The Takedown Club (www.gophertakedownclub.com) is Gopher Wrestling's booster club, which has social events when there is a dual meet, puts on other outings and assists members in organizing travel to away matches and tournaments.
The first edition of the Takedown Club's Minnesota Wrestling Newsletter is just out, and now that we are in the postseason, it includes a letter from Head Coach Brandon Eggum that updates the wrestling community on various topics.
Here is Coach Eggum's letter:
From the Desk of Brandon Eggum
While some may say it’s the offseason, those close to wrestling know there is no offseason. That’s one of the reasons we are launching this brand-new newsletter for our fans. Although we aren’t producing weekly Coach’s Corner features for our website, we know you’d still like to keep up with everything happening around our program, and we are happy to share.
It’s been a month since we wrapped up the 2016-17 season with a strong showing at the NCAA Championships. As I’ve shared with many of you, I am incredibly proud of the way our guys competed this postseason, with many of them wrestling above their seeds. Both FloWrestling and The Open Mat celebrated us as a team that did more than expected in the tournament.
While the NCAA season is behind us, we’re getting ready for our current guys and alums to compete on the freestyle circuit this summer. I hope you have a chance to follow along, either in person, through this newsletter or by catching updates and stories on GopherSports.com. Another great way to keep up with what’s happening, if you don’t already, is to follow Gopher Wrestling on Facebook and Twitter.
NCAAs Returning to Minnesota
On April 18, the NCAA announced the winners of dozens of bids to host a wide variety of NCAA Championships. It was a good day for the Gophers, who were awarded four different championships. One of those winning bids awarded the University and U.S. Bank Stadium the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships! It will be the first time since 1996 the NCAA tournament will be here in the Twin Cities. The venue will make it a groundbreaking event for college wrestling. U.S. Bank Stadium is by far the largest facility to host the event, providing opportunities for more fans than ever before to be a part of the most exciting event in college athletics. This event will be great for Minnesota wrestling fans. It will also provide great visibility for the Gopher Wrestling program, which always helps with recruiting.
Gopher Greats Prepare for U.S. Open
The U.S. Open is set to start later this week in Las Vegas. One current Gopher, four former Gophers along with an athlete from the Regional Training Center in the Twin Cities will be a part of the freestyle action, and three former Gophers will be wrestling Greco[JR1] . Of the Gopher alums, all four freestylers are four-time All-Americans, with three national titles between them: Dylan Ness, Jayson Ness, Tony Nelson and current volunteer assistant coach Zach Sanders. Joining that foursome will be current Gopher Bobby Steveson and Daniel DeShazer, who began training with the club last fall. Pat Smith, Alec Ortiz and Brad Dolezal will represent the Maroon and Gold in Greco.
There will be plenty of ways to follow the U.S. Open online but, as is always the case when former Gophers are involved, there will be updates available on GopherSports.com and on Gopher Wrestling’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Young Gophers Training for UWW Junior Nationals
While the senior-level guys are in Vegas for the U.S. Open, there will be five current Gophers in the desert competing in the UWW Junior National Championships, the country’s premier 20-and-under freestyle tournament. The five Gophers in the field will be Dylan Anderson and Jose Champagne, who redshirted this past season; Mitch McKee, who competed as a true freshman and reached the Round of 12 at NCAAs; Rylee Streifel, an Academic All-Big Ten redshirt freshman who earned his first letter this year, and; Miles Patton, who competed last year as a true freshman and took a redshirt season this winter.
GopherSports.com, as well as Gopher Wrestling on Facebook and Twitter, will be keeping close watch on everything involving these six while they’re out in Las Vegas. Be sure to check out those pages for more information.
Recruiting Trail
While no one with the program can say anything about some of the recruits who have verbally committed to us in the class of 2018 and beyond due to NCAA rules (and there is plenty of good news there), we have exciting news to share about our incoming recruiting class for next fall. As you probably know, we added three Minnesotans during the November signing period: Brent Jones and Alex Crowe from Shakopee, and Jakob Bergelund from Centennial. Earlier this month during the April signing period, we added two more Minnesotans and a South Dakotan: Jake Allar from St. Michael-Albertville, Bailee O’Reilly from Goodhue, and Tyler Waterson from Spearfish, S.D. While there may be one or two late additions yet to come in this year’s recruiting class, the current class includes several nationally ranked prospects and, most importantly, six outstanding young men who represent the ideals of the Gopher Wrestling program: strong work ethic, positive attitude, enthusiasm, and academic excellence. Each is a great addition to the program.
Summer Camping
The first ever University of Minnesota Wrestling Camps opened registrations earlier this spring and there are still a few spots available for both age groups (6 to 12 and 12 to 18). Camps will be held on campus in late June, with general camps for both age groups followed by skill specific camps the next week.
If you have a young wrestler looking to have fun with the sport and pick up a few tips, these camps are perfect for you. Find more information or register today.
Wrestler Profile
At the team awards banquet earlier this month, Colin Carr was named the program’s Most Dedicated Wrestler. It’s always neat to see the honor go to someone who works so hard in the wrestling room, the weight room, and the classroom, but maybe doesn’t get the same attention during the year as the starters. Check out a short video feature on Colin Carr from the awards banquet, as well as the story of how he trained in Russia last summer.
The first edition of the Takedown Club's Minnesota Wrestling Newsletter is just out, and now that we are in the postseason, it includes a letter from Head Coach Brandon Eggum that updates the wrestling community on various topics.
Here is Coach Eggum's letter:
From the Desk of Brandon Eggum
While some may say it’s the offseason, those close to wrestling know there is no offseason. That’s one of the reasons we are launching this brand-new newsletter for our fans. Although we aren’t producing weekly Coach’s Corner features for our website, we know you’d still like to keep up with everything happening around our program, and we are happy to share.
It’s been a month since we wrapped up the 2016-17 season with a strong showing at the NCAA Championships. As I’ve shared with many of you, I am incredibly proud of the way our guys competed this postseason, with many of them wrestling above their seeds. Both FloWrestling and The Open Mat celebrated us as a team that did more than expected in the tournament.
While the NCAA season is behind us, we’re getting ready for our current guys and alums to compete on the freestyle circuit this summer. I hope you have a chance to follow along, either in person, through this newsletter or by catching updates and stories on GopherSports.com. Another great way to keep up with what’s happening, if you don’t already, is to follow Gopher Wrestling on Facebook and Twitter.
NCAAs Returning to Minnesota
On April 18, the NCAA announced the winners of dozens of bids to host a wide variety of NCAA Championships. It was a good day for the Gophers, who were awarded four different championships. One of those winning bids awarded the University and U.S. Bank Stadium the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships! It will be the first time since 1996 the NCAA tournament will be here in the Twin Cities. The venue will make it a groundbreaking event for college wrestling. U.S. Bank Stadium is by far the largest facility to host the event, providing opportunities for more fans than ever before to be a part of the most exciting event in college athletics. This event will be great for Minnesota wrestling fans. It will also provide great visibility for the Gopher Wrestling program, which always helps with recruiting.
Gopher Greats Prepare for U.S. Open
The U.S. Open is set to start later this week in Las Vegas. One current Gopher, four former Gophers along with an athlete from the Regional Training Center in the Twin Cities will be a part of the freestyle action, and three former Gophers will be wrestling Greco[JR1] . Of the Gopher alums, all four freestylers are four-time All-Americans, with three national titles between them: Dylan Ness, Jayson Ness, Tony Nelson and current volunteer assistant coach Zach Sanders. Joining that foursome will be current Gopher Bobby Steveson and Daniel DeShazer, who began training with the club last fall. Pat Smith, Alec Ortiz and Brad Dolezal will represent the Maroon and Gold in Greco.
There will be plenty of ways to follow the U.S. Open online but, as is always the case when former Gophers are involved, there will be updates available on GopherSports.com and on Gopher Wrestling’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Young Gophers Training for UWW Junior Nationals
While the senior-level guys are in Vegas for the U.S. Open, there will be five current Gophers in the desert competing in the UWW Junior National Championships, the country’s premier 20-and-under freestyle tournament. The five Gophers in the field will be Dylan Anderson and Jose Champagne, who redshirted this past season; Mitch McKee, who competed as a true freshman and reached the Round of 12 at NCAAs; Rylee Streifel, an Academic All-Big Ten redshirt freshman who earned his first letter this year, and; Miles Patton, who competed last year as a true freshman and took a redshirt season this winter.
GopherSports.com, as well as Gopher Wrestling on Facebook and Twitter, will be keeping close watch on everything involving these six while they’re out in Las Vegas. Be sure to check out those pages for more information.
Recruiting Trail
While no one with the program can say anything about some of the recruits who have verbally committed to us in the class of 2018 and beyond due to NCAA rules (and there is plenty of good news there), we have exciting news to share about our incoming recruiting class for next fall. As you probably know, we added three Minnesotans during the November signing period: Brent Jones and Alex Crowe from Shakopee, and Jakob Bergelund from Centennial. Earlier this month during the April signing period, we added two more Minnesotans and a South Dakotan: Jake Allar from St. Michael-Albertville, Bailee O’Reilly from Goodhue, and Tyler Waterson from Spearfish, S.D. While there may be one or two late additions yet to come in this year’s recruiting class, the current class includes several nationally ranked prospects and, most importantly, six outstanding young men who represent the ideals of the Gopher Wrestling program: strong work ethic, positive attitude, enthusiasm, and academic excellence. Each is a great addition to the program.
Summer Camping
The first ever University of Minnesota Wrestling Camps opened registrations earlier this spring and there are still a few spots available for both age groups (6 to 12 and 12 to 18). Camps will be held on campus in late June, with general camps for both age groups followed by skill specific camps the next week.
If you have a young wrestler looking to have fun with the sport and pick up a few tips, these camps are perfect for you. Find more information or register today.
Wrestler Profile
At the team awards banquet earlier this month, Colin Carr was named the program’s Most Dedicated Wrestler. It’s always neat to see the honor go to someone who works so hard in the wrestling room, the weight room, and the classroom, but maybe doesn’t get the same attention during the year as the starters. Check out a short video feature on Colin Carr from the awards banquet, as well as the story of how he trained in Russia last summer.
