Takedown Report

Neal Dorow Inducted to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame!

Neal Dorow – Born in Palo Alto, California, Dorow was a standout wrestler at Mountain View High School in Mountain View California, graduating in 1972. He then attended Foothill Community College in Los Altos Hills from 1972-74, where he was a conference champion and a 6th-place finisher in the California Community College Nor-Cal Championships. After Foothill, he wrestled for the University of California at Berkeley where he was a two-time Pacific 8 Conference Runner-Up and a two-time NCAA Division 1 qualifier. In 1976, he was named the NorCal College Wrestler of the Year.

After graduating from Berkeley in 1977 with a degree in Physical Education, Dorow began his officiating and coaching career. He coached and officiated at the high school and collegiate level in Washington, Wisconsin, Oregon, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. In 1982, he joined the United States Wrestling Officials Association as a mat official, and by 1990, had attained his international officials license and reached the category of M1E (Exceptional), the highest possible in the USWOA. Between 1984 and 2014, Dorow officiated over 60 international wrestling competitions, including National Team overseas tours in 11 different countries. He officiated 66 USA Wrestling regional championship events and 109 USA Wrestling National Championship events from 1983 to 2017. In 1995, he was a timer and scorekeeper for the World Championships in Atlanta, Georgia, and in 1996, he was a timer and scorekeeper for the Atlanta Olympics.

In 2001, Dorow moved to North Carolina and was the first head wrestling coach at the newly opened Eugene Ashley High School in Wilmington. He was wrestling coach at Ashley until 2005. In 2002, he founded and still runs the annual Ashley High School Veterans Cup Tournament, which just completed its 22nd year. Soon after moving to North Carolina, he joined North Carolina USA Wrestling and is still active today. Dorow was the NCUSAW Officials Director and a Board member from 2001 to 2011 and the local organizer for the USA National and North Carolina State Beach Wrestling Championships held in Carolina Beach from (2012 – present).

In addition to his 2024 induction into the North Carolina state chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Dorow has received the USWOA Phil Portuese Award (2003), the USWOA Lifetime Achievement Award (2009), the NCUSAW Frank Rader Person-of-the-Year Award (2011), and the USA Wrestling Beach Wrestling Person-of-the-Year Award (2017). Currently, he lives in Wilmington with his wife Andrea and is the Virtual Academy Coordinator for Ashley High School.

May 23, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Ed Duncan Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame!

Ed Duncan – A native of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, Duncan attended Mitchell High School, where he excelled in wrestling, football, baseball, and track. Duncan was an all-conference lineman in football, a two-time state medalist in wrestling, and a wrestling state champion in 1988. He played a key role in the Mountaineers’ team state tournament championship run in 1988 and was named Mitchell’s male athlete of the year for 1988.

Duncan then attended Appalachian State University as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow, majoring in Social Science and Secondary Education. He was a two-year starter for the Appalachian Wrestling team and reached the Southern Conference finals at 190 lbs. in 1989. In 1993, Duncan completed his student teaching at Ashe County High School. In addition to student teaching, he helped coach the wrestling team, which finished as state runner-up. Duncan then taught social studies and coached wrestling at Hickory High School from 1993 to 2004. During his tenure at Hickory, he started a middle school wrestling team before returning to Mitchell High School in 2005. At Mitchell, Duncan also started a middle school program in 2006 and assumed the role of head wrestling coach at the high school in 2010. Duncan’s Mitchell teams have captured 250 dual meet wins, five conference championships, two regional tournament titles (2014, 2015), two dual team state championships (2014, 2015), one state dual team runner-up finish (2016), one state tournament championship (2015), and one state tournament runner-up finish (2014).

In 2004, Duncan became the first-ever Administrative Director for Team NC Wrestling. He served in this role until being elected State Chairperson for NCUSA Wrestling in 2018. He has been the National Teams Coach and the event director for the Elementary and Junior High State Championships. In 2013, Duncan founded and currently runs the High Country Youth League, which serves over 20 counties in Western North Carolina. He serves as a Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee member (2022 – present) and has directed the North Carolina State Games for over 20 years.

Duncan’s efforts have focused recently on building men’s and women’s beach wrestling and high school girls’ wrestling in North Carolina and across the country. He is the founding organizer of the first beach wrestling state championships and has hosted the USA National and North Carolina State Beach Wrestling Championships at Carolina Beach (2012 – present). He was the Team Leader/Coach for Team USA at the 2019 World Beach Games in Doha, Qatar, and has attended multiple world beach championships. Duncan is also the founder of the Beach Wrestling Tour of America (2022) and is the US Representative to the United World Wrestling Beach Wrestling Committee (2016 – present). Duncan was an organizer of the first girls’ high school invitational, hosted the first-ever open state championship for girls (2017) and worked with the Women’s Wrestling Task Force to sanction girls high school wrestling in North Carolina (2023).

One of the original members and key organizers of the North Carolina Wrestling Coaches Association, Duncan served on the NCWCA Board from 2007 to 2014. He has also served on the Board of the state chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2016 – present). Retiring from teaching in 2023, Duncan remains both the head wrestling coach at Mitchell High School and the State Chairman for North Carolina USA Wrestling. Duncan’s children Eve Duncan, Solomon Duncan, and Marie Murphy are all actively involved in the wrestling community serving in various roles.

May 23, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment