Finesilver Places 3rd at University Nationals
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Great to see some North Carolina collegiate wrestlers do well in the Rubber City, Akron Ohio.
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AKRON, Ohio—Duke University redshirt junior Mitch Finesilver turned in a fantastic weekend with a third-place finish at University Nationals at Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House on the campus of University of Akron. Finesilver took third in freestyle at 70 kilograms. Finesilver, after suffering a narrow 4-0 setback in his opening match, rattled off nine straight victories to land on the podium in third. Four of his nine consecutive wins were by technical fall, including a 10-0 triumph that pushed him into the consolation semifinal and secured a place for the Colorado native.He is the third Blue Devil in program history to place in the prestigious national tournament. Rest of the story at ….http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22467&SPID=1834&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211617090&DB_OEM_ID=4200
InterMat Rewind: African-American Mat History
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Ok, even if the article is 10 years old it is a fascinating and well deserved look at the inclusion of African Americans into collegiate wrestling. Our compliments to these mat breakers. (Ok, still working on a suitable metaphor)
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A half-century after the first African-American won an individual college wrestling championship — and nearly 60 years after the first man of color stepped onto the mat to compete at the NCAAs — the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum has created a special exhibit to honor the achievements of African-American wrestlers in the United States. The exhibit, which opened in February 2008 to coincide with Black History Month, will be on display the entire year at the hall of fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma; a traveling version will appear at the 2008 NCAAs in St. Louis. Let’s take a look at some of the important historical events of African-American amateur wrestling, and the individual pioneers who wrote history on the wrestling mat in this country � Rest of the story at …. http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/3568/Rev-Rewind-African-American-Mat-Historyte
Will Newbern Award presentation
Some photos from the Award presentation to Will Newbern at West Carteret
Will Newbern awarded the James Johnson Trophy as top wrestler in eastern North Carolina
State Champion Will Newbern of West Carteret High School was presented one of the 16th Annual James Johnson Award as the best scholastic wrestler in eastern North Carolina in 2017. The award is named in honor of three time national champion James Johnson. Will will continue his wrestling at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
Will capped off a remarkable senior year campaign by going undefeated with a 51-0 record. He also competed and won both the N.C. Freeestyle and Greco Roman style championships, making Will, a rare
“Triple Crown” winner, the only one in North Carolina this year. He is the only wrestler in history to win the West Carteret hosted Beach Brawl tournament, the New Bern hosted Swiss Bear, the Croatan hosted Beast of the East, and the Chapel Hill hosted and nationally ranked Tiger Holiday Tournaments. Will accomplished this herculean feat not once but twice in his career, truly setting him apart. Will ended his career with 149 wins, 2x conference and regional champ and as a 2x place winner at the state tournament, finishing 5th his junior year to go along with his first place efforts his senior year.
Previous award winners were Tanner Stamper-Smith (2016) of Havelock, Joe Mondragon (2015) of Ashley H.S., De’Andre Jones (2014) of New Bern, Alex Bray (2013) of Croatan, Jon Wiley (2012) of South Brunswick, Marquin Hill (2011) of Washington H.S., Branden Lietz (2010) of J.H. Rose, Mamour Camara (2009) of Louisburg, Anthony Rogers (2008) of Knightdale, Ngu Tran (2007) of C.B. Aycock, Victor Hojillo (2006) of West Carteret, Raymond Jordan (2004) of New Bern, Shaun Sheffield (2003) of Havelock, David Pelsang (2005), and Paris Dottery (2002) of White Oak.
The TakeDown Report promotes amateur wrestling in eastern North Carolina and sponsors the Award. “The award is to recognize the most successful wrestler in the area each year.” Fleming noted, “It encourages the young men from the teams in the eastern part of the state with an opportunity to realize the hard work, determination and discipline it takes to be a top notch wrestler,” he added. The TakeDown Report is in its’ 19th year of operations in North Carolina encouraging media coverage of the sport. Contact the TDR at martinkfleming@gmail.com.
James Johnson started wrestling in his junior year for D.H. Conley High School in Greenville with Milt Sherman as his coach. James was Coney’s 1st state champion in any sport in 1976. He was North Carolina’s 1st Eastern Junior National Champion in 1975 and North Carolina’s 1st Junior Nationals All-American with 3rd in 1976. He went on to start four years at the University of Kentucky. He is now a sports consultant and coach for the Phoenix-based Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club. He also specializes in developing unique training for people of all fitness levels with a broad background in public speaking, sports training techniques, and health and fitness. He was inducted as an “Outstanding American” in the North Carolina State Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 2012 he was a coach for the U.S.A. Olympic Greco-Roman team in London.
Before developing James Johnson, Inc., James served as a Public Relations/ Community Speaker for Sunkist worldwide. He was on the USA National Wrestling team for 12 years, winning 3 National Championships, USA Athlete of the Year, AIM Christian Athlete of the Year, Olympic Team Alternate, and numerous accolades worldwide. He has been an Ambassador for the United States Olympic Committee, USA wrestling and The Sunkist Kids Wrestling organization for over 16 years. More at http://jjchamp3x.com/.
