Penn State predictions as of 2/4

[Truzzcat]

125 Davis 7th ( I dont think losing on the front side will cause him to wrestle any differently kid seems like a gamer and the weight is obviously nuts. My biggest question mark is still seeing him against someone thats gonna be in on his legs)

133 Nagao r12 (seeding feels very important for him to me so could come down to how he does at big10's I'm quite high on nasir bailey,wells,moore,shawyver who are all ranked behind him at the moment but we will likely get to see the shawyver match which will obviously change my thoughts)

141 Bartlett 2nd (kid knows how to win even though it rarely looks decisive, I am giving real a slight edge still given the h2h and having been in the finals I also think losing is probably going to be a kick in the ass for him)

149 Kasak 7th ( I think we have 3 true freshman in the blood round with kasak,Webster and watters)

157 Haines 5th (another one where I think his draw could be a big factor teemer,zerben,meyer I would all probably pick against him right now but again that could change post big10's)

165 Mesenbrink 4th (this weight is insane I think he pushes either keegan or carr in the semis if keegan i think he may get cradled keegan has probably the best cradle in collegiate wrestling and I've seen mitchell have a cradle locked up on him by both ruiz and hepner now I think despite being better than julian he may get a bit sad on the backside and lose for 3 and 4 and then maybe never lose again similar to zain

174 Starocci  1st (Ive said I think this weight is weak and thats not to detract from carter I think hed win if it was a strong weight I just dont see anyone even having a shot of beating him)

184 Truax 7th (I think being in college for as long as he has may be biting him a bit just has not looked quite as good as previous years. He certainly could finish higher, and it would not surprise me in the slightest)

197 Brooks 1st (really excited for the trent match and buchannen although I dont think we will get to see both unfortunately)

HWT Kerk 1st (wyatt I think will wrestle him better but kerk looks incredible right now)

[nhs67]

14 hours ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said:

Fair enough, I just don’t agree that Truax is a finalist or that Bartlett can win it. 

Truax was beating Keckeisen until he gassed at the ASC.  Had he had a better tank he would've been the consensus #1 to start the season.  He has a trouble with Munoz.  Just always has... if he avoids Munoz at NCAAs, he has as good a chance as anyone to make the finals, and likely a better chance to beat PK than anyone else in the field.

Bartlett legitimately just beat Lemley the week before Lemley destroyed Woods.  There isn't a better #1 option right now, which means he very well could win it.

[nhs67]

59 minutes ago, Truzzcat said:

HWT Kerk 1st (wyatt I think will wrestle him better but kerk looks incredible right now)

Wyatt Pindrickson has appeared mortal in matches that he doesn't Pin them relatively quickly.  He is extremely injured, he just holds a serious talent gap on everyone he's faced.  His conditioning will suffer against guys he just isn't going to pin quickly/easily.  To the point, I might even pick a guy like Slavikouski over him right now - gun to head.  I would definitely pick Schultzy and Bastida over him right now.  He just doesn't look right.

[Truzzcat]

20 minutes ago, nhs67 said:

Wyatt Pindrickson has appeared mortal in matches that he doesn't Pin them relatively quickly.  He is extremely injured, he just holds a serious talent gap on everyone he's faced.  His conditioning will suffer against guys he just isn't going to pin quickly/easily.  To the point, I might even pick a guy like Slavikouski over him right now - gun to head.  I would definitely pick Schultzy and Bastida over him right now.  He just doesn't look right.

thats true I have not gotten to watch a ton of Wyatt in all honesty, Yonger has looked outstanding.

[Richferg]

10 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

125 Davis 7th ( I dont think losing on the front side will cause him to wrestle any differently kid seems like a gamer and the weight is obviously nuts. My biggest question mark is still seeing him against someone thats gonna be in on his legs)

133 Nagao r12 (seeding feels very important for him to me so could come down to how he does at big10's I'm quite high on nasir bailey,wells,moore,shawyver who are all ranked behind him at the moment but we will likely get to see the shawyver match which will obviously change my thoughts)

141 Bartlett 2nd (kid knows how to win even though it rarely looks decisive, I am giving real a slight edge still given the h2h and having been in the finals I also think losing is probably going to be a kick in the ass for him)

149 Kasak 7th ( I think we have 3 true freshman in the blood round with kasak,Webster and watters)

157 Haines 5th (another one where I think his draw could be a big factor teemer,zerben,meyer I would all probably pick against him right now but again that could change post big10's)

165 Mesenbrink 4th (this weight is insane I think he pushes either keegan or carr in the semis if keegan i think he may get cradled keegan has probably the best cradle in collegiate wrestling and I've seen mitchell have a cradle locked up on him by both ruiz and hepner now I think despite being better than julian he may get a bit sad on the backside and lose for 3 and 4 and then maybe never lose again similar to zain

174 Starocci  1st (Ive said I think this weight is weak and thats not to detract from carter I think hed win if it was a strong weight I just dont see anyone even having a shot of beating him)

184 Truax 7th (I think being in college for as long as he has may be biting him a bit just has not looked quite as good as previous years. He certainly could finish higher, and it would not surprise me in the slightest)

197 Brooks 1st (really excited for the trent match and buchannen although I dont think we will get to see both unfortunately)

HWT Kerk 1st (wyatt I think will wrestle him better but kerk looks incredible right now)

Just because Haines has had some close ones, and hasn’t dominated like some think he should, just remember he hasn’t lost yet. Some guys just find a way to not lose. Also Retherford lost to the #1 seed in the consolation semi’s because #1 lost in the round of 8 and the crossover caused them to wrestle early. Retherford, a true Fr, lost in SV to RS Sr. He should have been 3rd. 

[Rassling]

On 2/4/2024 at 8:57 PM, macwoodfleet said:

Bartlett has proven he can win in March. Of the two guys ahead of him, one is sitting out and one looks like Dog-S. Obviously, if Real handles Beau next week, that would change the calculus.

Truax also knows how to win in march, and will have the best game planners come March in his corner.  You're betting against a PSU guy in the semis? Seems like a bad bet. 

Regardless of what happens Friday night I say Bartlett wins it all in a March.

[JuanMogen]

How the hell is Kerk only ~245 lbs? Ever stood by him or put a hand on his back? There are certain circumstances where I like when somebody really belittles me and makes me feel small. Ties me to a chair and slaps me around. But when you're next to Kerk, that's a different kind of feeling small, and I don't like it. Not to mention he can shake your hand from 15 feet away. No way he's only 245 is all I'm saying.

[Le duke]

How the hell is Kerk only ~245 lbs? Ever stood by him or put a hand on his back? There are certain circumstances where I like when somebody really belittles me and makes me feel small. Ties me to a chair and slaps me around. But when you're next to Kerk, that's a different kind of feeling small, and I don't like it. Not to mention he can shake your hand from 15 feet away. No way he's only 245 is all I'm saying.

Mark Hall and Zahid Valencia both wrestle 86kg.

Hell, Zahid wrestled 174. Yet, to me, those two look two weight classes apart.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

10 hours ago, JuanMogen said:

How the hell is Kerk only ~245 lbs? Ever stood by him or put a hand on his back? There are certain circumstances where I like when somebody really belittles me and makes me feel small. Ties me to a chair and slaps me around. But when you're next to Kerk, that's a different kind of feeling small, and I don't like it. Not to mention he can shake your hand from 15 feet away. No way he's only 245 is all I'm saying.

He's pretty thinly built.  He doesn't have a gut like most heavyweights.  If he actually tried to bulk I bet he could get up to 275 easily.  He has a giant frame.

[JuanMogen]

2 hours ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

He's pretty thinly built.  He doesn't have a gut like most heavyweights.  If he actually tried to bulk I bet he could get up to 275 easily.  He has a giant frame.

He’s a two ton man mountain. Sleepy Greg is the gentle giant we all love. Need something from the top shelf? Wake up DanGreg and he’ll gladly help.

 

He’s the kind of guy you make friends with in high school right away. Then you can trash talk everybody else and nobody can retaliate because you have Danny G in your back pocket. 
 

I bet some dumb ass tried something stupid around him and he pinned the kid to the wall by his throat with one of those mile long arms. Never changed his facial expression. Just held him there long enough to make the point crystal clear. Didn’t hurt the kid; he doesn’t want to do that. He’s just correcting the behavior. And anybody who saw that go down passed on the word to the rest of the student body. Even the teachers caught wind of this and just let it slide. You want to be the one to give Kerk a suspension from school? Come on. That would be one well behaved high school with him being there. Just sitting in math class in some comically small chair, front row, anybody gets an idea that could disrupt things, he just glances back, and that’s the end of that silly thought. 

 

My high school sucked. We had one kid who thought he was the enforcer. Got a nickname of “Diesel”, like they all do. In fact, I bet my life somebody gave Kerkvliet the nickname “Diesel Dan” at one point, but at least he earned it. Back to the kid in my high school - he played football (of course), and lasted a quarter of a wrestling season with a losing record before he quit. You’re not enforcing a damn thing after the school watched you get pancaked over and over before you quit. He did that Rocco Welsh thing, you know - never caught smiling…never. Tried to keep that tough guy aura alive. Then somebody from the AP calculus class, like Shane Griffith, holds you down for a whole period (talking about Rocco again), and you kind of go “oh…I see. The bookworm is tougher than you”.

Gives everybody some perspective.

Thank you Greg Kerkvliet for being who you are. Maybe he is 285 pounds, but those angelic wings and halo give him a good 40 pounds of lift. Could get this man up to 325 pounds and still make weight. Hope my math is right on that. I’m no Shane Griffith.