Biggest positive surprise
- Thread starter Ja1339
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Gary Steen for his intensity (and results) and Davis for his results.
Gary looked like a different wrestler today. If Gary or his parents read this, really impressed with the way you/your son competed today.
Gary looked like a different wrestler today. If Gary or his parents read this, really impressed with the way you/your son competed today.
I said B Davis and Kasak. I know the latter had room familiarity with BB, but he had an impressive showing
Josh Barr! He does not get much attention at all. Gonna be a stud
Ditto
Davis is a few matches into his true freshman season and has two ranked wins.
True freshman Kasak beat a very good (top 15ish) Evans and then took #2 Bartlett to the final second of regulation.
To be honest Davis is the most pleasant surprise.
Unfortunately, left of your list, is also the most unpleasant surprise.
I am still going to give it the whole month of December to see if he can shake the rust off, and get back in the groove. Before anyone can make a declaration, he needs competition like this to gain some confidence in both his body and his game. Nonetheless, so far, he just doesn't seem like a shadow of himself. Even with the time off, he should be cutting through NQ competition like a hot knife through butter.
Unfortunately, left of your list, is also the most unpleasant surprise.
I am still going to give it the whole month of December to see if he can shake the rust off, and get back in the groove. Before anyone can make a declaration, he needs competition like this to gain some confidence in both his body and his game. Nonetheless, so far, he just doesn't seem like a shadow of himself. Even with the time off, he should be cutting through NQ competition like a hot knife through butter.
More confirmation than surprise but how about the overall depth of the team?!? Transfers and recruits all showing well plus a few guys who’ve spent years out of the spotlight in the practice room.
Aaron Nagao looks like a three timer I don't care whose in his bracket
To me the obvious votes are for Davis, Barr and Kasak looking so good as true freshmen, but Bartlett more than doubling last year’s bonus rate (including 4 pins!!) is extremely surprising. He’s had steady progress, but in his 4 previous years combined he’s only had 7 pins and a bonus rate of less than 30%. He’s got my attention.
Best surprise so far was Kerk's dismantling of Hendrickson. He must read these boards and saw that he was being described as lethargic and saw people say they thought Hendrickson would win this match up. Kerk sent a message last night!
Agree. Kerk looked superior. Just the same, Hendrickson was bummed up pretty badly before coming to State College. Gotta give the guy props for showing up and giving it a go (unlike others who played it safe).
Let’s cut Hendrickson some slack—he clearly hurt his knee winning team USA a gold, and really toughed it out to bring it home. I have no idea if that injury is still nagging him or not—but either way he’s an awesome wrestler and is a budding american hero overall. Our guy was just (much) better this week.
It's Davis. y'all went from insignificant points to 'there's a chance' at 125 THIS YEAR.
I saw a video on Flo where Hendrickson was working out in the PSU room prior to the classic and he certainly didnt look injured at all. Was even playing some football and running a route.
sorry. i should have said 'we' to stay on script and to perpetuate the Tom Brands/Iowa fan paranoia.
In agreement. There are so many positive and exciting events, but, to me, it’s Beau Bartlett taking it up another level. I think the confidence he gained at Nationals is translating into an upgraded offense. His defense and scrambling remain stellar.
The biggest surprise is that this thread stayed on topic and almost entirely positive for 5 days.
How amazing is it that there were 10 choices to pick from in this poll, and we’re debating Kerk as well. And no mention of our two potential 4-timers - because their dominance is really not at all surprising.
Not amazed, because the OP poll seemed to be about the Journeyman Tourney and Black Knight Invitational.
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When I saw the brace I was sort of surprised he was competing. And honestly, I thought it was kind of dumb that he was. But hey, not my decision!
The guys (and gals) who attend the military academies have a different mindset. They accept a lot of challenges that most of us would avoid.
No idea how much pain he may have been in but DKG has supposedly been wrestling for years now with one ACL so there was probably no way Hend was using the knee as an excuse.
A fair point. And Wyatt is probably my favorite non-PSU guy in the country right now.
I just wouldn’t want to see him risking competing when it counts or further long-term damage in order to wrestle a match in November that few with remember in a couple years
Definitely have to give Hendrickson a lot of credit to give it a go if he was less than 100%. It would have been very easy to cancel. Tip of the cap.
I think I heard that Kerk dropped some weight this year. If so, that could explain his quickness. To my eyes, Kerk's strength in his early years at PSU was his cat-like speed in his shots. Last year, he put on some weight and I didn't see that speed as much. Certainly being a NCAA runner-up was a very good finish, but I'm glad to see that quickness back! That's his greatest strength IMO.
Absolutely. They are so used to going above and beyond that it's common place for them.
DKG rhymes with EKG, which Ryan probably needed when Snyder and Kerk both left for State College.
As is apparent from the attached interview after the match he looks like he is in great shape already this season with not much body fat, especially for the 285 class.
Continued Minor Improvements Have Made All The Difference For Kerkvliet
Greg Kerkvliet talks after a dominant performance at the 2023 NWCA All-Star Classic.
i'm not going to refute that the academy guys are toughest sob's on earth. i've said repeatedly over the years that wrestling in college at one of the military academies is the toughest thing a human could subject themselves to.
that being said - i don't think Wyatt went b/c he's tough. i think he wrestled hurt for the brand. Air Force having a guy there is a big deal.
I’m not going to poo-poo his service but he’s going to be a logistics officer in the Air Force. That’s commendable but he’ll almost certainly never be shot at, and he will never, ever lead troops in combat.
Meanwhile, this guy exists, and he’s been through Ranger School, RASP 2/ROPE and multiple combat deployments in 10th Mountain and the 75th Ranger Regiment. He has a tab, a scroll, combat infantryman badge, and a BSM-V with an oak leaf cluster. He went through more privation in a couple weeks than Wyatt will in his entire AF career, and that had nothing to do with his athletic pursuits.
Alejandro Villanueva (American football) - Wikipedia
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