Takedown Report

End of Regular Season D-II Results

Saints Go 3-0 to Earn Share of 2024 GLVC Wrestling Championship
St. Louis – The Maryville University wrestling team won all three matches Sunday to earn a share of the 2024 Great Lakes Valley Conference Wrestling Championship. The Saints defeated Drury 39-13, upset No. 9 Indianapolis 23-16 and downed Davenport 40-10. Maryville posted a record of 6-1 to share the GLVC title with McKendree and Upper Iowa. The Saints are next in action as they compete in the NCAA Super Regional March 1-2 in Indianapolis.
 
Maryville 39, Drury 13
125 – Caden Howard (Drury University) over Sam Shafer (Maryville University) Dec 11-5
133 – Evan Binder (Maryville University) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
141 – Kody Ketchum (Maryville University) over Paul Pollard (Drury University) Fall 1:26
149 – Collin Reif (Maryville University) over Anthony Smith (Drury University) TF 17-0
157 – Will Kuster (Drury University) over Luke Ebers (Maryville University) TF 22-7
165 – Cole Ritter (Maryville University) over Trevor Christian (Drury University) Fall 3:49 … story a … Maryvillesaints.com/Saints-go-3-0-to-earn-share-of-2024-glvc-wrestling-championship
And …

#2 Lander Captures Third Straight Conference Title
PEMBROKE, N.C. – The Lander Wrestling team captured their third consecutive conference title on Sunday afternoon as they took down the Newberry Wolves, 33-10, in the semifinal and won six straight bouts to open up the championship match for a 29-9 victory over the sixth-ranked Braves of UNC Pembroke.

Semifinal: #2 Lander 33, Newberry 10
James Joplin started off the match with a gritty 6-2 decision over Zach Shupp, escaping from a third period reversal to keep Shupp from getting any closer.  After 125, Lander rattled off five straight bonus point wins to seal the match. Elijah Lusk and Isham Peace both won by technical fall at 133 and 141 before Zeth Brower ignited the well-traveled contingent of Lander fans with a first period pin at 141 to make it 19-0, Bearcats. Jack Tangen found himself in a high scoring bout at 157 but was still able to secure a 19-9 major decision to make it 23-0. David Hunsberger got back into the win column after suffering his first loss of the year against King with a 16-3 major decision. Newberry got three straight wins at 174, 184, and 197 to make the score 27-10 but Juan Edmond-Holmes pinned nationally-ranked Devon Rice in 2:25 to cap the match and propel Lander into the championship match against UNC Pembroke

Championship: #2 Lander 29, #6 UNC Pembroke 9
After Logan Seliga did not wrestle last season in the championship match, James Joplin got his chance to face the fifth-ranked wrestler and did not let the opportunity pass him by as he secured a 4-2 decision with an early takedown in the first period. At 133, the bout was scoreless until the third period where Elijah Lusk got a reversal and then after a stoppage for injury time was able to secure an escape from the down position to give him a 3-0 decision. … story at … Landerbearcats.com/Wrestling-2-lander-captures-third-straight-conference-title
And …

Maryville, McKendree, UIU Earn Share of GLVC Wrestling Title
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Maryville University, McKendree University, and Upper Iowa University were crowned Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Wrestling Tri-Champions on Sunday afternoon at the Simon Athletic Center on Maryville’s campus in St. Louis, Missouri, after all three teams finished the regular season with a 5-1 league record.  
The Saints claimed their first Conference title after taking down the defending GLVC champions, University of Indianapolis, along with Drury University and Davenport University this afternoon.
The ninth-ranked Bearcats secured their fifth league championship, following shutout wins over Davenport and Drury today. In their inaugural GLVC season, the No. 15 Peacocks garnered the school’s first-ever GLVC crown in any sport, picking up dominant wins over Quincy University and UIndy on Sunday. Per GLVC Bylaws, the Conference declares multiple champions should the regular season end with identical league records. This is the first time in the eight-year history of the sport that more than one program has secured the Conference crown.
The All-GLVC teams and major award winners will be determined in the coming weeks, pending a vote of the league’s head coaches. Additionally, Conference teams now await the NCAA Division II Super Regional, which will be held March 2 in Indianapolis, Indiana. … story at … GLVCsports.com/Maryville-mckendree-uiu-earn-share-of-glvc-wrestling-title
And …

Bronchos hold top spot in DII Men’s Coaches Poll heading into postseason
MANHEIM, Pa. – Heading into the 2024 postseason, the Central Oklahoma Bronchos are still the top team in NCAA Division II men’s wrestling, according to the latest edition of the National Wrestling Coaches Association DII Men’s poll, released Monday afternoon. 
UCO topped the poll with 87 total points behind a poll-high eight ranked wrestlers. The Bronchos, along with #2 Lander, also feature a poll-high two top-ranked wrestlers in defending National Champions Dalton Abney at 197 and Shawn Streck at 285. Lander comes in at #2 with 80 total points and seven ranked wrestlers, highlighted by James Joplin (125) and David Hunsberger (165) at #1 in their respective weight classes.
Augustana made the jump from #14 to #3 in this edition of the poll, amassing 67 total points behind seven ranked individuals. St. Cloud State is in the four-spot with 57 points, with UW-Parkside and McKendree tied in the fifth spot with 48 team points each.  There are no new top-ranked wrestlers in this edition of the poll, with the most #1-ranked individuals coming from Super Region 2 heading into the Super Regionals. In addition to Joplin and Hunsberger from Lander, Gabe Hixenbaugh (133) of Montevallo and Scotty Joll (174) from UNC-Pembroke also head into the postseason atop their respective weights.  Super Region 5 again leads the way with the most ranked wrestlers, with 37 of the nation’s ranked individuals competing in SR5. Along with Super Region 3, SR5 also has the most teams ranked in the Top 25 with six. 
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has 33 ranked wrestlers and a poll-high five Top 25 teams, while the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has 17 ranked wrestlers representing its institutions. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference has four Top 25 teams. … story at … NWCAonline.com/NCAA-D-2-men-bronchos-hold-top-spot-in-dii-mens-coaches-poll-heading-into-postseason
And …

Glenville State Wrestling Defeats Kentucky Wesleyan and Frostburg State on Senior Day
GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The Glenville State Wrestling team wrapped up the 2023-24 regular season with a pair of Senior Day wins over Kentucky Wesleyan and Frostburg State earlier today. The Pioneers defeated KWC 46-5 and FSU 39-12. 
Head Coach Dylan Cottrell unloaded his roster today on the mat, wrestling both starters and reserves in the wins. All three seniors (Camden Barr, Drake De La Cruz and Gavin Shamblin) were victorious in their final matches at the Waco Center. GSU also recognized team manager, Lindsay Talley, during today’s Senior Day ceremony. 
Up Next For The Pioneers 
The Pioneers will travel to West Liberty next Saturday (Mar. 2) for the NCAA Super Region 3 Tournament. … story at … Gstatepioneers.com/Wrestling-defeats-kentucky-wesleyan-and-frostburg-state-on-senior-day
And …

No. 11 Wrestlers Recognize Seniors Then Down Shippensburg to Claim Eighth Straight PSAC Crown
Head coach Pat Pecora and the 11^th-ranked Pitt-Johnstown wrestlers celebrated Senior Night before dealing Shippensburg a 46-0 loss to claim the program’s eighth consecutive PSAC Dual Meet Championship, Thursday night in the Sports Center.  The Mountain Cats closed out the 2023-24 regular season at 14-2 overall and a perfect 7-0 in the PSAC.  
Prior to the match, the Pitt-Johnstown wrestling program recognized Oggie Atwood (285 lbs.), Byron Daubert (133 lbs.), Jacob Ealy (149 lbs.), Colby Keane (165 lbs.), Dillon Keane (165 lbs.), Will Small (184 lbs.), and Alex Weber (174 lbs.).
Following a double forfeit at 125 lbs., Pitt-Johnstown’s Trevon Gray bumped up a weight class to 133 lbs. and won by technical fall, 21-5 at 5:56 over Cal Lederer, and Mason Myers’ 15-0 technical fall victory at 3:29 over Eli Bounds gave Pitt-Johnstown a 10-0 lead to start.
Ealy, ranked second in the country at 149 lbs. followed with a third straight Mountain Cat victory by technical fall.  Ealy defeated Anthony Lavish, 17-2, 1:58 into the opening period, before an 11-3 major decision win at 157 lbs. from Cooper Warshel increased it to 18-0.
Pitt-Johnstown kept adding the points with back-to back falls.  At 165 lbs., Dillon Keane pinned Cole Lang at 2:30 and Tony Salopek won by fall at 2:30 over Liam Bostrom at 174 lbs.
The Mountain Cats built it to 37-0 when Noah Gnibus was awarded a forfeit at 184 lbs., before Pitt-Johnstown closed it out with fifth-ranked Rodgers’ 6-3 decision over Trey Shoemaker at 197 lbs. and a 15^th fall of the year from Isaiah Vance, ranked third nationally at 285 lbs.  Vance pinned Demetrius at 2:13 to set the final at 46-0. … story at … Pittjohnstownathletics.com/No-11-wrestlers-recognize-seniors-then-down-shippensburg-to-claim-eighth-straight-psac-crown

February 27, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Eng of Regular Season D-III Results

TCNJ Wrestling Defeats Messiah in Dual Season Finale
MECHANICSBURG, PA.- The No. 12 ranked TCNJ wrestling team capped off their dual season with a 35-6 victory over Messiah University on Saturday afternoon.  
The Lions (13-50 picked up their second dual match win in a row against the Falcons (11-11) who won one bout on the day.
No. 15 ranked Matthew Griffin (125) started off the cay strong for the Blue & Gold with an 18-3 technical fall victory over Corbin Hutchinson.
Kyle Nase (133) followed this up with an 15-5 major decision win against Asa Brunk.
After a loss at 141, Mike Conklin added another major to the scoreboard for the Lions, winning 17-3 against Noah Rice.
At 157 lbs., freshman Ryan Datz picked up a big win for TCNJ with a 3-2 decision win against regionally eighth ranked Garret Cornell.  
Nick Sacco (165) kept up his undefeated dual record, extending it to 16-0 with an 8-0 decision win against Zach Needles.
James Romaine (174) followed Sacco’s match up with a 4-3 decision victory against Austin Brass. … story at … TCNJathletics.com/Wrestling-defeats-messiah-in-dual-season-finale
And …

Wisconsin-Eau Claire Wrestlers earn share of 1st WIAC championship in program history
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling team clinched the first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship in program history on Saturday during the WIAC Championships at UW-Platteville. The Blugolds produced three individual conference champions to score 161.5 team points, which tied atop the standings with UW-La Crosse. The Blugolds and Eagles shared the team title as co-champions.
Izzy Balsiger (So. – Chippewa Falls, Wis.), Jared Stricker (Jr. – Ashland, Wis.) and Connor Collins (Sr. – Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West) won the individual titles at 125 pounds, 174 pounds and 184 pounds, respectively. The Blugolds also had runners-up in Tyler Fleetwood (Sr. – Fulton Ill.) at 133 pounds and Sloan Welch (Fr. – Arpin, Wis./Auburndale) at 285.
Prior to this season, the Blugolds had never finished better than second at a conference championship meet. In a season where UW-Eau Claire already broke its single-season dual victories record, the Blugolds continued to set new high-water marks on Saturday.
Balsiger cruised into the 125-pound finals by dominating his first two matches. He won by first-period pin in his opener, and followed with a 19-4 technical fall in the semifinals. He became the first Blugold champion of the day by edging Luca Paladino of UW-Stevens Point 8-6 in the championship match. Balsiger became the Blugolds’ first WIAC champion at 125 pounds since 2003. Stricker had no trouble returning to the 174-pound championship match. The junior won his opener by technical fall and followed with two pins to reach the finals, where he rolled to a 12-0 major decision over UW-Whitewater’s Ryan Riser.
Stricker has now won a WIAC title in each of his first three seasons at UW-Eau Claire. He is the second wrestler in school history to have won three conference championships. … story at … Blugolds.com/Wrestlers-earn-share-of-1st-wiac-championship-in-program-history
And …

USMMA Wrestling Earns Comeback Win Over New England College At Home
KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Feb. 17, 2024) – Back-to-back first-period pinfalls by freshman Tyler Withers (Gettysburg, Pa.) and junior Jimmy Dunagan (Boulder City, Nev.) put an exclamation point on a 25-22 comeback victory for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy wrestling team over New England College on Saturday night inside the Liebertz Gymnasium. The dual-meet victory finishes the Mariners’ season with a 7-8 record in head-to-head competitions on the season.
Meet Link
Complete Results
WATCH: Post-Meet Interview With Austin Manning 
Withers, who one week earlier claimed the Centennial Conference Championship at the 184-pound weight class, followed that distinction with a dominant performance over NEC’s Dominic Demaio with a pinfall at the 47-second mark of their match. USMMA led by a 19-16 margin after Withers’s victory – the first lead for the Mariners all afternoon – before Dunagan took down the Pilgrims’ Maxwell Ross in a 16-second eye-blink to give the Mariners the victory in the meet.
The wins from Withers and Dunagan capped off a run of five victories in a row for USMMA after New England College won the first four matches of the day. Down 16-0, junior Austin Manning (Virginia Beach, Va.) got the Mariners on the board with a 19-1 technical-fall victory over the Pilgrims’ Joe Gangi at the 157-pound weight class. A 19-12 decision in favor of Matthew Ferrucci (Killingworth, Conn.) at 165 cut USMMA’s deficit to a 16-8 margin before sophomore Ivan Corral (Oak Forest, Ill.) scored a 21-6 technical fall victory at 174 over Trevion Atallah to set up Withers and Dunagan for the consecutive pins to win the day.
USMMA has concluded its dual-meet season, but the Mariners’ campaign is not completed just yet. The team will now head to the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championships on Mar. 2-3 in Worcester, Mass. on the campus of WPI. … story at … USMMAsports.com/Wrestling-earns-comeback-win-over-new-england-college-at-home
And …

Averett University Wrestling captures first place with four individual champions in ODAC Wrestling Championships
DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University wrestling had four champions and three wrestlers earn runner up in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday night in the Grant Center. Averett took first place at 125 pounds, 174, 184 and the 285-pound weight class. Overall, Averett had ten placers in the tournament. Although Roanoke College took the ODAC team title based on dual records, Averett scored the most points of any team to take first place in the tournament.
“Being the ODAC Tournament champions is an amazing accomplishment for our Program”, head coach Blake Roulo said. “It was an exhilarating atmosphere with a packed Grant Center. Our team is turning a corner at the right time. Nine All-Conference, seven finalists and four champions makes it a true one team effort.”
At 125 pounds, junior Mason Barrett pinned Joseph Comaduron in just under two minutes to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Barrett managed to earn another fall in 45 seconds against Anakin Burks. Barrett went against Ferrum College’s Adrian Samano in the finals. Barrett was crowned champion after getting the 4-2 decision.
At 174 pounds, junior Khalil Mitchell started off with a 16-0 technical fall against Carson Hyde. In the semifinals, Mitchell earned another technical fall, defeating Dylan Weaver 16-1 to advance to the finals. Mitchell had a rematch against Roanoke’s Xavier Preston. Both wrestlers are regionally ranked. In their last meeting, Mitchell defeated Preston in a 9-6 decision. He came through with an impressive 11-2 major decision to clinch first place.
Senior George Moseley pinned Alex Taylor in his first match at 184 pounds. In the semifinals, Moseley got another pin. He got the fall against Joesph Toner at the 1:29 mark. Mosley was crowned champion after he got the 13-3 major decision against Jack McCusker. … story at … Averettcougars.com/Wrestling-captures-first-place-with-four-individual-champions-in-odac-wrestling

February 27, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Major College Conferences’ Recaps – Feb. 20th

Pac-12 Weekly Recap (2/20/2024)
Arizona State sneaks past Stanford
Stanford had Arizona State on the ropes until the heavyweights took the mat. The Sun Devils trailed 17-12 when Cohlton Schultz faced Peter Ming. Schultz dominated the match and gave the Sun Devils an 18-17 victory with a pin.  Jesse Vasquez continued his comeback with a solid 8-3 win over Jason Miranda, Kyle Parco went over Jaden Abas 5-1 in a top-15 matchup, Jacori Teemer got by #8 Daniel Cardenas 7-5 and Tony Negron defeated Jack Darrah 6-3.

Cal Poly nearly sweeps Cal Baptist
The Mustangs defeated Cal Baptist 32-3, winning nine out of the ten matches. Chance Lamer and Trevor Tinker earned tech fall wins while Abraham Hinrichsen got away with a 4-1 sudden victory. Michael Goldfeder’s 7-2 loss to Mateo de la Pena was the only setback on the day for Cal Poly. 

CSU Bakersfield finishes dual season winless
Besides the Covid season, Cal State Bakersfield has won at least one dual in the last ten seasons. However, the Roadrunners lost 29-9 to Hofstra and finished 0-12 in the dual season. In their final dual, the Roadrunners won three matches. Richard Castro-Sandoval defeated Dyland Acevedo-Switzer 6-1, Guillermo Escobedo upended Jake Slotnick 10-4 and Braden Smelser downed Joe McGinty 4-1.
Little Rock wins eight matches against SIUE; Trojans Claim Pac-12 Dual Title … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/Pac-12-weekly-recap-2202024
And …

ACC Weekly Recap (2/20/2024)
We had another solid weekend of ACC wrestling last week, setting up for a great final weekend and conference dual champion-deciding matchup. North Carolina used bonus points to knock off Virginia in a dual with a 5-5 split on matches. The Hokies exacted revenge in Pittsburgh, returning the favor from last season and knocking off the Panthers at home. In the final conference action of the weekend, the Wolfpack showed off their depth, resting most of their starters in a lopsided victory over the Blue Devils. NC State also started the weekend with a bang, dominating in their top-10 battle against Cornell. 

Virginia Tech 26 Pittsburgh 12
Though the dual was closer than the score may appear, the Hokies grabbed control early and never relinquished the lead. They opened the dual with a massive upset at 184 with TJ Stewart taking out #9 Reece Heller in sudden victory on a penalty point for an illegal head scissor. Colton Camacho gave Cooper Flynn a tough test but Flynn was able to secure a last-second takedown to take a 3-2 win. The biggest match of the dual featured the two remaining undefeated wrestlers in the conference at 141. It was a fun match. It was back-and-forth throughout and went to sudden victory; Matthews got in deep on a shot and Crook tried to scramble out – Matthews caught Crook mid-scramble and was able to secure the pin in sudden victory. Matthews earns the top seed for the ACC Championship with an unblemished record; he will still have a match remaining against Jack Gioffre but holds wins over Crook, McNeil, and Jack. The Panthers will be back home for the conference finale weekend, hosting Virginia while Virginia Tech will travel to Raleigh to face NC State for the ACC Dual Champion crown. … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/ACC-weekly-recap-2202024
And …

Big 12 Weekly Recap (2/20/2024)
While some Big 12 dual seasons were already finished as of this week, that didn’t stop a majority of the teams from getting in some competitive final matches. Missouri came back 2-0 after their trip to the Dakota’s, but South Dakota State made it more than interesting. Oklahoma State dominated the Sooners for their 19th consecutive Bedlam win. Wyoming and Utah Valley both won a handful of brackets at the Cowboy Shootout. With SDSU vs NDSU, OK State vs Iowa, and Missouri vs UNI/ISU on the remaining schedule, there are some excellent duals coming up in the final week before conferences. 
Air Force (Overall: 5-7; Conference: 2-6): Dual Results
The Falcons hosted Senior Day against Northern Colorado for their last dual but lost 32-12. Air Force was missing Sam Wolf at 184 but got wins from Garrett Kuchan, Giano Petrucelli, and Wyatt Hendrickson led the way with three wins. Hendrickson got his 14th pin of the season against Andrew Blackburn-Forst and finished his career in duals with an impressive 36-2 dual record with his last dual loss coming in 2021. On top of that, 33 of those wins came by bonus points and 23 were pins. 
Next Up: Big 12 Championships

California Baptist (Overall: 6-10; Conference: 1-6): Dual Results
The Lancers doubled their dual wins from 2023 with a 2-0 weekend against Cal State Bakersfield and Hofstra. They beat CSUB 31-7 and Hofstra by a score of 29-10. They won 15 out of 20 matches and saw Darren Green, Dayne Morton, and Nathan Haas all go 2-0 on the weekend. Seven of the team’s matches came by bonus with one fall, two techs, and four majors. The team’s 31 points against CSUB is the most they’ve scored in a dual against a Division I opponent since making the move. 
Next Up: California Baptist travels to Orem, UT for a season finale dual against Utah Valley on February 24th. 

Iowa State (Overall: 12-2; Conference: 5-1): No Competition. 
Next Up: Iowa State hosts Missouri on February 25th for a Big 12 finale. 

Missouri (Overall: 10-2; Conference: 6-1): Dual Results (NDSU) | Dual Results (SDSU)
The Tigers rebounded from two consecutive losses with wins over the Dakota schools. Missing Kade Moore and Logan Gioffre they took out NDSU 32-6 then had to make a comeback against SDSU for a 21-19 win. Noah Surtin went 2-0 with major decisions, … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/Big-12-weekly-recap-2202024
And …

NCAA DI Rankings Updated (2/20/2024)
We’re coming down the homestretch in the regular season. Only one more week of dual events before we turn our attention to the postseason and conference tournaments. With almost four months of data points at our disposal, there haven’t been too many rankings shake-ups this week. 
As has often been the case, the most work needed to be done to the 125 lb rankings. It was a big week for veterans as Patrick McKee pinned Eric Barnett, Caleb Smith majored Braeden Davis and Jakob Camacho returned with a win over Brett Ungar. We had Jarrett Trombley ranked for NC State, while Camacho was going through a reset, but Camacho’s probably the guys going forward after that win.
So, let get to the rankings: Click Here … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/NCAA-di-rankings-updated-2202024
And …

Five B1G Takeaways from the Big Ten (2/22/24)
We are going into the final week of Big Ten dual meets, and I honestly can’t believe that we made it here so quickly. The incredible competition from this season, specifically in the B1G, has had us glued to every move again this season and last week certainly was another great installment.

Dean Hamiti Completes Undefeated Conference Season
It hasn’t been the easiest year for Hamiti. He took some losses earlier this year and even bumped up to 174 for a few matches to give himself a break from making 165. But one thing that never broke was his conference winning streak. And on Sunday he punctuated his dual meet season with a gritty 14-11 win over Michael Caliendo. He was then named the Co-Wrestler of the Week.

The Pat McKee vs Eric Barnett Series
This is a rivalry that deserves so much more credit. At the beginning of the new year, I wrote about how epic this series has been and how good this dual would be as well and it didn’t disappoint whatsoever. This was the 10th time that McKee and Barnett faced off and just like the others, it was fire. McKee notched his sixth win over Barnett and now leads the series 6-4, he was also named Co-Wrestler of the Week with Dean Hamiti. Of his six wins, five have been by bonus with four of them being by fall and the other by major. This might be one of the best rivalries that gets no love.

Nebraska vs Penn State Was Awesome
Something apparent about Nebraska this season is that they show up to compete and they compete very hard each time out. We’ve seen teams be very good at home and then not so good on the road, but the Cornhuskers haven’t really been one of those teams. Despite the loss in State College, PA, you have to give credit to the Manning/Snyder squad. At the halfway point of the dual, Penn State trailed for the first time this season. It wasn’t until after Carter Starocci’s tech fall at 174 over Bubba Wilson that the Nittany Lions had the lead. Lenny Pinto brought the Huskers back to within a point, but the best closing duo in the country – Aaron Brooks and Greg Kerkvliet – shut the door. But you have to give props to Nebraska, hopefully, they can continue their momentum into the postseason. … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/Big-10/five-b1g-takeaways-from-the-big-ten-22224
And …

SoCon Weekly Recap (2/22/2024)
Hi besties, long time, no see. 
The season is ending almost as quickly as it began – with less than 10 duals left on the calendar, we’re less than 20 days away from the conference tournament (but who’s counting?) This past weekend kicked off on Thursday, App State served up back-to-back SoCon Shutouts, with road victories over Presbyterian (54-0) and Davidson (44-0). 
The Citadel continued with their success on Friday, advancing to a 5-2 record after a 19-14 win over Gardner-Webb. The dual kicked off at 197, where The Citadel scored the first six points for the dual via decisions at 197 and heavyweight. The Runnin’ Bulldogs’ Drew West (125) answered with a major decision victory over Malik Hardy – followed by two victories via decision by Tyson Lane (133) and Todd Carter (141). Arguably one of my favorite pastimes is watching matches go into sudden-victory – and the 149-pound bout did not disappoint. Jeff Boyd and Zach Price battled it out – with Boyd cinching the 5-2 victory. Two more decisions were up on the board from The Citadel’s Hayden Watson (157) and Brodie Porter (174). Lest we forget Ben Haubert’s 13-1 major decision win over Andrew Wilson at 165. Jha’Quan Anderson brought a finale of fireworks with a 12-1 major decision victory over Adam Ortega. The Citadel will be back in action one last time against Presbyterian College on Thursday, February 22.
Davidson, bouncing back from a tough loss against App State, took to the road against VMI and surged through with a 24-19 victory. The dual was tied 19-19 after eight bouts, with notable pins from Wyatt Ferguson (184, Davidson), Dyson Dunham (133, VMI), and Ryan Vigil (149, VMI) – the Wildcats then pulled away at 157, after Tanner Peake’s major decision victory, and Bryce Sanderlin (165) closing out the dual with a technical fall.  Campbell continues with their unscathed conference record after they defeated Chattanooga 33-6 on Saturday. The Mocs scored six points at 125 and 141, … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/Socon-weekly-recap-2222024

February 27, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2024 NAIA Men’s Wrestling National Championships Qualifiers Announced

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Qualifiers by Weight Class | Qualifiers by School | Qualifiers by Conference) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the qualifiers for the 2024 NAIA Wrestling National Championships hosted by Visit Wichita at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan. The 67th edition of the annual event will see a format change where six sessions will be held across three days. The action begins on Thursday, February 29th and concludes on Saturday, March 2nd.
Each conference tournament was awarded automatic bids per weight class based on the final regular-season rating, which can be seen HERE. Each conference is awarded automatic berths based on the number of wrestlers ranked in each weight class. Every conference receives a minimum of one automatic bid per weight class, which will be awarded to the tournament champions, even if the conference did not have any wrestlers ranked in the final regular-season rating. If a conference does not have an individual ranked in the final top 25, an allocation will be deducted from the original 25 to ensure that each conference is represented at each weight class at the National Championships.
After the conference tournaments concluded, a 16-member committee consisting of conference raters and oversight members met to select the remaining national at-large qualifiers. In total, 36 student-athletes were selected by at-large classification. The seeding and preliminary brackets will be announced on NAIA.org by 5 p.m. (CST) on Friday, February 23.
Grand View (Iowa), Southeastern (Fla.), and Life (Ga.) will travel a full roster of 12 wrestlers to the national championships while Cumberland (Tenn.), Cumberlands (Ky.), Menlo (Calif.), Ottawa (Kan.), and Providence (Mont.) will bring 11 wrestlers total. … story at … NAIA.org/2023-24/Releases/Qualifiers

February 27, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

NWCA Releases Final Regular Season NCAA D3 Men’s Coaches Polls

Manheim, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) released the final regular season NCAA Division III Men’s Coaches Polls, which now have Wartburg leading the Tournament poll and and Augsurg still in the #1 spot in the dual poll. 

