Mark Hall named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week

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Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn./Nittany Lion WC) has been selected as TheMat.com Athlete of the Week on August 15, 2017.

Two weeks ago, Hall launched the U.S. into the Junior World Championships held in Tampere, Finland, by clinching his second-consecutive title at the event. He became the sixth American to earn two Junior World championships, joining Spencer Lee (2016-17) and Tim Timok (1979-80) as the only to do so in men’s freestyle.

The American prodigy began his 74 kg/163 lbs. conquest with a 10-0 win over Ukraine’s Adlan Bataiev and a 6-2 decision over highly-credentialed Russian Radik Valiev to qualify for the quarterfinals. Hall then made quick work of Junior Asian champion and eventual bronze medalist Mohammad Mottaghinia of Iran, 10-0. In the semifinals, he downed Junior European bronze medalist Muhammet Kucukyildirim of Turkey, 10-3.

Much like his gold-medal match from last year, Hall ended things in quick, emphatic fashion. Standing opposite Junior Asian runner-up Isa Shapiev of Uzbekistan, Hall struck with a cement mixer to get the win by pin in just 43 seconds. Continue reading at www.teamusa.org

Maple Grove girl among nation’s top wrestlers

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She’s been on the wrestling mat since about age 5 and has an impressive resume in the sport.

Emily Shilson of Maple Grove, who will be a junior at Centennial High School, has hopes of making the U.S. Olympic women’s wrestling team in 2020.

Shilson, who became the second girl to qualify for the state high school tournament in Minnesota while competing against boys last season, is ranked No. 1 in her weight class in the country. She’s done some training with the women’s national team in Colorado Springs this summer. Continue reading

The Wrestling World of Manville

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Susan Manville knows not everyone agrees with how she and her husband, David, have made wrestling such a priority in the lives of their three sons, Mason, Carson and Pierson.

“Some people think we are crazy because we do so much wrestling,” she said. “We have three kids at three different levels and we’ve been able to stay together and not separate. This has allowed us to be a close-knit family.

“The family that wrestles together, stays together.”

And they also win together as has been the case this past spring and summer, which began in April when Mason, 20, earned a spot on the 2017 UWW Senior World Championships Team at 75 kilos … even though he would be young enough to still compete on the Junior level. Continue reading at www.win-magazine.com

Pat Smith shedding runner-up tag in breakthrough 2017

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Prior to his breakthrough in April at the Greco-Roman World Team Trials, Patrick Smith was perhaps best known as the country’s premier carrot-chaser. A perennial bridesmaid. A fall-on-your-sword type of athlete who would always leave his heart out on the mat only to walk away second-best.

It’s a torturous cycle, to come up just short over and over again, to be that close only to watch the carrot disappear.

Although a Greco-Roman competitor going back to the age-group level, Smith went onto the University of Minnesota where he wrestled under legendary head coach J Robinson. He couldn’t crack the starting lineup but still got plenty of mat time in open tournaments, winning a lot and losing some.

Smith made significantly wider strides on the Greco circuit during his collegiate downtime. In 2010, he won the University Nationals and the next year put together an impressive fourth-place showing at the U.S. Open. Continue reading at www.trackwrestling.com