Shortage of varsity college choices breeding interest from area alumni

7/25/2007

By Drew Brantley

Marietta Daily Journal

Wrestling is a popular high school sport, but college opportunities on the mat are rare in the Southeast. Kennesaw State's wrestling team is hoping to help change that by giving Cobb County prep wrestlers a choice close to home. "There is a lot of wrestling talent in Cobb County," Tucker said. "If you sign a scholarship to wrestle in the South, you've got to go far from home. With the HOPE scholarship, Pell grants, KSU can be very affordable. Because when you're talking about a scholarship at one of the other schools, it's a partial scholarship, maybe it pays for books. "And a kid at KSU doesn't have to be a wrestling dummy for a year or two. He can compete right off." No four-year college in Georgia offers wrestling. Among the four-year colleges in the Southeast that provide scholarships are Tennessee-Chattanooga, Carson-Newman in Jefferson City, Tenn., the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky., Anderson (S.C.) College, Newberry (S.C.) College and Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn. - all of which Kennesaw State is trying to schedule matches with. Alex Tucker, who wrestled in high school at Etowah, coached the KSU wrestlers in their inaugural season this year. He said he hopes to grow the program even more. Going by participation numbers released last year, it has the sixth-most competitors of any prep sport in the country, according to the National Federation of High School Associations. After high school, the numbers tell a different story. Wrestling is the only men's sport to have steadily declined since 1992, according to Government Accountability Office released numbers last week. There are no plans to move the KSU program up to varsity, KSU athletic director Dave Waples said. "Right now the addition of sports is put on hold," Waples said. "If we were to add a sport, normally we would look at a sport like football. And then we'd have to look at what sports fit into our (Atlantic Sun) conference. And the addition of any men's sport would demand the addition of one or two more women's sports." Keeping in line with Title IX requirements for proportional opportunities for men and women in sports has forced many schools to eliminate men's sports like wrestling. The University of Oregon recently announced it would be dropping its wrestling program. In response to the continuing trend of dropping college wrestling programs, the National Collegiate Wrestling Association was formed in the mid-1990s to give college wrestlers a chance to compete in college. "Although participation interest among students remains high, many schools have been forced to offer their students fewer opportunities," NCWA executive director Jim Giunta states on the assocation's Web site. "The NCWA has stepped in to help provide this opportunity to the increasing number of high school seniors searching for continued wrestling competition in college." Last year, KSU 174-pound wrestler Douglas Studenic was 20-0 and won the NCWA title. The NCWA's mission is not only to provide wrestling opportunities now, but also assist programs transition back to varsity level, if that time comes again. "If and when a school does have room for athletic expansion, it is our hope that since the wrestling program will be up and running, and in compliance with NCAA rules, that it will be a first choice for ultimate inclusion in the schools athletic curriculum," Giunta stated. While the KSU wrestling program is not currently on track to be a varsity sport, Waples said the school is close to providing more assistance. "We don't contribute to any of the club sports," Waples said. "But the university will be hiring a director of club sports. Most university's lend their name, but make no financial support. After we get a club director in place, I think we will offer some help."

Tucker Back by Popular Demand

10/10/2007

By Brett Warrington

NCWA Website

After being forced to coach from the stands at last years national tournament, Alex Tucker knew it would be completely up to him and Kennesaw State officials to get him into the coaching corner where he rightfully belonged. After much turmoil and controversy stemming from false paperwork courtesy of a disgruntled parent and ex-wrestler, Tucker will now be present in the corner to coach as many wrestlers as possible to All-American status. The downward spiral that put Tucker in the stands also took the Owls out of trophy contention as that same ex-wrestler bit an opponent in the go-to All-American match which resulted in the forfeiting of his team points which may have only been awarded due to the fact of his parents contacting the NCWA with false information regarding his eligiblity to compete in the national tournament. Many wondered why the ex-wrestler was present at the championships considering he had been terminated from the team due to violation of team rules and missing practice in excess nearly two months prior. Despite dropping from fourth place to seventeenth, Tucker and his team scratched and clawed their way to an eleventh place finish in its first year with a wrestling program. The perseverance shown by the squad should serve as a reminder to all that Alex Tucker and his Kennesaw State Owls are here to stay. A potential move to NCAA Div. I may be the only hope opponents in NCWA can share as far as seeing Alex Tucker in the stands at an NCWA tournament ever again.

Georgia Wrestling On My Mind

1/07/2008

By B.B. Branton

The Chattanooga.com

Its been a decade since a college or university fielded a varsity wrestling team in the state of Georgia. Georgia State dropped varsity wrestling after the 1997-98 season, but Sunday afternoon, two out-of-state varsity programs  Univ. of Northern Iowa and Chattanooga  met in a dual meet at Lithia Springs (Ga.) High School west of Atlanta with the Panthers edging the No. 10 Mocs, 21-16. We had about 800 fans here today which is a pretty good crowd, but we had hoped for more, said Lithia Springs head wrestling coach Josh Ward, who is a former Red Bank and Moc wrestler. I would like to have one match a year in Georgia which helps us with recruiting and will give college wrestling good exposure in a great prep wrestling state, said Chattanooga Moc coach Chris Bono. Kennesaw (Ga.) State club wrestling team was suppose to wrestle both schools on Sunday, but due to seven injured wrestlers and eligibility problems with three other students, club coach Alex Tucker decided not to compete. We really wanted to wrestle Northern Iowa and the Mocs, but I didnt think the guys I had available would have made the matches competitive. The Kennesaw club team is in its second year and some think a varsity program at Kennesaw is a possibility somewhere in the future. The club team will host the Georgia state club duals on campus on January 19 and a dual with Mercer College on February 7. There is a good deal of interest among the Cobb County wrestling community to see collegiate varsity wrestling return to the state and maybe Kennesaw State is the place to begin, said Tucker who has two club team All-Americans on his roster. Kennesaw State athletic director Dave Waples does not see varsity wrestling at the school in the near future, but does have plans to renovate an on-campus warehouse for a practice facility for varsity sports in basketball, volleyball and cheerleading as well as the club wrestling team. UNI 21, No. 10 Chattanooga 16: The teams split the 10 matches, but the visiting Panthers (1-2-1) picked up bonus points with a pin at 165 by No.4 ranked Moza Fay and a forfeit at 133 as the Mocs Steve Hromada was out with an injury. We looked terrible and didnt wrestle well, said Chattanooga coach Chris Bono. We are still recovering from the Midlands tournament, but that is no excuse. Winners for the Mocs (5-2) were No. 9 Javier Maldonado (125), No. 20 Joey Knox (149 and two-time state champion at Dublin (Ga.) H.S.), Seth Garvin (157), No. 16 Lloyd Rogers and No. 13 Matt Koz (197). Overall, I think we wrestled well and I am happy with the outcome, said UNI coach Brad Penrith, a former World silver medallist now in his eighth year with the Panthers. Except at 174 (Alex Dolly lost to Moc Lloyd Rogers, 17-6) where we lost our composure, we wrestled well throughout, even in the matches we lost. Kennesaw Club Wrestling: web site: www.kennesawstatewrestling.com Moc Old-Timers Cup: This inaugural prep dual tournament will be held at Maclellan Gym at UTC on Saturday Dec. 6, 2008. Any former Moc wrestler who is coaching in high school (head coach or assistant coach) can enter his team. Coach Josh Ward plans to have a 16-team field the first year. Included in the field hopefully will be Baylor, Bradley Central, Cleveland, Lovett, Lithia Springs, McCallie, Murray County and Red Bank among others. Weekend Wrap: * Logan Martin Invitational (Pell City, Ala): Memphis University School claimed the tournament championship, followed by Fort Payne, East Ridge and South Paulding. The Pioneers had seven medalists, including runners-up Micah Kidd (160) and Michael Carter (189). Web Site: www.alabamawrestling.net gives important information on various Alabama high school tournaments, as well as some tournaments in Tennessee and Georgia and the Chattanooga Mocs. * Hoover (Ala.) Invitational: Bradley Central won the 14-team tournament and had eight in the finals and champions in Ethan Hames (103), Logan Biddy (119), Ed Stiles (125) and Dean Pavlou (145). Scottsboro was second, followed by Dutch Fork (S.C.) and Woodward Academy (Ga.). * 14th Annual Murray County Invitational: The host and defending champion Indians claimed first place with 201 points and four champions; Cody Adams (125), Brice Gibson (145), Blake Rainey (152), and Zach Bagget (171). Cleveland, the 2005 champions, was second (147.5) and Grissom (Ala.) was third. Dacula (117), Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe (7.5), Dalton (59), Southeast Whitfield (41) and Silverdale Baptist Academy (29) rounded out the eight-team field. OW  The co-Outstanding Wrestlers were Blake Rainey (152, Murray County) and Noah Hunt (119, Dacula). Rainey, who defeated Kolby Youell (S.E Whitfield) in the finals, is 41-2 on the season and has 117 career wins. Hunt defeated Cleveland state champion Josh Jadoobirsingh, 10-8, in overtime. Hunt is 26-1 on the season, while Jadoobirsingh is 14-3. * McEachern Duals: Baylor (24-2) went 4-0 and defeated Sprayberry, 69-10, Loganville, 74-6, Red Bank 60-13, and host McEachern, 47-20. * 39th Central Invitational: Ooltewah claimed its third title of the season with 174 points and three champions in David Jordan (160), Jake Young (171) and Tyler Toon (189). Gordon Lee was second (152) and Ringgold was third (150) in the 12-team field. The Central Invite is the state oldest prep invitational, originally started as the Red Bank Invitational in December 1967 by then Lion coach John Farr. Two tournaments were canceled (Jan. 1988, Jan. 1997) due to snow and bad weather. OW  Ooltewahs Jake Young earned his second Outstanding Wrestler award of the season as he posted a major decision (13-5) against LeMarcus Armistead (Overton). * 39th Father Ryan Invitational: The host Purple Irish won the 27-team tourney with 234 points, followed by Brentwood (208), Franklin (181.5) and Brentwood Academy (162). McCallie was fifth with six medalists, including champions Michael Hooker (112) and T.J. Duncan (135). OW - Greenback state champion Jeremy Miller (119) was selected as the Outstanding Wrestler as he defeated McCallies Kendall Ray in the finals. Best Match: Cameron Croy (Brentwood) dec. Kevin Mix (Father Ryan), 6-4. Indiana Bound: Franklins Ryan Konz has signed scholarship papers to wrestle at Indiana University next season. Konz defeated Justin Cash (Brentwood Academy), 2-1, in the 145-pound finals. * Brookwood (Ga.) Duals: Notre Dame was 3-2 in the duals and Tee Boone was 5-0 in the day. Eastside claimed the team title. * Wayne County (Ky.) Duals: Host Wayne County claimed the title, followed by Cookeville, Dunbar (Ky.) and McMinn County. McMinn County was 1-3 on the day with a 64-18 win against Perry Central (Ky.) Coach Dave Stoika said that the team wrestled about as well as they could have and showed much improvement compared to going 0-4 in the tourney last year. This Weeks Schedule Highlights: Tuesday 1/8  Notre Dame at Cleveland, Hixson at Red Bank Thurs 1/10  East Ridge at Hixson, Baylor at Ooltewah, Bradley Central at Soddy Daisy Walker Valley at Notre Dame Sat. 1/12  Boyd Buchanan Duals start at 10 a.m. & Baylor at Greeneville tournament and Ooltewah at Science Hill tourney ... Cleveland travels to the Kissimme (Fla.) Invite on Saturday after a dual with Kissimme Osceola on Friday. Contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net

