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The Panther train literally built their own practice facility at an off-campus warehouse last season. Yesterday they whooped #4 Nebraska. Case closed.

Wyoming has the lowest percentage of archery hunters in the nation at 7%. Only 4,063 out of 58,882 total deer hunters used a bow or crossbow. Hunters harvested 35,061 deer and 7% were taken with archery equipment, tying Montana and Colorado for the lowest percentage of deer harvested by a bow or crossbow. https://archerytrade.org/2021-state-by-state-hunting-data-3-7-million-bowhunters-in-america/

As a staunch supporter of booze in all forms even I can admit it does not help my wrestling.

Top five life moment.

I think Brands saw the thread from last year asking which two teams combined could beat PSU and he decided to find out.

Update--my apologies for the delay. I had some personal obligations pop up and trackwrestling wasn't available to expedite the results tallying process. But... better late than never. I have finally tallied the points, and the results are below: @MPhillips is our winner with 154 points. Shoot me a DM to claim your $20 prize. @nhs67 had the best darkhorse with Frost taking 5th place from an unseeded position, scoring 15 team points. Shoot me a DM to claim your $5 consolation... one beer on me. Apologies again for not updating the scoring in real time. Life got in the way.

Who is Jimmy Cinnabon, I hear you say, A whisper in the air, a name at play. Is he a myth, a man, a fleeting guise? A swirl of questions, like Iowa skies. Does he rise at dawn, at a Michigan lake, Folding stories in the dough he makes? Perhaps he crafts sweetness, a life in a bun, With sugar and spice spun under the sun. Or is he a wanderer, bound to no place, A poet, a dreamer, lost in the chase? Carving his hawkeye like a pastry's swirl, Through the chaos of life, through the endless whirl. Is he a rebel, a fighter, a wolverine? A light in the shadows, a flame in the dark? Or maybe he's quiet, a soft-spoken muse, An welcher of flavor, with magic to use. We wonder, we question, we guess who he cheers, Yet Jimmy remains an enigma to see. For perhaps he's not one, but all we aspire, A name that ignites our hidden desire. So who is Jimmy Cinnabon? Do you know? A keeper of bets, a shadowy glow. Or maybe he’s none of these—just a name, A sweet little mystery, delightfully plain.

I asked ChatGPT a question about wrestlers from the Lehigh Valley, and it gave me a response with its sources. I clicked on the sources to see where it was getting the info - and one of the sources was actually a post that I had made a year ago on this forum (LOL!)

I nominate Cal State Bakersfield heavyweight Jake Andrews. Freshman year: 1-10 Sophomore year: 1-17 Last year: 7-16, best win was over wrestlestat #75, a backup for Cal Poly So far this year: 7-2, best win is over 2x NQ and wrestlestat #31 Trevor Tinker of Cal Poly and also has wins over wrestlestat #60 and 69, the most recent of which was a major decision in their dual against Michigan State. Dare I say possibly training with the Focus could have helped him? Any other nominations? Cal Poly’s Zeth Romney could be an option, but he was already pretty good last season. But he did lose 16-3 Evan Frost at CKLV last year only to beat him 7-3 this year.

I think I'll draw big conclusions now. I don't get why everyone should wait until after the fact to draw conclusions. We aren't a bunch of analysts going over past data. We are message board fans commenting on what's happening right now. This would be a really boring place if we all just waited until after the season to have any conclusions.

Don't put too much stock in this as it only covers two 5-year periods (so call it weak evidence), but it occurred to me last night that we have a bit of a natural experiment. The 33 seed era is now 5 years old and the 16 seed era only lasted 5 years. So I thought I would take a look at what the expansion from 16 seeds to 33 seeds has meant. In theory, if seeding is accurate, then going from 16 to 33 would have different impacts on different ranges of seeds. Concentrating on the first round: In a 33 seed bracket the top 8 seeds face seeds 25 - 32 (or 33). In a 16 seed bracket the top 8 seeds may get anyone in the 17 - 33 range. So seeding all should be beneficial to the top 8. In a 33 seed bracket the 9 - 16 seeds face seeds 17 - 24. In a 16 seed bracket the 9 - 16 seeds may get anyone in the 17 - 33 range. So seeding all would be harmful to the 9 - 16 seeds. In a 33 seed bracket the bottom 16/17 seeds face the top 16 seeds. In a 16 seed bracket the bottom 17 seeds may get anyone in the 1 - 33 range (other than themselves). So seeding all would be harmful to the bottom 17. And that is what the results show. The top 8 seeds have performed better in the 33 seed era, while the next 8 seeds have performed worse, and the bottom 17 have performed worse. So, good job seeding committee.

Vance VomBaur has basically solidified he wasn’t a fluke AA. He’s been breaking matches open. He was losing those close matches last year. By the end he was winning those matches at NCAAs with his crazy pace.

As long as I can see the mat and the score, they can say whatever they like

That is a huge, huge difference. I feel like a real donkey. I just hate when people disparage lower level D1 wrestlers like they weren't also at one time very good high school wrestlers. On a message board where we spend most of the time talking about the elite of the D1 ranks, it's easy to forget that being a D1 NQ, as I previously mentioned, is something than less than 1/1000 high school wrestlers accomplish.

I think Nickal is best 86k guy on earth except for Aaron Pico.

B1G Day What happens January 17, 2025 you reasonably ask? Well Nebraska hosts Penn State for a Big Ten dual. Which means we should get Caleb Smith vs Luke Lilledahl. With their latest rankings drop Intermat has Smith #5 and Lilledahl #11. If Lilledahl wins that match up it is possible that he jumps into Intermat's top 5. But the real significance is that if no one else on PSU looses before then all ten PSU wrestlers will be ranked in the Intermat top five. And with only the Michigan State dual between now and Nebraska, a PSU lose to Sparty seems highly unlikely. Wild. This is possible because with their respective 3-0 Sunday afternoons, Braeden Davis and Josh Barr moved into the Intermat top 5. Of course there are other landmines in the Nebraska dual that could derail the Top 5 Train. While wrestlestat has it 32-0 for PSU, among Jacob Van Dee, Brock Hardy, Ridge Lovett would anyone be surprised if there was at least one win for the Huskers? Two? Three? Minnesota 2.0? Right now PSU sits on 8 expected AAs. This is just shy of the 8.1 expected AAs they had going into the tournament last year. They also improved their chances of achieving a tie with Minnesota as the only teams with 10 AAs to an absurd 6.65%. As a reminder, going into the 2007 tournament Minnesota had an expected AA count of just 6.5 with a 0.78% chance of ten. Screw them odds, Poindexter. And Merry Christmas everyone.

Much higher level wrestling in this dual than in the Scuffle finals...

Speaking of fiction, you're living in a world where a bronze medal is closer to gold than a silver one.

Shouldn't it be diVestiture?

I have to admit, I just clicked here to find out what a vestiture is.

the argument that '106 is a weak weight' is absolutely stupid. they are annually the best wrestlers in the country. the most promising prospects. the list of star wrestlers (in college or international) has more guys that were 106's at one point than any other single weight. From Spencer Lee to David Taylor. those that poo-poo on it are usually guys that were 152 as freshmen and are bitter b/c they didn't place at the state tournament and lighter guys did. 106 is invaluable for the the development of this country's best.

I've got results rolling in this article with a link to the brackets - https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13359017-2024-soldier-salute-wrestling-tournament-results Midlands results are here for those interested - https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13358672-2024-midlands-wrestling-championships-results-and-brackets all free for my friends here to view and enjoy

Let me tell you something, brother! The 60th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Wrestling Tournament is about to feel the power of Hoke Hogan and the Hokemaniacs! I’ve trained harder than ever, and I’m not just here to compete—I’m here to dominate. Every slam, every hold, every move will echo with the energy of all my Hokemaniacs out there! So what’cha gonna do, brother, when Hoke Hogan and the Hokemaniacs run wild on you?!

Merry Christmas to you ALL! D3

Willie's "response", 'it's fine and we're not changing it.'

Because a lot of the time they are volunteering their time and are doing their best. People who bash new broadcasters learning the sport are the same people who gatekeep wrestling from new fans whenever they get the chance.

The only people saying Lee was going to hang it up are haters. Only a person as tough as, well, Spencer Lee could bounce back from everything he has been through physically and emotionally. Dude is tougher than hell and I don't care what any results are and how many ACLs he tears, I'm picking him to win 2025 worlds. He's going to be a DAWG next September.

No. 4 Ohio State (8-0, 0-0) begins Big Ten competition this weekend with a road contest against No. 10 Illinois (6-0, 1-0) and then a home meeting with No. 17 Rutgers (8-2, 0-0) at the Covelli Center. The matchup with the Illini will start at 8 p.m. Friday with B1G+ providing the live stream. The Big Ten Network will broadcast the match against the Scarlet Knights at 6 p.m. Sunday. The Buckeyes won a 37-34 edge in the all-time series against Illinois and have won seven of the last duals. Four of the last six battles in Champaign have gone to the Buckeyes. In the series with Rutgers, Ohio State is 10-0-1, which includes a 5-0 record in Columbus. After a tie in the first meeting (24-all) Feb. 10, 1984, Ohio State has won the last 10. 125-No. 10 Brendan McCrone (R-So.) vs. Caelan Riley (Jr.) 133-No. 9 Nic Bouzakis (R-So.) vs. No. 2 Lucas Byrd (R-Sr.) 141-No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Jr.) vs. No. 13 Danny Pucino (R-Jr.) 149-No. 12 Dylan D'Emilio (Gr.) vs. No. 11 Kannon Webster (R-Fr.) 157-No. 9 Paddy Gallagher (R-Jr.) vs. Jason Kraisser (Gr.) 165-No. 11 Sammy Sasso (Gr.) or Bryce Hepner (R-Sr.)/e'Than Birden (Fr.) vs. No. 10 Braeden Scoles (R-Fr.) 174-No. 9 Carson Kharchla (Gr.) vs. No. 21 Danny Braunagel (R-Sr.) 184-No. 14 Ryder Rogotzke (So.) vs. No. 10 Edmond Ruth (R-Sr.) 197-Seth Shumate (R-So.) vs. No. 11 Zac Braunagel (R-Sr.) HWT-No. 7 Nick Feldman (R-So.) vs. No. 11 Luke Luffman (R-Sr.)

But will he be favored over Dean Hamiti?

I don't think you can fairly answer this question (what D1 coach does a lot with less) simply by looking at NCAA finishes. It's useful for differentiating the very top teams, but not for differentiating the next tier of teams. Consider, for example, two different hypothetical mid-tier D1 schools, each of whom is only able to attract a mediocre group of recruits. Coach 1 is killing it with them, and by the end of 4 years, the average WrestlStat ranking of his starters is 25, with all in the 20-35 range. Coach 2 is mailing it in, and after 4 years, his starters have an average WrestlStat ranking of 95. Huge difference! Problem is, NCAA results don't show it, since neither team has guys who are able to put up any points at the big show. And if Coach 2 happens to have one guy who suddenly gets good, his team may place higher at NCAAs than Coach 1, despite his overall team being far worse. Last year, for example, Minnesota took 22nd at NCAAs, while Air Force took 21st. Does that mean Air Force is a better program overall than Minnesota? I don't think anyone would say that. Pretty much all of Air Force's 21.5 points came from a single guy. Everyone would agree Minny is the stronger program overall, and in a dual, Minny would win 9 out of 10. You make the point that Keckeisen was sort of like Hendrickson last year, accounting for almost all of UNI's points. That's fair as far as it goes, but ignores the rest of the team. Most regard UNI so highly is that their team may not be a bunch of AAs, but they're all hammers, up and down the lineup. Schwab's like Coach 1 in the above example, taking a group of guys who weren't highly recruited, and making them good enough that they can hold a team like Nebraska to single digits on a given day. True, they don't have many clear AA candidates beyond Keckeisen (there's Downey, maybe Happel), but their worst-ranked guy is #31, and second worst is #21. How many other schools can say that about their second-worst starter is #21 or better? They're an absolute nightmare in a dual -- arguably top 5 in the country. And they're doing this with nothing. Most years they don't crack the top 20 in recruiting rankings, and the best they've ever been ranked by Flo the in the past 5 recruiting classes (2020-24) is 18th. So no, I don't think it's any sort of "indictment of the times" to say Schwab takes the prize for Who Does Most With the Less. Without Keckeisen in their lineup, their NCAA point total will go down, but UNI will still have a monster lineup and win a ton of duals over schools with higher-ranked recruiting classes.

you're one second away from being banned. that's your warning. it's utterly stupid to connect the two, and utterly disgusting to insinuate. and why? because you're protecting people that enable the rape of children. anyway. that's your warning, scumbag. test it.

Seems like the least amount of TV aired matches/events I’ve ever seen. Used to be able to catch some duals and at least a tournament final or two between one of the ESPN channels, Big10 network, and the ACC network by this time of year. Now almost everything’s behind a paywall of some sort.

It has been D level so far.

No doubt the in season tournaments are a pale imitation of what they used to be.

Your apathy has caused you to not pay attention. There have been a ton of top 10 match ups. O'Toole v Haines Ramos v Spratley Ayala v Knox Hardy v Jamison Lovett v Henson Downey v Taylor Keckeisen v Plott Buchanan v Munoz Hendricksen v Feldman

We all know of others. What we don't know is if DT's is one of them...

Wishing someone would be outraged so you can be outraged at their outrage has to be the most internet thing ever

I few of my best memories of Midlands include....Owings getting beat by Clyde Smith to eliminate the rematch of Owings vs. Gable in 1970, Jimmy Carr vs. Don Behm in the finals...Behm RD. , watching Cary Kolat take 3rd as a high school junior if I'm not mistaken, watching, Ben and John Peterson, Gable, Hellickson, Schalles, Chris Taylor, how about the Gibbons vs. Lewis match which was a prelude to the rematch where Randy got hurt so bad, a young John Fisher tech falling Olympic Silver medalist Barry Davis in an early round. I just looked at some older brackets, and many weights had 3-4 eventual NCAA Champions in it. Those were some special years at the Midlands. Here is a link to past brackets for your viewing enjoyment.....you'll probably have to zoom in on each bracket and the weights are out of order in all of them. https://nusports.com/sports/2015/6/26/MIDLANDS_0626155320

College wrestling has issues and these two burn my butt! I travelled to Nashville to watch the duals and spent good money for tickets, gas and lodging. The hosts decided that programs were not needed for this event. The friend I was with didn't have a working knowledge of the teams or the athletes and had no way to get a handle on the competitors or what the expectations should be. Piss poor! Especially for the cost of the tix! 1/2 of the gym did not have the ability to see the team score! The only score boards with the team score faced only 1/2 of the gym. I wrote the folks at Journeyman about these issues and their answer was to follow along on Tournaflex.com. What a crock! Wrestling is its own worst enemy!

you do understand they are talking about 1) limited number and 2) a process. a documented process what part of this crazy, complicated theorem can't you lefty nut bags figure out? what part of 'multiple-time convicted rapist/murders that were deported again and again and have repeat offenses' doesn't register in your beetle brain?

As always a seasonal favorite, but Jadidi really should be enjoyed year round.

In response to your title question, the answer is "No, January 17, 2025 is not the day." The day is Sunday, February 16, 2025 when the Fighting ILLINI cap off a perfect 13-0 nonconference and B1G dual season with a win over PSU at State Farm Center in Champaign, ILLINOIS. By that time the Orange & Blue will be 12-0 (7-0 B1G) with wins over Arizona State, Missouri, Ohio State and Iowa. Everything will be settled on that fine day, and the Universe will be put back in order. We all know that Professor Carl will duck at least one of his wrestlers because that's what he does unless y'all are wrestling Binghamton or Bellarmine. Byrd wins. Webster and Scoles win. The person who wrestled the best against Keegan The Tool for 6½ minutes this year was Danny Braunagel, not Levi Haines, and wait'll you see an uninjured Danny Braunagel. Big Brawny wins as well, bursting the Barr Bubble, Carter Stallrocky ducks (smart move), and it all comes down to Luuuuke Luffman at home in his final dual for the ILLINI, and y'all know what happens there.

That sounds nice. I do a lemon pepper smoked tri tip sandwich with caramelized red onions and a sweet bbq sauce. tri tip is underrated.

I remember Matt McDonough had a headgear that looked like it was an antique from the Gable era, held together with dirty athletic tape.

Damn you Ionel DAMN YOU

Or we could just do the international weights - or close to them, just transposed to poundage rather than kilos(my suggested in parenthesis for sanity purposes). 125 -> 57 KG = 125.6lbs (125) 133 -> 61 KG = 134.5lbs (135) 141 -> 65 KG = 143.3lbs (145) 149 -> 70 KG = 154.3lbs (155) 157 -> 74 KG = 163.4lbs (166) 165 -> 79 KG = 174.2lbs (175) 174 -> 86 KG = 189.6lbs (190) 184 -> 92 KG = 202.8lbs (205) 197 -> 97 KG = 213.8lbs (220) 285 -> 125 KG = 275.6lbs (285)