NWCA Releases Division II Men’s Coaches Regular Season Poll #3
MANHEIM, PA – The Central Oklahoma Bronchos stayed atop the NCAA Division II wrestling rankings, in the latest edition of the NWCA Division II Coaches Poll, released Jan. 20 by the Association.
The Bronchos held at number one, but a new team is on their heels, with Lander jumping from four to the two spot with 66 points. Nebraska-Kearney moved to No. 3 with 63 points, followed by West Liberty (58 pts.) and St. Cloud State (56 pts.) rounding out the nation’s top five teams.
All 10 of UCO’s starters are nationally ranked, highlighted by Dalton Abney (197) and Shawn Streck (285) both in the two-spot in their respective weight classes. St. Cloud State has seven ranked wrestlers, headlined by Abner Romero in the top spot at 174. Lander, UW-Parkside, and Augustana all have six ranked individuals.
There are two new top-ranked wrestlers, with Logan Seliga of UNC-Pembroke moving into the top spot at 125, while returning National Finalist Derek Blubaugh of Indianapolis is the new No 1 at 197. The Lopers of UNK are the lone program with more than one top ranked wrestlers, with Billy HIggins at 184 and Lee Herrington at 285 representing Nebraska-Kearney.
Just under half of the top ranked wrestlers come from two of the nation’s six regions, with 32 top-12 ranked individuals coming from Super Region 5, while another 25 come from Super Region 4. Super Region 5 has three teams in the Top 10 in SCSU (5), UW-Parkside (7) and Upper Iowa (10), while both Super Region 4 and Super Region 6 each have two programs in the Top 10. Three of the top-ranked wrestlers in D2 come out of Super Region 6, with the two UNK Lopers and Adams State returning National Champion Noah Hermosillo (157).
The final edition of the NWCA Division II Coaches Rankings will come out Feb. 17, prior to the 64 teams heading to NCAA Division II Super Regionals the weekend of Feb. 25-26. … rest of story and rankings at NWCAonline.com/nwca-releases-division-ii-mens-coaches-regular-season-poll-3
NWCA Releases Regular Season NCAA Women’s Coaches Poll #4
MANHEIM, PA – The latest set of National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) NCAA Women’s Wrestling rankings saw a change at the top of the tournament rankings. North Central College edged King University by one point to regain the top spot. King stayed atop the dual rankings following their NWCA National Duals championship earlier this month.
North Central takes over the top spot with 107 points while King isn’t far behind at 106. King and North Central are the only teams with at least 10 individuals ranked as the Tornado lead the way with 14 and North Central has 13. McKendree University jumped Colorado Mesa University into the third spot with 73 points while Colorado Mesa has 63 points. McKendree has eight individuals ranked while the Mavericks have seven. Augsburg University held steady at fifth with 50 points and five ranked individuals.
Simon Fraser University has six ranked individuals and stayed sixth with 40 points while Presbyterian College remains at seventh with 23 points and three ranked individuals. Sacred Heart University jumped into the top 10 at eighth with 21 points and three ranked individuals while Gannon University and Lock Haven University round out the top 10. Gannon is ranked ninth with four individuals ranked while Lock Haven has two individuals ranked and jumped from tied for 18th to 10th with 17 points.
There are three four individuals ranked No. 1, starting with King’s Jessica Corredor at 101 pounds. McKendree’s Payton Stroud takes over the top spot at 116 pounds. Ashlynn Ortega of King took over the top spot at 143 pounds from her teammate and North Central’s Tiera Jimerson moved up to the top line at 155 pounds.
The University of the Ozarks makes an appearance in the poll for the first time in program history as Rewa Chababo is the first Eagle to crack the rankings. She is ranked eighth at 191 pounds. … rest of the story and rankings at NWCAonline.com/nwca-releases-regular-season-ncaa-womens-coaches-poll-4
No. 5 Lander University returns home to defeat No. 2 NAIA Life University
GREENWOOD – The No. 5 Lander wrestling team returned to Horne Arena for the first time since December 3 and took down the No. 2 team in the NAIA, Life University, 19-14 Thursday evening.
Lander moves to 14-2 overall while Life drops to 5-2 overall.
The Bearcats started with three straight wins to begin the match. James Joplin began with a 3-1 decision to put Lander up 3-0. Elijah Lusk then turned in a 7-3 performance to push the lead to 6-0 before Zeth Brower picked up his sixth major decision and 22nd win of the season to give the Blue and Gold a 10-0 lead.
Life would take wins at 149 and 157 to cut into Lander’s lead to 10-6.
David Hunsberger would respond with his 21st win of the season with a 6-4 win at 165 to put Lander up 13-6 after getting a pair of takedowns in the third period.
Life would get points back at 174 before Logan Hall notched a win at 184 with a 6-4 sudden victory.
Lander would lock the match up with a 7-3 victory by Anthony Yacovetti that saw an escape and takedown in the third period at 197.
Life would earn a tech fall at 285 to conclude the match with the Bearcats winning 19-14. … rest of story at Landerbearcats.com/news/2023/1/19/wrestling-no-5-wrestling-returns-home-to-defeat-no-2-naia-life-university
No. 18 UNC-Pembroke Powers Past Lincoln Memorial, King
HARROGATE, Tenn. – The 18th-ranked UNC Pembroke wrestling team racked up 34 takedowns and nine near falls on the way to posting 16 individual victories in just more than two hours as the Braves rolled to wins over Lincoln Memorial and King on Thursday evening inside LMU’s Mary Mars Gym.
The Braves (10-1, 7-0 SACC) steamrolled the host Railsplitters (1-7, 0-4) by a 53-0 count in the opening matchup of the LMU Tri-Meet, and then pulled away late to fight off a pesky King (7-8, 2-4) squad. The results marked the fifth- and sixth-straight victories for the Black & Gold.
The rout of the Railsplitters was the most lopsided win for the Braves since a 60-0 drubbing of Spartanburg Methodist on Feb. 11, 2020. It is also the most points scored by the Black & Gold since that dual as well.
Logan Seliga (125 pounds), Logan Robinson (133), Jake Piccirilli (149), Rahsaan Vereen (157), Shylik Scriven (184) and Bryce Walker (197) all tacked up a pair of victories on the day. Seliga tallied a pair of pins in just less than two minutes at the event.
The Braves will get a 2-week break from action before resuming their 2022-23 schedule on February 4 with a SACC Tri-Meet at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. The Braves will take on league foe Emory & Henry … rest of story at UNCPbraves.com/news/2023/1/19/no-18-wrestling-powers-past-lincoln-memorial-king
UNC WRESTLING DEFEATS DUKE TO BEGIN ACC DUALS
DURHAM, N.C. – Winning the first eight matches of the night, the No. 28-ranked North Carolina wrestling program (5-6, 1-0 ACC) cruised Friday night, defeating Duke 37-6, to kickstart the ACC dual schedule.
Following the Blue Devils’ forfeit at 125-pounds, Jace Palmer (133) picked up the lone decision for UNC in the matchup. Zach Sherman (149), Joey Mazzara (165) and No. 14 Gavin Kane (184) collected major decisions for the Tar Heels.
No. 13 Lachlan McNeil (141) and No. 9 Clay Lautt (174) defeated the Blue Devils by way of technical fall, and No. 4 Austin O’Connor (157) picked up the lone pin of the night in the dual.
In the lone extra match of the night, Wil Guida (149) capped off the Tar Heel effort winning by fall. … rest of story at GOheels.com/news/2023/1/20/wrestling-tar-heels-defeat-duke-to-begin-acc-duals
USA WRESTLING WENT OVER 200,000 MEMBERS ON JANUARY 18, REACHING THAT MILESTONE IN THE SHORTEST TIME EVER
USA Wrestling is pleased to report that it went over 200,000 members for the 2022-23 membership season on Wednesday, January 18, 2023.
The USA Wrestling membership season runs from September 1 through August 31, which matches the organization’s fiscal year.
January 18 is the earliest time in the history of USA Wrestling that the organization has reached the 200,000-member milestone. Previously, the earliest date USA Wrestling surpassed 200,000 members was February 5, 2020.
The membership number includes both athlete memberships and Wrestling Leader memberships with USA Wrestling.
“USA Wrestling membership is a direct result of our state associations and our leaders at the grassroots level. We strive to provide safety, security and opportunity for our members. Knowing we have reached our 200,000th member earlier than any year in USA Wrestling’s history speaks to our state associations and clubs doing just that,” said Tony Black, USA Wrestling’s Director of State Services.
It has been a remarkable season for USA Wrestling in terms of membership.
• Through December 31, 2022, 47 USA Wrestling state associations have shown an increase in Year-to-Date membership in comparison to the prior season
• USA Wrestling has reached over 3,800 chartered clubs at this time, the most ever Year-To-Date
• At this time, the top five states in terms of membership Year-To-Date are 1) Illinois, 2) California, 3) Kansas, 4) Missouri, 5) Wisconsin. … rest of story at Teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2023/January/19/200-000-member-milestone
Division I Top 10 Dual Meet Results
TIGERS WIN SEVEN MATCHES TO DEFEAT NO. 8 ARIZONA STATE
Sweeping the home-and-home dual-match series, the Princeton wrestling team won seven matches to defeat No. 8-ranked Arizona State 24-12 on Sunday afternoon in Tempe, Ariz.
With the match starting at 165, No. 4-ranked Quincy Monday started a six-match win streak for Princeton that built a 21-0 lead, and though ASU ended the run with wins at 133 and 141, Princeton had the win clinched with two matches left before Ty Whalen won the finale at 157.
Princeton won the front half of the series 20-18 last season in Jadwin Gym, when ASU was ranked No. 6 in the nation.
Monday, who improved to 7-0 at his new weight class, needed less than a minute to pin Rene Fragoso at 165, delivering six points for Princeton in just 54 seconds.
Kole Mulhauser followed with an 8-3 win at 174, responding to an early takedown from Cael Valencia with an escape and a two-point near-fall before, scoring eight of the match’s last nine points while adding two takedowns and an escape over the final two periods. … rest of story at GOprincetontigers.com/news/2023/1/15/wrestling-results-dual-at-arizona-state
Caliendo Named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week After Defeating National Champion
IRVING, Texas – North Dakota State wrestling’s Michael Caliendo has been named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week following his performance last week in two duals, including a victory over a past national champion.
Caliendo started off the week by defeating #2 Shane Griffith, 2021 NCAA champion, with two takedowns in a 6-3 decision to help the Bison to a win over Stanford on Thursday. He avenged a 3-2 loss in the 165-pound Southern Scuffle finals to Griffith two weeks ago.
The redshirt freshman took a 2-0 lead after a takedown in the first. With a 2-1 lead in the third, Caliendo escaped before Griffith secured a takedown to tie the match. Caliendo then escaped and sealed the victory with a late takedown in the final seconds.
On Saturday, Caliendo would continue his winning form by picking up a 10-4 win over Frank Almaguer in a dual at California Baptist. Caliendo only gave up escape points, securing four takedowns, an escape and a riding time point. … rest of story at GObison.com/news/2023/1/17/wrestling-caliendo-named-big-12-wrestler-of-the-week-after-defeating-national-champion
NO. 2 IOWA THRASHES NO. 11 NEBRASKA, 34-6
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Three falls and a total of four bonus point wins propelled the second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team to a 34-6 thrashing of No. 11 Nebraska on Friday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Hawkeyes won eight of the 10 bouts and got pins from Spencer Lee (125), Max Murin (149) and Tony Cassioppi (285) and a major decision from Patrick Kennedy (165) to improve to 11-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten.
“This is the first time we had what we’re calling our full lineup – (Brody) Teske, (Real) Woods and Lee — and the other seven,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. “When you’re in tough situations, tough positions, you win those positions – that’s how you blow people out on the mat.”
Lee opened the dual with his fifth consecutive fall (sixth of the season), pinning No. 7 Liam Cronin in just 38 seconds. Lee took down Cronin in the opening seconds before settling in and locking up a cradle for a 38 second fall – his fastest of the season and tied for the third fastest of his Hawkeye career.
“I am trying to wrestle every match as hard as I can and I just happen to be getting pins,” said Lee. “In the past it has been tech falls or majors. My goal is to go out and have hard, smart take downs and turns and falls.
“I wrestle the next position and if things happen, you take what they give you and you try to get to the positions that favor you. If you end up in a position that you can pin a guy, then you have to put them away.” … rest of story at Hawkeyesports.com/news/2023/01/20/no-2-iowa-thrashes-no-11-nebraska-34-6
NC State drops first dual of the season at Virginia Tech
In their first ACC dual of the year, No. 5 NC State went down to the wire against No. 8 Virginia Tech.
In the end, the Hokies took enough matches to defeat the Wolfpack, 16-14.
NC State drops to 10-1 overall and drops its second straight dual in Cassell Coliseum. The Wolfpack got off to a good start over Virginia Tech (7-2), when Jarrett Trombley defeated No. 20 Eddie Ventresca in the 125 opener.
After Sam Latona got a 3-1 decision over Kai Orine, Ryan Jack put the momentum back in favor of the Pack with a 2-1 decision over No. 12 Tom Crook.
The difference in the match for Jack was riding time. Jack had two minutes worth of riding time in the second period with the score tied at 1. The win by Jack gave NC State a 6-3 advantage.
The Hokies would take the next two matches before freshman Matty Singleton got the Pack back on board with a 5-3 win in overtime against Connor Brady. Singleton got a takedown in overtime to secure the win. However, NC State had a team point taken away after Singleton’s match and trailed 10-8 heading into the second half of the dual.
No. 3 Trent Hidlay picked up the next win for the Pack in the 184 class, defeating No. 7 Hunter Bolen, 5-3, in overtime. Holiday trailed 3-0 heading into the third. Hidlay got a late takedown and got a point for riding time to secure the win. … rest of story at GOpack.com/news/2023/1/20/wrestling-nc-state-drops-first-dual-of-the-season-at-virginia-tech
Gardner-Webb Tops The Citadel 23-12 Friday Night For Key SoCon Victory
BOILING SPRINGS – RJ Mosley recorded a pin in 3:32 in the final bout of the night to lead Gardner-Webb to a 23-12 win over The Citadel Friday in Southern Conference wrestling action.
After The Citadel (4-2 0-2 SoCon) took an early 3-0 lead after Benjy Haubert outlasted Andrew Wilson for an 8-7 decision at 174 pounds, Gardner-Webb (4-7, 2-1 SoCon) took the lead after a major decision from Jha’Quan Anderson at 184. Anderson scored early and often and defeated Micah Dicarlo 14-1 with riding time.
Sam Mora followed at 197 pounds, fighting back for an 8-6 decision to put the Runnin’ Bulldogs up 7-3, before The Citadel rebounded with a 1-0 decision at 285 pounds by Jonathan Chesser. That bout was decided by an escape point in the second period.
Gardner-Webb got on a roll in the lower weight classes, with Drew West recording an early four-point near fall at 125 pounds and going on to a 7-2 decision over Blair Orr. Todd Carter captured a thrilling decision in one of the night’s best matches, recovering from an early deficit for a 4-3 win over George Rosas.
Carter pulled off a clutch reversal with 1:21 left in the third period to take the lead and rode Rosas out to clinch the win. That victory put Gardner-Webb up 17-6 on the team ledger with four weight classes to go.
Zach Price continued his recent rise at 141 pounds for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, shooting out to a big early lead en route to a 14-1 major decision over Dillon Roman.
The Citadel rebounded at 149 pounds with a 5-4 decision, but Gardner-Webb’s Corbin Dion fought hard before running out of time. Dion tied the score with a reversal, before Ethan Willis countered with a reversal of his own to take a 5-3 lead. Dion escaped to cut the score to 5-4 and nearly recorded a takedown before the final horn sounded.
Thomas Snipes picked up an 8-4 decision for The Citadel at 157 pounds to trim the team score down to 17-12 heading into the final individual bout. … rest of story at GWUsports.com/news/2023/1/20/wrestling-gardner-webb-tops-the-citadel-23-12-friday-night-for-key-socon-victory
College wrestling upsets are thrilling, fun for fans, and maybe meaningless in March
This college wrestling season brought a series of wild early upsets against former national champions.
Yianni Diakomihalis, Shane Griffith, Mekhi Lewis, Aaron Brooks and Max Dean all took losses. These results seemed shocking, but how unprecedented is it really for a champ lose during the regular season? And what impact, if any, do those losses have on an athlete’s potential to win another title? I examined the stats for the last five years to find out.
Here is the TL/DR version:
- Staying undefeated in the regular season after winning a title is rare
- A loss in the regular season doesn’t mean a wrestler won’t win a national title
- Three current former champs have a chance to maintain an undefeated record
Here’s how I did it: First, I created a list of every national champion who won a title in 2017-2022 and then came back to wrestle at least one more season. If that wrestler took a regular-season loss at any point in their career following their national title, the athlete was added to the tracker. Injury defaults counted as losses, but medical forfeits did not count. The athlete’s weight class in the tracker represents the weight at which that athlete won his title and/or the weight class in which that athlete took his post-title regular season loss. The regular-season losses that occurred this season (2022-2023) are bolded.
Since 2017, five defending champs who lost in the regular season came back to win a title that same year: Jason Nolf (2018), Vincenzo Joseph (2018), Kyle Synder (2018), Spencer Lee (2019) and Zahid Valencia (2019). Excluding current athletes and 2020 athletes, only one former champ (Dean Heil) did not win another title after taking a regular-season loss following his first championship. The track record of athletes finding their rhythm and regaining their status on the top of the podium is strong.
Now, the data … rest of the story at NCAA.com/article/2023-01-18/college-wrestling-upsets-thrilling-fun-fans-and-maybe-meaningless-march
More South Carolina College News & Results
Newberry Wolves Stay Hot With Two Wins In Virginia
Newberry goes two for two in the Limestone/Emory & Henry Tri with big wins
EMORY, Va. – Heading back up to Virginia for the third time this season, Wolves Wrestling (4-1 South Atlantic Conference Carolinas) would travel to host Emory & Henry to take on not one but two conference opponents in the Limestone Saints (3-1, 2-1 SACC) and the Emory & Henry Wasps (2-16, 0-4 SACC). Coming off of their dominant win on January 11 against the Coker Cobras by a score of 49-0, Head Coach Deral Brown and his men would look to start up a streak in conference opponents by taking two victories in the away matchups. After being listed third in the most recent rankings of Super Region II as of January 17, Newberry would be looking to validate their place as one of the best.
In the first duel of the day against the Saints, 125 lbs Zach Shupp (Fairfield, Ohio) would start off right for the Wolves by winning a decision against William Finnearty by a score of 7-3. 133 lbs Fletcher Swindall (Alexandria, Ala.) would follow right behind him with a victory of his own by pinning Nathnael Bullard in 1:11.
141 lbs Josh Blatt (Albemarle, N.C.) would make it three in a row by securing a major decision over the #14 wrestler in the country (The Open Mat) Smaill Saint Pierre by a score of 14-6, and to match the feat of his teammate, 149 lbs Devan Moore (Baxley, Ga.) would do the same over Alex Dilegge by a score of 12-2. The Saints would get on the board after Avery Dinardi won a decision over 157 lbs Nolan Wheeler (Dahlonega, Ga.) , but 165 lbs P.J. Wunderlich (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) would halt the Saints from marching after winning a decision over Garrett Starks by a score of 4-3. … rest of story at Newberrywolves.com/news/2023/1/18/wrestling-wolves-stay-hot-with-two-wins-in-virginia
Men’s Wrestling Earns Split at Emory & Henry Tri-Meet
EMORY, Va. – The Limestone University men’s wrestling team split a tri-meet hosted by Emory & Henry College on Wednesday afternoon inside the King Center. The Saints manhandled the host Wasps, 56-0, before falling to Newberry by the final of 36-3.
Limestone jumped out to an early 12-0 lead over the Wasps after taking forfeit victories at 197 and 285 before Trey Finnearty (The Plains, Ohio) extended that advantage to 17-0 with a tech fall over Orlando Hernandez in the 125 lb. weight class.
Another forfeit win, this time at 133, followed by a major decision victory by Smaill St. Pierre (Kissimmee, Fla.) put the Blue and Gold ahead 27-0 midway through the match. Back-to-back falls by Alex DiLegge (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and Avery Dinardi (Delran, N.J.) at 149 and 157, respectively, continued the dominance for the visitors.
Garrett Starks (Hutchison, Kan.) earned a tech fall over Konor Gray in the 165 lb. bout before the Saints ended the perfect scoring match with consecutive falls by Hunter Haven (Kershaw, S.C.) and Kyle Daley (Indian Land, S.C.), giving the Saints the dominant 56-0 win. … rest of story at GOlimestonesaints.com/news/2023/1/18/mens-wrestling-earns-split-at-emory-henry-tri-meet
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
