What happens if Brooks moves up to 97kg? Who wins the spot?
Yesterday, JB was talking about how big Brooks is & that he could be going up.
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Yesterday, JB was talking about how big Brooks is & that he could be going up.
Some fantastic pics from Rivera's celebration:
Who gave the organizers at the wrestling venue my 1983 party playlist?
No. She's the last bout. The two 76kg bronze medal matches are coming up next, then Blades.
For the record, Amouzad is definitely pouting w/ his silver.
I was thinking the exact same thing! It's easier to be happy with bronze than silver.
If Kiyooka and Fujinami marry and have kids that wrestle . . . we're done. 
Come on Kennedy!
Come on Kennedy!
I hope Kyle achieves his dreams and does it all in State College! But I think the question will be what his capabilities against the rest of the world will be going forward and, if he isn't medaling consistently any longer, will he have a change of heart? I think AB will be a very difficult hurdle to overcome for Snyder if AB commits to moving up and continuing to train for the next Olympic cycle. Much like Varner stepped away as a competitor and became Snyder's coach and advocate, I could see Kyle doing the same thing for AB and transitioning more into coaching than he's currently planning to do.
Anyone know if the United States ever considered dropping folkstyle in favor of freestyle at the high school or college levels?
Maybe he and his family will return to the state of Maryland and his roots. He could maybe take over a local college program, like McDaniel Green Terror. Westminster is not too far from Woodbine.
Sure. Let's drop football for soccer while we're making incredibly stupid decisions.
The final wrestling match of the 2024 Olympics.
76kg WFS Gold Medal Match - Kennedy Alexis Blades VS Yuka Kagami (JPN)
P1:
Here we go!
Circling & head tapping, then Blades with a collar tie & they break
Tying up again, Kagami pushing forward a little & they break
Blades much taller than Kagami
Circling & head tapping
Blades passivity warning
Blades shoots off the whistle, nothing
Kagami shoots, Blades evades & they're back to the center
Blades 2nd passivity warning, goes on the clock, 4:50 left
Tying up & hand fighting, then breaking
Kagami shot clock point, 1-0
Kagami shoots, Blades counters & drives her out of bounds, 1-1, adv Blades, restart, 3:56 left
Tying up, Blades with a collar tie & hand fighting & they break
Stoppage, restart, 3:30 left
Kagami drops in on a leg off the whistle, Blades sprawling & she gets an ankle, Blades hangs on as the period expires
1-1, adv Blades
P2:
Back to action
Circling, then collar ties & hand fighting & they break
Kagami tries an under hook, nothing, Kagami shoots, Blades counters & almost drives Kagami out of bounds, but no scoring & they're back to circling in the center. Lots of action there. 90-sec left
Kagami driving forward, Blades on the edge & Kagami drives Blades out for 2, 3-1, restart, 1:22 left
Circling & tying up, 1-min left
Blades snaps, nothing, fakes & then goes to a collar tie
Blades shoots, but Kagami backs out, stalemate, 34-sec left
Circling, Blades faking, shoots, nothing, Kagami on the edge, but she circles back in, Blades shoots, Kagami holding on as time expires. Kagami's defense was solid & Kennedy just couldn't find an opening.
Yuka Kagami DEC Kennedy Alexis Blades 3-1
Kennedy Blades wins a Silver medal!
76kg WFS Gold Medal Match - Kennedy Alexis Blades VS Yuka Kagami (JPN)
P1:
Here we go!
Circling & head tapping, then Blades with a collar tie & they break
Tying up again, Kagami pushing forward a little & they break
Blades much taller than Kagami
Circling & head tapping
Blades passivity warning
Blades shoots off the whistle, nothing
Kagami shoots, Blades evades & they're back to the center
Blades 2nd passivity warning, goes on the clock, 4:50 left
Tying up & hand fighting, then breaking
Kagami shot clock point, 1-0
Kagami shoots, Blades counters & drives her out of bounds, 1-1, adv Blades, restart, 3:56 left
Tying up, Blades with a collar tie & hand fighting & they break
Stoppage, restart, 3:30 left
Kagami drops in on a leg off the whistle, Blades sprawling & she gets an ankle, Blades hangs on as the period expires
1-1, adv Blades
P2:
Back to action
Circling, then collar ties & hand fighting & they break
Kagami tries an under hook, nothing, Kagami shoots, Blades counters & almost drives Kagami out of bounds, but no scoring & they're back to circling in the center. Lots of action there. 90-sec left
Kagami driving forward, Blades on the edge & Kagami drives Blades out for 2, 3-1, restart, 1:22 left
Circling & tying up, 1-min left
Blades snaps, nothing, fakes & then goes to a collar tie
Blades shoots, but Kagami backs out, stalemate, 34-sec left
Circling, Blades faking, shoots, nothing, Kagami on the edge, but she circles back in, Blades shoots, Kagami holding on as time expires. Kagami's defense was solid & Kennedy just couldn't find an opening.
Yuka Kagami DEC Kennedy Alexis Blades 3-1
Kennedy Blades wins a Silver medal!
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2 Golds - 1 Silver - 1 Bronze
All hail our amazing women!!!
All hail our amazing women!!!
Hats off to Japan. They owned the Paris games.
Fantastic improvement for USA WFS—the future is bright.
Fantastic improvement for USA WFS—the future is bright.
Caels already planning on having all PSU guys on the freestyle team in LA
Lilledahl
NLee
Nolf
Haines
Brooks
Kerkvliet
Lilledahl
NLee
Nolf
Haines
Brooks
Kerkvliet
I’ve followed pretty passively, when I could, this week.
People forget how difficult winning a world title is, let alone a time-bound Olympic title.
People forget how difficult winning a world title is, let alone a time-bound Olympic title.
A bit strange, last September Team USA had a decidedly veteran world medal DNA. 1 year later we may absolutely see legends DT, Dake, JB, Green and Zain all riding off into the sunset within the same brief period. That's half of a GOAT team right there. We knew some were close, but I didn't know anyone saw that big of a transition that fast. Now what we need is a lot more world competition experience. I hope the new crop enters every international tournament possible.
Snyder made his comment about wrestling for another decade a couple of years ago. I didn't know that a reassessment doesn't happen. There is no substitute for winning to build optimism, and no substitute for father time when you are not. He is far from retirement age, but he also isn't the dominant destroyer he was. There was a time when only 1 guy in the world could beat him, and it really wasn't that close.
The same can be said for both Dake and DT.
I really think that side hussels, external commitments, wives and kids change the dynamic more than most are willing to admit. Like it or not the difference between world champion and 4th at this level can look like the grand canyon on the mat, but in the training room and beyond is more like a razor's edge. I am totally convinced that is what happened to DT, he saw trials as more as a part of an automatic process and with 2 of 3 he could coast a bit. No disrespect to AB, as he is on a path to gold medals, likely within a year
No doubt the next wave of PSU graduates will help fill the USA roster and keep us fans excited for a long time to come. This is the end of an era, and the best top to bottom team we have ever had IMO. The great news is we could have said that about our PSU folk team at least 3 times in the past decade and that train ain't stopping anytime soon!
Snyder made his comment about wrestling for another decade a couple of years ago. I didn't know that a reassessment doesn't happen. There is no substitute for winning to build optimism, and no substitute for father time when you are not. He is far from retirement age, but he also isn't the dominant destroyer he was. There was a time when only 1 guy in the world could beat him, and it really wasn't that close.
The same can be said for both Dake and DT.
I really think that side hussels, external commitments, wives and kids change the dynamic more than most are willing to admit. Like it or not the difference between world champion and 4th at this level can look like the grand canyon on the mat, but in the training room and beyond is more like a razor's edge. I am totally convinced that is what happened to DT, he saw trials as more as a part of an automatic process and with 2 of 3 he could coast a bit. No disrespect to AB, as he is on a path to gold medals, likely within a year
No doubt the next wave of PSU graduates will help fill the USA roster and keep us fans excited for a long time to come. This is the end of an era, and the best top to bottom team we have ever had IMO. The great news is we could have said that about our PSU folk team at least 3 times in the past decade and that train ain't stopping anytime soon!
How does Japan manage to win medals in all three styles, but we can’t?
I’ve never been one to leave SE MN on purpose, but I might need to go to Japan.
I’ve never been one to leave SE MN on purpose, but I might need to go to Japan.
Aaron Brooks Interview After Winning the Bronze Medal Match
Minor correction. We did win FS medals. Just not gold. But I know you meant that.
I hope not, I like the 'controlling' aspect of folkstyle and holding someone in an exposed position vs exposure
If we are going to split his attention then make him the football head coach.
Selfishly, I would MUCH rather he stay at PSU
Aaron’s interview exemplifies the approach and principles that Cael and company have established:
1. Wrestling is a small part of life and should be viewed as a game that we use to become the best version of ourselves.
2. While winning is fun, giving maximim effort and being grateful for each opportunity we have to compete is what really matters.
3. If we live by the first two principles (in wrestling or anything we do in life) we can be satisfied with whatever outcome we achieve and live a productive and fulfilling life.
Nearly all of our wrestlers, (past and present) have bought into this. As a result, they have fun, enjoy competing, are gracious in defeat (which rarely occurs) and usually wrestle their best when the pressure is on.
Compare this philosophy with what we see from many other programs and individual wrestlers, and the contrast is striking.
We don't need to completely change wrestling in the US because of one "bad" Olympics (which wasn't even that bad).
Take a deep breath and go look at how we've been doing internationally the past decade or so across cadets, juniors, and senior (hint: pretty well).
USA wrestling is doing just fine.
Take a deep breath and go look at how we've been doing internationally the past decade or so across cadets, juniors, and senior (hint: pretty well).
USA wrestling is doing just fine.
Who among Team USA has not been committed to freestyle?
And before you say "folkstyle" -- all of these guys have been wrestling freestyle since youth. And except for Aaron -- whose folkstyle focus hindered him against David Taylor twice -- none has wrestled folk in over a year, most for much longer than that.
This is all about expectations. The rest of the world combined is pretty good. Sometimes we forget that.
