BruceyB

Stay away too anal for me. ftfy.

I agree. I actually pull back my take after reviewing his wrestlestat again. I thought he notched some bigger wins at NCAAs but I was mistaken. I'd lean more towards him being a 3-5 type guy until he shows a bit more.

I understand your point, but you really think that there just haven't happened to be any generational talents at 65kg (generally considered the toughest weight) in the last twenty years, but 74kg has had 3 consecutive wrestlers in Tsargush, Burroughs, and Sidakov that have locked down the weight for the last 15 years? The odds of that just don't seem likely to me. I tend to believe there is a reason that the podiums 74, 86, 97, and 125 have more familiar faces each year than the three lightest weights.

No, not at all! I would just consider him a contender at heavyweight next year if his knee heals up and he continues to improve. He really got bullied by the big boys last year, and I don't think anyone that's left will be able to do that to him.

I have to push back on that a bit. As mentioned in the original post, no one in the last 20 years have won 3 golds at 65, and only three wrestlers have won 2. Unlike 74kg where Tsargush won 3 titles, Burroughs won 6, and Sidakov has won four and would like have more if it weren't for the Russian ban. That's three consecutive dynasties that have dominated 74kg, where no one has been able to accomplish such a feat at 65kg. It's no guarantee his skill set at 74kg is as effective against lighter, quicker wrestlers at 65kg.

You just actually bolstered my argument. PSU underperformed, but because their floor was so high, they still set the scoring record. If you ran this tournament through a simulation 10 times, how many other times do you think Lilledahl, Bartlett, SVN, Kasak, and Haines all fail to make the finals? I'd bet they all finish no lower than third 10/10 times.

Bastida AA'd once in 2022. He has all of the talent, but until he makes it through a season and actually performs in March, I'm not putting any faith in Bastida. Not to mention, if you actually read what I said, "I think Kueter should be about as big a favorite as anyone..." I did not say he was the biggest favorite, but that I would consider him in the mix with Bastida, Ghadiali, and Trumble. Kueter made huge strides in his first full year of competition and is likely on a higher trajectory of improvement than these guys going on into their 5th and 6th years of college.

I'd be curious what his injury could be that would effect him for more than 6 months. But regardless of what happens, I think they're going to have an AA at 141.

What do you want to see happen at 141?

People are really not giving Cole Mirasola enough credit. He took two losses, one to Luffman and one to Feldman as a true freshman that is adjusting to wrestling heavyweight. Next year will be interesting because with the final bosses gone, this weight is wide open. I think Kueter should be about as big of a favorite as anyone going into next year. None of the top guys are going to be the size of Kerk, Wyatt, Schultz, or Gable next year.

During Cael's run since their first team title in 2011 these are their seasons ranked by NCAA finalists / champions. 1. 2022: 5 finalists / 5 champs 2. 2017: 5 finalists / 5 champs 3. 2024: 6 finalists / 4 champs 4. 2018: 5 finalists / 4 champs 5. 2021: 4 finalists / 4 champs 6. 2019: 5 finalists / 3 champs 7. 2012: 5 finalists / 3 champs 8. 2013: 5 finalists / 2 champs 9. 2016: 5 finalists / 2 champs 10. 2023: 5 finalists / 2 champs 11. 2025: 3 finalists / 2 champs 12. 2014: 2 finalists / 2 champs 13. 2011: 3 finalists / 1 champ 14. 2015: 1 finalist / 1 champ As you stated above, no team has ever had an higher average seed than this years PSU team. Given that, this is the best team that Penn State has ever put on the mat. So how can the best team be in 11th for total finalists and tied for 8th for total champions without underperforming? This is actually their worst season in the last decade as far as finalists and champions are concerned.

65 kg - Tagen Jamison, Cowboy RTC/ Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) 65 kg - Carter Young, Cowboy RTC/ Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) With Jamison registered at 65kg, I'm assuming he's either staying at 141 or battling Swiderski for the spot at 149. Also, with Carter Young competing at 65kg, I'm curious if he throws his hat in the ring at 141 as well.

Look, we're nitpicking at their record breaking performance. You're ignoring my point though. How many times has PSU had a #1 seed lose in the quarters? What is their winning percentage in the semis? What is their winning percentage when the higher seed in the semis? How do the percentages this year stack up against their historic success in those rounds? Lilledahl and Kasak came back for third, great. But taking losses in matches where they were both heavy favorites would be a down performance regardless of them coming back for third. Bartlett, SVN, Haines, and Kerk all losing, making PSU 1-4 in the semis in toss-up matches was a down performance for the round. People thought PSU could realistically have 9 wrestlers make the finals, and 8 legitimate title contenders going into the tournament, and only 3 made the finals, and they left the tournament with 2 champions. It would have been a Jimmy take if you went into the tournament saying that Lilledahl, Bartlett, SVN, Kasak, Haines, and Kerk would all be wrestling on the backside of the bracket on Saturday.

#1 Lilledahl losing in the quarters, #2 Bartlett losing in the semis after beating Jesse twice, #3 SVN getting throttled early by Lovett, #1 Kasak losing to Blaze, #2 Levi losing to Hamiti, #3 Kerk (granted injured) losing as well. All six of those wrestlers were being picked by many to win the whole tournament. Penn State having 6 potential champs fall short of making the finals feels like a pretty big under performance when considering their track record in those types of matches.

Indeed. Since the recruiting class of 2020.. 2020: #3 recruit Patrick Kennedy (1 time AA with 1 year to go) 2021: #5 recruit Drake Ayala 2022: *crickets* 2023: #2 Keuter, we'll see what happens with #5 Arnold. 2024: #2 Angelo Ferrari They are turning recruits into AAs at a staggering pace. TnT have turned 3 top 5 recruits into AA's over the course of 4 recruiting classes!? The Brands are on fire. Luckily they have money to plug the other 7 holes that would be left in their line-up. Enter, Dean Peterson, Nasir Bailey, Jordan Williams, Sammy Alvarez, Mikey Caliendo, and Massoma Endene.

You're correct. When I was moving data Taghavi and his two golds got left out of the medals by country data. Thank you.

57: Spencer in 2 61: Vito in 3 65: McKenna wins by being savvy, but leaves us doubting he is the best US rep. 70: Yianni wins in two tight matches, Duke doesn't have the offense to beat someone of Yianni's caliber. 74: Mesenbrink in two decisive victories. 79: Haines in 3 86: Zahid in 3, there will be a questionable call that swings one of the matches and it will be the biggest talking point of final x. 92: Trent in 2. Barr is tough, but he can't score on Hidlay. 97: no contest. Zillmer's spot 125: Hendrickson wins convincingly in 2.

While I agree, he was still the best option for the US at 65kg and couldn't medal. I was thinking about this as I was doing the research. But they have months in between making the world team and the big competition date. And in college they are/were making weight multiple times a week and wrestling consistently for 5 months. I wonder if it's more the mental side of how hard it is to make a world team, and then tightening up on the big stage because you don't know if you're going to get back there again. These guys might feel like they have to make the most of the opportunity, and their performance suffers because of it. Especially at 65kg where so few guys get multiple cracks at it.

I appreciate it. I definitely think, especially in the demographic that is likely to end up in the sport of wrestling, they are going to be undersized for other sports and likely the average wrestler is going to be competing right around 145 pounds. What also stuck out to me was that when you look at the guys that have competed for the US at this weight and the lack of success. You have 4x NCAA champion and Hodge winner Stieber, 4x NCAA champion Diakomihalis, 3x NCAA champion and 2x Hodge winner Retherford, 2x Champion and Hodge winner Metcalf, and 2x NCAA champion Jordan Oliver.. and those guys combining for 1 total medal at 65kg is just crazy. And then Sebastian Rivera wins two medals back to back for Puerto Rico and talks about how off and on his training regiment has been. It's interesting.

