NCAA Wrestling

[mike412]

Rahmani lost in Round 1. Was losing 9-1 but had a chance for a reversal and pin, but time expired. Forys upset by wrestler from Buffalo in Round 2. Was leading and got taken down with 11 seconds left.

Campbell won in Round 1 and looked the best of all of Pitt's wrestlers. Solomon won 3-0 in a match that should be watched by anyone suffering from insomnia because it would be guaranteed to put you to sleep.

Campbell and Solomon wrestle later tonight. Rahmani and Forys will be in wrestlebacks.

PSU went 8-0 in Round 1. The fact they "only" had 8 qualifiers gave a couple of teams hope they could beat them. But, they got a pin, 2 technical falls and a major, so they picked up 8 bonus points. They look well on the way to another title. Sanderson has such a smug look on his face, you have to root for someone to walk up and punch him right in the nose.

 

[mike412]

To illustrate how important bonus points are, VT went 7-0 in Round 1 but trail PSU by 9 points.

 

[mike412]

Guillibon lost to a wrestler from Princeton in Round 2 for PSU's first loss. Rutherford got a technical fall for 2 more bonus points. Waiting for Campbell to wrestle.

I think Guillibon is one of only 3 WPIAL wrestlers on PSU team.

 

[bwh05]

Forys and Campbell's matches were bad. Dom stopped wrestling with 15 seconds to go, and I'm not sure if Te'Shan was looking at the clock or what, but he's not the type of wrestler who should ever be getting straight doubled to his back.

 

[mike412]

Campbell got dominated by a freshman from ASU. Campbell was seeded 10th. The ASU wrestler was seeded 7th. He was taller and stronger than Campbell and I don't think that is a combo Campbell has faced much this season.

The announcer said he was told that Pitt will start interviewing candidates for the new head coach in Monday.

 

[bwh05]

Campbell got dominated by a freshman from ASU. Campbell was seeded 10th. The ASU wrestler was seeded 7th. He was taller and stronger than Campbell and I don't think that is a combo Campbell has faced much this season.

The announcer said he was told that Pitt will start interviewing candidates for the new head coach in Monday.

Right, next week the interviews start.

 

[mike412]

Forys and Campbell's matches were bad. Dom stopped wrestling with 15 seconds to go, and I'm not sure if Te'Shan was looking at the clock or what, but he's not the type of wrestler who should ever be getting straight doubled to his back.

I agree on Forys. The Buffalo wrestler started his move with about 25 seconds left. It looked like Forys could hold him off but he just quit and conceded the takedown. He had 7 seconds then to escape and tie the score and didn't make a great effort.

I think the ASU wrestler was much better than Campbell. Campbell never took a shot the entire match. When he was in control at the start of the third period because the ASU wrestler chose the down position, he tried for back points but never really got close and almost got put on his back instead. I think he realized then that the kid was too strong for him. He was too tall to shoot for his legs and too strong to throw. When Campbell got put on his back I think he was looking at the clock to see how much time was left and if he could avoid getting pinned. He is a good wrestler. But he isn't going to be a great wrestler unless he gets a lot stronger.

 

[mike412]

Forys and Campbell's matches were bad. Dom stopped wrestling with 15 seconds to go, and I'm not sure if Te'Shan was looking at the clock or what, but he's not the type of wrestler who should ever be getting straight doubled to his back.

I agree on Forys. The Buffalo wrestler started his move with about 25 seconds left. It looked like Forys could hold him off but he just quit and conceded the takedown. He had 7 seconds then to escape and tie the score and didn't make a great effort.

I think the ASU wrestler was much better than Campbell. Campbell never took a shot the entire match. When he was in control at the start of the third period because the ASU wrestler chose the down position, he tried for back points but never really got close and almost got put on his back instead. I think he realized then that the kid was too strong for him. He was too tall to shoot for his legs and too strong to throw. When Campbell got put on his back I think he was looking at the clock to see how much time was left and if he could avoid getting pinned. He is a good wrestler. But he isn't going to be a great wrestler unless he gets a lot stronger.

 

[bwh05]

Dom had a stall call to burn too. That was so so bad.

Te'Shan is struggling with his weight.

Solomon has Medbery so I doubt that's going to improve my mood any.

