Old wrestler

I can't see Smith retiring for at least another 2 years. His son will be a junior next year.

Haha thanks man. He's capable of winning it all at 141, especially since Heil seems to have either been a)figured out or he's simply burnt out. I saw somewhere that McKenna had a 36 on his ACT. Hawkeyes crapped the bed, especially my Maranelli pick. It's all practice until NCAAs, although the Hawks didn't do themselves any favors, seeding wise. I'm still big on Lee. We shall see.

Unfortunately, I think the only thing that will be on Big 10 network is Sundays finals. Everything else is being shown online, I think? Could be wrong.

I can respect the no champs for Ohio State prediction. If you would have told me that in November, I would have gotten a good laugh. I've learned not to doubt Snyder, but the 3x champ curse at heavyweight could very well continue (side note, that's been a bizarre streak). Either way, heavyweight will be one of the most exciting weight classes to watch, outside of 125. On a totally unrelated note, are these 'super teams,' good for college wrestling? I know I sound like a bitter Iowa fan (I am Haha), but there isn't a lot of parity, especially within the B10. I know Gable led teams dominated for decades, but I don't think we've ever seen anything like what's happening up at Penn State. There are 3 NC contenders in one weight class (197). Teams like Michigan State, Indiana, Maryland, Wisconsin, Rutgers (excluding Suriano and Ashnault), and Illinois (excluding IMAR), seem to struggle year in and year out. Should we be concerned that the universities may not see value in wrestling?

I know the board is pretty much dead outside of the season, but this is a pretty big transfer. As an Iowa fan, I'm pretty disappointed with the decision to allow Downey in to the program. I understand that kids will make mistakes, but when you're still making boneheaded decisions, you can't be too reformed. I would rather have Holloway be a NQ, than Downey in the championship bout against Moore (Ohio State). I will be rooting for 9 Hawks this year...

Regardless of whether Austin wins a national championship or never wrestles again, I genuinely hope he finishes his degree. Wrestling eventually ends for all of us, and a degree makes life a LOT easier. As with any Kentucky wrestler, I hope nothing but the best for Austin. We're a small group and we need to stick together.

My apologies, Zeus is correct. I don't think Myers is ranked, but he's beaten a few people that are on there.

Congrats! He's ahead of two previous runner ups (Lizak and Moisey).

Wow! Quite an accomplishment, especially in an absolutely stacked 125 weight class. Highest Kentucky ranking since Ruschell, right?

Ordinarily, I would agree, but I think Martin's athleticism is hard to plan against. Brooks had his number, but I think Downey would be well served to see him prior to B10s or NCAAs, win or lose. Plus, Downey needs some matches if he wants to be seeded. Then again, you could very well be right. Either way, it'll be a fun one in Columbus.

Will Austin be wrestling on 1/11 against Buffalo? Jake Gunning is ranked 20th, and in my opinion, is a very winnable match. If Austin does wrestle, he'll have another top 20 opponent two days later against Eastern Michigan. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Austin beat Hutchinson (EMU) last year? Could be a great opportunity to get some quality wins before NCAAs.

Unfortunately, I stumbled upon Ben Barger's obituary today, and I felt it was important to share this with the Kentucky wrestling community. I apologize if I overlooked it. He was a part of some pretty tough Fern Creek teams in the mid 2000's. Gone way too soon. http://www.newcomerkentuckiana.com/Obituary/143565/Ben-Barger/Louisville-Kentucky

#7 IOWA 23, #16 RUTGERS 15125 -- #2 Nick Suriano (R) tech. fall Justin Stickley (I), 23-5; 0-5133 – #13 Scott DelVecchio (R) major dec. Paul Glynn (I), 12-4; 0-9 141 -- #17 Michael Van Brill (R) dec. Carter Happel (I), 3-2; 0-12 149 -- #2 Brandon Sorensen (I) dec. #14 Eleazar DeLuca (R), 4-1; 3-12157 -- #3 Michael Kemerer (I) tech. fall Brett Donner (R), 24-8; 8-12165 -- #13 Alex Marinelli (I) dec. #9 Richie Lewis (R), 6-4 SV1; 11-12174 -- Joey Gunther (I) dec. #19 Jordan Pagano (R), 5-4; 14-12184 -- #9 Nicholas Gravina (R) dec. Mitch Bowman (I), 4-0; 14-15 197 -- #8 Cash Wilcke (I) dec. Kevin Mulligan (R), 8-3; 17-15285 -- #6 Sam Stoll (I) pinned Razohnn Gross (R), 2:40; 23-15 Nothing stands out too much, excluding Marinelli's debut against the recent U23 World Champ. Iowa is definitely in a rebuilding year, but there are positive spots, including Stoll, Kemerer, Wilcke, and Gunther. Sorensen didn't assert himself too much tonight, but has flashes of greatness. 125-141 is gonna be hard to watch this year... Lee and Warner will be competing at the UNI Open tomorrow. Should answer a lot of questions, especially for Lee's rehabilitation.

Agreed. I respect the fact he went after Stoll, but my goodness, that was a poor strategy with the dual hanging in the balance. Purely out of curiosity, I wonder when the last time Illinois beat Iowa in a dual?

No doubt Austin is disappointed with his performance. But anyone that's wrestled knows that being thrown can happen to anyone. He'll make the necessary adjustments and get back after it.

Ahhh wrestling season is upon us. I can definitely see Michigan finishing above their preseason projection. They completed their wrestle offs tonight, including a pretty surprising loss of their recent all American transfer, Beazley (best 2 out of 3, no fluke). Projected AA, Amine barely pulled out the win, too. Some serious depth in Ann Arbor. I'm very excited for the heavyweight matchups. I can't see anyone beating Coon or Snyder to make the finals, however a healthy Stoll will be a handful for everyone else. I hope he can stay injury free and get his title next year, post Snyder and Coon. I usually don't follow 125 too closely, but I'll definitely be pulling for Sean Fausz to make his way on to the podium. A healthy Tomasello is the odds on favorite, but you're right about the weight cut, and his recent injury will close the gap. I'm curious to see if Suriano regresses from being in a different room?

Joe has wrestled some pretty big names. Takes some serious guts to go out there against a relatively recent national champion.

Hard to fathom that Ohio State will need a few key breaks to knock off Penn State. Nearly any other year, Ohio State would be the clear front runners. The Suriano saga has been interesting to follow, too. That will play a huge part on the team race, considering Penn State doesn't have any depth at 125. This seems to be the year of the transfer McKenna, Downey, Suriano (maybe). Definitely going to be a great year for wrestling!

Unfortunately, Boise State will be eliminating their wrestling team, effective immediately. This move was made to make room for their newly developed baseball team. Any time a D1 program cuts their team, it is cause for increased concern. It's scary to think about the landscape of D1 college wrestling in the next 50 years, if serious adjustments aren't made. In my opinion, the easiest and most obvious adjustment is not going head to head with college basketball... That is a battle we will never win.

4-2 at this tournament is pretty darn impressive. Great job, Austin!

Johnson Central alum, J. J. Jude, could be playing on Sunday's. Jude was invited to a rookie mini camp (article below). This could be a tremendous recruiting tool for hs coaches in Kentucky. http://www.kentucky.com/sports/high-school/prep-football/article149487214.html

I frequent a few college wrestling message boards, so I will post any petitions I find. Unfortunately, I don't think this will be the same as Cleveland State. I think this decision is pretty much set in stone, unless a very generous donor steps up. West coast wrestlers don't have too many options as it is, so this hurts their wrestlers the worst.

Awesome read! I know we're all hoping for a D1 program in Kentucky (myself included), but we have some excellent in-state NAIA programs. It would be awesome if Chris Phillips (Tessari's teammate at Monroeville) finished his career in the NAIA. I know his D1 clock is over, but the kid was a freak in high school, especially his freshmen and sophomore year.

Iowa State is quietly assembling a darn good coaching staff. Not only landing Dresser, but signing my favorite non-Kentucky wrestler in the last 10+ years (Brent Metcalf). It will be interesting to see the recruiting battles between the two. I'll take Brands over Dresser, but Metcalf has a lot of name recognition with the younger wrestlers. Not a lot going well for the Hawks in the off season (Lee ACL, Teasdale backing out, losing Metcalf).

And just like that, the best weekend for sports is officially over. Personally, this may have been my favorite finals from the last 5 years. Some HUGE upsets. Just a couple of interesting things I saw over the weekend. -Penn St. with five individual champions was incredible. I'm an Iowa fan, but I respect good wrestling. With all 5 champs returning, plus Suriano and Lee, the team championship will be a runaway in '18. -I was pulling for Hall (Penn St.)thoughout the tournament, but I was a tad surprised stalling wasn't called again at the end of his finals match. Either way, Hall had an incredible tournament and made Cael look even more brilliant (the initial controversy surrounding the pulling of his redshirt). -As an Iowa fan, I'm probably biased, but Clark's performance was absolutely incredible, and my favorite moment of the night. The kid was on a mission and would not be denied after two previous appearances in the finals, regardless of his shoulder injury. - I think Micic (Michigan) could very well win next year. His two-on-one approach is reminiscent of a more international style. Looking forward to watching him and Tomasello (Ohio St.) battle it out. -I was shocked Gabe Dean and Isaiah Martinez went down. By all accounts, Dean seems like an excellent kid and I hated seeing him lose his last collegiate match. I-Mar and Joseph(Penn St.) will have some wars next year. -Palacio (Cornell) doesn't seem like he's all there... -If it's found to be true that Kyle Snyder does have a broken rib, then he will solidify is legendary status even more. His slam against Medbery (Wisconsin) was insane, especially considering the weight difference. I loved his post match interview after his semifinals match. The Duke wrestler was talking garbage earlier in the season. I understand the tactic, but you can't go out there and get teched... As if I needed another reason to hate Duke. -Missouri had a tremendous showing. 2 of their guys ran in to freight trains, but at least they made it to that point. -Dresser leaving V Tech had a bigger impact on their team than I expected. All and all, I thought ESPN did an excellent job on their coverage.