Pretty much just that. A chance for Post-graduates to continue to wrestle and train for international competitions without having to go Colorado Springs to live and train. In years past, there were only a few and they provided a great advantage if they were located at a particular school. Now, they are located everywhere and attached to a school's wrestling club. There are so many now, I've lost track. http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Team-USA/Regional-Training-Sites/Locations
Ummm...did you not pay attention for the last cycle? Not saying Ohio RTC is the most talented or deepest RTC but they clearly had the best showing 2016 and it wasn't particularly close.
Jesus Christ, he was joking. Stop getting butthurt about anything anyone says negative about tOSU. You start to sound like Stevis. We get it. You won one lucky championship when PSU decided to redshirt everyone. Hooray. You won a B1G championship when Suriano got hurt. Hooray. Congrats, you had an Olympic Gold medalist. Hooray. FFS.
Hilarious coming from a PSU fan. I'm an OSU fan, but I am a wrestling fan way more than I am an OSU wrestling fan. Was merely stating facts. Snyder, Stieber, Dlagnev contained Olympic/World champs and an Olympic 5th placer.
Rule changes for FS and Greco. Biggest changes are 5 point takedowns in FS, action not stopping after shot clocks, and 2 point cautions. Still no word on weight classes. For the 2017 USA Wrestling Regional and National Championships, the following rule changes have been made: Scoring for both freestyle and Greco-Roman will be 1, 2, 4 and 5. 5-point moves (grand amplitude with danger) are added to freestyle. Any grand amplitude action with no danger will be 4 points. Correct throws in freestyle and Greco-Roman will be 2 points. Cautions in freestyle and Greco-Roman will be 2 points (includes fleeing the mat and fleeing the hold). Greco-Roman passivity remains unchanged, thus two passivity calls will result in 1 point for opponent. Passivity must be confirmed by the Mat Chairman for both freestyle and Greco-Roman. The judge can agree with passivity, but the call will only be assessed if confirmed by the Mat Chairman. Freestyle Passivity Same procedure outlined above with confirmation from Mat Chairman required. At the end of the 30-second activity time, if the passive wrestler has not scored, they will give up 1 point and no caution will be given. At the end of the 30-second activity time, if the passive wrestler has not scored, the match will not be stopped – 1 point will simply be awarded and action will continue. If anyone scores during the 30-seconds, the activity time is cancelled. In events with video review, the Mat Chairman may call a consultation/conference with the referee team that can result in a request to review the video without a challenge from a wrestler/coach. Wrestlers/coaches may still request a challenge, at which point it shall be reviewed by the designated Referee and Mat Chairman. Par Terre Defense in Greco-Roman At the start of action in par terre, the defensive wrestler must go flat and cannot block. The defensive wrestler must remain open (same as in 2016). Once a defensive wrestler has been lifted, he/she will only be allowed to post on one arm of the lifting wrestler. This posting one an arm is only allowed after the lift Grabbing of the fingers will be penalized much stricter than before. The referee shall say “Open” and may reach in and break the lock. After the initial warning, this is to be penalized with a caution and 2 points.
Agreed. I'm already angry about it inevitably deciding matches and it hasn't even happened yet. It will.
Vito Arujau is up 12-0 on Julian Chlebove early in the 2nd. This kid is a beast. Man Cornell is gonna have a good squad really soon.
Keith Gavin named HC at Pitt... Seems like he has a really bright future as a coach but that is a bit fast.
Some early US Open registrants from tOSU: Heinselman 46-50kg JR FS Tomasello 57kg FS Pletcher 63kg JR FS Fritz Schierl 79kg JR GR Chase Singletary 96kg JR FS Kevin Snyder 96kg JR FS
On the topic, when was the last time there was a heavyweight class with four talents like Steveson, Parris, Nevills, and Walker (OU FB)? The kid going to NW Cassioppi is also really good.
I guess Henry Cejudo was training with Cael this weekend? Couple pics on his instagram, including this one...peep the kid on the left
US Open 57kg preview from Flo--really excited for this event. Winners get byes to World Team Trial finals (except for 61, 86, 97 where Stieber, Cox, and Snyder have already clinched their spots). FWIW I disagree with Nomad's projected finish. I'm going: 1. Nico 2. Nahshon 3. Graff 4. Ramos 5. Waters (if healthy) 6. Tomasello 7. Perrelli It's freestyle season! The US Open is LIVE on Flo next weekend, and the team is pumped to bring you all the insanity from Las Vegas. We'll be rolling out one preview a day to get you guys up to speed on who the contenders are at each weight, starting with 57kg. The lightest weight has been a bit of a sore spot for Team USA, with no medals since Henry Cejudo won the 55kg Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2008. Tony Ramos has provided some stability since the weight changed from 55 to 57, winning the spot in 2014 and 2015 before losing in the finals last year to Dan Dennis. But Ramos has struggled a bit lately, with a 3-8 record after beating London bronze medalist Coleman Scott in the Olympic Trials semis. If Ramos runs the table again in a few months in Lincoln, it wouldn't shock me. But I'm not sure I see him coming out of Vegas with the bye to the finals in June. On to the full preview. The Contenders Tony Ramos, Sunkist Kids/Tar Heel WC Nico Megaludis, Titan Mercury/Nittany Lion WC Tyler Graff, NYAC/Scarlet Knights WC Nahshon Garrett, Titan Mercury Nathan Tomasello, Titan Mercury/Ohio RTC Dark Horses Frank Perrelli, Titan Mercury/Cavalier WC Joe Colon, Titan Mercury/Viking WC Alan Waters, Titan Mercury/Missouri Wrestling Foundation At some point with this weight, the contenders and dark horses start to meld together and become one. Also, Titan Mercury has a very realistic shot of having over half the podium spots. We've already went over Ramos, who had a close match in the 2014 World Team Trials with another of the contenders, Nico Megaludis. An "almost takedown" won that 1-0 for Ramos. Nico has since had quite a run for himself and is ranked 19th in the world. He won both the Bill Farrell (full break stick!) and Paris Grand Prix, and his only loss at the World Clubs Cup was to former world champ Hassan Rahimi of Iran. A bruising folkstyler, Nico has transitioned from a grinder to a more efficient style of hand fighting that gives him low single opportunities. He typically tries to put his opponent's knee on the back of his head, come out the back, and work a shallow leg lace. Tyler Graff is also ranked after taking gold at the Dave Schultz and Cerro Pelado. He was third at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Trials and second at the 61kg WTT in November. He does have two junior world teams and a University Games appearance to his name. Graff has always had the skills to make a senior world team but has never quite pushed through. He's likely the toughest domestic 57kg on top, especially if Dennis is done competing. The key for Graff has always been getting the first takedown, which he can transition into either a lace or a gut. Interestingly, the last three people Graff has lost to at WTT are either up a weight (Logan Stieber) or done competing (Dennis and Angel Escobedo). If the USA Wrestling rankings give us any indication of seeds, Ramos is the top seed, Graff is No. 2, and Nico is slotted third. Behind them is Joe Colon, who was third at the Schultz. Colon has traded techs with Nahshon Garrett, losing 14-1 to him on the backside of OTT and then beating Garrett 14-4 in the Schultz consi semis. Both of Garrett's losses at the Schultz showed he is susceptible to head pinches. The other loss came in the quarters to another former Cornell wrestler in Frankie Perelli. One of the more fun dark horses this season, Perrelli took silver in Ukraine and bronze at the Henri Deglane. What hurts Perrelli's seed is a 4-2 loss to two-time NCAA champ Jesse Delgado in Cuba, but I expect Perrelli to knock off a big name in Vegas with his head pinch. One rematch from late 2015 that I would love to see is Nathan Tomasello versus Joe Colon, which you can see below. Can Tomasello do the same thing Frank Molinaro did last year? His lefty high crotch is always a threat to turn a takedown into a four-pointer. We didn't see the same dominance from Tomasello this year up at 133, but he still only lost one match. He also has never lost a match to Megaludis, which could throw a serious monkey wrench into my picks. Tomasello was knocked out of OTT by Alan Waters, who was injured pretty badly at the Schultz and may still not be 100 percent for next weekend. There will also be salty veterans such as Zach Sanders there, as well as a couple high schoolers in Paul Konrath and Roman Bravo-Young. With all that being said, let's pick the top seven, since that's who qualifies for the World Team Trials in June. Nomad's Picks Nico Megaludis Tyler Graff Tony Ramos Nathan Tomasello Frank Perrelli Joe Colon Nahshon Garrett
Big PSU rumor: Corey Keener is transferring to PSU and wrestling @ 133 for the Lions next season. Cortez goes up to 141, Nick Lee redshirts. 125: Suriano 133: Keener 141: Cortez 149: Retherford 157: Nolf 165: Joseph 174: Hall 184: Nickal 197: McCutcheon HWT: Nevills
There's a good chance he starts for you guys, he's a 3x qualifier, and he's beaten some really good wrestlers. I'd say that constitutes big news. Not all 10 of your guys can win titles you know.
