Abbott blog: Top 10 wrestling stories of 2024
By Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling
For many years, one of my holiday traditions has been writing a Top 10 wrestling stories of the year column for TheMat.com. Finding time to write around traditional family holiday activities has always been a bit of a challenge but is something I look forward to each year.
Clearly, an Olympic year has way more story lines than the other three years of an Olympic cycle. Paris did a wonderful job running the 2024 Games, a breath of fresh air after going through the pandemic Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. The USA had a strong performance if you look back at historic results, although the U.S. has been so strong in recent years that expectations were very high. The Olympics are so hard to win because of the pressure on the athletes and the high level of preparation by every single Olympian in the field. Athletes around the world dream about winning the Olympics, and they all step up big time when given that opportunity.
It has been an honor and a privilege to bring this feature to the wrestling community over the years, and I appreciate all of the amazing opportunities I have had as a USA Wrestling staff member. This has truly been a dream job for a kid who loves wrestling and journalism. From the minute that the Olympics ended in Paris, all eyes have now turned towards the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. All I can say is Go Team USA!!!
Here we go with the biggest stories of 2024, in my humble opinion…
1 –Hildebrandt, Elor win golds and U.S. women get four Olympic medals in Paris – Women first competed in Olympic wrestling in 2004 in Athens, and the USA has been one of the top nations ever since. However, it was 20 years later, at the 2024 Paris Games, where the USA women truly took center stage, claiming two gold medals for the first time and a U.S. record four total medals. Golds went to one of the veteran leaders on the team, Sarah Hildebrandt at 50 kg, and the best young athlete in the world, Amit Elor at 68 kg. Hildebrandt’s run included some big-time drama, as her finals opponent Vinesh from India (who upset the favorite Yui Susaki in the first round) missed weight. UWW chose to put the semifinal loser to Vinesh in the finals against Hildebrandt, Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba, and Sarah closed it out with a 3-0 win. A lifetime of hard work and persistence paid off when it most counted. Elor, who became the youngest U.S. Senior World wrestling champion at 18 in 2022, dropped to 68 kg for the Olympic year and become the youngest Olympic wrestling champion for Team USA at age 20 in Paris. Elor was her dominant self, outscoring her opponents 31-2, including a 3-0 shutout victory over Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan in the finals. Elor’s future seems unlimited at this point. Kennedy Blades, who beat the legendary Adeline Gray to make the U.S. team, nailed a beautiful five-point throw in her first match and powered into the finals to claim a silver medal. The amazing Helen Maroulis added a bronze medal and the U.S. women had its best Olympics ever.
2 – Maroulis wins third Olympic medal and Dake earns second Olympic medal – Winning an Olympic wrestling medal is an amazing feat. Winning more than one is very rare and especially noteworthy. Helen Maroulis further cemented her Hall of Fame career by winning a third career Olympic medal in Paris, a 2024 bronze to go with 2016 gold and 2020 bronze. Her back story is inspiring (a documentary was made about her comeback from injury and personal challenge). In Paris, Maroulis opened with two wins to reach the semifinals, where she fell 6-0 to three-time World champion Tsugumi Sakurai of Japan, who had beaten Maroulis in previous meetings. She put an exclamation point on her third Olympics with a stunning 24-second pin of Canada’s Hannah Taylor for the bronze. Only one USA athlete has won more Olympic wrestling medals, the great Bruce Baumgartner with four. Dake’s quest for an Olympic gold after winning four career World titles, was halted in the semifinals in a wild 20-12 loss to Japan’s Daichi Takatani. Dake came back strong after the loss. It looked like Dake might fall in the bronze-medal match to past World champion Hetik Cablov of Serbia, but a late five-point toss gave him a memorable 10-4 win and a second career Olympic bronze medal. Could either come back to seek another at the 2028 Olympics? Who knows, but I wouldn’t put it past either of them if they chose to go another Olympic cycle. 3 – Lee gets healthy and powers to Olympic silver medal – As an age-group freestyle wrestler, Spencer Lee of Pennyslvania was beyond dominant. He won a 2014 U17 World title and two U20 World titles (2015, 2016), and most of his matches were over in less than a minute. It seemed like Lee was destined to win multiple World and Olympic medals for Team USA. … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2024/december/28/abbott-blog-top-10-wrestling-stories-of-2024
College Wrestling Announcers’ Story from the Mat to the Mic
At 71 years old, Tim Johnson found himself back where it all started – in a wrestling room in the basement of the old Morning Sun high school building. The room isn’t large, smaller than an average classroom, but the names that would come out of that modest bit of real estate in Southeast Iowa are gigantic.
Al Baxter, Nick Hobbs, Gregg Durbin, Ron McDonald, Jerry Malone, Jay Johnson, Earl Bryant … the list of Iowa high school state wrestling tournament qualifiers and place winners to come out of Morning Sun reads like a chapter book. They’re household names in Iowa high school wrestling, many of whom were coached by National Wrestling Hall of Fame coach John Siegel.
The wrestling room, painted emerald green with matching green mats, is located next to the boiler room. That was intentional. Tim Johnson recalls grueling workouts in that hot room, conditioning that would help him win matches both on the wrestling mat and in life. “To be back in this room where a lot of blood, sweat and tears happened is a tremendous feeling,” Tim Johnson said. “I owe a lot to this sport.” It’s a sport he didn’t know he would even be able to participate in early on. A lawnmower accident nearly cost him a leg when he was a kid. Full of youthful energy, he raced up behind his dad who was operating a new riding lawnmower. The grass was damp from dew and his left leg slid under the blade deck. The injury required multiple operations and lengthy rehab sessions, but the medical staff was able to save his leg.
When he was in second grade he met Bob Darrah, Morning Sun’s wrestling coach, while at a high school meet. A few years later Darrah invited Johnson to come workout with the varsity wrestlers. “This was a sport I was allowed to do,” Johnson said. “I could wrestle, and coach Darrah said ‘as long as you can wrestle you’ll be okay.’ I owe a lot to a man who put that courage in me.”
Darrah went on to coach at Urbandale High School before establishing a legendary program at West Des Moines Dowling Catholic. Johnson learned early on how to modify his wrestling stance to protect his leg, taking the mat in a sugar foot stance. He became both explosive and impossible to take down, another analogy that works for him off the mat. Through some rough life challenges Johnson has learned resiliency. For him, wrestling is not something that’s only done on a three-quarter-inch mat. “Everybody wrestles with life,” Johnson said. He’s a humble man who wastes little time acknowledging those he credits for his successes, from influential coaches to the group of wrestling moms back in the early days that sold homemade pies for traveling money and dyed long underwear green so the athletes would have uniforms to wrestle in.
Humble, yet still carries himself with elbows bent and primed to shoot a double leg at the blow of a whistle. Johnson’s passion for life and love for wrestling will be available for all to see when he joins legendary wrestling coach Jim Miller mat-side to broadcast NCAA wrestling meets on Iowa PBS in January.
It is the first time since 2012 that Iowa PBS has carried a wrestling meet … more at … https://www.iowapbs.org/article/11916/college-wrestling-announcers-story-mat-mic#popup-container
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
Iowa women win Soldier Salute with five champions, runner-up Life has three champions
CORALVILLE, Iowa – The Soldier Salute women’s division featured the No. 1 ranked teams in the NCAA and the NAIA, and both teams had excellent performances.
Led by five individual champions, NCAA No. 1 Iowa finished with 215.5 points. NAIA No. 1 Life was second with 199 points, led by three champions. NAIA No. 7 Indiana Tech was third with 71.5 points. Individual champions for Iowa included Brianna Gonzalez (117), Cadence Diduch (138), Macey Kilty (145), Kennedy Blades (160) and Kylie Welker (180).
Two of the finals were all-Iowa battles, both won by World-level stars. At 145 pounds, two-time Senior World medalist Macey Kilty defeated 2024 NCWWC national champion Reese Larramendy, 8-1. At 180 pounds, 2024 World bronze medalist Kylie Welker, who was also a 2024 NCWWC champion, stopped freshman Naomi Simon in a 10-0 technical fall.
The Outstanding Wrestler in the women’s division was 2024 Olympic silver medalist Blades, who scored a 13-3 technical fall over Latifah McBryde of Life, a two-time NAIA Nationals runner-up. Gonzalez, a 2024 NCWWC runner-up, defeated Life’s Salyna Shotwell in the finals, 6-0. Diduch, a freshman, stopped Texas Wesleyan’s Samantha Baragan, 8-6.
Champions for Life were Anaya Falcon (110), Sarah Savidge (131) and Savannah Isaac (207). Savidge was a 2024 NAIA runner-up, while Falcon and Isaac are freshmen. Falcon defeated 2024 NCWWC nationals champion Ava Bayless of Iowa in the finals, scoring a stunning 16-5 technical fall. Savidge was equally dominant in her finals, blitzing Iowa’s Emily Frost in a 10-0 technical fall. Isaac stopped 2024 NCWWC runner-up Jaycee Foeller of Iowa, 2-1.
The other two champions were not affiliated with a college program. Unattached Jaclyn Bouzakis, a high school star who attends Wyoming Seminary, scored a 10-0 technical fall over Katherine Hernandez of Life at 103 pounds. Mateah Roehl, who competes for the Askren Wrestling Academy and was an All-American at North Central, won the 124-pound title … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2024/december/30/iowa-women-win-soldier-salute-with-five-champions-runner-up-life-has-three-champions
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
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
Christian Davis Named Conference Carolinas Wrestler of the Week
Second Bearcat Freshman to be Honored this Season
GREENVILLE, S.C. – After winning the 133-lb Midwest Classic bracket over the weekend by knocking off a pair of nationally-ranked opponents, Christian Davis has been named the Conference Carolinas Wrestler of the Week as announced by the league this afternoon. Davis is the second Lander wrestler to earn the weekly honor this season and the second freshman to earn the honor, joining Issac Sheeren who earned the award in the first week of the season.
Davis earned the honor on the back of a perfect 5-0 week at the prestigious Midwest Classic that saw him become the fourth Midwest Classic Champion in program history as well as the first freshman to win the tournament in program history. Of his five wins, three of them came by bonus point margins, one of which a 10-2 major decision over the fourth-ranked wrestler in his weight class in Peter Rolle of Central Oklahoma. Davis picked up the tournament title with a dominant 8-2 win over the second-ranked wrestler in his class, Reece Barnhardt of UMary.
Davis now sits at 20-2 on the season … more at … https://landerbearcats.com/news/2024/12/17/wrestling-christian-davis-named-conference-carolinas-wrestler-of-the-week.aspx
NECP, Tarboro wrestlers claim titles in USAF-Eagle Invitational
The North East Carolina Prep School wrestling team produced three championships while Tarboro claimed one during the USAF-Eagle Invitational at Rosewood High School on Saturday.
Holton Quincy took the 113-pound title for the Huskies while Colton Lewis won at 126 and Ryan Mann claimed the 144 crown.
Quincy had a bye through the first two rounds. He then pinned Albert Couch of Southwest Onslow (1:22) in the quarterfinals, won by pin (2:32) over Guy Wavra of Corinth Holders in the semifinals and won by major decision 8-0 over Jesse Farmsworth of Panther Creek in the finals.
Lewis received a first-round bye and pinned George Records of Southwest Onslow (0:59) in the second round. Lewis then pinned Florentino Martinez-Hernandez of North Pitt (0:43) in the quarterfinals, won by technical fall 18-4 over Isaiah Mazura of Rosewood in the semifinals and won by major decision 12-0 over Carson Corl of South Johnston in the finals.
Mann received a first-round bye and pinned Troy Parker of Garner (1:13) in the second round. He then won by technical fall 16-1 over Ethan Johnson of North Pitt in the quarterfinals, took a major decision 10-0 over Ashton Shields-Adams in the semifinals and claimed the championship by pinning Mikey Leaf of Ravenscroft (2:51) in the finals match.
Daniel Silver placed second in the 285-pound (heavyweight) division. Silver received byes through the first two rounds. He pinned Sean Banks of Rosewood (3:16) and Jayden Williams of Clayton (3;58) before falling by pin (1:31) to Nicholas Rodgers of Wilson Fike in the championship match.
Other results for the Huskies are as follows:
• 106: Alan Tebalan finished in third place with a pin over Esteban Placencia of Southwest Onslow (0:19).
• 120: Kemon Downing took fourth place after losing by medical forfeit to Connor Elliot of Millbrook.
• 132: Brayden Waneroik ended up fourth overall … more at … https://www.reflector.com/apgstate/necp-tarboro-wrestlers-claim-titles-in-usaf-eagle-invitational/article_e3496683-b2a4-52cf-8a19-097b7f70aa81.html
Mt. San Antonio repeats as 3C2A champions, wins four individual titles
Mounties win school’s third state championship in the last four years.
Photo Galleries: John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com | Chris Mora Photos
Lemoore, California – Four years ago, Mt. San Antonio College walked away with its first 3C2A state championship, ending a run of four straight titles won by perennial California power Fresno City College.
On Saturday, head coach David Rivera’s Mounties repeated as team champions and claimed the program’s third state championship in the last four seasons scoring 204 team points and outdistancing second-place Fresno City by 66 points at Golden Eagle Arena on the campus of Lemoore College in Lemoore, California.
Mt. San Antonio placed 11 of its 12 qualified wrestlers and crowned four champions, tying a school record for champions in a season, set last season.
Fresno City had two champions and eight placewinners. Palomar was third with 110 points, Sacramento City was fourth with 90.5 and Cerritos fifth with 79.5 “I was proud of them and how they competed today,” said Rivera. “They stepped up and we continued to wrestle to the best of our abilities.” … more at … https://mattalkonline.substack.com/p/mt-san-antonio-repeats-as-3c2a-champions
Lawrence North wrestler slept on floor in a shelter. Had no desk. Now he’s planning on college
INDIANAPOLIS — Lawrence North wrestler Michael White cried as his Utah-bound flight ascended into the Indianapolis skies in June, terrified as he watched the Earth disappear. “The plane, like the gravity felt unfamiliar,” White said. “I didn’t know what to do. I just looked out the window, and I just went up so fast.”
The trip was among many he took to wrestling tournaments in North Carolina, Virginia and North Dakota over the summer. All to face the best in the country, to grow as a wrestler, to make waves in front of college coaches.
The plane was new to White. Quick ascents, however, were not. Less than two years prior, White was a wrestling novice. He took up the sport as a freshman at Lawrence North, going through the most tumultuous experience of his life: Bouncing from hotel to hotel with his family before staying in a Wheeler Mission shelter for six months. It started, he said, when his family was evicted from their apartment after his mom took their landlord to court over mold.
White quit football because he was unable to make practice early in the morning with a single mom and siblings at multiple schools with different start times. But he was determined to join the wrestling team. White and coach Jacob Aven, whom White had for study hall, quickly built a connection over his interest in the sport. White told Aven his goals, including wrestling for a Division I program and winning a state championship. … more at … https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2024/12/09/homeless-lawrence-north-wrestler-state-title-college-michael-white/76706709007/
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
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