Brendan Ard (TDR) High School Wrestler of the Month April 2009

Des Moines, IA- April 23, 2009- Brendan Ard of Watchung Hills High School in Warren, NJ has captured the TakeDown Radio (TDR) High School Wrestler of the Month Award for April 2009. The high school senior is the first two time State Champion in New Jersey, and becomes the eighth recipient of the national TDR award. Brendan is the first award winner from New Jersey.

Brendan won the 171 pound State Title in Atlantic City March 7-8, completing the season with a 37-0 record, while amassing a 139-11 career record. During the entire season, only one opponent scored a single takedown against him.

He began wrestling as a Freshman, where he competed at 171 pounds, despite weighing 155 pounds. Exemplifying undeniable teamwork and exhibiting amazing strength, he accepted the weigh class as both the 152 pound and 160 pound classes were occupied by top performing team mates, including a State Champion. He wrestled mostly heavier and older opponents, winning the District 12 title in 2006. "Brendan's deep love for wrestling really kicked in during his Sophomore year, pushing other athletic pursuits like football and lacrosse aside", described Watchung Hills High School Wrestling Coach Danny Smith. Brendan finished third in the state at 160 pounds his Sophomore year.

Throughout his life Brendan has been surrounded by athletic greatness. His father is NFL football legend Billy Ard, an All Century Team Member of the New York Giants, and a Super Bowl XXI starter in the game where the Giants won their first Super Bowl title. His fathers legacy and relationships in football allowed Brendan to work on conditioning with collegiate football standouts and certain NFL draft picks Lydon Murtha (Nebraska) and Joel Bell (Furman). "Brendan's strength is amazing. He's in the weight room at least three times a week, and does some very heavy lifting", offered his father. Billy Ard is alumni of Watchung Hills High School himself, and father and son attended the same same elementary school as well.

The road to Brendan's victorious record is paved with training at two particular elite institutions. He trained for years with Ernie Monaco at the Edge Wrestling School. He's also logged unimaginable hours at Test Sports Performance, where his father helps college football players as they prepare for their migration toward the NFL drafts. Both schools are located in Martinsville, NJ.

Solid and dedicated academic preparation secured Brendan a wrestling scholarship to the University of Wisconsin, where he starts next Fall. He finishes high school with a graduating class of over 500 students, where his humility regarding both athletics and academics is symbolic of many successful wrestlers. He will most likely start at the 174 pound weight class at Wisconsin.

Since finishing the season as State Champ, he competed in the National High School Coaches Senior Tournament in Virginia Beach, VA., regularly hits the gym with diverse training regimens, and is learning Brazilian Jujitsu. He also won the New Jersey Courier News Wrestler of the Year Award.

TakeDown Radio, and all of the award sponsors, are very proud to select Brendan as April's recipient. We know our award is an honor among many for this remarkable young man.

TakeDown Radio would like to thank the sponsors of the High School Wrestler of the Month Award. Without Resilite, W.I.N. Magazine, Brute adidas, Intermat, and Sunflower Wrestling Supply, the award would not be possible. We are all very pleased to place our support in some of the nation's most promising youth.
Vegas, Spring Banquet, University Nationals

US Nationals
Five Terps competed in US National Freestyle Championships in Las Vegas. Josh Asper finished third, Corey Peltier finished fourth and Owen Smith finished eighth in the Fila Junior (20 and Under) division while Mike Letts went 3-2 in the qualifying tournament of the Senior (Olympic) Division national tournament. Joey Boone also competed, winning two matches. Asper has qualified to compete in the FILA Jr. World Teams Trials Mat 23-25 held at the Olympic Training center in Colorado Springs, CO. Corey and Owen will likely be extended and invitation to compete in the event as well.

Spring Banquet
Two time all-American Hudson Taylor won the John McHugh Most Outstanding Wrestler Award for the second straight season at Saturday evening's team banquet as the University of Maryland wrestling team celebrated the 2008-09 season in which the Terps repeated as Atlantic Coast Conference champions, finished 10th at the NCAA Championships and had three wrestlers earn all-American status. There were close to 150 people at the banquet. It was a great night and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Juniors Alex Krom (141 pounds) and Steven Bell (133 pounds) were honored alongside Taylor with the all-American awards. Taylor, Krom, Bell and Brendan Byrne were recognized for their leadership and were presented Team Captain awards.

Krom, Bell and Byrne all won individual ACC titles this season. Krom finished fifth nationally with a record of 25-6 and at one point went three months without a loss, posting a perfect ACC record. Bell finished sixth nationally and also went unbeaten in conference competition, finishing 29-7 and 15-1 in dual meets. Byrne was the ACC champion at 125 pounds, finishing 22-10 overall. Byrne avenged his only ACC regular-season loss to Virginia Tech's Jarrod Garnett by defeating him in the conference title bout.

Corey Peltier (174 pounds) and Josh Asper (165 pounds) were named Co-Freshmen of the Year. Peltier finished 14-12, but missed nearly two months due to an ankle injury. Peltier returned late in the season and played a crucial role in Maryland's conference championship, finishing third at 174 pounds. Asper red-shirted this season and dominated open tournaments, finishing 34-7 with five open titles and 17 consecutive wins to close the season.

Redshirt freshman Kyle John was named the most-improved wrestler on the team. John won the starting role at 157 pounds this season and posted several big victories in dual meets. Some of John's memorable victories included a 14-7 decision against 14th-ranked Shane Vernon of Oklahoma, a 5-3 decision against Navy's Joel Ahern, a 6-2 decision against Virginia Tech's Jesse Dong and a 3-1 decision against American's Patrick Graham.

Mike Letts won the Redshirt of the Year Award, finishing 26-3 at 174 pounds with four open titles. An ACC champion in 2007 and 2008, Letts figures to be a strong All-American candidate next season.

Byrne won the Curt Callahan Mental Toughness Award, given annually to the Maryland wrestler that was always prepared to do battle in the practice room, tournaments and dual meets.

Heavyweight Patrick Gilmore received the Tom Norris Unsung Hero Award, given to the wrestler that always puts the team first over himself. Gilmore went 24-18 in the regular season, including several match-clinching victories.

Redshirt-senior Steve Fehnel was awarded the Kevin Kearns Senior Leadership Award, given to the senior wrestler who has contributed the most to wrestling at the University.


University Nationals
This weekend the wrestlers will travel to Akron, OH to compete in the University National Championships. This event will feature some of the nation's top college-age wrestlers from both college wrestling programs and the U.S. military team. University-age athletes are 18-24 years old (Born 1985-91) and the athlete must have graduated from high school. Finalists in the Olympic weights qualify to participate in the U.S. Senior World Team Trials in Council Bluffs, Iowa, May 30-31. Other place winners will have the opportunity to go on an international tour.

Time Warner Cable will televise this Sunday's college wrestling tournament from the University of Akron on the Northeast Ohio Network (NEON), channel 23, as well as Local On Demand (LOD), channel 501 or 1.

Olympic Wrestling Champions John Smith and Jeff Blatnick Among Nominees for U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame

CHICAGO, Ill. - The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and Allstate Insurance Company (NYSE: ALL) today announced the nominees for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 2009 at a press event at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.

Among the 15 nominees were Olympic wrestling champions John Smith and Jeff Blatnick.

Smith won Olympic gold medals in freestyle wrestling in 1988 and 1992. Blatnick was a 1984 Olympic champion in Greco-Roman and a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team that did not compete due to the U.S. boycott.

To Vote, visit the following link:

http://teamusa.org/halloffame

Wrestling has been one of the most successful of all U.S. Olympic sports, yet only Dan Gable and Bruce Baumgartner have been inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Help recognize our wrestling greats by voting today!!!!

John Smith biography

Olympic wrestler John Smith is a four-time World Champion and a two-time Olympic Champion. He won gold medals in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games in the featherweight division and is also a two-time Pan American gold medalist (1987 and 1991). He was the first wrestler ever to win the James E. Sullivan Award and was named the U.S. Olympic Committee SportsMan of the Year in 1990. At the Centennial Olympic Games, Smith was named one of the 100 Greatest Olympians of All-Time.

Currently, Smith is the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University. In addition to his career as a wrestler, he is a five-time NCAA champion coach and a seven-time Big 12 Coach of the Year. He is also Oklahoma State's All-Time Winningest coach. Smith was the head coach of the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team in 2000, the head coach of the U.S. World Championships Team in 1988 and the head coach of the USA World Cup Team in 1997.

* Went six straight years as World or Olympic Champion, from 1987-1992, with his Olympic titles coming in 1988 and 1992

* Only one of three U.S. wrestlers to win two career Olympic gold medals

* Was the second youngest American to win a World title at the age of 21

* Named a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (inducted in 1997), a member of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame (inducted in 1997) and a member of the NCAA 75th Anniversary Team (2005)

* Was the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team Coach for men's freestyle wrestling

Jeff Blatnick biography

As a cancer survivor, Jeff Blatnick won a 1984 Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling two years after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. For his efforts, the U.S. Olympic Team designated Blatnick as the flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony at the Los Angeles Games. Blatnick, who topped the 130 kg weight class, became the second U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler to ever capture Olympic gold.

Prior to his Los Angeles triumph, Blatnick won 10 National Championships and qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games but did not compete due to the U.S. boycott. He also won a New York state high school heavyweight wrestling title and back-to-back NCAA Division II Championships at Springfield (Mass.) College in 1978-79.

* 1984 Olympic gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at 130 kg

* U.S. Flag Bearer for Closing Ceremony at 1984 Olympic Games

* National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Class of 1999

* Covered five Olympic Games as an NBC commentator

* Former member of the Board of Directors of USA Wrestling

The nominees were unveiled Thursday at an event headlined by Allstate chairman, president and chief executive officer, Tom Wilson, along with USOC acting CEO Stephanie Streeter, Chicago 2016 chairman and CEO Patrick Ryan, and U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame member John Naber.

"The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame celebrates our honorees' commitment to excellence and recognizes Americans who are role models and heroes," Wilson said. "Each of us can find strength, passion and inspiration in these ordinary people who achieved extraordinary success in the Olympics. They help make us proud to be Americans."

From now through June 16, fans can cast their votes for the 2009 class of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame online at www.teamusa.org. The inducted class will include five individuals, one team and one Paralympian, as well as three additional individuals: a coach, veteran and special contributor. The inductees will be revealed in early July and will be honored at a black-tie induction ceremony on August 12 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate is the only national sports Hall of Fame that includes fan voting.

"The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame honors Olympic and Paralympic legends who have inspired our country for generations, uniting us behind Team USA and giving us role models who epitomize the Olympic Ideals," Streeter said. "Allstate's generous support of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and dedication to celebrating the accomplishments of America's Olympic and Paralympic greats further illustrates their commitment to the Olympic Movement and America's athletes."

The August 12 induction ceremony will honor the 2009 U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame class and introduce a new international award - the Olive Branch Award - given to an individual or individuals who best represent the international ideals of the Olympic Games by working to build a peaceful and better world through sport. Also new to 2009, the induction ceremony will feature a special fundraising banquet to benefit Chicago 2016, Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"We are very excited for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate to return to Chicago for the fourth time," Ryan said. "Chicago is a city that truly embraces the Olympic Movement, and to have a Chicago company like Allstate involved in celebrating historic Olympic and Paralympic achievements showcases the broad support our city has for the movement."

Nominees for the induction class of 2009 were selected by a 10-person nominating committee consisting of athletes, members of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, historians and USOC representatives. Fans can vote by visiting www.teamusa.org.

The nominees are:

INDIVIDUALS

Greg Barton, canoe/kayak

Jeff Blatnick, wrestling

Valerie Brisco-Hooks, athletics

Tracie Ruiz-Conforto, synchronized swimming

Teresa Edwards, basketball

Gary Hall, Sr., swimming

Michael Johnson, athletics

Mary T. Meagher, swimming

Sheila Young Ochowicz, speedskating

Darrell Pace, archery

Terry Schroeder, water polo

John Smith, wrestling

Picabo Street, alpine skiing

Peter Westbrook, fencing

Willye White, athletics

PARALYMPIANS

Jean Driscoll, athletics

David Larson, athletics

Greg Mannino, alpine skiing

Tony Volpentest, athletics

Sarah Will, alpine skiing

TEAMS

1976 U.S. Women's 4x100 Freestyle Relay Team

1992 U.S. Men's Basketball Team

1996 U.S. Synchronized Swimming Team

1998 U.S. Women's Ice Hockey Team

2002 U.S. Women's Bobsled Team
Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductions

Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum

April 14, 2009

Hello again wrestling fans!

You're invited to a social Friday night and then our inductions event on Saturday at 1:00PM. Please try to attend both functions and offer your support to this Hall of Fame and your Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute & Museum.

Our staff is putting the final touches on the preparation for the 2009 Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa inductions this Saturday, April 18 at 1:00PM at the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute & Museum. Our six inductees are:

Leon "Champ" Martin, NCAA runner-up at ISTC (UNI), long-time HS coach at Algona
Franc Freeman, 2x NCAA All-American at SCI (UNI), long-time HS coach at Bettendorf
Jim Craig, NCAA champion at Iowa, HS coach at Britt and Oak Park, IL, also officiated
Vic Marcucci, state champ in IL, 3x All-American and NCAA champ at Iowa State
Eric Voelker, 3x All-American and 2x NCAA champ at Iowa State
Mike Chapman, contributor, founder of Gable Museum, WIN Magazine and Hodge Trophy

This is the eighth class to be inducted into the Glen Brand HOF and it is a terrific group of men who have made significant contributions to the sport of wrestling over the last six decades.

The museum is hosting a free open house/social this Friday night from 5:00 - 10:00PM. Several of the hall of fame inductees will be present, including Franc Freeman, Vic Marcucci, Jim Craig and Mike Chapman. This is a way for the museum to thank all of the local community in the Cedar Valley, especially after the horrific flooding last June, as well as the wrestling community as a nation, which has been phenomenal in their support of our mission and our activities. Snacks and refreshments will be served and it promises to be a great time!

We will also host a wrestling clinic on Saturday morning from 9:30 - 11:30 that will be put on by Olympic champion Randy Lewis. The clinic is free for athletes ages 6-18. There are still spots available, call Kent Sesker at 319-233-0745 to put your wrestler's name(s) on the list. This is a hands-on clinic and Randy will be showing a variety of moves and techniques. Locker rooms and showers are available in the training center.

The coach's clinic that was scheduled for Friday night has been cancelled. We will look at offering a larger one-day clinic at another time in the training center at the museum with up to five clinicians.

The USA Wrestling Folkstyle National tournament was held at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls on April 3-5 with 2,500 wrestlers competing. Wrestlers ranged in ages from 9 years old through high school and they had four separate open (senior) divisions. Over 325 people visited the wrestling museum from Thursday night, kicking it off with the officials meeting, through Sunday. Thank you to everyone who attended and please tell your family and friends to visit us as well.

On the road...several times a year our staff travels to wrestling tournaments in the Midwest to promote the museum and sell merchandise. We will be in Columbus, Ohio on April 24 and 25th at the Tournament of Champions. Please stop by and visit our booth if you're attending the tournament.

Our staff recently set up at the AAU Super Pee Wee State Tournament in Waterloo on March 7-8, kids district AAU at Waverly on March 14 as well the AAU kids state tournament in Des Moines on March 28 & 29. All were successful endeavors and we appreciate everyone who stopped by to visit and purchase merchandise from our wide variety of items available. You can check out everything we have to offer at www.wrestlingmuseum.org.

The Northern Plains Regional tournament will be held May 15-17 at Young Arena in Waterloo, just three blocks from the wrestling museum. Weigh-ins will be held for each of the classes at the wrestling museum. This is a men's and women's freestyle and Greco-roman tournament for high school and senior level athletes. The tournament also serves as a last chance qualifier at the senior level for the World Team Trials in Council Bluffs, IA, on May 30-31. There will be some very good competition at Young Arena at the high school and senior levels. This is a great opportunity to see some great wrestling and visit the museum.

I hope everyone enjoyed the high school and college wrestling seasons. I will look forward to seeing many of you this Friday for our open house and for the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa inductions on Saturday.

Please respond with any questions and or comments.
Camp Of Champs Freestyle, Greco Retreat & Bosch Rides Again

Camp of Champs Wrestling Camps!!

America's most Unique Wrestling Camp!

Got Plans for the Weekend? We Do!

Freestyle and Greco season is well under way, and we don't want you to get left out in the cold!! On Friday/Saturday, April 17+18, we plan to cram 9 hours of Olympic style wrestling instruction, rules explanation and competition into 25 hours.

Olympic Champion Ben Peterson, Greco Olympian and camp favorite Jim Gruenwald, and WWF State Freestyle and UW-Oshkosh head coach Mike DeRoehn will be on hand to give you a power-packed course on the Olympic styles before you head off to the state tournaments going on the following week.

If you are new to the Freestyle and Greco styles, there is no better time or place to gain your crash course from the best in the business. Food, lodging and recreation included in the price.

To learn more, click on <http://campofchamps.org/SpringFreestyleGrecoRetreatFlyer.pdf>Freestyle and Greco Retreat Information

Words of Wisdom

The one who has contempt for instruction will pay the penalty, but the one who respects a command will be rewarded.
Proverbs 13:13

We often read verses or receive advice that sounds like this verse. This probably is not the first time you have heard that if you obey your life will go better. But what exactly does the reward actually look like you might wonder?

Sometimes the reward comes immediately, and other times it does not. Sometimes you try a move or idea from your coach or parent and you have immediate success, other times not. Sometimes obeying your boss results in a raise in pay, other times not.

So what happens when the reward isn't always what we expect it to be? Are we still rewarded, or is this verse just a nice cliché? Looking to another verse a little later, we find the answer:

He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise.
Proverbs 15:31

One of the rewards you can expect is to be "at home among the wise." In other words, the best coaches, teachers, mentors, relatives and friends will not only help you out, they will actually want to be around you. They will want to include you in their discussions, in their meetings, in their most private coaching sessions when the real hands-on instruction goes on. You will be invited into their lives, an opportunity that cannot be bought with money.

But practice accepting hard coaching and teaching now. The Dan Gables and Ben Petersons of the world coach hard because the best advice is often the hardest to take. Wise instructors see exactly what needs to change for you to be your best, even when it means a lot of painful effort or change on your part.

By the way, Proverbs 13:13 doesn't say "the one who has contempt for instruction will pay the penalty (unless it's that science teacher no one particularly likes)." Ask God for the strength and understanding to take even the hardest "life-giving rebukes."

Camp of Champs Champions!

Ethan Bosch still has the magic. Of course, any Camp of Champs campers who have spent time on the mat with him at camp know that already. But last Sunday Ethan proved it at the Northeast Regional Greco tournament in Brockport, N.Y. by winning Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament along with the title at 96 kg/211.5 lbs.

While Bosch went merely to support Clarion Graduate Assistant coach Jim Gibson as he won the 84 kg/185 lbs class, he qualified along with Gibson to participate in the upcoming World Team Trials. In his first competitive tournament in four years, Bosch out-wrestled Moises Hernandez, currently ranked #4 nationally.

Asked about his intentions to train for the World Team Trials, Bosch responded with his usual laugh and stated he is uncertain about what he will do in the near future. What he does know is that training with Gibson and the Clarion team, along with brief, but intense workout sessions with other Clarion coaches have kept him in the game mentally and physically.

Other Camp of Champs wrestlers have also been experiencing success. 12 High School State Champions and 54 top 8 place winners from 17 states represented Camp of Champs in the last few weeks. We look forward to continuing to support wrestlers in all phases of their preparation for success. And we hope you will join us this summer!
Nominate Your Favorite HS Wrestler NOW!

TakeDown Radio, Resilite, Sunflower Wrestling Supply, W.I.N. Magazine, and Intermat have been pleased to present the High School Wrestler of the Month Award for the past seven months. We are even more pleased with the caliber of athletes and the number of submissions that were received. The gratitude generated by the recipients, as well as the accolades received from our listeners and the wrestling community as a whole has been tremendous.

Awards were presented across much of the country, included a wealth of diversity and experience, and ultimately served to enrich the lives and improve the prospects for the future for these gifted athletes, students, and citizens. Each month, the qualifications set forth for the award were clearly evident within each recipient and were based on the pillars of athletics, academics, and community.

Our beginning roster of national award recipients and model citizens went to;

Marshall Peppleman- Central Dauphin High School- Harrisburg, PA (September 2008)
Dallas Bailey- Catoosa High School- Catoosa, OK (October 2008)
Jordan Jones- North/Hoover High School- Des Moines, IA (November 2008)
Jacob Eisheid- Waukee High School- Waukee, IA (December 2008)
Josh Chang- Mingus High School- Cottonwood, AZ (January 2009)
Anna Cummings- Onondaga High School- Nedrow, NY (February 2009)
Christian Schuler- Bentonville High School- Bentonville, AR
In addition to the recognition and visibility generated through wrestling media for award winners, TakeDown Radio would like to thank the program sponsors for the physical awards (e.g. apparel, gift certificates, exclusive premiums, magazine subscriptions) presented to each recipient. Without Resilite, Brute adidas, Sunflower Wrestling Supply, W.I.N. Magazine, and Intermat, none of this would have been possible.

We look forward to continuing what has now become tradition well into the future. We want to encourage all wrestling coaches, families, and fans to submit information on deserving high school wrestlers they know. There are several ways to do so.

Printable PDF versions of the application are available at the W.I.N. Magazine and Intermat web sites. Link are provided here.

<http://www.win-magazine.com/JRIC%20sub%20pages/TDRwrestofmonth.html>http://www.win-magazine.com/JRIC%20sub%20pages/TDRwrestofmonth.html

<http://www.intermatwrestle.com/tdr_wotm.pdf>http://www.intermatwrestle.com/tdr_wotm.pdf

Applications can be completed and mailed to:

TakeDown Radio
2822 Beaver Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50310

Answers to questions on the application, as well as essay submissions are acceptable and can be emailed to TakeDown Radio at:

<mailto:chris@takedownradio.com>chris@takedownradio.com

Please feel free to call the program administrator at any time with questions or input regarding the program.

Chris Arns
(515) 274-0849

We feel truly privileged to have come to know each of these exceptional young men and women. It continues to prove to us that personal improvements that are a result of wrestling go way beyond the mat.

Best Regards,

The TakeDown Radio Staff
Camp of Champs Wrestling Camps

America's most Unique Wrestling Camp!

Camp of Champs® is uniquely designed to meet the needs of wrestlers through high-level wrestling instruction, recreation, well-balanced health and nutrition, and changeless principles for life from the Bible. For over 30 summers, Camp of Champs® has promoted more than techniques and concepts-it promotes a quality way of training used by many of wrestling's greatest champions.

What we do Best!

Quality Staff that Care about the Individual
§  Every staff member is a positive role model
§  Personal attention
§  Staff/camper ratio 1:7
§  Counselor/camper ratio 1:12

Comprehensive Approach to Wrestling
§  3 sessions daily
§  Personal instruction and evaluation
§  Specialized sessions

Fantastic Facilities with Plenty to Do
§  Camp-outs, snack shops, waterfront, aquatic center, game rooms

All Inclusive Package - No Hidden Costs!
§  Meals/lodging/instruction/recreation included
§  Cost per day is less than other camps
§  Full 5 and 6 days for Tech Camps, 7 days for Champion Camps

Moral Approach to Life
§  Value of building character as a man
§  Positive, family atmosphere
§  Campers leave energized to be positive in wrestling and in life

Intense Fun!
§  Cabin Competition
§  Team and individual wrestling competition
§  A ton of healthy, clean, intense fun with a purpose

Great Food!
§  Best home-cooked food at any camp
§  Menus designed for nutritional balance
§  Home-made apple pie!!
§  Evening snack provided
Wrestling 411 Radio to Announce Dan Hodge Trophy Winner and Div. II Wrestler of the Year

Tuesday, March 31 - 7 p.m.

Bryan Van Kley of W.I.N. and Mike Chapman of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum will announce this year's winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy
2009 Dan Hodge Trophy winner on air for a special interview

Thursday, April 2 - 7 p.m.

Mike Kirk, Division II rankings coordinator, to announce the Division II Wrestler of the Year
2009 Division II Wrestler of the Year on air for a special interview

Wrestling 411 Radio will have two special radio broadcasts this week with two of the best college wrestlers in the nation. Both shows can be heard by visiting www.wrestling411.tv.  The Wrestling 411 Radio show can be heard by visiting www.wrestling411.tv and clicking on the "Listen Live" link.

This Tuesday's edition of Wrestling 411 Radio will air at 7 p.m. CST. Bryan Van Kley, publisher of Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine and Mike Chapman, executive director of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum, will announce this year's Dan Hodge Trophy winner.

The Dan Hodge Trophy is co-sponsored by W.I.N. and the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. The Hodge Trophy is given annually to the most dominant college wrestler in the nation.

Immediately following the interview with Van Kley and Chapman, this year's Dan Hodge Trophy winner will be on air to discuss receiving the award.

Thursday's edition of Wrestling 411 Radio will air at 7 p.m. CST. Mike Kirk, assistant athletic director at Central Oklahoma and the Division II rankings coordinator will announce this year's recipient of the Division II Wrestler of the Year award.

Immediately following the announcement, the Division II Wrestler of the Year award winner will be on the program for an interview.

The award is sponsored by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association and voted on by eight regional representatives from around the country. Nebraska-Kearney heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev won the inaugural award last year.

Wrestling 411 Radio can be heard live by visiting www.wrestling411.tv. Archives of the interviews will be made available immediately following the show.

This week's schedule is full and we want to continue BUT need Wrestling 411 needs your help to ensure the future of college wrestling.

The Wrestling 411 Radio show can be heard by visiting www.wrestling411.tv and clicking on the "Listen Live" link.
The NWCA Awards Four Men with its Highest Honor

The National Wrestling Coaches Association presented four of wrestling's largest supporters with the Meritorious Award this past weekend at the 2009 NCAA Division I Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. The Meritorious Award is the highest honor that the NWCA can bestow. The four gentlemen selected for the award this year have made remarkable contributions to the promotion, support, and growth of wrestling. This year's Meritorious Award recipients are: 


Bob Feldmeier Sr.

Bob Feldmeier Sr. is the CEO of Feldmeier Equipment in Syracuse, NY, was the founder of LiveSportsVideo,  and was also a wrestler for Princeton University. Feldmeier was honored for the considerable amount of resources that he has dedicated to the NWCA's Program Entrenchment efforts and for the tremendous work he has done in the promotion of wrestling. 

Along with Feldmeier's direct efforts to support wrestling, his company LiveSportsVideo has provided coverage of some the biggest events in wrestling including: The NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, The Midlands, The Beast of the East, and the U.S. World Teams Trials. In addition to wrestling, LSV delivers over 10,000 live and archived events a year in a wide variety of sports.


Mark Mestemacher

Mark Mestemacher has dedicated countless hours to growing youth wrestling in southern Illinois and Greater St. Louis regions. Mestemacher recently funded the development of a 23,000 square foot facility in the Edwardsville School District that will be used exclusively to help young aspiring wrestlers in southern Illinois pursue their wrestling dreams. Mestemacher has also been a very generous contributor to the NWCA College Coaches Academy.  

Arno Neimand

Arno Neimand is the CEO of BodyBar and a former Cornell Wrestler. Neimand is being honored for the immense dedication that he has shown in the promotion of women's wrestling across the United States.

Irv Naylor

Irv Naylor is the CEO of SnowTime Inc. and a tireless supporter of various NWCA Coaching Development and Program Entrenchment initiatives. Naylor has also been very generous in his support of international wrestling through USA Wrestling. 

"On behalf of the NWCA, I would like to extend my deepest thanks and appreciation to all of this year's Meritorious Award recipients. They all have made a significant mark on the sport and their contributions have done immeasurable good for the wrestling community," NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer said.
High School Senior Defeats Challenges and Beats All Odds To Become Successful Wrestler and Model Citizen

Des Moines, IA- March 26, 2009- Much like the story of David and Goliath, Christian Schuler took on some giant challenges, emerging the victor. The 18 year old, 145 lb. Bentonville, Arkansas high school senior achieved second place in State Finals during his junior year, with less than three years wrestling experience, and with a series of physical setbacks. Suffering a severe hearing loss and diagnosed with ADHD, his parents, coaches, and teachers credit wrestling for much of the incredible improvement and success Christian has attained.

On the mat, Christian wrestled nearly his entire Junior year on an undiagnosed torn ACL. Finally diagnosed, and only one week before State Finals, doctors allowed him to continue. During the second round of competition, the ACL severed completely, and despite pain doctors described as " off the charts", Christian finished the match to win, and went on to the finals where he took second in the state. Christian also finished second in the Diamond Missouri Tournament, with his only loss coming at the hands of a national runner-up.

Soon after, Christian suffered an additional injury during the Mudville Duals in Oklahoma that required arthroscopic surgery. Again, he would not quit. As quickly after surgery as doctors would allow, he wrestled in the Fayettville Classic where based on an Officials call, he was forced to forfeit due to injury and lost his starting slot for the State Finals in his senior year. Despite sitting out the finals, and based on his undeniable drive and determination, college coaches continued to follow Christian's progression both athletically and academically. Christian's hard work and sacrifice paid off as he was recruited to go on to college and wrestle for Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Off the mat, although directly related to wrestling, Christian contributed greatly to wrestling becoming a sanctioned high school sport in Arkansas. Christian recalls the times prior to wrestling, and as a football player, when members of the wrestling club were not allowed in the weight room due to wrestling being unsanctioned. Carrying over the incredible strength he built in the weight room as a football player to wrestling, he brought his might to organize and influence as well. He was contacted by Greg Hatcher, one of the key people accredited for the state becoming sanctioned, and was asked to address the Arkansas Activities Association as an ambassador and on behalf of wrestling, He also engaged in extensive fund raising activities to support the drive to officially recognize wrestling in the state.

Christian is a dedicated member of his church, where he serves as an Assistant to the Priest and participates in several church youth groups, including at the national level. Additionally, he volunteers his time to coach a youth wrestling club, where he is dearly loved and valued.

Coach Bill Desler lead Christian's team, the Bentonville High School Tigers, to their first sanctioned championship this season, as well as the two prior years when the states teams met in unsanctioned tournaments. TakeDown Radio was present and reported from this years first sanctioned State Championship and witnessed first hand the coaching that contributed so greatly to his progress. Christian is really part of a trilogy of success, that being personal, team, and state. It's what's called a winning combination.

Another thing that's certain. Knock Christian Schuler down, he gets up. Repeat the process as many times as you like, the result will come up the same.

TakeDown Radio would like to thank the sponsors of the High School Wrestler of the Month Award, now it it's seventh month. Without Resilite, W.I.N. Magazine, Brute adidas, Intermat, and Sunflower Wrestling Supply, the award would not be possible, nor would the lives of these wrestlers be as rich as they are today.
Troy Nickerson, Tom Brands, Darrian Caldwell, More on this Weeks Takedown Radio

The mobile Brute Adidas Studios of TDR will be on the road again this weekend as we bring to you 2 day coverage and LIVE streaming of the Iowa AAU Kids State Folkstyle Championships Live from Vets Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. Join Steve Foster and me for 2 days of fun in our 6th consecutive year of covering this AAU Tradition. Joining us LIVE on Saturday's broadcast for play by play after 11:00 AM will be ISU Wrestling stars Jonathon Reader (AA) and Tyler Clark, Chad Wiltsey of theWrestlingTalk.com, Darin Williams of the Hawkeye Newsletter Fame among others.

TDR- This week from 9 to 11 AM

Troy Nickerson- Cornell Universities 2009 NCAA Champion and EIWA Wrestler of the Year at 125 pounds

Three time All-American Troy Nickerson won the 2009 NCAA championship at 125 pounds last Saturday night with a 2-1 tie breaker win over Paul Donahoe of Edinboro. Nickerson previously placed third and second in 2007 and 2006 respectively. The Big Red finished in fifth place as a team. He's also a really good broadcaster. We were pleased to have Troy's team mate Adam Frey join our team in St. Louis, Mo.

Darrian Caldwell- a junior from Rahway, N.J., won NC State's fifth individual national championship in wrestling Saturday night in St. Louis, with a dramatic upset of No. 1 seeded Brent Metcalf of Iowa. He was also named the NCAA Championship's Most Outstanding Wrestler, giving him the claim to the title as America' top amateur wrestler.

He will spend the year away from NCAA competition by participating in open and international tournaments, which will help him prepare for the 2012 Olympics in London. Caldwell would also like to give football another try. That's the reason he considered leaving NC State last spring to transfer to his hometown Rutgers. He did spend some time working out with the NC State football team as a walk-on, and would like to give it another try.

How important was Former Clemson national champion Noel Loban to Caldwell's success?
Loban, who went unbeaten in dual matches for three years for the Tigers, won the national championship at 190 pounds in 1980, was named Clemson's Outstanding Athlete of the Year for 1980, and later was inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame.

Iowa Head Coach Tom Brands joins us to discuss the season. The Margin of victory was the closest since 1999 as the Hawkeye Wrestlers repeat and earn the 2009 NCAA Championship, their 22nd.
2009 Big Ten winter Academic all-Conference team was greatly enhanced by Hawkeye wrestlers. The nine Hawkeye wrestlers break the previous school record of seven honorees. They are: Jay Borschel, Nick Kolegraff, J.J. Krustinger, Dan LeClere 
T.H. Leet, Brent Metcalf, Joe Moore, Blake Rasing, Ethan Sebert                      


Jeff Murphy, Bob Selby will help us wrap up the NCAA Season and we'll talk with Twin Cities MMA promoter Nick Gambst about his coming Brutaal MMA Event at Hilton Coliseum on April 11th.

Join us for our first 2 hours from 9 AM to 11 AM Saturday and then stay the day for the balance of the broadcast for AAU wrestling Live from Vets auditorium for 2 big days. Takedownradio.com
America's Wrestling Radio Show- Now in its 12th year.
Wyoming Wrestler Selected as National Recipient of NFHS National High School Spirit of Sport Award

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (March 25, 2009) — Dakota Dana, a student-athlete at Star Valley High School in Afton, Wyoming, has been selected the 2009 national recipient of the “National High School Spirit of Sport Award” by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).

The “National High School Spirit of Sport Award” was created by the NFHS to recognize those individuals who exemplify the ideals of the spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics.

Dakota is one of the top wrestlers on the Star Valley wrestling team, which comes as no surprise to the community. His father, who grew up in the same town, also was an outstanding wrestler for the school. Dakota's family was always there to support him, and rarely missed any of his matches.

On the way back from a tournament in Riverton, Wyoming, in February 2008, the Dana family vehicle was hit coming down a mountain by a semitrailer truck that had lost control. Dakota's parents and older brother Scott were in the vehicle at the time of the accident. Dakota's mother was killed on impact, and his father died several weeks later in the hospital. His brother was bedridden for several months, but is learning to walk again after the accident.

Although it is now up to Dakota to keep up the family farm and take on other responsibilities beyond his years, he also has set an example to his team. Dakota continues to participate in football and wrestling and never misses practices or tournaments, during the season or out of season. Through his relationships with his teammates and coaches, Dakota has set an outstanding example of how the spirit of sport has truly helped him overcome devastating tragedies.

In addition to the selection of Dakota as the national winner, the NFHS National High School Spirit of Sport Award Selection Committee chose seven other individuals for section awards. Following are the 2009 National High School Spirit of Sport section winners:

Section 1 - James Orrigo, student-athlete, Reading (Massachusetts) Austin Preparatory School

Section 2 - The 2008 Berwick varsity baseball team, Berwick (Pennsylvania) High School

Section 3 - Lonny Schraeder, coach, Hattiesburg (Mississippi) Oak Grove High School

Section 4 - Amy Brechon, student-athlete, Belvidere (Illinois) North High School

Section 5 - Derek Johnson, student-athlete, Aberdeen (South Dakota) Central High School

Section 6 - Steve Hohenberger, coach, Irving (Texas) Nimitz High School

Section 7 - Heather Meyer, student-athlete, Blanding (Utah) San Juan High School

Section 8 - Dakota Dana, student-athlete, Afton (Wyoming) Star Valley High School

Mat-Town Newsletter: Volume 6, Issue 7

Two very important training sessions this week as Mat-Town will be going to the Benton qualifier on Sunday as a team. Everyone will meet in the Central Mountain Middle School parking lot. For more information on the Benton qualifier, go to PAWF. Tuesday and Thursday this week we will make sure you are ready for Sunday. 

Looking for a training partner? The Mat-Town website now includes a list of students who have trained with us recently.

Mat-Town USA Philosophy of Wrestling

Mat-Town strongly recommends students wrestling freestyle. Results show the students that wrestle freestyle improve the most.

Supporting Mat-Town USA

For information on becoming a sponsor or member, contact Thane Turner, president of the Board of Directors. To view teams, businesses and individuals supporting Mat-Town, go to Members and Supporters or Sponsors.

Contact information:

Neil Turner
Coaching Development Coordinator, National Wrestling Coaches Association
Coach/Advisor to Board of Directors, Mat-Town USA Wrestling Club
Director/Coach, Turner Wrestling Training
TakeDown Radio's Steve Foster Takes National Award and is Considered Top Broadcaster By His Peers

Des Moines, IA- March 23, 2009- A number of champions were crowned during last weeks NCAA Wrestling Finals. While much of the action was found on the mats, another exciting announcement regards a man that has spent as much time around mats as nearly anyone. For 30 years, Steve Foster has been driven by his passion for wrestling.

Foster, the co-host of TakeDown Wrestling Radio was recognized by a panel of his peers as the National Wrestling Media Association Broadcaster of the Year. Foster has been a contributor on the program for eight of the nearly twelve years it has existed. During that time, he's seen the number of listeners grow exponentially, and has experienced numerous technological advances, including the addition of web streaming, pod casting, and video. Foster originally came to the show as a fan when he called to win a trivia contest. As his incredible knowledge of the sport became immediately evident, TakeDown Radio founder and host Scott Casber invited him to attend the show. As they say, the rest is history.

Foster's own wrestling history began as a child living in Boone, IA where his father regularly took him to see Iowa State Cyclone home meets. Fast forward many years, and Foster has not missed a single home meet in over ten years. A wrestler himself, an injury sidelined him after eight years of competition. Since then, he has tirelessly dedicated much of his personal time to reporting on a subject that only follows his faith and family in terms of personal priorities.

Foster has logged hundreds of thousands of miles, has covered every conceivable type of wrestling event, and has forged strong and long lasting relationships with essentially every top personality in the sport. Known for his relaxed, conversational, and professional reporting style, he regularly provides questions that draw on individual personality to provide perspective that is not found anywhere else. " I truly appreciate winning this award and the respect that comes with it. Truly, it's my respect for what I consider the hardest working, and best conditioned athletes in the world that make this possible for me. I'm just glad I have a way to give back," commented the eternally humble Foster.

Foster joins a list of well known commentators who have won the award including fellow TDR host Scott Casber, Tim Johnson, Jeff Byers, Ken Chertow, J. Carl Guymon, Dan Gable, and others.
Tom Jones, John Johnson, Nick Gallo, Tim Boetsch, Kevin Dresser on TDR This Week

This week we dedicate the show to the memory of MMA Mogul Charles "Mask" Lewis founder of Tapout who lost his life in a car accident a few days ago.

Jeff Murphy joins me this week in the Brute Adidas studios to discuss college wrestling, The NCAA Championships, Wagner's decision to drop its wrestling program and much more. Join us each week for America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show 9 AM to 11 AM Saturday mornings. TDR is heard around the world at Takedownradio.com

Our guests this week include-

9:05    Tom Jones- NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana called him "..perhaps the greatest athlete I've ever met." Like our wrestlers, Tom Jones is an extreme athlete. He's run the length of California. He's run from California to New York in 120 days. He recently joined me on our tour of Iraq to visit our troops. Tom is a 7 time Pro Muay Thai Boxing Champion with 2 world titles, 3 U.S. titles

Tom successfully completed th

Tom trains world class athletes in wrestling, boxing and other MMA sports and has invented a new machine to help our athletes get better. Its called  The KROW: Kombat Related Optimum Workout. This multi function machine is fully sizable for any person and is a real enhancement for any room or gym.

You can learn more about Tom at Tomejonestv.com

Iraq 2009- L to R Tony Schiena, Tom, Kevin Randleman, Reed Wallace, Hermes Franca and Scott Casber.  

Here is the updated KROW Sizzle video for you to check out.

Tom's endeavors so extreme? Because, Tom has an extreme passion for troubled youth and environmental causes, and staging extreme events is his way of drawing attention to, and raising funds to eradicate the ne will literally do "whatever it takes," and his efforts have motivated tens of thousands of people to exit their comfort zones and become active in yo

9:20     Johnnie Johnson- High School Principle and Superintendent of West Central in Maynard, Iowa. Some might say Johnnie is one of the best wrestling photographers around and others might say he just one heck of a good educator. I say he's both. Johnnie wrestled at Iowa Central (1981) and then at Iowa State 82-84. Johnnie joins us for a look at the action Live From Houston Texas and the D2 National Championships. How will UNO, N-Kearney, MN State Mankato are odds on favorites to do well. We'll find out more. Johnnie's photos can be seen on line at TheGuillotine.com

9:40    Nick Gallo- Now the Boss at TW Promotions, Nick recently had his singlet retired as the only NCAA Champion to this day from Hofstra University. We'll talk about what's new at Asics and his look at the NCAA Championships.

10:05    Tim 'The Barbarian' Boetsch- Tim made his mark at Lock Haven University. After wrestling for the Haven Tim has continued to hunt, train and fight, IFL, UFC and this Light Heavy Weight now looks to open his own gym in western PA outfitted with Resilite Sports Surfaces. Why? tune in and find out his plans.

10:20    V-Tech's Kevin Dresser

A new era in Virginia Tech wrestling was kicked off on April 14, 2006, when Tech Director of Athletics Jim Weaver announced the hiring of former NCAA Champion Kevin Dresser as the Hokies' new head wrestling coach. Dresser became the 12th man to lead the Tech program since its inception in 1920 and has made an immediate impact on the program. Now in his third season and with recruiting starting to take off, Dresser and the Hokies are beginning to see positive results from a young squad and program. In each of his first two seasons, he's had a wrestler win an ACC title and named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the ACC Championships. In 2007, it was Jon Bonilla-Bowman who won the ACC title at 157 pounds and last year Matt Epperly came out of nowhere to win the 165-pound class and advance to the NCAA Championships.
Extensive Live Coverage of NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships Presented in High Definition for First Time on ESPNU, ESPN, ESPN2


ESPN2 HD to Simulcast Semifinals along with ESPNU HD; Exclusive Multi-Mat Coverage on ESPN360.com

ESPNU, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com will combine for expanded live coverage of the 79th annual NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships on Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. For the first time, all 11 hours of coverage on ESPNU, ESPN and ESPN2 will be presented in high definition.

Also for the first time, ESPN2 will telecast the semifinals along with ESPNU. The quarterfinals will air Friday, March 20, at 11 a.m. ET on ESPNU and ESPN360.com, and the semifinals at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com. For the third consecutive year, the semifinals will be telecast in a side-by-side format, allowing viewers to see both semifinal matches in each weight class at the same time, both on ESPNU and ESPN2.

ESPNU will telecast the Championship Medal Round on Saturday, March 21, at 10:30 a.m., and the hunt for the Div. I title culminates with the Finals at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN. During the Finals, two referees per match each will wear a microphone, providing fans with even more access to and understanding of the action.

<http://www.espn360.com>ESPN360.com, ESPN’s broadband sports television network, once again will complement the ESPNU HD, ESPN2 HD and ESPN HD telecasts with unparalleled access to all rounds of the championships. ESPN360.com will provide live coverage of all four mats during the quarterfinals and both mats in the semifinals, offering users the option to select the match they want to see.

Dave Armstrong will serve as play-by-play announcer alongside analysts Tim Johnson and Olympic gold medalist Jeff Blatnick, with reporter Quint Kessenich, a former two-time county wrestling champion at New York’s Lynnbrook High School. For ESPN360.com coverage, 1981 NCAA 134-pound champion wrestler Jim Gibbons, who coached the 1987 Iowa State Cyclones to the national title, returns as analyst and will be joined by play-by-play announcer Shawn Kenney.

ESPN360.com is available at no cost to millions of U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel. Users accessing ESPN360.com from an on-campus “.edu” or “.mil” network domain in the United States receive free, seamless access to the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships and hundreds of other live college and professional sporting events each month. ESPN360.com is also available via affiliated ISPs nationwide, including AT&T, Verizon, RCN, Insight, Frontier, Cavalier, Charter, Mediacom, Conway, Grande Communications and many more.

NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships Schedule
Scottrade Center, St. Louis

Date Time (ET) Event Networks       
Fri., Mar 20    11 a.m. Quarterfinals – Live    ESPNU HD / ESPN360.com 
       7 p.m.  Semifinals – Live       ESPNU HD / ESPN2 HD / ESPN360.com      
Sat., Mar 21    10:30 a.m.      Championship Medal Round - Live ESPNU HD / ESPN360.com 
6:30 p.m.       Finals – Live   ESPN HD / ESPN360.com  

-30-
Media contact: Jenny Zimmerman, ESPN, (407) 566-2213 or <mailto:jennifer.j.zimmerman@espn.com>jennifer.j.zimmerman@espn.com

2009 EWL Championships TV Distribution Report

(as of February 18, 2009; subject to change; all times eastern)

Affiliate hh Territory Original Airdate
MASN 5.4mhh DC; MD; VA; NC; PA; DE Friday, March 13 @ 11am; Sunday, March 15 @ 2pm
SportsTime Ohio 4.2mhh OH Thursday, March 12 @ 7pm; Sunday, March 15 @ 5am
FS Pittsburgh 2.5mhh PA; OH; WV Thursday, March 12 @ 1pm; Sunday, March 15 @ 12:30pm
Comcast SportsNet, Philadelphia 3mhh PA; DE; NJ Monday, March 16 @ 2:30pm
Comcast SportsNet, Chicago 4.7mhh IL; IN; IA; WI Monday, March 16 @ 4:30pm
Cox Sports Television, Gulf Coast 2mhh LA; MS; FL; TX; AR Saturday, March 14 @ 5:30pm
TW Sports 26, Syracuse 570khh Central NY Wednesday, March 11 @ 7pm; Saturday, March 14 @ 8pm
TWC SportsNet, Rochester 330khh Western NY Monday, March 16 @ 9:30pm
TWC SportsNet, Buffalo 300khh Buffalo, NY Wednesday, March 11 @ 3pm; Saturday, March 14 @ 12pm
Fox College Sports 15mhh National Thursday, March 12 @ 1pm
DISH Multi Sports Package 4mhh National (Outer - Market) Thursday, March 12 @ 1pm
DIRECTV SportsPak 3mhh National (Outer - Market) Thursday, March 12 @ 1pm
TOTAL - 10 affiliates 45.2mhh
2009 Big Ten Wrestling Championships Available as Pay Per View Video Event

Fans can watch live stream of BJC's Video Board Coverage of two-day tournament.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 5, 2009- The 2009 Big Ten Wrestling Championships will be available as a Pay Per View event via www.GoPSUsports.com, Penn State's official athletic website for just $9.95. The Big Ten Wrestling Championships, the nation's top wrestling qualifier, are being hosted by Penn State in the Bryce Jordan Center on March 7-8. Current annual subscribers to Penn State ALL-ACCESS will be able to view the webcast with their login and password for free. For more information, go to www.GoPSUsports.com and click on All-Access.

Those interested in taking advantage of the extensive live audio and video programming constantly available via www.GoPSUsports.com and its All-Access package can sign up for either a monthly subscription for $9.95 a month or sign-on for an annual subscription for $79.95 per year (a savings of almost $40!), however only annual subscribers will be able to take advantage of viewing the Penn State National's live webcast as part of their subscription. With your paid monthly or annual subscription, you'll get your ALL-ACCESS pass to live event webcasts from Penn State including women's volleyball, baseball, soccer and numerous other varsity sports. You'll also have access to live radio broadcasts for football, men's and women's basketball, and baseball, live web streaming of football head coach Joe Paterno's weekly press conferences, access to football and men's and women's basketball's weekly call-in shows, and much, much more°©°©- all-included with your monthly or annual subscription.

Annual Subscribers to CBS College Sports XXL, which provides fans access to over 120+ college's ALL-ACCESS programming, are available for $119.95. For more information, go to www.cbssports.com and click on the ALL-ACCESS XXL logo.

This weekend's pay-per-view broadcast will utilize the raw video feed that will be shown on the Bryce Jordan Center's video boards. With four mats to cover on Saturday and three mats on Sunday, no single bout is guaranteed coverage as only one mat can be covered at a time. The Pay Per View event is designed to give fans from across the world who cannot attend the tournament a glimpse into how the nation's top national qualifier is progressing. Since the 2009 Big Ten Wrestling Championship Finals are being aired live on the Big Ten Network, the finals will not be part of the pay per view product.

The 2009 Big Ten Championships will begin on Saturday, March 7, with a session at 11 a.m. Saturday's evening session begins at 6 p.m. Sunday's action, featuring placing bouts, starts at 12 p.m.
Beat the Streets to Host Free High School Training Clinic Taught by Henry Cejudo, Youngest American to Win Olympic Gold Medal for Wrestling  

2008 Olympian To Prepare New York City High School for Upcoming State Wrestling Championship 

NEW YORK - February 18, 2009 - On February 23, 2009 Henry Cejudo, who during the 2008 Beijing Olympics became the youngest American ever to win a gold medal for Olympic wrestling, will conduct a free training clinic for New York City high school wrestlers on behalf of the Beat the Streets Wrestling Program. Cejudo's appearance will help students prepare for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association's State Wrestling Tournament taking place later that week on February 27 and 28, 2009 in Albany, New York.

The 2009 state tournament will feature 480 participants hailing from the 11 NYSPHSAA sections, the New York City Public Schools Athletic League and the Catholic High School Athletic Association.  Cejudo will conduct the February 23rd Beat the Streets clinic for 28 students who attend wrestling programs in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island high schools.

"All the students who take part in Beat the Streets' programs, not just those who are going to the state tournament, should be commended for their hard work and commitment to the sport of wrestling and to improving their own lives through the valuable lessons and skills they learn from the sport," said Henry Cejudo. "Beat the Streets is an amazing organization that reaches students in New York City that need extra guidance, so I feel proud to conduct this clinic."

"Henry Cejudo's story is not just a testament to how the sport of wrestling can play a part in uplifting a child's life, but also demonstrates how wrestling can help him or her achieve the most out of the sport and beyond," said Brian Giffin, President and Executive Director, Beat the Streets. "We are thrilled that the students in our program who have qualified for the state tournament will be able to train with him as they get ready for the most important matches of the year."

Cejudo will conduct his clinic on February 23, 2009 at the Beat the Streets Wrestling Center located in lower Manhattan, which houses the organization's headquarters and student training center. 

The Beat the Streets Wrestling Program is a not-for-profit organization that creates opportunities for boys and girls from New York City schools to participate in after-school wrestling programs in safe and nurturing environments. Beat the Streets provides free coaching, gear and equipment; free access to afterschool training centers in all five boroughs; all-expenses paid trips to the most prestigious training camps in the country; and safe havens for students from the poorest urban neighborhoods seeking to improve their fitness and stay on the right path.

Approximately 3,500 boys and girls from New York City schools currently participate in the organization's afterschool programs. Beat the Streets' work has effectively helped the sport of wrestling grow in New York City. In 2005, New York City's Public School Athletic League had 23 teams only in high schools and fewer than 300 kids enrolled. Now New York City has wrestling teams in 58 high schools and 54 middle schools with 3,500 enrollees.
 Rob Koll and Gregor Gillespie to Appear on Feb. 10 Edition of Wrestling 411 Radio

Cornell University head wrestling coach Rob Koll and three-time All-American Gregor Rob Koll and Gregor Gillespie will be the featured guests on Wrestling 411 Radio on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Wrestling 411 Radio can be heard live by visiting www.wrestling411.tv

Koll is in his 16th season as the head wrestling coach at Cornell University. His teams have consistently placed in the top ten at the NCAA tournament, including top five finishes in 2004 and 2005. Cornell is currently ranked third in the nation with an 8-2 record for the season.

Gillespie, a senior at Edinboro University, is currently ranked first in the nation at 157 pounds. A three-time All-American, including an NCAA title at 149 pounds in 2007, Gillespie has compiled a 31-0 season record. He is 142-10 during his career at Edinboro.

Tonight's edition of Wrestling 411 Radio will air at 7 p.m. CST Feb. 10th. The show can be heard live by visiting www.wrestling411.tv and clicking on the "Listen Live" link. An archive of the broadcast will be available immediately following the show.

Questions for any of the guests are welcome. You may e-mail your questions to Kyle Klingman at kklingman@mediasportsproductions.com.
Award-Winning* Book, "Wrestlers At The Trials"

Some of you were kind (and astute!) enough to already have purchased one or more copies of my award-winning* book, "Wrestlers At The Trials". Thank you..........

I have more than a few cartons of books left over, so I am having a fire-sale to free up space in my basement.

