One Year of David Taylor at Oklahoma State
On May 7th, it marked the first anniversary of one of the most surprising and potentially transformative moves in recent college wrestling history. Of course, that was the day that Oklahoma State named David Taylor as their new head wrestling coach. As of only a few weeks prior, Taylor was competing for a spot on the Olympic Team and had no head coaching experience; however, he was one of the most popular and recognizable names in the sport.
As you might have guessed, the first year under Taylor was very notable. On the mat, on the recruiting trail, in the freestyle world, and much more. We’ve documented some of the key moments of year one under Taylor in one article.
May 7th, 2024: David Taylor Named Oklahoma State head coach
After about a week of “he is or isn’t he” Taylor made it official in a late-night release that sent shockwaves through the wrestling community.
May 9th, 2024: Taylor adds Jimmy Kennedy and Thomas Gilman to staff
The addition of Taylor’s brother-in-law, Jimmy Kennedy, was an expected move; however, bringing in Thomas Gilman from the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club was a bit unexpected.
May 10th, 2024: David Taylor’s introductory news conference
We got to see Taylor in the orange and black for the first time and heard from him along with legendary Oklahoma State head coach John Smith and athletic director Chad Weiberg. … moe at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/big-12/one-year-of-david-taylor-at-oklahoma-state-r100246/
Lanham Receives Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award
DURHAM, N.C. — Recently Duke wrestling head coach Glen Lanham was presented with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award from the Downstate New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place April 26 at the Melville Marriott in Melville, N.Y.
Lanham received the award along with Dave Warren and Leo Palacio. High school wrestling coaches Joe Condon, Kevin Brodsky and Rob Shaver were also recognized for reaching the 300-win milestone. The Lifetime Service award is presented to coaches, officials and contributors who have devoted a minimum of 20 years of dedication and service to the sport of wrestling.
In his 13th season as the head coach at Duke, Lanham has led 15 wrestlers to the NCAA Championship, while helping lead a pair of squads to two top 25 team finishes, the best in program history. This past year, he guided Connor Barket to his first appearance in the NCAA Championship in the heavyweight division.
Lanham was a New York freestyle and Greco Roman Champion while wrestling for Lindenhurst High School in New York. In college, he was a two-time Outstanding Midwest Regional wrestler and a Division I All-American at both the University of Tennessee as well as Oklahoma State University.
Lanham began his coaching career at Oklahoma State, where the team won two National Championships and three Big Eight team titles. He moved on to coach at Midwest City H.S., where he coached 14 individual State Champions. At the University of North Carolina, … more at … https://goduke.com/news/2025/5/12/lanham-receives-lifetime-service-to-wrestling-award
Age-group wrestlers make their mark at 2025 USA Wrestling Beach Nationals in Carolina Beach
CAROLINA BEACH, N.C.—The 20th Beach National Championships were held in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, on May 10, with over 300 athletes competing in the sand.
The Beach Wrestling community from North Carolina USA Wrestling and the local sports commission created a successful event, which included numerous age levels for boys and girls, as well as a Masters division for men.
Boys champions were crowned in the 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, and Junior levels. Girls champions were crowned at the 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and Junior levels. There were 11 groups in the Masters division that wrestled on the beach on Saturday.
Full brackets and results can be found on USA Bracketing. The recap of the Senior division and U17/U20 divisions of the 2025 Beach Wrestling National tournament is on TheMat.com.
2025 USA Wrestling Beach Nationals
At Carolina Beach, North Carolina, May 10, 2025
Final Results
8U Boys – 80
1st – Declan Edge (Lost Boyz Wrestling Club)
2nd – Elva Placencia-foy (North Carolina) … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/may/11/age-group-wrestlers-make-their-mark-at-2025-usa-wrestling-beach-nationals-in-carolina-beach
Matside video review changes proposed in men’s wrestling
The NCAA Men’s Wrestling Rules Committee at its meeting this week proposed modifications to the matside video review process for the 2025-26 season. The committee recommended allowing third-party reviewers to be able to consult with the referee about pertinent information on a coach’s video review challenge.
Currently, third-party reviewers look at the sequence being challenged without any consultation with the mat referee. Additionally, committee members recommended allowing coaches to retain their video challenge if there is obstruction in any part of the video sequence that is being challenged.
Coaches also would retain their challenge if the action that is being questioned is not in the frame of the video. Currently, in these scenarios, coaches would lose their challenge if the video isn’t determined to show indisputable evidence that the original call should be overturned.
Before becoming official, all recommended rules changes must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which is scheduled to discuss men’s wrestling rules recommendations June 10. “The committee feels that it is important to get calls right,” said Deral Brown, Men’s Wrestling Rules Committee chair and head coach at Newberry. “Context in making these decisions is critical. We believe coaches should retain their challenge if the entirety of the sequence is unable to be assessed.”
Another proposal made by the committee is if the video review system fails during a dual meet or at a mat in a tournament, video review would not be used for the remainder of that match. If the system cannot be corrected before the conclusion of the match in which the video review system failed, it would be suspended from use for the remainder of the event.
Mandatory mouthpiece proposal
Committee members recommended making mouthguards required for competition, beginning next season. … more at … https://www.ncaa.org/news/2025/5/1/media-center-matside-video-review-changes-proposed-in-mens-wrestling.aspx
St. Andrews University announces abrupt closure
The North Carolina liberal arts institution’s president said that “financial sustainability is no longer attainable.”
Dive Brief:
St. Andrews University, in North Carolina, will cease operations next Monday at the end of its spring semester, it announced abruptly on Friday. The institution, which became a branch of Florida-based Webber International University after a 2011 merger, has “reached a point where financial sustainability is no longer attainable,” Campus President Tarun Malik said in a community message. St. Andrews said it is still ironing out formal teach-out agreements for students to finish their studies. On its website, St. Andrews listed more than a dozen institutions that have “expressed interest in supporting our students.”
Dive Insight:
St. Andrews offered little detail about what went wrong at the university beyond Malik’s note about financial sustainability.
The small liberal arts institution’s enrollment has fluctuated in recent years, federal data shows. … more at … https://www.highereddive.com/news/st-andrews-university-announces-abrupt-closure/746540/
Cerritos secures three-peat at 2025 3C2A Women’s State Championship, with Mt. San Antonio in second
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – The 2025 3C2A Women’s Wrestling State Championship came down to two teams as the Cerritos Falcons led Mt. San Antonio Mounties by 21.5 teams points (206-184.5) before the finals began.
Although Mt. SAC closed the gap by picking up 27 points in the finals, the Falcons managed to hold onto their lead, taking home the title to complete the elusive three-peat. Vida Beckel (160lbs), Kinsey Konrad (180lbs), Raven Ross (207lbs) and Eniekeye Osede (235lbs) all put on dominant performances to win their brackets and lead Cerritos to another championship.
The runner up Mounties were led by Mackenzie Muniz (117lbs), Jasmine Macias (131lbs), Leilani Lazaro (124lbs) and Alexis Jimenez (145 lbs) as well as Tehya Ledesma (138lbs), who provided the most exciting moment of the night as she came back from an 8-0 deficit to pin her opponent in the championship round. In addition, Mt. SAC saw its staff voted as the Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year while Berenice Chihuahua (131lbs) earned the trophy for the most falls in the tournament with three in 3:22 minutes of action.
But for Cerritos, depth was key as the quality of their wrestlers throughout the tournament shined and pushed them over the top, finishing with seven All-Americans … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/april/20/cerritos-secures-three-peat-at-2025-3c2a-women-s-state-championship-with-mt-san-antonio-in-second
Why college wrestling coaches are excited about National Duals Invitational in Tulsa
When he bumped into Oklahoma State wrestling coach David Taylor on the recruiting trail in late February, Nebraska coach Mark Manning had one simple question.
Although the teams were preparing for their respective conference tournaments and the NCAA Championships in the coming weeks, Manning was thinking about November. “I think we’re in, right?” Manning asked somewhat jokingly, referring to the inaugural National Duals Invitational next fall in Tulsa.
The Cornhuskers, who went on to finish second to Penn State at both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships, are assured of a bid to the 16-team field that is set to pay out $1 million total purse to the participating teams. OSU is serving as the host school for the event, which will be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa on Nov. 15-16.
The top 12 finishers at the NCAA Championships last month earned automatic bids, should they accept them. So far, 11 spots have been filled with OSU, Nebraska, Iowa, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Northern Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Cornell and Virginia Tech entering the field.
The full bracket is expected to be set by mid-July, and it’s unclear if all of the country’s top teams are interested in participating. But many coaches are excited for what a national dual tournament could bring to the sport. … more at … https://sports.yahoo.com/article/why-college-wrestling-coaches-excited-104554461.html
From high school to NCAA, it’s not always by the book
This is one of the columns I’ve had the most fun writing every year. The NCAA Championships are the measuring stick for every college wrestler in America. Everybody remembers what happened those three heart-stopping days in March – words that never rang true more than they did this year.
It’s also, in a sense, an evaluation of how well I do my job. After all, the rankings I do every issue during the season for WIN are more than just the pecking order for the nation’s best high school wrestlers. They also provide the basis for a lot of speculation – by college coaches and by fans – of who we’re most likely to see on the awards stand at future NCAA tournaments. They’re my take on whom you’ll see becoming the champions and All-Americans of the future. And that’s why this brief look back is always so interesting – in a sense, it’s my personal report card. I hope it’s as interesting for all of you.
