Who impressed you the most?

[Cali_Nittany]

So many huge performances.... I limited it to picking 2. Joseph had the toughest draw. Zain and Nickal pinned all the way through. Nolf was Nolf. McCutcheon looking good at 197. Nevills is back! Rasheed and Morelli making a difficult decision for Cael. A lot of great wrestling today.

 

[LemonPie]

I mean, of course we have Zain, Nolf, and Nickal fatigue. So this will be a newcomer poll. For me it was Joseph and Nevills.

 

[KidNittany]

CP - really nice yellow shirt/blazer combo

 

[liex26]

I mean, of course we have Zain, Nolf, and Nickal fatigue. So this will be a newcomer poll. For me it was Joseph and Nevills.

Nickal up a weight, no fatigue for me yet. IMO he's the most exciting wrestler on our team.

 

[LemonPie]

Nickal up a weight, no fatigue for me yet. IMO he's the most exciting wrestler on our team.

Haha. Yep! Bo still my favorite wrestler. We're just all anxious to see the new guys. Still waiting on a top 184 opponent for Bo

 

[johnstownsteel]

CP - really nice yellow shirt/blazer combo

Didn't catch that but I picture De Niro in Casino...

 

[fen103]

This was pretty impressive.

 

[PSUAllTheWay]

One word ... Bo

 

[diggerpup]

Won't be talked about much, but I was impressed with Rasheed's new & improved gas tank.

 

[caliPSUfan]

I was impressed with plenty of things today...really solid effort from our guys and boy are they fun to watch!

2 things I was happiest to see:

1 - Rasheed wrestling hard in the 11th minute of a finals match - whether they go with him or Morelli, I was just happy to see the gas tank hold up throughout a solid test!

2 - Nevills wrestling like Nevills can! Tough watching him go through the injury crap and not being able to show what he can do - today was a big step in the right direction! He was attacking, he took risks and he wrestled really well!

 

[caliPSUfan]

Haha! Looks like diggerpup beat me to it, I always type too much!

 

[T J]

The entire Nittany Lion team was scary good today.

https://38.media.tumblr.com/b7063f5edb37af6872debfcadd926746/tumblr_nrwenu8TfZ1s2yegdo1_500.gif

 

[El-Jefe]

Zain from a couple years ago, because Hall gave up back points, and I'm pretty sure true freshman Zain never once did despite facing Stieber 3x.

 

[manmythlegend1]

For me Definitely Nevills, He showed a lot today. I really enjoyed watching the Dejournette match. He was aggressive and controlled that match against a very good opponent.

But I have to admit, It shows how spoiled we are on what we expect because The beat downs that Retherford and Nolf put down on everybody today is VERY Impressive.

 

[PSU Mike]

Won't be talked about much, but I was impressed with Rasheed's new & improved gas tank.

He was pretty far from weigh ins at that point. I'd like to see confirmation at a tough dual. But yes, it's encouraging.

 

[KFM74]

Zain from a couple years ago, because Hall gave up back points, and I'm pretty sure true freshman Zain never once did despite facing Stieber 3x.

Didn't Stieber turn him in the Big10 finals that year. I could be mistaken and it certainly does not matter, your point is a good one.

Hope your having a good trip.

 

[T J]

This was pretty impressive.

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[NYWRESTLER94]

Do we have a chuck Norris figure on the penn state team? You guys got a zen master now this? I'm officially jealous

 

[nitlion6]

He was pretty far from weigh ins at that point. I'd like to see confirmation at a tough dual. But yes, it's encouraging.

Tough dual would be nice test, but 1 hour or several hours he was still wrestling his heart out at the 11 minute mark. Great sign. Remember they sent Rasheed and Nevills to a tournament towards the end of last season and he died in the finals against one of the ASU (Franklin Regional) kids.

I am inclined to also believe there was no gas tank issue in the first wrestle off.

 

[caliPSUfan]

He was pretty far from weigh ins at that point. I'd like to see confirmation at a tough dual. But yes, it's encouraging.

Good point! It'll be another good measuring stick to see him have a tough 7 minute match in a dual for sure!

Breaking it down further though -

He went 5-0 with...

2 pins, 1 tech, a dominant Dec after giving up the 1st TD, and a Dec in the finals where he had to gut out the winning point in the 27th minute he'd wrestled that day against a guy who already beat him in a wrestle off a couple weeks ago.

I'd say all that after having had to weigh in period should remove some doubt about his gas tank still being an issue.

 

[Flying_Tiger]

This was pretty impressive.

View embedded media

When I saw that during the match, for a moment I thought he was making the "this guy stinks" gesture, lol. Then I though to myself, no he wouldn't do that. Once I saw his nose was bleeding, it became obvious what was going on.

 

[slushhead]

When I saw that during the match, for a moment I thought he was making the "this guy stinks" gesture, lol. Then I though to myself, no, Monday Night Raw is tomorrow. Once I saw his nose was bleeding, it became obvious what was going on.

FIFY

 

[findtheStrength]

i am still mesmerized by that cartwheel takedown for the tech so nolf gets my vote

 

[greenmanRD]

I was mixed between Joseph and Nevills. Joseph ended up not only beating Chad Walsh but controlled the match, then beat Campbell in the finals, who I rate quite highly.

Nevills was very good too, beating DeJournette the way he did is a great sign for him going forward.

Went with Joseph though.

 

[RoarLions1]

So many great wrestling moments, from a pretty solid tournament. Not the Scuffle, Midlands, or even Reno, by any stretch, so tempered excitement here. Just what the coaches wanted...an early season tournament, with 3-5 bouts per wrestler, tournament setting.

And it appears everyone came out healthy, which is a really big deal. Can't say that for all the teams, saw some splints/braces on some guys that could barely walk, mostly knee related.

Who impressed me the most? Since some wrestlers were already mentioned, I'll go with the 20th man...our fans. Probably only a quarter full, Penn State fans BY FAR outnumbered all others...by a lot. Awesome showing by an awesome fan base (supportive win or lose, appreciative of all great wrestling)...and thanks tons to those that sat close to me & Mrs. Roar, or that we talked with between matches/sessions.

(By the way, "20th man" is reference to the fan support for 19 wrestlers, if it was a dual, Big Tens, or NCAA's, I'd go with 11th man...not sexist...just doesn't sound the same using "20th person").

 

[Lion-around]

Initially I went with Joseph. Wanted to see how he responded to the Stanford loss and he did great. When I gave this some more thought; however, I changed to Suriano. Only true freshman in the lineup arriving with very high expectations; compared to Nico. He hasn't disappointed. Have we taken this young kid's performances for granted already? Every article I've read on him underscores his commitment to the program; Cael has admitted he has to chase him home sometimes. With every other wrestler in the lineup we had previous performances at the college level to have some inkling on how they might perform this year. With Suriano we only had high school results (159-0), which were impressive. So for me, the biggest question in the 2016-2017 lineup was Suriano going to live up to the high expectations. So far he has been as good as advertised. Way to go Nick!

 

[greenmanRD]

I don't think we're taking Suriano's performances for granted, he just didn't come up against a particularly strong field. That's why I didn't consider him. He's been great so far though.

 

[diggerpup]

Has Suriano been even threatened yet with being taken down ?

He'll have some challenges this season obviously, but so far, I don't think he's even come close to being in trouble of being taken down.

Rare for a true freshman.

 

[matter7172]

I'm going with the whole team. 25 pins in one day of D1 wrestling is beyond ridiculous, plus many more TFs and MDs. I am aware it wasn't the strongest competition, but still ....

 

[RoarLions1]

Believe there were 27 falls, 6 tf's, & 6 majors.

 

[T J]

Initially I went with Joseph. Wanted to see how he responded to the Stanford loss and he did great. When I gave this some more thought; however, I changed to Suriano. Only true freshman in the lineup arriving with very high expectations; compared to Nico. He hasn't disappointed. Have we taken this young kid's performances for granted already? Every article I've read on him underscores his commitment to the program; Cael has admitted he has to chase him home sometimes. With every other wrestler in the lineup we had previous performances at the college level to have some inkling on how they might perform this year. With Suriano we only had high school results (159-0), which were impressive. So for me, the biggest question in the 2016-2017 lineup was Suriano going to live up to the high expectations. So far he has been as good as advertised. Way to go Nick!

Good pick.

BTW - Besides his HS & college win streak, which is still alive iirc, doesn't Suriano also have a streak going, where he has not given up a takedown?

Seems like he may not have a high school team or college team match with a TD at this point. Any info on clarifications or qualifying factors are appreciated. Thanks

 

[matter7172]

Believe there were 27 falls, 6 tf's, & 6 majors.

Wow. I missed two, so that makes 33 pins this year so far.

Good pick.

BTW - Besides his HS & college win streak, which is still alive iirc, doesn't Suriano also have a streak going, where he has not given up a takedown?

Seems like he may not have a high school team or college team match with a TD at this point. Any info on clarifications or qualifying factors are appreciated. Thanks

He was taken down one time in high school - during his freshman year, iirc.

 

[T J]

Wow. I missed two, so that makes 33 pins this year so far.



He was taken down one time in high school - during his freshman year, iirc.

Thanks for your recollection matter7172.