Posts by IWCOA Admin

Article Source: https://niuhuskies.com/news/2019/12/18/wrestling-team-effort-propels-niu-to-victory.aspx

DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team used a fast start and strong finish to earn a 23-13 victory over Mid-American Conference rival Kent State in Victor E. Court Wednesday night.

“We got a good start from Bryce West,” said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. “He had a slow start getting his takedown, but then was able to create a scramble and found his way into a fall. Fantastic start from him. In dual meets, bonus points matter.

“Anthony Gibson, for his debut at 141, had good energy. He really got to his attacks well. He put a zero on the board for the other guy and created a major decision.”

The Huskies’ (5-3, 2-1) win over the Golden Flashes was their second straight over Kent State and first at home since Jan. 18, 2004.

With the match tied, 13-13, with three more bouts left, Brit Wilson put the Huskies up, 17-13, when he scored a 10-2 maj. dec. win over Shane Mast at 184. Gage Braun sealed the victory for NIU when he posted a hard-fought 5-4 win over Colin McCracken at 197. NIU took a 20-13 into the final bout at 285, where Max Ihry turned in NIU’s second shutout of the night with a 2-0 win over Spencer Berthold.

“Brit Wilson was able to step up as a leader and put us in a situation for a bonus-point victory and really got us back in the game,” Ludwig said. “Gage Braun, I don’t think he wrestled well, but he wrestled tough. That’s what we ask for, that you can control.”

NIU opened up a 10-3 lead through the first three matches. Bryce West started the match off with a first period pin over Tomas Gutierrez at 125, the first bout of the day. After a 3-1 setback in overtime, Anthony Gibson put the Huskies back in the win column, earning an 8-0 maj. dec. over Corey Simpson.

The two schools traded decisions in the next two matches, with Kent State scoring a win at 149 and Mason Kauffman posting 7-3 win at 157.

Kent State went on a bit of a run, winning the next two bouts, one by maj. dec., to tie the match up at 13-13.

The Huskies return to the mat Sunday, Dec. 29 when NIU wrestlers compete in the prestigious Midlands Championships. The event will take place at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

NIU 23, Kent State 13

125:Bryce West (NIU) fall Tomas Gutierrez (KSU), 2:48
133: Tim Rooney (KSU) dec. Caleb Brooks (NIU), SV-1 3-1
141:Anthony Gibson (NIU) maj. dec. Cory Simpson (KSU), 8-0
149: Kody Komara (KSU) dec. McCoy Kent (NIU), SV-1 3-1
157:Mason Kauffman (NIU) dec. Brady Chrisman (KSU), 7-3
165: Kade Byland (KSU) dec. Izzak Olejnik (NIU), 10-6
174: Andrew McNally (KSU) maj. dec. Caden McWhirter (NIU), 13-2
184:Brit Wilson (NIU) maj. dec. Shane Mast (KSU), 10-2
197:Gage Braun (NIU) dec. Colin McCracken (KSU), 5-4
285:Max Ihry (NIU) dec. Spencer Berthhold (KSU), 2-0

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(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Dec. 18) – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) NCAA Division II released the first edition of the 2019-20 women’s team and individual rankings earlier this week. The McKendree University women’s teams was ranked in the No. 1 in the dual meet and tournament rankings.

Last month, the Bearcats were ranked No.1 out of 10 teams in the NWCA Division III Dual Meet team rankings.

1. McKendree University
2. Simon Fraser University
3. King University
4. Emmanuel College
5. Colorado Mesa University

As of now, the NWCA NCAA Women Tournament Team Ranking has McKendree in the No. 1 seat out of 10 teams, with 116 points.

1. McKendree University – 116 pts.
2. King University – 97 pts.
3. Colorado Mesa University – 50 pts.
4. Emmanuel College – 49 pts.
5. Simon Fraser University – 48 pts.

The poll also ranked the wrestlers individually, and McKendree has 14 wrestlers in the 10 weight classes. USA Wrestling also released their women’s freestyle pre-seeds for this weekend’s tournament, where four Bearcats made the list.

Below are the individual rankings of the bearcats and pre-seeds for the tournament.

