So how's the wrestling team going to be this year?
- Thread starter Cosmos
- Start date
It's a good group on the wrestling board. They'd enjoy the discussion. I don't post much there but I do enjoy many of the threads.
Not really... I believe PSU returns more National Championship points than any team (i.e., individual wrestlers score points at National Championship Tournament based on where they place). Again, via returning wrestlers, PSU returns more National Championship points than any other team.
I've been thinking about this for a while
Both 165 and 174 are our best bets for a championship, and both came in second last year with their opponents returning. Will be interesting to see if they can figure it out.
Heavyweight may have a returning national champ. Not sure if he's back or not, but the alternative is pretty good too.
Check this out: https://www.roarlionsroar.com/penn-...p-roman-bravo-young-mark-hall-vincenzo-joseph
Both 165 and 174 are our best bets for a championship, and both came in second last year with their opponents returning. Will be interesting to see if they can figure it out.
Heavyweight may have a returning national champ. Not sure if he's back or not, but the alternative is pretty good too.
Check this out: https://www.roarlionsroar.com/penn-...p-roman-bravo-young-mark-hall-vincenzo-joseph
Cassar is back at 285
When you think gravitas in college coaching you think of Nick Saban and our badass mofo prowling the mats.
We might replace those point scoring freaks with more depth. Cassar, Hall and Joseph will be nails, but keys will be Nick Lee at 141 taking advantage of some guys higher ranked taking redshirts, a talented Brady Berge at a more natural weight (157), and Shakur Rasheed staying healthy. Then hoping Roman Bravo Young at 133 continues to improve at a killer weight and our new guys live up to their billing.
Iowa is throwing everything at winning this year. My bet is the stress cracks a few of them and Cael’s relaxed use of the reins and ability to peak his team means 5 in a row.
Ohio State is rebuilding. Not a threat but will be going forward due to great recruiting.
Iowa is throwing everything at winning this year. My bet is the stress cracks a few of them and Cael’s relaxed use of the reins and ability to peak his team means 5 in a row.
Ohio State is rebuilding. Not a threat but will be going forward due to great recruiting.
Iowa is so serious about trying to match PSU's success that they have come up with a recruiting approach that may just work -- filling their roster with kids from Pennsylvania! Five of their ten projected starters come from the Keystone State, which annually produces the best wrestling talent.
Here is a link to their roster.
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-wrestling/roster
Something like that. Only Cael likes the Dominate the World approach.
I'm not sure about Valencia at 174, but Lewis, who beat Joseph last year is taking an Olympic Red Shirt.
Zahid is moving up a weight class so 174 should be Halls for the taking.
It's going to be an interesting year due to conference opponents ramping up their programs as much as changes to the PSU lineup. Competition in the conference will be intense and the target on the PSU back is obvious. PSU is the big gorilla that all others want to bring down. Cael has managed to produce a lineup balanced enough to be at the top most years and I look forward to this season's lineup. Mark Hall, Vinny Joseph, Roman Bravo-Young, the story of the year at HWT all look to be great. I don't know the schedule be expect it to be fun for all fans. Cael is a master in picking the correct wrestler combination for duel meets and preparation for tournaments. So far his secret sauce hasn't been duplicated. At some point it will be but until that happens PSU wrestling will be at the top. I will miss Bo and Jason but I missed David Taylor too, expecting a drop off that never really occurred. Can't bet against Cael until multiple seasons of reduced results happen and that isn't in the foreseeable future. Competition will continue to rise making the sport more exciting to watch.
WE ARE
WE ARE
Seems like every year, people question how how ZV makes 174, myself included. Until he shows up at 184, I'll assume he's staying put.
There are some criteria to be eligible for an Olympic red shirt. Not everyone can just take one.
It will be hard for anyone to match RBY, NLee, Joseph, Hall, Rasheed, Conel, and Cassar. Only thing that derails this train is injury.
If Spencer Lee does't redshirt at Iowa it will be close between us and Iowa. Barring injury I don;t see any other team that can win the NCAA team title.
Difference might come down to the prepared but relaxed mentality the staff conveys to the team. Nobody is better than the PSU staff at having a team ready to peak in March.
With Fix taking an Olympic Redshirt I don't see OK State as a threat for the team title.
Kyle Conel is a grad transfer from Kent State who made a name by Ohio States #1 ranked wrestler 2 times on the way to a 3place finish at Nationals 2 years ago. He was injured for last year. We also have a killer good freshman in waiting at 197 so it’s not entirely clear Conel will even win the spot....but it does say that we will be a threat for all the marbles at that weight.
We are still the champs until someone knocks us off. We return 3 Wrestler who have won national championships and several others that suggest we can have 8 All- Americans. Get two NC’s and 8 guys wearing medals and even Iowa’s tough lineup won’t beat us.
As far as my expertise goes I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Which is to say I'm a fan. I never wrestled. I've followed the program since Cael arrived.
That said, it's a nice line-up but I don't see the bonus point scoring machines. I hear tell that's Cael's trademark style, scoring bonus points. Should we expect a change in approach, such as wrestling more defensively than years past?
Joseph and Hall have the propensity to bonus but it seems the competition has caught up with them. Rasheed is a mystery to me. He's got the one big move, a "cross-face cradle" I believe it's called. But should he not hit it in the 1st period he seems to run out of gas. RBY can be exciting to watch but he's young and inexperienced. Verkleeren (sp) is a warrior. Lee is Lee. Cassar has been unleashed without the weight constraints. He seems so much quicker than 90% of his competition. I'm unfamiliar with the others.
I look forward to the season. The schedule is a tough one...
https://www.pennlive.com/penn-state...l-rundown-of-opponents-and-what-to-watch.html
Thanks for indulging me.
While that is true, bonus points is only one of three ways to score points at NCAAs and our main rival this season Iowa, has only Spencer Lee at 125 that scores significant bonus points.
This is a good topic for the Wrestling Board, but it has been covered in detail.
There are no guaranteed national champs next year, although Mark Hall and Cenzo Joseph both have been at the top of the podium. Both were also manhandled in the finals last year. This could be a transition year.
Cassar took the heavyweight title last year and looks very strong this year, but Minnesota's sophomore Gable Steveson lost to him twice by one point each time. And Minnesota is hosting the 2020 national championships.
Never bet against Cael. Both Iowa and Ohio State will be powerhouses this year, but Cael knows how to score points and win championships. Still, there are no automatics to run the table this year, like David Taylor, Bo Nickal, Zain Retherford, and Jason Nolf. We have been spoiled by these guys.
There are no guaranteed national champs next year, although Mark Hall and Cenzo Joseph both have been at the top of the podium. Both were also manhandled in the finals last year. This could be a transition year.
Cassar took the heavyweight title last year and looks very strong this year, but Minnesota's sophomore Gable Steveson lost to him twice by one point each time. And Minnesota is hosting the 2020 national championships.
Never bet against Cael. Both Iowa and Ohio State will be powerhouses this year, but Cael knows how to score points and win championships. Still, there are no automatics to run the table this year, like David Taylor, Bo Nickal, Zain Retherford, and Jason Nolf. We have been spoiled by these guys.
Remember that wrestling has 9.9 scholarships per year, spread across all 35 wrestlers in the room. That means other programs that can offer more money will be able to lure away premier wrestlers. But Cael is very good at this. He is the only undefeated 4-time national champion, Olympic gold medalist, and coach of the national championship team for 8 of the last 9 years. Facilities at Penn State are among the best and getting better, and the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club has former national champions and Olympic trainees wrestling alongside the team. That's a pretty good environment for anyone aspiring to be a championship-caliber wrestler.
