On the Mat in 2026: IMG Academy to Launch Wrestling Program
IMG Academy Launches 11th Sport Program led by North Carolina Assistant Coach Enock Francios, Adding to its Unprecedented Growth of 4 New Sports Since 2022.
BRADENTON, Fla. (Sept. 17, 2025) – IMG Academy, the world’s leading sports education brand, announced the launch of its newest sports program. This bold expansion marks the fourth sport launched in four years, a testament to IMG Academy’s continued growth and commitment to its mission of empowering student-athletes to win their future both on and off the mat. Driven by its vision to be the global leader in performance and personal development, IMG Academy is expanding access to its world-class resources, providing more student-athletes with the opportunity to pursue their athletic, academic, and personal goals at the highest level.
Following the successful launch of softball and the addition of boys volleyball, the new wrestling program continues IMG Academy’s pursuit to be unrivaled in opportunity and access. As one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation, with a 129% increase in participation in 2021–22, wrestling presents a timely opportunity to deepen IMG Academy’s impact here and beyond. Wrestling is set to begin in 2026 with a series of spring and summer camps, leading up to the official launch of the boarding school program in August.
“At IMG Academy, our commitment to empowering student-athletes to win their future fuels our continuous evolution and has allowed us to grow our campus offering at a revolutionary pace over the last several years,” said Mike Milliron, Chief Operating Officer at IMG Academy Campus. “The launch of wrestling as our 11th overall sport marks an unrivaled milestone for our team, students, and families, and we cannot wait to see what we can accomplish under our wrestling leadership.”
To lead its newly launched wrestling program, IMG Academy has appointed Enock Francois as its Wrestling Director. Francois brings a distinguished track record of athletic and academic excellence, along with extensive coaching experience at top collegiate programs. He comes to IMG Academy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he served as an assistant wrestling coach under Rob Koll, an NCAA National Champion, four-time All-American, and three-time ACC Champion. … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14542328-on-the-mat-in-2026-img-academy-to-launch-wrestling-program
The Greatest Women’s College Wrestlers Of All Time
The complete list of the greatest women’s college wrestlers of all time.
Selecting the all-time women’s college wrestling team is tricky.
The first women’s college national championships were hosted in 2004 at Missouri Valley University in Marshall, Missouri, without much fanfare. Some participants thought it was just another tournament, with brackets consisting of four to six participants.
That changed in 2008 with the creation of the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA). This organization provided women with an opportunity to compete in a formal setting. It included all divisions, and the end-of-the-year tournament was considered the college national championship. The final WCWA championship was held in 2020.
In 2019, the NAIA held an invitational tournament until it sanctioned women’s wrestling for the 2022-23 season. The National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships included all NCAA programs (D1, D2, and D3), and the first national championship was held in 2020. The NCAA sanctioned women’s wrestling as its 91st sport for the 2025-26 season.
Of the four four-year divisions listed above, only the NAIA continues in its original form. Up to 15 wrestlers per team qualified for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships, and the brackets expanded to 32 per weight class.
The 2026 NCAA women’s wrestling championships feature 18-woman brackets and a maximum of one wrestler per team, per weight. To celebrate the unique history of women’s college wrestling, we have selected the greatest college wrestler at every weight from each era. There is crossover between divisions, of course, and weight shifts, but this provides an overview of how the sport evolved.
A wrestler is evaluated only during the years she competed in college, with caveats. Winning multiple college championships is important, but international success during college factors into a wrestler’s final evaluation. Post-college success is not considered, which is why Olympic gold medalists Sarah Hildebrandt and Tamyra Mensh-Stock did not make the list. Below are the all-time women’s college wrestling teams by era, … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/14514726-the-greatest-womens-college-wrestlers-of-all-time
Wrestling’s better because weight cutting has improved
y Bryan Van Kley
Do you ever think about how much wrestling has changed and improved over the years? Coming up on my 50th birthday soon, maybe I’m showing my age by starting a column like that! I’m incredibly proud of how our sport has grown and evolved in regards to overall participation numbers and respect in the at-large sports community. Attending USA Wrestling’s Junior Nationals and seeing over 8,500 participants, including 2,245 girls reinforced this.
However, there are moments I cringe when talking to non-wrestling people about the sport; they have that look of disgust and lack of respect when it is brought up, immediately referencing some wrestling friends in high school starving themselves and being miserable.
As wrestling people know, the sport has made huge jumps forward by a healthier approach towards weight management on the youth, high school, and college levels with one and two-hour weigh-ins as well as hydration testing that helps decrease the drastic last-minute cuts which used to be commonplace.
When I was wrestling in high school and college in the early to mid 1990s, weight cutting was a rite of passage. Actually, it seemed it was even a measuring stick as to your dedication and discipline. I weighed 162 pounds as a senior and cut 27 pounds down to 135 the first semester before Christmas. With the scales in our wrestling room located between the gym and the classroom area of our high school, my teammates and I would check weight several times throughout the day between classes. Weigh-ins then were at 7 a.m. for an evening meet, so you could rehydrate during the day of the dual, but of course you still didn’t feel strong that night.
We’d practice wearing a hoodie (or two), sweatpants, and a stocking hat. A majority of our focus was the scale instead of getting better. As you can imagine, by the time the end of the season came around, there was a part of us that couldn’t wait for it to be over.
As a senior, I made the 135-pound class six times before Christmas. Despite plans to go up to 145, I wanted the option to be able to try to make state at 135. The rule then was you needed a minimum of seven weigh-ins at the postseason weight you chose. So, that meant making weight one time after our Christmas-break vacation to California.
My brother who also wrestled and I worked out a number of times while on break and carefully watched what we ate. … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/08/28/van-kley-wrestlings-better-because-weight-cutting-has-improved/
Toledo wrestling legend Greg Wojciechowski dead at 73
TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – A national champion wrestler and fixture of the sport locally, Greg Wojciechowski, has died at the age of 73, according to the Toledo Blade.
Known as “The Great Wojo” as a professional wrestler, Wojciechowski won a national championship as a heavyweight at the University of Toledo in 1971, along with two state titles while wrestling for Whitmer High School.
After his pro wrestling career, he returned to town to be a teacher at Toledo Public Schools, and coach wrestling teams at Archbold, Libbey, and Bowsher high schools.
You can read more about Wojciechowski by checking David Brigg’s column from earlier this summer about his induction into the wrestling Hall of Fame. … more a … https://www.13abc.com/2025/08/14/toledo-wrestling-legend-greg-wojciechowski-dead-73/
And …
Distinguished Member Greg Wojciechowski Passes Away
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame was saddened to learn that Greg Wojciechowski, a Distinguished Member inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2025, passed away on Tuesday, at the age of 74. He is also a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum’s George Tragos and Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and he received the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the Ohio Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013.
“Greg Wojciechowski was a driving force in establishing a world-class wrestling culture in the greater Toledo area during the 1960s and 1970s. His passion and dedication to the sport helped spark the creation of the Wrestling World Cup, which debuted in Toledo in 1973 and was hosted by the city an incredible 17 times over the next 19 years,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“During his induction as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame this past June, “Wojo” delivered a heartfelt and moving speech. In a true reflection of his character, he took the time to personally recognize individuals in attendance who had made a meaningful impact on his life. It was a powerful reminder of the deep gratitude and humility that defined him—and a testament to the way he always gave back to the community that shaped him,” he added. “On behalf of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Board of Governors and our staff, we extend our deepest condolences to Greg’s family, friends, and the many lives he influenced. His legacy will forever live on in the sport he loved and the people he inspired.”
Wojciechowski was an NCAA Division I champion and three-time NCAA finalist, competing when freshmen were not eligible, at heavyweight for the University of Toledo.
By the age of 21 he had won an NCAA title, a freestyle national title and a Greco-Roman national title.
Standing 6-foot tall and weighing approximately 250 pounds, Wojciechowski regularly gave up height and weight to his opponents, including 1972 NCAA champion and Hall of Fame Distinguished Member Chris Taylor, who was 6-foot-5 and weighed over 400 pounds throughout much of his wrestling career.
Wojciechowski had a career college record of 55-2 with his only losses coming in the NCAA finals to Taylor and Oregon State’s Jess Lewis in 1970. … more at … https://nwhof.org/news/distinguished-member-greg-wojciechowski-passes-away
Pennsylvania wins overall team race at U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals, followed by California and Illinois
With the conclusion of the Junior Greco-Roman and 16U Greco-Roman competitions on Saturday night, the overall team championship at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals has been determined. Each of the six national tournaments which are part of this extravaganza were completed (16U Girls, Junior Girls, 16U Boys Freestyle, Junior Boys Freestyle, 16U Greco-Roman, Junior Greco-Roman). In fact, Pennsylvania has won the team title in all four tournaments held, sitting with a combined 816 points. Pennsylvania emerged as a dominant team champion, scoring 980 points and winning the team title in four of the national events (16U Girls, Junior Girls, 16U Boys Freestyle, Junior Boys Freestyle). Pennsylvania also had competitive showing in the two Greco-Roman tournaments, placing in a tie for fourth in Junior Greco-Roman, and in a tie for second in 16U Greco-Roman. Pennsylvania placed a full 340 points ahead of the next state association team.
