“Wrestling Saved My Life”: The Story of NY’s Top 99 Pounder, Brandon Nunez
TDR Editor’s Notes; An encouraging story about the positive impact wrestling has on the lives of young competitors. One of hundreds of thousands or possibly millions over time.
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Senior Brandon Nunez, the state’s top-ranked 99 pounder, began wrestling just a few years ago, as a freshman. But even in a relatively short period of time, the sport’s impact on him has been tremendous. In fact, Nunez has gone as far as to say that wrestling “literally saved my life.”
“Where I grew up, it’s really tough out here,” he said. “A lot of people I know are in jail, some are dead. Some kids aren’t in school. It’s rough. I feel like a lot of times you become who you hang around with. Wrestling kept me from hanging around with the wrong people. Rest of the story at …. http://www.newyorkwrestlingnews.com/news_article/show/759485?referral=rss&referrer_id=1024554&mc_cid=96b4b58fce&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
As CHSAA eyes sanctioning girls wrestling, the sport continues to grow at the local and national level
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Another story about the growth of wrestling opportunities.
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Olivia Ioppolo’s love for wrestling is rooted in her backyard, where as a young girl she and her older brother, along with his friends, wrestled on a trampoline. Her brother was two classes ahead of her, and though she was often physically overmatched, she hung tough with the boys, withstanding the bumps and bruises to find her niche. “I’ve always loved fighting and grappling around, and one day my brother’s wrestling coach told me I should try wrestling,” said Ioppolo, a senior at Silver Creek in Longmont. “Once I got out there, just like in the backyard, the feeling of being on the mat and pinning someone is so primal. I like beating up the boys, and I like getting my hand raised. That feeling is just amazing.” Ioppolo was one of the best female wrestlers in Colorado this season, posting a 16-17 record as the Raptors’ varsity 106-pounder. Rest of the story at http://www.denverpost.com/2017/02/15/chsaa-sanctioning-girls-wrestling/?mc_cid=a2c15feb49&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Five Wolfpack Wrestlers Earn All-ACC Honors, Team Places Second
By Brian Reinhardt, Director of Athletics Digital Communications, (919) 746-9479 (office)
(919) 819-8317 (cell) brian_reinhardt@ncsu.edu Visit http://www.GoPack.com
Junior Kevin Jack named 2017 Most Outstanding Wrestler as he wins back-to-back titles
RALEIGH, N.C. – Five members of the NC State wrestling team advanced to the finals and earned All-ACC honors, as the Wolfpack placed second at the 2017 ACC Championship hosted inside Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday. Junior Kevin Jack repeated as ACC Champion at 141 pounds with a dominating performance, while redshirt-juniors Brian Hamann (165) and Michael Macchiavello (184) along with redshirt-sophomores Sean Fausz (125) and Jamal Morris (133) all reached the finals in their weight classes. Jack was named the 2017 ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler, the second year in a row the award went to NC State (Nick Gwiazdowski). Jack outscored his two opponents 27-8 on the day, not giving up a single takedown, including a 10-4 win over No. 6 George DiCamillo of Virgnia in the finals. “It is always fun to win such a great individual title as this weight class in this conference,” said Kevin Jack. “It was extra special to compete in front of this great crowd and to win the title in Reynolds with my dad down here. The first step is over, now it’s time to turn my attention to the NCAAs.” In addition to the All-ACC honors, NC State earned six NCAA automic bids on the day. In addition to Fausz, Morris, Jack, Hamann, and Macchiavello, redshirt-senior Mke Kosoy (285 pounds) also earned a bid to NCAAs with his finish. The Pack will also await at-large bids for its other four starters to be announced next week. In the team race, Virginia Tech claimed top honors with 93 points. NC State placed second with 64 points. Pitt was third (54), followed by Virginia in fourth (52.5), North Carolina in fifth (4) and Duke in sixth (24.5).
FINALS RECAP
• 125 pounds – Redshirt-sophomore Sean Fausz – ACC runner-up
Starting as the No. 3 seed, Fausz captured All-ACC honors and was the runner-up at 125 pounds for the second straight year. His day started with a 18-5 major decision over UNC’s James Szymanski. In the semifinals, Fausz took out the second seeded Jack Mueller of Virginia, who is ranked No. 8 nationally, 12-5. In the finals, Fausz lost a hard faught battle to the top seed Joey Dance, ranked No. 3 nationally. After a scoreless first, Fausz got an escape in the second and Dance had one in the third, as the two went into extra time tied 1-1. Dance got the decisve takedown 16 seconds in for his third straight ACC title. Fausz earns an NCAA automatic bid, his second straight trip to the NCAAs.
• 133 pounds – Redshirt-sophomore Jamal Morris – ACC runner-up
Also starting as the No. 3 seed, Morris went 2-1 and also earned All-ACC honors with his second place finish. Morris’ day started with a 16-0 first-period technical fall over UNC’s Nicholas Lirette. In the semifinals, Morris avenged a loss during th dual season to Virginia’s Will Mason with a 4-1 win.
In the finals, Morris fell to the top seed Dom Forys, ranked No. 8 nationally. After a scoreless first, Forys scored the bout’s only takedown early in the second and went on to win 5-0. Morris also earns an NCAA automatic bid for the second straight season.
• 141 pounds – Junior Kevin Jack – ACC Champion
Junior Kevin Jack became the first NC State wrestler in school history to win back-to-back ACC titles at 141 pounds, the 23rd overall to win a championship in the same weight class two years in a row. In his seven ACC wins this year, Jack outscored conference foes 103-25 and did not concede a single takedown. Having won 27 straight matches, Jack will be returning to the NCAA Championships for the third straight year. After a 17-4 major decision to open the day, Jack defeated the second seed, No. 6 nationally, George DiCamillo in the finals 10-4. Jack scored three first period takedowns, and took a commaning 6-2 lead with 1:30 of ride time after the first.
• 165 pounds – Redshirt-junior Brian Hamann – ACC runner-up
Redshirt-junior Brian Hamann earned a first round bye as he was the second seed at 165 pounds. In the semifinals, he took out North Caroliona’s Devin Kane with a 9-4 win. In the finals, Hamann fell to top seed, No. 9 nationally, Te’Shan Campbell of Pitt 7-0. After a scoreless first period, Campbell scored an escape and a takedown in the second period to capture the lead for good. With his first All-ACC finish, Hamann advances to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career.
• 184 pounds – Redshirt-junior Michael Macchiavello – ACC runner-up
The Pack’s second top seed, redshirt-junior Michael Macchiavello started his day with a third period pin to advance to the title match. Just like Hamann, Macchiavello earns All-ACC honors for the first time, and also will be making his first trip to the NCAAs. In the finals today, Macchiavello fell to the second seed, No. 7 nationally, Zack Zavatsky 3-2. VT struck first with the bout’s lone takedown in the first period. After the two wrestlers traded escapes, Macchiavello was down one in the third but could not find a winning takedown.
CONSOLATION FINALS RECAP
Redshirt-senior Sam Speno finished in fourth place at 149 pounds. Speno scored the bout’s first takedown to take a 2-0 lead after the first period, but UVA’s Sam Krivus scored two third period takedowns to claim the 6-2 win. Freshman Nick Reenan placed fourth at his first ACC Championship, competing at 174 pounds. Reenan fell in the third place bout 6-2 to Duke’s Connor Bass.
Redshirt-sophomore Malik McDonald placed third in his first ACC Championship, as he closed his day with a 4-0 win. After an escape in the second, McDonald scored a takedown in the third and added the ride time point for the win.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS RECAP
Speno came back from a first round upset and took out Robert Lee of Pitt, 6-3. Speno scored a late takedown in the first and another in the second. Reenan advanced to the third place bout with a 17-10 win. Reenan put together four first period takedowns to jump out to a big lead. McDonald had the biggest comeback of the day. Down 7-0 early in the second period, McDonald dominated the third period with five takedowns and scored the 14-11 win.
SEMIFINAL RECAP
The Pack placed nine of its 10 wrestlers into the semifinals, and won the first three matchups of the round. Fausz pulled off the first upset, as he defeated Virginia’s Jack Mueller, who was ranked No. 8 nationally, 12-5. With the bout tied 5-5 in the third, Fausz scored a takedown and then scored a four-point near fall and added ride time to secure the win. Morris followed suit with another upset, as he was the third seed and defeated the second seed, Virginia’s Will Mason 4-1. Morris scored a takedown late in the first period, added an escape point and accumulated ride time to advance to the finals.
Jack added a bonus point win in his first bout of the day, as he scored a 17-4 major decision. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first, Jack went to work in the second with a pair of takedowns and a two-point near fall. The Pack then suffered back-to-back losses at 149 and 157 pounds. Hamann broke the skid, and earned his first NCAA bid with a 9-4 win at 165 pounds. Hamann got an early takedown, then scored three two-point near falls to take a comandding 8-1 lead after the first. Macchiavello became the fifth NC State wrestler to advance to the finals. Up 6-5 late in the third, Macchiavello got a takedown and quickly turned it into a pin to advance. With their wins, Fausz, Morris, Jack, Hamann and Macchiavello all earned NCAA bids.
FIRST ROUND RECAP
The Pack won three of its four matches in the first round. NC State started the day out with back-to-back bonus point wins. Fausz scored three first period takedowns and rolled to an 18-5 major decision at 125 pounds. Morris followed suit at 133 pounds, getting an early takedown and had three four-point near falls in the first period and scored a 16-0 technical fall win. Reenan started his first ACC Championship with a takedown just three seconds in, and had five takedowns overall enroute to an 11-5 win.
UP NEXT
NC State will await the NCAA Championships brackets and at-large bids this week for the tournament that runs March 16-18 in St. Louis.
The ACCs at Reynolds Coliseum on the NC State campus
By Milt Sherman, ECU Wrestling
Hi Wrestlers –
ACC’s @ NCSU yesterday. Coach Welborn and I got in for $7 all day. Nice crowd of about 3000. First time we’ve been in historic Reynolds Coliseum since the re-do and it was impressive. All new doors and windows, but more impressively they cut off the former looong length of the gym and created a large lobby/hall of fame on the front side of a new interior wall. Also trophy cases upstairs around the walkway and numerous All-American displays.
Scores: VT 93, NCSU 64, Pitt 54, VA 52.5, UNC 44, Duke 24.5. 5 NC hall-of-famers in the photo below with Jerry Daniels-NCSU, Larry Carpenter-Lincolnton, Bill Eccle-Gastonia, me, and Coach W. Arena photo taken during a consolation round – pretty much packed for the finals. Introduced finalists ran through the flames and fireworks from the floor trays. Created so much smoke they had to turn the ceiling exhaust fans on which sounded like jet engines.
6th Annual ECU Spring Wrestling Clinic – March 19th – day after NCAA D-I finals
2016-clinic-flyer
The complete flyer is hyperlinked to the link above.
Great Teacher/Student Ratio
Coaches are Assisted by the ECU Wrestling Team
Coaches attend free
Feel free to video tape
App State CLAIMS SECOND-STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Our Congratulations to the Mountaineers.
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BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University wrestling downed VMI, 38-6, on Wednesday night to win its second-straight Southern Conference regular season championship and third under head coach JohnMark Bentley – ninth championship overall. The 17th-ranked Mountaineers (13-2, 7-0 SoCon) go undefeated in league play for the first time since 2011-12 – coach Bentley’s first regular season championship. The win gives App State its most wins since 2011-12 (13-4), its most SoCon wins in team history and fewest losses since 2002-03 (11-2). Winning 87 percent of their dual matches this season, the Black and Gold posted the best team winning percentage in program history. Since Dec. 15, 2015, App State wrestling has won 22 of 26 dual matches for exceptional recent dominance in the mid-majors, downing five Power 5 programs and two top-25 teams. Rest of the story at http://www.appstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21500&ATCLID=211463291&mc_cid=fbb7427690&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Appalachian State Downs Tenn.-Chattanooga with Tiebreaker, 17-16 (55-54)
TDR Editor’s Notes ; Great in conference victory for the Mountaineers!
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BOONE, N.C. — With first place on the line, the day wouldn’t get any less dramatic over the course of 10 weight classes as Appalachian State University wrestling went to the tie-breaking rules to defeat Chattanooga, 17-16 (55-54), on Sunday afternoon in Varsity Gym. The 16th-ranked Mountaineers (12-2, 6-0 Southern Conference) were tied with the Mocs (5-9, 3-2 SoCon) at the end of the match, 16-all. The first tiebreaker is the total amount of weight classes won, but even then, the two teams were tied at five apiece. The tie-breaking rules then dictated that the winner is whoever has the most match points when all individual weight classes are added up. Rest of the story at …. http://www.appstatesports.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21500&ATCLID=211456935&mc_cid=76a6ac522a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Reitmeier reaches milestone for Augustana
TDR Editor’s Notes ; As we like to recognize, honor and remember college coaches with many years of service and victories. Our compliments to Coach Reitmeier.
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On the day Augustana honored head wrestling coach Jason Reitmeier for becoming the school’s winningest coach of all-time, Augustana put together a comeback for the ages in Sioux Falls. The Vikings upended No. 19 Upper Iowa 19-16 after winning its last three matches. The Vikings remain unbeaten in the NSIC and improved to 11-5 (5-0 NSIC) on the season. Each Augustana victory came from an upperclassman. Rest of the story at http://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/college/augustana-university/2017/02/05/reitmeier-reaches-milestone-augustana-wrestling/97531582/?mc_cid=76a6ac522a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
N.C. State Wolfpack Hosts #16 Michigan for NWCA National Duals
TDR Editor’s Notes ; NCSU wrestles Michigan in a dual for the first time in almost 25 years!
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Second straight year NC State was selected as an at-large team for National Duals
RALEIGH, N.C. – Being ranked in the top-10 all season in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll and finishing the regular season with a 12-2 dual mark, netted the No. 7 Wolfpack a second straight at-large bid to the NWCA National Duals Championship Series. Last year, NC State went to No. 2 Iowa and handed the Hawkeyes its first ever loss to an ACC school, 21-17, and this year the Pack will try to recapture that magic when No. 16 Michigan comes to Reynolds Coliseum Friday night. Last year’s NWCA National Duals win at Iowa was the start to one of the best postseasons in school history. Two weeks after the win in Iowa City, NC State captured the 2016 ACC Championship behind four individual titles. Two weeks after that, the Pack placed 11th at the NCAA Championships tying a school record with three All-Americans.
The Pack has picked up where it left off last year, and enters the final dual of the season with a 12-2 mark with all 10 starters currently ranked in the NCAA Coaches’ Panel Rankings. For the second year in a row, NC State went 4-1 in ACC duals. Rest of the story at …. http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/2/16/wrestling-packwrestle-hosts-16-michigan-for-nwca-national-duals.aspx
Comeback Falls Short for #8 WolfPack at #5 Virginia Tech
TDR Editor’s Notes ; An exciting match that brought together the top two ACC teams for an exciting regular season final dual.
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#10 Macchiavello upsets #5 Zavatsky at 184 pounds to start dual
BLACKSBURG, VA. – With #8 NC State and #5 Virginia Tech coming into the final regular season dual both a perfect 4-0 in ACC action, it was only fitting for the last conference dual of 2016-17 to come down to the final match of the evening. The Wolfpack (12-2, 4-1 ACC) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, but the Hokies responded with three straight wins to make it 11-3. The Pack answered with a decision at 133 pounds and a technical fall at 141 to even things up 11-11 with four bouts remaining. The Hokies (16-1, 5-0) once again scored back-to-back wins and retook the lead at 17-11. The Pack got the decision at 165 pounds to pull within three team points, but VT held on to claim the final bout at 174 pounds and the out-right ACC dual championship with a 20-14 win Saturday night in Blacksburg. The dual started at 184 pounds with the first of two top-1o matchups. NC State’s #10 Michael Macchiavello pulled off the upset and downed #5 Zack Zavatsky for only his second loss of the season. Entering the third down 2-1, Macchiavello got a reversal and then a four-point nearfall before adding a late takedown in the 9-3 win. Macchiavello finishes a perfect 4-0 in ACC duals at 184 pounds, and improves to 5-4 versus ranked foes downing his highest ranked opponent of the season. Rest of the story at …. http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/2/11/wrestling-comeback-falls-short-for-8-packwrestle-at-5-virginia-tech.aspx
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