101-lbs.
Pauline Granados (Rialto, CA/Wilmer Amino Carter High School) ranked No. 2

Jolie Lucas (North Pole, AK/Ben Eielson Jr./Sr. High School) ranked No. 6

109-lbs.
Carly Valleroy (St. Louis, MO/Mehlville High School) ranked No. 2

Natalie Reyna (Hesperia, CA/Whittier High School) ranked No. 6

116-lbs.
Felicity Taylor (Spillville, IA/South Winneshiek High School) ranked No.1

Theresa Rankin (Grass Lake, MI/Grass Lake High School) ranked No. 3

123-lbs. 
Alexia Ward (Portland, OR/Westview High School) ranked No. 2

136-lbs.
Emma Bruntil () ranked No. 1; pre-seed No. 3 (62 kg)

143-lbs.
Alara Boyd (Muncie, IN/Yorktown High School) ranked No. 2; pre-seed No. 4 (62 kg)

155-lbs.
Alexandria Glaude (West Sacramento, CA/Christian Brothers High School) ranked No. 1; pre-seed No. 3 (68 kg)

Joye Levendusky (Avon, NY/Avon High School) ranked No. 2

170-lbs.
Kori Bullock (Cahokia, IL/Cahokia High School) ranked No. 2; pre-seed No. 3 (76 kg)

Andrea Sennett (Wheeling, IL/Wheeling High Shcool) ranked No. 4

191-lbs.
Sydnee Kimber (Sitka, AK/Mt Edgecombe High School) ranked No. 3

McKendree take the mat this weekend in Fort Worth, Tex., for the 2019 Senior Nationals and Trials Qualifier. USA Wrestling is hosting the event starting at 10:00 A.M. (ET), Dec. 20 – 22 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Here is a link for the full schedule.-McK-

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Dec. 17, 2019 – In the first installment of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) NCAA Individual Rankings, Amanda Martinez, Asia Nguyen-Smith, and Yelena Makoyed of the North Central College women’s wrestling team are ranked in the top-10 of their respective weight classes.

The ranking committee consists of six women’s wrestling coaches, including North Central head coach Joe Norton and were released on Monday. The polls are set to be released every other week.

North Central boasts two wrestlers in the 130-pound weight class as both Martinez and Nguyen-Smith compete in that division. Martinez, who is ranked third in the poll, has compiled a 20-3 overall record and has won both the Dr. Bob Kellogg Open and the North Central College Invitational. Nguyen-Smith sits at sixth-place in the 130-pound division, but has also moved around to compete in the 136-pound weight class for dual meets. Overall, she is 12-3 and won the Adrian College Open on Oct. 26th.

Makoyed is selected as the third-ranked wrestler at the 170-pound division in the latest edition of the rankings. She is 16-1 overall, including seven pins and seven wins via tech fall. Makoyed took home the individual championships at both the Adrian College Open and Dr. Bob Kellogg Open.

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Dec. 15) – The McKendree University men’s wrestling participated in the two-day 41^st Annual Midwest Classic this weekend in Indianapolis, where they defended their first-place title. The Bearcats scored 131.5 team points and three individual champions.

Along with first-place finished from Marcus Povlick (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North), Nick Foster (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) and Ryan Vasbinder (Grand Rapids, MI/Grandville), Juwan Edmond (Bellwood, IL) made his debut as a Bearcat and placed sixth, Nate Smalling(Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) placed seventh, Caleb Gossett (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell Central) Placed third, and Qian’te Wagner (Alton, Ill./Alton) and Michael Aldrich(Ballwin, MO/Parkway South) placed eighth in their respective weight classes.

Below are the individual results from Day 2:

125-lb. bracket:Marcus Povlick (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) headed into the semifinals with a 3-0 record where he would off against Tanner Cole of University of Central Oklahoma. Povlick’s 3-2 decision defeat over Cole sent him into the finals, where he would face Patrick Allice of Western Colorado University. Povlick defeated Allis in a 2-0 decision and placed first. Povlick had an overall 5-0 record on the weekend.

149-lb. bracket:Juwan Edmond (Bellwood, IL) headed into day two of the consolation bracket with a 2-1 record and would face off against Brady Mattida of Ouachita Baptist University. Edmond’s 3-2 decision victory over Mattida advanced him to face off against Tyler Stegalll of Maryville University. Edmond defeated Stegall in a 6-1 decision and advanced into the semifinals. Edmond faced off against Josiah Rider of Adams State College and was defeated by fall at 1:48. Edmond continued his fight in the tournament as me faces off against Dominic Mena of Gannon University in the 5^th place match. Edmond was defeated in a 7-3 decision and placed sixth. Edmond had an overall 4-3 record on the weekend.

157-lb. bracket:Nate Smalling (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) started off day two against Tyler Makosy of UNC-Pembroke with a 2-1 record. Smalling defeated Makosy in a sudden victory (SV-1 7-5) and advanced to face off against Austin Palmer of Newberry College, and was defeated in a major decision (Maj 12-4). Smalling advanced into the match to compete for the 7^th place title against Tanner Sparks of Maryville University. Smalling battled with Sparks and won in a tie breaker (TB-1 3-2) and placed seventh. Smalling had an overall 7-5 record on the weekend.

165-lb. bracket:Nick Foster (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) started off day two with an undefeated 3-0 record to face off against Alex Farenchak of Gannon University in the quarterfinals. Foster’s 5-4 decision defeat over Farenchak advanced him to the finals against Logan Grass of Mercyhurst College. Foster defeated Grass in a 4-1 decision and placed first. Foster had an overall 6-0 record on the weekend.

174-lb. bracket:Qian’te Wagner (Alton, Ill./Alton) entered the consolation bracket with a 4-1 record to face off against Gleason Mappes of University of Indianapolis. Wagner defeated Mappes in an SV-1 7-5 decision, to advance to face off against Bret Heil of Maryville University. Wagner was then defeated by Heil in a 13-9 decision. Wagner advances to face off against Caleb Spears of Newberry College in the 7^th place match. Wagner was defeated for a medial forfeit but placed eight. Wagner had an overall 5-3 record on the weekend.

184-lb. bracket:Michael Aldrich (Ballwin, MO/Parkway South) had a 3-1 record going into day two of the tournament. His first opponent was Aryus Jones of Fort Hays State and won by forfeit. Aldrich advanced to face off against Bailey Kelly of Maryville University and was defeated in a 6-3 decision. Aldrich still had a chance to compete against Brandon Sloop of UNC-Pembroke for the 7^th place title. Aldrich was defeated in a 4-2 decision to Sloop and placed eighth. Aldrich had an overall 4-3 record on the weekend.

197-lb. bracket: Ryan Vasbinder (Grand Rapids, MI/Grandville) took his 4-0 record into day two of the tournament to face off against Elijah Seay of King University. Vasbinder’s win by medical forfeit advanced him to the finals to face off against Matthew Rudy of Limestone College. Vasbinder won a 6-1 decision over Rudy and placed first. Vasbinder had an overall 5-0 record on the weekend.

Heavyweight bracket:Caleb Gossett (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell Central) entered the consolation bracket with a 3-1 record to face off against Gavin Nye of CSU-Pueblo. Gossett’s 9-5 decision victory advanced him to face off against AJ Cooper of Fort Hays State. Gossett defeated Cooper in an 8-2 decision and advanced him to the semifinals for the 3^rd place title. Gossett faced off against Weston Hunt of Colorado School of Mines and won by medial forfeit. Gossett placed third and an overall 6-1 record on the weekend.

This was the last competition of the calendar year for the Bearcats. They will be back in action, along with the women’s team, for the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals. The teams will be traveling to Louisville, Ken., Jan 10-11.-McK-

Article Source

By Christopher Miller
NUSports.com Contributor

12/13/2019 2:45:00 PM

College wrestling’s 57th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships will look a little different this year. Fans will see members of the United States Marine Corps out in full-force across the grounds of the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on December 29-30. The service academy will sponsor the elite holiday tournament for the first time.

“I think [this partnership] brings excellence to the event,” said Tim Cysewski, director of the Ken Kraft Midlands. ‘Our byline, “Where the elite meet to compete sells it.’ It appeals to a lot of people and fits what the Marines want. They want the elite.”

For the Marines, this sponsorship is about further planting their roots within the wrestling community and raising the overall awareness of the Corps brand both locally and globally with the event being streamed online through multiple platforms. Fans will see promotional videos, signage throughout the arena, mats showcasing the emblem of the service academy. Most important, the event title will read, “The 57th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships presented by the United States Marine Corps.”

“You have such a small minority of young men and women that actually volunteer and join any branch of service, let alone the Marines,” said Col. David Fallon, a Marine and former Boston College wrestler who helped facilitate this partnership. “In the Midwest there is the absence of any large, major base or military presence. This does give us an opportunity to make Midwesterners aware of the Marines and what we do.”

The Midlands Championships has built a reputation as one of the most prestigious folk-style tournaments. The event routinely showcases some of the highest-ranked individual wrestlers and teams in the nation. It is likely that potential 2020 National Championships finals matchups will happen at Midlands first, before unfolding once again at the Nationals in Minneapolis in March.

Northwestern grappler Sebastian Rivera understands this likelihood well. At the 2018 Midlands, Rivera bested the reigning two-time 125-pound NCAA Champion Spencer Lee of Iowa, 7-3, to be crowned a 2018 Midlands Champion on his way to also taking home the Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler & Art Kraft Champion of Champions awards handed out each year to the tournament’s top performers.

“I’m a big tournament guy. You put me in a tournament, I feel like I thrive,” Rivera said. “You weigh in once and get to wrestle four matches instead of weighing in before every match. It’s just a different feel. I like the tournament feel.”

But for Rivera, the tournament is also special for reasons off the mat.

“The Midlands is at home,” the Jackson, New Jersey native Rivera said. “It’s the one event my parents come out to, which is a big deal, and you want to wrestle good for them. Just the aspect of being at home, you don’t want to lose on your home turf.”

This year, 43 schools will grapple in the signature event. Of those squads, 12 appeared in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll, which ranks the top-25 teams. Additionally, four of those teams fell within the top-nine of that poll. 

Fans can purchase tickets to this year’s Midlands’ tournament here.

The difficulty of both wrestling and the Midlands in particular encompasses exactly why the Marines have become an official sponsor of the two-day event and embraced the sport.

“The Marine Corps continues to distinguish itself as the world’s elite fighting force,” said 1^st Lt. Emma Thompson, an assistant marketing and communication strategy officer with the United States Marine Corps. “We believe the degree of adversity, both mental and physical that wrestlers face is not unfamiliar to Marines.”

While the Midlands signifies the latest in a constantly evolving list of wrestling events and organizations that the Marines are associated with, their formal endorsement of the sport dates back more than 25 years. A few of the more prominent, longstanding pairings have included the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s All-Star Classic, the Cadet and Junior National Championships and numerous USA Wrestling events.

The driving force behind the Corps’ deep involvement in the sport, at all levels from high school to collegiate to international, is that many Marines, past and present believe that participation in the sport prepares individuals for a similar type of military service.

“We have partnered with other sports; however, we have not had the same results that we’ve had with wrestling,” Fallon said. “Wrestlers and Marines were cut from the same cloth – we share the same DNA. While wrestling doesn’t corner the market on toughness, discipline or resiliency, they certainly do bring an aspect of that that translates over well. I think [this sponsorship] was just acknowledging that we are disproportionately over-represented by Marines that have wrestling backgrounds.”

Conversations with colleagues at a 2017 United States Wrestling Foundation Gala caused Fallon to ponder what role the Corps could play to help the community that gave him so much during his adolescence and collegiate years.

“It became very clear that some of the recruiting strategies we use could be applied within the wrestling community,” Fallon said. “If we’re using strategies to find the next generation of Marines, then why can’t the wrestling community use those same strategies to find the next generation of wrestlers?”

1st Lt. Terrence Zaleski, a 174-pounder on the All-Marine Team, is a prime example.  After a standout career as a North Carolina prep, he pursued a collegiate career at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.  His collegiate career never got off the ground due to injuries, coupled with UNCG’s decision to drop the program in 2011.

Zaleski’s former coach at UNCG, Jason Loukides, found his way to in Camp LeJuene, North Carolina, to take over the reigns of the All-Marine Team, where he recruited Zaleski and other UNCG wrestlers to join the squad. For the former NCHSAA 3A 152-pound State Champion, whose father was a fellow Devil Dog, the offer was too good to pass up.

“When I went through training, I dealt with some of the same feelings that I felt when I used to train for wrestling,” Zaleski said. “The hardship, the strict diet, the hard physical training, the exhaustion. At the end of the day, no one really cares [how exhausted you are], as long as you can do your job. So, the Marines really translates to how wrestling is.”

So far, the mutual respect and support that exists between the wrestling community and the Marines has Fallon optimistic for what the future holds.   

“I think this is the beginning of what I hope to be a long-term relationship,” Fallon said. “The Midlands isn’t going anywhere and neither is the Marine Corps.”

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