PSU - Ohio State '26 Match thread

[Nitlion1986]

Um, no. Taylor was never going to beat Dake. Dake was Taylor's daddy.

Devino will beat Blaze before he graduates.

I am not sure that is a given. Davino is good, but Blaze trains in a room where improvement adjustments seem to be the norm.
Things I noticed and things I think will happen. For 2 periods 2 exceptionally talented wrestlers maintained tremendous discipline and position. There was a whole lot of movement and handfighting, but the positioning was so good, neither was going to penetrate through the other's defense. By the 3rd though, Davino's stance was getting a little higher and Marcus maintained his discipline and low positioning. I believe if Marcus had started to push his attacks he could have penetrated Davino's elevated positioning and scored a takedown. He had become leary though. That will be a coach fix.
I expect next year Marcus begins to become a more dominant rider from the top.
Marcus had superior conditioning last night and I expect that to remain so, throughout their battles.
I actually expect Marcus will separate himself, if by just a little every year.

Of course, it could turn out I am full of baloney.

 

[Nitlion1986]

Really? Were you there?

I was!!!!

 

[Nitlion1986]

PSU should schedule a match for a WHITE OUT

You would think Cael would want to take everything from Iowa.

 

[TwoJoints]

No, it is obvious there must be a wrestle off. We need to reach into the portal, now!!!!

The real question is: Are either of them beating Nico in the room?

 

[Corby2]

Goes back to my point about rankings.
It’s human and not a data-driven.
The reason is because humans get to decide which data to use. The fact that we don’t know yet explains why it’s a human thing.

Even if you create an objective algorithm in which we could with 100% certainty say Blaze is new #1, humans got to decide the algorithm.

Humans ruin everything I can agree with that

 

[Corby2]

I can understand an Ohio State fan believing Cannon might win, but Kharchla? I get last year's match Kharchla scored a TD and was leading most of the match until it mattered and as expected Levi took him down. Levi has finished 2, 1, 3 and Kharchla hasn't, and there is a reason. Levi is just way better.
So if OSU has those 3 wrestlers and OSU gets best results it is still 25 - 8. In reality, if OSU has those 3 wrestlers the final is still 29-5.

Fan is short for fanatic. Some here not long ago were saying that Desmond can go with Mendez

 

[jack66]

Does our dominance help or hurt the sport? Serious question. I know we all love this program but is it bad for the sport to have 1 program dominate like this?

Cael Sanderson: "Unless you continually work, evolve, and innovate, you'll learn a quick and painful lesson from someone who has."

Apparently, no one was paying attention, and now they have to deal with the consequences. Ok St got the message; I think we will see a few other schools make similar moves.

 

[donboy6499]

Humans ruin everything I can agree with that

100000000000%

 

[TwoJoints]

In 1974 Wade Schalles, a 158 lb wrestler for Clarion, went up two weight classes to wrestle Floyd Hitchcock of Bloomsburg at 177 lbs in the PSAC Wrestling Championship Tournament.

Schalles PINNED Hitchcock and was voted the most outstanding wrestler award for his achievement.

Schalles was ineligible to wrestle in the NCAA DI wrestling tournament because of an NCAA violation he incurred.

Hitchcock not only won the National Championship at 177 lbs, but he was also named THE MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER for the tournament

Wade was a monster! I began following him in HS when he wrestled for Hollidaysburg HS. We had a guy on our team who had maybe 1 loss going into our dual meet with HHS late in the season and had foolish hopes that he’d be able to hold his own against Wade. It did not end well for us. It lasted maybe a minute, but not much more. Wade’s match against the never before defeated John Chatman in the PIAA finals was classic Schalles. Always loved watching that guy wrestle.

 

[GregPickel]

Love the Hodge comments. Cael doing salty without being salty.

He almost never is like that, either, which made it all the more entertaining.

 

[OldMatCoach]

I appreciate Sparks energy but I can't help it ... his schtick reminds me it that MMA commentator who calls himself "The Schmo."

He's over the top, during every commercial break i think he takes a double hit of smelling salts.

 

[GregPickel]

About the Hodge he says:
"We don’t think about and worry about stuff like the Hodge trophy, right? I mean, we didn’t advertise our camps in there again this year, so we probably don’t have a chance of winning. That’s what we were thinking last year. Didn’t really understand how that works.
But, yeah, we’re not worried about that stuff, because those are just a bunch of votes and opinions. And in the past, we have three guys on the ballot getting voted against, splitting our votes and stuff. So it’s just kind of; they got to figure that one out, I think. But we’re not worried about it. I mean, obviously, you bring that up, and so it kind of like strikes a chord with me a little bit, because we should have some guys that have Hodge trophies in the past. But, whatever."

Yes. About as animated as Cael Sanderson will get in that setting.

 

[District 4]

Exciting finish for Rocco. But frustrated with him trying to get out from bottom and letting Fishback rack up riding time early in the match. Why the hell didn't he establish hand control and lower his hips and hip out? That is basic wrestling. He was standing up and not even touching his opponents hands. And then just letting Fishback push him to the edge of the mat. Great finish and outcome, but not sure it had to even get to that.

Looked to me at the time he was pushing for a stall call all he had to do was reach down and break the hands. I couldn't believe what i was seeing that was the second match of the night i thought for sure we were losing the other being blaze

 

[Corby2]

He almost never is like that, either, which made it all the more entertaining.

We need more of salty Cael . We didn't advertise so we won't win this year that is great

 

[OldMatCoach]

There is some truth to that.

Here is something else: We won 4 matches in epic fashion. 3 freshman put on a show. That’s not because Cael brings in some of top recruits, it’s because he has his competitors wrestling with house money. It simply doesn’t matter if they fall behind or lose. Just go do your thing.

That match last night was damned exciting on every level.

The NBA survived all those years of dominance by the Celtics and later Jordan's Bulls. The NFL did not fold because of the excellence of Tom Brady. Karelin did not destroy Olympic wrestling. Gymnastics goes on after Simone Biles. For every Mark Spitz there is a Michael Phelpss waiting their turn.

 

[NittPicker]

Loved Gibbons' call on this one. He saw the possible reversal coming seven seconds before it happened.

 

[rigi19040]

Fan is short for fanatic. Some here not long ago were saying that Desmond can go with Mendez

No. They said he was a better option than scooter who lost.

 

[Nitlion1986]

You're right but he didn't seem sharp at all. For a guy with his defense he was super easy to finish on.

Fishback only finished once. Welsh walked right into what, 4 shots though. Welsh was the stalker, Fishback was simply circling backwards and on the 2nd or maybe 3rd retreat step all he did was lower his level while Rocco stepped so far into Fishback it looked like Fihback was lighting quick. I thought Welsh was great fighting out of those shots.
We all praise Rocco for being more aggressive and shooting more than he did 2 years ago. Last night that approach darn near bit him in the butt. He needs to to be the stalker, but he can't maintain a high position and repeatedly step straight into a retreater. Fishback retreating and lower offense is way more insidious than Ferrari's drop to knee and lean backwards looking to pounch approach.
Anyhow, when crunch time showed up Rocco kind of said the heck with subtleties and just snapped Fishback down and sprinted behind him. He certainly did not appear tired.

 

[GregPickel]

We need more of salty Cael . We didn't advertise so we won't win this year that is great

Yes, we most certainly do. What was even funnier was that WIN Magazine editor Tristan Warner was sitting right in the front row, in a WIN pullover, as Cael was ranting about that. We all had a good laugh after the presser wrapped up.

 

[GregPickel]

Loved Gibbons' call on this one. He saw the possible reversal coming seven seconds before it happened.

Wow, he sure did. Fantastic call.

 

[JA1339]

Yes. He did speak to the media afterwards.

while he did acknowledge the fact that each of his guys had a chance to win and he thought he would win 125, 133 and 285….he said this ******** line…”.we head our least potent team….”

That story line is a fact but complete BS on what happened. The 3 missing starters would have gone 1-2 maximum and maybe 0-3. Little to no change in the outcome but a few less points on our side. The optics would have been 100% the same. For him and frankly the sportswriters to inject this into the story is 100% bullshite.

