blueandgold

We been on the upswing as a state in the last few years thanks to Mason Parris, Nick Lee, Jesse Mendez, Chad Red, Brayton Lee, etc. As far as my school, IU, we aren’t there yet, but I hope we will be. Ersland is doing well at Purdue and I hope our in-state talent can continue that trend.

I just came over here from IndianaMat to see the responses my topics on their board would get here. Y’all weak for this lol

Big difference in our posts, buddy. Don’t do that lol

Damn. So, he’s a real life fraud. I thought he would just troll with the Iowa stuff, but I didn’t realize he’s a lame in real life.

Okay. Give me the scoop. What was/were the initial event(s) that has caused everyone here to bust his balls all the time?

Although we have about another month of the dual season, what athlete looks to be in or nearing top form and is poised to All-American, if not win a national title?

There are collegiate programs on all levels who dominate year in and out, and I’m curious to know which of them you think would at least get some All-Americans or a top 10-15 finish in the Division I Championships? Below is a partial list of the top programs in each division. Top D2 St. Cloud State Central Oklahoma Indianapolis Nebraska-Kearney Tiffin UW-Parkside Top D3 Wartburg Augsburg Wabash Mount Union Baldwin Wallace Top NAIA Grand View Life Lindsey Wilson Cumberlands A lot of these programs have been home to national champions and All-Americans who’ve defeated their Division I competition and have also been led by coaches who were former Division I standouts (First that comes to mind is Chris Fleeger’s tenure at Cumberlands), and some former athletes have gone on to domestic and international freestyle success (Tervel Dlagnev, Nazar Kulchytskyy, Riley Lefever, Brandon Wright). What are some programs you think would perform well right now?

Far from a Jimmy Cinnabon. I just decided to be more active on here and bring all of my usual topics from https://www.indianamat.com to InterMat. However, it’s met with mixed reception as I guess college board observers don’t really care about historical discussion and comparisons between generations. I just ask those kinds of questions because I’m trying to up my knowledge of wrestling on the collegiate level.

He’s the only six-time NCAA champion in college wrestling history and yet I hardly hear his name in discussion for best heavyweights or wrestlers overall. I’m also curious to know, is his success the reason for the college division (D2 & D3) being excluded from future NCAA Division I tournaments?

I didn’t think this was a hard question to understand. What coach and/or program has appeared in the NCAA Finals the most without ever having a champion?

I think you’re right about the other question being more interesting

What coaches and/or programs have the most NCAA Finals appearances without a single victory?

This is a team I always think of in the conversation of “best to never win it.” That title could be given to several different teams, but this one belongs in the conversation. They finished the NCAA tournament with seven All-Americans from nine total qualifiers who, combined, scored 104.0 total points. Of the seven All-Americans, two were national finalists: Dylan Ness at 149 and Tony Nelson at Heavyweight. In addition to being named runners-up at the NCAA tournament, they finished the season with a 14-1 overall dual record including wins over Oklahoma State, Penn State, and Iowa, while their lone loss came to Michigan. Tournament wise, they finished third at the Southern Scuffle and secured 8 titles at the Bison Open… Two key memories from this season were Dylan Ness pinning both Dylan Alton and James Green. What are some memories you have of this team?

I always appreciate your input/feedback. Helps me learn stuff I previously didn’t know and/or am curious about.

Absolutely not. That man is a troll. My threads are based around history and generational comparison. His are just hot takes and attacks on Iowa falsely framed as support for PSU.

Which program seems consistently produce All-Americans and/or national champions at a particular weight class? I would have to think Iowa at 125 and Penn State at 174, right? Iowa at 125 Matt McDonough (2010-13) - 2-time national champion, 3-time national finalist Cory Clark (2014) - All-American, 5th place Thomas Gilman (2015-17) - 3-time All-American, 2016 national finalist Spencer Lee (2018-21, 2023) - 3-time national champion, 4-time All-American, 2-time Hodge Trophy winner Penn State at 174 Ed Ruth (2011-12) - 2012 national champion, 2-time All-American Matt Brown (2013-15) - 2015 national champion, 3-time All-American Bo Nickal (2016) - 2016 national finalist Mark Hall (2017-20) - 2017 national champion, 3-time national finalist Carter Starocci (2021-present) - 3-time national champion

Lol how is the #1-ranked three-time national champion ducking anyone?

Yeah, it’s hard to argue with an unbeaten record at the Division I level, but Dake’s feat seems equally as unreal.

When it comes to the world of college wrestling, if you ask who the GOAT is, chances are you’ll hear Cael Sanderson’s name 95% of the time as he was a four-time champion who never lost a match, and that feels like it doesn’t do him justice, because not only did he win, but he dominated nearly every match. However, as of late, I feel as if Kyle Dake’s feat is equally, if not more impressive when considering what he did and who he did it against. Yes, Dake lost four matches in his career, but he also won a national championship in FOUR different weight classes, and all four of his finals opponents were finalists once more after facing him, three of whom ended up being crowned national champions the next year after facing Dake. So, if the GOAT debate stops at record, Cael is undisputed. However, all things considered, I think Dake makes a case.

Real negativity >>>>>

So, I stole my star rating scale from Jim Cornette and Weasel Dooley. When they would review pro wrestling matches, they said they only did four stars because that’s what the TV Guide used to do for the movies. A zero-star would be known as a “dud,” a one-star was crappy, two stars was average, three was pretty good, and four stars meant they tore the house down. The five-star match rating was introduced when Terry Funk and Jerry Lawler had a blow away match in the 1970s and they deemed it superior to anything they’d ever seen. Over time, Dave Meltzer picked up the concept and added half and quarter-star ratings to the scale. So, I retained the half and quarter-star thing, but added in certain factors to make separation clear, those being story, ranking, competitiveness, talent level, and stage. On my scale, anything 4 and above is outstanding, but 4.5-5 range means it’s more memorable to me and has something specific that took it to that level. A 5-star match also just means without a doubt it’s the best match I’ve seen. What held a match like Yianni and Joey McKenna back from being five stars was because of the questionable call that put a sour taste on the match or the extremely long injury time for Ramos and Lee. It’s really nitpicking at a certain point, but it works for my brain. I hope I explained that decently.

Where my previous thread was focused towards seasons that didn’t end with a title, which wrestler, all things considered, is the best to never have walked away with an NCAA title? I’ve got a couple of candidates. Jamill Kelly (Oklahoma State) 2004 Athens Olympic Silver Medal 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Champion 2004 U.S. National Champion 2× NCAA Qualifier 3× Varsity letter-winner Stevan Micic (Michigan) 2023 Belgrade UWW World Champion 2022 Belgrade UWW World Bronze Medal 2020 Tokyo Olympian 2019 NCAA All-American – Third Place 2018 NCAA Finalist 2018 Big Ten Champion

Drop your top rated matches here or any match that you would consider the best you have ever seen... I have a few matches rated on a five-star scale with a criteria that factors story, competitiveness, talent, ranking, and stage. I've got a few to share. Five Star Matches (Greatest of All Time) Lincoln McIlravy vs. Gerry Abas 3/20/1993 Ames, IA - NCAA Division I Championships, 142 lb. championship Mark Ironside vs. Cary Kolat 1/29/1996 Iowa City, IA - NWCA All-Star Classic, 134 lb. match Darrion Caldwell vs. Brent Metcalf 3/21/2009 St. Louis, MO - NCAA Division I Championships, 149 lb. championship Jayson Ness vs. Daniel Dennis 3/20/2010 Omaha, NE - NCAA Division I Championships, 133 lb. championship 4.75 Star Matches (Near-Perfect) Kyle Dake vs. David Taylor 1/2/2013 Chattanooga, TN - Southern Scuffle, 165 lb. championship Isaiah Martinez vs. Jason Nolf 3/6/2016 Iowa City, IA - Big Ten Championships, 157 lb. championship Isaiah Martinez vs. Jason Nolf 3/19/2016 New York City, NY - NCAA Division I Championships, 157 lb. final Seth Gross vs. Tariq Wilson 3/16/2018 Cleveland, OH - NCAA Division I Championships, 133 lb. semifinal Nick Suriano vs. Daton Fix 3/23/2019 Pittsburgh, PA - NCAA Division I Championships, 133 lb. championship Yianni Diakomihalis vs. Joey McKenna 3/23/2019 Pittsburgh, PA - NCAA Division I Championships, 141 lb. championship Matt Ramos vs. Spencer Lee 3/17/2023 Tulsa, OK - NCAA Division I Championships, 125 lb. semifinal 4.5 Star Matches (Instant Classic) Kyle Dake vs. David Taylor 11/3/2012 Washington D.C. - NWCA All-Star Classic, 165 lb. match Logan Stieber vs. Tony Ramos 3/23/2013 Des Moines, IA - NCAA Division I Championships, 133 lb. Championship Kyle Dake vs. David Taylor 3/23/2013 Des Moines, IA - NCAA Division I Championships, 165 lb. championship Zain Retherford vs. Logan Stieber 12/15/2013 State College, PA - Penn State vs. Ohio State Dual, 141 lb. match Isaiah Martinez vs. Dylan Ness 3/8/2015 Columbus, OH - Big Ten Championships, 157 lb. championship Myles Martin vs. Bo Nickal 3/19/2016 New York City, NY - NCAA Division I Championships, 174 lb. championship Kyle Snyder vs. Nick Gwiazdowski 3/19/2016 New York City, NY - NCAA Division I Championships, 285 lb. championship Yianni Diakomihalis vs. Jaydin Eierman 3/16/2018 Cleveland, OH - NCAA Division I Championships, 141 lb. semifinal Yianni Diakomihalis vs. Bryce Meredith 3/17/2018 Cleveland, OH - NCAA Division I Championships, 141 lb. championship Gable Steveson vs. Mason Parris 3/8/2020 Piscataway, NJ - Big Ten Championships, 285 lb. championship There are so many more I'm missing, but I'm having a brain fart and can't think right now. Drop yours here.

Yeah. I don’t see why we couldn’t. The 2020 season fits the question.

What wrestlers had an incredible year that included anything from most ranked wins, most bonus point wins, most wins overall, and everything in between only for it to not end with a championship?