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Amateur Wrestling Reports

Penn State Wrestling Announces 2024-25 Schedule

Nittany Lions to host two BJC Duals
Full Schedule HERE!
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.  – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, has announced its 2024-25 schedule. Penn State will have seven home duals this season, including two in the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions will also host the NWCA All-Star Classic once again in Rec Hall. Please note that all dates and times are subject to change.
The season begins with a big opening weekend in Rec Hall. The venerable building will once again be the site of the NWCA All-Star Classic exhibition. The event, which is not an official NCAA event or part of Penn State’s season ticket package, is set for Saturday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. Tickets for the event can be purchased at https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0200612BD69D5222 . Penn State’s official NCAA schedule then begins the next day with a home dual in Rec Hall when the Nittany Lions host Drexel at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Penn State heads to West Point, N.Y., the next weekend for the Black Knight Invitational at Army West Point. The one day event takes place on Sunday, Nov. 24, and runs all-day.  Penn State visits Lehigh on Sunday, Dec. 8, for a 2 p.m. dual with the Mountain Hawks. The next weekend, Penn State welcomes the Wyoming Cowboys to Rec Hall for a 1 p.m. dual meet on Sunday, Dec. 15. Penn State closes out the first semester schedule a week later, travelling to Nashville, Tenn., for the Journeymen Collegiate Duals on Sunday, Dec. 22. Penn State will wrestle three dual meets on that day, taking on Binghamton, Arkansas-Little Rock and Missouri.
The Big Ten season begins on Friday, Jan. 10, … more at … https://gopsusports.com/news/2024/10/8/penn-state-wrestling-announces-2024-25-schedule

October 22, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , | Leave a comment

Ohio State 2025 Big Ten Schedule Announced

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State will battle four Big Ten opponents at the Covelli Center in 2025 with four scheduled for the road, the league announced Tuesday. Rutgers, Purdue, Minnesota and Penn State will face the Buckeyes in Columbus. 
Ohio State travels to Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Indiana to round out the eight-match conference season. Match times, dates and television designations will be determined at a later date. The Buckeyes finished eighth at the 2024 NCAA Championships with three Ohio State individuals earning All-America status last year. Junior Jesse Mendez is back to defend both his 2023 Big Ten and NCAA titles at 141 pounds. 
The Buckeyes finished with a dual record of 15-2 a year ago, which included a 7-1 Big Ten record. Ohio State returns starters at eight weights in the nine that qualified for the 2024 NCAA Championships.
Back are Brendan McCrone (125), Nic Bouzakis (133), 2024 NCAA Champion/All-American Jesse Mendez (141), 2023 All-American Dylan D’Emilio (149), 2024 All-American Rocco Welsh (174), Ryder Rogotzke (184), Luke Geog (197) and 2024 All-American Nick Feldman (HWT). … more at … https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/news/2024/10/8/wrestling-2025-big-ten-foes-announced

October 17, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , | Leave a comment

2024-25 Conference Movement Primer

The world of college athletics is changing by the year – actually, maybe not that slow, maybe by the month or week. It seems like late spring and summer are the times to monitor which schools are changing conferences and which conferences are raiding other smaller leagues. 
This offseason proved to be one of the most impactful in college athletics with the Big Ten expanding to the West Coast and a pair of Big 8/12 mainstays heading to the SEC. 
Some of these moves don’t directly impact wrestling – others have. There are a few wrestling conferences that have undergone major facelifts and will look much different during the 2024-25 season and beyond.  Since it can be difficult to follow all of these changes, we’ve gone conference by conference to see how each has evolved for the 2024-25 season. 

ACC: The ACC comes out a winner in this game of musical chairs as they add a very talented Stanford team. Sure, the geography of Stanford being in the Atlantic Coast Conference doesn’t add up, but we’ve had time to come to terms with the fact that these conferences don’t make much sense. 
On the mat, Stanford brings a team that will likely enter the season in the top-15 in tournament and dual rankings. The Cardinal boasts a lineup that features three All-Americans, finished 16th in the nation in 2024, and has inked three top-eight recruiting classes in a row. 
After years of claiming the ACC is on the rise, the 2025 conference tournament will now feature seven teams and gets that much tougher. 

Big Ten: The Big Ten added four schools (Oregon, Southern California, UCLA, and Washington) and none of them currently field a wrestling team. The initial reaction is “Great, maybe one of them will add wrestling,” however, will all of the new financial changes coming to college athletics, you might start to worry whether one or more Big Ten schools will drop in the near future. … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/2024-25-conference-movement-primer-r99569/

October 4, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

Wrestling community mourns death of legendary coach Pat Pecora

Sep. 8—The day Larry Hohman was headed to college when he was 18, his dad died. He walked into the office of Pitt-Johnstown wrestling coach Pat Pecora for guidance. Pecora instructed him to go home for a week to be with family, and he would take care of things. “On that day, coach became my father,” said Hohman, the Penn-Trafford wrestling coach. “He counseled me and made me the man, the father and the teacher I am today.”
Pecora, 70, died late Saturday night after a courageous battle with cancer. The legendary coach built Pitt-Johnstown into a national power and led them to more victories than any wrestling coach in history. The Mountain Cats won NCAA Division II national titles in 1996 and 1999. “What didn’t coach teach me?” Hohman said. “He was a father figure to all of us. Everyone who wrestled for him was family. He made us all better men.”
In 48 years as coach, Pecora produced 170 NCAA All-Americans and 15 national champions. … more at … https://lancasteronline.com/sports/olympics/wrestling-community-mourns-death-of-legendary-coach-pat-pecora/article_2df08c53-8de5-5b6f-9ba4-a22a30372d89.html

and
UPJ mourns the loss of our great Wrestling Coach and Athletics Director, Pat Pecora
FULL UNIVERSITY RELEASE
 COACH PAT PECORA TRIBUTE VIDEO
For nearly half a century, UPJ athletics excellence has been virtually synonymous with Pat Pecora. Coach Pecora became head coach of the Mountain Cat wrestling program in 1976 following a stellar wrestling career at West Liberty State (WV) College and also served as UPJ’s Athletic Director since 2008. Pecora held college wrestling’s all-time wins mark with 661. Coach Pecora led Pitt-Johnstown to a pair of NCAA Division II National Championships, 25 NCAA Regional titles, and eight straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships. In 1996 and 1999, his teams captured the NCAA Division II National Championship, the first and second in school history.  His teams won five consecutive NCAA Regional titles from 2003 through 2007 … more at … https://pittjohnstownathletics.com/news/2024/9/10/baseball-upj-mourns-the-loss-of-our-great-wrestling-coach-and-athletics-director-pat-pecora.aspx

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WLU Mourns Passing of Legendary Wrestling Alumnus
The West Liberty University community is mourning the loss of Pitt-Johnstown athletic director and head wrestling coach Pat Pecora, a collegiate wrestling legend who passed away peacefully Sunday morning at the age of 70 following a courageous battle with cancer. The 1975 West Liberty graduate was college wrestling’s all-time winningest coach with a staggering 661-154-5 record in 48 seasons as a head coach – all at Pitt-Johnstown. “It is with a heavy heart that we hear of the passing of Pat Pecora,” West Liberty athletic director Brad Forshey said. “Coach Pecora was the epitome of a legend in collegiate wrestling. He was a true ambassador of the sport and an amazing person. On behalf of the entire West Liberty community, we extend our deepest condolences to the Pecora family.”
     A four-year starter, three-time conference champion and two-time NAIA national qualifier on West Liberty wrestling teams of the early 1970s, Pecora became the youngest wrestling coach in the country when he was hired at Pitt-Johnstown in 1976 and immediately started stacking up an impressive list of accomplishments.
     Pecora led the Mountain Cats to a pair of NCAA Division II national championships (1996, 1999) and 25 NCAA D2 Regional titles to go along with 24 national Top 10 finishes and 11 Top Five finishes. His 2024 squad finished 6th at the NCAA Division II Nationals in Park City, Kan. Four Mountain Cats earned NCAA D2 All-America honors and 149-pounder Jacob Ealy became UPJ’s 15th individual national champion.      Pecora was a two-time president of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and served on the NWCA Board of Directors for years. A 4-time NWCA National Coach of the Year (1995, 1999, 2019, 2022), … more at … https://hilltoppersports.com/news/2024/9/8/wlu-mourns-passing-of-legendary-wrestling-alumnus.aspx

and
PSAC mourns passing of Pitt-Johnstown’s Pat Pecora
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference mourns the loss of Pat Pecora, the longtime head wrestling coach and Athletic Director at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, who passed away on Sunday morning after a long battle with cancer.  
Pecora is the winningest coach in all of collegiate wrestling history, leading the Mountain Cats’ wrestling program for 48 years while also doubling as the institution’s athletic director since 2008. He accumulated a career dual meet record of 661-154-5 and was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Coach of the Year in 1995, 1999, 2019, and 2022.  
“Pat was a great example of all that is good about Division II,” said PSAC Commissioner Steve Murray. “He was the best of us and will be sadly missed by all of the PSAC. We offer our deepest condolences to Pat’s family and the entire UPJ community.”  
Pecora led Pitt-Johnstown to a pair of NCAA Division II National Championships (in 1996 and 1999) and 25 NCAA Regional titles. His teams won five consecutive NCAA Regional titles from 2003 through 2007 and 10 in a row from 1992 through 2001.  Pecora was named the NCAA Regional Coach of the Year 22 times and earned induction into nine halls of fame, including the Pitt-Johnstown, Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches, NCAA Division II Wrestling, and National Wrestling Halls of Fame. … more at … https://psacsports.org/news/2024/9/9/general-psac-mourns-passing-of-pitt-johnstowns-pat-pecora.aspx

September 25, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , , | Leave a comment

Docs: NCAA considering applying football redshirt rule to athletes in all sports

The NCAA is considering more historic changes to its amateurism rules.
Member schools plan to seriously consider granting athletes in all sports, not just football, the ability to participate in up to a certain percentage of games in a fifth season and still use their redshirt; permit athletes to earn prize money before they enroll in college; and eliminate the National Letter of Intent. The potential changes are part of what is expected to be a year-long comprehensive review of NCAA athlete-eligibility rules to reflect and operationalize the House settlement terms, according to documents obtained by Yahoo Sports. The documents will be reviewed this coming week during a video call of the NCAA Division I Council.
Recommendations and approval of the athlete-eligibility rules are expected to occur on a rolling basis and be presented to the DI Council for consideration at regular quarterly meetings through October 2025. However, a new signing model with the elimination of the National Letter of Intent could be approved as soon as October, according to documents distributed to administrators.
While expected given the arrival of athlete revenue sharing next year, the changes under consideration are historic and significant in nature — the latest steps in college sports’ evolution away from the amateurism model that has cost it billions in legal losses.
In one of the more notable potential changes, athletes in all sports could participate in up to a certain amount of contests during a sports season while still using their redshirt. Such a policy is only currently permitted in football and wrestling. In football, for instance, a player can play in up to four regular-season games and still use his redshirt season (the NCAA recently updated this rule to exempt all postseason competition from the four-game policy).
Such a rule has not existed for sports like basketball, baseball and all others aside from wrestling. If the policy is changed, sport-specific NCAA committees will be tasked with determining how many contests a player in each sport can participate in before a year of eligibility is exhausted. In the NCAA documents, an example is offered of 30%, a similar figure used in football.
Other notable changes include what documents describe as a “new signing model” with the elimination of the National Letter of Intent. The “core benefits” of the National Letter of Intent will be incorporated into the institution’s athletics financial aid and scholarship agreements, according to the document. Similar recruiting rules tied to the National Letter of Intent will continue with the signing of school aid agreements. … more at … https://sports.yahoo.com/docs-ncaa-considering-applying-football-redshirt-rule-to-athletes-in-all-sports-154903963.html

September 24, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

New Faces in the ACC for 2024-25

Another season ushers in another wave of new ACC wrestlers and coaches. We’ve already seen breakdowns of the recruiting classes, let’s take a look at the new coaching hires and transfers that join the ACC this fall. 

Duke
Erkin Tadzhimetov joins the coaching staff in Durham after a long tenure at his alma mater Utah Valley. He will work with the lightweights, marking a big change in the staffing in the Lanham era. Coach Lanham has had an upper-weight heavy coaching staff over the past decade and the addition of a lightweight coach could pay dividends for the Blue Devils. 
Tyler O’Boyle (285) Franklin and Marshall
Spencer Von Savoye (141/149) California Baptist

North Carolina
Vincenzo Joseph will join the Tar Heels staff in the role of Recruiting Coordinator. The two-time NCAA Champion for the Nittany Lions will be reuniting with Coach Koll having served on staff under him at Stanford. For the new position, Joseph will “assist the program in team travel, on-campus recruiting, match day planning, and operations, donor relations, and all program-related events”. In his short time in the college coaching ranks, Joseph has shown that he can be a valuable asset to the Tar Heel staff. 
Nolan Neves (285) – Columbia
Ethan Oakley (133) – Appalachian State – SOCON Champ 2x NCAA Qualifier
Josh Ogunsanya (174) – North Carolina? – EIWA Runner-Up 2x NCAA Qualifier

North Carolina State
Zack Esposito steps into the Associate Head Coach position after the departure of Adam Hall to Utah Valley. Espo brings a wealth of experience on the folkstyle and freestyle side. He was the RTC coach at Oklahoma State prior to taking the Associate Head Coach role, where he served for seven years. Most recently he was in Colorado Springs as the Freestyle Developmental and Resident Coach for USA Wrestling. 

Pittsburgh
Lou Rosselli joins the Panthers, adding another experienced and successful coach to the staff. … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/acc/new-faces-in-the-acc-for-2024-25-r99551/

September 24, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , , | Leave a comment

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