Flo on DeSanto ... coming Wednesday!
- Thread starter El-Jefe
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this could be my favorite documentary yet and that is a huge bar!
The trailer looks fantastic.
#reallifevisionquest
The trailer looks fantastic.
#reallifevisionquest
MRI's being tweeted out (again) of Spencer's ACL in 5, 4, 3, 2....
You are certainly entitled to your opinion & might be correct, no one will ever know. Does it really matter? I find the journey more informative than whatever the end result. This is what competing is about. This is what we do our best to instill in our program. Even though it sometimes seems all they want is the medal at the end of the day.
Unfortunately, it's not just the HR perspective.
Nothing irks me more than this. Many, many kids are competing in Hershey at far less than 100%. It's part of the sport. You walk on the mat with what you got.
Every time it's put out there - which is an awful lot - it diminishes DeSanto's accomplishment, whether intended or not. The kid went 126, beat everybody in front of him and earned his state title. Spencer has won plenty of titles and will win more.
I hadn't seen enough of DeSanto when he beat Lee so just figured that Lee's knee injury probably did have an impact--that DeSanto couldn't have really been on his level. But I've since seen a lot of DeSanto and believe he can beat anyone, including Lee regardless of injury. I don't think he's as consistent as upper tier guys like Lee but he's definitely capable. What he did to Lee wasn't a fluke. Whether Lee's knee impacted the outcome in that state final is a meaningless argument because it's really just impossible to determine, and the constant efforts to taint that win, as if Lee needs the wrestling world defending his honor, are disappointing and tired.
First props to this kid.....Now Spencer with 2 legs and able to train the last month would tech him again or at a minimum major him. Now i am no Spencer fan anymore but we will see someone 3 times better then DeSanto....You will see when he wrestles Fix....
So Lee gets a 57 second pin, then a 15-0 tech fall, and then a 6-0 decision before his finals match again Desanto. He then loses 6-5 to Austin in the finals, AND then all the knee excuses come out. Not to mention how horrible that every one in the crowd rooted against him because he chose Iowa.
Now obviously I am a realist. I am sure the knee did affect his performance and training leading up to that match. BUT he had zero problems leading up to that match. Please give Desanto the respect he deserves. No freaking way does a good knee Lee get close to teching Desanto. Sure Lee probably would have won, but then again who knows for sure? People in Berks county all thought he was crazy when he was dropping to 126 cause he wanted to wrestle Spencer. Props to him for believing in himself and shooting for greatness
Now obviously I am a realist. I am sure the knee did affect his performance and training leading up to that match. BUT he had zero problems leading up to that match. Please give Desanto the respect he deserves. No freaking way does a good knee Lee get close to teching Desanto. Sure Lee probably would have won, but then again who knows for sure? People in Berks county all thought he was crazy when he was dropping to 126 cause he wanted to wrestle Spencer. Props to him for believing in himself and shooting for greatness
This.
At 125 this year Spencer is one of the top 4, very elite competitors at the weight. As a true freshman if Spencer wins a B1G and/or NCAA title nobody is going to be surprised. The kid is just plain, damn good.
At 133 Flo currently has Austin ranked number 5 and other than against the Mueller kid DeSanto has been stellar. If DeSanto were to win an NCAA championship this year the surprise would be greater relative to Spencer winning one, but not massively greater. The kid is just damn good.
When college wrestling conversations turn to freshmen studs who are leaving their mark this year, both Spencer Lee and Austin DeSanto are significant parts of that conversation. When last year's PIAA result is reviewed with the knowledge of what each is accomplishing this year at the D1 level, it puts things into a clearer perspective. Both kids are driven with a desire to be great are simply damn good and Austin beating Spencer doesn't look so quite dramatically surprising anymore.
Spencer's accomplishments speak for themselves. You have to love Desanto's story and give him the credit he has earned.
Both kids are fun to watch but have very different styles. IMO, his win at Dapper Dan the following week was even more impressive than the Spencer match. He mauled 4 time California champ Mejia with an early TF. Very easy kid to root for.
To clarify: that 6-0 win was over Beca's Ryan Anderson, who was nationally ranked last year as a SO. His next worst margins of defeat were 3-0 to Glory and 6-4 to Bartlett. This year he's top 5-6 and the favorite to win PA AAA 138.
EXACTLY! DeSanto decided to wrestle Lee BEFORE Lee got hurt. Then DeSanto went out there and wrestled excellently. That's the admirable part. Do you remember who won the first Rocky-Apollo fight? It's the same appeal. The win or loss at the end is not the story. The human story is the story. Let's don't be blind to the human story.
There are probably posters on HR that are more upset about Lee losing to DeSanto last year at States than Lee actually is. I bet Spencer has let that loss go, the Iowa fans do too.
Listen, I am as big a Penn State wrestling fan as you will find. I don't discredit the "journey" that DeSanto embarked upon. All props to him for this "vision quest" type of mission he was on. All I'm saying is that perspective is something to keep in mind with the end result of said "quest" given Lee's knee injury. It's impossible to deny that Lee was affected by the injury given his final two results were a mere mortal 6-0 victory and then the DeSanto loss. Lee hadn't had a regular decision victory at States or otherwise his entire career up that point if I recall correctly (I could be wrong on that). Just sayin...
You're arbitrarily focusing on Lee's last two results, when other guys have pointed out that the two results before that were a pin and a tech fall. So you're just ignoring that to bolster your weak argument.
Secondly, you're ignoring the fact that the guy he blanked 6-0 is Ryan Anderson, an excellent wrestler in his own right.
Third, you say you don't discredit DeSanto's effort and then you say a bunch of stuff meant to discredit it!
WEAK
Let's be honest. DeSanto is exciting to watch and he is a beast in his own right, but Lee wins that match with a healthy knee. I do believe it would have been a close match, but Lee would have won. That's not taking anything away from DeSanto. I am positive that if Nolf comes back this year to wrestle that his knee is going to prevent him from wrestling his normal style and he might even lose to someone that he would beat when healthy.
The most telling point of all is Lee's comments about DeSanto after his loss. Lee did not offer any excuses and praised DeSanto's performance. I wish I could find a link that shows Lee 's commentary after the Dapper Dan dual. Lee was genuinely pumped up about DeSanto's win against Mejia.
You are definitely wrong on that, but there were only a few non-bonus victories, so Lee was certainly dominate.
“I’m excited but at the same time I wrestled a hurt Spencer Lee,” DeSanto said. “You could see his knee, he was favoring it the whole time. I just kind of feel bad for him. But at the same time, I’m excited for myself. I worked every day after that tech fall to beat him and I got my dream, I guess.”
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Yes. Of course. A guy with an injured leg is a weaker opponent. Who doesn't know that? And the sky is higher than the ground. Is it worth saying (more than once)? There is the accusation: you ... know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Did PIAA start engraving its gold medals to say "yeah but the other guy was hurt"?
Maybe Garett Hammond should get one that says "yeah but Minotti got upset."
Maybe some champ should get one that says "yeah but Zain was ineligible."
Maybe Garett Hammond should get one that says "yeah but Minotti got upset."
Maybe some champ should get one that says "yeah but Zain was ineligible."
I'm repeating what many have already said, but, here are my thoughts:
- DeSanto was already going to wrestle whatever weight Lee was wrestling BEFORE the knee injury
- Lee's knee injury definitely played a part in the result, but, it doesn't take away from how great this story is
- Aside from scolding a reporter who took his picture on his way off the mat, Spencer handled this with complete class. He never made an excuse about his knee and heaped a lot of praise in DeSanto's direction.
- It was an absolutely amazing final. That atmosphere and noise in the Giant Center were all-time highs. It ranks #1 in my moments at the Giant Center.
- It really was a real-life Vision Quest. I'm thankful that DeSanto had the guts to make it happen and that Spencer had the guts to wrestle through the injury.
- DeSanto was already going to wrestle whatever weight Lee was wrestling BEFORE the knee injury
- Lee's knee injury definitely played a part in the result, but, it doesn't take away from how great this story is
- Aside from scolding a reporter who took his picture on his way off the mat, Spencer handled this with complete class. He never made an excuse about his knee and heaped a lot of praise in DeSanto's direction.
- It was an absolutely amazing final. That atmosphere and noise in the Giant Center were all-time highs. It ranks #1 in my moments at the Giant Center.
- It really was a real-life Vision Quest. I'm thankful that DeSanto had the guts to make it happen and that Spencer had the guts to wrestle through the injury.
Spencer Lee is a world champ. The world should look out for Austin DeSanto. The kid was gracious in victory, just like Spencer was in defeat. I am going to celebrate both of them. Anyone who does anything else isn’t worthy of being a fan of either of these two fine young wrestlers.
It never entered my mind prior to this year but could the Desanto comeback against Spencer have more to do with Austin’s pace and less about Spencer’s knee? How often did Spencer get pushed deep into the 3rd period last season? With Spencer showing some signs of gassing this season, is it possible it was more his lungs causing him to lose than his knee?
Both Lee and DeSanto showed great sportsmanship and character after the match (and Lee's treatment of DeSanto at Dapper Dan).
Insightful. He’s still wearing the brace ... and still doesn’t have to get to the 3rd period often.
I pity the 184 Champ this year, forever marred by the asterisk, “No PD3”.
Rumor has it there is an asterisk on every NCAA team title trophy since 1998 that says "Dan Gable retired".
I'm having deja vu all over again. It just feels like I've seen this whole argument before. Three times.
It'll be Bo's 2nd one.I pity the 184 Champ this year, forever marred by the asterisk, “No PD3”.
if a healthy spencer beats an injured suriano is the argument the same or different?
How good would life be to see DeSanto - Lee at the same weight in an NCAA final someday?
They took that off when Cael started gobbling them up in bunches.
