I can’t believe I’m two pounds over,” Kyle Coon says with
disbelief. “I’ve never had to worry about my weight.”
Kyle, a 19-year-old freshman wrestler for UCF, and a few of
his teammates are sitting on the edge of a wrestling mat Ferrell
Commons. The wrestlers are hanging around before practice,
mopping the black mats and applying cream to their legs and arms
to avoid getting staph infections over the next two hours. Some
are checking their weight, like Kyle just did, for the upcoming
tournament they’re slated to wrestle in.
“Dude, you can probably sleep it off,” one of his teammates
responds while lunging to stretch his calves, trying to put the
blond-haired wrestler at ease.
“I’ll just spin extra at the gym later.”
“Or, you can just tell the ref someone told you that you were
under weight. ‘It’s not my fault, man! I can’t see!’” another
teammate jokes and mimics Kyle. This gets a hearty laugh from
everyone in the room, but nobody laughs louder than Kyle, who is
blind.
“I love telling blind jokes,” Kyle tells me after their
Tuesday evening practice. “One of my friends who’s totally blind
says, ‘I don’t let my blindness define me. I define my
blindness.’”
***
When Kyle was 10 months old, a doctor caught him slightly
crossing one of his eyes during a routine check-up in the Coons’
hometown of Jacksonville. She immediately told Kyle’s parents,
Steve and Ann Marie, to take him to a specialist.
“She looked startled when she checked them,” Steve says. “She
said she thought she saw something that we may want to have —
just to be safe — looked at by a specialist, which obviously
raised suspicions rather quickly.”
The next day, Steve and Ann Marie took Kyle to a retina
specialist at the University of Chicago.
“That’s actually one of the days I’ll never forget — that
doctor sat down and sat us down and said to us, ‘Your son has
cancer,’ ” Steve said. “That was the last thing I remember
hearing that day.”
Kyle had retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer that forms in
one or both of the retinas. In Kyle’s case, it was both.
The doctor at the University of Chicago wanted to remove both
of Kyle’s eyes the following Monday to avoid having the cancer
spread. But Steve and Ann Marie didn’t want to take away their
son’s vision.
There was another doctor in Philadelphia, the specialist told
them. “But he said, ‘There’s nothing that he can do that I can’t
do,’ ” Steve says.
Apparently, the University of Chicago doctor was wrong. After
discussing the diagnosis with friends over the weekend, Monday
came. Had the Coons stayed in Chicago, Kyle would have gone
blind before he even had his first birthday. But they chose to
visit the doctor in Philadelphia, who gave them the same
diagnosis but a different way to fix it. Yes, Kyle had
retinoblastoma, but no, his eyes didn’t need to be removed – or
at least not now, the doctor told the hopeful parents.
“There was a good chance they could save some or all of his
vision,” Steve recalls. “We went from one extreme to another
extreme. But we obviously didn’t fully understand what the road
ahead was going to be.”
***
Steve and Ann Marie tried every treatment imaginable to rid
their son of the malignant disease: localized radiation,
systemic radiation, laser treatment, systemic chemotherapy and
even chemotherapy injections straight into his eyes.
Then, when Kyle was 5 years old, Kyle developed glaucoma in
his left eye, forcing Steve and Ann Marie to make the decision
to have it removed.
“Once he lost the first eye, we kind of knew that he was
going to end up losing the second eye eventually,” Steve says.
So the Coons prepared their son for the inevitable. He
learned how to read letters and Braille at the same time. He
remembered the faces of his parents and his sisters. He learned
colors so when he did go blind, someone could easily describe
his surroundings to him. Essentially, he was learning the skills
of a blind person while he could still see.
Then, on Oct. 9, 1998, Kyle’s right eye was removed. Two
prosthetic eyes have sat in place of his originals ever since.
“One minute I could see, for me what I considered was fine,
but then I woke up in a hospital bed with no vision whatsoever,”
Kyle remembers. “It was really just a slap upside the head.”
At only 6 years old, Kyle could no longer play basketball
with his father. He couldn’t ride his bike with his friends. He
couldn’t do what the other healthy little boys could do.
“He was a sad, angry little boy who kind of saw his life
slipping away,” Steve says, remembering some of the “very dark
days” of Kyle’s new reality.
Fortunately, the depression turned around in about a month
when Kyle was introduced to Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind
person to have ever climbed Mount Everest, at a motivational
speech Weihenmayer was giving in Jacksonville.
“That day when we left [to go see Erik speak], Kyle was a
scared, angry little boy,” Steve remembers. “But he came home
with hope. He came home inspired and ready to try living life
again.”
***
Despite losing his sight, Kyle’s athleticism and love of
sports never wore off. He tried pursuing wrestling when he was
in sixth grade, but few middle schools even offered the sport,
and none of them were willing to put a blind student on their
team. His wrestling career finally began when he entered high
school at Paxon School for Advanced Studies in Jacksonville.
“We saw it as an opportunity [for him] to do something,”
Steve says. “He’s strong, he has agility and he has a heck of a
grip.”
But in his first two years of wrestling Kyle says he
struggled with the sport, with a combined record of 15 wins and
20 losses. He considered giving up on the sport when he failed
to qualify for regionals his sophomore year.
“It was hard, and I knew it was going to be hard, but I did
seriously consider quitting after that,” Kyle says. “But then I
went to Ken Chertow’s Gold Medal Training Camp and began
learning how to really wrestle and strategize.”
Chertow is a well-known name in the wrestling world. He’s a
three-time NCAA All-American and wrestled for the 1988 U.S.
Olympic team. His training camps are now located in 20 states,
and he also led Ohio State’s wresting team to fourth place in
the 1991 NCCA Championships, the highest ranking the team has
ever achieved.
Kyle first attended Chertow’s camp during the summer between
his sophomore and junior year of high school.
“He was very rough technically when I first met him,” Chertow
says of Kyle. “Now, he has a very good feel for our sport and
executes a wide array of moves correctly.”
Chertow would use Kyle as a demonstration partner during the
camps so Kyle could feel the moves being pulled on him since he
obviously couldn’t see them. He taught Kyle how to be in control
by grabbing different parts of the opponents’ upper body, and
more importantly to never let his inability to see hold him
back.
“I think Kyle has to work harder than most kids to perfect
moves since he does not see us show them, but he learns just as
quickly as the other kids because he works so hard.”
After training with Chertow, Kyle’s wrestling record improved
greatly. He finished his junior year of high school with his
first winning record: seven wins and six losses. His senior
year, when he became captain of the team, he lost only seven
matches out of 30.
But Kyle wanted more. He didn’t want to stop wrestling when
he graduated high school.
***
“Battle with him!” Coach Jason Balma yells at the UCF
wrestling team. “Push yourselves!”
The 30 wrestlers are partnered off and are going to
head-to-head with each other at practice. The scent of 90
minutes’ worth of their dried sweat lingers in the air,
accompanied by grunts from wrestlers trying their hardest to
impress Balma. Kyle has his opponent in a headlock when all of a
sudden his partner slips out of it and slams Kyle to the mat.
Tyrone, Kyle’s Seeing Eye golden retriever, perks his head up
from the sidelines, his eyes focused on his owner to ensure
he’ll get up. Kyle gets back on his feet in a second and
prepares to go at it again. Tyrone lowers his head, but he still
looks worried.
When Kyle was looking to wrestle in college, he looked at
FSU, UF and UCF.
“Coach Balma just showed the greatest interest,” Kyle says.
“When I applied and was accepted into UCF my senior year [of
high school], Coach Balma arranged for a couple of the wrestlers
to meet with me and show me around campus. The team sold UCF to
me. I decided that I didn’t care if I got into any other
schools; this is where I wanted to be.”
At first, Kyle had to learn how to adjust to both UCF and a
new wrestling team.
“It’s rough going from being the wrestling team captain, and
one of the top guys in the city, to being at the bottom of the
totem pole, struggling to make the roster,” he says.
Just as Kyle had to adjust, the UCF team had to adjust as
well in order to accommodate Kyle’s needs. One of his teammates
will take him by the arm each practice to run around the mat
during warm-up. They’ve learned the National Collegiate
Wrestling Association rules for wrestling with someone who’s
blind — start the match holding fingertips and keep contact the
entire time. When the team travels to tournaments out of state,
they make sure Tyrone can be taken care of. They’ve accepted
Kyle for who he is, but the team doesn’t see him as disabled.
“Kyle fits in so well, and everybody kind of forgets he’s
blind,” Assistant Coach Johnny Rouse says. “He’s so acclimated
with the team that they don’t think of him as having a
drawback.”
Most importantly, Kyle doesn’t see himself that way either.
He jokes about his blindness rather than let it get in the way
of his life. As of February, his record for the team was at five
wins and 12 losses. In addition to being a wrestler and
studying communications at UCF, he loves to play guitar and
drums, and he’s currently writing an autobiography (he uses a
computer just like any other student; a computer program will
read him anything on his computer screen). He’s climbed Mount
Kilimanjaro and Machu Picchu with his mountaineering team, Team
Sight Unseen. Being blind doesn’t hinder Kyle from living
extraordinarily.
“There’s probably going to be some operation somewhere down
the line [that will allow me to see], but even if there was, I
don’t know if I would do it,” he says. “I’m happy with my life.
I really am.”
Nicole Lauber is a recent journalism graduate of UCF and
currently lives in St. Petersburg.
UCF
Places 3rd at the NCWA National Tournament
UCF All-Americans:
125 - Alex Chiricosta (5th Place)
133 - Stephen DeAugustino (2nd Place) -
Nine All-Americans lead California Baptist
to NCWA Championship
Scott Farrell NCWA
03/12/2011
MACON,
Ga. – California Baptist broke from a handful of schools in the
semifinals, then cemented their hold on first with two national
champions and two runners-up to claim the national title at the NCWA
Championships. The win is the Lancers’ second NCWA national title in
two months, as they won the NCWA National Duals two months ago.
The Lancers put five other wrestlers into the finals matches for a
total of nine NCWA All-Americans, with two third-place finishes, two
fifth-place finishes and a sixth among them.
CBU’s run to the title began in Saturday morning’s semifinals, where
Jimmy Martinez started it off with a 7-2 win over Scott Filbert of
the U.S. Military Academy Prep School at 125 pounds. Chris Santana,
another top-seed along with Martinez, continued it with a 6-4 win
over Josh McCoy of Marion Military Institute at 157. Santana would
go on to win the 157 title over Ryan Madson of MIT, while Martinez
settled for second.
Part of the Lancers’ rise came at the expense of their pursuers in
two classes. At 197, CBU’s Caleb Gerl rode out a 3-0 win over Frank
Bastien of Grand Valley State. Gerl later won the national title
with a 2-0 win over Richard Rippy of Central Florida. At
heavyweight, CBU’s fourth-seeded Alex Evers took a sudden-victory
4-2 win over top-seeded and defending national champion David Devine
of SIU-Edwardsville. Evers later lost in the final to two-time NCWA
All-American Corey Melinn of Grand Valley State, 3-2.
California Baptist is in the middle of a transition into the NCAA’s
Division II, and is competing in the NCWA during the interim.
Grand Valley State led through the first three sessions, and kept
pace with California Baptist despite losing its lead in the
quarterfinals. The Lakers lost an opportunity to gain on California
Baptist with its 1-3 overall mark in its semifinal matches. Melinn’s
title at heavyweight was a fitting end to the Lakers’ runner-up
finish with 121 points. Grand Valley was a three-time champion from
2006-08.
Central Florida, the defending NCWA champion, placed third with 99.5
points, edging Southern Illinois-Edwardsville by a half-point. The
Knights made a big move up three spots into third with a strong run
in the semifinals, advancing three to the finals. Joshua Woods won
his first national title at 235 pounds, giving UCF the edge on SIUE.
UCF’s other highlights came from Stephen DeAugustino and Rippy. Both
earned All-American honors again despite losing in their title
matches, and became the 18th and 19th four-time All-Americans in the
NCWA’s 14-year history.
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville held its fourth-place standing based
on the success of its 149- and 174-pounders. At 174, top-seeded Mike
Dace won the national title over his non-scoring teammate Deshoun
White, 4-2. White made an impressive underdog run through the
bracket taking out the second- and third-seeded wrestlers (Daniel
Hiller of the U.S. Naval Academy Prep and Kenneth Tribble of
California Baptist) along the way.
Hermon Gillum completed one of the best seasons in NCWA history with
a 32-0 run and the championship of the 125-pound bracket. Gillum got
an early lead and held on for a 6-4 win over top-seeded Jimmy
Martinez of California Baptist.
“I was undefeated going into the state tournament in high school
too, but I lost,” said Gillum, a freshman from Flint, Mich. “I
gained a lot from that. I didn’t feel as much pressure here, and was
able to stay mentally focused better. I wanted to get more points in
the third period, but (Martinez) was a good defensive wrestler.
“It feels great to finish the season like this.”
Daniel Swain of Douglas College, an NCWA member from British
Columbia, also completed his season undefeated at 10-0 in winning
the 149 bracket. Swain pinned Maryland-Baltimore County’s Daniel
Carr in the final.
West Chester got a finals push from national champions Dustin
Tancredi (165) and Kevin Bacci (184) to finish sixth overall with 89
points.
Marion Military Institute (Ala.) earned one national champion at 141
in Brandon Westerman, but also had five All-Americans behind him to
break into the top five with 94.5 points.
Other Tournament Notes:
* The Apprentice School (Va.) slipped to seventh in the team
standings after a runner-up showing last season and winning the
national title in 2010. But the Builders, despite the finish,
maintained their impressive steak of placing among the top 10 teams
in each of the school’s 13 seasons as an NCWA member. Nine of those
13 seasons have seen Apprentice finish in the top three.
