Basic Wrestling Skills
By Milt Sherman
Nothing is more important to success on the mat than basic wrestling skills. I put together the attached video years back to try to get our middle school program up to stuff. 27 drills and moves are covered in just 19 minutes. It has achieved 50,000 views on YouTube and is worth a look. Consider sharing it with your team or others of wrestling interest. You are likely to pick up something that will help your team. Just click on the link below. http://core.ecu.edu/hhp/baldwinc/flowplayer/index.cfm?id=157
Birmingham Named SoCon Wrestler of the Week
Ashley Bailey, Assistant Sports Information Director – Davidson Univ. asbailey@davidson.edu
Birmingham Named SoCon Wrestler of the Week
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Davidson wrestler Kevin Birmingham has been named the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week for all competition from Jan. 8-14. The selection, made by the league office, was announced Wednesday. The 149-pound junior from Sicklerville, N.J., went 4-0 on the week with four pins, including a pin of a ranked opponent, as the Wildcats went 2-2. Birmingham started things off with a pin of Ohio Northern’s Steven Freucht in just 47 seconds to help Davidson to a 23-17 victory over the Polar Bears. He then went 3-0 in competition at the Pitt Duals, kicking things off by sending No. 20 Justin Arthur of Clarion to the mat in 4:56 as the Wildcats fell to the Golden Eagles 31-15. Birmingham then moved on to pin Seton Hill’s Kevin Laubach at the 5:27 mark, helping the Wildcats to a 40-9 victory. He wrapped things up with a first-period pin of No. 13 Pittsburgh’s Jake Keller, scoring half the ‘Cats’ points in a 40-12 loss to the Panthers. His four pins move him to 12-4 on the season, including a SoCon-best 10 pins. He has now pinned five consecutive opponents, dating back to Dec. 7, 2013. The honor is the first of Birmingham’s career. He becomes the first Wildcat to earn a weekly accolade since Vitaly Radsky on Jan. 12, 2011. The Wildcats open SoCon action Wednesday evening at Belk Arena when they host Gardner-Webb in a 7 p.m. dual match. www.DavidsonWildcats.com
Davidson Falls to Gardner-Webb, 35-15, in SoCon Opener
By Ashley Bailey, Assistant Sports Information Director – Davidson Univ.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Kevin Birmingham pinned his sixth consecutive opponent as the Davidson wrestling team fell to in-state foe Gardner-Webb, 35-15, in its opening Southern Conference dual Wednesday evening at Belk Arena. Named SoCon Wrestler of the Week earlier in the day, Birmingham pinned GWU’s Tyler Ziegler in 3:51 for his sixth straight win. He brings his tally to a SoCon-best 11 pins on the season. The Wildcats started the match down 12-0 after forfeiting both 125 and 133 pounds. Trailing 29-6 prior to the 184-pound bout, Scott Patrick pinned Aaron Rabin in 4:08 to add six more to the ‘Cats’ tally as Gardner-Webb led 29-12. Michael Moore made it two in a row for Davidson, taking a hard-fought 7-2 decision at 197-pounds over Zachary Bennett. However, it was too little, too late as the Runnin’ Bulldogs claimed the heavyweight bout to earn the 35-15 victory. Davidson will take a week off before returning to action January 24 when they travel to Lexington, Va., to take on VMI in a 7 p.m. SoCon match. www.DavidsonWildcats.com
ECU Open Workout
From Milt Sherman, ECU Wrestling, 252-341-8980
We run an open workout for area youth one Sunday a month. This month it will be on Jan 19th from 10:00am – 12:00 in the Student Rec Center on campus. The SRC is located on campus at 8th & Cotanche Streets and parking is available behind the building off 9th Street. At a coach’s request, one thing we’ll work on this session is the granby roll and counters. We always do some technique work as well as a little live wrestling. Take a look at the campus while in town. Perhaps one of your athletes will get interested in attending ECU and maybe even wrestle for our competing college club team.
Virginia Wins Its First Virginia Duals Championship
No. 13 Cavaliers top No. 14 Edinboro, 20-19, to earn title
HAMPTON, Va. – Virginia claimed its first-ever Virginia Duals team championship with a 20-19 victory over No. 14 Edinboro Saturday evening at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va. The 13th-ranked Cavaliers rallied from a 13-3 deficit after four weight classes, winning five of the final six classes to secure the title. The championship is Virginia’s first in the 34-year history of the event. The top-seeded Cavaliers (11-2) topped fifth-seeded Kent State (7-5), 22-12, in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon to advance and face the second-seeded Fighting Scots (4-3). Nick Herrmann (So., Amarillo, Texas), Nick Sulzer (R-Jr., Cleveland, Ohio), Jon Fausey (R-Sr., Dalmatia, Pa.) andZach Nye (R-So., Enola, Pa.) each scored a pair of wins Saturday. “This whole week was a gritty one for our guys,” Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. “We lost one of our starters (Gus Sako) and hopefully we get him back soon, but it was a big hit to our lineup. Chris Yankowichstepped in and did a good job as always, but it didn’t affect the rest of the guys. They did their jobs and went out there and grinded out wins. “We took a lot of tough losses over the course of this tournament, but guys kept rebounding and coming back. That’s the thing you want to see as a coach. It’s only January, but this feels good. We’re starting to see some special qualities from this group and hopefully that will continue.”
Championship Match
After dropping three of the first four weight classes, Virginia bounced back to win five of the final six classes to earn the championship. UVa jumped to an early lead when Herrmann scored late to top No. 17 Kory Mines, 3-2. With the match tied at one in the third period, Herrmann took Mines down with 42 seconds left, then held the advantage until the final second. Edinboro won the next three classes to jump ahead 13-3. Fourth-ranked A.J. Schopp pinned UVa’s Joseph Martinez (R-So., Platteville, Colo.) in the second period and reigning national runner-up Mitchell Port, currently undefeated and ranked No. 1 nationally, rolled to a 7-2 decision over No. 13 Joe Spisak (R-Jr., Boiling Springs, Pa.) at 141 before 14th-ranked David Habat scored with a 13-4 major decision over UVa’s Chris Yankowich (So., Norristown, Pa.). UVa cut the lead to 13-6 when No. 13 Blaise Butler (R-So., Belvidere, Ill.) registered a 14-8 win over No. 18 Johnny Greisheimer at 157. Butler pounced quickly for three first-period takedowns and just missed recording a major decision when Greisheimer wiggled free in the waning seconds to avoid a final takedown. Ranked third nationally, Sulzer dominated Zach Towers at 165, winning in a 17-4 major decision. Sulzer is now 22-1 on the year, with 17 of his wins resulting in bonus points. Stephen Doty (R-Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) knotted the team score at 13-13 with a 9-3 decision over Nick Mitchell. Doty recorded a late takedown in the second period to take a 6-2 lead, then controlled the third period to claim the riding time point. After a scoreless first period, Fausey reversed Patrick Jennings midway through the second and later tilted him to pick up three back points for a 5-0 lead. Fausey took Jennings down near the edge of the mat in the third period, then rode out the period to claim the 8-0 major decision. Nye clinched the championship with a 6-4 win over Vince Pickett at 197. Nye surrendered a takedown 30 seconds into the first period, but battled back and scored a takedown with 45 seconds remaining in the bout to take a 6-3 lead. He maintained control the rest of the way to erase the riding-time advantage and seal the team win. Edinboro heavyweight Ernest James, ranked 17th nationally, finished the match by pinning No. 20 Ethan Hayes 15 seconds into the second period.
