Penn State uses the regular season primarily to collect data for the postseason. They could put up better results if they were willing to go all out but they play the long game and don’t tip their hand until the big dance.
I know they always try to win and that they pay attention to seeding implications but it amazes me how much better they wrestle in March and particularly at Nationals. It really became obvious two years ago after Nick Lee and Starocci were handled at Big Tens only to come back and avenge those losses. They both won their titles without being in real trouble against guys that hammered them two weeks earlier. Also, Cael’s comments about 141, 149 and 165 after Iowa kind of say the same thing. Wrestling Iowa wasn’t about the W it was about seeing how guys can be beat. I also thought Starocci purposefully held back a bit and that Books did the same thing with Romero.
I know they always try to win and that they pay attention to seeding implications but it amazes me how much better they wrestle in March and particularly at Nationals. It really became obvious two years ago after Nick Lee and Starocci were handled at Big Tens only to come back and avenge those losses. They both won their titles without being in real trouble against guys that hammered them two weeks earlier. Also, Cael’s comments about 141, 149 and 165 after Iowa kind of say the same thing. Wrestling Iowa wasn’t about the W it was about seeing how guys can be beat. I also thought Starocci purposefully held back a bit and that Books did the same thing with Romero.