N.C. State Freshman Will Denny Earns Gold at U20 Pan American Championships
LIMA, Peru – NC State wrestling’s incoming freshman Will Denny earned the gold medal for 74kg at the U20 Pan American Championships in freestyle over the weekend.
The Manhattan, Illinois native represented the United States on the world stage on Saturday, helping the team bring home the title. All together, the team earned eight gold medals and two bronze medals, pushing their final lead to 77 points.
Denny won all three of his matches with bonus points which included one pin and two technical falls. … more at … https://gopack.com/news/2025/7/14/wrestling-freshman-will-denny-earns-gold-at-u20-pan-american-championships
NECP’s most accomplished wrestler signs with Presbyterian
NECP’s most accomplished wrestler signs with Presbyterian
The most accomplished wrestler in the 13-year history of North East Carolina Prep will be co… … more at … https://www.rockymounttelegram.com/
Tony Dungy: An uncommon bond with Minnesota Gophers Wrestling
By Brian Jerzak
Since 1977, the Gopher Wrestling Club has been supporting the Minnesota Gophers’ wrestling program. The year before, the football program graduated, at the time, their career leader in pass attempts, completions, passing yards, and touchdown passes. Many years later, the Gophers’ wrestling program and its NFL Hall of Fame inductee alumni – former Pittsburg Steelers player and former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts – Tony Dungy will continue their long-time relationship with each other with Dungy as the featured speaker at the Minnesota Gophers’ wrestling gala next month. Dungy grew up in Big Ten country, cheering for the maize and blue of Michigan and the green and white of Michigan State.
“I grew up in Jackson, Michigan, and it is midway between the University of Michigan and Michigan State,” Dungy said. “My dad got his undergrad degree from Michigan, and my mom was a Spartan. They both did graduate work at Michigan State, so I grew up on the Michigan State campus. When I was in middle school and high school, my dad would take me to Michigan games. I felt like I was going to go to one of those places. I fell in love with Michigan State. In the middle of my senior year of high school, [Michigan State head football coach] Duffy Daugherty announced his retirement. His number one assistant, Cal Stoll, got the head coaching job at Minnesota. Coach Stoll talked to me about why he was at Minnesota, how wonderful it was, and how I could set my own legacy. I decided I wanted to get away from those campuses. I visited Minnesota, and it was amazing. I decided this was the place I had to be.” Early in his time at Minnesota, Dungy, who had never wrestled a day in his life, struck up a friendship with Gopher wrestler Pat Neu, starting a nearly fifty-year relationship for Dungy with the wrestling program. “At the University of Minnesota, all of the athletes were kind of together in study hall and in the same dorm, and I got to become friends with Pat,” Dungy said. “He was a dynamic wrestler and a good guy. We hung out together on campus and in study halls. I would see how hard the wrestlers worked. They were not only good guys, but they were also so disciplined. That is what caught me. … more at … https://theguillotine.com/2025/04/tony-dungy-an-uncommon-bond-with-minnesota-gophers-wrestling/?doing_wp_cron=1750739698.2963581085205078125000
It’s Not About You
It’s not about you. That’s right, this might be a hard pill to swallow, but wrestling is not about you. There will always be someone better or someone who has simply accomplished more. There will always be “phenoms” on the rise, other wrestlers who obtain the focus and attention of spectators around the country (or world). However, the fact that it’s not about you is not a suggestion to forgo wrestling glory. It’s not meant to stifle your passion and drive for greatness. If anything, it’s meant to release you. Your mind is freed from the belief that wrestling is about you, that it’s merely a resource for your own grandeur and self-fulfillment. In fact, only then can you really appreciate what is you are engaging.
After obtaining the pinnacles of our sport, so many of our wrestling legends have discovered that the fulfillment is fleeting. Rather than experiencing lasting contentment, they desire more. And this is different from the desire to compete, or even a growing passion for the sport. It’s instead more in tune with initiating another campaign of self-fulfillment, a mission to feed their self-worth.
