4x State Champions, in North Carolina, and Who is on track?
A running list of North Carolina’s (NCHSAA) 4x State Champions and who is currently on track to accomplish the feat.
TDR Editor’s Notes ; This site has listed the 11 wrestlers who have earned four state championship honors. The list and details are at Rokfin.com/ranking/2769/4x-State-Champions-and-Who-is-on-track
Millner, Miller Win Keystone Classic Titles in Philly
PHILADELPHIA — Led by individual titles from Jon Jon Millner (149 pounds) and Will Miller (174 pounds), App State Wrestling enjoyed a strong showing Sunday at the PRTC Keystone Classic in The Palestra.
With 13 of the Mountaineers’ wrestlers placing, App State totaled 115 points to finish fourth in an 11-team field, as No. 11 Virginia Tech and No. 20 Penn posted the highest point totals. Tommy Askey (157) and Will Formato (165) went 5-1 to place third in their brackets.
Ranked second nationally in his weight class, Millner improved to 10-0 this season and 102-21 in his career with a 5-0 showing in Philly. He became the seventh App State wrestler to record 100-plus career wins and is now at No. 6 on the program’s career wins list.
In a bracket that included three top-15 wrestlers, Millner used takedowns in the first and third periods to secure a 5-2 decision in the 149-pound final against 15th-ranked Doug Zapf, a two-time NCAA qualifier from Penn. Millner opened the event with two first-period pins and two major decisions by a combined score of 24-2, including a 9-1 major decision against 13th-ranked Quinn Kinner from Rider in the semifinal round.
Miller, a sophomore, earned the first tournament win of his college career … rest of story at APPstatesports.com/news/2022/wrestling-millner-miller-win-keystone-classic-titles-in-philly
PC Makes Quick Work of Limestone in 31-Point Road Drubbing
GAFFNEY, S.C. – The 6th-ranked Presbyterian College women’s wrestling team had a minute number of complications during a brief head-to-head with the Limestone Saints on Sunday evening in a true road environment, moving to 5-0 all-time against their in-state adversary since officially becoming a competitive unit. The reason for the brisk nature of the bout was that the Blue Hose racked up eight out 10 victories in rapid succession for a 41-10 triumph in their second dual round of the young season.
Already granted a 15-0 edge with three Limestone forfeits in classes 101-116, PC ensured no comeback would be on the cards for the home side with four straight W’s by Catherine “CG” Bertrand, Olivia Waller, Sierra Marie Miller, and Paige Wehrmeister, all by pinfall. From there, the Blue Hose coasted to a record of 1-1 in dual entries, along with nine top-four placements that have already been claimed from their two neutral-site tournaments sprinkled throughout the November lineup … rest of story at GObluehose.com/news/2022/womens-wrestling-pc-makes-quick-work-of-limestone
Head Wrestling Coach Brian Smith Inducted Into Missouri Sports Hall of Fame
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – University of Missouri Head Wrestling Coach Brian Smith was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Sunday, Nov. 20.
Beginning his career as Missouri’s seventh head wrestling coach, Smith sat down with his team and made a list of goals that he hoped would help the 1998 squad and future Tiger teams. Over the past 24 years, he and the many men that have come through the Mizzou wrestling program have slowly but surely checked items off that original list. Individual Big 12 and MAC Conference Champions, improved grade-point averages, record-setting attendances, a No. 1 national ranking and Missouri’s first-ever NCAA National Champion in wrestling were all on Smith’s “to-do” list. His unique “Tiger Style” training program has molded today’s team into a national powerhouse that continues to pursue the program’s first team NCAA title.
Since being introduced as Missouri’s Head Wrestling Coach on May 5, 1998, Smith owns 21 consecutive seasons with a dual record at or above .500, beginning with the 2001-02 season, and has coached 29 All-Americans to 60 top-eight performances and six Tigers to nine national championships.
The winningest coach in program history, Smith has compiled a 319-114-4 record at Missouri over his 24-plus season tenure. … rest of story at MUtigers.com/news/2022/head-wrestling-coach-brian-smith-inducted-into-the-missouri-sports-hall-of-fame
Unbeaten Terps enter Top 25 for first time since 2013
Manheim, Pennsylvania – It’d been 3,296 days since Maryland occupied space in the nation’s Top 25. Buoyed by this past weekend’s upset win at No. 17 Pittsburgh, coach Alex Clemsen’s Terrapins entered this week’s NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll ranked No. 24.
Maryland (4-0) was last ranked during the 2013-14 season. They were No. 22 on Nov. 13, 2013 when they were still members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. It’s quite the rise for the Terps, who went 2-17, 0-8 and 7-12 in Clemsen’s first three seasons since taking over as the program’s head coach.
There was a shift in the top five this week as Ohio State moved up to No. 3 after a pair of weekend wins. The Buckeyes (3-0) topped Columbia 33-6 at home before heading to Chapel Hill and beating then-No. 16 North Carolina 33-9. Second-ranked Iowa headed east and won a trio of duals. The Hawkeyes topped Army West Point 28-13 before topping Sacred Heart 35-6 and Buffalo 35-7.
Arizona State improved to 2-0 as nearly 3,000 fans came to the brand-new Mullett Arena in Tempe to see the host Sun Devils knock off then-No. 3 Missouri 19-17 in the season’s first matchup between top-five programs. Arizona State moved up to No. 4, while Missouri slid to No. 6. Michigan moved to No. 5 after a 38-6 win over visiting Columbia.
Iowa State (5-0) moved up one spot to No. 7 after a 40-0 shutout over 10-time NAIA national champions Grand View, snapping the Vikings’ college-wrestling record win streak of 116 duals in a row. N.C. State (5-0) moved up to No. 8 after wins over Central Michigan and Illinois, while Oklahoma State (3-0) topped Wyoming 34-3 to move up to No. 9. … rest of story at NWCAonline.com/unbeaten-terps-enter-top-25-for-first-time-since-2013
UMO claims three dual meet wins at Star City Classic
SALEM, Va. (Nov. 20) – The University of Mount Olive men’s wrestling program secured three dual meet victories over Ferrum, Roanoke, and Greensboro at the USMC Star City Classic on Saturday afternoon.
With the wins, the Trojans improve to 4-0 this season in dual meets after facing three schools from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). Below are the team scores from today’s dual meets
Mount Olive over Ferrum, 38-9
Mount Olive over Roanoke, 27-13
Mount Olive over Greensboro, 43-9
Additionally, the Trojans placed eight wrestlers on the podium following the individual competition.
Mount Olive featured five wrestlers with perfect 3-0 marks in the dual meet competitions. Redshirt freshman Dallas Wilson (149) recorded a 9-0 major decision over Hayden Funck (Ferrum) and collected an 8-7 decision versus Jarrod Pominville (Roanoke) while claiming his final win via forfeit. Redshirt junior Michael Vernagallo (157) went undefeated after securing a 14-11 decision versus Elijah Martin (Ferrum), a win via fall (0:25) against Zane Cox (Roanoke) and a 16-0 technical fall over … rest of story at UMOtrojans.com/news/2022/wrestling-umo-claims-three-dual-meet-wins-at-usmc-star-city-classic
Clack earns weekly league laurel
GREENVILLE, S.C. (Nov. 22) – After posting a 3-0 record in dual meet action over the weekend, sophomore Jonathan Clack was selected the South Atlantic Conference Carolinas (SACC) Wrestler of the Week, as announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.
A sophomore from Lake Odessa, Michigan, Clack delivered a dominant performance on Sunday at USMC Star City Classic, as the Trojans posted a 3-0 mark in dual meets. In the 197 weight class, he pinned every opponent he faced to earn maximum points toward the team score. Clack secured a fall (1:47) over Braden Homsey of Ferrum before collecting another result via fall (4:19) against Cam Cavins of Roanoke. He finished undefeated with a pin (1:03) versus Joseph Akers of Greensboro.
Clack is off to a phenomenal start to the 2022-23 campaign … rest of story at UMOtrojans.com/news/2022/11/22/wrestling-clack-earns-weekly-league-laurel
Niesenbaum Named PNC Achievers Student-Athlete of the Week
DURHAM – Duke wrestling senior Jonah Niesenbaum has been named Duke’s PNC Achievers Student-Athlete of the Week, following his individual heavyweight title at the Keystone Classic on Sunday.
Seeded third in the heavyweight bracket, Niesenbaum claimed his first two wins over nationally-ranked opponents after defeating No. 22 Benjamin Goldin (Penn) in the semifinals and No. 19 Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech) in the championship bout.
One week prior, Niesenbaum captured his first career tournament title after defeating Gage Braun of Southeastern in a 4-1 decision for the heavyweight title at the Battle at the Citadel in Charleston, S.C.
InterMat recently tabbed the Allentown, Pa., native as one of its breakout candidates … rest of story at GODUKE.com/news/2022/wrestling-niesenbaum-named-pnc-achievers-student-athlete-of-the-week
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
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