Takedown Report

FORMER WRESTLERS COMPETING IN THE SUPER BOWL: 2023 EDITION

By Adam Engel, Special to TheMat.com | Feb. 06, 2023, 5:23 p.m. (ET)

Nick Allegretti (Kansas City Chiefs) and Robert Quinn (Philadelphia Eagles). Photos courtesy of NFL websites for Kansas City and Philadelphia.

Wrestling translates to life, leadership and sports. Especially football.

Wrestlers can make excellent football players with knowledge of leverage, footwork and strength, in addition to their work ethic.

Several former wrestlers will play in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Ariz. … rest of story and player pictures at Teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2023/February/06/Wrestlers-in-the-Super-Bowl

February 8, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Camels win at The Citadel 27-9

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Three Camels picked up major decisions to lead visiting Campbell to a 27-9 Southern Conference victory at The Citadel on Sunday at McAlister Field House.

The Camels (14-8, 5-0 SoCon) won its sixth dual in the last seven outings and remained perfect in SoCon contests, while taking its eighth consecutive win over the Bulldogs (6-4, 2-4 SoCon).

CU claimed two of the day’s first three bouts via major decision, with Dom Baker leading off with a 15-4 win over Aidan Lenz at 165 pounds. At 184, No. 28 Caleb Hopkins registered a 12-0 shutout over Micah DiCarlo.

No. 29 Levi Hopkins followed with a 6-1 decision over Mark Chaid at 197, and Chris Rivera tallied a 7-5 decision over Ethan Willis at 149 as Camels won seven straight bouts, including Gabriel Hixenbaugh’s 12-3 major decision over Caelan Riley at 133.

Ben Haubert earned The Citadel’s lone head to head win, collecting a 3-1 overtime decision at 174 pounds. Anthony Allen was also credited with a forfeit victory at 157 to close the match, with the Camels coming away with the 27-9 final score.

The Camels will continue their SoCon slate on Friday, February 10, at Bellarmine. … rest of story and results at GOcamels.com/news/2023/2/5/wrestling-camels-win-at-the-citadel-27-9

February 8, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

No. 20 App State Decisively Wins First-Place Showdown with Mocs

BOONE, N.C. — Putting forth a complete effort in a battle of conference co-leaders, No. 20 App State Wrestling took eight of 10 matches in a 25-6 home victory against rival Chattanooga in Varsity Gym.
Three SoCon teams entered Sunday with 4-0 league records, and now there are two 5-0 teams: App State and Campbell. They meet on Sunday, Feb. 19, in Varsity Gym — a week after Chattanooga hosts the Camels.

Dual-opening wins from Jon Jon Millner (4-0 shutout at 149), Tommy Askey (bonus-point victory at 157) and Will Formato (6-0 shutout at 165) gave the Mountaineers (9-2, 5-0 SoCon) an early lead before the Mocs (7-9, 4-1) had ranked wrestlers win decisions at 174 and 184 pounds to trail just 10-6 at intermission.
App State won all five matches after the break, including a 5-2 decision over 13th-ranked Brayden Palmer from Ethan Oakley, who stepped into the starting role at 133 following Sean Carter’s season-ending injury in mid-January. Oakley broke a 1-1 tie on a takedown with 18 seconds left and responded to a late escape by registering one more takedown in the closing seconds to improve to 4-0 in SoCon duals. … rest of story at APPstatesports.com/news/2023/2/5/-20-wrestling-no-20-app-state-decisively-wins-first-place-showdown-with-mocs

February 8, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

DUAL TEAM WRESTLING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS CONCLUDE FOR STATE TITLES IN 2023

GREENSBORO, NC – The 2023 Dual Team Wrestling State Championships wrapped up with four teams crowned State Champions. Seven of the eight teams competing in this year’s State Championships were returning regional champions. Only Newton-Conover, the 2A Western Champions, did not appear in the 2022 edition of the event. 

Uwharrie Charter reached the State Championships for the fourth straight time, but defeated Avery County for the first time, winning the Eagles’ second state title. The two teams were meeting for the third consecutive 1A Dual Team State Championship, but it was the Uwharrie grapplers that came away with the narrow 39-36 victory as Jaden Maness sealed the victory at 195 pounds, pinning Brandon Cabrera at the 3:20 mark of their bout to put the Eagles up 39-30 with one match remaining. Aldo Hernandez was selected as the 1A Most Valuable Wrestler for the 2023 Dual Team Championship, pinning Grant Reece in 132 lbs. in just 1:08.

The 2A Championship was a much tighter affair than last year’s match, as Bunn kept things close against Newton-Conover. However, Newton grapplers overpowered the Wildcats in the mid-weights stretching out their lead and sealing a 51-18 victory. The win was the Red Devils’ fourth Dual Team State Championship and their first since winning the title in 2016. Caiden Rowe was selected as the Most Valuable Performer from Newton-Conover, winning his match in the 160-pound division over Kevin Silverio by fall at 1:09.

Fred T. Foard rolled past Union Pines for the second consecutive year, winning the 3A Dual Team Championship and the Tigers’ third consecutive Dual Team title. The Tigers dominated the match, winning eight of the 14 bouts by fall. Colby Mace was selected as the 3A Most Valuable Performer by Foard after battling back from injury to participate this season. 

In the 4A Dual Team Championship, it was another rematch of last year’s finalists. … rest of the story at NCHSAA.org/news/2023-2-4/dual-team-wrestling-state-championships-conclude-familiar-foes-battling-state-titles

February 8, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Big 10 Conference Dual Meet Results

Nittany Lion Wrestling Downs Ohio State 29-9 for Dominant B1G Road Win

Penn State wins eight of ten bouts in a strong team performance

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Penn State (12-0, 5-0 B1G) Nittany Lion wrestling team downed homestanding Ohio State (11-2, 5-1 B1G) 29-9 in a dominating Big Ten road win. Penn State won eight of ten bouts and gave up only three takedowns in the victory. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat Team TPI (Jan. 31, 2023).
 
The dual meet began at 125 where No. 10 Malik Heinselman of Ohio State pinned Nittany Lion Gary Steen, one of Penn State’s four freshmen in the line-up, at 1:56. Roman Bravo-Young, ranked No. 1 at 133, dominated No. 9 Jesse Mendez in the next bout. Bravo-Young tallied three takedowns and built up 1:04 in riding time to roll to an 8-2 win, cutting the early Buckeye lead to 6-3.  Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 5 at 141, notched the only takedown of the bout against No. 19 Dylan D’Emilio and posted a strong 4-2 win. Bartlett’s victory tied the dual at 6-6.
 
Freshman Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 13 at 149, picked up the first takedown in his match with No. 3 Sammy Sasso but Sasso was able to come back and grab a hard-fought 6-3 win. True freshman Levi Haines, ranked No. 9 at 157, dominated No. 25 Paddy Gallagher in the dual’s fifth bout. Haines scored early and often, picking up four takedowns, a four-point turn, and 4:10 in riding time to roll to a 14-2 major. His win gave Penn State a 10-9 lead at halftime.
 
Freshman Alex Facundo, ranked No. 8 at 165, controlled the action … rest of story at GOpsusports.com/news/2023/2/3/nittany-lion-wrestling-downs-ohio-state-29-9-for-dominant-b1g-road-win

NO. 2 IOWA DOWNS NO. 12 MINNESOTA, 18-13

MINNEAPOLIS – Sophomore Patrick Kennedy had a happy homecoming as the second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team posted an 18-13 victory over No. 12 Minnesota in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,250 on Friday night in Maturi Pavilion.

The Hawkeyes won the first six bouts of the dual to build an 18-0 lead before the Gophers won the final four matches with three coming against Iowa true freshmen. The win moves the Hawkeyes’ record to 13-1 overall and 6-1 in Big Ten action.

“We responded pretty well (from last week) with the older guys,” said Kennedy. “We had three true freshmen in the lineup tonight and I don’t think that has ever been done. We had two at Wisconsin and that had never been done.

“These guys go out and fight hard. We work year-round. We’re building and working for the postseason.”

Top-ranked Spencer Lee opened the dual with a 7-1 victory over No. 6 Patrick McKee at 125 to win his 50th consecutive match. Lee had a takedown and four-point near fall to build a 6-1 lead after the first and added a second period escape. Lee improves to 12-0 this season.

The Hawkeyes won their second match at 133 – a 4-3 decision by No. 17 Brody Teske over Jake Gliva. Teske led 1-0 following a second-period escape before Gilva had an escape and takedown early in the third period to take a 3-1 lead with 1:25 left.

The Fort Dodge, Iowa, native closed to within 3-2 with an escape before getting the match-clinching takedown with less than 10 seconds to go. … rest of story at Hawkeyesports.com/news/2023/02/03/no-2-iowa-downs-no-12-minnesota-18-13

#10 Nebraska Defeats #21 Illinois, 27-19

Champaign, Ill. – Peyton Robb and Silas Allred tallied a pair of pins to help the Nebraska wrestling team defeat Illinois, 27-19, on Friday night. 
Along with the falls at both 157 and 197 pounds, competition was also highlighted by two more Husker bonus point wins and a sudden victory by Mikey Labriola at 174.  
Action started at 125 where #5 Liam Cronin faced Maximo Renteria of Illinois (5-6, 3-4 Big Ten). Cronin used takedowns in all three periods to tally his fourth major decision of the season with an 18-7 victory. 
At 133, Kyle Burwick battled, but fell by decision 3-0 to Illinois’ #10 Lucas Byrd. With the Huskers (8-3, 4-1 Big Ten) holding the 4-3 advantage, #6 Brock Hardy extended the NU lead with a technical fall over #16 Danny Pucino. Hardy used six nearfall points and four takedowns to claim his 14th bonus point victory of the season. 
Up next, the Huskers took the forfeit at 149 and the teams were tied 9-9 before the 157 bout. Top-ranked Robb got off to a fast start with a takedown and four nearfall points in Period 1 against Anthony Federico. Robb then was aggressive in Period 2 to grab the pin and help the Huskers take the 15-9 lead with five matches to go. 
After a brief intermission, Adam Thebeau (165) took the mat against Illinois’ #20 Danny Braunagel. Thebeau tallied escapes in the final two periods, but it was not enough as he fell by major decision, 14-5.
At 174, #2 Labriola defeated #12 Edmond Ruth in overtime, 8-6. … rest of story at Huskers.com/news/2023/2/3/wrestling-huskers-defeat-21-fighting-illini-27-19

No. 23 Wrestling Pounds RV Maryland, 28-7

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – No. 23 Rutgers wrestling (10-5, 2-4) muscled a 28-7 win over RV Maryland (8-7, 0-6) on Saturday afternoon in College Park. Tied through the first four bouts of the dual, the Scarlet Knights won the final six matchups to earn their eighth consecutive dual victory over the Terrapins in the all-time series. No. 16 Joe Heilmann (133) collected bonus points, while No. 26 Boone McDermott (HWT) and Andrew Clark (157) worked wins over ranked foes to help RU collect the Big Ten Conference road victory.
Saturday’s win over Maryland secured double-digit dual victories for the 14th season under head coach Scott Goodale.
“I am fired up for the way we bounced back,” Goodale said. “We had it handed to us last week against Northwestern, so I was really proud of the way our guys responded today. Winning is a hard thing to do in this conference, but we had a great week of practice and we’re excited how we performed today.”

• No. 12 Dean Peterson (125) opened the dual with a swing match against No. 18 Braxton Brown. After a hard scramble in the first period, Brown used a four-point near fall off the restart in the second en route to an 8-0 major.
• Heilmann countered with bonus points against King Sandoval, hitting a four-point play of his own in the first period along with three takedowns for a 12-0 victory to tie the dual at 4-4.
• Olivieri faced Kal Miller and gutted out a 2-1 win. Miller was hit with a penalty point to give Olivieri a 1-0 lead. Olivieri then escaped in the second and erased Miller’s riding time … rest of story at Scarletknights.com/news/2023/2/4/no-23-wrestling-pounds-rv-maryland-28-7

Huskers Top Purdue for Second Win This Weekend

West Lafayette, Ind. – Behind Silas Allred’s second-straight pin, the Nebraska wrestling team (9-3, 5-1 Big Ten) got its second win of the weekend with a 22-12 victory over Purdue (4-9, 0-6 Big Ten) on Saturday evening. 
Action started against the Boilermakers at 165 pounds where Bubba Wilson faced Purdue’s Cooper Noehre. Wilson grabbed the early takedown in Period 1, an escape in Period 3 and another takedown in the closing seconds to tally the 5-4 decision.
Up next, Elise Brown Ton (174) made his dual debut with a 6-3 decision over Macartney Parkinson. Brown Ton scored three takedowns en route to his first career dual win and a 6-0 overall Husker lead. 
#16 Lenny Pinto then wrestled Ben Vanadia at 184. Pinto dominated, scoring four takedowns, while only allowing three points, to claim the 12-3 major decision. At 197, #16 Allred tallied his second pin of the weekend as he got the fall over Purdue’s Hayden Filipovich in Period 1. 
At heavyweight, Cale Davidson got the call against Hayden Copass. Davidson scored a pair of escapes, but it was not enough, as Copass won by decision, 8-2. After a brief intermission, competition started again with the 125 bout. … rest of story at Huskers.com/news/2023/2/4/wrestling-recap

February 8, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

More Division I Dual Meet Results

Courtney’s 100th Victory Highlights Wrestling’s 31-6 Win

TEMPE–  Sun Devil Wrestling (5-4, 2-1 Pac-12) dominated at Mullett Arena tonight, defeating the Little Rock Trojans 31-6. Highlighting the match was No. 7 Brandon Courtney who collected his 100th career victory off a 16-8 major decision. Celebrations continued as No. 4 Michael McGee earned his 125th career win with a 17-1 tech fall, No. 5 Kyle Parco picked up a 20-2 tech fall, No. 21 Anthony Montalvo secured his 50th career win in a 13-3 major decision, and Josh Nummer jumped up two weight classes to earned a huge win at 197. ASU is on a three-match winning streak and looking to carry this momentum in their next matchup at No. 20 Oregon State this Sunday (8:00 p.m. AZ, Pac-12 Networks).

“Overall, I think the guys competed well,” head coach Zeke Jones said. “We talked about scoring a lot of points coming into tonight and not judging a team for how good they are before you wrestle them, and then focused on just scoring points. Courtney hung 17, McGee responded with 17, and then I told Vasquez that they scored 17 so he scored 19, and then when I told Parco that he scored 20. That was just impressive with the first four guys coming out and scoring a lot of points. Although we didn’t get a win in the next two weights, I thought the energy was good. We had enough momentum that it was gonna roll into those next weight classes, and obviously Montalvo and Nummer got out there and battled really tough and followed it up with a good win at heavyweight. … rest of story at Sundevils.com/news/2023/2/3/courtneys-100th-victory-highlights-wrestlings-31-6-win

Oklahoma State Takes Down No. 6 Michigan at Bout at the Ballpark

ARLINGTON, Texas – Three bonus-point wins led the way in No. 11 Oklahoma State’s 24-15 victory over No. 6 Michigan at Bout at the Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, which moved the Cowboys to 10-2 overall.
“I think for the most part takedowns made the difference,” head coach John Smith said. “It wasn’t like we had perfect matches, we had some that we had to grind out when maybe we thought we would be getting bonus points. In the end, the difference was we were the aggressors and we were the ones who were outscoring early in matches and in matches we needed to win.”
Wyatt Sheets and Dustin Plott put the Cowboys up before intermission with a major decision and technical fall in consecutive matches. Sheets was dominant in the top position turning Joaquin Consuelos four times en route to an 18-0 technical fall. Plott took down No. 28 Max Maylor five times in a 12-4 decision, which gave Plott his ninth win over a ranked opponent this season. Oklahoma State finished with 15 takedowns to Michigan’s two, with the Wolverines’ first takedown not coming until the eighth bout of the night.
After Michigan won three of the next four bouts, including a fall at 125 pounds that brought the team score to 18-15, Daton Fix closed out Bout at the Ballpark in style with a statement win pinning No. 12 Dylan Ragusin in the first period. Fix scored first as he took Ragusin down with an inside trip then stuck him on his back at the 2:25 mark to clinch the upset for Oklahoma State.
“The way my team wrestled all night motivated me,” Fix said. “We were the aggressors with the 16 to two takedown ratio, that’s big time, especially against a top-six team.”
Carter Young and Victor Voinovich claimed decisions at 141 and 149 pounds over Michigan backups in the first two bouts of the dual. The Wolverines won their first match at … rest of story at OKstate.com/news/2023/2/3/cowboy-wrestling-oklahoma-state-takes-down-no-6-michigan-at-bout-at-the-ballpark

Columbia Wrestling Overpowers Bucknell in EIWA Dual

The Lions improve to 4-2 in EIWA duals this season

LEWISBURG, Pa. – No. 16 Joshua Ogunsanya wrapped up Friday night’s match in Davis Gym with a win by fall (4:42) over Bucknell’s Nick Delp to secure the sixth bout win of the match for the RV Lions as Columbia powered its way to a 25-12 win over Bucknell.
Columbia improves to 4-6 overall in duals this season with a 4-2 mark in EIWA action.
No. 32 Lennox Wolak got the night started at 174 as he defeated Coy Bastian via tech fall, 22-6. Aaron Ayzerov followed that up with a major decision at 184 to defeat Mason McCready. Jack Wehmeyer came to the mat next to face Nolan Springer in the 197 bout. Wehmeyer earned the first win of his Columbia career with a 7-4 decision win as the Lions jumped out to a 12-0 lead.
Bucknell’s Dorian Crosby posted the first bout win of the night for the Bison in the 285 bout. Crosby outlasted Billy McChesney in a 2-1 decision. No. 30 Nick Babin answered back for the Lions in the 125 bout as he won with a tech fall over Grayson McLellan, 16-0 to give Columbia a 17-3 advantage.
The Bison answered by rattling off three bout wins … rest of story at GOcolumbialions.com/news/2023/2/3/wrestling-overpowers-bucknell-in-eiwa-dual

No. 3 Iowa State Outlasts No. 18 Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – No. 3 Iowa State (14-2, 5-0 Big 12) defeated No. 18 Pittsburgh (9-3, 3-0), 16-15, Friday night thanks to a dual-winning takedown by Sam Schuyler at 285 pounds. Schuyler, ranked No. 10 in the nation, secured the takedown with less than 15 seconds remaining in the final bout to defeat No. 5 Dayton Pitzer, 4-3.

The Cyclones and Panthers each won five bouts in the dual, but Iowa State won on criteria by way of match points, 51-44. It is just the fourth dual in program history to be decided by criteria.

It was a back-and-forth affair with Pittsburgh winning the first three matches before Iowa State won the next three, leaving the teams tied, 9-9, after six matches. The squads then exchanged match wins the remainder of the dual. Paniro Johnson righted the ship for ISU at 149 pounds after a slow Cyclone start. The Erie, Pennsylvania native earned a 5-3 decision against Tyler Badgett to get the Cyclones on the board.

At 157 pounds, Jason Kraisser secured two takedowns, a reversal and amassed 2:18 of riding time in an 8-5 decision over Jared Keslar. David Carr evened the dual with a 7-3 decision over Holden Heller at 165 pounds, his 23^rd consecutive win.

After ISU dropped the 174-pound bout on a late takedown, No. 4 Marcus Coleman pulled Iowa State back level with a 10-5 victory over Reece Heller. A fast start – two first-period takedowns and two near fall – propelled the Cyclone senior to the win.

Yonger Bastida led late in his match but dropped a tough 6-4 decision … rest of story at Cyclones.com/news/2023/2/4/wrestling-no-3-iowa-state-outlasts-no-18-pittsburgh

Ramirez Win Propels Wrestling To Victory Over Princeton; Ivy Title Showdown Set For Sunday

ITHACA, N.Y. — Julian Ramirez handed third-ranked and unbeaten Quincy Monday his first loss of the season to kick off the dual and the Big Red never let off the gas, topping Princeton 32-7 on Saturday afternoon at the Friedman Wrestling Center. The win sets up a battle for the Ivy League title on Sunday when the Big Red hosts Penn at 1 p.m. at Friedman.

Ramirez earned a late takedown and near-fall points to pull off a 10-6 win over Monday, handing the 2022 NCAA runner-up his first loss of the season. The Big Red responded with four bonus point wins the rest of the way, winning eight of the 10 matches en route to the victory.

The ninth-ranked Ramirez led off the match with a takedown 15 seconds in, ultimately fell behind 4-2 and roared back. After being cut to open the third to go up 5-4, Monday earned a takedown to regain the lead at 6-5, He escaped midway through the final stanza, then converted a takedown with 12 seconds left and picked up two near-fall points in the process to pick up a signature win.

Chris Foca ground out a win at 174 to put the Big Red up 6-0, before the Tigers got on the board with  a win at 184. An impressive 8-0 major decision by Jacob Cardenas over No. 20 Luke Stout at 197 and an overtime win by fall for Brendan Furman at heavyweight over No. 31 Travis Stefanik sent the home team into the intermission with a 16-3 team lead.

Patrick Glory opened the second half of the dual with a win at 125, but the Big Red built its lead with four straight wins to take the dual, including dominant tech fall triumphs for VIto Arujau at 133 and Yianni Diakomihalis at 149. Ethan Fernandez won his season debut at 141 points and Cole Handlovic captured a victory at 157, both nearly major decisions, in closing out the 4-0 Ivy record. … rest of story at Cornellbigred.com/news/2023/2/4/ramirez-win-propels-wrestling-to-win-over-princeton-ivy-title-showdown

February 8, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment