Wrestling – Page 8 – North Platte Post Archive

Gold Medalist Burroughs Hired As Assistant Coach

Posted on July 11, 2014

Nebraska Wrestling Head Coach Mark Manning announced the hiring of Husker legend and Olympic Gold Medalist Jordan Burroughs as an assistant coach for the team on Friday.

“We are pleased to announce Jordan as one of my top assistants,” Manning said. “Jordan is one of the best wrestlers in the world and his accomplishments speak for themselves. We want him to continue to win World and Olympic titles until he completes his career. Jordan and his wife Lauren have made a commitment to be a part of Nebraska Athletics for a very long time. I along with the wrestlers and staff are glad to have the influence, mentorship and knowledge that Jordan brings to Nebraska wrestling. He has been a part of Nebraska wrestling for the last eight years and will continue to be a tremendous ambassador for the University of Nebraska.”

Burroughs previously served on the Nebraska wrestling staff as an administrative assistant for the 2012-13 season. He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in sociology in May 2011.

“This is a huge stepping stone for my career and for Nebraska wrestling,” Burroughs said. “These are great facilities, people and tradition, and I’m extremely happy to continue to be a part of it. Now I get to look at things from the inside-out, whereas before it was from the outside-in. I want us to win team championships.”

A native of Sicklerville, N.J., Burroughs joins the staff in the midst of one of the most successful international freestyle wrestling careers in U.S. history. In addition to claiming the 74-kilogram Olympic Gold Medal at the 2012 Games in London, England, Burroughs won a pair of FILA World Championships in 2011 and 2013. He is also the three-time defending U.S. Open champion and two-time reigning World Cup champion.

Burroughs has earned several other titles during his post-collegiate career, including the 2011 Pan American Championships, 2011 U.S. World Team Trials, 2012 Olympic Trials, 2013 Alexander Medved Championships and 2013 Stephan Sargsyan Championships. In addition, he won his first 69 matches on the senior circuit.

Following the IOC’s initial recommendation to drop wrestling from the Olympics in February 2013, Burroughs became a key advocate to keeping the sport in the Games. In September 2013, the decision was overturned and wrestling will remain in the Olympics.

In 2011, Burroughs completed his decorated collegiate career with a second national title and claimed the Hodge Trophy Award. He went 36-0 as a senior at 165 pounds and also captured 2011 InterMat Wrestler-of-the-Year honors.

Burroughs’ first NCAA crown came in 2009, when he posted a perfect 35-0 record at 157 pounds. In 2009-10, his season was cut short by a torn PCL and LCL after racing to a 7-0 start.

The three-time All-American finished third at the 2008 NCAA Championships with a 34-6 record. He won a Big 12 title during the same season and added conference crowns in 2009 and 2011. Burroughs completed his college career with a 128-20 record, the fourth-most victories in school history. He also holds the fifth-best career winning percentage in Nebraska history at .865.

Green Takes Silver at University Worlds

Posted on July 9, 2014

Pecs, Hungary – Husker wrestler James Green earned the silver medal at 70 kg/154 pounds in the men’s freestyle division of the University World Championships on Wednesday.

Green (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska RTC) opened the day with an 11-1 victory over Finland’s Jere Kunnas in the quarterfinals before taking down Russia’s Shamil Magomedov, 8-4, in the semifinals. In the finals, Evgheni Nedealco of Moldova pinned Green.

Green, Willingboro, N.J. native, earned a spot on the team by winning both of his matches at the University Nationals in Akron, Ohio on May 25. He defeated past All-American Adam Hall (Titan Mercury Wrestling Club), 4-1, 4-2.

This year’s competition marked the second consecutive year that Green competed in the University World Championships. Last summer Green posted a 1-1 record in Kazan, Russia.

Green will return to Nebraska’s lineup as a senior in 2014-15. He is a three-time All-American and the reigning Big Ten champion at 157 pounds. Green placed third at the 2014 NCAA Championships after taking seventh during both his sophomore and freshman seasons.

11th University World Wrestling Championships: Men’s Freestyle 70 kg/154 pounds
Round of 16: Bye
Quarterfinals: James Green (USA) def. Jere Kunnas (Finland), 11-1
Semifinals: James Green (USA) def. Shamil Magomedov (Russia), 8-4
Finals: Evgheni Nedealco (Moldova) def. James Green (USA), pin

Ex-Husker Scherr Collects USA Wrestling Honor

Posted on June 19, 2014

Former Husker wrestler Bill Scherr earned USA Wrestling’s Myron Roderick Man-of-the-Year Award on Thursday, an accolade that recognizes an outstanding man for his contributions to the sport of wrestling.

Scherr served a pivotal role in keeping wrestling as an Olympic sport, as he chaired the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW). In the position, Scherr developed the working structure of CPOW, ran weekly conference calls to help with CPOW’s strategy, oversaw the international relations area of CPOW and served as a spokesman for the organization.

Scherr has served on USA Wrestling’s Board of Directors and coached numerous teams, including the Women’s World Team. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1998 as a distinguished member after achieving success on the international level.

Scherr made one Olympic appearance, capturing the bronze medal at 220 pounds in 1988. At the FILA World Championships, Scherr earned four medals from 1985 to 1989. He took first place at 198 pounds in 1985, while earning runner-up finishes in 1986 and 1989, and a third-place result at the 1987 World Championships.

While at Nebraska, Scherr capped his impressive career with the NCAA title at 190 pounds in 1984. The three-time All-American earned a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 1983 and finished fourth in 1982. Scherr completed his career at Nebraska (1981-84) with a record of 133-18.

Scherr’s brother Jim, also a former wrestler at Nebraska, took home USA Wrestling’s Man of the Year Award in 1994. In addition, former Huskers Jordan Burroughs (2012) and Rulon Gardner (2000) have earned the accolade.

USA Wrestling Release Link: http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2014/June/19/Bill-Scherr-named-USA-Wrestling-Man-of-the-Year

Husker Wrestling Adds Arthur for Upcoming Season

Posted on June 18, 2014

The Nebraska wrestling team announced the addition of 149-pounder Justin Arthur for the 2014-15 season on Wednesday.

“We’re very excited about Justin Arthur joining us,” Head Coach Mark Manning said. “Justin possesses the qualities we look for and demand from our student-athletes, and he was highly sought after the last couple weeks by some of the top teams in college wrestling. Justin competed as a true freshman and had a tremendous year. He expressed to us the need to become a national champion as well as being part of a program that can challenge for championships. We feel he is another piece to the puzzle that allows our program to move forward toward our goals.”

Arthur spent his first year of college wrestling at Clarion, where he compiled a 29-16 record at 149 pounds and narrowly missed the All-America podium at the 2014 NCAA Championships. After dropping his opening match at the national tournament, Arthur reeled off three consecutive wins in the consolation bracket before falling to fourth-seeded Kendric Maple of Oklahoma by a 7-4 decision. Arthur, a Huntington, W.V., native, earned a pin and major decision during his winning streak at the NCAA Championships.

Before Clarion, Arthur completed his high school career at Huntington under Coach Robbie Archer as a three-time West Virginia state champion with a career record of 142-15. As a senior, he was named West Virginia’s Most Valuable Wrestler when he went 30-2 and collected a state title at 145 pounds. Arthur added state crowns as a junior in 2012 at 138 pounds when he went 40-2, and in 2010, when he earned a 39-3 record at 119 pounds. In 2011, he finished third at 130 pounds with a season record of 33-8.

In addition, Arthur was the NHSCA Senior Nationals runner-up and a two-time Fargo All-American.

Wrestling Federation Pins Hopes on Name Change

Posted on June 16, 2014

DUBROVNIK, Croatia (AP) — Wrestling’s international governing body could soon be changing its name.

An executive committee for FILA has approved “United World Wrestling” as the organization’s new moniker.

FILA President Nenad Lalovic says the organization’s proposed rebranding is both distinct and “represents the values of wrestling.”

The new name and accompanying logo must be approved by a FILA congress in Uzbekistan in September.

Grappling on the Gridiron Commences Friday

Posted on May 28, 2014

The North Platte High School wrestling team is hosting the 2014 Grappling on the Gridiron for kids from grades third through 12th Friday, May 30 at North Platte High School’s Memorial Stadium.

The Grappling on the Gridiron will begin at 7:00 pm under the stadium lights at Memorial Stadium on Bauer Field. The North Platte High School gymnasium is on reserve in the event of inclement weather. The divisions are kids that have just finished 3rd-4th grades, 5th-6th grades, 7th-8th grades, 9th-10th grades and 11th-12th grades. The brackets will be open with the 10 percent rule in effect.

Matches for third through sixth graders will be three one-minute periods and seventh through 12th graders will be three 1 1/2- minute periods. High school rules will apply for all age divisions.

The cost is $16 per wrestler with t-shirts costing an additional $15. T-shirts can be purchased online during registration. To register go to trackwrestling.com under Grappling on the Gridiron 2014 or click on this link. Medals will be awarded for the top four places in each division.

Admission is $5 for adults and children 17 and under are free. Weigh-ins for wrestlers will be from 3-5 pm in the North Platte High School wrestling room. For more information contact North Platte Bulldogs wrestling coach Dale Hall at 308-760-3153 or email at [email protected].

Wrestling Powers End Meets after Lynching Photo

Posted on May 2, 2014

PAULSBORO, N.J. (AP) — Two New Jersey high school wrestling powers are stopping their matches against one another because of a photo in which members of one team simulated a lynching.

Paulsboro school superintendent Walter Quint tells The Philadelphia Inquirer (http://bit.ly/R7giHo ) that continuing meets against Phillipsburg High School would be “disrespectful to the people who are here that are hurt by” the photo.

The controversy erupted in February when the photo surfaced online of seven white Phillipsburg wrestlers, some with pointed hoods, posing with a black wrestling dummy hanging from a noose. The dummy is in a Paulsboro shirt.

The seven plus another team member were scratched from the state tournament after the photo became public. Prosecutors investigated but declined to file charges.

There have been several apologies.

The schools had scheduled meets annually since 1999.

No Charges for Wrestlers in Lynching Photo

Posted on April 17, 2014

BELVIDERE, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey prosecutor says no charges will be filed against the members of a high school wrestling team who posed in a photograph that simulated a lynching.

The Warren County prosecutor’s office said Thursday that its investigation with the Phillipsburg police found no criminal wrongdoing.

The photo, which surfaced online, showed seven white teens wearing Phillipsburg High wrestling attire posing with a black tackling dummy in a Paulsboro wrestling shirt and hanging from a noose. Two of the boys had the hoods on their sweatshirts fixed into points.

Paulsboro and Phillipsburg high schools are longtime wrestling powerhouses and rivals. Phillipsburg is about 85 percent white. More than one-third of Paulsboro’s residents are black.

Prosecutor Richard T. Burke says his decision was cleared with the state attorney general’s office.

Big Ten Wrestling Set to Compete in NCAA Championships

Posted on March 18, 2014

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Wrestlers from all 12 Big Ten schools will head to the Chesapeake Energy Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., this weekend to compete in the 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The championships begin Thursday morning and conclude with championship bouts on Saturday evening. The Big Ten leads the nation with 82 competing wrestlers, including 59 seeded grapplers and five No. 1 seeds across the 10 weight classes.

The ESPN family of networks will provide coverage for the entire event. All six sessions will be streamed on ESPN3.com, which will provide live mat-by-mat coverage of the championships. Both of Thursday’s and Friday’s sessions and Saturday’s first session will be broadcast live on ESPNU, while Saturday’s second session, featuring the championship bouts, will be shown on ESPN.

Seventy-four Big Ten wrestlers earned spots in the NCAA Championships field by virtue of their Big Ten Championships finish, while eight others received at-large bids to nationals. The conference sends at least seven wrestlers in each weight class, including 10 grapplers in the 184- and 285-pound brackets.

Five Big Ten wrestlers hold the top seeds in their weight classes, with Illinois’ Jesse Delgado (125 pounds), Minnesota’s Tony Nelson (285), Nebraska’s James Green (157), Ohio State’s Nick Heflin (197) and Penn State’s David Taylor (165) entering the championships at No. 1. Nelson, Ohio State’s Logan Stieber (141) and Penn State’s Ed Ruth (184) look for their third consecutive national titles, while Delgado and Iowa’s Derek St. John (157) won NCAA crowns a season ago. Taylor aims for his second national title, taking home the crown in 2012.

Five Big Ten schools have claimed NCAA Championships, led by Iowa with 23. Penn State enters this year’s event as the three-time defending champion. Minnesota boasts three championships, while Indiana and Michigan State have each earned one. A Big Ten school has taken home the team title in each of the past seven years.

The three-day, six-session event will begin with preliminary matches at Noon ET on Thursday and will continue into the evening session beginning at 7 p.m. The third session will begin Friday at 11 a.m. with quarterfinal action and wrestlebacks highlighting the schedule. The championships’ fourth session begins at 8 p.m. and will feature semifinal action. Saturday morning brings the conclusion of the consolation bracket as third-, fifth- and seventh-place winners will be decided beginning at 11 a.m. The sixth and final session is scheduled for Saturday evening at 8 p.m., where NCAA weight class champions will be crowned.

Big Ten Wrestling Championships Preview

Posted on March 6, 2014

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The 100th Big Ten Wrestling Championships are set for this Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9, at the Kohl Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.

The event gets underway at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday, with the preliminary and quarterfinal matches taking place in Session I. Session II begins at 5 p.m., as semifinals and the opening rounds of wrestlebacks conclude the day’s action. Consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches get underway at 11 a.m. on Sunday, while first-, third- and fifth-place matches begin at 1 p.m.

BTN will provide live streaming coverage of the Big Ten wrestling preliminaries, beginning at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday. Streaming coverage will continue with select matches in Sessions II and III, while the championship rounds will be carried live on the network. Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and Shane Sparks will call the action.

Penn State enters the championships looking for its fourth-straight Big Ten title, after earning crowns in 2011, 2012, 2013. The Nittany Lions aim to become just the fifth Big Ten school to win four-straight conference titles and the first since Iowa won 25 consecutive crowns from 1974-1998. Last season, Penn State earned 151 team points, followed by Minnesota and Iowa with 139 and 133.5 points, respectively.

Eight wrestlers that took home Big Ten titles last season return to this year’s championships, with Illinois’ Jesse Delgado (125 pounds), Ohio State’s Logan Stieber (133; wrestling this season at 141) and Hunter Steiber (141; wrestling this season at 149), Minnesota’s Dylan Ness (149; wrestling this season at 157), Penn State’s David Taylor (165), Matt Brown (174) and Ed Ruth (184), Minnesota’s Kevin Steinhaus (184), Illinois’ Mario Gonzalez (197) and Minnesota’s Tony Nelson (285) each earning crowns at last year’s event. Ruth and Taylor each aim to become just the 12th and 13th four-time conference champions in Big Ten history.

The championships’ 10 top seeds are spread across five schools. Penn State holds five No. 1 seeds, with 125-pounder Nico Megaludis, 141-pounder Zain Retherford, 165-pounder David Taylor, 184-pounder Ed Ruth and 197-pounder Morgan McIntosh earning top billing in their weight classes. Nebraska brings two top-seeded grapplers into the championships, while Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin each hold one top-ranked wrestler. The Hawkeyes’ Tony Ramos (133), Wolverines’ Adam Coon (285) and Badgers’ Isaac Jordan (157) have each earned No. 1 seeds, while the Huskers’ Jake Sueflohn (149) and Robert Kokesh (174) round out the group of top-ranked grapplers.

Nine Big Ten teams enter the championships ranked in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll, with conference squads claiming the top three spots and five in the top 10. Minnesota tops the poll at No. 1, followed by No. 2 Penn State, No. 3Iowa, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 19 Northwestern and No. 20 Illinois. Purdue is receiving votes.