Gradual Building of Erekson a Great Wrestling Story
from The Gazette
Sometimes great stories get pushed to the back or even forgotten in favor of what we feel are better stories. Dan Erekson's growth is a great story that can easily get lost in the world of University of Iowa wrestling, a world dominated by possibly the most dominant collegiate wrestler of all time, Brent Metcalf, and a team full of colorful characters and great stories. Erekson, a junior from Eagle, Idaho, could have become just another wrestler passing through the historic Dan Gable Wrestling Complex. But last weekend in State College, Pa., Erekson became a Big Ten champion and this week in St. Louis will be a contender in the NCAA Championships. More

Hoffman Wins, Boxers Third At NCWA Nationals
from Pacific University Athletics
Rebecca Hoffman (So., La Mirada, Calif.) earned her first national championship Saturday, winning the unlimited weight class and leading the Pacific University Boxers to a third place finish at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Women's Championships at the Hampton University Convocation Center Arena. Hoffman captured the unlimited championship with a first round fall over Mercer's Erin Patterson. She is the first Pacific athlete to earn a national title since the Boxers joined the NCWA in 2007. More

YVCC Women Earn National Wrestling Championship
from Sports Yakima
Yakima Valley’s first-year women’s wrestling team has won a national championship. The Yaks, competing in the women’s division of the National Collegiate Wrestling Association championships that concluded this past weekend at Hampton University. YVCC claimed top team honors with Simon Fraser University, Pacific University of Oregon, San Jose State and Mercer University of Georgia rounding out the top five. More

Revolutionary Surgical Technique Helps Wrestler Return to the Mat
from The Flint Journal
Six months ago, nobody knew if wrestler Kade Roggentine would ever compete again. But this senior grappler is headed to the state finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan, thanks to a lot of hard work and a revolutionary surgical technique that had him back on the mat within weeks. The surgery -- called a single-port splenectomy -- removed Kade's spleen through a single tiny incision in his navel, resulting in very little surgical trauma and dramatically reduced recovery time.He is the first in Michigan and one of a handful nationwide to undergo the procedure, said Genesys surgeon Dr. Michael Kia. More

No. 1 U-M Wrestler Shuns the Spotlight
from Detroit Free Press
Steve Luke is careful. He speaks quietly and smiles easily. He looks exactly like the kind of carefree American kid who would have a birthday on July 4. But Luke is very careful, and it all makes sense. On the wrestling mat, Michigan's 174-pound senior exhibits the kind of defense usually reserved for a military fortress. He has allowed only three takedowns and no near-fall points on his way to a 27-0 record and a No. 1 ranking heading into the NCAA Championships that begin Thursday in St. Louis. More

Kemmerer Basking in Glow of 2nd Division II National Championship
from Standard Speaker
Kutztown University wrestler Joe Kemmerer may have caught some luck two years ago, but now there is no doubt that he is truly a national champion. After defeating at two-time national champion and knocking off the wrestler who beat him in this year’s regional, the former Crestwood High star claimed his second NCAA Division II title at 133 pounds and was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler Saturday at the University of Houston. More

Legendary Coach Back on Mats
from The Times West Virginian
Thirty-some years have passed, but Roy Michael still remembers West Virginia’s last trip to the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic quite vividly. But here’s the funny thing: the then-Mannington coach wasn’t in the corner barking out instructions. Rather, he was in the stands, watching West Virginia take it on the chin against the mighty WPIAL. More

Mavericks Keep That Winning Feeling
from NCAA
The University of Nebraska at Omaha wrestling team capped off an undefeated dual season with its sixth National Championship in school history, crowning one individual champion. The win gives UNO NCAA II wrestling titles in 1991, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009. The Mavericks also won the 1970 NAIA tournament championship. The Mavericks finished with a total of 146.5 points, shattering their previous high of 117 points set in 2006. UNO nearly doubled second place Newberry who finished with 80.5 points. Head coach Mike Denney was named the Coach of the Year, while Cody Garcia picked up the award for Most Falls in the Least Amount of Time. More

Wrestler Wins for Brother
from Courier Post
Delaware Valley College senior Mike Wilcox always has his brother in the back of his mind when he wrestles. He was extremely close to his brother Ricky, who was killed in a car accident in June 2004, a day before his own high school graduation. His brother also wrestled at Buena, and it's been Wilcox's goal since he began wrestling in college to win a national title in Ricky's honor. That dream has been realized. Wilcox, 21, finished his senior season with a 37-2 record after winning an NCAA Division III title at 184 pounds in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. More

Misreading of Skin Blemish Halts Championship Dream for Michigan High School Wrestler
from The Grand Rapids Press
No one could defeat wrestler Nate Bazan this year, but the Zeeland West senior is not competing at the individual state wrestling finals in Michigan. The takedown: He was disqualified at the district tournament, the first step toward the state finals, because an on-site doctor suspected Bazan had a skin infection. It turns out the suspicious mark was not contagious but hyperpigmentation, a condition in which patches of skin become darker than the surrounding skin, which Bazan has had since his freshman year. More