In the tournament team poll, the top five are comprised of #1 Warburg (77.5), #2 Augsburg (77), #3 UW La Crosse (56.5), #4 North Central (47), and #5 Coast Guard (39). 

The top five teams in the dual poll are #1 Augsburg (10-1), #2 Wartburg (15-1), #3 UW La Crosse (12-2), #4 North Central (11-2), and #5 Coe (12-2).

There one change in this month’s top-ranked individuals at 125: Johnson & Wales’ Joziah Fry is back in the top spot after dropping back down from 133 where he had been ranked second. Wartburg leads the country with two top-ranked wrestlers, while Johnson & Wales,  North Central, Ohio Northern, Baldwin Wallace, UW-La Crosse, Alvernia, Augsburg, and Coast Guard each have a single top-ranked individual.

TOP RANKED INDIVIDUALS | NATIONAL RANKINGS | REGIONAL RANKINGS
125 Joziah Fry, Johnson & Wales
133 Robert Precin, North Central
141 Jacob Reed, Ohio Northern
149 Michael Petrella, Baldwin Wallace
157 Nolan Hertel, UW-La Crosse
165 Matt Lackman, Alvernia
174 Zane Mulder, Wartburg
184 Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann, Augsburg
197 Massoma Endene, Wartburg
285 Carl DiGiorgio, Coast Guard

Each of the six Division III Regional Tournaments will take place this weekend. 

• Lower Midwest Regional – Feb. 29 – Mar. 1 (Tournament Link)
• Central Regional – Mar.1-2 (Tournament Link)
• Mideast Regional – Mar. 1-2 (Tournament Link)
• Southeast Regional – Mar. 1-2 (Tournament Link)
• Upper Midwest Regional – Mar. 1-2 (Tournament Link)
• Northeast Regional – Mar. 1-2 (Tournament Link) … story at … NWCAonline.com/D3-mens-coaches-poll

February 27, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Penn State goes wire-to-wire atop Coaches Poll, ends dual season 12-0

With 639 duals involving Division I men’s wrestling teams in 2023-24 now complete, Penn State closed the regular as the only unbeaten and a wire-to-wire unanimous No. 1 as the final NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll of the season was released on Tuesday.
Penn State (12-0) finished out the regular season with a 55-0 home win over Edinboro to run its dual meet win streak to 54 in a row. The Nittany Lions will start next season with the fourth-longest win streak in major college wrestling history.
Iowa returned to No. 2 after heading to Stillwater, Oklahoma and taming then-No. 2 Oklahoma State 22-9 in front of over 13,000 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena in the third-largest dual meet crowd in school history. Oklahoma State dropped back to fourth this week.
Nebraska closed out its season ranked third, finishing a 12-2 season with a road win at then-No. 19 Arizona State. Iowa State (13-2) closed out its regular season with a 41-3 drubbing of reserve-laden Missouri, which came in ranked seventh.
Missouri, which also fell to then-No. 16 Northern Iowa 31-6, dropped three spots to No. 10. NC State closed the regular season with a 16-2 mark after a 20-12 win No. 13 Virginia Tech, giving the Wolfpack the regular-season ACC championship.
Cornell beat Binghamton 33-6 and Michigan shutout Central Michigan 39-0 to end those respective school’s dual-meet seasons. … story and rankings at … NWCAonline.com/NWCA-penn-state-goes-wire-to-wire-atop-coaches-poll-ends-dual-season-12-0

February 27, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

TDR Top 12 Boys Team 2024 – TDR # 31-60

Editor’s Notes; The following boys are named for The TakeDown Report’s Top 12 Team as the best wrestlers in eastern North Carolina. They will receive an individualized wooden plaque in recognition of their achievement. This is the 27th consecutive season of publicizing the TDR Top 12 rankings and awards and for the 20th year we will recognize the wrestlers with the engraved wooden plaque with our ‘duck under’ logo. We no longer print the list on the back of T-Shirts yet we do have white print on black shirts TDR shirts for just $10!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

February 27, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment