Mount Olive Wins!
No. 25 Mount Olive Men cruises past Allen, 45-10
MOUNT OLIVE (Jan. 3) – After recording six falls on Friday afternoon, the No. 25 ranked University of Mount Olive men’s wrestling team posted a dominant 45-10 win over Allen in Conference Carolinas action at Kornegay Arena.
With the win, the Trojans remained undefeated at home and improve to 7-2 this season behind a perfect 4-0 record in league duals. Mount Olive holds a 5-0 record all-time against Allen dating back to 2021. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets fall to 2-4 overall with a 1-3 mark in conference action.
Redshirt junior Christian Decatur established an early 6-0 advantage at 125 with a late first-round pin over Xavier Anderson. Following a forfeit at 133, the Trojans held a 12-0 lead before freshman Benjamin Hernandez registered a fall against Quantavius Reaves in the 141-weight class. Allen closed the gap with a victory at 149 before Mount Olive recorded four consecutive wins. No. 3 ranked senior Jake Nicolosi (157) produced a third-round fall versus Quincy Gash, while No. 11 freshman Brent Nicolosi earned a quick pin over Ya`Donnis Hardaway at 165. In the 174-weight class, redshirt senior Colby Teague delivered a fall against Farrad Moore before junior Calan Staub (184) defeated Jerell Baskins … more at … https://umotrojans.com/news/2025/1/3/wrestling-no-25-mount-olive-cruises-past-allen-45-10.aspx
And …
The Mount Olive Women begin the New Year with win over Allen, 34-10
MOUNT OLIVE (Jan. 3) – In the first home event at Kornegay Arena in the New Year, the Trojans remained undefeated in South Atlantic Conference Carolinas dual meet action with a 34-10 victory over Allen on Friday afternoon.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive women’s wrestling program collects a fifth straight win to improve to 8-1 overall and 4-0 mark in conference duals. The Trojans also matched their program record with eight dual meet victories in their third year as a team. Meanwhile, Allen drops to 3-4 this season behind a 0-3 record in league matches.
Mount Olive built an early 10-0 advantage after receiving forfeits at 103 and 110 before sophomore Mallory McDonald registered a first-round fall over Stacy Pule in the 117-weight class. Both sides agreed to a double forfeit at 124 and the Trojans stretched their lead to 24-1 with two additional wins. Sophomore Ayonna McNeill (131) delivered a dominant 18-7 tech fall versus Lyric Drumgoole, while sophomore Angelica Steffy received a forfeit in the 138-weight class. The Yellow Jackets responded with a fall at 145 to trim the deficit to 24-6 before sophomore Savannah Bramhall produced … more at … https://umotrojans.com/news/2025/1/3/womens-wrestling-the-trojans-begin-the-new-year-with-win-over-allen-34-10.aspx
Cornell Wrestling takes down Missouri on the Road
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 12 wrestling team defeated the No. 19 University of Missouri 26-12 on Friday night in Mizzou Arena.
This is the third consecutive meeting the Big Red has topped the Tigers.
Tyler Ferrara started the momentum in the 133lb weight class for the Big Red with a tight 3-2 decision over Kade Moore. No. 32 Josh Saunders followed up with a 12-4 major decision over Josh Edmond, Saunders ended the match with a takedown and a nearfall.
No. 2 Meyer Shapiro started his first period with two quick takedowns to start with a 6-1 lead over No. 32 James Conway. In the second for Shapiro, he earned two nearfalls and a penalty point before closing it out in the third with one more takedown and an escape to win his bout 17-2.
Freshman No.14 Simon Ruiz scored four takedowns alongside an escape and penalty points to take his bout 17-3 over Jake Stoffel.
No. 8 Chris Foca beat ranked opponent No. 9 Colton Hawks 9-1 by decision with riding time and Julian Ramirez beat Joel Mylin 9-2 with two takedowns, a reversal and riding time. Aiden Hanning finished it up for Cornell with a 2-0 win over Jarrett Stoner.
Match-by-match results (rankings from InterMat rankings): Cornell 26, Missouri 12
125: No. 30 Gage Walker defeated Marcello Milani by fall (Cornell 0, Missouri 6) … more at … https://cornellbigred.com/news/2025/1/3/cornell-wrestling-takes-down-missouri-on-the-road.aspx
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
UNI wrestling takes down No. 4 Nebraska in 24-9 home win
Panthers defeat Cornhuskers in dual action for the first time since 1991. UNI back in action next weekend at NWCA Multi-Division National Dual Championships in UNI-Dome.
OFFICIALS – Eric McGill, Leo Mercado ATTENDANCE – 3,113
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI wrestling team brought the heat to the McLeod Center on Sunday afternoon as the tenth-ranked Panthers knocked off No. 4 Nebraska in non-conference dual action by a score of 24-9.
Northern Iowa’s big win marked the first victory over the Cornhuskers in 34 years, as well as its first top-five ranked win since beating No. 3 Ohio State at the 2022 Collegiate Duals.
The Panthers picked up four individual wins over top-five ranked opponents, which began with a stunning win for No. 31 Trever Anderson at 125 pounds over fifth-ranked and returning All-American Caleb Smith. Cael Happel (141 pounds), Ryder Downey (157 pounds) and Parker Keckeisen (184 pounds) also picked up top-five wins.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Anderson set the tone early at 125 pounds against Smith. After a scoreless first period, Smith took the lead early in the second with a quick escape, but Anderson responded with a takedown and, after another escape by Smith, Anderson escaped in the third period for a 4-2 lead before adding an extra point for riding time for a 5-2 victory. The victory marked Anderson’s first dual win of the season and his second career victory over a top-five opponent, having previously defeated No. 1 Jakob Camacho (North Carolina State) last year.
Julian Farber made his dual debut of the season at 133 pounds against No. 20 Jacob Van Dee. … more at … https://unipanthers.com/news/2025/1/5/wrestling-uni-wrestling-takes-down-no-4-nebraska-in-24-9-home-win
What to watch: Week ten of the college wrestling season
Week ten of the college wrestling season features the highly anticipated Southern Scuffle on Saturday and Sunday. Alongside the tournament, several teams continue dual action to kick off the new year. Check out a few events to watch during week ten as the college wrestling season continues.
Southern Scuffle
Date: January 4-5, 2025
Location: McKenzie Arena, Chattanooga, Tenn.
The annual New Years Day event moves to this weekend and will be held on January 4-5. The following individuals and teams are in the mix to compete: American, Appalachian State, Army, Bellarmine, Bloomsburg, Brown, Campbell, Chattanooga, The Citadel, Clarion , Davidson, Duke, Gardner-Webb, Little Rock, Long Island, North Carolina, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Oklahoma, Penn State, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Pre-seeds have been released for this tournament and can be found on Chattanooga’s site for all things Southern Scuffle. Follow the holiday tournament on FloWrestling.
No. 12 Cornell at No. 19 Missouri
Date: January 3, 2025 Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Hearnes Center, Columbia, Mo.
The Big Red travel to Columbia, Missouri, to take on the No. 19 Tigers. The dual is apart of Missouri’s “Beauty and the Beast” event, a collaboration between their wrestling and gymnastics teams, broadcast on ESPN+. The Tigers, holding a 2-5 record after facing five ranked teams, … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/january/02/what-to-watch-week-ten-of-the-college-wrestling-season
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/
Pembroke Dominant In 54-0 Win Over Limestone
By: Alex Pearce, Assistant Athletic Communications Director
Story Links
Box Score Highlights Post-Match Interview
PEMBROKE – Ten bonus-point victories, including five pins, led the UNC Pembroke wrestling team to a dominating 54-0 win over Limestone in Conference Carolinas dual match action Thursday evening on Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
The Braves (5-3, 5-1 CC) improved to 13-6 in the all-time series with the Saints (1-4, 1-3 CC), and have now taken the last five matches in the series, as well.
Bryson Harper got the Braves rolling with a pin in the 125-pound bout, while Logan Robinson followed with a pin at 133 pounds. 13th-ranked Avery Buonocore added a tech. fall win in the 141-pound match, while ninth-ranked 149 pounder Jake Piccirilli picked up a major decision win. Will Lowery and Shylik Scriven each earned a tech. fall victory at 165 and 184 pounds, respectively, with a Logan Hoffman pin sandwiched in between in the 174-pound bout. Chris Dickey added a tech. fall win at 197 pounds, while … more at … https://uncpbraves.com/news/2025/1/2/wrestling-dominant-in-54-0-win-over-limestone.aspx
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/
Knop Making Impact In Sixth Season With NC State Wrestling
Senior Christian Knop waited his turn to crack the NC State lineup, and now he’s ranked #24 nationally at 197 pounds.
Every top-tier college wrestling program, like the current six-time reigning ACC champion NC State Wolfpack, for example, has found numerous recruiting hotbeds across the country. From Pennsylvania to New York to Ohio to Georgia to many other states, NC State casts a wide net to find the best recruits that fit into their #PackMentality.
But the Wolfpack dipped into one state not known for producing All-Americans, one state much more known for football than wrestling — Alabama. Christian Knop joined the Pack in the summer of 2019 from Anniston, Alabama, and has ascended into the Pack’s starting lineup at 197 pounds for his final season of eligibility.
With the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers football programs dominating headlines year-round, Knop took a different route than most to find the wrestling mats when he was growing up. “I saw a flyer one day for an after-school program,” Knop said. “I’m not sure what it was, but it caught my eye. I wanted to try it, but I had to really convince my dad to let me try wrestling. “Once I did, I fell in love with it.”
Knop took the sport quickly and enjoyed a lot of success during his prep career. He was a four-time state champion, the first wrestler in AHSAA history to win four consecutive state titles and to go undefeated in his high school career. In fact, he went 321-0 in high school!
Even while pressured to join his high school’s football team by many coaches, Knop was adamant about sticking to the mat and keeping healthy for wrestling. He was a 2019 NHSCA Senior Nationals champion and 2018 Flo Nationals All-American. But perhaps his most impressive honor, even beating out the numerous high school athletes in that football-dominated state, Knop was named the #1 high school athlete on the AL.com High School 101 list.
During a recent interview, NC State head coach Pat Popolizio even harkened back to the honor for Knop. “That honor speaks to his athleticism and who he is as an overall athlete,” Popolizio said. Knop became familiar with the NC State wrestling program during the 2018 NCAA Championships in Cleveland. That season, NC State brought home its first team trophy with a third-place finish and crowned a national champion in Michael Macchiavello. “I noticed a lot of blue-collar guys that probably were not expected to do much,” Knop said. “I remember watching Tariq (Wilson) and Michel Macchiavello and seeing the success they had that weekend.
“That really drew me to the program. When Mach won the title, I was sold. If he can do that being a small-town guy like I am, then I can do that too.” Knop came to NC State with impressive recruiting rankings as well. He was a top-100 recruit and ranked high at 195 pounds during his senior campaign at Alexandria High School. “I was still pretty small for that weight in high school,” Knop said. “The lifting program here really helped get me to where I am today.” … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13369327-knop-making-impact-in-sixth-season-with-nc-state-wrestling
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
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 