Semifinals
Virginia and Kent State engaged in an exciting back-and-forth battle in the semifinals, with UVa winning the final three classes to come back and pull out a 22-12 dual win. The dual featured a pair of ties as well as three lead changes. Herrmann opened the dual by outlasting the Golden Flashes’ Alfredo Gray, 10-8, at 125. The first two periods were full of offense, with Herrmann taking a 9-7 lead into the third. He then held the advantage for most of the third period while building the riding time over a minute before allowing Gray to escape late. Kent State’s Mac McGuire, ranked 18th nationally, avenged an earlier loss to Martinez with a 5-2 victory at 133. Spisak then scored his third win of the year over Tyler Small, 7-4, at 141. The Golden Flashes knotted the team score at 6-6 when Michael DePalma rolled to a 7-2 win over Yankowich at 149. The Golden Flashes took their first lead when fifth-ranked Ian Miller held on to top Butler, 4-3 at 157. The deciding point came at the end when Miller picked up the bonus point on riding time. The Cavaliers moved ahead, 10-9, as Sulzer racked up five takedowns and 3:15 in riding time in a 13-4 major decision over Tyler Buckwalter at 165. Kent State came back to grab its final lead when Caleb Marsh upset Doty 3-2 at 174; Doty pinned Marsh in their meeting earlier this year at the Hokie Duals. The match’s turning point came at 184 pounds as Fausey scored a takedown with 25 seconds left in the third period to snap a 4-4 deadlock and claim a 6-5 win over ninth-ranked Sam Wheeler. Nye continued the late heroics in a 2-1 win over Cole Baxter at 197. Nye recorded a takedown with 30 seconds left in the third period, then rode him out to secure the win and give the Cavaliers a 16-12 advantage. Hayes put an exclamation point on the dual, pinning Mimmo Lytle in the heavyweight bout. After a scoreless first period, Hayes reversed Lytle near the edge of the mat and quickly finished off the pin to give the Cavaliers the 22-12 dual win. Virginia is back in action Friday with a 7 p.m. ACC dual at Duke. The Cavaliers then travel to Old Dominion next Sunday (Jan. 19) for a 3 p.m. match. http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-wrestl/recaps/011114aab.html
UNC Pembroke wins Virginia Duals American Division
HAMPTON, Va. – Stevens Tech used a key bonus point victory at 125 pounds to forge a six-point lead after six matches, but the 25th-ranked UNC Pembroke wrestling team won the final four bouts of the night to capture championship honors at the 2014 Virginia Duals with a 22-15 victory over Stevens Tech on Saturday evening. The triumph marked the fifth-straight dual meet victory for UNCP (6-4) who captured its first event title since taking top honors at last year’s Central Florida Open. Stevens Tech (6-3), who is ranked No. 18 in the latest NCAA Division III poll, had its five-match win streak snapped with the result. Hindered by a forfeit loss at 125 pounds, UNCP found itself trailing by at least three points on the team scoreboard for a majority of the match. Connor Bass’s 6-0 decision over Reggie Allen in the 165-pound matchup would give the Ducks a 15-9 advantage, but it would be inevitably cap the scoring for Stevens Tech as well. Ridge White got the comeback started with a 9-2 decision over Ryan Dormann at 174 pounds, and Blaze Shade tied the match up seven minutes later with a 4-2 win over Tristan Hollenbaugh. Stuart Nadeau racked up more than four minutes of riding time in posting a key 11-2 major decision over Mark Garrity at 197 pounds and score four key team points, and Chris Giddens finished off the rally with a triple overtime victory over Chris Florek in the heavyweight contest. The Braves will be back in action again on Thursday when they head to Hartsville, S.C., to take on Coker (5-3). Wrestling action is set to get underway at 7 p.m. inside Timberlake-Lawton Gym. http://www.uncpbraves.com/sports/wrest/2013-14/releases/201401118mwoud
Boise State defeats Cal Poly 35-6
By Eric Burdick
