What might be McCutcheon's best outing yet at 197, he beats Haas 11-2 after nearly getting the fall in the third
Penn State-Lehigh Match Thread
- Thread starter fen103
- Start date
Vollaro chooses down position. Nick riding tough. Out of bounds. Restart. Nice front trip by Nick and get Vollaro bellied out on edge of mat. Another restart. Nick gets him belied in center of mat. Nick working ride. Nick rides him out the entire second period. 0-0.
Nick is going to go down. He is working his way up and gets out in 12 seconds. Nice snatch single for td by Nick. 3-1. Nick working cross face. Out of bounds Restart.
Nick lets him out. Another td and two back. Lets him up again and is looking for another td and instead Vollaro gets td.
Nick lets him out. Another td and two back. Lets him up again and is looking for another td and instead Vollaro gets td.
With an 8-4 decision from Nick Nevills, Penn State wrestling wins in the Bryce Jordan Center, 30-10, over Lehigh
Nick look very good...let the big guy fall on him to prevent the major but a heck of an effort by Nick...gotta love it when the heavy is looking to bonus!
LOVE that Nick went neutral with 16 seconds left to try to get the major vs. the number 11 guy. Don't care that he gave up the late TD.
I still believe jimmy can be an AA, all Cruz did today was grab ankles. Jimmy was aggressive and got in as stated many times just needs to finish one or two of those
Grades:
125 - A
133 - D- (don't want to give an F)
141 - B- (could have been an A if shots were finished)
149 - A+
157 - A (played with guy like a cat with a mouse but missed out on pin)
165 - B
174 - C- (couldn't finish shot)
184 - A+
197 - B+
285 - B+
125 - A
133 - D- (don't want to give an F)
141 - B- (could have been an A if shots were finished)
149 - A+
157 - A (played with guy like a cat with a mouse but missed out on pin)
165 - B
174 - C- (couldn't finish shot)
184 - A+
197 - B+
285 - B+
Here's my honest assessment of Lions at this point in season
2 - Finalist (Nolf, Zain) - most likely two champs
2 - Top 4 (Suriano, Nickal) 184 is SO deep with Dean on top hard to assume Nickal as finalist
3 - 4th - 12th (Cenzo, Cutch and Nevills) I think its more likely than not that these 3 AA, but each have ?s that don't make them locks
3 - 6th - Qualify - (Cortez, Gullibon, 174) - all three have chance to AA but need to wrestle best and get good draws. I think odds are against them AA'ing
2 champs, and 5 more AAs with a bunch of bonus points should be good enough for 6 of last 7.
2 - Finalist (Nolf, Zain) - most likely two champs
2 - Top 4 (Suriano, Nickal) 184 is SO deep with Dean on top hard to assume Nickal as finalist
3 - 4th - 12th (Cenzo, Cutch and Nevills) I think its more likely than not that these 3 AA, but each have ?s that don't make them locks
3 - 6th - Qualify - (Cortez, Gullibon, 174) - all three have chance to AA but need to wrestle best and get good draws. I think odds are against them AA'ing
2 champs, and 5 more AAs with a bunch of bonus points should be good enough for 6 of last 7.
Just returned from the BJC; another very good show by Cael et al. Here are my thoughts:
125 - Nick is the real deal. Thought he might have gotten the pin at one point, regardless, he is very, very good.
133 - In a perverse way I'm hoping something was wrong with Cortez because that was a painful match to watch. He won't get near the podium if that performance is indicative of what he brings to the mat.
141 - I was prepared for a bad match from Jimmy and instead saw a match which he could have won. Jimmy looked focused today I thought.
149 - Zain was Zain.
157 - Nolf was Nolf. The cat playing with the mouse analogy definitely fit here.
165 - Cenzo won so props for that, but I wasn't overly impressed. Would really have liked to see him wrestle #5 Minotti.
174 - Shakur's loss was a shocker to me. I expected explosive offense and lots of points, but that didn't happen. I thought once you got Rasheed into the lineup Geno would never get another opportunity to start. Geno has his opening.
184 - Bo was Bo.
197 - Liked how Mac wrestled. I think he is settling into this weight class and will be great.
285 - Really liked how Nevills wrestled. Aggressive to the end, tried for the major. We will do well at this weight class.
Whenever you can score 30 points on Lehigh that is solid, although performances at 133 and 174 were very disappointing.
Enjoyed the BJC atmosphere and hope Cael keeps it as a regularly scheduled dual in the future.
