2025 North Carolina “HALL OF FAME DAY” CELEBRATION — May 18th
ONE OR MORE OF THE NORTH CAROLINA CLASS OF 2025 HONOREES AND THE NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND THE 21st “HALL OF FAME Day” CELEBRATION ON MAY 18, 2025, AT THE FRIDAY CENTER IN CHAPEL HILL. THE SOCIAL WILL BEGIN AT 2:00 P.M. WITH DINNER SERVED AT 3:00 P.M. THE AWARD PRESENTATION WILL FOLLOW DINNER.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS BANQUET IS TO HONOR AND RECOGNIZE INDIVIDUALS FOR THEIR YEARS OF COMMITMENT AS POSITIVE ROLE MODELS TO OUR STUDENT ATHLETES. THE CLASS OF 2025 HAS GIVEN COUNTLESS HOURS OF THEIR TIME INSTILLING IN YOUNG PEOPLE THE SKILLS NEEDED TO SUCCEED IN ALL AREAS OF LIFE. THE LIFETIME SERVICE TO WRESTLING AWARD IS FOR YEARS OF DEDICATION TO THE SPORT OF WRESTLING AS A COACH, OFFICIAL, OR CONTRIBUTOR. THEY WILL BE PERMANENTLY RECOGNIZED AT THE NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM IN STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA.
The Class of 2025 “Lifetime service to wrestLing” award
Mike Carey Eddy Clark
John Getty T. J. Jaworsky
Larry Junkin Ron Mendenhall
This is an opportunity for you to honor these great individuals and promote the positive aspects of our oldest and greatest sport – “wrestling!” a registration form is encLosed for the “haLL of fame day” celebration.
Please complete the appropriate sections and return to the address listed.
We are looking forward to May 18th—a great day for North CaroLina’s outstanding individuals and the sport of wrestling. North Carolina can be proud of these deserving honorees.
Yours in wrestling,
Rex wells, President
North Carolina Chapter
Tickets can be purchased online at: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/nc-nwhof/2025
Please check-in at the registration table that day.
Top 40 ACTIVE Coaches in Division III
TDR Editor’s Notes ; We welcome input corrections and additions if needed. We are in the process of gathering the yearly records of all colleges and universities that have or have had wrestling. We have at least the names of the 1,400 men’s and women’s college teams. The discontinued programs are the hardest to compile complete records. This project also includes over 4,000 head coaches.
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ACTIVE Coaches(D-III)– Top 40 with at least 100 wins
- Roger Crebs (Lycoming College) 465
- Lonnie Morris (Johnson & Wales) 464
- Ron Beaschler (Ohio Northern Univ.) 407
- Bruce Haberli (New York University) 359
- Dave Mitchell (Luther College) 340
- Tim Fader (Wis.-Eau Claire,Whitewater, LaCrosse) 336
- Martin Nichols (Ithaca College) 329
- Jon Laudenslager (Wilkes University) 303
- Jay Jones (Rhode Island College) 289
- John Oostendorp (Coe College) 288
- Bryan Brunk (Messiah College) 279
- Dave Malecek (Wisconsin-LaCrosse St.) 243
- Drew Black (Wesleyan Univ.) 236
- Sebastian Amato (Trinity College) 235
- Johnny Johnson (Wisc.-Stevens Point) 224
- Duane Ritter (SUNY Oneonta State) 223
- Jon Egan (Roger Williams) – 209
- Eric Keller (Wartburg College) – 197
- Mike Howard (SUNY-Oswego State) 192
- Jon McGovern (Dubuque University) – 186
- Jamie Gibbs (Baldwin-Wallace) – 182
- Craig Thurber (Thiel College) – 173
- Joe Galente (College of New Jersey) 172
- Brian Anderson (Wabash College) – 170
- Eric Van Kley (Central College,) – 159
- Steve Marianetti (Elmhurst College) – 157
- James Holder (Springfield College) 157
- Brandon Bissette (Olivet College) 151
- Jason Garriques (Centenary College) 137
- Greg Ilaria (U.S. Merchant Marine) – 136
- Scott Legacy (Vermont St.-Castleton) 134
- Mark Harwald (John Carroll/Case West/Mt. Union) 131
- Al Russomano (Scranton Univ.) 127
- Joe Favia (Stevens Institute of Tech.) 123
- Nathan Shearer (Washington & Lee) 118
- Duane Bastress (York College, Pa.) 116
- Keith Norris (John Hopkins Univ.) 110
- Bill Schindel (Adrian/Mount Union) 109
- Scott Honacker (Williams College) 109
- Ryan Birt (Millikan College) 108
- Nate Yetzer (Roanoke/Ferrum Colleges) 105
- Dan Callahan (Trine University) 103
How Will NCAA Revenue Sharing Affect College Wrestling?
A primer for how the new revenue sharing model brought about by the House vs NCAA lawsuit will change college wrestling as we know it.
You’re probably going to get very familiar with the term ‘revenue sharing’ this summer, as the term is shorthand for a set of new rules and regulations that are set to transform high-level college athletics as we know it.
What is Revenue Sharing?
Revenue sharing, or rev share, is exactly what it implies: colleges and universities paying their student athletes directly from revenue generated from their sports programs. Revenue comes to the university by way of its athletic department and is then shared with that school’s student-athletes. Hence, rev share.
Revenue sharing is part of the settlement of the NCAA vs House lawsuit, which we first discussed here, back in July of 2024.
Will All NCAA Programs Participate in Rev Share?
No. Division II and Division III NCAA schools will not participate. The only schools that must participate are D1 Power 5 Conference programs. Other D1 schools can opt in. NAIA, Junior Colleges and other collegiate wrestling programs not in the NCAA will also not be subject to the new Rev Share rules.
The Ivy League has also already announced that they will not participate in rev share. Those schools with wrestling programs are Cornell, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Columbia and Brown.
Which Programs Must Participate In Rev Share?
The full-time members of the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. Which are: … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14039570-how-will-ncaa-revenue-sharing-affect-college-wrestling
Top 25 Division II Active Coaches
Top 25 Division II ACTIVE Coaches (with at least 75 wins)
- Pat Pecora (Pitt-Johnstown) 661 dec. 9-8-24
- Steve Costanzo (St. Cloud Univ.&Dana College) 347
- Jim Makovsky (Minn. St.-Mankato/Valley City St.) 334
- Robert Fisher (Kutztown Univ.) 252
- Heath Grimm (Upper Iowa Univ.) 239
- Jason Reitmeier (Augustana College-S.D.) 235
- Mike Wehler (Mercyhurst, West Liberty State) 214 – ret. in 2025
- James Kisgen (McKendree College) – 162
- R.C. LaHaye (Lander U./Grand Canyon U.) 151
- Othello ‘O.T.’ Johnson (U. N.C.-Pembroke) 142
- Jason Warthan (Indianapolis Univ.) 139
- Jason Ramstetter (Adams State College) 134
- Dalton Jensen (Nebraska-Kearney) 122
- Todd Steidley (Central Oklahoma) 114
- Seth Bloomquist (Shippensburg State) 112
- Shawn Nelson (Findlay Univ.) 111 inc.
- Dax Charles (Colorado State-Pueblo) 103
- Josh Hutchens (Frostburg/Ashland/Col. School Mines) 100
- Brett Hunter (Chadron State) 93
- Dock Kelly (Anderson) 93 ** now at NAIA school
- Austin DeVoe (Colorado School of Mines) 90
- Joey Simcoe (Grand Valley St./Tiffin Univ.) 89
- Danny Irwin (West Liberty/Wheeling Jesuit) 87
- Adam Aho (University of Mary) 81
- Charles Piper (Western Colorado) 76
- Kris Nelson (Minnesota State-Moorhead) 73
Top 40 Division I ACTIVE Coaches
The following is a listing of the Top 40 Active (including rece3ntly retired) Division I Head coaches by dual meet wins. We welcome input, questions and corrections.
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1. John Smith (Oklahoma State Univ.) 490 retired 2024
2. Tom Borelli (Central Michigan) 368 retired 2024
3. Rob Koll (North Carolina/Stanford/Cornell) 348
4. Brian Smith (Missouri/Syracuse) 341
5. Tom Ryan (Ohio State/Hofstra) 335
6. Mark Manning (Nebraska/Northern Iowa) 328
7. Tom Brands (Iowa & Virginia Tech) 308
8. Jim Zalesky (Oregon State/Iowa) 278 now at D-II school
9. Tim Flynn (West Virginia/Edinboro St.) 274
10. Cael Sanderson (Penn State, Iowa State) 262
11. Joel Greenlee (Ohio Univ.) 260
12. Roger Reina (Pennsylvania, Un. Of) 258
13. Pat Popolizio (North Carolina St., SUNY-Binghampton) 256
14. Kevin Dresser (Iowa State/Virginia Tech Univ.) 253
15. Pat Santoro (Lehigh University, Maryland) 239
16. Scott Goodale (Rutgers University) – 235
17. Jim Andrassy (Kent State Univ.) 204
18. Steve Garland (Virginia University) 194
19. John Stutzman (Buffalo SUNY, Bloomsburg) – 190
20. Dan Wirnsberger (Bucknell, Bloomsburg) 183
21. Chris Bono (Wisconsin/South Dakota/U.Tenn.Chatt.) 158
22. John Mark Bentley (Appalachian State) 152
23. Jay Weiss (Harvard Univ.) – 151
24. Jason Borelli (American/Stanford Univ.) – 150
25. Mark Branch (Wyoming Univ.) – 149
26. Zeke Jones (Ariz. St., Univ. Of Penn.) 127
26. Doug Schwab (Northern Iowa) 127
28. Mark Cody (Presbyterian, Oklahoma U., American U.) 124
29. Roger Kish (Oklahoma/N. D. St.) – 122
30. Ryan Ludwig (Northern Illinois) – 113
30. Matt Azevedo (Drexel Un.) 113
32. Greg Williams (Utah Valley State) 110 — Inactive
33. Chris Ayres (Princeton) 105
34. Scott Moore (Lock Haven) 95
35. Tony Ersland (Purdue) 90
36. Brandom Eggum (Minnesota) 84
37. John Hangey (Rider Un.) 83
38. Tony Robie (Virginia Tech/SUNY-Bing.) 80
39. Kevin Ward (U.S. Army Acad.) 78
40. Daniel Elliott (Gardner-Webb) 77
USA wrestlers capture seven titles at Journeyman World Classic Freestyle Wrestling Tournament
The Journeymen World Classic Freestyle Wrestling Tournament and Duals was held on April 4th and 5th at Union College in Schenectady, New York. The Tournament was held on Saturday and on Friday there was a dual meet with World competitors versus USA Wrestlers. It appears the dual meet was an exhibition gathering as there has been no reported team score to our knowledge.
In tournament action, the USA claimed seven titles to six for representatives from around the world. Leading the way for the USA was New Jersey with three champions, the Kennys from Christian Brothers Academy, Sean (114) and Paul (132) and Blair Academy’s Anthony Curlo (107).
The Kennys competed for The Academy with Paul, who is ranked 4th at 120 in the nation, at 132 where he took on and defeated a fellow Garden State grappler, Blair Academy’s Vincenzo Anello (No. 13 at 126), 11-4. Sean (No. 12) and his finals opponent, No. 28 William Soto (Newburgh Free Academy, NY), were both at 106 during the season. Sean took top honors with a 4-2 decision of Soto. Soto beat No. 18 at 106, Wyatt Stauffer (Wyoming Seminary, PA), by a 10-0 technical fall in the semis.
Sean also used a tech for his victory in Friday night’s dual with the World Team when he disposed of Mongolia’s Temuujin Dugerjav, 10-0. … more at … USA wrestlers capture seven titles at Journeyman World Classic Freestyle Wrestling Tournament
Gerald Johnson named for the James Johnson Memorial Award
State Champion Gerald “J.J.” Johnson of West Craven High School, is named the James Johnson Memorial Award winner as the top scholastic wrestler, for the 2024-2025 season, in eastern North Carolina. Johnson won 49 of his 50 matches last season including the pin in 28 seconds in the third period in the state championship match.
The award is named in honor of three-time Greco-Roman national champion James Johnson. James Johnson started wrestling his junior year for D.H. Conley High School in Greenville with Milt Sherman as his coach. More details will be included later in a press release.
Penn State wrestling: The Hodge Trophy winner was announced. It may surprise you.
Carter Starocci, one of the most successful college wrestlers of all-time, will never win its top season award.
The Penn State wrestling superstar just finished another undefeated season on the mat. He won his unprecedented fifth individual NCAA title − defeating a reigning national champ in the title bout.
He finished his Penn State career with an astounding 104-4 record.
But he lost out on the Hodge Trophy, yet again.
Oklahoma State heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson beat out Starocci and undefeated national champion PSU teammate Mitchell Mesenbrink for the award given to the nation’s top wrestler.
The award, which included fan voting, was announced Monday afternoon.
Hendrickson earned one of the most dramatic title-match upsets in NCAA Championships history two weekends ago in Philadelphia, taking down Olympic gold medalist and former two-time Hodge winner Gable Steveson.
Hendrickson earned 30 first-place Hodge votes to Starocci’s 26, making it the second-closest Hodge race ever. Hendrickson was 27-0 this season with 13 pins, eight tech falls, and an 81.5% bonus-point win rate.
Starocci and Mesenbrink also were undefeated with higher bonus-point rates and history-making team credentials but lacked that historic finals’ victory.
Mesenbrink arguably was the most dominant wrestler in any weight class, leading the nation in technical falls (18) and bonus-point rate (89 percent). He capped his 27-0 season with a decisive 8-2 NCAA Championships title victory over Mikey Caliendo − his sixth victory over the Iowa wrestler in two years. Starocci would have been the second straight Nittany Lion to win the Hodge, the equivalent to college football’s Heisman Trophy. … more at … https://www.ydr.com/story/sports/college/penn-state/2025/03/31/carter-starocci-penn-state-vs-wyatt-hendrickson-hodge-trophy-winner/82693975007/
McGeary, Davis Named 2025 DII Men’s Wrestler & Rookie of the Year
MANHEIM, PA- Ty McGeary of West Liberty has been named the 2025 NCAA Division II Men’s Wrestler of the Year and Christian Davis of Lander has been named the 2025 NCAA Division II Men’s Rookie of the Year, announced Monday afternoon by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
McGeary won his third-straight NCAA Division II title at 184 pounds this season, with the Super Region 3 Champion recording 29 bonus point wins en route to a 33-1 season to close out his career. He was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2025 NCAA Division II National Championships, and was also the NCAA DII Most Dominant wrestler this season and was fourth in the Most Falls listing.
“Ty’s accomplishments are lengthy, but the coolest part of his story is how humble and genuine he is,” West Liberty Head Coach Danny Irwin said. “His respect for competition and the details that go into the preparation shined this season. He is an excellent example of what being a student-athlete should look like. It was really fun to be one of his coaches!”
McGeary was voted the Division II Men’s Wrestler of the Year from the following list of Super Regional finalists:
- Super Region 1: Isaiah Vance, Pitt-Johnstown
- Super Region 2: David Hunsberger, Lander
- Super Region 3: Ty McGeary, West Liberty
- Super Region 4: Derek Blubaugh, Indianapolis
- Super Region 5: Reece Barnhardt, UMary
- Super Region 6: Johnny Lopez, San Francisco State
The Division II Rookie of the Year comes from the Lander Bearcats. Christian Davis placed third at 133 pounds at the 2025 NCAA Division II National Championships, closing out a 34-7 season with 24 bonus point wins. … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2025/3/31/ncaa-division-2-men-mcgeary-davis-named-2025-dii-mens-wrestler-rookie-of-the-year.aspx
The 2025 NCAA Championships Were Overflowing with Storylines
I waited a couple of days to write this article. I wanted to write it when I got home from Philadelphia and the 2025 NCAA Championships, but I needed some time for perspective. Personally, I’m not a fan of labeling the match or tournament or upset we saw last night as the “Greatest Ever.” Ever is a long time and frankly, even though I’ve covered 17 of the last 19 NCAA Tournaments, I’ve missed much more than I’ve ever seen when it comes to the history of college wrestling.
What that means is that it’s not hyperbole when I say the 2025 NCAA Championships had the best and greatest number of storylines surrounding the tournament of any that I’ve been associated with.
Some were blatant and obvious – others you had to pay attention to notice. Quite frankly, there were so many that you might have missed one or seven.
Let’s go through some of the main ones we knew before the tournament.
- Carter Starocci’s quest for five titles. He did it and became the first NCAA wrestler to achieve the feat and beat an undefeated returning champion in the process.
- Could Penn State break their own scoring record – established a year ago – along with matching Minnesota’s highwater mark of 10 All-Americans? Yes and yes to both. Then Nittany Lions were also the first team since 1992 to put their entire lineup in the NCAA quarterfinals.
- Can Iowa hold onto second place and what’s Jacori Teemer’s status? Teemer went 0-2 and Kyle Parco was injured in his second match and didn’t wrestle in the consolations. Aside from that, Iowa had an alright tournament – capped off by a win at 197 lbs from Stephen Buchanan. They finished fourth as a team.
- Is Oklahoma State the next team ready to challenge Penn State? I suppose that depends on what you call “challenge,” but the Cowboys had a very good tournament, finishing third and crowning two champions in year one under David Taylor. … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/the-2025-ncaa-championships-were-overflowing-with-storylines-r100162/
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
Takedown Report 