Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

USA’s Hildebrandt wins wrestling gold amid weight cut controversy

PARIS — The most unusual day of Sarah Hildebrandt’s wrestling career ended with her earning an Olympic gold medal. The American won the 50-kilogram women’s category Wednesday, defeating Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba 3-0 in the championship match to become the fourth U.S. woman to win a gold medal. For a while, she thought she wouldn’t even have a gold medal match.
Vinesh Phogat of India appeared to reach the finals of the 50-kilogram category after three wins Tuesday. But United World Wrestling, the sport’s governing body, disqualified her after she barely missed weight Wednesday morning. Measures such as cutting Phogat’s hair weren’t enough to shed the necessary weight. Team India said Phogat was 100 grams — about a fifth of a pound — over the weight limit. Hildebrandt originally thought she had won gold by forfeit. Instead, Guzman Lopez, who had lost to Phogat in a semifinal, was moved up from a bronze medal match. “There was a lot of celebrating,” the 30-year-old Hildebrandt said. “It was very strange. ‘Oh my God, I just won the Olympics.’ And then an hour later, it was like, psych, you did not win the Olympics. I was like, ‘Oh, this is very weird.’ So there had to be a reset.”
Phogat, who stunned four-time world and defending Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the first of her three matches Tuesday, would have been the first women’s wrestler from India to compete for a gold medal. Instead, she left empty-handed. “As a big weight cutter myself, yeah, I feel for her,” Hildebrandt said. “She had an amazing day yesterday, did an insane feat and, you know, I don’t think she saw that happening, ending her Olympics like that. So for sure, my heart goes out to her. I think she’s an amazing competitor, an amazing wrestler and person.”
Susaki eventually earned a bronze medal with a 10-0 win over Oksana Livach of Ukraine. Hildebrandt, a bronze medalist in Tokyo, … more at … https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/40768385/usa-hildebrandt-wins-wrestling-gold-weight-cut-controversy

August 24, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Iowa State Wrestling Receives NCAA Trophy

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State wrestling received its fourth-place trophy from the 2024 NCAA Championships on Tuesday, but you might be asking yourself, “why did Iowa State receive a trophy in August for a tournament that was in March?”
It was a historic season, Iowa State’s best since 2010, but one that originally finished without an NCAA trophy in hand. Traditionally, the NCAA has always awarded the top four teams at the NCAA Championships a trophy, but following the 2023 season, the NCAA elected to do away with the fourth-place trophy, citing financial reasons.
In the first season after the decision was made, it was Iowa State who finished in fourth place and narrowly missed out on a trophy finish.
Final team scores from the 2024 NCAA Championships:
1. Penn State – 172.5
2. Cornell – 72.5
3. Michigan – 71.0
4. Iowa State – 68.5
5. Iowa – 67.0
🌪️🚨🌪️ pic.twitter.com/IF7Bq19SgB— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR) March 24, 2024
In July, the NCAA Competition Oversight Committee voted to reverse course and to reinstate the fourth-place trophy going forward, as well as retroactively award the Cyclones their trophy for 2024. It officially marks Iowa State’s 45th trophy finish in program history (eight national titles, 16 runner-up finishes, 13 third-place finishes, eight fourth-place finishes). … more at … https://cyclones.com/news/2024/8/14/iowa-state-wrestling-receives-ncaa-trophy.aspx

August 24, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Lander Selected as Host for 2026 NCAA Super Region II Championships

GREENWOOD – For the second time in three seasons, the road to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championship will run through Greenwood, South Carolina as the NCAA announced that Lander University and Finis Horne Arena will be the site of the 2026 NCAA Super Region II Tournament. The event will be held the weekend of Feburary 28th, 2026 with a specific date and start time to be determined at a later date. “We are excited to host the NCAA Super Regional Tournament for the second time,” said Athletic Director Brian Reese. “To host it twice in three years shows how much not only the Lander Wrestling program has grown but also the high quality of our arena, campus, staff, as well as the town of Greenwood.”
The tournament will consist of 13 teams from around the southeast, up from the 11 that competed in Greenwood in 2024, with wrestlers from each team competing in ten weight classes. The top-three wrestlers in each weight class will earn a bid to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championship in Sioux Falls, S.D. where they will compete against qualifiers from the five other Super Region tournaments being held that same weekend. “We are extremely excited to once again host the NCAA Super Regional here at Lander,” said Head Wrestling Coach R.C. LaHaye. “Horne Arena provides an awesome wrestling atmosphere and our administration always puts on a first class event. We hope to once again pack the arena with Bearcat fans from across the country.”
Lander has won the last two Super Region II Tournaments, setting the all-time scoring record in 2023 with 164 points. The 2025 Super Region tournament will be held in Pembroke, N.C. with the National Championship being held in Indianapolis, Ind. … more at … https://landerbearcats.com/news/2024/8/9/wrestling-lander-selected-as-host-for-2026-ncaa-super-region-ii-championships.aspx?utm_source=Wrestling+News&utm_campaign=4dd041c29c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_09_28_09_07_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_44607e8210-4dd041c29c-245314521&mc_cid=4dd041c29c

August 24, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment