Smith Places 5th As 3 Mountaineers Medal at Southern Scuffle
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Two ranked wins Monday helped App State’s Caleb Smith earn his third fifth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle.
Tommy Askey, unseeded at 157 pounds, went 4-2 to place seventh. Sean Carter’s 3-3 mark at 133 pounds resulted in an eighth-place showing.
Matching his finishes from 2022 and 2020, Smith went 5-2 at McKenzie Arena with two losses to top-20 opponents. His takedown in a Sudden Victory overtime period produced a 7-5 win against 28th-ranked Braxton Brown of Maryland to clinch a top-six spot, and Smith rallied for a 5-4 win in the fifth-place match against 16th-ranked Stevo Poulin from Northern Colorado.
Poulin, an NC State transfer who had won 6-5 against Smith in a quarterfinal match Sunday, led 3-0 and increased his riding time to 1:25 on Monday before Smith got an escape with 1:20 left in third period.
Smith tied the match at 3-all on the scoreboard thanks to a takedown with 54 seconds left and stayed on top for 17 seconds to reduce Poulin’s riding time advantage to 1:08 before Poulin took a 4-3 lead with an escape. Smith delivered another takedown with 11 seconds left and maintained a front headlock until time ran out with no escape awarded. … rest of story at APPstatesports.com/news/2023/1/2/-24-wrestling-smith-places-5th-as-3-mountaineers-medal-at-southern-scuffle
IOWA CROWNS 8 CHAMPS; WINS SOLDIER SALUTE TEAM TITLE
CORALVILLE, Iowa – The second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team crowned eight individual champions en route to winning the Soldier Salute team title on Friday at Xtream Arena. The Hawkeyes finished with 228 points.
Iowa was victorious in all eight of its finals bouts with three wins coming in Hawkeye vs. Hawkeye battles. Iowa had 18 wrestlers finish in the top six during the two-day tournament with eight champions, three runner-up, one third, one fourth, three fifth and two sixth place finishes.
“There is a lot to evaluate,” said head coach Tom Brands. “We have Illinois in eight days… we have to evaluate this and move forward. This tournament is important because it gets us right back into it. It is an important part of our schedule.”
Top-ranked Spencer Lee needed just 1:24 to claim the first title of the night at 125 pounds. He took down sophomore Drake Ayala seconds into the match, turned him for a four-point near fall and finished off the fall in 1:24.
Lee finished the tournament with four wins – all via bonus points – to run his winning streak to 43 consecutive matches. … rest of story at Hawkeyesports.com/news/2022/12/30/iowa-crowns-8-champs-wins-soldier-salute
College Women’s News – Jan. 6th
Women’s Wrestling Crowned Inaugural Midlands Champions
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (Dec. 30, 2022) – Competing for the final time in 2022, the North Central College women’s wrestling team dominated the competition on their way to the first ever Midlands Championship while they saw 14 wrestlers place within the top-four while four wrestlers claimed a title in their respective weight classes.
In the 58 year history of the Midlands Championships, this is the first time a women’s division has been held and the Cardinals were crowned the champions of this prestigious tournament after scoring 107.5 points. Augsburg University followed in second with 54 points while Presbyterian College (45) was third, McKendree University (31.5) was fourth and Lock Haven University (15.5) rounded out the top-five.
In the 101-pound bracket, Maddie Avila kicked off the tournament by upsetting No. 4 Samantha Miller of Presbyterian College to advance to the Championship bout against Rianna Murphy. In the finals, Avila would go down 6-0 before climbing her way back to four but her comeback efforts weren’t enough as she fell to Murphy by an 8-4 decision, taking home second place. Amber Turner competed at 101-pounds, taking home fourth after falling in both of her matches. … rest of story at Northcentralcardinals.com/news/2022/12/30/womens-wrestling-womens-wrestling-crowned-inaugural-midlands-champions
NWCA Releases Regular Season NCAA Women’s Coaches Poll #3
MANHEIM, PA – The fourth set of National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) NCAA Women’s Wrestling rankings was released today as the teams in the top five remained the same. King University extended the gap between second-ranked North Central College to reclaim the top spot by one point while Aurora University enters the top 10 for the first time. The first set of dual rankings were also released with North Central holding the top spot.
King takes over the top spot with 104 points while North Central is second with 93 points. King and North Central are the only teams with at least 10 individuals ranked as the Cardinals lead the way with 14 and King has 13. Colorado Mesa University regains the third spot over McKendree University with 79 points while McKendree has 53 points. The Mavericks have seven individuals ranked while McKendree has eight. Augsburg University held steady at fifth with 52 points and five ranked individuals.
Simon Fraser University has seven ranked individuals and stayed sixth with 46 points while Presbyterian College remains at seventh with 26 points and three ranked individuals, and Gannon University stays at eighth with 18 points and four ranked individuals. East Stroudsburg moved up to ninth with four individuals ranked and 17 points while Aurora University cracks the top 10 for the first time with 16 points and one individual ranked.
There are three new individuals ranked No. 1, starting with a pair of King individuals at 109 and 116 pounds. Sage Mortimer takes the top spot 109 pounds while Samara Chavez claims the No. 1 ranking at 116 pounds. Alexis Janiak takes the No. 1 ranking at 130 pounds and becomes the first Aurora individual to be ranked No. 1 … rest of story at NWCAonline.com/nwca-releases-regular-season-ncaa-womens-coaches-poll-3
Women’s Wrestling Takes First at Soldier Salute
CORALVILLE, IOWA — Over the course of the Holiday Season, the Life University women’s wrestling team traveled to Iowa for the Soldier Salute tournament and earned a team victory in a strong field this weekend.
Life U took first in the field with 129 team points, narrowly beating out second-placed Army that had 128.5. The top three was rounded out by Iowa Wesleyan with 118.5 points.
The best result of the tournament came from Latifah McBryde, the freshman taking first place in the 155 lbs. bracket. She recorded the most pins and tech falls in the least amount of time, with all seven matches ending in the bonus and only in 13:27. The day started with a pair of 10-0 tech falls, the first over No. 18 Grace Doering. Her next three matches saw three-straight pins to keep her undefeated on the day. The day came to a close with another 10-0 tech fall and hard fought 4:07 pin to secure the clean sweep of the 155 lbs. bracket.
The only other top three finish came from new arrival Sarah Savidge, earning third in the 136 lbs. bracket. The vaunted freshman … rest of story at Liferunningeagles.com/news/2022/12/30/womens-wrestling-takes-first-at-soldier-salute
Individual College Honors
Malcolm Wiley Earns SoCon Wrestler of the Week Honors
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Fresh off his 11th personal victory of a sophomore campaign that has firmly thrusted the 197-pounder into the spotlight, Malcolm Wiley of the Presbyterian College men’s wrestling team was rewarded for his efforts against the Duke Blue Devils by capturing the Southern Conference’s Wrestler of the Week nod on Wednesday afternoon.
Exactly seven days ago, Wiley sent the PC faithful to their feet during the Blue Hose’s nonconference tri-meet against both Duke and George Mason, bouncing back from an earlier defeat by picking up a pinfall W in less than three minutes midway through the evening’s main event vs. the Blue Devils. The sophomore Navy transfer toppled Duke’s Brayden Ray to give Presbyterian a 12-point scoring run and their first lead of the bout across a tightly-contested outcome.
While the visitors were ultimately able to post a 23-19 triumph in the Templeton Center (winning the 10th and final match of the dual with the score tied going in), Wiley’s dominant performance in his showing against Duke gave the Blue Hose new life halfway through the meeting when PC had previously trailed by 10 points. … rest of story at GObluehose.com/news/2022/12/28/mens-wrestling-malcolm-wiley-earns-socon-wrestler-of-the-week-honors
Seliga Retains League Wrestler Of The Week Crown
GREENVILLE, S.C. – It was déjà vu all over again for sophomore Logan Seliga on Tuesday afternoon as an unblemished run through another tournament led to Conference Carolinas Wrestler of the Week laurels for the second time.
A product of Belle Vernon, Pa., Seliga turned in a dominant run through the 125-pound tournament at the Citrus Invitational last week, outscoring opponents 39-4 and tallying four victories via major decision. His unblemished run in south Florida included a 10-0 major decision in his opener on Thursday, as well as a 8-0 major decision in the championship bout.
A two-time qualifier for the NCAA Championships, including a region title as a freshman in 2019-20, Seliga has compiled a 34-12 career record in the Black & Gold, including a perfect 16-0 mark this season.
The 18th-ranked Braves (6-1, 3-0 SACC) will be back in action again on Friday … rest of story at UNCPbraves.com/news/2023/1/3/wrestling-seliga-retains-league-wrestler-of-the-week-crown
Newberry Wolves Ring In The New Year With A Win
Newberry Win Early And Often En Route To A 36-14 Win Against King
NEWBERRY, S.C. – Bringing in the new year with an early dual, the Wolves looked to start off the second half of the 2022-2023 season right with a South Atlantic Conference Carolinas matchup against King University. Coming off of a tough invitational at the Midwest Classic back in December (where both programs participated in), Newberry turned their attention to the Tornado as both teams would look to gain momentum in conference standings
Starting off at 125 lbs, the Wolves’ Zach Shupp (Fairfield, Ohio) got going early as he would pin King’s Tyson Upchurch in 55 seconds. The 133 lb match would be different as Franky Medina of King would pin Newberry’s Fletcher Swindall (Alexandria, Ala.) at 5:14. Josh Blatt (Albemarle, N.C.) would get the Wolves back in the winning direction with a 14-6 major decision over Austin Kolikas at 141 lbs.
Devan Moore (Baxely, Ga.) would continue the run for the Wolves with a 17-2 tech fall win at 4:12 at the 149 weight class over Nico Crosnoe, but Newberry’s Nolan Wheeler (Dahlonega, Ga.) would ultimately fall to Trent Mahoney by a 15-0 tech fall at 7:00 in the 157 weight class. Asa Walton (Buena, N.J.) of Newberry at 165 lbs would lose a 9-4 decision to King’s Bo Perkins. … rest of story at Newberrywolves.com/news/2023/1/3/wrestling-wolves-ring-in-the-new-year-with-a-win
Oklahoma State Cowboys Ride as Champions at the Southern Scuffle
OKLAHOMA STATE WINS SOUTHERN SCUFFLE WITH THREE CHAMPIONS; SECOND-PLACE NORTH DAKOTA STATE ALSO WINS THREE TITLES
Three champions and a team title.
No. 14 Oklahoma State won its second Southern Scuffle as Daton Fix (133), Dustin Plott (174) and Travis Wittlake (184) won championships.
North Dakota State finished runner-up while Missouri claimed third.
Fix rolled to his second Southern Scuffle title with a 7-3 win against Chattanooga’s Brayden Palmer. Fix showed his skill with 2:59 in riding time.
Dustin Plott won a Big 12 finals rematch at 174. He defeated Missouri’s Peyton Mocco, 12-7. Trailing 6-5 in the third, Plott responded with a takedown and a four-point near fall.
Wittlake defeated North Dakota State’s Deanthony Parker Jr., 3-0.
NDSU made things interesting with five finalists. At 149, Kellyn March beat Oklahoma State’s Victor Voinovich, 5-3, in sudden victory. March, who trailed 3-0, forced sudden victory via rideout with 10 seconds left. He scored a reversal earlier in the third and grabbed riding time. He finished the job with a takedown 69 seconds into sudden victory.
Jared Franek followed his teammate with a 2-2 rideout win at 157 over top seed Kendall Coleman of Purdue.
The third NDSU title came at 197 pounds, as No. 4 seed Owen Pentz pinned No. 2 seed Lou Deprez of Binghamton at 3:03.
At 125, Matt Ramos gave Purdue its first champion of the day with a 4-3 win over Missouri’s Noah Surtin. … rest of story at OKstate.com/news/2023/1/2/cowboy-wrestling-oklahoma-state-claims-team-title-three-champions-at-southern-scuffle
Oklahoma State Wins Southern Scuffle as Daton Fix, Dustin Plott, and Travis Wittlake Win Individual Titles
The Cowboys entered day two of the Southern Scuffle trailing first-place Missouri by 5.5 points. They had five starters in the semifinals and five starters still wrestling on the consolation side.
In the early rounds of the consolation brackets, the Cowboys took control of the team race going 5-0 and pushing all of their starters into the placement matches. Later came the semifinals where the Cowboys went 4-1 putting Daton Fix, Victor Voinovich, Dustin Plott, and Travis Wittlake all into the finals.
In the first Oklahoma State final, Daton Fix comfortably beat UT Chatanooga’s Brayden Palmer 7-3 to win 133. He picked up two takedowns, a reversal, and a ton of riding time in the process. Dustin Plott had a rematch of last year’s Big 12 final at 174 with Missouri’s Peyton Mocco. He got down early, giving up two takedowns and going behind 4-1. He then methodically started to work his way back into the match with a quick escape and takedown in the second that was followed by a technical violation point for a head-scissor called on Mocco. Then in the third period, Plott cut Mocco making it 6-6. As Plott worked to finish a shot, he put Mocco on his back to win 12-7.
Travis Wittlake had a pretty unique final with North Dakota State’s … rest of story at Pistolsfiringblog.com/oklahoma-state-wins-southern-scuffle-as-daton-fix-dustin-plott-and-travis-wittlake-win-individual-titles
Gophers Wrap Up Southern Scuffle with Top-5 Team Finish
CHATTANOOGA – The University of Minnesota wrestling program completed a full weekend of action at the Southern Scuffle presented by Compound Sportswear on Monday night, as they capped off a top-five team finish inside McKenzie Arena.
The Gophers finished the tournament with ten total placewinners on the event, finishing in fifth place as a team with 96 points.
Aaron Nagao rounded out a 4-1 weekend by placing third at 133 pounds. After falling in the semifinal round to Chattanooga’s Brayden Palmer, Nago responded on the backside with two nice showings, earning a 6-1 decision over Iowa State’s Zach Redding before dominating Bucknell’s Kurt Phipps by a score of 10-3.
141-pounder Jake Bergeland also responded from a semifinal round loss to take third place as he took an overtime thriller over No. 11 Dylan Droegemueller (North Dakota State) in the consolation semifinals, then defeated Rider’s McKenzie Bell in the third-place bout. … rest of story at Gophersports.com/news/2023/1/2/wrestling-gophers-wrap-up-southern-scuffle-with-top-5-team-finish
Oklahoma State Claims Team Title, Three Champions at Southern Scuffle
Chattanooga, Tenn. – The Oklahoma State wrestling team captured its third team Southern Scuffle title in program history, led by the three top-seeded Cowboys who won individual titles, including Daton Fix, Dustin Plott and Travis Wittlake.
The Cowboys’ 181 points is the third most OSU has ever scored at the Southern Scuffle and was 36.5 points more than second place North Dakota State. The three individual champions for OSU were tied for the most of any team at the event with NDSU.
“I thought we wrestled well in most spots,” head coach John Smith said. “We had some matches tonight we were in control of and found a way to lose. But, we also found a lot of ways to win this weekend. Overall, I think it gives our team a chance to continue to develop.”
Fix was the first of four finalists to take the mat for Oklahoma State. A takedown in the first period and reversal to start the second gave him a comfortable lead on his way to a 7-1 decision over Chattanooga’s Brayden Palmer. Fix moved to 10-0 on the season after winning five matches this weekend.
Victor Voinovich advanced to the 149-pound finals with a 4-1 victory over Michael Gioffre of Virginia in the semifinals earlier in the day. Voinovich jumped out to an early lead against sixth seeded Kellyn March in the championship bout, but gave up a reversal and riding time point in the third period, which sent the match to overtime. In the first sudden victory period, … rest of story at OKstate.com/news/2023/1/2/cowboy-wrestling-oklahoma-state-claims-team-title-three-champions-at-southern-scuffle
NDSU Wrestling Claims Three Individual Titles, Takes 2nd Overall at Southern Scuffle
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The North Dakota State wrestling team claimed three individual titles and took second overall at the 2023 Southern Scuffle Monday at McKenzie Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Jared Franek claimed his second-straight Southern Scuffle title at 157 pounds, while Kellyn March and Owen Pentz claimed titles at 149 pounds and 197 pounds, respectively, to lead the way for the Bison. March and Pentz join Franek as the only Bison to claim Southern Scuffle titles.
North Dakota State finished second overall for the second straight season, finishing with 144.5 points, the most in program history at the event, breaking the previous team high of 109.5 set last season. The Bison finished behind only team champion Oklahoma State (181). Missouri (125), Stanford (105.5) and Minnesota (96) rounded out the top five.
The three individual champions for North Dakota State, matched Oklahoma State for a tournament high. The Bison added two runner-up finishes, a fourth and a fifth. NDSU’s seven placers is a new high for the Bison at the event, breaking the previous high of six last year and in 2020. The five finalists were also the most by any team at this year’s event.
The Bison began the day with all five wrestlers who reached the semifinals, winning to reach the championship final Monday night. March claimed the first title in the evening session, knocking off #21 Victor Voinovich (Oklahoma State) with a take down in sudden victory to win 5-3. March defeated #23 Quinn Kinner (Rider) 9-3 in the semifinal to advance to the title match.
Franek then stepped on to the championship mat and recorded his highest ranked victory in his collegiate career, defeating #3 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) by tiebreaker criteria to claim his second-straight Southern Scuffle title. Franek defeated Stanford’s Charles Darracott to reach the final. … rest of story at GObison.com/news/2023/1/2/ndsu-wrestling-claims-three-individual-titles-takes-2nd-overall-at-southern-scuffle
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
Takedown Report 