silvermedal2

Pretty obvious Geog wanted out of Columbus. I don't know why.

Ohio State: 125: Bouzakis/Kikeary 133: Davino 141: Don't know/McCrone 149: Maddox Shaw 157: Stiles 165: Cannon 174: Birden 184: Fishbach 197: Shumate/Geog Hvy: Feldman Things to watch....Transfer at 149.....need another Hvy. Feldman was overused this season. Same for Fishbach. Shaw may be too big for 149. If Stanich hits the portal, he'd be an ideal pick up. Same for Crookham. Based on current roster, Brendan McCrone could emerge as the 141. Does Ryder Rogotzke hit the portal? Or Shumate? Or McCrone? Or KIlkeary?

I think Cannon did a fantastic job for a guy coming off knee surgery who'd been off six weeks. Clearly had to push through a lot of fatigue. Beating a tough Catrabone in the cons semis was a heckuva win.

First Black wrestler to win two state titles in Ohio. Made two Olympic teams. Two time world medalist. Won an NCAA team title at AZ State. Only Black coach to win an NCAA team title. Coached the first undefeated NCAA D1 Four Time Champion. So many accomplishments. Had the opportunity to attend a clinic where he was a presenter. He was fantastic (although Wade Schalles was my favorite). RIP Coach Bob.

Hardy is a class act and another great representative from a great program

Byrd has no business being ranked #1 and represents everything that's wrong with rankings. Not his fault he's wrestled none of the top competitors this season but his body of work this doesn't stack up with Forrest, Davino or Blaze. Yes he won NCAA's last year--congrats. This year he's just another tough guy and he's unproven against the elite of 133 which have been feasting on last year's AA's.

Block is a big 149 and has run out of gas on occasion.

Holla at your boy.

Surprised no one has mentioned Tom Ryan. Iowa alum. Tremendous success at Hofstra and tOSU. What might he do with a huge pot of NIL money? He's not young but appears to understand the modern sport in a way the Brands bros don't.

Agree

Zain Retherford would have induced a lot of tap outs. Knowing he was going to work a bow and arrow, many opponents would have tapped as soon as they gave up a takedown.

I don't know what's going on with Hardy but he is clearly not the same wrestler right now that pushed Mendez to the limit during the start of the season. 2nd best 141 in the country is Echemendia.s crazy strong and the one guy who can absolutely compete with Mendez. Vega might prove to be another guy in this category. We'll find out.

Seriously? Arujau was an offensive dynamo while Blaze is positionally perfect and conservative until the opportunity presents. I might compare Blaze to Dustin Schlatter.

Wrestling your second road dual in three days in late January against a tough opponent is often a recipe for disaster. A lot of guys look beat up/tired. I've often criticized Ohio State over the years but yesterday was a gutty performance by both teams all things considered.

Kellar had an unorthodox style that worked well for him earlier in his career. He parlayed that into a great NCAA tourney for Ohio U and promptly got hurt and missed most of the next season. He stepped into the portal, probably to cash in while he could, and he's either been injured or pedestrian in performance since arriving at the other OU.

The ducking suggestion is ludicrous. 165 is up in the air between Birden and Gallagher with the staff looking for one of them to establish himself. And Cannon is dealing with a knee issue. Incidentally, no one is afraid of Antrell Taylor. PJ Duke will beat him and probably by major. It's the dog days of wrestling season and some guys are starting to look tired and banged up. Bucks came away with a good road win yesterday against an excellent Nebraska squad. They also saw what they need to work on--riding out periods and finishing shots. Brock Hardy barely beating Bailey on Friday was a tell that something is off with him. Honestly, Mendez should have teched him.

Bucks McCrone is one of the best top wrestlers in the country at any wt.

So my post is redundant? Slow day at work due to weather and I don't read this forum that often.

I know it's PSU/Iowa this week but that's only exciting from a historical perspective. Ohio State is the only team with a lineup even remotely capable of challenging PSU. Remember, this PSU squad that has a bonafide title contender at every wt with the exception of 141 and Hvy. Ohio State has been shockingly good this season especially when you consider that the program had sagged a bit over the last several years. Match ups: 125: Bouzakis v Lilledahl--Lilly is higher ranked but Nic has been the best 125 in the country excepting his first weekend hiccup with McCrone. His biggest battle may be the scale but so far he has never looked visibly fatigued in a match. I'm all in on Bouzakis until someone proves me wrong. 133: Davino v Blaze--You're going to hear an echo. Davino has been arguably the best 133 in the country this season...but Blaze is just destined to go down as one of the all time PSU greats. A slim edge to the kid from Perrysburg in what is likely to be a great rivalry for years. 141: Mendez v Davis--Mendez has never been unbeatable but this season he's been close. Davis doesn't strike me as anything but another solid opponent who's going to struggle not to get TF'd. 149: Van Ness v Stiles--This is where the dual swings hard in the direction of PSU. Stiles has looked increasingly better as the season has progressed but PSU's fundamentals always win out against guys that like funk. I do think it's a competitive match. 157: Cannon v Duke--Cannon wins with pace and pressure but Duke can match it and he's better fundamentally. In fairness to Cannon, he was not a huge recruit but rather a wrestler with upside. He has already been better than Ohio State could have reasonably expected and then some. But when the dust clears at NCAA's, will anyone be surprised if Duke wins it? I'll be more surprised if he doesn't. 165: Messenbrink v Gallagher/Birden. Sigh. The first match where you expect PSU to win by bonus...probably tech. 174: Haines v Kharchla--On a scale of 1 to 10, Kharchla is a 9. Haines is one higher. A major issue for Kharchla is he just can't/doesn't ride. So even though he can get a takedown on anyone, he can't wear anyone out and he ends up defensive late in tight matches. 184: Welsh v Fishbach--Have you ever wanted to see a fistfight between your ex and your current girlfriend? Here it is. The PSU version of Welsh has a much better offensive pace than the one we saw a few years ago. Fishbach just lets it rip. I'm calling it even. 197: Barr v Geog/Shumate--Geog has the offense to battle Barr for awhile but he has struggled a lot with fatigue late in matches. Barr is the worst guy you can face when you're gulping air (unless you're wrestling Messenbrink). It's possible the dual score could be very close--even possibly tied--heading into this bout. But this is where PSU gets another TF and seals the meet. Hvy: Feldman v Mirasola--Feldman has wrestled smarter this season but he's probably a bit overvalued in the rankings. Mirasola is coached by Cael Sanderson. You'd bet on Feldman to win but you'd make it a small amount of money. Bucks can make it respectable if they can win 125 and either 174 or 184. If that occurs, you're looking at a score in the range of 22-14.

Traditionally speaking, this gif sums up this rivalry. Just to be clear, Cael is Lucy.

A few years ago, Nagao twice defeated a pretty good freshman named Jesse Mendez. The matches were not particularly close.

Nasir Bailey isn't likely to beat anyone from PSU.

A lot of interesting conjecture in this thread about who's competing at which wt classes as well as some injury statuses. As long as we're talking Buckeyes, I can't be the only one who's considered how perfectly AJ Ferrari would slip in at 197? Any chance the Bucks even give him a call? Or is there literally no way in hades?

The big question is which wt would he wrestle?