Takedown Report

2018-2019 NAIA Men’s Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll (No. 2)

Once again, it’s Grand View (Iowa) at No. 1  
By Pete Scantlebury, NAIA Manager of Athletics Communications

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the 48^th-consecutive rankings period, Grand View (Iowa) is No. 1 in the NAIA Men’s Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll.  The next installment of the Coaches’ Poll is scheduled for Dec. 28.

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000-2001)

• Grand View’s streak at No. 1 goes back to Oct. 17, 2012. The Vikings recently beat then ninth-ranked Baker 38-6 in a Heart of America matchup on Dec. 6.
• The top five remained the same from the last poll, with Indiana Tech, Montana State-Northern, Cumberlands (Ky.) and Providence (Mont.) all trailing Grand View, in that order.
• New to the poll this week are No. 15 Southern Oregon and No. 20 Eastern Oregon.
• Northwestern (Iowa) and Dickinson State (N.D.) fell out of the poll.
• Grand View leads the way with three top-ranked wrestlers in their weight classes: Justin Portillo (125 pounds), Ryan Niven (165 pounds) and Evan Hansen (197 pounds).
• Since 2001, only Grand View (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-2018), former members Notre Dame (Ohio) (2010-11) and Lindenwood (Mo.) (2006-07) have spent the entire season ranked No. 1.

Poll Methodology

• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the eight conferences.
• Two days prior to the national poll, each qualifying group rater submits the top six individuals from each weight class in his conference into the system. Only wrestlers listed on a conference ballot are considered for the national ballot.
• The top 20 individuals in each weight class are based on how each voter ranks the best individuals. An individual receives 20 points for each first-place vote, 19 for second place and so on through the list. This same point system is used to determine the team ranking.
• The postseason poll is determined using the individual and team results from the national championship
• For the complete Top 20 calendar, click here.

2018-2019 NAIA Men’s Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll – Poll 2 (Dec. 12, 2018)

Dropped out: Northwestern (Iowa), Dickinson State (N.D.)

Receiving votes: Briar Cliff (Iowa) 39, Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 35, Morningside (Iowa) 34, Concordia (Neb.) 33, Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 32, Lourdes (Ohio) 31, Northwestern (Iowa) 31, Dickson State (N.D.) 28, Doane (Neb.) 26, Bethany (Kan.) 19, Graceland (Iowa) 16, Kansas Wesleyan 14, Saint Mary (Kan.) 14, Benedictine (Kan.) 12, St. Andrews (N.C.) 12,  Rest of the rankings and story at http://www.naia.org//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=211783656&mc_cid=a96abd6d61&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

December 14, 2018 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

New Jersey’s first girls’ wrestling season begins this week, and interest at one school has exploded

Abby Vance took an odd path to an unusual place: She went from the football field to the wrestling mat.  A senior at Kingsway Regional High School, Vance played in the Powder Puff football game, an annual non-tackle battle between girls in the junior and senior classes, and starred as a linebacker racing from sideline to sideline for the 12th-grade squad.  “The coach saw how athletic and aggressive I was, and he was like, ‘You totally should come out for wrestling,’ ” Vance said.

The 17-year-old signed up for the sport on a whim, took the mat for the first time earlier this month, and now is part of a remarkable wave of interest in girls’ wrestling at the school in Woolwich Township, Gloucester County.  
Vance is one of around 40 girls at Kingsway who have gone out for the sport, which will be sponsored by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association for the first time this season.    New Jersey is the first Mid-Atlantic state to offer girls’ wrestling and one of just 14 states in the nation to sponsor the sport. The other states are Texas, California, Hawaii, Tennessee, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Massachusetts, Arizona, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, and Maine.  Supporters of all-girls’ wrestling teams in Pennsylvania said they hope their state follows New Jersey with high school-sanctioned girls’ teams next year. Joe Stabilito, the boys’ wrestling coach at Upper Dublin High School and an officer at USA Wrestling, the national governing body for freestyle wrestling, said he has spent the last six years laying the groundwork for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association to include girls on its roster of sports. He said he has several girls on his boys’ team this season.

“It’s a process that has lots of aspects to it,” Stabilito said of PIAA inclusion. “But there is no doubt that there has been an increase in interest. Girls’ wrestling is the fastest-growing sport.”  PIAA executive director Robert Lombardi said that about 180 girls are members of boys’ wrestling teams, and that number has stayed about the same for the last three years.  “We’re still in the infancy of this situation,” Lombardi said. “If interest grows, we’d certainly evaluate it and take a closer look at it.”

The wrestling season in New Jersey begins Friday. The state’s governing organization for high school sports will hold a girls-only regional tournament Feb. 17 at Red Bank Regional High School, with the top six qualifiers in each weight class advancing to the state championships March 1-2 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.  NJSIAA assistant director Bill Bruno, who oversees wrestling, said there has been a surprising surge in interest around the state in female participation in the sport. But Bruno said Kingsway is the state’s hotbed for girls’ wrestling.  Rest of the story at http://www2.philly.com/high-school-sports/new-jersey/girls-wrestling-new-jersey-high-school-kingsway-20181212.html?mc_cid=a96abd6d61&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

December 13, 2018 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Live Stream Schedule for NCAA Division I Wrestling: Dec. 14th – Dec. 20th

19 NCAA Wrestling duals featuring Division I teams are live streaming on the internet this week. Where can you watch? There are many outlets scattered around the web that will provide college wrestling this weekend, some free, some for a fee. Here is the list of all NCAA Division I wrestling events we’ve found steams for starting Friday, December 14th through Thursday, December 20th, 2018. If you spot any other DI streams, let us know by sending an email to support@theopenmat.com. Enjoy!

All start times are eastern. Dual rankings are used for duals, tournament rankings are used for tournaments. 

Friday, December 14:
#12 Arizona State at #1 Penn State, 6:00 PM  ESPN2

Saturday, December 15:
Cleveland State, Edinboro, Kent State, Maryland at Cleveland State Open, hosted by Cleveland State, 9:00 AM

#10 Nebraska at #11 North Carolina, 6:30 PM  ACC/WatchESPN

West Virginia at #16 Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM   ACC/WatchESPN

Sunday, December 16:
#20 Lock Haven at Bloomsburg, 1:00 PM  Bloomsburg/CBS Sports Digital

Buffalo at #7 Missouri, 1:00 PM   MUTigers.com

#10 Nebraska at #5 North Carolina State, 1:00 PM  ACC/WatchESPN

Rider at #14 Rutgers, 1:00 PM   BTN2Go

Bucknell at #16 Pittsburgh, 2:00 PM     ACC/WatchESPN

Oklahoma at Appalachian State, 3:00 PM  AppVision

#13 Cornell at #18 Northern Iowa, 3:00 PM  FloWrestling

#2 Oklahoma State at Northern Colorado, 4:00 PM  PlutoTV

South Dakota State at Oregon State, 4:00 PM  Pac-12.com

Ohio at #19 Iowa State, 7:00 PM  Cyclones.TV

Rest of the story at https://news.theopenmat.com/college-wrestling-news/live-stream-schedule-for-ncaa-division-i-wrestling-dec-14th-dec-20th/70875?fbclid=IwAR0HZTCo7lNGETjlxxVs6srtwmFqac3UUYlV2GY_R3LGR_Ukbgfz4FNSuRM

December 13, 2018 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2018-2019 NAIA Women’s Coaches’ Top 20 Poll (No. 2)

Top 25 Highlights

• Menlo claims six of the top-ranked wrestlers in the most recent poll: AlleidaMartinez (109 pounds), Gracie Figueroa (116 pounds), Solin Piearcy (136 pounds), Angela Peralta (143 pounds), Iman Kzem (155 pounds) and Precious Bell (170 pounds).
• Wayland Baptist has two top-ranked wrestlers in Ovieonce Ray (101 pounds) and Paige Baynes (191 pounds).
• Rounding out the top five were No. 3 Southern Oregon, No. 4 Campbellsville (Ky.) and No. 5 Life (Ga.).
• Entering the poll was Missouri Baptist at No. 11.
• This is the first year for women’s wrestling as an NAIA invitational sport. Twenty-five NAIA institutions field wrestling teams during the 2018-2019 season. Women’s wrestling will be eligible for championship status after two years of competition as an invitational sport and 40 institutions sponsor a varsity women’s wrestling team.

Poll Methodology

• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the four conferences and groupings.
• Two days prior to the national poll, each qualifying group rater submits the top six individuals from each weight class in his conference into the system. Only wrestlers listed on a conference ballot are considered for the national ballot.
• The top 20 individuals in each weight class are based on how each voter ranks the best individuals. An individual receives 20 points for each first-place vote, 19 for second place and so on through the list. This same point system is used to determine the team ranking.
• For the complete Top 20 calendar, click here.

2018-2019 NAIA Women’s Wrestling Coaches Top 20 Poll – No. 2

Rest of the story and individual rankings at http://www.nwcaonline.com/2018-2019-naia-womens-wrestling-coaches-top-20-poll-no-2/?mc_cid=a96abd6d61&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

December 13, 2018 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Coach Pat Popolizio focusing on upcoming dual with Nebraska – NCS33

Episode 33 of the #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast talks with NC State head wrestling coach Pat Popolizio about the duals with Old Dominion and Appalachian State as well as the preparation and a surprise in store as the Pack welcomes Nebraska
Show Segments
1:30 – First semester wrapping up
3:20 – Talking redshirts
4:25 – ODU quick and dirty recap
5:50 – Normal routine on the road
8:30 – App State quick and dirty recap
12:00 – #Pack Reynolds against Nebraska. There will be a surprise

Rest of the story at http://www.mattalkonline.com/podcast/pack-mentality/coach-pat-popolizio-focusing-on-upcoming-dual-with-nebraska-ncs33/?mc_cid=a96abd6d61&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

December 13, 2018 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Top 15 unchanged as Big Ten, Big 12 still dominate Theraworx NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll

Manheim, Pennsylvania – As the semester ends for many schools around the country, the competition also slows. With that, we see minimal movement in the most recent Theraworx NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, released on Tuesday.

As usual, it was the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences that dominated the poll, as the two combined for 16 of the nation’s top 25 teams. Big Ten programs has Penn State, Ohio State, Iowa and Michigan occupying four of the top five spots in the country. Oklahoma State sits third. The ACC has four teams in this week’s poll, while the EIWA has two.  Penn State (3-0) was idle but remained No. 1, earning all 16 first-place votes. It’s the 22^nd straight week the Nittany Lions have been ranked atop the Coaches Poll.  Ohio State improved to 4-0 after beating No. 10 Wisconsin at home 23-13. The loss was the first for Wisconsin (6-1) in the Chris Bono era. The Buckeyes saw the home debuts of U23 World Team members Myles Martin and Kollin Moore.  Oklahoma State coach John Smith won his 50^th career Bedlam dual as a coach as the No. 3 Cowboys (4-0) mauled rival Oklahoma 41-2 in front of over 5,000 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. No. 4 Iowa (6-0) had the week’s biggest crowd, with over 7,400 coming to Carver-Hawkeye to see the host Hawkeyes defeat injury-riddled Lehigh 28-14. Lehigh, which started the year with high hopes and a Top 10 rankings, has slid to No. 20 and has started the season 0-4.  Rest of the story at http://www.nwcaonline.com/top-15-unchanged-as-big-ten-big-12-still-dominate-theraworx-nwca-division-i-wrestling-coaches-poll/?mc_cid=56c2da1b4a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

December 12, 2018 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Wrestling coach plans to retire after 50 years at same school

TDR Editor’s Notes;  This may be from a state far away yet quite amazing and hard to imagine.  Our compliments and kudos to this coach.  Congrats.
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Imagine having the same job at the same place for a half-century.   Ron Ryan doesn’t have to imagine. He’s served as head wrestling coach at Mount Olive High School in Illinois since 1969. Now the 73-year-old has revealed that he plans to submit a letter officially announcing his retirement after 50 seasons on the job.  Ryan owns the distinction of being the longest-serving high school wrestling coach at a single school in the state of Illinois, according to the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association.  Wrestling — and the world beyond the mats — has changed a lot since Ryan arrived at the school located between St. Louis and Springfield, the Illinois state capital.  The year Ryan became coach of the Mount Olive Wildcats, Richard Nixon had been sworn in as President. Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. The No. 1 TV show was NBC’s “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”; the top movie, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” A new home could be purchased for $27,900; a gallon of gas cost 35 cents.  As for the oldest and greatest sport, it’s seen its share of changes during Ryan’s tenure.  “You wouldn’t expect a girl to come close to a mat back then,” Ryan told the Springfield Journal-Record. “Back then they were statisticians and cheerleaders. That’s all they were.”

Just last weekend, Ryan took five girl wrestlers to participate in a tournament near Peoria.  Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/20939

December 12, 2018 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Fresno City wins third straight state wrestling title

TDR Editor’s Notes;  An end of season championship worth noting even if the competition is all from one state.  Congrats to the coach and team.
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Fresno City College won its third straight state wrestling championship with a dominating team performance Friday and Saturday at Cerritos College in Norwalk.  The Rams had seven wrestlers reach one of the 10 weight-class finals, four won and Fresno City totaled 187 points to outdistance runner-up Sacramento with 119.5.  The Rams have won 16 state wrestling championships with 83 individual winners. Cerritos is second all-time with 60 individual champions.  Isaiah Perez (133 pounds) became a two-time state champin and Daniel Perez (149), Augie Garcia (165) and Abner Romero (179) also won weight-division titles for Fresno. Mario Romeno (125), Luis Ramos (141) and Ruben Garcia (157) were runners-up.   It was coach Paul Keysaw’s eighth state title at Fresno and 11th overall including his time at Moorpark.  The Rams also won the state dual-meet championship.  Read more here: https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/article222868870.html?mc_cid=5282bc16f8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b#storylink=cpy

December 12, 2018 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

UNH club wrestling team is up off the mat

DURHAM – A little over two months ago, Mark Borak gathered up his headgear and shoes and headed for practice.

It was Oct. 1 and the University of New Hampshire freshman was eager to get his tenure with the school’s club wrestling team started. After only wrestling a few years at Bow High School, he quickly fell in love with the sport, so the opportunity to continue competing greatly excited him.

Borak’s first experience didn’t go the way he thought it would, though. Upon arrival, he noticed there were only a few other students present and instead of getting ready to hit the mats, they were told to gather in another room where they were told the club was likely to be disbanded. The club simply didn’t have the numbers and UNH requires that at least 10 athletes are at every practice in order for it to be a legitimate club.  It was a tough blow and the news didn’t sit well with Borak.  “The vibe in the room was that it was pretty much over,” he said. “When they kind of told us no I wasn’t really going to take that for an answer. They told me we had a ton of work to do and probably wouldn’t be able to get on the mats this season. I was like, ‘Alright, well I’m going to do it.’ I kind of told them that it was going to happen and that I was just going to get it done.”  The first and most obvious thing that needed to be addressed was the lack of numbers. Borak pounded the pavement in an effort to market the club by word of mouth while also making fliers and taking on the role as the face of the club. He wanted people to buy what he was selling.  Jonathan Carrigan was among those that did. The senior had wrestled for the club team in each year he had been at UNH and spent four wildly successful years competing at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton. He witnessed the fall of the program first-hand and has been a part of its rebirth.  “It was partly a lack of numbers and also a slip in structure,” Carrigan said, when explaining what led to the club’s downfall. “For example, now we have two student leaders, a president, a vice president, we have three captains for practices, we have a secretary and a treasurer. We have the whole structure that allows the club to be successful, whereas before we just had the two student leaders that were doing all those jobs. It was too much and we ended up losing a coach.”  Rest of the story at http://www.fosters.com/sports/20181209/unh-club-wrestling-team-is-up-off-mat

December 11, 2018 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Reenan Named ACC Wrestler of the Week for Second Time

Nation’s #5 ranked 184-pounder scored pin in dual vs. Appalachian State

RALEIGH,N.C. – For thesecond time this season, NC State R-So. Nick Reenan has been named the ACCWrestler of the Week.  In theWolfpack’s 29-9 win over Appalachian State last week, Reenan scored a firstperiod pin over Alan Clothier, a 2018 NCAA Qualifier. Reenan scored the bout’sfirst takedown early in the bout, then scored a second takedown with a headlockwhich he converted to a pin at the 1:02 mark.  He know hasthree pins in his six wins this season.  Reenan alsowon the weekly award after a top-10 win on Nov. 13.  Rest of the story at Visit www.GoPack.com

December 11, 2018 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment