Takedown Report

Carr Tabbed USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week

AMES, Iowa – David Carr has been named the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week after going 3-0 in his final week of the regular season.

In the most anticipated match of the season, No. 2 Carr, a 2021 NCAA champion, defeated No. 1 Keegan O’Toole of Missouri, a 2022 NCAA champion, Wednesday in Columbia, Mo. Carr scored two takedowns in the match and rode O’Toole for the entire third period to earn a riding time point in his 7-2 victory.

Carr extended his winning streak to 26 matches and snapped O’Toole’s 41-match win streak.
The Canton, Ohio native also earned a victory over Northern Iowa’s No. 13 Austin Yant, 20-6, last Friday and defeated Illinois’ Anthony Federico, 16-2, on Sunday.

Carr finished the regular season with 72 takedowns while only allowing three, a 24:1 ratio. He posted a 20-0 record with victories against eight wrestlers ranked inside the top 15 in InterMat’s latest rankings. … rest of story at Cyclones.com/news/2023/2/17/carr-tabbed-usa-wrestling-athlete-of-the-week

February 25, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

COLLEGE POST-SEASON KICKS OFF WITH FIVE NCWWC REGIONALS FOR NCAA WOMEN’S TEAMS

Are you ready for the college post-season? It arrives this weekend.

It all kicks off with five Regionals for NCAA women’s wrestling teams. These are the qualifying events for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships, which are set for Cedar Rapids, Iowa, March 3-4.

The NCWWC Nationals enters its fourth year, as the national tournament for NCAA women’s teams. Women’s wrestling is an emerging sport in all three NCAA divisions, but is not yet an official NCAA Championships event. This event will be held until the NCAA takes it over, a process which is expected to occur within a number of years due to the growth of women’s wrestling among NCAA schools.

Last year, there were four Regional qualifying events, which has expanded to five for this season. The top four wrestlers in each weight class from each Regional will advance to the national championships. There will be a true-fourth place match in any weight class where the fourth- and fifth-place wrestlers did not meet. This will expand the NCWWC Nationals field to 20 athletes in each weight class.

Three Regionals will be held on Saturday, Feb. 18, Region I (at Gannon), Region II (at King) and Region III (at UW-Stevens Point). The other two will be on Sunday, Feb. 19, Region IV (at North Central) and Region V (at Colorado Mesa).

Note: The NAIA women’s conference tournaments are also beginning next week, and will serve as qualifiers for the NAIA Women’s Nationals for the first time. … rest of story at Teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2023/February/17/NCWWC-Regionals-preview

February 25, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

NO. 2 IOWA ROLLS NO. 6 COWBOYS ON SENIOR DAY

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Seniors Spencer Lee, Max Murin and Jacob Warner all posted Senior Day wins to lead the second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team to a 28-7 victory over No. 6 Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon in front of a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes won the first six bouts and eight of 10 matches overall to finish the regular season with a 15-1 dual record. Iowa posted two bonus point wins and won four matches decided by two points or less on the day.
“Winning close matches is important,” said head coach Tom Brands. “Getting your hand raised the right way is important. There are always things you’re not satisfied about. Two guys didn’t get the W, but they still have to move forward because it’s the postseason.
“We want to emphasize that we’re a dominant team and sometimes dominant wrestlers have to win close matches. Before the match I said the order is different, nothing else is changed. It’s simple, do what you do best. This time of the year, it’s even more important to do what you do best.”
Starting at 165 pounds, No. 9 Patrick Kennedy opened the dual with a 7-4 win over Wyatt Sheets to open the dual. The Minnesota native had one takedown in the first, trailed 3-2 after two and used two takedowns in the third to ice the match. Kennedy has won four straight matches to improve to 16-2 overall.
No. 16 Nelson Brands followed with a gritty 3-2 victory over No. 7 Dustin Plott at 174. Brands used a second-period takedown to take the lead and his third period escape was the difference as he posted his highest ranked win since 2021. The Iowa City, Iowa, native is 6-4 overall with two ranked wins. … rest of story at Hawkeyesports.com/news/2023/02/19/no-2-iowa-rolls-no-6-cowboys-on-senior-day

February 24, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

NWCA Releases Division II Men’s Coaches Regular Season Poll #4

MANHEIM, Pa.- Heading into the postseason, the Central Oklahoma Bronchos narrowly held onto the top spot in Division II wrestling, in the latest edition of the NWCA Division II Coaches Poll, released Jan. 20 by the Association.
Just two points separate the Bronchos from #2 Lander, with UCO coming in with 82 points and the Bearcats 80. Central Oklahoma has a poll-high nine ranked wrestlers, highlighted by the nation’s top heavyweight in Shawn Streck. St. Cloud State and West Liberty are tied for the third place spot (64 points), with defending National Champion Nebraska-Kearney rounding out the top five with 59 points.

INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

Behind UCO’s nine ranked wrestlers, the Huskies of St. Cloud State have eight ranked individuals, highlighted by 2021 National Champion Abner Romero in the top spot at 174. Lander features seven ranked wrestlers, led by reigning National Champion Zeth Brower at the top of the 141 ranking.

A pair of wrestlers are new to the #1 spot this ranking, with Quentrevion Campbell of Chadron State taking over the top rank at 133 and the aforementioned Streck taking over the #1 slot at 285. All 10 top-ranked individuals represent different programs. 

Super Region 4 & 5 combine for about half of the nation’s ranked wrestlers, with 33 coming from Super Region 5, including a pair of number ones in UW-Parkside’s Shane Gantz at 165 and Romero at 174. Super Region 6 has the most number ones, with Campbell at 133, Adams State’s Noah Hermosillo at 157 and Nebraska-Kearney’s Billy Higgins at 184.

On the team side of things, three of the 10 teams in Super Region 5 are ranked in the Top 10, while 8 total teams appear in the Top 25. Super Regions 4 and 6 both each have a pair of teams in the Top 10.  
Super Regionals loom Feb. 25 or 26 for the 64 NCAA Division II wrestling teams, with Super Region 1 being hosted at East Stroudsburg, Super Region 2 at UNC-Pembroke, Super Region 3 at Tiffin, Super Region 4 at Central Oklahoma, Super Region 5 at Northern State and Super Region 6 at Chadron State.  The top three at each weight class from each of the six regions will  then descend upon Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the 2023 NCAA Division II National Championships March 10-11. … rest of rankings and story at NWCAonline.com/nwca-releases-division-ii-mens-coaches-regular-season-poll

February 24, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

TDR Top 12 – Best Girl Wrestlers in Eastern North Carolina – 2023

TDR Editor’s Notes; The following is a list of the 36 best female scholastic wrestlers in Eastern North Carolina. They are recognized for their successful in competition for this season. Last year the 1st Olivia Neal Award was presented to Isabel Rodriguez of Dixon H.S. for her contributions to the growth in opportunities for female wrestlers in the TDR coverage area. We also awarded wooden engraved TDR Top 12 plaques to the top 5 female wrestlers last season. This year we will present the 2nd Annual Olivia Neal Award and TDR Top 12 plaques to the top 12 wrestlers. As the number of female wrestlers in all age groups has grown by a 30-50% rate each year it becomes challenging to keep track of the numbers. This is encouraging for the sport and for their opportunities in competition. Next season over 30 states will have sanctioned championships for girl wrestlers and over 130 colleges will have women’s varsity teams. Our award winners will be announced in early March.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

February 21, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2022-23 NAIA Men’s Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll – Final

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Grand View (Iowa) now leads the NAIA Men’s Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll for the seventh straight rankings period this year. With the rest of the Top Five remaining the same, the biggest movement comes from Morningside (Iowa) and Cumberlands (Ky.) each leaping four spots. The Cascade and Mid-South Conferences lead the way with five institutions each represented. 

Poll Methodology

• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the eight conferences.
• Two days prior to the national poll, each qualifying group rater submits the top 10 individuals from each weight class in his conference into the system. Only wrestlers listed on a conference ballot are considered for the national ballot.
• The top 25 individuals in each weight class is based on how each voter ranks the best individuals. An individual receives 25 points for each first place vote, 24 for second place and so on through the list. This same point system is used to determine the team ranking.
• The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot
• For the complete Top 20 calendar, click here. … rest of story at NAIA.org/sports/mwrest/2022-23/Releases/7_National=Wrestling

February 21, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Perfect dual season behind them, Pitt-Johnstown turns focus to tournaments

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – When Pat Pecora talked about his Pitt-Johnstown wrestling team prior to the start of the season, he raved about how much he liked his Mountain Cats as people.

They’re good students, he’d say. They don’t need a schedule to get in the weight room or the mat room for an extra workout.

They do it on their own. As he looked over his starting lineup, his assessment was peppered with comments such as “He’s a good kid,” and “You couldn’t ask for a better young man.”

To the outsider, that might have sounded like coachspeak for “We’re producing impressive young men, but we might not be a great wrestling team.”

By the end of the dual meet season, which wrapped up on Feb. 10 with a 34-7 rout of PSAC rival Mercyhurst, Pecora had a new superlative for the Mountain Cats: perfect.

Pitt-Johnstown went 15-0 in dual meets for the school’s first unbeaten season in 25 years.
After the victory against Mercyhurst, Pecora was asked if he expected his team to win every dual.

“No. Never. If somebody said to me at the beginning of the year, would you take an undefeated season? I’d have said, ‘Oh, yeah, right!’ ” Pecora said.

“There are so many times in a match that one or two things can go wrong – someone gets caught in a throw, you get a pin, people staying healthy, missing matches.”

Everything didn’t go Pitt-Johnstown’s way … rest of story at Tribdem.com/sports/perfect-dual-season-behind-them-pitt-johnstown-turns-focus-to-tournaments

February 21, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

#20 Appalachian State Tops Camels, Wins Another SoCon Title

BOONE, N.C. — During a marathon day with 30 matches, the first two set the tone for a dominant, title-clinching sweep of a SoCon tripleheader.
App State Wrestling carried a strong start in a battle of conference unbeatens to a 22-14 victory against Campbell in a packed Varsity Gym on Sunday, with nearly 1,000 fans in attendance, then followed that with a 43-0 shutout of Presbyterian and 47-0 shutout of Davidson.
Finishing as unbeaten, outright SoCon regular season champions for the second straight season, the 20th-ranked Mountaineers (12-2, 8-0) also secured their sixth title in the last eight years and 14th championship over the last three decades.
The first two matches in the App State-Campbell dual were ranked showdowns, and the Mountaineers collected two huge victories to help them claim six of the first seven matches.
Battling sickness that kept him out of several practices during the week, Caleb Smith earned a tiebreaking takedown with 25 seconds left in a 4-1 win at 125 pounds against 32nd-ranked Anthony Molton, who entered Sunday with three top-15 victories. Ethan Oakley then delivered a takedown with 57 seconds left in the Sudden Victory overtime period at 133 pounds to win 3-1 against 22nd-ranked Domenic Zaccone. That result gave Oakley dramatic wins against top-25 wrestlers from Chattanooga and Campbell in the last two duals.
After a ranked wrestler from Campbell (16-9, 7-1) won by major decision at 141, App State turned a 6-4 edge into a 22-4 advantage thanks to four-point major decisions from Jon Jon Millner (8-0 at 149), Tommy Askey (11-3 at 157 against Troy Nation, who had a top-33 RPI ranking), Will Formato (12-0 at 165) and Will Miller (16-3 at 174).
With three matches remaining and an 18-point margin in the team score, Campbell would need pins … rest of story at APPstatesports.com/news/2023/2/19/-20-wrestling-strong-start-carries-no-20-app-state-to-win-over-camels

Zaccone named SoCon Wrestler of the Week

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – After going 2-0 with another ranked win, Campbell’s Domenic Zaccone has been named Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week.

Zaccone went 2-0, with both wins coming against SoCon competition at 133 pounds. The redshirt junior, ranked No. 22 in the latest NCAA coaches’ panel and No. 18 in the RPI, defeated No. 17 Brayden Palmer 4-2 in overtime on Sunday, helping CU down Chattanooga 24-13, his second straight victory over a ranked opponent after topping No. 18 Chance Rich of CSU Bakersfield 3-1, also in overtime, in January.

The Orland Park, Ill. native also defeated Bellarmine’s Michael Schiffhauer in an 18-6 major decision on Friday in Campbell’s 34-15 SoCon win over the Knights. Zaccone is now 16-3 overall this season with a perfect 5-0 SoCon mark. … rest of story at GOcamels.com/news/2023/2/15/wrestling-zaccone-named-socon-wrestler-of-the-week

Black History Month Spotlights: Randall Diabe

During Black History Month, App State Athletics is highlighting some of the accomplishments and perspective of coaches, administrators and staff members who serve as role models to our student-athletes.
Today, we hear from Randall Diabe, an App State alum who followed a standout career on the Mountaineers’ wrestling team by becoming an assistant coach at his alma mater. Born in Liberia, he moved to the United States when he was 8 years old.

Q: Why is it important that we acknowledge and celebrate Black History Month?
Diabe: At App State, where the community is predominantly white, we have athletes of color, and by acknowledging it, it shows those athletes that equality and representation are important here at App State. It has an effect on people like me, too, because beyond some of us just being known as athletes, it lets people know that black people matter in this community.
Q: What’s the impact of having more representation in wrestling, like younger guys on the team seeing you go from an App State student-athlete to coach?
Diabe: For me, it’s leading by example. In my upbringing, I had people that I looked up to and that helped lead me to pick the path I’m on now. Having a lot of people help me, it makes you feel like, when you grow up, you want to help others, too. Just giving back to the guys and having them see what I’ve experienced and how far I’ve come to being on staff, they realize they can achieve high things and the bigger goals that you set for yourself if you just believe in the process and do the right things.
It’s an honor being here on staff and having those guys feel like they’ve got somebody they can talk to. I hope I can stay here long as possible and keep leading by example and making an impact.
Q: Is it a point of pride to be a role model for some of the younger guys that you coach?
Diabe: It does make you feel good. Some people know my background, that it wasn’t the easiest path, … rest of story at APPstatesports.com/news/2023/2/10/-20-wrestling-black-history-month-spotlight-randall-diabe

February 21, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Gardner-Webb Wrestling Rolls To 30-10 Win Over Duke Wednesday Night On The Road

DURHAM, N.C. – Gardner-Webb scored bonus points in four matches to handle Duke on Wednesday night by a score of 30-10.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs (6-10) got started quickly, getting a pin in just 39 seconds from Drew West in the opening bout. It was West’s 20th win of the season.

Todd Carter followed with a pin in just 2:46 to put Gardner-Webb up 12-0 after his match with Logan Agin at 133 pounds and Zach Price gave the Runnin’ Bulldogs a 17-0 edge with a tech fall at 141 pounds, dominating the match 19-3.

Duke’s Patrick Rowland stemmed the tide with a 10-3 decision at 149 pounds, but Gardner-Webb got back on track quickly, getting a 5-2 decision from Tyler Brignola at 157 pounds and a 13-5 major decision from No. 29 RJ Mosley at 165 pounds to take a commanding 24-3 lead on the scoreboard.

Brignola’s win started a string of four in a row for Gardner-Webb, as Andrew Wilson followed Mosley with a 7-4 decision at 174 pounds and Jha’Quan Anderson took a comfortable 10-4 win at 184 pounds to push the lead to 30-3.

Duke won the final two bouts, but the night was dominated by the visiting Runnin’ Bulldogs. … rest of story at GWUsports.com/news/2023/2/15/gardner-webb-wrestling-rolls-to-30-10-win-over-duke

February 21, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Austin O’Connor surges to the top of 157 pounds in latest college wrestling power rankings

The latest coaches rankings published last week by NCAA.com inspired a wave of commentary about the purpose and value of rankings. Who should be ranked? What criteria should be used in rankings? How many matches does it take to be ranked?

Everyone has an opinion, but let’s keep the conversation going. Here’s another different subjective set of rankings, listing each of the top five athletes in each weight based on recent results, momentum and quality of opponent. 

125 pounds

1. Spencer Lee, Iowa
2. Patrick Glory, Princeton
3. Liam Cronin, Nebraska
4. Matt Ramos, Purdue
5. Killian Cardinale, West Virginia 

Spencer Lee, of course, leads the 125-pound weight class after recording another bonus point win, this time coming by major decision against Michigan’s Jack Medley. Much like Patrick McKee last week, Medley fought tough and forced Lee into the third period before ultimately dropping the match. 

Glory notched two nice decision wins to keep himself at No. 2 this week, beating Ryan Miller of Penn 8-6 and topping Carter Bailey of Lehigh 12-5. The win over Miller may not have been as dominant as his major decision victories last week, but Glory continues to put reps in at 125 and prep himself for what will be his final NCAA tournament in a few weeks. 

Outside of Lee and Glory, Cronin has separated himself as the No. 3 guy, and while he may not have been anyone’s pick for this spot at the beginning of the year following his 3-3 injured season last year, Cronin is doing what he needs to do to stay competitive. He beat two tough, ranked Big Ten foes over the weekend in Dean Peterson and Malik Heinselman by identical 3-1 scores, and his ability to win these matches will serve him well in the postseason. Matt Ramos, similarly, notched two Big Ten wins to stay at No. 4, … rest of story at NCAA.com/news/wrestling/article/2023-02-13/austin-oconnor-surges-top-157-pounds-latest-college-wrestling-power-rankings

O’CONNOR NAMED ACC WRESTLER OF THE WEEK

GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina wrestling graduate student Austin O’Connor has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week, the league announced Tuesday afternoon.

The recognition comes following O’Connor’s major decision (11-3) against Virginia Tech’s fifth-ranked Bryce Andonian Friday night. O’Connor, who currently sits at 15-0 on the season, has registered 14 bonus point victories on the season, with the lone decision coming in his season debut on Dec. 16 against Appalachian State. 

A four-time All-America honoree and the 2021 National Champion at 149-pounds, O’Connor climbed one spot in this week’s InterMat Wrestling rankings to No. 2 in the nation, following Friday night’s top-five victory. 

Austin and the Tar Heels close out the regular season this Friday night, welcoming No. 8 NC State to Carmichael Arena for Senior Night. … rest of season at GOheels.com/news/2023/2/14/wrestling-o-connor-named-acc-wrestler-of-the-week

February 21, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment