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

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.)

I'm bigger than US Steel...

This is a good synopsis. I wrote up a detailed preview at the ILLINI Wrestling Blog and Forum and Beyond Plus. I also see it as a match in which each team will have five wrestlers favored to win. The Buckeyes have the two best shots at bonus (125, 141), but I also think that the ILLINI have the two best shots at upsets (174, 285). Then, there's the Kraisser wildcard. BIGGEST STORIES Two undefeated top ten teams. With a 6-3 record and coming off a 1-0 win over the #102 kid from OSU, I don't think anybody wants to see Sammy Sasso wrestle Braeden Scoles. Huge ups to Sammy for coming back, getting that 100th win, and for being a warrior and inspiration, but he's not ready yet for what Scoles brings to the table. Hepner has been out with an injury forever. I have the ILLINI favored here, and it could be bonus as well. Lucas Byrd versus the beta version of Lucas Byrd. Luuuuuke Luffman and Nick Feldman is a match that I've been waiting for and anxious to see. Luffman has been lights out this year, and all ILLINI fans are rooting for an AA. People forget how agile and quick and flexible he is. This match will go a long way to determining future seeds and rankings. Has Feldman truly recovered from injury? That'll be put to the test here. Does Ryder Rogotzke really want to go upper body with Edmond Ruth? Absolutely crucial matches up and down these lineups. Pucino has had a brilliant year, but can he keep it to a regular decision against the national champ? He couldn't at last year's dual. Little Brawlnagel can wrestle with the best in the country. (Check out his career mark versus Cam Amine). He's never faced Kharchla. Are the Huff Dogs still as delicious as they once were? I'm trying to make it back for this dual, and I'm saving room for two dogs, mustard, onions, relish and a diet coke. Sorry to those readers who're cutting weight. As for @MPhillips, I love him like a brother. Like a brother who fumbled around with his gun while our father was shot, then took sides with Moe Greene over the family, and finally, snitched us out to Hyman Roth and his um associate Johnny Ola.

Gallagher better look out, got it on good authority from @ILLINIWrestlingBlog that Kraisser is the best on top in the whole country

Ohio State higher ranked in 5, Illinois higher ranked in 5. Tasty.

No, only true freshmen get the 5 free dates

Potential shake up to the lineups. Sammy Sasso is registered (at 157 lbs.) to wrestle at the Franklin & Marshall Open on Friday: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/seasons/LoadBalance.jsp?seasonId=841725138&pageName=EventMatches.jsp&teamId=1455765147 Rocco Welsh and Ben Davino are also slated to compete at F&M it looks like at least according to the "wrestlers" tab. This is an open so they could go unattached.

174-197 the thing that makes it interesting is that Lil Brauny, Ruth, Rogotzke, Big Brauny all could live on space mountain. And no one knows what to expect from Karchla, Sosa

“I saw people say I lost because I was hurt,” Lee said. “That’s not true. I got beat. I hate when people try to make excuses for me when I got outwrestled and beat. They’re taking credit away from someone who deserves credit. “Why not just go give love to Matt Ramos for beating me?” Lee continued. “The kid deserves the praise for making the NCAA finals. People are too busy finding ways to shove down people and not give him credit.”

Here's my copy and paste from the club forum. This is the best case scenario for the buck_iis. Uusing WS rank #s and WS is just wrong on this one. 125: Riley169 vs McCrone10 I'm still disappointed Renteria left, I really liked that kid, thought he was going places and he has, saw him at Corvallis late last year he is looking great, just beat the McCrone. Riley is the guy but the nuts will put up 4 or 5 here, lets say 5. 0 - 5 OhS 133: Byrd4 vs Bouzakis3 The chirp byrd versus a bouzakis, whatever that is, 3pt Illini 3 - 5 OhS 141: Pucino15 vs Mendez1 Ok gotta call this one for the bucks, 3 pts 3 - 8 OhS 149: Webster7 vs D'Emilio12 By definition this has decision written all over it, 3 IL 6 - 8 OhS 157: Kraisser44 vs Gallagher21 Kraissier things have happed but can Jason put Paddy to his back, tough call here, but ok for now lets say 3 OhS 6 - 11 OhS 165: Scoles 17 vs Sasso6 Ok I like Sammy, its great he made it back, I saw him up close and personal in Vegas and this is not the same Sammy, sorry but 3 pt Illinois 9 - 11 OhS 174: D-Braunagel27 vs Kharchia6 The little Brawny gave KOT all he wanted but I'm guessing Jason is ready for it, 3 pt bucknuts 9 - 14 OhS 184: Ruth15 vs Rogotzke16 Are you kidding ... The Destroyer of Worlds versus a ryder, this match'll be decided on their feet, 3 pt Illinois 12 - 14 OhS 197: Z-Braunagel14 vs Shumate25 The Big Brawny all day and twice on Friday, 3 pt Illini 15 - 14 IL 285: Luffman13 vs Feldman4 The dual is on the line, which kind of man is gonna show up. If my good buddy Wkn were making the call he might say Luke with the pinfeld. But me ... I think the big LL is gonna poke Nick in the ribs early, just to make sure he's good to go, and then win a hard fought decision and a dual win for the Illini. Sorry MP and buckEs, 3 pt Illinois. 18 - 14 IL

This thread feels empty without @ILLINIWrestlingBlog

Byrd, Webster, Scoles, Ruth, Big Brauny, all have to win. Riley and Pucino have to keep it to a regular decision. Rooting for the Orange but going to be tough!

Please everyone show up, "we" need a dual like this

Here you go! I was there for this one: There are several other videos of their many matches out there. Generally very entertaining, even if I didn't like most of the results!

Lots of great matchups!

Here's a fun highlight video of Smith hitting his duckunder, he also gets a bodylock in it. I have a video of him hitting a great Metzger against Russia either in Iowa City or Portland dual....it's in my library. He told me he had never hit on in a match before and it was one of the best you'll ever see. Andre would have been proud!!! lol https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=529181984884859

this precisely why Red Viking is a waste of space on this board. every single post is 'yeah, but the other side'. absolutely nothing on topic, nothing specific and nothing of importance.

Sometimes domination is boring. Ramos hit a close your eyes home run.

Crazy... he tilted Ramos in the match he lost and had put up 7 points. So I guess he didn't really prevent it.

You don't have to be west of Texas. Don't get me wrong, this is really bad and a lot of property damage. The media makes it sound like the worse thing ever. We've had much bigger fires with much larger loss of life and property. But many of these occur in places that no one cares about. High wind and low humidity happens, its not a new thing. https://hpj.com/2024/02/28/wildfires-burn-in-texas-oklahoma-kansas-and-nebraska-feb-26-27/ https://wildfiretoday.com/2017/03/07/fires-in-kansas-oklahoma-and-texas-burn-hundreds-of-thousands-of-acres/

Another match with a lot of entertainment value was Perry-Hendicks '07. The match itself wasn't that special until the last minute (it was electric) had the family storyline plus lots of Hendricks haters. Another classic for this list.

Did Brian do the Mizzou dual? If so, I can vouch that he does an excellent job.

Surber is one of those style matchup cases. He gets the right style matchup path he can AA. If he gets two guys in his path the wrong style, don't want to shoot or scramble, he can fail to AA.

Rocco Welsh was noted on the Feb 5th Zagreb rankings tourney early participants at 79kg fyi. I doubt he actually participates based on nothing more than a gut feeling because I don't keep in touch with those loser Buckeyes, I only focus on teams with senior world team members like the Fighting Illini. I-L-L

The rank next to their name on the individual page includes things like non-starters and redshirts. Go to this page to find the rank of just starters. https://www.wrestlestat.com/d1/rankings/starters

Having seen OSU in person this year I will say that watching Sasso and Gallagher warm up together it looked pretty clear to me that Gallagher was the bigger of the two. I think the best tOSU lineup could potentially be Sasso 157 and Gallagher 165 but that depends on if the 157 Sasso is closer to pre injury ability than 165 Sasso is.

Always a good way to burn calories for the weight cut. unless your too close to match time; hahaha! at least that's what AJ told his girl.

Oh absolutely. That excerpt was in no way a shot at the current state of SDSU. More so just a defense of Bono's time at SDSU.

Correct. Cut spending to that which is absolutely necessary. Fire prevention and fighting is necessary. Eight years ago the voters approved billions for water recovery. That did not happen. You excuse malfeasance as if it was not a decision made by voted in to keep the people safe. But it is exactly their decisions that led to no water in the hydrants and the fuel that allowed the fire to get out of control with 0% containment for days. Who else should be faulted? This happened in Seattle some years ago. It got cold and the roads iced up. City busses were sliding down the steep hills that rival San Francisco. Many cars were also damaged as a result. All because the mayor said not salt on the roads. Zero, nada. Why? Because Mr. Ecology didn't want to unbalance the Puget Sound with too much salt. Next election he was outta there. Another fool came in. But they salt the roads now. Hopefully the good people of CA can make the necessary changes to get this situation changed for the better. mspart

Andonian was hurt.

If he was actually 257 I don't understand why he would try to make 197 unless he was extremely soft while weighing that much. He'd have been bigger than that majority of the ranked guys at 285.

I've mentioned before, this is sometimes an issue...

D3

Lack of preparedness? Thanks for your expert analysis. That is what everyone on here is saying. What a load you are. And why were they unprepared? Because the politicians voted in to keep the people safe were derelict in their duty. LA mayor reduced LA fire department budget. Proposition 1 provided for funding reservoirs years ago and nothing has come of it. The state has actively reduced the ability to store water. They have not cleared the fire fuel from the forests and wilderness as they were warned to do . They have been warned for years about this lack of preparedness, yet they did nothing to get better prepared abut actively did things to go the opposite direction. You can't stop a fire coming but there is knowledge out there on how to mitigate its effects and actively fight it effectively. But these were ignored for more important funding initiatives. mspart

I have a question...how is it in this century we have cars that can drive themselves but haven't figured out water pressure issues??

It was almost too dumb. I wondered if it was more indiffernce than anything. Remember what he did to Hrovat, our Olympic rep? I got the feeling that he thought the NCAA stuff was beneath him. Idk, just my gut reaction.

Says something about Shapiro that he majored him and pinned him in their two meetings (discounting the third in which Andonian injury defaulted).

I was very high on him going into the season for the same reasons. He had a very tough schedule to start the season, but his loss to NDSU is a head scratcher that I will chalk up to being "freshman moment." I think he will come around by the end of the year and at least make R12. I thought he was a top 6 type guy before the season started.

I think Spencer was his greatest supporter; telling everyone to give him his props!

125 McCrone gets a fall after a sloppy loss vs Maximo from OSUW. 6-0 133 Bouzakis gets an, "upset" win. 9-0 141 Mendez gets a major. 13-0 149 D'Emilio gets a decision. 16-0 157 Paddy wins. 19-0 165 Scoles over Sammy. 19-3 174 Kharch. 21-3 184 Rogotzke gets a another fall. 27-3 197 Braunagel wins. 27-6 285 Feldman by major. 31-6 GO BUCKS...

doing 10 or 15 is tough, and longer you've been around, the tougher it is.

Can you, or this person, explain how a dam will prevent wildfires? We have reservoirs all over CO. Big ones, small ones. There were a bunch right near a couple of fires that happened back in 2020. One of them was right next to Lake Granby, the third largest body of water in CO. Unfortunately, you can’t pump water uphill fast enough, and you can’t scoop it out in enough volume with an aircraft, to make much, if any, dent in a truly large fire. The most effective thing is a couple of big ass bulldozers and a bunch of dudes with chainsaws working behind them. Remove fuel, starve the fire, keep it from spreading. And, in the mountain west, there’s an unlimited supply of fuel. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Love this one. Banach being touted as a 4 time Champion - before winning his 3rd Title. Mark Schultz went up a weight class specifically to prevent it happening. The rest is history.

Yes 4 years of Biden and his left-wingers ignoring the important stuff.

That kid needs attention....

He doesn't have any Oklahoma guys listed, just OKST...

Man, it's sad what happened to the Christmas tournaments.

As an old pragmatic man that has been involved in, and followed Missouri wrestling 50+years, here are my thoughts on the current status of Mizzou wrestling, and many of the factors that determine a programs success overlap. NIL/Tradition: Everyone loves a winner. Everyday Joe, or Jan, wants to hitch their horse to the winning wagon. Winning hits those endorphins buttons and makes their daily grind a little easier to tolerate. It's fun to be a "we" or a "our" when winning is involved. Winning tradition and carrying a "blue blood" label doesn't happen overnight. Also, programs that have a storied history and "got there first", have a huge advantage. True wrestling enthusiasts are aware of the history of programs with legendary coaches that have arenas named after them. Unfortunately, with all sports, many of these winning blue bloods also flourished when there was less oversight and some very gray boundaries concerning "athlete compensation/benefits." Let's call it what it was, cheating. I'm not sure fans cared as long as they were winning. Winning fills the seats and opens wallets, whether it was buying athletes back then, or now with NIL. Much like a country where the rich just continue to get richer, because have the wealth and power to buy the resources, and winning is all that matters, programs can now buy athletes and coaches at every level, HS, college, etc... If you can't develop them in your room, just got out and buy a finished product. And I don't even want to get started about college training centers and those enticements. I want to gag myself. If your program has the bucks, you can buy depth. The more talent you have in a room, the more exposure to great technique and development. "Eagles fly with Eagles and lesser birds are the prey!" A rooms culture is generally a reflection of the head coach and the culture he wrestled in, and that goes for assistants also. So how does this relate to Mizzou wrestling? Mizzou is no where close to being a wrestling blue blood, and as much as I appreciate the job coach Smith has done in elevating the program to a consistent top 10 level of respect, Tiger wrestling fans have to be realistic with what the ceiling can be when weighing all the factors I described earlier. On top of that, I personally don't think Smith and staff develop talent as well as some have stated. It may be HEW from the extra year from covid, the culture in the room, and I've openly called out Tiger wrestlers as lacking toughness come "nut cutting" time. Tiger Style wrestling culture is great for a consistent top 10 program that develops great young men that will succeed well in life, regardless if they ever see a NCAA podium. If Tiger fans want more, get your wallets out and join the "arms race!"

Nobody took it easy on Robles. Not in high school, and definitely not in D1. The guy was absolutely built when he competed. I have no doubt he'd have been just as successful with two legs, possibly even better. If having one leg is such a huge advantage, we would see way more people missing legs able to compete in D1. Yes, there are fewer athletes competing with one leg, but I've seen a number of athletes compete missing legs, and none were to the level of Robles.