I'm very excited about the start of Quincy wrestling. There are a lot of question marks left unanswered at this point, but being in Illinois, I don't think recruiting will be an issue. Plenty of great kids in state & from nearby states. The Men & women's wrestling programs are in excellent shape to be successful. What I know of the program thus far is that they have an excellent transfer in Gavin Morawitz who was originally competing for Hannibal-LaGrange. An American Midwest Conference champion, he was 24-11 this past season. Depending on eligibility, he may still be a "freshman" this season as well. I believe that Humberto Pintor another former Hannibal-LaGrange wrestler might be joining Morawitz as well.
The Panthers made a huge statement this past season by crowing their first Region place-winner in Andrew Parker who finished in 6th place. That was the start & now that Parker has joined the coaching staff I believe we're going to see more successes for the program as time goes on.
There were definitely some positives in the first year of reinstatement for William Jewell this past season. The first go round lasted from 1950-1951 through 1992-1993, which saw the Cardinals produce 14 conference champions & 19 national qualifiers. I think in due time, the Cardinals will duplicate that success. They came very close to winning their first dual, when they lost a very tight matchup with Friends 27-30. Julian Victoria had 18 victories last season & I would bet when the Cardinals crown their first Region place-winner Victoria will most likely be it.
With a bitter taste still in my mouth from when Carson-Newman discontinued back in 2009, I was very, very happy to see the addition of wrestling at Lincoln Memorial. Tennessee was due for a new wrestling program, especially one at the DII level. Hope to see the Railsplitters have success in the years to come.
Things have certainly been interesting at Wheeling. What I'll say is this. The Cardinals have shown they are capable of doing great things. During the 18'-19' season they went 14-3 in dual meets & took a 2nd place finish in the Super Region. I think what they need right now is a leader. Someone to put the train back on the track. I think that someone might very well be Julius Hobbs. We'll wait & see.
I'll tell you what. The Big Blues went 4-14 in duals last season but they very well could have just as easily gone 8-10. Three of the duals they lost last year were by a single point. Another only by seven points. Winning 4 duals & hanging right in their with Lander, Emmanuel, Wheeling & Queens is saying something in your very first season on the mat. Some teams take years to win their first dual & like I said, tweak a thing here & there and Bluefield State might have won 8. The HBCU is already off to a great start & I think the future is bright for his young team. On an individual basis, I have to say it was heartbreaking to see Caleb Fritz's season end in injury. Do I think he could have placed at Super Regions? Yes, I do think that was a possibility. 13-5 on the season, he will definitely contend for a top 6 placing at Super Regions this year.
We actually won't be seeing this restoration until the 23'-24' season but to say I'm excited about it is an understatement. We're talking a very, very rich tradition. Take a look for yourself...https://johnnythompsonnum1.blogspot.com/2020/05/gone-lost-forgotten-their-best-grand.html
First Huntingdon for NCAA Division III & now Montevallo for NCAA Division II. How cool is that? Alabama now has two varsity collegiate wrestling teams. To see wrestling continue to grow in the south is such a rewarding experience. Can't wait to see what other new programs we get. This is the 22'-23' season, I'll make a left fielder's bet. I say before the 29'-30' season we see our first varsity (already have an NCWA program) wrestling program in Mississippi.
Things have certainly been interesting at Wheeling. What I'll say is this. The Cardinals have shown they are capable of doing great things. During the 18'-19' season they went 14-3 in dual meets & took a 2nd place finish in the Super Region. I think what they need right now is a leader. Someone to put the train back on the track. I think that someone might very well be Julius Hobbs. We'll wait & see.
We actually won't be seeing this restoration until the 23'-24' season but to say I'm excited about it is an understatement. We're talking a very, very rich tradition. Take a look for yourself...https://johnnythompsonnum1.blogspot.com/2020/05/gone-lost-forgotten-their-best-grand.html
I'm embarrassed by this but I have to admit my ignorance on this subject. I attended Northwestern College for 3 seasons before transferring to another college. I was there from the 04'-05' school year to the 06'-07' school year. Orange City is only about an hour drive from Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls had wrestling during this time & I drove up to one home dual every year. I never mean for things to slip past me, but I honestly didn't even realize they had discontinued. As a result in the 462 discontinued programs that I did write about in "Gone, Lost & Forgotten" Sioux Falls was not one of them. With that said, I am very happy to see that they are now back. Wrestling begins in the 23'-24' season.
First Huntingdon for NCAA Division III & now Montevallo for NCAA Division II. How cool is that? Alabama now has two varsity collegiate wrestling teams. To see wrestling continue to grow in the south is such a rewarding experience. Can't wait to see what other new programs we get. This is the 22'-23' season, I'll make a left fielder's bet. I say before the 29'-30' season we see our first varsity (already have an NCWA program) wrestling program in Mississippi.
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