If he comes in and wins the job...great. Otherwise it's always good to have quality depth and options should the starter not be on track to win NCAAs. Sometimes messages need to be sent.
No but I you can bet I will be watching. Here is Flo's latest US Open weight preview, this time 61kg (Stieber is already in WTT finals) It's freestyle season! The US Open is LIVE on Flo next weekend, with every weight starting at 9am sharp on Friday, April 28th; Pacific time of course since it is in Vegas. We'll be rolling out one preview a day to get you guys up to speed on who the contenders are at each weight. Yesterday was 57kg, and today we're moving up to 61kg. Reigning world champ Logan Stieber is sitting this one out, as he has a bye to the World Team Trials finals in June. The ending of an Olympic cycle seems to have heavily affected this non-Olympic weight. None of the three world team members we've had at this weight will be in Vegas, with Reece Humphrey being retired and Jimmy Kennedy going up in weight. Additionally, former national team members Dan Dennis and Coleman Scott have retired, and Joe Colon is down at 57kg. That leaves big room for guys like Jayson Ness and Kendric Maple to try to earn themselves a top seed for the challenge tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska. Complete entries may be found on FloArena. On to the full preview. The Contenders Jayson Ness, Minnesota Storm Kendric Maple, Titan Mercury/Boilermaker RTC The Dark Horses Cody Brewer, Titan Mercury/Chicago RTC Kanen Storr, Titan Mercury/Cyclone RTC Seth Gross, Jackrabbit Wrestling Club On paper, this is a two-man race between Ness and Maple. Ness might be one of the most under appreciated wrestlers in the country. He was third at the non-Olympic WTT in November, and then third at the Senior Nationals in Greco at 66kg a month later. Ness has a deceptive double leg, and can hit non-controlled exposures from neutral with a gator roll head pinch. On top, he transitions well from takedowns into an immediate gut wrench or leg lace, both of which he can normally get at least one turn out of. Essentially, Ness can put up points in every position and blow matches open quickly. Maple was fourth at the 2015 WTT at this weight, but hasn't competed in a freestyle tournament since that year's Bill Farrell. In those '15 Trials, he was one second away from making the finals before Dan Dennis took him down. He and Ness will be two of the biggest guys in the weight, but there is some concern about Maple's long layoff. Particularly when he is not in the latest senior freestyle rankings from USA Wrestling. When he's on, Maple has probably the best leg attacks of anyone in this field. Blast doubles and ankle picks are the main weapons, and he has a knack for timing people off his lefty back step. A hard right leg lead, the NCAA champ for Oklahoma can win every takedown battle he's in in Vegas. Cody Brewer is the other former Sooner stud in this field. Brewer has kept up the manic pace that made him so difficult to wrestle in college, but it can get him in trouble in freestyle. Nearly every time he shoots, someone scores, which is why most of his match final scores end up in the high teens. He is one that could potentially be helped out by the new rules with five point throws and correct throws. Brewer has never been afraid to go upper body, and those fireman's carries he hits can turn into high amplitude throws quickly. Kanen Storr announced his senior level debut in a big way at the Schultz. He beat Joey Lazor (see below) and Josh Kindig there, and then beat Alan Waters at the Cerro Pelado. The Iowa State freshman has a head pinch that can rival Ness's or might even be better. The only issue is that the Cyclone may instead be competing at the junior level instead. Seth Gross is coming off an NCAA finals appearance and had just two losses during the folkstyle season. His style, one in which he frequently allows opponents to get to legs so he can force scrambles, was thought to be tough to maintain in freestyle. But Gross made the junior world team and is the perfect size for this weight. His only senior level experience though is a 14-4 loss to Adam Diatta in last year's Grand Prix of Spain. One thing seems fore sure: these guys will put points on the board. I think this weight will have the highest average per match scores, especially as we start to see guys work in the new rule set of fives and correct throws. Guys like Joey Lazor will be sure to go upper body and try to bomb dudes. Veterans like Shelton Mack will force you to score in bunches to beat him, as will someone like Daniel DeShazer. Where Maple gets drawn into the bracket will be huge. It would also be great to see a guy like Zane Richards, who beat Tyler Graff in last year's University Nationals finals, to show up. This will be one of the most fun and unpredictable weights to watch, which is great for the fans but potentially bad for prognosticators like me. Here goes nothing. Nomad's Picks Jayson Ness Kendric Maple Cody Brewer Kanen Storr Seth Gross Joey Lazor Daniel DeShazer
Wrestling news today: -Boise State drops wrestling program -Angel Escobedo named AHC at Indiana -Jason Welch named Assistant Coach at Northwestern -Nick Lee registers for US Open JR FS at 63kg (Pletcher already regged there). Instantly becomes heavy favorite.
Your #1 sucks can't lose name programs and add the Campbells of the world - need both. You're saying Lee as the heavy favorite? Go CBJ!!!
I'm probably overlooking someone, but the big names from that sick bracket last year are all either wrestling at the senior level or in another weight class. I know Yianni will be at 66kg where he will presumably be the man to beat. Lee looked really good at the Senior WTT at 61kg. He lost to Jayson Ness who is probably the #2 61kg in the country behind Stieber. Then at Junior WTT he lost to Seth Gross, and I think I remember a loss to Eierman as well at some point. He's losing to really good guys. That, and the whispers are getting pretty loud that he's wrestling guys really tough at PSU.
I don't know anything about FS or Greco so I leave that up to you. He's gotta wrestle 141 this coming season for PSU.
I think it was Nico who recently said that Lee wrestled at an incredible pace and never stopped going. Lee is supposedly Nolf-like with his motor.
Nico said that Lee is the only one in the room that can go with him for 20 minutes straight. He's Nicos main workout partner. If Cael thinks he needs the points at 141 he will let nick Lee wrestle. Zero chance Cortez can beat Lee. It's not even close.
125 Suriano 133 Cortez 141 Lee 149 ZR 157 Nolf 165 Cenzo 174 Hall 184 Bo 197 Cutch done? Caesar? 285 Nevills ????
Possible. Cortez will likely certify at 133 to keep his options open. Not a guarantee he stays at 141 but Cael would love to redshirt Lee.
I forgot that Cutch is done. Moving on to graduate school apparently. Too bad because he probably would have started the season at #3 in the country.
He's probably coming back as of now. Doesn't matter though if Cassar is healthy though. Still, can't rely on on Cassar and cutch knows it.
65kg Open Preview--too bad we don't get to see Pico here, wouldn't mind another Zain-Pico match. It's a nice write-up, my biggest takeaway is that Zain hasn't made a world team since he won cadet gold! Crazy. It's freestyle season! The US Open is LIVE on Flo next weekend, with every weight starting at 9am sharp on Friday, April 28th. Pacific time of course since it is in Vegas. We'll be rolling out one preview a day to get you guys up to speed on who the contenders are at each weight. Monday was 57kg, and yesterday we moved up to 61kg. Today we'll be going over one of the most intriguing weights in this country, 65kg. New Iowa State assistant Brent Metcalf held down the spot for almost the entire quad, before being upended by Frank Molinaro at the Olympic Trials. This could be the most wide open the weight has been in years, with four legit horses coming to Vegas looking to get the bye. Given the amount of former NCAA champs and general hammers in this field, this could be the weight where the automatic berth into the World Team Trials finals is most valuable. Complete entries so far may be found on FloArena. On to the full preview. The Contenders Frank Molinaro, Titan Mercury/Southeast RTC Zain Retherford, Nittany Lion WC Jordan Oliver, Sunkist Kids Jimmy Kennedy, NYAC/Cliff Keen WC Dark Horses BJ Futrell, NYAC/Penn RTC Evan Henderson, Titan Mercury/Wolfpack WC Kellen Russell, NYAC/Cliff Keen WC Hunter Stieber, Titan Mercury Frank Molinaro was about three inches away from putting Frank Chamizo's knee on the mat and winning an Olympic bronze medal. He has since made the move to Virginia Tech and spent some time up at 70kg. Molinaro's career broke wide open over the past year and has turned him into a world beater. He figured out how to get takedowns when he needs to, and is especially adept at turning them into four pointers. Aside from the Asgarov loss in Rio, he rarely gets blown out anymore. Being able to keep yourself in every match is a valuable skill in any situation where criteria comes into play. Waiting in the wings is his heir apparent in Happy Valley, Zain Retherford. ZPain has been absolutely dominant the past two seasons on the NCAA level, winning this year's Hodge. Last year, he knocked off James Green, Jason Chamberlain, Jayson Ness