Takedown Report

NCAA Week 9 Roundup: It’s Tourney Time

Recapping all the biggest stories from the ninth week of the 2022-23 NCAA D1 college wrestling season.

The holiday tournament season has come and gone! We delayed our roundup for one day to accommodate the finals of the Southern Scuffle falling on a Monday. Hey, if the Rose Bowl can be postponed a day, why not this, the granddaddy of wrestling blogs? 

Last week’s roundup

So this week, we’re focusing on the Midlands, the Soldier Salute and the Southern Scuffle.

The Dual of The Century, of the Week

There were no duals last week, hence there is no dual of the century of the week. Would you like a refill on that Pepsi?

And Now: Tournament Turbo Time

Wildcats Go Wild As Hosts Of The 58th Midlands

Not only did the Wildcats of Northwestern ably perform their hosting duties, they also won the whole dang thing. This was, if you can believe it, the first team win for the Wildcats in program history. … rest of season at Flowrestling.org/articles/10267451-ncaa-week-9-roundup-its-tourney-time

Five Things We Learned About the Big Ten This Week (1/4/23)

by Kevin Claunch and Lauren Muthler; Photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com

Holiday wrestling staples – Midlands and the Southern Scuffle – were back in full force this year, along with the inaugural Soldier Salute in Iowa, giving wrestling fans plenty of options for entertainment and plenty of excuses to escape excessive family festivities.

Several Big Ten teams were in action this weekend for some final competition before diving into the conference dual slate.

Here’s what we learned:

Well-rounded performance leads Northwestern to Midlands win

After 58 years of hosting the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, the Northwestern Wildcats were crowned the team champions for the first time in program history.

The feat was even more impressive considering the Wildcats were without one of their top wrestlers in Michael DeAugustino at 125 pounds. They also had a few other wrestlers who had limited mat time due to injuries, coach Matt Storniolo told BTN’s Shane Sparks, referring to his team as “the walking wounded.”

Yet, the Wildcats still found themselves hoisting the team trophy at the end of the day thanks to first-place finishes from Lucas Davison (285), Yahya Thomas (149) and Trevor Chumbley (157) and podium finishes from Chris Cannon (2nd at 133), Andrew Davison (3rd at 197), Aiden Vandenbush (7th at 157) and Evan Bates (8th at 184).

The finals match that probably gave Coach Storniolo the most gray hairs was Thomas’ 4-3 decision over Arizona State’s Kyle Parco. Thomas led by a point when Parco got in deep on a shot and the two went off the mat with 15 seconds remaining. The Arizona State coaching staff wanted a takedown to be called, but after review, the two were deemed to have been off the mat and Thomas held on for the win. … rest of story at Rokfin.com/Five-Things-We-Learned-About-the-Big-Ten-This-Week

January 7, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized