Elevator

Mean Gene called and wants a wrestle off.

Was suprised at how dominant Cannon was in this match. Not sure if Sealey is not as far along as I would expect or Cannon is that good.

Like SVN against Lovett and a few moments of Davis v. Bouz, Lille was too quick and comfortable in wrestling in his opponent's favorite positions. Possible that lessons are learned and will be overcome. Seems PSU has some smart coaches? From a very old clinic Dave Schultz gave: in a big match wrestle in your ties/positions and try to dictate the pace of the match. This might be easier said than done for most. Even the most accomplished NCAA wrestlers have to be aware of how hard Ohio State drills cradle set ups and finishes and plan to avoid. Might be good for Lille to review some tape on Ramos, who also has some tricks.

DeJean also wrestled in Iowa as a youth - have not seen video yet.

Penn's DiBatista was 2x NCAA champ (1940's) and also played football. Several in the modern era as well, including Joey Allen (285 and LB) and the Ron Dayne of sprint football (fka lightweight football), Tim Ortman (yardage record as RB and EIWA champ). Ortman had 363 yards in one game against Navy. I only saw him wrestle - was good!

love these guys!

thanks D3 - apologies to Mr. Trephan. He looks beast and I hope he has a good EIWA and NCAA tourney.

Have not studied it, but my casual impression is that Penn competes directly with Lehigh for many recruits and at the least has held its own in recent years. A big exception is the portal, where Lehigh got at least Beard and Trepham as a grad student (according to the ESPN+ commentators). Lehigh and non-Ivies have more flexibility in the portal as transfers can compete as grad students. I do not recall any impact portal transfers for Penn in recent years.

I thought 9 was a little much

125 Lille > Spratley 133 Romney > Byrd 141 Bartlett > Alirez 149 SVN > Lovett 157 Kasak > Shapiro 165 MM (OW) > Barraclaugh 174 Haines > KOT 184 Keck > Foca 197 Barr > Ferrari 285 Kerk > Steveson

Lehigh's release: https://lehighsports.com/documents/2025/2/12/Penn_match_notes_021325.pdf

Penn's release: https://pennathletics.com/news/2025/2/12/wrestling-closes-out-home-action-against-23-lehigh-thu-and-princeton-sun.aspx

Penn hosts Lehigh. Lehigh is heavy favorite at the last two weights. Penn probably needs to win at least six of the other matches to win it. 125 and 133 might be the best matches - so tune in early. ESPN+ Penn v. Lehigh 125 Gallagher < Seymour (should be close, Seymour a little higher ranked) 133 Miller > Lopes (Lopes looks tough and this could be close) - Any word on Crookham return? 141 Composto > Bailey 149 Wasilewski > Hines (Hines is mercurial, Wasilewski has been solid) 157 Swisher > Rozynski/Gonzalez 165 Troczynski v. Grungo/Dubler (unranked match, Penn might need this one) 174 Incontrera > Rylan Rogers 184 Hale > Caden Rogers 197 Beard >> ? (Penn has been bumping up 184lbers) 285 Trephan >> Pardo (undersized true frosh)

Great news! On the broader landscape of protecting the viability of collegiate wrestling, you have to tip your hat to Mike Moyer and the magic he and his staff have performed through the NWCA platform.

For these and other reasons from the post/data above, the statistical comparison between the early decades and current period is not meaningful: "In the 1930s the only way to score points was to place in the top 3 or via pinfall. There were no advancement points or other ways to score bonus. In that era first place was worth a whopping 56% of placement points (it is worth 24% today). So the 30's really was a winner takes all era. That Sanderson's PSU, Gable's Iowa, and Smith' Oklahoma State teams are even on the list is pretty remarkable." Apples and oranges. The sport has evolved so much in so many ways. Dick DiBatista - undefeated and 2x NCAA champ (no NCAA tourney one year due to WWII and frosh could not compete) in the has passed but prior to that he would openly discuss how much the sport had evolved and that his era could not be compared to the competition today (which impressed him).

Smart move to upgrade to the "Badgers"! Lehigh went from "Engineers" to "Mountain Hawks" and have really soared as a result.

Interesting take. We shall see. Guessing PSU would be open to 285 portal acquistion at least for depth. Have not looked at the rankings to see who might be out there with eligibility left that might be interested. Also, do not know the recruiting landscape for 285 other than board mentions of a new generation Mocco.

Also Gabe Dean's younger brother - but him got one NCAA title bumping up to 197 by overcoming size handicap with pace and good defense.

sure - would be unsettling if all top recruits went to PSU. Hard to imagine there will not be some portal exits from the ass-kickers not getting varsity spots in the next few years.

Does not look like too much of a struggle to reload - least of all at 141. 285 though is thin. Portal? - even if for depth?

All low % chances, but in order: #1 injury/illness #2 missing weight #3 Ramos-like pinning move - assassin or the cement series Rob Rohn revived from junior high in Albany #4 TB and the field in a match that goes the distance

Will be interesting! Needs some new strategies to get off bottom more quickly and shut down Buchanan's first move to get out from under. Its a different match in 3rd without riding time lead.

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.