CAROLINA INSIDER INTERVIEW: AUSTIN O’CONNOR
Two-time NCAA champion Austin O’Connor of the Carolina wrestling team joined hosts Jones Angell and Adam Lucas in-studio this week to discuss his recent national championship last weekend in Tulsa, his career and much more. … rest of story and video at GOheels.com/news/2023/3/22/wrestling-carolina-insider-interview-austin-o-connor
Vote For Women’s College Wrestler Of The Year
Be sure to vote for this year’s women’s college wrestler of the year
by Gary Abbott
The finalists have been named for the first USA Wrestling Women’s College Wrestler of the Year Award.
The award will be selected by a vote from three major constituent groups: wrestling journalists, women’s college head coaches, and fans. Each of these groups will account for one-third of the vote.
The six finalists were all undefeated college nationals champions: NAIA champions Lexi Basham of Texas Wesleyan, Dymond Guilford of the University of the Cumberlands, Adaugo Nwachukwu of Iowa Wesleyan and Peyton Prussin of Life, plus NCWWC champion (NCAA institutions) Marissa Gallegos of Colorado Mesa and Yelena Makoyed of North Central.
Fan vote for 2023 Women’s College Wrestler of the Year
Women’s college varsity wrestlers from all of the recognized college organizations were eligible, including NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA/junior college programs. The finalists were selected by a committee overseeing the award program, featuring representatives of the media, college coaches, and wrestling fans. These six wrestlers were selected from a pool of 13 college national champions who were identified as potential candidates after the national tournaments were completed.
Fan voting opens today (Tuesday, March 21) and runs through Sunday, March 28. The announcement of the first winner of USA Wrestling’s Women’s College Wrestler of the Year will be on Tuesday, March 28.
Fan vote for 2023 Women’s College Wrestler of the Year
USA Wrestling’s goal is to elevate the new award to have the significance and impact as other college athletic awards, such as the Dan Hodge Trophy for men’s college wrestling, the Heisman Trophy for college football, … rest of story at Flowrestling.org/articles/10777913-vote-for-womens-college-wrestler-of-the-year
2023 NCAA Championship EIWA Recap
The 2023 NCAA Wrestling season ended last weekend. History was made, crazy upsets happened, and many fell short of their goals. Fortunately, and unfortunately, many EIWA wrestlers fell into all three categories. It was incredible to see the highest of highs and lowest of lows all under one roof, within seconds of each other – sometimes by the same person! In honor of the seven EIWA All-Americans, below is a list of 7 things to recap from the wild weekend in the Midwest!
#1 – First, congrats to the 3 NCAA Champions from the EIWA. Patrick Glory, of Princeton, returned to the NCAA finals coming away with gold this time around. The entire country assumed we’d see Glory take on Spencer Lee in the finals. But, due to the “Pin Heard ‘Round the World,” this was not the matchup we saw. Glory beat Ramos of Purdue – giving Princeton their first NCAA champ in 72 years. Talk about history! Remember when he almost moved up a weight class during the year? I’m assuming the right decision was made to stay down at 125 lbs…. Glory’s eligibility is done with but expect to see him on the freestyle circuit and try to make the U.S. team for the next Olympic cycle.
Vito Arujau, of Cornell, won the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award after winning the 133lbs title, knocking off 2X defending champ Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State. Vito’s road to the final included avenging a loss to Virginia Tech’s Latona (who was the only wrestler this year to beat Vito). Vito’s dominant semifinal win over 3X runner-up, Daton Fix, probably shocked many. He won via major decision, … rest of story at Intermatwrestle.com/articles/Wrestling+News
Greeley Native Andrew Alirez Named Big 12 Wrestler of the Year
IRVING, Texas – Northern Colorado’s Andrew Alirez was voted the 2023 Big 12 Wrestler of the Year by league coaches after completing a 28-0 season that was highlighted by a Big 12 title as well as an individual national title.
Alirez became the first wrestler in program history to win both the Conference’s yearly award and a national championship since Northern Colorado became a Division I program in 2006. The Greeley, Colorado native also earned his first All-American honor en route to his 141-pound title after defeating Iowa’s top-seeded Real Woods via 6-4 decision. The loss was the three-time All-American’s first of the season (20-1).