California finished in second with the overall team race with 640 points. Although California did not win any of the six tournaments, the team was a consistent contender in each of them, placing in the top six each time. California was second in Junior Boys Freestyle, third in Junior Girls, fourth in 16U Girls, fourth in 16U Boys Freestyle, Sixth in 16U Greco-Roman and sixth in Junior Greco-Roman.
Illinois made a big jump during the two Greco-Roman tournaments, climbing from fifth in the overall standings after the first four national events up to third in the final overall team standings. Illinois made the biggest jump by winning the Junior Greco-Roman national event with 190 points, a full 101 points ahead of the next team. Illinois had four Junior Greco-Roman champions, Vincent DeMarco (106), Kaleb Pratt (113), Wyatt Medlin (157) and Josh Hoffer (215) and 12 total All-Americans. Their tie for sixth in 16U Greco-Roman featured a champion, Robert Ruscitti (126) and nine All-Americans.
Iowa held on to its fourth place in the final standings with a strong Greco-Roman effort, including winning the 16U Greco-Roman tournament and placing eighth in the Junior Greco-Roman. In the 16U Greco-Roman Nationals, Iowa finished with 138 points, including three individual champions Ty Martin (88), Diego Robertty (106) and Lucas Feuerbach (285) and nine All-Americans.
Ohio claimed fifth place in the overall standings, … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2025/july/21/pennsylvania-wins-overall-team-race-at-u-s-marine-corps-junior-nationals-followed-by-california-and-illinois
TJ Dudley named Campbell wrestling head coach
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell has elevated assistant coach and former three-time All-American TJ Dudley to head wrestling coach for the Fighting Camels, announced today by University President Dr. William Downs and Director of Athletics Hannah Bazemore.
“TJ Dudley embodies all the qualities that I was looking for as we set out to hire the next head coach of Campbell’s storied wrestling program,” affirmed President Downs. “He is a proven winner. He is a fierce competitor driven by the desire to exceed—not just match—previous heights of excellence. He knows and appreciates our mission at Campbell, where the job is to turn student-athletes into champions on and off the mat. Perhaps most importantly, TJ commands a room with his authenticity…no drama, just a will to succeed. There’s a ton of fight in this Camel…I’m eager to see his impact!”
“I am excited to welcome TJ Dudley as our next head wrestling coach,” said Bazemore. “Through this process, Coach Dudley separated himself through his dedication to our student-athletes and Campbell University. As one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the region, Coach Dudley also knows this area as well as anyone, and will continue to recruit and develop championship caliber student-athletes at Campbell. He knows Campbell, is a connector, and is a great fit to lead our program.”
“I’m extremely excited and beyond grateful to step into this opportunity as head coach at Campbell University,” said Dudley. “This journey has taken a lot of hard work, faith, and perseverance, and I couldn’t have gotten here without my Lord and Savior, my family and friends, and support from incredible people I’ve met in my time here at Campbell. A special thank you to the President of Campbell University, … more at … https://gocamels.com/news/2025/7/26/wrestling-tj-dudley-named-wrestling-head-coach.aspx
Future NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships sites
UW-La Crosse Selected to Host 2027 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships
La Crosse, Wis. – The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced today the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has been awarded the bid to host the 2027 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships.
The wrestling championships, to be held at the La Crosse Center in downtown La Crosse, will occur on March 12-13, 2027. It will mark the sixth time UW-La Crosse has hosted the NCAA III Wrestling Championships (2011, 2012, 2017, 2021, 2024, 2027).
“We’re so excited to host the NCAA Championships again in 2027,” said UWL Head Wrestling Coach Dave Malecek. “There is no better place to have the championships than downtown La Crosse. The La Crosse Center is an amazing facility that is so convenient not only for the wrestlers and coaches but all of the fans. We appreciate the continued support from our amazing downtown businesses and local hotels that help make this championship possible.”
UW-La Crosse placed third at the 2011 and 2024 NCAA Division III Championships at the La Crosse Center, fourth in 2012 and tied for 11th in 2017. The 2021 championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 public health threat. … more at … https://uwlathletics.com/news/2025/7/17/uw-la-crosse-selected-to-host-2027-ncaa-division-iii-wrestling-championships.aspx
Quad Cities selected to host 2028 Division III Men’s Wrestling Championships
Augustana, in partnership with Visit Quad Cities, will host the 2028 national meet
MOLINE, Ill. — Augustana College, in partnership with Visit Quad Cities, has been selected as the host for the 2028 NCAA Division III Men’s Wrestling Championships.
The championship, hosted by Visit Quad Cities in partnership with Augustana College, will take place March 10-11, 2028, at Vibrant Arena at The MARK in Moline, Ill. Early projections show the championship is expected to generate nearly $1 million in direct economic impact for the Quad Cities region. This marks the fourth time Augustana College has served as host institution of the NCAA Division III Men’s Wrestling Championship, with previous host years including 1985, 1991, and 1995 at the Carver Center.
“Hosting the Division III National Championships has been a goal of mine for years,” said head coach Tony Willaert. “This tournament is one of the most electric events in all of wrestling, and it’s incredibly exciting to bring it back to the Quad Cities for the first time since 1995. Since arriving at Augustana, I’ve driven past Vibrant Arena countless times, always imagining what it would be like to bring thousands of fans downtown for a championship weekend. In 2028, we’re not just looking to host, but want to put on a show and make Moline a staple location for this event for years to come.”
Bidding for 87 of 90 NCAA championships began in September 2023, and more than 1,200 bid applications were submitted. Each sport committee, per division, selected the host sites it believed would provide the ultimate experience for the respective student-athletes, resulting in more than 240 total championship event sites being awarded. During the 2025 national championship, over 200 of the best wrestlers in the country competed in ten weight classes. More than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships each year.
“On behalf of the Visit Quad Cities Board of Directors and professional team, we are thrilled about the opportunity to host the 2028 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships,” said Dave Herrell, President and CEO, Visit Quad Cities. “We are grateful for the confidence of the NCAA and look forward … more at … https://athletics.augustana.edu/news/2025/7/22/quad-cities-selected-to-host-2028-division-iii-mens-wrestling-championships.aspx
Tony Dungy: An uncommon bond with Minnesota Gophers Wrestling
By Brian Jerzak
Since 1977, the Gopher Wrestling Club has been supporting the Minnesota Gophers’ wrestling program. The year before, the football program graduated, at the time, their career leader in pass attempts, completions, passing yards, and touchdown passes. Many years later, the Gophers’ wrestling program and its NFL Hall of Fame inductee alumni – former Pittsburg Steelers player and former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts – Tony Dungy will continue their long-time relationship with each other with Dungy as the featured speaker at the Minnesota Gophers’ wrestling gala next month. Dungy grew up in Big Ten country, cheering for the maize and blue of Michigan and the green and white of Michigan State.
“I grew up in Jackson, Michigan, and it is midway between the University of Michigan and Michigan State,” Dungy said. “My dad got his undergrad degree from Michigan, and my mom was a Spartan. They both did graduate work at Michigan State, so I grew up on the Michigan State campus. When I was in middle school and high school, my dad would take me to Michigan games. I felt like I was going to go to one of those places. I fell in love with Michigan State. In the middle of my senior year of high school, [Michigan State head football coach] Duffy Daugherty announced his retirement. His number one assistant, Cal Stoll, got the head coaching job at Minnesota. Coach Stoll talked to me about why he was at Minnesota, how wonderful it was, and how I could set my own legacy. I decided I wanted to get away from those campuses. I visited Minnesota, and it was amazing. I decided this was the place I had to be.” Early in his time at Minnesota, Dungy, who had never wrestled a day in his life, struck up a friendship with Gopher wrestler Pat Neu, starting a nearly fifty-year relationship for Dungy with the wrestling program. “At the University of Minnesota, all of the athletes were kind of together in study hall and in the same dorm, and I got to become friends with Pat,” Dungy said. “He was a dynamic wrestler and a good guy. We hung out together on campus and in study halls. I would see how hard the wrestlers worked. They were not only good guys, but they were also so disciplined. That is what caught me. … more at … https://theguillotine.com/2025/04/tony-dungy-an-uncommon-bond-with-minnesota-gophers-wrestling/?doing_wp_cron=1750739698.2963581085205078125000
It’s Not About You
It’s not about you. That’s right, this might be a hard pill to swallow, but wrestling is not about you. There will always be someone better or someone who has simply accomplished more. There will always be “phenoms” on the rise, other wrestlers who obtain the focus and attention of spectators around the country (or world). However, the fact that it’s not about you is not a suggestion to forgo wrestling glory. It’s not meant to stifle your passion and drive for greatness. If anything, it’s meant to release you. Your mind is freed from the belief that wrestling is about you, that it’s merely a resource for your own grandeur and self-fulfillment. In fact, only then can you really appreciate what is you are engaging.
