Takedown Report

NCAA Division II – Super Regionals News

NCAA Division II Wrestling Super Regional Preview
The NCAA Division II wrestling postseason begins Saturday. Get prepared for all of the Super Regional action across the country.

Five Things to Watch At The NCAA Division 2 Super Regionals
NCAA Division II postseason wrestling begins Saturday with six Super Regional tournaments across the country. The top three wrestlers in each weight class move on to the D2 NCAA Championships March 15-16 in Hartman Arena in Park City Kansas.  For the teams with national title aspirations, such as #1 Central Oklahoma, #2 Lander, #3 St. Cloud State and #4 West Liberty, this weekend is about setting up a championship chase.  Here are five things to watch for at the Division 2 Super Regionals this Saturday. 
Home Mat Advantage? 
West Liberty University and Lander University will be wrestling on their home mats and anticipate a rowdy and raucous atmosphere. Will the home crowd advantage pay dividends on the mat?  
West Liberty comes into the weekend on a six-match dual winning streak and is anchored by returning champion and #1 Ty McGeary at 184 pounds with five other ranked wrestlers, including #4 Khyvon Grace (141), #12 Nico Taddy(149), #6 Jamar Williams(157), #10 Alec Cook(165), and #4 Francesco Borsellino (285). The Hilltoppers won the Super Regional Tournament last year and are looking to build off a sixth-place finish at the NCAA tournament. 
Lander has been on a tear over the last two seasons, finishing as the national runner-up last season and winning the Midwest Classic this season. The Bearcats have a loaded roster of wrestlers including, #1 James Joplin (125), #9 Jack Tangen (157), #1 David Hunsberger (165), and #3 Juan Edmond-Holmes (285). While these ranked wrestlers alone could make some serious noise this weekend, the Bearcats also have returning All-American Elijah Lusk (133) and two-time All-American and 2022 NCAA champion, Zeth Brower (141), in the lineup as well. 
Grand Valley’s Return to Postseason Wrestling
The Grand Valley State University Lakers will compete in postseason wrestling for the first time in more than 30 years after the university dropped wrestling in 1993. … story at … Flowrestling.org/NCAA-division-ii-wrestling-super-regional-preview
And …

Blubaugh Earns Back-To-Back Wrestler of the Year, Six Greyhound All-GLVC
INDIANAPOLIS – Redshirt-junior Derek Blubaugh is now back-to-back GLVC Wrestler of the Year as announced by the conference. Alongside Blubaugh, the University of Indianapolis wrestling team racked up six All-GLVC honorees.  
Blubaugh becomes the first Greyhound in the program’s history to earn the honor not only twice in a career, but back-to-back times. Coming out of Bloomington, Ind., Blubaugh went undefeated in GLVC action, and against Division II action up to this point in the season.  
A dominant season throughout, Blubaugh carried a No. 2 ranking at 197 from the preseason poll till now, capturing four different tournament titles, the headliner being the Midwest Classic. Alongside his honor he is All-GLVC first team, marking the fourth-straight honor for him, and his third time on the first team list. “Derek has accomplished a lot already in his career, going undefeated in GLVC the last two years made it a pretty much unanimous vote for him. He’s the definition of consistent. From an outside perspective I’m sure he’s impressive, but from an insider’s perspective, seeing him work every day, the effort he brings every day, the extra stuff, his character, he is one of a kind,” Head Coach Jason Warthan said. “We’ve had some special guys come through the program and he’s one of those guys we’re going to be talking about forever in this program. He certainly set the bar from an accomplishments [standpoint], from a work ethic, from the intangibles, he deserves every bit of success he’s had.”
Alongside Blubaugh, graduate-student Trey Sizemore joined him in the first-team honors, leading the conference in falls while also going undefeated in GLVC-action at 174lbs. “Trey being first team as well, he’s had a huge impact, it’s always fun when you get somebody that comes in with a little different style and has had high level coaching other than through us,” Warthan. “He’s improved the room around him … story at … UIndy.edu/Blubaugh-earns-back-to-back-wrestler-of-the-year-six-greyhound-all-glvc
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Central Oklahoma Eyes Historic Win at NCAA Division II Super Regional IV
Months of preparation boils down to the most important day of the season for top-ranked Central Oklahoma and that arrives Saturday when the Bronchos trek to Indianapolis, Ind. for the NCAA Division II Super Regional IV  Tournament. First-round action begins at 9 a.m. (Oklahoma time) at Nicoson Hall on the Indianapolis campus and the 10-team tournament will run straight through, culminating in the placement matches at approximately 4 p.m.
The top-three finishers at each of the 10 weights qualify for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 15-16 at Hartman Arena in Wichita, Kan. Five other regional tournaments will also be held Saturday, with 30 qualifiers advancing from each of those. “This is the biggest day of the year,” eighth-year head Toddy Steidley said. “You can’t do anything at nationals if you don’t get there, so the first order of business is qualifying. It all comes down to how we perform on this one day and the number one goal is to move everybody on to the national tournament. … story at … Owrestle.com/central-oklahoma-eyes-historic-win-at-ncaa-division-ii-super-regional-iv/
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Kisgen Earns Fifth Coach of the Year Honor; Nine Named All-#GLVCwrestle
Nine wrestlers notched postseason honors from the league with five first team selections, leading the conference
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. | Great Lakes Valley Conference – As No.5 McKendree University men’s wrestling prepares for its postseason competition, the Bearcats notched a GLVC-leading nine selections to the All-GLVC teams with five first team selections whil head coach James Kisgen earned his fifth GLVC Coach of the Year honor, as announced by the league office on Friday morning. The postseason honors also included one second team honoree and three third team selections, all of which followed up the program’s fifth league crown since the conference started sponsoring the sport in 2017. McKendree’s next outing is the NCAA Super Regional – Region IV tournament on March 2, where 10 teams converge on UIndy’s Niconson Hall to capture NCAA Division II National Championship qualifying bids for the championships in Kansas on March 15-16.
COACH OF THE YEAR | James Kisgen
Kisgen, who is in his 21st season at the helm of the program, earned his fifth GLVC Coach of the Year honor along with the program’s fifth league crown in the eight-year history of GLVC wrestling. Under his direction and mentoring, the Bearcats tallied nine more all-league nods in 2024, bringing the program’s total to 52 All-GLVC awards since the league began its sponsorship in 2016-17. Kisgen has led the Bearcats to conference crowns in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, and now 2024. 
FIRST TEAM SELECTIONS
Christian Mejia | 125
Mejia becomes a four-time All-GLVC First Team member with … story at … MCKbearcats.com/Kisgen-earns-fifth-coach-of-the-year-honor-nine-named-all-glvcwrestle
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Chadron State’s Hunter named NWCA Region VI Coach of the Year
CHADRON, Neb. — After leading Chadron State to its first RMAC men’s wrestling title since 1995, Chadron State College head men’s wrestling coach Brett Hunter was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association Region VI Coach of the Year, the NWCA announced on Friday.  
“I’m truly blessed to earn the Regional Coach of the Year Award,” Hunter said. “I’ve been honored and blessed with an incredible group of coaches and young men by my side this season.” 
In the 12^th season under Hunter’s guidance, the men’s wrestling team finished 10-1 overall and 8-0 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference duals. The lone defeat occurred against #9 Nebraska-Kearney. 
The team is preparing the Super Region 6 Championships hosted by Colorado State-Pueblo on Saturday. 
The region is made up of the nine RMAC teams along with Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State. … story at … Chadroneagles.com/Hunter-named-nwca-region-vi-coach-of-the-year

March 2, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized