Takedown Report

Wrestling’s better because weight cutting has improved

y Bryan Van Kley
Do you ever think about how much wrestling has changed and improved over the years? Coming up on my 50th birthday soon, maybe I’m showing my age by starting a column like that! I’m incredibly proud of how our sport has grown and evolved in regards to overall participation numbers and respect in the at-large sports community. Attending USA Wrestling’s Junior Nationals and seeing over 8,500 participants, including 2,245 girls reinforced this.
However, there are moments I cringe when talking to non-wrestling people about the sport; they have that look of disgust and lack of respect when it is brought up, immediately referencing some wrestling friends in high school starving themselves and being miserable.
As wrestling people know, the sport has made huge jumps forward by a healthier approach towards weight management on the youth, high school, and college levels with one and two-hour weigh-ins as well as hydration testing that helps decrease the drastic last-minute cuts which used to be commonplace.
When I was wrestling in high school and college in the early to mid 1990s, weight cutting was a rite of passage. Actually, it seemed it was even a measuring stick as to your dedication and discipline. I weighed 162 pounds as a senior and cut 27 pounds down to 135 the first semester before Christmas. With the scales in our wrestling room located between the gym and the classroom area of our high school, my teammates and I would check weight several times throughout the day between classes. Weigh-ins then were at 7 a.m. for an evening meet, so you could rehydrate during the day of the dual, but of course you still didn’t feel strong that night.
We’d practice wearing a hoodie (or two), sweatpants, and a stocking hat. A majority of our focus was the scale instead of getting better. As you can imagine, by the time the end of the season came around, there was a part of us that couldn’t wait for it to be over.
As a senior, I made the 135-pound class six times before Christmas. Despite plans to go up to 145, I wanted the option to be able to try to make state at 135. The rule then was you needed a minimum of seven weigh-ins at the postseason weight you chose. So, that meant making weight one time after our Christmas-break vacation to California.
My brother who also wrestled and I worked out a number of times while on break and carefully watched what we ate. … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/08/28/van-kley-wrestlings-better-because-weight-cutting-has-improved/

September 7, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | fitness, wrestling | Leave a comment

Rutgers to Host 2025 NWCA All-Star Classic

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers wrestling has been selected to host the 2025 NWCA All-Star Classic, presented by Nike Wrestling, on Saturday, November 1 at Jersey Mike’s Arena. FloWrestling will exclusively stream the all-star exhibition live.
Tickets for the event, which is set to begin at 7 p.m. can be found here.
Last year’s event featured five NCAA Champions (Lucas Byrd, Jesse Mendez, Levi Haines, Carter Starocci and Parker Keckeisen) and 12 All-Americans. Last year’s classic also included NCAA Division II men’s champion Derek Blubaugh, NCAA Division III men’s champion Massoma Endene, NAIA women’s champions Carolina Moreno and Jamilah McBryde, and NCWCC women’s champions Amani Jones and Victoria Baez-Dilone. Selections for this year’s all-star showcase will also be released later.
Jersey Mike’s Arena continues to be one of the premier venues in the sport, with the venue hosting the 2020 Big Ten Championships and 2019 Final X in recent years. Rutgers finished fifth in national attendance last season, marking the eighth time in nine campaigns the Scarlet Knights finished within the top five nationally and the ninth consecutive year appearing in the top 10.
Rutgers produced seven national qualifiers and three Blood Round participants at this year’s NCAA Championships in Philadelphia. The Scarlet Knights wrapped up the regular season No. 11 … more at … https://scarletknights.com/news/2025/8/20/wrestling-to-host-2025-nwca-all-star-classic.aspx

September 5, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Early Lineup Look: 2025-26 NC State Wolfpack

A breakdown of the NC State Wolfpack for the 2025-26 NCAA season.
Development was the name of the game for North Carolina State during the 2024-25 season. Head coach Pat Popolizio redshirted a few of his biggest stars, including Ryan Jack and Jackson Arrington.
The Wolfpack finished eighth at the NCAA Championships and third at the ACC Championships with a team that was battle-tested. Vincent Robinson’s NCAA title at 125 pounds was the highlight, and it marked the first individual crown for NC State since Mike Macchiavello won in 2018.
Popolizio has a solid core, with four national placers and two Round of 12ers in the line-up. All-Americans Ryan Jack, Matt Singleton, Isaac Trumble, and Robinson join three additional national qualifiers in the line-up this season. “Last year was a good developmental year for us,” Popolizio said. “It was frustrating going through the process, but I feel good about who we have in our room. It’s fun watching certain guys develop. “We have six guys with a lot of experience at the NCAA tournament. I’m looking forward to the same kind of thing during the season as we develop and get these guys feeling good toward the end of the year.”
Progress is fundamental at 184 and 197. Popolizio might start two true freshmen, but will evaluate as the second semester begins. “We have new faces at 184 and 197 that we need to work to develop,” Popolizio said
North Carolina State will compete at the inaugural National Duals Invitational on November 15-16 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “It’s been a long time coming,” Popolizio said. “It’s exciting to compete with the best teams in the country in a dual meet setting. It is going to be good for college wrestling and good for the fans, and good for exposure for the sport. Other sports are evolving and doing unique things to keep growing. I think wrestling has to do that, … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14468288-early-lineup-look-2025-26-nc-state-wolfpack

September 4, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | sports | Leave a comment

