The Bull is pretty awesome and I think he will be a future national champ just not this year. I think Wick in particular adjusts and takes him out.
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The Bull is pretty awesome and I think he will be a future national champ just not this year. I think Wick in particular adjusts and takes him out.
Agreed. All the fuss is dopey IMO. Micic did get “punished” if you want to call it that. He went from 1-2. Shak was 2 all along. If he would have MFF to Venz then he would have been punished hard but he didn’t. Even if he losses to Martin he still the 2. Flo crying because they had Shak at 8 all year..lol
I feel Cassar got “punished” for winning. If he MFF he gets the 3 and faces White in semis.
It is what it it is and goes both ways. I think the main thing is to try to get the 2 best guys on opposite sides. I feel they did this at every weight except for HWT but I understand it.
Really hard to complain as a Penn State Fan. While I believe that Cassar should have been #1, I prefer AC facing Steveson on Friday Night as opposed to Saturday when Gable has had an entire day to rest and prepare for the rematch. I'm a big fan of Raptor as the hunter not the hunted. He seems to thrive on wrestling with a chip on his shoulder. Lets keep it that way.
Nick as # 3 is in a fantastic spot. He avoids Yanni until the finals, and gets Joey w/o out a night to recuperate and re-hydrate. I think Nick's Motor and superior conditioning wins out in this scenario.
RBY and Berge are seeded about where they deserve, although the top half of 133 feels incredibly underwhelming compared to the bottom half. Fix can practically sleep walk to the Semis. NS, Micic, Backpack, & Desanto is pretty stiff for RBY. This year will be a good experience in major tournament wrestling. 149 is navigable for Berge if he can somehow upset Kolodzik. He could make some noise in wrestle backs if he can stay healthy.
Cenzo, Mark and Shak have fantastic draws. You would be hard pressed to draw things up better for any of them if you tried. There are plenty of traps laid out for our key rivals at each weight class.
That leaves Jason and Bo. What can actually be said here to make things more interesting? Nothing. Literally nothing can be said. Wait here's one thing... Who's going to win OW and later on The Hodge Trophy?
Nick as # 3 is in a fantastic spot. He avoids Yanni until the finals, and gets Joey w/o out a night to recuperate and re-hydrate. I think Nick's Motor and superior conditioning wins out in this scenario.
RBY and Berge are seeded about where they deserve, although the top half of 133 feels incredibly underwhelming compared to the bottom half. Fix can practically sleep walk to the Semis. NS, Micic, Backpack, & Desanto is pretty stiff for RBY. This year will be a good experience in major tournament wrestling. 149 is navigable for Berge if he can somehow upset Kolodzik. He could make some noise in wrestle backs if he can stay healthy.
Cenzo, Mark and Shak have fantastic draws. You would be hard pressed to draw things up better for any of them if you tried. There are plenty of traps laid out for our key rivals at each weight class.
That leaves Jason and Bo. What can actually be said here to make things more interesting? Nothing. Literally nothing can be said. Wait here's one thing... Who's going to win OW and later on The Hodge Trophy?
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Couple tasty treats I'm hoping happen:
Rivera vs Vito
and this one:
Nolf vs Van Brill
Rivera vs Vito
and this one:
Nolf vs Van Brill
The obvious answer to the 184 seeding question is that Shak deserves the 2 seed regardless of a theoretical loss to Martin in the B1G finals because that theoretical loss doesn't push him down past Zavatksy, Parker, Preisch, Dean.
That said, I can't help but think that the decision to not wrestle Martin was motivated by the staff wanting to protect Shak from a bad loss to Martin more so than an injury, because he looked fine against Venz, or at least fine enough to wrestle another match after those 7 minutes were up.
I recall well last NCAAs, Shak beating himself up after not getting the pins in the early rounds. He'd put a ton of pressure on himself to justify the staff's difficult decision after getting the nod over Cassar, who had just beaten Kollin Moore, and was pretty hard on himself when it didn't happen that way. He assumed the sort of pressure you don't see some of the other guys on this team put on themselves. So I can't help but think that the staff is being extra careful about guiding Shak to the promised land, and if that means avoiding Myles Martin by erring on the side of extreme injury caution, so be it, because the staff's job is to do what's best for the kids, a role that's sometimes (or perhaps often) in tension with what's "best for the sport." The problem with the former view is that the fans have more or less caught on and sometimes what's best for the wrestler isn't actually what's best for the wrestler if the fans universally take the view that a guy was ducking (or directed to duck) a tough match.
That said, I can't help but think that the decision to not wrestle Martin was motivated by the staff wanting to protect Shak from a bad loss to Martin more so than an injury, because he looked fine against Venz, or at least fine enough to wrestle another match after those 7 minutes were up.
I recall well last NCAAs, Shak beating himself up after not getting the pins in the early rounds. He'd put a ton of pressure on himself to justify the staff's difficult decision after getting the nod over Cassar, who had just beaten Kollin Moore, and was pretty hard on himself when it didn't happen that way. He assumed the sort of pressure you don't see some of the other guys on this team put on themselves. So I can't help but think that the staff is being extra careful about guiding Shak to the promised land, and if that means avoiding Myles Martin by erring on the side of extreme injury caution, so be it, because the staff's job is to do what's best for the kids, a role that's sometimes (or perhaps often) in tension with what's "best for the sport." The problem with the former view is that the fans have more or less caught on and sometimes what's best for the wrestler isn't actually what's best for the wrestler if the fans universally take the view that a guy was ducking (or directed to duck) a tough match.
I absolutely think the staff conditions the emotional aspect of their wrestlers, some handle it better than others. Part of me wonders if how Verk losing his first match in wrestle backs at both Keystone and the Scuffle had a factor in Berge getting the nod. He didn't seem to handle bouncing to the consolation bracket that well (whereas Berge looked solid in the Scuffle) Nick Lee was cool as a cat after being pinned in the first round last year, I was terrified he'd be 0-2 or 1-2 after losing like that (when the team race was going to be so tight as it is) and I remember he mentioned later he just viewed it as an opportunity to get more matches in.
That said, I think Shak sat out because he really isn't 100% and Myles Martin is not someone you want to wrestle if you're remotely hobbled. He's aggressive, strong and explosive and if you aren't ready or fully mobile, you can easily reaggravate something. If it's the national finals then really, it's balls to the walls why not? For B1Gs? Better to err on the side of caution.
That said, I think Shak sat out because he really isn't 100% and Myles Martin is not someone you want to wrestle if you're remotely hobbled. He's aggressive, strong and explosive and if you aren't ready or fully mobile, you can easily reaggravate something. If it's the national finals then really, it's balls to the walls why not? For B1Gs? Better to err on the side of caution.
Micic definitely got punished.
Forget 1 vs. 2 and look at the draws. The bottom half is like the Bataan Death March. Comparatively, Fix can lounge poolside and maybe take a few whacks at the driving range.
Thoughts after looking at the brackets:
133's bottom half is much tougher than the top half, and I wonder if that doesn't change if Micic drops out and the brackets get rejiggered, as is being rumored (which would be a huge shame, because no one below 157 has looked as good as him this season, at his peak). But the brackets would at least be more evenly distributed if Micic does drop out.
141. Chad Red's reward for finally fulfilling his D1 promise is a second round match with Yianni, who probably doesn't lose to anyone. Lee Carr quarter, nice time for Lee to avenge that loss. Nice path for Lee overall, esp getting McKenna Friday night if seeds hold.
149. Nice path for Berge; getting Kolodzik second round would've sounded like a disaster a month ago but Kolodzik has faded since then.
157. Pantaleo has a pair on him complaining about his 4 seed with a 18-7 record. Nolf Van Brill second round should be fun, as if Nolf needs motivation. I'll be watching my Dan Reed against Kaleb Young.
165. Familiar faces for Cenzo and a gauntlet for Marinelli. Hilarious that that he'll face Joe Smith in the first round, if Smith manages to eke out a pigtail win. Make you wonder what Chandler Rogers would've been seeded--sure as hell not 33rd.
174, 184, 197 should be boring, and in most cases, that should be just fine. Shak's path is perfectly doable.
As LP hinted at the biggest question beyond the 1/2/3 slots was where the dangerously under-ranked (10-1 with an early season loss to Mason Paris) Dhesi would be seeded (6th as it turns out), and so he'll face Gable if in the quarters in all likelihood, so at least there's that.
133's bottom half is much tougher than the top half, and I wonder if that doesn't change if Micic drops out and the brackets get rejiggered, as is being rumored (which would be a huge shame, because no one below 157 has looked as good as him this season, at his peak). But the brackets would at least be more evenly distributed if Micic does drop out.
141. Chad Red's reward for finally fulfilling his D1 promise is a second round match with Yianni, who probably doesn't lose to anyone. Lee Carr quarter, nice time for Lee to avenge that loss. Nice path for Lee overall, esp getting McKenna Friday night if seeds hold.
149. Nice path for Berge; getting Kolodzik second round would've sounded like a disaster a month ago but Kolodzik has faded since then.
157. Pantaleo has a pair on him complaining about his 4 seed with a 18-7 record. Nolf Van Brill second round should be fun, as if Nolf needs motivation. I'll be watching my Dan Reed against Kaleb Young.
165. Familiar faces for Cenzo and a gauntlet for Marinelli. Hilarious that that he'll face Joe Smith in the first round, if Smith manages to eke out a pigtail win. Make you wonder what Chandler Rogers would've been seeded--sure as hell not 33rd.
174, 184, 197 should be boring, and in most cases, that should be just fine. Shak's path is perfectly doable.
As LP hinted at the biggest question beyond the 1/2/3 slots was where the dangerously under-ranked (10-1 with an early season loss to Mason Paris) Dhesi would be seeded (6th as it turns out), and so he'll face Gable if in the quarters in all likelihood, so at least there's that.
Looking at the Brackets I think the one Penn State wrestler who could of been seeded a little higher was Berge whos a 12. They have Heil from Campbell with 6 losses at 11 and at 10 they have Pat Lugo who Berge beat.
At Heavyweight I think Dhesi at 6 should have been a 5 instead of Parris from Michigan. Parris struggled down the stretch.
That would of helped Cassar.
Penn State probably has 2 of the top 4 heavyweights in the country.
At Heavyweight I think Dhesi at 6 should have been a 5 instead of Parris from Michigan. Parris struggled down the stretch.
That would of helped Cassar.
Penn State probably has 2 of the top 4 heavyweights in the country.
Great analysis but I’m not laughing..yet. All it takes is 1 scratch and then Cenzo gets JOJO rd 1
Smith got the 33 seed. It would take 2 scratches -- or one Marinelli scratch.
I'm not following how that would have helped Cassar. Unless you think Dhesi is beating Steveson, but I think that would help Cassar
Does Micic dropping out effect the brackets? I know penn state kept Suriano in there as a strategic move and MFF out. I forget if there is a policy or not on reseeding
Someone smarter could maybe weigh in with greater detail but it's a timing thing, basically. If Micic drops out tomorrow it's easy enough to redraw the brackets, but if drops out next Wednesday afternoon it'll be too late to get another wrestler in. I imagine there's a statutory drop dead date & time for replacements.
My bad , I looked at bracket wrong. I thought Dhesi was on bottom half of Cassar side.
I don't generally agree with a whole lot of wrestling assessments made by Hawk fans, but yeah Marinelli will beat JoJo. I don't know about "destroy". A couple takedowns an escape and riding time should lead to a fairly dominant 6-2 win.
Smith will wrestle right off the bat and not wrestle Marinelli for 2.5 hours. It won't be a rest issue that leads to Marinelli beating Smith, but rather a talent issue. Marinelli has more than JoJo.
So you are basically saying the fact that he had wrestled 2.5 hrs before his match with bull is a negligible factor?
Exactly what I was thinking (combined with a season split of their two matches). It's not that hard to figure out.
If it is factor, negligible or greater, then he should have stayed home and let Rodgers wrestle.
Pigtails will go quickly on 8 mats.
I would suspect JoJo would face Marinelli about 1-1/2 hrs after pigtails, not 2-1/2 hrs.
Nice positive informed informed writeup. Holy crap, now I'm convinced we'll have at least 6 champs!
Smith's pigtail match is also closer to the weigh-in time than anyone else wrestling (other than the 19 other 32/33 seeds), so while everyone is talking about this in terms of a worst case scenario for Marinelli, it's more a worst case scenario for Smith, who looked like an AA candidate at 174 but a deserving 33 seed at 165 because he couldn't handle the cut.
While that sounds nice, it isn’t what happened and can’t think of any coaches who would do that. He needed to win the match with Venz and would have wrestled v Myles if not for the knee which is not 100%. There is zero value in risking the knee against that kind of firepower and end up not wrestling NCAA at all....or hobbling like Brad Pataky or Cam Wade. We need points at Nationals and worsened knee means 0 points or a very low number.
To the other poster regarding the Berge decision....instead of Verk, and considering Verk’s response to dropping into the backside at Scuffle and Keystone. I suppose it’s a factor, but the end result is two tournaments with Berge having a better result. In addition Berge beat Verk in a public H2H. Clearly Berge would not be dropping weight to 149 if he wasn’t winning the spot via most coaches criteria.
Verk and Berge is not in any way the same as the Cassar/Shak decision. They were swapping H2H 1-0 wins and results were ridiculously similar. The only difference was he manner in which Shak was winning.
Berge’s absence from the lineup, for whatever reason, was a real boon for Verk in terms of improvement that will benefit both him and the team next year at 149. He did get better in those matches.
Well I'll concede to speculating, sure, but I don't think you can alternatively assert with certainty Shak's knee problem as being the cause, especially given how cagey all coaches are about injuries. He looked fine against Venz and wasn't favoring it (I just rewatched and he's even leading with it at times), so whatever knee issue exists (and I'm not suggesting there's no knee issue), it doesn't rank as on par with, say, Nolf's from last year. Maybe they do let him wrestle against Martin with no knee issue, robbed of any pretext, but Shak was going to be a high seed even if he MFF'd after one match; was risking his knee worth the 2 seed over the 3? The decision to avoid Martin invites reasonable speculation such as my own, not to mention it looks bad for the sport given that it was a conference final.
The decision that Cael made to MFF the final was absolutely the right one given the nature of his injury.
With Venz he would get a quality win which he definitely was in need. Possible even 4-5 without it.
That's conspiracy theory stuff. They're not that smart
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