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Most Disappointing Part about Zain's Tourney

Angry Fish, how do you think JO will handle the new weigh-in procedures? I dont think Zain will have any problems, but JO will. I think Zain will be the US guy at 65kg for 2018, 2019 and the Olympics in 2020. I think Stieber might move up and be Zain's biggest competition.

I think Stieber is best positioned to handle 65KG going forward. I agree the new procedures will make 65 a challenge for JO. I think Zain is fine at 65 now, but expect it to get increasingly difficult throughout this quad. He is still young and body will continue to mature.

I would not be surprised if JO went 70 the next couple years and then try to come back down to 65 in 2020. But that is pure conjecture on my part.

I have similar questions about Green at 70.

Will be very interesting.

Making the weight is one thing. Making it and maintaining strength/power is another.
 
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Zero disappointment. He's a part-time FS wrestler. I look forward to watching him when he can dedicate all his efforts to FS.
 
Stieber is going to be 29 by the time the next Olympics roll around. Jordan Oliver is going to be 30. That's not exactly prime wrestling age, a lot of guys fall off in their late 20s/early 30s. We may have seen the best Oliver we ever will this year. That's not to say it is a certainty, but Oliver is going to drop off faster than Zain will. (I expect Oliver/Zain in 2018 and that it will be a barn burner)

Zain is going to be 25, that's right around where he's hitting his peak. Maybe Logan or Oliver can do it and maybe they will do great at that weight. It isn't impossible for sure, and maybe they make the Olympic roster. I will root for whoever has that singlet on.

Also, who knows what young guys develop and come up through 65 kilos too. Is Pico going to be good enough after training MMA for 4 years? A lot is going to happen over the next 3 years. I wouldn't be surprised if Zain has asserted his dominance, I wouldn't be surprised if Oliver/Zain/Stieber are our 3 main contenders. Will someone like Frank (i.e. a 9 seed, I don't think Frank will be competing in 2020) surprise a bunch of people at trials?

There's far too many variables that make it hilarious and ridiculous to try and predict the Olympic trials in 2020. Zain literally just beat an Olympian and made worlds, and with a bit more luck could have easily ended up wrestling for a medal.
 
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No, the saddest part of Zain's tourney that he was quite literally about 1/2 second from winning his second match when time ran out on his takedown and the challenge review prevented him from moving on to the next round. He would have likely then at least wrestled for a bronze and perhaps better.
 
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Angry Fish, how do you think JO will handle the new weigh-in procedures? I dont think Zain will have any problems, but JO will. I think Zain will be the US guy at 65kg for 2018, 2019 and the Olympics in 2020. I think Stieber might move up and be Zain's biggest competition.
I also believe JO moves up or moves on. Steiber will probably move up as well to make for some epic clashes at 65kg.
 
Zero disappointment. He's a part-time FS wrestler. I look forward to watching him when he can dedicate all his efforts to FS.
Agreed. Mark Hall got 9th his first year at the junior worlds, then lost to Meyer in his first D1 match. I think a well placed failure helps a great athlete focus on their next level. Zain is a lock for one of the best wrestlers of his generation and he will peak career wise in 2020.
 
Are PSU fans concerned at all about Zain making 65kg scratch weight with two day weigh ins for Worlds? That's basically 141 for NCAAs which Zain grew out of very quickly.
 
Are PSU fans concerned at all about Zain making 65kg scratch weight with two day weigh ins for Worlds? That's basically 141 for NCAAs which Zain grew out of very quickly.

It's actually 143. If he can't make it he moves up.
 
Right. I know it's 143ish. 141 gets a weight allowance every day at NCAA's which essentially makes the weight class 143 by the time Saturday rolls around.

If Zain is able to make 143ish 'easy' with two hour weigh ins you would think he could go 141 for NCAAs but he grew out of that weight pretty quickly.
 
If Zain is able to make 143ish 'easy' with two hour weigh ins you would think he could go 141 for NCAAs but he grew out of that weight pretty quickly.
Did he grow out of the weight, or is he wrestling at a weight that is more comfortable for him? I really don't know, and I'm guessing that you don't either. If Zain was wrestling for that team in Stillwater, he may have still been at 141 the last couple of years.
 
