US Open/Freestyle

[_DBHoops]

Ok, I'm a well-documented hater of freestyle (@EwFreestyleNo on twitter bahaha) but US Open is coming up and I don't see Nino entered, I also don't see him on the list of those already qualified? Nino seems to be our guy who can win some world medals in the future, anyone know what he's doing for this cycle?

Matthews, Pletcher, Thomas are all entered for PWC and Megaludis and Shelton Mack are wrestling for TMWC.

 

[Ryno53]

I saw Mcmillen and Augustine are registered for U20 as well, I believe recent commit Carsen miller is as well. I am not sure on this one but perhaps Nino is already qualified for the world team trials since he was the u23 representative or maybe he is focusing on that and not trying to make mens team. Just speculating

 

[Captainpitt]

I for one love freestyle season. Looking toward to US Open!

Megaludis is PWC and Titan Mercury(TMWC). Same with Pletcher. I think the way it works is that the national clubs, like titan mercury or Sunkist, help sponsor the top guys. Like Jordan Burroughs is at Penn Rtc but is also sponsored by Sunkist.

I’m pretty sure I heard that Nino had an injury from the ncaa tournament and won’t be competing this off-season because of that.

 

[lucac]

Not sure how you can not like freestyle lol but fortunately for you we don't really have anyone who I see being all that competitive at the national level in freestyle so you won't be missing much in that way I guess but damn world level freestyle is amazing

 

[_DBHoops]

Not sure how you can not like freestyle lol but fortunately for you we don't really have anyone who I see being all that competitive at the national level in freestyle so you won't be missing much in that way I guess but damn world level freestyle is amazing

Waaaaaaay too much involvement from officials in determining the outcome of matches, and honestly I just don't see what's so special about grabbing someone's ankles and rolling around for ten seconds.

I'm aware i am in the minority and that it's an uncultured opinion from someone who hasn't watched the sport for that long!

Fortunately for me and all of us, you're very, very mistaken that we don't have anyone who will be competitive in senior level freestyle.

 

[pafootballguy]

Both styles are flawed but love them both

Folkstyle: Hate what riding has turned into, figure 4 and trapped ankle, with very little drive to turn; It needs a step out rule, I hate how guys are using the edge of the mat for defense; I hate overtime and the very little offense in SV due to the type of riding we see now.

Freestyle: There are too many times that I have no idea how or why something was scored the way it was; I don't love or hate par-terre; I hate that going to your knees can prevent a step out.

A hybrid ruleset would be perfect.

 

[_DBHoops]

Both styles are flawed but love them both

Folkstyle: Hate what riding has turned into, figure 4 and trapped ankle, with very little drive to turn; It needs a step out rule, I hate how guys are using the edge of the mat for defense; I hate overtime and the very little offense in SV due to the type of riding we see now.

Freestyle: There are too many times that I have no idea how or why something was scored the way it was; I don't love or hate par-terre; I hate that going to your knees can prevent a step out.

A hybrid ruleset would be perfect.

Agree with all your critiques of folk! Stall-riding sucks, edge stalling sucks; and I know there will always be less falls at a high level of competition like D1, but you can tell most wrestlers go out with the goal of scoring more points than the other wrestler. That sounds good, but the objective in any wrestling match is to earn a fall, and those are not the same thing.

 

[lucac]

Waaaaaaay too much involvement from officials in determining the outcome of matches, and honestly I just don't see what's so special about grabbing someone's ankles and rolling around for ten seconds.

I'm aware i am in the minority and that it's an uncultured opinion from someone who hasn't watched the sport for that long!

Fortunately for me and all of us, you're very, very mistaken that we don't have anyone who will be competitive in senior level freestyle.

I hope you're right about that and we do but I just don't see it right now as far as guys who could really push for senior level teams

 

[Ryno53]

Cole has a style that could translate well. Think about his throw of Gomez and how often he can score of his opponents shots. Plus his positioning center of the mat most matches gets rewarded even more so in freestyle

 

[Silkky1982]

Luca Augustine in the finals of the U20 us open

 

[Ryno53]

Nico has been rolling. Pletcher lost to maple but remains alive. Mcmillen knocked out but nearly completed comeback vs Lamer. Meesh undefeated this far has Zilmer next. McCorkle with a surprising victory over Fish from MSU. Maybe he can prove to be the answer at 165? Luca’s been on a roll I was able to catch his matches. Really a bad week for the us open with the draft on and it’s in the same city!! I will be catching up on the majority of these matches Sunday

 

[_DBHoops]

Nico has been rolling. Pletcher lost to maple but remains alive. Mcmillen knocked out but nearly completed comeback vs Lamer. Meesh undefeated this far has Zilmer next. McCorkle with a surprising victory over Fish from MSU. Maybe he can prove to be the answer at 165? Luca’s been on a roll I was able to catch his matches. Really a bad week for the us open with the draft on and it’s in the same city!! I will be catching up on the majority of these matches Sunday

Biggest eye-opener for me was Luca beating James Rowley, who won Cadet world silver in freestyle last year. Nothing fluky either, four takedowns to none for a 9-1 win.

Meech beating Christian Lance was nice. Lance jumped levels last year working w/ Tervel and I was kinda expecting him to take that one.

