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World Team Trials Schedule

Nolf Hidlay now, wrestling up 17 lbs from where they last met. Hidlay warned for passivity. Nolf in fast on a leg, lifts, trips, and then adds two with a tight gut. 4-0. Nolf goes behind for two more off a re-attack. 6-0 at the break.

Hidlay gets to Nolf's leg, finally, but Nolf works out of it.

Nolf with his own single, converts, now looking bow and arrow, switches to a gut, and he gets it. 10-0.
Pyles’ son won’t be happy
 
I don't know whether they'll go into the third place finals once these other matches finish up, but I hope so.
 
The big improvement in Nolf's FS game so far is that he's looked far better at keeping guys off his legs. In college he didn't care because he was going to score on you no matter who had whose leg, but in FS you have a harder time creating points from there and carry a risk of exposure if you try. He also clearly looks the weight. Whether he can easily get down to 74kg, or whether that's even the plan, I don't know.
 
The big improvement in Nolf's FS game so far is that he's looked far better at keeping guys off his legs. In college he didn't care because he was going to score on you no matter who had whose leg, but in FS you have a harder time creating points from there and carry a risk of exposure if you try. He also clearly looks the weight. Whether he can easily get down to 74kg, or whether that's even the plan, I don't know.
Also, to the extent Jason struggled at all in college, it was against guys who committed to using an underhook -- Martinez and Hidlay specifically.

That didn't seem to be an issue today.
 
Carter Young v Seth Gross for third. Some great scrambles in the first, Young ahead 8-6. Clearly not a fluke run for Young.

Gross out in front now 12-9, Gross looking for a fall, burned nearly a minute off the clock but can't get it. Young with a quick response, 12-11. And then a fantastic go-behind, up 13-12. Young gets to a leg with time winding down and gets another two as the match ends 15-12.
 
Zain vs. Berger up next for third.

Will Cael pull CStarr and not have him wrestle Nolf for 3rd so that there is no concern with injury?
 
Henderson Pletcher now, followed by Zain and Tyler Berger. Not sure whether Cenzo is in Berger's corner this weekend but I believe he's coaching Berger.

Pletcher had a 6-3 lead but is now down 9-6. Henderson just keeps coming at you. Now 13-6, after Pletcher nearly scored. 15-6 after an exposure, two more off a re-attack, and that's it. 14 unanswered for Henderson.
 
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Carter and Nolf now, Carter wearing headgear. Cael in Carter's corner, Casey in Nolf's.
  • Carter with a passivity warning.
  • Carter gets to a leg, Nolf avoids several conversions before finally giving up one out of bounds. 2-0 Carter.
  • Blood timeout, on Carter's forehead.
  • Nolf hit with passivity warning.
  • Great re-attack by Carter that Nolf dances out of, Nolf then bulldozes Carter out of bounds for a step out. 2-1.
  • Carter gets a leg but can't convert in time. Leads 2-1 at the break.
  • Carater gets to legs, Nolf dives over, eventually earns a stalemate.
  • Nolf looking head pinch but can't get it over.
  • Carter on clock now, but will sill lead on criteria if he doesn't score.
  • Nolf gets the point but exposes himself on a scramble, down 4-2.
  • Nolf gets another step out point, but it ends 4-3. Great match by Starocci.
 
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Starrocci vs. Nolf now. CS up 2-0

Wow, Nolf couldn't get to CS's legs. CS wins 4-3.
 
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Really nice win from Starocci. I'm really curious to see what his bonus numbers look like this year. He's getting to legs a little more, but is still very much a positional wrestler (a damn good one so it's not a slight). I think the question will be if he has anything on top other than riding, but he might be a RBY/Brooks guy where he picks up a lot of solid, controlled majors, but very few early stoppages.

Seems like Zain and Nolf (you could add Cenzo to this though I don't think he's competing right now) peaked in college. I haven't seen any noticeable improvement from any of those guys in the last couple years. Nolf is still 3-4 points behind the top guys just like he was when he graduated and hasn't notched a good international win either. With his creativity and scoring, I thought he'd be made for freestyle and be right there with guys like JB and Dake in a year or two. Very surprised.
 
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I have been reading the dumpster fire thread and assumed saying the same thing over and over was the new standard. Apparently.
Nick Lee to 149, everybody to 125, pre-nationals "woo be us" routine. Repeating the same mantra around here is hardly restricted to any dumpster thread, nor new.
 
Really nice win from Starocci. I'm really curious to see what his bonus numbers look like this year. He's getting to legs a little more, but is still very much a positional wrestler (a damn good one so it's not a slight). I think the question will be if he has anything on top other than riding, but he might be a RBY/Brooks guy where he picks up a lot of solid, controlled majors, but very few early stoppages.

Seems like Zain and Nolf (you could add Cenzo to this though I don't think he's competing right now) peaked in college. I haven't seen any noticeable improvement from any of those guys in the last couple years. Nolf is still 3-4 points behind the top guys just like he was when he graduated and hasn't notched a good international win either. With his creativity and scoring, I thought he'd be made for freestyle and be right there with guys like JB and Dake in a year or two. Very surprised.
JB is 33. Dake and Taylor are 30. Nolf is only 25, Zain 26…I would not be calling their senior careers a bust just yet.
 
Really nice win from Starocci. I'm really curious to see what his bonus numbers look like this year. He's getting to legs a little more, but is still very much a positional wrestler (a damn good one so it's not a slight). I think the question will be if he has anything on top other than riding, but he might be a RBY/Brooks guy where he picks up a lot of solid, controlled majors, but very few early stoppages.

Seems like Zain and Nolf (you could add Cenzo to this though I don't think he's competing right now) peaked in college. I haven't seen any noticeable improvement from any of those guys in the last couple years. Nolf is still 3-4 points behind the top guys just like he was when he graduated and hasn't notched a good international win either. With his creativity and scoring, I thought he'd be made for freestyle and be right there with guys like JB and Dake in a year or two. Very surprised.
Nolf goes toe to toe with The King, Burroughs, after putting on weight, but you haven’t seen “any noticeable improvement” from him. Wow. SMH.
 
JB is 33. Dake and Taylor are 30. Nolf is only 25, Zain 26…I would not be calling their senior careers a bust just yet.
I didn't call them a bust. Zain has made teams. He's had individual wins that are solid. His trajectory over the last 2 years isn't encouraging though. He seems farther away from being a medal contender now than he did when he first graduated.
 
Nolf goes toe to toe with The King, Burroughs, after putting on weight, but you haven’t seen “any noticeable improvement” from him. Wow. SMH.
JB hasn't been "The King" for 4 years. Let's wait and see how he does against Ringer. He's also "putting on weight" and 33, clearly past his prime, but still very good.

And idk if I'd call that "toe to toe." JB led the entire way and I never felt like he was in any danger. Nolf never came all that close to finishing and only managed 2 pushouts (not counting the garbage time last second one). Would you say Marsteller and Hidlay went toe to toe with JB? Because they wrestled him about as tough as Nolf did.
 
JB hasn't been "The King" for 4 years. Let's wait and see how he does against Ringer. He's also "putting on weight" and 33, clearly past his prime, but still very good.

And idk if I'd call that "toe to toe." JB led the entire way and I never felt like he was in any danger. Nolf never came all that close to finishing and only managed 2 pushouts (not counting the garbage time last second one). Would you say Marsteller and Hidlay went toe to toe with JB? Because they wrestled him about as tough as Nolf did.
JB clearly wrestles his age. He’s still one of the best in the world, but conserves energy and wins with tactics. He’s as smart as they come.

Whoever wins the 79kg final is the world champion in my opinion.
 
Really nice win from Starocci. I'm really curious to see what his bonus numbers look like this year. He's getting to legs a little more, but is still very much a positional wrestler (a damn good one so it's not a slight). I think the question will be if he has anything on top other than riding, but he might be a RBY/Brooks guy where he picks up a lot of solid, controlled majors, but very few early stoppages.

Seems like Zain and Nolf (you could add Cenzo to this though I don't think he's competing right now) peaked in college. I haven't seen any noticeable improvement from any of those guys in the last couple years. Nolf is still 3-4 points behind the top guys just like he was when he graduated and hasn't notched a good international win either. With his creativity and scoring, I thought he'd be made for freestyle and be right there with guys like JB and Dake in a year or two. Very surprised.
disagree - I think Nolf is making steady progress and improvement in the FS game. Zain is still one of the best on the US squad
 
JB clearly wrestles his age. He’s still one of the best in the world, but conserves energy and wins with tactics. He’s as smart as they come.

Whoever wins the 79kg final is the world champion in my opinion.
Mostly agree. As for worlds, I'm curious who the Russians send. If it's the guy who beat Dake at Yarygin a couple years ago, I think he could beat JB or Ringer.
 
disagree - I think Nolf is making steady progress and improvement in the FS game. Zain is still one of the best on the US squad
maybe agree to disagree then. maybe it's a matter of expectations? Based on his college career and style, I expected him to be a medal contender at 74kg at this point. He doesn't seem any closer to that than he was when he graduated imo.

I thought he was DT pt. 2. Even though he wasn't making teams, DT was still beating top 10 guys internationally by this point, usually in dominant fashion too.
 
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maybe agree to disagree then. maybe it's a matter of expectations? Based on his college career and style, I expected him to be a medal contender at 74kg at this point. He doesn't seem any closer to that than he was when he graduated imo.

I thought he was DT pt. 2. Even though he wasn't making teams, DT was still beating top 10 guys internationally by this point, usually in dominant fashion too.
You could have said the same thing about David Taylor 3 years after he graduated and we know how that turned out. Nolf is growing, learning FS and closing the gap. Nothing wrong with his trajectory, only your expectations. It’s a process and Nolf has a plan.
 
You could have said the same thing about David Taylor 3 years after he graduated and we know how that turned out. Nolf is growing, learning FS and closing the gap. Nothing wrong with his trajectory, only your expectations. It’s a process and Nolf has a plan.
No, I literally addressed this in the post. DT was already beating top 10 guys internationally. He beat multiple medalists before he even graduated.
 
Isn’t Nolf a bit of a novice freestyler? My understanding was that he never competed in Fargo even in high school. If that’s true, I’d think he has more ground to make up than most guys coming out of college.
 
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Nolf could have beat JB, it was there for him. He gave him too much respect and or gassed in the second period. He laid back from distance way to much and should have kept his hands on him more and using those hards snaps. Very frustrating match to watch for me.

The Carter match surprised me a bit with how little Nolf could get off to his leg attacks, and how many times Carter got to Nolfs leg. Carter obviously has great defense, but my guess would be them training in the same room and being familiar with one anothers style was more the case. Also Nolf did look a little gassed, Carter had forfeit right to third place match where Nolf had to beat Hidlay. Not sure if that was a factor?
 
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Blades Welker was great out of the gate, with Blades getting a quick two, followed by a half for a near fall. Then Welker got two, followed by a tough lace that couldn't have been easy on Blades' knees. Neither did anything in the second, so Welker is up one match.
 
Deakin was up 6-2 on Green before Green managed two takedowns in the final thirty seconds.
 
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Moore and Cox put me to sleep, but Cox took it about how you'd imagine.

NaTo has looked as good as he's ever looked in FS (ironic because he's up a weight and looks even smaller) but lost every meaningful exchange against Fix.
 
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No, I literally addressed this in the post. DT was already beating top 10 guys internationally. He beat multiple medalists before he even graduated.
I don't recall DT beating top guys in FS out of the gate, and don't recall him even wrestling many FS matches period until after he graduated. And I specifically remember him struggling overseas early on, wrestling a lot of 13-10 matches, ending both ways.
 
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