Cravens Home Again on Mats

07/15/2007

By Drew Brantley

Marietta Daily Journal

KENNESAW- An injury, time and graduation ended Ross Cravens' high school wrestling career in February 2006, but he's found new life on the mat. "I've always been a person - if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right," Cravens, a former South Cobb standout, said. After Cravens breezed through the 174-pound Open class for wrestlers 18 and over at the Georgia Games wrestling tournament at Kennesaw Mountain High School, the gold-medalist is looking forward to getting his career on the right track at Kennesaw State University. Almost 18 months ago, Ross Cravens was a minute away and a point behind finishing his high school career with a state wrestling title. A rolled ankle against Walton's Dylan Temple in the 160-pound state championship had Cravens painfully leaving the mat for seemingly the final time. That was before Cravens found about a burgeoning wrestling program at Kennesaw State. Started as a club team last year, KSU has offered a home for wrestlers who haven't found a home for wrestling outside of Cobb County. "I had some offers, from Newberry and some other small schools," Cravens said. "I wanted to keep wrestling, but I didn't want to go too far from home. There are a lot of great wrestlers in Cobb County. (KSU) gives people somewhere close to go after high school." Several of his Owl teammates joined a crowd of competitors from 40-pound youths up to adults in weight classes for the Georgia Games folk-style wrestling tournament. Rising Kell senior Gerard Spice added his fifth gold medal in seven Georgia Games in the 152 Elite division for wrestlers under the age of 18. Spice, who took fifth place at 130 in the Class AAAAA traditional state meet in February, closed out his tournament win Saturday with a 5-4 decision. He had two takedowns in the final match, but was taken down himself late in the third period to tie the bout. With about 10 seconds remaining, Spice broke free for the one-point victory. The competition Saturday was not as strong as the GHSA state tournament, but battling heavier opponents gave him a test, Spice said. "I wrestled up, so it was a little tougher," Spice said. Next season at Kell, Spice said he plans to wrestle in 140 or 145. Fellow senior Longhorn Angelo Tabachino reached the finals of the Elite heavyweights, but did not compete in the finals after injuring his leg in an Open consolation match. Winning a gold medal might have nice, but the Longhorn lineman will start football practice at the first of the month. "I pulled something in my leg a little bit," Tabachino said. "I didn't want to risk missing any time with football. (The Georgia Games) is fun, but it's not worth getting hurt." Cravens closed out the semifinals and finals with first-period pins. Several Cobb County wrestlers took home medals from Saturday's matches. Acworth's Kyle Isaacs and Bob Eining took silver medals in the 140 and 197 divisions, respectively. Lindl Trieu took bronze in the Open 125 and Zack Coltek took bronze in the Elite 189.

Club sports pull to top of competition

06/01/2007

By Jeremy Craig

KSU Access

Club sports at Kennesaw State University have reached the top of their games with hockey lacrosse and wrestling clubs outscoring and outlasting their opponents. The club teams have enjoyed much success over the past few months winning championships and helping to foster a stronger sense of community among the students staff and faculty. The five-year-old ice hockey team finished its recent season 22-7 winning the national cham- pionship in Division III of the American Collegiate Hockey Association and attracting thou- sands of KSU students to its games said Ryan Falvai the club teams president. The two-year-old lacrosse team is also doing well with a record as of April 6 of 8-4 competing against teams from all over the Southeast said coach Ken Byers. With the support of faculty advisers and President Daniel S. Papp, the lacrosse team received permission to play on the KSU soccer field in March where KSU defeated Carleton College (Minnesota) 13-8 Byers said. One of the newest club sports KSUs burgeoning wrestling club is only a few months old but its pulled quickly to the head of its competition. The teams Douglas Studenic earned the 2007 National Championship spot in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association in the 174-pound bracket. Two other KSU wrestlers did very well in the NCWA Nationals with Ben Eriks placing eighth in the 184-pound bracket and Derryl Cloer placing fourth in the 235- pound bracket. The wrestling team brought home at least four trophies in four tournaments by mid-winter said coach Alex Tucker. Beyond athleticism the sports provide a way for the KSU com- munity to come together to cheer on a home team building cama- raderie that athletic events bring. Intramurals and club sports aid in retention and graduation by keeping students engaged in campus life Papp said during his inaugural State of the University address in March. As other intramural and club sports become more firmly estab- lished they too will attract both participants and fans.

Studenic Achieves National Championship Status

03/20/2007

By Tiffany Roman, Staff Writer

The Sentinel

This is the final chapter in my career for wrestling, Douglas Studenic said. Recently, Studenic earned the National Championship in the 174-pound bracket of National Collegiate Wrestling Association tournament. After biking for 25 miles, Studenic arrived to tell the story about his road to victory in wrestling I had the hardest bracket because there was no seeding in this competition to rank the top wrestlers; my bracket included the returning national champion, Studenic said. Studenic began his wrestling career at the age of six. His father, a former West Virginia State Champion, introduced the sport to his son. From the ages of six to fourteen, Studenic was named five-time state champion and three-time most outstanding wrestler and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Studenic went on to break records at Pope High School each year. While attending Pope, Studenic earned second place finishes in the Georgia High School Association State Wrestling Championships. His records included 41-4 [1998-99], 34-7 [99-2000] and 41-7 [2000-01]. I became hungry for a national championship in wrestling, he said. After high school, the Marietta native took a scholarship to the University of West Virginia, where he was red-shirted his first year. His sophomore year he entered into the 174-pound division. However, wrestling for the Mountaineers did not work out as well as he planned. Injuries, missing home and financial issues drove me to transfer to KSU, he said. After transferring, Studenic didnt stay totally away from the sport  I kept around the sport but didnt involve myself directly with any program. After a while, the itch came back, and Studenic heard that KSU was starting a wrestling team. He contacted the coach, Alex Tucker, whom he knew of from wrestling in the Atlanta-area for so long. Tucker, only a few years older than Studenic, competed in similar competitions from kid state through high school. I had heard of Tucker from different events and he had heard of me from competitions too, but we had never actually met, Studenic said. Tucker, a native of Cobb County, was another top notch wrestler, but went on to wrestle at the University of Georgia and won a National Championship there and was an All-American at Cumberland University. I talked to Douglass about the program and showed him that he had a second chance and opportunity to make his goal, Tucker said. In order to get back into shape, Studenic ran up Kennesaw Mountain a few times a week, did stadiums, and wrestled. [Hes] a hard worker. Douglass is not the type of person to work out for a couple of hours and think thats enough, Tucker said. The season began in late fall with a great start for Studenic, who went undefeated. On Feb. 24, Studenic competed in the SEC Championship, which was a mere hurdle to his goal. The SEC Championship was the quarterfinal competition leading to the National Championship. Studenic earned gold there after beating Zachary Sanford from the University of Central Florida. Studenic then traveled to Dallas for the National Championships on March 8-10. The 20-week old program qualified seven wrestlers for the tournament. Studenic went with his father hoping to achieve a victory. Each of the wrestlers I went against placed within the top five, which included the returning national champion, he said. Each of the last three matches I was losing, but pulled through with a win within the last minute. Studenic pinned two opponents with the rest of the wins based on points. A humble Studenic added that his father was his biggest inspiration along with his family and faith. This was the final chapter to life in wrestling, Studenic said. Studenic will graduate this summer with a bachelors degree in Marketing. Along with Studenics accomplishments, two other KSU wrestlers achieved All-American status: Ben Eriks placed eighth in the 184-pound bracket and Derryl Cloer placed fourth in the 235-pound bracket