2024 NCAA Championship Session VI Thread
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
Up until Vito hit the wrestling scene, I thought RBY was the quickest wrestler I had ever seen. When Vito is healthy, he is by far the quickest.
Not just this match. When I saw David Carr sporting that "100% Jesus" bandana, I knew Mesenbrink was going to lose. Jesus was on a major roll in the finals of this tournament!
I'm wondering if Mesenbrink made any comment about the end of his last match? It looked like he might have lost track of the score (with the invisible but important riding time) and was thinking about an overtime period?
What a hell of a program, team, and coaches!
What a hell of a program, team, and coaches!
I knew Mesenbrink was going to lose when I saw Carr bull$hitting on the sidelines with the Brooks and Starocci family sporting his 100% Jesus bandana. You just can't beat a talented wrestler with Christ on his side!
Last edited:
ALL CLASS!!!
I have to admit that Carter rubbed me a "little" the wrong way with his cocky attitude. But, now, he has vaulted to the forefront as one of my favorite PSU wrestlers. In my opinion he was the MVP of the tournament.
Last edited:
Team Points Scored By PSU Wrestler:
125: Braeden Davis scored 2.0
133: Aaron Nagao scored 3.0
141: Beau Bartlett scored 20.0
149: Tyler Kasak scored 19.0
157: Levi Haines scored 26.0
165: Mitchell Mesenbrink scored 19.5
174: Carter Starocci scored 20.0
184: Bernie Truax scored 12.5
197: Aaron Brooks scored 27.0
285: Greg Kerkvliet scored 23.5
125: Braeden Davis scored 2.0
133: Aaron Nagao scored 3.0
141: Beau Bartlett scored 20.0
149: Tyler Kasak scored 19.0
157: Levi Haines scored 26.0
165: Mitchell Mesenbrink scored 19.5
174: Carter Starocci scored 20.0
184: Bernie Truax scored 12.5
197: Aaron Brooks scored 27.0
285: Greg Kerkvliet scored 23.5
Random Team Stats for PSU:
- Pins: 6 (Mizzou had 4, 5 teams had 3)
- TFs: 8 (Iowa, Iowa St., and Northern Iowa had 4)
- Pins & TFs: 14 (Iowa St. had 7, Cornell had 6)
- Total Match Points: 424 (Iowa St. had 314, Iowa had 283, NC State had 282)
- Pins: 6 (Mizzou had 4, 5 teams had 3)
- TFs: 8 (Iowa, Iowa St., and Northern Iowa had 4)
- Pins & TFs: 14 (Iowa St. had 7, Cornell had 6)
- Total Match Points: 424 (Iowa St. had 314, Iowa had 283, NC State had 282)
UNFU*KING REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The full transcript will be on the site early tomorrow morning (which is a good unsolicited reminder to PLEASE read the stories posted on the site. I've spent so much time and surely Tom has as well the last few days answering questions whose answers are found in numerous stories on the home page) but here is what Cael Sanderson said during his post-tournament news conference on that topic:
"I think he thought he was going into overtime," Sanderson said. "So he kind of just shut it down a little bit. But that obviously falls on me as the coach and not communicating that to him.
"But great opponent. He wrestled an awesome match, and he's got a really bright future ahead of him. So we're excited for him."
Random Individual Stats for NCAAs:
- Pins: Keegan O'Toole had 3 (Peyten Kellar, Aaron Brooks, Meyer Shapiro, Ty Watters, & Beau Bartlett had 2)
- TS: Chris Foca had 2 in the least amount of time (Aaron Brooks, Trent Hidlay, Parker Keckeisen, and Levi Haines also had 2)
- Pins & TFs: Aaron Brooks had 4 in the least amount of time (Keegan O'Toole also had 4; Meyer Shapiro, Ty Watters, and Levi Haines had 3)
- Fastest Pin: Tyler Kasak (0:37). Eric Barnett (0:45), Nate Dugan (0:53), & Thomas Stewart (0:55) were the nearest in this competition
- Fastest Tech Fall: Chris Foca (1:43). Levi Haines was tied for 8th fastest at 5:00 & Bernie Truax was 13th fastest at 5:10
- Most Team Points: Aaron Brooks - 27.0 (Levin Haines, 26.0; Parker Keckeisen, 26.0)
- Most Single Match Points: Mike Caliendo, Trent Hidlay & Michael Beard tied for 1st with 26. Kerk & Levi Haines tied for 18th with 19
- Largest Seed/Place Difference: Vince Vambour (26/8). Starocci tied for 8th (9/1)
- Pins: Keegan O'Toole had 3 (Peyten Kellar, Aaron Brooks, Meyer Shapiro, Ty Watters, & Beau Bartlett had 2)
- TS: Chris Foca had 2 in the least amount of time (Aaron Brooks, Trent Hidlay, Parker Keckeisen, and Levi Haines also had 2)
- Pins & TFs: Aaron Brooks had 4 in the least amount of time (Keegan O'Toole also had 4; Meyer Shapiro, Ty Watters, and Levi Haines had 3)
- Fastest Pin: Tyler Kasak (0:37). Eric Barnett (0:45), Nate Dugan (0:53), & Thomas Stewart (0:55) were the nearest in this competition
- Fastest Tech Fall: Chris Foca (1:43). Levi Haines was tied for 8th fastest at 5:00 & Bernie Truax was 13th fastest at 5:10
- Most Team Points: Aaron Brooks - 27.0 (Levin Haines, 26.0; Parker Keckeisen, 26.0)
- Most Single Match Points: Mike Caliendo, Trent Hidlay & Michael Beard tied for 1st with 26. Kerk & Levi Haines tied for 18th with 19
- Largest Seed/Place Difference: Vince Vambour (26/8). Starocci tied for 8th (9/1)
I understand totally what you are trying to say. But, allow me to be more candid. Those 9 losses stick in my craw too. It may be time for Cael and his side show to move on.
Last edited:
I was thinking that maybe it's time to consider breaking up penn state wrestling...like Google/meta/ and other large dominant corporations who are so successful.
Maybe we limit penn state to only 8 weight class wrestlers and force forfeits in the other two weight classes. Or at the end of each season Penn state be required to transfer to Iowa or ohio state any single wrestler of their competitor's choice....like a draft....
We need a little more balance or equity in the sport. Penn State is simply too successful and that should not be allowed.
Just a thought for the times.
He was ready to go at B1Gs which was 14 days ago. Did he get a procedure on that Monday?"It was hard," Starocci told ESPN while singing the praises of head trainer Dan Monthley.
"Twelve days ago I was on crutches. I just had to wrestle. That man, [trainer] Dan Monthley, he's a national champ. It's a blessing to be at Penn State. These coaches, they're super dedicated. Dan Monthley, I wouldn't be walking if it wasn't for him. He looked me in the eye and said it was going to be a long road. I just believed in him."
Starocci would not confirm if he has an ACL tear. He said he has his eyes set on the Olympic Trials in April at the BJC.
Penn State star Carter Starocci is the sixth four-time champion in NCAA history
Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci fought through an injury to become the sixth four-time individual champion in NCAA history.www.on3.com
I am pretty sure he was blended together all of the time between the Edinboro match and now in the moment. Because in his first interview after Big Tens he said he wasn't walking 12 days ago and then repeated that line here. So I think that's what he meant.
I think he had surgery the Monday after B1Gs and that’s why he left on Saturday night! He said 12 days ago he was in the hospital and on crutches.
My friend and I took Aaron to his first Penn State match and introduced him to coach Cody after match
As I have posted in the past, I have met Carter several times and have gotten to know him. I look at it as a strong sense of self. Has he been emotionally intelligent with some of his comments? No. But when we were that age, we all probably said some things that we would like to take back.
Our second chat talked about overcoming adversity. The knee injury that he has was no easy task for him to wrestle. But he thought through it, kept his wits about him and changed his wrestling strategy to win the National Championship.
He shutout seeds #1, #4, and #6 on one leg. Like he said it’s chess not checkers. He’s not only talented but very smart!
Verk is, and always has been, a class act. You never heard that kid complain once about anything and he never makes excuses.
The only other person I would have thought would be in consideration was O’Toole. When he lost, it was Brooks’ award in my mind.
I agree with @LB99. Coming into the tournament, Brooks had a 94 percent bonus rate during the season. The next closest wrestler t that was Trent Hidlay, who he beat in the finals, at 86 percent. Brooks also was named the NCAA's most dominant wrestler with a score in that category of 4.88 (I apologize but I have no idea how that's calculated). Second place was Hidlay at 4.78. Those two plus O'Toole were the only three capable of winning the Hodge coming into the tournament in my opinion, and Brooks left no doubt about who the winner should be in Kansas City. The story was written last night and will sit in our admin's drafts until the Hodge is announced and I can turn it on.
As for the timing of that announcement, the 2023 Hodge was announced on March 27 and the tournament was March 16-18. In 2022, the tournament ran March 17-19 with the winner being announced March 28. So, I'd expect this year's winner to be announced on Mon, April 1 if that trend continues.
So we win by 50 instead of 100?
That took the sting out of Mitchell’s loss. Care was jumping up and down when brown did well.
PSU scored enough points to split them and take both first and second places!
I suspect that I'm not the only PSU wrestling fan who's actually relieved that the tournament is over. As a former mediocre wrestler in high school--almost sixty years ago--I cannot prevent myself from twisting and turning in my chair as the matches unfold. It's both genuinely draining and extraordinarily thrilling to go through each weight class. Then the tournament is over and normalcy returns to this old as dirt guy's life--until next season. Is this the male version of postpartum blues? 
Flying back from KC now - lots of wrestlers in the airport (didn’t see Penn State). If there’s any doubt that this is a rough sport see these kids the day after - most look like they were in a bar fight. And lost.
Listening to Cael in the 'post-game' I think it is important to keep in mind Cael's specific mention of Kraft as being the best AD in the country. Cael's relationship with the athletic department in general has been up and down throughout the years. It could not be in a better place than it is now. Cael will win regardless of who is in charge IMO but when he and the AD are both pushing in the same direction, I don't think it's an accident that PSU is taking an even bigger step forward and not regressing a bit.
That would be interesting. Like baseball send split squads. I bet they’d both be in the top 3.
Make Penn State send an "A" and "B" team. Split the talent evenly and let everyone else fight it out for third.