Thoughts on Suriano vs Cruz next w/e?
- Thread starter NittanyChris
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If Darian takes a forward step, that will be more challenging than Schram's offense.
Cruz is very quick but i think Nick will beat him. Nick and Nico are back and forth in the room in live matches and Nico never had a problem with Cruz.
Not doubting spyker (ok...maybe I am) but can anyone validate the claim that Nico and Nick go back and forth in the room?
It's practice and in spite of what spyker may think. it's only very seldom they are going 100% so saying one is beating the other is generally just in the eye of the beholder and I personally have ZERO percent trust that spyker can be objective. JMHO.
Maybe, but I will be surprised. Lehigh in general and both Cruz boys' offense is predicated off the two-step reverse slide. Just my guess but I expect Cruz to repeatedly retreat looking to either extend Nick or catch him coming forward, try to ride the snot out of him and hopefully get an escape.
From neutral I expect Nick to move forward with that face jab and towards the drag leg, and as he did with Schram not do anything that puts himself in an unfavorable position. I do not think Cruz rides Nick and Cruz will have to move to get off the bottom. If Cruz is down come the third he will be too tired to escape.
The only way Cruz moves in the forward direction is if he is trailing and actually attempts to score. I just do not see it happening.
I think you are mixing up the Cruz brothers. The one noted for riding is the 141 Randy. I think the 125 Darien is an above average rider but not in the conversation for toughest on top.
I would agree but mostly because its nearly impossible to take less forward steps than Schram did ...
I hadn't heard that about Nick and Nico, it's quite interesting. That said, we shouldn't forget that matchups are funny and because wrestler A beats wrestler B and loses to C, it doesn't necessarily mean that C easily beats B. I'm sure you know that, just pointing it out to avoid crazy expectations for a true freshman (and for what it's worth, I believe it's possible that Suriano wins it all, but I certainly won't be disappointed if he falters at some point).
If Suriano defeats cruz, and I believe he will...in my opinion only Dance and Gilman can beat him. he is now 165-0 in official folkstyle matches in his highschool/college career. That is INSANE. Does anyone know if there has been an undefeated High School Wrestler to start as a True Freshman and make noise at NCAA(close to undefeated) besides Cary Kolat(though he lost 5 matches)? Didn't Steve Mocco have 1 loss in High School? Pat smith Lose in High School? Metcalf was undefeated in High School I think, but he redshirted..right?
Toss-up match, imo. The crowd will sway the bout in Suriano's favor. Low scoring win for young Mr. Suriano, as he continues to improve. Really solid wrestler, but also wrestles tight.
If Nick is who people think he is, this should be a win. I have no doubt Nick knows this and I expect him to improve on how to overcome the "slow down" approach that some ranked wrestlers will bring to the mat. I hope Nico and the gang can help him relax a bit more as he seems hyper focused all the time and that can burn critical energy over the long, more physical season.
Why is it so surprising that he can roll with Nico and do well quite well in the practice room? Again, based on his pedigree, this seems like a logical expectation given both of their styles. I am not quite where ManMyth is yet but come Feb 1 I am thinking his statement may be true. Looking forward to watching Sunday.
Why is it so surprising that he can roll with Nico and do well quite well in the practice room? Again, based on his pedigree, this seems like a logical expectation given both of their styles. I am not quite where ManMyth is yet but come Feb 1 I am thinking his statement may be true. Looking forward to watching Sunday.
Cruz has 7 SV or TB matches since the start of last season. Don't ever remember looking up a guy and seeing that many extra-time bouts in a little more than one season, also has 14 2-point or less decisions. Has some great wins, but for the most part wrestles all the top guys really close. Except for the Nico dual last year (7-1 loss), he hasn't lost by more than 4 points in over two years.
Data suggests a 2-1, 3-2 type bout, either way.
Data suggests a 2-1, 3-2 type bout, either way.
Gonna be a tough match for Soriano. I'm very interested to see how he does on bottom. Pulling big time for the kid!
Here's an interesting comparison ... Connor Schram also has had seven SV or TB matches since the start of last season and 15 matches decided by two points or fewer.
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If a pup like Marinelli is having his way with Manville-sized (read: Jumbo) Mike Evans and everybody else in the Iowa room, who's to say Nick can't at least trade punches with Nico?
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Yes, why is it surprising that a true freshman I his first semester can roll with the prior year's NCAA champion?
Other than "roll with" is a chameleon term, means whatever each person wants it to mean. In the literal sense, I could roll with Nico. He'd beat me up, embarrass me, turn me into a bloody pulp, and possibly leave with my wife, but I could roll with him.
Or maybe that means take him down... is that something Gilman ever did?
Or maybe it means just be competitive in the room like David Taylor was... or wasn't according to him.
was not familiar with him, but I saw he was undefeated from Lock Haven and graduated 1961. I took a quick look at 1962 NCAA brackets and could not find him? I do see he got 2nd in 1963 for Pittsburgh. It looks like he did not wrestle in 1962, which would be his true freshman year but I am not sure what the rules were back then or if they had redshirts or not?
I do appreciate the name, I enjoyed learning a little about him, He was an awesome wrestler.
I don't believe freshmen were eligible back then. Mike "Bobcat" Johnson was never taken down in his HS career. His closest win was 4-1 to a 3 time state qualifier. He was pinned in OT in the NCAA finals as a sophomore after injuring his knee. He was never the same again. He also coached 8 PIAA qualifiers at DuBois HS. He was also my gym teacher in HS and is a hell of a guy.
Mike wrestled in a few tourneys during his frosh year at Pitt and lost. Later, after his knee injury, he had a severely injured shoulder and still wrestled at a very high level.
I'm not concerned about Suriano getting out from bottom, I am slightly concerned about scramble situations. I imagine Cruz will look to dive over and grab the ankles a couple of times and from there he's as good as anyone. Nick would do well to work his short offense and look to go head in the hole which is where Nico had some much success for much of last season.
When we have repeatedly pointed out the one thing Nick has that was missing during Nico's development, is Nico as a training partner.
Knowing the frustration Delgado caused Nico, I bet Nick has been spending time perfecting finishes to his leg attacks that negate funky stuff.
I imagine that working out with Nico on a regular basis might help him overcome this
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