Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

D-II News and Notes

Roughnecks Win 21-20 Over #13 Pitt-Johnstown
Johnstown, Pa.- The University of Findlay’s wrestling team traveled east to take on the thirteenth-ranked Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats in an afternoon dual. The Oilers upset the Mountain Cats, who had won 53-consecutive home duals, on score breaking criteria. With the 21-20 win, the Roughnecks are now 1-0 in duals this season. 
Findlay at #13 Pitt-Johnstown

Averett wrestling’s A Team, B Team co-champions in Cougar Duals
(DANVILLE, Va.) —  Averett University wrestling’s A Team and B Team shared the title in the Cougar Duals as co-champions on Saturday afternoon with both teams going undefeated.
Averett’s A Team only lost four times over the span of four dual matchups. Between Averett’s A and B Team, they had a point differential of 311-68 against their opponents combined. Each squad also had multiple undefeated wrestlers and had 22 pins combined. Averett’s A Team and B Team would have faced off in the finals, but they decided against it. I feel that even though we wrestled as two different teams today, we still are a part of the same Averett wrestling family,” head Coach Blake Roulo Said. “I don’t see any point in dividing our family with such an amazing accomplishment finishing as co-champions going 4-0 with both squads. When either team wins we both win. I don’t see the point in our family fighting in front of a public audience when we do it every day in the room.”
Averett’s A Team began their run against Patrick and Henry Community College. They managed to compile six falls to go on and defeat the Patriots 58-0. Sophomore Xavier Swanson got his pin in just over 20 seconds at 157 pounds. Sophomore Michael Gabbard got his in just under a minute in the 174-pound weight class. Senior Trent Ragland had his first match since 2021-22 season, also pinning his opponent in just under two minutes. Senior Mauricio Reyes got a pin in the 141-pound weight class and so did freshman Carter Shupert at 149 pounds.
Against Saint Andrews University, Averett’s A Team won 56-0. The Cougars earned five additional pins. Swanson, junior Anthony Taylor, Gabbard, sophomore Nolan Gerwitz and Ragland all earned a fall. The Cougars also went undefeated in the dual. … story at … Averettcougars.com/Mens-wrestling-averett-wrestlings-a-team-b-team-co-champions-in-cougar-duals

Lopers Score 23 Straight to Down the Eagles
Kearney, Neb. – The 10th-ranked Nebraska Kearney wrestling team won the final six weight classes to down 13th-ranked Chadron State, 26-10, Friday night in Chadron.
The Lopers improve to 3-2 while the Eagles fall to 2-1. At this early point of the season, both squads were without some of their expected starters. 
UNK was down 10-3 when redshirt sophomore Nic Stoltenberg (Omaha Skutt) managed an escape in overtime to win 2-1 at 157 pounds. That started the win streak and turned the tide towards the Lopers. Redshirt sophomore Kaden Hart (St. Louis) followed with a 13-2 major with redshirt sophomore Dylan Vodicka (Garrison) erasing an early 5-0 deficit to win 14-8 at 184 pounds. Finally, redshirt sophomore Crew Howard (Clarinda, Ia.) was up 9-2 before a fall at 3:32 and redshirt freshman Zach Ourada (Omaha Skutt) had 2:53 of riding time to upset 10th-ranked Quade Smith, 4-3, at 125 pounds.
 … story at … Lopers.com/Wrestling-lopers-score-20-straight-to-down-the-eagles

Former Thompson wrestler Gabe Hixenbaugh returns home to help University of Montevallo build wrestling program
By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor Gabe Hixenbaugh has accomplished a lot during his wrestling career, with wins against some of the top wrestlers in the country and success on the biggest stages in Alabama and the entire nation. But he has never done one thing: wrestle collegiately in front of his hometown fans.
Now thanks to a fresh start with the University of Montevallo’s wrestling program, he has a chance to do just that and chase his dreams close to home while laying the groundwork for wrestlers from across the state to follow in his footsteps. Hixenbaugh was a five-time individual state champion for Thompson in high school, going 249-16 during his high school career to become the second-winningest wrestler in program history. He also helped the Warriors to three state championships as a team. He was an elite wrestler nationally during that time as well, winning a national championship at the Junior Nationals in Fargo, one of the most prestigious wrestling tournaments in the country, and was named a Fargo All-American. At the time he graduated, however, the only college wrestling program in the state was Division-III Huntingdon College, so Hixenbaugh went to Division-I Campbell University for four years. … story at … Shelbycountyreporter.com/Former-thompson-wrestler-gabe-hixenbaugh-returns-home-to-help-university-of-montevallo-build-wrestling-program

December 20, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

College Wrestling opportunities are on the rise

The sport of wrestling took a giant leap this past year with the number of male wrestlers increasing by about ten percent. Another eye-catching statistic is the increasing number of college wrestlers out there. In the recent past you would seldom find a local high school wrestler continuing the sport at the college level. That’s no longer true. The opportunity is there with more colleges offering the sport and the athletes are knocking on their doors.
Just a few local guys I can think of right off the bat are the members of WVU Tech’s wrestling squad. Jeff Bowles is a junior who holds down the 285-pound class. He is a former Liberty Raider and placed third in the state at 220 pounds in 2021. Max Underwood is from Oak Hill and has placed in one tournament for the Golden Bears this year at 197 pounds. Liam Lusher is a two-time state runner-up from Independence High and he has settled in at Tech, weighing 149 pounds. Then you have the M and M brothers, Zach and Thomas Mullins. They were both state qualifiers from Greenbrier East High school. Zach is a sophomore at 133 pounds and Thomas is a freshman at 197 pounds. Thomas was state runner-up in 2021. He recently placed in the Averett University Open wrestling in the 285-pound class.
So far, the most successful wrestler at Tech this season has been a Beckley boy, Jackson Evans. Jackson has placed in all three tournaments the Golden Bears have participated in — first at Cumberland, Ky., third at Averett University and fourth at the King Open in Bristol, Tennessee.
If you look to the north you’ll see three local guys currently wrestling at Glenville State University. Beckley’s Devin Gauldin, a junior, is starting at 197 pounds for the Pioneers. Gauldin was a two-time state placewinner at Woodrow Wilson and was state runner-up in 2020. Shady Spring’s Joshua Goode and Jay Jones of Woodrow Wilson are first-year wrestlers at the Gilmer County school. Goode was a multiple state place winner at Shady Spring and holds the record for most career wins (160) for the Tigers. Jones placed fourth (175) in the states his senior year at Beckley.
Nicholas County’s Dalton Hanshaw is a freshman at Fairmont State University. Dalton was state runner-up last year in the 190-pound class and he recorded 123 wins while wrestling for the Grizzlies.
Independence graduate Mason Kump was the Class AA-A WV state champ at 195 pounds in 2019. He wrestled some at Southeastern University but transferred to Belmont Abbey in North Carolina to finish his college career. Kump starts at 197 pounds for Belmont, which has been ranked as high as 18th among the NCAA Division II teams.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Tayla Grove, a former Shady Spring Tiger wrestler. Tayla wrestles at Bluefield State University and recently got her first collegiate win against Southwest Virginia Community College. Her coach, Sam Gardner, stated that Tayla loves that “cowboy,” which is a move sometimes called a hip toss. Grove was third in West Virginia twice wrestling for Shady Spring. … story at … Cleburnetimesreview.com/Wrestling-college-opportunities-are-on-the-rise

December 20, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment