Appalachian State Wrestling Signs Team IMPACT Teammate Nate Brown
BOONE, N.C. — App State Wrestling officially welcomed 15-year-old Team IMPACT teammate Nate Brown to the program in a signing ceremony held in the Mark E. Ricks Athletics Complex on Thursday. Joined by his family, App State coaches and wrestlers in the App State program, Brown made it official by signing his letter of intent and putting on an App State hat to applause from the crowd.
“I’m really excited to add Nate to our program,” App State head coach JohnMark Bentley said. “I expect him to make as much of an impact on our wrestlers’ and coaching staffs’ lives as we do his. We’re thankful for this tremendous opportunity.”
Today we welcomed Nate to the @AppWrestling family through @GoTeamIMPACT.
Welcome to the team, Nate! #BeTheIMPACT #ReachTheSummit pic.twitter.com/9poDCR1Jtl— AppState Wrestling (@AppWrestling) October 3, 2019
Brown, a native of nearby Todd, is currently a member of the wrestling program at Ashe County High School. He and the Mountaineers were brought together by Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit foundation that connects children with chronic illnesses to local college athletic teams. That connection helps form life-long bonds and life-changing outcomes with everyone involved. Team IMPACT’s mission is to improve the youth’s quality of life by growing and cultivating lively team-based support networks. Brown is one of 30,000 patients in the United States living courageously with cystic fibrosis (CF), a disease predominantly diagnosed in children by the age of 2. Rest of the story at https://appstatesports.com/news/2019/10/3/wrestling-program-signs-team-impact-teammate-nate-brown.aspx?mc_cid=493b0ed634&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Open House for Bobby Douglas
The Dan Gable Museum will host a celebration for National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member and Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa member Bobby Douglas on Saturday, November 2 from 4-7 p.m.
Douglas was the first black American to wrestle in the Olympics, competing in 1964 and 1968, and the first to captain the U.S. Olympic team in 1968. He also wrestled on six World Championship teams, winning a silver medal in 1966 and a bronze medal in 1970. He was an assistant coach for 10 World and Olympic teams, was World Cup coach in 1987 and Olympic coach in 1992.
He had a long and distinguished college coaching career at Arizona State and Iowa State. In 1988 he led Arizona State to the national championship, the only wrestling team title won by a western school, and he led Iowa State to three runner-up finishes.
He was a two-time Ohio state high school wrestling champion and an NAIA national champion for West Liberty State in 1962. In 1963, he reached the NCAA Division I finals and finished second to defending national champion Mickey Martin of Oklahoma. Rest of the story at https://nwhof.org/blog/open-house-for-bobby-douglas/?mc_cid=493b0ed634&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Eleven reasons why everyone should wrestle
Wrestling is the greatest and the oldest sport dating as far back as 20,000 years ago. I believe, and I hold it in my heart, that nothing can compare to it when developing young men and women. I understand that I have an extreme bias toward wrestling. I have been in the sport for 36 consecutive years as a competitor and a coach. I have dedicated much of my life to wrestling because of the benefits I and many others have received from the sport.
Why is wrestling so great? Wrestling offers people so many positive benefits to its participants. I played other sports growing up. Football, baseball, and one year of basketball. I have coached youth soccer, lacrosse, and wrestling. I have taught thousands of teenagers who have played practically every sport possible, at least those available in the U.S. I would rival some of those sports to wrestling for their work ethic, commitment, and discipline. Some of them, not many. I would put cross-country, boxing, gymnastics, and hockey up there as sports that teach its participants similar lessons. Don’t get me wrong, I loved baseball and football when I was a kid. They were both enjoyable and fun sports to play, and I believe they, along with most sports, teach many valuable lessons. I just know wrestling is the best to educate people about life.
I will admit of all the sports I played as a kid, wrestling was the least fun of them. Wrestling is hard. It is hard physically, mentally, and emotionally. Your body gets beat up and your ego gets damaged often. Each day your mind toggles between feelings of confidence, doubt, and insecurity during a wrestling season.
So why then should every person wrestle?
1. Wrestling teaches people to deal with adversity
According to Merriam-Webster.com, adversity is defined as “a state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.” The definition perfectly sums of a wrestling season. Each day presents difficulty and challenges. The sport of wrestling is filled with adversity, and a person can only become more resilient by it.
2. Wrestling teaches people a strong work ethic
As I said, I have worked with thousands of athletes over my 22-year teaching career. I would rival any wrestler’s work ethic to the hardest working athlete in any other sport. Not the hardest working wrestlers, I mean all wrestlers. It’s inevitable that if a person sticks with wrestling, they will do things physically that most people will never do. Most people will never go 100% in live combat with another person. Most people’s success will never be measured in the center of a ring against another opponent. You either win or fail. That alone teaches a wrestler the value of working hard and pushing themselves. To be successful in wrestling, you have to work hard. The Rest of the story and list at http://matbossapp.hs-sites.com/blog/eleven-reasons-why-everyone-should-wrestle
Mike Denney: UNO dropping wrestling still stings
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Great coach and a very good man. Attended a clinic at UNO with a young team. His input and encouragement made a huge difference. Glad to have met him. Best wishes for moore success in St. Louis at Maryville for him and his wrestlers.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mike Denney was named head wrestling coach a Maryville in 2011 after the University of Nebraska-Omaha dropped its wrestling program after coaching the Mavericks to a title two months prior. Rest of the story and video at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPlayer.jsp?TIM=1570477428207&twSessionId=pobyjlgxlg&videoId=1689179132
Wrestling Popularity on the Rise
The popularity of the sport of wrestling is one the rise. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) 2018-2019 High School Participation Survey, the port of wrestling has grown in all five categories that were reported on. This is the second consecutive year that high school wrestling has grown in all categories while the overall participation in high school sports has declined, the first overall decline in 30 years. The biggest jump in this year’s survey was within girls wrestling which grew for the 30th straight year. There were 21,124 girls participants in 2018-19, an increase of 4,562 athletes from the year before, which accounts for a 27.5% increase from last year. The number of schools that also offer girls wrestling increased to 2,890, an increase of 22.9%. Boys high school wrestling held steady as the No. 7 most popular sport among boys in terms of participation and the No. 8 spot in terms of number of schools. In 2018-19, boys high school wrestling grew to 247,441 athletes, an increase of 1,877 athletes from last year. The number of boys wrestling teams for 2018-19 grew to 10,843, up 68 teams from the previous year. It’s the second straight year that boys wrestling grew in both participation and teams. The combined number of high school wrestlers, including both boys and girls, showed a 2.5% growth as it grew to 268,565, an increase of 6,439 athletes. Rest of this story at https://youth1.com/wrestling/wrestling-popularity-rise?mc_cid=8391e1e4e3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b#
UNC-Pembroke Releases 2019-20 Schedule
PEMBROKE – Four home dates, including host duties for the 2020 NCAA Southeast Region Championships, as well as road trips to Las Vegas and Colorado, highlight the 2019-20 UNC Pembroke wrestling schedule that was released on Wednesday afternoon by head coach Othello “O.T.” Johnson. Fans can get an early look at the team on October 22 when the Braves suit up for their annual Black & Gold Intra-squad event. Admission to that event, as well as all home dual meets, is free. The Braves will kick off their newest campaign on November 2 when they head to Franklin Springs, Ga., for the Emmanuel-hosted Georgia Open, but will lift the lid on the home portion of their slate just more than a week later with the 39th Annual Pembroke Classic. The Black & Gold will appear in front of the home fans again just more than two weeks later when they battle Limestone on November 26 at 7 p.m. UNCP will load the buses in mid-December for the first of three long road trips when it treks to Indianapolis, Ind., for the UIndy-hosted Midwest Classic. The Braves will compete inside Las Vegas’s Flamingo Hotel & Casino on December 22 as part of the Wartburg College-hosted Desert Duals. That trip will be dwarfed only by one to Kansas and Colorado in early January for a dual meet at Fort Hays State, as well as an appearance in the Tracy Borah Duals on the campus of Western Colorado. Rest of the story at
NAIA Women’s Wrestling Invitational to Remain at Jamestown
Kansas City, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced on Thursday that it has come to an agreement with Jamestown (N.D.) to continue as the host of the NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Invitational through the 2021 invitational. The two-year extension will guarantee the invitational to Jamestown in both 2020 and 2021 after a successful inaugural invitational in 2019. Though weather shortened the schedule by a day, the institution was able to put together a well-run tournament which crowned Menlo (Calif.) at the champion. “Jamestown did an excellent job hosting the NAIA’s inaugural women’s wrestling national invitational and put significant effort into making the event special for our student-athletes. We look forward to returning,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. The annual event features 250 student-athletes who compete at their respective weight class in a double-elimination, wrestle-back format. 10 individual champions are crowned along with a team champion on the final day. “On behalf of the University of Jamestown and our local organizing committee, we are thrilled to again host the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Invitational at Harold Newman Arena,” said University of Jamestown Director of Athletics Sean Johnson. Rest of the story at https://portal.nwcaonline.com/articles/NWCA_News/NAIA-Women-s-Wrestling-Invitational-to-4-10-2019
NCAA DI Individual College Wrestling Rankings October 2nd, 2019
The Open Mat’s NCAA Individual Rankings :
TheOpenMat.com has released its 2019-20 NCAA Division I Individual College Wrestling Rankings. Athletes known to be redshirting or are not currently on roster are not ranked. During the season, wrestlers who miss two weeks of scheduled competition (excluding opens), will be removed from the rankings (with some exceptions based on available information). They will be returned to the rankings once they compete. Ineligible student-athletes are not ranked, even if they are competing in open tournaments and plan to return to the lineup in the second semester. When they return eligible, they will be ranked.
Once the season begins individual wrestlers records, win/loss streak, and previous ranking will be added. For any questions contact Earl Smith esmith@theopenmat.com
Complete Rankings List at https://news.theopenmat.com/college-rankings/ncaa-di-individual-college-wrestling-rankings-october-2nd-2019/74886?mc_cid=8391e1e4e3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Queens Wrestling Adds Paul Bradley to Coaching Staff
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Queens University of Charlotte Head Men’s Wrestling Coach Rob Tate has announced the hiring of Paul Bradley as Assistant Men’s Wrestling Coach for the upcoming 2019-2020 campaign, the Royals’ second season in Division II and the program’s third overall. “Paul has competed at the highest level in everything he’s done,” said Tate. “He’s got great passion for both the sport and for teaching kids. He will be an invaluable asset as the program continues to grow, especially in the upper-weight divisions. I’m thrilled to have Paul joining us and I can’t wait to see him work.”
Bradley comes to Queens after spending the last 13 years in California as a professional MMA fighter and the owner of USA Ultimate Warrior Wrestling Club. As a freelance fighter, Bradley competed in several MMA promotions such as UFC, Bellator MMA, Strikeforce, Shark Fights and King of the Cage. While simultaneously juggling his work as owner of his wrestling club, Bradley oversaw practices, techniques, and drills, and brought in high-level clinicians for advanced training purposes. A 2006 graduate of the University of Iowa, Bradley quickly began his coaching career as Assistant Wrestling Coach at Indiana University. Soon after he became the Assistant Head Wrestling Coach at University of Buffalo in 2007, a position in which he designed a variety of trainings for student-athletes and served as the head of team recruiting. Rest of the story at https://queensathletics.com/news/2019/7/9/mens-wrestling-adds-paul-bradley-to-coaching-staff.aspx
Five NCAA dual meets less than a month away
BY MIKE WILLIS, USA WRESTLING | OCT. 04, 2019,
Jack Mueller will lead Virginia into their season opener against Maryland on November 1.
After a long layoff, college wrestling season is finally around the corner. Now that the World Championships have concluded, wrestling fans can shift their interests back to folkstyle and rooting for their favorite college teams. While the beginning of the season tends to include a lot programs easing into things with open tournaments, here are five matches kicking off the college wrestling schedule that are less than a month away.
November 1
The Battle of the Midway
Match 1: Fresno State vs. Army
Match 2: Wisconsin vs. Navy
The battle of the Midway is held on the USS Midway in San Diego, Calif. The event started in 2017, when the Fresno State wrestling team returned to Division 1 action. This is the first year the event will be hosting two duals. The first match will feature Fresno State facing off with Army. Given that it is still football season, it is unlikely fans will see returning fifth-place All-American Josh Hokit compete for the Bulldogs. The 197 pounder does double-duty and is also a running back on the football team. Although when he comes back, it sounds likely he could be pushing two-time NCAA qualifier AJ Nevills for the heavyweight spot.
Army will be bringing a seasoned squad, with potentially five returning NCAA qualifiers. Leading the way will be two-time round of 12 finisher at 174 pounds Ben Harvey. The second match will feature Wisconsin taking on Navy. Entering his second season as Head Coach, Chris Bono has turned Wisconsin into one of the hottest teams on the recruiting trail, landing numerous big-name recruits. Wisconsin will have a strong team with returning All-Americans Evan Wick at 165 pounds and Trent Hillger at 285 pounds, as well as South Dakota State transfer and 2018 National champion Seth Gross at 133 pounds. Rest of the matches and story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/October/04/Five-NCAA-Dual-Meets-less-than-a-month-away
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