 

[mike412]

Solomon lost 5-0. The announcers twice commented on the lack of good coaching for Solomon: First, they said the coaches should have had him on the left side instead of the right when he was in the top position at the start of period 2 because the Wisconsin wrestler clearly wanted to get his left leg high to escape. They had two chances to do it because the Wisconsin wrestler started before the whistle and they called a restart. They didn't and Solomon rode him for a grand total of 4 seconds. Second, when Solomon had the choice at the start of the third period they said he should have been told to start in neutral because the Wisconsin wrestler weighed in at 284.5 pounds and was too big and strong for him to escape from the bottom. He. Hose down and got ridden for the entire 2 minutes without getting close to an escape. As one announcer said he spent most of the period flat on his belly. He added "that's where coaching comes in."

 

[goalieman]

Solomon lost 5-0. The announcers twice commented on the lack of good coaching for Solomon: First, they said the coaches should have had him on the left side instead of the right when he was in the top position at the start of period 2 because the Wisconsin wrestler clearly wanted to get his left leg high to escape. They had two chances to do it because the Wisconsin wrestler started before the whistle and they called a restart. They didn't and Solomon rode him for a grand total of 4 seconds. Second, when Solomon had the choice at the start of the third period they said he should have been told to start in neutral because the Wisconsin wrestler weighed in at 284.5 pounds and was too big and strong for him to escape from the bottom. He. Hose down and got ridden for the entire 2 minutes without getting close to an escape. As one announcer said he spent most of the period flat on his belly. He added "that's where coaching comes in."

Let's get Terry Brands on a plane Monday to Pittsburgh, interview, and close the deal !

 

[Piranha]

They should have saved quite a bit of cash since they have not had an AD for awhile, and you would think there was some sort of buyout for Barnes. Put that money towards the wresting coach.

 

[stevepatrick19]

check out my recap of the first day and looking forward to the match ups today.

http://pittwrestling.blogspot.com/2017/03/all-consis-for-panthers.html

 

[stevepatrick19]

I agree. Dom did not wrestle well in the third period. Anthony Valencia is extremely explosive which matches TeShan's style, but he just got the better of him. TeShan was almost able to tilt him a few times in the third though. Rahmani looked good against Atkinson.

Rahmani, Campbell and Solomon should all win their first match today.

~from St. Louis

 

[bwh05]

Dom moves on, 2 wins away from AA

 

[bwh05]

Taleb & Te'Shan move on as well

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

Soloman only one left.

 

[Dallas Burgher]

Rahmani lost in Round 1. Was losing 9-1 but had a chance for a reversal and pin, but time expired. Forys upset by wrestler from Buffalo in Round 2. Was leading and got taken down with 11 seconds left.

Campbell won in Round 1 and looked the best of all of Pitt's wrestlers. Solomon won 3-0 in a match that should be watched by anyone suffering from insomnia because it would be guaranteed to put you to sleep.

Campbell and Solomon wrestle later tonight. Rahmani and Forys will be in wrestlebacks.

PSU went 8-0 in Round 1. The fact they "only" had 8 qualifiers gave a couple of teams hope they could beat them. But, they got a pin, 2 technical falls and a major, so they picked up 8 bonus points. They look well on the way to another title. Sanderson has such a smug look on his face, you have to root for someone to walk up and punch him right in the nose.

He has had a great career and UPS had the foresight to get him.

 

[mike412]

Soloman only one left.

Yep. This is so typical of Pitt the last ten years. Lose in wrestle-backs. Forys looked exhausted in his second match and for the second time lost to a lower seeded wrestler. This time 4-0. Unless he was injured -- and it didn't look like it -- there is no excuse for a guy to be exhausted and overpowered by a wrestler who also was wrestling his 4th match in two days. Campbell got an early takedown and then did nothing the rest of the match. Rahmani was outclassed.

The kid from ASU who beat Campbell yesterday is the younger brother (or cousin, not quite sure) of the #1 seed at 174. They are both from out here in Southern California. He was not as good in HS as his brother/cousin but wrestled at a heavier weight after his brother graduated and was dominant that final year. I assume he has dropped down to 165 because his brother is at 174. I'm sure it was great for them growing up to have a brother/cousin to train with but it's a shame they are only a year apart in age because the younger one had to cut weight in HS and now in college and that has hurt his performance.

 

[mike412]

Well, should they even bother holding the tourney the next two seasons? They might as well just hand the trophies to Sanderson. PSU has a frosh quarterfinalist at 125; Retherford, a junior, who is dominant at 149; Nolf, an undefeated soph at 157; Joseph, a freshman finalist at 165; Hall, a freshman finalist who beat the #1 seed at 174; Nickels, a soph semi-finalist at 184; and a soph quarterfinalist at HWT. And, all except the smallest and biggest excel at getting bonus points. They had the same number of semifinalists as Iowa, Ohio State and Oklahoma State, but were 20 points up on them because of bonus points. Now with Retherford pinning an Iowa wrestler, Nolf, Joseph and Hall all winning, they are even farther ahead. I stopped watching the feed on ESPN after Hall beat the #1 seed at 174 because I am sick of seeing them win.

 

[Somerset Panther]

Well, should they even bother holding the tourney the next two seasons? They might as well just hand the trophies to Sanderson. PSU has a frosh quarterfinalist at 125; Retherford, a junior, who is dominant at 149; Nolf, an undefeated soph at 157; Joseph, a freshman finalist at 165; Hall, a freshman finalist who beat the #1 seed at 174; Nickels, a soph semi-finalist at 184; and a soph quarterfinalist at HWT. And, all except the smallest and biggest excel at getting bonus points. They had the same number of semifinalists as Iowa, Ohio State and Oklahoma State, but were 20 points up on them because of bonus points. Now with Retherford pinning an Iowa wrestler, Nolf, Joseph and Hall all winning, they are even farther ahead. I stopped watching the feed on ESPN after Hall beat the #1 seed at 174 because I am sick of seeing them win.

Yep, 5-0 again. Retherford had a great combination on his pin. That kid, who is very good was all pretzled up...I was thinking he might get a call on a dangerous position as his back leg was close to a right angle, but dragging that leg over just flopped the Iowa kid, and he had no chance. Nickels got the double overhook and overpowered the kid. Gotta hope Dean can take him down (for the match) in the final. One thing I was happy to see was Gillman lose at 126. Not a big fan, but a great wrestler.

 

[Somerset Panther]

Yep, 5-0 again. Retherford had a great combination on his pin. That kid, who is very good was all pretzled up...I was thinking he might get a call on a dangerous position as his back leg was close to a right angle, but dragging that leg over just flopped the Iowa kid, and he had no chance. Nickels got the double overhook and overpowered the kid. Gotta hope Dean can take him down (for the match) in the final. One thing I was happy to see was Gillman lose at 126. Not a big fan, but a great wrestler.

Did Solomon beat the PSU Heavy?

 

[pafootballguy]

Did Solomon beat the PSU Heavy?

No

 

[thom67]

Solomon lost. 1-0 could not come close to scoring.

 

[goalieman]

Yep, 5-0 again. Retherford had a great combination on his pin. That kid, who is very good was all pretzled up...I was thinking he might get a call on a dangerous position as his back leg was close to a right angle, but dragging that leg over just flopped the Iowa kid, and he had no chance. Nickels got the double overhook and overpowered the kid. Gotta hope Dean can take him down (for the match) in the final. One thing I was happy to see was Gillman lose at 126. Not a big fan, but a great wrestler.

I have to admit, PSU has a lot of great wrestlers and they are well coached.

They recruit nationally but 5 of the 8 wrestlers they sent to Nationals are from PA and 3 of their 5 finalists are from PA. ..... I'd love to see Pitt get some of those kids !

 

[Somerset Panther]

I have to admit, PSU has a lot of great wrestlers and they are well coached.

They recruit nationally but 5 of the 8 wrestlers they sent to Nationals are from PA and 3 of their 5 finalists are from PA. ..... I'd love to see Pitt get some of those kids !

yes, me too. At the state championships last weekend multiple kids going to Iowa, OK St, Iowa St., Drexel, OK U. My goodness PA is stocking the entire country with great wrestlers, few of who come to Pitt. Young Guns has become a feeder program for Iowa. Understandable with Jody there, but geez Pitt please step up with a great coaching prospect to make some inroads.

 

[mehinpgh]

It is frustrating to see the PSU wrestlers peeking at nationals and Pitt wrestlers just look like they are starstruck and aren't ready for the big stage...a lot of that has to be coaching. I surely hope our athletic dept really ponies up the cash for a bigtime coach with this next hire.

