AWL Discussion Thread
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70 kg — James Green (Dake) vs. Brandon Sorensen (Taylor)
74 kg — Richie Lewis (Dake) vs. Tommy Gantt (Taylor)
79 kg — Isaiah Martinez (Dake) vs. Alex Dieringer (Taylor)
86 kg — Nick Heflin (Dake) vs. Sam Brooks (Taylor)
92 kg — Deron Winn (Dake) vs. Mike Macchiavello (Taylor)
97 kg — Jacob Kasper (Dake) vs. Kyven Gadson (Taylor)
125 kg — Dom Bradley (Dake) vs. Zach Rey (Taylor)
57 kg — Frank Perrelli (Dake) vs. Nico Megaludis (Taylor)
61 kg — Tony Ramos (Dake) vs. Cory Clark (Taylor)
65 kg — Jordan Oliver (Dake) vs. Zain Retherford (Taylor)
I think, I was reading a FB post and I guess Dake and Taylor did some trading and Dake even bumped guys up.
74 kg — Richie Lewis (Dake) vs. Tommy Gantt (Taylor)
79 kg — Isaiah Martinez (Dake) vs. Alex Dieringer (Taylor)
86 kg — Nick Heflin (Dake) vs. Sam Brooks (Taylor)
92 kg — Deron Winn (Dake) vs. Mike Macchiavello (Taylor)
97 kg — Jacob Kasper (Dake) vs. Kyven Gadson (Taylor)
125 kg — Dom Bradley (Dake) vs. Zach Rey (Taylor)
57 kg — Frank Perrelli (Dake) vs. Nico Megaludis (Taylor)
61 kg — Tony Ramos (Dake) vs. Cory Clark (Taylor)
65 kg — Jordan Oliver (Dake) vs. Zain Retherford (Taylor)
I think, I was reading a FB post and I guess Dake and Taylor did some trading and Dake even bumped guys up.
By Ross Bartachek
In roughly two weeks time 20 wrestlers will take to the mat inside the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for American Wrestling Leagues Inaugural event. Each team competing in the event is led by a World Champion with Kyle Dake and David Taylor serving as captains.
After selecting a 20 man roster to each side, Dake and Taylor had one week to finalize their ten starter’s for AWL I: The Beginning.
And the award for most creative use of his draft picks goes to Dake. Unlike his competition, Dake shuffled two of his draftees up a weight in his roster, and utilized the trade market to solidify a third weight.
We’ll start with the trade. At 57 kg Dake drafted Zach Sanders and Alan Waters, but with team selection deadline looming he reached out to Taylor and sent one of his 61 kg options, Nick Simmons over to Taylor in exchange for Frank Perrelli.
Before any are quick to assume the deal was so that Dake could get a fellow Cornell grad on his team, think again. By trading for Perrelli that left Taylor with Nico Megaludis as his only option at 57 kg. Recent results between those two wrestlers would indicate that Kid Dynamite may have made a big move.
“The last time Frankie wrestled Nico he beat him 7-2,” Dake said of his trade deadline move, “It made a lot of sense after speaking with LVWC RTC head coach Jeff Buxton. Frankie has been trainingwith the world team all summer and I was confident in my fellow Cornellian.”
The other surprising move was Dake made on draft day was taking Richie Lewis at 70 kg. After spending his #1 overall pick on James Green it seems rather obvious that would be his go-to option for the event given Green’s international success. With lineups now released its rather obvious that Dake had a plan to bump wrestlers all along.
“James is a two time medalist who is a super star! It was an easy choice for me because he is a human highlight reel, his speed and strength are unmatched at 70kg and I’m really glad I have him leading my squad.”
Bumping Lewis to 74 kg meant that one of Dake’s other top draftees, Isaiah Martinez would also need to bump in order to be in the lineup. Being the World Champion at 79 kg gave Dake plenty of insight on our domestic wrestlers around his weight, and that familiarity allowed Dake to feel comfortable in moving Martinez up to 79 kg to face Alex Dieringer, who was Taylor’s top draft selection.
“Isaiah was my training partner for the World Championships and has been competing and training all summer and fall, that being said I really thought that if I got him I would bump him up and try to win two weight classes.”
The last big question mark for Dake’s lineup was what he would do at 97 kg where he drafted former Duke star Jacob Kasper and U.S. National Team member Ty Walz. In the end it wasn’t an easy decision, but Dake opted to go with Kasper to face off against Kyven Gadson, who is expected to draw a strong hometown crowd in Cedar Rapids.
“It was really a flip of the coin between Kasper and Walz. I’ve seen them both compete and they both can wrestle at a very high level. I think Jacob had gotten a lot better over the summer and can be very entertaining on the mat.”
In roughly two weeks time 20 wrestlers will take to the mat inside the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for American Wrestling Leagues Inaugural event. Each team competing in the event is led by a World Champion with Kyle Dake and David Taylor serving as captains.
After selecting a 20 man roster to each side, Dake and Taylor had one week to finalize their ten starter’s for AWL I: The Beginning.
And the award for most creative use of his draft picks goes to Dake. Unlike his competition, Dake shuffled two of his draftees up a weight in his roster, and utilized the trade market to solidify a third weight.
We’ll start with the trade. At 57 kg Dake drafted Zach Sanders and Alan Waters, but with team selection deadline looming he reached out to Taylor and sent one of his 61 kg options, Nick Simmons over to Taylor in exchange for Frank Perrelli.
Before any are quick to assume the deal was so that Dake could get a fellow Cornell grad on his team, think again. By trading for Perrelli that left Taylor with Nico Megaludis as his only option at 57 kg. Recent results between those two wrestlers would indicate that Kid Dynamite may have made a big move.
“The last time Frankie wrestled Nico he beat him 7-2,” Dake said of his trade deadline move, “It made a lot of sense after speaking with LVWC RTC head coach Jeff Buxton. Frankie has been trainingwith the world team all summer and I was confident in my fellow Cornellian.”
The other surprising move was Dake made on draft day was taking Richie Lewis at 70 kg. After spending his #1 overall pick on James Green it seems rather obvious that would be his go-to option for the event given Green’s international success. With lineups now released its rather obvious that Dake had a plan to bump wrestlers all along.
“James is a two time medalist who is a super star! It was an easy choice for me because he is a human highlight reel, his speed and strength are unmatched at 70kg and I’m really glad I have him leading my squad.”
Bumping Lewis to 74 kg meant that one of Dake’s other top draftees, Isaiah Martinez would also need to bump in order to be in the lineup. Being the World Champion at 79 kg gave Dake plenty of insight on our domestic wrestlers around his weight, and that familiarity allowed Dake to feel comfortable in moving Martinez up to 79 kg to face Alex Dieringer, who was Taylor’s top draft selection.
“Isaiah was my training partner for the World Championships and has been competing and training all summer and fall, that being said I really thought that if I got him I would bump him up and try to win two weight classes.”
The last big question mark for Dake’s lineup was what he would do at 97 kg where he drafted former Duke star Jacob Kasper and U.S. National Team member Ty Walz. In the end it wasn’t an easy decision, but Dake opted to go with Kasper to face off against Kyven Gadson, who is expected to draw a strong hometown crowd in Cedar Rapids.
“It was really a flip of the coin between Kasper and Walz. I’ve seen them both compete and they both can wrestle at a very high level. I think Jacob had gotten a lot better over the summer and can be very entertaining on the mat.”
Will this count if DT finally beats KD???
Think I read all competitors get $2500 and the winners get an extra $5k
The production is a bit lo-fi overall but I'm just happy to be see these matchups.
Gantt with a big second period to take out Richie Lewis, who looks a bit gassed. After it was over (7-2 final) Richie Lewis found his second wind to take a cheap shot at Gantt.
And Lewis being the punk he's always been. Can't scrub the Rutgers off of him
Sammy Brooks beating a gassed Heflin and the crowd is into it.
Heflin opened the scoring with a TD and a lace in the first, but Brooks hung in there and Heflin was gassed in the second. Brooks had a nice throw at edge of the mat that could've actually been 4 but only two awarded. After that Heflin was done and Brooks kept coming, winning 11-4.
Heflin opened the scoring with a TD and a lace in the first, but Brooks hung in there and Heflin was gassed in the second. Brooks had a nice throw at edge of the mat that could've actually been 4 but only two awarded. After that Heflin was done and Brooks kept coming, winning 11-4.
Heflin looking like he trained for this in a recliner
He gave DT a scare at 86kg at the trials, turning him for 4 with that chest wrap. But he didn't look like the same guy who showed up for that weekend.
Winn leaves his shoes on the mat. Changing over to MMA.
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