Wrestling created a home in Arizona for Ukrainian Fenn
By Bill X. Barron
At age four, Ivan “Vonn” Fenn was adopted, along with his brother Serge, who was six, from the Ukrainian region – Donetsk – literally on the border of Russia’s ongoing, relentless aggression.
Perhaps that back-history foretold that Vonn would become an ambassador, one who builds bonds and who repairs rifts between one-time enemies.
“I don’t interact with an opponent before a match, but once it’s over, he’s a friend I help get up off the mat,” he proclaims.
In the words of the Thunderbird (Arizona) head coach, Lee Chandler, “Vonn is most cerebral; show him a move once or twice, and he has mastered the technique. Later he’s teaching it to teammates.”
Yet another part of Fenn’s personality is that “he does not overthink situations, so he is able to move beyond things that might get another person down,” asserts his mother, Danita.
If you view Vonn by his most recent accomplishments in 2023 — Arizona Division 2 state high school champion at 120 pounds and RMN national champion at 18U/120 in both folkstyle and freestyle — you would only see the tip of the iceberg.
His real story lies beneath the surface.
In 2009, the Fenn family consisted of five girls. Then Danita “watched a news show on orphaned kids in Russia that broke my heart.” But Russia was closed to adoption, so Danita and Daniel explored options in recently-liberated Ukraine. With a sense of humor, the agency thought they needed boys.
At the time, Vonn and his brother were severely malnourished and undersized. While Serge quickly learned English and engaged socially, Vonn tread a more concerning path and had difficulty making and keeping friends. He wore them out, trying too hard to be their buddy.
Everything changed in seventh grade.
Long before Vonn Fenn won a state championship for Thunderbird High School, the native of Ukraine got a chance to see who were the other greats at this Arizona school.
“Not another community other than wrestling would have accepted his quirkiness,” said Danita. “In wrestling, touching was an acceptable means of making a connection and, in time, he earned the respect of his team.”
On “pure tenacity and desire,” Vonn began to change the perception others had of him and, more importantly, to trust himself.
“No one works harder,” said Chandler. “He’s always asking questions in order to get better at everything he does.”
Vonn demonstrated he had poise as early as ninth grade. Coach Travis Azevedo recalls an early-season match with Tempe in which Vonn was the final wrestler at 106 pounds, with the Titans down by five points.
“I told him it was up to him, and he assured me he would handle it,” said Azevedo, adding that Vonn’s second-period pin solidified his team’s victory.
Though he was successful in high school from the outset, the top of the podium eluded him. As a freshman, Vonn qualified for state and fell one match short of the Blood Round. In his sophomore year, he advanced to the finals, only to fall short by a 1-0 margin. As a junior, he was 41-0 entering the finals, but lost 9-5. … rest of story at … WIN-magazine.com/2023/08/18/wrestling-created-a-home-in-arizona-for-ukrainian-fenn
Glory Passes On Paris Pursuit To Get Started On Wall Street
Princeton coach Chris Ayres said Patrick Glory, the school’s first NCAA champion in 72 years, has decided to start his professional career with Citi.
Patrick Glory’s competitive wrestling days have apparently come to an end after the NCAA champion passed on the pursuit of Paris, opting instead to get started with his career on Wall Street.
Princeton coach Chris Ayres said Glory — the school’s first national champion in 72 years — decided to get his professional career started with Citi.
“He had a finance internship on Wall Street his junior year — it’s pretty typical for a lot of our guys — and got a great job offer at Citi, so he knew he was going to able to have the Wall Street job, which is awesome for him, it’s what he wanted to do,” Ayres said earlier this month at the National Wrestling Coaches Association convention. “But we had him ask the question: ‘Hey, if I want to make a run at the Olympics, will you take me one year later? So can I have a year where I try to chase it?’ And they said yeah.
“So going through the year, that was sort of the plan, but we didn’t talk about it too much. And then he goes to nationals and wins it and he’s like, ‘OK, that was great.’ So he decides he’s going to go to the (U.S.) Open, which was a surprise to us, to be honest, but we didn’t want to stop him. I think it was a little too quick (of a turnaround after the NCAA Championships), but I think he wanted to see how he felt. Didn’t do great, lost a match and then he withdrew, and at the tournament he says, ‘I’m not sure.’”
Glory notched a pair of technical superiority victories at the U.S. Open before falling to Jakob Camacho in the 57-kilogram quarterfinals. … rest of story at … Flowrestling.org/glory-passes-on-paris-pursuit-to-get-started-on-wall-street
MAROULIS EARNS SPOT ON 11TH SENIOR WORLD TEAM WITH VICTORY AT FINAL X SPECIAL WRESTLE-OFF AT 57 KG
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Helen Maroulis has claimed the 57 kg spot on the 2023 Senior World Team, defeating Xochitl Mota-Pettis two matches to none in a Final X Special Wrestle-off best-of-three series.
