The TakeDown Report

Coach Hunter Finishes 100-Mile Race

CHADRON, Neb. – Brett Hunter, the Chadron State College men’s wrestling coach, achieved his goal of finishing the Lean Horse 100-mile run in the Black Hills of South Dakota with more than three hours to spare on Saturday.
Hunter crossed the finish line in Custer at 4:53 Saturday afternoon, 28 hours, 53 minutes and 47 seconds after the race had started at the same location at noon on Friday. He averaged 17 minutes and 21 seconds per mile.
Hunter completed the race, his first at that distance, in plenty of time to beat the race’s 32-hour cutoff to receive a commemorative belt buckle. Among 94 initial entries, Hunter crossed the line 40th among the 60 racers that earned the coveted buckle and “finisher” status. “It was one thousand percent harder than I expected, without a doubt,” Hunter said. “The first 50 miles, I was feeling good. From miles 60-90, I was starting to break down mentally and physically. The last 10 miles, I was hanging by a thread from being sleep deprived and mentally and physically fatigued, but I had to continue to move forward.”
he contestants ran 50 miles on the Mickelson Trail to Deadwood, then reversed their course and returned to Custer. Hunter had to run alone for the first 50 miles, but received pacing and aid assistance from former CSC wrestlers and endurance race veterans Jake Holscher and Seth Groff, as well as current CSC student-athlete and defending 184-pound national runner-up Keegan Gehlhausen.
“My crew is what kept me going,” Hunter said. “Jake, Seth and Keegan did a phenomenal job. … more at … https://chadroneagles.com/news/2025/8/20/mens-wrestling-hunter-finishes-100-mile-race-2.aspx

September 3, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

WHY WRESTLERS MAKE GREAT MARINES: NWCA CONVENTION 2025

The Marine Corps Recruiting Command strengthened its partnership with the National Wrestling Coaches Association during the NWCA Convention, held July 31 – Aug. 2, 2025, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Throughout the event, MCRC engaged with wrestling coaches to highlight shared values and characteristics that make wrestlers exceptional candidates for service in the Marine Corps.
The collaboration between MCRC and the NWCA leverages the expertise and extensive networks of the wrestling community to help identify young individuals with the mental and physical fortitude to thrive as Marines. Wrestling’s emphasis on discipline, perseverance, and teamwork directly mirrors the core attributes the Marine Corps seeks in future service members. “Our relationship with the NWCA is key to meeting our national partnership program objectives which seek to connect us with coaches, administrators and educators at the local level,” said Greg Gilliam, director of national partnerships and community engagement for MCRC. “Through various activations during the convention we were able to introduce the idea of connecting and collaboration so that when these coaches return home, they know they have a valuable resource in the Marines.”
During the convention, Marines highlighted career, educational, and leadership development opportunities that the Marine Corps provides. Marines participated in a variety of events, including the Coach of the Year Awards, … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2025/8/26/national-wrestling-coaches-association-why-wrestlers-make-great-marines-nwca-convention-2025.aspx

September 3, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2025-26 USA Wrestling Membership now available

As the new wrestling season approaches, USA Wrestling is excited to announce that the 2025-26 membership year is now officially open. The membership period runs from September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026.
Now is the perfect opportunity to secure your membership and stay connected with the sport throughout the entire year.
For the first time ever, members of USA Wrestling will be able to purchase an exclusive USA Wrestling member-only shirt from RUDIS, which is the exclusive official licensee and supplier to USA Wrestling of merchandising services in the categories of footwear, apparel, and accessories.
In addition to USA Wrestling membership being available, registration for several key upcoming USA Wrestling events will be opening.
Once you have secured your 2025-26 membership, you will be able to sign up for upcoming USA Wrestling events. Mark your calendar, as these events will open for registration on September 1:

September 3, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2025 Offseason Coaching Carousel (8/27/2025)

The biggest coaching related news of the last couple of weeks came on Monday when Binghamton announced that Ryan LeBlanc will be the Bearcats next head coach. We wrote a bit about LeBlanc’s background here.
With LeBlanc’s hire, it opens up the head coaching position at The Citadel very late in the game – so we have another head coaching vacancy. Related to the Bulldogs, InterMat was recently told that they were looking to hire an assistant coach, as well. This will be a new position. One might assume that this would get pushed to the backburner until the head coaching job is filled.
In other coaching news, Teyon Ware rounded out his first coaching staff at the University of Northern Colorado by hiring Charles Jones Jr. Jones Jr. wrestled collegiately at Oklahoma and Fresno State and served in the United States Army from 2010 to 2022. He comes to Greeley after leading the girls high school program at Edmond North in Oklahoma.
Troy Nickerson also completed his first coaching staff at Army West Point with the hiring of Alan Clothier. The two are very familiar with each other as … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/the-2025-offseason-coaching-carousel-8272025-r100473/

September 1, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment