Lehigh Wrestling Adds Heavyweight Owen Trephan To Roster
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh wrestling has added two-time NCAA qualifier Owen Trephan as a graduate transfer for the spring semester. Trephan comes to Lehigh after five-and-a-half years at North Carolina State University, where for the previous two seasons he was the starting heavyweight and an ACC champion for the Wolfpack.
Trephan owns a 64-17 record over the previous four seasons at NC State. Over the last two seasons, Trephan went 41-12 overall at 285 including a 21-1 dual mark. Trephan won back-to-back ACC titles at 285 in 2023 and 2024, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in both seasons. He went 2-2 in his first NCAA appearance and went 1-2 last season.
The Summerville, S.C., native is 10-0 so far in the 2024-25 season. Competing unattached he went 4-0 to claim the title at the Nov. 3 Battle at the Citadel, and then went 3-0 to win the 285B pool at the Nov. 10 Journeymen Collegiate Classic. Right before the holidays, Trephan competed unattached in Lehigh’s Sheridan Tournament and went 3-0 to claim the title at 285 at Stabler Arena.
Trephan is currently ranked ninth nationally in both the FloWrestling and InterMat rankings. Off the mats, Trephan earned Academic All-ACC honors the previous two seasons and is a four-time member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll. Prior to his time at NC State, Trephan was a South Carolina state … more at … https://lehighsports.com/news/2025/1/3/lehigh-wrestling-adds-heavyweight-owen-trephan-to-roster.aspx
This Week in Women’s Collegiate Wrestling (1/2/2025)
Soldier Salute and Midlands Recap
To wrap up 2024, we saw two huge tournaments in collegiate wrestling, Soldier Salute and Midlands, concluding over the weekend. Many teams will return to competition with NWCA Collegiate Duals next week, so this was a great opportunity for teams to test their depth at different weights to prepare.
Soldier Salute
The Soldier Salute, held in Coralville, Iowa, took place from December 29 to 30. It featured tough competition from #1 (NCAA) Iowa and #1 (NAIA) Life. Whenever these two teams compete in any capacity, there are always fireworks, and Iowa barely eked out the first-place finish with 5 champions compared to Life’s 3. #7 (NAIA) Indiana Tech put up a strong showing as well, coming in third.
At 103, unattached high school wrestler from Wyoming Seminary, Jaclyn Bouzakis secured the tech fall over Life’s #2 (NAIA) Katherine Hernandez. Life also had a head-to-head matchup in the 3rd place match, but did not wrestle-off between Brianna Funakoshi and Macie Anderson.
At 110 lbs, freshman for Life#1 (NAIA) Anaya Falcon continued to show her absolute dominance at the weight with a 16-5 tech of Iowa’s #2 (NCAA) Ava Bayless, the 2024 NCWWC National Champ. Falcon has seemed pretty untouchable and this separation from the returning champ shows just how much of a threat she is across divisions. In the 3rd place match, Iowa did let some teammate competition play out between #5 Emilie Gonzalez and Valarie Solorio. Earlier in the tournament, Bayless got the win over Gonzalez, and here Gonzalez won the 6-2 tech over freshman Solorio. Regardless of outcomes here, the depth for the Hawkeyes points to a bright future at the weight.
At 117, we got the first of a few Iowa vs Life finals matches. Here, Iowa secured a 6-0 decision with returning NCWWC finalist #1 (NCAA) Brianna Gonzalez over Life’s #5 (NAIA) Salyna Shotwell. Gonzalez seemed to control this match, having defensive answers to Shotwell’s attempts and slick point-scoring of her own to keep it out of reach.
At 124, we saw another win from an unattached wrestler as former North Central All-American Mateah Roehl got an 11-0 tech fall over talented freshman from Indiana Tech, #3 (NAIA) Rose Kaplan. Down the line, we saw #6 (NAIA) Ariana Martinez of Life with a 12-2 tech fall over Devlynn Albrech (HS) for 3rd place and #8 (NAIA) Anna Kresja for Life securing 5th place with a tech of her own against Iowa’s Cali Leng.
131 brought another exciting Life vs Iowa matchup, this time with Life having the upper hand. #2 (NAIA) Sarah Savidge got the 10-0 tech over Emily Frost. This was a repeat of the result from U20 Nationals this past spring where Savidge beat Frost, 13-4.
Iowa freshman, Cadence Diduch showed out here at 138 lbs claiming the title over #3 (NAIA) Samantha Barragan of Texas Wesleyan in a nail-biter 8-6 decision. Diduch separated early with six unanswered points, but had to score late and hang on after Barragan answered back with six of her own. Barragan was on quite the run in the tournament taking out Iowa’s Lily Luft and Life’s #8 (NAIA) Zaynah McBryde to make the finals. Looking at the brackets, it was not my prediction for the finals, but both wrestlers gritted out through a stacked weight class to have one of the most exciting final matchups of the evening.
145 lbs was more Iowa v Iowa action, … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/women/this-week-in-womens-collegiate-wrestling-122025-r99880/
ACC Weekly Recap (1/1/2025)
Two of the three major holiday tournaments have concluded and the ACC had some stellar performances. Stanford kicked off their first Midlands in the ACC by bringing home the team title and three individual titles. Pittsburgh also had a strong showing at the Midlands, finishing fourth as a team and earning two individual titles. North Carolina sent a small contingent of starters to the Soldier Salute, finishing with one finalist and four placers.
#22 Stanford
Stanford used their time in Hoffman Estates to put the conference on notice that they are a legitimate threat to win the ACC in their inaugural season. The Cardinal will be loading a lot of hardware on the plane back to Palo Alto. They crowned three individual champions in #10 Tyler Knox (133), #8 Jaden Abas (149), and #7 Lorenzo Norman (174) On top of their gold medals, Knox was named the Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler and Norman was the Jack Leese Champion of Champions.
Knox has been fantastic this season and looked strong throughout the tournament, notching two bonus point wins before beating #32 Ryan Miller in the semifinals. He then had a very impressive showing in the finals with a controlling 10-3 win over #16 Dylan Shawver. Abas has seemingly shaken whatever early-season jitters he had and has been on an absolute tear. He was solid all weekend, taking out a sneaky good #19 Cross Wasilewski in the finals. Lorenzo Norman has put the country on notice this season; after his statement at the Midlands, his record stands at 14-1 with his lone loss a tight 4-3 decision to a reinvigorated #3 Dean Hamiti. Norman opened the tournament with tech fall, pin, tech fall before beating #23 Alex Cramer in the semifinals. He made a big impression with a decisive win over #5 Nick Incontrera in the finals.
They also had podium performances from seven wrestlers to separate themselves in the team race. #13 Hunter Garvin (165) placed third after dropping his semifinal bout in sudden victory to the eventual champion, Tyler Lillard. #22 Nick Stemmet (197) and Jason Miranda (141) both finished in 4th place while Peter Ming (285) finished in fifth. They rounded out the tournament with seventh-place finishes from #28 Grigor Cholakyan (157) and Brock Byers (197) and an eighth-place finish from Collin Guffey (174).
Pittsburgh
The Panthers turned in an impressive team performance despite losing two key starters to injury in the tournament. #18 Reece Heller (184) added a second Midlands title after being atop the podium in 2023. Heller earned three bonus point victories in his four matches, including a ranked win over #29 Shane Cartegena-Walsh in the finals. #15 Mac Stout (197) claimed his first Midlands title with impressive and consistent performances on both days; he beat #32 Dillon Bechtold 10-3 in the semifinals before taking out #26 Gabe Sollars 13-9 to stand on the top step of the podium.
Kade Brown (149) had an amazing run to finish in third … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/acc/acc-weekly-recap-112025-r99877/
Champions Knox, Abas, Norman lift Stanford to first Ken Kraft Midlands Championships team title
HOFMANN ESTATES, Ill. – Stanford staged a remarkable day two effort on the strength of three individual champions and 10 top-eight finishers to emerge with the program’s first team title in the history of the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. It’s the 60th year of the prestigious holiday event.
Collecting the Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler Award was 133-pound champion Tyler Knox, who was the first Stanford athlete of the day to grab a win in the finals. The redshirt freshman finished with a 5-0 record for the weekend, including an impressive 10-3 decision over Rutgers All-American Dylan Shawver in the championship bout.
Knox improved to 14-2 on the season with some major bullets already on his resume. He finished in fifth place at the tough CKLV Invitational and owns a win over NCAA finalist Drake Ayala of Iowa. Now with a Midlands title in tow, he his building momentum for a deep run in March.
Also earning top prize for Stanford were All-American Jaden Abas at 149 pounds and redshirt freshman Lorenzo Norman at 174 pounds. Abas outlasted Cross Wasilewski of Penn, 10-9, in a finals battle of the top two seeds at 149. He finished with a 5-0 record on the weekend, pushing his season record to 16-4. Abas was third at the CKLV Invitational earlier this year.
Norman was presented the Jack Leese Champion of Champions Award following his decisive run at NOW Arena that culminated with an 11-5 win over No. 1 seed Nick Incontrera of Penn in the finals. Norman’s 5-0 mark at the Midlands increases his season tally to 14-1 with his only loss coming in the CKLV Invitational finals to Oklahoma State’s Dean Hamiti, 4-3. Hamiti was the Midlands champion at 165 pounds last year, as well as the Outstanding Wrestler and Champion of Champions recipient.
Stanford, led by second-year head coach Chris Ayres, was the only program to earn three individual titles, which catapulted them atop the team podium with 157 team points. Rutgers, who held the lead after day one with eight semifinalists, finished in second place with 147 team points. Penn, Indiana and Pittsburgh rounded out the top five teams.
Rutgers grabbed the first champion of the day … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2024/december/30/champions-knox-abas-norman-lift-stanford-to-first-ken-kraft-midlands-championships-team-title
Badgers finish 2-1 at the Knockout Christmas Classic
Wisconsin defeats Campbell and NDSU, falls to No. 22 West Virginia
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Wisconsin wrestling team traveled to Kissimmee, Florida for a holiday event and came away with a pair of wins, beating Campbell and NDSU, but falling to No. 22 West Virginia at the Knockout Christmas Classic.
The Classic consisted of three rounds and took place at Silver Spurs Arena on Saturday.
The Badgers finished the day with a 2-1 record, bringing them to an even 4-4 mark heading into the new year. The young team saw a lot success for their freshmen and redshirt freshmen in Florida.
True freshman Wyatt Ingham (197) competed in his first three college matches and achieved his first college victory. His initial win was an upset against Campbell’s No. 21 Levi Hopkins, winning by a score of 3-2. Ingham’s second win of the day came via pin against NDSU’s Tayshaun Glover at 6:46.
Redshirt freshman Dylan Russo (184) also secured his first college victory against Mike Slade (Campbell) by major decision, 15-6, and added his second win of the day against NDSU’s Aidan Brenot by decision, 12-9.
Redshirt freshman Brock Bobzien achieved an upset over No. 15 Jordan Titus (West Virginia) by decision, 8-5. Finally, redshirt freshman Nicolar Rivera continued his impressive season with a perfect 3-0 day.
Campbell Results:
Wisconsin 25, Campbell 13
125 – No. 20 Nicolar Rivera over No. 28 Anthony Molton (Campbell) Tech. Fall 17-0 5:08
133 – No. 28 Zan Fugitt over Logan Heil (Campbell) Major Dec. 15-6
141 – No. 28 Shannon Hanna (Campbell) over Brock Bobzien Dec. 7-3 … more at … https://uwbadgers.com/news/2024/12/21/wrestling-badgers-finish-2-1-at-the-knockout-christmas-classic.aspx
#6 Wolfpack Takes Top-15 Win Over #12 Cornell
ITHACA, N.Y. – Sixth-ranked NC State wrestling edged past 12th-ranked Cornell to close out 2024 with a 20-18 win on Sunday evening.
The Pack came out collecting consecutive statement wins at 197 lbs, 285 lbs, 125 lbs, and 133 lbs to take a 17-0 lead. 29th-ranked Christian Knop returned to the lineup and set the tone for his team when he earned his 5-2 win with a third period buzzer beater takedown over 25th-ranked Mikey Dellagatta.
With the Wolfpack on the board first, fourth-ranked Isaac Trumble carried over Knop’s energy with a technical fall in the second period over Aiden Compton to secure the first set of crucial bonus points. Trumble previously defeated Compton with bonus points at Cliff Keen just a couple of weeks ago. Freshman, Louie Gill made his collegiate dual-match debut at 125 pounds with a key victory in a sudden victory bout to put his team up 11-0 through the first three matches. Gill previously lost to his opponent, Marcello Milani, last month by a 5-6 score at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic.
The 133 matchup also featured a debut, Kai Orine cutting back down to his two-time All-American weight. The Pack veteran came back in the weight class with a bang by posting a pin fall over his opponent and pushing the team score to 17-0. Cornell collected consecutive wins at 141 lbs, 149 lbs, 157 lbs, and 165 lbs to bring the score to 17-15.
20th-ranked Matty Singleton at 174 lbs trailed 0-4 after the first two periods of his match but was able to crawl back with a takedown and two-point near fall in the final minute to put the last points on the board for the Wolfpack. … more at … https://gopack.com/news/2024/12/22/wrestling-6-wolfpack-takes-top-15-win-over-12-cornell
Duke Wrestling News
Blue Devils Collect 22-12 Win Over VMI to Conclude 2024
DURHAM, N.C. — The Duke wrestling team collected its third straight victory on Sunday with a 22-12 victory over VMI inside Cameron Indoor Stadium to close 2024. The Blue Devils (4-6) won seven out 10 matches on the afternoon against the Keydets (4-6).
HOW IT HAPPENED
With a 7-3 decision by Gaetano Console, the Blue Devils took a 15-7 lead with three matches remaining. Console, a tri-captain from Barrington Hills, N.J., led 3-2 heading into the third period, but totaled an escape and takedown to jump out to a 7-2 lead with over a minute remaining in the contest. It marked Console’s second-straight win on the season.
The Blue Devils opened the contest with a solid, 10-4, decision by freshman Riley Rowan against Cody Tanner. The win marked the first collegiate victory by Rowan. A product of Perry, Ohio, Rowan registered a takedown in the first period and led 6-3 heading into the final period. He posted a riding time point along with a takedown at the end to net the decision.
After sophomore Raymond Adams dropped a 4-2 decision to Dyson Dunham at 133, the match was even, 3-3. At 141, Christian Colman trailed, 5-3, going into the final period, but totaled an escape and takedown to come away with a 7-6 decision against Phoenix Alyea.
Duke netted a second-straight win as SP O’Donnell never trailed en route to a 5-3 decision versus Raymond Cmil. Eric Doran of VMI posted a 12-4 major decision against Duke’s Logan Ferrero to cut into the Blue Devil lead, 9-7. Duke sophomore Aidan Wallace continued his solid start to the 2024-25 season with a takedown in the first 17 seconds and went on to total a 9-4 decision versus Ryan Vigil. … more at … https://goduke.com/news/2024/12/22/wrestling-blue-devils-collect-22-12-over-vmi-to-conclude-2024-fall
And …
The Heavyweight: Connor Barket Has Big Plans on and off the Wrestling Mat
By: Meredith Rieder
DURHAM, N.C.– Duke wrestling’s Connor Barket is the total package. On the mat, the redshirt sophomore is all about turning pressure into pleasure. Off the mat, the redshirt sophomore is hoping to take all the life lessons and privileges he and other Duke athletes have garnered through sports and share them with young athletes in the Durham community through his newly founded Rising Athletes Foundation.
Barket is off to a stellar start to the 2024-25 campaign with a 14-2 record and a top 30 ranking for the first time in his career. The 14 wins are two shy of his total last season, his first as Duke’s starting heavyweight. He also is fresh off an inspiring summer service trip to Panama through Duke’s ACE program, leaving him inspired to make a difference off the mat.
Barket took the bumps and bruises both physically and mentally in his first two seasons in a collegiate wrestling room. Now he is back with a firm grasp on his physical strengths, which he plays to well, and a mental edge that has grown exponentially — the perfect formula for success.
“I remember my freshman year,” said Barket. “We had a big heavyweight in Jonah Niesenbaum. He was an exceptional wrestler and also just a gigantic human being. He was probably 6-4 and 260. I stepped on campus at about 200 to 205 pounds, and I was expected to go wrestle him every day. Life was completely miserable to start, to be completely honest. It was no fun at all, especially in the sport of wrestling where if you lose, you get your face beat in by somebody else’s hands. So, going through that every day for months makes you question a lot.” … more at … https://goduke.com/news/2024/12/24/the-heavyweight-connor-barket-has-big-plans-on-and-off-the-wrestling-mat
Utah Valley tops No. 23 Oregon State, 20-14
OREM, Utah – Utah Valley wrestling defeated No. 23 Oregon State, 20-14, on Friday night inside Lockhart Arena. The Wolverines (4-4) won six of the ten bouts, including major decisions by No. 18 Haiden Drury and Smokey McClure in his UVU debut.
“We embodied grit tonight to take down a top 25, nationally ranked team! It was definitely not the prettiest dual. Both teams had guys out, made mistakes, and had hard-fought wins, but we came out on top. I’m excited for our guys to get some well-deserved rest after this weekend and to get ready for some important matchups in January. Go Wolverines!”