In the first match of the series, Maroulis gained a 2-0 advantage in the first period, scoring a takedown in a tough scramble. The second period saw Maroulis go behind Mota-Pettis for two and adding a turn to lead 6-0. A big four-point move by Maroulis to put Mota-Pettis on her back ended the match by 10-0 technical fall.
The second match saw Maroulis pick up a quick 4-0 lead by getting Mota-Pettis to her back just seconds into the match on the edge. Mota-Pettis responded with a takedown to cut the lead to 4-2. Another takedown by Maroulis put her up 6-2 before she was able to lock Mota-Pettis up for the win by fall.
Maroulis will compete at the 2023 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, slated for September 16-24. This will be her 11th trip to the World Championships at the senior level. The other 29 berths on the Senior World Team were determined at Final X in June.
Maroulis is the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling … rest of story at … Teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2023/August/12/Final-X-Special-Wrestle-off-at-57kg
Departures also lead to future coaching speculations
By Mike Finn Updated: August 17, 2023
Plenty of college wrestling news was made today from a pair of former Oklahoma State wrestling stars in Zack Esposito and Coleman Scott.
Esposito, a former three-time NCAA All-American and 2005 national champion who eventually became an associate head coach in Stillwater, Okla., first announced he was leaving OSU to become the new National Freestyle Developmental and Resident Head Coach for USA Wrestling in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Meanwhile, the University of North Carolina confirmed that Scott, the Tar Heels’ head coach since 2015, had resigned from that position. Scott, a four-time NCAA All-American and 2008 national champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, reportedly informed his team on Wednesday night he was leaving and the ACC school in Chapel Hill, N.C., had removed his name as head coach. UNC is also advertising the position on the human resources website Indeed.com.
WIN has been told by sources close to the OSU program that Scott is heading back to Stillwater to replace Esposito, but Oklahoma State could not confirm that. This also comes at a time that Oklahoma State head coach John Smith is preparing to begin his 34th season as the Cowboys mentor, who coached both Esposito and Scott.
Meanwhile, UNC assistant coach Tony Ramos confirmed he has been named as interim head coach.
“I’ve been told I am taking over and am in charge until they go through the process (of naming a successor to Scott),” Ramos told WIN Magazine today. … rest of story at … WIN-magazine.com/2023/08/17/departures-also-lead-to-future-coaching-speculations
UNC’s MCNEIL TO REPRESENT CANADA AT PAN AMERICAN GAMES
TORONTO, ONTARIO – Lachlan McNeil, a rising redshirt-sophomore on the North Carolina wrestling team, has been selected to represent Team Canada at the 2023 Pan American Games, Wrestling Canada Lutte and the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Thursday morning.
McNeil earned the selection for the 2023 games based on his performance at the 2023 Canadian Wrestling Championships, which took place March 9-12 in Waterloo, Ontario. At the championships, McNeil won all four of his matches by technical fall, to claim the 65 KG title.
The 2023 Pan American Games will be the fifth time McNeil has represented Team Canada at the event, winning gold medals in 2016, 2017, and 2021, with a silver medal showing in 2018.
The announcement continues a busy few months for the Toronto, Ontario product, finishing fourth at the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships at 141-pounds, collecting NWCA Scholar All-America and Amateur Wrestling News All-Rookie Team recognitions, competing at the Stepen Sargsyan Cup (Yerevuen, Armenia) and Polyak Imre & Vargas Janos (Budapest, Hungary), as well as winning the Grand Prix of Spain (Madrid, Spain) at 65 KG. … rest of story at … GOheels.com/news/2023/8/3/wrestling-mcneil-to-represent-canada-at-pan-american-games
Davidson’s Peake Spends Summer Preparing for International Competitions
Do you remember the summer after your freshman year of college? Maybe you traveled, maybe you worked, maybe you had an internship. Davidson’s Tanner Peake (157) has had a pretty unforgettable summer. After making Puerto Rico’s U20 national team at 74 kg in April, Peake hit the ground running, making preparations to compete at the Pan-American Championships in Santiago, Chile in July. The last time we spoke with Peake, he was wrapping up the Spring semester and getting training plans together with Head Coach Nate Carr Jr and Assistant Coach Ty Eustice, training through the newly-formed Charlotte RTC. As the semester came to a close, Tanner headed home to New Jersey to train at Rider and the NJRTC, to work with some of the same guys he grew up with.
While technique is an important aspect of wrestling, staying on track with strength and conditioning goals continues to elevate the craft. Pete Shebey, a coach of Peake’s since his sophomore/junior year of high school, has worked with Tanner this summer. Morning lifts came early at around five or six in the morning, consisting of strength training with movements and techniques focused on the development of more explosiveness and improved foot movement and speed. RTC practices varied – some days Peake would head to the NJRTC for 10:00am practices led by Reece Humphrey, while other days he would go to Rider’s 11:00am practices. Peake was able to train in a variety of environments this summer, ranging from more instruction and technique at the NJRTC, while Rider’s practices were mostly self-motivated. At the end of the day, Tanner made sure to top it off with some cardio – usually sprints.
Practicing in different rooms throughout the week was another way for Tanner to get to hang out with his best friend Mikey Wilson, who wrestles for Rider (174). When reflecting on the similarities in team culture and coaching styles, Peake says that “Coach Carr is very energetic, similar to Reece – he just has a lot of energy and you can tell they both love being in the room and coaching.” Preparations continued with the NCJ Camps hosted at Davidson – which included a week of training with the coaches and the team during these youth camps. … rest of story at … Intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/socon/peake-spends-summer-preparing-for-international-competitions
JAMES GREEN NAMED NEBRASKA WRESTLING ASSISTANT COACH
Former Nebraska wrestling legend James Green has been named a full-time assistant coach for the Husker wrestling program, head coach Mark Manning announced Thursday.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Green will join Manning, associate head coach Bryan Snyder and assistant coach Tervel Dlagnev ahead of the 2023-24 season.
“We’re extremely excited about James, Chandell, Glory and Aubrey being back in Lincoln,” Manning said. “The attitude, work ethic and commitment to excellence that James competed with both as a Husker and a six-time USA Wrestling World Team member gives our student-athletes a prime example of someone to imitate. His leadership as one of the world’s top competitors, coupled with his coaching experience provides our program with an amazing asset as we continue our march to the top. James’ passion and heart for Nebraska Wrestling will serve us well.”
This past June, Green announced he was coming out of retirement and will return to train at the Nebraska Wrestling Training Center (NWTC) after spending 14 months as USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Developmental Coach in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“I am extremely grateful and excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the Husker Wrestling staff,” Green said. “I have learned a lot in my short time with USA Wrestling and look forward to sharing my knowledge with the current and future Nebraska wrestlers. As an alum, I’ve always imagined giving back to the program that has given so much to me. I am really grateful for Coach Manning giving me this opportunity. Go Big Red!” … rest of story at … Huskers.com/news/2023/08/10/james-green-named-nebraska-wrestling-assistant-coach
Van Kley: Praise kids for being out for wrestling; it’s tough!
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Big Amen! on this. Wrestling is a tough challenge yet worth the effort. Encourage those that try. Encourage them to practice and to learn the dedication and effort needed. More schools need to sponsort the sport and more student will benefit from wrestling. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jordan Burroughs, the seven-time Olympic/World champion, has created a new wrestling club “All I See is Gold” in New Jersey, where he helps kids keep wrestling in a good healthy perspective.
This is one of the topics that WIN publisher Bryan Van Kley brought up in his column about how coaches need to develop a philosophy where young people learn this tough sport in a manner that will keep them in wrestling for many years.
Click below to read Bryan’s column, which appeared in WIN’s August issue. … rest of story at link at … Google.com/mail/u/0/?q=Kristopher+white#label/INBOX%2FaaResponseNeeded/
Recapping the NWCA Convention – OTM668
After four days at the NWCA Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Andy Hamilton is back with a report along with a handful of interviews. Some of the topics discussed in Florida were NIL, changing the season, a shift in the recruiting calendar as well as the growth of women’s wrestling. Some of the interviews we’ll break out in this episode are with Ohio State’s Tom Ryan, Iowa’s Clarissa Chun and NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. Join Kyle Klingman and Andy Hamilton as they talk about the world of wrestling on the flagship podcast of Trackwrestling.com from FloSports.
Show Segments
0:40 – Andy was glazed from all that time in Florida.
0:52 – Kyle’s Olympic Gold Medal rant.
7:25 – Sitting next to the “know it all”
8:41 – Kyle remembering the Missouri-Iowa dual in 2015.
13:13 – Andy’s Hot Topics from the NWCA Convention.
19:09 – The Sergeant Duffel from Cliff Keen.
20:00 – Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan. … rest of story at … Mattalkonline.com/podcast/trackwrestling/on-the-mat/recapping-the-nwca-convention
Trent Hidlay Talking Wrangle in the Wild III
NC State’s 4x All-American Trent Hidlay sits down with ACC correspondent Robbie Wendell to discuss Saturday’s Wrangle in the Wild III event. Trent talks about the origin of the event, between him and older brother Hayden, and runs down some of the participants. This year’s card features former DI national qualifiers, an All-American, a Final X participant along with other talented local products and youth wrestlers. After talking Wrangle, Trent and Robbie hit on all of the relevant current news surrounding the NC State program. … rest of story and video at … Intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/acc/trent-hidlay-talking-wrangle-in-the-wild
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 