After obtaining the pinnacles of our sport, so many of our wrestling legends have discovered that the fulfillment is fleeting. Rather than experiencing lasting contentment, they desire more. And this is different from the desire to compete, or even a growing passion for the sport. It’s instead more in tune with initiating another campaign of self-fulfillment, a mission to feed their self-worth.
Well, if wrestling is not about you, then who is it about? Or better yet, what is it? The answer is simple: Wrestling is a “gift”. It’s something to grow in. It’s something that provides the opportunity to experience real, tangible struggle, to test your body and push it to the limits – and not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well. It encourages goal-setting and dedication to the task. It offers the ability to grasp what it feels like to succeed as well as fail – both of which are important in developing as a person of integrity, wisdom, and character. But most of all, wrestling is something to enjoy! Wrestling is something to embrace with delight and passion. It was never meant to serve as a measuring-stick of self-worth or a resource to obtain lifelong pleasure. Have many people gained considerable pleasure from what they’ve accomplished on the mat? Absolutely! But wrestling is bigger than them and their accomplishments. It doesn’t begin and end with Dan Gable, John Smith, Jordan Burroughs or Kyle Snyder. Wrestling is a gift that offers an unparalleled journey. Quite frankly, to wrestle is to be human. Struggle is a part of the human predicament in all its varying degrees and faces. And in the midst of struggle, we can experience overcoming it and enjoy moments of triumph. … more at … https://faithandwrestling.wordpress.com/2023/09/05/its-not-about-you/
Friday From the Archives: Your memories go beyond just ‘Fargo’
By Sandy Stevens
Oh, the memories!
From swatting mosquitoes after the Fargo Flood to Fred Feeney explaining to Willie Nelson that the white-clad referees were not selling ice cream, recollections of the Junior Nationals over nearly 50 years surfaced when I recently posed this question on Facebook:
“If you’ve ever wrestled, coached, officiated, paired, volunteered, photographed, covered or cheered at the National Junior Freestyle Championships in the past 50 years, what was your most memorable experience?”
Recollections traversed the five decades and five sites of the Junior Nationals, as the tournament took place in Iowa City (1971-82), Cedar Falls (1983-90), Warrensburg (1991) and St. Paul (1992) before moving to Fargo in 1993.
Here’s a sampling of those memories, beginning with Morrie Adams, who cited the earliest: “Help recruit volunteers and set up the first Junior Nationals Tournament in Iowa City.”
Ed Kane: “Officiating the first Junior Nationals. Vince Zuaro said, ‘Good job kid,’ but he was sitting me down because I wasn’t quite ready to officiate the finals!”
Mike Pickford: “In Iowa City at the (un-air-conditioned) recreation center, when it was so hot and we were still going after 10 p.m.”
Pamela Jean Gibbons: “(Being told that) I was going to run the UNI Dome scoreboard for freestyle finals.”
Randall Balch: “Many years ago, starting the finals before you introduced the wrestlers. The match was over in like 20 seconds, and you said, ‘And the wrestlers for this match were….’ I’ll never start a match early again!”
Colleen Holst Flathers: “So many fun memories as a student trainer in the UNI Dome, including an orthopedic surgeon from New York who didn’t realize that corn grew on a plant. We took him to a cornfield before his flight back home.”
Ken Chertow: “Sandy Stevens asking me how to pronounce my name at Junior Nationals. Then days later, announcing that I was the first Junior National champion ever from West Virginia. A few days later, I won freestyle and OW, too. Memories of a lifetime!”
Nate Spieth: “Having to take cover in the tunnels because there was a tornado outside.”
TJ Bramblec: “A pen fell off my shirt collar while (officiating). Circling the mat, I nonchalantly changed levels and flipped it off the mat, not realizing that the direction of ‘the flying object’ was on a dead line with (referee) Belinda Brown’s forehead. … more at … https://www.win-magazine.com/2025/07/03/friday-from-the-archives-your-memories-go-beyond-just-fargo/
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 