April 2007 Wrestling Articles

Fall Program Includes Prep State Champions and Medal Winners

PHOENIX ? April 15, 2007 ? Grand Canyon University (GCU) Head Wrestling Coach R.C. LaHaye has chosen the inaugural recruiting class to kick-off the wrestling program at GCU for fall 2007. Class standouts include 14 individual prep state champions and seven transfer students with previous college wrestling experience. GCU is still actively recruiting out-of-state wrestlers and training will begin at the start of the fall semester.

"We couldn't have asked for a better class," said Coach LaHaye. "We have a great balance of local… more »

University of Minnesota assistant wrestling coach Joe Russell will be
honored with the Medal of Courage from the National Wrestling Hall of
Fame.

Russell will be honored by the Minnesota Chapter of the Hall of Fame
at a reception in Owatonna, Minn., this Saturday, Apr. 14., and will
be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame at the 2007
Honors Weekend Banquet and Induction Ceremony on June 2 in Stillwater,
Okla.


The Medal of Courage is presented annually to a wrestler or former
wrestler… more »

The Nebraska wrestling team celebrated its 2006-07 season and honored
several members of this year's squad at a banquet held Saturday night
at the Cornhusker Hotel in downtown Lincoln.



Drawing top honors as Nebraska's Outstanding Wrestler for the 2006-07
season was sophomore 125-pound wrestler Paul Donahoe, who became the
program's ninth national champion with his 3-1 overtime win over Sam
Hazewinkel of Oklahoma in the finals of the NCAA Championships.
Donahoe finished the season with a 35-5 record, becoming the first NU
wrestler since… more »

IOWA CITY, IA - University of Iowa junior Mark Perry has been named
the Mike Howard Most Valuable Wrestler for the 2006-07 season. He
received the award at the team's annual awards banquet Saturday in
Iowa City.

Perry was the 165-pound NCAA and Big Ten Champion. The three-time
all-American posted a 28-4 record in collegiate matches this season.
With his 4-3 win over two-time defending NCAA Champion Johny Hendricks
in the national finals, Perry ended the season on a 12-match winning
streak. He was named TheMat.com's Wrestler of the Week… more »

The 2007 NCAA Champion Golden Gopher wrestling team announced its team
awards at its annual banquet on Sunday evening.

All 30 members of the team were presented with plaques commemorating
the 2007 championship season, but on a night dedicated to celebrating
the third national title in program history, it was difficult for one
individual not to steal the show. The crowd paid tribute to senior
Cole Konrad, honoring him with multiple standing ovations as he
accepted the Most Outstanding and Most Valuable Wrestler Awards, in
addition to the Verne Gagne… more »

Profile on BVU Wrestler Ben Strandberg

(originally appeared in Spring 2007 BVBriefs)


Memories.

Buena Vista University and the city of Storm Lake are full of them for
Beaver wrestler Ben Strandberg. Most of them great. Some of them
painful. All of them unforgettable.

Not that you will ever hear Ben wishing that they would go away. One
look at him in his uniform reveals the ink that he will carry with him
the rest of his life as a reminder of all… more »

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern head wrestling coach Tim Cysewski has announced that John Schoen (Homer Glen, Ill./Marist) has signed a National Letter of Intent and will join the 'Cats for the 2007-08 season. The Wildcats are coming off a fourth-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Championships, the highest in program history.

Schoen, who projects to be a 197-pound wrestler for the Wildcats, compiled 118 wins in high school record while competing four seasons on the varsity squad. He broke Marist's career record for most takedowns. He led the Redhawks in wins, team points, takedowns and winning percentage.… more »

LAS VEGAS ? Portland State freshmen Zack Smith and Joe Maumoynier placed at the 2007 Las Vegas/ ASICS U.S. FILA Junior Greco-Roman National Championships held on April 4 ?7.

Smith, the Vikings? starting heavyweight during the 2006-07 season, placed fourth after losing by decision (3-0, 4-2) to Kurt Klimek of the Titan Wrestling Club during the third-place match.

A redshirt in 2006-07, Maumoynier placed eighth at 174-pounds wrestling as a member of the Northern Xtreme club. Maumoynier was forced to forfeit the seventh-place match to Clete Hanson of the Viper wrestling club after suffering… more »

The 2007 NCAA Champion Minnesota wrestling team will show off its national championship trophy at the Twins-Yankees game on Wednesday, April 11.

The Golden Gophers will be recognized on the field during a pre-game ceremony and two-time All-American Mack Reiter will have the privilege of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:10 p.m., at the Metrodome. Select members of the team will also participate in the tradition of leading ?Take Me Out to the Ballgame? during the seventh-inning stretch.

The Gophers were also previously scheduled to be… more »

LAS VEGAS ? Five former Oklahoma State wrestlers placed at the U.S. Senior Freestyle National Championships to qualify for the World Team Trials to be held in Las Vegas June 9-10.

Daniel Cormier and Muhammed Lawal both advanced to the finals at 96 kg (211.5 lbs.). The winner will receive a bye to the championship series of the trials, while the loser will be the top seed of the challenge bracket.

Zack Esposito and Steve Mocco both finished third at 66 and 120 kg, respectively. Two-time NCAA champion Chris Pendleton finished fourth at 84… more »

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Head Wrestling Coach Chris Bono claimed his third consecutive U.S. Freestyle National Championship Saturday night at the 2007 U.S. National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Bono, who entered the tournament seeded fourth in the 145.5 pound division, has now won four overall U.S. Freestyle titles. He receives an automatic bid to the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 9 and 10 in Las Vegas.

As a seeded wrestler, Bono did not have to go through the preliminary qualifying matches. He defeated Joe Johnston, 3-0, 1-1 and Zack… more »

Columbia, Mo. - Missouri Director of Athletics Mike Alden announced today that wrestling Head Coach Brian Smith has signed a five-year contract that will have him leading the Tigers through the year 2012.

"We're very pleased to be able to do this for Coach Smith and the Tiger wrestling program," Alden said. "Securing Brian in this way helps ensure the stability of the program and it is undoubtedly a win-win situation for everyone involved. The job that Brian and his staff have done to build this into one of the nation's premier programs has been remarkable to… more »

David G. Bunning Head Coach for Wrestling Jay Weiss had high hopes for his wrestling squad this season and even though the year did not pan out how he scripted, no one can argue with the success his team achieved in 2006-07.

Three All-Americans for the first time in program history, first freshman All-American, most number of points scored at the NCAA Championships, highest finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and two finalists for the first time, and highest finish at the Midlands Championship.

Harvard entered the year with five wrestlers ranked… more »