Women’s Collegiate Wrestling News (June 2024)
Transfer Portal Update
There have been some additional commitments since my last article that will have big impacts on lineups for the coming season.
Commitments
Kendall Bostelman – from North Central to William Penn
William Penn made a big splash last season with the arrival of Coaches Wilcke and Kadel from the now-closed Iowa Wesleyan along with many of their former teams top talent including Adaugo Nwachukwu and Mia Palumbo. The team went from 33rd place to 4th place at NAIA Nationals in one season. In addition to their strong recruiting class so far (keep an eye out for a lineup preview article), Kendall Bostelman will be another super charge for the Statesman program to keep them winning. Bostelman comes from last season’s NCWWC runner up North Central where she competed for two seasons. During her freshman season she became an All American, finishing sixth at the tournament after finishing third in her region. She has also earned a sixth place finish at the U23 World Team Trials in 2023. In her last season, she competed at 143 lbs and went 20-5, including 9 tech falls against her opponents. Bostelman’s offense can be lethal, so it will be exciting to see what momentum she adds to the already climbing William Penn squad.
Kaelani Shufeldt – from Lock Haven to North Central
While the Cardinals may have lost Bostelman from their lineup, they picked up an instant-impact competitor in Kaelani Shufeldt. Shufeldt was Lock Haven’s first two-time All American and first national finalist after coming up just short against Iowa’s Ava Bayless in the finals of NCWWCs. In the semifinals, Shufeldt pinned the No. 1 seed from North Central, Kendra Ryan. In fact, Shufeldt pinned every opponent in the tournament outside of Bayless. Shufeldt will head into her junior season with a career record of 50-8 with 18 pins last season. Back in December, … more at … Intermatwrestle.com/Womens-collegiate-wrestling-news-june-2024
Fargo Rosters: Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio
Starting on June 26, USA Wrestling began publishing the state team rosters for the 2024 USMC Junior and 16U Nationals set for Fargo, N.D. State teams will be posted whenever a final roster has been submitted and confirmed with the state association.
In addition to the list of athletes (by age-group, style and weight), boys who are included in the most recent FloWrestling rankings, as well as girls who are included in the most recent National Girls High School rankings, will be identified.
We add the following rosters today: Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina and Ohio. Ohio has one of the largest and most powerful rosters in Fargo each year, a challenger for team titles with both their men and women. North Carolina and Massachusetts are building stronger programs with some talented individuals. Mississippi, which is just now developing wrestling in the state, will be represented in Fargo this summer, a step forward for the sport.
NORTH CAROLINA
Junior Boys freestyle
120 Ethan Brownlee
120 Elijah Dorsey
126 Devon Conner
132 Layne Armstrong
138 Jackson Rowling
138 Alexander Schweitzer
138 Kaleb Flores
138 Shawn Bass
144 Ashton Shields-Adams
150 John Schulz
157 Jeremiah Johnson
157 Braden Reynolds
157 Luke Osborne
165 Troy Shannon
175 Dominic Blue
175 Connor Reese
175 Noah Michael
190 Harrison Compton
190 Brock Sullivan
190 Troy Deniz
190 Tayshaun Glover
215 Hayden Haynes
215 Dantrell Williams
285 Sebastian Rivera
285 Austin Rivera
285 Damien Couture
Junior Greco-Roman
120 Ethan Brownlee … rest of story at … Themat.com/Fargo-rosters-north-carolina-ohio
Legendary OU Head Coach Stan Abel Passes Away at 87
OWrestle.com has learned that longtime OU Head Coach and Hall of Famer Stan Abel passed away yesterday at the age of 87. The legendary Sooner coached OU to a National Title in 1974 and three other team runner-up finishes. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990.
His bio from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame: “With two national championships as a wrestler, and another as a coach, Stanley Abel reached across five decades with a career marked by continuing success. Vigorous, vehement and volatile, he was one of the best known figures in the sport. Abel always was out in front for his wrestlers, fighting as hard for them off the mat as he ever asked them to fight on the mat.
In 29 years as a head coach, he amassed more than 350 dual meet victories and a consistent 73 per cent winning record against the toughest possible lineup of opponents. Abel became coach at the University of Oklahoma in 1973, successor to three other Hall of Fame coaches. His Sooners won the NCAA championship in 1974, placed second three times and only once finished out of the nation’s Top 10.
He coached 15 NCAA champions and 74 All-Americans. One of his proudest moments came in 1984 when his son, Darren, earned All-America honors as an OU wrestler. The Sooners captured three Big Eight trophies and Abel was conference coach of the year three times. He was elected Man of the Year in 1974, … more at … Owrestle.com/legendary-ou-head-coach-stan-abel-passes-away-at-87
Weekly Recruiting Update (6/28/2024)
With a few months before the high school preseason, the top recruits from the Class of 2025 continue to fly off the board. Before this week, only five of the top-60 recruits in the nation were uncommitted. That number dropped to four as North Carolina snapped one of those prospects up and added to an already impressive recruiting class.
Even though fans and us in the media have started paying attention to the Classes of 2025 and 2026, some schools are still looking to solidify their incoming freshmen classes. Two of them recently picked up notable commitments. Those are all listed below in our latest recruiting update.
#54 Matthew Botello (Wyoming Seminary via Massachusetts) to North Carolina
One of the highest remaining uncommitted recruits from the Class of 2025 is off the board as #54 Matthew Botello has committed to North Carolina. … more at … Intermatwrestle.com/Weekly-recruiting-update
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
Takedown Report 