Takedown Report

College Honors

Bartos, Niffenegger, Pecora Highlight 2023 All-PSAC Wrestling Teams

The Mercyhurst duo of senior Eric Bartos and freshman Jake Niffenegger, along with Pitt-Johnstown head coach Pat Pecora, all earned major awards for the 2023 All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Teams.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Mercyhurst duo of senior Eric Bartos and freshman Jake Niffenegger, along with Pitt-Johnstown head coach Pat Pecora, all earned major awards for the 2023 All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Teams, the league office announced Wednesday. Along with the major award winners, First, Second, and Third-Team All-Conference selections were announced.
 
All-conference teams and major award winners are decided by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
 
Mercyhurst senior Eric Bartos captures the 2023 Athlete of the Year honor after a stellar season In which he went 31-4 overall and earned All-American honors with a fourth-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Division II Championships. He was the Super Region 1 champion at 133 pounds and also added a pristine 7-0 record In PSAC dual meets. Bartos was previously named the PSAC Freshman of the Year at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season and has compiled a career record of 114-35 throughout his time as a Laker.
 
Mercyhurst’s Jake Niffenegger earns Freshman of the Year honors following a breakout first season for the Lakers. The native of Cincinnati, Ohio placed seventh at 141 pounds at the NCAA Division II Championships to earn All-American honors.  He finished the year with a 25-9 record and was the 141-pound Super Region 1 champion. Niffenegger’s award makes it back-to-back Freshman of the Year honors for Mercyhurst, with Dillon Walker claiming the award for the 2021-2022 season.
 
Pat Pecora earns his third consecutive conference Coach of the Year honor in the PSAC and fourth overall of his career after another standout season for the Mountain Cats. Pecora was a finalist from Super Region 1 for the NCAA Division II National Men’s Wrestling Coach of the Year and led Pitt-Johnstown to a 7-0 conference dual meet record (15-0 overall) and the program’s 25th NCAA Regional Title. UPJ earned its seventh consecutive conference championship and eight Mountain Cat wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships. … rest of story at PSACsports.org/news/2023/3/21/bartos-niffenegger-pecora-highlight-2023-all-psac-wrestling-teams

Cardinale’s Toughness and Persistence Leads to Another All-America Season

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The fact that Killian Cardinale became a 125-pound All-American last weekend at the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is not that remarkable.
 
West Virginia University has had 35 of them in its long history, including Cardinale himself, who finished seventh at nationals in 2021 after transferring from Old Dominion.
 
The Mountaineers have had multiple All-Americans and national champions, too. No, what makes Cardinale’s accomplishment so remarkable is how he did it – basically on one leg!
 
Just four weeks after having surgery to repair his meniscus, and only a couple of months after missing the early portion of the season because of painful stress reactions in his toes, Cardinale soldiered on to become West Virginia’s eighth multiple All-American, joining the likes of Zeke Moisey, Brandon Rader, Vertus Jones, Whitey Chlebove, Mike Mason, Mark Banks and, yes, the incomparable Greg Jones.
 
Cardinale’s journey to the podium is a painful reminder that wrestling can be a grueling sport, physically and emotionally.
 
Who didn’t see the clip posted on social media recently of Spencer Lee’s mother, Cathy, smashing her glasses to pieces and throwing them to the ground in disgust when her son lost in the 125-pound semifinals, denying him a fourth national championship?
 
Cardinale did. That’s his weight class. The guy who knocked Cardinale out of the championship round in the quarterfinals, Purdue’s Matt Ramos, is also the guy who upset Lee. … rest of story at WVUsports.com/news/2023/3/24/Cardinales-toughness-and-persistence-leads-to-another-all-america-season

Behind Vito’s Rise from Self-Doubts to NCAA Champ

In a flash, Cornell’s Vito Arujau attacked the far leg of Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young, plucked his right ankle, elevated, and drove the opposite direction to score his second takedown of the 133-pound NCAA final. That clip has become one of the most prominent of the NCAA Tournament, and at the moment, all ESPN analyst Jordan Burroughs could say was, “Wow.”

Bravo-Young, a two-time defending national champion, had no answer for the power of Arujau on those clean finishes, which included a second-period reversal to his back where RBY stood little chance.

But to the surprise of many, RBY, who is billed as perhaps the sport’s quickest athlete, also seemed to have no good response for the incredible speed of Arujau. The visual of Bravo-Young looking helpless to Arujau’s leg attacks was striking.

The Cornell junior also out-powered Oklahoma State three-time NCAA runner-up Daton Fix and made it look easy in an 11-3 major in the semis. Two different opponents, two different styles, and Arujau took the action to both of them in dominant performances.

“He’s world-class, I’ve been saying it a long time,” Cornell coach Mike Grey said. “Those two guys, they’re fast and powerful. Vito is just stronger and faster than Daton and RBY.” … rest of story at Intermatwrestle.com/articles/26618Wrestling+News

Yianni D on Becoming a 4x NCAA Champion & Making History

Yianni D is now just the 5th ever 4x NCAA Champion after earning another title at 149lbs this weekend. Today, friend of the show Yianni came back on to talk all about the tournament, his season, his career & what’s next. 

We talk through: 

• – The bracket match by match
• Is the weight lifted now that the mission has been accomplished
• Bouncing back from Austin Gomez loss
• What Mike Grey has done for Yianni … rest of the story at Baschamania.com/podcast/yianni-d-on-becoming-a-4x-ncaa-champion-making-history

March 26, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized