Takedown Report

Will more HBCUs follow Morgan State’s lead and bring back or start wrestling?

By Mike Finn

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Photo: John Davis (left), a two-time NCAA Division II national champion from Morgan State, welcomed Kenny Monday as the new coach of the Bears wrestling program that will officially restart after a 25-year absence in 2023-24.

By Mike Finn

When the legendary wrestler Kenny Monday announced in August he was taking the head job at Morgan State, which was bringing back the sport after a 25-year hiatus, one of the happiest Bear alums was John Davis.

That’s because he finally got Monday to come to Morgan State.

That thought was first brought up when the two former talented high school wrestlers competed together at the 1980 Dapper Dan Classic in Pittsburgh, where the nation’s top high school wrestlers would take on the best preps from Pennsylvania.

This story appeared in the November issue of WIN Magazine. Click on the cover to subscribe to WIN.

Monday earned the right to compete in the event as a highly-touted wrestler from Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa. Davis was a four-time Virginia state champion. They also both went on to wrestle collegiately. Monday became an NCAA champion and three-time All-American at Oklahoma State; Davis earned two NCAA Division II titles at Morgan State, located in Baltimore, one of the 100-plus “Historically Black Colleges/Universities” in this country.

But after that first meeting, they had hoped to become teammates.

“(Davis) was a weight class above me, so we were roommates and workout partners,” recalled Monday. … rest of story at WIN-magazine.com/2022/11/04/will-more-hbcus-follow-morgan-states-lead-and-bring-back-wrestling

November 13, 2022 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment