Penn State Wrestling Visits the State Capitol
TDR Editor; Good to see successful wrestlers recognized in a public setting. Also good to see them soaking in some history and the governmental process in an impressive setting. Had the pleasure of touring the Pennsylvania State Capitol and other historic sites in Harrisburg almost 1 year ago. An enjoyable visit yet the Governor and others were not there to meet us. Oh, well.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
HARRISBURG, Pa. – A pair of Penn State championship teams visited the Pennsylvania State Capitol Tuesday afternoon for a recognition celebrating a year of standout accomplishments. Representing the NCAA national champion Penn State wrestling team, All-Americans Nick Nevills and two-time Hodge Trophy winner Zain Retherford joined head coach Cael Sanderson. Penn State men’s basketball NIT Champions John Harrar and Lamar Stevens also joined head coach Patrick Chambers for the trip. The day began in the Pennsylvania House as the group made its way to the floor on a busy day. Led by Pennsylvania’s Rep. Mike Hanna, Rep. Kerry Benninghoff and Rep. Scott Conklin, the three read aloud an uncontested resolution congratulating both Nittany Lion squads on historic seasons. Passing through the bustling halls of the national historic landmark, the Nittany Lions arrived at the Governor’s Reception room next. Following a few photos, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf greeted the room to welcome the Nittany Lion champions. Rest of the story at http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/061318aad.html?mc_cid=e83fec82e0&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Gwiazdowski in Action at Final X Saturday Night
TDR Editor; An exciting, interesting opportunity for “The Wiz”. It should be an exciting match up that will probably go to three matches.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Reigning World medalist vies for another spot on U.S. World Team
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former NC State two-time national champion and reigning World bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski will be in action this weekend, taking on Adam Coon Saturday night at Final X from Lehigh. The winner of the best-of-3 championship format will earn a spot on the U.S. World Team and compete at the 2018 UWW World Championships Oct. 20-28 in Budapest, Hungary. Action starts at 7 p.m., and all the matches will be streamed on FloWrestling. “Anytime these guys wrestle each other it’s definitely a battle, you have to be ready to wrestle,” said NC State head coach Pat Popolizio. “Where Nick is at in his career right now he knows what he needs to do. He is working extremely hard, and continuing to get better. His experiences wrestling internationally have helped him tremendously. “I know Nick will be at his best, because he as looked his best training in our room. Nick is very motived to prove he is the best at his weight in this country, if not the world right now.”
Gwiazdowski received an automatic bid to the Final X as a reigning World medalist, capturing the bronze at 125 kg last year in Paris at the World Championships. Gwiazdowski is coming off of a gold medal performance at the Pan American Championships earlier this spring. His opponent at Final X will be former Michigan wrestler Adam Coon. Coon, a three-time All-American for Michigan, was the 2018 U.S. Open champion in freestyle and the runner-up in Greco-Roman. In 2014, Coon won Junior World bronze medals in both styles.
Rest of the story at http://gopack.com/news/2018/6/19/wrestling-gwiazdowski-in-action-at-final-x-saturday-night.aspx
Va. Beach businessman challenges Scott Taylor to a wrestling match, debate
TDR Editor; Now this is an interesting concept. I suspect that Representative Jordan of Ohio may go for this! Could make for some interesting fundraisers!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) — The independent candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District challenged incumbent GOP Scott Taylor to a combined debate-wrestling competition. Aldo J. DiBelardino, a Virginia Beach resident, even invited the Democratic candidate Elaine Luria to the debate portion. DiBelardino challenged Scott Taylor on Wednesday to a series of debate-wrestling matches, saying both men are accomplished wrestlers and Harvard educated. The matches would be Virginia High School league rules and standard debate practices. Rest of the story at https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/virginia-beach/va-beach-businessman-challenges-scott-taylor-to-a-wrestling-match-debate/291-564231350?mc_cid=e83fec82e0&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Coming in August: The American Wrestling League
TDR Editor; Well, it is an interesting idea. Will see how this goes. There have been several attempts at a professional league in the last 30+ years with limited success. We wish them well.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Andy Barth and Wayne Boyd have a big vision and a big purse of prize money and the co-founders of Titan Mercury Wrestling Club plan to have a lineup filled with big stars in August when they launch a new professional league. The American Wrestling League is scheduled to debut Aug. 18 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with top American freestyle stars competing for what Boyd said will be a prize money purse of up to $100,000. The event will be streamed live on Trackwrestling. “This is going to be the greatest wrestling show on Earth,” Boyd said. “They’re going to be action-packed, high-scoring matches. … This is showbusiness. This is entertainment. The only pressure is money. Who’s going to win the most money?” Boyd said there will likely be 10 pro freestyle matches on the Cedar Rapids card with wrestlers getting $2,500 to compete and an additional $5,000 to win. His hope is to create a series of showcase matchups — he tossed out Kyle Snyder versus J’den Cox and David Taylor against Alex Dieringer as possibilities — and build a league with four to six events a year in wrestling hotbeds. Boyd said the plan is to eventually establish teams around the United States that will compete for a league championship.
Rest of the story at http://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/PortalPost.jsp?postId=693385132
N.C. wrestling coach Nosbisch loses 2-year cancer battle
TDR Editor; Our condolences to the family and school of Coach Nosbisch. We are sad to see his passing from our ranks. Cancer is a rough opponent with no mercy or compromise. I believe we all have lost at least one loved one to this disease which is discouraging. Yet we do what we can, when we can and hope that this improves. Be good to one another.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Nick Nosbisch, North Carolina teacher and wrestling coach, has lost his two-year battle with cancer. The 29-year-old passed away Friday morning. Affectionately known by his students and wrestlers as “Coach Noz,” Nosbisch was a social studies teacher and head wrestling coach at Holly Springs High School in the Raleigh-Durham area. Just two years ago, he coached Cam Devers to the school’s first-ever North Carolina state wrestling title, and took the Golden Hawks to runner-up status at the dual-meet playoffs in Class 4A for the first time in history. It was about that time that Nosbisch learned he had intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of bile duct cancer. It was in Stage 4 and had spread to his lymph nodes, though not to other parts of his body. Less than two weeks after that diagnosis, Nosbisch had surgery to remove the tumor. In May 2017, Nosbisch was awarded the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s A.J. “Tony” Simeon Courage Award at its annual meeting.
Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/20242
NWHOF announces state winners of Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Awards
TDR Editor; Great to see another eastern North Carolina wrestler gain some recognition in the national spotlight. The N.C. selection was announced at the N.C. National Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction Banquet in Chapel Hill last month. We hope that My Nguyen will continue with wrestling in college.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
North Carolina – My Nguyen, First Flight High School, Kill Devil Hills
STILLWATER, Okla. — National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Friday announced the state and regional winners for the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award (TSHSEA).
The award recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior female wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service. Regional winners are selected from state winners, and the national winner will be chosen from the regional winners.
Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/20130
New NCAA transfer rules give wrestlers upper hand
TDR Editor’s Notes; Will have to wait to see how this impacts college wrestling. On one hand it is good in giving the athlete some flexibility in pursuing their education. Especially when they are recruited by one coach and attend the school due to the potential of working and learning with that coach but the coach leaves that school. Yet it would be negative for the sport and athletes if it leads to rapid, random jumping around like so many frogs.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NCAA Division I wrestlers will now be able to transfer without the permission of their current coach or university, thanks to new rules approved by the NCAA this week, to go into effect Oct. 15. The NCAA Division I Council approved a proposal that installs a “notification of transfer” model which not only allows wrestlers and other athletes to leave one school for another more easily, but also requires the school to enter the athlete’s name in a national transfer database within two business days. Once the wrestler’s name is in the database, any coach can contact that wrestler. Prior to this rule change, wrestlers had to receive permission from their current school to be contacted by another school before they could receive another scholarship. One major exception to this new rule: a conference can install stricter rules that would supersede this new NCAA procedure. Rest of the story at http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/20264
King presented Michael Stokes Award as a top wrestler in eastern North Carolina
King presented Michael Stokes Award as a top wrestler in eastern North Carolina
The TakeDown Report presented the 26th Michael Stokes Award to State Medalist Sincere King of North Pitt, as the Top Senior Wrestler in the Tar-Roanoke area in Eastern North Carolina in 2018. King placed 3rd at the State Tournament with a (50-5) record. It was his second state medal and a step up from his 5th place finish in 2017. His career record of 178 wins to 54 losses places him second in school history in wins and two District championships along with his two state medals.
King was also named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the Eastern Plains Conference and in Pitt County. During the season King earned 1st Place in the following tournaments: Pitt County, Eastern Plains Conference, Eagle Invitational, and the North Pitt Invitational. After High School is going to enroll in and compete for Delaware Valley University in Pennsylvania. King had earlier received a personalized wooden plaque engraved with his name and the TDR logo as the top wrestler at his weight class in eastern North Carolina. Last year he ranked 4th in the east
It has been 3 years since the last time Stokes visited North Pitt High School in order to present the Award. It was also the third time that a Panther has earned this top honor. The two previous winners were the Najar brothers, Angel and Xavier as listed below.
Michael Stokes wrestled the 1981-1984 seasons at Tarboro High School and with a (96–4) career record. He was North Carolina’s 2nd 3-time State Champion when there was only one individual champion at a weight in the state. He wrestled for N.C. State and won ACC wrestling titles in 1988 and 1989 and was named the ACC Most Valuable Wrestler both years. His record of 68 wins 8 losses and 3 ties (.879) is the best career winning percentage at NC State. He finished second at the NCAA Nationals at 126lbs in 1989 to Kendall Cross, the eventual Olympic Gold medalist. Stokes co-captained the Wolfpack in 1989 and one of the ACC’s all time 50 greatest wrestlers as recognized during the conference’s 50th anniversary celebration. Stokes credits wrestling as “providing me with a mental toughness that enables me to remove boundaries that stand in my way. Wrestling has given me the sheer determination to believe that I can conquer anything that I set my mind to do.”
Previous Stokes Award wrestlers include Quadarrius Hopkins of Tarboro (2017), Wilson Smith of Rocky Mount (2016), Angel Najar of North Pitt (2015), Reggie Huff of Southern Nash (2014), David Guevara of Tarboro (2013), Alexander Knight and Jaciento Williamson of Rocky Mount (2012), Xavier Najar of North Pitt (2011), Joe Young of Northern Nash (2010), Corey Smith of Tarboro (2009), Jasmine Cooper of Nash Central (2008), Eric Wischhusen, (2007), Roylando Lucas (2001) and Ira Bing (2000) of Southern Nash, John Brewer (2006) of Wilson Fike, Anthony Taylor (2005) of Rocky Mount, Sammi Hadi (2004) and Ryan Huffman (1997) of SouthWest Edgecombe, Charles Washington (2003) of Northern Nash, Quadric Eason (2002), Mike Christopher (1999 & 1998), Tony Mercer (1996) and Lee Carroll (1994 & 1995) of Tarboro.
The TDR promotes amateur wrestling in eastern North Carolina and sponsors this award. “The awards are to recognize great wrestlers from before and the current ones for their efforts,” Editor Martin Fleming noted. The TakeDown Report has promoted scholastic wrestling for 20 years in North Carolina and encourages coverage of the sport. Contact the TDR at martinkfleming@gmail.com or https://takedownreport.wordpress.com/ or ‘The TakeDown Report’ on FaceBook.
PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast
TDR Editor’s Notes; The latest N.C. State Wrestling Podcast. Check out the link below.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
RALEIGH, N.C. – Episode 22 of the #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast visits with head coach Pat Popolizio to talk about the summer of wrestling, whether it be freestyle or camp season, here in Raleigh. NC State wrestling was well-represented at the World Team Trials Challenge tournament in Rochester, Minn., back in May, and has two from the Wolfpack Wrestling Club in the upcoming Final X.
Rest of the story at http://gopack.com/news/2018/6/7/wrestling-packmentality-pop-ins-podcast-ep-22-final-x-preview-u23-recap-guest-kevin-jack.aspx?mc_cid=a8d28b9957&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Cassy Lopez, the first woman to receive a scholarship to wrestle at a Division I school
TDR Editor’s Notes; An impressive wrestler making another First in the growing sport of women’s wrestling. She will be competing just to the south of us in South Carolina. By next year there will be 40-50 collegiate women’s programs and almost a dozen state high school associations sponsoring girls’ wrestling or will be hosting a state tournament for girls in their state. At the same time some of the colleges are expanding or reviving teams for men.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — Cassy Lopez never saw herself as a pioneer when she stepped onto the mat for her first wrestling match four years ago. If you want to be specific, Lopez actually didn’t see much of anything. Lopez’s vision was impeded half the time because her hair cap kept falling over her face. She eventually lost the high school match, but not before throwing down her male opponent to the ground in the final period. “The crowd was like, ‘Whoa,'” Lopez said. “It was a little wake-up call that girls can wrestle, too.” With newfound confidence — as well as a sewed hair cap — Lopez finished her varsity career at Mount Hebron High with a 45-29 record, pinning her male opponents 32 times. She then dominated the first Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association tournament for girls in February, pinning each of her first three opponents in 20 seconds or less before winning the championship with a pin at 1 minute, 13 seconds. Her successful career culminated in a historic takedown, when Lopez became the first woman to receive a scholarship to wrestle at a Division I school. Last month, Lopez signed a national letter of intent for the newly formed women’s wrestling program at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, which will start competing alongside 38 other schools in the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association in 2019. “As far as taking that big step forward, this is going to be huge for women’s wrestling,” said Mark Cody, the director of wrestling at Presbyterian. Lopez lives about 30 miles north of the hometown of Helen Maroulis, who became the first American woman wrestler to win a gold medal at the Olympics in 2016. Like Maroulis, Lopez embraces the role of ambassador for one of the fastest-growing high school sports for girls. Nationally, there are 15,000 young women participating in high school wrestling, according to Cody. The number of state high school championships for girls wrestling increased to nine this year. Rest of the story at http://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/article/23715364/meet-cassy-lopez-first-woman-receive-scholarship-wrestle-division-school?mc_cid=e5a88d9676&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