If you enjoyed reading "Wrestlers At The Trials", you may want to purchase additional copies for a friend, coach, teammate, relative, etc at the new low price of $10 per book - and no charge for shipping.

If interested, please reply to this email and I will start the process going. I accept checks, money orders and PayPal, but no credit cards.

Best wishes,

Jamie Moffatt, author "Wrestlers At The Trials"

* "Wrestlers At The Trials" was awarded 'Wrestling Publication of the Year' in 2007 by the National Wrestling Media Association.
TDR this Wk- Brian Smith, Goodale, Koll, Jason Borrelli, Jon Werthheim, Roseman

America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show, live from our Brute Adidas Studios this Saturday from 9AM CST will attempt to take the temperature of the wrestling community from a great cast of guests.
Also, Congratulations on USA Wrestling for a couple of great hires in Brandon Slay and Bill Zadick. Nice job indeed!

This week on TDR-

Brian Smith- Head Coach of the Tigers of Missouri. Wrapping up an afternoon of wrestling in the Hearnes Center, the 12th-ranked Missouri wrestling team improved to 14-2 on the campaign after besting Chattanooga, 32-7 this past weekend. The team will host a banquet and fund raiser January 30th and welcome the Huskers of NE the following day.

Scott Goodale-Head Coach of the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers- The Rutgers squad dropped a tough one at V Tech last Sunday 24-21. Still looking for their 18th season win, a record for the Knights, Coach Goodale looks to bounce back.

Rob Koll-Head Coach of the Cornell Big Red- On a roll is exactly how I would describe Koll's squad. they seem to be do everything right. they had a tremendous opportunity at the National Duals, seem to be odds on favorites to win their conference and challenge at the NCAA's.

Jason Borrelli-Head Coach of the Cardinal of Stanford- In our effort to keep up with D1's youngest coach we again head west to talk to Coach Borrelli. The job can be daunting for sure but given his background I'm sure he is up to the formidable task at hand. Winning a bunch of duals may not be in the cards this year. it may come down to recruiting and that's something Borrelli can do. He learned from his father. is there a better teacher?
Pride Oof Arizona Wrestling, Josh Chang Named Takedown Radio National High School Wrestler of the Month

Des Moines, IA- January 22, 2009- The list of wrestling royalty continues to grow as TakeDown Radio names Arizona high school senior Josh Chang as the fifth recipient of the High School Wrestler of the Month Award. The award, presented by Resilite and made possible by Brute adidas, Sunflower Wrestling Supply. W.I.N. Magazine, and <http://intermatwrestle.com/>intermatwrestle.com, recognizes one athlete from throughout the country for athletic and academic performance, community involvement, and perseverance.

Josh Chang attends Mingus High School in Cottonwood, AZ and is coached by Tom Wokash. The 17 year old senior has wrestled for seven years, currently wrestling at 135 lbs. and owns a 144-10 overall high school record. In addition to competing in swimming and track, Josh carries a 4.0 grade average and was named to the National Honors Society.

As well as being part of TDR High School Wrestler of the Month legacy, wrestling legacy is part of the Chang family as Josh's brother went on to wrestle for Embry Little University in nearby Prescott, AZ. Josh's future plans may very well follow his brothers footsteps. Josh's place as the 17th four time State Champion will go a long way toward helping him attain his further goals.

Josh has been very active as a mentor for a Junior High wrestling program and regularly travels out of state for national competitions. He serves as big brother for up to four younger wrestlers during those trips. Coach Wokash described Josh as " A young man who wears his wins with the same humility as his losses. He is a silent leader, a shining role model, and is consistently positive".

The first TDR High School Award began in Pennsylvania, moved to Oklahoma, then Iowa, and now Arizona. Along with being the home of Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo, Arizona now claims another top achiever in his own category, Josh Chang.
Bill Zadick Hired as Resident Coordinator and Assistant National Coach for USA Wrestling

Bill Zadick of Colorado Springs, Colo. has been hired by USA Wrestling for the new position of Resident Coordinator and Assistant National Coach. He begins his duties in January.

Zadick, a 2006 World freestyle wrestling champion, will serve as the liaison between USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) concerning USA Wrestling's resident athlete programs. He will also coordinate educational and professional development opportunities for the wrestling resident athletes. He will also assist with coaching at resident and National Team practices.

"I am really looking forward to the opportunity to stay involved on the international level and assisting USA Wrestling in becoming the dominant nation in international wrestling," said Zadick. "I have had experience at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Hopefully, I can bring some positive things to the sport and to the organization."

There are USOTC resident programs in Colorado Springs, Colo. in the Olympic styles of men's freestyle, women's freestyle and Greco-Roman.

"We are very excited that Bill Zadick will be joining our national staff," said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. "We are pleased that Bill has chosen to begin his professional career as part of our management team. As a World champion athlete and a USOTC resident athlete, he brings tremendous assets to this new position. He will be a key leader in helping USA Wrestling to succeed on the international level."

Zadick reached the top of the freestyle wrestling world in 2006, when he won a World gold medal at 66 kg/145.5 pounds in Guangzhou, China. His younger brother Mike won a silver medal at 60 kg/132 pounds at the 2006 World Championships, making them the first U.S. brothers to reach the World finals on the same year since Tom and Terry Brands in 1993.

Zadick also competed in the 2001 World Championships, placing seventh. He was a runner-up at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2000 and 2008. He was a three-time U.S. Nationals runner-up (2003, 2006, 2008) and a two-time World Team Trials runner-up (1999, 2002).

He won a NCAA Div. I title for the Univ. of Iowa in 1996 and was a two-time All-American, competing for the legendary Dan Gable. Originally from Great Falls, Montana, Zadick won four high school state titles for Great Falls High School (1988-91).

Zadick was a U.S. Olympic Training Center Resident athlete from 2004-2008, where his freestyle career flourished on the mat.

"We are very excited to have a World Champion to assist our athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center," said Mitch Hull, National Teams Director. "Having Bill work and coach at the USOTC provides a great asset for our organization and our sport."
Jacob Eischeid Honored as TakeDown Radio High School Wrestler of the Month

Jacob Eischeid Rises to the Top of One of Iowa's Fastest Growing High School Wrestling Programs to Secure National Honor as TakeDown Radio High School Wrestler of the Month

Des Moines, IA- December 26, 2008- At the close of the calendar year, and mid-wrestling season, Decembers TakeDown High School Wrestler of the Month Award locates to the center of the country and on the shoulders of Senior Jacob Eischeid. The 17 year old,107 pounder, Captains the Waukee Warriors in Waukee, IA. Jacob began wrestling in 7th grade and has dedicated his life to the sport since then, keeping the ability to manage family, friends, education, faith, and steady employment.

As a member of the National Honor Society, he's a maintained a 3.4 GPA while earning varsity letters all four years. With an overall HS record of 71-28, he continually improved his performance and sits at 6-1 so far this year. He has competed in the Fargo Junior Nationals, is a Regional Freestyle Champion, and finished fourth in districts, right behind November TDR High School Wrestler of the Month Jordan Jones.

TakeDown Radio was able to observe Jacob in action during a recent practice session at Waukee's impressive Resilite wrestling room. "There is a huge sense of drive and success in that room. We were very impressed how Jacob puts himself forward individually while backing up every one of of his teammates", stated TDR founder and host Scott Casber. The Waukee team has been coached by Chad Vollmecke for the past five years and has seen constant improvement. Waukee, once a small town, is now a suburb of Des Moines, and is one of the fastest growing cities in the state,

"Jacob's dedication to wrestling has not detracted from his commitment regarding the other things that are most important to him and his life", defined Coach Vollmecke. "Here's a kid who's the oldest of six children, belongs to numerous organizations including Excel Wrestling and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, holds two jobs, earned his 2nd degree black belt in Taekwondo, competes in cross country, and is a model student and role model. There are clearly great things ahead for Jacob, with this award being the next one", completed Vollemecke.

The TakeDown Radio High School Wrestler of the Month Award is presented by Resilite Sports Products, and is made possible by Brute adidas, Sunflower Wrestling Supply, W.I.N. Magazine, and intermat. Both the athlete and coach receive various award materials as well as media recognition as part of national competition.
This Week on TDR Ken Kraft, S.Hinkel, Jack Spates, Pariano, Chris Bono, J.Greenlee

America's Wrestling Radio Show (TDR) returns to our home based Brute Adidas studios at KXNO for this loaded program. Steve Foster and possibly Jeff Murphy will man the guns as I will be covering a network event in South Florida. I know, rough duty considering the weather here. I promise to come back for a series of shows that will include a special video broadcast of a visit to Sean Bormet's Overtime School of Wrestling, the Midlands and the NWCA National Duals.

Joining Steve, Jeff, Randy and crew will be-

Ken Kraft- Founder of the Midlands Wrestling Championships. The 46th Annual Midlands will take place at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Dec 29th and 30th. This years field of competitors include 7 Big 10 programs and 2 Big 12 teams with a possible showdown between long time rivals Iowa and Iowa State. Visit the Nusports.com for additional information.

Scott Hinkel- Head Coach of Purdue- A name synonymous with Purdue wrestling, Scott Hinkel became the Boilermakers' 13th Head Coach in school history in 2007, after 14 years as a Purdue assistant. Hinkel wasted no time in ushering success back into the Purdue program, becoming the third coach in school history to post a winning dual record in his first season along with Don Corrigan and Fred Miller.

Jack Spates- Head Coach of the Sooners of Oklahoma. Fresh off a great west coast tour Spates and company find themselves undefeated (7-0) for the first time in years and still enjoying the second defeat in 2 years over the Cowboys of OSU.

Andrew Pariano- Asst. Head Coach of Northwestern University. This young man has plenty on his plate, challenging for a Big 10 Conference Title, getting the facility and the team ready for the Midlands at home a National Duals position. Plenty to do, enough time? We'll find out.

Chris Bono- Head Coach U of Tennessee at Chat.  The Mocs are currently 4-5 on the season and 1-0 in Southern Conference action.  Facing a demanding non-conference schedule, with three of their five losses coming against ranked opponents.  Mocs have notched wins over Davidson, Newberry, Northern Illinois and Anderson, UTC has tough defeats against No. 25 Kent State, No. 11 Northwestern, No. 6 Nebraska and West Virginia. The only other loss was a 25-16 set back against E. Michigan. Wednesday night action- The Mocs are 5-2 all time against NAIA Cumberland, including a 42-3 win in Maclellan Gym on Nov. 10, 2007. UTC's last loss in the series was a 21-17 defeat on Feb. 11, 2002. Chattanooga is 4-0 all time against Gardner Webb, including a 46-6 win on Jan. 21, 2007, in their last meeting. UTC faces No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 5 Missouri and West Virginia before completing SoCon action. The match with the Sooners takes place in Maclellan Gym on Jan. 11 at 1:00 p.m.

Joel Greenlee- Ohio University now in his 12th year as the head coach of the Bobcats. Ohio's <http://ohiobobcats.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/ison_jacob00.html>Jacob Ison (Batavia, Ohio) is ranked 20th in the latest poll released by Intermat Wrestling. Ison is 8-1 on the season at 174 pounds. The Bobcats notched wins over Appalachian State and the Citadel, split at the Hossier Dual and Greenlee looks to improve that record with his young team.

Listeners and viewers check out our new feature on Takedownradio.com, TDR TV. Great interviews and more to come. Recent postings include Lehigh and Pittsburg. We'll be filming a ton of video at the National Duals as well as providing the play by play from at least 3 mats. Tune in to Livesportsvideo.com for all the action of this years NWCA National Duals. Thanks for the tremendous listenership over the past 11 years. Happy Holidays to one and all! Scott Casber
Iowa Falls Legends to Have Tourney Named in Their Honor

Ron and Don Jones are legends in their small community of Iowa Falls, but their impact is far reaching beyond their home town. "The Jones Boys" were both state place winners, with Don winning it all at 133 in 1961, and Ron placing second and third. both went on to wrestle at Iowa State University under legendary head coach Dr. Harold Nichols, and were part of the 1965 national championship team. Ron placed 5th in 1963, and 4th on the '65 team, while Don was stuck behind two-time All-American Bob Buzzard.

Out of college, both went on to successful careers in coaching, reaching thousands of lives along the way. both ended up coaching at home, with Don running the junior high program and Ron taking on the high school duties. In 15 seasons with Iowa Falls, Ron sported a 134-43-3 record, won seven North Central Conference team titles, 15 state place winners and two state champions. He was named the coach of the year in 1983 and is a member of the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Throughout the rich history of Iowa Falls wrestling, nobody remembers there ever being a regular season tournament hosted there. On Dec. 20, that will change as Iowa City's City High, Clarksville, North Butler, Algona, West Marshall, and the JV squads from Perry and West Des Moines Valley join Iowa Falls-Alden for the Ron and Don Jones Invite.

The honor is well deserved, and meaningful in more ways than one. In January of this year, Ron was diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) which is a member of the Parkinson's family. His health has been failing, but his mind remains active. He can still spout off about some of the sport's best from the ages, and remembers well the members of the teams he coached.

In honor of both Joneses, all former Iowa Falls wrestlers under each are invited to the 11 a.m. tournament-free of charge. Others from their past, including high school and college teammates and opponents, or just friends and casual acquaintances, are also invited to help celebrate the event and make their day extra special.

For further information, call Iowa Falls athletic director Pat Norem at 641-648-6440.
TakeDown Radio this wk - Kosek, Sanderson, Tito Ortiz, Preview of the Midlands

We return to our home based Brute Adidas studios this week. We ready ourselves for one of the great Holiday Classics, the broadcast of the Midlands at Northwestern University. This is shaping up to be a year of Ups and downs. Congratulations to the University of Iowa for setting the All Time Attendance record for a dual meet. One has to wonder though if the 2 power house programs did return to a home and home competition would Iowa State fare as well or even exceed the record set and is it feasible to even think that there lies a possibility that this could happen again. I've been told that the decision lies with the U of Iowa.

This week in Studio Guests are a special holiday treat for you listeners-

Koy Kosek- Author of the highly popular Wisconsin Wrestling Digest will join us to discuss his recent publication. To say that Koy is a wealth of knowledge is an understatement. To get your own copy email Koy at koykosek@wiwrestling.com

Cody Sanderson-Associate Head Coach for Iowa State. We'll discuss the season to this point and take a look forward to the Midlands. A Double Dual in Fargo against Dickinson State and North Dakota State awaits ISU later in the day.

In Studio Guests- include wrestling and MMA Stars Steve Carl, John "Hurricane" Halverson, Ryan Hass, Paul Bird and UFC living legend Tito Ortiz.

Nicknamed "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy," three-time light heavyweight champion Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is one of the most well-known fighters in the world of Ultimate Fighting Championships. After several highly successful years as a professional fighter, Ortiz agreed to coach aspiring fighters in the third season of Spike TV's reality television series The Ultimate Fighter in 2006. Ortiz also appeared as a contestant on the celebrity edition of NBC's The Apprentice. Tito wrestled in college and credits his success in business and in the octagon to his wrestling back ground. High praise indeed!

Listen to America's Wrestling radio talk show at TakedownRadio.com from 9 to 11 AM CST Saturdays for this weekly bath in to the healing waters of mankind's oldest sport. Wrestling fans, our greatest wish is that you value each and every moment that our athletes share with us. They are truly phenomenal in every sense of the word!
Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum

Hello Wrestling Fans!

A lot has taken place since the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute & Museum was flooded on June 10th. I want to thank the hundreds of supporters of our great sport for their monetary donations and to everyone who has helped in the clean up efforts and working with various organizations to move the process along to have the museum up and rolling again by next month.

On October 6, Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin, along with Congressman Bruce Braley toured the museum (see photo) to lend their support to our cause. Fortunately, as a not-for-profit organization, we were able to secure a large grant from FEMA to help with the majority of the costs to rebuild the museum.

Magee Construction Company, out of Waterloo, has been busy since early October rebuilding the museum, which has been a large task. As most of your aware, our basement (5,000 square feet) was completely full of water and three feet of water covered the main floor of the museum. New walls, flooring, carpeting, painting have been installed and Magee looks to be completed with the remaining tasks in the next two weeks.

Executive Director, Mike Chapman, estimates we lost 20% of the memorabilia that was on the main floor of the museum. Our staff will be working diligently throughout December to get all the pictures back on the walls, display cases ready and everything else that needs to be accomplished to have the museum open to the public again by the first week of January.

Our grand re-opening will take place on Friday, January 9, 2009, and the museum will be open from 9:00AM until 10:00PM that day. The NWCA National Duals are at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, IA, just a ten minute drive from the museum, on January 10 and 11 with over 80 college teams competing. We will have an autograph show at the museum from 3:00 - 5:00PM on the 9th. The current list of attendees includes: Olympic champions Dan Gable, Ed Banach, Ben Peterson, Bill Smith, Randy Lewis, Doug Blubaugh and two-time NCAA champions and Olympians Chuck Yagla and Ben Askren. University of Iowa All-American tight end and two-time NFL pro bowler Marv Cook will also be participating. The National Duals are a tremendous showcase for the sport of wrestling and if you are able to attend, hopefully you will be able to visit the wrestling museum that weekend as well.

This fall we lost we lost two legends from the wrestling world, Gerry Leeman and Glen Brand. Leeman and Brand were both NCAA Champions and were teammates on the 1948 Olympic team where Brand won the gold and Leeman the silver. Both Gerry and Glen were generous and caring men in addition to their athletic accomplishments. Glen Brand was a substantial contributor to the museum and each April we induct six new members into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with both families.

The 2009 Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa inductions ceremony will take place on Saturday, April 18 at 1:00PM at the museum. This year's class includes Vic Marcucci, NCAA Champion at Iowa State University and national freestyle champion; Jim Craig, NCAA Champion at Iowa and successful coach, Mike Chapman, wrestling's leading historian, promoter and founder of the museum and author of 21 books; Eric Voelker, two-time NCAA Champion at Iowa State; Champ Martin, legendary coach at Algona (IA) High School and NCAA runner-up at Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI); and Franc Freeman, NCAA runner-up at Iowa State Teachers College and coached Bettendorf (IA) High School to two state titles.

Our gift shop has been available on-line since shortly after the flood at www.wrestlingmuseum.org. We have a wide variety of wrestling books, videos, posters, gear and unique memorabilia. We are conducting a holiday sale which will provide a 15% off discount on all merchandise ordered from today through December 15. Not only can you buy cool items, but you will also be helping the museum recover from the flood. See the ad at the bottom of this newsletter.

The 2nd Annual Wrestling Museum Bus Trip is planned for Sunday, February 15. Chuck and Sarah Yagla will again the hosts. The trip will include a tour of the wrestling museum, bus trip to Iowa City, lunch, tour of the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 2:00PM dual meet between Iowa and Minnesota, as well as the trip back to Waterloo. 45 people attended last year's event and a good time was had by all. This year we will look to fill two busses with up to 100 spots available. The cost is only $50 for adults and kids under 18 years old will be $35. To reserve your spot, please call the museum at 319-233-0745.

A special salute goes to Bob Buckley, owner of Kirk Gross Company in Waterloo. Bob recently took over the role as president of the museum's board of directors and spearheaded the majority of the financial efforts to restore the museum. Dan Montgomery, who previously worked for Kirk Gross Company, did a terrific job with all the applications and follow up to secure the money we received from FEMA.

The museum also has a weekly radio show called "On the Mat" which airs each Wednesday from 5:00 - 6:00PM Central time. The show is hosted by Kent Sesker, Marketing Director at the museum and co-hosted by area wrestling enthusiast Doug Van Gelder. The show is on AM 1650 out of Cedar Falls, IA, and can also be heard on line at
kcnzam.com. We have two guests on per show from throughout the wrestling world.

As you're probably aware, our former associate director at the wrestling museum for the last six years, Kyle Klingman, took a new job with Media Sports Productions in Minneapolis, MN, which he started in September. Media Sports Productions is a company founded by University of Minnesota head coach J Robinson and is dedicated to the promotion of amateur wrestling. Along with Jason Bryant, who recently left Intermat, Kyle is hosting a twice weekly radio show in addition to his other duties. Kyle did a fabulous job at the museum and he is still a columnist for WIN Magazine, where he was named their 2008 Journalist of the Year.

Thanks for your continued support of the wrestling museum. I hope to see many of you on January 9 and if you're not able to make it that day, plan on visiting the museum soon.
New USA Today/NWCA/InterMat Team & InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Individual Rankings Released

The latest USA Today/NWCA/InterMat Team & InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Individual Rankings have been released. Complete team and individual rankings are attached above and copied below.

USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Team Rankings
December 2, 2008

Rank
Team (First)
08-09 Record
Points
Previous
1
Iowa (11)
8-0
440
1
2
Iowa State
3-0
428
2
3
Ohio State
2-0
414
3
4
Cornell
1-0
411
4
5
Missouri
7-0
395
5
6
Nebraska
3-0
386
6
7
Illinois
3-0
372
8
8
Minnesota
3-0
348
11
9
Oklahoma State
4-1
341
7
10
Lehigh
8-0
335
22
11
Wisconsin
4-1
319
12
12
Michigan
1-1
308
10
13
Penn State
3-2
296
14
14
Boise State
5-1
293
13
15
Edinboro
5-1
280
15
16
Central Michigan
3-1
272
17
17
Northwestern
4-1
267
11
18
Hofstra
2-1
257
16
19
Indiana
6-0
256
18
20
Oklahoma
3-0
241
19
21
Old Dominion
2-3
223
20
22
Northern Iowa
0-0
198
23
23
Penn
1-1
176
21
24
Virginia
4-4
133
24
25
Kent State
2-1
121
25
Others receiving votes: Maryland, Navy, Oregon State, Purdue, and West Virginia
The USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Coaches Poll is voted on by a representative member of each Division I wrestling conference.
The InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Individual Rankings are voted on by members of the National Wrestling Media Association.
InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Division I Individual Rankings

125


1 Angel Escobedo Jr. Indiana
2 Charlie Falck Sr. Iowa
3 Brandon Precin Jr. Northwestern
4 James Nicholson So. ODU
5 Tyler Clark So. Iowa State
6 Rollie Peterkin Jr. Penn
7 Anthony Robles So. Arizona State
8 Obe Blanc Sr. Oklahoma State
9 Marcos Orozco Sr. UC Davis 
10 Scotti Sentes Fr. Central Michigan
11 Jarrod Garnett Fr. Virginia Tech
12 Nikko Triggas So. Ohio State
13 Mike Watts Fr. Michigan
14 Zach Sanders Fr. Minnesota
15 Tony Mustari Jr. Northern Colorado
16 Brian Owen Fr. Boise State
17 Joey Fio So. Oklahoma
18 Brandon Zoeteway Sr. Cal State Bakersfield
19 Ben Kjar So. Utah Valley
20 Ian Moser So. Bloomsburg



133


1 Jayson Ness Jr. Minnesota
2 Franklin Gomez Jr. Michigan State
3 Jimmy Kennedy Jr. Illinois
4 Troy Nickerson Jr. Cornell
5 Nick Fanthorpe Jr. Iowa State
6 Joe Baker Sr. Navy

7 Reece Humphrey Jr. Ohio State
8 Andrew Hochtrasser So. Boise State
9 Steve Bell Jr. Maryland
10 Lou Ruggriello Jr. Hofstra
11 Daniel Dennis Jr. Iowa
12 Dan Mitcheff Jr. Kent State
13 Kyle Hutter Jr. ODU
14 Tyler Shinn Jr. Oklahoma State
15 Conor Beebe Jr. Central Michigan
16 Dave Marble Jr. Bucknell
17 T.J. Dillashaw Jr. Fullerton
18 Matt Fisk Jr. Lehigh
19 Jimmy Conroy Jr. Pitt
20 Tim Haas Sr. Penn State



141


1 J Jaggers Sr. Ohio State
2 Nick Gallick Jr. Iowa State
3 Alex Tsirtsis Sr. Iowa
4 Chris Drouin So. Arizona State
5 Kellen Russell So. Michigan
6 Keith Sulzer So. Northwestern
7 Andrae Hernandez Indiana Sr.
8 Zach Tanelli Sr. Wisconsin
9 Cody Cleveland So. Chattanooga
10 Mike Thorn So. Minnesota
11 Ryan Williams Sr. ODU
12 Zach Bailey Jr. Oklahoma
13 Mike Grey So. Cornell
14 Marcus Hoehn Missouri
15 Alex Krom Jr. Maryland
16 Vincent Ramirez Sr. North Carolina
17 Filip Novachkov So. Cal Poly
18 Eric Kruger Sr. Central Michigan
19 Drew Lashaway Sr. Kent State
20 Chris Bencivenga Sr. UNC-Greensboro



149


1 Brent Metcalf Jr. Iowa
2 Bubba Jenkins Jr. Penn State
3 Darrion Caldwell Jr. NC State
4 Lance Palmer Jr. Ohio State
5 David Jauregui Sr. West Virginia
6 Kyle Ruschell Jr. Wisconsin
7 Bryce Saddoris So. Navy
8 Jake Patacsil Sr. Purdue
9 Steve Brown Jr. Central Michigan
10 Mitch Mueller Jr. Iowa State
11 Matt Kyler Jr. Army
12 Matt Cathell So. Delaware State
13 Trevor Chinn Sr. Lehigh
14 Cesar Grajales Jr. Penn
15 Kyle Terry Jr. Oklahoma
16 Torsten Gillespie So. Edinboro 
17 Jason Chamberlain Fr. Boise State
18 Kyle Borschoff So. American
19 Charlie Ettelson Jr. Northern Iowa
20 Mike Roberts Sr. Boston



157


1 Mike Poeta Sr. Illinois

2 Gregor Gillespie Sr. Edinboro

3 Jordan Burroughs Jr. Nebraska

4 Mike Chandler Sr. Missouri
5 J.P. O'Connor Jr. Harvard
6 Jordan Leen Sr. Cornell
7 Cyler Sanderson Jr. Iowa State
8 Dan Vallimont Jr. Penn State
9 Kurt Kinser So. Indiana
10 Adam Hall So. Boise State
11 Matt Moley Jr. Bloomsburg
12 Newly McSpadden Sr. Oklahoma State
13 Jason Johnstone Sr. Ohio State
14 Shane Vernon Jr. Oklahoma
15 Jason Welch Fr. Northwestern
16 Chase Pami Jr. Cal Poly
17 Matt Dragon Sr. Penn
18 Hadley Harrison Jr. Clarion
19 Jesse Dong Fr. Virginia Tech
20 Joey Knox Jr. Chattanooga



165


1 Mack Lewnes So. Cornell
2 Moza Fay Sr. Northern Iowa
3 Jonathan Reader So. Iowa State
4 Stephen Dwyer Jr. Nebraska
5 Jarrod King Sr. Edinboro
6 Luke Manuel So. Purdue
7 Nick Marable Jr. Missouri
8 Zach Shanaman Sr. Penn
9 Ryan Morningstar Jr. Iowa
10 Trevor Stewart Sr. Central Michigan
11 Roger Smith-Bergsrud Sr. Illinois
12 Brandon Mason Sr. Oklahoma State
13 Colt Sponseller So. Ohio State
14 Andy Rendos Jr. Bucknell
15 Rex Kendle Jr. Michigan State
16 Mike Galanate Jr. Lehigh
17 Donnie Jones Jr. West Virginia
18 Chris Bullins Fr. UNC- Greensboro
19 Keegan Mueller Sr. North Carolina
20 Ryan Patrovich So. Hofstra



174


1 Steve Luke Sr. Michigan
2 Jay Borschel Jr. Iowa
3 Brandon Browne Sr. Nebraska
4 Raymond Jordan Sr. Missouri
5 Steve Anceravage Sr. Cornell
6 Michael Cannon Jr. American
7 Alton Lucas Sr. Hofstra
8 Duke Burk Jr. Iowa State
9 Jeff James So. Oklahoma
10 Mike Miller So. Central Michigan
11 Kurt Brenner Sr. West Virginia
12 Nate Lee Jr. Boise State
13 John Dergo Jr. Illinois
14 Chris Henrich So. Virginia
15 Austin Trotman So. Appalachian State
16 Alex Caruso So. Lehigh
17 Phil Moricone Sr. Edinboro
18 Quentin Wright Fr. Penn State
19 Scott Giffin So. Penn
20 Dave Rella Jr. Ohio State



184


1 Mike Pucillo Jr. Ohio State
2 Jake Herbert Sr. Northwestern
3 Phil Keddy Jr. Iowa

4 Louis Caputo Jr. Harvard
5 Kirk Smith So. Boise St.
6 Doug Umbehauer Sr. Rider
7 Vince Jones Sr. Nebraska
8 Dustin Kilgore Fr. Kent State
9 Kyle Bressler Sr. Oregon State
10 Rocco Caponi Sr. Virginia
11 Chris Honeycutt So. Edinboro
12 AJ Kissel So. Purdue
13 Justin Kerber So. Cornell
14 Josh Patterson Jr. Binghamton
15 David Craig Jr. Lehigh
16 Phil Bomberger Sr. Penn State
17 Chris Daggett Sr. Liberty
18 John Barone Duke 
19 Mickey Moran Buffalo
20 Jared Shelton Sr. Oklahoma State



197


1 Jake Varner Jr. Iowa State
2 Tyrel Todd Sr. Michigan
3 Craig Brester Jr. Nebraska
4 Max Askren Jr. Missouri
5 Hudson Taylor Jr. Maryland
6 Dallas Herbst Sr. Wisconsin
7 Brent Chriswell So. Boise State
8 Eric Laptosky So. Oklahoma
9 Cayle Byers So. George Mason
10 Jon Oplinger Sr. Drexel
11 Logan Brown So. Purdue
12 Andrew Anderson Sr. Northern Iowa
13 Richard Starks Jr. Army
14 Joe Fagiano So. Hofstra
15 Clayton Foster So. Oklahoma State
16 Brent Jones Jr. Virginia
17 Ryan Goodman Sr. NC State
18 Patrick Bond Jr. Illinois
19 Chad Beatty Jr. Iowa
20 Cody Gardner Fr. Ohio State



285


1 Jared Rosholt Jr. Oklahoma State
2 Dave Zabriskie Jr. Iowa State
3 Kyle Massey Sr. Wisconsin
4 Mark Ellis Sr. Missouri
5 John Wise Sr. Illinois
6 Zac Sheaffer Sr. Pittsburgh
7 Joe Fendone Sr. Edinboro
8 Scott Steele Sr. Navy
9 Jermail Porter Sr. Kent State
10 Zach Hammond Sr. Cornell
11 Rashard Goff Sr. Cleveland State
12 Corey Morrison Sr. Ohio State
13 Konrad Dudziak Jr. Duke
14 Justin Dobies Sr. North Carolina
15 Dustin Rogers Sr. West Virginia
16 Dan Erekson Jr. Iowa
17 Josh Wine So. VMI
18 Nick Smith Sr. Boise State
19 Ben Berhow So. Minnesota
20 Ryan Flores So. Columbia


The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a professional organization dedicated to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on scholastic and collegiate programs. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling.

The NWCA, through its organizational structure, promotes communication, recognizes achievement, recommends rules and regulations, sponsors events, and serves as an educational and informational source. Additionally, the NWCA strives to foster the sportsmanship and integrity that are the cornerstones of athletic competition.
Registration for the 2009 Brute-adidas Nationals is Now OPEN!

Thanks to all of our past participants for your feedback and input, to help us continue to improve on our 2008 successful event. To those of you who participated last year, we have added our 60 second commercial with highlights of the event from last year to the home page of our website for your review. Please visit http://www.brute.com/bruteadidasnationals/default.asp and click on the play button to see the commercial for this year's event!

In addition to several improvements and added staff, we will still offer the following benefits for participants which makes the Brute-adidas Nationals a favorite for all:

1. Custom Brute-adidas Nationals singlet's for all finalist in each weight in each grade division
2. Championship shirts for Coaches of finalist
3. Adidas watch for all champions in grades 9-12 and Champions Jackets for 1-8 grades
4. All-American certificates for the top 8 place finishers in each weight class in each grade.
5.      FREE Athlete autograph sessions, seminars and clinics for all attendees by world class coaches and athletes.
6.  Early registration for $45.00 for participants will be in effect prior to March 1st, 2009. After that date registration will be $65.00.
7. The downtown Westin Crown Center is the tournament headquarters (Located 6 blocks from Municipal Auditorium) and will have discounted rooms available in our block till March 15th , 2009, after this date regular room rates will apply if available.  Please note that there is also a National Volleyball tournament the same weekend in the convention center, so hotels with double rooms will be at a premium, please book your reservations early.
8. Late Registration ($65.00) will be in effect from March 1st through March 30th at 5:00 pm. There will be no registration permitted after March 30th. We want to be sure to have enough time to have all matches and pairings assigned prior to the event.

For more information on the Brute-adidas Nationals or to register, please log onto www.bruteadidasnationals.com

For your convenience I have also attached a 2009 Brute-adidas Nationals brochure for your review.
TakedownRadio.com to Broadcast the Journeymen Brute NORTHEAST Duals in Troy, New York

Wrestling fans, I'm very grateful for everyone of you and for our sport during this holiday season. On Behalf of our sport and our sponsors Happy Holidays to each of you. This week we take the Brute Adidas studios back out on the road to the Journeymen Brute NORTHEAST Duals in Troy, New York on Saturday November 29th, 2009.

Journeymen Brute Northeast Duals

Frank "little Chin" Popolizio began the Northeast duals 6 years ago to allow his club wrestlers to watch quality college wrestling and to assist the growth of wrestling in the greater New York State area. This dual tournament began with only 4 teams. This power packed 17 team Dual Tournament includes Iowa, Oklahoma State, Missouri, App. State, American, Binghamton, Brown, Bloomsburg, Bucknell, Central Mich, Drexel, Harvard, Lehigh, Maryland, North Carolina Greensboro, Old Dominion, Virginia and others.  

Joining TDR's Scott Casber will be Olympic Champion Jeff Blatnick and Earl Smith of D1Collegewrestling.net. This is a free broadcast and will begin at 10:06 AM Eastern. Join us for an interesting and exciting day of collegiate wrestling on America's Wrestling Radio program Takedownradio.com

Our thanks to Frank Popolizio and his family for his continuing support of wrestling!
Spread the Word the Games of Rome
Spread the word!
The Games of Rome World Championships is just around the corner and
you don't want to miss this one! 

The Games of Rome was an exciting addition in 2007 to the RMN Events series and we've been looking forward to return to the great state of Florida with our new date of December 6th!"

K-12 will battle it out for the absolute best awards in the country. The national tournament takes place at Osceola Heritage Park, located in Kissimmee, Florida.

"It is very difficult to express how important this event is to the sport of wrestling. When visitiing the themeparks and all they have to offer during the holiday season, with their beautiful decorations, music, and State-of-the-Art rides, it connects the sport of wrestling to so much fun and associates family time together in such a way that it becomes a life memory that will never be forgotten." said Ed Gutierrez, Director of RMN Events.

"Free" movies will be played all-day Saturday and wrestlers can also enjoy the best Bounce-House in the state of Florida! 

Nearly 20-states participated in the inaugral year in 2007.
RMN Events is the lowest priced National tournament series in the U.S.A.! See ya there!

30" 1st Place Trophy!

Wrestlers will be awarded Trophies for 1st - 3rd Place and Custom - (Full Color) Medals for 4th - 6th Place.

Outstanding Awards for each age division, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15 & 18 & Under.

Team Awards for (6-12 & Under), (15-18 & Under) & (6 - 18 & Under) All Star Teams

The Games of Rome World Championships is the 2nd leg of the Tri-State Championship Belt. The series for the Tri-State Belt includes, The Predator World Championships, The Gladiator World Championships, The Games of Rome in Orlando, Florida or the Games of Rome in Fresno, California. (Visit: rockymountainnationals.com for more information.

Visit the Tower of Terror!

Brave the creepy facade of a once-glorious hotel for a jolt back in time. Board a phantom elevator, shoot up 13 stories and brace yourself for a thrilling plummet... but beware! The experience just got scarier. You rocket back up, only to plummet down yet again. You dare to ride once more, but wait! That's not what happened before. That's right, now the Tower is in control, so it's never the same fear twice!

Download your savings!

Log onto rockymountainnationals.com then "Games of Rome" then download the great savings flyer from the site, you'll save your team hundreds of dollars!

Netdragon

Netdragon the leader in Video software will be giving-away one of their State of the Art video games to each of the competitors at weigh-ins, unheard of by any manufacture of its kind. Netdragon will also have their lifelike games on display for interaction for the entire weekend.

Register early and secure your spot at the event of the year by December 1st at RMN Monster Match in Denver

The Games of Rome will count as double-points toward the RMN Championships Belt in the RMN series. RMN Events recently kicked off with the Monster Match Nationals in Denver, Colorado on November 1st. Nearly 1400 wrestlers wrestle in Denver every year at the Monster Match to kick off the season, wrestlers from up to 30 states attend. The state of Florida is set to host their own national tournament in just a few weeks. Spread the word in Florida and for more information, please email us at rmnwwrestling@aol.com

Madden Football Tournaments!

Madden Football tournaments conducted at the Games of Rome World Championships. Complete with prizes for Championship games.

Come ready to place your Madden skills on the line December 6, 2008 at Osceola Heritage Park. 

Holiday Inn - STAY WHERE YOU WEIGH!

Holiday Inn presents "Stay where you weigh" Our host hotel for the Games of Rome will be hosting the weigh ins on December 5th from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. AND 4:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m.

Only $89.00 for quad stay and this hotel is within walking distance to some of your favorite restaurants, entertainment and offers a shuttle service to Disney World and Universal Studios.

Reserve your room today by calling: 407-396-4222

Address: 5711 West Highway (HWY 192) Kissimmee, Florida 34766
Glen Brand, ISU's First Olympic Gold Medalist, Dies at 85

BY DICK KELLY

Glen Brand, Iowa State's first Olympic Gold Medalist, died Saturday night at his home in Omaha, Neb. He was 85.

Brand won the 174-pound freestyle gold medal at the 1948 Olympic Games, becoming ISU's first Olympic Gold Medalist in any sport.

"He was a great example to the university, he kind of set the standard for us as a wrestling program," current Iowa State coach Cael Sanderson said. "He was a great student and he was very successful in business. He is what makes Iowa State special. He was a great guy and our sympathies go out to his family."

Sanderson said his time with Brand was limited and that Brand was a great supporter of ISU athletics.

"I think he gave back in a lot of different ways, not only by setting such a great example," Sanderson said. "When we had outings in the Omaha area, he was always there. He was a real humble guy. You wouldn't know that he's had all the accomplishments and success that he's had."

Brand, who founded Brand Hydraulics in Omaha, came to ISU because of the school's reputation in the field of engineering. As a member of the wrestling team, he won 51 of 54 career matches, pinning 30 of his opponents. He won conference and NCAA championships at 175 during his junior season, becoming ISU's first three-time All-American.

Brand qualified for the 1948 Olympic Games by defeating eight opponents at the U.S. Olympic Trials and at the London Games, Brand pinned Erik Linden of Sweden to earn the gold medal.

An injury prevented Brand from wrestling in 1949, but he returned the following year and was 7-0 before injuries ended his career.

Former ISU wrestling coach Bobby Douglas said Brand was one of the few ISU alumni who called him and wished him good luck after he was named head wrestling coach at ISU.

"He was always very supportive and he played a backroom role in a lot of fundraising efforts that we had and was very, very supportive of our program," Douglas said. "He's obviously a giant in the field of wrestling. The Cyclone family has a lot to grieve for. He was a great part of the tradition."

Douglas called Brand a "champion in every respect."

"It's obvious that his success in the business world and his success in the sports world is a reflection of his desire for excellence," Douglas said. "What more can you say about Glen Brand? Anytime you say anything positive about wrestling or about anything in Iowa that relates to wrestling, his name comes up. My condolences to his family. He was more than an alumni. He was an alumni and a real friend of wrestling."

ISU Athletics Director Jamie Pollard extended his sympathies to Brand's wife, Ruth, and the entire family.

"Glen achieved so much in his life because he worked for it," Pollard said.

ISU fooball coach Gene Chizik echoed Pollard's sentiments.

"I want to say our thoughts and prayers are with the family, condolences to the family," Chizik said. "I know what he accomplished here. It's an unbelievable feat."

Brand was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Lou Brand. Survivors include his wife, Ruth; son, Greg Brand; step-children, Debra Huebscher, Pamela Graskowiak, David Rader, Duane Rader and Bryan Rader; grandchildren, Adam and Jackie Graskowiak and Andrew Rader; sister-in-law, Judy Davidson; and a host of friends from all walks of life.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Roeder Mortuary, 2727 North 108th St., Omaha, Neb. . Visitation is from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Roeder Mortuary.

Dick Kelly can be reached at (515) 663-6928, or dkelly@amestrib.com.

Olympic gold medalist Glen Brand dies at 85
Craig Sesker - USA Wrestling November 17, 2008
It's been more than 60 years since Glen Brand won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling, but Brand never stopped giving back to the sport he loved.

Brand, who captured the 174-pound title at the 1948 Olympics in London, England, passed away on Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska. He was 85 years old.

Brand, who grew up in Clarion, Iowa, served in World War II for the U.S. Marine Corps before enrolling at Iowa State University. He won a NCAA title for Iowa State in 1948 and followed by winning the Olympics later that year.

Brand was honored in 1978 as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

In his professional career as a hydraulics engineer, Brand built a highly successful company in Omaha. His company, Brand Hydraulics, was founded in 1956. It continues to thrive under the direction of his son, Greg Brand.

"Glen Brand was one of the true heroes in American wrestling history," said Mike Chapman, executive director of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. "I just thought the world of Glen. He's done it all. He was highly successful in every phase of his life. He lived a very full life right up until the end."

Brand has been a regular during Honors Weekend at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla.

"Glen Brand is an American legend because of what he achieved and what he gave to his country as a wrestler, soldier, engineer, and philanthropist," said Lee Roy Smith, executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. "On behalf of our Board of Governors and staff of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, I want to extend my deepest sympathy to the family members of this humble man who left us with so much to praise and honor him for."

Brand was a significant contributor to the Dan Gable International Wrestling Hall of Fame in Waterloo, Iowa. A hall of fame wing there is named in his honor.

Brand also was heavily involved with the wrestling program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Two tournaments run by UNO - the Kaufman-Brand Open and the Glen Brand Open - are named after him.

The Kaufman-Brand Open, the largest single-day college tournament in the country, will be held this Saturday. UNO coach Mike Denney said Brand will be honored and remembered on Saturday.

"Glen just had so much fire, and he had such a passion for wrestling," Denney said. "He loved wrestling and he gave a lot back to the sport. He's been so good to us over the years. He's helped us so much with both of our tournaments that are named after him. He always played in our golf tournament. He contributed a lot to our program. Every chance I could, I would have him talk to our team. He would tell the story about how he won the Olympics. Our guys loved hearing that story. It was very inspiring."

Brand was the first of five Iowa State University wrestlers to win an Olympic gold medal. The other four are Dan Gable, Ben Peterson, Kevin Jackson and Cael Sanderson.

"Glen was a real interesting fellow," Chapman said. "He really did care about the sport and felt very strongly that wrestling did prepare you for success in life. I think Glen was definitely proof of that."

An excerpt from the program for his final match at Iowa State sums up Brand's stature as a competitor: "There's more to Glen Brand than his wrestling. He's a true amateur, a gentleman who respects his opponent, but who brooks no interference with his right to rule on the mat."

Glen Brand obituary from the Omaha World-Herald

BRAND-Glen, age 85. Preceded in death by wife, Mary Lou Brand. Survived by wife, Ruth Brand; son, Greg Brand; step-children, Debra Huebscher, Pamela Graskowiak, David Rader, Duane Rader, Bryan Rader; grandchildren, Adam and Jackie Graskowiak, Andrew Rader; sister-in-law, Judy Davidson; host of friends.

Funeral Service Wed. 10 a.m., 108th Street Chapel, Omaha. Interment Evergreen Memorial Park. Visitation Tues. 6-8 p.m. at Mortuary. Memorials to National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Stillwater, OK; Roeder Mortuary, 2727 North 108th St., Omaha, NE 68164, 402-496-9000
Takedown Radio Announces 2008/2009 Travel Schedule

America's Wrestling Radio Show heads out on the road for its first road tour of the year. The mobile Brute Adidas studios will once again start in Pennsylvania and work our way through to NY and then on to The Columbus, Ohio. Over the past years we have stopped at hundreds of schools and programs talking with Coaches, AD's, SID's and athletes. This year we add a video feature to the trips and to the interviews. While we interview our subjects for Live National Air on Radio we will now also be video taping the process making it a true multi media experience.

TDR has always been a leader in innovation by pioneering the radio and internet broadcast of wrestling for the past 11 years. "We reach out to the far flung reaches of the country and embrace the sport every day with fresh new interviews each and every week on takedownradio.com and on the Intermatwrestle.com premium service." We talk to the coaches in their offices, homes and wrestling rooms. We go behind the scenes." Said TDR Founder Scott Casber.

Join us for Live broadcasts and check out our new Takedownradio.com web site for our TDR.TV feature.

TDR's Road Trip Schedule includes-

November 12th- University of Iowa Media Day Broadcast (Video Tape Only)
November 15th- Harold Nichols Cyclone Open Broadcast begins at 9:30 AM CST LIVE AUDIO
November 17th- Bucknell U Bison- Coach Dan Wirnsberger updates us on his program (Video Tape Only)
November 18th- Lehigh University- Pat Santoro Updates us on his program (Video Tape Only)
November 19th-Bloomsburg University Vs. Pittsburgh, Live from the University of Pittsburgh LIVE AUDIO
November 20th-Indepth Interviews with the mgmt at Resilite, Keeping Athletes Safe (Video Tape Only)
November 20th-NYAC Broadcast of USA Vs. Russia, Vs Japan LIVE AUDIO from West Orange NJ
November 21st-Penn State Vs. Cornell University, Live from Ithica, NY LIVE AUDIO
November 22nd-Cornell's Body Bar Tournament brought to you by Body Bar LIVE AUDIO
November 23rd-Binghamton Sprawl and Brawl, Live from Binghamton NY LIVE AUDIO
November 24th-43rd NWCA All Star Classic Live from Columbus, Ohio Brought LIVE AUDIO
November 29th- Brute/NE Journeyman Duals LIVE AUDIO

December 5-6 Las Vegas Invitational LIVE AUDIO
December 18th- Reno Tournament of Champions (Final Round Only) J. Carl Guymon LIVE AUDIO
December 27th Clinton, Iowa Focus on HS Wrestling (Video Tape Only)
December 28th- Sean Bormet's Overtime School of Wrestling (Video Tape Only)
DEC 29th-30 Broadcast of the Midlands Tournament LIVE AUDIO

January 9-11 Broadcast of the National Duals in partnership with Live Sports Video, LIVE AUDIO/Video
January 16- Maryland Vs. Oklahoma Sooners, Live from Norman, OK LIVE AUDIO
January 30th- Emcee Missouri Fund Raising banquet (Video Tape Only)
January 31st Nebraska Vs. Missouri Tigers, Live from Columbia, Missouri LIVE AUDIO

February 13- Central Michigan Vs. Missouri Tigers, Live from Columbia, Missouri LIVE AUDIO
Feb 14th- Live Broadcast of Inaugural Arkansas HS State Championships LIVE AUDIO

March 7th- the Big 12's from Lincoln, NE courtesy of the Big 12 and U of Nebraska LIVE AUDIO
March 19-21st-NCAA Championship's From St. Louis, Mo Courtesy of St. Louis Sports Commission LIVE AUDIO

This schedule will be added to and adjusted throughout the season. We hope to be able to add a west coast tour to our schedule to assist the programs of the west this year as well. Stay tuned as we are happy to provide this service to wrestling.
USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Team Rankings
November 11, 2008

Rank	Team (First)	08-09 Record	Points	Previous
1	Iowa (11)	0-0	275	1
2	Iowa State	0-0	259	2
3	Ohio State	0-0	251	4
4	Cornell	0-0	248	3
5	Missouri	0-0	229	5
6	Nebraska	0-0	212	6
7	Penn State	0-0	209	7
8	Oklahoma State	0-0	200	T7
9	Illinois	0-0	189	9
10	Michigan	0-0	173	10
11	Northwestern	0-0	162	11
12	Minnesota	0-0	140	12
tie	Wisconsin	0-0	140	13
14	Boise State	3-0	137	14
15	Edinboro	3-0	121	15
16	Indiana	0-0	105	16
17	Central Michigan	0-0	101	18
18	Oklahoma	0-0	93	20
19	Old Dominion	0-0	70	19
20	Penn	0-0	49	T21
21	Virginia	0-0	43	23
22	Northern Iowa	0-0	42	24
23	Lehigh	1-0	23	NR
tie	West Virginia	0-0	23	25
25	Harvard	0-0	15	NR
tie	Kent State	0-0	15	NR
tie	Maryland	1-2-1	15	17

Others receiving votes: Chattanooga, Cal State-Fullerton, Hofstra, Navy, Oregon State, Pitt and Purdue

The USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Coaches Poll is voted on by a representative member of each Division I wrestling conference.
The InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Individual Rankings are voted on by members of the National Wrestling Media Association.

InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Division I Individual Rankings

TDR's Wrestling Round Table 4th Edition Wednesday Night 7 PM CST at Takedownradio.com

Lot's going on in wrestling as the season begins. Anticipation fills the air. Join us for a fun filled and informative 2 hours on Takedownradio.com Wednesday night this week starting at 7 PM. You can join in by jumping into the chat room, ask questions, voice concerns, give your opinions and share your knowledge.

Join the best of the TDR Round Table Wednesday Night starting at 7 PM-

Earl Smith- D1Collegewrestling.net
   Dan Cosimi- Ohiowrestling.net                                              
Britt Malinsky- Well known wrestling pundit and number cruncher   
   Jeff Breese- Intermatwrestle.com Chief                                        
Andrew Hipps- Founder and creative God at RevWrestling.com
   Rich Fergola- Former NIACC and Dana College Head Coach
Chad Wiltsey- Thewrestlingtalk.com
   J. Carl Guymon for his tremendous insight into the surprising world of College wrestling.
Koy Kosek joins us for a review and overview of D3 from around the country.
           

What' s your opinion on- The college wrestle off's? The start of the season for Maryland, for Lehigh? For Edinboro? You name it we can and probably will talk about it.
That's Takedownradio.com Wednesday night this week starting at 7 PM CST. Talk to you all then!
Media Sports Productions to Launch Wrestling 411 Radio Nationwide on November 11

Wrestling 411 will launch its twice weekly radio show with two of college wrestling's biggest names as guests. Tom Brands, head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa, and Pat Santoro, new head wrestling coach at Lehigh University, will serve as the show's inaugural guests.

Wrestling 411 Radio will be broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday from 7 - 8 p.m. Central Standard Time. The first show will air Tuesday, November 11 with Brands as its guest. Santoro will be the featured guest on Thursday, November 13.

"The success of Wrestling 411 Radio is crucial to the growth and development of college wrestling," said Brands, who coached the Hawkeyes to the 2008 NCAA team title. "This sport needs positive coverage and this radio show gives wrestling added credibility. I'm proud that Iowa Wrestling Camps support this project."

Each show will provide dynamic and comprehensive discussion and coverage in studio on topics crucial not only to wrestling, but wrestling coverage, rankings, results and the entire scale of wrestling from high school to the international styles.

Wrestling 411 Radio will feature weekly guests ranging from the nation's most respected coaches, athletes, and wrestling's top minds. Information about the show will be updated on the Wrestling 411 website at <http://www.wrestling411.tv/>www.wrestling411.tv.

Jason Bryant and Kyle Klingman will serve as hosts of the show.

Bryant spent three years as the Director of Media Relations for the National Wrestling Coaches Association. He helped InterMat garner the National Wrestling Media Association's Wrestling Web Site of the Year Award in 2006 and as a journalist, Bryant has been the recipient of Wrestling International Newsmagazine's Journalist of the Year as well as Amateur Wrestling News' Bob Dellinger Award for Wrestling Writer of the Year.

Klingman was the associate director of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum for the past six years.  He is a featured columnist for W.I.N. Magazine and hosted "On The Mat," a weekly wrestling radio show where he interviewed some of the top names in wrestling.  In 2008, Wrestling International Newsmagazine honored Klingman with its Wrestling Journalist of the Year award.

Augsburg College's KAUG radio will be the online host of Wrestling 411 Radio. The hour-long show can be heard live each week at 7 p.m. CST by visiting www.wrestling411.tv. Archives of each broadcast will be available on the Wrestling 411 website as well.
TDR to Offer Free Broadcast of the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open

Takedown Radio will once again broadcast the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open Saturday live from Lied Center on the campus of ISU. Join TDR's broadcast team Steve Foster, Scott Casber, Jeff Murphy and Grant Turner among others for this season opening tournament broadcast.

Tune in as we Take the Brute adidas Studios on the road for the first tournament broadcast of the year. As always our broadcast remain free courtesy of our sponsors. We owe them so much. This Broadcast scheduled to get underway at 9:30 AM CST.
Small Iowa Community Could use your Thoughts and Prayers by Jason Bryant

We often speak on how wrestling is a tight-knit community. We relate the lessons and camaraderie in our sport with those of our family dynamics and community relationships. It's family.

When tragedy strikes, it takes a toll on everyone. For the tiny Westwood Community School District, it hits hard because of the very small populous it affects.

Right now, our family is hurting.

On Saturday morning, a van driven by a Westwood wrestling coach carrying five wrestlers was in a head-on collision on Iowa Highway 141. The driver of the car which the van collided was killed.

They were headed to a wrestling clinic.

When young people are involved, it wears on everyone. In small towns, like the five small Iowa towns which feed Westwood - Sloan, Salix, Hornick, Smithland and Holly Springs - the loss of anyone hits hard. Along with coach Dan Thompson, who was driving the fan, the driver of the other vehicle was a parent of a Westwood student.

This has affected everyone in an area 25 miles south of Sioux City. Grades K-12 are under one roof at Westwood. How small? A graduating class of 75 is considered "huge."

Here's the story from the <http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2008/11/09/news/top/e70e9b1032a4325e862574fc00117b42.txt>Sioux City Journal.

Now here's a call to those of us in the wrestling community. We've risen up to support Adam Frey in his incredible fight against cancer. We've supported our own in nearly every facet of life. It's time to do it again. I can't tell you what the right course of action is in a situation like this.

People are shaken. People are hurt. People are fighting for their lives. Any support, a card, flowers, letters encouraging those involved to fight on. Wrestlers don't quit, as the saying goes. Let's do something, anything, to give these young men any additional motivation to press on.

According to one Westwood alum - Amanda Dahl, who spent considerable time involved in the sport of wrestling at Iowa State - some of the reports might not explain the status of some of these wrestlers in detail. It's bad. I could feel it through her voice, even a long way away in Auburn, Ala. They need our support, some way, some how.

Everyone in the crash was tied to Westwood. Everyone who wrestles past or present is now tied to Westwood.

Here's a name some of you might know to help you identify with the school. Former Northern Iowa wrestler Jeff Harrison, went there. The face of the Wrestling Recap. The voice of the National Anthem at National Duals a few years ago.

I'm from a small town. Your neighbor might have grown up in a small town. You might have grown up in a small town. Tragedy doesn't just affect someone else in places like this, it has an affect on everyone. I'm not from Iowa, had never heard of Sloan until 10 minutes ago, but these kids mean something, not to our sport, but to their families and friends. In a way, they too, are our family and friends just by their association with this sport.

Here's a press release from Westwood and some contact information, simply as a starting point, to see what we can do to help. Here's the link. I've also posted it below.

<http://www.westwood.k12.ia.us/pressrelease.html>http://www.westwood.k12.ia.us/pressrelease.html

PRESS RELEASE Date 11/9/2008 1:00PM

Westwood Community School District
1000 Rebel Way
Sloan, Iowa 51055
712 428 3355
Kirk Ahrends Superintendent

As reported in the media the wrestlers from the Westwood School District were traveling to a clinic in Maple Valley when they were hit by a van. Five students and one coach all sustained injuries substantial enough to warrant transport to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City. Those in the school suburban were:

Coach Dan Thompson
Trent Baker -16
Adam Greeno - 16
Blake Jorgensen - 15
Jordan Mitchell - 18
Sage Washburn - 16

The driver of the other vehicle that struck the school vehicle was Brad Haburn, the father of one of our Westwood students. The thoughts and prayers of our communities go out to his family.

The injuries to the students and coach are substantial and ongoing. Details of their conditions are only available through the Mercy Medical Center. However, we can say that all held their own or improved during the last 24 hours. Coach Dan Thompson, Jordan Mitchell, and Sage Washburn are able to have visitors. Immediate family may only visit Trent Baker, Adam Greeno, and Blake Jorgensen. The families and school wish to thank everyone for their prayers, visits, and outstanding support through this time.

Details and the cause of the accident are being investigated by the Woodbury County Sheriff's department and Iowa State Patrol, however all reports to us indicate our school vehicle was driving in a safe and legal manner.

The Westwood District would like to thank the rescue and law enforcement agencies that responded quickly and helped get our people medical attention. We are also grateful to the Mercy Medical Center for providing wonderful support to our Westwood family during this tragic time. Finally, we are blessed to have a such strong communities that will help and support these students and staff through their recovery.

An update on the condition of students and staff will be given to the students on a daily basis. Our counselors will be available for any students that need to talk. Westwood secondary staff will have a staff meeting at 7:45 in the library.

Westwood will have school on Monday, November 10th as scheduled. However, ITBS/ITED testing is postponed for one week.
NWCA Launches College Scorebook; Complete Wrestling Statistics to be Available

The National Wrestling Coaches Association has always worked to provide functionality and visibility to the sport of wrestling. The latest innovation from the NWCA will have a direct impact on how the sport is followed by, not just the wrestling media and fans, but the entire sporting world.

After several months of development, the NWCA College Scorebook will make its launch during the 2008-09 college wrestling season and provide fans all the stats and results they crave.

"The unique thing about this scorebook is how user-friendly it is," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "There is no limit to the amount of statistical and result information via this tool."

The NWCA College Scorebook is designed to formalize and streamline the tedious nature of keeping current wrestling statistics.

"In the past, we had our member institutions keeping their own stats, but they would be doing it in 20 different ways," said Moyer. "What this does is create a uniform way of statistical reporting and results publishing and put our sport in line with how other college sports publish them."

The NWCA scorebook will be available, for free, to all college wrestling programs across the country. It is fully integrated with the NWCA's Optimal Performance Calculator and also features a live component where fans can follow match results live as they happen with teams using the scorebook online.

"Teams using the NWCA College Scorebook just make a few mouse-clicks to log their results, track statistics and directly e-mail results to their sports information offices, local newspapers and national media," said NWCA President Jim Beichner. "As a coach, this innovation will make the process of producing results and accurate statistics that much easier. It's going to be something that will change how our sport is tracked."

The public page includes the team's schedule, links to all competition dates, links to individual wrestler record and statistics pages and a team overview of statistics.

"Every other sport has software that can produce post-match results and statistics," said Beichner. "We now have that ability. It will help my athletics staff, it will help me as a coach, it will help our managers, it will help the fans, and it will help the media. There isn't a group of people within the sport this will not benefit."

When in practice, the scorebook tracks every stat within the sport.

It also tracks team performances and, for the first time, creates an automated process for producing team and individual records. In the past, wrestling's conference standings were done by hand, often by a member of the media.

"This is just another step in helping make wrestling coverage and wrestling information easier to compile and easier to get access to," said Moyer. "There are a variety of formats the results and the live score stats can be downloaded."

"Newspapers, web sites, sports information offices - anyone -- can go right to the scorebook and as soon as the match is over, produce results that will be easy to publish," added Moyer.

The NWCA College Scorebook will encompass the NCAA's three divisions, the NAIA and the NJCAA. The California Community Colleges have been beta-testing the program during its fall season and it has been met with great acceptance and rave reviews.

"Wrestler reports, team reports, meet results, conference standings and live coverage. It's going to change the way information is distributed in our sport," said Beichner. "If there are 20 teams using it one night, you can see the scores as they happen for 20 teams."

"We're giving this to the sport," said Moyer. "I think the quality of the interface and the software would have been easy to sell, but the benefits of giving this to all our member schools far outweighs any financial gain. Our staff and programming people have created something incredibly functional to the computer expert and the computer novice."

"This will really change how things are reported, there's not a single drawback to our teams using the NWCA College Scorebook," he said.

The scorebook can be viewed at:  http://www.intermatwrestle.com/nationalscorebook.html
The Monster Match Nationals

Only five days left to register! Don't miss out on a great day of wrestling, 1400 Wrestlers on 15 Mats, ALL in ONE-POWER PACKED wrestling day. Big Screens, Costume Contest, over 25 states expected, the best competition, the best awards and the lowest prices! Sign up by midnight on October 27th!

Team Update: Nebraska, New Mexico, Montana, Washington, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, South Dakota, California, Arizona, Texas, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and of course the home state of Colorado.

Coaches have used the Monster Match Nationals to gauge their up and coming season and we are looking forward to some great match-ups from across the country.
Don't miss the excitement at the Denver Coliseum!

Henry Cejudo

2008 Olympic Gold Medalist will be at the Monster Match Nationals on November 1st. Just one of the many exciting things we have in store for those attending the regions first National wrestling event of the year.

We welcome Henry's return to Colorado in his first public appearance since capturing the Gold in Bei jing, China...You've seen him on Jay Leno and recently flipping the coin toss at the Dallas vs Arizona game this month, he now takes the time to visit with you in Denver on November 1st!

Fox Sports Rocky Mountain

FSRM will will broadcast Monster Match National wrestling to 2.5 million homes on the Fox Sports Network. Joining the commentating crew this season is none other than Tim Ottman of Ponderosa High School. Ottman's Mustangs dominated the 5A division in Colorado for years and we are excited to have his expertise and charisma back in the sport of wrestling.


Netdragon

Netdragon, the software company producing dozens of State of the Art games will be giving each wrestler a complementary video release from their action packed line-up of video power games. Illustrations that go far beyond the imagination of the mind, Netdragon has captured the most impressive life like games in the market. Pick up your "Free Game" at weigh ins on October 31st, at the Renaissance hotel located at 3801 Quebec, Denver CO 80208.

Suplay Wrestling

Suply Wrestling is the nations largest wrestling supplier of wrestling gear and the newest partner of RMN Events for the 2008-2009 season. If you need any of the top gear from the latest wrestling shoes, singlets, shorts, or anything offered in the sport of wrestling, don't make the mistake of buying before you check out the savings at the Monster Match Nationals. Suplay will bring their entire inventory of the most desired wrestling gear November 1, 2008!


American Grappler

RMN Events introduces a new concept to the sport of wrestling. Now, the Open Division has a pay-out! If you place in the top three of the Open Division, RMN Events will be paying you cash! Qualifier is a 16-man cash-bracket which pays $250.00 to the champion, 32-man cash-brackets pay $500.00 to each champion and our future goal is to pay out $2500.00 - $5,000.00 to each champion. The American Grappler series kicks off at this year's Monster Match Nationals and as the interest level continues to grow, top cash prizes are in store for the near future.

We realize college wrestlers cannot accept cash to wrestle,  however, they can still compete without the cash incentives.

Wrestlers now have an opportunity to cash in on all their hard work invested since the ripe age of four years old...

In Time for Trick or Treat!

If you're wondering how to tackle both Trick or Treating & competing in the 2008 Monster Match Nationals? Weigh-ins will start at 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon, we will allow the 6 through 12 & Unders to weigh-in quickly in order for them to get back home or zero in on a nearby safe neighborhood in the metro area. If you need any assistance in locating the best area to take your little guy Trick or Treating, don't hesitate to email us at: rmnwrestling@aol.com
Wrestling Program Builds Self-esteem and Roads to College for Bronx Kids

Could the next Olympic wrestling champ hail from the Bronx?

It might be too early to tell, but a new wrestling training center in the borough is giving students with that dream a chance to go for it.

Beat the Streets, an after-school wrestling program for city youth, opened a training center last week at Harry S Truman High School in Co-Op City.

Use of the training center is free for middle and high school students participating in the group's wrestling programs.

"We'd love to see our kids make it to the Olympics one day, but it's not our overriding goal," said Beat the Streets President Brian Giffin.

"Generally speaking," he said, "the more kids get involved with extracurricular sports, the better they do in school. So our goal is really to give kids the skill set to get into a good university."

The organization helps train all skill levels - from beginners to Olympic caliber. And their philosophy is simple: Every child can wrestle.

Athletes of all shapes and sizes can excel and enjoy the sport. And all can benefit from the physical activity, strength and healthy self-esteem that come along with the sport, organizers said.

Citywide, about 3,500 boys and girls in 58 high schools and 54 middle schools participate in the wrestling programs.

In the Bronx, 15 middle schools and five high schools are participating this year.

The new training center, open on Mondays and Wednesdays, allows students to drop in after school to work on their technique for school matches and tournaments.

Truman High School wrestling coach Ted Cook will be running the Bronx center. His students used to have to trek into Manhattan to practice.

"Now, they don't have to travel so far," he said. "They'll have a place right in their backyard."

Alexander Rocha, 17, a senior at Truman High, has been stopping by the new training center. He has his eyes set on success in wrestling - and academics.

"It's a great sport," he said. "And it's even helping me with school. I have more determination now. I want to get into a good college."

For Joel Lozada, 17, a senior at Truman, wrestling is a respite. He too is looking to the future.

"I love wrestling because it takes my mind off a lot of things, and it's one way to get to college," he said.
Fully-Equipped Facilities in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island Set to Open October 1st and 2nd

NEW YORK - October 1, 2008 - The Beat the Streets Wrestling Program announced that today and tomorrow, October 1 and 2, 2008, it will simultaneously open four new regional training centers throughout the boroughs of New York City to expand the opportunities for middle and high school boys and girls to hone their skills as they participate in school wrestling programs. Fully equipped facilities will open in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island and are available to all students, free of charge, currently participating in the Beat the Streets Program.

Beat the Streets aims to expand wrestling in the New York City Metropolitan area from beginner to the Olympic level. Approximately 3,500 boys and girls from New York City Schools currently participate in the organization's after-school programs. In partnership with the New York City Department of Education, Beat the Streets works closely with coaches, school administrators, and professional athletes to provide opportunities for children to participate in a variety of wresting activities including clinics, tournaments and summer camps.

"Beat the Streets is committed to teaching boys and girls how the discipline and focus they gain through wresting can be applied to their education and everyday life to help them achieve success," said Brian Giffin the newly appointed President and Executive Director of Beat the Streets. "We are thrilled to be opening four new training centers that will give students throughout New York City easier access and even more opportunities to train and take in the tremendous benefits associated with participating in their schools' wresting programs."

Beat the Streets' work has effectively helped the sport of wrestling grow in New York City. In 2005 New York City's Public School Athletic League had 23 teams only in high schools and fewer than 300 kids enrolled. Now New York City has wrestling teams in 58 high schools and 54 middle schools with 3,500 enrollees. 

The training centers are designed to allow students to drop in after school to develop their technique. They learn wrestling skills from members of the Beat the Streets coaching staff as well as weekly guest clinicians. Among those who have showed up to demonstrate to students in the past are former National Collegiate and Athletic Association Champions and All-Americans such as Matt Valenti and Brett Matter from the University of Pennsylvania; Glenn Pritzlaff from Penn State; Greg Parker from Princeton; and Max Meltzer from Harvard.

Each center will provide adequate space and supervision from qualified high school and college-level coaches for all levels of middle school and high school wrestlers. The centers will be the base from which Beat the Streets will grow freestyle and Greco-Roman style wrestling, clinics, and intensive individual and group training. The training centers will also conduct takedown tournaments, dual meets and middle school league play. 

The new training centers are open two days during the week and are located at:
Brooklyn: Brooklyn Tech High School, 29 Fort Green Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Bronx: Harry S. Truman High School, 750 Baychester Avenue, Bronx, NY 10475
Queens: Robert F. Kennedy Middle School, 157-40 76 Road, Flushing, NY 11366
Staten Island: Monsignor Farrell High School, 2900 Amboy Road, Staten Island, NY 10306
Wrestling 411 Enlists KAUG as Radio Partner

Augsburg College has been one of the most successful wrestling programs on the Division III level. Now the school will be at the center of wrestling promotion as KAUG, the student-run campus radio station, will be the host studio for Wrestling 411's twice weekly radio program beginning November 11.

Wrestling 411, the brand operating under the wrestling marketing and promotions company Media Sports Production, is launching its first full season of its made for television wrestling highlights show. The made for television show, Wrestling 411, will be complimented by a timely twice weekly show airing on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the season.

"We're excited about having KAUG as our studio host," said Jason Bryant, Production Manager and Writer for the Wrestling 411 television show. "KAUG offers the flexibility we desire and the ability to stream and archive our shows for a nationwide audience. We also felt Augsburg was a natural fit because the school's strong presence within the sport of wrestling. It just makes perfect sense."

Tom Brands, the head coach of the defending Division I NCAA team champion Iowa Hawkeyes, will be the show's first guest on Nov. 11.

Kyle Klingman will serve as the host for the radio side of Wrestling 411, with Jason Bryant adding his services as well.

Each show will provide dynamic and comprehensive discussion and coverage in studio on topics crucial not only to wrestling, but wrestling coverage, rankings, results and the entire scale of wrestling from high school to the international styles.

Along with guests, the Wrestling 411 radio program will feature weekly guests ranging from the nation's most respected coaches and athletes and wrestling's top minds. Information about the show will be updated frequently on the Wrestling 411 web site at www.wrestling411.tv.

"The benefit of having both a radio and television medium will help enhance coverage and visibility of college wrestling. The radio program will not only inform the public, but it will also serve as a sounding board and also give updates on what fans can look forward to on the Wrestling 411 television program," said Bryant. "Our show will be a great compliment for the sport of wrestling. We're confident the product will be up to par with what the wrestling community has come to expect from Kyle and I."

Klingman was the associate director of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum for the past six years.  He is a featured columnist for W.I.N. Magazine and hosted "On The Mat," a weekly wrestling radio show where he interviewed some of the top names in wrestling.  In 2008, Wrestling International Newsmagazine honored Klingman with its Wrestling Journalist of the Year award.

Bryant spent three years as the Director of Media Relations for the National Wrestling Coaches Association. He helped InterMat garner the National Wrestling Media Association's Wrestling Web Site of the Year Award in 2006 and as a journalist. Bryant has been the recipient of Wrestling International Newsmagazine's Journalist of the Year as well as Amateur Wrestling News' Bob Dellinger Award for Wrestling Writer of the Year.
NWCA Releases Web-Based Skin Infection Seminar

By: Michael Moyer, National Wrestling Coaches Association

The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has collaborated with Fresh Health Innovations LLC and The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to produce a 23-minute web-based seminar, Preventing Skin Infections, for athletes, coaches and parents.   The seminar includes an additional seven-minute "stand alone" component addressing the unique skin infection challenges in wrestling.  

The focus of the seminar is on the identification, prevention, and treatment of skin infections in sports. The seminar is free to everyone in the sports community and can be viewed at www.nwcaskinprevention.com.   Preventing Skin Infections is also available on DVD for classroom viewing for a modest cost to cover duplication and shipping/handling.   

The seven-minute wrestling "stand-alone" component features wrestling legend Dan Gable and NCAA Champion and current Ohio State assistant coach Joe Heskett.

One of the primary architects of the webinar, Dr. Dave Joyner, is a former All American wrestler and football player at Penn State University and has a long history of service to the US Olympic Committee. Dave Joyner said, "I am extremely gratified that this project is now being launched. Countless athletes in all sports will benefit from what they learn in this video."  

"With the emergence of widespread outbreaks of herpes and the potentially deadly antibiotic resistant strains of staph infection in sport specific populations, the prevention and treatment of skin infections has become as important as technical and tactical aspects of training. This video will help coaches and athletes recognize early signs and symptoms of skin infection so transmission to other athletes can be kept to a minimum," said NWCA President Jim Beichner.

Mike Moyer, the Executive Director of the NWCA added, "Common sense and due diligence are still the most effective ways to battle skin infection. However, the prevention of skin infection is often the most overlooked aspect of training. We hope that this seminar will convey the important message to coaches and athletes that preventing skin infection is a responsibility that should never be taken lightly."  

"We wanted to produce a web site and corresponding video that were both engaging and informative," explains Fresh Health Innovations creative director, Fred Miles. "We used extensive animation, special effects, studio and on-location shooting to create a seminar that is not only fun to watch, but has a ton of practical information."  
The mission of Fresh Health Innovations, LLC. is to provide information to athletes, coaches and parents about injury prevention, conditioning, nutrition and other topics relating to health and fitness.  Preventing Skin Infections was made possible by a grant from a leading Pennsylvania health insurance company. 
The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a professional organization dedicated to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on scholastic and collegiate programs. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling.

The NWCA, through its organizational structure, promotes communication, recognizes achievement, recommends rules and regulations, sponsors events, and serves as an educational and informational source. Additionally, the NWCA strives to foster the sportsmanship and integrity that are the cornerstones of athletic competition.
Takedown Wrestling Radio to Launch "TDR's Wrestling Round Table" Weekly Program Oct 15th

The TDR Wrestling Round Table is a User Content and Peer to Peer Driven Program designed to Create Virtual Community Among Experts, Wrestlers, and Fans

Des Moines, IA- October 1, 2008- TakeDown Wrestling Radio (TDR) announced a new interactive feature and program designed to connect all members of the wrestling community. TDR's Wrestling Round Table is a weekly Internet radio program with a concurrent chat room feature. The premier two hour TDR Wrestling Round Table event begins Wednesday, October 15 at 7 PM CST. Subsequent programs will alternate between Wednesdays and Thursdays based on wrestling schedules that week and announced through normal channels.

Anyone with a computer can join in discussions with top journalists from the wrestling world at <http://takedownradio.com/>takedownradio.com. Concurrent audio streaming and chat room functions allow instantaneous communication between all participants. Scott Casber, co-founder and host of TDR, serves as moderator and is joined each week by a top flight of wrestling reporters, experts, and statisticians.

"We've divided the country into five regions and have selected leading authorities representing each of those regions to participate in the audio portion of the program" Casber described. " Our listeners can now become participants themselves by providing questions, perspectives, opinions, and advise in the chat room feature at Takedownradio.com. Listeners logged into the program will be able to view on their computer screen all comments being made by everyone participating" Casber concluded.

Inaugural guest hosts will represent specific geographic regions and include:

Jeff Breese- Intermatwrestle.com Chief                            Pennsylvania               Region 1

Pat Costilow- Co-founder of Ohiowrestling.net Mid- East                    Region 2

Andrew Hipps- Founder RevWrestling.com                       Southeast and West Region 3

Matt Krumrie - TheWrestlingmall.com                              Southeast and West Region 4

Britt Milinsky- Well known pundit and statistician              Midwest and Northwest  Region 5

Earl Smith- Founder of D1collegewrestling.net                    Mid- Atlantic                 Region 6

Confirmed future expert contributors include Dan Cosimi from <http://ohiowrestling.net/>ohiowrestling.net, long time Oklahoma State University voice J. Carl Guyman, Wisconsin wrestling pundit Koy Kosek, W.I.N. Magazines Bryan Van Kley and Mike Finn, TDR's Steve Foster among others.

"For the past eleven years the Saturday morning TDR program has been primarily interview driven. You could go down a list and basically check off every luminary in the wrestling world that's been on the show" stated Casber. "TDR's Wrestling Round Table allows us to maintain the Saturday format, benefit from the relationships we built there, and expand our coverage to include the entire wrestling community. Now, youth wrestlers in small communities who want to connect with their heroes can realize their dream. It's a brave new world, and this is our way to embrace it" completed Casber on a visionary note.

This is your opportunity to have your voice heard! Each week, Every week of the year! You make the call, ask the questions and participate in your show. Takedown Wrestling Radio's NEW TDR Wrestling Round Table. Wednesday October 15th, 7 PM CST at Takedownradio.com. Jump in to the chat room and participate.

TDR is currently developing other new technology products along with synergistic partners. Details on those developments will be provided in the near future. Our thanks to our partners who make this program possible.

TDR this Week- Christiansen, "Doc" Allen, M.Schwab, Kruck, T.Borrelli, Jason Valek

This week we'll be in our Brute Adidas home studios. Next week we'll be live from Las Vegas with Randy and Kim Couture to cover Night of Combat 2 from the Thomas and Mack Center. We'll be joined by a lot of great guests like Gray Maynard and Jay Hieron to name a few.

Lots going on in wrestling.
Jackson departs USA Wrestling-Thank you to Kevin Jackson for your years of service to wrestling. All of us at TDR wish you continued success at Sunkist. Art Martori is fortunate to be able to hire such an experienced and dedicated Coach.

Over the past few days we have interviewed many of wrestling's top people for the Intermatwrestle.com premium service. If you are not a member, please consider joining today. Visit Intermatwrestle.com for more information. These are one of a kind candid interviews wrestling enthusiasts will really enjoy!

This week on Takedown Radio-

9:05    Connie Christiansen- Penn State Wrestling Club Historian. We continue our recognition of 100 years of wrestling at Penn State with one the Nittany Lions most fervent supporters.

9:20    Dr. Tom "Doc" Allen-Oklahoma State Cowboy team Physician. This former Varsity pole vaulter and past Dean of the OSU medical school has treated every team member for everything from poked eyes, broken noses, chipped teeth, bit tongues and everything north and south for over a decade. A treasure to the Cowboys program and to our sport. He is the calm before the storm. A bright light in our sport!

9:40    Mark Schwab- Head Coach of NIACC. What changes are in store for the fall under his leadership? Who are the new recruits. What can the fans expect? Tune in and find out.

10:05    Ron Kruck- Inside MMA on HDNet host of Kruck's Korner. Since 2003, Kruck has worked as a host, reporter and producer for Mark Cuban's national high definition network HDNet. Covering both mixed martial arts and boxing, Kruck is an integral part of the network's HDNet Fights series. He's been a feature reporter for the MLS, studio host for NHL games and host of the Broadway Boxing Series.

10:20    Tom Borrelli-Head Coach of the Chippewas of Cent. Mich. Borrelli has built a dynasty in his 17 seasons. His Chippewas have strung together nine consecutive Mid-American Conference titles and six consecutive MAC Championships crowns. His incoming recruiting class is ranked 3rd nationally.

10:40    Jason Valek-Head Coach of D II Powerhouse. Martin Fleming, editor of The Takedown Report, has recognized Newberry College in all divisions as the top team in the Carolinas. Martin should know he covers the Carolinas like a blanket. Tune in and find out why.

I can feel it, smell it! It's in the air. Get your tickets to the greatest show on earth. College Wrestling is around the corner! Miss a show? No worries, you can get Takedown Radio at Takedownradio.com from our archives section or via Pod Cast all at no charge thanks to our sponsors.
WrestlingGear.Com Press Release - Wrestling Clinic

Elmhurst, IL - September 22, 2008 - WrestlingGear.Com is working with youth, high school and college coaches to put together a unique program to help coaches "Get Ready for the Mat!" In addition to several sessions on technique, there will be sessions on how coaches can improve their team's results both on and off the mat.

"I think we have put together a unique program of coaches and wrestling leaders who will talk about ideas on building a program like drills for practice, motivating athletes and team building. It won't be just another technique clinic. Also, coaches will be able to visit tables of wrestling top manufacturers. Matman, adidas, Asics, Brute are planning on attending our clinic."

All the proceeds from the clinic will be given to The Smile Train, an organization that helps kids with cleft lips. A cleft lip is a condition where the top of the lip does not form properly during pregnancy. A cleft lip can be corrected with surgery. WrestlingGear.Com has already raised over $10,000 since we started working with The Smile Train.

"We are looking forward to helping kids who were born with a cleft lip that might otherwise have to live with this fixable facial birth defect. With our National website and our local clinic we can help build awareness about cleft lips and help raise money to help children," says Jeff Pape, owner of WrestlingGear.Com, whose son was born with a cleft lip.

For more information, please contact WrestlingGear.Com's owner, Jeff Pape, at 800-565-0995 or locally at 630-832-0500. Be sure to leave September 28, 2008 open so you can attend this clinic in Franklin Park, IL. Clinic will be from 1:00 to 5:00. Resurrection Lutheran Church at 9920 W. Grand Ave, Franklin Park, IL will once again host our clinic.

Returning speakers will include Mike Bukovsky, Head Coach Montini Catholic and Israel Martinez of Izzy Style wrestling. Israel was a five time IKWF State Champion and 3 time IHSA State Champion. New this year is Mike Krause of the Cliff Keen Next Level Wrestling Academy.

If you can not attend the clinic, but would like to help with our efforts, send a check made payable to <http://www.thepapefoundation.org/>The Pape Foundation, NFP, c/o WrestlingGear.Com, 655 W. Grand Ave, Ste 140 60126. The Pape Foundation, NFP is a 501 (C) 3 organization so your contributions will be tax deductible as allowed by law.

About WrestlingGear.Com:

WrestlingGear.Com, Ltd is one of the most visited wrestling websites in the country. Started in 1998, it now offers products from adidas, Asics, Brute, Championship Productions, Cliff Keen, Matman, Suples, Tanita and other major wrestling companies. Every year, more wrestlers "Get Ready for the Mat!" with WrestlingGear.Com.

About The Smile Train:

The Smile Train is a non-profit organization that provides services and programs in more than 60 countries - including the United States - has helped provide free surgery for thousands of children as well as free training and education for more than 15,000 surgeons and medical professionals. Additionally, The Smile Train is sponsoring major research projects that are searching for a way to prevent clefts. For more information visit: http://www.smiletrain.org
 Attention Wrestlers and Coaches... The Silent Gladiators Wrestling Book is Offering a Money Back Gaurentee

Hello wrestlers and coaches,

My name is Nicholas Hopping, I am a former CAL POLY Div. I wrestler
and the author of the recently published controversial Olympic
wrestling book "The Silent Gladiators". AMAZON.com reviewers has
praised it as "The greatest wrestling book ever written!" and Ben
Askren of the 2008 Olympic team said it was, "By far the best
wrestling book I have ever read."

You can purchase the book on my website: THESILENTGLADIATORS.COM and
if you don't like the story, I will send you your money back
guarenteed!! Visit my website: THESILENTGLADIATORS.COM or feel free to
call me with any questions (310) 995-8383.

You can also visit FLOWRESTLING.com to watch a video interview where I
talk about the book or you can read an excerpt of it on AMAZON.com.
(GOOGLE Nicholas Hopping-The Silent Gladiators and several preview
options will appear)

I am a former NCAA wrestler with a big Olympic story that has sparked
praise, controversy, criticism, rage and debate in wrestling circles
since its debut at the Olympic Trials in Las Vegas in early June. I am
challenging you to find out why people are talking about this book and
I am very confident that it will be worth your time...If not your
money back return is guarenteed.

Regards,

Nicholas Hopping
TDR this Week- Sako, Sunderland, Sanderson, Martin, Pendleton, Josh Thompson

We come closer to the beginning of what looks to be a very exciting season indeed. We'll take a closer look as we return to the Brute Adidas studios of Takedown Wrestling Radio this Saturday from 9 AM to 11 AM CST. Join Scott Casber, Chris Arns, Steve Foster and Randy Crimmins for 2 fun filled informative hours.
Can't catch it live? No worries, TDR is now pod casting it's shows and have always offered archives for you rabid fans who, like me, can't get enough of this good thing.

Note- I spoke with Cornell wrestler Adam Frey, he's in the hospital and doing fine sometimes and sometimes not so fine. You might want to reach out to him as our family does and send him a note of encouragement. Funny how things like that help. He's a good guy and plans to join me mic side for the broadcast of the Bodybar Tournament November 22nd in Ithica, NY.

Our Guests this week, and its a packed show, include-

Guy Sako- Defense Soap Founder. Its better to be prepared when dealing with skin issues. Plan to succeed and defeat the problem before it becomes one. Tune in and find out how.

Troy Sunderland- Head Coach at Penn State. Something is going on in the Lion's Den. It may be the staff, the athletes, the facilities, the booster club, the fans or all of the above. This promises to be a fantastic interview with a coach who has put in the time and effort and a program that has put itself out there.

Cael Sanderson- Head Coach of the Cyclones of Iowa State- Cael has made some changes but enters the fall as the number 2 team in all of the country. # 2 right behind The Iowa Hawkeyes. The Cyclones must face the Hawkeyes at Iowa City this year. It will be a battle for the ages. It will be a season of challenges for sure, lets hear how Coach Sanderson plans to rally his troops.

Jim Martin- PSU Champ back in the day. Lets take a look back in the books and see who was his nemesis, the Achilles heal and what drove him to greatness. Pushed by PSU mentor and champ Carl DeStephanis, Martin climbed many mountains achieving 155 Career victories along the way. He also became a Midlands Champ twice, an NCAA Champ in 1988, EWL Champ, part of the 88' Lions team that traveled to and defeated the Hawkeyes at Iowa City. Jim has the honor of being the Lions 2nd 4 x All American. He defeated Tom Brands for goodness sake. This cat was something special.

Chris Pendleton- The very core of the OSU Championship team, the rock, the resilience, the moral fiber of the team is what Chris Pendleton weaves and others benefit from his strong convictions. This Cowboy is one in a million.

Josh "The Punk" Thompson- recently Victorious in his MMA battle, now he improves his record to 8 consecutive wins. Josh Thomson talks about his non-title win over Ashe Bowman at Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion 2 and who he'd like to fight in the future. Record: (16-2-0, 1 NC)

I've been asked to shorten my weekly press releases and believe me I'm trying. Tune in this and every Saturday to America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show, Takedownradio.com. Remember 9 AM to 11 AM CST. Our road trips start soon so keep checking out the web sites for our travel schedule.
Task Force of Wrestling Leaders Created with Hope to Launch FCA Wrestling as an FCA National Sports Ministry

(Kansas City, Mo.) - Many of the nation's top wrestling leaders assembled at FCA's World Headquarters to brainstorm and discuss the national launch of FCA Wrestling, a new addition to the eight sports programs already established as part of the FCA National Sports Ministries.

The two-day meeting, which was held September 9-10 in Kansas City, Missouri, brought together representatives and leaders from USA Wrestling, the National Wrestling Coaches Association and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Also included in the discussion were former NCAA champions and Olympians, an active Olympic hopeful, current college and high school coaches, and FCA national leaders. 

During the meeting, a task force, chaired by USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender, was created to move forward with the initiative to recruit a national leadership board to oversee the program. Once the Board is established, it will be tasked to hire a national director, and begin fundraising for the new ministry of FCA Wrestling.

The Task Force had a follow-up conference call on September 16, and has begun its work on behalf of FCA Wrestling.

"The wrestling community in the United States is excited about the plans to develop FCA Wrestling," said Bender. "The Task Force is committed to laying a strong foundation for the development of this program, which will impact the sport of wrestling and many of those who participate in our sport."

"Beginning FCA Wrestling provides an opportunity for FCA to see the world of wrestling impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of wrestlers and coaches," said Tim Johnson of FCA, who is responsible for the launch of this initiative.

Task Force members encourage those within the wrestling community who have an interest in being leaders within FCA Wrestling to contact them.

FCA WRESTLING TASK FORCE

Rich Bender, Colorado Springs, Colo., chairperson

Tim Johnson, Champaign, Ill.

Sean McNamara, Kansas City, Mo.

John Peterson, Comstock, Wis.

Dan Russell, Battle Ground, Wash.

Lee Roy Smith, Stillwater, Okla.

Stan Zeamer, Lancaster, Pa.

ABOUT FCA NATIONAL SPORTS MINISTRIES

FCA National Sports Ministries focuses on ministry to a community of people who are united around a particular sport by providing opportunities to serve athletes and coaches in that particular sport. The current, growing list of FCA National Sports includes: Golf, Lacrosse, Baseball, Endurance, Motocross, Health & Fitness, Skateboarding, and Ice Hockey. To find out more about FCA National Sports Ministries, go to www.fcasports.org or call 800-289-0909.

ABOUT FCA

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the heart and soul in sports, is touching millions of lives... one heart at a time. Since 1954, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been challenging coaches and athletes on the professional, college, high school, junior high and youth levels to use the powerful medium of athletics to impact the world for Jesus Christ. FCA is the largest Christian sports ministry in the world and focuses on serving local communities by equipping, empowering, and encouraging people to make a difference for Christ.
A lot of People Have Asked About My Olympic Experience, By Kerry McCoy, USA Olympic Team member

The season is almost here and I get more and more excited as each day passes. The summer was so busy, that I barely had time to take a breath. My family has settled in pretty well here in Maryland and everyone is doing well. Now with the summer almost gone, I am glad to be able to focus completely on the program. We began our pre-season training last week and its going well. The room is full and the guys are working extremely hard. Recruiting is going well and we are working on some improvements in our facilities. It's definitely going to be a great year.

A lot of people have asked about my Olympic experience. The flight over was fine. 11.5 hours never seems so fast ;). It took a while to get organized once we arrived, but that's pretty normal with international trips. The Olympians went directly to the Olympic village while training partners and staff "hung out" in the airport for almost 2 hours before making our way to the hotel. Personally I do not think the pollution was that bad. The sky was pretty "cloudy" but I couldn't really tell the difference in regard to air quality. A few people felt differently though. I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

The opening ceremonies are an incredible experience. Again, a little different as a coach, but still an amazing few hours. I have always said that the opening ceremonies are when you "know" what the Olympics are all about and this held true once again. From staging in the village, where everyone is posing for photos, to taking the bus to the arena the energy just builds. Once you get to the staging area before the stadium, there is a small lull because it takes a little while to get everyone in and out, but you can still feel the excitement brewing. During this time, you get to take more photos and meet other athletes. President Bush and his family visited the US group and he spoke a few words of encouragement as well as took photos with each team.

After the staging area everyone moved towards the stadium. This is when the energy and excitement really comes to a head. The path to the stadium was lined with people cheering and shouting "Welcome to Beijing", " "Good Luck", and "Have fun". Once you enter the tunnel, words cannot explain the feeling. It is one of the most exhilarating few moments of your life only to be matched with actually walking into the stadium and seeing 150,000 people cheering for you. Let the Games begin....

The competition brought mixed results. Overall we were not where we wanted or should have been in the end, but we did see some amazing things. Henry Cejudo winning the Gold Medal was incredible. Although we did not win as many medals as planned, it's always good to bring home gold. Outside of the competition the Games were incredible. We were very fortunate to be able to watch most of the events on TV in our training area and some of the group was able to see many events live. We also did a little sightseeing. The Great wall is an awesome sight. It's amazing to think about the work it took to build it. Another fun excursion was to the "Silk Market". Anyone who has heard of this place knows it's a mad house. It's crazy; there are at least 6 floors of "booths". There are clothes, jewelry, electronics, shoes, bags, accessories, you name it and you can probably find it there. What makes this place so crazy are the vendors. They will bargain and bargain and bargain. "How much you want to pay" and "My friend I give you good price" are how they get you in the shop. After that, you will need a police escort to get out. This is the first place I have been, I have been to many places, when they will literally grab your arm/hand/leg whatever, and try to keep you in the shop. It's amazing and may be a little scary for some. Fortunately I am a little bigger than most of them so they have a hard time keeping me trapped;)

We also took a trip to the great wall. This was an incredible sight. We were very fortunate to have a good clear day, so the views were fabulous. To get down, we took these alpine sleds. Apparently it's a new "attraction" because some people were in Beijing a year before and there were not an option. It was a lot of fun to cruise down the mountain. You really had to be careful because the sleds can move pretty fast. If you are not careful you can crash into the person in front of you or if you are too careful, the person behind you will get you. Once at the bottom we had a few minutes to buy souvenirs. The area was very similar to the silk market. You can bargain and really get a good deal. The thing that surprised me most is that you can bargain for bottled water, soda and snacks. I always thought those prices are always fixed, but I guess anything is possible.

Thank you for your support and I hope to hear from you soon.

Kerry
TDR this Week-Greg Jackson, Jeff Breese, Nick Gallo, Brad Dillon, Pat Smith

The 2008 Olympiad is over. Congratulations to our medallists, to the men and women who trained so hard to make it to the big dance. Few living know how difficult it is to train for opponents not yet named, dealing with the pool system, traveling half way around the world to compete and suffering from fatigue better than do our Olympic Wrestling Teams. They fell short of our goals in some areas and yet still proudly represented the USA. I'm indebted to our young men and women who had the courage to dream big. The results of this years Olympiad are testament to just how good wrestling is around the world. Also, a big thank you to the men and women of the press, the media who covered our sport. You are in a special group and our athletes deserve nothing less then the best!

TDR's Brute Adidas studios come alive again this week with special guests from around the country. The season is around the corner, the new recruits are hankering to make themselves a place on the teams of choice. To make a difference. I can feel it. The hair on the back of my neck is starting to stand up. It's almost here!

Joining me in the studio on his way to Iraq will be Vern Jefferson to discuss his upcoming fight with John Hurricane Halverson along with Brad Chiafos of the Des Moines Buccaneers.

Our Guests on TDR-

Greg Jackson- Greg's gym in Albuquerque, NM trains many top fighters, Greg will share some tips on crab mcgaw, self defense. Greg is 100% trainer. He is not a manager. Training men like Rashad Evans, GSP, Joey V. and others he has game plans and training schedules and programs in place each as individual as the fighter. Some of his top fighters include: Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Georges St. Pierre, Nate Marquardt, Joey Villasenor, David Loiseau,

Jeff Breese- After spending two years matside coaching at Seton Hill University, Jeff Breese made a career change. That change has led him to become the new Director of Media Relations for the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Breese, a Claysville, Pa., native, was a Pennsylvania state high school champion at McGuffey and competed on the Division I level at N.C. State, where he earned a degree in Mass Media and Public Relations with a minor in Journalism.

Nick Gallo- Silver Medalist, past Hofstra Head Coach, Hall of Fame member and one of the "Leaders" of the pack at Asics- TW promotions joins us to discuss the Olympic Games. Nick was a member of the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Teams

Brad Dillon- An All-American on the mat and in the classroom at Lehigh, begins his first season as an assistant coach under Pat Santoro at LeHigh. Dillon followed Santoro to the University of Maryland. In his first season with the Terps, Dillon was involved in helping land a nationally ranked recruiting class and helping Charlie Pinto to the ACC title at 141 pounds. He hopes to impact the mountain Hawks in the same fashion.

Pat Smith-a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, a 4  X NCAA Champion, a former collegiate wrestler at Oklahoma State University and a former assistant coach at OSU and now one of the fathers of HS wrestling in Arkansas.

Each week for 11 years now we have provided the best coverage and conversation on our sport possible. We have great sponsors that understand the need to promote wrestling everyday of the year. Our goal is to continue that effort and you can listen in from 9 AM to 11 AM CST at Takedownradio.com LIVE or archived and by Pod Cast at Takedownradio.com Please make use of the services and products from our sponsors.
TDR this Week-CD Mock, Wirnsberger, Couture, Eric Guerrero, Shaw, Mark Branch

This week we'll be LIVE from our fashionable Brute Adidas Studios at 9:06 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST. Great guests, great topics and wrestling. Join us won't you? Takedownradio.com

This week we'll be joined in studio by Boxing promoter Paul Scieszinski and new Van Meter HS Head Wrestling Coach Dustin Wright. Recently the wrestling community got together and raised the funds and the awareness of the need to have wrestling at Van Meter HS west of Des Moines, Iowa.

This week on TDR-

CD Mock- Tarheel's Head Coach. North Carolina's eight-man wrestling recruiting class has been ranked No. 17 nationally in this year's InterMat Division I recruiting class rankings. Additionally, the Tar Heels were recognized as one of only five programs for making a "notable move" in their recruiting efforts.

Dan Wirnsberger-we'll head to Lewisburg, PA to talk with the Bison Head Coach. Bucknell Wrestling Announced Incoming Recruits for 2008-09 Eight Individuals Comprise Wirnsberger's Third Recruiting Class. The Bison will welcome eight newcomers to the squad for the 2008-09 season.  This class is comprised of student-athletes from five different states, including three from Pennsylvania, two from New Jersey and one each from New York, Ohio and Virginia. said Wirnsberger. "It is a talented group, but more importantly, these young men are scholar-athletes. They understand the importance of higher education and the commitment needed to reach their individual athletic goals. I look forward to the development process."

Kim Couture- Great competitor, mother, business woman and Wife of Legendary Randy "The Natural" Couture makes her return to TDR. We'll talk about relating to a man as driven as Randy. We'll discuss the new book, the expansion of the Xtreme Couture Training and Gym properties and Kim's future as a pro fighter who's record sits at 1-1. What's next for Kim?

Eric Guerrero- 3 X NCAA champion, 2004 Olympian Eric Guerrero is in his fifth year on the Oklahoma State wrestling staff. Eric has been a key figure in four of the Cowboys' NCAA team championships and five of OSU's Big 12 team championships. Guerrero joined the staff as a strength and conditioning coach in 2000-01. His contributions helped prepare Oklahoma State for NCAA team championships in 2003 and 2004. Promoted into the position of assistant coach following the 2004 season the Cowboys won their third and fourth consecutive NCAA team titles with Guerrero on board in 2005 and 2006. Guerrero coached 2007 NCAA Coleman Scott, 2006 NCAA champions Johny Hendricks and Jake Rosholt, 2005 NCAA Zack Esposito, Hendricks, Chris Pendleton, Rosholt and Steve Mocco Johnny Thompson and Rosholt and 2004 NCAA individual champion Pendleton.

Jared Shaw- EliteXC Vice President and match maker will join us to discuss coming events and what to expect from Kimbo. Jared Hamman needed less than one full round to avenge the only loss of his career -- a disputed 15-second stoppage at the hands of Poai Suganuma four months ago. Hamman weathered Suganuma's quick start in the rematch and made his move midway through the first round, as he stopped the Hawaiian with a series of stout hammer fists in the featured bout on the ShoXC "Elite Challenger Series" Friday at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, Calif.

Mark Branch- The West just got stronger! Head Coach of the Wyoming Cowboys is Mark Branch. Once a Cowboy, always a Cowboy. Same nickname, different state. Mark Branch has packed up the truck, the horses, all the hats and boots, Oh, and his family and headed to Wyoming. As a member of the OSU coaching staff, Branch was named the National Wrestling Coaches' Association (NWCA) Assistant Coach of the Year in 2004. He helped coach OSU to seven Big XII Championships, four NCAA Championships and three Dual Team Championships. He was named the Associate Head Coach at OSU in 2002. He individually coached 31 All-Americans and nine NCAA Champions.

We'll also recap the weeks action from Beijing and count the medals and lost opportunities, salute the ones who wrestled for you and me. Team USA!
Xtreme Couture Signs on as Takedown Radio Sponsor

Des Moines, IA- August 18, 2008- A major promotional agreement between two leading organizations related to the world of combat sports was announced today when Xtreme Couture signed to sponsor TakeDown Radio. Xtreme Couture is a market leader in each of its categories, with products and services including apparel, gyms, training, and nutrition products. TakeDown Radio is an 11 year old radio program placing focus on amateur, collegiate, and Olympic wrestling, as well as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). The program originates from its flag ship studios at Des Moines Sports Station AM 1460 KXNO, a Fox Sports affiliate station.

Xtreme Couture was founded in 2007 by MMA icon, Randy "The Natural" Couture. Couture is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and has held five separate UFC title reigns, spanning two weight classes and ten years. Couture is arguably the most visible, as well as popular, figure in the sport of MMA today. Randy's background with the military, and collegiate and international wrestling lead him to MMA, thus providing the perfect experience for him to become an ambassador for both wrestling and MMA.

In addition to a wildly popular clothing line, Xtreme Couture operates seven world class gyms located throughout the country. The fully integrated company was designed as a way to pass on Couture's proven MMA fighting style, conditioning programs, and nutritional philosophy to a new generation of fighters and fans. Today, constant references to "the MMA lifestyle" place Xtreme Couture at its center.

The gyms attract a diverse clientele of individuals striving to reach their fitness, self defense, and competitive fighting goals. A broad range of programs, events, and memberships are available, with options beginning at only $100 a month, and elevating to personal training sessions with Couture. Xtreme Couture has assembled a top team of trainers, including Jay Hieron and Mike Pyle. Xtreme Couture provides opportunities for qualified business owners to open their own gyms as the operation continues to rapidly expand.

"Extreme Couture represents the absolute melding of wrestling and MMA. In this case, the total is clearly larger than the sum of its parts," commented TakeDown Radio founder and host, Scott Casber. "Randy and his organization have been friends of the program from the start. We were banging the wrestling/MMA drum long before it became generally accepted. As Randy's success went through the roof, he never forgot us. Today's announcement is a testament to his unlimited support of our sports, as well as a personal example of his humility. We are truly grateful." Casber continued.

Full details regarding Xtreme Couture can be found at http://www.xtremecouture.tv Business inquiries by phone can be directed to (702) 616-1022

More information on TakeDown Radio can be found at http://www.takedownradio.com
People are Starved for Wrestling Entertainment

The story proves to be true again. On August 8, 2008 Wrestling 411 posted the Beat the Streets video on their Wrestling 411 website distribution channel SunCasTV.com. 

Within the first 15 hours Beat the Streets had in excess of 20,170 unique viewers. Thus proving, the community is starved for targeted entertainment and more specifically they like wrestling.

Wrestling 411 is looking forward to the fall of 2008 and the launch of their season long highlight show, Log onto www.Wrestling411.tv for the latest information.

Sincerely,  

J. Robinson and Wade Schalles
CSC Title IX Reform Petition Press Release

Olympic Greats John Naber, Peter Vidmar, Dan Gable,and Cael
Sanderson, join with Actor Billy Baldwin Calling for 'Common Sense
'reform of Title IX

Washington, D.C., August 4, 2008 - Over 25 U.S. Olympians and over 35
NCAA Champions have endorsed a College Sports Council petition calling
on the U.S. Congress to enact common sense reform of the federal
regulations governing Title IX compliance.

As of today, U.S. Olympic champions John Naber (4x Gold, Swimming,
1976), Peter Vidmar (Gold, Gymnastics, 1984), Dan Gable (Gold,
Freestyle Wrestling, 1972) and Cael Sanderson (Gold, Freestyle
Wrestling, 2004) as well as actor Billy Baldwin, who wrestled in
college at SUNY Binghamton have signed the petition.

" I support the CSC's efforts to reform Title IX, so that the law can
continue to protect women from discrimination, but without harming
men. If we don't reform the current regulations that govern Title IX,
we will continue to see more athletic programs eliminated, and that
would be a tragic loss," said Olympic swimming legend John Naber.

On June 23, 2008, the CSC launched a national petition drive on the
36th anniversary of the passage of Title IX calling on men and women
to work together to effect "straightforward and common-sense" reform
to the law's enforcement mechanism in college athletics.

The text of the petition reads:

WHEREAS … Men's collegiate athletic teams are being eliminated and
rosters are being capped at an alarming rate in order to comply with
the "proportionality" enforcement prong ...

WHEREAS … Women collegiate athletes are being robbed of their
training partners, teammates and biggest supporters when men's teams
are eliminated ...

WHEREAS … Straightforward and common-sense fixes to the enforcement
mechanism are already available - such as a simple survey that would
allow any student, male or female, to express interest and be given
opportunity ...

WHEREAS ... The law's current method of enforcement is discriminating
against male athletes and artificially limiting opportunities to
participate ...

WHEREAS ... The current tenor of the debate over the future of Title
IX sets up a zero sum contest pitting men against women that hurts the
collective cause of all college athletes ...

BE IT RESOLVED ... That men and women across the country come together
to discuss and implement a set of common sense reforms to Title IX
enforcement that maximizes the opportunities of all college athletes
regardless of gender.

WE THE UNDERSIGNED ...

The petition can be signed online at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/csc2008/petition.html

The College Sports Council is a national coalition of coaches,
parents, athletes, and alumni devoted to the preservation and
promotion of the student athlete experience.

Additional Background and Sources: HYPERLINK
"http://www.collegesportscouncil.org" www.collegesportscouncil.orgTDR this Week-McFarland, Oleson, Jay Jaggers, Mike Pucillo, Barber, Meints

The Olympics are just days away. August 8th, the flame will be lit and the competition begins.

We'll be LIVE from our Brute Adidas studios this Saturday for another 2 hours of wrestling talk starting at 9:06 AM CST. Join us for a lively discussion on wrestling. We should all take a moment and give thanks and offer a silent prayer to our Team.

TDR guests include-

9:05        Joe McFarland- Head Coach of the Wolverines of the U of Michigan joins us to offer some insite and possible predictions on the pending Olympics, his program and the multi million dollar improvements the athletic department plans for wrestling. -M's 2007-08 recruiting class -- Ben Apland, Coby Boyd, Hunter Collins, Bret Marsh, Jake Salazar, Zac Stevens and Mark Weber -- is ranked No. 7 among InterMat's top classes.    

9:20    Brett Oleson- New head Coach of NAIA Bacone Warriors in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Coach Oleson comes from Waldorf College in northern Iowa where he wrestled and was an assistant coach. Coach Oleson was a three year starter, two time national qualifier, and wrestled at 174 pounds all four years. He was an assistant coach for three years for the warriors. During his tenure at Waldorf, Coach Oleson has coached four All-Americans and one national champion.
 
9:40 Jay Jaggers- Senior-141 LBS. The Ohio State University. Jaggers became an All-American in 2007 after compiling a 5-2 mark at the NCAA championships (3/15-17/07) to finish seventh. Jaggers began and ended his national run against Harvard's and No. 13 Max Meltzer, defeating him in the seventh-place match-up, 7-1. It was Jaggers' first official appearance on the national stage, after qualifying for NCAAs in 2005-06, but was forced to bow out of the championships because of a knee injury. At the 2007 Big Ten Conference Championships (3/3-4/07), Jaggers recorded the fastest fall time at 25 seconds against Purdue's Nick Bertucci and that time places him tied for seventh all-time in the OSU record book. During his redshirt-freshman campaign in 2005-06, Jaggers finished with 26 wins, which was a tie for the team best. Additionally, Jaggers' 15 dual wins was No. 1 on the team among starters. Included in those overall wins was a first-place finish at the Michigan State Open (11/12-13/05), as well as a second-place showing at the Southern Scuffle (12/29-30/05). During that same season, Jaggers earned an individual ranking as high as seventh in the Amateur Wrestling News polls and eighth in the USA Today/NWCA/InterMat standings. Academically, Jaggers is a 2006-07 Academic All-Big Ten honoree, as well as a 2007 NWCA All-Academic Team member and Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.

Deanna Gilbert- UFC 87 Fight night at Billy Joe's hosted by T- Scott

10:05    Mike Pucillo- Junior-184 LBS. The Ohio State University. Ohio State career/2006-07 (Freshman season) - Pucillo earned All-America laurels in his first complete season of collegiate wrestling with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA championships. Finishing the season with a 26-5 overall record, Pucillo concluded the regular season with an impressive 7-1 Big Ten ledger, which was a part of a 14-1 overall dual mark. At the national championships, Pucillo defeated Top 20 wrestlers in No. 17 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin), No. 9 Christian Sinnott (Central Michigan) and No. 10 Louis Caputo (Harvard). Pucillo entered the postseason with a team-best .950 winning percentage (19-1). Although seeing limited action at the beginning of the season because of injury, Pucillo did win 16-consecutive matches to begin his collegiate career at Ohio State before losing his first match of the season to No. 1-ranked Jake Herbert of Northwestern (2/4/07). Included in that 16-match winning streak was the individual title at the Las Vegas Invitational (12/1-2/06). During the Las Vegas Invite, Pucillo won via two major decisions and a fall before downing fourth-ranked Raymond Jordan of Missouri, 3-1, in the semifinals and No. 3 Tyrel Todd of Michigan, 12-6, in the finals en route to the title. Pucillo already had opened the season with a 3-2 win against Jordan in dual action (11/16/06) and later against the Wolverines in dual competition (2/11/07), defeated Todd for the second time. For his efforts in Vegas, Pucillo was awarded Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week Honors (12/4/06). In all, Pucillo faced eight ranked wrestlers during the regular season and compiled a 7-1 mark. In addition to his athletic accomplishments, Pucillo also was a 2007 Academic All-Big Ten and NWCA All-Academic Team award winner, as well as an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.

10:20 Sam Barber- Head Coach of the D3 Powerhouse Auggies of Augsburg College. Plans for a new start or build on the solid foundation set in place by Jeff Swenson? Swenson as a boss? Expectations from self and team? Tune in and find out.

10:40 Corey Meints- Friend of the Ackley Geneva Wellsburg Steamboat Rock (AGWSR) HS Wrestling program. Wrestled a few years at Coe. The Sports Editor at Ackley World Journal The AGWSR (Ackley) Mat club will be hosting a golf outing on Aug. 31 with registration at 12:30 and shot gun start at 1 p.m. The money raised will be used to further the youth programs at AGWSR, as well as for the high school program. The money helps kids attend camps, clinics and tournaments. Money has also been used for work out equipment, videos and almost everything else the program has needed from Kindergarten through high school. For more information contact youth coach Brian Johnson at 641-869-5206

Maureen Roshar- Wild Rose Resort and Casino- 563-219-0704

Join us Saturdays from 9 AM to 11 AM CST for America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show. Now in our 11th year
At Takedownradio.com It's all about the competition!
Media Sports Productions Adds to Wrestling 411 Staff

www.MediaSportsProductions.com

(Minneapolis, MN) Friday, August 4, 2008. 

The Wrestling 411 team of champions gains another leader in the wrestling community. Jason Bryant has agreed to apply his communication skills to the rapidly developing wrestling highlight show, Wrestling 411. 

With a broadcast background and an ear for news Bryant has worked diligently the past few years to develop InterMat into what it is today; one of the most visited online communication resources of wrestling news. InterMat is owned and operated by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). 

During Bryant's time with InterMat he has received two prominent awards, National Web Site of the Year and Wrestling Writer of the Year; both from the National Wrestling Media Association. Additionally, both W.I.N. Magazine and Amateur Wrestling News have donned prestigious writer recognitions on Bryant as well. He has also served as the Division I Rankings Coordinator for the NCAA and has been Vice President of the National Wrestling Media Association since 2004.

J. Robinson, the University of Minnesota's Head Wrestling Coach, said, "We are pleased to have Bryant as part of a the Wrestling 411 team as we launch into our premier year, He knows the sport, the athletes and the coaches intently and most important to us, he loves being involved in wrestling."

"Bryant adds so much to Wrestling 411," Wade Schalles, Wrestling Hall of Fame member, "as we begin our planning stages for the radio portion of Wrestling 411. He's just a natural fit for us; for five years he was the Sports Director at WODU Radio at Old Dominion University in addition to working college events for Comcast Sports Net and ESPN."  

Bryant's blog site will be posted on several locations. Visit www.Wrestling411.tv to watch, blog, chat, share wrestling clips and get involved with wrestling. 
For more information:

Jane Lenz
Media Sports Productions
P.O. Box 22442
St. Paul, MN 55122
651-248-7772
jslenz@MediaSportsProductions.com
www.MediaSportsProdcutions.com
Letts Leads U.S. Men's Freestyle in Final Day of FILA Junior Worlds

Mike Letts finished third at 84 kg/185 to lead the U.S. men's freestyle team Sunday, August 3 at the FILA Junior World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Letts posted three straight wins over Osama A Elaziz Elsedy of Egypt, Dzmitri Alshevaski of Belarus and Kamil Skaskiewicz of Poland to open the day. He then lost to Beka Tchedlidze of Georgia in the semifinals. Letts beat Aslanbek Alborov of Azerbaijan to capture the bronze medal.
Click below to see Mike's complete results:
http://www.fila-wrestling.com/istanbul08/index.php/component/competition/?act=ficheLutteur&style=FS&choix_poids=970&choix_pays=&id_inscrit=25981&act2=resultat

The U.S. team finished in fourth place finish with 34 points. Russia claimed the championship with 69 points, while Iran earned second (49) and Georgia was third (41).
http://www.themat.com/section.php?section_id=3&page=showarticle&ArticleID=19300
NWCA State Scholastic Awards for 2007-2008 Announced

The National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholastic Board of Directors announced Friday the annual winners of the NWCA Scholastic Coach of the Year, Scholastic Assistant Coach of the Year, and the Scholastic Wrestler of the Year at the state level.

Notable State Wrestler of the Year honorees are Pennsylvania's Jordan Oliver of Easton Area High School, New York's Hunter Meys of Shenendehowa High School, and Minnesota's Jake Deitchler of Anoka HS. Oliver was also awarded the NWCA Scholastic National Wrestler of the Year. Meys and Deitchler were both recipients of the Regional Wrestler of the Year honors.

Jim Jackson, Apple Valley High School head coach and NWCA Scholastic National Head Coach of the Year, headlines the recipients of the State Head Coach of the Year. National Assistant Coach of the Year Tom Spale of Schuyler Central High School in Nebraska tops the list of the State Assistant Coach of the Year award winners.

"The coaches and wrestlers receiving the NWCA State Scholastic Awards have shown the type of work ethic and commitment needed to achieve success on and off the mat. The NWCA applauds the efforts and the achievements of the honorees," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer.

State Winners
State Head Coach School

New York Michael Conners G. Ray Bodley-Fulton City School District
Connecticut Ricky Shook Danbury High School
Maine Ted Heroux Belfast Area High School
Massachusetts Lawrence E. Tremblay Winchester High School
New Hampshire Ryan Carr Salem High School
Rhode Island Steve Gordon Cumberland High School
Vermont Scott Legacy Mt. Anthony Union High School
Region 1

Pennsylvania Co- Head Coach Timothy Giel Shady Side Academy
Pennsylvania Co- Head Coach Jeff Sweigard Central Dauphin High School
Maryland Kevin Gilligan Stephen Decatur High School
Delaware Phil Shultie Sussex Central High School
West Virginia Sean Doyle Wheeling Park High School
New Jersey John Gardner High Point High School
Region 2

South Carolina
North Carolina Maurice Atwood Parkland High School
Virginia Bryan Hurst Fauquier High School
Alabama Chris Staton Scottsboro High School
Georgia Doug Thurmond Jefferson High School
Tenessee Justin Ridge Greenback High School
Florida Victor Balmeceda South Dade HS
Region 3

Illinois Dale Eggert Libertyville High School
Indiana Jared Williams Lawrence North High School
Kentucky Dennis Walls Union County High School
Michigan Don Rinehart Rockford High School
Ohio Lee Thompson Akron Kenmore High School
Region 4

North Dakota Josh Hoffman Ashley Wishek High School
Missouri Gary Mayabb Oak Park High School
South Dakota
Wisconsin Dan Hein Wausau West High School
Iowa Jeff Weatherman Ballard High School
Minnesota Jim Jackson Apple Valley High School
Region 5

Nebraska Kenny Loosvelt Madison High School
Oklahoma Darren Peaster Catoosa High School
Kansas Terry Alley Andover Central High School
Colorado Rick Gallegos Grand Valley High School
Texas Johnny Cobb Tascosa High School
Lousiana Tommy Prochaska Catholic High School
Region 6

Alaska
Montana Jeff Thompson Flathead High School
Idaho Cliff Laughlin Mountain View High School
Washington Craig Foster Blaine High School
Wyoming Nathan Urbach Powell High School
Oregon Steve Lander Roseburg High School
Region 7

Arizona Tom Wokasch Mingus High School
California Steve Strange Central Catholic High School
New Mexico
Hawaii Todd Hayase Lahainaluna High School
Nevada Kevin Carter Damonte Ranch High School
Utah Brandon Ripplinger Viewmont High School
Region 8

Assistant Coaches of the Year
State Assistant Coach School

New York Louis Lombardo Greece Olympia High School
Connecticut Matt Laskowski Danbury High School
Maine
Massachusetts David A. Breen Dedham High School
New Hampshire Todd Austin Plymouth Regional High School
Rhode Island Jerred Dean Cumberland High School
Vermont Bob Bathalon Otter Valley Union High School
Region 1

Pennsylvania Ken Courts Central Dauphin High School
Pennsylvania
Maryland Bill Lehto C. Milton Wright High School
Delaware Chip Illian Sussex Central High School
West Virginia Daran Hays North Marion High School
New Jersey Marty Gleason Bound Brook High School
Region 2

South Carolina
North Carolina Dena Pence Topsail High School
Virginia David Hall Great Bridge High School
Alabama
Georgia Lee Dendy Lafayette High School
Tenessee Jon Renner Science Hill High School
Florida Marc Carter Palmetto Ridge High School
Region 3

Illinois Roy Seeger Libertyville High School
Indiana Eric Douglas Lawrence North High School
Kentucky Robert Ervin Union County High School
Michigan Craig Zeerip Hesperia High School
Ohio Dave Cline Uniontown Lake High School
Region 4

North Dakota Pat Schlosser Hettinger-Richardton Hebron High School
Missouri Chris Kyle Holt High School
South Dakota
Wisconsin Mike Ryback Pewaukee High School
Iowa Tim Weatherman Ballard High School
Minnesota Gary Stokes Canby High School
Region 5

Nebraska Tom Spale Schuyler Central High School
Oklahoma Jonathan Huseman Cushing High School
Kansas Kale Mann Mill Valley High School
Colorado John Sheridan Centauri High School
Texas John Mance Bowie High School
Lousiana Jonathon Orillion Jesuit High School
Region 6

Alaska
Montana Suny Cheff Flathead High School
Idaho Kelly Moffart Coeur D'Alene High School
Washington Thomas Tripple Governor John R. Rogers High School
Wyoming Tony Dammen Powell High School
Oregon Richard Rockwell Riverside High School
Region 7

Arizona Mario Chagolla Camp Verde High School
California Diego Pena Camarillo High School
New Mexico
Hawaii Conrad Bolor Lahainaluna High School
Nevada Brian Burkert Western High School
Utah Sandell Smoot Viewmont High School
Region 8

Wrestlers of the Year
State Wrestler School

New York Hunter Meys Shenendehowa High School
Connecticut Julian Hightower Ledyard High School
Maine Chris M. Smith Deeriho High School
Massachusetts Ronnie Tetreault Ludlow High School
New Hampshire Trevor Dearden Salem High School
Rhode Island Jacob Matthews Middletown High School
Vermont Robert Hamlin Mt. Mansfield Union High School
Region 1

Pennsylvania Jordan Oliver Easton Area High School
Pennsylvania
Maryland Josh Asper Hereford High School
Delaware Alex Meade Caesar Rodney High School
West Virginia Seth Easter Nitro High School
New Jersey Scott Winston Jackson Memorial High School
Region 2

South Carolina
North Carolina Justin Koren Cary High School
Virginia Michael Garofalo Colonial Fordge High School
Alabama Kyle & Chase Cuthbertson Scottsboro High School
Georgia Peter Yates Salem High School
Tenessee Michael Hooker McCallie High School
Florida Scotti Sentes Riverdale High School
Region 3

Illinois Conrad Polz Carl Sandburg High School
Indiana Andrew Howe Hanover Central High School
Kentucky Mitch Ervin Union County High School
Michigan Ben Bennett Rockford High School
Ohio Tony Jameson Austintown Fitch High School
Region 4

North Dakota Kriss Mcleary Napoleon High School
Missouri Tyler Holloway Brookfield High School
South Dakota Dustin Walraven
Wisconsin Zac Cibula Luxemburg Casco High School
Iowa Andrew Long Creston High School
Minnesota Jake Deitchler Anoka High School
Region 5

Nebraska Tyler Sackett, Warner Phipps Skutt Catholic HS (Tyler), Kearney HS (Warner)
Oklahoma Drew Partain Broken Arrow High School OK
Kansas Romero Cotton Hutchinson High School
Colorado Tyler Graff Loveland High School
Texas Danny Luttrell Arlington High School
Lousiana David Bonin Comeaux High School
Region 6

Alaska
Montana Ryan Leonard Simms High School
Idaho Jacob Scarbour Weiser High School
Washington Michael Mangrum Auburn Riverside High School
Wyoming Jared Hatley Torrington High School
Oregon Tyrell Fortune Lakeridge High School
Region 7

Arizona Paul Garza Sunnyside High School
California Jason Welch Los Lomas High School
New Mexico Jake Marinez
Hawaii Daniel Chow Punahou High School
Nevada Reginald Powers Mojave High School
Utah Jason Chamberlain Springville High School
Region 8

The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a professional organization dedicated to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on scholastic and collegiate programs. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling.

The NWCA, through its organizational structure, promotes communication, recognizes achievement, recommends rules and regulations, sponsors events, and serves as an educational and informational source. Additionally, the NWCA strives to foster the sportsmanship and integrity that are the cornerstones of athletic competition.
Beat the Streets Sponsors 42 NYC Kids

On July 27th the J Robinson Intensive Training Camp in Oregon will welcome 42 New York City public school students to participate in its prestigious wrestling training program. The high school students are part of the Beat the Streets non-profit organization and they will be the largest organized group to ever attend the J Robinson wrestling camp. Beat the Streets helped raise money to completely cover all costs for the kids. The J Robinson camp is one of the most intense and well regarding training programs in the country and is directed by National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Champion Coaches, Olympic Medalist and All-American Wrestlers.  

Please let me know if I can schedule a time for you to speak to a member of the Beat the Streets organization or the kids participating in the camps. Also let me know if I can forward you photos of the kids.

Thanks,
Philip
212-784-5713



Beat the Streets Sponsors 42 Public School Students to Fly to Premiere Wrestling Camp in Oregon and Participate in Intensive Program 

High School Students from All Five Boroughs to Train at Camp Directed by NCAA Division I Champion Coaches, Olympic Medalist and All-American Wrestlers

NEW YORK - July 21, 2008 - Today the Beat the Streets Wrestling Program announced it will sponsor 42 New York City high school students to fly to Oregon to participate in the prestigious J Robinson Intensive Training Camp, which begins July 27 and concludes August 9, 2008. Beat the Streets will be the largest organized group to ever attend a J Robinson Camp. During the program the students will develop their skills in a disciplined and focused environment directed by National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Champion Coaches, Olympic Medalist and All-American Wrestlers.  

Beat the Streets identified 42 public school students, who hail from all five boroughs to be sent to the camp. Beat the Streets helped raise money to completely cover all costs associated with attending the program. The J Robinson Camp is just one of a series of opportunities Beat the Streets has offered New York City students in the summer, allowing them to participate in training camps before they resume their regular wrestling programs when school is in session in the fall.       

"The J Robinson Intensive Training Camp is one of the most prestigious places a young athlete can go to develop their potential to become a premiere wrestler. The camp helps prepare the athletes mentally and physically to train at the highest level of intensity, this will help our kids learn what it takes to truly be the best," said Michael E. Novogratz, Beat the Streets' Chairman of the Board. "We are so proud of all the students who participate in the Beat the Streets program in the summer and throughout the school year. The students are dedicated to learning about wrestling and its core values, through determination and hard work in wrestling they will learn skills that can greatly enhance their everyday lives."  

Founded in 2004, Beat the Streets' mission is to expand wrestling in the New York City Metropolitan area from beginner to the Olympic level. Approximately 3,500 boys and girls from New York City Schools currently participate in Beat the Streets after-school programs. Beat the Streets recently helped raise more than $2 million, the largest contribution to any school sport in the history of New York City's public schools. The organization works closely with a wide range of partners including coaches, school administrators, and current and former professional athletes to provide opportunities for children of diverse backgrounds to participate in opportunities beyond its own programs, including wrestling clinics, tournaments and summer camps.

Since 1978, J Robinson and his staff have provided an unparalleled training experience for thousands of wrestlers across the nation each summer. J Robinson hosts a number of camps throughout the year and Beat the Streets will be participating in the program being held at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. The camps provide athlete's quality training facilities and a skilled staff featuring current and former college and professional athletes along with experienced high school coaches.

All the students participating in the camp are in high school. The schools taking part in the program are:
Manhattan: A. Philip Randolph, Baruch and Stuyvesant
Brooklyn: Abraham Lincoln, Automotive, Brooklyn Tech, Canarsie, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Grand Street Campus, James Madison, Midwood and Wingate
Bronx: Bronx Science, Harry S. Truman and Lehman
Queens: Aviation, Bryant, Flushing and Springfield Gardens
Staten Island: Farrell, Petrides and Wagner

Please visit www.beat-the-streets.org for more information on the Beat the Streets Wrestling Program.
TakeDown Radio's Flagship Station KXNO Nominated for 2008 Marconi Award

Des Moines Sports Station, AM 1460 KXNO, and home to Wrestling's TakeDown Radio Is Nominated by the National Association of Broadcasters as "2008 Sports Station of the Year"

Des Moines, IA- July 21, 2008- 1460 KXNO, the Des Moines Fox Sports affiliate, has been nominated for the prestigious 2008 Marconi Award. The Marconi Awards are presented each year by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to recognize one station in each of several categories. KXNO was nominated in the Best Sports Station Category.

The nomination is interesting and comes at a unique time for KXNO. The Des Moines station is the only 2008 nominee outside a major market. The other nominees in the category are located in Dallas, Phoenix, Boston, and Buffalo. The nomination also comes at a time when a new competitor entered the Des Moines market in the Sports Category.

Clear Channel Communications, parent of KXNO has earned Marconi Awards previously, and as recent at the 2007 Best Personalities Award for Van and Bonnie on sister station WHO. The 2007 Marconi Award for Best Sports Station is held by KTCK in Dallas. This years Awards will be presented on September 18 during an awards dinner and ceremony in Austin, TX.

"This has been an incredible year for sports in the Des Moines market in general." commented TakeDown Radio founder and host Scott Casber. "Considering the excitement surrounding the return of Arena Football with the Barnstormers, the reinvigoration in the sport of wrestling, and our hosting of the NCAA Track and Field Finals and other major sports events, the Marconi nomination is icing on the cake.", Casber concluded.

KXNO is known for its unique mix of local and national programming and has embraced the wrestling community. TakeDown Wrestling Radio is heard on KXNO 1460 through out Iowa each Saturday from 9 AM-11 AM, and is available through the Internet via streaming and archives at Takedownradio.com, KXNO.com, and you can subscribe to our popular Pod casts.20 New Wrestlers at Our Monday Practice in Brazil

Dear Friends,  

We have 20 new wrestlers at our Monday practice. I pick them up at the school next to my home. Today we had an interesting practice. The school would not let us in the yard until the end of classes (before they let us in earlier). I told them, "No problem, we are flexible." While we were waiting, Kauwan's (8) grandmother talked to us. Kauwan is the best wrestler we have, winning two MVW trophies. He is about to be expelled from school. Why is it that the best wrestlers are usually the biggest brats??? His grandmother pleaded, "Can you help us? His dad abandoned us a while back and Kauwan has no compass." I replied, "That is exactly why we are doing this, we are here to help in whatever way we can. You can count on us." Most Stateside pastors would love to have these open doors into public schools, we are very fortunate. 

I was hurting within even then. I talked to him before practice and he started to cry. Next week is winter vacation. I told him I would pick him up with my motorcycle and we would get an ice cream.  We feel honored that these parents trust us and come to us for help. Pray for him. He has said several times that he wants to come to church. We appreciate your prayers on our behalf. Your friend forever, Tom
Gavin Garners Bronze Medal In University World Games

Las Vegas, Nev.-2008 NCAA Champion Keith Gavin earned the bronze medal in the 2008 University World Freestyle Wrestling Championships held in Las Vegas, Nev., finishing third in the Olympic Trails.

"We are very proud of Keith's success as a bronze medalist in the 2008 University World Freestyle Wrestling Championships," said Head Wrestling Coach Rande Stottlemyer. "His success is a real testament to his rapid development in the transition from collegiate to freestyle wrestling, which is the dominant international style of wrestling we will be watching in the summer Olympics.

"Keith's dream is to represent the USA in the 2012 Olympics and this achievement is a significant first step and certainly a confidence builder for him as he pursues that dream."

Gavin won the bronze medal after he defeated Eric Luedke 0-1, 6-0 and 3-1. As the only undefeated DI wrestler at the completion of the 2007-08 season, Gavin earned a berth in the in the World University Games after he won a title at 163 pounds in the USA Wrestling University Nationals in Akron, Ohio.
USA Wins World Championships

Team USA women's freestyle won it's first world title in over a decade
at the 8th World University Championships held in Thessaloniki, Greece
Friday July 11, 2008 by claiming 3 golds, 1 silver, 2 bronze, and 1
fifth place finish.

More results will come when available.

USA World University Championship results
48kg Sara Fulp-Allen Silver
51kg Kathernie Fulp-Allen World Champion
55kg Chelynne Pringle 5th pl.
59kg Othella Lucas Bronze
63kg Alaina Berube Bronze
67kg Elena Pirozhkova World Champion
72kg Stephany Lee World Champion
Georges "Rush" St. Pierre Candidate for 2008 ESPY Award

In addition to being the UFC Welterweight World Champion, Georges St. Pierre is a deserving candidate for this years ESPY Award in the Best Fighter Category. He is the only candidate representing mixed martial arts (MMA). Through the TakeDown Radio program we've gotten to know, trust, and respect Georges and his management.

During MMA fight promotions we often ask fighters during interviews who they consider an influence and role model. To say Georges is well represented would be an understatement. We hope those same opinions will elevate him to become this years ESPY winner.

I would appreciate if you can click on the following link and complete the process to vote for Georges.

http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/specialsection/espys2008/#/voting/best fighter/

What you do in the November Presidential election is completely your decision. You won't be able to vote for Georges then. He's Canadian, you know.

Thanks for your help!
Team USA Wins Two Out of a Possible Two Gold Medal Women's Freestyle

Team USA wins two out of a possible two gold medal women's freestyle
matches when Katherine Fulp-Allen (51kg) and Elena Pirozhkova (67kg)
won the 8th World University Championships (WUC) in impressive fashion
Thursday July 10, 2008 at the Alexandro Melathron venue in
Thessaloniki, Greece.

Fulp-Allen stopped Olga Gileva of Russia by fall in the second period
after winning the first period 4-0. On her way to the gold medal
finals, she beat Brigita Bermmane of Latvia by 6-0, 6-0 and pinned
Japan's Maki Fujimo in the semi-final round.

This was Fulp-Allen's first WUC and she explained "this is a good
closing to a long season and I am looking forward to the World Team
Trials in September.

Pirozhkova beat Monika Szerkencse of Hungary 1-0, 1-0 in the quarter
finals and A. Christodoulaki of Greece by pin in the semi-finals on her
way to shutting out Natalia Kuksina of Russia 4-0, 1-0.

This was Pirozhkova's first WUC also and she won by shutting out all of
her opponents or not letting anyone score a single point and she stated
"I wrestled really tentatively and I wish I opened up more but I didn't
get myself in any trouble and I'm really excited that I won my first
world championship.

Team USA will contest five other weights Friday July 11, 2008 on the
second final day of the WUC women's freestyle competition: Sara
Fulp-Allen vs. Yi Mei (TPE) 48kg, Chelynne Pringle vs. Sakito Hirata
(JPN) 55kg, Othella Lucas vs. Monika Skiba (POL) 59kg, Alaina Berube
vs. 63kg, Stephany Lee vs. Ekaterina Bukina 72kg.
TDR this Week-K. Mattys, J. McFarland, D. Fox, Ben Askren, J.Sharrett, Joe Heskett

We return to the Brute Adidas studios this Saturday for another 2 hours of wrestling talk. Join us for a lively discussion on wrestling. Yup, the sport we all love. The Olympics are just 4 weeks away and the best America has to offer will be showcasing their talent in Beijing, China. I know its all hard work, determination, and whatnot but we should all take a moment and give thanks and offer a silent prayer to our Team as they endeavor to return home to the friendly shores of America with Gold around their necks! God Bless Team USA!

TDR This week-

Brett and Kristy Mattys- Parents of 2 young Minnesota wrestlers (little guys) have been challenged by their youngest son Sam, 7 years old. Sam was diagnosed at the age of 4 with Sensory Processing disorder. This is a neuroprocessing disorder that affects the way the brain interprets all of the senses. He has been in and out of Occupational therapy since the diagnosis. Sam is a "sensory seeker" and his main issues are proprioceptive. This means he has trouble with the input and feedback that tells us about movement and body position. He has issues with motor planning and control. He is a mover, shaker, jumper, crasher, bouncer! He does great when he can receive OT, which consists of what looks to you or me like gym time! One of the things that was recommended to us was to put him in wrestling, which we did. What a blessing! The warm ups and drills were like OT for him, and the wrestling itself was great for joint input. He has been part of the youth wrestling team now for 2 years. His brother also became involved after watching, and it has become a passion for our whole family.

If this interview doesn't charge you up about wrestling nothing will!

Joe McFarland- Head Coach of the Michigan Wolverines- Joe joins us to talk about Andy Hrovat and his drive to represent the USA, his goals and aspirations.

Dustin Fox- Northwestern Heavy Weight, What does the future hold for this bright young man? Tune in and find out.

Ben Askren- (Missouri) US Olympic Team Member- Ben is one of the most enigmatic wrestlers competing today. His natural strength and ability have carried him far but what lies ahead in his weight class in Beijing?

Joel Sharrett- Head Coach Air force (Iowa)- Joel spent a number of years learning Bruce Burnett's management style that he has honed to perfection as the Head Coach of the Falcons. An elite program for sure. We'll take a look at where the program was and where we go from here.

Joe Heskett- Assist Coach at The Ohio State University. I described Joe's style in competition to be the quiet before the storm. How has that translated in his current position as a coach under Tom Ryan?

Join us each week for a new episode of America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show, Saturday morning's from 9:00Am CST to 11:00AM at Takedownradio.com. Know of someone that needs, deserves recognition or has a great story to tell? Let me know. Email me at Svideoman@aol.com or feel free to call me at 515-707-8657
Team USA in Bulgaria & Greece

Today was as adventurous as it gets due to the opening ceremony,
interesting calls by referees, and the different ways in which teams
made weight. Also, someone specials bag finally made it to the hotel
with Team USA.

I just actually moved from the Grand Hotel Palace, a 5 star hotel,
lobby to the comfort of the smoke free zone desk bedside provided by
the hosts because smoking in the lobby is tolerated. The lobby is
elegant and has many places to read, type, smoke, and drink your
favorite beverage. My beverage of choice was an espresso worth 3 Euros
(1.65 Euros = 1 USD) complete with a class of water and 4 cookies
compliments of the server.

Where was I? Oh yeah…the opening ceremony was nice and a breath of
fresh air compared to opening ceremonies at the NCAA Nationals or most
other national tournaments I've been to in the States. There was, of
course, the walk in of each country with their flag and representatives
from each sport, in some cases, although the Americans only had
freestyle male wrestlers present. Anyway, the organizers spent some
time getting all the different type of dancers and music together or
separate (depending on your perspective or view.) The traditional
dancers started followed by modern dancers - back and forth at least 3
times. This was exciting to me because I like music and I like dancing.

It dawned on me several years ago that a lot of folks put a lot of time
in to perfect what they love and are passionate about similar to most
people in our sport.

After the athletes worked out this morning, Team USA walked upstairs to
view the closing moments of Jake Herbert's controversial match. I
didn't see the call or watch any of his match, nor did Team USA
(women's version), and we think he got a bad call because the match was
over and both groups of coaches were having loud discussions with the
mat side officials. To be certain, Jake's hand was left at his side
while his Turkish opponent's hand was raised. At that moment, TJ
Williams's words from his Coach Quint back in Harvey, IL entered my
mind…"Quint use to tell use we had to beat the ref., the crowd, and the
wrestler".

Our day started with a workout organized by the wrestlers who were
wearing the gear they usually wear when getting close to weigh-ins.
This was fascinating to me because after several years of observing
world championships, it appears the USA wrestlers are doing something
different than most of the wrestlers in the world. That written,
perhaps things can change in the near future to enhance the quality of
training and performance.

The 8th World University Championships are taking place at the
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. We have been training
for this championship for the last 10 days in camp and 200 or so days
this year; tomorrow we get to show the world what we've been training
for and I am excited. Team USA is comprised of a veteran group with
multiple age group world medals and they are hungry, ready, willing and
able to grapple for the gold at the Alexandrio Melathron (venue).

Katherine Fulp-Allen 51kg and Elena Pirozhkov 67kg compete tomorrow or
today depending on where you are in the world. The Eastern Standard
Time folks are 10 hours behind Thessaloniki, Greece time. So when it's
10:54 pm in Thessalonki, it is 3:55 pm in Marquette, MI.

By the way, Elena explained to me her last name (or sir name as they
say here) should be spelled with an 'a' at the end. I asked her about
this when Emil in Sophia, Bulgaria read her name and said "Pirozhkov"
and then said with emphasis "Pirozhkova". Elena says males in her
family go by Pirozhkov and females in her family go by Pirozhkova.
This reminded me of Spanish class about 25 years ago indicating the
names and words in her native language of Russia can be masculine or
feminine.

When you view www.freestylefemales and click Photos and finally click
Greece, you will see fabulous photos by an amateur photographer.
Bulgaria & Greece

And then there was one...one bag left of the missing bags list supposed
to arrive in Thessaloniki, Greece via Denver, Chicago, Vienna, and
Sophia. Team USA flew out of land of the free with all their bags and
today Joan Fulp picked up bag number 8 on the list of bags lost in
Chicago.

Who cares about the last bag? Well, that bag contains the FILA license
that the international federation for wrestling at the Olympic Games
and world championships issues to its member national governing bodies
as proof of membership. This license also acts like a passport or a
certificate for all FILA affiliated international competitions.

More importantly, the last bag belongs to the author who is figuring
out how to make it work with less...sometimes less is more.

Moving on…

Joan, Lee, Sara, Katherine, Chelynne, Trevor, and Shannyn toured
Thessaloniki today and saw many ruins or monuments or very old
buildings and structures dating back 1700 years. For younger USA
readers, this means before anyone wrote about the Americas or claimed
to have discovered the region where we all call home.

I actually took a lot of pictures of churches and these photos will be
online at some point. Many other photos of people wrestling and more
will come too soon. The internet connection here is great and also
slowly uploads photos.

Amazingly, Thessaloniki reminded me of old Europe combined with the
hustle and bustle of most big urban cities like Chicago and New York.
A lot of European cities I've been to have small alleys like NYC does
and many of them have ruins or monuments or old buildings unlike urban
America.

Thessaloniki is similar to many cities in Europe and also has a rapid
bus system that we traveled on and traffic just like I see in Chicago
and New York. Other things in Thessaloniki that reminded me of urban
America were the amount of people driving around similar to the Indy
500 race (even the bus driver), very small vendor stores on nearly
every block, hot and humid weather made more intense by the bricks;
cement; and masses of people, and the diversity of beauty displayed all
around in various forms.
In Marquette, MI, there are small mountains and many folks out in
Western America call them big hills. In Colorado Springs, Colorado,
there are big mountains similar to the size of volcanoes or what
appears to be earth piercing the sky. In Thessaloniki, Greece, there
are mountains, big hills, and urban land all in one with water
(Mediterranean Sea) connected too via ports. I did not expect this
city to have the range of sights and it was very nice to quickly
explore.

The athletes looked really, really good today in practice and many of
them slept to conserve energy for the events to come after practice.
The freestyle men actually weighed in today and will compete for world
titles tomorrow. The Greco-Roman team will arrive today and begin
final preparations for the World University Championships (WUC)
immediately.

English appears to be a language many folks speak in Europe, Asia, and
Thessloniki. In fact, the organizers of WUC speak some form of English
to nearly everyone who requests help. This is amazing because many of
the countries in Europe Asia are hours from each other and the UK or
England is really close to only a few countries in Europe and no
countries near the former Eastern Bloc or Asia.

Russian is also a language many people speak and luckily Elena (Team
USA) speaks Russian. Between Elena speaking Russian and nearly
everyone speaking English we are able to communicate with the masses
remarkably well on this trip.

Things have changed drastically in the last 10 years or so especially
when it comes to shopping in Europe. About 10 years ago there were
very few malls and grocery like stores. Now, any USA person can travel
to Europe or Asia to a big city and it may feel similar to the States
because now you or I can simply go to the store or mall and pick up
what ever we left at home. Believe me, this experience is great
especially if you traveled to Europe in the 90's or before.

Really, there are Star Bucks, McDonald's, and all types of convenient
stores that sell just about everything under the sun. On my first
trips to Europe, this was not the case and if I forgot to bring
something, it either had to be borrowed or not used on the trip.

Times are changing quickly.
Director of Media Relations Jason Bryant to leave NWCA/InterMat

After three years as the Director of Media Relations for the National Wrestling Coaches Association and the lead writer/webmaster for InterMat, Jason Bryant has announced he will be leaving the association and will be accepting a position with Media Sports Productions, the parent company of the Wrestling 411 TV show headquartered in Minneapolis.

"I've been presented with a unique opportunity to continue moving my career forward in journalism and broadcasting, and it's something I've thought long and hard about and ultimately, I feel taking this step forward is vital to my goals and dreams," said Bryant.

Since arriving at the NWCA in 2005 after an eight-year run as a clerk, copy editor, page designer and wrestling beat writer at the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press, Bryant, 28, has managed the day-to-day operations of the web site, compiled and posted thousands of college wrestling tournaments and events, covered the nation's top wrestling events, coordinated the Division I wrestling rankings and has lent a consistent level of professionalism and integrity to the wrestling media.

"What Jason has been able to do with InterMat really raised the bar," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "We're sad to see him leave, because he's done a great job, but we stand behind him in his decision to move forward in his career with his ultimate goals. He's been a great asset to us and I'm sure we will still maintain a professional working relationship after he leaves."

A recipient of W.I.N.'s Wrestling Journalist of the Year and Amateur Wrestling News' Bob Dellinger Wrestling Writer of the Year Award, along with the National Wrestling Media Association's Wrestling Web Site of the Year, Bryant was instrumental in InterMat being a top source on the web for wrestling news, results and recruiting information.

"The NWCA took a chance and, at least for me, it paid off," he continued. "The staff at the NWCA is first-class and they have been great people to work with and great friends as well. I'll still be involved with wrestling and I support the great work the office does in promoting and protecting the sport of wrestling."

The NWCA has started a national search to find Bryant's successor. Fundamental prerequisites are college degree, journalism/public relations experience, high level of wrestling knowledge and web experience. To inquire about the position, e-mail Pat Tocci, Director of Administration, at ptocci@nwca.cc

Local Note: Bryant was a 1997 graduate of Poquoson High School in Poquoson, Va., and a 2004 graduate of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.
The World University Championships will be Held in Thessaloniki, Greece

Bulgaria & Greece

The World University Championships will be held in Thessaloniki, Greece
July 11-13, 2008 and the women's freestyle team is being coached by
Trevor Keifer and Shannyn J. Gillespie.

This semi daily journal is brought to you at the hands and mind of
Shannyn J. Gillespie.

For starters, all of the bags scheduled to fly into Sofia, Bulgaria did
not make the trip from Chicago. I guess I should back up to Chicago
and perhaps Denver.

The flight from Denver was delayed for unknown reasons into Chicago
which left us (Sara, Katherine, Chelynne, Othella, Alaina, Elena, and
Stephany) minutes to spare just making the flight traveling to Sophia
via Vienna, Austria.

To say there were a lot flight this day would be sufficient.
Nonetheless, about 15 hours later, we arrived in Sophia, Bulgaria safe
and sound minus 9 bags and to sum this story quickly, Sara and
Shannyn's bags are still missing.

After a nights stay in Sophia, Bulgaria, Team USA travelled to
Thessaloniki, Greece to register and workout just prior to the World
University Championships. Actually, Team USA trained at the wrestling
national team training center in Sophia with the help of Ivan Ivanov,
Emil, and Valentine (Valo) Jordanov.

These men just mentioned are legends in Bulgaria and you can Google
them for sure.

Valo, who is the President of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation and
also an Olympic Champion and 4 time world champion, greeted a portion
of Team USA at what I believe was the Dan Kolov competition. (The
shirt given to me was written in Bulgarian and Elena is in her room.)
At this tournament, Shannyn, Ron Fazio, and Cody Hesser (USA FILA
officials) were invited to sit in a special section to view the finals
by Valo.

Also, at this tournament, I was able to see Ivan's brother Stephan
Ivanov. (Ivan and Shannyn coach together at the USOEC and Ivan was the
key contact who set up the trip via Bulgaria.) Stephan and Shannyn
trained at the USOTC for 2 years together about 10 years ago...a small
world indeed.

There is a a lot to write about and I certainly will tomorrow.

By the way, Elena speaks Russian and is certainly a big help here as
many folks speak Russian here -Thanks Elena!!!

Finally, check http://freestylefemales.com and click Greece after
clicking Photos to see pictures...this will be updated soon and daily.
2008 Cadet Pan American Championships

A contingent of 12 athletes and coaches will represent Team USA at the
women's freestyle Cadet Pan American Championships June 11-13, 2008 in
San Salvador, El Salvador.

U.S. States Olympic Education Center (USOEC) assistant coach Tony
DeAnda will assist in leading the FILA Cadet Champions (ages 15-17) of
the 2008 Body Bar/FILA Cadet Nationals who qualified for this event.

The 2008 Cadet Pan American Championships women's freestyle
qualification, repechage, and final rounds will be competed Saturday
July 12, 2008 in San Salvador, El Salvador.

USA Cadet Pan Am Championships Freestyle Team

38 kg / 83.75 lbs Kaci Fullinwinder
40 kg / 88 lbs. - Emily Webster of Texas
43 kg / 94.75 lbs. - Erin Golston of Illinois
46 kg / 101.25 lbs - Briana Sparks of Michigan
49 kg / 108 lbs. - Samantha Lopez of California
52 kg / 114.5 lbs. - Jenna Burkert of New York
56 kg / 123.25 lbs. - Kat Perez of California
60 kg / 132.25 lbs. - Ashley Mathews of California
65 kg / 143.25 lbs. - Jennifer Spitza of Michigan
70 kg / 154.25 lbs. - Anneliese DeAragon of Idaho
Coaches Tony DeAnda, TBA
USA Wrestling Announces U.S. Olympic Team Training Camps Dates and Locations for all Three Styles

USA Wrestling will have a total of five training camps in the three Olympic styles to prepare the U.S. Olympic Team for wrestling for competition in Beijing, China.

Men's freestyle will hold two separate training camps. One camp will held in Phoenix, Ariz., July 3-12, and a second will take place at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., July 17-31. The camp will be conducted by Olympic coaches Kevin Jackson, Kerry McCoy, and Lee Kemp.

Women's freestyle will also have two camps, both at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. One will be June 30 to July 13 and the second is set for July 21 to August 1. Olympic coaches Terry Steiner and Tadaaki Hatta will run the camp.

Greco-Roman has one training camp scheduled. It will be held June 29 to July 19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The camp will be conducted by Olympic coaches Steve Fraser, Jay Antonelli, and Rich Estrella.

For more information about attending one of the camps, to conduct interviews, or to set up phone interviews with any of the athletes, please contact Elizabeth Wiley at ewiley@usawrestling.org or (719) 598-8181.

TRAINING CAMP INFORMATION:

Men's Freestyle:

Training Camp #1: July 3-12, Phoenix, Ariz.

Training Camp #2: July 17-31, Colorado Springs, Colo., Olympic Training Center

Greco-Roman:

Training Camp #1: June 29-July 19, Colorado Springs, Colo., Olympic Training Center

Women's Freestyle:

Training Camp #1: June 30-July 13, Colorado Springs, Colo., Olympic Training Center

Training Camp #2: July 21-August 3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Olympic Training Center
Wrestling 411 Newsletter
              Newsletter 

6-24-08

A LITTLE FROM A LOT:
The campaign is off and running. A special thank you goes to the "firsts":

*        The first Wrestling Tournament to make a contribution is the Kennedy Wrestling Club under the direction of J. Ness.

*        The first Camp to send in their check in support of Wrestling 411 is St. Andrews Presbyterian College lead by Coach Joe Baranik.

*        AC Sportswear located in Amityville, NY owned by Al Bevilacqua was the first to make a Corporate Contribution.

*        James P. O Rourke of Medway MA was the first personal donation to the Wrestling 411

WHAT: 
Wrestling 411 is moving forward at a quick clip. Promos for the Wrestling 411 highlight show were featured in Las Vegas last week at both the NWCA Convention and on the big screen at the Olympic Trials. 

WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED CONTENT:           
More than 60 colleges have sent their video files to the Media Sports Production studio - We are looking for the number to quadruple beginning in the fall. Thank you to everyone

WHERE: 
Wrestling 411 has many different sites with which you can catch snips of the promotional show. The full show may be seen in its entirety on <http://www.suncastv.com/>www.SuncasTV.com anytime you wish. 

CAMPS:
Camps are a great way to get and stay in shape for the season, hone wrestling skills, learn new technique(s), and make new friends.  Wrestling 411 is excited about the new section that has been added to the <http://www.suncasttv.com/>www.SuncasTV.com site to educate the public about camps. Please send us your camp DVDs and we will post your camp video to let others know about exciting opportunities for wrestlers.   

Herrison Chun, SuncasTV's Director of Sports Programming, told Wrestling 411 the day their partnership contract was signed, "The team at SuncasTV is dedicated to making Wrestling 411 the #1 online destination for wrestling related content. "

Wade Schalles, the CEO of Media Sports Production, Inc. (MSP) the holding company of Wrestling 411, continues to share the MSP story stating, "Television and strong distribution validates everything and we have engaging entertainment laced with information for the public with Wrestling 411." 

Sincerely,  
J. Robinson and Wade Schalles
TDR this Week- Wirnsberger, Steiner,Terry Brands, Stottlemyer, Hinkle, Mitch Clark

This past weekend we had a great time helping to raise awareness for the flood ravaged museum in Waterloo. Pro Wrestling star Rowdy Roddy Piper quipped to museum founder Mike Chapman, "It's a little rain, a little water Mike, Get over it." I wish it were that simple. They desperately need the help of the community. Please visit the Museum's web site at http://www.wrestlingmuseum.org Many have turned out to help with muscle and some with donations. the museum and our sports heritage need you now! Please help-
Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum 303 Jefferson St., Waterloo, IA 50701   
    319.233.0745 * fax 319.233.3477    info@wrestlingmuseum.org

We return this 4th of July weekend to our Brute Adidas studios for another great show. We'll go back in time, just a little, take a look at some of the news from your sport and visit with some of America's greatest athletes and coaches. Each Saturday from 9 AM to 11 AM CST we dive head first down to the mat with interesting interviews and conversation. Miss a show? Miss a lot! Listen to the archives at Takedownradio.com or subscribe to the TDR Pod Cast at no charge.

This week on TDR-

Dan Wirnsberger- Head Coach of the Bison of Bucknell returns to TDR to discuss summer camps and their importance in our sport. The Bucknell wrestling program will welcome eight newcomers to the squad for the 2008-09 season, head coach Dan Wirnsberger announced on Wednesday. The recruiting class, which is the third for Wirnsberger as the front man for the Bison, is comprised of student-athletes from five different states, including three from Pennsylvania, two from New Jersey and one each from New York, Ohio and Virginia. "I am excited to bring these young men into our Bison wrestling family," said Wirnsberger. "It is a talented group, but more importantly, these young men are scholar-athletes. They understand the importance of higher education and the commitment needed to reach their individual athletic goals. I look forward to the development process."

Troy Steiner- Asst Head Coach of the Beavers of Oregon State. This 4 x All American and NCAA Champion (Iowa) will join us Live from Corvallis, Ore. - The 2008-09 Oregon State wrestling recruiting class has been ranked 18th in the nation, announced Sunday by D1CollegeWrestling.net. Oregon State signed Michael Mangrum (Auburn, Wash.) and Jarrett "Bubba" Owens (Tillamook, Ore.) during the early signing period, before Caleb Valloton (Bella Vista, Calif.) and Ty Vinson (Great Falls, Mont.) in May.

The Beavers' four-man recruiting class beat out over 60 other NCAA Division I teams, including all but one Pac-10 school. All four incoming student-athletes placed at last summer's Freestyle/Greco tournament. Mangrum won his second junior Freestyle title, two years after winning both titles at the Cadet level. Vinson and Owens were both two-time state champs in Montana and Oregon, respectively. Wrestling will kick off the 2008-09 season in Auburn, Wash., on Saturday, Nov. 15, hosting Simon Fraser at 7:00 p.m.

Terry Brands-  wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. While wrestling at the University of Iowa, Brands won NCAA titles in 1990 and 1992, both at 126 pounds. He was a two-time world freestyle champion at 58 kg, winning titles in 1993 and 1995. His twin brother, Tom Brands (Head Coach at Iowa), a fellow wrestler, won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics. Presently, Terry is a coach for the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Terry lost to Kendall Cross (Amateur Wrestler) in the 1996 Olympic trials in one of the most exciting series of matches in the history of the trials. Cross went on to win the gold medal in Atlanta.

Rande Stottlemyer- Head Coach of the Panthers of Pitt. University of Pittsburgh head wrestling coach Rande Stottlemyer and 2008 National Champion Keith Gavin have been honored by the Eastern Wrestling League for a stellar 2007-08 season, it was announced today by the league office. Stottlemyer was named as the conference's Coach of the Year and Gavin its Wrestler of the Year.Stottlemyer led the Panthers to a 13-4 dual meet record, including a 5-1 mark in conference action, and program-best finishes at the Midlands Championships and the EWL Tournament this season. At the conference championships, his squad captured four EWL crowns, the most in Pitt's rich wrestling history, and grabbed second place in the team standings, tying the school's highest finish at the tournament.

During his 29 years at the helm of Pitt Wrestling, Stottlemyer has produced two NCAA National Champions - Gavin and two-time champion Pat Santoro - 26 All-Americans, 113 national qualifiers and 29 EWL champions. In 19 of the past 25 years, he and his staff have coached at least one NCAA All-American and have seen their teams finish within the top-30 at the NCAA Championships. Pitt finished the 2008 regular season at No. 23 in the USA Today/Intermat/NWCA poll, marking the sixth time in the past 11 seasons that the Panthers have ended the year in the nation's top-25. The honor marks Stottlemyer's third Coach of the Year accolade, as he was also bestowed the award in 1986 and 1989.

Scott Hinkle- Head Coach of the Boilermakers of Purdue in WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue head wrestling coach Scott Hinkel was named the 2008 Amateur Wrestling News (AWN) Rookie Coach of the Year on Tuesday. Joining him with first-year honors were freshmen Luke Manuel, Logan Brown and A.J. Kissel, who were all named to the AWN Freshman All-American Team. Hinkel led the Boilermakers to a 10-8 dual record in his inaugural campaign, and the squad placed 30th at the 2008 NCAA Championships. He has been a significant part of Purdue wrestling for the last three decades, wrestling for the Old Gold and Black from 1984-to-1987, serving as an assistant coach in 1989 and 1990, again from 1993-to-2007, and then taking over as the Boilermakers' head coach in 2007. He's just the third coach in school history to post a winning dual record in his rookie season, joining Herb Miller and Don Corrigan, and led Purdue to more Big Ten Dual wins in 2008, than the previous two seasons combined. He also guided the Boilermakers to their first win over arch rival Indiana University since 2004, as they topped the 17th-ranked Hoosiers 18-16 on February 8. The Boilermakers took 10th at this year's Big Ten Championships, but scored 51.5 team points, their highest total since the 2004 season and just the fourth time in the last 14 years they've surpassed the 50-point plateau. With four NCAA qualifiers, Hinkel's squad amassed 14.5 points en route to its 30th-place finish, and had a pair of wrestlers reach the Round of 12 in their respective brackets and fall one win shy of NCAA All-America honors.

Mitch Clark- Yes, the author of the famous "Scrambled legs Video", When then Buckeye wrestler Mitch Clark won the national collegiate championships at 177 pounds in 1998, he reached a life's dream after years of overcoming obstacles that were personal, athletic, geographical, and acts of fate. Mitch Clark knows what every high school and college athlete endures in pursuing goals, balancing sports with everything else, feeling pressures, and finding what makes one strong - and capitalizing on it. Mitch's book Make It Happen: The Inspiring Story of an NCAA Wrestling Champion by Scott Conroe, a longtime sports writer. (White Pillars Press,130 p). is a page turner and keeps you involved to the end.

Mitch now makes his home with his lovely new bride Kristin in Ithica, NY and expecting their first child tomorrow. Mitch is the Club Coach for Rob Koll's Big Red of Cornell. Mitch Clark's annual summer Boot Camp takes place July 20th through the 24th at Clarkson University in up State New York. For more information visit MitchClark.com

Coaches, Moms and Dads,  we'll kick off our new High School Wrestler of the month program in the coming weeks. This is your chance to nominate and recognize an excellent student athlete who has gone above and beyond. Check out the Takedownradio.com web site and WIN Magazines full page ad's for more details. Our thanks go to our presenting sponsors: Resilite, WIN Magazine, Brute/Adidas, Sunflower Wrestling Supply and Intermatwrestle.com

Scott Casber
KXNO in Iowa KRRW Minnesota TakedownRadio.Com Intermatwrestle.Com Matchannel.Com KXNO.Com Mat-Magazine.Com
515-707-8657
Pan American Gold

Team USA captured the team title at the women's Junior Pan American
Championship by winning 7 gold medals and 1 bronze medal Saturday June
21, 2008 in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Team USA members represented three colleges and universities: Northern
Michigan University and the United States Olympic Education Center
(USOEC), University of the Cumberlands (UC), and Oklahoma City
University (OCU).

Recording pins in their gold medal matches were: Whitney Conder 51kg
(USOEC), Beth Johnson 55kg (USOEC), Nicole Darrow 59kg (USOEC), Marina
Piccolotti 63kg (Calif.), and Lauren Knight 67kg (UC).

Nicole Woody 44kg (OCU) and CC Weber (Mich.) 48kg both won their
championship matches by decision.

Lindsey Brooks 72kg (USOEC) shut out her opponent in the bronze medal
match.

The performance by Team USA was inches short of perfection by compiling
a 21-1 won/loss record and winning all but 3 periods the entire
tournament.

Coaches for Team USA at the 2008 Jr. Pan Ams were Alex Conti and Tony
DeAnda.

USA Jr. Pan Am Medal results

44kg Nicole Woody USA Win by Dec over Diana Pizza, Ecuador 2-0, 6-0
48kg CC Weber USA Win by Dec over Jasmine Main, Canada 4-0, 2-1
51kg Whitney Conder USA Win by Pin over Luisa Valverde Ecuador Pin 1:36
55kg Beth Johnson USA Win by Pin over Odalis Vazquez, Venezuela 7-4,
Fall 1:14
59kg Nicole Darrow USA Win by Pin over Leidy Isquierdo, Columbia 3-0,
Fall 1:48
63kg Marina Piccolotti USA Win by Pin over Dailane Gomez, Brazil 1-8,
Fall 1:03
67kg Lauren Knight USA Win by Pin over Laura Steffler, Canada 6-0 Pin
1:13
72kg Lindsey Brooks USA Win by Dec over Carolina Valverde, Ecuador 4-0,
5-0