U.S. Wrestling Foundation Honors Life Pacific Wrestling with Legacy Award
Editor’s Notes; While this new program is far west on the other coast it is good to recognize the growth of wrestling opportunities throughout our country. This is especially important and helpful to increase recognition and participation in and around the large media center of L.A.
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Life Pacific is nationally honored for boldly innovating an all-new Warrior wrestling program. U.S. Wrestling Foundation (USWF) Chairman Jeffrey Waters and Board Secretary Dan Russell recognized Life Pacific College for doing what similarly-sized colleges might never dream of doing, championing and supporting a college wrestling program. The Chairman’s Legacy Award was given to Life Pacific and President Jim J. Adams during a star-studded gala on August 23 at the Los Angeles Center Studios in the Westlake District.
President Adams was quick to acknowledge the tireless work of Warrior Wrestling Head Coach Arsen Aleksanyen and LPC Athletic Director Tim Cook who have built the program from the ground up in just a few short months. Some 15 matches are already on the books for the inaugural season in multiple weight divisions. “Second only to football, wrestling is fast becoming one of college athletics most prestigious sports,” Tim Cook says. He believes wrestling requires personal disciplines that parallel the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life making it a perfect fit for the mission and values of Life Pacific College. “It is an honor to recognize LPC Wrestling,” says Dan Russell, a four-time NCAA Champion, four-time Academic All-American, 2004 Olympic Coach, co-owner of Bonhoeffer Brothers Media, and co-chair of the USWF Gala.
Rest of the Story at http://www.lifepacific.edu/article/us-wrestling-foundation-honors-life-pacific-wrestling-legacy-award?mc_cid=1130640d35&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Delaware Valley to add women’s wrestling program
Editor’s Notes; Another new program will be arriving next season. They will join a strong men’s program that has a good tradition in eastern Pennsylvania.
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DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — Women’s wrestling is coming to Delaware Valley University.
The school announced today that women’s wrestling and fencing have been added to the school’s offerings and will begin competition in 2019-20. “We are very excited about our intention to add both women’s wrestling and fencing to our ever-growing list of athletic opportunities here at DelVal,” director of athletics Steve Cantrell said. “Both sports have grown by leaps and bounds and it further shows the commitment by the University to our entire athletic department as well as meeting the interests of our students.” Forty-eight colleges now sponsor a varsity women’s wrestling team, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/20521
University of Jamestown to host 1st NAIA national women’s wrestling tourney ‘JUST FOR US’
Editor’s Notes; Another expansion of opportunities for women to wrestle in college.
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University of Jamestown’s Liliana Cortes could not stop smiling at the thought of Jamestown possibly hosting the first NAIA women’s wrestling national competition.
The senior from Chicago, like most female wrestlers, grew up competing with mostly boys and navigated a challenging path to eventually end up as a Jimmie in the sport she loves. The NAIA’s decision this year to adopt women’s wrestling as an invitational sport was a monumental moment in the lives of wrestlers like Cortes, who will now have an independent home at the collegiate level. Jamestown has been tabbed as a finalist to host the inaugural NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Invitational this winter. The tournament will be held March 15-16 at a site yet to be determined.
“Most people don’t know about women’s wrestling, they just assume it’s all men’s wrestling,” Cortes said. “Having a tournament just for us is so cool.” Having it in Jamestown also makes pretty good sense. The 1-year-old, 61,000-square-foot Harold Newman Arena was built on the UJ campus with hosting such events in mind. The arena floor is able to accommodate the required six mats of action, and can also house the entire competition under one roof, according to Jimmie women’s wrestling coach Shauna Kemp. Rest of the story at https://www.jamestownsun.com/sports/wrestling/4492399-just-us-uj-finalist-host-national-womens-wrestling-tourney?mc_cid=a3636d3d9a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Camels announce 2018-19 wrestling schedule
Editor’s Notes; Only one home meet before the holiday break yet some interesting conference matches late in the season. Coach Kolat is doing well in improving the Camels’ wrestling program. Look forward to seeing them wrestling this winter.
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BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell has announced its 2018-19 wrestling schedule, featuring four home dates and a full Southern Conference slate. “We are looking forward to the changes we made this season in regard to our schedule,” said head coach Cary Kolat, entering his fifth year leading the Camels. “We will be competing in two events that will feature many ranked wrestlers from around the country, starting with the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in early December. This event has featured the highest ranked teams and wrestlers consistently each year. Later in the same month, we will compete in the prestigious Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern University.”
“This year’s schedule will focus more on building our athletes individually during the front half of the season, and the back half will move us into team building with our conference schedule,” added Kolat.
Rest of the story at https://gocamels.com/news/2018/8/20/camels-announce-2018-19-wrestling-schedule.aspx?mc_cid=921a9df120&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Top Active College Coaches in National and California Junior Colleges’ Divisions
Editor’s Notes; Our last group of college coaches the California Junior Colleges and the National Junior Colleges are two separate categories as the compete at different times of the year and have very few interactions and competitions. These lists will be the last for the number of wins as of 2017. We will move on to update the records to include last season and will publish those lists by November. Again, if readers have corrections, information and insights please send this to us so we can be more comprehensive in our records.
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ACTIVE Coaches – Top 10 JUCO with at least 30 wins
1. Pat Whitcomb (North Idaho Coll.) 258
2. Joe Renfro (Labette, Kan.) 177
3. Luke Moffitt (Iowa Central Comm. Coll.) 135 incomplete
4. Josh Rhoden (Clackamas Comm. Coll.) 118
5. Harry McGinnis (Triton Comm. Coll.) 90 incomplete
6. Jesse Nelson (SW Minn. St. Un.) 74
7. Jim Zeigler (Northwest Wyoming) 58 incomplete
8. Josh Watts (Iowa Western Comm. Coll.) 57 incomplete
9. Cody Alesch (Iowa Lakes Comm. Coll) 32
10. Cole Spree (Ellsworth Comm. Coll.) 31
ACTIVE Coaches – California Junior Colleges – Top 5 with 100 wins
1. Dave Pacheo (Sacramento City College) 250
2. Paul Keysaw (Fresno City/Moorpark College) 142
3. Vince Silva (Santa Ana College) 127
4. Dan Garriott (Cerritos College) 116
5. Joe Dansby (Cuesta College) 107
Early Super 32 Registration is Fire
Editor’s Notes; The Super 32 is an outstanding wrestling event that has grown quickly into one of the premier high school level national tournaments and possibly the best pre-season competition each season. We encourage all wrestling fans to take advantage of this event in North Carolina and experience ‘The Super 32’ in Greensboro, North Carolina at the end of October.
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One of the crown jewels of high school wrestling, Super 32’s early registration opened on August 6th for those that met the criteria. Early registration doesn’t close until September 23, but the names, the numbers, and the quality are so abundant that it merits an update. Because, at this point, if the trend continues, it could boast the most ranked wrestlers in the history of the event. Rest of the Story at https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6240167-early-s32-registration-is-fire?mc_cid=4d47c9c4fb&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Former wrestler John McCain loses cancer battle
Editor’s Notes; Senator McCain is famous and well known for many things beyond his time as a wrestler. His time and experiences as a naval cadet and graduate of the academy in Annapolis, Maryland where he is to be buried, made him a veteran who fought for our country. His lifetime of patriotic service and values are well documented as we heard him recognized in a memorable service today from the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. His experience as a wrestler helped him in a small, yet significant, part to be an American that served our country well.
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Sen. John McCain, U.S. military hero held captive in Vietnam, long-time politician who ran for President twice, and wrestler in high school and the U.S. Naval Academy, passed away Saturday after a year-long battle with brain cancer less than a week before his 82nd birthday. John McCain, The senior senator for Arizona had learned in July 2017 that he had what the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix described as a “primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma.” John Sidney McCain III was born on Aug. 29, 1936, in Panama at Coco Solo Naval Air Station, arriving into a prominent military family with his father, John McCain Jr., and grandfather, John McCain Sr., who were the first father-son admiral pair in U.S. Naval history. A 1954 graduate of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., McCain’s senior yearbook describes him as “infamous as one of our top-flight wrestlers.” While a student at Episcopal, he also participated in football, drama, and yearbook staff, among other activities. “As a wrestler, Johnny was good, not great,” wrote Robert Timberg in his 1999 book “John McCain: An American Odyssey.” “Competing at 127 pounds, he could be counted on to win when he was supposed to and sometimes spring an upset. In one match he pinned his opponent in thirty-seven seconds, setting a school record. McCain and his teammate, Richey, seemed like peas in a pod, small, tough, cocky.” Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/20489
HEILMANN, WARD JOIN CAROLINA WRESTLING STAFF
Editor’s Notes; Good to see successful Carolina wrestlers sticking around to help out and to start their coaching careers.
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CHAPEL HILL — Former All-Americans Troy Heilmann and Joey Ward have joined the North Carolina wrestling coaching staff, head coach Coleman Scott announced Tuesday. Heilmann begins his coaching career as the program’s first director of high performance and operations, while Ward will serve as the team’s volunteer assistant coach. Heilmann capped his UNC career last spring with an ACC title and a podium finish at nationals. A native of South Plainfield, New Jersey, Heilmann went 32-6 as a senior at 149 pounds, and his fourth-place NCAA finish matched the highest by a UNC competitor since Justin Harty took second at heavyweight in 1996. “We are very happy to have Troy join the staff as director of high performance and operations,” Scott said. “Troy was one of the first to buy into our system when we got here. He brings a tremendous work ethic to our staff that will make him a superstar in the coaching world down the road.” A 2017 Carolina graduate, Ward was a four-time NCAA qualifier who took seventh at 141 pounds at the 2016 NCAA Championships. The Cincinnati, Ohio, product had at least 20 wins in each of his four seasons, finishing his Tar Heel career with 98 total victories.
Rest of the story at https://goheels.com/news/2018/8/28/heilmann-ward-join-carolina-wrestling-staff.aspx?path=wrestling
Boys, girls high school wrestling participation grows
Editor’s Notes; Encouraging to see the growth in the number of participants in the past season. Keep encouraging others, recruit other athletes to join in and more schools should offer the sport. Look forward to more growth in the coming season.
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The oldest and greatest sport is seeing greater participation numbers at the high school level, especially among females. The number of individuals participating in high school wrestling grew in the past year, with increased numbers of both boys and girls involved in the sport for 2017-18 compared to the previous school year. The statistics were tabulated by the National Federation of State High School Associations for its annual High School Athletics Participation Survey, presented in a news release. 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.
These statistics reflect an increase in participation levels for both boys and girls in high school wrestling over the previous school year. 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.
The number of schools with boys and girls participating in wrestling has also grown this year vs. last. During the 2017-18 school year, 2,351 schools had at least one girl wrestler while 10,775 schools had at least one boy wrestler … compared to 2,091 schools with girl wrestlers and 10,629 schools with boys in wrestling for the 2016-17 school year. Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/20490
Top Active College Coaches in NAIA, and Women’s Divisions
Editor’s Notes; Since the NAIA and Women’s programs are mostly at four year schools we have both list of coaches here. The next set of lists will be the last for 2017 and the California Junior Colleges and the National Junior Colleges in two separate lists. Again, if readers have corrections, information and insights please send this to us so we can be more comprehensive in our records.
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ACTIVE NAIA Coaches – Top 15 with at least 40 wins
1. Mike Ritchey (Southern Oregon) 213
2. Mike Machholz (Missouri Valley) 184
3. Franky James (Campbellsville) — 148
4. James Kiagen (McKendree College) 128
5. Caleb Schaeffer (Providence Univ./Great Falls) 123
6. Nick Mitchell (Grand View College) 105
7. Archie Randall (Oklahoma City Univ.) 97 ** retired in 2016
8. Corey Ruff (Lindsey-Wilson) 71
9. Tyson Thivierge (Montana State Northern) 65
10. Lennie Zalesky (Calif. Baptist Univ.) – 55 – NAIA
11. Beau Vest (Dana-Midland) 55
12. Joe Baranik (St. Andrews) 44
13. Jake Stevenson (Morningside College) 43
14. Rik Dahl (Northwestern College) 42
15. Frank Romano (Notre Dame College) 40 moved to D-II in 2012
ACTIVE Women’s Coaches – Top 10 with 20 or more wins
1. Archie Randall (Oklahoma City Univ.) 160 retired in 2016
2. Jason Moorman (King Univ.) 103
3. Sam Schmitz (McKendree Univ.) 51
4. Brian Jackson (Missouri Baptist) 42 – incomplete
5. Tony DeAnda (Jamestown) 33
6. Aaron Meister (Wayland Baptist College) 33
7. Lee Miracle (Campbellsville) 31
8. Donnie Stephens (Univ. of the Cumberlands) 27
9. David Mathews (Life University) 22
10. Beau Vest (Midland Lutheran) 20 – incomplete
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
