First, Best or Different – How Ouachita Baptist paved the way for college wrestling in Arkansas
This entire series has been telling you one story to set up another. On Episode 3, we look back at the impact of the first college wrestling program in Arkansas in nearly 50 years, Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Ouachita Baptist started wrestling in 2010. The nearest opponent within Division II was six hours west in Oklahoma. We meet with Rex Horne, then the President of OBU, to find out why his university was the place to start and the impact recurring figures Greg Hatcher and Mike Moyer had in the process.
Moyer, Executive Director of the NWCA, explains the broader plan for college wrestling and how Ouachita Baptist was a crucial step to allow more schools to start the sport at the college level in Arkansas. Rest of the story and podcast at http://www.mattalkonline.com/podcast/rocked-up/first-best-or-different-how-ouachita-baptist-paved-the-way-for-college-wrestling-in-arkansas/?mc_cid=60ffb78253&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Aaron Bancroft presented the Lee Carroll Award
State Champion Aaron Bancroft of Fike High School was presented the 21st Lee Carroll Award for excellence in athletics, academics and sportsmanship in northeastern North Carolina last season. The TakeDown Report Editor, Martin Fleming and Lee Carroll presented the awards during a pause in Fike team’s annual end–of-the-year banquet this month. Bancroft earned his first State Champion medal, at 160 pounds, with a record of 52 wins and just 1 loss to an eventual Virginia State Champion in the finals of the WRAL Holiday mid-season tournament. He is also the first state champion in wrestling for Fike High School. His overall scholastic career record is 146 wins and 12 losses after three years of competition.
Last year, as a sophomore, Bancroft won his first district title yet fell short of placing at the state tournament while finishing with a (49-5) record. As a freshman Aaron had a (45-6) record, placed 2nd in districts and placed 5th in the state tournament. Aaron also has earned his third TDR Top 12 engraved wooden plaque this year as being one of the top wrestlers at his weight class in eastern North Carolina.
Lee Carroll started wrestling his sophomore year when Tarboro High School re-started the sport in 1992 with Butch Sadler as his coach. Lee won 112 matches in just 3 years with the Vikings. Lee was state runner-up his junior year before becoming a record setting undefeated state champion in 1995 with a (50-0) record. Lee went on to start four years at North Carolina State qualifying for the Nationals 3 times. Lee has taught engineering graphics at N.C. State as an adjunct professor and has his own interactive design agency, Forged Media, in Raleigh. He has been recognized and inducted in the Tarboro High Athletic Hall of Fame. Pictured above are Fike coach Brad Watson, Aaron Bancroft and Lee Carroll presenting the award. Pictured below are Aaron and his proud father George Bancroft.
Last year Christian and Timothy Decatur of Rosewood tied for this award as top level underclassmen wrestlers. Other previous award winners include Jaqwuez Norman of Farmville Central (2017), Kaleb Taylor of Rosewood (2016), Wilson Smith of Rocky Mount (2015 & 2014), Angel Najar of North Pitt (2013), Alexander Knight and Jacineto Williamson of Rocky Mount in 2012, Chris Fess of Beddingfield and Tamaris Lane of Nash Central in 2011, Chandler Phillips of Rocky Mount (2010), Landon Lucas of SW Edgecombe (2009), Corey Smith (2008) and Eric Sutton (2007) of Tarboro, Zach Shearin and Paul Horner (2006) and Pat Anstead (2004) of Southern Nash, Jimmy McNamara (2005) of Wilson Hunt and Sammi Hadi (2003) of SW Edgecombe.
The TakeDown Report has promoted amateur wrestling for over 20 years in eastern North Carolina reporting wrestling results and encouraging media coverage of the sport. Fleming noted, “We desire to encourage wrestlers and teams in this area to realize the hard work, determination and discipline it takes to be a top notch wrestler,” he added. The TakeDown Report sponsors the Award. Contact the TDR at martinkfleming@gmail.com or call (252) 883-3311. Fans are invited to check our blog at https://takedownreport.wordpress.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/The-TakeDown-Report-235098404048/ or on Twitter Martin Fleming @MFlemdog.
Meet the 20-year-old whiz who’s helping Duke revolutionize college wrestling’s numbers game
College wrestling’s most valuable under-the-radar asset is a soon-to-be junior whose last match was in high school. Charlie Gelman is a smart-as-a-whip 20-year-old Illinois native who’s double majoring in statistical science and computer science and minoring in electrical and computer engineering at Duke. He’s a millionaire in the making, according to Duke wrestling coach Glen Lanham, who brought Gelman on board a couple years ago and named him the program’s advanced statistics analyst. “They let me pick my own title,” Gelman confessed a couple weeks ago. “I made it look better.”
The truth is, Gelman has helped improve the looks of Duke wrestling during his two years with the program. The former high school wrestler created a program that helps the Blue Devils track high-level statistics and funnel them into an easy-to-consume format that can sort by setups, shot types, finishes, bottom-position techniques, top-position turns and other match sequences and scenarios. This gives Lanham and his staff hard data to cut out the guesswork associated with where practice time should be focused.
“It changed the way we looked at practice time,” Lanham said. “It gives you an outline of what we need to work on to be successful instead of guessing. When I’ve got a guy for an individual (workout), I know exactly what we need to do to make him better. It’s definitely a game changer for us.” Rest of the story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/PortalPost.jsp?postId=1668504132
First girls high school state tournament in Ohio slated for 2020
Ohio joins the growing list of states which will now have a separate state wrestling tournament for high school girls next year.
The Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association (OHSWCA) voted unanimously to officially sponsor a girls’ state wrestling tournament for the upcoming 2019-2020 school year. Ohio’s first girls state wrestling championship will be held February 22-12, 2020 at Hilliard Davidson High School, 5100 Davidson Road in Hilliard, a suburb of Columbus. “It is our goal to make this a first-class event and build it to ’emerging sport status’ with the OHSAA (Ohio High School Athletic Association, the official governing body for high school athletics in Ohio),” said Dean Conley, president of the OHSWCA. “Once we meet the requirements, we plan on handing this over to OHSAA like we did with the state dual tournament.” The OHSAA weighed in with their backing for the event. Rest of the story and details at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/22070
Speight, Bancroft claim titles at USA Wrestling SE Regional
By Paul Durham paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808 | Twitter: @PDsports
His dream of winning a state championship eluded Joseph Speight at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association wrestling tournament in February, but the recent Fike High graduate found redemption last month in Wilmington. Wrestling with the Backyard Wrestling Club of Wilson, Speight captured the Junior Men’s Greco-Roman 182-pound title in the USA Wrestling Southeast Regional tournament May 25-26 at Wilmington Convention Center. It was the first meaningful tournament in which Speight had wrestled since finishing sixth in the same weight class at the NCHSAA 3-A tournament in Greensboro four months ago. “It felt good. It felt real good!” Speight said with a grin Sunday, June 9, at Fike’s wrestling banquet at Grace Baptist Church.
Speight pinned Christian Latta of Walhalla, South Carolina, in 2 minutes, 55 seconds in the quarterfinals before claiming a 12-0 technical fall over Jake Finken of Tampa, Florida, in the semifinals. In the championship match, Speight rolled to another tech fall, this time 10-0 over Tanner Melendrez of Mandeville, Louisiana. How was Speight able to seize a regional championship after not being on the mat every day for the last few months? Rest of the story and photos at http://www.wilsontimes.com/stories/speight-bancroft-claim-titles-at-usa-wrestling-se-regional,180356?
Top ACTIVE Junior College Coaches in Dual wins Top 10 w/ at least 100 wins
TDR Editor’s Notes ; This list is far from complete but it is what we have so far. We welcome input, information and corrections yet please no snide remarks.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- Pat Whitcomb (North Idaho Coll.) 273 – resigned in Jan. 2019
- Joe Renfro (Labette, Kan.) 204
- Luke Moffitt (Iowa Central Comm. Coll.) 158
- Josh Rhoden (Clackamas Comm. Coll.) 141
- Harry McGinnis (Triton Comm. Coll.) 90 incomplete
- Josh Watts (Iowa Western Comm. Coll.) 74 incomplete
- Jim Zeigler (Northwest Wyoming) 58 incomplete
- (Iowa Western Comm. Coll.) 56
- Cole Spree (Ellsworth Comm. Coll.) 54
- Cody Alesch (Iowa Lakes Comm. Coll) 32
- Art Castillo (Western Wyoming) 31 incomplete
Returning world medalists Cox, Gwiazdowski, Mensah-Stock earn spots on World Team
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Three returning world medalists earned spots on the 2019 U.S. World Team on Saturday at Final X: Rutgers. World champion J’den Cox (92 kilograms), along with world bronze medalists Nick Gwiazdowski (125 kilograms) and Tamyra Mensah-Stock (68 kilograms), were among the seven champions crowned in the final session of Final X: Rutgers. The 24-year-old Cox won in two straight matches over 2019 Dan Hodge Trophy winner Bo Nickal at 92 kilograms. Cox claimed a 4-2 victory in the first match. In the second match, Cox blanked Nickal 5-0 to earn his fourth straight spot on a World or Olympic Team. “He’s a great wrestler,” Cox said of Nickal. “He presented a lot of challenges. I think that he’s going to be really tough in the future.”
Gwiazdowski, a two-time returning world bronze medalist, defeated three-time age-group world champion Gable Steveson in two straight matches at 125 kilograms. Gwiazdowski won both matches on criteria. He took the first match 4-4, scoring a takedown in the final period. He claimed the second match 3-3 on the strength of a late reversal. “I’ve been through this,” said Gwiazdowski. “It’s a different challenge. But they challenge me in different ways to be a master of this sport. There are things I haven’t faced before. I was prepared for them. I focus on those things. I was confident in what I was doing.” Mensah-Stock won in two straight matches over WCWA national champion Alexandria Glaude at 68 kilograms. Mensah-Stock, the only American wrestler ever to win three Yarygin Grand Prix gold medals, secured a fall in the first match after building a 6-0 lead. She closed out the victory with a 10-0 technical fall. Rest of the story at
https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/22013
Bellarmine accepts ASUN invitation; Knights will rise to NCAA Division I in 2020
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bellarmine University’s president, Dr. Susan M. Donovan, announced today that she has accepted an invitation for the university to join the ASUN Conference. The move will elevate the university’s athletic programs to NCAA Division I status beginning next summer. Bellarmine will be the only private DI university in Kentucky, and one of the few Division I Catholic universities in the South. Donovan, joined on campus for the announcement by ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, said the move is the first major achievement of an initiative contained in the university’s new strategic plan, approved last month by Bellarmine’s Board of Trustees. With the addition of the Bellarmine Knights in the 2020-21 season, the ASUN Conference will have 10 members spread across seven mostly southeastern states, from Florida to New Jersey. The conference has been an ESPN broadcast partner since 1989, with game coverage airing on ESPN+.
“The addition of Bellarmine University to the ASUN continues the rising trend of our league,” said Gumbart. “We are extremely proud to become teammates with a great university and the Louisville-area community. Today, we celebrate a new beginning with students, coaches, faculty, administration, alumni, boosters and Knights fans everywhere. We appreciate the visionary leadership of President Donovan, the Board of Trustees, Athletics Director Scott Wiegandt, and the entire leadership and athletic department team at Bellarmine that made today possible. On behalf of the ASUN family, we welcome our newest member and look forward to growing this partnership as we work together in our goal of Building Winners for Life. Swords Up!”
Bellarmine fields 17 sports sponsored by the ASUN Conference. Additionally:
Rest of the story at
Coach remembers former Brunswick Co. student killed in shooting
TDR Editor’s Notes : Saddened to pass along this news about a former wrestler from eastern North Carolina.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — People are remembering the teen that was killed in the Friday night shooting in Shallotte including his former coach. Jacary Bethel was described as a standout athlete at West Brunswick High School before he graduated in 2018. Jimmy Caraway was Bethel’s wrestling coach and told us he was a good kid, and a great athlete. Caraway says he played football, but was a star wrestler. He said Bethel even represented the school on a national level. He says not only did he coach him, but his wife taught him and the community has lost a good kid. “I loved the boy. He did anything we asked him to do as a coaching staff. He never got emotional in matches. He worked hard. He was a leader. And he led by example and he wasn’t vocal,” Caraway said. Rest of the story at https://www.wwaytv3.com/2019/06/18/coach-remembers-former-brunswick-co-student-killed-in-shooting/?mc_cid=733372627e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Mizzou’s Brian Smith Earns Kiwanis Don Faurot Sportsperson of the Year
Tiger Style head coach wins annual award given to top sportsperson in Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Wrestling head coach Brian Smith is the 2019 Don Faurot Sportsperson of the Year, announced today by the Kiwanis Club of Columbia. Smith will be presented the award at a banquet on Tuesday, June 18, at the Broadway Hotel in Columbia. The honor – named after Mizzou’s legendary former football head coach and director of athletics – was established in 1991 to honor an outstanding candidate who contributes to the local sports community as an athlete, coach, administrator or official. Other notable Mizzou recipients are Karissa Schweizer, J’den Cox, Max Scherzer and Mike Alden. Coach Smith had another banner year at the helm of the Tiger Wrestling program, guiding the team to its eighth straight conference title, fifth straight top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships and a 16-1 regular season record. The Tigers ranked has high as fifth nationally in the major collegiate wrestling polls during the 2018-19 season, a spot that fans have grown accustomed to seeing Coach Smith’s program in. In his 21st season as the Tiger head coach, Smith coached four All-Americans this season, giving the Tigers at least four All-Americans in every season since 2014-15. Mizzou Wrestling us one of just five schools nationally to earn a top-10 finish and have at least three All-Americans in each of the last five seasons. Mizzou is 94-9 in dual competition over the last six seasons and went an incredible 7-1 against top-25 teams during the 2018-19 season. Rest of the story at
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