Well, if wrestling is not about you, then who is it about? Or better yet, what is it? The answer is simple: Wrestling is a “gift”. It’s something to grow in. It’s something that provides the opportunity to experience real, tangible struggle, to test your body and push it to the limits – and not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well. It encourages goal-setting and dedication to the task. It offers the ability to grasp what it feels like to succeed as well as fail – both of which are important in developing as a person of integrity, wisdom, and character. But most of all, wrestling is something to enjoy! Wrestling is something to embrace with delight and passion. It was never meant to serve as a measuring-stick of self-worth or a resource to obtain lifelong pleasure. Have many people gained considerable pleasure from what they’ve accomplished on the mat? Absolutely! But wrestling is bigger than them and their accomplishments. It doesn’t begin and end with Dan Gable, John Smith, Jordan Burroughs or Kyle Snyder. Wrestling is a gift that offers an unparalleled journey. Quite frankly, to wrestle is to be human. Struggle is a part of the human predicament in all its varying degrees and faces. And in the midst of struggle, we can experience overcoming it and enjoy moments of triumph. … more at … https://faithandwrestling.wordpress.com/2023/09/05/its-not-about-you/
What happened to Ben Askren? Former UFC fighter provides emotional health update
Former U.S. Olympic wrestler and UFC fighter Ben Askren shared an emotional update Wednesday, for the first time since undergoing double lung transplant surgery.
Askren developed pneumonia, followed by a staph infection, and has been hospitalized in Wisconsin.
He said in an Instagram video that he remembers very little of what happened between May 28 and July 2. Askren said he was brought up to speed on everything the family had experienced after reading a journal kept by his wife, Amy. “No recollection, zero idea, no idea what happened,” Askren said in the video. “We’ll kind of go through it all. I just read through my wife’s journal. It’s like a movie. It’s ridiculous. I only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds.”
Askren said he had also lost 50 pounds in 45 days. He currently weighs 147 and has started to regain his strength. He also thanked everyone for all the support.
“The thing that was most impeccable to me was all the love I felt from everybody,” Askren said. “It was almost like I got to have my own funeral. … The outpouring of love from the wrestling community was just amazing. It felt so good.” … more at … https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ufc/2025/07/09/ben-askren-health-update-lung-transplant/84527339007/
Felicity Taylor goes from ‘the only girl in the room’ to leading a wrestling room full of girls
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (KCRG) – Felicity Taylor starred at Iowa, winning a national championship in 2024, and gaining plenty of fans in her home state. One of them is 11-year-old Kona Hughes. “She was my favorite wrestler (at Iowa) so I was like ‘oh I wanna be like her when I grow up,’” said Kona. “My dad told me ‘Felicity’s gonna come to Big Game,’ and I was like – what? I was really excited!”
Taylor competes on the senior level and teaches at Big Game Wrestling Club in North Liberty, leading a camp on Friday and Saturday. “It’s amazing to give them the opportunities to wrestle with other girls, and then also high level girls,” Taylor said. “It’s amazing the see the girls at this level already catching on to things that took me so long to learn.”
Taylor won Final X and qualified for a spot on Team USA for the Senior World Championships. Taylor didn’t wrestle against any girls when she picked up the sport as a freshman at South Winneshiek high school. Now, she’s leading a group of about 20 girls and a couple boys. For Taylor, teaching is about more than the fundamentals. “Have fun,” she said. “That’s the biggest thing about these camps is making sure they have fun and love the sport.
“They are still young, so if they want to wrestle in college and even the level after that, they need to be loving the sport and having fun.” It’s clear Kona has learned that lesson. “(Felicity) is really fun, she’s a coach and she’s also like our friend. … more at … https://www.kcrg.com/2025/06/29/felicity-taylor-goes-only-girl-room-leading-wrestling-room-full-girls/
‘Kind of got hooked’: How sand wrestling made its way to the Muskingum Valley
Ancient style helps improve hand fighting, upper body attacks, wrestlers say
EAST FULTONHAM — Wyatt Abele is trying to introduce something different to the local wrestling community.
The former state placer from New Lexington, who now wrestles for Frostburg State in western Maryland, learned of sand wrestling through some former teammates with the 2019 Ohio All-Star team during a trip to Lake Tahoe. He immediately became intrigued. “I don’t remember who it was at the time, but it was just me and my teammates,” Abele said. “The coaches explained the rule set to us and were reffing our matches. We were just having fun with it.”
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Little did he know where it would take him. In October, he will compete in sand wrestling in Egypt.
In the meantime, he is passing his knowledge on to high schoolers during Monday sessions at Lake Isabella. They will be held weekly from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the beach.
The first session was held on July 7 with four eager beavers led by New Lexington teammates Hunter Hinkle and Danny “D.J” Waite.
Abele did the teaching, introducing the rules — matches end after three points — while working mostly on hand fighting and upper body tactics. Points are awarded for takedowns, as well as by pushing an opponent out of bounds or taking them to their backs.
“You can end the match in the one move,” Abele noted. … more at … https://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/story/sports/high-school/2025/07/09/kind-of-got-hooked-muskingum-valley-wrestlers-take-to-the-sand/84497198007/
Wrestling with the American Dream
Afghan refugees find a home on a San Antonio high school athletics team
by Brant deBoer
Elham Jalak and Mustafa Pashtoon met for the first time on a flight from Kabul in February 2016. Jalak was 6 years old, Pashtoon just 8. Their fathers had known each other in the Afghan Army, and their families came to the United States through the Special Immigrant Visa program, which has helped resettle Afghan citizens who worked with the United States during the war. In America, their dads hoped to find better jobs and education for their children.
It was a big plane, an Emirates double-decker, and the two boys sat next to each other. They didn’t know what to expect once they landed, aside from what they had seen in the movies, and neither spoke English. “Not even one word,” Pashtoon later told the Texas Observer. “I didn’t even know how to write my name.” After the 16-hour flight to Houston, they flew to San Antonio, their new home, where they settled in a northwest neighborhood known for its diverse immigrant communities. A couple years later, their families relocated to San Antonio’s West Side.
The pair started playing sports. “I played soccer, cross-country, track, golf, tennis, soccer, and then I did football and basketball,” Jalak proudly recounted. “We played together.” They sometimes speak about their experiences unemotionally, as if every teenager were forced to flee a war-torn country. Occasionally, they break into Pashto with each other, then switch back to English.
When I first met them at an away junior varsity tournament at Legacy of Educational Excellence (LEE) High School, they were wrestling. In the gym bleachers, Jalak and Pashtoon, now 15 and 17, were waiting for their next matches along with Saifullah Gul, another Afghan immigrant. Altogether, they were among five Afghan wrestlers on Sidney Lanier High School’s team at that point in the season, about a quarter of the entire team.
Traditional Afghan wrestling—known as Pehlwani—is a popular pastime for boys in the south-central Asian nation, so many Afghan refugees find a natural home on high school wrestling teams in America. This phenomenon is prevalent in California and Virginia, the states with the largest populations of Afghan immigrants. In Texas, the state with the third-largest concentration, it’s pretty much happening in one place: San Antonio’s West Side, and thanks to one person: Faridullah “Ferrari” Samsor. … more at … https://www.texasobserver.org/afghan-refugees-san-antonio-high-school-wrestling/
2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals Rosters: Arkansas, California, Michigan, Nebraska, Texas and more
Starting on July 1, USA Wrestling is publishing the state team rosters for the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals set for Fargo, N.D. State teams will be posted when a final roster has been submitted and confirmed with the state association.
We continue with the following rosters today: Arkansas, California, Michigan, Nebraska and Texas.
The first rosters released were Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
As new rosters are released, they will be posted here in alphabetical order.
State Rosters for the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals #
July 9, 2025 #
Arkansas #
Junior Girls and Boys Rosters
California #
Michigan #
Nebraska #
16U Girls and Boys Rosters … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/july/01/fargo-rosters-maine-maryland-nevada-ohio-south-dakota-west-virginia
John Parker Repeats As CSC Academic All-America
Junior standout wrestler John Parker was named to the 2025 Academic All-America® at-large second team selected by College Sports Communicators.
It’s the second consecutive year that Parker was named to the second team.
Parker, a two-time Super Region champion and national tournament qualifier at 197 pounds, was the Conference Carolinas 2024-25 Winter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Presented by Hudl for men’s wrestling. This season Parker posted a 27-9 record, with five wins against nationally ranked opponents and finished the season ranked #11 in his weight class.
Parker is a two-time NWCA Division 2 Scholar All-American. He was named the 2024-25 Newberry College Male Student-Athlete of the Year and was the men’s wrestling 2023-34 Elite 23 winner for Conference Carolinas.
He was one of 30 student-athletes representing five different sports to be named to the first two teams. Parker is the sixth Newberry College student-athlete to earn CSC Academic All-America® honors multiple times. The Yulee, Fla., native is a Mathematics Education major … more at … https://newberrywolves.com/news/2025/7/9/mens-wrestling-john-parker-repeats-as-csc-academic-all-america.aspx
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
