Takedown Report

Season 6, Column 83: Championship Meanderings and a double dose of straight shooting

The NCAA Division I Championships have come and gone with stories large and small worth noting and two eye-opening, thought-provoking books on where America has been, where it’s going, and options for change.

First and foremost, kudos to Cael Sanderson’s Penn State Nittany Lions who blitzed the field in fully expected fashion to claim the Division I National Team title again. Tom and Terry Brands Iowa Hawkeyes finished 2nd for the 2nd straight year with Cornell a somewhat suprising 3rd and an equally impressive Ohio State filling out the team podium placements at 4th. In reverse order from least to most shocking to the Scribe, these observations….Penn State won. The BIG 10 had five teams finish in the Top 10. Religion and a former President became hot button topics. And now the real news-this sites most beloved conference, the SoCon, bottomed out with a miniscule 15 participating athletes who collectively won 6 matches. Worst hurt-2X AA Jon Jon Millner of Appalachian State was waylaid by a wonky knee, unable to compete for a 3rd AA honor (he would have earned one), disallowed from raising his redunkulous career win total to nearly 130, and prevented from shepherding/uplifting/leading his 5 Mountaineer teammates into battle in Tulsa. Imagine Brad Pitts Achilles forced to stay in bed that morning (actually not that tough to imagine). What would have happened to Agammemnons boys? Exactly what occured to App State and, frankly, the SoCon as a whole. It can only get better, and it will. There’s too many quality coaches, too manygood athletes and too much program support for there not to be a better showing in Kansas City in 2024. App State wasn’t the only powerhouse conference champ to get beaten up, though. Newly crowned PAC12 bully boy Oregon State had their pelts handed to them as the Beavers rolled into Tulsa with 7 studs and left skinned. After the 1st day only 184lb Trey Munoz was still chasing a title. And that was the way the cookie crumbled for Chris Pendletons crew as Munoz alone limped home with a All American, 6th place finish. The Beavers say bye bye to just four folks so that plus great recruiting plus the rocket speed growth going on in Corvallis should make for a better NCAAs next year. On the positive side of things was the presence and progress of athletes from two teams this column has cast an admiring eye on this season, George Mason and American University. Coach Frank Beasley’s Patriots had Grad student and Mid American Conference champ Peter Pappas at 165 as well as rs freshman 149lb Nathan Higley hit the mats in Tulsa. … rest of story at Morewrestlingplease.wordpress.com/2023/03/21/season-6-column-83-championship-meanderings-and-a-double-dose-of-straight-shooting

March 27, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized