2018: A year of wrestling news worth celebrating
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Author Mark Palmer is correct in his well written article with a summary of the many good events of progress in wrestling this past year.
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Most of us are inundated with what seems like never-ending waves of negative news stories ‘year round. However, as we look back at 2018, there were news events in amateur wrestling definitely worth remembering … and celebrating.
Growth of high school wrestlingParticipation levels for both boys and girls in high school actually went up this past year when compared to the previous year. According to the NFHS, a total of 262,126 student-athletes participated in high school wrestling in the U.S. — 245,564 boys, and 16,562 girls — for the 2017-18 school year. By comparison, during the 2016-17 academic year, a total of 259,391 high school students wrestled nationwide –14,587 girls, and 244,804 boys. That translates into an overall increase of 2,735 more athletes involved in wrestling this year vs. last year, with 760 more boys and 1,975 more girls taking to the mat.
Growing numbers of college wrestling programs …
High school athletes wishing to continue wrestling in college will find more opportunities in the new year, thanks to decisions made by a number of schools to add wrestling to their varsity sports roster — including a handful of women’s wrestling programs. Here are the new programs InterMat reported on in 2018 which are expected to take to the mat in fall 2019:
Arizona Christian University, an 800-student private school located in Phoenix, not only announced the formation of a new men’s mat program, but also has hired a coach to head up the program, Travis Patrick.
Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/21060
Grand View to add women’s wrestling program
DES MOINES, Iowa — Grand View University Director of Athletics, Troy Plummer, is proud to announce the addition of a women’s wrestling program in the near future.
Due to the increased interest and participation in the sport of women’s wrestling locally and in the NAIA, along with the success of the men’s program, Grand View will be adding the sport to give more females to the opportunity to compete collegiately. “We are very excited that we are going to add women’s wrestling as the 26th varsity sport at Grand View,” says Plummer. “We will be determining the appropriate start date by the end of January, but women will be competing in the sport of wrestling at Grand View in the fall of 2019 or 2020.” This is the tenth varsity program Plummer has added since becoming Director of Athletics in 2007.
Grand View will become only the second college in the state of Iowa to offer a women’s wrestling program in addition to Waldorf University. The NAIA dubbed women’s wrestling as an invitational sport beginning in the 2018-19 academic year. The decision was unanimously approved in April of 2018 by the NAIA’s National Administrative Council at the NAIA National Convention. The NAIA has more member institutions sponsoring women’s wrestling than any other intercollegiate athletics association.
Invitational status officially puts women’s wrestling under NAIA purview. This means the sport will begin competing and developing the protocols and framework needed for championship status. A national women’s wrestling invitational will be hosted annually. Once a sport has 40 teams and has completed two years at invitational status, it may apply for championship status.
Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/21062
Hoosiers Defeat No. 12 North Carolina, 19-16
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Indiana wrestling team took down No. 12 North Carolina at the South Beach Duals on Saturday.
Key Moments
• The Hoosiers fell behind 13-0 as North Carolina won the first four bouts of the dual match.
• Senior Jake Danishek pinned Josh McClure to get the Hoosiers six points.
• The Hoosiers tied the dual 13-13 with a major decision, 18-5, by Jake Cavaciu.
• Indiana took their first lead of the dual with a 3-2 decision by Norman Conley to put Indiana up 16-13.
• Jake Kleimola put Indiana up 19-13 with a 4-1 decision.
Notes
• Indiana improves to 3-3 overall and North Carolina drops to 3-2.
• The Hoosiers last ranked win came February 19, 2017 against #20 Appalachian State, 21-12. Prior to that it was against #20 Minnesota on December 11, 2015.
• The last top-15 win for Indiana came on Feb. 25, 2008 when the No. 21 Hoosiers beat No. 10 Northwestern, 24-14.
Rest of story and notes at https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2018/12/29/wrestling-hoosiers-defeat-no-12-north-carolina-19-16.aspx?mc_cid=c7b35efc1e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
PackWrestle Downs #13 Purdue 27-13, Falls on Criteria to #18 Wyoming
FT. LAUDERDALE, FLA. – The NC State wrestling team split a pair of duals on the first day of action at the South Beach Duals in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
In the opening match, #7 NC State fell on criteria to #18 Wyoming, 22-21. Both teams won five bouts, and Wyoming overcame a 21-12 deficit with two points left to get the team win. The Cowboys secured a pin at heavyweight and the tiebreaker was most pins, which Wyoming had a 2-1 advantage.
NC State came back in the second dual and defeated #13 Purdue, 27-13. The Wolfpack won six of the first seven matches of the dual to jump out to a 27-3 lead. Among the seven wins were four bonus point wins, and a pair of pins. Rest of story and details at https://gopack.com/news/2018/12/29/wrestling-packwrestle-downs-13-purdue-27-13-falls-on-criteria-to-18-wyoming.aspx?mc_cid=c7b35efc1e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Nick Corey: How one car ride changed the lives of two high school wrestlers
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Interested background story on a North Carolina Wolfpack wrestler. Inspiring to learn of the bond wrestlers have in overcoming tragic events.
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How far is human fragility from the thoughts of a high school wrestler’s mind as he speeds on a winding, two-lane road to watch the NCAA wrestling finals with his buddies? The driver is with his friend and high school teammate on a Saturday night in March of 2013. They’re on their way to meet up with a few of their peers to watch the coronation of 10 individual national champions and undoubtedly debate strategy and officiating calls before returning home. They’ll talk on the drive, likely about the night’s biggest match — Cornell’s Kyle Dake versus Penn State’s David Taylor in the 165-pound title bout.
North Carolina State’s Sean Fausz was a high school junior. Collin Humphrey was, too. Both wrestled at Campbell County High School in Alexandria, Kentucky. Their season had ended weeks earlier with Fausz winning his first of two state titles. Dake would win his fourth NCAA title that, becoming the third wrestler in D1 history to accomplish the feat. Sean Fausz and Collin Humphrey missed it. They never made it to the party. “You never expect anything like this to happen,” Collin Humphrey said. “I woke up the next morning, not really aware of what was happening.” Humphrey was the driver that night. He would gain consciousness the next morning and learn he’d been driving recklessly. He crashed. “I was 17 and stupid,” he said. The accident left Fausz with a sprained lower lumbar in his back. He would rehab and go on to win a second state championship a year later. Fausz accepted a scholarship to North Carolina State, where he has qualified for the national tournament three times and reached the ACC finals twice. Last season, he won the ACC title at 125 pounds. Internationally, Fausz earned a silver medal last month at the U23 World Championships in Romania. “In my opinion, Sean is one of the best 125-pounders in the country,” North Carolina State coach Pat Popolizio said. “His wins over guys who have placed over the last several years prove this.”
Rest of the story at http://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1545945077044&twSessionId=okuxkgyimp&postId=936982132&mc_cid=651ae652dc&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Wrestling no longer just for the boys; program established with 22 girls
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Girls wrestling in another state looking at sanctioning it as a new sports opportunity.
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WEST POINT, Neb. (KMTV) — In most Nebraska high schools, when you find girls in the wrestling room, they’re either student managers, cheerleaders or scorekeepers, but at West Point-Beemer, they hit the mat. “I don’t think a lot of girls see it as a girls sports, just because it’s really physical and you’re getting rough with other people. I think they just mainly see it as guys because that’s how it’s been for so long,” says senior Myla Illian. That’s changing fast. More than 100 girls across the state, including 22 at West Point-Beemer alone, came out for wrestling this year. The momentum is strong enough in Nebraska, that girls wrestling could be its own sanctioned sport, as soon as next year. “It would be cool to make my own records, not under the guys so it would be awesome to have our own state and do our own thing and not have to be part of the guys,” says junior, Estefania Barragan. A girls only team was created two years ago at West Point-Beemer, as coaches wanted to avoid girl vs. boy matchups. So now the Lady Cadets travel to tournaments with the boys team but they only wrestle a handful of girls from other schools. Rest of the story at https://www.foxcarolina.com/wrestling-no-longer-just-for-the-boys-program-established-with/article_37ae7700-b16c-5f16-bbba-7ddd151372c6.html?mc_cid=6bd91e5019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Myers helping wrestlers, readying for tryout
Just hours after he led his Selinsgrove High School football team to the 2009 state championship in Hershey, Spencer Myers was sweating with his wrestling teammates during a Saturday morning practice. The day after Myers and his University of Maryland football teammates arrived back in College Park after their game versus Stanford in the 2014 Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif., Myers was back in the Terrapins wrestling room, and a week later he competed against Harvard. That dedication — along with tons of hard work and perseverance — is what the 2010 Selinsgrove graduate hopes will allow him to achieve his lofty goal of playing in the National Football League. Myers, who heads to Philadelphia in March as a camp invitee by the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul, continues to keep in shape and improve his handwork and footwork under Bucknell University wrestling coach Dan Wirnsberger as a resident athlete. He is working with the Bison heavyweights.
Rest of the story at https://www.dailyitem.com/sports/local_sports/myers-helping-wrestlers-readying-for-tryout/article_360d89cf-1647-5737-b4ea-bb5ef3bc9c48.html?mc_cid=6bd91e5019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
‘An opportunity to build something’: Mouw hopes to change DWU’s wrestling culture
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Great to see a coach willing to take on a big challenge and to build a program. We wish Coach Mouw well.
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Casey Mouw decided to take the head coaching job for the Dakota Wesleyan University wrestling team because he wanted to build something from the ground up. He admitted it’s a multi-year process, but it didn’t take long for him to find his right-hand man in Zeke Andrade, a former South Dakota State University wrestler who was recommended by SDSU assistant coach Cody Caldwell. Together, Mouw believes they can change how the program is perceived. “I knew kind of where the program had been and where it was at,” Mouw said. “Where I was at in my career and life, I just wanted a change of pace, and first off, I wanted to build something and I saw an opportunity to build something.” Just like Andrade, Mouw knows what it takes to be a successful collegiate wrestler, despite his most recent coaching experience being at Sioux Falls Roosevelt High School and a strength and conditioning coach at Crossfit Sioux Falls. As a wrestler, he spent his freshman season at Army before wrestling at NCAA Division II Augustana University for three years. He feels that experience will help him connect with his wrestlers, especially with Andrade experiencing a successful rebuild at SDSU from 2014 to 18.
Rest of the story at https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/sports/wrestling/4535609-opportunity-build-something-mouw-hopes-change-dwus-wrestling-culture?mc_cid=2c83e678bf&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
La Crosse Tribune Sportsperson of the Year: Holmen wrestling coach Jason Lulloff
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Pretty impressive for a wrestling coach to be named sportsperson of the year. Great to see the recognition. Congratulations to coach Lulloff.
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HOLMEN — Jason Lulloff was a serious athlete when he attended Kiel High School. He was a two-time WIAA Division 2 state wrestling finalist and won a 171-pound championship as a senior while being coached by his dad, Charlie. Lulloff also played football, baseball and was part of the track and field team for the Raiders and squeezed in some soccer between the summer baseball games. He also felt like he was taking advantage of a “really, really nice weight room.” That changed when he joined the wrestling program at UW-La Crosse in the fall of 2002. “I was an everyday lifter,” the Holmen High School wrestling coach said. “But when I got to college and got into a real lifting program, I was very embarrassed as far as my knowledge.” That began Lulloff’s education with weight and speed training and led him to Holmen, where it’s fair to say he has impacted the athletic program as much, or more, than anyone else for the last decade. Lulloff’s contributions as the school’s wrestling coach, assistant football coach and implementation of the popular N.A.S.T.I.E. (Nutrition And Strength Training Intensive Exercise) program have made him the La Crosse Tribune’s choice for its 2018 Sportsperson of the Year.
Rest of the story at https://lacrossetribune.com/sports/local/la-crosse-tribune-sportsperson-of-the-year-holmen-s-jason/article_ae367fb0-1d2d-572f-8e83-64fe619a6f60.html?mc_cid=6bd91e5019&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Mizzou wrestling puts on nice show at Park Hill High School with victory over Virginia
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Great to see enthusiastic crowds at a high school for a college wrestling match. We applaud innovative events to spread wrestling exposure and publicity. Congrats to the coaches and administrators who arranged this event.
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The Missouri wrestling team did not draw a capacity crowd to Park Hill High School for its dual against Virginia on Thursday night. Nope. The Tigers attracted a crowd big enough to make the fire marshal nervous. The bleachers were stuffed to the rafters. Seating on either side of the mat was jam packed. The wrestling team from Randall High School in Amarillo, Texas, arrived a few minutes late and had nowhere to sit but in an aisle of the bleachers. Wrestlers from Van Horn, Rockhurst, Oak Park, Gardner Edgerton and several other schools were in attendance to watch as well. It was just the sort of crowd Missouri coach Brian Smith envisioned when he decided to schedule a dual in Kansas City as a thank you to a bevy of seniors from the area.
Read more here: https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article222956435.html?mc_cid=7ffa3988f8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b#storylink=cpy
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
