What was the lore/hype around some of legends coming into college?

[Ohio Elite]

I still have the 2005 Senior Nationals on DVD.

[Truzzcat]

41 minutes ago, nhs67 said:

I still think Metcalf VS Schlatter Round 1, which was at the Medina tournament in Ohio is the best High School wrestling match this side of Y2K... maybe on either side of Y2K.

Being a Michigander and having my kids get their asses handed to them repeatedly by that era of Roy Hall's boys (and Metcalf was by far his best product ever), I went in very naive.

The buildup for that finals match was intense.  Everyone knew it was going to happen and every round it got closer, everyone started whispering a little more loudly about it.

Finally it was going to happen and I couldn't believe my ears - Everbody (okay not EVERYbody... but most everybody that I talked to about it) wanted the match.  They were all saying that Metcalf couldn't handle his pace or his power and it completely blew me away because Metcalf hadn't wrestled anybody in nearly a decade who couldn't handle his pace and Schlatter was actually coming up to 145lbs,whereas Metcalf had been there a couple of years now and had always been the larger wrestler.

I came away awe-stricken at this match.

I then remember when Senior Nationals came along and they were both entered and the same sort of energy was in the air.  Everyone knew it was going to happen again.  Metcalf was still considered the underdog because many considered that Metcalf was gifted that first match. 

https://www.flowrestling.org/video/5155124-145lbs-brent-metcalf-vs-dustin-schlatter-05-sr-natls

 I remember the hype around this match being insane however there were a lot of factors going on. This was Chances first tournament of the year and he was up a weight. Wiercoch was a 2x state champ and 3x finalist coming into it and it was in his home gym at cannon mac. The match certainly lived up to the hype.

[nhs67]

33 minutes ago, Ohio Elite said:

I watched the first match live. It was Awsome! I remember Schlatter had pinned his first 4 opponents all under a minute. Metcalf had 2 pins and 2 techs on his way to finals.  

Interesting enough USA wrestling mag had them both ranked #1 in the country. Metcalf at 152. ( I guess they didn't get the memo he was staying at 145.)   Talk about a super match...

Reader was up at 152 all year long for them, even bumping several times for the team.  He came up from 135 or 140 that year.  Reader's jump from his Junior season to his Senior season in High School was phenomenal.  I still think, to this day, that he beats any kid in the state of Michigan that year.  He could have bumped to 275 that year and won it rather easily, I think.

Another interesting thing about that class (Michigan High School Division 1) that year:  Ben Bennett was robbed in his semi-finals match against Sean Dong at 152lbs in Bennett's Soph season.

Anthiony Biondo at 145lbs would go to the University of Michigan, Redshirt at 174lbs, and then go 197lbs for them for four years.  He tripled in size.

[alex1fly]

1 hour ago, nhs67 said:

I still think Metcalf VS Schlatter Round 1, which was at the Medina tournament in Ohio is the best High School wrestling match this side of Y2K... maybe on either side of Y2K.

Being a Michigander and having my kids get their asses handed to them repeatedly by that era of Roy Hall's boys (and Metcalf was by far his best product ever), I went in very naive.

The buildup for that finals match was intense.  Everyone knew it was going to happen and every round it got closer, everyone started whispering a little more loudly about it.

Finally it was going to happen and I couldn't believe my ears - Everbody (okay not EVERYbody... but most everybody that I talked to about it) wanted the match.  They were all saying that Metcalf couldn't handle his pace or his power and it completely blew me away because Metcalf hadn't wrestled anybody in nearly a decade who couldn't handle his pace and Schlatter was actually coming up to 145lbs,whereas Metcalf had been there a couple of years now and had always been the larger wrestler.

I came away awe-stricken at this match.

I then remember when Senior Nationals came along and they were both entered and the same sort of energy was in the air.  Everyone knew it was going to happen again.  Metcalf was still considered the underdog because many considered that Metcalf was gifted that first match. 

https://www.flowrestling.org/video/5155124-145lbs-brent-metcalf-vs-dustin-schlatter-05-sr-natls

Thanks for sharing this story and finding the match! Wow what a battle

[11986]

58 minutes ago, Ohio Elite said:

I watched the first match live. It was Awsome! I remember Schlatter had pinned his first 4 opponents all under a minute. Metcalf had 2 pins and 2 techs on his way to finals.  

Interesting enough USA wrestling mag had them both ranked #1 in the country. Metcalf at 152. ( I guess they didn't get the memo he was staying at 145.)   Talk about a super match...

They ended up being the USA team reps at 145 and 152 at the Dapper Dan that year, pretty cool:

145: Brent Metcalf (USA) dec Matt Dragon (PA), 8-7

152: Dustin Schlatter (USA) dec Joey Ecklof (PA) 5-2

and fun fact, Dustin's older brother CP wrestled another Ecklof at same even a few years prior:

145: C.P. Schlatter (USA) dec Jeff Ecklof (PA), 1-0

 

[Wrestleknownothing]

This thread is heating up nicely. Great off season topic, @Kerouac

[PortaJohn]

3 hours ago, 11986 said:

They ended up being the USA team reps at 145 and 152 at the Dapper Dan that year, pretty cool:

Here's some Dapper Dan Trivia. 

-The year 1992 is probably the most famous because of the Bono/Kolat match.  Manning heavyweight that year for team USA was now Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell. 

-NCAA champs who have lost at the event are Kellen Russell, Eric Juergens,  Jake Herbert, Darian Cruz, Anthony Ashnault,  Cory Clark, Alex Dierenger, Chris Perry, LeRoy Smith, Barry Davis, Jeff Prescott, T.J. Jaworsky 

[ionel]

No talk at all of Harold DeMarsh coming out of high school.  Heck he couldn't even make the lineup at his chosen weight class.  And yet he did something no one before had done and no one after would ever do.  

[MPhillips]

8 minutes ago, ionel said:

he did something no one before had done and no one after would ever do.

The first.

[PortaJohn]

35 minutes ago, ionel said:

No talk at all of Harold DeMarsh coming out of high school.  Heck he couldn't even make the lineup at his chosen weight class.  And yet he did something no one before had done and no one after would ever do.  

I thought this was a coming into college lore/hype thread?

[ionel]

Just now, PortaJohn said:

I thought this was a coming into college lore/hype thread?

He is a legend, there was no hype.  It answers the OP question. 

[MPhillips]

6 minutes ago, PortaJohn said:

I thought this was a coming into college lore/hype thread?

I thought this was a Dapper Dan lore/hype thread?

[11986]

18 hours ago, PortaJohn said:

-NCAA champs who have lost at the event are Kellen Russell, Eric Juergens,  Jake Herbert, Darian Cruz, Anthony Ashnault,  Cory Clark, Alex Dierenger, Chris Perry, LeRoy Smith, Barry Davis, Jeff Prescott, T.J. Jaworsky 

Jeff McGinness and Tim Krieger are also NCAA champs who lost at Dapper Dan.  

Edited July 18 by 11986

[Wrestleknownothing]

On 7/18/2024 at 1:50 PM, 11986 said:

Jeff McGinness and Tim Krieger are also NCAA champs who lost at Dapper Dan.  

And Krieger is a single digit guy

[Ched64]

Here is a great match from midway through Cael’s college career at the 2000 US Open.  His opponent is Les Gutches, a 3x AA, 2x NC, World Champion, Olympian still in his prime at 27.  He is in the HOF but young Cael gives hin all he can handle.  It is a fun watch.

 

 

[Sublime607]

Not many in New York even thought Dake was going to become what he is today. Alex Ekstrom and Ian Paddock were the top two for his weight and age.

[Caveira]

Joe Gilbert…. Joe Williams…. And Mike mena were pretty hyped in the early 90s coming out of high school.   

[ILLINIWrestlingBlog]

Abraham Lincoln was a senior at Carl Sandburg High School with a record of 36-4. He dreamed of a wrestling scholarship from the University of Illinois, but he was only #98 on the senior big board. So, the lanky rail-splitter hopped a wagon train to the Northwest Territory to wrestle in the 9 stone 7 pound weight class at Fargo.  

Old Timers say he wrestled like a furious shaved bear.

The young railsplitter teched his way to the finals, setting up a match with the champion from Virginia, Robert E. Lee. Well, my friends, that was a sight! Over 40,000 fans dressed in their Sunday’s best watched on a nearby hillside while picknicking on boiled squirrel and pumpkin sandwiches.  

In the first period, Lincoln emancipated and proclamated for the full three hours, building up a sixty-point lead. During intermission, though, his corner had to reattach a finger, which had been chewed off by the Virginian. 

Forty minutes into the second period, his reserves exhausted, Lee surrendered.

A table was set up in the center of the mat, and Lee formally signed the “Articles of Agreement Relating to the Surrender of the Wrestler Robert E. Lee.” You can see this document displayed on the second floor of the National Archives building in Washington, D.C.

This article was brought to you by The Society for a More Interesting Though Dubious History and because of donations from viewers like you. Also, Mike Poeta was the #1 recruit in the land coming out of high school and was said to be faster than a stalling call in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

[Wrestleknownothing]

7 hours ago, ILLINIWrestlingBlog said:

Abraham Lincoln was a senior at Carl Sandburg High School with a record of 36-4. He dreamed of a wrestling scholarship from the University of Illinois, but he was only #98 on the senior big board. So, the lanky rail-splitter hopped a wagon train to the Northwest Territory to wrestle in the 9 stone 7 pound weight class at Fargo.  

Old Timers say he wrestled like a furious shaved bear.

The young railsplitter teched his way to the finals, setting up a match with the champion from Virginia, Robert E. Lee. Well, my friends, that was a sight! Over 40,000 fans dressed in their Sunday’s best watched on a nearby hillside while picknicking on boiled squirrel and pumpkin sandwiches.  

In the first period, Lincoln emancipated and proclamated for the full three hours, building up a sixty-point lead. During intermission, though, his corner had to reattach a finger, which had been chewed off by the Virginian. 

Forty minutes into the second period, his reserves exhausted, Lee surrendered.

A table was set up in the center of the mat, and Lee formally signed the “Articles of Agreement Relating to the Surrender of the Wrestler Robert E. Lee.” You can see this document displayed on the second floor of the National Archives building in Washington, D.C.

This article was brought to you by The Society for a More Interesting Though Dubious History and because of donations from viewers like you. Also, Mike Poeta was the #1 recruit in the land coming out of high school and was said to be faster than a stalling call in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

I need to know more about those 4 loses.

[ionel]

1 hour ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

I need to know more about those 4 loses.

I think I speak for most over on non wrestling topics in asking why they didn't smoke the squirrel? 

[fishbane]

No one has mentioned Dave Schultz.  His senior year he won the Great Plains Championships pinning 2x NCAA Champ Chuck Yagla at the event.  He wrestled in the Tbilisi tournament finishing 2nd. Those results were both in freestyle though he also won the US senior open in greco.  In terms of accomplishments in high school Schultz and Carr might be at the top of the heap. Cejudo is close too.  He won the senior open in high school and also beat NCAA Champ Jason Powell whilst in high school.  He lost in the finals of the WTT to Sammie Henson.

Has anyone else won the senior open/WTT/OTT in high school?  There are probably 10 or so guys who have placed at one of those as a high schooler - Blaze, Kolat, Forrest, Stieber, Valencia.  Fried? I think Snyder and Pico didn't really start winning on the senior level until they had graduated.  

[billyhoyle]

On 7/11/2024 at 12:47 PM, RandolphTJones said:

High school for me was J Jaggers and Lance Palmer (NE Ohio)

Palmer was probably the most hyped i'd ever seen, and that would include Dustin Schlatter. Not who everyone was claiming to be the best, but closest to any star or celebrity status in that world. 

Palmer a brother who was also destined to be a 4x state champ (he was) his family was known for wrestling bears, and the St. Eds notoriety certainly helped. 

Palmer was a top recruit, but not at the level that you remember. Schlatter was a much more hyped recruit from Ohio. So was Stieber and of course Taylor.  A couple guys from his own year were ranked higher than Palmer.  Palmer did wrestle a bear in high school though and had an absolutely insane documentary made about his senior year (insane as in, this guy did not have a balanced childhood).  

 

Back to the OP:  I love this legendary quote from Royce Alger about recruiting the Brands:  https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2188889568046543

On 7/17/2024 at 11:50 AM, Truzzcat said:

 I remember the hype around this match being insane however there were a lot of factors going on. This was Chances first tournament of the year and he was up a weight. Wiercoch was a 2x state champ and 3x finalist coming into it and it was in his home gym at cannon mac. The match certainly lived up to the hype.

The funny thing about this match is it became apparent that Marsteller was overhyped after all the attention this match got, and then seeing Wiercoch got teched early in his freshman season (the next year). Obviously Marsteller was still great, but many had him as the #1 overall recruit ahead of Snyder heading into their senior seasons despite Snyder's Junior world gold. 

Edited July 23 by billyhoyle

[Maxwell Smart]

Throwing the "Brands Bros." in with Cael, Kolat, etc. and all the wrestlers that had amazing high school careers, again shows the sycophantic adoration for Terry and Tom. Their wrestling in high school was not extraordinary in any way.  They improved in college and got much better, but including them in the post shows the adulation in the forum. Don't think they belong in the same sentence of the many wrestlers mentioned. It's not hate to point this out.

[Wrestleknownothing]

24 minutes ago, Maxwell Smart said:

Throwing the "Brands Bros." in with Cael, Kolat, etc. and all the wrestlers that had amazing high school careers, again shows the sycophantic adoration for Terry and Tom. Their wrestling in high school was not extraordinary in any way.  They improved in college and got much better, but including them in the post shows the adulation in the forum. Don't think they belong in the same sentence of the many wrestlers mentioned. It's not hate to point this out.

This is a strange post. The OP said he wasn't old enough to know about the Brands' high school career. He did not claim they were hyped. He asked if they were hyped. And then precisely no one claimed they were hyped.

[MPhillips]

34 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

This is a strange post. The OP said he wasn't old enough to know about the Brands' high school career. He did not claim they were hyped. He asked if they were hyped. And then precisely no one claimed they were hyped.

Maxwell ‘not so’ Smart

Edited July 23 by MPhillips