I know it was discussed some on this board, but the Eastern Michigan wrestlers impressed me with their aggressiveness and competitiveness.
Keystone Classic Thread
- Thread starter fen103
- Start date
Is Suriano a top 5 @ 125? Yes.
Is Cortez a top 8 @ 133? Yes.
Is Joseph a top 5 @ 165? Yes.
Is Morelli/ Rasheed a top 8 @ 174? Yes.
Is McCuthcheon a top 5 @ 197? Yes.
Is Nevills a top 5 @ 285? Yes.
We know what we got at 141, 149, 157, and 184.
Injuries is all that will derail this train.
Is Cortez a top 8 @ 133? Yes.
Is Joseph a top 5 @ 165? Yes.
Is Morelli/ Rasheed a top 8 @ 174? Yes.
Is McCuthcheon a top 5 @ 197? Yes.
Is Nevills a top 5 @ 285? Yes.
We know what we got at 141, 149, 157, and 184.
Injuries is all that will derail this train.
I did click on video but when it goes to play, it stops and posts a message that I can't watch Flo Content because I'm not a subscriber.
Just got home,great tournament. Great crowd today and big Penn State contingent as expected.
125 - Nick had a real solid tournament. I think everyone can probably put the "too big for 25" projections down, he was definitely outsized by a couple of guys today. Fuentes and him had a scrappy match and he ended up gutting it out. Nice major to close it out.
133 - Devoy is no slouch and Cortez didn't have the offense to get it done. Nice wrestle-back against Wireman for the fall. Forys definitely looked like the best wrestler there today, and he was. Devoy looks much better back down.
141- Mess. Springer had a nice tournament. Moss showed some of the typical potential and Jimmy just didn't wrestle how he should be.
149 / 157 - you know. Really like May Bethea though - tough kid
165 - Awesome job by Cenzo today, beat quality guys en route to a resounding championship. Looked really good. Campbell and Walsh looked solid as expected. Campbell is super lean
174 - Super boring championship and I don't think it really ended up meaning anything other than Rasheed can go for a whole tourny at a high level. He controlled Sebastian. Morelli also had a good win vs Jacob Davis.
184 - Love seeing BoBo celebrate a little at the end there
197 - McCutcheon just workmanlike and getting the wins. That's the formula
HWT - Nevills showed some of that athleticism against a very solid Dejournette. Majored a solid Goodhart as well. Last match of the night kind of a mess with the scoreboard.
Pretty much the torunament you want except 41, which again raises questions. I don't know what the staff's gonna do, but I'm sure they'll make the right call.
125 - Nick had a real solid tournament. I think everyone can probably put the "too big for 25" projections down, he was definitely outsized by a couple of guys today. Fuentes and him had a scrappy match and he ended up gutting it out. Nice major to close it out.
133 - Devoy is no slouch and Cortez didn't have the offense to get it done. Nice wrestle-back against Wireman for the fall. Forys definitely looked like the best wrestler there today, and he was. Devoy looks much better back down.
141- Mess. Springer had a nice tournament. Moss showed some of the typical potential and Jimmy just didn't wrestle how he should be.
149 / 157 - you know. Really like May Bethea though - tough kid
165 - Awesome job by Cenzo today, beat quality guys en route to a resounding championship. Looked really good. Campbell and Walsh looked solid as expected. Campbell is super lean
174 - Super boring championship and I don't think it really ended up meaning anything other than Rasheed can go for a whole tourny at a high level. He controlled Sebastian. Morelli also had a good win vs Jacob Davis.
184 - Love seeing BoBo celebrate a little at the end there
197 - McCutcheon just workmanlike and getting the wins. That's the formula
HWT - Nevills showed some of that athleticism against a very solid Dejournette. Majored a solid Goodhart as well. Last match of the night kind of a mess with the scoreboard.
Pretty much the torunament you want except 41, which again raises questions. I don't know what the staff's gonna do, but I'm sure they'll make the right call.
Sorry, spyker -- I just can't trust that you truly believe any of this, if you're not fired up enough to even use exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wow, good tourney. What were some of those moves by Nolf? will have to replay them - the one where he didn't get back points using his legs and then in the finals when he did that roll through... How about Nick N with his counter in the finals.. a roll through countering a single... from a heavy!!
Cortez is going to be fine, Jimmy will be as well. We need to lighten up. Who knows, maybe they were told to do xx things... this is all practice leading into the big show. This team will be fine. I don't like the 'ratings' we like to do here... there are always upsets in the big tourney.... Let's just enjoy this journey... what a start!
Cortez is going to be fine, Jimmy will be as well. We need to lighten up. Who knows, maybe they were told to do xx things... this is all practice leading into the big show. This team will be fine. I don't like the 'ratings' we like to do here... there are always upsets in the big tourney.... Let's just enjoy this journey... what a start!
Pretty sure nobody told us to do what we did at 141 with regard to our current starter.
Mizzou looks tough!Can't wait for the Iowa PSU dual this year, then we'll see who is doing the talking.
I don't think the Brands bros are going anywhere, either. I think they'll coach at Iowa as long as they want to. I don't even think they are bad coaches, but that doesn't change the fact that Iowa is not an exciting team to watch. At least they haven't been in years sans one or two guys on the roster. For the most part, they wrestle a grind it out style.
Iowa doesn't truly challenge for the title anymore and they haven't for a while now. Sure, they'll finish in the top 3-4 or so, but they aren't a real threat because they don't bonus like other teams, and at this point if you don't have 3-4 guys who bonus their way through the tournament on the way the finals and then guys who can bonus on the back end you're not winning.
And for the record you're a fine poster both here and on HR. I wouldn't consider you delusional. You're input is valued on here by pretty much everybody.
great time today at The Palestra.
wish I had met up with more folks that were there. Kind of tough to do when the PSU fans were spread out in multiple sections, and I don't know what most of you look like. I ended up sitting with Roar (and his wife), as well as with NoVa. We had front row seats for the entire day, and the finals were held on the mat directly in front of us. (A few others were around us that read the board each day but never post, so it's hard to mention them as they don't have a handle.)
Kade Moss's mom and wife sat with us each time Kade wrestled, and his dad sat there one time as well. They were super nice people.
I chatted before the match and after the match with Vais/Christian Pyles, of Flo. Nice to see him again.
Let's see, I also chatter briefly with Screwy Louie, and for some time with the guy that runs True-Wrestling. (He interviewed each of the PSU guys that won their final just after their victory, so I would expect some nice videos to be posted by him in the next day or two.) I also chatted with Nick Suriano's mom and dad -- no surprise; super nice people. At Roar's suggestion, I introduced myself to Phil Davis' dad -- what a great guy, and a great PSU fan, he is.
On to the PSU wrestlers:
Suriano -- just an excellent tournament. He is so focused. I talked with him for about 30 seconds late in the day (between semis and finals) -- I felt bad for interrupting his mental preparation. He has a process that he goes through, in terms of getting mentally and physically prepared, and it works for him. 30 minutes before the start of the tournament, he was already into his preparation. Some of the other guys, especially Nolf and Nickal, get ready, but also seem to be making jokes, and having the time of their lives. Suriano seems oblivious to everything else around him -- he's just in his own world getting set for his next battle. His defense is so good. His offense is fundamentally sound. He just seems to beat guys mentally and physically. He's got some tough opponents on his schedule this year, but I don't sense that a lot of guys are going to beat him.
Cortez -- he looked really, really good. He had a little hiccup against Devoy (Drexel), but Devoy is a very good wrestler. I would have liked to have seen Cortez wrestler Forys, but that didn't happen. Jered recovered from the disappointment of losing 4-5 to Devoy, and tore thru the consolations to take 3rd, with 2 pins each in under 1 minute. A few things to work on, for sure, but he looks very smooth, and should have an excellent season.
Gulibon -- the loss to Springer (Eastern Michigan) was a big surprise to the group sitting around me. Springer went on to win the Keystone Classic, so it appears many of us underestimated him. Jimmy rebounded in his next consolation bout with a TF, and followed that with two decisions. He looked pretty good in doing so. Alas, he got pinned in the consolation round of 4 (i.e., the round before the consolation semis). Jimmy actually showed a lot of good things in his 5 matches. He also showed some of the issues that have given us concern in the past. Jimmy will drive us crazy at times, and also pull off some great wins just when fans are giving up hope. He still seems tentative, and lacking in faith in some of his shots. The lack of commitment to follow through on shots, even when he's in an advantageous position, continues to baffle me. I trust the staff to continue to work with Jimmy on both the mental and technical aspects of his wrestling.
Kade Moss -- for those that had forgotten, Kade Moss is a very good wrestler. He had an excellent tournament, and took 2nd place. In the finals he lost to Springer, of EMU. So Jimmy and Kade both came up short against Springer. Kade did a lot of things well, with 2 pins and a major before his semi match against teammate Dom Giannangeli, who he defeated 7-3. In his final match against Springer, he had a tough time getting to his offense, losing 5-2.
Hmm, I had hoped to get through all of the PSU wrestlers, or at least most of them. However, it's been a really long day, so I'm going to stop here, and will try to complete this on Monday.
wish I had met up with more folks that were there. Kind of tough to do when the PSU fans were spread out in multiple sections, and I don't know what most of you look like. I ended up sitting with Roar (and his wife), as well as with NoVa. We had front row seats for the entire day, and the finals were held on the mat directly in front of us. (A few others were around us that read the board each day but never post, so it's hard to mention them as they don't have a handle.)
Kade Moss's mom and wife sat with us each time Kade wrestled, and his dad sat there one time as well. They were super nice people.
I chatted before the match and after the match with Vais/Christian Pyles, of Flo. Nice to see him again.
Let's see, I also chatter briefly with Screwy Louie, and for some time with the guy that runs True-Wrestling. (He interviewed each of the PSU guys that won their final just after their victory, so I would expect some nice videos to be posted by him in the next day or two.) I also chatted with Nick Suriano's mom and dad -- no surprise; super nice people. At Roar's suggestion, I introduced myself to Phil Davis' dad -- what a great guy, and a great PSU fan, he is.
On to the PSU wrestlers:
Suriano -- just an excellent tournament. He is so focused. I talked with him for about 30 seconds late in the day (between semis and finals) -- I felt bad for interrupting his mental preparation. He has a process that he goes through, in terms of getting mentally and physically prepared, and it works for him. 30 minutes before the start of the tournament, he was already into his preparation. Some of the other guys, especially Nolf and Nickal, get ready, but also seem to be making jokes, and having the time of their lives. Suriano seems oblivious to everything else around him -- he's just in his own world getting set for his next battle. His defense is so good. His offense is fundamentally sound. He just seems to beat guys mentally and physically. He's got some tough opponents on his schedule this year, but I don't sense that a lot of guys are going to beat him.
Cortez -- he looked really, really good. He had a little hiccup against Devoy (Drexel), but Devoy is a very good wrestler. I would have liked to have seen Cortez wrestler Forys, but that didn't happen. Jered recovered from the disappointment of losing 4-5 to Devoy, and tore thru the consolations to take 3rd, with 2 pins each in under 1 minute. A few things to work on, for sure, but he looks very smooth, and should have an excellent season.
Gulibon -- the loss to Springer (Eastern Michigan) was a big surprise to the group sitting around me. Springer went on to win the Keystone Classic, so it appears many of us underestimated him. Jimmy rebounded in his next consolation bout with a TF, and followed that with two decisions. He looked pretty good in doing so. Alas, he got pinned in the consolation round of 4 (i.e., the round before the consolation semis). Jimmy actually showed a lot of good things in his 5 matches. He also showed some of the issues that have given us concern in the past. Jimmy will drive us crazy at times, and also pull off some great wins just when fans are giving up hope. He still seems tentative, and lacking in faith in some of his shots. The lack of commitment to follow through on shots, even when he's in an advantageous position, continues to baffle me. I trust the staff to continue to work with Jimmy on both the mental and technical aspects of his wrestling.
Kade Moss -- for those that had forgotten, Kade Moss is a very good wrestler. He had an excellent tournament, and took 2nd place. In the finals he lost to Springer, of EMU. So Jimmy and Kade both came up short against Springer. Kade did a lot of things well, with 2 pins and a major before his semi match against teammate Dom Giannangeli, who he defeated 7-3. In his final match against Springer, he had a tough time getting to his offense, losing 5-2.
Hmm, I had hoped to get through all of the PSU wrestlers, or at least most of them. However, it's been a really long day, so I'm going to stop here, and will try to complete this on Monday.
I watched the matches on Flo and here are my quick thoughts
Suriano - just a tough kid - reminds me alot of Nico with his consistent pressure while never putting himself in any bad positions on his feet. Hasn't shown any weakness on bottom and has proven he can ride guys out when necessary. Add an seemingly A+ gas tank and that's is a winning formula. Will be very interested to see how he handles bigger/physical styles - as he does seem a bit undersized but not yet overpowered. He's got Cruz coming up next then has to run thru Piccinni, Lizak, Lambert and Gilman by the end of January.
Cortez - Everyone needs to slow their roll both on expectations and now pessimism. First 133 is an absolute meat grinder this year. There are literally 13 SOLID guys at the weight and probably 5 legit shots to win it. I don't think Cortez is one of the 5 but certainly every bit a contender to AA. He'll develop over the season and needs some experience wrestling elite guys and trusting himself to open up a little more than he did against Devoy.
Guilbon/Moss - Again everyone needs to slow down on both of these guys. I don't see Moss performance as stepping stone for the 141 spot. There is a reason JG has been starting past two years - he's better! He also has wins over elite AA guys. He's inconsistent and frankly been a 5-16 guy the past 3 years. We shouldn't expect anything different. Let's hope he gets hot and in a good bracket and see if he can finish career with another AA. Moss has given me no reason to think he has better chance of AA than Jimmy at this point.
Zain - I love watching him drain every ounce of will out of each of his opponents with brute force.
Nolf drains every ounce of will by exhaustion, dizziness, speed and grace. some of the stuff he tries and executes is amazing to watch.
Vincenzo - I thought he wrestled really good. Smart against Walsh as he was equal parts aggressive and cautious. The match against Pitt kid (Campbell) was very impressive. I've watched Campbell destroy Longo #17 the other night - he's tough and Vincenzo handled him. Nice tourney.
Shakur/Geno - This will be where Cael earns his money. I suspect these guys could wrestle off 10 times and all would be 1-2pt matches. I think Shakur has the higher ceiling both from age and ability perspective he just had gas tank and consistency questions. His performance today answered those two questions. Cael should let Shakur go against Lehigh (Priesch) - see if Shakur can take care of business against a similarly ranked guy like Geno did against Wilson.
Bo - hasn't been tested yet at new weight. Will want to see him at Reno against some of the bigger 184s and see how his attacks translate
Cutch - seems to be wrestling with a game plan and its been effective - has knocked off a couple solid10-15 ranked guys in past week. He's definitley undersized and will be for rest of the year - just something he's going to have to deal with.
Nick - I was most impressed with NN today. Really liked his agility and power. He's going to keep improving alot over year - remember he's missed alot of time - his workout partners are sick!! (Varner, Cael, Casey - wow!). wrestling in matches must feel like a break!
Suriano - just a tough kid - reminds me alot of Nico with his consistent pressure while never putting himself in any bad positions on his feet. Hasn't shown any weakness on bottom and has proven he can ride guys out when necessary. Add an seemingly A+ gas tank and that's is a winning formula. Will be very interested to see how he handles bigger/physical styles - as he does seem a bit undersized but not yet overpowered. He's got Cruz coming up next then has to run thru Piccinni, Lizak, Lambert and Gilman by the end of January.
Cortez - Everyone needs to slow their roll both on expectations and now pessimism. First 133 is an absolute meat grinder this year. There are literally 13 SOLID guys at the weight and probably 5 legit shots to win it. I don't think Cortez is one of the 5 but certainly every bit a contender to AA. He'll develop over the season and needs some experience wrestling elite guys and trusting himself to open up a little more than he did against Devoy.
Guilbon/Moss - Again everyone needs to slow down on both of these guys. I don't see Moss performance as stepping stone for the 141 spot. There is a reason JG has been starting past two years - he's better! He also has wins over elite AA guys. He's inconsistent and frankly been a 5-16 guy the past 3 years. We shouldn't expect anything different. Let's hope he gets hot and in a good bracket and see if he can finish career with another AA. Moss has given me no reason to think he has better chance of AA than Jimmy at this point.
Zain - I love watching him drain every ounce of will out of each of his opponents with brute force.
Nolf drains every ounce of will by exhaustion, dizziness, speed and grace. some of the stuff he tries and executes is amazing to watch.
Vincenzo - I thought he wrestled really good. Smart against Walsh as he was equal parts aggressive and cautious. The match against Pitt kid (Campbell) was very impressive. I've watched Campbell destroy Longo #17 the other night - he's tough and Vincenzo handled him. Nice tourney.
Shakur/Geno - This will be where Cael earns his money. I suspect these guys could wrestle off 10 times and all would be 1-2pt matches. I think Shakur has the higher ceiling both from age and ability perspective he just had gas tank and consistency questions. His performance today answered those two questions. Cael should let Shakur go against Lehigh (Priesch) - see if Shakur can take care of business against a similarly ranked guy like Geno did against Wilson.
Bo - hasn't been tested yet at new weight. Will want to see him at Reno against some of the bigger 184s and see how his attacks translate
Cutch - seems to be wrestling with a game plan and its been effective - has knocked off a couple solid10-15 ranked guys in past week. He's definitley undersized and will be for rest of the year - just something he's going to have to deal with.
Nick - I was most impressed with NN today. Really liked his agility and power. He's going to keep improving alot over year - remember he's missed alot of time - his workout partners are sick!! (Varner, Cael, Casey - wow!). wrestling in matches must feel like a break!
Quickly done, may have missed a result or two...feel free to check my work;
Decision Wins - 25 (30%)
Majors (Wins) - 6 (7%)
Techs (Wins) - 6 (7%)
Falls (Wins) - 27 (33%)
All losses - 19 (23%)
Bonus point victories - 39 (47%)
Decision Wins - 25 (30%)
Majors (Wins) - 6 (7%)
Techs (Wins) - 6 (7%)
Falls (Wins) - 27 (33%)
All losses - 19 (23%)
Bonus point victories - 39 (47%)
Will add one more Tom, we all met up with jto prior to the finals...great seeing him again too!!
so let me try to pick up from where I left off, on the post I made last night after the Keystone Classic.
Zain - you run out of ways to describe total domination. He pinned everybody he faced. At no time, in any of his matches, was there anything to give you concern. He won the Outstanding Wrestler award for the Classic. When an athlete is so dominant, you worry that they'll lose the drive and focus that made them so good. So far, that's not even close to an issue with Zain. He is, IMHO, better than he was last year. He continues to work to improve himself. As fans, we can only sit back and enjoy the show. He is that good.
Nolf - what a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. On the side of the mat, he seems to be the PSUer that is most likely to be laughing, to be causing the other guys to crack up, etc. Once he steps on the mat, it's like an anger switch is set off, and he just destroys his opponents. Zain dominates his opponents, mostly on his technique. Nolf has great technique, but he's willing to try almost anything, and he really does seem to be in destruction mode while wrestling. I commented to Roar (I think it was him) that he's somewhat like Ed Ruth, in that he doesn't care if he gives up a sloppy TD, as he's 100% confident that he can take his opponent down and get back points pretty much whenever he wants. His move at the end of the final match (think that's the one) where he turned a surefire TD for his opponent into a TD to the back was stunning. Plus he also had the move where he put his opponent on his back, and so stunned the ref that he wasn't awarded any back points. I often analyze wrestlers from the perspective of how would I attack them (if I were wrestling them), or what type of approach would I map out if I was coaching someone that was to face them. I don't see any legitimate way to attack Jason.
Joseph - with his thin resume during last year's RS, and his loss last Sunday, he was seeded 4th at the Classic. It will be surprising if he is seeded that low in anything else this year, with the exception of possibly NCAAs. Joseph is somewhat short for 165, but very powerfully built. Some of the longer guys will cause him some issues with leverage. Vincenzo probably saw the best collection of competition that any PSU starter did at the Classic. And he did a very good job of defeating the #1 seed, Chad Walsh in the semi, and the #2 seed Te'Shan Campbell in the final. He may suffer a few more hiccups over the course of this season, as he gets adjusted to his size, and to college wrestling. He's going to be fun to watch for this season, and the 3 following seasons.
Morelli - he's upped his repertoire since last season. He's got more offense, has better defense, and has better mat skills. Plus, he seems more comfortable at 174 than he did at 165. He does a lot of things well. Alas, he doesn't do them non-stop. You're not going to see a high degree of chain wrestling from him. Geno will win most if not all of the matches he's expected to win, and gives you a legitimate shot in most of the matches at which he's even or an underdog. He's fundamentally sound, and doesn't beat himself. Perhaps my biggest concern is that his style and his arsenal don't lend themselves to situations where he falls behind by a lot of points. He just does not score points in bunches. He did have 2 falls at the Classic, but they were against guys that were out of their league. Geno can make Nationals, and he can AA. His biggest obstacle at doing that could well be his teammate, Rasheed.
