Kyle Snyder and Nick Gwiazdowski battle in the NCAA finals at heavyweight (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)No matter how you analyze the action, theirs was the greatest heavyweight match in collegiate wrestling history. Beyond the technical action and on-the-mat heroics, there was additional satisfaction in seeing a season-long storyline play out to expectations.
Not a lot of dressing was needed to make the match appealing to a diehard or a newcomer.
Wrestling talks a lot about promotion, and while there are areas for improvement, the Snyder-Gwiazdowski match should remind us that that sport attaches itself to our soul with more vigor than spectacle ever will.
Sporting purity is the righteousness by which all wrestlers hang their credentials. There aren't PR-manufactured rivalries, or the lingering scent of predetermined outcomes. Sport, and wrestling in particular, are immune to these nefarious traps of profit-based sporting organizations, based simply on their tournament and advancement-based competitive structuring.
So if there is something to take away from Saturday outside of awe and respect, it's this: Wrestling is perfect just the way it is. We need ring girls and public weigh-ins like a beach sunset needs monster truck rally. What we have is simple, beautiful and forever. What we have is ours.
Now let's give those big guys one more round of applause, because they not only showed new fans what our sport can be, but it restored in old fans the focus to see what always was.
To your questions …
David Terao is a blue belt in jiu-jitsu-- Mike C.
Foley: Terao received two standing ovations! There is a lot of passion behind his wrestling, but what fans seem to respond to was Terao's creativity on the mat. There were plenty of fans who told me that his performance was one of their favorite moments of any NCAA championship.
Maybe it's unrelated, but I saw on Facebook that Terao is a blue belt in jiu-jitsu. There is a good chance that some of what we saw came from training with Ryan Hall at 50/50 …
Q: Have you heard anything about the Northwestern coaching situation?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Not directly from the administration, but I did hear from alumni that they don't see Coach Storniolo as at fault for a subpar season. Having a coach fired, suffering a number of season-ending injuries and dealing with off-the-mat all affected the outcome of the season. From what I saw in person Storniolo isn't just a good mat coach, but he's the type of leader that the guys wanted to see in the room.
(After writing the above paragraph, it was announced that Storniolo has been named the permanent head wrestling coach. Congrats, Coach!)
Q: Which of the NCAA champions have the best chance to make an impact at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Um … Kyle Snyder?
After the defending World champion I'm thinking that Nahshon Garrett may have something to add to the discussion at 57 kilos.
There is also a chance that Nick Gwiazdowski could take a run at Tervel, but that's hasn't been a good matchup for him in the past.
Q: Now that the opening for the U.S. national freestyle coaching position has been posted, are you hearing any rumblings? Who do you expect to apply?
-- Mike C.
Foley: The rumblings remain that same. I know that like any college staff the assistants (Brandon Slay and Bill Zadick) would like the opportunity to lead the program. I also assume that stakeholders in the USA program will at least have conversations with Cael Sanderson, John Smith, Terry Brands, Tom Brands, Mark Manning and others.
Who ends up on top? At this point in the process I don't think there is a strong direction.
Q: Handing out Foleys every year and make up your own criteria. 1) doesn't mush, 2) hugs after matches‬
-- @_Homme‬
Foley: Done.
2016 Foley Award Winner: Bernardo Faria, Alliance (see video below)
(Actual answer: Kyle Snyder, Ohio State)
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Bernardo!
Link: Faces of college wrestling
Gabe Dean reads letter
Q: Do you know if the U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be streaming live on the Internet?
-- Mike T.
Foley: The Saturday night finals will be carried live on NBCSN and on brief tape delay at 10:30 p.m. ET Sunday. All matches will be streamed online at NBC Sports.
Q: Can you comment on how important a program's assistant, associate, and volunteer coaches are to success? It seems that the programs that are at the top and rising have this key ingredient. Casey Cunningham, Mike Zadick, Mark Perry, Donny Pritzlaff.
-- Mr. J
Foley: I think that you pointed to several great examples of a powerful assistant coach impacting their wrestling programs. There are some on that list that will become head coaches at some point, but there are some that do very well in the role they occupy.
Americans tend to put a lot of value on bettering their position: to be rewarded with hard work and success by earning the next position. Onward and upward mentality at its finest.
However, as much I may agree that we should always challenge ourselves, I'm beginning to think, nay realize, that being an assistant is likely a better fit for many, many coaches. Some are too shy for the CEO-type leadership of a Division I program, or maybe some lack the fundraising duties. Others still may excel on the mat, a place they might not spend much time after taking over a head position.
No matter the reason, there are coaches whose skill sets are better suited to being an assistant coach, and to me that's pretty honorable.
Q: What do you think of Jason Nolf's punk move kicking at Imar's head?
-- Wes F.
Foley: At the end of the second period Nolf had his ankle caught and kept kicking on the back of Martinez's head before the stalemate.
I don't know that it was malicious as it looked much more situational, but no matter it was illegal and Nolf should have been warned for unsportsmanlike conduct. A proper way would have been to keep the foot in place on the head and push, but bringing it upwards made it into a kick.
Q: Tell us more about Joey Davis. I don't know much about Division II, but I figure anyone who stays healthy and goes undefeated through four years of collegiate competition has to be legit. I know he got blown out by Alex Dieringer at BTS but I imagine he wasn't in tip top condition. Does he have a future in freestyle? Do you think he'd be on the podium this weekend if he was in Division I?
-- Bryan R.
Foley: Uber-talented Joey Davis seems to be fast-tracking to MMA. I don't know that to be 100 percent true, but his online presence seems to insinuate he will give the Trials a year and then move onward.
Google some of Davis' highlights. He is an impressive talent.
Q: Do you see Jason Tsirtsis getting back to the top of the podium? Possibly bigger issues on the horizon?
-- @Robbybobbi
Foley: He had a terrible personal tragedy in the beginning of the season. While I don't think he will win in 2017 (the rule changes affected him greatly), I do think he will find his way to becoming an All-American. Tough kid.
Q: What do you think about J'den Cox going to 86 kilos at the Olympic Team Trials? How are our chances to qualify remaining weights in last two qualifiers?
-- @fitzstrength275
Foley: It's too soon to know who will win the Trials at 86 kilos, but I'm 99.9995 certain it won't be J'den Cox. Not that he can't win in the future, but the tactics and experience of many in that weight class probably excludes him from being a realistic contender in 2016. That said, I'm ready to see what the young man can bring to the weight class.
The winner of the 65-kilo and 86-kilo Olympic Trials will head out to Mongolia to try and qualify their respective weights. There are three spots up for grabs and I think that the USA has a very solid chance to qualify both based on numbers and the extra match required benefits guys like Brent Metcalf.
(By the way, I think Brent is often a great representative of Iowa wrestling on the international stage. Go HAWKEYES!)
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