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Lehigh: Go

coming soon to GIA.

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I remember

I remember seeing Mike Caruso (3 time NCAA Champ) in Rec Hall in 67 or 68 (not sure which). He was the first college “ hammer” that I ever saw. He put a huge charge into the Rec Hall crowd with his theatrics. He backed it up with a dominate win. What I remember most is how fired up our fans were. For me …. an essential piece of the Rec Hall lore. For this reason alone, I cherish the annual PSu-Lehigh event.
That was my freshman year and my first wrestling match. My high school did not have a wrestling team. The match I remember that fired the PSU crowd up was Vinnie Fitz upsetting a highly ranked Joe Peritore. And then the incredible Mike Reid match at heavy weight.
 
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Wilson is a great wrestling writer and not afraid to speak his mind. He's similar to David Jones writing about Franklin and football team. Wilson has been devastated by health issues. The idea that he still goes to the gyms and cover wrestling speaks volumes of his passion for the sport.
That's not a compliment.
 
What is truly amazing about Penn State and it's dominance compared to the Oklahoma State and Iowa great stretches is the NCAA rules with limited scholarships. Obviously the school affiliated wrestling clubs have created a different tool of recruiting in today's world .

A story I once read. Before the NCAA applied limits of scholarships in sports was about Bear Bryant. He said he would offer a kid a scholarship even if he didn't think a kid was that good. He just didn't want the kid to go to Auburn or Ole Miss. I believe Alabama had years of over 200 kids on scholarship.
Johnny Majors broke an agreement that the eastern schools had when he took in nearly double the agreed scholarship limit when he arrived at Pittsburgh.
 
Here we go again, we are going to screw around and have multiple 125 pounders with minimal matches and it will be an issue with seeding come Big Ten and NCAA! Just put Davis in and go with it.
I mean, seeding hasn’t been an issue in recent years so much as the 125s not being any good.
 
Here is some quality hate from The Lehigh newspaper, I copied and pasted since it's behind a paywall...

Thought No. 1: Penn State’s dominance is bad for collegiate wrestling.

Really bad, actually.

OK, OK, OK, before we go any further, let me be clear: I am not anti-Penn State. Cael Sanderson might be the best college coach in any sport in our lifetime. The Nittany Lions conduct themselves with class, and what they do on the mat can take the breath away. It’s easy to see why so many top prospects want to go to State College.


But it would be better if many of them didn’t.

When one team is so dominant, it takes all the juice out of a sport.

Notice no one is talking about who will win the NCAA Division I championship this year – why bother? We all know who it will be. Instead, we’re talking about whether Penn State can set the all-time scoring record (answer: you bet).

This is, of course, great for Penn State fans, and we don’t begrudge them a bit for reveling in their team’s absolute ownership of the sport.

But, it’s absolutely no fun when we all know what’s going to happen in advance.

On Sunday, Lehigh is going to Penn State. The Mountain Hawks are one of the most distinguished programs in the country tradition-wise and are a top-20 team.

However, barring a meteor hitting the Nittany Lions training room between now and then, Lehigh has absolutely no chance to win. Instead, the talk is whether Lehigh will get shut out.

That’s not to pick on the Mountain Hawks – almost any team would be in the same spot. Even against ranked teams Penn State can name the score.


In football, say, in such a matchup, an upset is entirely plausible. In basketball, even more so.

In wrestling? Not. A. Chance.

Wrestling folks hate any comparison to basketball, but let’s look at last year’s championships. In men’s basketball, a crazy, wide-open tournament sent teams like San Diego State and Florida Atlantic to the Final Four. It attracted all kinds of interest and raised hope among every team in the country that they could compete for a championship.

That’s what sports are all about.

Then look at wrestling. No doubt whatsoever, no hope for an upset, just another Penn State march to a trophy. No sizzle, no juice. Boring.

What Penn State does is awfully impressive. But it would be better for the sport if there were four or five teams – or more – in the mix. It would be better if, at nationals, five or six teams’ fans entered the arena with realistic championship hopes.

That’s not happening anytime soon. The Penn State Death Star rules the land.

Some SERIOUS HATE.
The bozo that wrote that article missed a critical point. Cael isn’t being paid to make wrestling popular or competitive. He’s being paid to put the best team possible out on the mat. Same goes for Brands and any other coach that makes decisions that some fans don’t like.
 
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Here we go again, we are going to screw around and have multiple 125 pounders with minimal matches and it will be an issue with seeding come Big Ten and NCAA! Just put Davis in and go with it.
Wasn't Hildebrandt the 2 seed at B10s behind Suriano?
 
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Anyone listening to Byers? I’m just getting Toto’s “Africa”. Good song but rather hear the matches.
 
just not a good effort from Steen.
Lehigh kid deserved the match. Gary did nothing
 
Try this

 
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Really wanted to see Davis wrestle, never watched him. I know better than to question Cael, but that was one of my biggest motivators in watching today.
 
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I go to their radio station and see it on schedule but cnat find an actual active link to turn it on?r
last link finally worked
thanks
 
The first shot Nagao took was his best but Crookam was able to put his knee in a bad spot and get the potentially dangerous call. I don't want to see kids get hurt but it seems to me that if you put yourself in the spot you shouldn't get the stoppage.
 
If the bottom wrestler comes up with a leg they should stop the RT, I get it that you don't give the escape but it's ridiculous to let the RT continue.
 
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