Who faces the toughest test to repeat?

[Wrestleknownothing]

Vito Arujau probably has the easiest? Mostly due to himself. He looked head and shoulders above the competition last year.

Keegan O'Toole probably has the toughest. Not that the whole road itself is hard, just that last mile. The one with the David Carr adopt-a-highway sign.

Carter Starocci seems a pretty safe bet too. Unless...see KOT.

Aaron Brooks moves up a weight, but I just don't see him being challenged very much at the tournament. Sure he is prone to lose the odd dual. But, that is just it, odd.

[Le duke]

O’Toole. Carr will make his own improvements.

Then, if Ferrari comes back at 197, Brooks. Otherwise he skates through the regular season.

Then, Starocci. I think Lewis is going up. Griffith is great but he’s not Mekhi. Foca wasn’t close last year.

Vito is in his own league.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[nhs67]

Guy is 5'4" and going up to 197lbs.  Aaron Brooks will have the most difficult time repeating.

O'Toole looks healthy right now.  I don't see him losing to Carr when it matters again.

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

Brooks has the toughest road assuming A.J. makes 197 for the Hawks.

[bnwtwg]

I'll gladly offer a fun little parlay for the board. Feel free to name your wager if you want to bet against me.

1) Brooks to go undefeated against Ferrari and 2) Brooks +3.5 over Ferrari at NCAAs [assuming they meet]

 

[Ban Basketball]

None of the above. Keckeisen wins the national title,  therefore, not repeating as runner-up.

 

[ionel]

7 hours ago, bnwtwg said:

I'll gladly offer a fun little parlay for the board. Feel free to name your wager if you want to bet against me.

1) Brooks to go undefeated against Ferrari and 2) Brooks +3.5 over Ferrari at NCAAs [assuming they meet]

 

How about Brooks never wrestles Ferrari? 

[Ohio Elite]

3 hours ago, ionel said:

How about Brooks never wrestles Ferrari? 

This is most likely.

[Gage]

Out of these 4, probably O'Toole just because of Carr. 

Vito should glide right through the 133 field. 

Starocci also should be fine at 174, although who knows with Mekhi (unless he is in fact going up to 184) in there. 

Brooks should have no issues with the 97's currently in the field... now if Ferrari somehow squeezes in there, that makes it interesting. 

[bnwtwg]

4 hours ago, Ohio Elite said:

This is most likely.

Seconded. But if it does, I’ve got the juice

[nhs67]

I think...

Brooks

Arujau

O'Toole

Stalrocci

In that order.

I think Brooks is 5'4" tall and will have some difficulty at 197 because of this.

I think Arujau is due for a reality check.  I don't want to belittle what he has done, because it has been absolutely amazing.  I think him trying to stay within striking distance of 57 KG while wrestling a collegiate season (likely shortened?) will bite him (and possibly Fix) right in the ass.

I think something was off with O'Toole last year.  He was beating a few gents close early that shouldn't have been close - based off end of season results.  I think that was more than Mizzou, O'Toole, and Benji were letting on and not 'just' scouting.  Also, he is growing facial hair now.  Now that he has hit puberty I don't think Carr is going to be able to beat him.  Actually, I would love to see Carr at 174 a year in advance of O'Toole at 174.  That is pipe dreaming it for me, but even so.  Gaitan/Rojas at 165 and Carr at 174 is a better lineup for ISU... topic for a different thread (I think it already exists?).

Stalrocci... as much as I harp on him for being Stall...rocci... I don't think anyone is touching him this season.  Even with Griffith going up.  Even if Lewis stays at 174.  Even if Carr were to go up.  The only way Stalrocci even comes close to taking a loss if if he decides to weigh 165-170lbs all season in preparation for 74 KG (which is dumb).  I still don't think he loses collegiately in Folkstyle, though.  That would be to a 165lber or 157lber at an event at 74 KG.  The list of gents who would even have a chance against a depleted version is still very small (O'Toole or Carr might be the only ones on that list... maybe Amine?  I don't see any 157lbers that might beat him at 74 KG).

[Ohio Elite]

1 hour ago, bnwtwg said:

Seconded. But if it does, I’ve got the juice

That would be a great match for sure.

[creek chub]

Vito probably has the toughest chance to repeat. Dude is an animal and lightning fast. However, Sam Latona has the same build and shown he can beat him. I watched the match in person and it was quite impressive. Vito got revenge when it mattered but Sam kept it close and wasn’t blown away 

[ionel]

19 hours ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

Vito Arujau probably has the easiest? Mostly due to himself. He looked head and shoulders above the competition last year.

Keegan O'Toole probably has the toughest. Not that the whole road itself is hard, just that last mile. The one with the David Carr adopt-a-highway sign.

Carter Starocci seems a pretty safe bet too. Unless...see KOT.

Aaron Brooks moves up a weight, but I just don't see him being challenged very much at the tournament. Sure he is prone to lose the odd dual. But, that is just it, odd.

Wouldn't AJ technically be a "repeat?"  No love for Iowa.  

[BigRedFan]

5 minutes ago, creek chub said:

Vito probably has the toughest chance to repeat. Dude is an animal and lightning fast. However, Sam Latona has the same build and shown he can beat him. I watched the match in person and it was quite impressive. Vito got revenge when it mattered but Sam kept it close and wasn’t blown away 

Vito was battling a physical issue that week, barely beating McGee who he had beaten handily at CKLF, and losing to Latona who he also beat handily at CKLF (both scores 6-1).  Vito skipped the next three duals.  The Latona & McGee matches were anomalies that are not likely to be repeated.

[Wrestleknownothing]

3 minutes ago, ionel said:

Wouldn't AJ technically be a "repeat?"  No love for Iowa.  

Oh that he or Gable Steveson were college wrestlers. Alas they are not.

[ionel]

1 minute ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

Oh that he or Gable Steveson were college wrestlers. Alas they are not.

You sure ... have you checked with Jimmy?

[nhs67]

8 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

Oh that he or Gable Steveson were college wrestlers. Alas they are not.

Per Track no member of the Focus family is a collegiate wrestler, currently...

NAME - WEIGHT
Joey Cruz - 133
Drake Ayala - 133
Aidan Harris - 141
Cullan Schriever - 141
Brody Teske - 141
Ryder Block - 149
Kale Petersen - 149
Jesse Ybarra - 149
Jace Rhodes - 149
Charles Matthews - 149
Real Woods - 157
Cade Siebrecht - 157
Koye Grebel - 157
Joel Jesuroga - 157
Leif Schroeder - 165
Bretli Reyna - 165
Mike Caliendo - 165
Caleb Rathjen - 165
Victor Voinovich - 165
Carter Martinson - 174
Sebastian Robles - 174
Patrick Kennedy - 174
Jared Franek - 174
Drake Rhodes - 174
Isaiah Fenton - 174
Cobe Siebrecht - 174
William Carano - 184
Nelson Brands - 184
Brennan Swafford - 184
Carson Martinson - 184
Aiden Riggins - 184
Aidan McCain - 197
Gabe Arnold - 197
Tony Cassioppi - 285
Easton Fleshman - 285
Zach Glazier - 285
Bradley Hill - 285
Kolby Franklin - 285
Gage Marty - 285
Abe Assad -
Ben Kueter -
Jude Link -

[ionel]

3 minutes ago, nhs67 said:

Per Track no member of the Focus family is a collegiate wrestler, currently...

NAME - WEIGHT
 -

Then should be a good payout when they win 3 titles this year, no?  Bet the trifocus! 

Edited October 25, 2023 by ionel

[bnwtwg]

8 minutes ago, nhs67 said:

Nelson Brands - 184
Tony Cassioppi - 285
Abe Assad -

I'm surprised Brands and Cassioppi are allowed to certify at this time; I'm also surprised those two + Assad are listed on the roster in an official capacity for the same reason.

[Gus]

1- O'Toole. See Carr, David.

2- Brooks. With AJ Ferrari presumably entering into a field that contains Tanner Sloan, Trent Hidlay & Rocky Elam, Brooks will have tough competition. 

3- Vito. Fix is a world silver medalist and a 3x ncaa runner up. One of the best to never win a title. 

4- Starocci. Mekhi, Foca & Griffith are tough but Starocci has shown to be a level above the rest at this weight.  

[ugarles]

8 hours ago, Gage said:

Out of these 4, probably O'Toole just because of Carr. 

This is basically it. O'Toole is great but Carr has beaten him more than once, and in high-stakes matches. Carr is also great! 

Brooks' adjustment to 197 might be a big deal but idk I think he's still the favorite going away. He blew through the U23 field at ~190 and after seeing the way he had David Taylor in jeopardy at X I don't see much of a threat at 197 (even if I want Cardenas to take him out).

[nhs67]

1 hour ago, ugarles said:

This is basically it. O'Toole is great but Carr has beaten him more than once, and in high-stakes matches. Carr is also great! 

Brooks' adjustment to 197 might be a big deal but idk I think he's still the favorite going away. He blew through the U23 field at ~190 and after seeing the way he had David Taylor in jeopardy at X I don't see much of a threat at 197 (even if I want Cardenas to take him out).

Two things:
- He didn't blow through the field.  He blew through his finals opponent.  Three of four matches prior to that were full six minute matches.
- He didn't have DT in any sort of jeopardy at all, ever.

I think 197 is as deep as it has ever been, even without Focus in the mix.

I also think that O'Toole was working through something.  Benji has eluded to this when asked how he beat him so badly after being controlled so soundly before and he had said he was dealing with things, injury and personal.  I know nobody wrestles without injury, but at that level they make a big difference.  When it matters most... NCAAs... Carr isn't beating him.

A full-sized Stalrocci isn't being touched by anyone at 174lbs.  He can win 2-0 and still dominate every aspect of the match.  It's impressive.

Arujau... if he keeps improving might not be touchable by anyone even if he is decending to 57 KG after NCAAs.

Edited October 25, 2023 by nhs67

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

Brooks. And not because of Ford Focus, who had 4-2 and 3-2 matches in the finals in 2021, nearly died in a car wreck and has been away from the sport for two years. Moreover, there's a question whether he wrestles anyways. 

On top of all that, there'd be the Ford Focus circus every week. 

197 is deep. Also, the ankles are going to be a lot farther away. On top of that, you have to control the ties to get to those ankles. Harder to push around these 197-pound beasts. 

Tough question, though.

As of now, he's the only one of the four moving up in weight. That means things will change for him. Change can be good or bad.

[CHROMEBIRD]

Starocci will be tested for the same reason as Vito. They're going to want to stay within striking distance of their FS weights. 

What's interesting is that Starocci may wrestle a very minimal season, to the point that it could affect his NCAA seeding. I believe he hasn't qualified for OTTs yet, so he may duck out in March(?) for the last chance qualifier at either 74 or 86kg, both a ways off from 174lbs, and if he doesn't win there I think he will have to win an NCAA title to qualify. 

Vito on the other hand, has a much deeper bracket at 133 but there's less at stake. He's already qualified for OTTs. An NCAA title would be gravy on his way towards his bigger goal.