moving forward. Not only is USA Wrestling providing events on its national schedule, but many state associations and local clubs are also developing events for athletes of all ages to participate in.

Our list will include events by date, as well as events by state.

There are six sanctioned USA Wrestling National events in the first three months so far: USA Wrestling Brian Keck Preseason Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa (Oct. 29-31), TOA Battle of the Bell in Manheim, Pa. (Nov. 5-7), TOA King & Queen of the Mountain in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Nov. 5-7), TOA Northwest Bigfoot Battle in Spokane, Wash. (Nov. 19-20) and TOA Salt Lake Slam in Farmington, Utah (Dec. 31-Jan. 1) … rest of the story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2021/October/25/USA-Wrestling-sanctioned-events-for-the-next-three-months?mc_cid=94c4145b72&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

November 1, 2021 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment