ILLINIWrestlingBlog

Well, it looks like I screwed up the start time. Worse yet, I may have told others the wrong start time. On top of that, I missed Kamal Bey winning in the first round with Bey Bombs--all four pointers. Now, I don't see any wrestling on the video page. Hafizov is already in the semis. Bey has to beat a Mexican to make the semis. On the Women's side, Chavez is in the quarters against a Cubano. Kayla Miracle is in the quarters, and will probably face Brazil. Is anybody else having problems watching this?

In the broadcast of the ILLINI/SIUE dual tonight, the announcer quoted Coach Poeta as saying that Kannon Webster "will for sure get his 5 free duals." Also, I expect Braeden Scoles will get his five, especially if he's down at 157, while Chris Moore down at 165 and others will see some action.

Sorry for being absent today. Had to get ready for the ILLINI dual with SIUE. Then, there's been follow up on National Singlet Day. Y'all picked up the slack! Lots of great educational posts from NHS here. Love to hear about the prior histories of the wrestlers. That kind of information makes the present-day matchups even more exciting. It seems that day one saw the new Cubanos, but day two saw some of the old war horses. Cheers!

This video shows highlights of Zane Richards of the United States winning the Gold Medal match at 57kg at the Pan Am Games of 2023. He wrestled Oscar Tigreros, the Olympian and 2x (now 3x) Pan Am Silver medalist. Tigreros beat the Cuban in the semifinals, while Richards beat NCAA Champion Darian Cruz of Puerto Rico in his semi. The announcer is a Scot. There were Cubans at every weight, but no Cuban champions. Good day for America!

3-0 for Berger at the break against the Cuban (Maren). The Cuban is 36. "That shot was well-stuffed by Berger, and who doesn't like a well-stuffed burger." Berger wins 3-0. Four for four for the Greatest Country in History!

Anthony Valencia gets beat 7-2 by Venezuela for bronze.

Zane with the two-minute tech fall. Single to a leglace. After a bad Colombian shot, a reshot and three gut wrenches. GO USA!

Shot of Zac Braunagel in the crowd from the Fan Cam. Can't miss that big old lumpy head.

Mason Parris up against Diaz (Venezuela). Diaz is 34 years old. He's the Venezuelan Bruce Baumgartner. Parris with a point for passivity and another point for a pushout -- or was it the hammer fist that got called against the Anti-American Venezuelan? 2-0 at the break, USA. Almost fisticuffs at the end. Mason wins 2-0. No handshake from Venezuela. Like he had a chance.

Snyder with a wicked ankle pick for two. Torres responds with a dramatic double for four. Go behind and two guts for Snyder. Now 8-4 USA. Second ankle pick that Snyder turns into a double and a leglace. 12-4. Break. USA up 12-4. Torres is an athlete, but still raw. Go behind after a bad Cuban shot, and Snyderman wins 14-4. USA!

Snyder versus Torres (Cuba) final about to start.

Before Bob Dole bans me for the sketchy meme, I did research it. The original photo was posted to Reddit by a family who was trying to teach their boy to swim. He was having none of it.

I'm sorry, but I'm a Gentleman. Most importantly, though, Contest Rule #7(d) specifically provides: "No employee or family member of an employee of The ILLINI Wrestling Blog & Forum & Beyond may enter said contest."

Snyderman with the tech, moves into the finals.

Don't forget what day it is! Use hashtag #NationalSingletDay or #SingletChallenge on social media with photos/videos of you wearing a Singlet in a unique or hilarious (though safe) setting. You could win a prize package valued at $9.

Berger versus Valencia (Mexico). In first :10 Berger is warned for hands to the face. He points at Valencia apparently blaming him for putting his face on his hand. Berger with takedown and two back points. 4-0, but a challenge. Challenge won. I would've scored it 4-2, but it is now 2-2. Berger with a takedown and three guts. 10-2 USA. Break. Berger takedown, Valencia reversal 12-3. Match should've stopped there at 12-2. Berger with a double for 4. 16-3, challenge requested. (He either got the takedown or a stepout. Match should be over in either case. Challenge lost. 17-3 USA.

Mason Paris on now. Quick takedown and two guts to lead 6-0 against Jamaica. A double and a "Heavyweight Leglace" and it's all over in :58.

Zane Richards is the 8-2 winner in the semifinals. I didn't get to see his first match. He had the toughest opponent so far in Darian Cruz. Two step-outs, a passivity point, a beautiful single leg before Cruz got on the board with a takedown. Zane finished up with another takedown.

Snyder with a pushout, then a go-behind. 3-0 USA. Another pushout. Canadian bad shot = 2 more for USA. Then, a gut wrench. 9-0 USA. A caution and one added for the 10-0 tech.

Kyle Snyder up now versus Canada.

Anthony Valencia for Mexico down early to Brazil. 0-2. Quickly 4-0 for Brazil. Valencia using his Sidakov to pull Brazil twice for two takedowns. 4-4 at the break. Four point double leg for Valencia, then another Sidakov for 2. 10-4. Brazil with a pushout, 10-5 Mexico. Pin after a pancake. Viva Mexico!

Berger up now against Venezuela. Quick ankle grab from Berger. 2-0 USA. Berger with a passivity point. 3-0 USA. Venezuela with a takedown cutting it to 3-2. Venezuela in on another single, but Berger chest wraps him over for two. 5-2 final. My favorite memory of Tyler Berger: Him getting pissed off that he didn't beat IMAR. Delusional, bruh.

The Cuban heavyweight just got pinned from a suplex. Larf.

Mason Paris on the mat now. :10 takedown. He's wrestling the Dominican Republic. Already 8-0 with another takedown and gut wrenches. Four point double-leg makes it a 12-0 tech fall. Couple other observations: First, they have two mats and only one camera, which points only at one mat. That's bad. Maybe Flo doesn't need these guys? Second, the announcer is a damn Scot. I hate Scots. Red noses. Slurred speech. Dark hearts. Most importantly, this Scot is hardly mentioning what's taking place on the other mat. Did Puerto Rico's Darian Cruz win? Don't know. Third, they always show the rules in graphic form. They called it a "pin" when the shoulders were held to the mat for one second. They also called it a "drop." What? Anybody heard of that before?

Use hashtag #NationalSingletDay or #SingletChallenge on social media along with photos or videos of you wearing a Singlet in a unique or hilarious (though safe) setting, and you could win a prize package valued at $9.