* Eric Powell placed third in the 157-pound bracket to earn a third
NCWA All-American award. Powell is the first student-athlete at
Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades, a three-year school in
Media, Pa., to achieve three-time All-American status in any sport
according to his coach, Joe Silvestri. Williamson competes in the
National Junior College Athletic Association in all other sports.
Powell joins a list of only 40 other three-time All-Americans in the
NCWA’s 14-year history.
* Texas Tech heavyweight Caleb Andrews was his school’s lone entry
at the nationals, and came away with an eighth-place All-American
finish. He is Texas Tech’s first national placer since 2008, and the
Red Raiders finished xxth in the Division II standings.
* The NCWA continues to make inroads into the emerging wrestling
states in the southeast. The Georgian wrestlers had a fine
collective showing at the nationals as six home-state wrestlers
earned All-American honors, including an in-state national
championship match at 141 in which Marion Military’s Brandon
Westerman topped Kennesaw State’s Kendall Albert, 4-1. The in-state
wrestlers also came away with a fourth-place (Trevor Bailey of
Marion Military), two seventh-places (Derek Wojcik of Mercer and
Marvin Lawrence of Marion Military), and an eighth-place finish
(Frankie Miller of Georgia).
There were 33 wrestlers in all, nearly 10 percent of qualifiers, who
were either from Georgia or were wrestling for in-state schools.
* Northwest Missouri State won the NCWA Division II club standings
with 45 points. Jordan Peter led the Bears with a national runner-up
finish at 165, and NMSU also had a 197 All-Americans in Blake
Schoeninger. This was the second season in which the NCWA broke its
standings into Division I and II groups. MIT won the inaugural
Division II title in 2010.
* In the NCWA Women’s Division, Yakima Valley Community College
(Wash.) ran away with the team title with 123.5 points, almost
triple the total of runner-up Mercer. Chel-C Bailey (112), Stephanie
Geltmacher (139), Chantelle Bailey (159), Faith Wasmund (176) and
Kendra Cremeans (209) won national titles, with Maura Tynanes as a
runner-up. Yakima Valley has won all three of the national titles
the NCWA has sponsored the past three seasons.
* In 2010, there were nine schools represented in the NCWA Women’s
National Championships. That figure almost doubled this season to 16
programs with new qualifiers from programs at Central Washington,
Mount Holyoke College (Mass.), Bowling Green, Colorado State, Kansas
State, Southern Virginia, Southwestern Oregon CC and South Florida.
NCWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 10-12, 2011
at The University Center, Macon, Ga.
FINAL RESULTS MEN’S DIVISION
National Title Matches
125 – (2) Hermon Gillum, Mott CC, def. (1) Jimmy Martinez,
California Baptist, 7-4
133 – (1) Colton Rasche, U.S. Naval Academy Prep, def. (2) Stephen
DeAugustino, Central Florida, 8-4
141 – (2) Brandon Westerman, Marion Military Inst. (Ala.), def. (1)
Kendall Albert, Kennesaw State, 4-1
149 – (3) Daniel Swain, Douglas College (B.C.), def. (1) Daniel
Carr, Maryland-Baltimore Country, by fall 6:37
157 – (1) Chris Santana, California Baptist, def. (3) Ryan Madson,
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, 7-4
165 – (1) Dustin Tancredi, West Chester, def. (3) Jordan Peter,
Northwest Missouri State, 11-4
174 – (1) Mike Dace, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, vs. (Un.)
Deshoun White, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 4-2
184 – (1) Kevin Bacci, West Chester, def. (6) Dalton Henderson, U.S.
Air Force Academy Prep, by fall 0:53
197 – (2) Caleb Gerl, California Baptist, def. (1) Richard Rippy,
Central Florida, 2-0
235 – (3) Joshua Woods, Central Florida, def. (8) Joe DiSalvo,
Northeastern, 16-7
285 – (6) Corey Melinn, Grand Valley State, def. (4) Alex Evers,
California Baptist, 3-2
125 lbs.
3rd place – Sam Shames, Mass. Inst. of Technology, def. Scott
Filbert, U.S. Military Academy Prep, 6-4
5th place – Alexander Chiricosta, Central Florida, def. Zachary
Cottle, U.S. Military Academy Prep, by fall 2:58
7th place – Patrick Prada, U.S. Naval Academy Prep, def. Frankie
Miller, Georgia, 7-4
133 lbs.
3rd place – Marcus Chevres, The Apprentice School, def. Kekura Musa,
Maryland-Baltimore County, 12-0
5th place – Xenepher Austin, Marion Military Inst. (Ala.), def. John
Petrov, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 8-1
7th place – Hunter Wood, U.S. Military Academy Prep, def. Matt
Morrill, Grand Valley State, 6-3
141 lbs.
3rd place – Luke Bilyeu, West Chester, def. Adam Bastow, Grand
Valley State, 5-0
5th place – Michael Giorgio, Marion Military Inst. (Ala.), def.
Quentin Leadbetter, U.S. Naval Academy Prep, by fall 6:29
7th place – Craig Blike, Dayton, def. Brandon Paige, New Hampshire,
6-0
149 lbs.
3rd place – Dylan Cataline, California Baptist, def. Trevor Bailey,
Marion Military Inst. (Ala.), medical forfeit
5th place – Thomas Gillin, Central Florida, def. Adam Hulett, Hudson
Valley CC (N.Y.), 13-6
7th place – Eric Biehl, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, def. Derrick
Pousson, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, by default
157 lbs.
3rd place – Eric Powell, Williamson School of Trades (Pa.), def.
John Combs, Colorado, 7-4
5th place – Josh McCoy, Marion Military Inst. (Ala.) def. Ricky
Anderson, The Apprentice School, by medical forfeit
7th place – Austen Brower, William and Mary, def. Nate Falbe, Grand
Valley State, 10-1
165 lbs.
3rd place – Bronson Gerl, California Baptist, def. Steve Ross,
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 3-2
5th place – Mike Ahearn, South Carolina, def. Randy Kocol,
Cincinnati, 6-3
7th place – Marvin Lawrence, Marion Military Inst. (Ala.), def.
Robert Tymes, Grand Valley State, 18-3
174 lbs.
3rd place – Cole Gracey, U.S. Military Academy Prep, def. Robert
Hall, Grand Valley State, 6-1
5th place – Tahner Thiem, Wayne State (Neb.), def. Kenneth Tribble,
California Baptist, 10-1
7th place – Derek Wojcik, Mercer, def. Jason Dack, Northeastern, 8-4
184 lbs.
3rd place – William Miller, U.S. Naval Academy Prep, def. Willy
Crawford, Apprentice School, by fall 2:25
5th place – C.J. Knowland, California Baptist, def. Derek Marshall,
Grand Valley State, 6-5
7th place – Ben Brummel, South Carolina, def. Brian Stapleton,
Massachusetts, 6-1
197 lbs.
3rd place –Nathan Behrent, Florida Gulf Coast, def. Robert Cooney,
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 7-4
5th place – Frank Bastien, Grand Valley State, def. Jacob Laux,
Mass. Inst. of Technology, 7-6
7th place – Brett Buckner, Radford, def. Blake Schoeninger,
Northwest Missouri State, 4-1
235 lbs.
3rd place – Mark Koski, Florida, def. Travis Dickenson, Amherst, 2-1
5th place – Vince Pezzuto, California Baptist, def. Carl Worthy,
Grand Valley State, 4-1
7th place – Ryan Kreppel, West Chester, def. Mark Howard, Marion
Military Inst. (Ala.), 6-3
285 lbs.
3rd place – David Devine, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, def. Cody
Quick, Middle Tennessee State, by fall 1:37
5th place – Bentley Alsup, U.S. Air Force Academy Prep, def. Frank
Becker, Cincinnati, by fall 1:33
7th place – Charlie Farr, Mercer, def. Caleb Andrews, Texas Tech,
9-5
FINAL TEAM SCORES
Division I Teams
1. California Baptist – 156.5
2. Grand Valley State (Mich.) – 121
3. Central Florida – 99.5
4. So. Illinois-Edwardsville – 99
5. Marion Military Institute (Ala.) – 94.5
6. West Chester (Pa.) – 89
7. The Apprentice School (Va.) – 78
8. U.S. Naval Academy Prep – 70.5
9. Md.-Baltimore County – 54.5
10. U.S. Military Academy Prep – 49
11. Mercer – 41.5
12. U.S. Air Force Academy Prep – 41
13. Mass. Inst. of Technology – 36.5
14t. Douglas College (B.C.) – 31
14t. Mott CC (Mich.) – 31
16. Middle Tennessee State – 29
17. New Hampshire – 28
18. Amherst – 22.5
19. Williamson School of Trade – 21
20. Penn State – DuBois – 19
21. Wayne State (Neb.) – 16.5
22. Georgia – 13.5
23. Dayton – 12
24. Colorado State – 10.5
25. Texas-Arlington – 10
26. Penn College – 8.5
27. San Jose State – 6
28t. Valley Force Military Acad. – 5.5
28t. East Tennessee State – 5.5
30. Rensselaer Poly. Inst. – 5
31. Florida A&M – 4
32. Blair Academy (N.J.) – 3.5
33. Southern Virginia – 3
34. Northland CC (Wis.) – 2.5
35. Connecticut – 1
UCF Wins the 2011 NCWA Southeast
Conference Championship!!
NAIA Rallies to beat NCWA in See-Saw Battle 23-15 at American
Airlines Challenge
01/16/2011
By JC Carnahan
ORLANDO, Fla. – The NAIA swept the final three matches to come from
behind and defeat the NCWA, 23-15, Saturday at the second annual
American Airlines Champions Challenge. The first-of-its-kind dual
match showcased many of the top wrestlers from each association,
with six NAIA All-Americans and four NCWA wrestlers who competed for
national titles last year within their respective lineups.
The NCWA grabbed a 15-13 lead after the 174-pound match when Kevin
Bacci of West Chester (Pa.) pinned Jameon Rush of Hastings College
(Neb.). But a trio of Missouri Valley College wrestlers – Jesse
Alter (184), Charles Gibbs (197) and Travis Ewart (285) – posted
wins in the final three weight classes to seal another NAIA win at
The Venue on the campus of the University of Central Florida.
The NAIA won last year’s inaugural event, 39-3.
“It’s a great chance for both divisions to see each other and it’s a
good opportunity for the guys to get better on both sides,”
Morningside College coach Jake Stevenson said. “The more we can
promote it the better it is for the sport.”
Stevenson worked the corner for the NAIA team along with Brian
Jackson (Missouri Baptist) and Patrick Giangrasso (Missouri Valley).
Jason Balma (of UCF), Jovon Butler (Apprentice School) and John
Petty (California Baptist) coached the NCWA team.
The Bacci-Rush match was one of the headlining matchups going into
the event, as it was a rematch of last year’s 174-pound thriller
that saw Rush (No. 6 in NAIA) hand Bacci a 4-3 loss in triple
overtime. The loss became a turning point for Bacci, as he went on
to win the NCWA national championship.
“By the end of last year I’d grown by leaps and bounds,” Bacci said
after Saturday’s match. “After getting more and more training I was
a little more ready to come back out here and get it done this
time.”
Bacci’s pin at 2:55 of the first period put the NCWA ahead, 15-13.
It was the only pin of the 10 matches.
“I knew I needed to get some big points there because this thing was
going to be pretty close,” Bacci said.
It would be the last of four wins by the NCWA (one came by injury
default), but taking the lead that late in a dual match it lost by
36 points last year spoke volumes for the NCWA’s development against
its well-established brethren.
“The better we do here the better our reputation is and the better
our credibility holds,” Bacci said of the event.
Most of the competitors taking part wrestled with a similar
mentality. The meet got off to a spirited start as the teams split
the first four matches in competitive fashion.
A 12-10 win at 125 pounds by Paulie Hansen (Missouri Valley College)
against Alex Chiracosta (UCF) came by way of a takedown in overtime.
Chiracosta trailed by six at one point but clawed his way back with
a near-fall in the closing seconds to tie the match at 10-10.
UCF’s Steve DeAugustino, ranked No. 2 in the NCWA at 133 pounds,
followed with a tough 8-5 win against Anton Prater (Missouri
Baptist). DeAugustino broke a 4-4 tie by scoring a takedown with 40
seconds remaining.
“Half of the reward for coming out here for this meet is you’re
guaranteed solid competition,” DeAugustino said. “Any chance we can
get to wrestle up against some tough competition, I’m all for it.”
Morningside (Iowa) senior Drew Smith scored a 1-0 win over junior
Kendall Albert of Kennesaw State in a battle of each association’s
fourth-ranked 141-pounders. An escape with 25 seconds to go in the
third period proved to be enough for Smith.
California Baptist sophomore Christopher Santana ended his 149-pound
match in the second period leading Danny Hutcheson of Dakota
Wesleyan by a 5-1 count. Santana, the NCWA’s top-ranked wrestler in
that class, scored a takedown and a near-fall before Hutcheson
withdrew due to injury.
From there, the NAIA began flexing its muscle as Brad Cusatis
(Hastings) defeated Ricky Anderson (Apprentice), 12-2, at 157
pounds, and Morningside sophomore Joe Sievert defeated Dustin
Tancredi of West Chester, 8-2, in the 165-pound class to put the
NAIA ahead, 13-9, with six of the 10 matches in the books.
“These guys that we’re going against, they have everything to lose
as opposed to us,” Santana said. “That’s pretty big on their part.
Thanks to them we’ve got the opportunity to show what we’ve got.”
Bacci’s pin put the NCWA in front for the moment, but the lead
changed for good when Alter (ranked No. 4 in the NAIA) pulled a
reversal in the closing seconds of the 184-pound match, earning a
5-3 win over South Carolina’s Ben Brummel.
The pair of Missouri Valley seniors closed the win as Gibbs defeated
Richard Rippy (UCF), 11-4, and Travis Ewart beat Brian Milford
(Texas A&M), 11-3.
The quality of matches by each association proved to be a step in
the right direction for the event organizers. The NCWA aims to
include wrestlers from NCAA’s Division II and Division III programs
for next year’s gathering.
“I see this continuing to grow,” NCWA Executive Director Jim Giunta
said. “Both of these associations have taken it a little more
serious in terms of sending better coaches and athletes, and I
anticipate it getting even better.”
2011 American Airlines Champions Challenge
Sat., Jan. 15, at The Venue in Orlando, Fla.
Match Results
125 lbs. – Paulie Hansen, Missouri Valley, def. Alex Chiracosta,
Central Florida, 12-10 (OT)
NAIA leads 3-0
133 lbs. – Steve DeAugustino, Central Florida, def. Anton Prater,
Missouri Baptist, 8-5
tied 3-3
141 lbs. – Drew Smith, Morningside (Iowa), def. Kendall Albert,
Kennesaw State (Ga.), 1-0
NAIA leads 6-3
149 lbs. – Christopher Santana, California Baptist, def. Danny
Hutcheson, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), injury default
NCWA leads 9-6
157 lbs. - Brad Cusatis, Hastings (Neb.), def. Ricky Anderson,
Apprentice (Va.), 12-2
NAIA leads 10-9
165 lbs. - Joe Sievert, Morningside (Iowa), def. Dustin Tancredi,
West Chester (Pa.), 8-2
NAIA leads 13-9
174 lbs. - Kevin Bacci, West Chester (Pa.), def. Jameon Rush,
Hastings (Neb.), by fall 2:55
NCWA leads 15-13
184 lbs. - Jesse Alter, Missouri Valley, def. Ben Brummel, South
Carolina, 5-3
NAIA leads 16-15
197 lbs. - Charles Gibbs, Missouri Valley, def. Richard Rippy,
Central Florida, 11-4
NAIA leads 19-15
285 lbs. - Travis Ewart, Missouri Valley, def. Brian Milford, Texas
A&M, 11-3
NAIA wins, 23-15
AA Challenge history
2010 – NAIA 39, NCWA 3
2011 – NAIA 23, NCWA 15
American Airlines Champions'
Challenge
01/07/2011 -
DALLAS, TX -
The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) and National
Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) continue their
first-of-its-kind wrestling event next weekend when the University of
Central Florida and Orlando, Fla., host the American Airlines Champions
Challenge.
The AA Champions Challenge, in its second year, is a dual match between
the returning NCWA and NAIA national champions and/or the top-ranked
wrestlers from each association. The NCWA will have two of its defending
national champions and three runners-up within its lineup, while the
NAIA has six returning All-Americans in its lineup. Combined, there are
13 of each association’s finest programs represented at the Challenge,
and the competing student-athletes hail from 11 different states.
The NAIA topped the NCWA, 39-3, in the inaugural event last year held in
conjunction with the Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas. Each
association has one wrestler back for the 2011 Challenge, and together
they compose a rematch from last year’s event. The NCWA’s Kevin Bacci, a
senior from West Chester University and the defending NCWA champion at
174 pounds, takes on Jameon Rush, a junior from Hastings College (Neb.)
who is currently ranked third in the NAIA and placed 5th at the
nationals last year. In the highlight match of last year’s Challenge,
Rush held on to defeat Bacci 4-3 in triple overtime in the same weight
class.
The coaches for both squads also represent the best the two associations
have to offer. Jason Balma (Central Florida), Jovon Butler (The
Apprentice School) and John Petty (California Baptist) will coach the
NCWA team, while Brian Jackson (Missouri Baptist), Jake Stevenson
(Morningside College) and Patrick Giangrasso (Missouri Valley College)
will guide the NAIA lineup.
The AA Champions Challenge will be at The Venue at UCF, a unique
2,000-seat facility designed to house the UCF volleyball team. Formerly
the UCF Arena, the facility was completely renovated and re-opened in
2008 as an 87,000-square foot multi-purpose facility.
Here are the American Airlines Champions Challenge lineups, along with
notes regarding each wrestler’s 2010 national finish, current ranking
within their association or other 2010-11 season accolades:
125 lbs. NCWA - Grant Kadokura, Sr., MIT - Ranked 5th; Defending NCWA
Champ
NAIA - Paul Hansen III, Jr., Missouri Valley College - Ranked 3rd - 2 x
national qualifier
133 lbs. NCWA - Steve DeAugustino, Sr., Central Florida - Ranked 2nd;
Placed 4th at 2010 nationals
NAIA - Anton Prater, Sr., Missouri Baptist - Ranked 3rd; Placed 5th at
2010 nationals
141 lbs. NCWA - Kendall Albert, Kennesaw State - - Ranked 4th; Placed
3rd at 2010 nationals
NAIA - Drew Smith, Sr., Morningside (Iowa) - Ranked 6th; Won Buena Vista
Open in Dec.
149 lbs. NCWA - Christopher Santana, So., Calif. Baptist Ranked 1st;
Placed 4th at 2010 nationals
NAIA - Danny Hutcheson, Sr., Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) - Unranked; 2 x
national qualifier
157 lbs. NCWA - Ricky Anderson, Jr., Apprentice School - Ranked 1st; Won
UCF Open, 22 pins
NAIA - Brad Cusatis, Jr., Hastings College (Neb.) - Ranked 9th; 2 x
national qualifier
165 lbs. NCWA - Dustin Tancredi, Jr., West Chester Univ. - Ranked 1st;
NCWA runner-up in 2010
NAIA - Joe Sievert, So., Morningside (Iowa) - Ranked 3rd; Placed 3rd at
2010 nationals
174 lbs. NCWA - Kevin Bacci, Sr., West Chester Univ. - Ranked 1st;
defending NCWA Champion
NAIA - Jameon Rush, Jr., Hastings College (Neb.) - Ranked 3rd;
All-American, 5th at 2010 nationals
184 lbs. NCWA - Ben Brummel, South Carolina - Ranked 4th; NCWA runner-up
in 2010
NAIA - Jesse Alter, Jr., Missouri Valley College - Ranked 4th; Placed
7th at 2010 nationals
197 lbs. NCWA - Caleb Gerl, Jr., California Baptist - Ranked 2nd; Former
JC All-American
NAIA - Charles Gibbs, Sr., Missouri Valley College - Ranked 3rd; Placed
7th at 2010 nationals
285 lbs. Brian Milford, Sr., Texas A&M - Ranked 4th; NCWA runner-up at
235
Travis Ewart, Sr., Missouri Valley College - Ranked 2nd; NAIA
All-American in 2010
NAIA Coaches
Brian Jackson, Missouri Baptist
Jake Stevenson, Morningside
Patrick Giangrasso, Missouri Valley
NCWA Coaches
Jason Balma, Central Florida
Jovon Butler, Apprentice
John Petty, California Baptist
UCF
Wins the 2010 Central Florida Open
UCF Wrestling capped off a
competitive November campaign at home as the Knights played host to several
teams last weekend. Friday saw UCF match up with long time rival The
Apprentice School in a high octane affair that ended with a UCF victory,
31-22. The Knights started off strong with big wins by Alex Chiricosta,
Stephen DeAugustino, and CJ Cook, and then fended off a small Shipbuilder
comeback by stringing together four consecutive wins sparked by 165-pound
freshmen prospect Kyle Brooks. However, emotions may have gotten the best of
the home team as UCF fell decisively in its second match, 37-12, to
California Junior College champions Sierra College. "We just lost focus
after that first big win," says head coach Jason Balma. "We're better than
what we showed in that second match and I think we can make it up tomorrow.
We did last year."
Balma's prediction would come to fruition as
the Knights put together an impressive Saturday performance at the Central
Florida Open, winning the tournament by a decisive margin over second place
Sierra and rivals Marion Military and Apprentice. UCF claimed 14 placers to
score 162 points to Sierra's 126, while rivals Marion Military and
Apprentice managed 119 points and 93 points, respectively. UCF's performance
on the day could best be personified through 125 pound Alex Chiricosta, who
defeated Eric Dowd of Sierra in the finals, 10-5. Chiricosta had lost to
Dowd the previous night by way of fall. "It's been that kind of weekend."
said senior captain Stephen DeAugustino. "We had a lot of guys step up from
yesterday and accomplish things they couldn't last night. I think things
like that just speak about what kind of team we are. It takes a lot to keep
us down." DeAugustino also put an impressive end the 133 lbs. bracket as he
defeated returning NCWA national finalist, Marcus Chevres of Apprentice, 7-2
in the finals.
The Knight's resilience will be tested again
as the team looks to start another busy month of competition, kicking
December off with the Darton Duals this weekend.
Central Florida's Coach Jason Balma Talks about Recruiting to TDRTV
With
recruiting budgets dwindling and coaches looking for quality athletes,
it seems to me that RecruitAWrestler.com has the right idea at the right
time. Many kids are going unnoticed and are not being recruited after
high school. Coaches and kids need a place to meet up and communicate.
They are doing that at RecruitAWrestler.com
Central Florida University Head Coach Jason Balma understands that many
kids are just not blue chip prospects and for lack of "the connection"
may not even know what colleges may offer wrestling. Many of the NCWA
schools even have money available for wrestlers to attend.
On RecruitAWrestler.com
“I love this concept. The NCWA is truly for the student/athlete that
wants to compete at a high level of wrestling quality yet concentrate on
academic achievement. I also believe that every wrestler that wants to
compete at the next level should have that opportunity. Most of our
programs will offer you the chance to wrestle against a variety of
divisions and compete at a level that will fulfill your desire to
achieve your academic success and compete at the next level.”
Jason Balma
Head Coach, Central Florida University
2010 NCWA National Championship Team Coach
Listen to this interview with Coach Balma and I think you'll be
surprised at what you hear.
THE INTERVIEW
UCF Finishes with 6 in the medal round at Shorter University
Coming off a strong performance at the Citadel Open, the
Knights traveled to Rome, GA for Shorter University's Roman Open.
Shorter University celebrated their first wrestling home event in their
inaugural season with the NAIA. The tournament was held in the Roman
Forum in Rome, GA and featured 180 wrestlers from the NCWA and the NAIA;
including NCWA participants Marion Military Institute, Mercer College,
Middle Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, and the
University of Georgia. From the NAIA, Baker College, Central Baptist,
and Shorter University.
The Knights finished the tournament with 6 place
winners; including 133 lbs. Alex Chiricosta (5th Place - 3-2), 141 lbs.
Steve DeAugustino (1st Place - 3-0), 149 lbs. TJ Gillin (3rd Place - 5-1),
165 lbs. Kyle Brooks (2nd Place - 3-1), 184 lbs. Daniel Polaski (6th Place -
3-3), and 197 lbs. Richard Rippy (4th Place - 4-2).
"This tournament was a perfect early benchmark event for
our team; we could have performed better in the early rounds, but the guys
showed a lot of heart in many of the wrestle-back rounds," commented Head
Coach Jason Balma. The returning NCWA National Champions also used the
event to get an early look at some of the NCWA's traditional powerhouse
teams like Marion Military Institute who finished 8th at the NCWA National
Tournament last season. "After seeing both Apprentice and MMI this
season, our team has quite a bit of work to do in order to be on top of the
NCWA again. We have a hard-working team and I'm sure our guys will
answer to the challenge."
The Knights now look to bring some of the NCWA's best to
Central Florida for the 2010 Knight's Brawl Duals and the UCF Open on
November 19 & 20. The event will feature Sierra College from
California, Marion Military Institute, The Apprentice School, Georgia
Southern University, Mercer University, Kennesaw State University, and other
teams from around the Southeast Conference. Last season the Knights
were able to finish the tournament as champions, but there is no doubt that
others will challenge them for the title.
NCWA Staff -- -- NCWA schools combined to post seven top-five finishes at The
Citadel Open in Charleston, S.C., over the weekend. Mike Ahearn of South
Carolina (157 pounds), Marcus Chevres of The Apprentice School (133) and Josh
Woods of Central Florida (197) each led their schools in a big weekend for NCWA
members.
Brooks Pendleton of Georgia Southern, the defending NCWA champion at 235 pounds,
placed third in the heavyweight bracket. Central Florida also got fourth-place
finishes from Richard Rippy (197 lbs.) and Stephen DeAugustino (141). Will
Sexton of Apprentice took fifth at 141 pounds.
No team scores were kept in the event that saw 350-entries from all over the
southeast region.
Pendleton pinned Matt Wade of Newberry in the third place heavyweight match to
complete a 5-1 record at the tournament. His only loss was a 4-2 decision to
Charlie Wolff of Davidson in the semifinals.
Ahearn scored three pins and a technical fall to advance to the finals at 157.
Steven Fowler also reached the semifinals at 174 for the Gamecocks.
Apprentice, wrestling for the first time at The Citadel Open, had five wrestlers
advance to the quarterfinals led by Chevres. The junior and two-time NCWA
All-American, was 5-1 on the day at 133 pounds to lead the Builders' six
wrestlers who finished in the top seven in their weight classes.
Chevres scored two major decisions on the day and had wins over Appalachian
State and Belmont Abbey wrestlersen
route to the runner-up finish.
Sexton, a junior, also won won five bouts to finish fifth at 141 pounds. After
falling to fellow DeAugustino in the second round, 4-3, Sexton ripped off four
wins in the wrestlebacks before falling to DeAugustino again 4-2 in the
wrestleback semifinals.
Apprentice junior Ricky Anderson went 3-1 at 157 pounds to finish in the top
five, with all three wins coming by fall. Builders sophomore Odis Wesby (141)
and freshman Malachi Underwood (149) also placed in the top seven.
Central Florida, the defending NCWA champions, had three wrestlers reach the
semifinals led by its 197-pounders Woods and three-time All-American Rippy. Both
wrestlers fell to Andrew Ewers of Darton College in semifinals (Rippy) and
finals (Woods).
DeAugustino, a two-time NCWA All-American, placed fourth overall at 141 pounds.
Also for UCF, C.J. Cook reached the wrestlerback quarterfinals also at 141, and
Ashton Griffin reached the wrestleback quarterfinals at 133.
Central Florida is ranked second in preseason NCWA Coaches' Poll, with
Apprentice third.
Joel Hyder led Georgia's efforts with a wrestlerback quarterfinal appearance at
174 pounds. Hyder lost in the first round but rolled off three straight wins in
consolations. Mason Dell reached the wrestleback fifth round. Frankie Miller, a
two-time NCWA All-American, reached the fourth round of wrestlebacks.
An Pham (149) and Jackson Govatos (157) also advanced past the second round for
Georgia.
Mercer's Charlie Farr reached the wrestleback semifinals in the heavyweight
bracket before losing to Pendleton. Other highlights from Mercer came from
Wesley Adams, who reached the quarterfinals at 133, and Cinnegar White, who
advanced to the fifth round of wrestlebacks at 165.
UFC 121 Results: Tom Lawlor Dominates
Patrick Cote
andTom
Lawlorstepped
into the Octagon to kick off the Spike TV undercard portion ofUFC
121.
Cote had fallen far since his shot at UFC middleweight king,Anderson
Silva.
After being out of action for a long time due to a knee injury suffered against
Silva, Cote returned and lost a fight to Alan Belcher.
Tom Lawlor would do the Canadian no favors as he used his superior wrestling to
get constant takedowns and do a lot of damage from top position with punches and
elbows. At times Cote was able to work his way back to his feet but he was never
able to do any damage or put Tom in the slightest bit of trouble over the
fifteen minutes of action.
Big John McCarthy disappointed a lot of MMA fans by standing the fight up while
Lawlor was actively working ground and pound. Regardless of if he was trying to
assist in making the fight "entertaining" or not, it was bad reffing from a man
once thought of as, without a doubt, the best in the business.
With the win Lawlor got a much needed win after losing his last two fights.
SIU Edwardsville set to challenge for NCWA top
By Scott Farrell (From
NCWA)
The NCWA released its preseason coaches’ poll this month
with a new program feasting at the favorite’s table.
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, which placed
third at last year’s NCWA Championships, has assumed the top position based on
voting from the association’s Division I coaches. The Cougars return five NCWA
All-Americans from last year, including defending national champion David Devine
at heavyweight.
The NCWA’s Division I programs are those
operating under their school’s athletic department banner or have met
established criteria within the NCWA’s guidance.
Close behind SIUE are the NCWA’s last two
champions.
Defending champion Central Florida has two three-time
All-Americans and six overall back in its line-up. The Apprentice School has
four All-Americans returning to its line-up.
Devine, a sophomore, tops the line-up at SIUE,
which has aim on its first NCWA title. Brendan Murphy, a sophomore, took third
at 133 pounds and won more matches (30) than any other Cougar last year. Dillon
Pousson, a junior, took fifth nationally at 141 pounds and was the Cougars’ pins
leader with 13 last season. Steve Ross, a junior, took fifth at 157 pounds and
junior Eric Pretto (165 pounds) was eighth.
SIUE’s schedule this season parallels its
ambitions within the NCWA, but extends far, far beyond its own association. NCWA
schools always welcome matches against programs in the other divisions. But SIUE
owns what is to date the NCWA’s most aggressive schedule, and perhaps its
toughest ever, featuring eight teams that competed in last year’s NCAA Division
I Championships, and several other elite programs.
The highlight match is a dual against
three-time defending NCAA Division I champion Iowa on Jan. 7. That match marks
the first time an NCWA school has wrestled against the NCAA’s champion.
“We are continuing to increase the number of
Division I teams on the schedule each year to raise our overall level of
competition,” said third-year SIUE head coach David Ray. “This allows our guys
to evaluate the level we are currently at and to determine what steps need to be
taken to become a competitive program.”
SIUE has Big Ten foe Northwestern scheduled
as part of its Cougar Duals on Dec. 19, and will also participate in the Indiana
Duals on Jan. 9 along with duals against Illinois (Jan. 21) and Missouri from
the Big 12 on Jan. 15. In all, there are 11 Division I teams on the Cougars’
schedule. The Cougars will also travel to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas
Collegiate Wrestling Invitational.
“These quality duals give us a chance to
evaluate where we are at as a team and the type of recruits we need to add,”
said Ray. “Our schedule is a stepping stone for the wrestling program as a whole
as we continue to push toward becoming more improved each and every year. The
whole year is going to be exciting and everyone is looking forward to the
challenges that lie ahead.”
UCF won’t let go of its 2010 title easily.
The Knights have a line-up bolstered by two three-time NCWA All-Americans
seeking their first individual national championships. Stephen DeAugustino
placed fourth at 133 pounds last season and was seventh in 2008 and third in
2009. Richard Rippy placed third last year at 197 pounds and was second in 2009
and fourth in 2008 at 184.
DeAugustino is a anchor at the front of UCF’s
line-up, but the Knights also have Alex Chiricosta, a sophomore who placed
fourth last season at 125 pounds. Two senior All-Americans who solidify the
middle weights, with T.J. Gillin, who placed eighth last year at 149, and Zumarr
Archer, who took seventh at 184. Another senior, Daniel Rowe, placed fourth at
heavyweight last season and will rival Devine all season long as the
national-title favorite.
The Apprentice School took second last year,
falling just short of defending their 2009 NCWA championship. The Builders will
be back in the hunt again this season behind four returning All-Americans. Two
juniors lead that crew with Marcus Chevres coming back after a second-place
finish at 133 pounds, and Quentin Bowling returning after an eighth-place finish
at 184.
Patrick McIntosh, a sophomore, made a great
run through last year’s national championships, eventually placing fourth at 157
pounds. He’s back, along with sophomore Stuart Roes, who took sixth at 197.
The rest of the coaches’ preseason top 10
includes Marion Military Academy (Ala.), Grand Valley State (Mich.), the U.S.
Naval Academy and U.S. Air Force Academy Prep Schools, new member Penn
State-Dubois, Weber State from out West, and West Chester (Pa.).
The NCWA Championships will be hosted by
Mercer University from March 10-12, 2011, in Macon, Ga.
Those top 10 teams will get a chance to upend
UCF and Apprentice at the NCWA National Duals set for Jan. 28-29 in Dalton, Ga.
The top 24 NCWA teams will compete there, and the top eight teams from the 2009
NCWA Championships have all received an invitation. The NCWA has also added a
high school division that will invite some of the top programs in Georgia,
Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina together for a dual tournament in Dalton,
which is at a crossroads to the four states.