 

[goalieman]

All 5 Penn State finalist won national championships.

4 of the 10 national champions were PA high school wrestlers and 2 were from Ohio..... a lot of great high school wrestlers within driving distance of Pitt.

 

[mike412]

Solomon lost 2-0. Gave up an escape and a riding time point. No disgrace to lose to the #2 and #5 ranked wrestlers. However, once again the analyst on ESPN3 questioned the coaching. When it was his choice, he again chose down and got ridden for the entire 2 minutes without coming close to an escape. Just like against Wisconsin, where he was flat on his belly for 2 minutes. They wondered why he didn't chose neutral and go for a takedown. So maybe he loses 3-0 or 4-0 instead of 2-0, but it was his only chance at winning. Both of those wrestlers weighed 50 pounds more than him and he had that weight on him in the down position.

Forys and Campbell both lost two matches to lower seeds. Campbell lost in the consolations to a kid who was 22-18 going into the tourney. Campbell only lost twice during the season. The strength and conditioning program and the mental toughness that was missing the final decade under Rande and under Peters is still missing.

To me, the most impressive thing about the PSU wrestlers is their mental toughness. Nolf is absolutely implacable on the mat. Nickels wrestles like a madman, but a madman within limits.

Hall was supposed to redshirt this year. He was pressed into action because of injuries more than halfway through the season. He ended up with a five seed, beat the 4 seed in the quarters and beat the 1 seed in the semis and the 2 seed in the finals. He had a strategy and never waivered from it. For two periods and most of the third, he never took a shot. He got warned for stalling but never got a point assessed. I thought he should have, but they aren't going to call a stalling against a Sanderson wrestler. Then, after Sanderson's successful challenge (technically he was correct but no one else would have gotten that call; on the other hand, would any other coach even have seen the grab on the headgear?) with a 2-1 lead and 39 seconds left, everyone knew that the kid from ASU had to take a shot. So what did Hall do? With everyone expecting him to back up like he had done the whole match, he takes a shot and gets the takedown. That was the last thing the ASU kid was expecting, and he wasn't ready for it. Hall won't get an easier takedown in his career. That is wrestling smart, and that clearly is what Sanderson is teaching.

I assume he has stocked up on 133, 141 and 197 pounders in his last two classes. Supposedly, he never went after Lee or Teasdale because he didn't think he could get them and already had his guys at 133 and 141. He is well on his way to catching Gable for the most titles. Because you can be an impact wrestler as a frosh, most HS stars don't want to redshirt. But Sanderson redshirts kids liberally, and they still commit. Even Retherford redshirted between his frosh and soph years because Sanderson convinced him he had to get stronger.

Meanwhile, we didn't finish in the top 30.

 

[thom67]

Almost all elite wrestlers redshirt. Occasionally for team reasons a redshirt is dropped. Iowa will redshirt Lee and Teasdale as well as all their other recruits.

 

[pletch5]

Solomon lost 2-0. Gave up an escape and a riding time point. No disgrace to lose to the #2 and #5 ranked wrestlers. However, once again the analyst on ESPN3 questioned the coaching. When it was his choice, he again chose down and got ridden for the entire 2 minutes without coming close to an escape. Just like against Wisconsin, where he was flat on his belly for 2 minutes. They wondered why he didn't chose neutral and go for a takedown. So maybe he loses 3-0 or 4-0 instead of 2-0, but it was his only chance at winning. Both of those wrestlers weighed 50 pounds more than him and he had that weight on him in the down position.

Forys and Campbell both lost two matches to lower seeds. Campbell lost in the consolations to a kid who was 22-18 going into the tourney. Campbell only lost twice during the season. The strength and conditioning program and the mental toughness that was missing the final decade under Rande and under Peters is still missing.

To me, the most impressive thing about the PSU wrestlers is their mental toughness. Nolf is absolutely implacable on the mat. Nickels wrestles like a madman, but a madman within limits.

Hall was supposed to redshirt this year. He was pressed into action because of injuries more than halfway through the season. He ended up with a five seed, beat the 4 seed in the quarters and beat the 1 seed in the semis and the 2 seed in the finals. He had a strategy and never waivered from it. For two periods and most of the third, he never took a shot. He got warned for stalling but never got a point assessed. I thought he should have, but they aren't going to call a stalling against a Sanderson wrestler. Then, after Sanderson's successful challenge (technically he was correct but no one else would have gotten that call; on the other hand, would any other coach even have seen the grab on the headgear?) with a 2-1 lead and 39 seconds left, everyone knew that the kid from ASU had to take a shot. So what did Hall do? With everyone expecting him to back up like he had done the whole match, he takes a shot and gets the takedown. That was the last thing the ASU kid was expecting, and he wasn't ready for it. Hall won't get an easier takedown in his career. That is wrestling smart, and that clearly is what Sanderson is teaching.

I assume he has stocked up on 133, 141 and 197 pounders in his last two classes. Supposedly, he never went after Lee or Teasdale because he didn't think he could get them and already had his guys at 133 and 141. He is well on his way to catching Gable for the most titles. Because you can be an impact wrestler as a frosh, most HS stars don't want to redshirt. But Sanderson redshirts kids liberally, and they still commit. Even Retherford redshirted between his frosh and soph years because Sanderson convinced him he had to get stronger.

Meanwhile, we didn't finish in the top 30.

Don't count OSU out next year their big recruit white had to go elsewhere this year to get eligible he could be 57 If Nate would go back to 25 luke at 33 Hayes at 41 Jordan 49 white 57 Romero65 next followed by Bo at 74 then Martin 84. Moore 97 anchor Synder. Tough match up wouldn't just hand PSU the trophy

 

[thom67]

I do not see Tomesello going down a weight. Unless a bomb goes off in St College, PSU wins again next year. They had 2 out this year who will be back. Their only loss is a non all American who will be replaced by another elite recruit freshman.

 

[mike412]

I think Ryan has made OSU a team that may surpass Iowa as #2 in the Big Ten and #2 nationally. But, I don't see them getting close to beating PSU next year. PSU had the same number or less semifinalists as Iowa, Oklahoma State and tOSU this year and less quarterfinalists than Iowa and Oklahoma State. But, they had a 19 point lead when the semis started because all of their wrestlers are bonus point machines. That just isn't the case with any other team. PSU had 8 wrestlers in Round 1 and got 11 bonus points. Oklahoma State had 10 wrestlers and got 2. So, going into Round 2, Oklahoma State had 9 wrestlers to PSU's 8 but trailed by 7 points. And bonus points widened the gap in every round.

 

[pletch5]

I think Ryan has made OSU a team that may surpass Iowa as #2 in the Big Ten and #2 nationally. But, I don't see them getting close to beating PSU next year. PSU had the same number or less semifinalists as Iowa, Oklahoma State and tOSU this year and less quarterfinalists than Iowa and Oklahoma State. But, they had a 19 point lead when the semis started because all of their wrestlers are bonus point machines. That just isn't the case with any other team. PSU had 8 wrestlers in Round 1 and got 11 bonus points. Oklahoma State had 10 wrestlers and got 2. So, going into Round 2, Oklahoma State had 9 wrestlers to PSU's 8 but trailed by 7 points. And bonus points widened the gap in every round.

I guess we can revisit this in 12 months

 

[thom67]

Iowa and OSU are very close. Iowa won the dual meet. They were close in big ten and NCAA 's. Iowa also lost there top 5 Hwt for the season mid way through. Their 84 pounder was at 97 and their 97 pounder was at Hwt. Next year they all will be wrestling down a weight.

 

[pletch5]

Iowa and OSU are very close. Iowa won the dual meet. They were close in big ten and NCAA 's. Iowa also lost there top 5 Hwt for the season mid way through. Their 84 pounder was at 97 and their 97 pounder was at Hwt. Next year they all will be wrestling down a weight.

Same at OSU al wrestling up but now have a year to get bigger and some smaller. Think you will see a very different lineup next year

 

[WYpanther]

Virginia Tech just hired their assistant Tony Robie to be their head coach and replace Dresser who left for Iowa State. Have to think they might have missed on their Plan A.

 

[bwh05]

Robie will do a good job I think.

 

[WYpanther]

I agree, Robie has been their for over 10 years and seems to be a pretty good hire. I just heard from some VT wrestling followers they were at least interested in Casey Kolat from Campbell and Cunningham from PSU.

 

[thom67]

Casey Cunningham and Gary Kolat. Both would be good hires. I like Cunningham who is doing great job at PSU. Some say that he is the driving force behind PSU's rise to greatness.