Save Cleveland State Wrestling News
As was shared by Mike Moyer in the NWCA Newsletter
“The Need to Protect Vulnerable College Programs – I want to take a moment to extend a heartfelt thanks to the Northeast Ohio wrestling and business community and CSU wrestling alums for their relentless efforts to save the Cleveland State Wrestling program. As many of you know, the CSU administration announced last month that they plan to eliminate men’s wrestling, women’s softball, and women’s golf at the end of this academic year. I had the privilege of attending CSU’s final home dual against Kent State and witnessed a sellout crowd of passionate wrestling fans who aredetermined to do whatever it takes to save the program. It appeared as if every local media entity was in attendance to cover the event. THIS NEEDS TO BE APPROACHED AS A “NO FAIL MISSION” by the entire wrestling community.
The NWCA is collaborating with a local organizing committee (LOC), and we have a terrific strategy in place. While there are no guarantees of success, we have so much more in our favor than we usually do, as evidenced by the following:The Need to Protect Vulnerable College Programs – I want to take a moment to extend a heartfelt thanks to the Northeast Ohio wrestling and business community and CSU wrestling alums for their relentless efforts to save the Cleveland State Wrestling program. As many of you know, the CSU administration announced last month that they plan to eliminate men’s wrestling, women’s softball, and women’s golf at the end of this academic year. I had the privilege of attending CSU’s final home dual against Kent State and witnessed a sellout crowd of passionate wrestling fans who aredetermined to do whatever it takes to save the program. It appeared as if every local media entity was in attendance to cover the event. THIS NEEDS TO BE APPROACHED AS A “NO FAIL MISSION” by the entire wrestling community.
The NWCA is collaborating with a local organizing committee (LOC), and we have a terrific strategy in place. While there are no guarantees of success, we have so much more in our favor than we usually do, as evidenced by the following:” … Please check regularly at www.saveclevelandstatewrestling.org for updates and calls to action. More to come!
And …
Cleveland State Wrestling Topples Kent State in Front of Sellout Crowd
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State toppled Kent State 21-15 in front of a sellout crowd of 2,400 people inside Woodling Gymnasium on Thursday evening.
The Vikings jumped out to a 4-0 advantage behind a 16-3 major decision by Ben Aranda at 125-pounds. Jake Manley followed with a 10-8 decision to make it 7-0.
Kent State answered back with the next three matches to take a 12-7 advantage after the 157-pound contest.
Tate Geiser picked up a massive 19-4 technical fall at 165-pounds to even the match at 12-12. The Golden Flashes quickly went ahead by three behind a 10-4 decision at 174-pounds.
In one of the most exciting contests of the night, Gavin Ricketts pulled out a 4-1 sudden victory at 184-pounds, tying the match at 15-15. Joey Lyons then picked up a 5-1 decision at 197-pounds to make it 18-15. … more at … https://csuvikings.com/news/2025/2/20/cleveland-state-wrestling-topples-kent-state-in-front-of-sellout-crowd.aspx
And ….
Sen. Bernie Moreno questions Cleveland State’s decision to cut wrestling program
COLUMBUS, Ohio – U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno is questioning Cleveland State University President Laura Bloomberg over the school’s decision to eliminate its wrestling program, which he described as “disquieting.” Moreno wrote in a Wednesday letter that participation in boys and girls wrestling is increasing at the high school level, and college wrestling is popular in Northeast Ohio.
“Thus, the decision-making behind your office’s elimination of the Cleveland State University’s men wrestling program caused me a great deal of pause,” Moreno wrote. “On behalf of my constituents, I would like to have an open and thorough discussion on this matter as many Ohioans, myself included, found this decision disquieting.” Moreno’s spokeswoman confirmed he sent the letter, which was released Thursday by Save Cleveland State Wrestling … more at … https://www.cleveland.com/news/2025/02/sen-bernie-moreno-questions-cleveland-states-decision-to-cut-wrestling-program.html
And …
Rider Rolls Past Cleveland State in Regular Season Finale
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – For the second time this season, the Rider wrestling team secured a 39-0 shutout victory over Cleveland State on Saturday afternoon in Alumni Gym.
Brock Zurawski got the Broncs on the board first at 197 lbs to start the dual earning a dominant 7-0 decision over Joey Lyons.
At 285 Collin French had a battle with Kaiden Haines. In the second period, Haines secured the takedown to make the score 3-1 but French earned the quick escape cutting the deficit 3-2. After a Haines escape in the final period, French earned a takedown of his own to claim the gritty 5-4 decision.
The Broncs got victories 125 lbs and 133 lbs from Noah Michaels and Will Betancourt. Braden Palcko met with Ethan Mitchell at 141 lbs. … more at … https://gobroncs.com/news/2025/2/22/wrestling-dominates-cleveland-state-in-regular-season-finale.aspx
And …
Cleveland State Wrestling – MAC Championship Week!
Dear Wrestling Family,
Your Cleveland State wrestling squad is fired up and ready to compete at the 2025 MAC Championships! The team has been training hard and is prepared to battle for NCAA Tournament berths, representing our great program on the national stage.
Championship Information
Location: Trenton, NJ Venue: CURE Insurance Arena
Dates: March 7-8, 2025
Live Stream: All matches available on ESPN+
Full Championship Information Here
Schedule of Events
Friday, March 7
• 11:00 AM – Doors Open
• 12:00 PM – Opening Round (50 Matches, 4 Mats)
• 2:00 PM – Championship Quarterfinals & Consolation Round 1
• 5:00 PM – Championship Semifinals & Consolation Round 2
Saturday, March 8
• 8:00 AM – Doors Open
• 11:30 AM – Consolation Quarterfinals
• 1:00 PM – Consolation Semifinals
• 2:50 PM – Championship Finals Parade & Introductions
• 3:00 PM – Championship Finals & Placement Matches
MAC Championship Lineup
• 125 – Ben Aranda
• 133 – Nick Molchak
• 141 – Ethan Mitchell
• 149 – Connor Saylor
• 157 – Doug Terry
• 165 – Tate Geiser
• 174 – Ronald Dimmerling
• 184 – JR Reed
• 197 – Joey Lyons
• 285 – Daniel Bucknavich
Thank You, Wrestling Family!
We appreciate your continued support throughout this incredible season. Despite the challenges, your encouragement has made this journey unforgettable for our team. Let’s support our boys at the MAC Championships and finish strong!
Follow the Action Live on ESPN+
Best,
From the Cleveland State Wrestling Program
2025 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships Watch Guide
The National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships are March 7-8 in Coralville, Iowa. Here is everything you need to know.
What: 2025 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships
When: March 7-8, 2025
Where: Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa
How do you buy tickets? Click Here
Where do I find brackets? Click Here (when available on Trackwrestling)
Where do I find results? Click Here
Where do I find bracket reactions? Click Here
Where do I find every national qualifier? At the end of this article
How to watch live: FloWrestling
Friday, March 7, 2025
Session 1: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Championship 1st Round, Championship 2nd Round & 1st Wrestle Backs … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13821155-2025-national-collegiate-womens-wrestling-championships-watch-guide
Jerry Daniels remembered
Editor’s Notes ; Earlier this month at the Stanford – N.C. State match Jerry Daniels was recognized and remembered by the wrestling fans in attendance. Jerry Barker passed along this report.
State looked good vs Stanford and a large crowd of us from the ’60-70s were there to cheer following his recognition. They asked all to stand who wrestled for, officiated by, been in a clinic or otherwise knew Coach Daniels & I’d guess 500 stood. A plaque will be placed in Reynolds soon. Pics attached of the crowd. Take care so there is no further harm from the flu.
2025 NAIA Men’s Wrestling National Championships Preliminary Brackets Released
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Brackets – PDF) The preliminary brackets for the 68th Annual NAIA Men’s Wrestling National Championships have been released by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The 68th edition of the annual event will take place with six sessions across three days. The Battle For The Red Banner begins on Thursday, March 6, and concludes on Saturday, March 8th, hosted by Visit Wichita at Park City Arena in Park City, Kansas.
All matches at the national championships for Sessions I through V will be streamed live via FloWrestling. Access to the live results and brackets can be found through TrackWrestling. The championship bouts on Saturday, during Session VI, will air on the NAIA Network and the Urban Edge Network.
Brackets were verified and approved by the NAIA-Wrestling Coaches Association Bracketing Committee. … more at … https://naia.prestosports.com/sports/mwrest/2024-25/Releases/Prelim_Bracket
Qualifying Tournaments
**Postseason Tournament Results**
Tournament Links
Qualifying Tournament Results
Division II
- Super Region I | Super Region II | Super Region III
- Super Region IV | Super Region V | Super Region VI
Division III
- Region I | Region II | Region III | Region IV
- Region V | Region VI | Region VII
NAIA Women
- Mid-South | Great Plains | Heart of America | KCAC | Sooner | Cascade
Big Ten Weekly Recap (2/27/2025)
Iowa wins in Carver – The Hawkeyes came out on top Sunday night in the highly anticipated grudge match between Iowa and Oklahoma State. In addition to the traditional rivalry, we had the added excitement of subplots like Brands v Gilman, David Taylor as the new coach, the Cowboys recently supplanting Iowa as the second-ranked team in the country, and a slew of great matchups. We also had the added intrigue of true freshman Angelo Ferrari having the opportunity to battle against NCAA Finalist Dustin Plott. That’s exciting on its own, but pair that with the fact that he’s in a battle in his own room for the starting spot in the lineup, and now it has additional implications. Or certainly could at least. If you’re a Hawkeye fan, you’ve got to be excited about the future of this squad, paired with how good Teemer looked, for potential NCAA implications. On their best days, this Iowa team could have five finalists (133, 149, 157, 165, 197), which is a lot to be excited about and certainly enough for a trophy at the end of March.
Michigan > CMU > MSU – In the battle for the mitten, the University of Michigan reigns supreme in the 2024/2025 season. Last weekend the Wolverines dispatched the Spartans, and this Friday CMU beat MSU in Mount Pleasant to start their weekend. Next up was their trip to Ann Arbor on Sunday evening. The Chippewas began hot and had the lead 11-8 headed into 165, but that’s where their momentum stopped and the Wolverines took over. Beau Mantanona got a first-period pin at 165, followed by his brother Brock bumping up to 174 and upsetting Alex Cramer, who was ranked seventh in the country at the time. That’s a huge win for a true freshman bumping up a weight class, and helped continue the momentum for the Wolverines. 31-11 was the final score in what was a hard-fought and fun dual to see in person.
Ethen Miller is undefeated headed into B1Gs – Maryland finished off their season with a win over Drexel to the score of 23-13. Maryland had a solid season, with a dual win over the Wolverines a couple of weeks back, paired with some strong individual performances. Braxton Brown at 133 only has two losses on the season, and has shown the ability to compete with the best in the country. Additionally, Ethen Miller has ended his regular season at 20-0 and 7-0 in the B1G. … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/big-10/big-ten-weekly-recap-2272025-r100055/
This Week….A Year Ago
Now that we’ve finished the DI regular season, it seems like the year is just about over. Right? Only two more tournaments for each team. With about four full months of data points, we’ve figured out how March will play out. Right?
Maybe not. We’ve used last year as an example. What did the landscape look like in the final week of February? How did it change from February to mid-March? There were some huge chances. At this time last year, there was some uncertainty about the availability of two of the sport’s biggest stars (Both ended up winning titles. Congrats Vito and Carter).
Two tournaments shouldn’t change THAT much right? You might be surprised how much opinion can be formed or changed over the next couple of weeks. They always say that hindsight is 20/20, so let’s try to avoid looking at last season through the lens of what we know now. We’re getting into our DeLorean’s and traveling back to February 26th of 2024 to check the pulse of college wrestling fans.
The eventual national champion at 125 lbs, Richie Figueroa, finished the regular season ranked #19th in the country. He hit a skid at the beginning of February that saw him lose three of four matches. He did show hints of righting the ship as he defeated Luke Stanich and Caleb Smith during the final weekend.
Braeden Davis, the eventual Big Ten champion at 125 lbs, was ninth in the nation. In his final Big Ten dual of the season, Davis was majored by Caleb Smith. He later won the Big Ten tournament with wins over three straight past All-Americans.
At this point, we were wondering if Vito Arujau would be … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/this-weeka-year-ago-r100047/
Carr Defeats Takatani In Night in America Freestyle Event
In a change of pace before the college postseason gets underway, FloWrestling’s Night in America: Lee vs Ono freestyle event, pitted some of our country’s top freestyle wrestlers against each other in a fun exhibition in Coralville, Iowa. Additionally, a pair of Japanese stars participated in the main event and co-main event against two of the best recent wrestlers from Iowa universities.
The co-main event was an action-packed contest that saw Iowa State’s two-time national champion David Carr take on 2024 Olympic silver medalist Daichi Takatani at 76 kg. The pair started off with plenty of handfighting and fakes but no dedicated offensive attack through nearly the first two minutes of the bout. That led to the former Cyclone getting placed on the activity clock. With the :30 second clock about to expire, Carr struck with a low leg attack for a takedown and immediately transitioned into a leg lace. Carr was able to get a pair of turns from the leg lace and was suddenly ahead, 6-0.
Takatani countered with less than :10 seconds remaining in the first period with a big double leg for two points. That narrowed Carr’s lead to 6-2 at the break. Carr showed no signs of slowing down in the second with a head fake and a snap down, followed by a spin and two more points with a takedown. Once again, Carr was able to take advantage on the mat and turned Takatani with a gut wrench. As he went for a second turn, his Japanese counterpart stepped over for a pair of exposure points of his own. Takatani was also able to work from par terre and got an additional two points from a gut wrench of his own. Even so, Carr held a 10-6 lead. … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/international/carr-defeats-takatani-in-night-in-america-freestyle-event-r100049/
And …
Carr defeats 2024 Olympic silver medalist Takatani at FloWrestling Night in America event in Iowa
Feb 27, 2025, 12:46 AM EST
by Savannah Asmann, USA Wrestling
The 2025 FloWrestling Night in America midweek event featured an exciting lineup of 13 matches, featuring top athletes from the United States, Japan and Mexico, inside Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. David Carr had the highlight win of the night when he defeated 2024 Olympic silver medalist Daichi Takatani of Japan, 10-7. Carr picked up an early 6-0 lead after tying up a leg lace. Takatani countered with a double leg takedown to cut the score to 6-2 as time expired in the first period.
Carr added four points early in the second, securing a takedown and a gut wrench. On his second gut wrench attempt, Takatani slipped through and ended up on top to make it a 10-4 match. Takatani turned Carr once to push it to 10-6, added a point on a step out, but was unable to make a comeback after Carr’s early surge. With the crowd in Coralville on their feet, Carr celebrated one of the biggest wins at the point in his freestyle career.
2024 Senior and U20 World Champion Masanosuke Ono of Japan defeated 2024 Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee, 3-2, in the main event of the night. Ono secured a 3-0 lead in the first, with all points generated from push outs. A caution and one got Lee on the board, and another was added with seconds remaining in the match. In the ninth match on the main card, 2023 … more at …https://www.themat.com/news/2025/february/26/carr-defeats-2024-olympic-silver-medalist-takatani-at-flowrestling-night-in-america-event-in-iowa
Penn State goes wire-to-wire as No. 1, finishes as only undefeated team in Division I
Manheim, Pennsylvania – The final week of regular season action in college wrestling saw plenty of fireworks. Penn State extended its win streak to 71 in a row while old rival Oklahoma State and Iowa got reacquainted in iconic Carver-Hawkeye Arena. When everything finally shook out, the Nittany Lions finished the season where they began and Iowa reclaimed the No. 2 spot in the final NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll of the 2024-25 season released on Tuesday.
Penn State (15-0) beat American 50-3 in Rec Hall and finished the season averaging 9,007 fans across seven home dates. It’s the second-highest mark for average attendance in school history behind the 2022-23 season, which drew an average of 9,224.
Penn State’s 71-match win streak will enter next season as the sixth longest in college wrestling history. NAIA Grand View holds the collegiate record with 117 in a row, while Division II St. Cloud State holds the NCAA record at 77 straight. Oklahoma State won 76 in a row from 1937-1951, which is tops among current Division I schools.
Iowa finished 14-1 after a 21-16 win in the final Division I dual meet of the season on Sunday night in Iowa City in front of a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd of 14,847. The loss was the first of the season for Oklahoma State, which finished third in the poll and 13-1 on the season.
Northern Iowa finished fourth, capping a 14-1 season with a 28-12 win at Wisconsin. It’s the highest regular-season finish in the NWCA Coaches Poll in school history.
The Big Ten held the next three spots, with Nebraska (11-3), … more at … https://nwcaonline.com/news/2025/2/25/ncaa-division-1-men-penn-state-goes-wire-to-wire-as-no-1-finishes-as-only-undefeated-team-in-division-i.aspx
NCAA wrestling award standings update for the 2025 season
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, II and III Wrestling Championships. The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. 🤼 MORE COLLEGE WRESTLING 🤼 🚨 Alerts and updates on Bleacher Report🎥 Wrestling on YouTube 🍎 Follow on Apple News
For results to be counted for the awards, they must come against opponents in the same division (i.e., Division II vs. Division II). Ties in the falls and tech falls categories are broken based on the aggregate time. This week features the fourth standings of the Most Dominant Wrestler award, which features a 17-match minimum to qualify for the standings. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of team points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Points per match are awarded as follows.
* Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss)
* Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss)
* Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss)
* Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss)
In Division I, there was no movement at the top as Oklahoma State heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson continues to lead the most dominant rankings. In falls, Lehigh’s Kelvin Griffin extended his lead to three with 18 in 53:45. In tech falls, Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink picked up one to widen his lead to two with 15 in 78:48.
With Division II and III regionals coming up this weekend, rankings for those divisions stayed mostly static this week. The most dominant wrestler in Division II at 184 pounds is Ty McGeary from West Liberty. At 5.22 points per match, McGeary has led three straight weeks. … more at … https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/article/2025-02-26/ncaa-wrestling-award-standings-update-2025-season
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 