UNO looks at cuts, fee increases, wage freezes to balance athletic budget after move to Division I
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Well, there is no satisfaction here in showing that we were correct in stating how foolish the University of Nebraska-Omaha was in dropping wrestling and football to make a move to division I. Why did they? It was to satisfy the ego of the new Athletic Director who came in with no experience in directing athletic yet a failed career as a professional athlete and a failed career as a sports broadcaster. This genius was not even aware that his school’s wrestling team had won the national championships the previous two years. He made the class move of calling the coach on the night of winning their 3rd consecutive nationals to tell him that wrestling was being cut. The long time coach Mike Denney, Handle it with class. He did what he could to appeal the decision and then moved on to start a new program at Maryville University. Now as is shown in the linked article the annual debt of the athletic program has DOUBLED and now they are sucking money from students and academic programs. I doubt that the A.D.’s salary or budget has been reduced any. It is challenging to say who has made a more foolish and unwise financial decision in dropping wrestling, UN-O or Boise State. (refer back to earlier postings)
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The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s move to Division I athletics came with the promise of big-time college games, but it also has come with bigger financial woes and worries. Now in its second year as a full Division I program, UNO battles to increase revenues, cut expenses and fulfill a pledge that moving into Division I would stabilize athletics financially and solidify Maverick sports as a respected force on campus and in Omaha. A public records request by The World-Herald shows that many strategies, large and small, have been considered or deployed over the past year to right an athletic department that gushed with budget overruns in 2015-16. UNO has suggested everything from cutting expensive K-Cup coffee for employees at Sapp Fieldhouse to eliminating country club memberships for coaches and sports administrators to monitoring team and staff travel more carefully. UNO officials expect to balance their athletic department budget this year with a large infusion of university money and propose to raise student fees for the athletic department in 2017-18 by about $13 per semester for most students. The amount of direct university support for athletics rose at UNO from about $4.3 million in 2010-11, the year before the four-year transition to Division I began, to about $8.6 million last year, according to NCAA financial reports.
Rest of the story at ….http://www.omaha.com/news/education/uno-looks-at-cuts-fee-increases-wage-freezes-to-balance/article_13e7f7a4-196c-5d28-abd3-9e958b2b7d02.html
NWCA announces annual Meritorious Service and Dan Gable ‘America Needs Wrestling’ Award winners – See more at: http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwca-announces-annual-meritorious-service-dan-gable-america-needs-wrestling-award-winners
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Encouraging to see the hard work and efforts of promoters of wrestling being recognized.
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St. Louis, Missouri — The National Wrestling Coaches Association has announced its annual winners for the Meritorious Service Award and the Dan Gable “America Needs Wrestling” Award. Darrell Randall and Kirk Hankla are the recipients of the NWCA’s Meritorious Service Award, the highest honor presented by the organization, while Tom Sculley and Amanda Dahl were named the Dan Gable “America Needs Wrestling” Award.
A member of the NWCA’s Board of Directors for 20 years, Randall is the primary architect of the NWCA’s Strategic Plan, which has led to the addition or reinstatement of over 160 college wrestling teams since 2001. Randall is also a board member for the Wrestlers in Business Network. Rest of the story at …. http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwca-announces-annual-meritorious-service-dan-gable-america-needs-wrestling-award-winners/?mc_cid=bec5ad12a5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Wrestling Hall of Fame – N.C. honorees in Chapel Hill
Some pictures of some of the inductees that were recognized in Chapel Hill on the 21st. More details to be posted later.
How to wrestle in college as a female athlete
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Another look at the growth of women’s wrestling on the college level. This article gives details on the opportunities and options for women seeking to wrestle in college.
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This is your guide to becoming a collegiate female wrestler. Included is a list of programs, clubs, and training sites. You will also find general questions and a plan of action to take as you find the best college for you. “Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports at the scholastic and collegiate levels. The NWCA is committed to growing women’s wrestling from the grassroots level to the colleges. The NWCA is currently in the process of pursing emerging sports status for women’s wrestling in the NCAA. “- National Wrestling Coaches Association Rest of the story at ….http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2017/March/10/How-to-wrestle-in-college-as-a-female-athlete?mc_cid=59bd5ad6af&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
‘Wrestle Like A Girl’ Presented with United World Wrestling’s Women and Sport Award
TDR Editor’s Notes ; A bit of international news about the growth of women’s wrestling in the United States.
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LAUSANNE (March 8) – 'Wrestle Like a Girl' founder Sally Roberts was presented with United World Wrestling's Women and Sport award yesterday at a panel discussion at the 2nd Annual IF Women in Leadership Forum at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.
Sally Roberts, a two-time world bronze medalist, is the executive director of Wrestle Like a Girl which aims to support and promote women’s wrestling by focusing on the entire athlete, rather than just on-the-mat achievements. Roberts also leads the organization’s camp initiative which provides a two-day wrestling camp where the attendees learn “wrestling techniques and life skills.” “I’m honored to be recognized for our work at ‘Wrestle Like a Girl’,” said Roberts. “Women in the sport are capable of so much and I hope that we can be a part of their development in the USA and worldwide. Rest of the story at ….https://unitedworldwrestling.org/article/wrestle-like-a-girl-presented-with-united-world-wrestlings-women-and-sport-award?mc_cid=7aad237b8e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Next Tarboro High Coach
Coach Andrew Harding announced at the annual sports banquet that THS Alumi Quentin Knight will be stepping in as the next head coach. Here are pictures of Quentin with Michael Stokes.
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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
