Takedown Report

TDR Top 12 Final Rankings – 126-138 lbs. – TDR # 31-58

Editor’s Notes; The final rankings for the 27th Annual TDR Top 12 in eastern North Carolina with three more weight classes. The top 12 wrestlers in each weight class are listed in order. Wrestlers listed as 13th are considered as honorable mention for the weight class. We welcome reader’s input and information.  Email us at martinkfleming@takedownreport +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rank  Wght.  Wrestler         Team          Gr. Yr. Wins Ls  Pct Reg. State

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

North Carolina Colleges Wrestling News – mid Feb.

Guardiola Claims Wrestler of the Week Award
WALESKA, Ga.— Freddy Guardiola of the Montreat men’s wrestling team was named the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Wrestler of the Week according to a release from the conference office Monday afternoon. The award marked the first of Guardiola’s career and the second for a Montreat wrestler this season.  
The Hudson, N.C. native saw his first action of the year on Saturday for senior night against the University of Pikeville. In the 184-lb matchup, Guardiola capped off the dual with a pin in 39 seconds as the Cavaliers defeated the Bears 48-3. … story at … Montreatcavaliers.comGuardiola-claims-wrestler-of-the-week-award
And …

From Understudy to Captain: Barket’s Rise in Blue Devil Wrestling
By Morgan Pruchniewski, Duke Athletics Communications Student Assistant
DURHAM —Connor Barket joined the Duke wrestling team last year as a freshman, but over this past summer he has truly started growing into his full potential. The heavyweight is leading the team with 13 wins and the future looks bright for the young Indiana native.
In his rookie season, Barket was behind senior Jonah Niesenbaum, only seeing action in three bouts, but gaining invaluable experience. “I took a lot from Jonah,” said Barket.  “It was great to have a year to be under his wing and learn everything I could.  He believed in me and kept my head up. He showed me how to become a successful Division I wrestler, how someone who achieves those kinds of things works and carries themselves.”
Following Niesenbaum’s leadership throughout the regular season, Barket had the opportunity to stay with the team, while they prepared for the NCAA Championship. “Leading up to nationals was a huge learning experience for me,” … story at … GOduke.com/Barket-making-strides-in-just-second-season
And …

NC State Wrestling Trying To Solidify Lineup As Postseason Nears
NC State coach Pat Popolizio and his staff have some lineup decisions to make during the last few weeks of the college wrestling regular season
After a 3-0 start to ACC dual action, #8 NC State will step out of conference action this weekend with a top-10 dual inside Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack will host #9 Cornell this Friday night in a dual that has 19 of the 20 probable starters all ranked this week. “I think both of our teams are in a similar boat when it comes to the schedule,” NC State head coach Pat Popolizio said. “Both of us have wrestled a really good, competitive schedule and both of us have been going conference-heavy for a few weeks. I think this dual will benefit both teams. “I know we wanted to get a really good dual before we zone in on our conference and national tournaments. You look up and down these lineups, there are going to be a lot of good individual matchups.”

Lineup Decisions

Coming into the season, it appeared on paper there was only one weight class up for grabs in the NC State starting lineup. Now here in mid-February that may still be the case, but it now appears the lone question surrounding the postseason lineup has shifted to a different weight class.
Last year’s starter at 165 pounds, Matty Singleton, underwent offseason surgery and the intent was to redshirt him this year after he competed as a true freshman a year ago. He has not seen action in any open tournaments this year, but the Pack is eager to get him back in the starting lineup next year, right now it looks like that will be at 174 pounds with two-year starter Alex Faison out of eligibility at that weight. “He just got cleared a couple of weeks ago, and has been looking really good in training,” Popolizio said. “He has put on some size, … story at … Flowrestling.org/NC-state-wrestling-trying-to-solidify-lineup-as-postseason-nears
And …

Appalachian State Wrestling Posts Pair of SoCon Shutouts
THE CAROLINAS — Tackling a SoCon doubleheader that called for competition in two states, App State Wrestling produced a Thursday sweep with a 54-0 afternoon shutout against Presbyterian in Clinton, S.C., before winning 44-0 at Davidson in the nightcap. 
App State (8-3, 5-1 SoCon) started the marathon day, which began with a 6:15 a.m. departure from Boone for the three-hour drive to Clinton, with its national-leading 16th dual shutout since the calendar flipped to 2020. After fighting some heavy interstate traffic to reach Davidson, which is normally two hours from Presbyterian, the Mountaineers added their 17th shutout since 2020 and left the Lake Norman area after 9 p.m. for the two-hour trip home to the High Country.
Ethan Oakley and Will Miller had pins against Davidson, while Tommy Askey added a tech fall in a rematch of the 2023 SoCon final at 157 pounds. Ike Byers, Tomas Brooker and Carson Floyd all secured major decisions wrestling close to their hometowns, with Brooker avenging an early-January loss to Wyatt Ferguson at the Southern Scuffle. … story at … APPstatesports.com/Wrestling-posts-pair-of-socon-shutouts

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

TDR Top 12 Final Rankings – 144-150 lbs. – TDR # 31-57

Editor’s Notes; The final rankings for the 27th Annual TDR Top 12 in eastern North Carolina with two more weight classes. The top 12 wrestlers in each weight class are listed in order. Wrestlers listed as 13th are considered as honorable mention for the weight class. We welcome reader’s input and information.  Email us at martinkfleming@takedownreport +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rank  Wght.  Wrestler         Team          Gr. Yr. Wins Ls  Pct Reg. State

February 22, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Major College Conferences’ Recaps

Pac-12 Weekly Recap (2/13/2024)
Arizona State dominates Cal Poly 
The Sun Devils returned to dominance with a 34-4 victory against Cal Poly, winning nine of the ten matches. In addition, ASU won five matches with bonus points. Julian Chlebove defeated Koda Holeman 18-2 and Jesse Vasquez returned from injury to tech Abraham Hinrichsen 20-4.  In addition, Chance McLane majored Michael Goldfeder 11-2, Cael Valencia also posted a major decision over Daniel Vizcarra 21-8 and Cohlton Schultz closed it out with one himself over Cole Jackson 16-2.

Cal Poly drops two duals
The Mustangs struggled last week with a 34-4 loss to Arizona State and a 30-9 loss to Stanford. In the Arizona State dual, the Mustangs won one individual matchup. Jarad Priest defeated Jacob Meissner 11-3. On the other hand, Cal Poly had a few close losses to top competition. Chance Lamer lost 4-3 to #4 Kyle Parco and Legend Lamer lost 10-7 to #3 Jacori Teemer. Cal Poly was limited to one win in competition against Stanford. In addition, Blake Hinrichsen was given a forfeit victory at 174 pounds. At heavyweight, Trevor Tinker won 11-8 by sudden victory against Peter Ming. 

CSU Bakersfield continues to struggle
Cal State Bakersfield lost 37-6 to Little Rock. In the dual, Richard Castro-Sandova led off with a very solid 7-5 victory over Jeremiah Reno and Brock Rogers defeated Brennan Van Hoecke 8-5 at 149 lbs.  The Roadrunners fell 31-9 to Southern Illinois Edwardsville. Castro-Sandoval notched his second win of the day over Davian Guanajuato 11-8, Santino Sanchez downed Dominic Lopez 6-5 at 133 lbs and Jake Andrews ended the dual with a 7-1 win over Bryson Buhk.

Little Rock defeats CSUB and SIUE
The Trojans picked up two easy victories against Bakersfield and Southern Illinois Edwardsville. Little Rock defeated CSUB 37-6 with eight individual wins. … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/PAC-12/pac-12-weekly-recap
And …

EIWA Weekly Recap (2/13/2024)
Below is a recap of last week’s EIWA action, with individual news and highlights worth noting.
Key Takeaways 

• Binghamton claims 4th straight win, now 7-2 in EIWA matches
• Cornell claims 3rd straight and 20 of last 21 Ivy League titles 
• Lehigh stays unbeaten (6-0) in conference matches after win over Bucknell
• Jake Logan of Lehigh knocks off #12 Mulvaney of Bucknell at 165lbs

American  
The Eagles were in the Rockies competing against Air Force. We saw Raymond Lopez make an appearance at 133 lbs, earning a tech fall. At 157 lbs, Gage Owen won by decision. American’s final win came at 197 lbs. Liam Volk-Klos won a high-scoring match 12-11. The Eagles were without Jack Maida again. We are expecting him to return soon. 
Air Force 33 American 11
125 – Tucker Owens (AF) wins by forfeit (Air Force 6-0)
133 – Raymond Lopez (AU) tech. fall Brenden Barnes (AF), 25-9 (7:00) (Air Force 6-5)
141 – Garrett Kuchan (AF) tech. fall Maximilian Leete (AU), 21-4 (4:21) (Air Force 11-5)
149 – Joe Fernau (AF) dec. Ethan Szerencsits (AU), 9-2 (Air Force 14-5)
157 – Gage Owen (AU) dec. Brooks Gable (AF), 6-2 (Air Force 14-8)
165 – #14 Giano Petrucelli (AF) tech. fall Breon Phifer (AU), 19-2 (6:21) (Air Force 19-8)
174 – Noah Blake (AF) major dec. Lucas White (AU), 11-2 (Air Force 23-8) … stories at … Intermatwrestle.com/EIWA-weekly-recap-2132024
American  
The Eagles were in the Rockies competing against Air Force. We saw Raymond Lopez make an appearance at 133 lbs, earning a tech fall. At 157 lbs, Gage Owen won by decision. American’s final win came at 197 lbs. Liam Volk-Klos won a high-scoring match 12-11. The Eagles were without Jack Maida again. We are expecting him to return soon. 
Air Force 33 American 11
125 – Tucker Owens (AF) wins by forfeit (Air Force 6-0)
133 – Raymond Lopez (AU) tech. fall Brenden Barnes (AF), 25-9 (7:00) (Air Force 6-5)
141 – Garrett Kuchan (AF) tech. fall Maximilian Leete (AU), 21-4 (4:21) (Air Force 11-5)
149 – Joe Fernau (AF) dec. Ethan Szerencsits (AU), 9-2 (Air Force 14-5)
157 – Gage Owen (AU) dec. Brooks Gable (AF), 6-2 (Air Force 14-8)
165 – #14 Giano Petrucelli (AF) tech. fall Breon Phifer (AU), 19-2 (6:21) (Air Force 19-8)
174 – Noah Blake (AF) major dec. Lucas White (AU), 11-2 (Air Force 23-8) … stories at … Intermatwrestle.com/EIWA-weekly-recap-2132024
And …

Big 12 Weekly Recap (2/14/2024)
It wasn’t the craziest week in the Big 12 but there was plenty of notable action. Oklahoma State continues to have one of their strongest seasons in recent years, navigating a dangerous dual with South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits were coming off a solid win over Oklahoma the day before as well. History was made as Northern Iowa traveled to take on California Baptist on the road before following that up with a great dual against Iowa State. Air Force and Northern Colorado took out Utah Valley in conference matchups. While most schools still have duals coming up this month, Wyoming did cap their dual season off and will be joined by Air Force, Northern Colorado, Oklahoma, and West Virginia after this upcoming week.

Air Force (Overall: 5-6; Conference: 3-5): Dual Results (UVU) | Dual Results (AMER)
Air Force went 2-0 on the weekend including a conference win by taking out Utah Valley 23-18 and American 33-11. Tucker Owens, Giano Petrucelli, Noah Blake, Sam Wolf, and Wyatt Hendrickson went undefeated on the weekend. Wolf only wrestled against Utah Valley and took out Mahonri Rushton 9-5. Petrucelli, Blake, and Hendrickson bonused their opponents with a major, two techs, and three pins. Hendrickson is now up to 12 pins in just 15:04 and is seven wins away from a career 100. 
Next Up: Air Force finishes their dual season at home against Northern Colorado on February 18th.

California Baptist (Overall: 4-9; Conference: 1-6): Dual Results
For the first time in program history the Lancers hosted Northern Iowa for a conference dual that they dropped 36-9. Chaz Hallmark scored big points for the team at 157, pinning Kaleb Olejniczak in the third period. Darren Green was the team’s other win, beating Connor Thorpe in OT. Dayne Morton at 149 had a close match as well, but dropped a 2-0 decision to Adam Allard. 
Next Up: California Baptist has a dual against Cal Poly on February 16th followed by a tri-dual with Hofstra and CSU Bakersfield on February 17th.  

Iowa State (Overall: 12-2; Conference: 5-1): Dual Results
The Cyclones took out in-state opponent Northern Iowa with a 27-14 dual win. Kysen Terukina lost in overtime but Iowa State responded with bonus points from Evan Frost and Casey Swiderski with an upset for Anthony Echemendia mixed in as well. Cody Chittum dropped a barnburner match with Ryder Downey, but they responded with bonus points from David Carr and MJ Gaitan. Tate Naaktgeboren dropped his second dual appearance to Parker Keckeisen, … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/Big-12-weekly-recap-2142024
And …

Five B1G Takeaways from the Big Ten (2/14/24)
As if the twists and turns at 125 haven’t been enough craziness, the B1G Ten dual meet season has given us an extra scoop of that good stuff on top. 

Nebraska Cools Off Red Hot Michigan
A week ago at this time, we were all talking about how Michigan defended its home turf against the visiting Hawkeyes on Senior Night as they won 7 of 10 bouts. Flash forward and the Wolverines found themselves on the other end of a beating when they traveled to Lincoln, NE. Nebraska 1-upped the performance that Michigan put on a week prior by winning the first six bouts to take the 18-0 lead. In the end, the Huskers came away with the 25-7 win. Now, this weekend they will travel to State College, PA for their biggest test of the season against top-ranked PSU. 

Penn State as Powerful as Ever
We were all looking forward to the dual between PSU and Iowa. The history, the matchups, the attitudes, and the trash talk, especially the trash talk, always brings so much hype to this meeting. This year’s installment didn’t give us the trash talk bowl between three-time NCAA Champion Carter Starocci and true freshman Gabe Arnold that we wanted, but we did see the full weight of the Nittany Lions’ lineup as they took eight of the 10 bouts in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They followed it up with an even more dominant performance at home against Rutgers in their OG school colors on Monday night with a 35-3 win where they rolled out a few backups to truly show just how powerful they are. 

Nittany Lions continue their awesome season
A stat popped up on Twitter over the weekend showcasing that to this point in the season, Hofstra and Lehigh are tied for most points scored on Penn State in a dual, with 10. After this weekend, with Penn State wrestling both Iowa and Rutgers, that stat remains the same. In fact, if you add up Rutgers and Iowa’s scores, it only equals 9 total points (Iowa scored 6, Rutgers 3). I’m at the point now where I’m just going to try to appreciate what we’re seeing. There is a lot that people can complain about with regard to transfer portals and such, but I don’t imagine It’ll be fun to look back at this run by Penn State and try to explain to people why I was a hater. … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/Big-10/five-b1g-takeaways-from-the-big-ten-21424
And …

ACC Wrap-Up and Breakout Performers
Week three of the ACC saw the first team upset of the conference season with UNC knocking off #19 Pitt at home. The Tar Heels picked up the first ACC dual victory in the Rob Koll era with an impressive performance at home and are looking to continue that momentum into a matchup on the road with Virginia this week. Virginia Tech shutout Duke and NC State beat UVA handily to wrap up the conference matches last week. We will have a full breakdown of the conference slate and the top-10 matchup between Cornell and NC State on Friday. Today, we are going to look at a wrestler from each ACC program that has stepped up for their team. These guys have either stepped into a full-time starting spot and made a big impression or they have stepped out of redshirt mid-season to help their team. Each of them has played a big role in the recent success of their team and will be a factor in the ACC Championships. 

Duke: Connor Barket
Barket took over the starting spot at 285 after the departure of Jonah Niesenbaum and has had a solid season thus far. He is 1-2 in the ACC with decision losses to the Catka brothers but has been competitive in every bout. He placed eighth at the Southern Scuffle and has shown plenty of improvement. Tom Erikson continues to show that he is one of the preeminent heavyweight coaches in the country, and I’m excited to watch the continued growth of Barket. 

North Carolina: #17 Tyler Eischens
Eischens was a mid-season addition for the Tar Heels, joining for his final year of eligibility after competing for Coach Koll at Stanford. He is 7-5 since entering the lineup with four ranked wins and three of those losses coming to top-10 ranked wrestlers. He is 2-1 in the ACC with wins over Alex Faison and Luca Augustine and a loss to Mekhi Lewis. Eischens faces Justin McCoy this Friday in a match that will likely decide who is the 2 seed at the ACC tournament. 

NC State: #12 Derek Fields
Fields started the season in competition for the starting job at 165 with AJ Kovacs. Since earning the starting job he has impressed for the Wolfpack. He is 13-2 on the year and 3-0 in the ACC. He has made leaps in his technique and has been a critical part of the team success for NC State this year. Fields will face off with Connor Brady in the Virginia Tech dual with the top seed for the ACC tournament on the line. … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/ACC-wrap-up-and-breakout-performers

February 22, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

TDR Top 12 Final Rankings – 157-175 lbs. – TDR # 31-56

Editor’s Notes; The Final set of rankings for the 27th Annual TDR Top 12 in eastern North Carolina with three more weight classes. The top 12 wrestlers in each weight class are listed in order. Wrestlers listed as 13th are considered as honorable mention for the weight class. We welcome reader’s input and information.  Email us at martinkfleming@takedownreport +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rank  Wght.  Wrestler         Team          Gr. Yr. Wins Ls  Pct Reg. State

February 22, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nash Hutmacher enjoying his return to the mat for Nebraska wrestling

The Cornhuskers’ star football player is tackling Big Ten wrestling this winter.
LINCOLN, Neb. — A surge of joy overtook Nash Hutmacher as he secured his first wrestling victory in nearly four years. It was Saturday, Jan. 6, and the South Dakota prep wrestling legend, and the newest addition to the Nebraska wrestling program, had just recorded a fall over Wyoming’s Mason Ding in 2 minutes and 7 seconds.
The man Nebraska fans nicknamed “The Polar Bear” leapt up, shook hands with his opponent, then cheekily ran around the mat as he pumped his fist towards the crowd at the Devaney Center. “I just had the biggest smile on my face because it was just like all the wrestling memories and everything started coming back,” Hutmacher said. “You remember how much you love the sport that you quit playing for three or four years.”
Hutmacher, a decorated wrestler who won four consecutive state championships and set a state-record 73 consecutive pins for Chamberlain High School, went away from the sport after graduating from high school in 2020 to pursue college football. But now, the Nebraska football blackshirt and starting nose tackle has returned to his dual-sport ways, beginning with his exhilarating start. Wrestling at 285 pounds for the No. 6-ranked Huskers, the Oacoma product has posted a 4-2 record, including three wins in Big Ten competition. … story at … Mitchellrepublic.com/Hutmacher-enjoying-his-return-to-the-mat-for-nebraska-wrestling

February 22, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

TDR Top 12 Final Rankings – 190-285 lbs. – TDR # 31-55

Editor’s Notes; The Final 27th Annual TDR Top 12 rankings for male scholastic wrestlers in eastern North Carolina with the three heaviest weight classes. The top 12 wrestlers in each weight class are listed in order. Wrestlers listed as 13th are considered as honorable mention for the weight class. We welcome reader’s input and information.  Email us at martinkfleming@takedownreport +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rank  Wght.  Wrestler         Team          Gr. Yr. Wins Ls  Pct Reg. State

February 22, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

National Wrestling Hall of Fame State Chapter Program Partners with National Collegiate Wrestling Association

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame has taken a significant step forward in its mission to honor and recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of wrestling.
In a recent development, the Hall of Fame’s State Chapter program has proudly announced a strategic partnership with the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA).
This collaboration is set to enrich the Hall of Fame’s efforts in identifying and celebrating deserving individuals across various levels of the sport. The partnership with NCWA, an organization deeply rooted in collegiate wrestling, opens new avenues to acknowledge the achievements and dedication of coaches, officials, and contributors in the collegiate wrestling community. “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with the National Collegiate Wrestling Association, a key player in fostering growth and creating opportunities within the wrestling community,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director, National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “This collaboration allows us to work together to identify and honor coaches, officials, and contributors who have made significant and positive impacts on our sport. Recognizing these deserving individuals is not just about celebrating their achievements; it’s about acknowledging their role in shaping the future of wrestling. We believe this partnership will greatly assist in our mission to celebrate those who have dedicated themselves to the advancement of wrestling.” “The NCWA is extremely excited to deepen our partnership with the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. This collaboration goes beyond just strengthening ties; it’s a pivotal step towards celebrating the unsung heroes of wrestling,” said Jim Giunta, Founder and Executive Director, NCWA. “Our focus is not only on reinforcing this partnership, but also on aiding the Hall of Fame in identifying and honoring noteworthy individuals, particularly the deserving coaches and officials from our conference.”
State Chapters honor individuals with the following awards:
Lifetime Service to Wrestling to coaches, officials and contributors who have given 20 years or more of dedication to the development of leadership and citizenship in the youth through the sport of wrestling. Medal of Courage is presented to former wrestler who has overcome what appear to be insurmountable challenges, which may be physical, mental or other disabilities that make their achievements all the more uplifting.
Outstanding American recognizes former wrestlers who are highly successful in other walks of life and use the disciplines learned in wrestling. Nominations for State Chapter awards can be made at https://bit.ly/NWHOFStateChapterNominationForm

The State Chapter program was established by the Hall of Fame in 1993 to honor and recognize coaches, officials and others at the grassroots level of wrestling. This select group represents the best qualities of wrestling and are instrumental to the sport’s continued success and growth.
The NCWA, known for its dedication to the growth and development of college wrestling, brings to the table a wealth of knowledge and a network that spans numerous colleges and universities. This alliance will facilitate a more comprehensive recognition process, ensuring that achievements at the collegiate level are celebrated and remembered.
The NCWA was formed by Giunta in 1997 and began competing in 1998 with 18 teams and 116 athletes. Today, the NCWA has over 150 teams, 2,500 current athletes and over 35,000 alumni across America and Canada. … story at … NWHOF.org/National-wrestling-hall-of-fame-state-chapter-program-partners-with-national-collegiate-wrestling-association

February 22, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

NWMA announces annual award winners for 2022-23 season

February – 22 – 2024 By National Wrestling Media Association

New Brighton, Minnesota – The National Wrestling Media Association, the national professional organization for journalists who cover college, high school and international wrestling, has announced its annual awards for the 2022-23 season.

Journalist of the Year is NCAA.com’s Shannon Scovel, while Rock Harrison of the ACC Network and ESPN takes home Broadcaster of the Year honors. IAwrestle’s Randi Yeager is the Photographer of the Year. MatScouts is named the Outlet of the Year, while D3 Nation won Podcast of the Year. From the sports information side of the industry, Kaylie Noll of Little Rock is the Division I SID of the Year, while Kerry Kahl of Division III Cornell College won the Small College SID of the Year.

“As always, it’s a very deserving group of people who care very much about the sport of wrestling,” said NWMA President Jason Bryant. “What’s also interesting about this year’s group of winners is it’s the largest number of women – three individual winners and one contributor – we’ve been able to recognize in any awards year.”

“The dedication to their craft and the wrestling community is truly inspiring,” said NWMA Treasurer and award-winning photographer Tony Rotundo. “We commend them all for their hard work, passion, and commitment to the sport.” … story and pictures at … Nationalwrestlingmedia.com/NWMA-announces-annual-award-winners-for-2022-23-season

February 22, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Prendergast avenges loss, wins historic state title

GREENSBORO — The only time South Brunswick senior wrestler Lillian Prendergast was on her back this season was when dad and coach, David, fell on top of her while celebrating her championship Saturday in the state championships.
Prendergast won the 100-pound title in the first girls wrestling state tournament sanctioned by the N.C. High School Athletic Association. The girls — in one classification — wrestled on one mat in the center of the cavernous Greensboro Coliseum at the same time the boys wrestled on four mats — for four classifications — beside the center mat. The Coliseum was nearly a sellout.
The significance of the event meant as much to Lillian as her championship. “It’s definitely amazing to see,” she said. “I remember going to tournaments, before I got to high school, seeing one or two girls in a tournament. There wasn’t very much out there. My brother wrestled a girl here at the state tournament in 2011, when it was basically unheard of to hear a girl wrestle.
“So to see the growth and the amount of people that have come out, that have done it, even though it is one of the most uncomfortable sports, it’s great to see the passion that a lot of these girls are getting from it. You have your few wrestlers at the top and you have your younger girls — they go out and get beat but they’re still coming back, they’re still coming to practice and they’re still competing.”
Lillian’s mom, Shawna, was the scorekeeper at Lillian’s high school matches. Shawna, too, was thrilled by the state event. “I think the thing that excited me the most,” she said, “was the fact that our ladies are out there now. That is huge. We have been here for 20 years and this is the first time we got to see girls showcase (their wrestling). They’re here in the Greensboro Coliseum. This was just spectacular to see. That was what was the most emotional, seeing that.”
Rivals meet for title
Prendergast won the title by beating Corinth Holders junior Anna Ockerman 2-0. They know each other well. Entering the match, they had wrestled each other six times. “We have wrestled each other so much that we both kind of know certain things about each other,” Lillian said. “It’s hard to pregame because we know she’s practicing what to defend on me, and I’m doing the same with her.”
Of those six previous matches, Ockerman had won four. Last season she beat Prendergast in the Girls Invitational East Regional final, winning by fall with 31 seconds left, and last season she beat Prendergast 2-0 in the match for third place in the 100-pound class in the Girls Wrestling Invitational, the de facto state tournament.
This season, Prendergast wrestled Ockerman on Dec. 28 for the title in the Gate City Grapple and Prendergast prevailed 6-2. But in the East Regional on Feb. 3, Ockerman beat Prendergast 4-1 for the title. The loss was the first of the season for Prendergast. … story and more pictures at … Stateportpilot.com/Article_42c0cca8-d0f3

February 21, 2024 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment