Leg rider

Awesome story, I also started wrestling in 9th grade and also ended up with a State championship as a senior, though I ended up being a D1 practice dummy. I did beat an All American in practice once on the opposite of your story, he tried to throw in legs and got too high and I managed to pin him (I knew how to defend legs because as my screenname indicates I liked to ride legs myself)

Those two by themselves would have placed 17th last year

Anyone have any intel on these?

I am a UNC guy, and I really hope he can keep his head on straight because I have serious concerns about him, though as mentioned he at least dialed it back some this year. As far as NIL (and I have zero inside information) I know Coach Koll has a reputation for building programs and pulling in resources, and there are a few very financially successful UNC wrestling alums out there as well as general UNC alums that value athletics so it is possible he found a source of NIL funding that previously wasnt there or was at a lower commitment level than they are now

It probably also has to due with the fact that 125 has been choas the past few years and it just seems a little more presumptuous to assume anything at that weight recently

If we include in the practice room I will also say Kolat

So I will tell this story with both what I knew at the time and things I found out after the fact. Way back in my Senior year of high school we were about to go up against our cross town rivals. They had an assistant coach that I had history with. He had left my school after my freshmen year and left on bad terms and on his way out told me I would never amount to anything as a wrestler. So fast forward back to my senior year I am having a great season and am one of the favorites to win a State championship. I was a better mat wrestler than I was on my feet and the rival school had a guy at my weight that was a gifted athlete but not as accomplished as me as a wrestler. So I found out the assistant that hated me (and yes he genuinely disliked me he was not trying to motivate me when he said I wouldn't amount to anything) had been telling his wrestler that he was going to beat me and that his game plan was for him to get takedowns and then cut me and avoid wrestling on the mat. So the match starts and in the first period I tie up with him and got the first takedown. Apparently that just broke him when the whole game plan went out the window and he just stopped doing anything other than trying to avoid getting turned. I would keep trying to start to run something on top and he would just avoid any action. The stall warnings didn't get him any more active and the match ended in the first period with him disqualified for stalling. From on bottom. In a rivalry match between two seniors.

As well as the walkons that aren't going to change schools because of wrestling but still wanted to be involved in the sport .I was an invited walkon at a D1 school, never started a match but provided a good workout partner probably could have competed at a lower level but I wasn't going to leave the school I wanted to be at for academics if they had done this while I was in school

I guess I left out current weight, walking around at 145ish

HS: 103, 119, 112, 112 College: undersized 125 (wished they still had the old 118 I could have made it)

When I was in college they definitely did do random NCAA testing. Occasionally we would have a team show up to do tests at the end of one of our practices with a list of names. Though I will say we had one guy on the team that miraculously missed practice every time they were on campus (not PEDs, he was big into weed) and my coach sent me as a "random" substitute so I was probably one of the most tested athletes in D1 as an undersized 125lber who probably would have benefited from PEDs but clearly wasn't on them

Rough basically giving up a point for that

California Penal League

Big win for my Tar Heels, and huge upset by Moore taking down a top 5 opponent

Big win for UNC in a rebuilding year, understanding that ASU was short handed I still think UNC might be a little better than expected this year (my expectations included, I am high on what coach Koll can do but thought this year was clearly a rebuilding year and expected us to struggle)