An emerging opportunity: Girls wrestling takes off for Chicago-area schools
When Maine East junior Kate Cacho entered high school and began wrestling, chances to compete against other girls were so rare that they were cause for celebration. “We had a few girls on our team, and we’d pretty much only wrestle boys,” Cacho said. “Whenever we saw another girl, we’d get so excited and hope they were at the right weight for one of us to get to wrestle them. We were always hoping for those chances to wrestle other girls.” Cacho and her female teammates are getting more and more opportunities to do that as interest in girls wrestling is increasing rapidly in Illinois and across the country. Cacho won the 96-pound state championship at the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association’s girls state tournament last season. It was the second girls state tournament held by the IWCOA, with the third set for March.
The IHSA has declared girls wrestling an emerging sport, opening up the possibility for a sanctioned girls wrestling state series in the future. According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, 13 states currently sponsor a girls state tournament. Meanwhile, 48 colleges have women’s wrestling teams. In Illinois, there are 621 high school girls competing in the sport, compared to 446 last season, according to Homewood-Flossmoor coach Shannyn Gillespie, head of the Illinois Girls Wrestling Coaches Alliance. Rest of the story at https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/mundelein/sports/ct-mun-girls-wrestling-ihsa-emerging-sport-tl-0117-story.html?mc_cid=739d39d282&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
College Dual Meet Rsults
Hawkeyes Silence Gophers, 24-10
MINNEAPOLIS — The fourth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team defended the Governor’s Border Belt on Sunday at Minnesota, defeating the eighth-ranked Gophers, 24-10, at a sold out Maturi Pavilion. Iowa won seven-of-10 matches, held a 17-8 edge on takedowns, and defeated three top 10 wrestlers to extend its winning streak over Minnesota to five. Rest of story at https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2019/1/13/wrestling-hawkeyes-silence-gophers-24-10.aspx?mc_cid=baa320ed67&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Coach Cael Sanderson, Penn State wrestling show vulnerabilities against Wisconsin
After a dominating Big Ten-opening win over Northwestern on Friday, the high-scoring Penn State wrestlers were slowed down a bit against Wisconsin at Rec Hall on Sunday. Not only did the Nittany Lions drop two matches they were favored in, but the Badgers’ “forward pace” also kept some bonus points off the board, as Penn State recorded its first dual without a pin since Ohio State last February.
Read more here: https://www.centredaily.com/sports/college/penn-state-university/psu-wrestling/article224032335.html?mc_cid=baa320ed67&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b#storylink=cpy
OSU wrestling coach John Smith talks Rutgers atmosphere ahead of Final X
Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith was pleased with the atmosphere and the dual meet against Rutgers on Sunday – maybe even more so than his team’s dominant performance in a 26-5 rout of the host Scarlet Knights. Maybe Smith will be back in June. Final X – a tournament which will determine the United States’ qualifiers for the world team in men’s and women’s freestyle and men’s Greco – will be at Rutgers on June 8, one of two sites along with the University of Nebraska. Smith, a six-time world champion, has done commentary for the U.S. qualifiers in the past. Sunday’s crowd of 7,545 was the second-highest in Rutgers Athletic Center history behind last year’s Penn state match. “I thought it was a great event, it was good to see the support,” said Smith of Sunday’s dual. “It’s pretty exciting. I’d like to keep Rutgers on the schedule. I’m glad we got a chance to come here. I’d like to keep the dual meet.
Rest of the story at https://www.nj.com/rutgers/index.ssf/2019/01/osu_wrestling_coach_john_smith_talks_rutgers_atmosphere_ahead_of_final_x_suriano-fix_controversy_mor.html?mc_cid=baa320ed67&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Iowa State Defeats Fresno State, 31-6
AMES, Iowa – No. 21 Iowa State (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) defeated Fresno State (4-6, 1-3 Big 12), 31-6 in wrestling action Sunday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State won eight of 10 matches contested, including four with bonus points (one fall, one technical fall, two major decisions). Rest of the story at https://cyclones.com/news/2019/1/13/wrestling-iowa-state-defeats-fresno-state-31-6.aspx?mc_cid=baa320ed67&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
No. 18 Pitt Wins Close Bouts, Tops No. 23 NDSU 22-11 in Scheels Center
FARGO, N.D.—No. 18-ranked Pitt won 7 of 10 bouts including 5 of 6 decided by 2 or less points during a 22-11 win over No. 22 North Dakota State in a non-conference dual on Saturday, Jan. 12, before 554 spectators in the Scheels Center. NDSU (6-5, 2-3 #Big12WR) has next weekend off. The Bison are scheduled to travel to Central Michigan (2-3, 1-1 MAC) on Thursday, Jan. 24, and host Northern Colorado (2-4, 0-3 #Big12WR) in a Big 12 Conference dual at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, in Scheels Center. North Dakota State jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to a 15-0 tech fall in 5:58 from No. 8-ranked 125 Brent Fleetwood (17-3, 9-1). Pitt reeled off the next three wins by a total of five points to take a 9-5 lead.
Rest of the story at https://gobison.com/news/2019/1/12/wrestling-no-18-pitt-wins-close-bouts-tops-no-23-ndsu-22-11-in-scheels-center.aspx?mc_cid=8c24e9c486&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Schuyler’s overtime win lifts Lehigh past No. 7 Cornell, 19-16 in Sheridan Dual
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In a tightly-contested dual that came down to overtime in the final bout, Lehigh knocked off No. 7 Cornell 19-16 in the annual Billy Sheridan Memorial Dual in front of 1,820 Saturday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks and Big Red were knotted at 16-16 through nine bouts. A takedown 37 seconds into sudden victory by senior Cortlandt Schuyler over Jonathan Furnas at 149, gave Lehigh the victory and sent the Mountain Hawks and their fans into celebration. Schuyler’s 3-1, sudden victory win clinched Lehigh’s first win over Cornell since 2016 and its first in Bethlehem since 2011. “I’m really happy for Cortlandt,” Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. “He battled a really good kid there. It came down to overtime. It doesn’t really get more dramatic than that. But this was a total team effort. Every single point counted in this match. Everybody fought.” Rest of the story at https://lehighsports.com/news/2019/1/12/wrestling-schuylers-overtime-win-lifts-lehigh-past-no-7-cornell-19-16-in-sheridan-dual.aspx?mc_cid=8c24e9c486&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
TCNJ Captures Budd Whitehill Championship
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The College of New Jersey wrestling team won a record 10th team title at the Budd Whitehill Duals Saturday in dominant fashion. The 17th-ranked Lions (9-1) defeated Springfield College (6-3) 37-3 to reach the championship match, where TCNJ defeated the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (11-3) 37-10.
TCNJ jumped out to an early lead as it has all tournament long with Dan Ortega earning the victory at 125. After Springfield tied the score at three, the Lions used back-to-back decision victories from Robert Dinger and Ryan Budzek to recapture the lead. TCNJ then began to rack up bonus points, starting with a major decision by Anthony Gagliano at 157. John Garda followed with a dramatic pin at 165 coming with just one second remaining in the third period. Dan Kilroy put the match away with a technical fall at 174 giving the Lions a 24-3 lead with just three bouts remaining. Jonathon Borgognoni continued the rout with a major decision at 184. Daniel Surich produced a technical fall at 197 before Thomas Marretta closed out the dual with a decision win. Rest of the story at https://tcnjathletics.com/news/2019/1/12/no-17-wrestling-captures-budd-whitehill-championship.aspx?mc_cid=8c24e9c486&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Stanford Wins Two Duals
STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford prevailed in a pair of duals, upsetting No. 22 Utah Valley (20-19) and avenging last year’s loss to Harvard (26-12), Saturday, at Burnham Pavilion. The Cardinal improved to 5-0 on the season, while the Wolverines are now 7-6 and the Crimson dropped to 0-2. Five Stanford wrestlers picked up a pair of wins on Saturday.
Against Utah Valley, Stanford won four of its five bouts by bonus points to edge the Wolverines. Eighth-ranked Nathan Traxler sealed the dual win, holding off No. 13 Tanner Orndorff, 9-7, at 197 pounds. Fifth-year senior Mason Pengilly got the Cardinal on the board with a 12-0 major decision over Isaiah Delgado at 133 pounds. Redshirt sophomore Requir van der Merwe, who is new to the rankings this week at No. 15, dominated Cameron Haddock with a 16-0 technical fall at 149 pounds.
Sophomore Dominick Mandarino extended the Cardinal lead to 13-6 with an exciting 22-12 major decision over Landon Knutzen at 157 pounds. Mandarino racked up five takedowns and eight near fall points in the win.
Fifth-year Rico Stormer also posted a big win for the Cardinal, registering a 23-10 major decision over Kyle Snelling at 174 pounds. Stormer finished with eight takedowns and 2:51 of riding time.
Fifth-year senior Brian Rossi returned to the mat for the first time since November 19, 2017. The 125-pounder fell to Utah Valley’s Josh Jensen, 4-1. Fellow fifth-year senior and captain Paul Fox wrestled up for the team at 165 pounds, dropping an 8-0 major decision to 11th-ranked Demetrius Romero. Stanford won seven of its 10 bouts against Harvard, who defeated the Cardinal 21-20 last year in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Stanford turned in four wins by bonus points. Rest of the story and results at https://gostanford.com/news/2019/1/12/wrestling-pair-of-wins.aspx?mc_cid=8c24e9c486&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Mid-season NCAA Div. I Report: the most surprising ranked wrestlers per weight class
By Mike Willis, USA Wrestling | Jan. 11, 2019,
Every year there are wrestlers who bust into the national rankings that no one saw coming. Ranging from unheralded freshmen to fifth-year seniors who jumped levels, there are always wrestlers who greatly exceed their preseason expectations. In addition to those wrestlers, there are also individuals who weren’t expected to be starters that find themselves in the lineup and the national rankings. Now that the holiday tournaments are over and most wrestlers have a sizeable body of work for the season, we will take a weight-by-weight look at the most surprising ranked wrestlers. *Note we are using FloWrestling’s rankings as of 1/7/2019
125 #5 Jack Mueller, Jr. (Virginia)
As a true freshman, Mueller finished sixth in the 125-pound weight class two seasons ago. Last year, he finished in the round of 12 at 133 pounds. Seeing Mueller back at 125 is a surprise in its own right. Even more surprising, however, is that Mueller is competing attached at all. Virginia announced prior to the season that Mueller would be redshirting and focus on preparing for the U23 World Championships, where he ended up placing fifth. However, the plans changed when UVA’s starting 125 pounder Louie Hayes bumped up to 133. Mueller is 5-0 this season but hasn’t wrestled any ranked competition yet.
Read to rest of the list at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/January/11/Willis-NCAA-mid-season-report?mc_cid=dd084dda5b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
High School Insider: How the Beat the Streets Brawl came together and attracted national powers
Just maybe next year Mike Powell will check on the availability of Wrigley Field or the United Center. This Saturday, however, Powell, the Executive Director of Beat the Streets in Chicago, is just happy with the Oak Park River Forest Field House. The first Beat the Streets Brawl featuring five teams in the InterMat Fab 50 — No. 28 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 4 Bergen Catholic (N.J.), No. 5 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 9 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), and No. 17 Poway (Calif.) — will battle each other in front of what Powell is estimating a crowd that could number between 2,000 to 3,000. When Powell, the former OPRF head coach, took over Beat the Streets last March one of the first things he did was a brainstorming session with his staff. Rest of the story at http://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1547239137456&twSessionId=luirmebarf&postId=1017511132&mc_cid=dd084dda5b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Wrestling Weekend That Was: Rob Koll wins at father’s old home
The holidays are near, so is a short break from competition for many programs. UNI and Iowa State packed in one last dual. High schools packed in one final big tournament weekend. This is the Wrestling Weekend That Was: Honors and almost homecoming for Koll
Cornell University Coach Rob Koll was born in Pennsylvania, competed in State College, Pa., as a prep and was one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top wrestlers and an NCAA champion at North Carolina. He didn’t actually live in Cedar Falls, but he felt the strong connection when he brought the eighth-ranked Big Red to the West Gym for a dual against No. 16 Northern Iowa. Interestingly, Koll was recognized as an honorary captain before the dual. His late father, Bill Koll, won three national titles at UNI and coached the Panthers for 11 seasons.
“I used to vacation here, so I used to run through these halls when I was a little boy,” Koll said. “And, my wife is from Ames, so I feel like I’m home at this place. It hasn’t changed a whole lot, the facility, obviously.” Bill Koll was a three-time All-American from 1946-48 as a competitor, earning Outstanding Wrestler honors at nationals twice. He led UNI from 1953-57 and 1959-64. The Panthers placed in the top 10 nationally four straight seasons, tying for eighth and finishing fifth at the NCAA Division I tournament in 1961 and 1962. UNI transitioned to Division II, getting third and eighth in his final two seasons before leaving to coach Penn State from 1965-79.
UNI’s wrestling room is named after Bill Koll thanks to the efforts of program supporter Sandy Stevens. Koll’s family created an endowed scholarship for UNI wrestlers.
Koll is in his 26th season as Cornell head coach and guided the Big Red to a 21-14 victory over the Panthers. He is 5-0 all-time against UNI, but earned his first win in front of more than 1,500 at the same small, hot venue where his father compiled a 72-44-6 dual record.
Rest of the story at https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/wrestling-weekend-that-was-rob-koll-wins-at-fathers-old-home-20181217?mc_cid=fe6a0178fe&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