Oregon State got out to a 3-0 lead in the team scores when former Wolverine Kekana Fouret picked up an 11-5 decision over Kaden Bennie in his UVU Debut. Bennie trailed going into the third period but scored on a key takedown and added an escape to make it 10-5 before Fouret held on for the win.
The Wolverines won the next three bouts first with 174-pounder Mark Takara upsetting No. 32 Sean Harman. Takara scored five points in the final minute of the opening period on a takedown and a two-point near fall. He would not score again until an escape to open the third period and hold on for the upset. It is the first-ranked win for the redshirt sophomore from Temecula, Calif.
Caleb Uhlenhopp kept the momentum going in UVU’s favor, going up 3-0 in the first period against TJ McDonnell at 184. The lead was pushed out to 6-0 in the second. McDonnell fought back and cut the lead to 6-3 after a takedown, but it was too late to come back.
Kael Bennie gave the Wolverines a 9-3 lead with a 14-7 decision over Riverton native and Bingham alum Mason Christiansen. The high scoring affair favored Bennie, 5-4, before he extended the lead out to 10-7 after two. In the final period, he sealed the match for his seventh win of the season with a takedown.
Leading 9-3, the Beavers found some life with their ranked wrestlers at heavyweight, … more at … https://gouvu.com/news/2024/12/20/wrestling-utah-valley-tops-no-23-oregon-state-20-14.aspx
NDSU Wrestling Tops Campbell at Knockout Christmas Classic
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – North Dakota State wrestling picked up its first win of the season with a 22-16 win over Campbell University on Saturday at the Knockout Christmas Classic held at Silver Spurs Arena. The Bison also fell on a tiebreaker to No. 22 West Virginia, 22-21, and lost to Wisconsin 22-13.
In the opening dual against West Virginia, the Bison picked up five victories, including a tech fall from Kyle Burwick early on. The teams traded the lead early before West Virginia went up by 9 with three straight wins. However, Tayshaun Glover and Drew Blackburn-Forst answered back with wins. Glover won by a decision and then Blackburn-Forst upset No. 29 Michael Wolfgram with a pin to tie the dual at 21-21. The Mountaineers would claim the dual win with a 49-43 difference in match points.
The Bison responded with a strong start against Campbell. In his first career dual, freshman Ezekiel Witt pinned No. 28 Anthony Molton for the Camels to give the Bison an early lead. Burwick followed it up with a win in sudden victory, taking down No. 25 Dom Zaccone.
Following a couple wins from Campbell, Gabriel Schumm, Boeden Greenley, Devin Wasley and Aidan Brenot reeled off four-straight decisions to secure the dual win for the Bison. Greenley secured a 7-1 win over No. 24 Domonic Baker for NDSU’s third upset win over a ranked opponent in the dual.
Wisconsin would jump out to an early lead against the Bison in the final dual, going up 7-0. However, Michael Olson picked up his first dual win, followed by a major decision from No. 29 Gavin Drexler to tie the dual at 7-7. … more at … https://gobison.com/news/2024/12/21/ndsu-wrestling-tops-campbell-at-knockout-christmas-classic.aspx
West Virginia Earns Three Wins at Knockout Christmas Classic
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University wrestling team put on a dominant performance at the Knockout Christmas Classic, defeating three teams on Saturday at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida.
The Mountaineers (6-1, 1-1 Big 12) began the day in a tight battle with the North Dakota State Bison.
Redshirt junior Jace Schafer earned a win by decision against North Dakota State’s Tristan Daughtery in the 125 pound match to get the day started. West Virginia quickly lost momentum as the Bison secured wins to lead, 12-7, early on.
However, fifth-year No. 3 Peyton Hall earned his fifteenth win of the season with a 17-2 technical fall over Boeden Greenley. That was followed by wins from redshirt sophomore No. 29 Brody Conley (174) and redshirt senior No. 26 Dennis Robin (184) to put WVU up, 21-12.
The Bison tied it up at 21 after redshirt senior No. 31 Austin Cooley (197) and fifth-year Michael Wolfgram lost (285). West Virginia earned the win, 22-21, based on a 49-43 difference in match points.
The Mountaineers quickly gained momentum in their match against the Wisconsin … more at … https://wvusports.com/news/2024/12/21/wrestling-west-virginia-earns-three-wins-at-knockout-christmas-classic.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
Takedown Report 