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Kastl brothers, Dominic and Blake, were Cal Poly’s only winners in a 35-6 Pac-12 dual meet loss to Boise State on Sunday in the Mott Athletics Center. Blake Kastl, wrestling in the opening bout, earned a 3-2 decision over Chris Castillo at 149 pounds while his older brother, Dominic Kastl, was an 8-2 winner over Austin Dewey at 174 pounds. Boise State salvaged one win in its three-match California road trip, improving to 2-3 on the year. The Broncos fell 19-12 at Stanford on Thursday and 19-13 to Bakersfield on Friday. Cal Poly dropped to 2-3 with Sunday’s loss. In Pac-12 duals, Cal Poly is 1-1 while Boise State is 2-2. Blake Kastl, a redshirt freshman, scored a takedown in the first period and, after surrendering a pair of escapes, notched an escape of his own in the final period for the victory, improving his record to 14-6 on the year. Dominic Kastl, the Pac-12 champion at 165 pounds two years ago, scored takedowns in the first two periods for a 4-1 lead, then earned an escape, takedown and riding time in the final period for his win, upping his mark for the season to 9-2. Dominic Kastl, who entered the match ranked No. 20 at 174 pounds by Intermat, wrestled for the first time in three weeks after injuring an ankle in the Reno Tournament of Champions. Boise State rode pins from 197-pounder Cody Dixon and 285-pounder J.T. Felix to the dual meet victory. Bronco 141-pounder Travis Himmelman and 184-pounder Jacob Swartz added major decisions. At 125, Cal Poly’s Britain Longmire and Boise State’s Rami Haddadin battled to a 2-2 draw, but Haddadin compiled 1 minute, 43 seconds in riding time to earn the 3-2 decision. Another close match was at 165 pounds as Steven Hernandez of Boise State scored an escape and takedown in the second period and held on for a 3-1 decision over Cal Poly’s Sohrab Movahedi. Cal Poly will host Menlo College for a non-conference dual meet Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Mott Athletics Center. www.gopoly.com
NC State Wrestling Sweeps Pitt Duals for Three Wins
By Brian Reinhardt
Pack downs Clarion, Eastern Michigan and Seton Hill by a combined 98-26
PITTSBURGH, PA. – The NC State wrestling team picked up three wins today at the Pitt Duals, defeating Clarion (30-6), Eastern Michigan (32-11) and Seton Hill (36-9). The Pack won 23 of its 30 matches on the day, and improves to 10-2 in duals this season, with both losses to nationally ranked teams. NC State started its day with a 30-6 win over Clarion in its first dual. The Pack won eight of the 10 matches, including four bonus point victories, and also defeated both Clarion wrestlers that were ranked. Starting at 125 pounds, NC State freshman Micah Perez recorded a 15-7 major decision to give the Pack a 4-0 lead, a lead held throughout the dual. Sophomore Sam Speno also recorded a major decision, picking up a 12-2 win at 141 pounds. NC State then posted back-to-back wins over ranked Clarion foes. Freshman Brian Hamann downed No. 20 Justin Arthur at 149 pounds, 9-2, then junior Tommy Gantt scored a 7-5 overtime decision over No. 19 Austin Matthews at 157 pounds. Rounding out the bonus point wins, freshman No. 19 Peter Renda netted an 18-7 major decision at 174 pounds, and redshirt-sophomore No. 4 Nick Gwiazdowski recorded a pin 3:48 into his bout at 285 pounds. The Pack then scored a come from behind win over Eastern Michigan, 32-11. After dropping the first three bouts, NC State won the final seven, with four being bonus point wins. Eastern Michigan jumped out to an 11-0 lead over the Pack with a win at 125 pounds and major decision victories at 133 and 141. Hamann scored the first of seven straight NC State wins with a 5-1 decision at 149 pounds, followed by a 17-2 tech fall win by Gantt at 157 and freshman Pete Santos notching a 5-4 win at 165 pounds to tie up the dual at 11-11. NC State jumped ahead with back-to-back pins – Renda at 174 pounds (2:31) and classmate Micheal Macchiavello at 184 pounds in sudden victory (8:00) – to give the Pack a 23-11 lead. Redshirt-senior KaRonne Jones added a 5-2 decision at 197 pounds, followed by another Gwiazdowski pin (2:10) at 285 pounds for the final count of 32-11. The Pack closed out the Pitt Duals with a 36-9 win over Seton Hill. NC State won eight of the 10 matches, with one of those losses by forfeit. NC State jumped out to a 20-0 lead after the first four bouts, earning major decisions by freshman Chris Wilkes (11-3 at 133 pounds) and redshirt-freshman Cohl Fulk (13-2 at 149) and forfeits at 125 and 141 pounds. Renda earned an 8-4 decision at 174 to finish his day at 3-0, while Gwiazdowski recorded his third pin in as many matches today to conclude the scoring at 36-9. The Pack will return to road action next weekend, traveling to No. 22 Kent State next Sunday for a dual. Visit www.GoPack.com
Davidson Goes 1-2 at 2014 Pitt Duals
By Ashley Bailey, Assistant Sports Information Director – Davidson University|
Sunday, January 12, 2014
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Kevin Birmingham was one of the highlights of the day, going 3-0 with a trio of pins as the Davidson wrestling team went 1-2 at the 2014 Pitt Duals Sunday afternoon at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. The Wildcats (4-6) earned a 40-9 win over Seton Hill and falling to Clarion 31-15 and the host Panthers 40-12. In addition to Birmingham, Anthony Elias had a solid day, going 2-0, while Scott Patrick finished 2-1 with a pair of pins. Anthony Elias earned a 9-3 decision over Clarion’s Sam Sherlock at 133-pounds to put the Wildcats on the scoreboard down 4-3. The Golden Eagles took 141 by fall to take a 10-3 advantage, but Kevin Birmingham (149) pinned No. 20 Justin Arthur in 4:56 to once again cut into Clarion’s lead and put the score at 10-9. The Golden Eagles took the next three to add 13 points to their tally (23-9) before Scott Patrick picked up another Davidson win with a pin of Dustin Conti in 2:35 at 184-pounds. However, the ‘Cats couldn’t make the comeback and took the 31-15 loss. Davidson rebounded after a bye round with a 40-9 thrashing of Seton Hill. Starting the match up 6-0 due to a forfeit by the Griffins, the ‘Cats took a 9-0 lead after Anthony Elias’s 8-2 win over Andrew Schutz at 133-pounds. Seton Hill forfeited 141-pounds to put Davidson ahead 15-0 before Birmingham (149) came up with his ninth pin of the season in 5:27 on SHU’s Kevin Laubach to make it 21-0. The Griffins made some headway into the deficit with a tech fall at 157-pounds and a major decision at 165-pounds to put the score at 21-9. Nathaniel Powers earned a 14-3 major decision over Tyler Mohlhenrich at 174-pounds before Patrick picked up his second pin of the day, as Tyler Dombrowski fell in 5:22 at 184-pounds. Michael Moore followed suit with his first career pin, downing Morris Lawson in 5:49 before Ed Isola earned a 3-1 win over Ryan Simonica to put the match away at 40-9. The Wildcats put up a fight against the highly-touted Panthers, highlighted by Birmingham’s third win of the day. He pinned Jake Keller in 1:25, marking his third of the afternoon and his fifth straight overall. Both Patrick and James McCord took losses to ranked opponents, with McCord falling to No. 20 Edgar Bright in 2:40 while Patrick dropped a 12-1 major decision to sixth-ranked Max Thomusseit. Ed Isola put up a fight against P.J. Tasser, but fell in an 8-3 decision. Davidson will host Gardner-Webb at Belk Arena in a 7 p.m. match on Wednesday to open conference action.
www.DavidsonWildcats.com
Stevens Institute of Technology defeats Anderson University, 37-15
by Rob Kulish
HAMPTON, Va. (January 10, 2014) – The Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team – ranked 18th in NCAA Division III – defeated Anderson University, 37-15, in the opening round of the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. Friday morning. Stevens advances to the semifinals on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Limestone College which advanced with a victory over the Apprentice School. Freshman Rob Murray started the Ducks with a major decision victory at 125 pounds, upending Cory Monteforte, but the Trojans ran off three-straight wins to take a 15-4 margin heading into the 157-pound weight class. The Ducks were not deterred despite the deficit, running off wins at 157, 165, 174, 184, 197 and 285 to close the match and seal a berth in the semifinals. Sophomore Leo Wortman won by fall at 157, while junior Conner Bass did the same at 174. Senior Ryan Dormann pocketed an 8-2 decision at 174 pounds, with rookie Tristan Hollenbaugh pocketing Stevens’ third win by fall of the afternoon in the 184-pound weight class and giving Stevens a 25-15 lead. Senior Alex Moreno and junior Chris Florek won by forfeit at 197 and 285, respectively to close out the 37-15 victory.
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