Zain is not going to be able to do 74 kg I would imagine. That's 164 pounds I believe. He'll never be big enough for it.
 
I spoke to Zain today. He read this thread and agrees with Angry. So after NCAA's he said he is done wrestling for good and will never wrestle freestyle again. His words to me were" I am just being realistic with myself, I am never going to be able to make another world team".
 
Anybody else notice over the years that Zain sometimes will falter a hair in an initial attempt (first stiebler match exception) and then come back with focused vengeance and just take what he wants.

Just a guess but Zain is the USA man until he decides he has had enough.
 
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Except against Stieber, Pico and JO.

I think the level of competition has more to do with it.
 
Holding 141 for a whole college season is a little different then what Zain did for worlds. I would love to see him at 41 this year, but it may be a bridge too far. Of course 149 made sense given the rest of the lineup.

Clearly Zain wants to be a world champ and that would mean being in that 143 lb range.
 
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Have to break in here every once in awhile...got some good lulz out of this one. Zain makes the World team after his junior year and OP makes it sound like its his only shot. Going to be tough to take Zain out, especially with the new weigh in rules. Best shot is Streibler and he looked kind of uninterested this past weekend...got dominated. J.O. is also trying to sell that he was the missing link on Twitter which is funny for so many reasons. He'll have to go up to 70 anyways.

Zain needed one more second that he didn't have...reminded me of Clark/NATO B1G finals. Nothing at Worlds is easy...I don't care how the bracket sets up for somebody. He'll be back and will do just fine.I thought for sure he would medal. BTW, nothing wrong with his par terre...just has to finish quickly underneath against these foreign guys.
 
Even if Zain makes the team again next year, which i put st 50%, the field at Worlds will be much stronger than it was this year. That is inarguable. So Zain will need to improve to medal. I don't see him improving that much in 2018.

I expect his next major improvement to come in 2019...and im not sure he will still be at 65 in 2019. His body will mature.
 
Everyone gets a 2 kg allowance for day 2. So that's 143 to 147, I don't think it'll be that much of a problem.
 
Even if Zain makes the team again next year, which i put st 50%, the field at Worlds will be much stronger than it was this year. That is inarguable. So Zain will need to improve to medal. I don't see him improving that much in 2018.

I expect his next major improvement to come in 2019...and im not sure he will still be at 65 in 2019. His body will mature.

Why can't he improve much over the next year? He made a noticeable jump from 2016 to 2017.
 
Even if Zain makes the team again next year, which i put st 50%, the field at Worlds will be much stronger than it was this year. That is inarguable. So Zain will need to improve to medal. I don't see him improving that much in 2018.

I expect his next major improvement to come in 2019...and im not sure he will still be at 65 in 2019. His body will mature.
This is precisely the type of post that we mock when it's on HR.
 
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Even if Zain makes the team again next year, which i put st 50%, the field at Worlds will be much stronger than it was this year. That is inarguable. So Zain will need to improve to medal. I don't see him improving that much in 2018.

I expect his next major improvement to come in 2019...and im not sure he will still be at 65 in 2019. His body will mature.
Kindly provide us with the flowchart and medical authorities you used to draw your conclusions about Zain's 2018 development plateau and subsequent 2019 jump. Hint: you'll need to remove your pants.
 
Kindly provide us with the flowchart and medical authorities you used to draw your conclusions about Zain's 2018 development plateau and subsequent 2019 jump. Hint: you'll need to remove your pants.
Folkstyle vs Freestyle focus...

C'mon man: try to keep up.
 
Folkstyle vs Freestyle focus...

C'mon man: try to keep up.

He improved in freestyle over the last year, and I'm pretty sure he was wrestling folkstyle. Of our world medalists in men's freestyle, Gilman, Cox and Snyder all wrestled folkstyle last season. That's half of them. I don't think it's going to hinder Zain at all.
 
Even if Zain makes the team again next year, which i put st 50%, the field at Worlds will be much stronger than it was this year. That is inarguable. So Zain will need to improve to medal. I don't see him improving that much in 2018.

I expect his next major improvement to come in 2019...and im not sure he will still be at 65 in 2019. His body will mature.

Who would take Zain out? Just curious.
 
He improved in freestyle over the last year, and I'm pretty sure he was wrestling folkstyle. Of our world medalists in men's freestyle, Gilman, Cox and Snyder all wrestled folkstyle last season. That's half of them. I don't think it's going to hinder Zain at all.

Also...Jordan won a gold medal coming off of folkstyle. I didn't give Zain much of a chance last year to make the world team because he was a one dimensional kind of guy. He improved on his feet and in his handfighting. Zain is going to be just fine or else I would be pushing other alternatives. Right now, he is the best the U.S. has to offer. I don't know if he would have gotten past Gogeav but it wouldn't have surprised me to see Zain get to the finals. I stand by that.
 
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I am certainly biased because Zain and Nolf are my two favorite wrestlers. A family member of mine told me a really cool story about him and Zain as freshman at PSU. All i will say is this kid is all class, not that we did not know that already. Seeing his interview after his tourney tells you all you need to know. I feel bad for all his opponents next year, he is just going to work harder and get even better.

Anyway I paid the $10 for trackwrestling so I could watch the mens freestyle team. Well worth the money. So early AM that day i painfully watched him lose a match I am sure he wishes he could wrestle again. He needed one more second. Taking nothing away from his opponent, Zain definitely did not wrestle his best. I am not going to break the whole match down, but Zain gave too much respect, made a few costly errors, and waited too long to attack for the comeback. Easy for me to say typing this from my laptop. The kid made his first senior world team and though it was not the result he wanted, he will be back next year. Next time he will be more confident, more experienced, and better prepared.

His competition.
-Molinaro- He is too one dimensional and a coach at the moment. Zain will widen the gap. Frank is a very little threat to Zain.

-Stieber- No way Logan stays at 61KG. Logan got him at the trials 2 years ago in a great match. Stieber was barely able to stand and was exhausted afterwards, so much to this day I believe this is why Frank beat Logan the next match. I favor Zain this time next year cause he is only going to improve and I think the conditioning factor will play a roll. It will be a fun shootout.

-JO- First off I can not stand this dude. He is second to PD3 when talking smack and NOT backing it up. He is NOT beating Zain next year at trials. Especially with new weigh in rules. This dude always fades, then blames it on an injury afterwards or some lame excuse. How many times did he get to Zains legs their last match? Zero. Also this is at 65KG, not 70KG where I think JO would fare way better. Look how much better Green does at 70KG rather when he tried to suck to 65KG. Zain smashed Green. Too much a cut for someone is only gonna hinder your performance. No shot JO. Zain will take your heart and make you quit. You have a better shot at passing your drug test.:D

Pico- I do not follow his MMA career besides seeing him get ko'd by a crazy uppercut, well actually choked out after that. Anyway I do not know his weight these days, or if he is even considering coming back to try and make a world team next year. Pico has owned Zain in the past, but Zain has closed the gap in their last meeting. Plus Zain is way better and more active than Pico. I would have to give an advantage to Zain cause his heart is 100% in wrestling and training. Where Aaron is more into MMA training for his career. At this point I just do not see Pico dedicating himself to make a run for a world team spot. BUT if he was serious and did train only for wrestling, he is a threat. You can not deny this kids skills.
 
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Agree on Frank. But he is strong as an ox and took a bout of off Zain at WTT, only lost to JO 4-4 and was secs from a bronze last year. So I'm not counting him out.

I don't think you will see Pico wrestle again, at least not until 2020. Hard to imagine him at 65 if he does.

Green will stay at 70. By 2020, that may change, we'll see.

If Stieber goes to 65, I would bet on him over Zain right now. Too much offense.

If JO is healthy and has had proper time to train, I take him over Zain right now. Agree 2 day format at 65 will be tough for him though. But remember he is undefeated against Zain, Frank, Kennedy and Stieber in Freestyle. As for getting to Zain's legs, it will be a little easier now that Zain doesn't use the hands to the face defense that cost him the match against JO.

Long way until April. Meanwhile, I stand by my OP, Zain blew the easiest path to a world medal he will ever have. He may (likely will) still win one, but path will be tougher for him.
 
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