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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.

From his tweeter: Rocco1Welsh @rocco_welsh · 18m The Ohio State University is home. I’m staying home. Go bucks.

What are the potential NCAA finals matchups that you think would be the most intriguing come NCAA's? This isn't a prediction, but weight by weight, the final that garners the most interest. Mine are... 10. 165 Mesenbrink vs Barraclough We've seen Mitchell vs Caliendo several times and the gap just seems to be widening. Nothing is likely to be exciting in the weight with how big of a favorite Mesenbrink is, but the off chance of the transfer taking down the superstar (ala Taylor vs Jenkins) would be the most interesting storyline. 9. 285 Steveson vs Hendrickson Until we see someone be truly competitive with Steveson, it's hard to get too excited over a match that seems like a foregone conclusion. I put in Hendrickson because I think the match is much more likely to be a snoozer if it's Greg and Gable. 8. 133 Bailey vs Crookham Not a lot of heat in this weight as it's really the dawn of a new age after the years with Desanto, Fix, RBY, and Vito as the top dogs. But Crookham winning a title after staying home at Lehigh or Bailey becoming the first NCAA champion from Little Rock would be big for both programs. 7. 125 Spratley vs Lilledahl A little bit of a curveball here, but (depending on the finals order) starting off the finals with pupil Taylor's Ok St vs the master Cael and Penn St is the most interesting matchup. For the most part, we've seen many of the matchups at this weight over the last handful of years, and none of them have the juice of a penn st vs ok st final. 6. 157 Shapiro vs Kasak I don't know if everyone gets a little fatigue from the 6th and 7th year guys, but I think to matchup between two young super studs that both finished 3rd in their true freshman season is the most exciting potential matchup in a weight without a real "final boss" type guy. 5. 149 Henson vs Van Ness Returning national champion vs young PSU stud. I don't have too much to say, but both guys are absolute dogs and this is the most interesting matchup of 149 this year. 4. Alirez vs Mendez Two super talented undefeated national champions that have yet to meet in college. 3. 174 O'Toole vs Haines Two NCAA champions that have hopes of becoming 3x champions when their careers are over. 2. 184 Keckeisen vs Starocci The unheralded recruit turned NCAA champion from UNI vs the man looking to become the first ever 5x champ. The potential of the upset makes this the match-up with the most on the line as it would likely be remembered for decades to come. 1. 197 Ferrari vs Buchanan I admittedly hate to put this as the most interesting potential matchup at NCAAs, but I believe it cannot be denied. From a purely on the mat perspective, I actually think would likely be the most boring match on this list. However, if AJ steps on the mat for round 1 at NCAAs, who isn't tuning in? Every match will grow the anticipation of him facing Buchanan, the man who stepped into "his" spot at Iowa after last year's events. The entire arena at NCAAs cheering or jeering as the match goes on. The reaction of AJ to the crowd (regardless of outcome) and the potential interview after. I truly believe if this is the 197 final it should be the last match of the night for two reasons. One, everyone who is a real fan of college wrestling either loves the Ferrari antics or is absolutely disgusted by them, so fans won't want to miss the match. Two, who knows what will happen during and after this match, and it would be a shame for those events to overshadow the wrestling still to come. Thoughts?

The ACLU and other groups wanted Biden to pardon anyone who was put in home confinement during the Covid pandemic and allowed to stay there after the emergency order was lifted. He gave them what they wanted. It is why it was part of such a large pardon order. Most of these people are now quite old, and non-violent offenders, so they had a very low recidivism rate, so it's an idea that sounds good on paper I guess. Still some pretty awful people can be included in this. The worst I've seen is the "cash for kids" judge who was sentencing kids to prison and getting kickbacks from the for profit prison they were going to. The pardon power is already pretty abused at this point IMO and this kind of blanket action seems like it just expands on that abuse.

Damn you Ionel DAMN YOU

If we are doing simply from last year to this year I'm going Eddie ventresca. 2-7 vs d1 comp to 10-1 but even if you look at the year he AA'd he was 15-7 going into NCAA's.

I do believe what you put on your hot dog says a lot about your personality and maturity. As a kid I was a hot dog with ketchup kind of guy and have matured to spicy mustard and relish. On a related topic. For those of you who come to NCAA's and order a cheesesteak with wiz please leave the region immediately. Cheesesteak w/wiz eaters should never be trusted. Correct cheese is American and if you happen to be a snooty aristocrat you order it with provolone. Also, order it with onions. Thats the correct way.

It just gets a little funny when you have to make sense of him figuring out in december that he doesn't want to redshirt or go 84. They might have told him the spot was his if he could beat Kharchla, and then he couldn't, or maybe he could and they changed their tune and told him he was going 84 anyways....the timing means something.

If i were to guess, coaching staff probably figured Kharchla (who is supposed to be competing second semester) has been a loyal guy and deserves one last go, and Rocco has a redshirt, so why not make that move and let KOT and Hamiti graduate and maximize your scoring potential with Welsh over the next three years.

Unfortunately the two wrestlers that I went to High School state wrestling with as a Junior... offed themself. Unhappy childhoods leading to unhappy adulthood. I suppose I could have been the trifecta. My parents verbally fought like cats and dogs over my eldest rebellious sister. I hid and cried uncontrollably under the stairs. That emotional trauma was nothing compared to the emptiness when mom kicked dad out of the house (both times). My parents stuck it out and life was better with my folks, middle sister, and me from there. I was 8 and 10 years old when these 1-3 month incidents (dad out of the house) occurred. I would be trouble had I not had a father to show me the way. My mother praises my children's behavior but not my sister's children's behavior. Is this because I'm married for 20 years while my sisters are both divorced? Being present and giving a damn is 80% of the job.

How bout a bottle?

If this is indeed true I’m going to need a tall glass of whiskey. Not good for my Buckeyes.

Bucks can't catch a break. And no, I can't see why he would go to Iowa. Why not throw Arizona a bone? Michigan might be a good landing spot just in terms of NIL potential

Paddy Gallagher

If he truly strives to be a "trendsetter" then he should aim at being the first 4x national champ at 4 different schools. Finishing at Iowa for major Nichols' nickels, of course.

The casual fan poll would probably go to Haines due to the bandwagon PSU fan factor

125: Spratley MD Petersen (4-0 OKST) 133: Ayala MD Witcraft (4-4 tie) 141: Jamison MD Block (8-4 OKST) 149: Parco MD Young (8-8 tie) 157: Teemer DEC Fish (11-8 IOWA) 165: Caliendo DEC Amine (14-8 IOWA) 174: Hamiti DEC Kennedy (14-11 IOWA) 184: Plott DEC Ferrari/Arnold (14-14 tie) 197: Buchanan DEC Surber (17-14 IOWA) 285: Hendrickson FALL Kueter (20-17 OKST) Caliendo and Amine met twice before on the same day during Big Tens and Caliendo won both in SV, so that one could flip. I also think Ferrari has a chance against Plott, but we haven't seen him wrestle enough to have a good idea.

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.

This will be a great match. Here my predictions with orange and maroon glasses: 125 VT win 3-0 133 VT win 6-0 141 OSU win 6-3 VT 149 VT MD 10-3 VT 157 VT win 13-3 VT 165 OSU win 13-6 VT 174 VT win 16-6 VT 184 OSU MD 16-10 VT 197 VT win 19-10 VT Hvt OSU pin 19-16 VT

My read as well. May have all been a plan to get more money for himself, which is fine by me.

So it seem pretty likely that Ohio State just matched or upped whatever financial offer was mentioned by OKST?

I want my bottle back darn you Randolph!!

Yes Mendez does a much better job than Bartlett with racking up points against lesser competition. But, when he's wrestled ranked opponents he's been in some battles. Last year took a loss to Matthews and Bartlett in the regular season. Happel gave him a good scrap. Echemendia gave him a good push in the last minute of their semi finals match. He didn't blow away the competition at Cliff Keen this year. He's my pick to win it but I'm more questioning not having Bartlett as a clear #3.

That's a good pick... as a returning AA the season before last, he certainly hit that bad streak. This season he's on fire... lets see how he goes on further into the season, yes? D3

All of this is unverified per the police chief. I am willing to wait until real info is available.

Geog cost me an Intermat CKLV Championship.... I'm putting him in the portal.

No idea, but this is where college FB is...

You are a piece of work.

Hot dogs only have mustard neon relish pickle raw onion celery salt sport peppers On a steamed sesame seed bun.

So SDSU. Train with Berge

I heard he wanted to go to a football school.

Who cares about that? Has he ever put ketchup on a hotdog? If so ... write your Senator!!

Wait are you talking about first term or this one? I'm sure you would've said that first time around correct? So maybe this is only the 2nd most incompetent?

Did you catch the point? Divorce is not "the reason", it is a symptom of "the reason." Regardless of the reasons, 80% of the parents job is to be present and give a damn. Unhappy parents make for unhappy children.

I have a question about drinking. I don't drink so I don't know that whole deal. How many DOD secretaries have imbibed alcohol? It was well known Teddy Kennedy was drunk most of the time but he was the revered Lion of the Senate. What level of drinking is ok and what level is not ok? Why is this all of the sudden an issue for Hegseth and not for anyone else that held this position? What kind of candidate would be ideal for this position? What experience would be needed to do this job? What I'm getting is that because he drinks and has tats and hasn't administered anything, he must not be a good candidate. He has a lot of years in the military and knows what the grunt and the veterans need and don't need. He might be just the right kind of person to bring in a better perspective into the military readiness equation. So an answer to the above questions might be a good starting point for understanding what is needed for this job. mspart

As the media likes to say, you say this without any evidence. Have they served as cabinet members? No. So you can assume all you want and prognosticate all you want. The proof will be in the pudding when they either succeed or don't. mspart

You have not read the manifesto yet declare what was not the problem. No way it could be anything to do with the family because you had a bad family and you came out ok. Interesting. Your anecdotal experience seems to be in the way of your objectivity. mspart

Agreed. mspart

Manifesto talks about seeing a therapist... Parents divorced multiple times is confirmed... Story as old as time... broken family causes sad and angry children... Not just the divorce, but broken...

College wrestling has more fans than FS/GR. Is this what you're claiming? Because that is undeniably incorrect, wrong, ridiculous and egregious...

Not quite the scope of the thread, but I was taught a while ago to specifically avoid red or green as far as colors for diagrams or text in PowerPoints in case an audience member was red/green colorblind. Not really the best response, but I have not posted in a while.

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.

I’ll give a shout out to Drake Rhodes.

We're just waiting on it...

You are lying if you say you never got a chuckle out of PD3

You should know that when you throw it slow and straight it gets hit out of the ballpark!

Brawndo has what plants crave!

I'm not sure about that. I'm coming around on this Kolat thing.

I only jumped in the conversation because I thought your argument was disingenuous, not because I would say Kolat is the best on the list. Anyways, 1998 was just straight overturned. 1999 and 2000, he had to re-wrestle matches due to decisions made behind closed doors after he won those matches on the mat. And there were some other shenanigans afterward in 2000 to ensure he didn't make it out of his pool. Seriously, he had some egregious refereeing in 1997 followed by three consecutive years of having been declared the winner of a match only to have those results changed after the fact. Sure, he had the opportunity to re-wrestle the last two, but that's a pretty big mind-***duck**. I can't even fathom the level of resentment I would still harbor for the sport.