Tyler Tracy Earns Bronze at 2025 Junior Pan-American Games

ASUNCION, Paraguay – NC State wrestling’s Tyler Tracy earned a bronze medal representing Jamaica, becoming the country’s first-ever wrestling medalist at the 2025 Junior Pan-American Games in Paraguay over the weekend.
A 10-0 win over Joao Maldonado in his final match placed him on the podium in the 74 kg weight class. He also defeated Tanner Peake who wrestled at Davidson and was selected as first alternate at 157 lbs at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Tracy continues to remain consistent on the world stage, as he previously became Jamaica’s first-ever bronze medalist at the U23 Pan-American Championships in Mexico in April. … more at … https://gopack.com/news/2025/8/25/wrestling-tyler-tracy-earns-bronze-at-2025-junior-pan-american-games

September 4, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Coach Hunter Finishes 100-Mile Race

CHADRON, Neb. – Brett Hunter, the Chadron State College men’s wrestling coach, achieved his goal of finishing the Lean Horse 100-mile run in the Black Hills of South Dakota with more than three hours to spare on Saturday.
Hunter crossed the finish line in Custer at 4:53 Saturday afternoon, 28 hours, 53 minutes and 47 seconds after the race had started at the same location at noon on Friday. He averaged 17 minutes and 21 seconds per mile.
Hunter completed the race, his first at that distance, in plenty of time to beat the race’s 32-hour cutoff to receive a commemorative belt buckle. Among 94 initial entries, Hunter crossed the line 40th among the 60 racers that earned the coveted buckle and “finisher” status. “It was one thousand percent harder than I expected, without a doubt,” Hunter said. “The first 50 miles, I was feeling good. From miles 60-90, I was starting to break down mentally and physically. The last 10 miles, I was hanging by a thread from being sleep deprived and mentally and physically fatigued, but I had to continue to move forward.”
he contestants ran 50 miles on the Mickelson Trail to Deadwood, then reversed their course and returned to Custer. Hunter had to run alone for the first 50 miles, but received pacing and aid assistance from former CSC wrestlers and endurance race veterans Jake Holscher and Seth Groff, as well as current CSC student-athlete and defending 184-pound national runner-up Keegan Gehlhausen.
“My crew is what kept me going,” Hunter said. “Jake, Seth and Keegan did a phenomenal job. … more at … https://chadroneagles.com/news/2025/8/20/mens-wrestling-hunter-finishes-100-mile-race-2.aspx

September 3, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

WHY WRESTLERS MAKE GREAT MARINES: NWCA CONVENTION 2025

The Marine Corps Recruiting Command strengthened its partnership with the National Wrestling Coaches Association during the NWCA Convention, held July 31 – Aug. 2, 2025, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Throughout the event, MCRC engaged with wrestling coaches to highlight shared values and characteristics that make wrestlers exceptional candidates for service in the Marine Corps.
The collaboration between MCRC and the NWCA leverages the expertise and extensive networks of the wrestling community to help identify young individuals with the mental and physical fortitude to thrive as Marines. Wrestling’s emphasis on discipline, perseverance, and teamwork directly mirrors the core attributes the Marine Corps seeks in future service members. “Our relationship with the NWCA is key to meeting our national partnership program objectives which seek to connect us with coaches, administrators and educators at the local level,” said Greg Gilliam, director of national partnerships and community engagement for MCRC. “Through various activations during the convention we were able to introduce the idea of connecting and collaboration so that when these coaches return home, they know they have a valuable resource in the Marines.”
During the convention, Marines highlighted career, educational, and leadership development opportunities that the Marine Corps provides. Marines participated in a variety of events, including the Coach of the Year Awards, … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2025/8/26/national-wrestling-coaches-association-why-wrestlers-make-great-marines-nwca-convention-2025.aspx

September 3, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2025-26 USA Wrestling Membership now available

As the new wrestling season approaches, USA Wrestling is excited to announce that the 2025-26 membership year is now officially open. The membership period runs from September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026.
Now is the perfect opportunity to secure your membership and stay connected with the sport throughout the entire year.
For the first time ever, members of USA Wrestling will be able to purchase an exclusive USA Wrestling member-only shirt from RUDIS, which is the exclusive official licensee and supplier to USA Wrestling of merchandising services in the categories of footwear, apparel, and accessories.
In addition to USA Wrestling membership being available, registration for several key upcoming USA Wrestling events will be opening.
Once you have secured your 2025-26 membership, you will be able to sign up for upcoming USA Wrestling events. Mark your calendar, as these events will open for registration on September 1:

September 3, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2025 Offseason Coaching Carousel (8/27/2025)

The biggest coaching related news of the last couple of weeks came on Monday when Binghamton announced that Ryan LeBlanc will be the Bearcats next head coach. We wrote a bit about LeBlanc’s background here.
With LeBlanc’s hire, it opens up the head coaching position at The Citadel very late in the game – so we have another head coaching vacancy. Related to the Bulldogs, InterMat was recently told that they were looking to hire an assistant coach, as well. This will be a new position. One might assume that this would get pushed to the backburner until the head coaching job is filled.
In other coaching news, Teyon Ware rounded out his first coaching staff at the University of Northern Colorado by hiring Charles Jones Jr. Jones Jr. wrestled collegiately at Oklahoma and Fresno State and served in the United States Army from 2010 to 2022. He comes to Greeley after leading the girls high school program at Edmond North in Oklahoma.
Troy Nickerson also completed his first coaching staff at Army West Point with the hiring of Alan Clothier. The two are very familiar with each other as … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/the-2025-offseason-coaching-carousel-8272025-r100473/

September 1, 2025 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment