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.
🤼 MORE COLLEGE WRESTLING 🤼
🚨 Alerts and updates on Bleacher Report
🎥 Wrestling on YouTube
🍎 Follow on Apple News
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.
🤼 MORE COLLEGE WRESTLING 🤼
🚨 Alerts and updates on Bleacher Report
🎥 Wrestling on YouTube
🍎 Follow on Apple News
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.
USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender receives ACES Stephen D. Ducoff Leadership Award
USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender has received the respected Stephen D. Ducoff Leadership Award as presented by ACES, the Association of Chief Executives of Sport.
The Stephen D. Ducoff Leadership Award is given periodically to an ACES Member who has made significant contributions to the organization and its members over time. The award is in honor of Ducoff, the ACES co-founder, who served as CEO of ACES from 2007 until his passing in 2017.
Rich Bender has been Executive Director of USA Wrestling since 2000, leading one of the most successful National Governing Bodies of Olympic sport through six Olympic quadrenniums, with a focus on the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Olympics . He is one of the longest serving CEOs in the history of the Olympic family, and is the longest serving Executive Director in USA Wrestling history.
From 2010-2016, Bender was elected chairman of U.S. Olympic Committee’s National Governing Body Council, representing over 13,000,000 members from all of the NGBs affiliated with the U.S. Olympic movement. Bender was also elected in 2019 to serve as a USOPC Board Member representing the NGB Council, a position he still holds.
Bender received the award during the ACES Conference in Huntsville, Alabama on October 15.
“It was my honor to present the 2024 award to Rich Bender at the ACES Conference, on behalf of the ACES Board and our members. His wide-ranging positive impact on the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement and the sport of … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2024/october/30/usa-wrestling-executive-director-rich-bender-receives-aces-stephen-d-ducoff-leadership-award
Using The Big Lebowski Quotes to Preview the 2024-25 College Wrestling Season
I remember the first time I saw The Big Lebowski. My Dad and I rented it from a Hollywood Video and watched it on our own while my Mom was out of town. I don’t think I got it. I remember it was funny, but I remember being way more confused than I was laughing. I was maybe 13 at the time. Since then my sense of humor has become more developed, and I now regard this as one of my favorites and one of the funniest movies ever made. The timing, layering of the jokes, uniqueness of the characters, and plot. It’s one of one, and it’s funny every time. A couple of years ago I hit some storylines headed into the NCAA season by using Vision Quest quotes. This year I’m doing the same, but with the masterpiece that was at one point the vision of the Coen Brothers. Join me as we roll like tumbling tumbleweeds into some of the exciting things to look for in the NCAA 2024-2025 wrestling season.
“It’s down there somewhere, let me take another look” – The Dude as he gets his head dunked in a toilet by a goon asking for the money.
What a great way to start a movie and introduce us to an icon. With respect to this season though, this was a lot of us waiting for the wrestling schedules before they finally dropped.
Finally, though, they are out and we can begin planning the excitement we are about to watch. I was picturing myself sitting on a couch with some snacks and a tasty beverage as I watch some of our favorite wrestlers go to work. Whether it’s Michigan and Minnesota, Ohio State against Iowa, or Penn State against Nebraska, we are ready to go! It’s set and we are ready to rock!
“The rug really tied the room together” – The Dude, Walter, and Donnie at various points.
Sadly the rug is gone, and so are some of the greats we had from last season. Vito Arujau, Aaron … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/using-the-big-lebowski-quotes-to-preview-the-2024-25-college-wrestling-season-r99681/
Unique Dual Venues for the 2024-25 Season
With the collegiate wrestling season ready to kick off fans are once again excited to fill up the iconic arenas throughout the country such as Carver Hawkeye Arena, Hilton Coliseum, Rec Hall, or Gallagher-Iba Arena. However, it is becoming more and more common for high-level duals and other competitions to take place in other non-traditional venues. Could it be possible that these events outside of traditional campuses allow matches to air on more and more streaming services? The answer is likely yes. It also can create a different environment and hopefully stir up interest around the competition. Whatever the reason, it has led to matches taking place in some interesting spots. In the end, you only really need to roll out a mat and set up a scoring table for a collegiate wrestling match. The following looks at some of the unique venues that will host NCAA Division I wrestling this season.
October 31st – The “Dual at the Daddy” Wyoming vs. Campbell
Campbell has been at the forefront of avant-garde venues in the collegiate wrestling world. During the 2022-2023 season, the Fighting Camels wrestled Michigan and North Carolina in an airplane hangar at the military base formerly known as Fort Bragg. At one point it rained, and a match had to be delayed while they repositioned an aircraft and closed the hangar doors.
Last year, they faced off against Wyoming in the aptly named “Battle in the Barn,” which, you guessed it, took place in a barn. Of course, it was a very nice barn at the Deerwood Ranch in Laramie, Wyoming. Per the website, the wedding venue features “rehearsal, ceremony and … more at … https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/college/unique-dual-venues-for-the-2024-25-season-r99680/
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 