POSTCARD FROM JAPAN: WHITMAN CHECKS IN FROM GUNMA
Hi Tar Heel Fans,
Brandon Whitman here, a sophomore from Dundee, Michigan. We’re a long way from the States here in Japan, but we’re having a great time as a team. This is going to go a long way for our team bonding. We’re all growing closer and enjoying the camaraderie.
Yesterday, we went on a team hike and reached the summit to see an amazing view of Mount Fuji. A big group of us made it to the top and got some incredible pictures. This country has some amazing views – definitely things that you don’t see back in Dundee or Chapel Hill!
We’ve been eating some traditional Japanese foods and trying different cultural experiences. My favorite food has been the real sushi and ramen. Some of these guys are going to lose a lot of weight, but most of us are being bold! As Bryce would say, you’ve got to get tough.
We’re now in the prefecture of Gunma to stay in a traditional Japanese hotel and train/practice for a few days. It’s great to head to a different culture and get training in that’s different than what we get back home. Rest of the story at https://goheels.com/news/2019/8/6/wrestling-postcard-from-japan-whitman-checks-in-from-gunma.aspx?mc_cid=b9eb082e8f&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
The Impact of Technology on Wrestling
BY MATT KRUMRIE
Jason Bryant remembers his first trip to Fargo to cover USA Wrestling’s Cadet and Junior Nationals in 1999. “We had hand-written vertically paired brackets, dial-up Internet and zero social media,” says Bryant, who later worked for USA Wrestling in a communications role.
Fast-forward 20 years to the 2019 Cadet and Junior Nationals, held in Fargo in mid-July. Bryant has created the Mat Talk Podcast Network, the leading podcast network in the sport of wrestling. While in Fargo covering the event, he conducted a number of on-site interviews and 10-minute features, then twice during the week, he did a media collaboration between his network at Mat Talk Online, FloWrestling, and The Open Mat, a popular wrestling news and information website. “We had three to four people in a live show streaming from Herd & Horns (a Fargo Sports Bar and Grill) and all the streaming info was coming right from my iPad over the restaurant’s Wi-Fi,” says Bryant, now also an 11-time wrestling journalism and broadcasting award winner. “We also watched the rest of the round from Herd & Horns because they had the technology to bring a livestream from the web and put FloWrestling up on their TVs. That was unheard of when I first started coming to Fargo.”
It’s no secret that high speed internet, wireless access, and smartphones have changed the way the world can connect, and that is making an impact across the sport of wrestling. Free video hosting platforms and inexpensive digital video cameras have become standard, not just for the major media players, but for state associations, too. “When you tie in video and live streaming with tournament software like FloArena or Trackwrestling, there’s really no reason—other than access to high speed internet or a tight budget—wrestling fans can’t get scores and match video as they happen,” Bryant says. Rest of the story at
https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/August/01/The-Impact-of-Technology-on-Wrestling?mc_cid=0627ee2afe&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
9 freshmen to know before the 2019-2020 wrestling season
With every new wrestling season comes new faces and new expectations. Last year, Minnesota true freshman Gable Steveson broke onto the scene at heavyweight, posted an undefeated regular season record and finished third at the NCAA championships. In 2018, Iowa and Cornell freshmen Spencer Lee and Yianni Diakomihalis won their respective weight classes at the national tournament. True freshmen have been winning titles and making waves on the collegiate scene for years, and 2020 will likely follow this trend.
WRESTLERS TO WATCH: These are the 25 college wrestlers you need to know heading into the 2019-2020 season
Ohio State landed what has been regarded as the best recruiting class in the country this year, and the Buckeyes will aim to use their new crop of talent to help take on the reigning national champions Penn State as well as hold off other powerhouse programs including Oklahoma State and Iowa. Ranking the nation’s best incoming freshman is a subjective and difficult task, but these are the nine student-athletes to watch as they start their college careers this fall. These athletes are in no particular order, and they represent nine different teams. All nine should be among the fun names to follow as they compete over the course of their college careers. Rest of the story at https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/article/2019-08-05/9-freshmen-know-2019-2020-wrestling-season?mc_cid=b9eb082e8f&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Burroughs Wins Gold at Pan-American Games
Lima, Peru – Former Husker and current U.S. World Team member Jordan Burroughs won gold at 74 kg at the Pan-American Games, defeating 2011 World silver medalist Franklin Gomez of Puerto Rico, 4-1 on Saturday. In the final, Burroughs led 1-0 at the break. Gomez knotted the score up at 1-1 after a caution. Burroughs reclaimed the lead after a step-out and finished the match with a takedown to win via 4-1 decision. The win gives Burroughs his third Pan-American Games championship, previously winning gold in 2011 and 2015.
In the semifinal, Burroughs defeated four-time Senior World medalist Geandry Garzon of Cuba via 15-4 technical fall to advance to the finals. Burroughs and Garzon traded takedowns to begin the match. Burroughs added a pair of double-leg takedowns and gained points for exposure to earn the 8-2 advantage at the break. Garzon was awarded a point after a caution on Burroughs and then Burroughs forced a step-out. Both wrestlers traded step-out points to bring the tally to 10-4 in favor of Burroughs. The semifinal concluded with a Burroughs takedown, a failed challenge by Cuba and a second takedown by Burroughs to win by technical fall, 15-4. Rest of the story at http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=211808885
Kendall Cross’ wrestling career blossomed after family moved to Oklahoma
Growing up as a young boy in Billings, Montana, Kendall Cross thought he was a good wrestler. He had won the Billings city championship, after all. Then he moved to Oklahoma. “I immediately realized how good the wrestling was here,” said Cross, who will be one of seven inductees into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame on Aug. 12. “I thought I was a good wrestler.
“Looking back, coming to Oklahoma was one of the best things that happened to me in terms of development. Oklahoma wrestling is a hotbed. In my childhood years, I’m so glad I got to wrestle here.” Cross went on to win one state championship while wrestling at Mustang High School in 1985, an NCAA title and three All-America honors at Oklahoma State, then wrestled in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, winning gold in Atlanta in 1996. If you check the record books in Cross’ senior year of high school at Mustang in 1986, you won’t see his name among the state champions, however. Rest of the story at
https://oklahoman.com/article/5637944/kendall-cross-wrestling-career-blossomed-after-family-moved-to-oklahoma?mc_cid=b9eb082e8f&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Richland police officers help youth wrestlers grapple with real-life situations
RICHLAND, MI — Richland police officers Jud Sikkema and Amir Khillah stopped by Gull Lake High School last Friday and it had nothing to do with any pressing legal matter. It did have to do with mats, however.
The partners in preventing crime swung by Joshua Schultz’s second-year youth wrestling camp at the school Aug. 2. They interacted with a couple dozen elementary-school-aged grapplers, helped demonstrate tactical moves and, in Khillah’s words, “hopefully began to develop a positive perspective on law enforcement in the youth.” Rest of the story at https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2019/08/richland-police-officers-help-youth-wrestlers-grapple-with-real-life-situations.html?mc_cid=0627ee2afe&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
BYU football defensive end Zac Dawe credits Pleasant Grove wrestling roots for competitive foundation
Nearly five-and-a-half years ago, a talented athlete from Pleasant Grove High School stood atop the podium one final time after winning individual and team state wrestling championships. The Viking had signed to play football at BYU but said his passion was in competing on the mat. “Wrestling is who I am,” Zac Dawe said in 2014, after capping his wrestling career with his second-straight state title. “It’s because of wrestling that the opportunities have opened up for me. I have to thank my wrestling coaches because they are the reason I’m going to be at BYU.”
Now a junior defensive lineman for the Cougars, Dawe said Friday that his view of the value of wrestling hasn’t changed. “I think wrestling is huge, especially for anyone who wants to play offensive or defensive line,” Dawe said. “It’s a very physical sport. There is no getting around someone. You have to go head-to-head. There is a confidence factor in knowing you can be confident in yourself to have a one-on-one matchup and dominate. Wrestling is all about leverage and technique and repetition. Rest of the story at https://www.heraldextra.com/sports/college/byu/football/byu-football-defensive-end-zac-dawe-credits-pleasant-grove-wrestling/article_08013d9c-583e-5007-b3eb-cb1f71858d0d.html?mc_cid=0627ee2afe&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
https://www.heraldextra.com/sports/college/byu/football/byu-football-defensive-end-zac-dawe-credits-pleasant-grove-wrestling/article_08013d9c-583e-5007-b
Knowing This Word Origin Will Make You A Better Coach
By Darren Wensor, sports development professional
How Knowing This Word’s Origin Could Transform Your Coaching
There are a number of words that could be nominated as crucial for coaches of young athletes to have an intimate knowledge of. I’m particularly thinking of those relating to physiology, cognitive development and coaching practice. But there is one word more than all others that I think it is important for coaches of young athletes to understand and to have a strong sense about.
That word is coach. A coach’s interpretation of this word is crucial to their coaching philosophy and arguably how effective they will be when working with young athletes.
The Origin Of “Coach”
There is no better way to get a true sense of a word than to learn of its origin. According to two online sources (Wiktionary and Online Etymology Dictionary) the word “coach” comes from the name of a small Hungarian village Kocs, where carriages (i.e. horse-drawn vehicles) were made. The word was first used to refer to an “instructor” or “trainer” around 1830 at Oxford University as slang for a tutor who “carries” students through an exam. It was first linked to sports and athletic trainers in 1861. A coach as a “carriage” is a lovely thought that really resonates with me. It’s an image that an entire coaching philosophy can be built around. Rest of the story at https://www.thepredicament.com/2019/08/23086/?mc_cid=764e5dedd8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Fearnside takes gold, U.S. World Team members go six for six in bronze medal matches in Poland
BY MIKE WILLIS,
Warsaw, Poland– On the second day of wrestling in Poland, the United States brought home a slew of medals. In fact, America’s World Team members went six for six in bronze medal matches. Amy Fearnside brought home the sole gold at 50 kg at the Poland Open, with a dominant 7-0 victory over Valentina Islamova Brik of Kazakhstan. Fearnside has been on a roll recently, also winning the Canada Cup a month ago and taking home the Outstanding Wrestler award in the process.
America’s Greco-Roman World Team members earned four bronze medal match victories at the Pytlasinski Memorial. Max Nowry started things off at 55 kg with a 5-4 victory over Murat Cankaya of Turkey. Ryan Mango kept it rolling at 63 kg with a disqualification victory over Bilici Rahman of Turkey. Raymond Bunker was next at 72 kg, with a 7-5 decision over Turkey’s Yilmaz Ahmet. Finally, John Stefanowicz finished off the day at 82 kg with a victory over Movsar Duguchev of Russia. Rest of the story at
https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/August/03/Fearnside-takes-gold-World-Team-members-go-six-for-six-in-bronze-medal-matches-in-Poland?mc_cid=764e5dedd8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Diakomihalis claims gold in thrilling finals match at Ziolkowski Memorial
BY MIKE WILLIS, USA WRESTLING
The sole U.S. men’s freestyle wrestler competing at the Ziolkowski Memorial, Yianni Diakomihalis earned gold at 65 kg today with a wild win over Gor Ogannesyan of Ukraine, 9-8.
Diakomihalis started in a 2-1 hole, when the Ukrainian exposed him with a throw off the whistle. The Ukrainian corner challenged for 4, but the challenge failed resulting in a point for Diakomihalis. After a wild scramble, Diakomihalis picked up a takedown and quickly followed it up with another takedown to take a 5-2 lead. Ogannesyan earned an exposure to cut the lead to 5-4 before the break.
The second period started with another scramble resulting in 4 points for Diakomihalis and 2 points for Ogannesyan, making the score 9-6. With a minute left, the Ukrainian locked up a cradle for 2 points to bring the score to 9-8. That score would hold until the whistle, and Diakomihalis would walk away as the champion. Rest of the story at
https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/August/04/Diakomihalis-claims-gold-in-thrilling-finals-match-at-Ziolkowski-Memorial?mc_cid=764e5dedd8&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
