Ched64

I don't count Messenbrink in that mix as he was doing Grade 13 in Cali...but I will say that Michigan has done a great job with JC. He was never very good from the bottom...a Cornell weakness...I was shocked they put him down vs Buchanan and he was up and out. Super happy for him as he seems like a great kid who knocked off the two guys ranked above him in 24 hours. Who knows what the future holds at Natls but he got his degree from Cornell and now is in grad school at Michigan. I assume he will be just fine regardless.

I don't think Parco is a definite...just have a feeling

Have to disagree here but will be interested to see. He certainly didn't look like the beast he was two or three years ago. No Colorado simply doesn't wrestle anyone tough out of conference and there are a lot of weaker teams in the Big 12 that doesn't help the cause. That said, I wouldn't want him in the quarters if I got the 1 seed.

I am not a big Iowa fan but have to admit, the generational talent is the Penn St team. Their coaches are amazing at getting the best kids and making them better. Watching Kusak, Mess, and Levi chain wrestle through positions is truly unbelievable. Can you imagine what that room is like? If not beating them means you change your coach, who will be left? I understand the frustration but at least Iowa had their run with Gable. What about the rest of the teams? Iowa is still the second best program in the country on average and somebody is coaching that program and bringing in talent.

And you go into his matches knowing he has the talent to beat his opponent no matter who that might be which is fun as a spectator

Great post here…real life considerations

Him making the cut to 57k 4 years from now seems highly unlikely. That said, as others have noted, he is hardly over the hill age wise, has a refreshed training situation and on any given day can go with any of those other guys. The OSU room when he was there had no one at his level and the John Smith mystique was badly tarnished. I certainly wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him make another world team. I love Vito but he didn’t exactly crush Fix in this years ncaa final nor did he crush Blaze in the X matches. All those guys are very close so I think it premature to count Fix out though get it why some have doubts.

At the end of the day, modern sports is entertainment competing against countless other things for eyes. The more exciting you can make it the better.

I agree there but if both guys are on the mat scrambling and they roll out of bounds, then the grounding rule is good. It is just that wrsetlers have adapted their technique when they are headed out and it defeats the purpose of the rule.

I disagree as it keeps things moving and doesnt provide refuge. I think free has it down pretty good right now. The matches are pretty exciting even between upper world class guys where it could get bogged down without things like pushouts and passivity. It rewards action.

I agree that folkstyle is here to stay but were it up to me, I would make two freestyle changes that I believe would make the matches more interesting by encouraging more action. The first would be pushout points as far too many matches take place at the edges rather than in the center where they belong. The second would be passivity from neutral in the first period. It is 3 minutes long and far too many matches end 0-0 after the first given the amount of time they have to work. I know these have come up before but it would also be one movement in the direction of freestyle without doing away with the mat wrestling that gives folk its own identity.

It is most glaring in how many guys we send that look like they have very little competency in par terre. They are all well trained on their feet from folkstyle but this isn’t merely a takedown tourney. I am always surprised at how absolutely lost some look trying to do ANYTHING once they hit the mat. Obviously there are exceptions but those guys are the ones earning the medals. The others are ceding an important part of the game to other world class athletes who can score in bunches. I think it also makes our guys more wary of engaging because if you are not proficient in par terre yourself, your opponents abilities are perceived to be more dangerous and downright scary and establishing a good defense is predicated on having an innate understanding of how to execute the moves yourself.

Yes, more of a head and arm than a cradle I believe but definite figure four…and tight…Imagine being so versed after so many years in wrestling to pull that out in the Olympics? Granted he had the tech clinched but still.

Geniuses walk amongst us! Very poetic! And words of wisdom to all young wrestlers! Buy this man a drink!

Beau Bartlett v Nick Lee in final of challenge tourney up 1 with seconds left…didnt engage and stepped out and they plus 1ed him to lose

The two other judges must have both held up 2…thus 2

Allisee is nonsense

Thank you indeed for sharing. As an upstate wrestling fan, I cannot tell you how much pleasure Kyle has given me and my friends for what seems like an eternity now. His high school match against Ian Paddock in their junior year was when he hit my radar and I have missed very few since. What a great article about two longtime “rivals” whose mutual respect allowed them to continue a lifetime friendship throughout! Talk about sportsmanship in its purest form. Kudo’s to both of them and to the writer who mined the core moral of the story. Thanks again.

Agreed…how long did it take DT to even make a World Team post grad? He was decidedly 3rd on the 74k ladder for 3 years running. After the move up and growing into 86 he had a brilliant career, but it wasn’t like he blossomed over night. I don’t think he got “worse” in the last year. I just think his priorities shifted and that understandably to him dialing his training back a bit. These competitors are only so different from each other. A slight drop in intensity opens the door to guys looking to make their own mark. He is/was a great wrestler but taking on a super motivated freak athlete when you are at 90% can produce unexpected results.

Thank you! I thought it was me but then I remembered this was the same genius arguing that Amit Elor should have wrestled for Israel because her parents were born there. Overrated because he only made the semis in his first Olympics after taking out the best wrestler in the World at the weight in the trials. Please stop the nonsense.

I was just kidding…I get his point…it is just hard to make those “what if’s”…i wrestled a kid in hs who was a state champ in both…and, there a quite a few ex Navy wrestlers in the Seal!

Here is an interesting article on the matter that popped up this am. Not saying it is the definitive word on the matter but struck me as a calm, clear discussion of the matter at hand. https://quillette.com/2024/08/03/xy-athletes-in-womens-olympic-boxing-paris-2024-controversy-explained-khelif-yu-ting/

But David Taylor lost many and won none and yet many of you call him a GOAT and harsh on Dake who actually moved up to wrestle But David Taylor never won one yet you guys refer to him as a GOAT and rag on Dake…who, by the way moved up a weight class to wrestle the reigning Hodge Trophy winner at 165 and beat him…Taylor can never be the GOAT

And Tiger Woods thought he would be a great Navy Seal…

No, because she doesn’t want the harpies harrassing her family