R.C. LaHaye named the The Open Mat Div. II Coach of The Year
GREENWOOD – Awards continue to find the Lander wrestling team as head coach R.C. LaHaye was recently named The Open Mat Div. II Coach of The Year.
Competing in just its fourth season as a program, LaHaye has established Lander as one of the premier wrestling programs in the country.
Ranked No. 2 this season and finishing as the National Runner-up, LaHaye produced six All-Americans this season. James Joplin, Elijah Lusk, Zeth Brower, David Hunsberger, Logan Hall and Juan Edmond-Holmes all finished in the top eight in the 2023 National Championships while Hall placed second at 184.
“I am extremely grateful for this honor,” said coach LaHaye. “None of this could have been possible without the hard work of our assistant coaches, Chris Freije and Micheal Elliott, and most importantly our student-athletes here at Lander.”
Most recently Hall was named a finalist for the NWCA Div. II Wrestler of The Year while David Hunsberger was named a finalist for the NWCA Div. II Rookie Wrestler of The Year while also being named The Open Mat Div. II Freshman of The Year.
LaHaye and his staff guided the Bearcats to a 20-2 overall record and a spotless 10-0 record in the SACC. The Bearcats won their first Super Region II team title with a record-breaking 164 points. The Blue and Gold also saw seven Super Region Champions among the nine National Qualifiers.
Lander claimed its second straight SACC Championship title after defeating No. 18 UNC Pembroke 30-7 at Horne Arena. … rest of story at Landerbearcats.com/news/wrestling-r-c-lahaye-named-the-the-open-mat-div-ii-coach-of-the-year
UNC’s O’Connor, Pitt’s Bonaccorsi Named ACC Co-Wrestlers of the Year
Virginia Tech’s Henson voted ACC Freshman of the Year, Hokies’ Robie repeats as Coach of the Year
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor and Pitt’s Nino Bonaccorsi, who each posted unbeaten seasons and claimed NCAA individual titles, have been selected as the 2022-23 Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Wrestlers of the Year by the league’s head coaches.
Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson, who won a conference title and earned All-America honors at 149 pounds, was voted the ACC Freshman of the Year. The Hokies also picked up the 2022-23 ACC Wrestling Coach of the Year award, as Tony Robie was recognized for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in seven seasons.
O’Connor, a grad student from Lockport, Illinois, outlasted Penn State’s second-seeded Levi Haines for a 6-2 victory in the 157 pounds two weeks after claiming the ACC Championship gold medal. O’Connor secured his second NCAA wrestling title after first winning at 149 pounds in St. Louis in 2021.
Bonaccorsi, a redshirt senior from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan for the gold medal at 197. Bonaccorsi, who also won the ACC Championship in his weight class, became the Panthers’ first NCAA champion since current head coach Keith Gavin won at 174 pounds in 2008.
ACC wrestlers have now won 22 all-time individual NCAA titles. This marks the first year the conference has had multiple national champions in the same year since 1994 when Clemson’s Sam Henson won at 118 pounds and North Carolina’s TJ Jaworsky won at 134.
O’Connor (23-0) became the program’s first five-time All-America honoree, the Tar Heels have posted multiple All-America wrestlers for five-straight years, and the National Finals has seen a UNC wrestler compete in the finals the past three seasons. … rest of story at ACC.com/uncs-o-connor-pitts-bonaccorsi-earn-co-acc-wrestler-of-the-year-honors
The Process For Making The 2023 Senior World Wrestling Team Explained
A breakdown of how USA Wrestling will decide the 2023 Senior World Team.
The college wrestling season is over and that means it’s time to shift our attention to the international styles of wrestling! Over the next few months, the best wrestlers in the United States will compete for the right to represent Team USA at the World Championships this September in Belgrade, Serbia. Because the process for earning a spot on the world team slightly changes from year to year, the below article is a quick breakdown of how athletes will earn their spot on the 2023 Senior World Team.
2023 US Open Wrestling Championships
Final X – June 10
We’ll start with the end – Final X on June 10 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. This final step of the world team trials process will be a best 2 of 3 wrestle-off between the top 2 wrestlers at every weight in every style with the winners heading to the World Championships. This is the first year all three styles will be featured at the same location with all weights being contested.
So how do the best wrestlers in the country qualify for Final X? First, every returning senior world medalist is eligible to accept their bid directly to Final X. Check out all of the returning medalists who are eligible to wrestle at Final X:
Men’s Freestyle
- 57kg: Thomas Gilman
- 65kg: Yianni Diakomihalis
- 70kg: Zain Retherford
- 74kg: Kyle Dake
- 79kg: Jordan Burroughs
- 86kg: David Taylor
- 92kg: J’den Cox
- 97kg: Kyle Snyder
Women’s Freestyle
- 50kg: Sarah Hildebrandt
- 53kg: Dom Parrish
- 57kg: Helen Maroulis … rest of story at Flowrestling.org/articles/process-for-making-the-2023-senior-world-wrestling-team-explained
Award Plaques Mailed out
TDR Top 12 Team Award plaques have been mailed out to coaches at the following schools; Northside (Jax), Clayton, Cleveland, South Brunswick, Rosewood, South Lenoir, Heidi Trask, Pasquotank County, Swansboro, New Bern and West Carteret. They should arrive by Tuesday at the latest. We will post when the next group is mailed. We expect that to be by Monday.
On Saturday, April 8th we mailed out the plaques packages to Rolesville, C.B. Aycock, Northeastern, West Brunswick, Bunn, Havelock, Pamlico County, Topsail, Fike, Southwest Onslow, South Lenoir and South Johnston. They should arrive by Tuesday at the latest. We will post when the next group is mailed. The last group will be mailed by Wednesday the 12th. Please let us know when they arrive. martinkfleming@gmail.com
On Monday and Tuesday plaques were mailed to the coaches at the following schools; J.F. Webb, Corinth-Holders (2 of 3), and First Flight (5). They should arrive by Thursday the 13th at the latest. Please let us know when they arrive.
Mason Parris wins 2023 Hodge; Starocci, Diakomihalis finish second, third
NEWTON, Iowa — After injuring his neck in the 2021 World Team Trials, Michigan’s Mason Parris wrestled the entire 2021-22 college season battling through pain and loss of feeling in his left side.
Entering the 2022-23 season, the Wolverine senior — who finished second nationally in 2021 and fifth in 2022 — was finally healthy and recuperated from a long road of recovery. But Michigan head coach Sean Bormet still considered redshirting his star heavyweight.
Parris, meanwhile, felt confidently that this would be the year all his hard work would culminate in a national title.
Parris made Bormet make one promise, though: he would wrestle every single match without sitting out, even the season-opening Michigan State Open that some of the other Wolverine starters often would not attend.
Now, six months later after capturing an NCAA title in dominant fashion and compiling an unblemished 33-0 season record, Parris has officially been named the recipient of the 2023 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy awarded to the nation’s top college wrestler.
Parris will be presented with the Hodge Trophy at the University of Michigan wrestling banquet on Sunday, April 2 in Ann Arbor. For more information on the Dan Hodge Trophy, including a list of all past winners along with the release story and stats from the year they won the Hodge, visit http://www.WIN-magazine.com.
The third straight heavyweight to win the Hodge — after Minnesota’s Gable Steveson won in 2021 and 2022 — Parris comfortably won the vote as he acquired 38 out of 64 first-place votes. The Hodge Trophy Voting Committee is a retired college coach from each region of the country, a representative from each of the national wrestling organizations, select national media members and past Hodge … rest of story at WIN-magazine.com/2023/03/27/michigans-mason-parris-wins-2023-win-magazine-culture-house-dan-hodge-trophy
Women & Girls Wrestling News
YELENA MAKOYED OF NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE NAMED 2023 USA WRESTLING WOMEN’S COLLEGE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
Yelena Makoyed, a senior at North Central College, was elected as the inaugural winner of the USA Wrestling Women’s College Wrestler of the Year today.
This was first announced on FloWrestling’s The Bader Show this morning.
The award was selected by a vote from three major constituent groups: wrestling journalists, women’s college head coaches and the fans. Each of these groups accounted for one-third of the vote.
Makoyed was a 2023 NCWWC national champion at 170 pounds, the national championships for institutions from the NCAA. She finished with a 28-0 record, with 15 pins and 11 technical falls. She is now a three-time NCWWC national champion.
Other tournaments which Makoyed won during the 2022-23 college season were the NCWWC Region 4 Championships, the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championships, the Adrian Open and the Pointer Open. Makoyed, along with her teammates, led North Central to the 2023 NCWWC National Team title, as well.
“I am super proud of her. She is incredibly deserving of the award. She has won a lot of awards, but this one is special. It is cool for her to win the first one. She has been a trend-setter for our program, and she led us to a national title. We would not have won a team title without her. It is not just the points that she scored, but also the leadership she has provided and what she has done for us in recruiting. She is a trailblazer, and that is where women’s wrestling is now,” said North Central College head coach Joe Norton.
Makoyed is currently on the USA Wrestling Senior National Team, with a No. 2 ranking at 76 kg/167 lbs. During the college season, she travelled with Team USA to the Zagreb Open Ranking Series Event in Croatia, winning the gold medal at 76 kg. … rest of story at Teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2023//Makoyed-named-USA-Wrestling-Womens-College-Wrestler-of-Year
Manchester University to Add Women’s Wrestling as Varsity Sport
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – Manchester University will offer women’s wrestling as a varsity intercollegiate sport starting in the 2024-25 academic year, making it the 50th NCAA Division III women’s team in the nation.
“The time is right to launch a women’s wrestling program at Manchester University. Interest in girls wrestling in high school is exploding and we are seeing that in Indiana,” said Director of Athletics Rick Espeset.
“We want to be at the forefront of helping grow the sport, providing the student-athlete experience to even more of our students and offering women the chance to compete at the college level,” he said. “We could not be more excited to add women’s wrestling.”
In addition to noting the DIII milestone, National Wrestling Coaches Association Executive Director Mike Moyer said this announcement represents the 154th new women’s intercollegiate wrestling program to be added across all divisions and governing bodies since 2000.
“I extend a heartfelt thanks to the Manchester University administration for recognizing the educational value and diversity that a new intercollegiate women’s wrestling program will bring to their campus. High school girls wrestling participation numbers are exploding across the nation and these new programs are critically important in providing post-secondary educational opportunities for wrestlers in the region.” Moyer said.
“Needless to say, this is a big win for our sport and Manchester University,” he added.
Josh Hardman, head coach for Manchester’s men’s program, will become director of wrestling. Manchester will hire an associate head coach for the women’s program and another for the men’s program. … rest of story at MUspartans.com/news/2023/3/26/manchester-adds-womens-wrestling
Beating the Boys: My Journey as a Girl Wrestler
by Rosey Hernandez
As one of the wrestlers featured in Girls Pinning Boys: a History and Evolution of High School Wrestling, I am deeply humbled by the attention that the match has received and the impact that the lessons learned have had on other girl wrestlers. Even beyond wrestling, both boys and girls alike have found inspiration from it and told me their stories of triumph. For this, I’ll always remain inspired by them.
Although the video of the match has been viewed over 139,000 times by a worldwide audience and has been very well received, what it shows remains deeply personal to me. It represents the time and effort that I put into wrestling and the adversity that I overcame. It also clearly shows how others were not ready to overcome adversity themselves and instead chose to run away. I’ve used my perseverance as a foundation throughout high school and college, and now in my career.
My brother, Frank Hernandez, would always record my matches and post them on his YouTube channel. Back then, I actually thought it was more annoying than anything else! But now I am forever grateful that I can cherish those moments and humbled that it has made such an impact. Seeing that other wrestlers, regardless of gender, have been inspired by it and used it as a source of motivation for themselves is incredible.
This was an away match for my school, James Monroe High School, during my junior year. We were wrestling against the Belmont Sentinels in Los Angeles. I was only in my second season, so I was still relatively new to the whole sport. That day, I learned that I would be wrestling against a boy, which was normal for me because girls were not yet participating on wrestling teams anywhere near the levels that they are now. We were in my opponent’s home gym at Belmont where there were about 25 people in the stands. This match was closer to where I lived, so my family was able to be there. … rest of story at Sisterhoodofwrestlers.com/beating-the-boys-my-journey-as-a-girl-wrestler
Girl power: The rise in girls’ wrestling – Pinning Down Respect
It’s one of the fastest-growing high school sports in the country: Girls’ Wrestling! In Minnesota, it wasn’t even an official sport until the last school year; now the number of girls wrestling in the state has more than doubled, from 250 to 541, led by champions like Skylar Little Soldier, of Hastings. Now a 16-year old junior wrestling at 145 pounds, she is ranked as one of the Top 10 Girl’s High School wrestlers in the country.
She described her grueling training regime: “At 5 a.m., I wake up and I do 500 pushups, sit-ups, squats and dips.” That’s 500 each.
Brave asked, “What got you interested in it?”
“My little brother,” she replied. “They took me with him to his wrestling practice and I just, I wanted to start right then and there.”
And Little Solider, a proud descendant of Native Americans, now has a slew of honors, including state champion. … rest of story at CBSnews.com/news/the-rise-in-girls-wrestling
Girls Pinning Boys: a History and Evolution of High School Wrestling
Bri Amezcua
I wrestled in California all four years of high school from 2014-2018. I considered these to be the most productive years of my life so far because of the time and effort that I put into competing. Every day, every week, every month was a new challenge waiting to be conquered.
My teammates and opponents helped me to reach levels that I did not expect when I first walked into a wrestling room when I was eight years old. For the most part, I treasure these relationships to this day because each one, friend or foe, made me work hard. This was not always easy, but I persevered through the good and bad times. I can now look back at those years with great fondness.
I carry those experiences with me every day. The saying of “once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy” is very true in my case. Faced with trials and tribulations, I can use my experience as a wrestler as a foundation. … rest of story at Sisterhoodofwrestlers.com/girl-pins-boy-in-high-school-wrestling
KHSAA sanctions girls wrestling for 2023-2024 school year
LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) – Female high school athletes in Kentucky have a new sanctioned sport.
In February, we told you about Tates Creek High School’s Trinity Gottler, the wrestler who was breaking down barriers competing against the guys on the wrestling mat, and dominating.
Although Gottler’s time in high school comes to a close at the end of the 2022-2023 school year, female athletes across the state will be able to compete in girls-only wrestling starting in the 2023-2024 school year.
This comes as in late February, the Kentucky High School Athletics Association (KHSAA) officially sanctioned the sport.
So, what does sanctioning girls’ wrestling mean?
Well, girls who previously wanted to wrestle, can now compete against other girls, instead of just the boys. This also means girls who attend an all-girls school can now compete in a new sport. … rest of story at FOX56news.com/news/kentucky/khsaa-sanctions-girls-wrestling-for-2023-2024-school-year
Klessinger: O’Connor’s unwavering grit led to a second title
TDR Editor’s Notes; Another in a series of articles by Coach John Klessinger in WIN wrestling magazine. He writes about the tenacity of the University of North Carolina’s two time National champion. Another connection to our state is that Coach Klessinger formerly coached at SouthWest Edgecombe High School about 20 years ago before moving back to his home state of Maryland. We welcome your input and reactions to us at martinkfleming@gmail.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
By John Klessinger
Substitute wrestling with any other life endeavor and it is the same. North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor demonstrated what we already know but quickly forget when adversity comes our way. Success is not a straight line. It is filled with pain and heartache. But that is why we love stories like O’Connor’s. Whatever happens in wrestling or life, get up, move forward, and keep believing in yourself.
O’Connor found out before the ACC tournament in 2022 that his ACL was partially torn. He knew full well that it would worsen if he wrestled. He was the returning 2021 NCAA champion. But, as I had come to learn about the Lockport, Ill., native, not wrestling wasn’t an option for him. Ingrained in O’Connor is an attitude of toughness and self-belief.
O’Connor would come into the 2022 NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed; his lowest seed in the four years at the tournament. After placing sixth in 2019 and seed No. 2 in 2020, O’Connor came into 2021 as the two seed, upending No. 1 Sammy Sasso of Ohio State, 3-2, in the final.
The ACL injury prevented a repeat. In overtime, O’Connor lost his 2022 NCAA tournament opening match to Dazjon Casto from the Citadel. Through the progression of the ACC and NCAA tournaments, O’Connor would fully tear his ACL. After the loss to Casto, he won four consecutive consolation matches to earn his fourth All-American honor. He medically forfeited his remaining matches, placing eighth.
“I wanted surgery as soon as possible,” Austin recalled. “It hurt losing and placing eighth. But I knew I could win it again.”
His knee sustained a lot of trauma. Outside of reconstructing the ACL, his lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) were damaged.
“I’ve always had the hard route,” he said. “I went into surgery confident. I knew it would be tough, but I also knew it would work out if I put in the time and sacrifice,” he said about his mindset before surgery.
Austin is no stranger to success. He was a four-time state champion at St. Rita of Cascia High School in Illinois. … rest of story at WIN-magazine.com/2023/04/06/klessinger-oconnors-unwavering-grit-led-to-a-second-title
The Three Ways Wrestling Saved My Life
By Peyton Robb
Peyton Robb was hospitalized shortly after the conclusion of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He had been recovering in a Lincoln hospital until his recent release. Below are Peyton’s comments about his experience and his gratitude for the support shown to him.
Wrestling has always been known as a head-down, hard-nose sport. It has broken me before, and I’m sure it will again, but during my time in the hospital I always approached my new obstacles with a different mindset. I can’t thank wrestling enough for giving me the mental strength that it took to just keep looking forward when all signs and symptoms of the infection were pushing me back.
With the mental side of wrestling comes the physical. During much of my time in the hospital, I had a variety of issues at any time that we were trying to deal with. Things were not looking great early on in my stay; my body had been in sepsis, I had acute heart failure, kidney failure and hypotensive blood pressure, among other things. I spoke with multiple doctors during this time and more than once I was told that if not for the shape that my body was in, I could have ended up much worse, or even dead. The physical demand that I’ve gone through for all my wrestling training has paid off in much more than just wrestling.
The final way that wrestling saved my life is through the love and generosity of the wrestling community. Once again, this group has shown that when push comes to shove, it doesn’t matter what color singlet or what logo you wear, we are all in it together. … rest of story at Huskers.com/2023/4/3/the-three-ways-wrestling-saved-my-life
Top All-Time Division III Coaches in Dual Meet Wins
TDR Editor’s Notes ; This list of college coaches by the number of dual meet victories in which they led their teams while in Division III. Division III was created apart from Division II with it’s first championships in 1974. The D-3 schools are ones without athletic scholarships and in wrestling they are clustered mostly in the Northeast, Northern Plains and some in the midwest. Coaches with connections to North Carolina schools include Jamie Gibbs at Baldwin-Wallace (79th) who coached at UnC-Pembroke before going on to Ohio. Listed are just the top100 coaches but we seek to keep track of all. We welcome input, information and reactions to us at martinkfleming@gmail.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ALL-TIME Div. III Coaches Top 100 (or so) with at least 110 wins
- Jare Klein (Olivet College) 569 – III
- Bill Racich (Ursinus College) 540 – III
- David Icenhower (College of New Jersey) 534 – III
- John Reese (Wilkes Univ.) 515 – I/III ????
- Max Servcies (Wabash) 487 – III
- Ned McGinley (King’s College) 458 – III
- Roger Crebs (Lycoming College) 439 – III
- Mike Olson (UNC-Pembroke, Upper Iowa, Monmouth) 428 – II/III ???
- Lonnie Morris (Johnson & Wales) 422 – III
- Phil Grebinar (Worcester Poly Tech.) 414 III
- Jim Miller (Wartburg) 413 – III
- Bob Skelton (Western New England College) – 402 III
- Robert Marshall (Del. Valley Coll./Dickinson) – 396 III
- Al Baxter (Buena Vista Univ.) 376 – III
- Budd Whitehill (Lycoming Coll.) 376 – III
- Ron Beaschler (Ohio Northern Univ.) 374 – III
- Don Murray (SUNY-Brockport) 359 – III –
- Bruce Haberli (New York Univ.) 335 –III
- Jeff Swenson (Augsburg Coll.) 321 – III
- Tom Kessler (York College) 321 – III
- Steve Eldridge (U.S. Coast Guard Ac.) 317 – III – Inc.,
- Dave Mitchell (Luther College) 315 – III
- Bob Del Rosa (Case Western Reserve) 310 – III
- Kerry Volkmann (John Carroll) 304 – III
- Daryl Arroyo (Springfield, Mass) 301 – III
- Willie Myers (Wisconsin-Whitewater) 301 – III
- Tim Fader (Wisc.-Eau Claire, Whitewater, La Crosse) 300 – III
- Martin Nichols (Ithaca College) 299 – III
- Byron James (Wisc.-River Falls) 297 – III
- Al Sosa (SUNY-Oneota State) 284 — III
- Kenneth Ober (Elizabethtown College) 282 – III
- Jon Laudenslager (Wilkes University) 282 – III
- John Elton (St. John’s {Minn.} 273 – III
- Frank Cheek (Humboldt State) 261 – III
- John Oostendorp (Coe College) 266 – III
- Jay Jones (Rhode Island College) 261 – III
- Dave Kemmy (Roger Williams) 251 – III
- Bryan Brunk (Messiah College) 255 – III
- Al Hanke (Elmhurst Coll./Lake Forest Coll.{ILL}) 246 – III
- Brad Bruhn (SUNY-Cortland) 236 – III – retired in 2022
- Randy Steward (Loras College) 235 – III
- James R. Howard (SUNY-Oswego State) 234 — III
- John Davis (Maryville College) 224 – III
- Steve Stellner (Montclair State) 223 – III
- Russell “Rusty” Carlsten (Rhode Island College) 222 – III
- Dave Malececk (Wisc.-Lacrosse) 220 – III
- Drew Black (Wesleyan Univ/Phoenix.) 219 – III
- Bob Gaudenzi (Hunter College) 218 – III
- Jerry Petrofes (Lebanon Valley College) 214 – III
- Tony DeCarlo (John Carroll Univ.) 213 – III
- Donald Montgomery (Mount Union College) 212 – III
- Johnny Johnson (Wisc.-Stevens Point) 206 – III
- Ron Zalokar (Carthage College) 204 – III
- John Summa (Baldwin-Wallace College) 201 – III
- Earl Fuller (Rochester Inst. Of Tech.) 197 – III
- Gary Franke (Washington & Lee) 196 – III
- Ron Peterson (Simpson College) 195 – III
- Duane Ritter (SUNY Oneonta State) – 195
- Larry Shank (Heidelburg College/Capital) 194 – III
- George Olson (Wheaton College) 192 – III
- Richard Walker (Wartburg College/Grinnell College) 191
- Sebastian Amato (Trinity College) 189
- Sam Case (McDaniel Coll.(West.Md./John Hopkins) 189
- Rich Achtzehn (York College, Penna.) 184
- Mike Howard (SUNY-Oswego State) – 184
- Richard Walker (Wartburg College) 183
- John Hopkins (Scranton University) 183
- Jon Egan (Roger Williams) – 183
- Tom Jarman (Manchester, College) 179
- Chester Anderson (Bemidiji State) 177-III (inc.)
- Jon McGovern (Dubuque University) – 171
- Eric Keller (Wartburg/Nor.Central Coll.) 168
- Craig Thurber (Thiel College) – 167
- Claude B. Sharer (Case Western Reserve) 166 – III
- Gene Nighman (SUNY-Cortland) 163-III
- Don Parker (Wisc-Eau Claire/Upper Iowa) 163 – III
- Brian Anderson (Wabash College) – 161
- Kevin Puebla (Augustana College, Ill.) 158 – III
- Jamie Gibbs (Baldwin-Wallace) – 154
- Mike Poe (Millikin College) 149 – III
- Leo Kocher (University of Chicago) 148 – inc.
- Mike Duroe (Cornell College) 145
- Joe Galente (College of New Jersey) 145
- Steve Marianetti (Elmhurst College) – 144
- Alan Zellner (Kutztown/Wilkes Univ. ) 140
- Bruce Shumaker (Apprentice School) 138
- Eric Van Kley (Central College ) 136
- Larry Sciacchetano (Montclair St. & NY-Maritime) 135
- Dave Schutter (Truman/NE Mo. State) 133
- Branden Totten (Delaware Valley College) 132
- James A. White (Washington & Jefferson) 132 – inc.
- Neil Turner (Messiah College) 131
- John Piper (Muhlenberg/Lafayette/Wash.&Lee) 131
- James Holder (Springfield College) 131
- Ron Headlee (Waynesburg Univ.) 130
- Brandon Brissette (Olivet College) 129
- Paul Solberg (Luther College) 127
- John Garriques (Centenary College) 127
- Greg Ilaria (U.S. Merchant Marine Coll.) 120
- Chris Walter (Wisc.-Platteville) 117
Top Active Division III Coaches in Dual Meet Wins
TDR Editor’s Notes ; This list of college coaches by the number of dual meet victories in which they led their teams while in Division III. Active D-III Coaches with connections to North Carolina schools include Jamie Gibbs at Baldwin-Wallace who coached at UnC-Pembroke before going on to Ohio. Just outside being on this list is Scott Honacker at Williams College with 95 wins. He is also the top all-time coach in wins while at Williams. Before taking the reins at this historic college in the moutains of western Massachusetts Scot was the head coach at J. H. Rose High School in Greenville. Listed are just the top 35 coaches but we seek to keep track of all. We welcome input, information and reactions to us at martinkfleming@gmail.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ACTIVE Coaches(D-III)– Top 35 (or so) with at least 100 wins
- Roger Crebs (Lycoming College) 439
- Lonnie Morris (Johnson & Wales) 422
- Ron Beaschler (Ohio Northern Univ.) 374
- Bruce Haberli (New York University) 335
- Dave Mitchell (Luther College) 315
- Tim Fader (Wis.-Eau Claire,Whitewater, La Crosse) 300
- Martin Nichols (Ithaca College) 299
- Jon Laudenslager (Wilkes University) 282
- John Oostendorp (Coe College) 266
- Jay Jones (Rhode Island College) 261
- Bryan Brunk (Messiah College) 255
- Brad Bruhn (SUNY-Cortland) 236 – retired in 2022
- Dave Malecek (Wisconsin-LaCrosse State) 220
- Drew Black (Wesleyan Univ.) 219
- Johnny Johnson (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) 206 – retired in 2021
- Duane Ritter (SUNY Oneonta State) 195
- Mike Howard (SUNY-Oswego State) 184
- Jon Egan (Roger Williams) – 183
- Jon McGovern (Dubuque University) – 171
- Eric Keller (Wartburg College) – 168
- Craig Thurber (Thiel College) – 167
- Brian Anderson (Wabash College) – 161
- Jamie Gibbs (Baldwin-Wallace) – 154
- Leo Kocher (University of Chicago) 148 – inc.
- Joe Galente (College of New Jersey) 145
- Steve Marianetti (Elmhurst College) – 144
- Eric Van Kley (Central College) 136
- James Holder (Springfield College) 131
- Ron Headlee (Waynesburg Univ.) 130
- Brandon Bissette (Olivet College) 129
- Jason Garriques (Centenary College) 127
- Greg Ilaria (U.S. Merchant Marine) – 120
- Al Russomano (Scranton Univ.) 112
- Joe Favia (Stevens Institute of Tech.) 103
- Keith Norris (John Hopkins Univ.) 102
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 