Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

Ryan Mann of Tarboro awarded the Lee Carroll Award TDR #31-2

            State Finalist Ryan Mann of North East Carolina Preparatory School was presented the 25th Annual Lee Carroll Award for excellence in athletics, academics and sportsmanship in northeastern North Carolina last season.  The TakeDown Report Editor, Martin Fleming and Lee Carroll presented the award to Ryan and his Coach, Blake Lundgren, during a pause between matches during their first home meet on Nov. 16th.
            Mann earned his first state medal as a freshman at 120 pounds, with a record of 37 wins and 4 losses.  He was the first state medalist in wrestling for N.E. Carolina Prep School.  Last year, as a sophomore, Mann won his first district title at 132 pounds and was a state finalist with a (58-1) record.  His overall scholastic career record, so far, is 95 wins and 5 losses after two years of competition.  Ryan also earned his second TDR Top 12 engraved wooden plaque this year as being one of the top wrestlers at his weight class in eastern North Carolina. “Ryan is a great student-athlete.  He is coachable and a positive leader who is a joy to work with in wrestling.” Coach Lungren shared.
            Lee Carroll started wrestling his sophomore year when Tarboro High School re-started the sport in 1992 with Butch Sadler as his coach.  Lee won 112 matches in just 3 years with the Vikings.  Lee was state runner-up his junior year before becoming a record setting undefeated state champion in 1995 with a (50-0) record.  Lee went on to start four years at North Carolina State qualifying for the Nationals 3 times.  Lee has taught engineering graphics at N.C. State as an adjunct professor and has his own interactive design agency, Forged Media, in Raleigh.  He is a member of the Tarboro High Athletic Hall of Fame.             Last year Caleb Beaty of Corinth-Holders High School was named the Lee Carroll Award winner.  Other previous award winners include Logan Tortual of Rosewood (2021). Javon Armstrong of Pamlico County (2020), Aaron Bancroft of Wilson-Fike (2019), Timothy and Christian Decatur of Rosewood (2018), Jaqwuez Norman of Farmville Central (2017), Kaleb Taylor of Rosewood (2016), Wilson Smith of Rocky Mount (2015 & 2014), Angel Najar of North Pitt (2013), Alexander Knight and Jacineto Williamson of Rocky Mount in 2012, Chris Fess of Beddingfield and Tamaris Lane of Nash Central in 2011, Chandler Phillips of Rocky Mount (2010), Landon Lucas of SW Edgecombe (2009), Corey Smith (2008) and Eric Sutton (2007) of Tarboro, Zach Shearin and Paul Horner (2006) and Pat Anstead (2004) of Southern Nash, Jimmy McNamara (2005) of Wilson Hunt and Sammi Hadi (2003) of SW Edgecombe.                The TakeDown Report has promoted amateur wrestling for over 20 years in eastern North Carolina reporting wrestling results and encouraging media coverage of the sport.  Fleming noted, “We desire to encourage wrestlers and teams in this area to realize the hard work, determination and discipline it takes to be a top notch wrestler,” he added.   The TakeDown Report sponsors the Award. Contact the TDR at martinkfleming@gmail.com

November 17, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Division 1 Men’s Coaches Poll: Wolfpack, Buckeyes make moves within Top 5

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Two dominating performances from NC State and a solid road victory by Ohio State highlighted action this past week and it caused some movement in the most recent NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.  
NC State blasted then-No. 25 Purdue 37-3 and Bloomsburg 45-4 to improve to 4-0 on the season and move up to No. 2 in the rankings for the second time in school history and for the first time since the final regular season poll in 2016.  
Ohio State (2-0) opened up its dual schedule with a solid 24-12 win over then-No. 5 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and then shutout Edinboro 53-0 to close out the weekend. The Buckeyes jumped three spots to fifth, while the Hokies (1-1) essentially traded spots, coming in at No. 8 this week.  
Only two other top-10 teams were in dual action over the weekend. Ninth-ranked Nebraska (2-0) topped visiting Campbell 37-4 and No. 10 Iowa State (2-0) shutout Davidson 50-0 in Ames.  
Top-ranked Penn State was idle in dual competition, as was Iowa, which slid to third this week. Missouri hosted a tournament at home and stayed put at fourth.  
The highest ranked team after Virginia Tech to fall this week was Arizona State, which split duals at Wranglemania in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. North Carolina topped the Sun Devils 22-16 and also beat then-No. 23 Lock Haven 23-18. North Carolina also beat Buffalo and the Tar Heels moved back into the Top 25 at No. 22 after falling out last week.  
Navy swept a home quad, shutting out VMI and the resurrected program at Morgan State as well as then-No. 16 Pittsburgh 21-16. The Midshipmen moved into the rankings this week at No. 19. Pittsburgh slid to No. 23. West Virginia moved into the Top 25 after opening its dual season with wins at home over Cleveland State, Kent State and Duke.
Also, No. 11 Oklahoma State beat Bucknell 38-6 and No. 21 Oklahoma beat Central Michigan 29-11.  
Schedule Note: The Coaches Poll originally scheduled for December 18 has been moved to Thursday, December 21 to facilitate the competition at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals in Nashville, Tennessee on December 18-19, 2023. … rest of story and rankings at … NWCAonline.com/D1-mens-coaches-poll-november-14-2023

November 17, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Ryan Crookham’s win over Vito Arujau headlines a wild weekend in men’s college wrestling

Few wrestlers, if any, came into the 2023-2024 college wrestling season with more momentum than Cornell’s Vito Arujau.
Since winning his 133-pound bracket at last year’s NCAA tournament and earning Most Outstanding Wrestling honors, Arujau went on to win the U.S. Open, earn gold at the Pan American Games, outscore NCAA champion teammate Nahshon Garrett 2-0 in Final X and secure his first senior world title.  He had been nearly unstoppable on every stage. Until he met Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham. 
A redshirt freshman from Pennsylvania, Crookham went 8-1 last year and started this season strong by winning the Princeton Open. His defining moment, though, officially came on Sunday, when he beat teammate No. 6 Conor McGonagle in the semifinals of the Journeyman Classic before stopping the reigning NCAA champion Arujau 8-4 in the finals of this open tournament. 
The win marked the second time a No.1-ranked athlete has taken a loss this year, as Purdue’s Matt Ramos dropped to high school star Marcus Blaze last weekend and took a second loss to N.C. State’s Jakob Camacho this weekend. 
These upsets are two of many wild results from across the country last weekend in college wrestling. Let’s break down what these results mean and how they could affect the rankings heading into Week 3. 

Jakob Camacho, Brendan McCrone and Jack Maida cause shakeups at 125 pounds

The 125-pound weight class was always going to be chaos this year. The graduation of 2023 NCAA champion Pat Glory left Purdue’s Matt Ramos in the No. 1 spot after the Boilermaker upset three-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee in the semifinals of last year’s tournament. The spotlight was on Ramos like never before. 
THE PIN HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD: How Matt Ramos beat Spencer Lee in last year’s national tournament
In his first tournament back on the mat for the year, Ramos took a loss last weekend to Blaze before wrestling back for third place. He earned respect for his toughness in the consolation bracket, though his season would continue to be paved with speedbumps. On Saturday afternoon, Ramos dropped a close, competitive bout to No. 12 Jakob Camacho of N.C. State, a result that will cause him to slip further in the rankings while the Wolfpack national qualifier will bump up. Camacho has been a contender on the national scene for a while, and his win over Ramos wasn’t as dramatic as Blaze’s win over the Boilermaker, but the result is still significant and demonstrates Camacho’s talents against top-tier opponents.
This match wasn’t the only upset as this now-volatile weight though. … rest of story … NCAA.com/news/wrestling/Ryan-crookhams-win-over-vito-arujau-headlines-wild-weekend-mens-college-wrestling

November 17, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment