Osu vs asu

[GFPine]

Couple good matches so far 

[Bardamu911]

those Larkin bros are problems. 

[The_KC_Godfather]

Serious question…how does Figs go from Natty Champ to this? Was the field that weak, or did he have an amazing run, or has he regressed that much? I don’t get it.

[BloodRound]

17 minutes ago, The_KC_Godfather said:

Serious question…how does Figs go from Natty Champ to this? Was the field that weak, or did he have an amazing run, or has he regressed that much? I don’t get it.

I think it's more of the latter 2 points.  He was looking like a fine AA finish until Peterson pinned him.  Then it all just fell apart.  Just think at this point, HEW is getting in the way.

[Truzzcat]

Thought Vega and Robideau looked outstanding again. Really like the last two matches out of Merill. Routledge made a great account of himself this weekend and the Larkin bros are going to be problems.

[Hoyt Matthews]

Was at the dual….can confirm Larkins are problems indeed, both looked good. Excited for them this year. Not sure what Vegas looks like this year with National Duals but ASU is up there for that event, so should see more of the Larkins vs really good kids if the teams come. 
 

Vega is really good in all positions and hard to score on. If you put points on Sergio you did something for sure. 
 

Spratley looked a little down but obv still a stud. Rutledge had that match vs Ruiz, he’s gonna be just fine. Not sure if that was his first match. 

[Truzzcat]

55 minutes ago, Hoyt Matthews said:

Was at the dual….can confirm Larkins are problems indeed, both looked good. Excited for them this year. Not sure what Vegas looks like this year with National Duals but ASU is up there for that event, so should see more of the Larkins vs really good kids if the teams come. 
 

Vega is really good in all positions and hard to score on. If you put points on Sergio you did something for sure. 
 

Spratley looked a little down but obv still a stud. Rutledge had that match vs Ruiz, he’s gonna be just fine. Not sure if that was his first match. 

Routledge Wrestled one down at 157 and then this one at 165. I love watching Kyler and kaleb both sit corner and go crotch lock in folk. Both of them seems insanely comfortable in that situation and it seems like it either gets stalemated or they score 99% of the time.

[Offthemat]

This team doesn’t appear to have their conditioning at the level of past teams.  Figueroa looks like a 125 trying to wrestle 133.  The Larkins should be checked for helium balloons in their jowls at weighins, they look huge, and good.  This team looks good, puts out a lot of effort, and looks to be improving. 

[Lunaticfringe]

That 125 bracket wasn’t good. Figs beat Ethan Berginc, then a wounded 6th year Patrick McKee in the 8-9 matchup, he beat top seed true Freshmen Braeden Davis who failed to AA, in the Semis he beat 12 seed Anthony Noto and in the finals beat Drake Ayala. He only beat 2 AAs(the bare minimum) to win a national title. Figs had a great tourney, similar to Rocco Welch.

[ionel]

3 minutes ago, Offthemat said:

This team doesn’t appear to have their conditioning at the level of past teams.  Figueroa looks like ...

Its November.  Figs looks like he's done ... RR

[BruceyB]

2 hours ago, The_KC_Godfather said:

Serious question…how does Figs go from Natty Champ to this? Was the field that weak, or did he have an amazing run, or has he regressed that much? I don’t get it.

The field was without a doubt weak. That year it wasn't surprising to see any #1 lose to a guy ranked #15. There were a ton of solid guys, but they didn't have anyone at the weight that was elite. Any one of 15 guys could have won the title if they were wrestling there best that weekend. From different interviews and talking heads, I just don't think Figueroa loves wrestling at this point, and he doesn't want it bad enough. You can't fake hunger in this sport.

[Mr. PeanutButter]

2 hours ago, The_KC_Godfather said:

Serious question…how does Figs go from Natty Champ to this? Was the field that weak, or did he have an amazing run, or has he regressed that much? I don’t get it.

During his run to the title, he wrestled very stingy and was very, very quick. 

What I've seen since then is a guy that appears a touch slower than before who frequently seems to, imo, get into unnecessarily extended and tumbling scrambles that often result in either a stalemate or lost points.

He either doesn't have a great gas tank or just doesn't quite have the mental edge to work back into a match after falling behind.

Worth noting that the dude missed a lot of time due to injury. 

Finally, he is a small 133

[Truzzcat]

Has he score the opening takedown in every match this year? I say this sort of as a joke but I think he is way too active in his matches. This is obviously a conditioning issue as you should be active but the best version of figs we've seen was him spending the vast majority of the match playing the edge and circling waiting for his opponent to over extend.

[Offthemat]

16 minutes ago, ionel said:

Its November.  Figs looks like he's done ... R

Maybe indicated by his pushing Larkin off the mat with his leg in the air. 

[Hoyt Matthews]

3 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

Routledge Wrestled one down at 157 and then this one at 165. I love watching Kyler and kaleb both sit corner and go crotch lock in folk. Both of them seems insanely comfortable in that situation and it seems like it either gets stalemated or they score 99% of the time.

They both wrestle completely through positions so they end up in a good spot more than most. They have both spent a lot of time working on things and figuring it out. Awesome to see everyone seeing them and being wowed, seen it first hand for a long time. Great humans too, have been great mentors to my own kid.  Both easy to root for without a doubt. 

[Truzzcat]

4 hours ago, Hoyt Matthews said:

They both wrestle completely through positions so they end up in a good spot more than most. They have both spent a lot of time working on things and figuring it out. Awesome to see everyone seeing them and being wowed, seen it first hand for a long time. Great humans too, have been great mentors to my own kid.  Both easy to root for without a doubt. 

I think the first time I remember seeing them was when Kyler had the cher haircut and he laced up mason gibson at fargo 

[Offthemat]

13 hours ago, ionel said:

Its November.  Figs looks like he's done ... RR

Just to add:

He’s no Reece Witcraft. 

[Hoyt Matthews]

10 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

I think the first time I remember seeing them was when Kyler had the cher haircut and he laced up mason gibson at fargo 

Valiant kids so much freestyle accolade many never get to see much folk. Ky won Reno as a sr in HS (college division) beating his teammate in the finals (Meza). But those Larkin boys are damn good in folk and to beat one you had better be ready for a full 7 minutes and you better get to quick finishes. Both boys pretty damn good. 

[NM1965]

On 11/23/2025 at 11:11 PM, The_KC_Godfather said:

Serious question…how does Figs go from Natty Champ to this? Was the field that weak, or did he have an amazing run, or has he regressed that much? I don’t get it.

It wasn't a particularly strong field. Braedon Davis was the #1 seed and he failed to place. To Figs credit he did beat the #1 seed Davis. The only placers that Figs beat were #12 seed (and 3rd place) Noto and #3 seed Ayala (the other finalist).  Credit Figs for winning, but it wasn't a particularly impressive performance. His performance the next year was quite poor at NCAAs, going 1-2 and neither of the guys who beat him made AA either. I think he had some injury issues or something? But moving up to 133 has been an unmitigated disaster for him so far, that's for sure. He's definitely regressed since winning his title, possibly due to injury issues.