Alirez’s season included a litany of awards as he collected his first Big 12 Wrestler of the Week award on November 29 as well as the NCAA Wrestler of the Week. … rest of story at UNCbears.com/greeley-native-andrew-alirez-named-big-12-wrestler-of-the-year
The 2023 Dan Hodge Trophy Presented by ASICS Fan Vote
Hodge Trophy Voting Criteria:
1 – Record
2 – Dominance/Bonus-Point Percentage
3 – Quality of Competition
4 – Sportsmanship
How the Hodge Trophy Selection Process Works:
Like the Heisman Trophy, all past Hodge winners get an official Hodge Vote for each year they won the award. The additional Hodge Trophy Votes from the Hodge Trophy Voting Committee made up of national wrestling media, a retired college coach from each region, a representative of each national wrestling organization, and the Official Fan Vote on WIN’s website, which accounts for (5) Official First-Place Ballots.
2023 Hodge Trophy Candidates: … rest of story and bios of incredible wrestlers at WIN-magazine.com/2023/03/21/fanvote/Wrestling+News&utm_campaign
An Ode to First-Time Senior NCAA Champions
The 2023 NCAA Championships are officially in the rearview mirror. As we get further and further away from the Covid year in 2021 that gave student-athletes an additional year of eligibility, a sense of normalcy approaches. One of the typical happenings at the end of a collegiate season is to bid the seniors a fond farewell as they’ve concluded their respective careers.
Drilling down further into the seniors, personally, one of my favorite sites to see at an NCAA tournament is a senior that finishes their career on top for the first time. This scenario isn’t exactly a given, especially in the current era of DI wrestling. Wrestlers are coming into college more prepared than ever and are winning younger than in previous generations. As a result, there are fewer and fewer seniors winning their first national titles.
In 2022, only Ryan Deakin fit this mold of first-time champion as a senior. The previous year, there were none. 2019 had Anthony Ashnault and Drew Foster. 2018 Michael Macchiavello. Just typing their names brings me a sense of positivity.
Why, you ask? I like watching wrestlers accomplish their dreams. Freshman, senior, whatever. But for me, there’s an added sense of significance when it’s a student-athlete with their back against the wall in their final opportunity to win. Someone who’s battle-tested, has been through the rigors of four (or five, or six) years in a collegiate wrestling room. An athlete that has come close to tasting victory yet, for whatever reason, has come up just short of that ultimate goal. They shake off years of frustration, self-doubt, and injuries to give it one last try.
Seeing one of those wrestlers get over the hump and get sent off in style, during the final collegiate bout is poetic. This time they cry tears of joy instead of tears of despair.
In 2023, we had the pleasure of watching three of these seniors go out in style with their first national title. 125 lber Patrick Glory, 197 lber Nino Bonaccorsi, and 285 lber Mason Parris. The three have this in common; however, they have very different paths to the top of the podium.
One similarity between the trio is that each had their respective careers interrupted by the Covid year of 2019-20 … rest of story at Intermatwrestle.com/articles/Wrestling+News
USA WRESTLING REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS SERIES KICKS OFF THIS WEEKEND, WITH SEVEN REGIONALS SET ACROSS THE NATION
USA Wrestling kicks off its 2023 Regional Championships Series this weekend, with the Northwest 16U/Junior Regionals in Centralia, Wash., March 24-26.
There will be seven USA Wrestling Regional Championships held around the nation this year, providing high-quality competition to athletes of many ages. The events are strategically placed around the nation, making them accessible to athletes in a location close to home.
USA Wrestling set a participation record in its Regional Series in 2022, and this year’s Regionals are expected to grow in size and competitiveness. Athlete can attend any or all of the Regional Championships, both in their region and outside of their region.
For those who wish to attend the USA Wrestling Kids Nationals (in freestyle and Greco-Roman), they must compete in their own regional event in order to attend the national tournament (or obtain a waiver to compete from his/her state chairperson).
All of the USA Wrestling Regionals are qualifying events for the Junior/16U National Championships in Fargo, N.D. The top six place winners in each weight class at the 16U and Junior levels at each Regional qualify for their state team for Fargo (in compliance with each state’s rules regarding Fargo participation). … rest of story at Teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2023/March/24/Regional-Series-Advance
Blackburn College Welcomes Whelan as Head Wrestling Coach
TDR Editor’s Notes; While the news that Blackburn College, in Illinois, will restart their Division III program and add a Women’s team is outside of eastern North Carolina it is important positive news. The start of the 2023-2024 college season is over 7 months away and there are over 40 new teams that have announced they will join in the competition. Almost 30 of them are Women’s teams in this fastest growing emerging field of wrestling. There will at least 7 men’s teams returning to competition and six new men’s teams. Keep wrestyling going and growing. Please share news of other new opportunities at schools and colleges to us at martinkfleming@takedownreport +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Blackburn College is proud to announce that wrestling has returned to the campus for the first time since the 1980’s. This time, Blackburn will expand to include a women’s team in addition to a men’s team. Khris Whelan, an alternate of the 1976 Olympic Greco-Roman team at age 15, has begun his tenure as the head coach for the men’s and women’s wrestling teams.
Whelan brings exceptional experience to the program. As a wrestler, Khris competed at the University of Missouri, where he was a two-time All-American. Following his experience as an athlete at the University of Missouri, Khris spent his time from 1987-1994 coaching at his alma mater. … rest of story at Blackburnbeavers.com/sports/wrest/2022-23/Wrestling+News
HighSchoolOT’s final statewide and area code rankings for dual-team wrestling
There were four N.C. High School Athletic Association dual-team wrestling champions, and three of them were undefeated against in-state teams. Determining which one finished atop the final HighSchoolOT statewide top 25 rankings wasn’t easy.
That lone head-to-head win between two state champs — 4A champ Northwest Guilford defeating 3A champ Fred T. Foard — is what propelled the Vikings to the top spot. Foard was second, followed by 2A champ Newton-Conover and 1A champ Uwharrie Charter. West Rowan, which was the 3A West runner-up, rounds out the top five.
The full rankings — a statewide Top 25 and Top 15 rankings for each of the state’s six area codes — are below. … rest of story at Highschoolot.com/highschoolot-hsot-final-statewide-and-area-code-rankings-for-wrestling-2023
TDR Top 12 Team members named
The following wrestlers have earned and will be awarded a spot on a team of the best wrestlers in eastern North Carolina this past season. To recognize them we will present a wooden plaque with their name and weight class engraved on it. They will be made in a similar style to the ones from the previous dozen years or so. (have to look it up).
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| Weight | Wrestler | School | ||||
| First Team | ||||||
| 106 | Barnett, Alexander | New Bern | ||||
| 113 | Kresicki, Jacob | First Flight | ||||
| 120 | Tyson, Marcus | Pamlico County | ||||
| 126 | Bell, Walker | West Craven | ||||
| 132 | Fritz, Ian | Topsail | ||||
| 138 | Buonocore, Avery | Laney | ||||
| 145 | Thomas, Noah | Laney | ||||
| 152 | Blevins, Ethan | Topsail | ||||
| 160 | Cotto, Tristan | Laney | ||||
| 170 | Melton, Franklin | Clayton | ||||
| 182 | Hopper, Alex | Laney | ||||
| 195 | Richardson, Trystan | Laney | ||||
| 220 | Beatty, Caleb | Corinth-Holders | ||||
| 285 | Cox, Taevion | New Bern | ||||
| Second Team | ||||||
| 106 | Brownlee, Ethan | South Johnston | ||||
| 113 | Guerra, Israel | South Johnston | ||||
| 120 | Vindigni, Matthew | Cleveland | ||||
| 126 | Haro, Chris | South Lenior | ||||
| 132 | Mann, Ryan | North East Carolina Prep | ||||
| 138 | Bianco, Frank | Rolesville | ||||
| 145 | Rhude, Klint | Swansboro | ||||
| 152 | Haseley, Logan | Corinth-Holders | ||||
| 160 | Disbennett, Shawn | Dixon | ||||
| 170 | Brown, Kamar | Northside (Jacksonville) | ||||
| 182 | Harris, Nicholas | J.F. Webb | ||||
| 195 | Knipe, Joshua | West Carteret | ||||
| 220 | Blue, Mason | Laney | ||||
| 285 | Rodgers, Nicholas | Fike | ||||
| Honorable Mention | ||||||
| 132 | Fazekas, Corey | Northeastern | ||||
| 132 | Klutey, Barrett | Fike | ||||
| 132 | Connick, Luke | West Brunswick | ||||
| 132 | Shirley, Dylan | West Carteret | ||||
| 152 | Yager, Theodore | Swansboro | ||||
| 152 | Simpson, Azrael | First Flight | ||||
| 160 | Jones, Jeremiah | Southwest Onslow | ||||
| 170 | Watkins, Damarion | Bunn | ||||
| 170 | Reece, Kai | First Flight | ||||
| 182 | Rodriguez Jr., Jason | Southwest Onslow | ||||
| 182 | Schweitzer, Trevor | First Flight | ||||
| 182 | Deloatch, Ryan | Rosewood | ||||
| 220 | Bailey, Dallas | C.B. Aycock | ||||
| 220 | Stevens, Tyler | Pamlico County | ||||
| 285 | Ellis, Dyllin | Bunn | ||||
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 