West Liberty Adds Women’s Wrestling as Varsity Sport
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Liberty University President Dr. Tim Borchers announced today that the university is adding the sport of women’s wrestling to its list of intercollegiate athletic offerings. The Hilltoppers expect to begin competition in the 2024-25 season.
“Adding women’s wrestling will build on the national reputation of the West Liberty wrestling program,” Dr. Borchers said. “With the growing popularity of the sport, this new program will provide additional opportunities for students throughout the region to continue their education.”
Officially recognized as an emerging sport by the NCAA during the 2020-21 academic year, women’s wrestling is the 19th intercollegiate sport on the WLU roster and the 10th targeted at providing opportunities for female student-athletes.
West Liberty joins the more than 150 colleges and universities – including nearly 100 NCAA institutions – that have started women’s wrestling programs. Fueled by an explosion of participation at the high school level, the Hilltoppers expect to have plenty of company in the next few years.
According to FloWrestling, the number of girls participating in high school wrestling nationwide jumped from 35,000 during the 2021-22 academic year to 52,000 this past season. With 40 state high school associations now sanctioning the sport and several others putting it on the sanctioning track, girls’ wrestling has become the fastest-growing high school sport in the country.
Closer to home, more than 750 high schools are now sponsoring girls’ wrestling in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania alone. West Liberty joins Frostburg State as Mountain East Conference members currently offering the sport. In West Virginia, nearby Bethany College also plans to hit the mats in 2024-25 and Bluefield State will debut this fall.
West Liberty athletic director Lynn Ullom said those numbers combined with the Hilltoppers’ storied tradition and decades of success in collegiate wrestling is what led to this decision.
“We wouldn’t be doing our due diligence if we weren’t constantly strategizing how to aid enrollment goals for the university while providing new pathways to success for the changing marketplace of student-athletes in our region,” Ullom said. … rest of story at … NWCAonline.com/news/2023/9/6/NWCA-west-liberty-adds-womens-wrestling-as-varsity-sport
USA Wrestling and Wrestle Like A Girl release Coaching Girl and Women Wrestlers Teal Course
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO/WASHINGTON, DC) – USA Wrestling and Wrestle Like A Girl have partnered to develop the latest course available through USA Wrestling’s National Coaches Education Program (NCEP). The course, entitled, Coaching Girl and Women Wrestlers Teal Certification Course, is geared towards coaching female wrestlers, providing coaches with anecdotal and evidence-based material that will elevate not only novice coaches, but also those who have been coaching for decades.
Mike Clayton, USA Wrestling’s Manager of Coaches Education, said:
“We’re excited to announce a new course in partnership with Wrestle Like A Girl called, Coaching Girls and Women’s Wrestling. We know that girls’ wrestling numbers are skyrocketing, and we all want to support our coaches with the best possible resources to help keep our athletes safe and feeling welcome.”
This course is designed to provide all coaches with the key skills and knowledge they need to train and develop female wrestlers of all ages and shares ideas and research that will help any coach create a safe, positive, and growth minded program for our athletes. … rest of story at … Themat.com/2023/usa-wrestling-and-wrestle-like-a-girl-release-coaching-girl-and-women-wrestlers-teal-course
Snyder receives No. 1 seed for Senior Worlds, as six U.S. men’s freestylers get seeded
United World Wrestling released its seeds via instagram for men’s freestyle at the 2023 Senior World Championships, which will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, September 16-24.
The United States, which is the defending Senior World Team champions in men’s freestyle, received six seeded wrestlers, including three in the top two of their weight class.
2016 Olympic champion and three-time World champion Kyle Snyder earned the No. 1 seed at 97 kg. Snyder is the defending World champion at this weight class.
2023 World silver medalist Zain Retherford (65 kg) and four-time World champion and Olympic medalist Kyle Dake (74 kg) have received the No. 2 seeds at their weight class.
Chance Marsteller, who is competing in his first Senior World Championships, is the No. 4 seed at 79 kg. 2020 Olympic champion and defending World champion David Taylor has the No. 7 seed at 86 kg. Also receiving the No. 7 seed at 92 kg is Zahid Valencia, who will be competing in his first Senior World Championships.
The nation with the most No. 1 seeds is Iran, with three: Reza Atri (61 kg), Rahmad Amouzad (65 kg) and Mohammad Nokhodi (79 kg). … rest of story at … Themat.com/news/2023/august/31/snyder-receives-no-1-seed-for-senior-worlds-as-six-u-s-men-s-freestylers-get-seeded
NATIONAL CHAMPION ROB KOLL NAMED WRESTLING HEAD COACH
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Rob Koll, a 1988 national champion wrestler at the University of North Carolina who has coached 74 All-Americas, has been named the head coach of Carolina’s wrestling program. Koll becomes the seventh head coach in team history and returns to his alma mater after spending the last two seasons at Stanford and the previous 28 as the head coach at Cornell.
“Rob is a proven winner both on the mat and as a coach, and he has an outstanding track record of recruiting great student-athletes dedicated to their sport, the classroom and the community,” said UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. “He is a strong leader who loves his alma mater and will be a terrific role model for students. Rob also will be a great ambassador for the program with fans, alumni and fellow coaches. We are happy to welcome him back to Carolina.”
The program’s first four-time All-America from 1985-88, Koll graduated with a career record of 155-20-1, the most wins in program and Atlantic Coast Conference history. Koll was a three-time ACC champion at 158 pounds and capped off his Carolina career with the program’s second ever individual national championship in 1988.
“Ever since Coach (Bill) Lam brought me to campus for the first time in 1984, I’ve been preparing for this opportunity,” Koll said. “There’s no school in the country that offers Carolina’s combination of academic and athletic dominance, along with the outstanding campus and community that Chapel Hill has to offer. I’m grateful to the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham giving me the opportunity to return home to my alma mater. I’m excited to get to work every day with our outstanding student-athletes, as we strive to achieve success in the ACC and on a national level.”
Koll began his coaching career at Cornell, where he served as an assistant for four seasons, before being named the head coach at Cornell in 1993. While in Ithaca, Koll collected a dual record of 317-101-5, including a 125-9-1 mark in Ivy League dual action. Koll’s teams won 20 Ivy League championships while producing 177 NCAA Championship qualifiers, 71 All-Americas, and 16 NCAA individual national championships.
For 17 straight seasons, at least three Cornell wrestlers reached the All-America podium under Koll, including one NCAA champion in 10 of the last 12 years he was at Cornell. … rest of story at … GOheels.com/news/2023/8/31/national-champion-rob-koll-named-carolina-wrestling-coach
Texas College Wrestling Foundation
TDR Editor’s Notes; It is encouraging to see another effort to promote the growth of collegiate wrestling opportunities. We welcome input and news about new teams starting and programs reviving across the nation. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Texas College Wrestling Foundation is proud to lead the fight to bring the sport of wrestling for both men and women to the colleges and universities to the great state of Texas.
The Foundation is comprised of businesspeople, coaches, and those who both honor and love the sport of wrestling.
The Foundation is reaching out to schools across the state offering assistance in developing a wrestling program for both men and women. … rest of story at … https://www.texascollegiatewrestlingfoundation.org/
2024 Olympic Redshirt Qualifier List
A current list of who’s qualified to take an Olympic Redshirt in the 2023-24 NCAA season
The NCAA season is right around the corner and it’s got me thinking – who will be competing for their college team and who will be focusing 100% on their Olympic dreams? Like real redshirts, the Olympic version is ongoing. You don’t need to formally declare your intentions to do so, and if you do plan on taking one you can still end it and begin competing for your team at any time. However, if you do take one, you cannot compete collegiately in the 203-24 season.
Let’s first take a look at the criteria:
- Past National Team members
- Top 8 at the April 2023 Senior US Open
- Top 8 at the December 2023 Senior US Nationals
- Top 3 at the 2023 NCAA D1 Wrestling Championships
- NCAA D1 champion from a previous year AND top 2 from 2023 U23 Nationals (must accomplish both)
- Previous U17, U20, or U23 World Medalists
The U23 World Championships are the only age-level World Championships remaining before the season. These athletes could still become eligible if they win a medal:
- Julian Chlebove, Arizona State
- Brock Hardy, Nebraska
- Doug Zapf, Penn (potentially with Sammy Sasso likely no longer wrestling in U23 World Championships)
- Julian Ramirez, Cornell
- Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State
- Nick Stemmet, Stanford
- Yusief Lillie, Utah Valley (Greco)
- Jordan Hamdan, Michigan State (Greco)
- Tereus Henry, Fort Hayes State (Greco)
A wrestler could also become eligible if they place top 8 at Senior Nationals in December. However, they would not be able to compete attached before that unless they are a true freshman. … rest of story at … Flowrestling.org/articles/11207500-2024-olympic-redshirt-qualifier-list
2023 Walsh Ironman Teams
The Walsh Ironman has long held the title of “toughest regular season tournament ” at the high school level. The tournament has released its teams for the 2023 Ironman and it will undoubtedly retain that title again.
Here are the teams:
Alliance (OH)
Archbishop Moeller (OH)
Archbold (OH)
Aurora (OH)
Barnesville (OH)
Baylor School (TN)
Bethlehem Catholic (PA)
Bishop Hartley (OH)
Bishop Kelly (ID)
Bishop McCort (PA)
Bishop Lynch (TX)
Bishop Watterson (OH)
Bixby (OK)
Blackfoot (ID)
Blair Academy (NJ)
Brecksville (OH)
Broken Arrow (OK)
Brooke Point (VA)
Brownsburg (IN)
Buckeye (OH)
Canon-McMillan (PA)
Caraval Academy (DE)
Cardinal Gibbons (FL)
Center Grove (IN)
Clay (OH)
Conant (IL)
Copley (OH)
Corner Canyon (UT)
Crestview (OH)
Crown Point (IN)
Cuyahoga Valley CA (OH) … rest of story at … Intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/recruiting/2023-walsh-ironman-teams
Plenty of Movement on the 2023 Coaching Carousel
The 2023 offseason coaching carousel got off to a slow start, but has picked up steam. This past week, in particular, there were a handful of notable names that changed jobs. Movement begats movement and as new jobs are accepted, typically new positions open up. We’ll certainly have more updates as the summer progresses and fades into fall and the college preseason.
Obe Blanc (North Dakota State Head Coach) – North Dakota State Associate Head Coach
Steve Bleise (Army West Point) – CSU Bakersfield Assistant Coach
Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State Assistant Coach) – Oklahoma State recruiting coordinator
Marcus Coleman (Davidson Assistant Coach) – Iowa State athlete
Evan DeLong (Clarion Assistant Coach)
Ceron Francisco (North Dakota State Assistant Coach) – Nittany Lion WC athlete
Ben Freeman (Buffalo Volunteer Assistant) – Buffalo athlete
BJ Futrell (Northwestern Assistant Coach) – Penn Assistant Coach
Tommy Gantt (NC State Assistant Coach) – Wolfpack Wrestling Club
James Green (Nebraska Assistant Coach) – USA Wrestling Freestyle Development … rest of story at … Intermatwrestle.com/college/plenty-of-movement-on-the-2023-coaching-carousel
Wrestling Programs To Join St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Clarksville, Ark.- The University of the Ozarks women’s and men’s wrestling programs will join the NCAA Division III St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) as an affiliate member effective the 2023-24 academic year.
In March, the SLIAC President’s Council approved the addition of men’s and women’s wrestling to its list of sponsored championships. Seven member schools will compete in women’s and men’s wrestling: Blackburn College, Eureka College, Fontbonne University, Lyon University, Schreiner University, University of the Ozarks and Westminster College.
“This is exciting for both of our programs,” said athletic director Jimmy Clark. “Now our teams will be able to compete for conference championships. This provides even greater opportunities for regional competition and opens up our recruiting base to outstanding high school wrestling.”
The SLIAC wrestling championships will be held in early February.
“As Commissioner, I am extremely pleased about the addition of the University of the Ozarks as one of the first two new affiliates in the sports of men’s and women’s wrestling to the SLIAC,” said Dr. Dick Kaiser, SLIAC Commissioner. “With the conference adding both men’s and women’s wrestling championships this year to the sports sponsorship, it is obviously very exciting to be able to expand the total number of participating institutions in SLIAC wrestling to seven institutions in our first year of the championships.” … rest of story at … UOfoathletics.com/sports/wwrest/2022-23/releases/
OSU hires Coleman Scott as associate wrestling head coach
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State’s wrestling staff shuffling continued Monday, with the program announcing the hiring of former Cowboys standout Coleman Scott as associate head coach.
Scott was North Carolina’s head coach the past eight years.
“Coming back to Oklahoma State and having the opportunity to serve Coach (John) Smith and this program means the world to me,” Scott said.
Scott’s hiring comes days after former OSU assistant Zack Esposito left the program for a coaching position with USA Wrestling. Esposito served as the Cowboys’ associate head coach the past seven seasons and served under Smith since 2010.
Scott most recently coached North Carolina to 12th place at the NCAA Championships in Tulsa — UNC’s best team finish since 1995 — and 157-pounder Austin O’Connor to his second NCAA individual national title in March. … rest of story at … Tulsaworld.com/college/osu/osu-hires-coleman-scott-as-associate-wrestling-head-coach
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
