Penn State Wrestling HC Cael Sanderson clarifies situation at 157-pounds
Penn State Wrestling head coach Cael Sanderson clarified the team's situation at 157 during the first media scrum.
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Wrestling Media Day: Cael Sanderson clarifies situation at 157-pounds and more
- Thread starter Richie O
- Start date
Davis getting the start for the beginning of the year mean they are not thinking about saving the RS. If he starts the year well Nagao may just sit the year out for the medical RS
There is no need to RS him. If (*IF*) the rumors about Blaze are true and Lilledahl is just a one year 125 before moving up to 133, then 133 & 141 are suddenly looking really crowded starting next year, and Lilledahl and Blaze, two world champion caliber wrestlers, are the natural starters. If that's how it plays out, both Davis and Nagao are looking at having to beat out Lilledahl or Blaze for a spot. Not an enviable task. Even if Blaze takes a RS year next year, that still leaves only 141 open and only next year with Davis having 2 year remaining without shirting this year, but a kid like Blaze who has beaten NCAA runner-ups in tournament competition while in high school doesn't really need to RS and will be among the title favorites from day 1 wherever he ends up.
I agree. I think what happens is LL and Davis 125/133 this year and Nagao MRS then transfers out. Next Year: Desmond 125 LL 133 Blaze 141 (Davis RS). Then the year after 149 would open up, so depending on what happens with Bassett and Jax you could see Davis get back into the lineup or transfer out.
Today was media day? any videos?
Pretty impressive if true...Cujo out for blood!
-Davis is starting at 133, sounds like Aaron will medshirt
-Kerkvliet had a family event come up and won't be back until Saturday which is why he pulled out of NWCA, he will wrestle against Drexel
-Facundo and Kasak are in a battle, as is Cochran and Barr, Mirasola not a factor at 197 (shoo in to redshirt)
-Barr is NOT small for 197, reading between the lines, Barr is ahead but he wants to give the veteran a chance. He said Barr has "jumped levels" and Cochran has "done a good job"
-Had a round of wrestleoffs but we know preseason wrestleoffs aren't be all end all
-174 was a brutal cut for Starocci and it sounds like if Truax didn't come in last year, he would have gone 184
-McHenry is looking fantastic and didn't list Lilledahl as the starter yet (fully expected that)
Just realized there was an article by Greg Pickel so I'm linking it because my summary more or less said the same things he did and want to give credit: https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-stat...g-kerkvliet-aaron-nagao-starter-battles-more/
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I don't think he can portal this year, right? The free transfers are grad students.
Yeah Kasak would have to RS. Then transfer out because next year doesn't look much better for him. SVN still at 149, Facundo and Duke at 157. And I would be shocked if ever makes 141 again.
Wow third place n gotta transfer out.. bc no foreseeable route to starting… that’s wild..
Has he tried wrestling off a SVN for 149?? SVN was having a pretty shaky year before turning it on at nationals for his third place
I don’t see anybody holding duke out of the lineup he’d be a contender right now as a senior in hs
Sealey is going to be in the mix, too. He's listed as 165 and RS'ing this year, but MM and Haines aren't going anywhere next year, either, so Sealey's best path to a starting position next year might be to cut to 157 (if he can). It's possible that there could be a 4-way wrestle-off for 157 next year between the returning starter, a kid who placed 3rd as a true frosh, and the #1 pfp recruits from two consecutive recruiting classes. Ooof.
Wrestling Media Availability: Cael Sanderson, Beau Bartlett, Greg Kerkvliet, & Carter Starocci
Head Coach Cael Sanderson, Beau Bartlett, Greg Kerkvliet, and Carter Starocci spoke to the media ahead of the 2024-2025 Wrestling Season.
www.blackshoediaries.com
Fatal Four way wrestle off match between Kasak, Facundo, Sealy, and Duke for one starting spot at 157… all four are good enough to AA/maybe title… wow never seen a log jam quite like that at one weight .. who u taking?
I feel like many in this thread are forgetting that Cael doesn't decide a contested weight in a November wrestle off. He will give both guys every opportunity to win the weight before BIGs.
But for Kasak, if he is behind in the depth chart currently he would be best served to only compete unattached and not in dual meets. Otherwise he burns a year without needing to. He can obviously always pull the RS but if he burns it early and then doesn't get the postseason spot that wouldn't be the greatest thing for him
Dang! I hate to love seeing great talent pushed out of the line up, or do I? 😋
It does in a way suck to see a great kid you were rooting for last year get pushed out of the Lineup but it is a great thing too.
We should make a jv team to send out so we can watch more matches. I mean think about it, they could schedule more matches, starters get there 8 in then all the back ups that are eligible can wrestle too, everyone's happy.
It does in a way suck to see a great kid you were rooting for last year get pushed out of the Lineup but it is a great thing too.
We should make a jv team to send out so we can watch more matches. I mean think about it, they could schedule more matches, starters get there 8 in then all the back ups that are eligible can wrestle too, everyone's happy.
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While you're right, a wrestler could try it anyways since there seems to be almost no rules related to the portal anyways.
SVN is natty champ this year (if healthy)
The other factor that hasn’t been mentioned much recently is that wrestling is hard on even young bodies. So we never know when a starter may not be able to finish out a year somewhere along the way. In which case, next man up- just like Kasak did last year.
Believe me, I thought of your exact argument as I wrote my post. Kasak's path is hampered by that limitation but my real thought is how Facundo handles 157 over a season and more importantly, during the part of the season where he needs to weigh in consecutive days and wrestle well. If Facundo handles it well, then great. If not, then Kasak would be ready. Chancy, but we have that luxury this year it seems.
I can't imagine Facundo doing 157 for two years.
Unless Kasak is the clear cut superior wrestler at this time, the smart move is to have him wrestle unattached through the rest of the year. One factor not stated in making the decision is how does Facundo deal with the cut for an extended period of time? That has to be a tough cut.
Checking the schedule, they do not have any two day events where Facundo would to make weight consectutive days. Possibly Cael has him make weight two days in a row just to see how Facundo handles it.
I wouldn't write kasak off just yet. And I have never seen a wrestling team go a whole year without some hiccup involving injury. Nobody likes to see it happen or wants to see it happen but it does happen. Kasak was that guy last year and pulled through. I'm guessing he isn't far behind cujo so it's anyone's game until it isn't. Cael does have a plan
No one is writing off anyone. We're just speculating about how to fit like 9 hammers into 5 spots. Someone isn't going to make it, but they're all still hammers.
This is the personification of first world problems. My God what an embarrassment of riches.
I wouldn’t say SVN was shaky in 2022-23. He took a few losses, but only to top guys. But one could tell he was right there and continuing to improve; then he had the strong NCAA tourney to take 3rd place, including giving Yianni about all he could handle.
Then SVN was looking real good in the first part of 2023-2024, until he was injured. Bottom line, if SVN is fully healthy, I thinks he beats Kasak at 149.
Agree, gotta see how Facundo handles 157 over the course of a full season. And making that cut for two season? Yikes.
With the wrestlers Penn State is getting, it's very possible starting for 4 seasons will be an out of reach goal for everyone except very, very elite wrestlers. I think a few very, very elite wrestlers could find that goal to be very challenging. I also think that isn't a problem.
This is all part of the Iowa recruiting strategy. Let Cael get the studs, bring them to AA level talent and then get them to portal out.
