'25 Senior World Championships, Sep. 13-21
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
Nope. He's going to be 23 or 24 in February. (I forgot exactly when he started to reverse age...)
Predicting when Dake is going to retire is different than saying Dake has to hang it up now. I think people are reacting to your absolutism. Dake will decide when to retire whenever that might be. He's not preventing anyone from being funded at the NLWC.
I predict he'll finish up the Olympic cycle. Getting back on the team will of course be challenging but anything can happen. We've had plenty of recent examples of that.
21guns, is that you? 
It’s a good thing Cael doesn’t come to the boards for advice—those advising him are doing a-ok in my book, lol.
It’s a good thing Cael doesn’t come to the boards for advice—those advising him are doing a-ok in my book, lol.
I was thinking Spencer would win this week and would have a good shot at gold in 2028.
After today, and getting beaten soundly, I don’t see 2028 as a given at all. I’m not sure any human could thrive for 3 more years in the HWC and still be physically and mentally healthy. Much more likely is a slow grind downhill.
I wish him well, and hope all USA reps win gold. But I suspect 2028 will have a different USA rep.
Need to fill the void left by Clay "Josh Barr tore his ACL at Big 10s" Sauertieg.
Most of what you have written above is agreeable to me.
You pay someone for what they are doing or going to do, not what they have done. Dake should not be making "training to win an Olympic medal money". Helping to train others to win money is more realistic.
You guys are going to be fine.
kind of at the same time, DT/okiest are doing the same thing - creating a staff for the RTC, and yet still being intricately involved with both the college team and the RTC.
right now, you guys are paying Varner, Gilman and Zain to basically be coaches.
DT has roper, zo and is looking to add another coach.
Because you’re being obtuse and ridiculous.
you can’t have just a team of “world teasers” - then you’d be Iowa. Yes, financial decisions will be made, but that won’t be because you think Dake will never make a team again. PSU’s resources are fine and whenever Dake wants to retire, he’ll make that decision. Cael and Casey won’t make it for him.
and again - THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT! Not just world teamers, but guys on the ladder all trying to win medals.
Didn’t Tom Brady leave the Patriots and win another Super Bowl with Tampa Bay?
Dake should be paid commensurate to the value he brings to the organization in executing its mission. I assume he is. Full stop.
That is basically what I said.
Unless the expectation is that he is going to win Olympic medals in the future. Which I do not think is realistic.
It is not my money or decision to make. It does not make a difference to me how it is handled.
Based on what I know (which may be minimal) that is my opinion. Full stop.
And your propensity to overestimate the gap between your intellect and many others’ on here is equally strong.
I’m just saying, a guy like him, in the final act of his competitive career, is worth more than his future medal potential—more than many with better medal potential too. That won’t be the case forever, but I’m grateful it is now, and that he didn’t follow DT to Stillwater. If not, who knows. Maybe PJ and Jax are both there. Maybe Kasak transferred. Maybe Mitchell goes somewhere else. Maybe Levi doesn’t grow into a savvy senior level competitor seemingly overnight.
I think it might have been Haines on Bo's podcast but one of those guys was talking about how great of a coach he is. The example they used was Ono rolling with Conaway and afterwards turning to Haines and asking him if this guy has been a world champion.
I would proffer a guy effective at training multiple future world/olympic team members and medalists should get paid more than the single athlete training to win himself. Dake brings a lot of value to NLWC and its future success. Pay him well.
Dake might not be done just yet. Zahid just blitzed the entire field at Worlds and Kyle was more competitive. Give him a full year to adjust to the weight he moved up to. Dake might be the 2nd or 3rd best 86kg in the world currently. That is a guy worth keeping around without a doubt.
Interrupting our regularly-scheduled broadcast, here’s Bob!!!
https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/some-bts-footage-of-lee-ayala-at-hwc-practice.7914215/
https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/some-bts-footage-of-lee-ayala-at-hwc-practice.7914215/
Just an opinion. Kyle Dake in the room rolling around and training with Levi, Barr, Welsh, PJ, Mitchell and Carter is a way better option than Kyke Dake not in the room rolling around and training with those and other guys.
Just saying.
Just saying.
Completely agree. Case in point, when I watched the NLWC practice in August, Dake spent most of his time training with Levi. Across from them, Bo Nickel was training with Josh Barr.
I think most who have been following the development of both Levi and Josh would agree that their progress has been significant.
Without Kyle, Bo, Jordan, and many lesser known members of the NLWC, the club members who are now emerging as the stars of the future wouldn’t have made the gains we continue to see.
The system is working. We can only see the tip of an iceberg. Most of it is below the surface. That’s how any great organization functions.
Really, you are bringing reality into this conversation lol
You need some older vets who have had multiple years of international success. International wrestling is different than anything the US guys see at home tournaments. Not many people better than Dake to help guys prepare. You keep guys like him till they chose to leave. Even if he is an unofficial wrestler-coach.
All of them -- from HWC, Cowboy RTC, Ohio RTC, Cliff Keen RTC, Russia, Iran, etc.
That plus Zahid is 24-0 in 2025 with only Dake, Marsteller, and Rahmani being competitive.
But yeah, Dake is obsolete. Let's go with that.
Correct. And we sure as hell dont need Dake leaving and moving to OKST.
Plus, as talented as Zahid is, he can be inconsistent. If Dake adjusts well to the weight class, he could beat Zahid.
Just watched the video of Lee vs the Armenian. Is it just me or does anyone else think that the Armenian has a slight resemblance to Gilman?
Wow, he got dismantled. Thought Spencer would run through this tournament
Way late to the party here as I had a very busy day. Props to Zahid for his World championship. I was impressed how he was able to fix his long-term conditioning issues. At no point in the tournament did he look remotely gassed to me. And kudos to Taylor, who has seemed to bring out the best in Zahid. I am sure it was humbling for Zahid to go to Cowboy Wrestling Club and learn from Taylor, but it was obviously the best decision he could have made.
Regarding Levi, I am thrilled to see him make the gold medal match. I wrote this in this thread a few weeks ago: "Considering his age (Levi just turned 21 last month ) and relative inexperience in freestyle the fact he already has made our Senior World team bodes well for his freestyle career going forward. As Levi continues to develop his freestyle chops I could see him make some waves internationally. How soon that might be is anyone's guess, but Levi's work ethic, strength and solid fundamentals give him a great foundation to work off of as he moves forward in his freestyle career."
I honestly didn't think I would see Levi be this successful so soon into his freestyle career, but it is awesome to see. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
Regarding Forrest, he had a great tournament, but his propensity for rolling around in scrambles came back to bite him. This will be a great learning experience for him.
PJ impressed me. He is right there with the top 70 kg. guys in the world. The sky is the limit for him and I can't wait to watch him at Penn State this season.
Regarding Spencer, I don't think I have ever seen him dominated like Harutyunyan dominated him. Wrestling can be a merciless sport. I think being the face of the Iowa program for all these years and trying to live up to the enormous expectations placed on him has to be a heavy load to bear.
And finally, regarding Trent, I have been impressed with him this tournament. His ability to consistently get to underhooks and control ties have been great weapons for him. Add to that his pace, conditioning, aggression and consistent forward pressure and he is a formidable opponent.
Regarding Levi, I am thrilled to see him make the gold medal match. I wrote this in this thread a few weeks ago: "Considering his age (Levi just turned 21 last month ) and relative inexperience in freestyle the fact he already has made our Senior World team bodes well for his freestyle career going forward. As Levi continues to develop his freestyle chops I could see him make some waves internationally. How soon that might be is anyone's guess, but Levi's work ethic, strength and solid fundamentals give him a great foundation to work off of as he moves forward in his freestyle career."
I honestly didn't think I would see Levi be this successful so soon into his freestyle career, but it is awesome to see. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
Regarding Forrest, he had a great tournament, but his propensity for rolling around in scrambles came back to bite him. This will be a great learning experience for him.
PJ impressed me. He is right there with the top 70 kg. guys in the world. The sky is the limit for him and I can't wait to watch him at Penn State this season.
Regarding Spencer, I don't think I have ever seen him dominated like Harutyunyan dominated him. Wrestling can be a merciless sport. I think being the face of the Iowa program for all these years and trying to live up to the enormous expectations placed on him has to be a heavy load to bear.
And finally, regarding Trent, I have been impressed with him this tournament. His ability to consistently get to underhooks and control ties have been great weapons for him. Add to that his pace, conditioning, aggression and consistent forward pressure and he is a formidable opponent.
****, did he? I don’t really watch sports.
he’s the golden boy. That’s my point. Dumb metaphor on my end.
The link on Flo to Levi's match against Usmanov in their Quarter Final doesn't work, so for those of you who have a Flo account, go to the 4 hour 8 min. mark of the below video for the match. Having just now watched the match for the first time I can now see why everyone was so upset with the officiating. Here are just a few of the officiating issues: It was thirty seconds (I watched the clock) after the 30 second break between periods ended before the official could get Usmanov to the center to start the second period. The second time Levi was put on the activity clock was horrible. The Judge actually was signaling for Usmanov to be put on the clock at 2:07 in the second period, but the Referee and Mat Chairman didn't concur. Within 20 seconds Levi was then put on the clock again. Calling Usmanov grounded in the second period when Levi had him in a single leg was a horrible call also. Levi had actually caught Usmanov's second ankle and I feel should have been awarded the TD on the continuation of action. There were several other issues also, but you get my point.
https://www.flowrestling.org/video/...-2025-senior-world-championships-sep-14-10-am
https://www.flowrestling.org/video/...-2025-senior-world-championships-sep-14-10-am
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The first conversation Cael had after DT took the job at Ok State was with Dake and it was to ensure he was staying at NLWC if anyone wants an idea of how much he means to the team.
Dake will be with NLWC as long as he wants in whatever role he wants, whether it's full time competing or if he wants to move on and be a coach/mentor to our college guys. Anyone suggesting otherwise is asinine.
Dake will be with NLWC as long as he wants in whatever role he wants, whether it's full time competing or if he wants to move on and be a coach/mentor to our college guys. Anyone suggesting otherwise is asinine.
RBY defeats Darian Cruz and will wrestle for bronze.
David Carr will wrestle for bronze. Both RBY and Carr face very tough opponents.
Thank God the wrestling has started. We can solve the trials and tribulations of NLWC later today………then someone can call Cael and let him know what we decided.
Missed the Real Woods match (parked on mat A too long...) but he won his first match by tech fall 14-2. Off to watch the video while waiting for Kyle Snyder.
Kamil Kurugliyev who beat Mirasola at U20’s this year just made the bronze medal match