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Match Thread Rutgers discussion/PBP

Great time at the BJC tonight, I was surprised how Shawver looked like he had some sort of problem with Cael..
That was exciting right there. After he won at 133, Shawver with his chest out went to the center and maybe an extra step and from about 12 feet away he flexed his arms, said something and pointed right at Cael.

Cael stood up. Shawver then left the mat real quick.
 
Aaron Brooks foregoes headgear to lock up a cradle

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I like that picture. Unexpected.
 
That was exciting right there. After he won at 133, Shawver with his chest out went to the center and maybe an extra step and from about 12 feet away he flexed his arms, said something and pointed right at Cael.

Cael stood up. Shawver then left the mat real quick.
Guess he really wanted to wrestle for us and Cael wasn’t interested. Maybe. lol.
 
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That was exciting right there. After he won at 133, Shawver with his chest out went to the center and maybe an extra step and from about 12 feet away he flexed his arms, said something and pointed right at Cael.

Cael stood up. Shawver then left the mat real quick.
I think it was a reaction to Davis flexing in Peterson's face after their match. No biggie either way. I'm sure he was excited after beating a higher ranked wrestler in BJC.
 
I haven't seen any of the wrestlers in the health center but I can say we are seeing sick kids and they looks like absolute crap.. I rarely get sick now a days but picked it up from someone and have been feeling like crap for nearly 3 weeks.. cough/congestion/SOB/fatigue.. Neg COVID.. So if they have what I have .. and I got it from their peers.. it is hitting pretty dang hard ..

I had something that beat the crap out of me from around New Years until almost the end of January. As a double lung recipient, I was swabbed for COVID, RSV, Influenza A, Influenza B, pneumonia, CMV bloodwork, etc. Negative for everything despite a persistent low grade fever 100-101), heavy congestion and losing about 25 pounds. Dr said rest, fluids, and ride it out.

Hope these guys don’t continue to pass it around.
 
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Friday: 7-2 over Woods.

Monday: board be like

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Go ahead and ignore the trend of keeping it dangerously close vs inferior opponents. One win against an obviously below norm Real Woods, and a cute little GIF, doesn't obscure my point.

I'm a huge Beau fan, like all our wrestlers, but he could lose a bad match in post-season if he continues this style. Odds say it won't always go his way. Name another recent #1 ranked wrestler with these types of results.

This style obviously isn't new as he's wrestled this way for the past two years...here is this year:
- Tied 1-1 with #23 Indiana until last 10 sec.
- Counter TD in OT vs. #25 Oregon State
- Down 2-0 in third period vs #33 Michigan State
- 1-1 until last 4 sec vs. back-up Rutgers freshman
 
Go ahead and ignore the trend of keeping it dangerously close vs inferior opponents. One win against an obviously below norm Real Woods, and a cute little GIF, doesn't obscure my point.

I'm a huge Beau fan, like all our wrestlers, but he could lose a bad match in post-season if he continues this style. Odds say it won't always go his way. Name another recent #1 ranked wrestler with these types of results.

This style obviously isn't new as he's wrestled this way for the past two years...here is this year:
- Tied 1-1 with #23 Indiana until last 10 sec.
- Counter TD in OT vs. #25 Oregon State
- Down 2-0 in third period vs #33 Michigan State
- 1-1 until last 4 sec vs. back-up Rutgers freshman
Beau's style stifled him into the NCAA semis and a 3rd place finish.

Is this about him or about how we feel?
 
He gave a diplomatic answer, and I’m sure he’s loving being a part of the best team ever in college wrestling, but regardless, I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes somewhere to start next year.
If Levi were to redshirt, Terrell could easily divide 157/165 with MM. Conceivably he could have SVN or Kasak to contend with …
 
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He gave a diplomatic answer, and I’m sure he’s loving being a part of the best team ever in college wrestling, but regardless, I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes somewhere to start next year.
It makes sense to ride it out at PSU for a few years, reap the rewards of being in that room, and then transfer late in your career with a shot to compete somewhere else if you truly don't have a path to the lineup.

With that said, he's going to look great in black and gold at 157 next year!
 
Beau's style stifled him into the NCAA semis and a 3rd place finish.

Is this about him or about how we feel?
It's about WHY. Why take the chance of losing on a single late takedown against an obviously inferior opponent when you could score 6 or 9 points on three takedowns. Then it doesn't matter if you give up one.

Why not express yourself as an athlete and let it fly? We all know he could dominate these guys I listed...why not do it? Don't let the odds catch up to you.

And yes, it may also be about how it makes many of us feel. Nervous, frustrated that he might get embarrassingly upset by a 25th ranked guy.....sorry, I want these guys to do well.
 
Beau's style stifled him into the NCAA semis and a 3rd place finish.

Is this about him or about how we feel?
It's nerve-wracking for fans to watch, which is why people get upset.

However, it's not wrong to be concerned. It reminds me a lot of Brandon Sorensen. He was a finalist threat all 4 years and got upset in r2 in two of them because he wrestles tight matches.

There's also a part of it where when Beau goes, it looks great, so people don't understand why he can be so hesitant.
 
It makes sense to ride it out at PSU for a few years, reap the rewards of being in that room, and then transfer late in your career with a shot to compete somewhere else if you truly don't have a path to the lineup.

With that said, he's going to look great in black and gold at 157 next year!
I thought Skeletor PK was penciled in at 157?

You can take Cochran, Facundo, and Howard as well, and literally be our JV team instead of just figuratively.
 
At 65, I’ve watched a lot of wrestling. I’ve never seen—not even at light weights where movement comes quicker or more often—what Mesenbrink does. It’s as though less oxygen is required for the seeming non-stop exertion. The second I think he’ll back off to catch a breath, he’s mid-flight on another shot.
It can’t just be “fast twitch muscles” (Iowa’s Birdboy is a poser next to our MM), which Mitchell must be chock full of. Perhaps some physical lung superiority? Do his somehow provide more energy from the same oxygen intake than other folk?
With no idea what fuels his pace, and like far more than just us Lion fans, I’m absolutely fascinated to watch this kid. Whatever the hell it is, I could sure use it on some of our hikes :) .
Maybe Secretariat like 😏
True story. When Secretariat died from hoof infection they were curious what made him so great. They performed autopsy and found his heart was almost twice as large as a normal thoroughbred horse. That was a heck of an advantage when he won the Belmont by 30+ lengths.
 
It's nerve-wracking for fans to watch, which is why people get upset.

However, it's not wrong to be concerned. It reminds me a lot of Brandon Sorensen. He was a finalist threat all 4 years and got upset in r2 in two of them because he wrestles tight matches.

There's also a part of it where when Beau goes, it looks great, so people don't understand why he can be so hesitant.
I get the comparison but Sorenson lost several more matches before NCAAs not involving Zain.

If Beau beats Hardy in his next match, then he will have slain all of his dragons (except Alirez who is shirting).
 
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It's nerve-wracking for fans to watch, which is why people get upset.

However, it's not wrong to be concerned. It reminds me a lot of Brandon Sorensen. He was a finalist threat all 4 years and got upset in r2 in two of them because he wrestles tight matches.

There's also a part of it where when Beau goes, it looks great, so people don't understand why he can be so hesitant.
Some guys don't want to give up a takedown. It's their mindset. Nolf, Nickal didn't care if they gave up early one. If Beau ever is going to change his tactics, it has to be early first period. The longer his matches go the less likely he going to look for takedown by a leg attack. He wants to counter shots. If he can get his riding time point secured, he knows opponent now has to come into his wheel house.
 
I get the comparison but Sorenson lost several more matches before NCAAs not involving Zain.

If Beau beats Hardy in his next match, then he will have slain all of his dragons (except Alirez who is shirtng).
His senior year, his only losses were to Zain before NCAAs when he got knocked off by Perry.

His freshman year, his only losses were to Tsirtsis, Houdashelt, and Habat - that year's finalists + the returning champ - (plus his teammate Grothus on opening weekend) before getting upset by CJ Cobb.
 
It makes sense to ride it out at PSU for a few years, reap the rewards of being in that room, and then transfer late in your career with a shot to compete somewhere else if you truly don't have a path to the lineup.

With that said, he's going to look great in black and gold at 157 next year!
Purdue has an excellent grad program in his field.
 
His senior year, his only losses were to Zain before NCAAs when he got knocked off by Perry.

His freshman year, his only losses were to Tsirtsis, Houdashelt, and Habat - that year's finalists + the returning champ - (plus his teammate Grothus on opening weekend) before getting upset by CJ Cobb.
Also lost to Collica ... but what exactly is the point here? I excluded Zain because he's Zain and far better than anyone Beau will face.

If you want to point to Sorensen's freshman year, fine, and I'll point out that Beau is not a freshman and has already beaten the only returning finalist he can face this year.
 
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Name another recent #1 ranked wrestler with these types of results.

This style obviously isn't new as he's wrestled this way for the past two years...here is this year:
- Tied 1-1 with #23 Indiana until last 10 sec.
- Counter TD in OT vs. #25 Oregon State
- Down 2-0 in third period vs #33 Michigan State
- 1-1 until last 4 sec vs. back-up Rutgers freshman
Dean Heil, Jason Tsirtsis, Tony Nelson, Austin O'Connor, Shane Griffith, Nico Bonnacorsi, just to name a few. All great wrestlers too, by the way.

Not every wrestler is Nickal, Nolf, Taylor, or Ruth. Just enjoy Beau, because he sure seems like he's enjoying himself.
 
Last night with Beau seemed different to me. He seemed hell-bent on scoring from short offense/front headlock. It was almost as if someone thought that part of his game needed work, so he was instructed to only score that way. Not saying that's what happened, but it kinda had that appearance to me.
 
It's about WHY. Why take the chance of losing on a single late takedown against an obviously inferior opponent when you could score 6 or 9 points on three takedowns. Then it doesn't matter if you give up one.

Why not express yourself as an athlete and let it fly? We all know he could dominate these guys I listed...why not do it? Don't let the odds catch up to you.

And yes, it may also be about how it makes many of us feel. Nervous, frustrated that he might get embarrassingly upset by a 25th ranked guy.....sorry, I want these guys to do well.
Because it's not always about just winning at this point. It's about learning from situations and continuously improving.
 
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Also lost to Collica ... but what exactly is the point here? I excluded Zain because he's Zain and far better than anyone Beau will face.

If you want to point to Sorensen's freshman year, fine, and I'll point out that Beau is not a freshman and has already beaten the only returning finalist he can face this year.
I'm just not sure how that changes the premise "when you wrestle close matches, you can get beat by guys you're better than if you make one mistake."

Is your point "because Beau is winning close matches now, there's no reason to believe he'll lost them later?"
 
It makes sense to ride it out at PSU for a few years, reap the rewards of being in that room, and then transfer late in your career with a shot to compete somewhere else if you truly don't have a path to the lineup.

With that said, he's going to look great in black and gold at 157 next year!
Until TnT ruins him.
 
Shocked the reporter asked Terrell basically how he continues to stay at PSU knowing he can go elsewhere with transfer portal..Cael looked like he’d like to take the dude outside and body slam him. lol.

The Claw had a great response and I thought it was really cool how he talked about Mitchell and that even though he competes against him, he looks up to him and the way he wrestles. I have heard this from many of our guys this year. Mitchell clearly has a leadership role as a freshman.

I liked how TB answered the question about being a back-up and I noted LC nodding in agreement.

Also liked Cael answering the question about wrestling on Monday night by asking the reporters what they thought, noting they had to work tomorrow. His dry humor is hilarious.
 
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Maybe Secretariat like 😏
True story. When Secretariat died from hoof infection they were curious what made him so great. They performed autopsy and found his heart was almost twice as large as a normal thoroughbred horse. That was a heck of an advantage when he won the Belmont by 30+ lengths.
Good intel. That's it then. Mitchell's is twice as large as a normal Lion.
I'll say it again. If KOT/Carr don't know what's coming, someone oughtta tell 'em.
 
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I just got on the message board to say that the ref sucks!
I made that comment as a knee jerk response to MM getting called for stalling. Based on the comments I've read by people who know him well, it appears my post was an over-reaction.
 
Dean Heil, Jason Tsirtsis, Tony Nelson, Austin O'Connor, Shane Griffith, Nico Bonnacorsi, just to name a few. All great wrestlers too, by the way.

Not every wrestler is Nickal, Nolf, Taylor, or Ruth. Just enjoy Beau, because he sure seems like he's enjoying himself.

There is no doubt there have been many successful risk-averse wrestlers. The perplexing part is that Cael encourages his wrestlers to take risks and score points.

Of course he's not the 1st PSUer to wrestle close to the vest, but none of the others had his talent. Beau is athletic, a good scrambler, and will win most positions if he just created more action.

But, as long as he keeps winning, the bottom liners win the debate ... it's just ifs and buts for everyone else.
 
And he has said if he shoots he scores. Maybe he needs some more sessions with Bonnie.

I think he said his Dad tells him to shoot more too.
 
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Bartlett is 43-3 at 141 in his career and just knocked off one of last year's finalists by 5 points. He doesn't panic in tight matches and neither should you.
You act like it's a guarantee.

Sure he may be the best I have ever seen at facing down the gun barrel late in the third, in SV or TBs and coming out on top. His record there is nothing short of amazing.

However, anyone who is content with that, is foolish. You know damned well that Cael has endless confidence in Beau's abilities in those situations, but he is not coached to take matches to the brink, and they want him to be more aggressive, to use the many god given skills he has to their fullest.

Statistically no matter the talent level, Beau will get burned sooner or later, and we all don't want this to happen at a critical moment. To 'manage' tight matches while facing backups makes real the idea of doing the same at tournament time against lesser competition.

Nick Lee got pinned in R1. DT in the finals, anything can happen at any time in wrestling, but when you set the table, all too often, to give the other guy a shot at a victory late in the match with just one move, that is craziness or at the very least quite Ill-advised.

For a #1 in the nation level athlete, this should be rare, not the norm. Beau has the petigree, speed, strength, talent, experience, resume, training partners, coaches, skill necessary to take most of these opponents to the woodshed, but he doesn't.

The answer is between the ears, and I don't see a lot of value in being an apologist and say 'relax' to those of us that see the obvious, simply because 'he is really good at it'.

I don't think there is a coach in any sport including Cael that has this thinking, why should we?
 
He is similar to Kellen Russell, seems like every match is close and just finds a way to win. Russell won two titles, ice water can work.
Really good comparison I think. Both had incredible defense and ice water in their veins. Watching Russell I never felt like he was going to lose no matter how tight it was. Feel very much the same with Bartlett
 
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It would be nice if
Me and my daughter who is a PSU grad think the football team should go black and pink during a home game in October. For one it's Breast cancer month. Secondly it's staying traditional to the school history. Third It would create a huge uptick on merchandise.
I think the national coverage of the football program doing that would be awesome.
I'm 62 and very much a traditionalist but I think it would be a win win situation.

I'm still waiting for somebody to do something for prostate cancer.
 
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