For me it was Nick Lee over McKenna. Great comeback, wearing McKenna down. Verk, great effort, plus i think he wins without the bad call. RBY wrestled smart and Bo is Bo. Still after Lee won, you could see it on Ryan's face, not very hopeful. Thoughts?
Best bout in last nights match?
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It shows how spoiled we are when Nolf dominates again and techs the #6 kid and hardly gets a mention. We just expect it. He is special. Nolf....next topic
Re-watched a good part of it today.
Loved Nick Lee's win. Trailing 5-2 going into 3rd period with #2 ranked wrestler, and he out-competed and outlasted McKenna.
Against a nationally ranked opponent, Nolf looked very sharp. As quick and active as I have seen...amazing.
Loved Nick Lee's win. Trailing 5-2 going into 3rd period with #2 ranked wrestler, and he out-competed and outlasted McKenna.
Against a nationally ranked opponent, Nolf looked very sharp. As quick and active as I have seen...amazing.
Agree with Nolf. He looked hungrier, even than usual. He sure was making up for missing out on last year's dual!
Lee cuts him with a minute left and takes him down for the win.
Lee followed closely by Nickal then Nolf, then RBY then Cassar then Hall then Joseph then Manville then Verkleeren then Schnupp (though one might reasonably contest the order).
Probably the best team effort of the year and certainly one of the best in recent years.
Would have been a little bit sweeter had Verkleeren pulled out the victory over Jordan and it was there for the taking, especially if the ref hadn't made a very lousy stall call.
Probably the best team effort of the year and certainly one of the best in recent years.
Would have been a little bit sweeter had Verkleeren pulled out the victory over Jordan and it was there for the taking, especially if the ref hadn't made a very lousy stall call.
RBY has numerous setups from his knees (that “primed” blast double and some misdirection off of that), Luke just shut them all down with his positioning. Sure, would have been great for him to find some angles and score more but easier said than done. He still beat last year’s #4 coming off of injury in front of a hostile crowd as a TrFr.
Manville, followed by Verk. Verk got screwed and Manville was game, real game for 7 minutes giving up 14 lbs
I don’t agree at all. RBY’s match was great. Pletcher shuts most people down offensively. For RBY to come out in that environment as a true freshman coming off an injury against a returning AA as the first match and put in that performance was incredible. That match set the tone for the entire dual. O$U knew after that match that they were in trouble and they wrestled tight. PSU almost always wrestles loose but especially after RBY won you could see the guys just get after it and they wrestled as well as I’ve seen them in awhile. It was a treat to watch!
Nolf is so special and we probably take him for granted. He can beat you so many ways and loves and respects his sport. A better role model, you couldn't ask for.
It's hard to argue against anyone saying Zain, DT, Ruth, Nickal or others, but, my favorite wrestler to watch during Cael's run has been Jason Nolf.
His overall style, innovation/creativity and intensity are a thing of beauty. I will miss watching him in the PSU singlet.
I love those who say he will never do well in Freestyle, as he waited too long to start. I think they will eat their words at some point. Once Nolf commits to freestyle, he will ascend very quickly.
And to think, during his sophomore year in high school, when he wrestled a completely different style than he does now, I actually thought that he was slightly over-rated. It's funny to look back on now.
His overall style, innovation/creativity and intensity are a thing of beauty. I will miss watching him in the PSU singlet.
I love those who say he will never do well in Freestyle, as he waited too long to start. I think they will eat their words at some point. Once Nolf commits to freestyle, he will ascend very quickly.
And to think, during his sophomore year in high school, when he wrestled a completely different style than he does now, I actually thought that he was slightly over-rated. It's funny to look back on now.
Yep. No better feeling than cutting your opponent loose knowing you have to take him down and then doing it.
Going into that match I thought RBY would have to use his quickness to win the takedown battle which I figured would amount to 1 for the match. Never expected he would win by getting out from bottom and a ride out. Gutsy performance coming off an injury.
I visited this board right now to start my own thread on....... Nick Lee.
The kid is just improving every day. Yesterday's match was fantastic. I still can't believe he had the confidence to let McKenna up to go behind then take him down for the win. He has GIANT balls to make that move with what, 45 - 50 seconds left? I thought PSU was headed to sudden death again.
I agree on Verk too. Wrestled a great match. 100% improvement over last week which was tough because he had to drop some weight he hadn't planned to. Looking forward to seeing 149 strengthen moving forward.
Bo is Bo. No doubt.
I have to agree due to the fact that we get to see so much more of him. Bo, one move all match... kinda leaves me wanting more... yeah we are spoiled.!
I first read the title of this thread and thought, "Um, Bo. Duh." #1 pins #2 in the first period like he's teaching a summer high school clinic. Wow! (I almost picked that result in KYPSW but chickened out. SMH.) Then I remembered Nolf's annihilation of #7 and the choice became harder. Of course, the way VJ, Marky, and Raptor toyed with their respective ranked opponents came to mind as worthy picks too.
But after more thought I'm leaning toward Lee or RBY as my fave match of the night. Nick's win over a #2 ranked Joey McKenna who has looked to be on another level this year is objectively more YUGE. Especially the way he did it -- patient, methodical, unrattled. Man that bodes well for the upcoming tourneys!
RBY's win was super impressive to me too. Coming back from injury after a few weeks to face Pletcher as his first match back made me nervous. I had concerns about his health, gas tank, bottom skills, wrestling maturity, etc. But he answered those questions superbly last night. He wrestled like a confident veteran with a clear game plan. And I loved his enthusiastic reaction to the win!
Jason Nolf has already twice reinvented himself in very short order. First after losing to Diehl at states, became the Tazmanian Devil and suffocated Diehl that summer. Then after last year's injury, became the legendary One Legged Jason Nolf and dominated with an entirely different style.
I have no doubt that Jason will do the same upon graduation. International wrestling will not be a problem for him. He will be a problem for them.
I got RBY over Pletcher. It wasn't the most action packed. But it set the tone for the rest of the evening. Pletcher is all about defense and winning close matches. Micic is the only wrestler I can think of that really dominated Pletcher.
I was surprised Cael agreed to the random weight draw, but it couldn't have worked out better for the team. OSU losing at 33 and 41 completely took away any energy OSU and their fans had. The match was over after 41, it was just a matter of setting the final score.
I was surprised Cael agreed to the random weight draw, but it couldn't have worked out better for the team. OSU losing at 33 and 41 completely took away any energy OSU and their fans had. The match was over after 41, it was just a matter of setting the final score.
Cael doesn’t have to agree. If one coach wants to draw, they draw.
If the wrestler is using it defensively, I agree, but RBY had Pletcher moving backwards more when he was on his knees than when he wasn't.
Most important match = RBY, it set the tone
Most impressive match = Nick Lee, even I was starting to think McKenna was becoming the favorite for a nation championship. The kid never stops pressing
Most awe inspiring match = Bo, noone in the country can create the shock and awe that Bo can.
Most gutsiest match = Mason Manville, he does whatever we ask, and doesn't stop until the end. The kid is a hero.
Most surprising match = Verk, to tell the truth, I didn't think he had that kind of a match against a #3 in him. I have been having some concerns about next year, that match lessened them significantly.
Most impressive match = Nick Lee, even I was starting to think McKenna was becoming the favorite for a nation championship. The kid never stops pressing
Most awe inspiring match = Bo, noone in the country can create the shock and awe that Bo can.
Most gutsiest match = Mason Manville, he does whatever we ask, and doesn't stop until the end. The kid is a hero.
Most surprising match = Verk, to tell the truth, I didn't think he had that kind of a match against a #3 in him. I have been having some concerns about next year, that match lessened them significantly.
I thought if both coaches couldn't agree to a starting weight or to draw, the starting weight automatically defaults to 125. I know I read that somewhere, but maybe my source was wrong.
The random draw happens if the coaches cannot agree on a starting weight, 125 or otherwise.
Yes. I was wrong in my posts above. Just got done reading the official NCAA rulebook. Guess most coaches prefer to start at 125. It seems to be the most common starting weight by far.
Looking at both teams on form going into the dual, it was obvious tOSU probably had to at least hold serve at 133 and 141 to have any decent shot at winning. When PSU underdogs won both by a combined 5 - 0, then No. 3 Micah Jordan was barely able to eke out a 3 - point regular decision over unranked Jarod Verkleeren, he had to know the writing was pretty much on the wall.
Last year's match was an exciting, drama-filled, beat-the-extreme-challenge and greatly exceed expectations event, the goal being to largely—or at least initially—keep the score relatively close against the favored team.
This year's was like, "Holy Crap," this team just blew out, blew away, and humbled a team that had every expectation of winning or, minimally, having it decided in the final bout. After two matches, the home crowd was in paralysis and silent shock, and the momentum was headed toward a confounding beat-down.
My sense is that most Penn State fans were also quite surprised at how well everything played out. If Verkleeren had also pulled off the win over Jordan, I think the governor of Ohio might have declared a state emergency and Tom Ryan would currently be sending out his resume to other schools.
This year's was like, "Holy Crap," this team just blew out, blew away, and humbled a team that had every expectation of winning or, minimally, having it decided in the final bout. After two matches, the home crowd was in paralysis and silent shock, and the momentum was headed toward a confounding beat-down.
My sense is that most Penn State fans were also quite surprised at how well everything played out. If Verkleeren had also pulled off the win over Jordan, I think the governor of Ohio might have declared a state emergency and Tom Ryan would currently be sending out his resume to other schools.
RBY dropped to knees close in, where he was a threat to explode up and score.
This didn't remotely resemble Mason Beckman dropping to knees from 8 feet away.
I know it's been said on this forum so many times, but how blessed are we to be having a discussion like this? "Short handed" and against a great OSU squad, and we witness a massacre. Each one of our guys came out and improved, wrestling his tail off. This team has battled a lot of illness and injuries, and now is hitting its stride. Hopefully we see Rasheed and Berge (not that I have an issue with Verk) back at full strength soon.
Lee over Mckenna for me. Joey had been on a tear all year looking like a sure fire national finalist. Nick had quietly been going about his business but came into the match as a decided underdog. Lee cuts him in the third needing a take down and ride out to win. He finished on top with Mckenna completely bellied out. "HE'S DONE! HE'S DONE!" So were the Bucks.
Due to the excitement of the match, I had forgotten the long delay......and McKenna still gased. Lee more Zain like every time out. Better at riding, using his legs.
Contender
BTW, Tan Tom in his post-meet interview said McKenna had a tough weight cut because of lack of practice (due to injury or illness, I can’t recall). So, McKenna had that handicap. OTOH, Lee lost a takedown due to average reffing. So, hopefully Lee can still beat McKenna again and again, if necessary.
Interesting take by TaTo Salad. I guess he can position his guy with public comments like that to help with coaches rankings, etc. I think what we all have seen with Nick Lee in his past few bouts is a shift to aggresively finishing his takedowns. I’ll take Nick 7 outta 10 times against McKenna at this point.
I think it’s reasonable to believe McKenna gassed because he had been injured. Look at Shak’s last match. Doesn’t mean he would have won if he hadn’t gassed. Nick is on his level, and getting better.
I imagine that making weight, >5#, and having a full gas tank are on a sliding scale anytime of the year but gets harder and harder as the season goes on. Throw in injury recovery and the scale really gets tipped. I don’t know if McKenna will get back to his previous form but I like Lee’s chances in a rematch this year.
Whatever Cael does in conditioning training and weight management is one of his true strengths.
It’s always fun to watch the kid in the skinny body beat the muscle beach guy.
Whatever Cael does in conditioning training and weight management is one of his true strengths.
It’s always fun to watch the kid in the skinny body beat the muscle beach guy.
TanTom also said he can see it in his wrestlers eyes if they're tank or not... in so many words
