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.
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.