June 29th, 2009 by Tom
by Jim Brown
I had too much time on my hands last week and spent way too much time surfing the ‘net for wrestling-related stories and posts. It just got “curiouser and curiouser” as Alice said.
First, from the Iowa Preps wrestling message board: This post was titled, “Wrestling Scholarship Available in Macon, GA.”
“Dear Wrestler,
My name is Kevin Andres, and I coach the wrestling program at Mercer University. I would like to introduce you to our program and let you know about an exciting opportunity for you to continue your wrestling careers in college. Mercer’s team just finished 9th in the Nation @ the National Dual Championships and tied for 23rd at the traditional National Championship Tournament.
My program is part of the National Collegiate Wrestling Association, which includes over 130 colleges of all sizes. The NCWA is entering its twelfth season and has grown in size and competition every year.
I would be happy to answer any questions you might have, so feel free to call (478-301-2404) or email (kandres@mercerwrestling.com).
Thank you,
June 29th, 2009 by Tom
It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was one Dustin Schlatter felt he had to make.
After talking to his father, the Massillon, Ohio native then met with the University of Minnesota coaching staff. Following an injury-plagued 21-5 junior campaign on the wrestling mats, where he earned his third All-American honor, the 149-pounder felt he needed to take a redshirt during his senior campaign.
The move would leave the Golden Gophers with just one senior in the regular lineup for the 2008-09 campaign, but in addition to getting his body back to full strength, Schlatter thought the timing was right in order to reach his future goals — a berth on the U.S. World Team in 2009 and a run at the 2012 Olympic squad.
“It was hard because we had such a young team, but we’ll be young again next year and I think I will be able to help out with my leadership,” he says. “I just needed the time to get healthy and then work on things during my international training.”
June 28th, 2009 by Tom
Josh Lowe, InterMat High School Analyst
Heading into the 2009 Schoolboy Greco-Roman National Duals, one wondered whether it would again be a battle between Minnesota and Pennsylvania for the title. In each of the last two years, those squads met in the final. Minnesota won in 2008, while Pennsylvania prevailed in 2007 to win the back end of consecutive titles in this event.
However, New Jersey — not exactly a traditional Greco-Roman power — surprised the field with a 9-0 run through the championships. The Garden State squad was anchored by a pair of wrestlers that went 9-0 for the competition, Dylan Milonas (120) and Cory Damiana (190). Milnoas is raned 11th nationally in the recently released Junior High rankings by InterMat.
The run was not without challenges. In Pool A competition, defending champions Minnesota actually took 9 of the 17 matches from New Jersey. The difference in the 37-36 New Jersey victory was getting five victories by pin and technical fall, while Minnesota only mustered three. A pin by Damiana, technical fall by Jeffrey Miller (210), and pin by Gregory Webb (265) in the last three matches of that dual meet turned a 35-23 deficit into the one-point victory. Then, in the last match of championship pool competition, New Jersey needed a last match pin from Webb to knock off Wisconsin, 39-38.
June 22nd, 2009 by Tom
Canceled.
Minneapolis Wrestlers will have their first informational meeting on Tuesday June 30th at 8 pm at the 19 bar in Minneapolis.
It will be an open-house, get-to-know-each other kind of event. You can meet the organizers, other wrestlers, and ask any questions.
The 19 Bar is located at 19 West 15th Street in Minneapolis. Google Map. Everyone is welcome!
If you’re curious, but not sure if you want to commit, this will be a great opportunity to learn everything you need to know. No need to RSVP, just show up.
WrestlingPod previously covered the Minneapolis Wrestlers group here.
June 22nd, 2009 by Tom
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Michigan Athletic Department announced today (Thursday, June 18) that senior wrestler Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) and women’s track and field senior Tiffany Ofili (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS) have been selected as the 2008-09 Male and Female Athletes of the Year. The pair was also nominated for the Big Ten Conference Suzy Favor Female and Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year awards.
The first Michigan wrestler to earn the school’s prestigious Athlete of the Year honor, Luke was perfect in his final collegiate season, posting a flawless 32-0 record en route to the NCAA 174-pound title. The Wolverine captain, who held the nation’s No. 1 ranking at 174 pounds for the entirety of the 2008-09 season, became the 20th NCAA champion in program history with an 8-4 decision over Central Michigan’s seventh-seeded Mike Miller in the championship finale at the NCAA Tournament. The victory netted Luke his third consecutive All-America citation at 174 pounds; he placed second as a junior (2008) and sixth as a sophomore (2007).
Luke became the seventh Wolverine wrestler to post a perfect season en route to an NCAA title and first to accomplish the feat since two-time champion Jarrett Hubbard (1971-74) did so in 1974. The effort improved Luke’s career record to 117-24, placing him 22nd among Michigan’s all-time winningest wrestlers.
June 21st, 2009 by Tom
A group of Minneapolis & St. Paul wrestlers are working to get an amateur wrestling league put together.
They are seeking wrestlers of all sizes with any, or no, level of experience. They are open to any wrestling styles such as freestyle, amateur, submission, etc.
Wrestlers must be 18 years of age or older, any size, gay or straight, basically anyone who wants to learn wrestling, train, or to just wrestle in Twin Cities area.
If you are interested, visit the Minneapolis Wrestlers homepage.
Good luck guys!
June 21st, 2009 by Tom
Jared Frayer, the Iowa wrestling team’s strength and conditioning coach, has accepted a position as an assistant coach at Wisconsin.
Frayer wrestled at Oklahoma, where he was a two-time all-American and an NCAA runner-up in 2002 at 149 pounds, and also has extensive post-collegiate national wrestling experience. He served as Iowa’s strength and conditioning coach for the 2008-09 season.
Frayer will join former Hawkeye Barry Davis’s staff at Wisconsin.
First assistant Bart Chelesvig left Davis’s staff in May, and Donnie Pritzlaff was elevated to the associate head coaching position. Frayer will take over Pritzlaff’s position.
“They had offered me the volunteer position about two weeks ago,” Frayer said. “It just wasn’t right. It was more of a lateral move for me. I enjoyed where I was at at Iowa. But I guess they kind of knew what they wanted and they (made the offer).
“It’s a better position. This is what I want to do as a career. It’s a position where I can recruit. I’m directly involved with the university. I respect the guys that are there. There are not too many places that I would have gone other than that.”
June 20th, 2009 by Tom
Mid-South Conference
The Mid-South Conference athletics directors unanimously voted to add men’s wrestling as a conference sport on Wednesday at the annual summer meeting at Campbellsville University.
Men’s wrestling becomes the 18th sport sponsored by the Mid-South Conference and will begin competition in the 2009-10 season.
Campbellsville, Cumberland University, TN, University of the Cumberlands, KY, Lindsey Wilson College and West Virginia University Institute of Technology will make up the five-team conference.
“We’re incredibly excited about the addition of wrestling and what the sport and its student-athletes will bring to our conference,” Mid-South Conference Commissioner Mike Pollio said. “The Mid-South Conference continues to be one of the premiere conferences in the NAIA and we expect that wrestling will only strengthen that commitment to excellence.”
Full-time MSC members Campbellsville, Cumberlands, Lindsey Wilson and West Virginia Tech are joined by Cumberland — who prior to joining the MSC in wrestling was a football-only member — to makeup only the second wrestling conference in the NAIA. The MSC joins the Great Plains Athletic Conference as the only conferences to recognize men’s wrestling as a sport at the conference level.
June 19th, 2009 by Tom
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Wrestler J Jaggers has been named the 2008-09 Ohio State Male Athlete of the Year, the department of athletics announced Tuesday. Jaggers, a Northfield, Ohio, native who won his second-consecutive NCAA title as a senior in 2009, is the first wrestler to earn the honor in the 28-year history of the award.
Before making his debut as the volunteer assistant coach of the Ohio State wrestling team next season, Jaggers will be known for leaving an impressive imprint on the two-time national runner-up Buckeyes. In 2009, the All-American joined an exceptional class of wrestling Buckeyes as the 141-pound national champion in back-to-back seasons in 2008 and 2009. He joins Tommy Rowlands, a 2002 and 2004 heavyweight champion and Kevin Randleman, the 177-pound champion in 1992 and 1993 in the elite group.
Ending his senior campaign with a 28-7 ledger, Jaggers completed his career with a remarkable 108-33 record as a three-time All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier.
After winning his first national championship in dramatic fashion where he held on for the title with 16 seconds left despite suffering a severe ankle injury, Jaggers successfully defended his title this past spring, proving “you don’t just stumble on two national championships.”
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