Wrasslin

Dude looks like he's been getting after it and hitting the weight room hard, compared to his past iterations, which might also be his body maturing at 24...either way, it's scary. I see a lot of push outs in his future, and not a lot anyone can do to stop it! I think he wins worlds (and anything he wants to for the next several years) with very little resistance.

Great list! I've added a few others in RED I'm interested to see how they do coming back

This is great analysis- thank you! Here's what I'm thinking...you can book it now! 57kg - I think DNP is a little hard on Knox. I think he takes BRONZE. I think Sakamoto (JPN) is the favorite and beats Knox H2H. Other Challengers: Aitanov (KAZ)- he wrestled Lilledahl tough at Cadets two different years. I haven't seen Ozdamirov (RUS) enough and I'm not ready to anoint Zangaladze (GEO) quite yet. 61kg - Blaze for GOLD. Besides Toktamotov (KRG), I think Begoyan (ARM) is toughest (and beat Saitiev at Euro U20). Khateri (IRI) is capable of medaling here too. 65kg - is TOUGH TOUGH! Stanich is BRONZE. I think Dhzandubaev (RUS) is the favorite, followed by Toprak (TUR), but I can also easily see Uulu (KRG - U17 World Champ who beat Jordyn Raney) or Ashwani (IND) finding their way to Gold- neither will be an easy out. Sleeper is Karimov (AZE) who is former U17 Euro Champ and beat Magomedov in a wild one. 70kg - As strong as 65kg is, 70kg is just as weak. Duke for GOLD. I think Elahi (IRI) will be his biggest test, and maybe Ito (JPN) who beat Melvin Miller at U17 last year. 74kg - This weight is also underwhelming to me. Lockett for GOLD. Khaniev (RUS), Wagin (GER - who I still can't get behind) and Mamivand (IRI) will be his stiffest tests but keep an eye out for Yamaguchi (JPN), a former U17 Silver medalist. 79kg - I don't think Henckel finds the podium DNP. Too many tough guys here- Yousefi (IRI) is the favorite. Begenjov (TRK) and Amit (IND) will also be factors. Sleepers are Omarov (AZE) and Tchetchelashvili (GEO). 86kg - McEnelly for SILVER. If he can avoid being turned in par terre, he beats everyone in this group except Rahmani (IRI) who is my pick to win this weight. 92kg - Conner for BRONZE/DNP. Depends on the draw. Poyonov (UZB) is the favorite, and Sachin (IND) is one to watch out for- I think both beat Conner H2H. I don't recognize too many of the other guys 97kg - Rademacher for SILVER. He always looks undersized, and I can't figure out why?!? Alizadeh (IRI) gets this one done. Iran sending a strong team. Petriashvili (GEO) and Magamedov (RUS) are neck and neck but neither quite there yet. 125kg - I didn't pay too much attention to HWT so I'll pass on prediction.

I don't think it's hyperbole. A few years I'd have said "No", but times have changed. Watching Forrest and Duke makes me think Sanchez and James can achieve the same- talent is there and the exposure young wrestlers have these days is just insane. If this were Japan, both would likely be seen as too old to complete in 2028. That being said: By 2028 cycle, Sanchez will be a senior in high school (a la Duke), so won't have the benefit of a year of college under his belt (Lilledahl got teched 10-0 fast by Lee as a senior and improved a bunch in his year of college). However, I fully expect Sanchez to be the first ever undefeated, 4x CA State champion (never been done). If there is a weight to be competitive at the next level, it's 57kg. Lee is Lee, and Lilledahl is world class, but in 3 years Sanchez will have grown into the weight and will be competitive. I'm tempted to take Sanchez over Liam Cronin (our #3) right now. haha! With James, Lockett (who's pretty good) outweighed him but also outwrestled him- I felt like Lockett was out to prove a point. While there's a gap between MM/Carr and James now, good news for James is that by 2028, he'll know exactly where he stacks up (being in the same room with Penn St. guys). He's got the talent to compete in this next Olympic cycle.

I like Jayden, but he has a few years still IMO. He got big brothered pretty hard by Dee Lockett.

Yes. I forgot bassett's points originally and reposted earlier in this thread:

correct. NOT Correct. sorry. I forgot to add Bassett's points. We can still win, but we need wins at 71 and 92, AND for Iran to lose gold medal match. That's asking a lot. If Iran wins gold at 92, we lose 155 to 154

If James wins at 71kg (which I expect him to) and Alizadeh wins at 92kg (which I expect him to), then Iran will win team title 155 to 149. Iran has effectively locked up the team title regardless of the remaining match outcomes. On a side note, I remember Iran folks giving us grief on these boards for winning 2024 U20 team title with only one gold medalist (Lilledahl), which Iran is now about to do here at cadets. Can't have it both ways!

J'den Cox isn't making 92 kilograms...

If I had a dollar for every time this announcer says, "oh, how are they going to score this?" LOL!

wow!!!!! that match was awesome (James). Worth the price of admission!

James movements are super fluid. This guy he's wrestling is crafty though.

battle of returning U17 world champs tomorrow. Should be good!

I don't watch a ton of women's wrestling, but this Shonazarova chick from UZB at 40kg could beat a lot of high school boys...and the matches wouldn't even be close.

I don't think he holds 125 at all. While I realize it's the offseason, he just wrestled at CA freestyle state championships in May at 65kg (143 lbs). I think he redshirts, bulks up and comes back at 141 as a RS Freshman. Don't sleep on Ramirez- he's slick on his feet, has a really good slide by, pretty tough on top, and a very high ceiling. It's going to be an interesting room at OSU for the next couple of years, and I think Ramirez is one that will benefit the most from being in a competitive college room.