First match off the scale in March and I don’t think either Glory or Vito will be happy to be facing Ayala. That said, I’ll pick them both to win, but think Ayala will make it closer than many expect.
Holy crap - just saw a bombshell on Mineo’s feed
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The thought that Glory could be one ill-timed, rough cut away from blowing up everyone’s expectations for 125 has certainly crossed my mind.
I had quite a bit of confidence since summer saying Kem may never see the mat this year and if he does, a beat up…spent … ready to move on Kem will not reach the finals this year. It’s fun to speculate and see where ya end up at the end of the day. Makes the boards more interesting.
I guess what I'm getting at is I'm not letting this guy get embarrassed just to try and win a title that's a long shot. If he's really hurt it could turn out bad
We’re not “speculating,” friend. We heard it from a guy in a Hawkeyes tee shirt
HR is saying he weighed in a couple of weeks ago but didn't go. I think we may see him, but my money is that he will not perform at last seasons level. Nursing some kind of injury and potentially a bit out of 'wrestling' shape due to inactivity, is not the best mix.
I always thought we would most likely see him this year, just not until the New Year. And yeah, I thought if he did return, he wouldn’t make the finals this years because of reasons you listed and quite frankly he had reservations about returning.
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It pretty much stayed on all the time for the boys. Sam played for the other team.
Sorry to hear that, as season ending injuries in wrestling all suck. The only injury worse for Nelson would have been losing his eye teeth.
Mineo will have the dunk of all slam dunks if Kemerer is, indeed, out for the year soon. Currently he’s 2 for 2 on breaking Hawkeye news. Plus, it sounds like Ayala is not wrestling this weekend per some tweets I saw. The latter doesn’t make sense.
I have been saying since last year when the cupboards were full for both teams, the team race may unfortunately come down to who sends a full and healthy team.
I am bummed, since I think we would have taken them out at full strength for the team championship by at least 10-15 points. Now we will never know, and will hear it from HR forevermore.
Unfortunately for all, the elephant in the room remains Covid, with the less severe but more virulent Omicron strain hovering like a black cloud over March.
It's now looking like the 2022 tourney is exposed to more risk than we saw in 2021. Even an "athletically" healthy team could get decimated last minute with asymptomatic positives. I hope testing is only done on symptomatic cases similar to how the NFL recently changed their policy. I think they clearly saw that wide spread testing of asymptomatic players was going to place the integrity of the playoffs and superbowl at risk.
If you think I am an alarmist regarding nationals, just ask the NHL or better yet Az State and Michigan. If you simply think blind broad testing, even based upon contact tracing is a great idea, there can be a breakout anywhere at any time. Many many people both Vaxed (NHL) or not are asymptomatic. Any one of the top 5 teams could win a championship if Omicron has not peaked and retreated by mid February.
The injuries suck for Iowa. I hope to see Brands and Spencer back next year at full strength.
I am bummed, since I think we would have taken them out at full strength for the team championship by at least 10-15 points. Now we will never know, and will hear it from HR forevermore.
Unfortunately for all, the elephant in the room remains Covid, with the less severe but more virulent Omicron strain hovering like a black cloud over March.
It's now looking like the 2022 tourney is exposed to more risk than we saw in 2021. Even an "athletically" healthy team could get decimated last minute with asymptomatic positives. I hope testing is only done on symptomatic cases similar to how the NFL recently changed their policy. I think they clearly saw that wide spread testing of asymptomatic players was going to place the integrity of the playoffs and superbowl at risk.
If you think I am an alarmist regarding nationals, just ask the NHL or better yet Az State and Michigan. If you simply think blind broad testing, even based upon contact tracing is a great idea, there can be a breakout anywhere at any time. Many many people both Vaxed (NHL) or not are asymptomatic. Any one of the top 5 teams could win a championship if Omicron has not peaked and retreated by mid February.
The injuries suck for Iowa. I hope to see Brands and Spencer back next year at full strength.
I wrote that's what I think. If Kemerer isn't wrestling this or next week (Krattiger, 9House, Fisher, Shannon) Then his stretch would start with:
Ethan Smith
CStar
McNally
Plott
Labriola
If he's banged up that he's not ready to wrestle some non qualifiers (except 9House) right now, I can't imagine the coaches will want him starting out against the returning champ, 3rd placer, a returning AA at 165 and then a rejuvenated and healthy Plott (plus McNally is R12 guy from last year)
Realistically he gets 3/4 matches at Big Tens. Unless he wins Big Tens, he would need 8 matches in order to qualify.
I still think he’s done at 174 or moves up to 184. I find it hard to believe Swaffords RS got pulled for Kem to go in the postseason
I started calling a PSU national championship this year during the summer and later on in this thread to the dismay of @js8793
2021-2023 Transfer Portal news
Th I've referred to @smalls103 initial projections a few times and made a few key adjustments. He had Penn State up 131 to 114 on placement BUT the following considerations change things: 1. Kemerer IS coming back, that's +10.5 points. He had Kennedy at 8th (5.5) and Kemerer would be 2nd I...
bwi.forums.rivals.com
It’s kinda spooky what I was saying on page 19 to what is happening now. If Iowa wins the title this year they will certainly earn it and will deserve all the praise that will come from it.
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No offense but I can't believe the 184 rumors are still out there. Kemerer is not a 184. They pulled Assad for a reason. They pulled Swafford's redshirt so he can fill in for duals I'm pretty sure and maybe have him ready to go at Big Tens if Kemerer isn't progressing health wise in a worst case scenario. All respect to Swafford but he hasn't shown he's anything more than a fringe NQ based on results this year. I'd roll the dice with a healthy as possible Kemerer over him and just gamble he can grind out a postseason.
If you type it into reality....it counts more!I started calling a PSU national championship this year during the summer and later on in this thread to the dismay of @js8793
. Btw JS, I remembered that post. Lol2021-2023 Transfer Portal news
Th I've referred to @smalls103 initial projections a few times and made a few key adjustments. He had Penn State up 131 to 114 on placement BUT the following considerations change things: 1. Kemerer IS coming back, that's +10.5 points. He had Kennedy at 8th (5.5) and Kemerer would be 2nd I...
It’s kinda spooky what I was saying on page 19 to what is happening now. If Iowa wins the title this year they will certainly earn it and will deserve all the praise that will come from it.
My favorite pastime is showing love to the Hawks!
Don't understand the concept, that Kemerer will go up a weight for any reason.
He's their best 174 easily, and that's where he would score the most at nationals. Swafford can move up to challenge Assad.
Has this been confirmed yet. I saw Mineo tweeted it.
Having competed at this level I can tell you from experience you can train all you want in the room. It just doesn't measure competing against a seasoned opponent in front of a crowd in a dual meet or tournament setting. If Kem isn't back soon, and I wish him the best, you just can't perform at your best no matter how naturally gifted you are. I can only imagine what his mind and body feel like after nearly 7 years of the grind. I've seen it break many a tough guy who was actually healthy.
I'm old school. I want to see the Nits win it against a full strength Iowa. Hopefully he is back soon and able to scrap.
I'm old school. I want to see the Nits win it against a full strength Iowa. Hopefully he is back soon and able to scrap.
Yeah. Personally I’d rather beat the tar out of Iowa with their best wrestlers in the lineup.
Of course, beating the tar out of them at CHA will be fine with me regardless of who is in their lineup.
Of course, beating the tar out of them at CHA will be fine with me regardless of who is in their lineup.
You and me brother. Especially those special ones, HR "heeeeeeeeesssss stttaaaaaallllllin" hawks.
Maybe things are different now. But again before Brands was injured, why would Brands be at 174 if he was there 184 last year and he was their best 184. Doesn’t make sense as to why you’d have Brands make 174 only to kick him out of the line up when Kem returns. Then you’d have wasted a year of Brands unless a light 184 Brands could beat a full 184 Assad. And if he can then he’s at a disadvantage to the other full 184s. All this to say, what if the plan was always brands at 174 and Kem at 184
Brands probably wasn’t beating out Assad at 184, so he moved down to his natural weight class, where they’d want someone competent to be ready to go if Kemerer couldn’t. This makes even more sense if Brands couldn’t beat Wilson at 184, either.
Kemerer is not a 184, and there would be no advantage for him to try it.
I've felt since summer that the Iowa staff thought there was a fair chance Kem wouldnt see the mat at all this year but at very least not until after the New Year. When I saw Brands at 174 beginning of season it kinda made sense to me. Weird things going on there for sure. It's a great storyline to follow..
I think Brands was beating Assad last year but maybe not this year. I actually think Wilson was beating them both this year which is why he got the nod early on. Will be interesting to see how that one pans out.
Does Kemerer make the NCAA semis at 184?
If they are really burning a redshirt (if Brands is really injured), that means they have a hole. And Kemerer going up could be a possibility. But, if he doesn’t have a bunch of good matches, soon, and goes 184, he might catch AB or Amine early on at B1Gs. And that would not be good for him.
If they are really burning a redshirt (if Brands is really injured), that means they have a hole. And Kemerer going up could be a possibility. But, if he doesn’t have a bunch of good matches, soon, and goes 184, he might catch AB or Amine early on at B1Gs. And that would not be good for him.