 

[Ryno53]

Luca’s winning move in his semis match was special must watch if you can

 

[_DBHoops]

Dylan Chappell also in the U20 finals!

McMillen was in a tough bracket, lost to two really good dudes.

 

[Eric_Knopsnyder]

Nico has been rolling. Pletcher lost to maple but remains alive. Mcmillen knocked out but nearly completed comeback vs Lamer. Meesh undefeated this far has Zilmer next. McCorkle with a surprising victory over Fish from MSU. Maybe he can prove to be the answer at 165? Luca’s been on a roll I was able to catch his matches. Really a bad week for the us open with the draft on and it’s in the same city!! I will be catching up on the majority of these matches Sunday

Nico with a nice win over Seth Gross to reach the finals, where he'll face NLWC's Josh Rodriguez. Meech falls to Zillmer.

 

[Eric_Knopsnyder]

Nico Megaludis your U.S. Open champion at 61 kg, beating NLWC's Josh Rodriguez 3-1 in final.

 

[Silkky1982]

Luca Augustine your U20 US Open Champion!!

 

[Eric_Knopsnyder]

Luca Augustine your U20 US Open Champion!!

That's really impressive. I liked Luca coming out of high school and thought he might develop into a solid collegiate wrestler but never would have forecast this kind of jump.

 

[Cranberry Pantherfan]

Luca looked very composed and technical, his head in the hole is very effective and hard to defense and is something I plan on having my boys watch. Maybe a Gavin move? Haven’t seen many of Keith’s matches from the past. Brock got hosed against Lamer, scoring was very controversial IMO. Was very happy with my son, Dylan’s, performance only really doing 1 full year of freestyle in HS and dabbling on the edges until this year. He did win State one year beating Levi Haines.

I used to hate FS, it’s grown on me as my boys have started enjoying it. Really adds to mat awareness, body control, and basic defense for folk. Agree adding step out rule would enhance Folk scoring and activity.

Tyler has been participating in some events also and did go undefeated last week in HS division of Ultimate Club Duals and has qualified for FS States in PA. He is also starting to attend a club Mickey is running for FS 2 days a week.

 

[Ryno53]

Luca looked very composed and technical, his head in the hole is very effective and hard to defense and is something I plan on having my boys watch. Maybe a Gavin move? Haven’t seen many of Keith’s matches from the past. Brock got hosed against Lamer, scoring was very controversial IMO. Was very happy with my son, Dylan’s, performance only really doing 1 full year of freestyle in HS and dabbling on the edges until this year. He did win State one year beating Levi Haines.

I used to hate FS, it’s grown on me as my boys have started enjoying it. Really adds to mat awareness, body control, and basic defense for folk. Agree adding step out rule would enhance Folk scoring and activity.

Tyler has been participating in some events also and did go undefeated last week in HS division of Ultimate Club Duals and has qualified for FS States in PA. He is also starting to attend a club Mickey is running for FS 2 days a week.

Congratulations that’s fantastic

 

[Eric_Knopsnyder]

Luca looked very composed and technical, his head in the hole is very effective and hard to defense and is something I plan on having my boys watch. Maybe a Gavin move? Haven’t seen many of Keith’s matches from the past. Brock got hosed against Lamer, scoring was very controversial IMO. Was very happy with my son, Dylan’s, performance only really doing 1 full year of freestyle in HS and dabbling on the edges until this year. He did win State one year beating Levi Haines.

I used to hate FS, it’s grown on me as my boys have started enjoying it. Really adds to mat awareness, body control, and basic defense for folk. Agree adding step out rule would enhance Folk scoring and activity.

Tyler has been participating in some events also and did go undefeated last week in HS division of Ultimate Club Duals and has qualified for FS States in PA. He is also starting to attend a club Mickey is running for FS 2 days a week.

Great showing by Dylan! Congrats to him.
I've always been a folkstyle guy, but, like you, freestyle has grown on me. The rules are the best they've ever been, although it still seems like there's at least one instance in every major event where even the "experts" are speechless as to why something gets called the way it does.
It's also good to hear that Tyler is getting into it. Freestyle success is vitally important for colleges/RTCs. Recruits aren't just looking at who's making the NCAA finals. They're also seeing the international success (or lack thereof) that coaches are getting out of guys.
The successes of Nico and Augustine are great for the program. Those performances can help in recruiting guys who already have success in the international styles, which will lead to more success. It's a nice cycle to be in.

 

[Eric_Knopsnyder]

I hope you guys are able to check out my story from the U.S. Open. I'm guessing that a lot of you hard-core followers have a Flo subscription, but if not, it's a fairly in-depth look at how Luca and Nico performed in Las Vegas - a little more than just wins and losses. Remember - the best way to show that Pitt wrestling deserves more coverage is to keep clicking on the stories it does get.
https://pittsburgh.rivals.com/news/augustine-megaludis-win-national-freestyle-titles

 

[Ryno53]

Great article. I can’t stress enough that articles like this make me so happy that wrestling is being covered on pantherlair!

 

[New York Panther]

Me too.

 

[dougpaper]

I agree i enjoy seeing something new each day. As the team success increases so will the clicks on this site.