Live streaming video coverage planned for 2010 NWCA All-Star Classic
Rest of story at http://www.examiner.com/college-wrestling-in-national/live-streaming-video-coverage-planned-for-2010-nwca-all-star-classic
UNCG Tabbed as Preseason Favorite
Spartans Predicted to Break Chattanooga’s Streak of Titles; Preseason All-Conference Named
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A year after winning the Southern Conference Wrestling tournament, UNCG has been selected by the league’s six wrestling coaches as the preseason favorite to win the crown in 2010-11. The coaches also voted on a 10-member preseason All-Southern Conference wrestling team. Head coach Jason Loukides’ UNCG squad garnered four first-place votes and 23 points to sit atop the poll. Senior Byron Sigmon, the 2010 SoCon champion at 174 pounds who was unbeaten in league matches a year ago, is the Spartans’ lone representative on the preseason all-conference team. The Spartans were picked first despite Chattanooga carrying a six-year, 30-match SoCon duals win streak into the season. The Mocs earned the other two first-place votes and 21 points overall in the balloting. Second-year coach Heath Eslinger has three preseason all-conference wrestlers on his squad, including two-time SoCon champion Cody Cleveland at 141 pounds. Cleveland, the SoCon champion at 141 and Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler in both 2008 and ’09 as well as the 2009 SoCon Co-Wrestler of the Year, missed the majority of last season with an injury. Appalachian State and The Citadel tied for third place in the poll with 16 points apiece. Led by the 2010 SoCon Wrestler of the Year, Austin Trotman (184), the Mountaineers boast a trio of all-conference performers. At 125 pounds, Tony Gravely is the reigning SoCon champion while Dylan Temple looks to defend his title at 197. The Citadel, which claimed second place in last year’s tournament, is represented on the preseason all-conference team by returning champions Turtogtokh Luvsandorj and Odie Delaney. Luvsandorj is moving from 157 pounds to 165 this season while Delaney will wrestle as a heavyweight. VMI received eight points to rank fifth in the poll followed by Davidson with six points. The Wildcats’ Alex Radsky, who became Davidson’s first individual Southern Conference champion since 1969 with a win last year, is the preseason choice at 133 pounds. Gravely, Radsky, Pavlou, Luvsandorj, Sigmon, Trotman, Temple and Delaney were all winners at the 2010 SoCon Championships while Cleveland is a two-time champion from previous seasons. The 2010-11 Southern Conference wrestling season begins this Saturday, Nov. 6 when Chattanooga takes on Kent State in Salem, Va. and The Citadel hosts The Citadel Open. The remaining league teams start competition Sunday at the Hokie Open in Salem, Va.
Appalachian State will host the 2011 Southern Conference Wrestling Championship in at the Holmes Convocation Center on March 5, 2011.
2010-11 SoCon Wrestling Preseason Coaches Poll
School (First-place votes) Points
1. UNCG (4) 23
2. Chattanooga (2) 21
3. Appalachian State 16
The Citadel 16
5. VMI 8
6. Davidson 6
2010-11 SoCon Wrestling Preseason All-Conference Team
125 Tony Gravely, Appalachian State
133 Alex Radsky, Davidson
141 Cody Cleveland, Chattanooga
149 Dean Pavlou, Chattanooga
157 Dan Waddell, Chattanooga
165 Turtogtokh, Luvsandorj, The Citadel
174 Byron Sigmon, UNCG
184 Austin Trotman, Appalachian State
197 Dylan Temple, Appalachian State
HWT Odie Delaney, The Citadel
2010 NWCA All-Star Classic to be held in Fresno November 21
The 45th edition of the NWCA All-Star Classic returns to California for the second straight year. This annual event, pitting the top college wrestlers in the nation, will be held on Sunday, November 21, 2010 in Fresno, California at Selland Arena. The 2009 All-Stars were held at Cal State Fullerton. According to a press statement from the National Wrestling Coaches Assocation, the 2010 NWCA All-Star Classic will serve as a fundraiser to assist in efforts to preserve and grow the number of college wrestling programs in the state of California. All proceeds from the event will be earmarked to fund strategic initiatives and public relation efforts for the California wrestling programs. As the NWCA points out, California-based NCAA Division I wrestling programs were hard hit, with the existence of wrestling at Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Bakersfield and UC Davis all seriously threatened. “Having the All-Star Classic in California, will help to continue to promote awareness for the sport of wrestling which currently lacks opportunity within the state,” said Mike Mendoza, head coach Cal State Bakersfield. “While the need for opportunity is increasing with the growing number of participants at the high school level, the opportunities are being eliminated at the college level. The state of California needs to come together and support college wrestling with this event.” Cal State Bakersfield has been granted another year of competition as well after undertaking large fundraising projects last year with the help of New England Patriot Stephen Neal, two-time NCAA heavyweight champ for the Roadrunners (beating UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar for the title in 1999), and three-time All-Star Classic winner. Last year, Cal State Fullerton hosted the All-Star Classic raising over $200,000 for their program along with countless donations. They have been granted a reprieve and are able to compete for the 2010-11 season, but must still continue to raise funds to keep their program.
Rest of story at http://www.examiner.com/college-wrestling-in-national/2010-nwca-all-star-classic-to-be-held-fresno-november-21?cid=examiner-email
Michael Childs Named Davidson Assistant Wrestling Coach
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Davidson head wrestling coach Bob Patnesky announced the addition of Michael Childs to the staff as an assistant wrestling coach Tuesday. Childs, a four-year letter winner as a student-athlete at Drexel, brings a wide range of experiences to the Wildcats. “Michael comes to us with a wealth of knowledge,” said Patnesky. “He has been around wrestling all of his life and is very excited for the opportunity to coach here. He will contribute to our program in a variety of ways.” The Wayne, Pa. native spent six years as a high school head wrestling coach beginning in 2001. Childs began at Friends Select School in Philadelphia where he doubled participation rates and coached a wrestler to a top-12 finish at the National Prep Tournament. He then served as the head coach at Springfield Township H.S. in Erdenheim, Pa. for four years, where he increased participation rates and coached a wrestler to a fourth-place finish at the state championships. Most recently, Childs was assisting at his high school alma mater, Radnor, where as a student he posted a 91-19 record and a top-eight finish at the state championships, and was a freestyle state champion and a two-time Keystone State Games Champion. He spent the 2008-09 academic year at Penn State, where was a volunteer coach for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club while serving as an academic tutor and mentor for student-athletes. Childs is the son of Jack Childs, who has been the head coach at Drexel for the past 35 years and has been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Pennsylvania Chapter and the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame. Michael competed for his father at Drexel, and graduated with a degree in psychology in 2003.
Former Lehigh coach Greg Strobel named USA Wrestling’s Man of the Year
Greg Strobel, who has served wrestling as a volunteer leader, coach and administrator for decades — but is perhaps best-known as head coach at Lehigh University — has been named Man of the Year by USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States. This award recognizes an outstanding man for his contributions to the sport of wrestling. “My first thought when I heard about this was that it is a cool deal. I’ve seen the list of previous winners, and that is very good company. All of those people dedicated their lives to improve wrestling. To join those people with this award is a great honor,” said Strobel. An Oregon native, Gregory Oscar Strobel has impressive credentials as a college wrestler and coach. He was a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champ for Oregon State University, winning Outstanding Wrestling honors at the 1973 NCAAs. He launched his coaching career at his college alma mater, serving as an assistant to the Beavers’ legendary head coach Dale Thomas. As Lehigh head coach from 1995-2008, Strobel compiled a 189-83-1 dual meet record and led the Mountain Hawks to six EIWA championships including five consecutive titles from 2002-06. Strobel was named EIWA Coach of the Year four times, and was named National Coach of the Year by the NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association) after leading Lehigh to a third place finish at the 2004 NCAA championships. His Lehigh wrestlers captured 28 individual EIWA titles and totaled 30 NCAA All-America medals. Strobel coached two national champions, Rob Rohn in 2002 and Troy Letters in 2004.
Rest of Story at http://www.examiner.com/college-wrestling-in-national/former-lehigh-coach-greg-strobel-named-usa-wrestling-s-man-of-the-year-1
Rob Hermann named head coach of USA Wrestling’s Training Program at Northern Michigan University
Rob Hermann of Pensacola, Fla. has been named the head coach for USA Wrestling’s Greco-Roman program at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University. Hermann is one of the most respected Greco-Roman coaches in the nation. He has served as a head coach for the 1996 Olympic team and assistant coach for the 2000 Olympic team, and has led numerous other U.S. teams at major international competitions. “Rob and I have worked closely together for 14 years,” said National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser. “He has been a two-time Olympic coach and has coached many of the greatest wrestlers from our country. He will bring to Northern Michigan University his excellent coaching experience which will help the athletes to reach the next level. I am very excited that he will be part of our official USA Wrestling coaching staff.”
MAXPREPS.COM EXPANDS COVERAGE; NOW INCLUDES SCORES AND STATS FOR WRESTLING
MaxPreps.com will track over 250,000 teams & 2.5 million athletes during the 2010-2011 school year
CAMERON PARK, CA, Sept. 3, 2010 – MaxPreps.com, the high school sports source for CBSSports.com and one of the fastest growing sports sites on the Internet, today announced they have extended their reach in local communities by covering Junior Varsity and Freshman high school sports teams. The expanded coverage will include schedules, scores, statistics, video, photos, and editorial articles for thousands of Junior Varsity and Freshman teams. Additionally, MaxPreps.com has added national coverage of six new sports. (see full coverage list below)
MaxPreps.com covered over 1.1 million high school games during the 2009-10 school year and with the expansion of coverage, that number will increase to over 2.5 million games during the upcoming school year. In total MaxPreps.com will track over 250,000 teams and 2.5 million athletes during the 2010-2011 school year.
“The passion around high school sports isn’t just about the varsity level but extends to the junior varsity and freshman teams,” saidAndy Beal, President, MaxPreps.com. “By expanding our coverage to include these levels and adding additional sports we’re catering to the coaches, student-athletes and fans around the world who are involved in and avidly follow these sports.” MaxPreps.com now covers the following 14 sports on the varsity, junior varsity and freshman level:
* Boys Baseball
Boys Football
Boys Wrestling*
Girls Field Hockey*
Girls Softball*
Girls Volleyball
Boys & Girls Basketball
Boys & Girls Ice Hockey*
Boys & Girls Lacrosse
Boys & Girls Soccer*
* New for 2010-11 school year
Chandler Phillips named the Lee Carroll Award Winner
Chandler Phillips of Rocky Mount Senior High School was presented the Lee Carroll Sportsmanship award in scholastic wrestling in the Edgecombe-Nash-Wilson Counties Area, during Friday’s Home football game with rival Northern Nash. Lee Carroll and TakeDown Report Editor Martin Fleming presented the award to Chandler. Last year the award was given to Landon Lucas of SouthWest Edgecombe High School. Chandler has been on the TDR First Team –All Area and Conference Champion in all 4 years of high school competition. He was a 2 time State Qualifier with 126 career wins. He started wrestling in 7th grade, after following and watching his older brother, Nicholas and his friends in competitions. They encouraged him and showed him how being involved could be fun. After six years of competition Chandler is now a wrestling fan at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He credits wrestling which “kept me focused in school. It’s more than a sport, its a lifestyle.” He is now applying his focus in his studies in Criminal Justice & ROTC. Chandler was also ranked in the TDR Top 12 the past three years. The rankings recognize the Top 12 wrestlers in each weight in eastern North Carolina and are shown on distinctive TDR shirts. “Chandler is a great sportsman and competitor. He was truly a positive team leader and he represented his school and the sport well.” Fleming stated. Lee Carroll started wrestling his sophomore year when Tarboro High School restarted the sport in 1992 with Butch Sadler as his coach. Lee won 112 matches in just 3 years with the Vikings. Lee was state runner-up his junior year before a record setting undefeated state champion season in 1995 with a (50-0) record. Lee started four years at North Carolina State while qualifying 3 times for the National Championships. Lee is the owner and operator of an interactive design agency, Forged Media, in Raleigh. The TakeDown Report, an on-line publication promoting amateur wrestling in eastern North Carolina, sponsors the Award. “The award has been named to recognize the best example of good sportsmanship by a scholastic wrestler in the Ten County Area around Edgecombe-Nash-Wilson,” Fleming noted, “It also encourages the young men from the teams in the area with another opportunity for others to realize the hard work, determination and discipline it takes to be a top notch wrestler,” he added. The TakeDown Report is in its 14th year of publication in North Carolina covering wrestling and encouraging media coverage of the sport. Contact the TDR by e-mail at tdr@tarboronc.com or call (252) 883-3311.
Caldwell Ready for Return to Mats
Almost a year removed from the shoulder injured that forced him to miss last season, NCAA champion wrestler Darrion Caldwell is eager to get back in action. The exact date of the telephone call slips Carter Jordan’s memory. But everything else about the conversation is burned into the Wolfpack head wrestling coach’s memory. “I remember it was Labor Day Weekend,” Jordan says. “I remember that much. I can tell you what time of day it was. I can tell you where I was, where I was standing, what the temperature was that day, the color shorts I had on.”
Rest of story by Bruce Winkworth at
http://www.gopack.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/082310aaa.html
UNCG Spartans add 10 more for 2010-11 season
The UNCG wrestling team has added 10 wrestlers for the 2010-11 season, head coach Jason Loukides announced on Wednesday. These 10 wrestlers join Derek Golner, Donald McNeil, Daniel Ownbey and Cody Rodebaugh who signed with the Spartans in the fall. The 10 wrestlers are Elijah Adams, Keith Brown, Maisson Davis, Tony Gardner, Jared Holliday, Nic Lagriola, Jordan Nevseta, James Payne, Santonio Thompson and Terrence Zaleski. Of the 14 wrestlers joining UNCG in the fall, eight of them have claimed at least one state championship.
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
