Bianchi’s Upset Victory Powers Little Rock to Fourth Straight Win
Trojans finish 6-4 on the day to stay unbeaten in duals
In a thrilling dual featuring as many overtime matches as those decided in regulation, Little Rock Wrestling clinched its fourth consecutive victory, remaining undefeated in dual competition with a 6-4 performance on the day.
“There were a lot of ups and downs, a lot of emotional moments, a lot of really awesome moments. The team we wrestled is gritty and tough and they make your life tough, but we found a way to score a lot of points and get after them a certain matches. It’s definitely something we’re encouraged about, but there’s always room to be better.” Coach Erisman on the win over Central Michigan
How It Happened
The action began at 125, where Tyson Roach made his dual debut against (R) Freshman Kaden Chinavare. After a scoreless first period, Chinavare pulled ahead in the second with an escape and takedown, ultimately holding off Roach’s late comeback attempt for a 9-6 win.
Trailing 0-3, Nasir Bailey wasted no time getting Little Rock on the board at 133. The standout sophomore pinned Sean Spidle in just 1:24, giving the Trojans a 6-3 lead.
At 141, Cole Minnick faced Kellan Aure in a cautious match that ended in Aure’s favor with a second-period pin, putting Central Michigan ahead 9-6.
Brennan Van Hoecke evened the score at 149, defeating Colin Kacena 11-5 in a high-paced final period.
The turning point came at 157, where Matty Bianchi faced Johnny Lovett in the first of three overtime matches. After a tense regulation, Bianchi secured a sudden-victory takedown to win 3-1, giving the Trojans a 12-9 lead heading into intermission. … more at … https://lrtrojans.com/news/2024/12/8/wrestling-bianchis-upset-victory-powers-little-rock-to-fourth-straight-win.aspx
Penn State Takes Down Lehigh 36-3 in Sold Out PPL Center
Nittany Lions win nine of ten, post 21-1 takedown edge, in front of nearly 10,000 fans.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (2-0, 0-0 B1G) took down Lehigh (1-2) in a Pennsylvania intra-state dual meet on Sunday in Allentown, Pa. Penn State won nine of ten bouts in a lopsided 36-3 victory.
The dual was wrestled in Allentown’s PPL Center in front of a sold-out crowd of 9,769. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI).
The dual began at 125. Penn State true freshman Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 16 at 125, opened up the dual with a 4-1 win over No. 15 Sheldon Seymour, notching a late counter takedown for the victory. Sophomore Braeden Davis, ranked No. 10 at 133, battled No. 1 Ryan Crookham tough, forcing two late stalls but dropping a tough 4-2 decision.
Senior+ Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 3 at 141, gave Penn State a 6-3 lead in the dual meet with a 5-0 win over Mountain Hawk Carter Bailey, using a first period takedown, an escape and riding time to grab the victory. Sophomore Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, followed that up with a strong 17-3 major decision over Matt Repos, working up five takedowns in the win. Sophomore Tyler Kasak, ranked No. 4 at 157, used a second period takedown as the edge in a hard fought 5-2 win over Logan Rozynski to close out the first half for Penn State. The Nittany Lions led 13-3 at the midway point.
Sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, opened up the second half … more at … https://gopsusports.com/news/2024/12/8/penn-state-takes-down-lehigh-36-3-in-sold-out-ppl-center
Eight Title Winners Nets Gophers Team Crown at Cougar Clash
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota wrestling claimed eight of the 10 titles en route to winning the team title Saturday at the Cougar Clash in Edwardsville, Ill.
The titles came from redshirt juniors Cooper Flynn (125 pounds), Vance VomBaur (141) and Drew Roberts (149), fifth-year seniors Tommy Askey (157) and Andrew Sparks (165), redshirt sophomore Clayton Whiting (174), and redshirt freshmen Max McEnelly (184) and Gavin Nelson (197).
In addition, the Golden Gophers had finalists at 133 pounds (sophomore Tyler Wells), 174 pounds (redshirt freshman Ethan Riddle) and heavyweight (redshirt junior Bennett Tabor). Minnesota’s 268.5 team points were well ahead of second-place Missouri’s 183.0, while Northern Colorado was third at 157.0. No other team had more than 90 points.
Flynn, ranked 13th by Intermat, was 3-0 on the day en route to his first tournament title as a Gopher. After a first-round bye, he pinned Illinois’ Anthony Ruzic at 4:57, then topped No. 14 Noah Surtin of Missouri, 8-2. In the finals, Flynn picked up his second rank win as he took down No. 5 Stevo Poulin of Northern Colorado, 7-1. Down 1-0 after 2 periods, Flynn tied it with an escape then took down Poulin and added three nearfall points to claim the title.
The fifth-ranked VomBaur cruised through his first two matches, pinning Missouri’s Owen Uhls at 5:55 then getting a 17-4 major decision against another Tiger in Easton Hilton. The finals featured a rematch from last year’s NCAA Championship Blood Round between VomBaur and Missouri’s Josh Edmond, currently ranked 18th. After an 8-5 overtime win last year, VomBaur did it again in a 4-3 win Saturday to take the 141-pound title. An escape and takedown in the first period was enough for VomBaur to prevail.
Roberts finished a 4-0 day with a 12-1 major decision over Northern Colorado’s Benji Alanis to win the crown at 149 pounds. Roberts outscored opponents 49-9 Saturday in his first tournament appearance of the season. Askey, ranked No. 7, took the title at 157 pounds with a 13-4 major decision over James Conway of Missouri. Askey had two first-period takedowns and added another in the second to put the match away. Going 4-0 on the day, he alternated a decision with a major decision on his way to improving his record to 10-0 on the year.
A dominant day for No. 11 Andrew Sparks ended in a 5-0 title win … more at … https://gophersports.com/news/2024/12/7/wrestling-eight-title-winners-nets-gophers-team-crown-at-cougar-clash
Brands Notches Win 300 As Hawkeyes Down Princeton and Army
ST. CHARLES, Missouri – The University of Iowa wrestling team won a pair of duals on Friday night at Francis Howell High School at the Journeymen ‘Unvicil War’. The Hawkeyes defeated Princeton, 39-3, before defeating Army, 23-16, in the nightcap. The second win was head coach Tom Brand’s 300th career dual victory. “We have a lot of work to do,” said Brands. “This team has a lot of work to do. It’s a characteristic of a good coach to be looking ahead not behind.”
The Hawkeyes won 15 of the 20 bouts in the two duals and secured bonus points in 11 matches. In the opening dual of the night the Hawkeyes won nine bouts over Princeton. Including six straight via bonus points. Iowa started the run of technical fall victories with Kyle Parco at 149 as he defeated Christopher Martino, 17-2. Miguel Estrada made his dual debut defeating Cody Tavoso, 21-6, at 157. At 165, Michael Caliendo won 19-3 over Hudson Hightower and Nelson Brands won 20-4 over Xavier Giles at 174. Stephen Buchanan also tallied a technical fall at 197 over No. 18 Luke Stout, 18-3. Iowa got major decisions from Drake Ayala over Daniel Jones, 13-2, … more at … https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2024/12/06/brands-notches-win-300-hawkeyes-down-princeton-and-army/
Wallace Secures Victory as Duke Defeats Davidson, 22-21
DURHAM, N.C. – It came down to the final match of the night as sophomore Aidan Wallace defeated Davidson’s Bryce Griffin in a 4-0 decision to secure the victory for Duke wrestling over Davidson, 22-21, on Friday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils improved to 3-6 on the year, while handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season, moving to 3-1 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Starting the night at 174 pounds, redshirt sophomore Gaetano Console was quick to give the Blue Devils a 4-0 lead, after a strong 14-4 major decision over Davidson’s Marc Koch.
- The Wildcats responded immediately with a tech fall in the 184-pound bout to pull ahead, 5-4. … more at … https://goduke.com/news/2024/12/6/wrestling-wallace-secures-victory-as-duke-defeats-davidson-22-21
Montreat Men’s wrestling splits tri-dual at Pikeville
PIKEVILLE, Ky.— The Montreat men’s wrestling team passed through the state of Kentucky Friday evening for a tri-dual hosted by the University of Pikeville. Competing in team duals for the first time this season, the Cavaliers dropped their nonconference matchup versus the Midway University Eagles before rebounding with an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) triumph over the University of Pikeville Bears. With the split, Montreat started the season 1-1 (1-0 AAC).
Midway (2-1) secured a dual victory over the Cavs by winning the initial six bouts. Montreat forfeited the 125-lb matchup, and the Eagles utilized two pins and a trio of tech falls to extend their lead up to 33-0.
Three consecutive triumphs helped the Cavaliers close the gap. Dalton Towe got Montreat on the board with a 7-5 decision at 174. Milosz Gargol then followed up Towe’s effort with a 13-3 major decision at 184 before Seth Williamson pinned his 197-lb opponent in 6:09. MU responded with a tech fall in the final bout, though, sealing a 38-13 nonconference victory.
Pikeville (0-2, 0-1 AAC) tried to follow Midway’s script as it also got off to a good start. A forfeit paired with a major decision and a fall vaulted the hosts out to a 16-0 advantage; however, the visitors swiftly flipped the dual in their favor.
Freshman Mikai Brinson notched a pin at 149, while Dylan Hogan did the same wrestling in the 165-lb bout. Coupled with four forfeits, Montreat surged in front of its counterpart, 36-16. The Bears snagged a pin in the final showdown to trim the deficit, but the Cavs still captured their first win of the year via a 36-22 final. … more at … https://montreatcavaliers.com/news/2024/12/6/mens-wrestling-mens-wrestling-splits-tri-dual-at-pikeville.aspx
USA Wrestling launches Grow Greco campaign to support development of Greco-Roman wrestling in the U.S.
USA Wrestling has kicked off a year-long fundraising campaign entitled Grow Greco to further the growth and development of Greco-Roman wrestling in the country.
The U.S. Greco-Roman coaching staff has earmarked a $250,000 fundraising goal for 2025 to support Greco-Roman specific initiatives that include national and international training and competition opportunities, developmental camps across the U.S., and building pipelines for youth athletes to pursue a career in the specialized international discipline. “Supporting Greco-Roman wrestling is more than just a contribution to our program; it’s an investment in the future of our athletes and a legacy of excellence. Every dollar donated helps us build a stronger, more competitive team, providing athletes with opportunities to reach their full potential on the global stage,” said Herb House, U.S. National Greco-Roman Head Coach.
The U.S. qualified four athletes to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Greco-Roman wrestling, a feat only nine countries achieved for Paris.
2024 was a banner year for the U.S. age-group World Team’s. The U17 team finished in fifth place with two medalists, including one champion. The U20 team earned three medals and placed sixth as a team. Additionally, the U.S. won its first Greco-Roman medal at the U23 level.
Contributions put directly toward the Greco-Roman program will help continue the upward trajectory seen in 2024 and assist in providing the necessary resources for sustained international success in the style. “Your support fuels athlete training and competition, … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2024/december/06/usa-wrestling-launches-grow-greco-campaign-to-support-development-of-greco-roman-wrestling-in-the-u-s-
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
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