#7 Wolfpack Collect Four Falls Against Campbell to Start Dual Action
Bethlehem, Pa. – Seventh-ranked NC State wrestling dominated Campbell by a 44-3 score at Journeymen’s WrangleMania Saturday evening to kick off its dual-match slate for the year. In its first dual-match of the 2024-25 season, NC State wrestling showed off its new lineup Saturday evening against Campbell when four of its 10 bouts ended early from pin falls. NC State got the victory in each of the four ranked match-ups featured at the 141, 157, 174, and 197 classes.
After the first two bouts at 125 and 133, the score leveled out at three a piece, but the Pack wouldn’t give the Camels anymore points from then on. Kai Orine, Ed Scott, Matty Singleton, and Christian Knop each collected falls over their opponents to allow the Pack’s team score to completely break away from Campbell’s. In addition to that, Dylan Fishback earned a technical fall in just the second period.
Coming off of his redshirt year, 24th-ranked Singleton rejoined the lineup at the 174 pound weight class and came out in style, pinning his opponent, 25th-ranked Dom baker in just 24 seconds. The night capped off with No. 10 Isaac Trumble in his first match at heavyweight … more at … https://gopack.com/news/2024/11/9/wrestling-7-wolfpack-collect-four-falls-against-campbell-to-start-dual-action
New & Returning College programs
A 41-Year Wait Ends: NOC Wrestling Reignites Spirit in a Halloween Showdown
Historic? Check! Fun night of wrestling? Check! Large enthusiastic crowd? Check! Perfect evening for NOC Wrestling? Oh, so very close!
After a 41-year break in competition, wrestling made a grand reappearance on the Northern Oklahoma College (NOC) campus on Halloween night, with the men’s team putting up a spirited fight but falling just short in a 23-20 loss to Trinidad State College, CO. NOC’s first ever women’s team made their inaugural dual a memorable one as they turned in a spectacular performance in routing Trinidad by a 48-11 score. In between the women’s and men’s duals, NOC recognized former head coach Bob Zweiacher and the original Maverick wrestling teams. Zweiacher and the wrestlers in attendance were introduced to the appreciative crowd. Current head coach Bryan Kenney presented Zweiacher with a plaque and singlet signed by this year’s team. Included in the past wrestlers in attendance were 2X national champion Karl Lynes and national champion Roger William … more at … https://owrestle.com/a-41-year-wait-ends-noc-wrestling-reignites-spirit-in-a-halloween-showdown/
And …
College wrestling | ‘Jacks have first event since return of the program
Just two years ago there was no collegiate wrestling teams in Humboldt County, on Saturday both of the local colleges had their wrestling teams in action.
It was Cal Poly Humboldt’s first wrestling action since the 1990s when the team faced off against Menlo College for a dual on Friday before competing at the Menlo Invitational tournament on Saturday as the ‘Jacks returned to the collegiate wrestling scene.
Head coach Lennie Zalesky and his team dropped their season-opening dual 38-7 in Atherton on Sunday. The ‘Jacks won two of the 10 matchups with freshman Josh Neiwert and senior Nathan Aguilar getting the wins for Humboldt, both coming by decision.
Neiwart got his win, the first of his collegiate career, in the 133-pound weight class winning 10-5 while Aguilar won 8-2 in the 141-pound weight class. Humboldt briefly held the lead on Friday, as the duals start at the lowest weight class and work their way up, following Aguilar’s win the ‘Jacks 7-5 before Menlo would take the final 33 points in the match.
There was even more action on Saturday, with the ‘Jacks competing in a 12-team tournament with Humboldt seeing a handful of top-six finishers. Freshman Caleb Tatad took sixth-place in his first college tournament at the 125-pound division. Tatad defeated Will VomBaur of Utah Valley by decision before losing to another Utah Valley wrestler, Talen Eck.
Neiwert took third place for the 133-pound class by beating Noah Messman of Menlo College in the third-place match by decision. Aguilar joined Neiwert with a third-place finish at 141 pounds with Aguilar defeating Cal State Bakersfield’s Jaxtyn Frost by decision. … more at … https://www.times-standard.com/2024/11/06/college-wrestling-jacks-have-first-event-since-return-of-the-program/
And …
Doane to Add Greco-Roman Wrestling in Fall 2025
Doane University is expanding their athletic offering with the addition of Greco-Roman Wrestling, which will begin in Fall 2025. The addition will expand on the recent success and growth within the wrestling program at Doane, which currently features two Top 15 NAIA programs in men’s and women’s wrestling. “We are excited to add Greco-Roman Wrestling to our highly successful men’s and women’s wrestling programs,” Director of Athletics Mark Wateska said. “Greco-Roman Wrestling is one of two styles of wrestling in the Olympics and is considered to be one of the most popular styles of wrestling in the world. Doane would be on the forefront of offering this style of wrestling in the U.S. and gives us an opportunity for growth while offering a new and unique program to our students.”
Recent national and international success has developed a relationship with USA Wrestling and with the addition of Greco-Roman Wrestling, Doane’s Director of Wrestling Dana Vote sees the addition as a win-win situation for the university and the growth of the sport. “I look forward to growing our relationship with USA Wrestling as we try to continue to put people on National and World teams,” Vote commented. “Our athletes have displayed they can compete with the best around the world while also achieving academic success.” Over this past summer, Doane’s Tyson Beauperthuy represented Team USA at the Pan-Am Games in June, taking second place in Greco-Roman in the 87kg division. He won the U.S. Championship in late May. Beauperthuy also competed in the World University Games for Beach Wrestling in September, walking away with a gold medal in the 90kg division.
Cristelle Rodriguez won the U20 World Championships in freestyle women’s wrestling in September and is a two-time U20 U.S. Champion. She competed at the Olympic trials in April. The women also had three All-Americans (Top 8) at the U23 U.S. Championships, Ashlee Palimo’o, Aevri Ciha, and Aspen Barber. “Depth is the key, in order to grow the sport of Greco,” … more at … https://www.doaneathletics.com/sports/mwrest/2024-25/releases/20241107nzjkxj
Prendergast named Wrestler of the Week
GREENVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 5) – After claiming the individual championship at 103, University of Mount Olive freshman Lillian Prendergast was selected as the Conference Carolinas Wrestler of the Week by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.
Prendergast posted a perfect 3-0 record in the 103-weight class on Saturday in her first collegiate competition with Mount Olive in the Trojan Open. After receiving an opening-round bye, she produced a fall in just 48 seconds over Olivia Collins of Greensboro in the quarterfinals before defeating Morgan Repasky of Montreat by a 10-0 tech fall. In the championship match, Prendergast captured the individual title via forfeit over Angelina Casteneda of Cumberlands.
She becomes the first-ever recipient of the weekly conference honor in the inaugural season of women’s wrestling in South Atlantic Conference Carolinas. … more at …. https://umotrojans.com/news/2024/11/5/womens-wrestling-prendergast-named-wrestler-of-the-week.aspx
And …
Mount Olive Women’s Wrestling defeats Bluefield State, 40-10
Results
BLUEFIELD, W. Va. (Nov. 6) – In their first-ever South Atlantic Conference Carolinas dual match, the Trojans delivered a significant 40-10 victory at Bluefield State with four victories via fall on Wednesday night. With the win, the University of Mount Olive women’s wrestling team improves to 1-0 in dual competition after beginning the year last weekend at the Trojan Open. It marked the first meeting between the sides following the start of the inaugural year of women’s wrestling being sponsored as a conference sport. Meanwhile, Bluefield State drops to 0-1 this season as it begins its second year as a program.
Following three forfeits to begin the match, the Trojan held an early 15-0 advantage on Wednesday night. In the 124-weight class, sophomore Ayonna McNeill delivered a first-period pin at the 1:28 mark to stretch the lead to 20-0. Bluefield State … more at … https://umotrojans.com/news/2024/11/7/womens-wrestling-defeats-bluefield-state-40-10.aspx
And …
Prendergast finishes fourth; UMO competes at Eagle Madness
MARIETTA, Ga. (Nov. 9) – Freshman Lillian Prendergast reached the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 103-weight class on Saturday, as the Trojans competed at the Eagle Madness Open, hosted by Life University.
The University of Mount Olive women’s wrestling program featured eight wrestlers across seven different weight classes. It marked the second open competition of the season for the Trojans following a dual match victory over Bluefield State earlier this week.
Following an opening-round loss, Prendergast rebounded with three consecutive wins in the consolation bracket. She produced a first-round pin over D. Tejada before earning a 14-2 tech fall versus Alyssa Archer of Lindsey Wilson. In the consolation semifinals, Prendergast won via fall over Conference Carolinas foe Lynnlie Rountree of Emmanuel. She ultimately claimed fourth place at 103 following a loss to Kira Mitchell in the third-place match.
In the 117-weight class, sophomore Ayonna McNeill posted a 2-2 record while competing in Georgia on Saturday. She registered an opening-round fall over Ruby Guerrero of Hastings before suffering a loss via pin to Salyna Shotwell of Life. In the consolation bracket, McNeill recorded a fall in 57 seconds against Madison Addcock of Marymount, but fell to Shahreen Gulacha of Life in the next round.
Freshman Alfa Dominguez delivered a 2-2 record in her second collegiate open with the program. Competing at 131, she dropped her first bout before responding with a pair of victories in the consolation bracket. Dominguez defeated Jayla Mackell and Ingird Penn of Marymount, but fell in the third round to Olivia Mottley of Life.
In the 138-weight class, sophomore Angelica Steffy produced a 2-2 mark while competing … more at … https://umotrojans.com/news/2024/11/9/womens-wrestling-prendergast-finishes-fourth-umo-competes-at-eagle-madness.aspx
South Carolina College Wrestling News
Six Straight Pins Highlight #14 Bearcats Season Opening Win Over Allen
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 14th-ranked Lander Wrestling team convincingly opened their season on Wednesday evening as they shut out the Allen Yellow Jackets, 52-0, inside John Hurts Adams Gymnasium. In addition to winning all ten matches, the Bearcats won nine via bonus points, including six straight pins. Lander improves to 1-0 overall and in Conference Carolinas action while Allen drops to 0-1 overall and in the league. “It was a good effort from the squad top to bottom,” head coach R.C. LaHaye said. “Had some new faces in the lineup and they went out and handled business”
Before the official matches started, Ransom Randolph and Hayden Lawter each picked up second-period pins in exhibition bouts. William Hamilton opened the season with a 14-3 major decision that included a wild second period that saw three reversals, two coming from Hamilton, to give Lander a 4-0 lead.
The six-pin streak started at 133 with Christian Davis, he was then followed by Isham Peace, Garrett Wood, Sammy Gerard, David Hunsberger, and Nathan Buckovich to make it 40-0, Bearcats, after seven matches. At 184, Hunter Jones staved off a late rally by Jerrel Baskins of Allen to grit out a 7-5 decision. Marvelous Rutledge picked up a 15-2 major decision with seven-point periods in the first … more at … https://landerbearcats.com/news/2024/11/6/wrestling-six-straight-pins-highlight-14-bearcats-season-opening-win-over-allen.aspx
And …
The Wolves Dominate The Mat With a 37-12 Victory Over LMU
Harrogate, TN: The Wolves dominate the mat with a 37-12 victory over LMU. Sophomore Hunter McCullough, 125 pounds, gave the Wolves a strong start scoring the team 6 points. McCullough won his match by TF, leading with a score of 16-1.
Junior Caiden Pelc, 133 pounds, kept the pressure, scoring 3 points for the Wolves. Pelc won by decision with a score of 5-4. Sophomore Cole McCullough, 141 pounds, was stopped with a pin at 6:00. Scoring 6 points for Lincoln Memorial.
Sophomore Cael Alderman, 149 pounds, steps on the mat and out scores his opponent 16-1, leading to a win by TF. This put another 5 points on the board for the Wolves. Sophomore Nick Humphrys, 157 pounds, scored the Wolves 3 points by battling it out and winning by decision 7-3.
Lincoln Memorial gets another 6 points on the board in the match up against Freshman DJ Taylor, 165 pounds. Taylor lost by a pin in 0:18. Graduate Des Marshall, 174 pounds, out wrestles his opponent, gaining another 3 points for the Wolves. Marshall won by decision 13-6. … more at … https://newberrywolves.com/news/2024/11/6/general-the-wolves-dominate-the-mat-with-a-37-12-victory-over-lmu.aspx
And …
Limestone Wrestling Takes Down Emory & Henry 34-17
Saints looked strong in their dominate win over the Wasps
Emory, VA—Limestone wrestling headed to Emory and Henry to take on the Wasps at the John Rutledge Center. The team dominated by only dropping four of the matches, and came away with a 34-17 win. Limestone moves to (1-0) in the conference and overall. Emory and Henry stand at (0-1) overall and in the conference.
Limestone Wrestlers:
William Finnearty represented Limestone in the 125-pound weight class at Emory and Henry. He managed to grab 6.0 points for the Saints. Here’s a recap of his matches:
- Period 1: Finnearty came out firing earning a 3 point takedown early on at 2:40
- Period 1: He shortly after gained another 3 points for one more takedown at 1:41.
- Period 1: With 40 seconds left in period 1 Finnearty took down Tito Hernandez with a fall.
Richard Patanjo competed in the 133-pound weight class, earning 5.0 team points. Here’s a summary of his match: He went on to close out the first period with a lead of 10-5.
Period 1: Patanjo showed aggression early, he tallied three points just 30 seconds into the match.
Patanjo took another three points a minute later creating a lead of 6-1. … more at … https://golimestonesaints.com/news/2024/11/7/mens-wrestling-wrestling-takes-down-emory-henry-34-17.aspx
And …
Falcons Split Duals Against No. 16 UNC Pembroke and Coker
PEMBROKE, N.C. – The University of Montevallo wrestling team splits their dual matches against Coker and No. 16 UNC Pembroke. The Falcons defeated the Cobras 28-14 in their first dual win of the season, but fell short to the Braves, 9-31.
Montevallo picked up their first win of the 2024-25 against Coker where they won seven out of 10 bouts. The Falcons complied three tech falls, two major decisions and two decisions.
After the win against the Cobras, UM battled it out with No. 16 UNC Pembroke, who was picked to finish third in the Conference Carolinas. Montevallo tallied three wins including two decisions and a sudden victory take down by Noah Brown who defeated the No. 19 ranked wrestler in the 133-weight class, Chance Cottingham.
Sophomore’s Colt Brown and Jeffery Tubbs were the only Falcons to finish 2-0 on the evening. Brown took down Mason Moody of Coker in a 9-4 decision. The Lakeland, Florida native followed that up with an exciting 13-12 decision over Joseph Bruscino of UNC Pembroke. Tubbs was dominant against Kaleb Walley of Coker as he won 15-3. He came back in the nightcap and defeated Chris Dickey of UNC Pembroke by a 3-1 decision. … more at … https://montevallofalcons.com/news/2024/11/6/wrestling-falcons-split-duals-against-no-16-unc-pembroke-and-coker.aspx
UNC-Pembroke Takes Down Montevallo In Conference Carolinas Opener
PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke wrestling team found themselves trailing after two matches, but three-straight bonus-point victories stemmed the tide and propelled the Braves to a 31-9 win over Montevallo in the Black & Gold’s Conference Carolinas dual match opener Wednesday night at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.
The Braves (1-0, 1-0 CC) earned the victory in their first-ever meeting with the Falcons (1-1, 1-1 CC).
Facing a 6-0 deficit after the opening two matches, Avery Buonocore got the Braves on the board with an 11-1 major decision at 141 pounds, before ninth-ranked 149-pounder Jake Piccirilli and second-ranked 157-pounder Keegan Roberson each recorded second-period pins to give UNCP a 16-6 lead.
Will Lowery (165 pounds) and Logan Hoffman (174) would each follow with 11-6 decision victories, while Jose Zambrano Canuto put the Falcons out of reach with a 21-4 tech. fall win at 184 pounds. After a Falcon win in the 197-pound bout, Oggie Atwood closed the night with an 11-1 major decision in the heavyweight match to put a bow on the victory. … more at … https://uncpbraves.com/news/2024/11/6/wrestling-takes-down-montevallo-in-conference-carolinas-opener.aspx
And …
Buonocore Tabbed Conference Carolinas Wrestler Of The Week
GREENVILLE, S.C. – 141-pounder Avery Buonocore started his sophomore campaign with a bang, as he was named Conference Carolinas Wrestler of the Week, the league announced Tuesday afternoon.
The Wilmington native posted a 4-0 record at the season-opening PJ Smith Pembroke Classic to take home first place, logging two tech. falls to go along with a title-winning pin in the championship bout. The selection marks the second career weekly award for Buonocore. … more … https://uncpbraves.com/news/2024/11/4/wrestling-buonocore-tabbed-conference-carolinas-wrestler-of-the-week.aspx
This Week in Women’s Collegiate Wrestling (11/5/2024)
Top 4 Takeaways
1. Open Tournaments create exciting multi-division matchups
The collegiate women’s wrestling season started off with a slew of open tournaments where these athletes got some immediate competition both inside and outside their own conferences. Some tournaments included were the Luther Hill Open, Pointer Open, Maverick Open, Trojan Open, Tiffin Open, and SFU Open on Saturday, followed by the East Stroudsburg Open, Princeton Open, Menlo Open, and McMaster Open on Sunday. With so many tournaments for schools to choose from, we did not see some of the matchups we will see at later tournaments in the season where they almost act as a post-season preview, but there was still some awesome action nonetheless.
#6 Campbellsville showed out at the Tiffin Open with 4 first-place finishes and 5 finishing in second. The competition included wrestlers from host school Tiffin University, (#7) Indiana Tech, and Adrian College among others.
Fans saw former King wrestler and 2x All-American (#5) Tiffani Baublitz make her East Stroudsburg debut by dominating the competition at her new school’s Open. After two pins in under 2 minutes in her first matchups, she won a close 4-1 decision against Olivia Pizano of Lehigh and a 12-1 tech fall in her semis match against (#6) Skylah Chakouian of Elmira. In the finals, Baublitz put a stamp on the day with a pin just past the 2-minute mark against Emily Sindoni also from Elmira.
Southern Oregon’s top competitors showed their impact at the Menlo Open with returning 3x NAIA champion (#1) Carolina Moreno secured first place at 131 pounds with 3 tech falls. Teammate (#3) Emma Baerlein also won in dominant fashion with 2 pins followed by a 9-4 decision against returning All-American Kayla McKinley-Johnson.
Iowa started their second season off with a bang at the Luther Hill Open with 6 title wins, including 3 weights with Iowa vs Iowa finals. Both Naomi Simon at 180 lbs and Kennedy Blades at 160 pounds made their Iowa wrestling debut at this tournament and both walked away with championship titles. Simon racked up 3 consecutive pins followed by a tech fall in the finals over LIndenwood’s Alana Duggan. Kennedy Blades had a predictably dominant showing as well with a 40-second pin and two tech falls to get her to the finals where she took down teammate Rose Cassipoppi with a 10-0 tech fall victory.
The Luther Hill Open also saw one of the most exciting matchups between NAIA #1 Kelani Corbett of Missouri Valley vs NCAA #1 Jaycee Foeller of Iowa. Corbett had a narrow lead of 2-1 heading into the second period, but a 4-point move with just under a minute left secured her the 6-3 victory. It is always awesome to see top competition from NAIA and NCAA come together at tournaments to demonstrate the top talent in both conferences at programs across the country.
2. College stars shine at Senior Worlds
Iowa wrestlers Macey Kilty and Kylie Welker both left Senior World Championships in Albania with some hardware after Bronze medal finishes at 65kg and 72kg respectively. Kilty’s bronze match was an electrifying come-from-behind win where Kilty scored 16 uncontested points after being down 5-0 early for the tech fall win. Welker’s 5-2 bronze win is a bit deceptive … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/women/this-week-in-womens-collegiate-wrestling-1152024-r99697/
Breaking down the fireworks, upsets and epic matches from first weekend of college wrestling
College wrestling season is officially back, and the first weekend of the season brought plenty of fireworks, upsets and epic matches. Here are some of the most notable results and takeaways from the opening few days of the year:
Wyoming and Campbell raise the bar for elite college duals
As mentioned in my weekend preview, one of the biggest stories heading into the first weekend of college wrestling was the Wyoming vs. Campbell dual in a rodeo venue. This match delivered.
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Not only did Wyoming and Campbell put forward an incredible evening that highlighted the ‘fun’ of college wrestling, but they also created ten stellar matches, highlighted elite sportsmanship and a vision for what the future of college wrestling could look like. These are two teams pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the sport and making headlines doing it.
From a wrestling standpoint, Stockton O’Brien of Wyoming earned “Wrestler of the Dual” honors for his pin against Campbell’s No. 18 Domenic Zaccone, but the entire dual featured great action. … more at … https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/article/2024-11-04/breaking-down-first-weekend-college-wrestling
What we learned from the 2024 senior world wrestling championships
The 2024 senior world championships in Albania marked the end of a three-month world championship event series for Team USA that included the Olympics in August to the U20 world championships in September to the U23 world championships in late October to the senior world championships.
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The U23 and U20 world championships featured 10 weight classes for men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle and Greco, while the Olympics featured six, and the senior world championships included four weights, the four remaining non-Olympic weights. The U.S. brought home a total of 35 medals across these events, with Oklahoma State head coach David Taylor’s senior world bronze medal and his formal retirement serving as an emotional capper to the freestyle championship season.
Here’s what we learned about Team USA in this final event of the freestyle year and what kind of impact the athletes on this senior world championship team could have on their teammates and their programs moving forward.
Taylor’s bronze medal models success, perseverance for young Oklahoma State squad
One of the biggest storylines heading into the 2024 senior world championships was Oklahoma State head coach David Taylor. Despite being on a stacked team with Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, 2023 senior world champion Vito Arujau and two-time world medalist James Green, much of the focus centered on how Taylor would compete in what he declared to be the final competition of his career. DAVID TAYLOR: History, college records set by the Olympic gold medalist
The hype wasn’t forced either. Taylor entered a bracket with one of the best Russian athletes in the sport — Abdulrashid Bulachevich Sadulaev — and two-time World champion Iranian wrestler Kardos … more at … https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/article/2024-11-04/what-we-learned-2024-senior-world-wrestling-championships
Purdue Opens Season Strong With Win at Gardner-Webb
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Purdue Wrestling took a decisive 34-10 victory in its season-opening dual at Gardner-Webb on Friday night. Thanks to six bonus point wins, the Boilermakers (1-0, 0-0 B1G) got the year started on the right foot. No. 5 Matt Ramos, No. 31 Brody Baumann and James Rowley all earned their first pins of the 2024-25 season.
Now in his redshirt-senior season, Ramos kicked off the night by scoring his 15th career fall 4:51 into the match against Gardner-Webb’s (0-1, 0-0 SoCon) Tyson Lane. He notched four takedowns and a 4-point nearfall to have a 16-3 advantage before landing the pin. Isaac Ruble picked up where Ramos left off after the Runnin’ Bulldogs scored back-to-back match wins over Dustin Norris and No. 23 Greyson Clark. Ruble trailed Joseph Giordano late into the third period, but ultimately took his opponent down with less than 20 seconds remaining to take the 7-6 comeback win. A lengthy review process that took nearly 10 minutes ultimately confirmed his match-altering takedown, thanks to a challenge from head coach Tony Ersland. No. 15 Joey Blaze scored the only technical fall of the evening by notching a dominant 20-4 win in the 157-pound bout. He set the tone early by slamming Drew Pepin to the mat just 22 seconds into the match.
Blaze’s six takedowns matched his career high, which he first set against Lindenwood’s Luke Kemper last year. On the latter half of the card, Stoney Buell (15-5) and Hayden Filipovich (10-0) capitalized with major decisions, the eighth and second of their careers, respectively.
Baumann scored the fastest fall of the night, defeating Andrew Wilson at 4:17. Baumann had a 12-3 lead prior to the pin. … more at … https://purduesports.com/news/2024/11/1/wrestling-purdue-opens-season-strong-with-win-at-gardner-webb
Legendary Wrestling Head Coach Grady Peninger Passes Away at 97
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Legendary Michigan State head wrestling coach Grady Peninger passed away on Thursday, October 31 at 97 years old (1927-2024).
Peninger’s name will forever be linked with greatness, becoming the first coach in Big Ten history to win seven consecutive conference titles in any sport (1966-72) and the first Big Ten wrestling program to win a national title in 1967. His 1967 Spartans were the only team outside the states of Oklahoma or Iowa to win a national championship in wrestling over a 33-year span from 1954 to 1987. Additionally, Peninger was the first coach to take a team to Oklahoma, wrestle both the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Oklahoma Sooners, and go home undefeated. “Grady Peninger is one of the all-time great coaches in our sport,” said Michigan State head wrestling coach Roger Chandler. “The impact he had on Michigan State and Michigan State wrestling is second to none and he will forever be etched in our history books.”
MSU won the 1967 National Championship with 74 team points, 11 ahead of runner-up Michigan.
“Before this year no team except one of the big three ever dreamed of winning the National Championship, but now it doesn’t look as impossible as it used to,” said Peninger to SI.
During his tenure from 1963-1986, Michigan State was a mainstay on the national scene placing in the top five at the NCAA Championships on six occasions. As head coach, his wrestlers earned 10 NCAA titles, 40 Big Ten titles and All-America honors 54 times. Peninger was inducted in the U.S. Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1987, the State of Michigan Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007. He also served as President of the National Wrestling Coaches Association and while a member of the NCAA rules committee, was instrumental in expanding the tournament consolation format in 1986 to include more wrestlers.
Peninger coached a slew of Michigan State wrestlers … more at … https://msuspartans.com/news/2024/11/1/legendary-wrestling-head-coach-grady-peninger-passes-away-at-97.aspx and …
Peninger and the 1967 Spartans were the subjects of an article published in the April 3, 1967 issue of Sports Illustrated.