As we’ve seen over the years, nothing is absolute. The No. 1 wrestler in high school, it stands to reason, is going to be No. 1 in college as well…right? If the tournament everybody in the rankings is shooting for – the NCAA Championships, held most recently at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia this month – is any indication, not necessarily.
While wrestlers ranked No. 1 more than held their own, the 80 All-Americans, including the wrestlers who competed in the championship final matches, ran the gamut in rankings position when they finished their high school careers.
Only three of the 10 champions, led by the first-ever five-time champion, Carter Starocci (184) of Penn State, finished their prep careers with the No. 1 ranking at their weight class. The others were Lucas Byrd (133) of Illinois and two-time champion Jesse Mendez (141) of Ohio State.
Both of Nebraska’s champions, Ridge Lovett (149) and Antrell Taylor (157), finished their prep careers in the No. 12 spot – a ranking almost unheard of for a champion in recent years. Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State, whose stunning upset of two-time champion Gable Steveson of Minnesota was one of the tournament’s all-time moments, also finished his prep career outside the Top 5 – he was No. 6. … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/04/18/from-high-school-to-ncaa-its-not-always-by-the-book/
Clemsen Announces Addition Of Chase Horne
COLLEGE PARK, MD — Maryland head coach Alex Clemsen has announced the addition of Chase Horne as the newest member of the Terrapin wrestling program. Horne comes to Maryland as a redshirt junior with two years of eligibility remaining after competing at NC State for the past three seasons.
“I am really excited for Chase to come to College Park and join Clemsen and Company as we continue to lay bricks for Maryland Wrestling,” said Clemsen. “Chase is a tremendous talent and has sacrificed a lot in his early career. Now he gets to compete at his natural weight class where he has been proven winner throughout his entire development. I know our program cannot wait to get him to town and help him as he continues his journey as a student athlete!”
Horne wrested as a heavyweight and at 197 lbs with the Wolfpack over the last three seasons. This past year he appeared in four tournaments. In 2023-24, he competed solely at 285 lbs and posted a 13-6 record, including first-period pins to start of the season. He was awarded the ACC’s Dr. Pepper Go Teach Scholarship on behalf of the College Football Playoff Foundation and Dr. Pepper. He was named to the 2022-23 All-ACC Academic Team and the 2022-23 ACC Academic Honor Roll.
In high school at West Laurens High School, Horne was a four-time Georgia state champion. … more at … https://umterps.com/news/2025/4/22/wrestling-clemsen-announces-addition-of-chase-horne.aspx
Ramstad: This could be the week the NCAA becomes a professional league
A judge is expected to approve an arrangement for Division I colleges to give 22% of athletic department revenue to student-athletes.
So much is going on with the president, investment markets, Minnesota’s Legislature and the Timberwolves’ playoff run, you can be forgiven if you haven‘t heard a monumental change is about to happen in college sports.
A federal judge this week is expected to ratify a legal settlement that will lead NCAA Division I universities to pay athletes from athletic department revenue. Four years after the Supreme Court said student-athletes could market themselves in name-image-likeness (NIL) deals, now they will get a cut of their teams’ overall revenue. “This is the last point that really solidifies [the NCAA] as a professional league,” said Patrick Campion, co-founder of Fame Sport, a new sports marketing firm in Minneapolis. He is a former marketing chief at Sleep Number and managed its NFL sponsorship for eight years.
The settlement inaugurates an enormous change for the athletes, universities and the business of sports in America. “We’re living through a transformation in college sports that rivals the creation of the NCAA itself,” said Chris Pham, a sports attorney at Fredrikson, a Minneapolis law firm. “Between NIL, athlete empowerment and revenue sharing, we’re seeing the traditional amateur model give way to this new economic reality.”
This step is happening because of a class action lawsuit brought against the NCAA in 2020 on behalf of former athletes who missed out on the chance to make NIL money. Before then, the NCAA prohibited athletes from any compensation beyond their college scholarship and room and board.
The settlement — often called the House settlement for Grant House, a former collegiate swimmer whose name leads the list of litigants in the suit — requires the NCAA to pay past athletes from a nearly $3 billion fund. It also requires Division I schools, like the University of Minnesota and University of St. Thomas, to make direct payments to athletes moving forward.
Athletics departments will have to share 22% of their revenue, or up to about $20 million a year. That will blow a hole in spending and force them to cut costs and perhaps some sports. … more at … https://www.startribune.com/ramstad-this-could-be-the-week-the-ncaa-becomes-a-professional-league/601335749
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
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