Wick, Hidlay, Rademacher, Hendrickson win men’s freestyle gold at Pan American Championship; USA claims team title handily
MONTERREY, Mexico – The United States men’s freestyle team finished strong on the final day of the 2025 Senior Pan American Championships, adding seven medals to its haul, including four more champions, as well as the team title. U.S. wrestlers who won gold-medal matches on Sunday night were Evan Wick (79 kg), Trent Hidlay (92 kg), Justin Rademacher (97 kg) and Wyatt Hendrickson (125 kg).
Hendrickson rocked the house in the last match of the finals, needing only 23 seconds to pin Richard Deschatelets of Canada. After getting four points on a blast double right off the whistle, Hendrickson was able to lock up and toss Deschatelets with a five point power drive, and finish off the fall. Hendrickson, a 2023 U23 World champion, had two pins and a technical fall in the tournament.
Rademacher was inspiring in his 5-4 victory over 2024 Olympian and 2023 Pan American Games silver medalist Arturo Silot Torres of Cuba. Rademacher took a 2-0 lead early, stretched it to 5-2 in the second period. Silot scored a takedown to make it 5-4 but could not score again. Rademacher, a 2024 U20 World bronze medalist, competes for Oregon State. Wick and Hidlay finished off undefeated runs in their round robin competition.
Wick won all four of his matches with 10-0 technical falls, including his Sunday night 10-0 shut out of Victor Hernandez Luna of Mexico. Wick earned a gold on his first U.S. continental team. Hidlay was also dominant, … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/may/11/wick-hidlay-rademacher-hendrickson-win-men-s-freestyle-gold-at-pan-american-championship-usa-claims-team-title-handily
Olympic medalist Dake leads strong Senior World Team Trials field in men’s freestyle
This weekend, 59 elite athletes will battle in the men’s freestyle division at the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament being held at Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center in Louisville, Ky., May 16-17.
Multiple Olympians, World medalists, Senior World Team members, age-group standouts, college national champions and top high school prospects are in the fold with sights set on securing one of the eight remaining spots at Final X.
Online registration is open through May 15, leaving the door open for more athletes to enter last minute. However, the registration deadline to be eligible for tournament seeding was last Friday, making it unlikely many more entries come in.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Eight brackets will be contested in the men’s freestyle division at the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. Each champion in Louisville will face the 2025 U.S. Open champion in a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the Team USA representative at the 2025 Senior World Championships. Final X will take place on June 14 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
There are two Final X matchups already determined in men’s freestyle, 57 kg and 61 kg, which removes those weight classes from the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament field.
ELIGIBLE ATHLETES
Athletes must qualify to enter the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament field. To review the Senior World Team selection process in each discipline, including Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament qualification criteria, visit the Team Selection Criteria page.
A list of qualified athletes for Louisville post-U.S. Open is available on themat.com. A complete list of entries as of May 13 is available below.
13 WRESTLERS TO WATCH
Kyle Dake headlines the group at 86 kg. The two-time Olympic bronze medalist shifted to a new weight class in late April at the U.S. Open. Dake, a four-time Senior World champion, looks to secure the last spot in Final X.
There are six athletes that have competed at a Senior World Championship tournament. Nick Lee, Dake and Chance Marsteller were teammates on the 2023 Senior World Team that competed in Belgrade, Serbia. … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/may/13/olympic-medalist-dake-leads-strong-senior-world-team-trials-field-in-men-s-freestyle
One Year of David Taylor at Oklahoma State
On May 7th, it marked the first anniversary of one of the most surprising and potentially transformative moves in recent college wrestling history. Of course, that was the day that Oklahoma State named David Taylor as their new head wrestling coach. As of only a few weeks prior, Taylor was competing for a spot on the Olympic Team and had no head coaching experience; however, he was one of the most popular and recognizable names in the sport.
As you might have guessed, the first year under Taylor was very notable. On the mat, on the recruiting trail, in the freestyle world, and much more. We’ve documented some of the key moments of year one under Taylor in one article.
May 7th, 2024: David Taylor Named Oklahoma State head coach
After about a week of “he is or isn’t he” Taylor made it official in a late-night release that sent shockwaves through the wrestling community.
May 9th, 2024: Taylor adds Jimmy Kennedy and Thomas Gilman to staff
The addition of Taylor’s brother-in-law, Jimmy Kennedy, was an expected move; however, bringing in Thomas Gilman from the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club was a bit unexpected.
May 10th, 2024: David Taylor’s introductory news conference
We got to see Taylor in the orange and black for the first time and heard from him along with legendary Oklahoma State head coach John Smith and athletic director Chad Weiberg. … moe at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/big-12/one-year-of-david-taylor-at-oklahoma-state-r100246/
Lanham Receives Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award
DURHAM, N.C. — Recently Duke wrestling head coach Glen Lanham was presented with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award from the Downstate New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place April 26 at the Melville Marriott in Melville, N.Y.
Lanham received the award along with Dave Warren and Leo Palacio. High school wrestling coaches Joe Condon, Kevin Brodsky and Rob Shaver were also recognized for reaching the 300-win milestone. The Lifetime Service award is presented to coaches, officials and contributors who have devoted a minimum of 20 years of dedication and service to the sport of wrestling.
In his 13th season as the head coach at Duke, Lanham has led 15 wrestlers to the NCAA Championship, while helping lead a pair of squads to two top 25 team finishes, the best in program history. This past year, he guided Connor Barket to his first appearance in the NCAA Championship in the heavyweight division.
Lanham was a New York freestyle and Greco Roman Champion while wrestling for Lindenhurst High School in New York. In college, he was a two-time Outstanding Midwest Regional wrestler and a Division I All-American at both the University of Tennessee as well as Oklahoma State University.
Lanham began his coaching career at Oklahoma State, where the team won two National Championships and three Big Eight team titles. He moved on to coach at Midwest City H.S., where he coached 14 individual State Champions. At the University of North Carolina, … more at … https://goduke.com/news/2025/5/12/lanham-receives-lifetime-service-to-wrestling-award
Age-group wrestlers make their mark at 2025 USA Wrestling Beach Nationals in Carolina Beach
CAROLINA BEACH, N.C.—The 20th Beach National Championships were held in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, on May 10, with over 300 athletes competing in the sand.
The Beach Wrestling community from North Carolina USA Wrestling and the local sports commission created a successful event, which included numerous age levels for boys and girls, as well as a Masters division for men.
Boys champions were crowned in the 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, and Junior levels. Girls champions were crowned at the 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and Junior levels. There were 11 groups in the Masters division that wrestled on the beach on Saturday.
Full brackets and results can be found on USA Bracketing. The recap of the Senior division and U17/U20 divisions of the 2025 Beach Wrestling National tournament is on TheMat.com.
2025 USA Wrestling Beach Nationals
At Carolina Beach, North Carolina, May 10, 2025
Final Results
8U Boys – 80
1st – Declan Edge (Lost Boyz Wrestling Club)
2nd – Elva Placencia-foy (North Carolina) … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/may/11/age-group-wrestlers-make-their-mark-at-2025-usa-wrestling-beach-nationals-in-carolina-beach
Matside video review changes proposed in men’s wrestling
The NCAA Men’s Wrestling Rules Committee at its meeting this week proposed modifications to the matside video review process for the 2025-26 season. The committee recommended allowing third-party reviewers to be able to consult with the referee about pertinent information on a coach’s video review challenge.
Currently, third-party reviewers look at the sequence being challenged without any consultation with the mat referee. Additionally, committee members recommended allowing coaches to retain their video challenge if there is obstruction in any part of the video sequence that is being challenged.
Coaches also would retain their challenge if the action that is being questioned is not in the frame of the video. Currently, in these scenarios, coaches would lose their challenge if the video isn’t determined to show indisputable evidence that the original call should be overturned.
Before becoming official, all recommended rules changes must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which is scheduled to discuss men’s wrestling rules recommendations June 10. “The committee feels that it is important to get calls right,” said Deral Brown, Men’s Wrestling Rules Committee chair and head coach at Newberry. “Context in making these decisions is critical. We believe coaches should retain their challenge if the entirety of the sequence is unable to be assessed.”
Another proposal made by the committee is if the video review system fails during a dual meet or at a mat in a tournament, video review would not be used for the remainder of that match. If the system cannot be corrected before the conclusion of the match in which the video review system failed, it would be suspended from use for the remainder of the event.
Mandatory mouthpiece proposal
Committee members recommended making mouthguards required for competition, beginning next season. … more at … https://www.ncaa.org/news/2025/5/1/media-center-matside-video-review-changes-proposed-in-mens-wrestling.aspx
St. Andrews University announces abrupt closure
The North Carolina liberal arts institution’s president said that “financial sustainability is no longer attainable.”
Dive Brief:
St. Andrews University, in North Carolina, will cease operations next Monday at the end of its spring semester, it announced abruptly on Friday. The institution, which became a branch of Florida-based Webber International University after a 2011 merger, has “reached a point where financial sustainability is no longer attainable,” Campus President Tarun Malik said in a community message. St. Andrews said it is still ironing out formal teach-out agreements for students to finish their studies. On its website, St. Andrews listed more than a dozen institutions that have “expressed interest in supporting our students.”
Dive Insight:
St. Andrews offered little detail about what went wrong at the university beyond Malik’s note about financial sustainability.
The small liberal arts institution’s enrollment has fluctuated in recent years, federal data shows. … more at … https://www.highereddive.com/news/st-andrews-university-announces-abrupt-closure/746540/
Cerritos secures three-peat at 2025 3C2A Women’s State Championship, with Mt. San Antonio in second
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – The 2025 3C2A Women’s Wrestling State Championship came down to two teams as the Cerritos Falcons led Mt. San Antonio Mounties by 21.5 teams points (206-184.5) before the finals began.
Although Mt. SAC closed the gap by picking up 27 points in the finals, the Falcons managed to hold onto their lead, taking home the title to complete the elusive three-peat. Vida Beckel (160lbs), Kinsey Konrad (180lbs), Raven Ross (207lbs) and Eniekeye Osede (235lbs) all put on dominant performances to win their brackets and lead Cerritos to another championship.
The runner up Mounties were led by Mackenzie Muniz (117lbs), Jasmine Macias (131lbs), Leilani Lazaro (124lbs) and Alexis Jimenez (145 lbs) as well as Tehya Ledesma (138lbs), who provided the most exciting moment of the night as she came back from an 8-0 deficit to pin her opponent in the championship round. In addition, Mt. SAC saw its staff voted as the Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year while Berenice Chihuahua (131lbs) earned the trophy for the most falls in the tournament with three in 3:22 minutes of action.
But for Cerritos, depth was key as the quality of their wrestlers throughout the tournament shined and pushed them over the top, finishing with seven All-Americans … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/april/20/cerritos-secures-three-peat-at-2025-3c2a-women-s-state-championship-with-mt-san-antonio-in-second
Why college wrestling coaches are excited about National Duals Invitational in Tulsa
When he bumped into Oklahoma State wrestling coach David Taylor on the recruiting trail in late February, Nebraska coach Mark Manning had one simple question.
Although the teams were preparing for their respective conference tournaments and the NCAA Championships in the coming weeks, Manning was thinking about November. “I think we’re in, right?” Manning asked somewhat jokingly, referring to the inaugural National Duals Invitational next fall in Tulsa.
The Cornhuskers, who went on to finish second to Penn State at both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships, are assured of a bid to the 16-team field that is set to pay out $1 million total purse to the participating teams. OSU is serving as the host school for the event, which will be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa on Nov. 15-16.
The top 12 finishers at the NCAA Championships last month earned automatic bids, should they accept them. So far, 11 spots have been filled with OSU, Nebraska, Iowa, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Northern Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Cornell and Virginia Tech entering the field.
The full bracket is expected to be set by mid-July, and it’s unclear if all of the country’s top teams are interested in participating. But many coaches are excited for what a national dual tournament could bring to the sport. … more at … https://sports.yahoo.com/article/why-college-wrestling-coaches-excited-104554461.html
From high school to NCAA, it’s not always by the book
This is one of the columns I’ve had the most fun writing every year. The NCAA Championships are the measuring stick for every college wrestler in America. Everybody remembers what happened those three heart-stopping days in March – words that never rang true more than they did this year.
It’s also, in a sense, an evaluation of how well I do my job. After all, the rankings I do every issue during the season for WIN are more than just the pecking order for the nation’s best high school wrestlers. They also provide the basis for a lot of speculation – by college coaches and by fans – of who we’re most likely to see on the awards stand at future NCAA tournaments. They’re my take on whom you’ll see becoming the champions and All-Americans of the future. And that’s why this brief look back is always so interesting – in a sense, it’s my personal report card. I hope it’s as interesting for all of you.
As we’ve seen over the years, nothing is absolute. The No. 1 wrestler in high school, it stands to reason, is going to be No. 1 in college as well…right? If the tournament everybody in the rankings is shooting for – the NCAA Championships, held most recently at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia this month – is any indication, not necessarily.
While wrestlers ranked No. 1 more than held their own, the 80 All-Americans, including the wrestlers who competed in the championship final matches, ran the gamut in rankings position when they finished their high school careers.
Only three of the 10 champions, led by the first-ever five-time champion, Carter Starocci (184) of Penn State, finished their prep careers with the No. 1 ranking at their weight class. The others were Lucas Byrd (133) of Illinois and two-time champion Jesse Mendez (141) of Ohio State.
Both of Nebraska’s champions, Ridge Lovett (149) and Antrell Taylor (157), finished their prep careers in the No. 12 spot – a ranking almost unheard of for a champion in recent years. Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State, whose stunning upset of two-time champion Gable Steveson of Minnesota was one of the tournament’s all-time moments, also finished his prep career outside the Top 5 – he was No. 6. … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/04/18/from-high-school-to-ncaa-its-not-always-by-the-book/
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
Takedown Report 