Mixed bag today, mostly good though. Suriano is going to be all Gilman can handle--Cruz didn't come close to taking him down. Cortez just didn't look like the same guy as the one who started the year, so sluggish I have to wonder whether he was sick.
Jimmy looked alright I thought. His problem finishing shots is what it is, but still seems preventable if he just keeps moving through the shot. Pretty sure I'm not alone in that diagnosis, but guys grab onto his ankle and it's a sure stalemate because he can't power through it. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Nice job by Cenzo to fight through being sick. I think the long timeout reviewing that takedown hurt Rasheed; didn't look as intense after that. Cutch's last second TD in the second was as impressive as the turn in third. So impressed by Nevills; loved that he tried to get the major. Says something about the competitiveness in the room that he'd risk getting trapped under Vollaro for that.
Jimmy looked alright I thought. His problem finishing shots is what it is, but still seems preventable if he just keeps moving through the shot. Pretty sure I'm not alone in that diagnosis, but guys grab onto his ankle and it's a sure stalemate because he can't power through it. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Nice job by Cenzo to fight through being sick. I think the long timeout reviewing that takedown hurt Rasheed; didn't look as intense after that. Cutch's last second TD in the second was as impressive as the turn in third. So impressed by Nevills; loved that he tried to get the major. Says something about the competitiveness in the room that he'd risk getting trapped under Vollaro for that.
Might be announced attendance but there were not 15,000 in the BJC today.
That's just what they said on tv. It didn't look like that many people were there.
Vincenzo was in total control I thought, just didn't rack up points. Cortez was easily the most disappointing for me. Our chances to win a 6th title in 8 years is going to hinge on getting something productive out of 133 or 174, and I don't feel great about either class right now.
Grabbing the ankles should be a stall call. The intention is to stop progress and get a stalemate. Imagine how much more offense you would see if they made it a stall call? I knows guys need to finish shots, but some wrestlers are so good at getting to the ankle because they know they will eventually get a stalemate. Call it the same way they do it when they guy on top drops to an ankle. Just feel it's another way to speed up the flow of some matches and cut down on stalemate's and restarts. Reward the wrestler who is taking the shot and trying to create offense.
Agree about the stalling. I feel like the ankle grab should be a stall after the second or 3rd time. And Cruz did nothing that match. No stall warning for Cruz but they warned the poor kid at 57 getting overwhelmed by Nolf. Makes no sense to me.
Preisch beat both Rasheed and Hammond last year at 165. He's solid. Still, Shak had his chances to win a close match...he'll learn.
IIRC, Preisch gave Morelli and/or Rasheed fits at a tournament last year (Scuffle?). I was expecting the 174 match today to be very close (but hoping that Rasheed had separated himself). Not yet, it would seem.
EDIT: Oops, I see Roar beat me to it (with better accuracy).
appreciate the PBP by multiple folks. Nice to see Tim posting from a dual.
great to read this thread after missing the entire dual.
great to read this thread after missing the entire dual.
I don't like that style but some guys do score with it. Delgado used that funk against Megaludis many times and was able to score with it, and I remember Conner Hartmann used it to beat McIntosh one year at NCAAs.
I like the idea of a stall warning if a kid defends a shot by grabbing an ankle and doesn't improve his position constantly or let it go before a 5 count.
Good grief, you guys are reactionary today. Championships aren't won or lost in December. Cortez didn't forget how to wrestle. Shakur didn't forget to wrestle. Losses happen. Learn from them and improve on mistakes. Shakur's wins against good opponents weren't by mistake.
I agree with the ankle grab. If you dive on a kid's leg(s) and just lay there tied up not looking to score or at least improve. Stall.
What works better is a zain, a jason, a Bo or a McCutcheon finish. Work the move through and finish. A little brutality when finishing from that position goes a long way.
What works better is a zain, a jason, a Bo or a McCutcheon finish. Work the move through and finish. A little brutality when finishing from that position goes a long way.
Here are some of my thoughts on the dual just for the hell of it...
125: Suriano looked like a potential NCAA finalist today. I've been impressed with the young buck so far but this was his most impressive victory to date. His pace was solid and he had no problem on the mat with Cruz, which is quite the feat for a true freshman. Cruz looked like he was wrestling to try to win a 2-1 match in tiebreakers but Suriano obviously had other ideas. He seems like he never breaks positioning and he's just very technically sound. I still think Gilman is on his own level this year, but Penn State has got to be liking what they're seeing so far. He looks at or beyond where Nico was at this point in his true freshman season (I think Nico took 8 or 9 losses his freshman season). Granted, this weight is not as deep as it was then.
133: This one was pretty much total domination by Parker. I was surprised that he didn't pick up the pace and try to win by even more after he took Cortez down so easily. He looked like he had a strength advantage and his finishes were crisp. Good win and credit to him for a quality victory but to my eye Cortez also didn't look quite himself. Not sure if he was just off, had a tough weight cut, was sick, etc. but he looked wobbly from the first whistle and just had no aggression whatsoever out there. I'm not sounding the alarm bells just yet for PSU at 133 but he'll definitely need to show some improvement or he could be in for a tough time in a Big Ten weight class that includes Tomasello, Clark (if healthy), Richards, Micic, McKee, and Dippery. His performance is certainly something to keep an eye on with regard to the team race.
141: Cruz did what Cruz does and made Gulibon pay for not finishing cleanly on him. Single legs against Randy Cruz are not the way to go. I'm not sure if that was ineffective game planning or just an execution issue but if Gulibon would have hit a double or moved his feet while finishing he would have won that match. I'm actually encouraged by his performance in this one because Cruz has looked very good so far this year. Gulibon still looked like a liability on bottom in this one as well but Cruz is notoriously difficult to escape from and he was his usual clingy self today. Most importantly, I'm thankful that Gulibon cut that atrocity of a mullet and is back to sporting a respectable haircut. In terms of NCAA outlook at this weight class, 141 is no cake walk and PSU will be lucky to see more than a 2-2 performance here IMO. Cruz looks like he's in position to finish 5-8.
149: Zain just wrecked a very tough Laike Gardner today. Gardner is no joke and has looked solid in the early season, but he just had no answer for Retherford. I'm very, very impressed that he got the pin in this one as I was expecting a major at best. I think Jordan, Sorenson, Mayes, and Collica are the only ones who even have a chance of keeping him from a wire to wire bonus win season.
157: Nolf obliterated an overmatched Kent Lane. I can't help but chuckle when he's up by 14 and doesn't want to "just" get the takedown but purposely avoids it to look for the fall from neutral. It's always a treat to watch him get after it and I feel bad for everyone else in college wrestling at 157 pounds.
165: Pre-match, the coaches were considering scratching Joseph due to illness but they decided to let him wrestle ( I'm assuming it's because Minotti was inactive). Keeping that in mind, he was solid but unspectacular in this bout against Longo. He controlled the action from neutral but definitely lacked some explosiveness out there and seemed to be wearing down in the third. Since I haven't seen this from him before, I'm pretty convinced that it can be attributed to just being sick. I think he's looked strong so far this season and should find himself on the podium when it's all said and done. He probably can't beat the top tier guys yet, but he should score some points.
174: Where to begin with this one? Let's start with this: credit to an underrated Ryan Preisch on gutting out a tough win against probably the tallest 74 pounder in the country. Seriously, how tall is Rasheed? Rasheed looked good early in the first and had a quick takedown immediately followed by another one that was overturned by video review. The break in the action seemed to affect him and he looked lackluster from there on out. Despite not being particularly aggressive, Preisch was efficient and picked his spot to attack later in the match and was able to convert. I'd like to see Rasheed pursue a bit more aggressively when he's trailing and I'd like to see him with a reliable "go to" shot late in a match. Having said that, he didn't look bad but the window is once again open for Geno Morelli to possibly regain the spot at 74. This is another spot to watch for PSU with definite team race implications. Lots of time to determine a starter and whoever emerges has potential to sneak on the podium in a fairly thin weight class. Preisch should probably be ranked a bit higher as well.
184: The pin streak continues for Bo Nickal. I'm really starting to think that he and Gabe Dean are on a collision course this year as they are both laying waste to their competition thus far. Dean's level of competition has been superior so I'm very interested to see Bo against a ranked guy at this weight class in the coming weeks. I think we'll see less spectacular pins but a lot of controlled major decisions that are dominated from neutral.
197: Mccutcheon looked great in this match for a guy who is still essentially a bumped up 84 pounder that was never particularly big at 84. Haas isn't exactly top level competition for assessing Cutch's long term potential, but just seeing him score some bonus points by getting the major helped to lessen my fear that he would win every match 3-2. I think he looked a little bit bigger today too but maybe that's just me. The fact that his bread and butter from neutral is a low leg attack is a big advantage in being able to maintain some offense after bumping up a weight class. I think he would have a lot of trouble finishing on some of the bigger guys at this weight class if that were not the case. His mat wrestling has looked solid as well and he has not really shown the effects of being a smaller guy in potentially getting trapped underneath/unable to ride. I think a lot of the size problems will become more evident against top guys, especially because he isn't the tallest kid in the world. Still developing nicely though and making adjustments and if he continues to put on some size he should win some matches at NCAAs and have a chance to grab a low AA finish in a weight class that drops off dramatically after the top few.
285: This is the Nick Nevills every Penn State fan was hoping for when they signed the 3 headed monster of Nolf, Nickal, and Nevills. After a lackluster and brief appearance last year, Nevills has turned it on and looks to have made a full recovery. Vollaro is no joke and is one of the biggest heavies in the country. He's the kind of guy that I figured might give Nevills some trouble based solely on size but Nevills handled him in this one. He controlled the ties pretty well and I was super impressed by his ability to ride a larger wrestler like Vollaro. He's looked like a beast on top so far this year and as far as heavyweights are concerned he's been pretty fun to watch. I liked seeing his aggressiveness in the 3rd period when he cut Vollaro and tried to go for the major with 15 seconds left. He ultimately gave up the takedown before time expired but I'm sure Cael and company would take that mistake 10 times out of 10. His snatch single was a thing of beauty as well and is the kind of attack that obviously will be more effective against some of the giants the roam the heavyweight ranks. His size hasn't been an issue so far but I would like to see him with another 10-15 pounds of muscle on his frame so hopefully he keeps hitting the weight room hard throughout the season. So, I think he's looking more and more like a solid bet to finish top 8 after today's win and his victories over Dejournette and Butler. Wouldn't pick him against Snyder (duh), Walz, or Medberry but anyone else is fair game as far as I'm concerned. Penn State has to be excited about how he's looked early because he was kind of a wild card entering the season after his short and shaky stint at the end of last year. Vollaro is a solid heavy but he could really stand to attack a bit more. That's putting it as gently as I can.
125: Suriano looked like a potential NCAA finalist today. I've been impressed with the young buck so far but this was his most impressive victory to date. His pace was solid and he had no problem on the mat with Cruz, which is quite the feat for a true freshman. Cruz looked like he was wrestling to try to win a 2-1 match in tiebreakers but Suriano obviously had other ideas. He seems like he never breaks positioning and he's just very technically sound. I still think Gilman is on his own level this year, but Penn State has got to be liking what they're seeing so far. He looks at or beyond where Nico was at this point in his true freshman season (I think Nico took 8 or 9 losses his freshman season). Granted, this weight is not as deep as it was then.
133: This one was pretty much total domination by Parker. I was surprised that he didn't pick up the pace and try to win by even more after he took Cortez down so easily. He looked like he had a strength advantage and his finishes were crisp. Good win and credit to him for a quality victory but to my eye Cortez also didn't look quite himself. Not sure if he was just off, had a tough weight cut, was sick, etc. but he looked wobbly from the first whistle and just had no aggression whatsoever out there. I'm not sounding the alarm bells just yet for PSU at 133 but he'll definitely need to show some improvement or he could be in for a tough time in a Big Ten weight class that includes Tomasello, Clark (if healthy), Richards, Micic, McKee, and Dippery. His performance is certainly something to keep an eye on with regard to the team race.
141: Cruz did what Cruz does and made Gulibon pay for not finishing cleanly on him. Single legs against Randy Cruz are not the way to go. I'm not sure if that was ineffective game planning or just an execution issue but if Gulibon would have hit a double or moved his feet while finishing he would have won that match. I'm actually encouraged by his performance in this one because Cruz has looked very good so far this year. Gulibon still looked like a liability on bottom in this one as well but Cruz is notoriously difficult to escape from and he was his usual clingy self today. Most importantly, I'm thankful that Gulibon cut that atrocity of a mullet and is back to sporting a respectable haircut. In terms of NCAA outlook at this weight class, 141 is no cake walk and PSU will be lucky to see more than a 2-2 performance here IMO. Cruz looks like he's in position to finish 5-8.
149: Zain just wrecked a very tough Laike Gardner today. Gardner is no joke and has looked solid in the early season, but he just had no answer for Retherford. I'm very, very impressed that he got the pin in this one as I was expecting a major at best. I think Jordan, Sorenson, Mayes, and Collica are the only ones who even have a chance of keeping him from a wire to wire bonus win season.
157: Nolf obliterated an overmatched Kent Lane. I can't help but chuckle when he's up by 14 and doesn't want to "just" get the takedown but purposely avoids it to look for the fall from neutral. It's always a treat to watch him get after it and I feel bad for everyone else in college wrestling at 157 pounds.
165: Pre-match, the coaches were considering scratching Joseph due to illness but they decided to let him wrestle ( I'm assuming it's because Minotti was inactive). Keeping that in mind, he was solid but unspectacular in this bout against Longo. He controlled the action from neutral but definitely lacked some explosiveness out there and seemed to be wearing down in the third. Since I haven't seen this from him before, I'm pretty convinced that it can be attributed to just being sick. I think he's looked strong so far this season and should find himself on the podium when it's all said and done. He probably can't beat the top tier guys yet, but he should score some points.
174: Where to begin with this one? Let's start with this: credit to an underrated Ryan Preisch on gutting out a tough win against probably the tallest 74 pounder in the country. Seriously, how tall is Rasheed? Rasheed looked good early in the first and had a quick takedown immediately followed by another one that was overturned by video review. The break in the action seemed to affect him and he looked lackluster from there on out. Despite not being particularly aggressive, Preisch was efficient and picked his spot to attack later in the match and was able to convert. I'd like to see Rasheed pursue a bit more aggressively when he's trailing and I'd like to see him with a reliable "go to" shot late in a match. Having said that, he didn't look bad but the window is once again open for Geno Morelli to possibly regain the spot at 74. This is another spot to watch for PSU with definite team race implications. Lots of time to determine a starter and whoever emerges has potential to sneak on the podium in a fairly thin weight class. Preisch should probably be ranked a bit higher as well.
184: The pin streak continues for Bo Nickal. I'm really starting to think that he and Gabe Dean are on a collision course this year as they are both laying waste to their competition thus far. Dean's level of competition has been superior so I'm very interested to see Bo against a ranked guy at this weight class in the coming weeks. I think we'll see less spectacular pins but a lot of controlled major decisions that are dominated from neutral.
197: Mccutcheon looked great in this match for a guy who is still essentially a bumped up 84 pounder that was never particularly big at 84. Haas isn't exactly top level competition for assessing Cutch's long term potential, but just seeing him score some bonus points by getting the major helped to lessen my fear that he would win every match 3-2. I think he looked a little bit bigger today too but maybe that's just me. The fact that his bread and butter from neutral is a low leg attack is a big advantage in being able to maintain some offense after bumping up a weight class. I think he would have a lot of trouble finishing on some of the bigger guys at this weight class if that were not the case. His mat wrestling has looked solid as well and he has not really shown the effects of being a smaller guy in potentially getting trapped underneath/unable to ride. I think a lot of the size problems will become more evident against top guys, especially because he isn't the tallest kid in the world. Still developing nicely though and making adjustments and if he continues to put on some size he should win some matches at NCAAs and have a chance to grab a low AA finish in a weight class that drops off dramatically after the top few.
285: This is the Nick Nevills every Penn State fan was hoping for when they signed the 3 headed monster of Nolf, Nickal, and Nevills. After a lackluster and brief appearance last year, Nevills has turned it on and looks to have made a full recovery. Vollaro is no joke and is one of the biggest heavies in the country. He's the kind of guy that I figured might give Nevills some trouble based solely on size but Nevills handled him in this one. He controlled the ties pretty well and I was super impressed by his ability to ride a larger wrestler like Vollaro. He's looked like a beast on top so far this year and as far as heavyweights are concerned he's been pretty fun to watch. I liked seeing his aggressiveness in the 3rd period when he cut Vollaro and tried to go for the major with 15 seconds left. He ultimately gave up the takedown before time expired but I'm sure Cael and company would take that mistake 10 times out of 10. His snatch single was a thing of beauty as well and is the kind of attack that obviously will be more effective against some of the giants the roam the heavyweight ranks. His size hasn't been an issue so far but I would like to see him with another 10-15 pounds of muscle on his frame so hopefully he keeps hitting the weight room hard throughout the season. So, I think he's looking more and more like a solid bet to finish top 8 after today's win and his victories over Dejournette and Butler. Wouldn't pick him against Snyder (duh), Walz, or Medberry but anyone else is fair game as far as I'm concerned. Penn State has to be excited about how he's looked early because he was kind of a wild card entering the season after his short and shaky stint at the end of last year. Vollaro is a solid heavy but he could really stand to attack a bit more. That's putting it as gently as I can.
^^ Agreed with all of this, and will add:
How many times does Preisch need to beat a PSU wrestler before we figure out he's pretty good?
How many times does Preisch need to beat a PSU wrestler before we figure out he's pretty good?
More than 3, I suppose
. Seriously though, Shak wrestled Preisch even imo, and had the better offense, with the Lehigh wrestler having the better defense. I'd call it a toss-up if they go again.