The early favorite for National Duals
champion may come out of Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 19. Apprentice and Marion
Military are a part of UCF’s six-team Knights’ Brawls Duals, which is the NCWA’s
top early-season tournament.
The NCWA will host its second American
Airlines Challenge in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 15, 2011, with UCF as host. The
NAIA defeated the NCWA last year, 39-3, in the event held in Dallas. Both
organizations are on tap again in 2011, and details are being ironed out on
including a team of NCAA Division II wrestlers to make it a three-division
event.
“We’re committed toward making this one of
the wrestling season’s top events,” said NCWA Executive Director Jim Giunta.
“The NCWA and NAIA had a successful event last year, and this season with the
help and support of the NAIA officials and UCF we expect to host a series of
dual matches that will command national attention.”
The NCWA, based in Dallas, continues to grow
in numbers and expand wrestling’s reach within collegiate athletics. As of Sept.
17, the NCWA has expanded by 10 programs with more applications to process. The
new NCWA programs for 2010-11, which hail from seven different states, are
Rutgers, Texas-San Antonio, North Florida, Penn State-New Kensington, Central
Washington, Minnesota-Duluth, Eastern Washington, Washington Univ. (Mo.), and
Rowan (N.J.).
Dalton GA. Awarded NCWA
National Duals
For Immediate Release
July 15, 2010 DALLAS – The National Collegiate Wrestling
Association (NCWA) has announced the host site for the first of its two national
championship events for the upcoming season. Dalton, Ga., will host the 2011
National Collegiate Wrestling Duals at the Northwest Georgia Trade and
Convention Center on Jan. 29-30, 2011. The 24-team tournament will bring more
than 500 NCWA athletes and coaches to Dalton, and is the first national
championship wrestling event to be held in Georgia. It is expected to be the
largest college wrestling event ever in the state. Georgia’s northwest corner
has long been home to some of the state’s top programs, and Dalton is also just
minutes from Chattanooga, Tenn., which boasts a collegiate tradition and fine
legacy of wrestling in that state. “We’re bringing this national championship to
a hot bed of the high school scene in two states, but especially to highlight
wrestling in Georgia, which has become a top-25 wrestling state over the past 10
years,” said Jim Giunta, the executive director of the NCWA. “We want to not
only recruit heavily from Georgia, but also provide a spawning ground for many
new college programs in the years to come.” Defending duals champion Marion
Military Institute (Ala.) and 2009 champion Grand Valley State (Mich.) will once
again be among the favorites to win the 2011 Collegiate Cup. Central Florida,
which won the 2010 NCWA Championships, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville are also among the early contenders.
“We’re excited to be working with the Dalton Convention and Visitors Bureau and
the North Georgia Trade Center on this event,” Giunta said. “Rebecca Bolton and
Natasha Colkmire have worked very hard with our board and tournament committee
to make this event a reality in Dalton. ”The site for the 2011 NCWA
Championships will be determined later in the summer. For more information on
the NCWA, log on to ncwa.net
Season Outlook
Following the Wrestling team’s ninth year as a member of the National Collegiate
Wrestling Association (NCWA), the UCF wrestling team was once again crowned
national champions. The 2010 NCWA National Championship was
the third overall for the Knights since their 2004/2005 back-to-back titles.
Also adding to the team’s winning tradition, UCF has placed in the top eight
every year since 2002 in a league that now has over 140 member schools. The
team’s history also now includes 65 individual All-Americans and 8 individual
national champions.
As the first
place team, the Knights wrestling team scored 128 points, finishing 16.5 points
ahead of returning national champions the Apprentice School (111.5 points) and
20.5 points ahead of 3rd place Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
(107.5). Rounding out the top five were Michigan’s Grand Valley State University
and Maryland’s US Naval Academy Prep School. In all, 79 teams and over 350
wrestlers competed in the 2010 NCWA National Championships.
While winning national
titles is a great measurement of success, the wrestling team ultimately strives
to build confidence and character in individuals both on and off of the mat.
With a student population of over 53,000 and a wide variety of educational
possibilities, the team’s goal is to help the “Student First” athlete in the
program become tomorrow’s leader. In meeting this goal, the wrestling team has
closely aligned its mission with mission statements of the Sport Club Council,
the Recreation and Wellness Center, and UCF. Leading the Knights in to the
2010-2011 season are senior captains, Richard Rippy and Steve DeAugustino. Both
Rippy and DeAugustino are currently three time All-Americans and have a chance
to join an elite group of four time NCWA All-Americans! The team is also
facilitated by coaches who are nationally recognized and all former UCF
wrestlers and graduates!
Come out and
be a part of the wrestling team’s success!
2008: Steve DeAugustino - 7th @ 133 lbs. Matt Bohren
- 3rd @ 141 lbs. Rob McCarty - 5th @ 149 lbs. Devon Jackson
- 8th @ 165 lbs. Zach Sanford - 3rd @ 184 lbs. Richard Rippy
- 4th @ 184 lbs. Danny Fernandez - 2nd @ 197 lbs. Jesse Pinson
- 4th @ 285 lbs.
2009: Frito Cherenfant - 3rd @ 125 lbs. Steve DeAugustino
- 3rd @ 133 lbs. Ryan Witzel - 6th @ 157 lbs. Christopher Hauser
- 6th @ 174 lbs. Richard Rippy - 2nd @ 184 lbs.
2010:
Alex Chiricosta - 4th @ 125 lbs.
Steve DeAugustino - 4th @ 133 lbs.
TJ Gillin - 8th @ 149 lbs.
CJ Hauser - 3rd @ 174 lbs.
Zumarr Archer - 7th @ 184 lbs.
Richard Rippy - 3rd @ 197 lbs.
Michael Dominguez - 4th @ 235 lbs.
Daniel Rowe - 4th @ 285 lbs.
NCWA National Champions:
2003: Raun Jessee @ 165 lbs. Tom Lawlor @ 235 lbs.
2004: Jason Ruberg @ 184 lbs. Todd Hauser @ 197 lbs. Tom Lawlor @ 235 lbs.
2005: Todd Hauser @ 197 lbs. Tom Lawlor @ 235 lbs. Jarren Williams @ 285 lbs.
UCF 4x NCWA All-Americans:
Tom Lawlor
- NCWA's first 3x National Champion (3rd Place Freshman Year) Todd Hauser David Miller Paul Rothenberg
Dual Meet Record since 2001 NCWA team revival:
96-25
6 SE Conference Titles
3 National Titles 65 Individual All-American Finishes 8 Individual National Champion Finishes
Team Finishes: 2002
- 8th Place 2003 - 4th Place 2004 - 1st Place
2005 - 1st Place 2006 - 4th Place 2007 - 2nd Place
2008 - 3rd Place 2009 - 5th Place
2010 - 1st Place
MACON,
Ga. – California Baptist broke from a handful of schools in the
semifinals, then cemented their hold on first with two national
champions and two runners-up to claim the national title at the NCWA
Championships. The win is the Lancers’ second NCWA national title in
two months, as they won the NCWA National Duals two months ago.
