Elevator

He has a large marketing footprint - I'll grant you that point.

I know there may be synergy with his brother, but straight up is he a bigger recruit than Duke? Blaze? Forrest?

I will call upsets at 133 and 197, and with blue and white glasses Lions 34-0. Starocci's praise of Barr's training intensity is enough for me at 197.

I think Lilledahl "maybe contender" comparison is apt to Barr and Davis. Not yet clear that they have the offense from neutral against other top 5 wrestlers, but they might. With their defense and conditioning, they are capable of beating anyone in a defensive/positioning battle of attrition. Can Davis get a td against Ayalla and can Barr get a td against Buchanan? Definite maybe and looking forward to finding out!

Nebraska made it fun! Credit to Lovett and Van Dee. They both found ways to have tough opponents wrestle in their favorite positions. Hardy too, but he could not quite pull it out. Tip of the hat to the Cornhuskers in making it an interesting match even the though the team score was not at issue.

Its extraordinary!

I am strictly against gambling on sports or even discussing it, but I would bet on CS unless I was getting 2 to 1 odds on PK. PK would win it most years, but don't think he wins it this year despite heroic preparation and talent. Wildcards are always lucky moment and is someone a little too banged up by the NCAA final.

OK - but Max might be underappreciated in current rankings

Same problem here

Max Gallagher #30 just beat #12 Tanner Jordan - could be a lot of volatility at NCAA's

Might be hard to go 4 for 4 with these guys: Kasak (157) Barr (197) Lilledahl (125) Davis (133). But would not be much of a suprise if they got 10 AA's. Probably a bigger suprise than 10, would be only getting 5 or 6 AA's or only getting 2 NC's or only 3 NCAA finalists. Its the golden era of PSU wrestling!

Max Dean reminder/fomula as Barr looks like a 184 lber wrestling up. Not sure what Barr has on top.

I think PSU wrestlenation was watching the Lehigh dual for three matches with the same question: are the young guys at 125, 133, and 197 going to be high AA contenders. They got "maybe" at the first two and f-yes at 197. As Barr referenced in his pre-match video, his secret sauce up at 197 against top/full-sized competition is work rate and gas tank - and as he planned he scored late after wearing Beard down. We've seen this from Starocci and that other PSU upper weight who won 197 last year and a fourth NCAA title. I was skeptical, but Barr might be a contender at 197 if his defense is good enough. An early sign - sure. Perhaps Beard is not yet fully fit? Hard to know for sure. But pretty sure PSU wrestle-nation is now quite enthusiastic about Barr at 197! Some of their other guys pretty good too.

#3 Barr suggests that wrestling at 197 is very similar to 184 in terms of tactics, but 197 might be easier because at this weight opponents wear down more quickly. This is the gist as I heard it but I might not have it exactly right. When I heard that I thought - it might be a little different against top ten 197 lbers than the field at the Black Knight tourney. Anybody anticipating Barr will wear down Buchanan, Ferrari, Cardenas, Beard?

Match with Michael Beard should be an early barometer of Barr's chances for AA at 197. Might be the most interesting match of the PSU v Lehigh meet? Interesting youtube video of Barr on the Locked On Nittany Lions channel. A few things of interest from his interview: #1 - He call Starocci the hardest working guy in the room - not clear if he means in the room this year or means since his time in the room. Also, since he is working with upperweights, he may not have full vision into the lower weight guys, including now coach Lee who was chopping wood and carrying water immediately after NCAA title! #2 - Barr is not using vegetarian diet to build up to 197 and admits to eating lots of eggs and beef. He apparently bought a whole cow from the Kasak family farm. This may have the unintended downside of reducing NIL opportunities (for Barr and Kasak) as concerns the Hindu and vegetarian wrestling communities.

this tourney has many who are just starting their collegiate career and I like it best for the chance to see emerging wrestlers - including some who may challenge ranked and established wrestlers

Wolak had some good matches against Incontreera - he will be missed!

Should be some good matches - has anyone seen the preseeds? I think this is streamed by FLO.

Sucks for Shapiro that he is having concussion issues. Discretion is the better part of valor once these problems arise. Even what seems to be subconcussive events can cause further damage. I feel really bad for him but hope he does not hang on too long.

Upcoming match v. Lehigh could have some good individual matches, but hard to see how Lehigh steals a win. Lehigh has a shot at many weights: 125 - Lili v. Seymour - Seymour is pretty tough, but Lili favored 133 - Crookham at least a slight favorite over Davis/Nagao 141 - Stanich is interesting but BB favored 197 - Beard in at least a tossup HWT - Taylor is tough, but probably not on the level of Kerk Would take a minor miracle for Lehigh to win the dual.

Illinois and Lehigh had big days with a lot of strong results. Penn had a pretty good day as well with some key wins by at least Incontrera and underclassmen Swisher, Wasilewski, and Gallagher. Max Hale will be back next semester at 184. Not sure what is up with Cosgrove at 197 but he has not yet seen action. At 285, frosh Pardo is undersized but has a good motor - which we do not always see at that weight.

Should be some great matchups! I hear tix are hard to get. A few notes: I think Noto was just up at 133 - if memory serves. For Penn, at HWT Pardo, a freshman, emerged from wrestle offs. Also, Almyeda dec. Miller at 133. Did not see Sement or Cosgrove in action last week - uncertain if they are going.

Quite a list of teams - is this the tourney where they have round robins rather than full brackets?

Anyone know what teams or wrestlers are registered or expected? Could not find it on the webpage or flo (who apparently will stream it).

For the very top rated guys, it may be that patience pays off with competing NIL offers? Who wouldn't enjoy a bidding war for your services?