Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

Iowa leads Division I men’s wrestling in home attendance for 18th straight season

New Brighton, Minnesota – The University of Iowa once again led the nation in NCAA Division I men’s wrestling attendance, averaging 13,640 fans per dual across seven home meets, as the National Wrestling Media Association released its annual attendance report on Thursday.
Iowa drew a capacity crowd of 14,897 twice last season, filling Carver-Hawkeye Arena for duals against rivals Iowa State and Oklahoma State.
Penn State ranked second, drawing an average of 9,007 fans, including a season-high 15,998 for its dual with Iowa. That figure ties the indoor attendance record Penn State set in 2018 and matched in 2023 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Oklahoma State moved up one spot from last season to finish third with an average of 7,597, highlighted by a crowd of 10,740 against Missouri. The David Taylor effect was clearly evident, as this marked the program’s highest home attendance average at Gallagher-Iba Arena since record-keeping began in 2002. The previous high average was in 2019 (5,226.6).
There were 10 duals with over 10,000 fans nationwide, marking the first time in recorded history there were at least 10 duals surpassing five figures. Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena hosted seven duals surpassing 10,000, while Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center hosted two and Oklahoma State’s Gallagher-Iba Arena had one. The previous high for most duals with over 10,000 fans in a season is nine, set in 2023 and tied in 2024.
Of the 127 Division I men’s duals with over 10,000 fans historically, more than half (67) have come in the last 12 college wrestling seasons. There were no attendance records kept for the 2020-21 season.
Iowa State, which ranked third last season, slid to fourth but still drew over 33,000 total fans. The Cyclones averaged 5,533.5, with a high of 9,470 coming against Oklahoma in a co-hosted event with the Iowa State gymnastics team at Hilton Coliseum. Rutgers continued its reputation for lively home duals, jumping from ninth to fifth with an average of 4,228, including 8,097 fans for its home dual against Penn State.
The closure of historic West Gym forced Northern Iowa to move its home duals to the McLeod Center, resulting in an attendance surge that propelled the Panthers into the top 10. UNI leaped from 12th to sixth with a school-record average of 4,222. Ohio State improved slightly from eighth to seventh, averaging 3,975 at the Covelli Center. Nebraska climbed from 11th to eighth, averaging 3,817.5, with a high of 6,661 at the Devaney Center against Iowa.
Note : N.C. State placed 13th with a 2,530 average and North Carolina Univ. placed 21st with an average attendance of 1,652 which is up from being listed 41st the year before. … more at … https://www.nationalwrestlingmedia.com/2025/05/iowa-leads-division-i-mens-wrestling-in-home-attendance-for-18th-straight-season/

June 2, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

T.J. Jaworsky Looks Back At His Storied Career

he three-time NCAA champ will receive a big honor this weekend.
By: Steve Kirschner
Note: T.J. Jaworsky will be inducted into the North Carolina Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Sunday May 18.
A three-time NCAA champion in perhaps the most physically grueling individual sport there is. Most Outstanding Wrestler in the NCAA Tournament. National Wrestler of the Year. Undefeated senior season.
Given that lofty list of accomplishments, it is undeniably fair to include T.J. Jaworsky, even 30 years after his final collegiate match, as one of the finest to ever compete in any sport at the University of North Carolina.
The state of Oklahoma doesn’t have much of a pipeline to the Tar Heel State and Carolina athletics, but legendary former wrestling coach Bill Lam, basketball standouts Steve Hale and Brady Manek, two-time national champion assistant basketball coach Joe Holladay and Jaworsky, one of the most successful college wrestlers ever, have made the connection rich in history.
Jaworsky began wrestling at age 5 in Enid, moved to Edmond in the sixth grade, won four state high school titles and eventually competed for two years (one as a red-shirt) at Oklahoma State, one of the sport’s historic programs. But Jaworsky needed a change after suffering an upset loss in the 1992 NCAA Tournament and looked east to find a program where he could fulfill his dream of becoming a multi-time national champion.
“I called NC State but Coach (Bob) Guzzo said he had the ACC champion at my weight coming back, Duke said I was too much of a wrestler for them, and everyone in Oklahoma knows about Coach Lam, so Carolina was a great situation for me,” says Jaworsky, who lives in California now, where he co-owns a stone quarry with his step-father.
“In Oklahoma, wrestling is like basketball is in North Carolina. It’s a big sport. Coach Lam’s reputation followed him to UNC, he had a good recruiting class and I had weekly and monthly goals to win championships. He thought those were lofty goals, and I said, ‘Exactly, that’s what I want to do.'”
Jaworsky not only met those goals, but he also likely exceeded them, winning three ACC championships, earning two ACC Tournament MVPs and a spot on the ACC’s 50th Anniversary team, leading Carolina to a pair of top-10 finishes in the NCAA Championships (sixth in 1994 and eighth in 1995) and winning 110 of 115 matches as a Tar Heel.
Three decades later, Jaworsky remains Carolina’s all-time leader in career winning percentage (.957) and wins by fall (50), single-season pins (24) and the single-season record for most wins in a perfect season (38-0-0 in 1994-95).
For those achievements and others, Jaworsky is being inducted in the North Carolina chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “T.J. had the three characteristics of what it takes to be a champion – heart, talent and work ethic, with heart being the most important,” says Lam. “T.J. had the most unbelievably competitive heart, … more at … https://goheels.com/news/2025/5/16/wrestling-t-j-jaworsky-looks-back-at-his-storied-career

May 26, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

Olympic medalist Dake leads strong Senior World Team Trials field in men’s freestyle

This weekend, 59 elite athletes will battle in the men’s freestyle division at the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament being held at Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center in Louisville, Ky., May 16-17.
Multiple Olympians, World medalists, Senior World Team members, age-group standouts, college national champions and top high school prospects are in the fold with sights set on securing one of the eight remaining spots at Final X.
Online registration is open through May 15, leaving the door open for more athletes to enter last minute. However, the registration deadline to be eligible for tournament seeding was last Friday, making it unlikely many more entries come in. 
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Eight brackets will be contested in the men’s freestyle division at the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. Each champion in Louisville will face the 2025 U.S. Open champion in a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the Team USA representative at the 2025 Senior World Championships. Final X will take place on June 14 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
There are two Final X matchups already determined in men’s freestyle, 57 kg and 61 kg, which removes those weight classes from the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament field.
ELIGIBLE ATHLETES
Athletes must qualify to enter the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament field. To review the Senior World Team selection process in each discipline, including Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament qualification criteria, visit the Team Selection Criteria page.
A list of qualified athletes for Louisville post-U.S. Open is available on themat.com. A complete list of entries as of May 13 is available below.
13 WRESTLERS TO WATCH
Kyle Dake headlines the group at 86 kg. The two-time Olympic bronze medalist shifted to a new weight class in late April at the U.S. Open. Dake, a four-time Senior World champion, looks to secure the last spot in Final X.
There are six athletes that have competed at a Senior World Championship tournament. Nick Lee, Dake and Chance Marsteller were teammates on the 2023 Senior World Team that competed in Belgrade, Serbia. … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/may/13/olympic-medalist-dake-leads-strong-senior-world-team-trials-field-in-men-s-freestyle

May 15, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

From high school to NCAA, it’s not always by the book

This is one of the columns I’ve had the most fun writing every year. The NCAA Championships are the measuring stick for every college wrestler in America. Everybody remembers what happened those three heart-stopping days in March – words that never rang true more than they did this year.
It’s also, in a sense, an evaluation of how well I do my job. After all, the rankings I do every issue during the season for WIN are more than just the pecking order for the nation’s best high school wrestlers. They also provide the basis for a lot of speculation – by college coaches and by fans – of who we’re most likely to see on the awards stand at future NCAA tournaments. They’re my take on whom you’ll see becoming the champions and All-Americans of the future. And that’s why this brief look back is always so interesting – in a sense, it’s my personal report card. I hope it’s as interesting for all of you.
As we’ve seen over the years, nothing is absolute. The No. 1 wrestler in high school, it stands to reason, is going to be No. 1 in college as well…right? If the tournament everybody in the rankings is shooting for – the NCAA Championships, held most recently at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia this month – is any indication, not necessarily.
While wrestlers ranked No. 1 more than held their own, the 80 All-Americans, including the wrestlers who competed in the championship final matches, ran the gamut in rankings position when they finished their high school careers.
Only three of the 10 champions, led by the first-ever five-time champion, Carter Starocci (184) of Penn State, finished their prep careers with the No. 1 ranking at their weight class. The others were Lucas Byrd (133) of Illinois and two-time champion Jesse Mendez (141) of Ohio State.
Both of Nebraska’s champions, Ridge Lovett (149) and Antrell Taylor (157), finished their prep careers in the No. 12 spot – a ranking almost unheard of for a champion in recent years. Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State, whose stunning upset of two-time champion Gable Steveson of Minnesota was one of the tournament’s all-time moments, also finished his prep career outside the Top 5 – he was No. 6. … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/04/18/from-high-school-to-ncaa-its-not-always-by-the-book/

May 12, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

Ramstad: This could be the week the NCAA becomes a professional league

A judge is expected to approve an arrangement for Division I colleges to give 22% of athletic department revenue to student-athletes.
So much is going on with the president, investment markets, Minnesota’s Legislature and the Timberwolves’ playoff run, you can be forgiven if you haven‘t heard a monumental change is about to happen in college sports.
A federal judge this week is expected to ratify a legal settlement that will lead NCAA Division I universities to pay athletes from athletic department revenue. Four years after the Supreme Court said student-athletes could market themselves in name-image-likeness (NIL) deals, now they will get a cut of their teams’ overall revenue. “This is the last point that really solidifies [the NCAA] as a professional league,” said Patrick Campion, co-founder of Fame Sport, a new sports marketing firm in Minneapolis. He is a former marketing chief at Sleep Number and managed its NFL sponsorship for eight years.
The settlement inaugurates an enormous change for the athletes, universities and the business of sports in America. “We’re living through a transformation in college sports that rivals the creation of the NCAA itself,” said Chris Pham, a sports attorney at Fredrikson, a Minneapolis law firm. “Between NIL, athlete empowerment and revenue sharing, we’re seeing the traditional amateur model give way to this new economic reality.”
This step is happening because of a class action lawsuit brought against the NCAA in 2020 on behalf of former athletes who missed out on the chance to make NIL money. Before then, the NCAA prohibited athletes from any compensation beyond their college scholarship and room and board.
The settlement — often called the House settlement for Grant House, a former collegiate swimmer whose name leads the list of litigants in the suit — requires the NCAA to pay past athletes from a nearly $3 billion fund. It also requires Division I schools, like the University of Minnesota and University of St. Thomas, to make direct payments to athletes moving forward.
Athletics departments will have to share 22% of their revenue, or up to about $20 million a year. That will blow a hole in spending and force them to cut costs and perhaps some sports. … more at … https://www.startribune.com/ramstad-this-could-be-the-week-the-ncaa-becomes-a-professional-league/601335749

May 11, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

2025 ACTIVE Coaches – Top 110 w/at least 110 wins

  1. Roger Crebs (Lycoming College)                              465 – III
  2. Lonnie Morris (Johnson & Wales)                             464 – III
  3. Bruce Haberli (New York Univ./Manhattan Coll.)    408 – III/I
  4. Ron Beaschler (Ohio Northern Univ.)                        407 – III
  5. Rob Koll (UNC/Stanford/Cornell Univ.)                   348 – I
  6. Steve Costanzo (St. Cloud St. Univ./Dana College)  347- II
  7. Brian Smith (Missouri/Syracuse)                                341– I
  8. Dave Mitchell (Luther (IA)                                        340 – III
  9. Tim Fader (Wisc.-Eau Claire, Whitewater, La Crosse)  336 – III
  10. Tom Ryan (Ohio State/Hofstra)                                 335 – I
  11. Jim Makovsky (Minn. St.-Mankato/Valley City St.)  334 – II
  12. Martin Nichols (Ithaca College)                                 329 – III
  13. Mark Manning (Nebraska/Northern Iowa)                 328 – I
  14. Tom Brands (Iowa, Va. Tech) –                                  308  –  I
  15. Jon Laudenslager (Wilkes University) –                     303  –  III
  16. Jim Zalesky (/Oregon State/Iowa)                             293 – NAIA/I
  17. Paul Keysaw (Fresno City/Moorpark College)          292 – Cal. Jr.Coll.
  18. Jay Jones (Rhode Island College) –                            289  –  III
  19. John Oostendorp  (Coe College)                                288  –  III
  20. Bryan Brunk (Messiah College) –                               279  –  III
  21. Tim Flynn (West Virginia Un./Edinboro Univ.)  –     274-  I
  22. Cael Sanderson (Penn State, Iowa State) –                 262  –  I 
  23. Joel Greenlee (Ohio University) –                              260  –  I  
  24. Roger Reina (Pennsylvania, Univ. of)                        258  – I
  25. Pat Popolizio (North Carolina State, SUNY-Binghampton) –  256  –  I
  26. Kevin Dresser (Iowa State, Virginia Tech Univ.)      253  –  I
  27. Joe Renfro  (Northeastern Oklahoma, Labette Jr. Coll.)  253  –  JuCo
  28. Robert Fisher (Kutztown University) –                       252  –  II
  29. Franky James (Georgetown/Campbellsville/Tenn.-Chattanooga) –  251 – NAIA,I
  30. Dave Malecek (Wisconsin-LaCrosse State) –            243  –  III
  31. Pat Santoro (Lehigh University, Maryland)  –            239  –  I
  32. Heath Grimm (Upper Iowa Univ.)  –                          239  –  II
  33. Drew Black  (Wesleyan Univ., Phoenix Coll.)  –       236  – III
  34. Scott Goodale (Rutgers University) –                         235  –  I
  35. Sebastian Amato (Trinity College)                             235 –  III
  36. Jason Reitmeier (Augustana College, S.D.) –             235  –  II
  37. James Kisgen (McKendree College) –                        234  – II/ NAIA
  38. Jamie Gibbs (Baldwin-Wallace, U.N.C.-Pembroke) – 233 –  III/II
  39. Johnny Johnson (Wisc.-Stevens Point)                      224 – III 
  40. Duane Ritter (SUNY Oneonta State) –                       223  –  III
  41. Luke Moffitt (Iowa Central Community College) –   216  –  JuCo
  42. Mike Wehler (Mercyhurst, West Liberty State) –      214  –  II
  43. Jon Egan (Roger Williams)                                        209  –  III
  44. Jim Andrassy (Kent State Univ.)  –                            204 –  I
  45. Nick Mitchell (Grand View Univ.)                             197  –  NAIA
  46. Eric Keller (Wartburg/North Central)                         197  –  III
  47. Steve Garland (Virginia University) –                        194  –  I
  48. John Stutzman (Buffalo SUNY, Bloomsburg) –         190  –  I
  49. Mike Howard (SUNY-Oswego State) –                     192  – III
  50. Eric Van Kley (Central College, Great Falls Univ.)   188  –  III, NAIA
  51. Jon McGovern (Dubuque University) –                      186  –  III
  52. Dan Wirnsberger (Bucknell, Bloomsburg)  –             183  –  I
  53. Dan Garriott (Cerritos College) –                               183  –  Calif. Jr. Coll.
  54. Craig Thurber (Thiel College) –                                  173  –  III
  55. Joe Galante (New Jersey, The College of)                  172 — III
  56. Jason Moorman (Georgetown/King University)        172 – Women’s
  57. Kevin Bratland (U.S. Coast Guard Acad./Nor. Central)  169  — III
  58. Brian Anderson (Wabash College) –                           167  –  III
  59. Corey Ruff (Lindsey-Wilson/Cumberlands)                161  —  NAIA
  60. Chris Bono (Wisconsin/South Dakota/U.Tenn.Chatt.) 158
  61. Steve Marianetti (Elmhurst College) –                        157  –  III
  62. Jason Holder (Springfield College)                               157  —  III
  63. John Mark Bentley (Appalachian State)                       152
  64. Brandon Brisette (Olivet College)                                151  —  III
  65. R.C. LaHaye (Lander U./Grand Canyon U.)                151 – II 
  66. Jay Weiss (Harvard Univ., Moravian College) –        151  –  I/III inc.
  67. Jason Borelli  (American/Stanford Univ.)                    150
  68. Mark Branch (Wyoming Univ.) –                                 149
  69. Vince Silva (Santa Ana College) –                               146 –  Calif. Jr. Coll.
  70. Othello (O.T.) Johnson (Univ. of N.C.-Pembroke)       142 – II
  71. Jason Wathan (Indianapolis Univ.)                             139 – II
  72. John Garriques (Centenary College)                             137  —  III
  73. Greg Ilaria (U.S. Merchant Marine)                              136  —  III
  74. Jason Ramstetter (Adams State College)                      134  —  II
  75. Scott Legacy (U. Vermont-Castleton)                             134 – III
  76. Lennie Zalesky (Calif. Baptist Univ., U.C. Davis) –    133  –  NAIA/I
  77. Dock Kelly (Lourdes Un./Anderson Coll.)                   132  —  II
  78. Mark Hawald (John Carroll/Casee Western/Mt. Union)  131 – III
  79. Lee Miracle (Campbellsville University)                        129 – W-NAIA
  80. Zeke Jones (Ariz. St., Univ. Of Penn.)                          127
  81. Doug Schwab (Northern Iowa)                      –              127
  82. Al Russomano (Scranton Univ.)                                    127 – III
  83. Chuck Kearney (St. Mary U./Oregon U.)                      127 – NAIA/I
  84. Mark Cody (Presbyterian, Oklahoma Univ., American Univ.) –  124 
  85. Tyson Thivierge (Montana State Northern)                 124 – NAIA
  86. Art Castillo (Western Wyoming)                                124  inc. – JuCo
  87. Joe Dansby (Cuesta College) –                                       123  –  Calif. Jr. Coll.
  88. Joe Favia (Stevens Inst. Of Tech.)                                  123 – III
  89. Roger Kish (North Dakota State)                               – 122
  90. Dalton Jensen (Kearney State Univ.)                              122 — II
  91. Omi Acosta (Life University)                                     — 120 – NAIA
  92. Eric Walker (Elizabethtown College)                            119 — III
  93. Nathan Shearer (Washington & Lee/Heideelberg)        118 — III
  94. Duane Bastress (York College, Pa.)                              116 – III
  95. Todd Steidley (Central Oklahoma)                               114 – II
  96. Dana Vote (Doane Coll./Midland/Concordia)               113 — NAIA/III
  97. Ryan Ludwig (Northern Illinois)                       113
  98. Matt Azevedo (Drexel Un.)                               113
  99. Chris Ayres (Princeton/Stanford)                      113
  100. Seth Bloomquist (Shippensburg State)             112 – II
  101. Jake Stevenson (Morningside College)            111  — NAIA
  102. Jeff Bedard (Reinhardt Univ.)                        – 111  – NAIA
  103. Shawn Nelson (Univ. Of Findlay)                       111 – II inc.
  104. Keith Norris (John Hopkins Univ.)                       110 – III
  105. Bill Schindel (Adrian/Mount Union)                     109 — III
  106. Scott Honacker (Williams Coll.)                            109 – III
  107. Scott Moore (Lock Haven)                                     109
  108. K.C. Rock (Embry-Riddle College)                       108 — NAIA
  109. Steve Kelly (North Iowa C.C./Waldorf Coll.)        108 – JuCo/III
  110. Jim Zeigler (Northwest Wyoming C.C.)                108 — JuCo

April 29, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | | Leave a comment

The 10 Best Wrestlers From Discontinued Programs

Some of America’s best wrestlers competed for dropped programs. Here are the 10 best.
Just because a college discontinued its wrestling team doesn’t mean we should forget about the wrestlers who went there. Here are the 10 best wrestlers from dropped programs.
Click here for JD Rader’s list of new and dropped programs since 1975.
10. Greg Wojciechowski
College: Toledo
Year Dropped: 1994
Wojciechowski competed in the NCAA tournament finals three times at heavyweight from 1970 to 1972, securing a title in 1971. He won 13 AAU national titles (Greco-Roman and freestyle) and made the 1980 Olympic team boycotted by the United States.
9. Gene Mills
College: Syracuse
Year Dropped: 2001
Mills went on a tear after placing third at the NCAA tournament in 1977 and fourth in 1978. Perhaps college wrestling’s most dynamic wrestler, the Orangemen’s wrestling superstar, won NCAA championships in 1979 and 1981 at 118 pounds. He also made the 1980 Olympic team at 52 kilograms but didn’t compete due to a boycott by the United States. Mills secured seven falls in 10 matches during his two NCAA championship runs. His other three matches were 17-2, 16-13, and 28-4 wins.
8. Pete Mehringer
College: Kansas
Year Dropped: 1966
Mehringer placed second at the 1932 NCAA tournament (HWT) to Northwestern’s Jack Riley, then won a gold medal at the 1932 London Olympics (192 pounds). He was the first Kansas University athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.
7. Stan Dziedzic
College: Slippery Rock
Year Dropped: 2006
Before winning the 1977 World Championship and earning a bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics, Dziedzic was a three-time All-American. He placed third at the NCAA tournament in 1970 (150 pounds), first in 1971 (150 pounds), and second in 1972 (158 pounds).
6. Stephen Abas, Fresno State
College: Fresno State
Year Dropped: 2021
After a fourth-place finish as a freshman in 1998, Abas won three NCAA championships (1999, 2001-02) at 125 pounds. His only loss during his final three seasons was when he moved up to 133 pounds to face Oklahoma State’s three-time NCAA champion … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14089528-the-10-best-wrestlers-from-discontinued-programs

April 18, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

New Women’s Teams & Programs

Fighting Scots Announce the Addition of Women’s Wrestling
Edinboro, Pa. – PennWest Edinboro announced on Friday the additions of women’s wrestling and women’s golf to its varsity sports offerings with competition for both slated to begin in the 2025-26 academic year.  
Recruitment for both programs will begin immediately. Recruitment questionnaires are available for wrestling and golf, and both programs will compete at the Division II level.  
“The introduction of women’s wrestling and women’s golf at PennWest Edinboro represents an ongoing commitment to providing athletic opportunities for our students,” said PennWest President Dr. Jon Anderson. “We are excited to embrace the newest NCAA Championship sport in women’s wrestling and add the Fighting Scots to the rich tradition of women’s golf.”  
Women’s wrestling was announced as the NCAA’s 91st Championship Sport in January. There are currently 93 women’s wrestling programs across the country. The first NCAA Championship competition will be in 2026.  
“Edinboro has always had a rich wrestling tradition,” said Director of Athletics Dr. Katherine Robbins. “The addition of women’s wrestling continues to build on that legacy of excellence in the sport of wrestling and adds another chapter to the storied history of Fighting Scot wrestling.” … more at … https://gofightingscots.com/news/2025/4/11/general-fighting-scots-announce-the-addition-of-womens-wrestling.aspx
And …

Pitt-Johnstown Announces Historic Addition of 3 New Sports to Boost Enrollments & Competitive Excellence
The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown is pleased to announce the addition of three new sponsored NCAA Division II sports—Women’s Wrestling, Men’s Swimming, and Women’s Swimming—to strengthen the enrollment of the university and to add to the high level of competitive excellence of our Athletic Department.  
“We are thrilled by this historic addition of Women’s Wrestling and Men’s and Women’s Swimming to our athletic programs, which already includes several championship teams in our conference.  We are highly confident that these new sports will elevate an already outstanding athletic program, making Pitt-Johnstown an even more compelling destination for prospective students, thereby helping to increase our in-state and out-of-state enrollments,” stated Pitt-Johnstown President Jem Spectar.  
The addition of Women’s Wrestling to UPJ Athletics leverages and complements our historic legacy in Men’s Wrestling, providing a significant boost to our student recruitment efforts throughout the Commonwealth and beyond.  Women’s Wrestling has rapidly gained popularity across the country and especially in western Pennsylvania, with many local high schools and wrestling clubs fielding women’s wrestling teams and featuring talented student-athletes. Women’s Wrestling was recently approved as the 91st NCAA-sponsored National Championship and is slated to crown its first national champion in the 2025-26 season. Currently, more than 1,200 women wrestlers are competing at 76 NCAA schools across Division I, II, and III, with NCAA projections pointing to an additional 17 programs to be added in the coming years, which was a crucial factor in UPJ’s decision to add the sport as it continues to increase efforts to boost its lagging enrollment of female students. With the addition of Women’s Wrestling at Pitt-Johnstown, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) will have five universities with Women’s Wrestling … more at … https://pittjohnstownathletics.com/news/2025/4/7/baseball-pitt-johnstown-announces-historic-addition-of-3-new-sports-to-boost-enrollments-competitive-excellence.aspx
And …

Endowment for the pin: Launching women’s wrestling
Just a decade ago few envisioned a women’s wrestling team competing for the Rams. But as the sport exploded at high schools across the nation, our Strategic Planning Committee set it as a priority program.
Cornell became one of the first 29 Division III colleges to add women’s wrestling when we announced our launch on Dec. 1, 2021. The timing was perfect: today girls wrestling is the fastest-growing high school sport. Because we moved quickly, Cornell is in a good position to attract wrestlers who want to continue the sport in college. 
We couldn’t have made that choice without Cornell’s endowment.
Although a budget for the program did not exist, the flexibility of unrestricted endowment funds allowed Cornell to pivot and launch the program.  “We were able to move quickly and now we’re in a great position to recruit women wrestlers,” says Vice President for Enrollment Management Wendy Beckemeyer. “We’re at the leading edge of this exciting sport, offering women new athletic opportunities, and our enrollment is growing because of this program. It’s a win-win.”
Cornell’s young team landed two place-winners at the Rams’ first-ever women’s wrestling tournament—the Cliff Keen-Mike Duroe Invitational—in January. The team has a roster of 15 women in its second year of competition and shares facilities with the men’s team in the renovated and expanded Richard and Norma Small Athletic and Wellness Center—the SAW.
When Cornell announced the launch, then-Athletic Director Seth Wing called it “a giant step for the college as we continue to enhance the student-athlete experience” … more at … https://news.cornellcollege.edu/2025/Spring/Endowment-womens-wrestling.html
 

April 14, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

Dominance on the mat: NHSCA Nationals cown 55 high school wrestling champions in Virginia Beach showdown

With nearly 6,000 competitors, Pennsylvania leads the pack with seven titles across freshman and junior divisions as top-ranked wrestlers battle for national glory; Florida and Georgia also shine.
Last weekend’s NHSCA Wrestling Nationals in Virginia Beach was a tournament of epic proportions with nearly 6,000 wrestlers competing in a girls, middle school, and four high school divisions. There were 14 weights contested in three of the four high school divisions with the seniors not having a 106lb weight class.
A total 55 champions were crowned amongst the high schoolers. We will not be discussing all of them, just the happenings of interest for the national rankings and other intriguing trends or outcomes. 
One of the more intriguing of those being Pennsylvania’s tournament high seven champions coming in just two divisions, Freshman and Junior. 
Leading the way was Montgomery’s Brandt Harer, whose 138lb title in the junior division made him a three-time NHSCA Champion. Harer, who is ranked 8th in the nation and won his second consecutive state title this year, used a 16-1 technical fall of Kentucky’s two-time state champion, George Dennis (Harrison County), to lock it down. Dennis picked off California’s Joseph Toscano of Buchanan, who is ranked 3rd at 144, 14-12, in the quarters. 
At the next junior weight class, 145lbs, West Scranton’s No. 21 Michael Turi, a three-time state placer, defeated North Carolina’s three-time champ Lorenzo Alston, 6-4. Turi won a NHSCA title as a freshman but did not appear last year. 
Speaking of not appearing, Turi’s teammate Jake Benyo (106) did not wrestle an official match during the season. In the freshman finals, Benyo faced another wrestler that was mostly inactive during the campaign, New Jersey’s Anthony Curlo (Blair Academy), and slid by on a 1-0 decision. … more at … https://www.si.com/high-school/wrestling/dominance-on-the-mat-nhsca-nationals-cown-55-high-school-wrestling-champions-in-virginia-beach-showdown-01jqrw289sbj
And …

NHSCA Wrestling Nationals Recap: Part II
Massachusetts crowns three champions, including one from nationally ranked Musa Tamaradze
We are picking up part two of our NHSCA Wrestling Nationals recap with a state not known for their wrestling prowess, Massachusetts. They had three exit the Senior Division with wall charts in hand, Musa Tamaradze (126), No. 18 Elliott Humphries (Northfield Mount Hermon), and Saint John Prep’s Alexander Bajoras (285).
Tamaradze was third at the National Prep Tournament and earned a No. 22 national ranking at 132lbs for the New York Military Academy. Tamaradze won the 126lb bracket over Maryland’s two-time state champ, Tanner Halling (Boonsboro), 9-3, for his second straight NHSCA title. Halling defeated three-time California state placer No. 29 Paulo Valdez (Hespria), 11-0, to reach the finals.
Humphries came on strong last summer with a second-place finish at Fargo in Junior Freestyle after failing to place at National Preps and NHSCAs. This year, Humphries was third at preps and collected his first NHSCA hardware with a 4-1 sudden victory win over Pennsylvania state placer (4th twice), … more at … https://www.si.com/high-school/wrestling/nhsca-wrestling-nationals-recap-part-ii-01jqshh21xc0

April 13, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , | Leave a comment

Top 40 Division I ACTIVE Coaches

The following is a listing of the Top 40 Active (including rece3ntly retired) Division I Head coaches by dual meet wins. We welcome input, questions and corrections.
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1. John Smith (Oklahoma State Univ.)               490   retired 2024
2. Tom Borelli (Central Michigan)                     368   retired 2024
3. Rob Koll (North Carolina/Stanford/Cornell) 348
4. Brian Smith (Missouri/Syracuse)                    341
5. Tom Ryan (Ohio State/Hofstra)                     335
6. Mark Manning (Nebraska/Northern Iowa)     328
7. Tom Brands (Iowa & Virginia Tech)             308
8. Jim Zalesky (Oregon State/Iowa)                   278  now at D-II school
9. Tim Flynn (West Virginia/Edinboro St.)       274
10. Cael Sanderson (Penn State, Iowa State)     262
11. Joel Greenlee (Ohio Univ.)                           260
12. Roger Reina (Pennsylvania, Un. Of)              258 
13. Pat Popolizio (North Carolina St., SUNY-Binghampton)   256
14. Kevin Dresser (Iowa State/Virginia Tech Univ.)  253
15. Pat Santoro (Lehigh University, Maryland)    239
16. Scott Goodale (Rutgers University) –             235
17. Jim Andrassy (Kent State Univ.)                    204 
18. Steve Garland (Virginia University)              194
19. John Stutzman (Buffalo SUNY, Bloomsburg) – 190
20. Dan Wirnsberger (Bucknell, Bloomsburg)     183
21. Chris Bono (Wisconsin/South Dakota/U.Tenn.Chatt.)  158
22. John Mark Bentley (Appalachian State)        152
23. Jay Weiss (Harvard Univ.) –                           151
24. Jason Borelli  (American/Stanford Univ.)  –   150
25. Mark Branch (Wyoming Univ.) –                    149
26. Zeke Jones (Ariz. St., Univ. Of Penn.)           127
26. Doug Schwab (Northern Iowa)                     127
28. Mark Cody (Presbyterian, Oklahoma U., American U.) 124
29. Roger Kish (Oklahoma/N. D. St.)                –   122
30. Ryan Ludwig (Northern Illinois)                 –    113
30. Matt Azevedo (Drexel Un.)                             113
32. Greg Williams (Utah Valley State)                110 — Inactive
33. Chris Ayres (Princeton)                                   105
34. Scott Moore (Lock Haven)                               95
35. Tony Ersland (Purdue)                                      90
36. Brandom Eggum (Minnesota)                         84
37. John Hangey (Rider Un.)                                  83
38. Tony Robie (Virginia Tech/SUNY-Bing.)       80
39. Kevin Ward (U.S. Army Acad.)                       78
40. Daniel Elliott (Gardner-Webb)                         77

April 8, 2025 Posted by | Uncategorized | , | Leave a comment

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