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First Announced Match of the next NLWC Event

I'll echo the Beard gas tank. When he is fresh his neutral game is amazing, but he visibly tires late.
 
If they truly intend for Beau Bartlett to go at 149 this year, man, that's going to be one hell of a battle with him, Verk, and Bear Claw.
Let's hope it isn't.
David Taylor as a true freshman got his ass handed him on a platter by AA Cyler Sanderson in a pre season intra squad competition. By the beginning of December David had closed that gap to no gap.
Bartlett is more than likely a Taylor type talent. He isn't going to struggle with Verkleeren or anybody else in the Lorenzo room if he competes at 149.
 
I posted last night about a big one in December.This match has been in the works.Finding the right time for it wasn't gonna be easy.Once the rumors started about not sending a team to Worlds December was the right time.Then came the announcement no team to Worlds.Now we get to see this match again.Look for 185 to be the weight
 
I'll echo the Beard gas tank. When he is fresh his neutral game is amazing, but he visibly tires late.
I think we all like Beard and want him to be successful. I think it is reasonable to think that against someone who wrestles a constant pressure style that he will gas late in matches. We have seen it the past 18-24 months. It is not news to the Beard or PSU camp. I am sure they are trying to fix it, however some guys genetically have great gas tanks, which also means others may not. It feels like something we will be talking about for 4 more years, just less and less each year. As MB becomes more dominant in his Jr Sr years it will become less an issue as he puts guys out of their misery early.
 
These events are certainly a silver lining of Covid. I am surprised that other than PSU and Iowa, more RTCs (especially tOSU since they are a better “program” ;)) aren’t hosting such events.
 
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Me this morning...

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Hawk fans this morning...

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If they truly intend for Beau Bartlett to go at 149 this year, man, that's going to be one hell of a battle with him, Verk, and Bear Claw.

So assuming Lee stays another year, does Lee then bump up for his 5th year and Bartlett go down to 141, or would Bartlett go down after Lee leaves? Seems like Barraclaugh is gonna have a tough time finding a spot in the lineup for the next couple years at least.
 
Beard gas tank issues seems to be common.
Tale of two periods.

MB looked great the first period. Attacking. Countering. And doing a great job stuffing the shots of Bulsak. 8-2 after 1 and was in total control

It didn't look to me that Bulsak pushed any harder in the second, but MB did gas and score narrowed to 8-7. But give MB credit, he did get the next takedown and held on. May have gassed, but had heart.

This was wrestled at 205, so 8 over the college weight. No idea what MB weighed in at (did he try and make 197 as a test?). The other issue was that this was freestyle, and would have been nice to see how MB did while riding and being ridden. That exposes gas tank issues quicker.

Very, very happy for the team last night. Truly re-loading. May be the most athletic squad that CS has put together.
 
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So assuming Lee stays another year, does Lee then bump up for his 5th year and Bartlett go down to 141, or would Bartlett go down after Lee leaves? Seems like Barraclaugh is gonna have a tough time finding a spot in the lineup for the next couple years at least.

Consensus seems to be Lee is staying at 41. If Lee stays next year (and collects his 2nd national title), I can see one of Bartlett or Van Ness redshirting next season, and the other going at 149.

Then the following season Bartlett and Van Ness going to 41/49 in some order.
 
Consensus seems to be Lee is staying at 41. If Lee stays next year (and collects his 2nd national title), I can see one of Bartlett or Van Ness redshirting next season, and the other going at 149.

Then the following season Bartlett and Van Ness going to 41/49 in some order.

Forgot about Van Ness. So when/where does Barraclaugh fit in? Does he?
 
Tale of two periods.

MB looked great the first period. Attacking. Countering. And doing a great job stuffing the shots of Bulsak. 8-2 after 1 and was in total control

It didn't look to me that Bulsak pushed any harder in the second, but MB did gas and score narrowed to 8-7. But give MB credit, he did get the next takedown and held on. May have gassed, but had heart.

This was wrestled at 205, so 8 over the college weight. No idea what MB weighed in at (did he try and make 197 as a test?). The other issue was that this was freestyle, and would have been nice to see how MB did while riding and being ridden. That exposes gas tank issues quicker.

Very, very happy for the team last night. Truly re-loading. May be the most athletic squad that CS has put together.
Agree very good showing by the young team, the future is BRIGHT! Beard and the gas tank issue. he had this issue a few matches last year, but mostly due not being able to get out on bottom, most cases he was so far ahead ( as he was last night).

I feel Beard will have a good college career, but to be great and win those tight matches he has to get a bigger tank. Yes sir he did show heart!
 
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The Bartlett-Meredith bout was classic. Bartlett is better than I exected. He's ready. And Kerk was just awesome.
The other day, PA Power wrestling hosted the True Power dual with mostly high schoolers. Diceman should extent his spreadsheet to include 9th graders. And then he should put just one name there. Perhaps I'm going overboard, but Mason Gibson from Forest Hills could be the face of PA wrestling for the next several years. He wrestled Steen from Reynolds --- only a Senior 2x PA State champ, Ironman Champ, Powerade Champ. Gibson is a 9th grader who never wrestled a high school match. Steen was on the defensive for most of the bout. Gibson is a relentlessly agressive shooter. And he shoots with speed. I'm talking RBY-style speed. He won Super/32 as an 8th grader - only the 2nd 8th grader to do that. For comparison, Spenser Lee came in 2nd in 8th grade. He won Super/32 at 106 (and looked small). But he was at 120, i think for the True Power bout. And Steen couldn't outmuscle him or outspeed him. and Steen was great. Oh, final score, 3-2 Gibson.

The first time I saw Kolat wrestle as a 9th grader, I was in fear for the other wrestler's life. He was that scary. Gibson doesn't overpower his opponents, ala Kolat. He does it with speed, moves, and mat sense. And he's really good on his feet. I'm eager to see where Gibson goes from here. Hope it's Happy Valley.
 
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The Bartlett-Meredith bout was classic. Bartlett is better than I exected. He's ready. And Kerk was just awesome.
The other day, PA Power wrestling hosted the True Power dual with mostly high schoolers. Diceman should extent his spreadsheet to include 9th graders. And then he should put just one name there. Perhaps I'm going overboard, but Mason Gibson from Forest Hills could be the face of PA wrestling for the next several years. He wrestled Steen from Reynolds --- only a Senior 2x PA State champ, Ironman Champ, Powerade Champ. Gibson is a 9th grader who never wrestled a high school match. Steen was on the defensive for most of the bout. Gibson is a relentlessly agressive shooter. And he shoots with speed. I'm talking RBY-style speed. He won Super/32 as an 8th grader - only the 2nd 8th grader to do that. For comparison, Spenser Lee came in 2nd in 8th grade. He won Super/32 at 106 (and looked small). But he was at 120, i think for the True Power bout. And Steen couldn't outmuscle him or outspeed him. and Steen was great. Oh, final score, 3-2 Gibson.

The first time I saw Kolat wrestle as a 9th grader, I was in fear for the other wrestler's life. He was that scary. Gibson doesn't overpower his opponents, ala Kolat. He does it with speed, moves, and mat sense. I'm eager to see where Gibson goes from here. Hope it's Happy Valley.
Yep, we've been talking about Gibson ever since last year's S32. He's on every D1 coach's radar.

Never say never, but it's gonna be an uphill climb to get him with his brother Erik headed to Cornell.
 
Yep, we've been talking about Gibson ever since last year's S32. He's on every D1 coach's radar.

Never say never, but it's gonna be an uphill climb to get him with his brother Erik headed to Cornell.
Yes, but Mason is way better than his older brother. It's early yet.
 
Agree very good showing by the young team, the future is BRIGHT! Beard and the gas tank issue. he had this issue a few matches last year, but mostly due not being able to get out on bottom, most cases he was so far ahead ( as he was last night).

I feel Beard will have a good college career, but to be great and win those tight matches he has to get a bigger tank. Yes sir he did show heart!
I do remember a few years ago a certain 197 lb-er (at the time) had trouble getting out from bottom wrestling Bucknell, the final score was an 8-11 loss, which lead some of us to question him. Turned out pretty good though after some more training time with our staff. Wish his last year wasn't cut short by injury, not that it mattered NCAA wise in the end, but I just miss seeing him wrestle.
 
Yes, but Mason is way better than his older brother. It's early yet.
True that it's early. My point is that Koll recruited the entire family. (In fairness, so did Cael, Brands, and every other coach.) Mason will be up there visiting often, and if Erik has a good experience there, that will be tough to top.

I'm struggling to offhand recall recent families that sent brothers to different power programs. (The Hoffmans don't count -- Bucknell not a power program.) The Berges, after Broc flamed out at Iowa. Only other example I can think of is Nick Nevills not following Zach to Stanford -- but then the other 2 brothers came to PSU. Brothers attending the same school seems far more reliable: Lees, Hidlays, Deans, Stevesons, etc.

Then there's this snippet from his commitment article:
Late in his sophomore season, Gibson said that Penn State and Iowa were his top two schools, but as the process moved along Cornell replaced the Nittany Lions, who have won eight of the past nine NCAA tournament titles, as the co-favorite with Iowa.

“To be honest, I didn’t feel like Penn State would be right for me,” Gibson said. “I was in contact with Coach Dean and Coach Koll back and forth for about three days, and I only talked to Iowa once.”

 
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Duke also looks good -- but so did Marsteller at the same point in his career. Turns out he wouldn't have even started at PSU with Jason, Cenzo, and Mark at his weights.

Bears repeating: very long list of Must Haves that Cael didn't get. Somehow we've scraped by with 8 of 9 national titles.

Just gotta trust Cael.
 
Don't get ahead of yourself Gable is looking awesome as well. 15 lbs heavier and it is all muscle, he is more powerful than Kerk. Kerk is cat like, very fluid and smooth as well as plenty strong. They look like shoe-ins for the finals. I'll pick Kirk in a decision 5-3 type of match. He is beautiful to watch. Dueling with Cael, Snacks and Snyder everyday makes me shudder. He will have very few weaknesses by the time they get done with him. I would love to see him and Snyder go at it.

I'd bet you a few shekels that Gable has a couple more percent body fat than Kerkvliet. He's a big strong boy, but he's noticeably rounder than a guy like Cassar or Kerkvliet.
 
I'm not sure there's a better pure athlete than Kerk on the freestyle circuit. He looks like an elite pass rusher out there from a physical standpoint

It really tripped me out how Kerk, at 240lbs, appeared to totally dwarf Demetrious Thomas at 260lbs. The extra 3-4 inches of height provided a good portion of that trippiness, but then the wrestling! Outslicked him with an ankle pick then bulldozed his face with a Antknee blast double.

Incredibly impressive athletic performance.
 
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It really tripped me out how Kerk, at 240lbs, appeared to totally dwarf Demetrious Thomas at 260lbs. The extra 3-4 inches of height provided a good portion of that trippiness, but then the wrestling! Outslicked him with an ankle pick then bulldozed his face with a Antknee blast double.

Incredibly impressive athletic performance.
to me he doesn't look as big as he is... didn't someone talk about the eye test awhile back ;) All about results!
 
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I'd bet you a few shekels that Gable has a couple more percent body fat than Kerkvliet. He's a big strong boy, but he's noticeably rounder than a guy like Cassar or Kerkvliet.
Both of you guys are correct about Steveson's physique. Below is his Sept 2020 match vs. Hillger. Steveson is still rounder than Cassar or Kerk -- and also noticeably less round than before.

Not realistic to say anyone in college beats Steveson "easily." Only Cassar has beaten him, and neither of those wins were easy. Kerk seems most likely, unless Parris has made another huge jump this offseason.

 
to me he doesn't look as big as he is... didn't someone talk about the eye test awhile back ;) All about results!

I love the eye test, for this reason! We all see what we see. I sure perceived him to be the beastlier physical specimen, despite the 20lb delta.
 
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