Kansas girl on changing sport of wrestling: ‘Watch me’
MCPHERSON, Kan. (KSNW) – High school girls wrestling could soon become a sanctioned sport in Kansas. The Kansas State High School Athletic Association (KSHSAA) is expected to vote in April of 2019 to decide on the change. Mya Kretzer, 18, is a star athlete and wrestler at McPherson High School. “I have two older brothers. Then, I have a twin brother, and I have grown up my whole life with them wrestling,” Mya said. Mya took a liking to the sport in middle school after she said she was bullied. “I just kind of wanted a life-changing event to happen,” she said. “I told my parents I wanted to go out for wrestling and they were like, ‘no. you’re not’ and I was like, ‘watch me.'” Since then, the high school senior has taken down one opponent after another. She has earned top spots at the national and international level. Mya was recently awarded a scholarship to wrestle at Baker University. “I was just like, I’m going to go into practice and like learn something and just be really good at it,” Mya said. “It’s just been really rewarding.” Mya’s passion and worth ethic has become a driving force for girls wrestling in Kansas. Rest of the story, details and video at https://www.ksn.com/news/local/kansas-girl-on-changing-sport-of-wrestling-watch-me-/1737315635?fbclid=IwAR3aSvDcgXrTIOLsHEnz4MOlZEHIYLt0MLZ0f8_48D6brGEUdVu0K5jRUAg&mc_cid=9dd679a0fb&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
‘First to Fight with All-Marine Head Coach Jason Loukides’
Welcome to the maiden voyage of First to Fight featuring All-Marine Wrestling head coach Jason Loukides. As is the case with our other coaches’ reports, First to Fight is an opportunity to glean direct insights from a USA Senior Greco-Roman head coach pertaining to his program– including recent event results, athlete performances, and upcoming plans. It’s likely not a great mystery as to what will serve as the lead topic for this first report with Coach Loukides. The 2019 Dave Schultz Memorial International wrapped up last week in Colorado Springs, and when it was all said and done, two Marine Corps athletes came away with titles. At 67 kilograms, Jamel Johnson reigned supreme, defeating Mostafa Mohamed (EGY) in the final; and one weight class up it was Ray Bunker, who got past Asror Mukhitdinov (UZB). One interesting sidebar: both Johnson and Bunker not only won their first Schultz golds, but they were also the only two Americans to have vanquished foreign opponents in their respective finals. Following up the Schultz talk is Loukides’ perspective on an impending trip to Croatia for several of his charges, and what he’ll be looking for out of their performances. To close up, the coach offers his philosophy on the training plan now that the annual Armed Forces Championships are mere weeks away. Rest of the story at http://www.fivepointmove.com/all-marine-wrestling/loukides-report-jan-19/?mc_cid=768866e9ed&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Willis makes history as Laney wrestling wins MEC crown
Laney 50, South Brunswick 12
The Buccaneers clinched an undefeated season in the Mideastern Conference and won their third league title in the past four seasons with an easy victory over the Cougars.
Laney’s Cael Willis made history in the process. The senior pinned Matthew McCarter in the 170-pound bout, giving Willis the New Hanover County record for most pins in a career with 109. He passed Tanner Sewell, the son of former longtime Laney head coach Alan Sewell. Rest of story and pictures at Willis-makes-history-as-laney-wrestling-wins-mec-crown
West Brunswick, Ashley and North Brunswick wrestling all win
Campbell stays perfect, tops The Citadel
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Campbell stayed unbeaten in dual competition with a 38-6 Southern Conference win at The Citadel Sunday at McAlister Field House. Campbell, one of just five NCAA Division I squads without a dual loss this season (Penn State, Oklahoma State, Iowa, Missouri) moved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in SoCon action, while The Citadel dropped to 1-7 on the year and 1-1 with its first conference loss.
The Camels picked up bonus points in seven matches, including the day’s first four bouts. No. 14 Noah Gonser posted back points in the second and third periods to lead off the match with a 22-4 tech fall (6:35) at 133 pounds, and Nathan Boston (141 pounds) picked up his second consecutive first round pin (1:32), one of three falls on the day for the Camels. No. 8 Josh Heil (149) and Benjamin Barton (157) followed with major decisions, giving Campbell a 19-0 advantage through four matches. Rest of the story and details at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/21347
Uwharrie Charter Academy wins state 1-A title
GREENSBORO — Uwharrie Charter Academy wrestling coach Chris Waddell had done everything a coach can do in the sport in his 18-year coaching career, except win a dual team state championship — until Saturday. UCA defeated Robbinsville in a tight 36-32 match to win the NCHSAA 1-A state title on Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse. “It’s great — to me this is the pinnacle of wrestling,” said Waddell, who also led Southwestern Randolph to a state runner-up finish in 2012. “We won an individual state championship last year, but for a team to do it, you’ve got to be solid across the board.” “This feels great; it means a lot,” Isaiah Martin said. “We wanted it and we got it.” With the win, UCA finishes a perfect dual meet season at 41-0. Most of the Eagles’ matches have not been close, but Waddell said the team was still prepared when the situation arose in the state championship match. Rest of the story, details and video at https://www.courier-tribune.com/sports/20190202/uca-wins-state-1-a-title
NW Guilford holds off Laney in final bout to claim 4A wrestling title
By Kyle Morton, HighSchoolOT.com reporter
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Northwest Guilford Vikings captured the 4A N.C. High School Athletic Association dual wrestling championship on Saturday in Greensboro as they defeated the Laney Buccaneers by a 33-27 score. Despite falling short in the end, Laney got off to a good start. Rest of the story, details and video at https://www.highschoolot.com/nw-guilford-holds-off-laney-in-final-bout-to-claim-4a-wrestling-title/18165227/
West Lincoln repeats as 2A wrestling champions, downs Croatan
By Cassie Pacanovsky, HighSchoolOT.com reporter
GREENSBORO, N.C. — West Lincoln won its second straight 2A Dual Team Wrestling state championship on Saturday with a dominant 60-14 win over Croatan. The Rebels defeated Croatan last year by a similar margin. Croatan jumped out to the early 3-0 lead with Luke Walker’s 7-2 decision over Chade Norman in opening 120-pound weight class. Rest of the story and video at https://www.highschoolot.com/west-lincoln-repeats-as-2a-wrestling-champions-downs-croatan/18165257/
Cape Fear falls to St. Stephens in 3A wrestling championship
By Kyle Morton, HighSchoolOT.com producer
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Cape Fear Colts came up short in their quest for their first dual wrestling championship since 1984 on Saturday in Greensboro as they fell short at the hands of the St. Stephens Indians for the 3A state championship. While Cape Fear failed to make history, St. Stephens made some of their own, as it captured its first state championship of any kind since 1964. The match was a back-and-forth affair, as both teams held leads at different points. Tariq Shuford got things started off at the 120-pound classification with a win via tech fall to get St. Stephens an early 5-0 lead. Rest of the story and video at https://www.highschoolot.com/cape-fear-falls-to-st-stephens-in-3a-wrestling-championship/18165541/
Taylor Venz Named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week
Lincoln, Neb. – Taylor Venz, a redshirt sophomore for the Huskers wrestling team, was honored as the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week today, the conference announced. The Farmington, Minnesota, native is coming off of his most impressive win of the season against Illinois’ Emery Parker on Sunday. Coming into the match, Parker was ranked as the consensus No. 2 184-pounder in the country.
Venz, who came in as the fifth-ranked wrestler in the nation according to the InterMat and OpenMat rankings, led 5-2 in the third period of the match before getting Parker on his back and pinning him to seal the victory (5:33). The win was Venz’ fifth straight dual victory (three by bonus points) and he has yet to lose a match in 2019. His last loss came on Dec. 16, 2018 against N.C. State’s #3 Nick Reenan. Venz is now 15-3 (10-2 in duals) on the season. Rest of the season at http://www.huskers.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=211788350&mc_cid=768866e9ed&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
North Carolina thumps Bucknell
LEWISBURG, Pa. — Josh McClure’s upset of No. 10 Zach Hartman and No. 4 Austin O’Connor’s second-period pin helped No. 17 North Carolina beat Bucknell, 31-6, Friday night at Sojka Pavilion. Joe Heilmann began the night for the Tar Heels (9-5) with a dominant 4-0 win over Bucknell’s (5-7) Jakob Campbell. The true freshman was strong on top and used a lengthy third-period ride to start things in the right direction. Gary Wayne Harding followed that up with his second-straight major decision win, while Jaime Hernandez’s 6-4 decision at 141 pounds gave Carolina an early 10-0 lead.
At 149, it didn’t take long for O’Connor to win via fall for the sixth time in his redshirt freshman season. He and Matthew Kolonia started the second period neutral, and it took just 14 seconds for O’Connor to secure the pin. That marked his 24th win of the season, advancing the Carolina lead to 16-0. O’Connor’s performance sparked plenty of momentum, but McClure’s upset of No. 10 Zach Hartman was the highlight of the night. Tied 1-1 late in the third period after a back-and-forth battle, McClure found a way to use a tricky position in his favor and score a takedown with under 25 seconds in the match. He fought until the final whistle and held on, winning a 3-1 decision. Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/21318
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