I'm not sure of the details regarding the drama between Buchanon and Wyoming, but IIRC it was a dispute over a redshirt that boiled over into Buchanon leaving. Volk went back home to a school with more NIL money, and I haven't heard anything about Novak transferring, especially after getting a training partner in Carroll. Also, Laramie is not for everyone. It's definitely possible that some kids don't enjoy living in a "city" with a population of 32,000, especially if they're aren't big outdoorsman. It's one thing to think you'll enjoy it, it's another thing when you actually spend a year or two there and find out it's not for you.

With the USA's struggles at 65kg over the past twenty years and the revolving door that is USA reps at the weight, I went back year by year to 2006 and looked found every medalist in Worlds and Olympics. During this span, 12 wrestlers have represented the red white and blue. 6 of them were 1 time reps. 4 have represented the USA twice. Zain has been the man on three separate occasions, and Metcalf leads the pack with 4 trips to the World Championships. This made me wonder if other countries have had a similar lack of continuity with their representatives, as well as similar struggles to place at the worlds most competitive weight class. Here are the most to least medals by country since 2006. 1. Russia: 12 total medals from 8 different wrestlers. 4 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze 2. Japan: 6 medals from 3 different wrestlers. 4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze 3. India: 6 medals from two different wrestlers. 1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze 4. Iran: 5 medals from 3 different wrestlers. 1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze 5: Georgia: 5 medals from 2 different wrestlers. 1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze 6. Cuba: 5 medals from 2 different wrestlers. 1 silver, 4 bronze 7. Hungary: 3 medals from Muszukajev. 1 gold, 2 bronze 8. Azerbaijan: 3 medals from two different wrestlers. 3 silver 9. Mongolia: 3 medals from two different wrestlers. 3 bronze 10. Turkey: 2 gold medals from Sahin. 11: USA: 1 gold from Zadick, 1 silver from Diakomihalis. 12. Italy: Chamizo 1 gold, 1 bronze / Armenia: 1 gold and 1 bronze. 13: Ukraine, Navruzov, Kazakhstan, Puerto Rico all with 1 silver and 1 bronze each. 14. Poland with 1 silver. 15. Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and Albania with 1 bronze each. Some other interesting notes that I discovered during this research include.. No wrestler has won 3 golds at 65kg, and only three have claimed 2. Otuguru for Japan, Romonov for Russia, and Sahin for Turkey. Only Tushishvili of Georgia, Lopez of Cuba, Punia of India, Romonov, Muszukajev, and Yonemitsu have medaled 3 times at the weight. Only Tushishvili and Punia have earned four medals with 1 silver and 3 bronze respectively, and no one has 5 medals. Of the 40 medalists over the past 20 years, exactly 20 of those wrestlers earned just 1 medal at the weight class. I spent far too much time putting this together (I'm sure someone better with excel could have done it much faster than I) and maybe @Wrestleknownothing can create an interesting graphic from this information if it suits his interest. Nevertheless, if you actually take the time to read this, I'd love to for you to share any takeaways you might have from the information, how it pertains to USA wrestling, or just the landscape of 65kg as a whole.

Uww.org looks like it only has data back to 2014. I'm trying to put together a little research, but it's hard finding the results in an easy way.

A lot can change between now and then, absolutely. This is just a guess based on current commits/roster configuration. Braeden Davis will likely still be on the roster in 2028 assuming he redshirts either this year or next depending on the plan with Ono and Blaze.

I know, after putting this together, I was disappointed at how far away it feels when we'll finally get to see it. These 2025 and 2026 classes have to have the most loaded top 10s in recent history. The amount of wrestlers that are competitive on the senior level is unprecedented. It will be interesting who can continue their trajectory and who will plateau. I can't wait for an actual team race.

No, you're the bad guy that I didn't want to be. I figured cut him some slack. He's a high schooler wrestling up a weight, but you opened the door and I figured I'd back you up. I'm sure you feel the same way, he's obviously a super talent and no part of me is doubting how successful he can be, but I think it's fair to say that his style this weekend was "cautious," to put it politely. I didn't notice his arms being in too unusual of a position. I'll have to watch for it next time.