and Jimmy Kennedy at the Olympic Trials. But Zain hasn't made a world team since his 2012 cadet world title. He lost two years in a row to Aaron Pico in the junior trials finals, and was "only" third at OTT. Many people think this is his year to break through on the senior level. His back bow will be one of this year's most devastating turns on top, which could be the difference since many of these guys are just as good if not better than Zain on their feet. Just think about the growth as a wrestler in general and freestyle in particular that Zain has experienced since losing this January of 2015 match to Jordan Oliver. Jordan Oliver has perpetually been the bridesmaid on the senior level. He was second at the 2013 Open, and made the WTT finals in 2014 and 2015. In November, he was runner-up to James Green at 70kg. The book on JO has been the same for years: great leg attacks, undeniable talent and potential, but can he put it together and make a team. He rarely wrestles overseas and has trouble with hand fighters: Pico and Metcalf in particular. Still, you'd be foolish not to call him a contender at this weight, in part because he has beaten all three of the other contenders. A few results to keep in mind here. Jimmy Kennedy beat Molinaro 4-2 at the 2015 trials, and Oliver beat Molinaro 4-4 at the Farrell that same year. Oliver beat Retherford 6-2 at the Dave Schultz that year, and Retherford beat Kennedy 2-2 in the third place match at last year's OTT. Are some of those results old? Yes, but we don't have a lot of head-to-heads to use when comparing these guys. BJ Futrell enters the Open as the highest ranked 65kg in the world from America. He is 10th in UWW's April rankings after winning the Bill Farrell, getting second at Cerro Pelado and third in Paris. The former Illinois star was also part of Titan Mercury's title team at the World Clubs Cup. Evan Henderson got a good win over Kellen Russell at the Schultz, where Russell ended up third. Both finished ahead of Hunter Stieber, who made the Farrell finals in his return to the mat. The seeding of the big four will have a lot to do with how this weight shakes out, though luckily we have USA Wrestling's March rankings as a guide. Zain at the three means he gets Oliver in the semis, and we already mentioned Oliver's struggles against guys who hand fight and have the pace of a guy like Zain. Molinaro seems destined to pull out a criteria win over Kennedy, who is the best athlete in this field. A couple NCAA studs are likely to show up in Jaydin Eierman and Joey McKenna, along with a bruising veteran in Nick Dardanes. The parade of NCAA champs inhabiting this weight is only going to continue, and Zain is the latest to join the club. With Molinaro leaving the Penn State room, I'm going with the young buck to get the bye to the trials finals. Nomad's Picks Zain Retherford Frank Molinaro Jimmy Kennedy Jordan Oliver Kellen Russell BJ Futrell Hunter Stieber
I don't think Zain is quite there yet given the short turnaround for his freestyle season. If this tourney was later, I'd pick Zane but not right now.
He was pretty close to beating Stieber at Olympic trials last year. He wins that match and who knows what happens when he faces Frank. Stieber became a world champ 7-8 months later. I've got Nico and Zain at 57 and 65 FWIW.
Tons of new registrants for the Open with wrestling a week away now. No huge surprises, but David McFadden is regged at 74kg JR FS, didn't even realize he was still eligible. Makes his TR freshman year even more impressive. Jacob Kasper going SR GR at 98kg.
Yeah, I just think you need a bit of time to get into the mindset of freestyle but then again, I'm not a borderline Olympic athlete. Not sure if Nico has the neutral game yet either. I guess we will find out pretty soon.
Didn't seem like it was an issue for Snyder or Cox! I think Zain will have a similar impact domestically right off the bat.
Yep. True freshman, wrestling a little heavier than he should, and half of the NCAA tourney with a torn ACL. 4th place was definitely a solid showing imo.