Ono

[BarSeries]

22 minutes ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

Well it's not a given that Ono would be able to beat out a guy like Kasak in folkstyle.  He still has to win the spot over guys like Kasak, Duke, etc which isn't a given.

Wut???

[Gene Mills Fan]

3 minutes ago, BarSeries said:

Wut???

9 minutes ago, Pinnacle said:

Poor jimmy

Jimmy's wife should make him stay in a Holiday Inn Express every night!

[Gene Mills Fan]

21 hours ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

He probably is having a blast. He's there at duals cheering with the team and Blaze says he's a fun roommate and they play video games and go out to eat and pretty much act like normal college kids. I'm sure he's stoked to be hanging out and training with the RTC guys also

Well, East Coast girls are hip
I really dig those styles they wear
And the Southern girls with the way they talk
They knock me out when I'm down there
The Midwest farmers' daughters
Really make you feel alright
And the Northern girls with the way they kiss
They keep their boyfriends warm at night

[lu_alum]

On 2/16/2026 at 11:24 AM, CHROMEBIRD said:

He said he came to PSU specifically to learn from Cael. And someone posted an interview clip here not too long ago of Sanderson saying that Ono's also been wrestling folk in the room but isn't good...

 

[BFosr1]

10 hours ago, 1032004 said:

On Willie and Basch today, Basch listed a potential PSU lineup for next year that included Ono (only change from this year besides inserting Kasak at 157 and bumping up Duke and Mesenbrink), and Willie said “I’m not sure if that’s gonna be the lineup.”  Is it possible Ono doesn’t actually wrestle for PSU and is just there “having fun”?

I think Henkle is too good to ask him to sit as a redshirt freshman next year, which is what that scenario would do.

The most likely one, and the most annoying one for anyone not a PSU fan, is they start Henkle at 174 and have Duke take his shirt next year with Kasak filling in at 157, and Mesinbrink staying put at 165.

If Ono does go next year, they risk losing Desmond too, unless Blaze takes his shirt next year and Desmond/Ono go 133/141.

Edited February 20 by BFosr1

[William Lang]

what program wouldn't take a world champion in the room? seems like a win/win for everyone involved. ono gets a fun american college experience with world class competition in the room and psu gets more recruiting ammunition. maybe he wrestles for the team, maybe not, but that's beyond the benefits already in place for both parties. 

[TAC]

15 hours ago, ScottishSteel said:

Well that's exactly what a coach who was cheating would say!  Now if you'll excuse me I need to go pick up a new tinfoil hat

I do not even know what that means...But you are obviously much more intelligent than I am.    

[TAC]

3 hours ago, BFosr1 said:

I think Henkle is too good to ask him to sit as a redshirt freshman next year, which is what that scenario would do.

The most likely one, and the most annoying one for anyone not a PSU fan, is they start Henkle at 174 and have Duke take his shirt next year with Kasak filling in at 157, and Mesinbrink staying put at 165.

If Ono does go next year, they risk losing Desmond too, unless Blaze takes his shirt next year and Desmond/Ono go 133/141.

Your scenario makes the most sense, and what I have been thinking for a while.  Coach Sanderson has a full-time job to just not lose anyone.  This works well as Van Ness and MM will then graduate, opening up 49 and 65.

[Nak21]

IF Ono wrestles next year it’s at either 133 or 141. I have not heard anything as of yet to lead me to believe he won’t wrestle. So…Blaze could RS (I could see this - Blaze doesn’t win this year, takes a RS, comes back and doesn’t lose for 3yrs - the Zain plan) or Blaze could bump to 141 (Blaze appears to have the frame to handle 141). Lots of options here. Ono is likely an Olympic tweener, 57kg (~125 NCAA) isn’t looking to be in the cards, 141 (Olympic 65kg) maybe his better path. Ditto for Blaze.

The 157-165-174 Duke/Kasak/MM/Henckel situation has been a little more solidly planned for a while. And assuming nothing unexpected happens (Duke blows thru 165 right up to 174, Kasak comes back unable to make 157,  etc) the plan has been for a while now:

2025-2026: 157 Duke (Kasak RS), 165 MM, 174 Levi (Sr yr)

2026-2027: 157 Kasak (Duke RS on his way up to 165), 165 MM (Sr yr), 174 Henckel

2027-2028: 157 Kasak (Sr yr), 165 Duke, 174 Henckel

Olympic RS, guys outgrowing a weight or doing it too soon (Duke may end up 174, Henckel is a big kid, his dad is a big dude, he may outgrow 174) all throws a wrench in things BUT this is the current plan. It’s been discussed for a while and probably why Willie said what he said.

[ionel]

37 minutes ago, Nak21 said:

IF Ono wrestles next year it’s at either 133 or 141. I have not heard anything as of yet to lead me to believe he won’t wrestle. 

You mean beside the fact that no one has see him wrestle a folkstyle match? 

[1032004]

10 hours ago, BFosr1 said:

I think Henkle is too good to ask him to sit as a redshirt freshman next year, which is what that scenario would do.

The most likely one, and the most annoying one for anyone not a PSU fan, is they start Henkle at 174 and have Duke take his shirt next year with Kasak filling in at 157, and Mesinbrink staying put at 165.

If Ono does go next year, they risk losing Desmond too, unless Blaze takes his shirt next year and Desmond/Ono go 133/141.

So Henckel is too good to take a redshirt, but Duke and maybe Blaze aren’t?

[ceraIOI]

Henckel is currently in redshirt, having him be the backup next year would be using a year of eligibility

[Nak21]

2 minutes ago, ionel said:

You mean beside the fact that no one has see him wrestle a folkstyle match? 

Kasak hasn’t wrestled a folkstyle match this year. Maybe he quit the sport? Davis hadn’t wrestled a folkstyle match this year until he was pressed into service. Glad we talked him out of quitting.
Ono is in a RS and he’s a unique case because he doesn’t have a long folk history going back to youth and HS to fall back on, you know coming from Japan and all. Language, culture, etc, but hey, none of that matters.
Maybe, just maybe he’s learning in the room? Or maybe we never see him? I don’t know and neither do you. But I get it, it’s PSU related and it’s this board so when in doubt pick the thing most negative to PSU. I get it, it’s ok.

[Gene Mills Fan]

17 minutes ago, ionel said:

You mean beside the fact that no one has see him wrestle a folkstyle match? 

We need those cameras in the rooms!   We need to see the D........ word.( hint not Duals)  

Edited February 20 by Gene Mills Fan

[ionel]

4 minutes ago, Gene Mills Fan said:

We need those cameras in the rooms!  We need evidence ICE didn't snatch him up. We need to see the D........ word.( hint not Duals)  

duck, dive, dodge  

[Gene Mills Fan]

3 minutes ago, ionel said:

duck, dive, dodgeBALL  

There you go!

[Nak21]

11 minutes ago, ionel said:

duck, dive, dodge  

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.

Edited February 20 by Nak21

[1032004]

29 minutes ago, ceraIOI said:

Henckel is currently in redshirt, having him be the backup next year would be using a year of eligibility

Ah thank you, misread that.

[MPhillips]

37 minutes ago, 1032004 said:

Ah thank you,

Damn @1032004, ceralOI just told you how RS's and eligibility work...

[Rassling]

There once was a time when I added value to the sport. Not anymore. I got old, sloppy and lazy but still capable of sitting on my fat ass and spitting out condescending remarks towards those who see right through me. In the end, my legacy will be no legacy - no one will remember me one will care.
 

 

Edited February 21 by Rassling

[juniorvarsity]

On 2/20/2026 at 8:53 AM, Nak21 said:

The 157-165-174 Duke/Kasak/MM/Henckel situation has been a little more solidly planned for a while. And assuming nothing unexpected happens (Duke blows thru 165 right up to 174, Kasak comes back unable to make 157,  etc) the plan has been for a while now:

2025-2026: 157 Duke (Kasak RS), 165 MM, 174 Levi (Sr yr)

2026-2027: 157 Kasak (Duke RS on his way up to 165), 165 MM (Sr yr), 174 Henckel

2027-2028: 157 Kasak (Sr yr), 165 Duke, 174 Henckel

Olympic RS, guys outgrowing a weight or doing it too soon (Duke may end up 174, Henckel is a big kid, his dad is a big dude, he may outgrow 174) all throws a wrench in things BUT this is the current plan. It’s been discussed for a while and probably why Willie said what he said.

Jayden James will be at Penn State next year. Not exactly sure what weight he will be, but he will be in that weight range. If MM goes 165 or 174, it is clearly his spot. I don't see him as a large 165 and is a 74kg guy.

With all the discussion of Duke going 165 when MM graduated, that means James is likely going to have to go 174 or even 184 if he grows. So I would assume Henckle will get one year in the lineup if James redshirts, then it is his spot. 

[BarSeries]

I kind of get the feeling that the Ono experiment is like the athletes who qualify for the Olympics but know they have no chance of winning and the highlights for them are the opening ceremony and eating McDonald's in the Olympic Village every day. He's just happy to be there. 

[CHROMEBIRD]

5 hours ago, Rassling said:

There once was a time when I added value to the sport. Not anymore. I got old, sloppy and lazy but still capable of sitting on my fat ass and spitting out condescending remarks towards those who see right through me. In the end, my legacy will be no legacy - no one will remember me one will care.
 

 

JOMBO? Is that you?

[Rassling]

31 minutes ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

JOMBO? Is that you?

Ha, there’s only one - the forum Cro-Magnon Man, ancient, artificial and inadequate in today’s modern wrestling environment. He knows it too.

Edited February 21 by Rassling

[Nak21]

4 hours ago, juniorvarsity said:

Jayden James will be at Penn State next year. Not exactly sure what weight he will be, but he will be in that weight range. If MM goes 165 or 174, it is clearly his spot. I don't see him as a large 165 and is a 74kg guy.

With all the discussion of Duke going 165 when MM graduated, that means James is likely going to have to go 174 or even 184 if he grows. So I would assume Henckle will get one year in the lineup if James redshirts, then it is his spot. 

No idea how JJ factors in. An embarrassment of potential riches at these weights. There’s gonna come a point where even with RS, gray shirts, Olympic redshirts, you’re not gonna fit everyone in and kids may have to sit a year or two or transfer. For now JJ is a 2yrs ish from now problem (he’ll RS year 1 at PSU I’d imagine).