Oddities of Nationals
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not an in person thing but NCAA trivia
Ed Banach won 3 titles and was 2nd once. Every year he won he was the #2 seed. The year he lost he was the #1 seed.
in person:
I was there when Cael won his 1st as well. what stands out as much as anything is that Heskett was the more hyped Iowa St freshman that year (lost in quarters wrestled back to 3rd). Most impressive thing from that tourney might have been Boise St's Quisel losing 1st rd, getting dropped into pig tail consolation, then running off 8 in a row to place 3rd.
Quisel with another distinctive moment the next NCAA tourney, handing TJ Williams his only loss as a Hawkeye.
weird things like....GMU's Willie Stravino lost to Cary Kolat at '94 NCAA, 12-10, but then lost next match 17-1 to a guy from Brown.
Ed Banach won 3 titles and was 2nd once. Every year he won he was the #2 seed. The year he lost he was the #1 seed.
in person:
I was there when Cael won his 1st as well. what stands out as much as anything is that Heskett was the more hyped Iowa St freshman that year (lost in quarters wrestled back to 3rd). Most impressive thing from that tourney might have been Boise St's Quisel losing 1st rd, getting dropped into pig tail consolation, then running off 8 in a row to place 3rd.
Quisel with another distinctive moment the next NCAA tourney, handing TJ Williams his only loss as a Hawkeye.
weird things like....GMU's Willie Stravino lost to Cary Kolat at '94 NCAA, 12-10, but then lost next match 17-1 to a guy from Brown.
Here's an article about Branch's run: https://pistolsfiringblog.com/a-look-at-mark-branchs-1994-ncaa-title-run-at-osu/
My favorite NCAAs as to a great finals was at Madison Square Gardens. The finals were amazing and although 2 of my favorite wrestlers lost, I have no doubt it made them better for their careers after their freshman years. At that Nations a Cinderella was David Terao who was the 15th seed. He beat #2 Joey Dance in the Rd 16, then #10 Connor Schram in the quarters. He did it with Nolf like wrestling. He then lost to Nico in the semis but returned on the back side to take 4th. Not bad for 15th seed. It's great how the fans jump onto wrestlers bandwagon who get on a roll like a James English. Last night at a hotel restaurant I ran into David Terao's parents and had to wish them well for their son Josh's match in the Rd of 16. Josh is seeded #19 at 133 and in the Round of 16 has the 3rd seed from New Jersey. The Teraos are Fun boys to watch due to their judo background.
What I feel is an overlooked achievement at Nationals is what Carlton Haselrig accomplished.
I was at Hershey his senior year in High School ,when I looked in the program and saw his record, something like 6-0. Seemed odd, but I did find out his High School dropped wrestling. He petitioned the PIAA to wrestle at Districts and or Regionals. He went on to win Heavyweight title.
He goes to Pitt-Johnstown and wins 3 Division III titles which qualified you for NCAAs Division I. He them won 3 Big Show tournaments. Truly remarkable.
I was at Hershey his senior year in High School ,when I looked in the program and saw his record, something like 6-0. Seemed odd, but I did find out his High School dropped wrestling. He petitioned the PIAA to wrestle at Districts and or Regionals. He went on to win Heavyweight title.
He goes to Pitt-Johnstown and wins 3 Division III titles which qualified you for NCAAs Division I. He them won 3 Big Show tournaments. Truly remarkable.
I would submit something more of a tip of the hat than an oddity. In 2002 I had the pleasure of watching Cael win his fourth NCAA title in undefeated fashion, Rob Rohn’s stunning come from behind cement mixer over Lambrecht and WVU Greg Jones’ title victory ( big fan of Craig Turnbull ). My tip of the hat though goes to Josh Koscheck of Edinboro. After winning a title in 2001 and a favorite in 2002, he suffers an injury causing him to lose in earlier rounds. He battles all the way back to take 3rd. In my eyes that is the most difficult if not improbable task of all.
how did you know it was a threesome?How long did it take you to inflate her? .
“Having fun relations with a female” is odd for you? OK. To each his own.
I did not know....until now. Ok....so we know there were 2 females. One was Latex and flexible.. So the only question left is to guess the species of the second female. Readers?
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...this time it was free!“Having fun relations with a female” is odd for you? OK. To each his own.
Koscheck lost in the quarters, it was far from what Lange, Vinson, Quisel, etc did.
Jesse (Strongest Man in the World) Whitmer going from Mike Mena's backup to NCAA champ in 1997.
Random fact
Another Laszlo Molnar was apparently a BF-109 ace in the Axis Hungarian Air Force
Particularly when one considers that he was long thought to have been killed in air combat in 1944*!
In addition to apparently faking his own death in World War Two, to then become a competent collegiate wrestler, Molnar must have either found the fountain of youth, or been one heck of a flexible old guy! Then again, Randy Lewis was still wrestling in his 50s, so, hey, you never know!
*http://www.ww2incolor.com/hungary/Molnar+Laszlo+hdgy.html
From a Hungarian source:
Lieutenant Laszlo Molnar pilot died at 9th of august 1944. in aircombat.He was able to jump out of his hit messer plane,but the mustang pilot aim and shot the falling parachutist.War is hell,he served his country gave his young life.This is for his memory.may the rest and peace with you!
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Hesse had not read Vodka's theory in "lost or cost opportunity".
To think, someone that good willing to be a backup waiting on an opportunity.
By far my favorite Iowa champ ever
Whitmer, a small farm boy, was a 103 pounder as a senior in high school, so it was only reasonable most folks thought he couldn't make it in college. Nowadays, with no 118 class, a guy that small almost surely wouldn't get a chance.
In Whitmer's bracket, he knocked off the 3, 2, and 5 seeds, all of whom were returning All-Americans. He also avenged at least two losses from the regular season, including a semi victory over future national champ Teague Moore.
Dan Gable putting down his crutches and lifting Whitmer up to the sky while screaming, "STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD! STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD!" in front of several thousand wrestling fans .... that's a precious memory
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I wonder how many Iowa and Penn State fans are aware that Dan Gable won his first NCAA title in Rec Hall! NCAA tournament in 1968 to be precise.
I had seen Jesse lose to David Morgan 3 - maybe 4 - times, each time because he couldn't get out from underneath. In the championships he chose neutral.
He's now in law enforcement and coaches an area kids club. I'll run into him 3 or 4 times a year at some type of wrestling event.
Not only aware but I was there. Not that I had any clue at the time who Gable was.
I think that we have to equate Cael to Larry Owings, the guy that proved that Gable/Iowa could be knocked off that throne.
The beauty of nationals!
The beauty of nationals!
Owings was lightning in a bottle. Cael is a decades-long nuclear power plant, as was Gable.
So Cael is not so much Larry Owing as he is Dan Gable Plus. “Plus” because Cael has more personal NCAA titles than Gable, is more undefeated than Gable in the NCAA, will have more coaching NCAA titles than Gable, etc.
Room for both, imo. Different era, different circumstances. Both amazing stories.
You know, this actually reminds me .... I know next to nothing about Cael Sanderson's origin story or his family back in Utah.
Whereas Dan Gable's origin story is like the stuff of myth. I've always thought there should be a movie about his life, from the time his sister got killed and he put his (mildly alcoholic) parents on his shoulders, to winning an Olympic gold medal while wrestling on one knee and beating a hand-picked Soviet. It's amazing stuff.
I highly recommend Nolan Zavoral's book 'A Season On the Mat,' which followed the 1997 Hawkeyes. Zavoral happened to be with Gable when he sat down and watched a VHS of the Owings match. It was a really novelistic experience, Gable dealing with this painful trauma from his past. The funny part was when someone (it was either Jim Zalesky, Brands, or a wrestler) walks in, sees what Gable is watching, and immediately turns around and leaves ASAP.
There was a Russian writer (I believe it was Turgenev) who said that all happy families are the same, whereas each unhappy family is uniquely unhappy. For those of us with troubled or less-than-ideal family stories, Gable is inspiring, to say the least.
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