dragit

This is a very well put description of his extraordinary strengths. I wonder, though, how things would have turned out if he wrestled more like 120 matches in college. Say he's in another 8 or 10 really tough matches over the years, including in very competitive in season tournaments. Would walking is tightrope in all the close matches have caught up with him at some point? Not saying it would have, just thinking out loud and speculating whether if he'd been in a lot more tight matches if it would have been harder to pull off what he has done so well in his biggest challenges.

Terrific topic, thanks! My only disagreement on your order is I'd move the medal round above round 2, maybe even tied with the quarters. Although it is sadly lightly attended, Saturday morning sessions are memorable to me. Watching these guys let it fly in their extreme state of exhaustion is inspiring. There was that great picture a few years back of the two wrestlers after I think a 5th place match, don't even remember who, both on their backs and reaching out to shake hands after their last flurry. And the ovations for graduating seniors after they wrestle their last match is always a special moment.

IIRC Dake was sociology and had a good GPA. Yianni seems smart but know no details.

Agree but Dake and Yianni had a lot of pressure with keeping up with academics at an Ivy. I've always thought that's why Dake could be a little flat before the NCAAs from time to time.

I probably wouldn't have him as the GOAT if he wins this weekend, but I still think some of the disrespect for Starocci is a little strange. Hasn't lost on the mat since freshman year, and that year avenged a loss and beat a very good Kemerer in the final. Last year finished with three straight shutouts, two over former champions, to win his fourth straight title on a badly injured knee. He has literally met every challenge in a five year career, many of which have been substantial, with Keck looming as the latest and last such obstacle.

PletcherLugoMoore are in a particularly harsh category. All seniors. No titles. All made a big step up as seniors (or had Bo Nickal graduate ) and were primed to win in their last chance. All came a week or five days or whatever it was short. Kolodzik is in his own category. Joseph and Hall had titles before although can't say that didn't really hurt them too.

Great points. My main comeback is what's your confidence level he would have won without the redshirt?

Nice - good example of his savvy. Another point in his favor is that this was the only match he had at NCAAs where he was in any trouble late.

Dake won his first title 9 months after graduating high school. He beat a very good Marion in the final. The next year he ground a future undefeated national champion into Molinaro dust. The next year he beat a future national champion in the final. And then he went up a weight class to take on the defending and future Hodge winner and future Olympic gold medalist and beat him three times in three different kinds of matches. To me only Cael could potentially challenge that career, and I'd put Dake over him because of the redshirt.

While hypothetical Brooks puts five guys in the hospital.

Illegally. You also ducked the point of my post, which is that even by your and Little Rock's blatantly illegal approach, Iowa wouldn't have close to a realistic chance.

So take away 20 more points from PSU and you're still way short in what is a total fantasy hypothetical anyway. Also playing by your rules Brooks would get to wrestle this year, so good luck with that, he would score 20 points blindfolded.

This year? Doubt it. It would help a lot but they would need A WHOLE LOT of help.

On the merits they can't properly win the appeal. Best case scenario is they are able to demonstrate they misunderstood the rule and shouldn't be hit with sanctions because the error wasn't bad faith.

I look at this from a program-wide historical perspective and think it's gotta be Cornell (NY). They've finished high many times and as close as second, and have had so many great individual champions who have contributed so much to the sport. And it's pretty impressive to do it in the no-scholarship Ivy League (although I'm not naive enough to think they don't have a lot of help from the admissions and financial aid offices for their top recruits that Joe Normal Applicant doesn't get).

Just having f*n.

I think part of their victory celebration next week should be shaving Nick Lee's head.

Really good point which explains something to me. I remember being struck over the weekend by Ethen Miller's hair when he took off his headgear after a match and now I realize why it was notable - because he had hair On this trend, I think Cael and Casey were the trailblazers. As always everyone is following the top dogs.

Glad to. The title is "Keck should not have done the all-star classic," which is wrong. As amply documented above, wrestling the exhibition did not harm Keck's seed. Starocci earned the top seed by the criteria. Then the question becomes would Keck have been better off next week if he hadn't wrestled Starocci in the exhibition. I can't see how. Participating in the exhibition and not getting injured doing so got him the best competition possible for the season, which can only help. And he also got to wrestle the guy with 4 titles who wrestles a very cagey, discrete style designed around the folkstyle rules. I would think that it would be advantageous for Keck to not be seeing this for the first time on the sport's biggest stage next week, and to have had several months to think about and plan strategies around how to manage the match and break through just once, that once being when it matters most.

Not sure why. Starocci and McEnelly have already wrestled. Wouldn't it be better to have Keck and Mc wrestle each other for the first time, then whoever wins (is better) gets to wrestle the 4x champ?

3-0 if you include his win over Iowa's 4x guaranteed champ.

And all their horses.

That f'er, too.

It's because they were sane enough not to go to U of C if I remember one of your prior posts correctly.

Him and Pletcher and Moore really got a bad deal. It was particularly harsh for them, unlike, say, Mark Hall, who had already won, because they had all improved year by year and that last year was their one chance to win a championship, and they had all stepped up big time and were primed to finally break through at NCAAs, and then there careers were summarily terminated (unlike, say, Rivera, who got another chance).