ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 9 Posted January 9 There's nothing that I saw on the front page of themat.com about this pretty important tournament that starts tomorrow. If you click on the "News" link and scroll down some, though, there's a kind of preview. Luckily, I've done a preview for The ILLINI Wrestling Blog & Forum & Beyond Plus here. It is IRTC-centric. As an added bonus, there's a preview of the ILLINI versus Ohio State on Friday. The IRTC is sending Zane Richards at 57 kg and Mongolian World Medalist Erdenebatyn Bekhbayar at 61 kg. There will also be Greco later in the week, as well as the Women Freestylers. IRTC Greco favorites Joe Rau and Kamal Bey are registered. The toughies in the field at Zane's weight include: China's Wanhao Zou, Thomas Gilman, Horst Lehr, Aman from India as well as wrestlers from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. For American Freestyle fans, you can also expect Darian Cruz representing Puerto Rico and Brandon Courtney. Other Americans at heavier weights include: Joseph McKenna, Yianni Diakomihalis, Nahshon Garrett, Quincy Monday, Jason Nolf (not my favorite wrestler), Evan Wick, Joseph Lavallee, Zahid Valencia, Chance Marsteller, Max Dean, Isaac Trumble (off his Midlands tournament), Kyle Snyder, Michael Macchiavello, Christian Lance, Mason Parris and Nick Gwiazdowski. Note that I didn't look for other Americans wrestling for foreign countries besides Darian Cruz. I'm sure there are more of them. Here's the official entry list from the UWW. On page two of this pdf link is the schedule. Be ready to cheer them on starting at 3:00 am (Central) tomorrow morning. USA! USA! USA! 2
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 9 Author Posted January 9 The Croatia/Zagreb Open is already making news. Thomas Gilman is no longer on the entry list. You can see that entry list at this link. His name was on that list at 57 kg last night. This is the cold and flu season, I'm surprised that there are this many people wrestling. It's just another reason (one of many reasons) why we need Wrestling in the Summer Olympics. 1
BigRedFan Posted January 9 Posted January 9 Finesilver x3 (ISR), Realbuto (ITA), Rivera (PUR), Ramos (PUR) 2
Interviewed_at_Weehawken Posted January 9 Posted January 9 1 hour ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said: The Croatia/Zagreb Open is already making news. Thomas Gilman is no longer on the entry list. You can see that entry list at this link. His name was on that list at 57 kg last night. This is the cold and flu season, I'm surprised that there are this many people wrestling. It's just another reason (one of many reasons) why we need Wrestling in the Summer Olympics. I'm not sure if it's just cold/flu season. Gilman seems allergic to 57 Kg over the past year or so.
bnwtwg Posted January 9 Posted January 9 I heard Johnny D is also not competing. 2 i am an idiot on the internet
bnwtwg Posted January 9 Posted January 9 Masoumi Parris yassssssss 125 looks like a great bracket 2 i am an idiot on the internet
mspart Posted January 9 Posted January 9 The UWW site says Burroughs is registered for 74. But the list they provided did not have him. I noticed that Taz at 97kg is not entered. mspart
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 9 Author Posted January 9 18 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said: I'm not sure if it's just cold/flu season. Gilman seems allergic to 57 Kg over the past year or so. I look at my friends, and about 25% are sick, while another 25% are recovering, and that may mean that 25% are sick and they don't know it yet. This was an issue for the ILLINI at the Midlands. We love a contact sport. Could be an injury as well. This isn't a loaded field at 57, but there are guys there who'd pick you apart if you weren't 100%. I agree with you though that Gilman will be a happy fellow when he no longer has to step on a scale. Cheers!
Interviewed_at_Weehawken Posted January 9 Posted January 9 1 minute ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said: I look at my friends, and about 25% are sick, while another 25% are recovering, and that may mean that 25% are sick and they don't know it yet. This was an issue for the ILLINI at the Midlands. We love a contact sport. Could be an injury as well. This isn't a loaded field at 57, but there are guys there who'd pick you apart if you weren't 100%. I agree with you though that Gilman will be a happy fellow when he no longer has to step on a scale. Cheers! In the past year, Gilman has wrestled at least once at 61 Kg. He may have only made 57 one time in the last year? At WTT the Illini looked great, but many hypothesized that Gilman was lacking his usual pop and may have had a bad cut. Combine this with his proclamation that he allows his weight to get higher these days... 1
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 9 Author Posted January 9 13 minutes ago, bnwtwg said: I heard Johnny D is also not competing. That sucks. The best tournaments are the ones with lots of Americans so you don't have to sit around and wait for matches of interest. The entry list is starting to fluctuate like a Muon in a super collider. Since last night, these names were added: Eric SCHULTZ (USA) Taylor LUJAN (USA) So we win some, we lose some.
nhs67 Posted January 9 Posted January 9 Lujan and Schultz are both entered at 92 KG, at that... and they will definitely wrestle (unless one gets injured). Rather excited to see Parris get a shot against Masoumi. I think Masoumi is the favorite there, honestly. Finesilver might make it further than Valencia in the 86 KG bracket. Marsteller and Dean on the bottom can meet (potentially) in the finals. Nolf should hit the Greek on bottom. Gwiazdowski should get pulled back in to repechage as he has Zare... unless Geno beats Zare in the finals... ... ... Rivera - McKenna semi-finals looks possible. No Johnny D at 65 KG. 2 "I know actually nothing. It isn't even conjecture at this point." - me
bnwtwg Posted January 9 Posted January 9 I've heard Geno is at a rankings tourney with Zare many times. I'll believe it when I see it. i am an idiot on the internet
mspart Posted January 9 Posted January 9 1 hour ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said: That sucks. The best tournaments are the ones with lots of Americans so you don't have to sit around and wait for matches of interest. The entry list is starting to fluctuate like a Muon in a super collider. Since last night, these names were added: Eric SCHULTZ (USA) Taylor LUJAN (USA) So we win some, we lose some. First they are there, then they aren't!! How can you have a quantum computer? it is there. you blink and it is not there. Crazy! mspart 1
FanOfPurdueWrestling Posted January 10 Posted January 10 How in the world is it 2024 and an Iranian wrestler may have to forfeit or withdraw from the tournament due to having an Israelite (Finesilver) in the round of 16(?). I am very active on X: https://x.com/WrestlingSNL
BigRedFan Posted January 10 Posted January 10 8 minutes ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said: How in the world is it 2024 and an Iranian wrestler may have to forfeit or withdraw from the tournament due to having an Israelite (Finesilver) in the round of 16(?). Israelite? What, did we go back in time 3,000 years? Are there any Grecians in this tournament as well? Kosovians? 1
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 Doug Zapf loses 5-6 to the Georgian. Good fight. Ran out of clock. Quincy Monday has put on muscle to be a real 74 kg guy. He teched Poland 15-4. He's got the doubles going. Zahid Valencia loses 2-10 to Babii of Ukraine. Might've been a conditioning issue at 86 kg here. Or, maybe he's sick. Ethan Ramos of Puerto Rico losing 1-8 to Bulgaria now. Americans are giving up exposures on their attempted takedowns. Smart move by their opponents. Americans do all the work, and the nasty foreign fellows just tilt them a little along the way. 1
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 Ramos gets teched by Bulgaria 1-12. Chance Marsteller is a chunky monkey at 86 kg. Not fat. His muscles are just chunky. Led 1-0 at the break against Venezuela. He wins 4-0 on 2 shot clocks and a takedown. His job against David Taylor will be to push keep his legs back and push some more. Nolf (not my favorite wrestler) up on Mat A.
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 Nolf beat a guy from Venezuela with a mullet. If you can appropriate any American hairstyle, why choose the mullet? Final score 10-0, there's a challenge, but that looked like a four point chest wrap throw to me. Almost a Dake bomb? USA 2, Venezuela 0
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 The UWW knows where the majority of their audience comes from. They've shown both Iranians marching to the mat for their matches, and nobody else. 74 kg Finesilver gets beat 1-9 by Greece. Colin Realbuto, wrestling for Italy, and looking like a Ferrari driver from Milan in the 1980s with a long but neatly trimmed beard and shoulder-length hair, loses 2-7 to Azerbaijan. The difference was one magical high amplitude throw by the Azer. Just showed another Iranian walking to the mat.
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 Nahshon Garrett losing 3-4 at the break against Switzerland. I thought Switzerland was neutral, what's with the leg attacks? Nice feet-to-back double from Nahshon for four with :43 seconds left to take an 8-5 lead. A challenge gives Switzerland 2 to make it 8-7 Garrett. With :19 seconds on the clock and a four-pointer in his pocket (meaning he ain't gonna lose on criteria) Nahshon freaking gives up his leg. Switzerland wins 10-8. What a silly mistake. Brandon Courtney wrestling Georgia, gives up the first takedown and the first period ends 0-2. Now tied 2-2 with 2 minutes to go.... 1
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 Courtney leading by criteria 2-2 gives up a takedown with 2 seconds to go. Challenge requested. Challenge lost, and Georgia gets the 5-2 win. We're getting killed in the last half minute of matches. Team America Hell Yeah! is having a rough go of it.
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 Doug Zapf wrestling again because his bracket is a round robin at 70 kg. He gets the first takedown against the Hungarian. Zapf with a second takedown in the second period. Darian Cruz, wrestling for Puerto Rico, takes a 2-0 lead into the break versus UWW's #1 ranked Wanhao Zou of China at 57 kg. Loses in the end.
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 Zane is a winner, 5-2. The guy from Turkyie was a U23 Finalist last year.
BigRedFan Posted January 10 Posted January 10 7 hours ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said: How in the world is it 2024 and an Iranian wrestler may have to forfeit or withdraw from the tournament due to having an Israelite (Finesilver) in the round of 16(?). And so it happened.
ILLINIWrestlingBlog Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 Quincy Monday with the tech in the first few seconds of the 2nd period over India. He's in the quarters. Looked real good.
Sam Herring Bishop McCort, Pennsylvania Class of 2026 Committed to Penn State Projected Weight: 141, 149
Luke Murray Peninsula Catholic, Virginia Class of 2025 Committed to Gardner-Webb Projected Weight: 157, 165
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