How will Bulldogs’ Hokit juggle wrestling and NFL aspirations? He shares his plan
Clearly, Josh Hokit is not going to take a redshirt season. The plan to sit out 2019 and transition to linebacker went away with injuries in the Fresno State Bulldogs’ running backs group to Jordan Mims, Romello Harris and freshman Peyton Dixon. Hokit last week moved back to running back and on Thursday as the Bulldogs started game prep for the Aug. 31 season-opener at USC he was getting plenty of work there with the No. 1 and No. 2 offenses. But what of the plan to wrestle as a heavyweight in the spring, then come back for a senior season of football in 2020 and take a shot at playing football beyond college? Rest of the story at https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/college/mountain-west/fresno-state/article234271647.html?mc_cid=652fd4c019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
In Lombardi’s ‘perfect 4-3,’ Henry Jordan was ‘key to it all’
Runner-up in the heavyweight class of the 1957 NCAA Wrestling Tournament, Henry Jordan relied on many of the same tools and techniques he used in his other sport to become one of the most dominating defensive tackles of his era. Blessed with the gifts it takes to be an elite college wrestler, he had lightning quickness, rare balance, and an uncanny knack for being able to pounce on an opponent and gain instant leverage. Jordan provided consistent and relentless pressure as an inside pass rusher as the Packers won five NFL championships under Vince Lombardi. Although he played before sacks were recorded as an official statistic, there were games where Jordan was so dominant observers couldn’t help but keep their own tallies. In the 1967 NFL Western Conference championship against the 11-1-2 Los Angeles Rams, arguably the most talented team in the league that year, Jordan was unofficially credited with 3½ sacks against future Pro Football Hall of Fame guard Tom Mack as the Packers pulled a 28-7 upset. Rest of the story at
https://www.packers.com/news/in-lombardi-s-perfect-4-3-henry-jordan-was-key-to-it-all?mc_cid=652fd4c019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
The dream college wrestling matchups we’d like to see this season — at every weight
The bright lights. The big stage. Two athletes, two schools and one trophy per weight. This is the scene waiting for twenty athletes at 2020 NCAA finals this year in March, but the excitement of the college wrestling season isn’t limited to that one tournament.
WRESTLERS TO WATCH: These are the 25 college wrestlers you need to know heading into the 2019-2020 season
Rivalries will be reignited in just a few months as the athletes begin their early season duals against conference and non-conference foes. While most teams have not finalized their schedules for the 2019-2020 year, these are ten of the best college wrestling matches we hope to see this season.
125 pounds: Spencer Lee vs. Sebastian Rivera
When the 2018-2019 wrestling season started, Iowa’s Spencer Lee held firmly onto the No. 1 ranking at 125 pounds. He had won the 2018 NCAA championship, earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors the previous year and was the pre-season favorite to earn the title again. He looked unbeatable. Enter Sebastian Rivera. The Northwestern then-sophomore lightweight plowed through the 125-pound bracket at the Midlands Tournament in December and topped Lee in the finals 7-3 to deliver the Hawkeye his first loss since the 2018 Big Ten tournament. After finishing sixth in the national tournament the year before, Rivera was the new man to watch at 125 pounds, and he was on a mission to take that title away from Lee. The two athletes did not wrestle each other at the Iowa-Northwestern dual, but they met again at the 2019 Big Ten tournament with Rivera taking the W again over Lee for the second time that season. Rivera won the conference title and claimed the No. 1 seed at the NCAA tournament. His chase for gold, however, ended after Virginia’s Jack Mueller took him down in the national semifinals. The man later beat Mueller? Lee. Iowa’s 2018 champ picked up another individual title and stayed perfect on the national stage. Rivera should have a number of chances to pick up more wins against Lee, but what he really wants is a chance to top the Hawkeye in late March.
133 pounds: Nick Suriano vs. Daton Fix
Defending NCAA champion Nick Suriano and 2019 senior World Team member Daton Fix have only wrested each other twice so far in college, but both times they’ve gone to battle, these two lightweights have put on a show. Fix topped Suriano 3-2 in a second tie-breaker during their first contest in January of 2019, but Suriano reversed the outcome at the national tournament. The Rutgers then-junior made school history when he beat Fix 4-2 in sudden victory to earn the first individual national title for his program. Rest of the story and video at
https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/article/2019-08-16/dream-college-wrestling-matchups-wed-see-season-every-weight?mc_cid=652fd4c019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Rocked Up – Capturing the Nation’s Attention
In the big money world of Division I college athletics, only five championship sports actually make the NCAA money. Of course, the biggest is the Final Four, the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. Now 68 teams play their way to a championships. The venues are large and the volume of printed brackets and online office pools is astronomical. The other championships that make the NCAA money are the College World Series, held annually in Omaha, the Frozen Four, the name for the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey tournament, the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse championship – AND – to the surprise of many – the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship.
Before you say “but what about football,” did you know the NCAA actually does not award a trophy and present an actual championship for what’s called the Football Bowl Subdivision? Oh, sure, there’s a trophy, but the only NCAA logo on a Division I football trophy belongs to the winner of what’s called the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as I-AA. Semantics and officialness aside, wrestling has been a consistent moneymaker at the championships level for decades. Much of that has come from the move away from campus sites and into larger metropolitan areas and major league arenas. Or in the case in 2020, NFL Stadiums. Yes, Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings, is expected to draw over 40,000 fans across each of the six sessions in March of 2020. It’s an indication that the health of wrestling has improved.
It’s also a great spot to sell the sport of wrestling to curious college administrators. For people looking to start a Division I program in Arkansas, a sellout crowd at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland in March of 2018 was the perfect backdrop to make history. Welcome to Rocked Up, the story of the foundation and formation of the first Division I college wrestling program in Arkansas, starting in November of 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This is the fifth edition of this story. The first four set the table, because to tell the story of the Little Rock Trojans wrestling program, you had to start from the ground up – with the foundation of Arkansas high school wrestling, which didn’t even exist 11 years ago. Rest of this encouraging story at http://rockedup.libsyn.com/capturing-the-nations-attention?mc_cid=ec600f89c2&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Wolf Pack Wrestling Adds Ferreira as Transfer
Sophomore wrestled as true freshman at Bucknell last year
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State wrestling head coach Pat Popolizio has announced the transfer of Jacob Ferreira to the Wolfpack program. A native of Mt. Kisco, N.Y., Ferreira spent last season at Bucknell. Ferreira will be a sophomore for the upcoming 2019-20 season, and will be eligible to compete right away wrestling at 184/197 pounds. “Jacob is a great late addition to our squad,” said Popolizio. “He comes from a notable club in Empire Wrestling Academy that we are very familiar with. We’ve been very fortunate to have recruited guys both in the past and have members of our current team from Empire.
“He will be a valuable option on this year’s squad to our upper weights. Having one year of college wrestling under his belt his is a huge advantage for us.” Ferreira wrestled last season at 184 pounds as a true freshman. He finished with a 15-11 record, all at 184 pounds, and was second on his team with five pins. His top finish was second place at the Mat Town Open. Before Bucknell, Ferreira was a 2018 state runner-up and two-time state qualifier at Horace Greeley High School. He finished his prep career with 126 wins as a three-year team captain.
Release by Brian Reinhardt at bcreinha@ncsu.edu
Winning and Losing
By Nancy Justis, Outlier Creative Solutions
“Sometimes when you win, you actually lose, and sometimes when you lose, you really win, and sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie, and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose. Winning or losing is all one organic mechanism, from which one extracts what one needs.” -Gloria Clemente, White Men Can’t Jump
“Coach, what is the difference between winning and losing?” I think for a moment, knowing that this must have been on his mind for a long time to be asking me so early in our conversation. “Three inches.” There was silence on the other end of the line. I waited. I would have waited as long as it took while Preston tried to figure out what his old coach was trying to tell him.
“Okay, coach, I give in. What does that mean?”
“What does it mean to you?”
“Well, if I know you well enough, you are getting deep on me right now, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the scoreboard.”
He knows me well.
“When was your last practice?” I ask.
“Early this morning.”
“Did you run sprints? Rest of the story at
https://www.thepredicament.com/2019/08/winning-and-losing/?mc_cid=c5b71cd582&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Campbell University welcomes rookie class
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell will welcome its 16-member freshman class to its roster for the 2019-20 wrestling season. The group includes rookies from 13 different states, including Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Georgia, Michigan, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington, with a total of 24 state championships between them, with five-time Alabama state champ Gabe Hixenbaugh and two four-time state title winners in Gavin Christ (Louisiana) and Jason Kraisser (Maryland). The class also brings three Fargo All-Americans, including Junior Fargo Champ Austin Almaguer (Greco) and Junior World Team Trials Champion Jack Ervien (Greco), a United States Junior World Team member. Rest of the story and list at
https://gocamels.com/news/2019/8/20/wrestling-welcomes-rookie-class.aspx?fbclid=IwAR24AjcxP5Yp6DDhO51RzKGmSRRYplSD6DrVm-Fnf4scFP-K09FVrPWjrhM
2019 NWCA Convention
Manheim, PA – Fort Lauderdale once again played host to 400-plus wrestling coaches, exhibitors, and wrestlers as they gathered for the NWCA’s 2019 Annual Convention at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center, August 2-4. This year’s title sponsors were Cliff Keen, Defense Soap and Resilite. In the two days leading up to the convention, 59 men’s and women’s college coaches attended the 11th Annual Collegiate CEO Leadership Academy, which is presented by the US Marine Corps. The participants were led by Dr. Dan Gould of Michigan St. while being paired with longtime successful coaches who served as mentors. Hearing messages of leadership from active duty Marines is always a highlight of this event and this year United State Marines Corps, Col. David Fallon, did not disappoint as he spoke to the similarities between wrestlers and Marines.
For the fourth consecutive year that the convention broke records for the number attendees. “We are so grateful that our member coaches make the commitment to attend this event each and every year,” said Executive Director, Mike Moyer. “We were excited to grow the convention into some new areas as we worked with the NWOA to host an inaugural Officials Summit, gave MYWAY a platform to host their yearly board meeting, as well as host the Division III Hall of Fame Banquet.” Convention attendees had access to over 20 hours of presentation and technique as well as three engaging Keynote speakers in Aaron Grossman (Kickoff Breakfast), Dave Bunning (Honors Luncheon), and Alan Nero (Awards Luncheon). Rest of the story at http://www.nwcaonline.com/2019_nwca_convention/?mc_cid=213b841822&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Southern Virginia Announces 2019-20 Wrestling Schedule
BUENA VISTA, Va. — Southern Virginia University head wrestling coach Logan Davis today announced the team’s 2019-20 schedule. “This year’s schedule is a step forward for our program,” said Davis. “We are ready to develop as we look to take on our first Division I program against the University of Virginia. The match is going to be a great test for our program, but I am confident that we are ready for it. Our schedule provides a variety of challenges for our team, that will allow us to progress towards accomplishing our goals this season.”
The matchup against the University of Virginia will start the season for the Knights on Nov. 2 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The first home match will be a tri-match against McDaniel, Mont Alto, and Blue Lights on Nov. 23. December competition begins with a match against Southwest Virginia Community College on Dec. 4. The Knights then head to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where they will compete in the Messiah Petrofes Tournament on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7. The Knights’ last competition before the new year begins is on Dec. 10 as they take on Ferrum College. Rest of the story at
http://athletics.svu.edu/sports/wrest/2019-20/releases/20190814evwc3h?mc_cid=213b841822&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Alvenia University Announces Inaugural Season Schedule
Reading, Pa. (August 13, 2019) – Alvernia University Men’s Wrestling announced its schedule on Monday. The 2019-20 season is the first wrestling season in Alvernia’s history. Wrestling is Alvernia’s 28th varsity sport. The Golden Wolves will join Messiah College, Delaware Valley University, Wilkes University, Lycoming College, and King’s College in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC). Alvernia has just three home matches in its first season. The Golden Wolves will compete 11 times on the road, with the majority of those competitions being invitationals or dual tournaments. Alvernia opens its inaugural season on Sunday, November 3rd at the Lycoming Invitational. The Golden Wolves will then head to the Gettysburg Invitational on Saturday, November 9th. Rest of the story and schedule at
https://auwolves.com/news/2019/8/13/wrestling-announces-inaugural-season-schedule.aspx?mc_cid=f2a83ba508&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
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
