scourge165

If I could answer this as I was a 17 year old Sr by graduation...I think being held back another year would have been extremely beneficial. Not socially(athletically of course)...but academically. Also just maturity. Particularly if it would have been after 8th grade. I got into a pretty good accident in 8th grade, missed half the year, got a tutor and then feel so far behind in math, it took me 4 years to catch up at all and even then in College, I needed the air of tutors to help me with Calc and a couple other classes. Might not have made a difference....but Math is THAT class, once you fall behind, it's so hard to catch up. Actually, if I was a dictator, I'd make every kid who didn't have a plan of becoming a lawyer, Doctor, Engineer, some field like that, I'd force them to spend 2 years of service. Not with a gun(though...they could). But just doing bitch work. Digging ditches, being the grunts. Maybe a little learning a trade. way too many kids look down on that now like it's NOT now the easiest path to the American dream and a 6 figure salary without the six figure student loan debt. But it wasn't until I was 2 1/2 years into school and already close to finishing one of those "athlete" majors that I actually started to really enjoy the academic side of College. Enjoy learning. Luckily, I was able to become a grad assistant, I found something that I actually enjoyed. That should be another factor. That's a little side tangent, but we call this MEN'S Wrestling, MEN'S athletics. It's not Boys Wrestling any longer like in HS. As long as you're legally eligible, you're eligible. Who cares how old they are. I'd say we saw the worst of a few Iowa guys last year because they were so beat to hell after 7 years of Wrestling, but...it was legal and I couldn't fathom putting an asterisk next to Kemerer's NC(had he stayed healthy and...managed to get one) because he was older. I just don't care.

I entered College having just turned 18. My roommate had just turned 20(he was actually about 28 months older). He was held back in Kindergarten and then had a horrible period in his life where he was forced to live in Foster care for 18 months, they didn't send him to classes(whole lot more to the story that's not mine to tell...even anonymously) and he had to repeat 6th grade. So he was on the older side going into school, held back a year, then...family issues. I was on the younger side. I redshirted. By the end of my RS FR year, I was 19, he was 21 at the end of Feb. Soph 22, Jr 24, Sr 25 Not much different than a medical redshirt or an Olympic. We're adults by this age. I don't think wrestling a 24 year old puts me at a great disadvantage as a 21 year old. Also...life ain't fair. What about kids who don't enroll right away. Not sure what they want to do. Are we stripping their chances?

I don't think Cael is telling Starr to just worry about getting the Win at this point. Its the opposite of how his teams have wrestled since he got there. Starroci is on a level with Taylor and Zain, Ruth and any PSU Wrestler. I'm struggling to envision given how they wrestled...that he's saying, "just make sure you get the win," to a guy who that dominant vs a guy who...if his last name wasn't Brands, nobody would give him another thought. He's a fringe top 20 guy. I don't know that I remember PSU ever Wrestling like that and THIS wasn't the Iowa team that should have put must fear into PSU. Iowa was won more matches than I thought and it still wasn't that close. I'm sure it'll get much better in the B1Gs and the NCAAs. By the way, do you find a lot of people who are shocked when they found out about time zones? You said that like it was a SUPER wild concept! Happy you were...energized by the workout though.

I actually like PSU more than Iowa, but take 174 for example. You've got a guy who's won 2 Titles, on pace and the clear favorite to win a 3rd and could be the first 5X champ. He has 59 TDs and has given up 0 and he did very little. Brands was blocking...fine. One of the all-time greats(through his 3rd year) and he can't do more than win by a riding point on a guy who's barely top ~20? He can't get past Brands collar ties? Penn State was just boring. So was Iowa, this was a terrible match for #1 vs #2. This isn't about being a PSU hater. I hate to think what would have happened if Brooks wasn't wrestling a 165 pounder(maybe 57 if he's walking around at 171) and Assad wrestled. I think PSU has a chance for 6 Champs, 7 in the Semis or even finals(or did before last night, Bartlett was disappointing, but Woods is obviously a stud). But this was not like past Penn State squads.

Because of the context in which he said it. He quit before HS. He said 'He'd be weighing 187 one year and then 210 the next year, and my passion was Football, I knew that's what I was gonna do." So he cited weights from his Jr and Sr, didn't go out as a Freshmen and instead picked Basketball. So who was pushing weight cutting onto him? And I don't believe coaches were taking a National Champ and making him to cut to 182 rather than let him Wrestle at 195 if he so choose. We're agreeing with the larger point, but I don't think it makes sense in this particular case. I think it was a component of the sport he didn't like and not the actual reason. I'm skeptical...that's all. The story doesn't make sense to me. He was a great athlete, great FB player and a great BB player. Seems like he just...had more fun playing Basketball.

Yeah, that's the thing. I don't think he actually did. He said he went from 187 one year to 210 the next year. Well, he came out of High School weighing 215. So he'd have been able to fit into 220 easily. I don't actually think HE quit because he "had" to cut. I just don't buy it...particularly since he quit before HS. He said his passion was Football, and he was ALREADY getting attention by the time he was a Freshmen in HS for FB. BUT I don't think it's all that important why he said it or if HE actually did quit for that reason, I think the fact that you do have guys who quit because of their Football aspirations is the problem. So if he was maybe a little full of it, it's immaterial, it's a reality of the sport. It's not an issue with weight classes, I think it's a problem at schools where the FB coach discourages Wrestling on the basis that they'll have to cut and that'll interrupt their lifting and building, and then Wrestling coaches who push weight cutting at the HS level and drive Football players. They changed the weight classes to more than accommodate for Football players.

I mean...pretty sure you're not getting the 4th overall recruit in the class to Wrestle rather than play Football, but sure. The only problem I have is that I think the HWT division would be weak. Kerk, Cass were both ~220 and may have stayed there(less likely Kerk, but Cass probably). Davidson, Elam(either ones), Hillger, Trumble, Laird(and a whole lot more guys...probably Feldman...and then Snyder would have been a HWT and we'd have missed an all time great HWT finals match). I think 220 would be a great weight class. HWT would be a very weak one...most years. Not a good enough reason to make guys cut an unhealthy amount to go from 225 to 197 or have a HWT eat 12,000 calories a day which...when he does it shows his dedication, but when I do it I'm "killing myself," and am "morbidly obese." Silly double standards aside, it'd be worth it.

Dude, what are you talking about? I "called out" Spencer Lee? How? And I misspoke, Brands vs Starr. So what? WTF is your deal? LOL...NM. I'm a bit new on here. Didn't realize what an Iowa fanboi you were and how pissy you might be after watching your team stalling and holding on all night so they didn't lose as badly as they could have. It makes plenty of sense now!

I think College Wrestling wouldn't be.

The push out would ruin College athletics. I'd be fine with quicker stall calls, but then allow for 3 1 point Stallings. Add another one in there before you get to 2 and then a DQ.

Oh...I remember. I remember watching Zain upset Stieber(biggest regular season upset I'd seen until this year with Gomez). Then Nolf knocked of Imar when he was still undefeated and going for 4, right? I feel like Starroci, Haines, Bartlett, Kervliet...and Brooks for that matter, their team next year could be as exciting as those PSU teams. Taylor, Brown, Ruth, those three in a row was as impressive of a team as I've seen. This was also the #2 ranked team in the Country.

I thought PSU was gonna win the toss up's from '41-'65 Iowa Wrestled hard though. Brands going 2-1 to Cass was impressive. Boring as hell, but impressive. Murin and Woods were good. I can't figure out Warner.

On a team with a potential 5X, 4X 3X and 2X National Champ...PLUS Kerk who could easily start a run of 3..."I miss watching the super hammers," he says. That tells you where PSU has been!

Yup...just physically more gifted. He's also built like the rock(sans the HGH I presume). I look forward to "The Young Kerk" in 30 years as he mulls over a Presidential run.

Go back and think through the matches. They've been extraordinarily boring. Spencer put up 16 and Brooks 18, but other than that...is Woods the biggest margin of victory?

This has been the most boring #1 vs #2 duel I think I can recall. Even in blowouts, there are some incredible performances that...well, are better than this.

They are the lifeblood of Netflix.

Warner looks like an extra in a Netflix series about a Norwegian fisherman that you start, but stop watching because it's in Norwegian and...the dubs are terrible.

Well...I'm neither of those things, so that term doesn't resonate. Edit-Which is why I suppose I could look it up and it'd make perfect sense!

That's...misleading, but also not great.

That's fair enough. Ok, I'm DEFINITELY rooting for the upset here. I'm fully committed to the Kerkvliet-Cass match deciding...err...match.

Where are people getting that he was whining? The whole thing that made it funny was that it was like a spontaneous reaction. THAT'S why it was great! I didn't see him doing anything close to whining. Of course I'm not a loyal Iowa or PSU fan, so I'll let y'all duke it out.

I don't know how I forgot about Dean-Warner. Maybe wishful thinking. Based on a lot of the matches tonight, I'm not expecting a barnburner there.

Again, Starroci had just done pretty much the same thing to him(but while there was time on the clock). I don't think it was an excuse, I think it was just frustration and mocking him.

So 14-18 going into HWT or 14-17?