Rasheed - any questions about his gas tank can be put to rest. He looks much happier at 174, and he did not run out of gas at any point during the Classic. He had a TF and a fall in his 1st 2 matches. In the semis he wrestled a very smart match against Johnny Sebastian, of Northwestern, and defeated him 7-2. His match against Morelli, in the finals, didn't really resolve anything. The two of them have such different styles. Rasheed has more offensive moves than Morelli, and is constantly looking to throw in a cradle, and as such has a higher probability of getting a pin. His attack philosophy isn't always the smartest (I recall one sequence where he was on bottom, and could have gotten 1 after getting to his feet, but he tried to throw in a standing cradle for a reverse, and he ended up losing that and also the chance to escape). I don't envy CS and staff for having to decide how to proceed at this weight. It really is a tough decision, and both wrestlers have legitimate cases for being the best option for the team.
Nickal - pin, pin, pin, pin to earn 1st place. Sliga, of NW, who he faced in the final, was the only opponent that had a good set of skills. Bo is one of the more entertaining guys I've ever seen wrestle at 184. He wrestles like a lightweight, with his moves and speed, but also has the length and strength to battle with the bigger guys. At best, there are only a handful of guys at 184 that can give him a real challenge. To some extent, his biggest challenge is to not put himself in a bad positions with his offense -- something that he did a few times last season.
Cutch - it's unfortunate for him that Nickal elected to move up to 184, and then beat him out for that spot. I think Cutch, if healthy, could have competed with anyone at that weight class. If I recall correctly, he was shorter than each of his opponents at the Classic. That's likely to be the case in most of his matches this season. Cutch had a very solid approach in each match in the Classic. He doesn't put himself in bad positions. He won the final on a late TD against Frank Mattiace of Penn -- pretty sure it was the only ranked wrestler he faced at the Classic. He'd be an underdog to Cox, to Pfarr, and possibly to Harner. He'll be even or the favorite against pretty much everyone else at the weight. With the injury issues he's had over the past two season, I do hope that he can avoid them this season, especially with his facing a lot of taller guys. He looks to have really worked hard to get in great shape during the offseason, so perhaps that will help him to avoid injuries.
Nevills - hello college wrestling, I'm finally here. Nick had a coming out party, so to speak, at the Classic. We've been waiting to see him for the past two seasons, but he got injured early on during his RS year, and then missed all but the end of his RSF year, and did not appear to be in the best condition when he wrestled late in the season. He made a cartwheel, or something like that, to avoid giving up a TD -- I think that was in the semifinal against Goodhart (Drexel). You will not see many heavies making that move. Against #1 seed Dejournette (App. St.) in the final, he out worked him, appeared faster, and looked to be the better wrestler. It was a great way for Nick, and for PSU fans, to end the Classic. There's a lot of tough competition at 285 in the B1G, but Nick showed in the Classic that he's going to be a factor at the weight over the course of the season.
I should say a few things about Gary Dinmore. He's been battling injury issues, as well as being at the same weight as all-world, and returning NCAA Champ, Zain. Dinmore seemed to hurt both of his hips over the course of the Classic. That said, he won all but his semifinal match in the Championship bracket, and then went 1-1 in the consolations to take 4th (he lost to Racciato, of Pitt, 6-9). I was quite impressed with him over the course of the Classic.
It's tough to fully capture my impressions of each starter. Hopefully, my comments do a good job of presenting what I observed at the Classic.
Zain - you run out of ways to describe total domination. He pinned everybody he faced. At no time, in any of his matches, was there anything to give you concern. He won the Outstanding Wrestler award for the Classic. When an athlete is so dominant, you worry that they'll lose the drive and focus that made them so good. So far, that's not even close to an issue with Zain. He is, IMHO, better than he was last year. He continues to work to improve himself. As fans, we can only sit back and enjoy the show. He is that good.
Nolf - what a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. On the side of the mat, he seems to be the PSUer that is most likely to be laughing, to be causing the other guys to crack up, etc. Once he steps on the mat, it's like an anger switch is set off, and he just destroys his opponents. Zain dominates his opponents, mostly on his technique. Nolf has great technique, but he's willing to try almost anything, and he really does seem to be in destruction mode while wrestling. I commented to Roar (I think it was him) that he's somewhat like Ed Ruth, in that he doesn't care if he gives up a sloppy TD, as he's 100% confident that he can take his opponent down and get back points pretty much whenever he wants. His move at the end of the final match (think that's the one) where he turned a surefire TD for his opponent into a TD to the back was stunning. Plus he also had the move where he put his opponent on his back, and so stunned the ref that he wasn't awarded any back points. I often analyze wrestlers from the perspective of how would I attack them (if I were wrestling them), or what type of approach would I map out if I was coaching someone that was to face them. I don't see any legitimate way to attack Jason.
Joseph - with his thin resume during last year's RS, and his loss last Sunday, he was seeded 4th at the Classic. It will be surprising if he is seeded that low in anything else this year, with the exception of possibly NCAAs. Joseph is somewhat short for 165, but very powerfully built. Some of the longer guys will cause him some issues with leverage. Vincenzo probably saw the best collection of competition that any PSU starter did at the Classic. And he did a very good job of defeating the #1 seed, Chad Walsh in the semi, and the #2 seed Te'Shan Campbell in the final. He may suffer a few more hiccups over the course of this season, as he gets adjusted to his size, and to college wrestling. He's going to be fun to watch for this season, and the 3 following seasons.
Morelli - he's upped his repertoire since last season. He's got more offense, has better defense, and has better mat skills. Plus, he seems more comfortable at 174 than he did at 165. He does a lot of things well. Alas, he doesn't do them non-stop. You're not going to see a high degree of chain wrestling from him. Geno will win most if not all of the matches he's expected to win, and gives you a legitimate shot in most of the matches at which he's even or an underdog. He's fundamentally sound, and doesn't beat himself. Perhaps my biggest concern is that his style and his arsenal don't lend themselves to situations where he falls behind by a lot of points. He just does not score points in bunches. He did have 2 falls at the Classic, but they were against guys that were out of their league. Geno can make Nationals, and he can AA. His biggest obstacle at doing that could well be his teammate, Rasheed.
Rasheed - any questions about his gas tank can be put to rest. He looks much happier at 174, and he did not run out of gas at any point during the Classic. He had a TF and a fall in his 1st 2 matches. In the semis he wrestled a very smart match against Johnny Sebastian, of Northwestern, and defeated him 7-2. His match against Morelli, in the finals, didn't really resolve anything. The two of them have such different styles. Rasheed has more offensive moves than Morelli, and is constantly looking to throw in a cradle, and as such has a higher probability of getting a pin. His attack philosophy isn't always the smartest (I recall one sequence where he was on bottom, and could have gotten 1 after getting to his feet, but he tried to throw in a standing cradle for a reverse, and he ended up losing that and also the chance to escape). I don't envy CS and staff for having to decide how to proceed at this weight. It really is a tough decision, and both wrestlers have legitimate cases for being the best option for the team.
Nickal - pin, pin, pin, pin to earn 1st place. Sliga, of NW, who he faced in the final, was the only opponent that had a good set of skills. Bo is one of the more entertaining guys I've ever seen wrestle at 184. He wrestles like a lightweight, with his moves and speed, but also has the length and strength to battle with the bigger guys. At best, there are only a handful of guys at 184 that can give him a real challenge. To some extent, his biggest challenge is to not put himself in a bad positions with his offense -- something that he did a few times last season.
Cutch - it's unfortunate for him that Nickal elected to move up to 184, and then beat him out for that spot. I think Cutch, if healthy, could have competed with anyone at that weight class. If I recall correctly, he was shorter than each of his opponents at the Classic. That's likely to be the case in most of his matches this season. Cutch had a very solid approach in each match in the Classic. He doesn't put himself in bad positions. He won the final on a late TD against Frank Mattiace of Penn -- pretty sure it was the only ranked wrestler he faced at the Classic. He'd be an underdog to Cox, to Pfarr, and possibly to Harner. He'll be even or the favorite against pretty much everyone else at the weight. With the injury issues he's had over the past two season, I do hope that he can avoid them this season, especially with his facing a lot of taller guys. He looks to have really worked hard to get in great shape during the offseason, so perhaps that will help him to avoid injuries.
Nevills - hello college wrestling, I'm finally here. Nick had a coming out party, so to speak, at the Classic. We've been waiting to see him for the past two seasons, but he got injured early on during his RS year, and then missed all but the end of his RSF year, and did not appear to be in the best condition when he wrestled late in the season. He made a cartwheel, or something like that, to avoid giving up a TD -- I think that was in the semifinal against Goodhart (Drexel). You will not see many heavies making that move. Against #1 seed Dejournette (App. St.) in the final, he out worked him, appeared faster, and looked to be the better wrestler. It was a great way for Nick, and for PSU fans, to end the Classic. There's a lot of tough competition at 285 in the B1G, but Nick showed in the Classic that he's going to be a factor at the weight over the course of the season.
I should say a few things about Gary Dinmore. He's been battling injury issues, as well as being at the same weight as all-world, and returning NCAA Champ, Zain. Dinmore seemed to hurt both of his hips over the course of the Classic. That said, he won all but his semifinal match in the Championship bracket, and then went 1-1 in the consolations to take 4th (he lost to Racciato, of Pitt, 6-9). I was quite impressed with him over the course of the Classic.
It's tough to fully capture my impressions of each starter. Hopefully, my comments do a good job of presenting what I observed at the Classic.
agreed. I should have mentioned him. Nice of you to introduce me to him, Roar. jto, it was nice to meet you and to chat with you. Keep up the good work while blogging about the team.
I don't know if this was mentioned but Bo had a take down within the first ten seconds of all of his matches.
I looked for some guy who looked like your avatar, Tom. All I came up with with was a statue outside the football stadium that bore a stunning resemblance. Based on your seats, I was only a few rows behind you all. Some other time, perhaps!
lol. I forgot to put on that garb.
the statue that you saw outside the football stadium is of a guy that is famous, but is not the guy in my avatar. if you had looked atop City Hall, you might have actually seen a statue of the guy in my avatar.
if true, that's frustrating to read. I think it was NoVa that first mentioned you early in the morning, and your handle got mentioned by us a couple of other times during the day.
lol. I forgot to put on that garb.
the statue that you saw outside the football stadium is of a guy that is famous, but is not the guy in my avatar. if you had looked atop City Hall, you might have actually seen a statue of the guy in my avatar.
if true, that's frustrating to read. I think it was NoVa that first mentioned you early in the morning, and your handle got mentioned by us a couple of other times during the day.
The wigs make them all look so similar... Haha. I actually asked a few PSU fans I was sitting with if they were board members, but to no avail.
I did end up randomly sitting by the same guy I sat with for 3 days at Nationals, so that was pretty cool.
Tom, I always thought your avatar was the Quaker Oats dude, lol.lol. I forgot to put on that garb.
the statue that you saw outside the football stadium is of a guy that is famous, but is not the guy in my avatar. if you had looked atop City Hall, you might have actually seen a statue of the guy in my avatar.
if true, that's frustrating to read. I think it was NoVa that first mentioned you early in the morning, and your handle got mentioned by us a couple of other times during the day.
And burnsie...if you were sitting behind Tom, you were also behind NoVa and me...as you said, next time.
@RoarLions1 & @NoVa Lion: do you recall at the Classic, there was a man and his son sitting to our left? We spoke to them a few times. They stayed for a few hours, but had to leave because the boy was in a wrestling competition.
Anyway, I was at a youth tournament on Saturday. A kid asked me for directions in the building, to which I gave him the answer. He then mentioned that he thought he had met me before, and we chatted very briefly (I was in a rush), and it turned out that was the kid from the Keystone Classic. I suspect his father was also at the tournament, but I'm so focused on the action on the mats during tournaments that I'm pretty unaware of anyone else that's at the event.
Anyway, I was at a youth tournament on Saturday. A kid asked me for directions in the building, to which I gave him the answer. He then mentioned that he thought he had met me before, and we chatted very briefly (I was in a rush), and it turned out that was the kid from the Keystone Classic. I suspect his father was also at the tournament, but I'm so focused on the action on the mats during tournaments that I'm pretty unaware of anyone else that's at the event.
oh well. He was closer to @NoVa Lion than to either of us. He was to the left of NoVa, so you were the furthest of the 3 of us from him. I believe he was on the same row as I was, which would make him 1 row in front of you.
Similar threads
