Ched64

That aged very well. Agree with your point about not seeming right post World but he was on a helluva run there. Just seems like both he and Yiannis opponents were extremely well prepared. Both PJ and Jx had near perfect counters ready to go.

Mike Grey also had 3:50 CT on his email this week

hmmm…that was certainly not my intention…i was merely trying to point out the complexity of all the info packed into that article…my apologies if that is how it came across

No…but Zach Ryder would have been…could it have been a factor in his decision to jump programs with the Rocco signing the final straw? His family has been incredibly closed mouthed on his reasoning and he was there for two years. Given the actions described, the youngest guy in the room would likely be a target for hazing more than anyone. Also, was Kasak’s presence on the security video just random? The one gal said that Star and a practice partner were both present on one occasion of questionable behavior. Lots to unwrap here.

Let me rephrase…none of the OSU kids would have gotten into West Point.

I would be disappointed if the main reason these kids went to West Point was to wrestle. And I am not sure most of the kids who wrestle for OSU could have gotten into West Point though I would bet a large amount that every kid that is wrestling for West Point would have gotten academic scholarship money to go to OSU. And will likely manage the OSU kids when they all end up in the real world. What a silly train of thought!

Interesting… am curious whether the Northeast was different from the rest of the country or the West was…my guess is that you were an outlier but I certainly could be wrong…there were few national tourneys at that time and everything was regionalized..wold be curious if iowa, ohio and penn were more freestyle than folk in youth tourneys in the 70’s and 80’s

When did you start wrestling? I started in 1975 and virtually every peewee tournament we went to was folkstyle. It wasn’t until joe demeo started his three-style club that greco and freestyle appeared on the scene but it was enough of an outlier that I remember it to this day. His ATWA club became a dominant force not just in US Greco but internationally as well.

Maybe he could have been or maybe not…he beat Gino but certainly didn’t dominate him…has he wrestled any of those guys since? In wrestling, you never know who is THE guy until they actually do it…his resume is very thin imo…he is a two time ncaa champ and world gold medalist which was won with a terrific comeback…that is not GOAT material by many years and many tough matches…that is potential yes but the road is littered with such people

And it wasn’t like he won the Olympics in par terre either

please explain…he got taken down …he didnt lose by riding time…they were on their feet almost the entire match no?

That is another good one! Kudos!

Still a ways to go but that kid PJ wrestled in the finals, Melvin Miller, is still just a sophomore. He is lightning quick and gave Duke all he wanted. 70k is a big weight for a 16 year old to impose himself on much more mature opponents. Very impressive run to the Finals. He might just make that list in the next year.

do you also feel uncomfortable about other religious wrestlers? Islam following Iranians? Honestly want you to define your terms.

does it scare you? does it make you uncomfortable? if so why?

does it freak you guys out? who would you wrestle for? what would motivate you? Yourselves? or maybe something more? Given their success, what motivtaing factor would you say is better?

awkward sentence but bringing in established guys isn’t in the same thing as bringing in same recruits

why would anyone consider wrestlers transferring from a coaches prior school as being the same as hs recruits coming in as the same as high school recruiting a class of “new” recruits?

win what and when?

Eric Grajales was a highly touted recruit to Michigan back in 2010ish. i think he was a 5 time state champ out of florida. over his career, he was one of the more exciting wrestlers on the circuit but didn’t crack AA until his final year with a 3rd in 2013. Though slowed by injuries and a questionable gas tank, he was extremely entertaining and always a difficult out.

Kemp also likely got shafted when, at the peak of his career, Russia invaded Afghanistan and the US boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics. If you get a chance, or haven’t already, that documentary on Kemp is extremely well done and highly entertaining. The part that involves Dan Gable is really something.

He did win powerade and ironman his junior year but certainly not the resume of other freshman champs. Also remember Jakob Camacho had another year of eligibility this year. Not sure if he got hurt or lost a wrestle-off but Vince was ranked quite high all season putting up a bunch of ranked wins.

Joe Demeo who I referenced below was the coach at Stanford when Mark and Dave were growing up in Palo Alto. They would often come to Stanford practices and work out with his team while in high school. Mark came to a premiere of Foxcatcher that Frank Popolizio organized in Albany and Coach Demeo was there. They were trading stories back and forth during a Q and A after the showing and Demeo said he couldn’t believe the ferocity that the Schultz boys brought to those practices.