Wow, who saw that coming

 

[JA1339]

About the Hodge he says:
"We don’t think about and worry about stuff like the Hodge trophy, right? I mean, we didn’t advertise our camps in there again this year, so we probably don’t have a chance of winning. That’s what we were thinking last year. Didn’t really understand how that works.
But, yeah, we’re not worried about that stuff, because those are just a bunch of votes and opinions. And in the past, we have three guys on the ballot getting voted against, splitting our votes and stuff. So it’s just kind of; they got to figure that one out, I think. But we’re not worried about it. I mean, obviously, you bring that up, and so it kind of like strikes a chord with me a little bit, because we should have some guys that have Hodge trophies in the past. But, whatever."

Can someone please explain the comment about advertising our camps?

 

[NittPicker]

What goes up must go down. Stay humble my Penn state fans! One day you’ll be the Iowa fans. Until then, congrats on all your successes and decades of dominance.

Dynasties don't last forever. But saying we'll be the Iowa fans is just plain mean.

 

[watoos]

In 1974 Wade Schalles, a 158 lb wrestler for Clarion, went up two weight classes to wrestle Floyd Hitchcock of Bloomsburg at 177 lbs in the PSAC Wrestling Championship Tournament.

Schalles PINNED Hitchcock and was voted the most outstanding wrestler award for his achievement.

Schalles was ineligible to wrestle in the NCAA DI wrestling tournament because of an NCAA violation he incurred.

Hitchcock not only won the National Championship at 177 lbs, but he was also named THE MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER for the tournament

There's another side to that coin. Wife and I went to the 1972 NCAA's in Maryland. My wife ran into Wade's mother in the restroom. Wade had sucked down to 150# to wrestle in the tourney and Wade's mother said, if you can believe my wife, never again, he was miserable to live with.

Not saying that Wade was ducking anyone but Stan the man Dziedzic was at 158#. Back in 1969 at the Pa. Federation Open Stan beat Wade 23-5. Dziedzic finished 2nd at Nationals that year to Carl Adans of Iowa State.

Wade did win the OW at 150 with a pin in the finals. His teammate Gary Barton won at 134 with a huge upset over Phil Parker from Iowa State. We were sitting next to Barton's family and after he won his semis he was so excited because he said he can beat Parker's style of wrestling, he did. So a trivia question answer, Gary Barton was Clarion's 1st NCAA champ.

Penn State's Andy Matter won the 167# title that year and no other Penn State wrestler finished 6th or better, back then they only placed 6 All Americans. I was just tickled as hell that I got to see 1 Penn State wrestler win. Did I mention my wife graduated from Clarion?

 

[MPPosterDeuce]

Can sometime please explain the comment about advertising our campus?

He's saying PSU doesn't pay for advertising space in WIN Magazine... the magazine that awards the Hodge trophy.

 

[rigi19040]

In 1974 Wade Schalles, a 158 lb wrestler for Clarion, went up two weight classes to wrestle Floyd Hitchcock of Bloomsburg at 177 lbs in the PSAC Wrestling Championship Tournament.

Schalles PINNED Hitchcock and was voted the most outstanding wrestler award for his achievement.

Schalles was ineligible to wrestle in the NCAA DI wrestling tournament because of an NCAA violation he incurred.

Hitchcock not only won the National Championship at 177 lbs, but he was also named THE MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER for the tournament

Only had to go back 50 years.

That said Desmond is not really going up 2 weights. He is over 133. I think the coaches said he was not going to see 125 again. He will be a 141 before he graduates.

 

[TwoJoints]

Can sometime please explain the comment about advertising our campus?

Cael mentioned that Penn State Wrestling CAMPS were not advertised in WIN Magazine.

 

[jack66]

Has a team ever finished a season with 7 undefeated wrestlers in the starting lineup?

 

[SRATH]

Loved Gibbons' call on this one. He saw the possible reversal coming seven seconds before it happened.

Davino tried to put the leg in the first time he was on top and Gibbons talked about it later in the match. Clearly Marcus was ready.

While Gibbons struggles at times, he is so good. He is focused on the two guys out there and none of the other statistics and history and details Sparks is great at parroting..........Jim's 100% about the match. I think I would rather have Jim with the other guy and let Shane jabber away with Tim Johnson.

 

[watoos]

Only had to go back 50 years.

That said Desmond is not really going up 2 weights. He is over 133. I think the coaches said he was not going to see 125 again. He will be a 141 before he graduates.

Yeah, he should have gone back 52 years for a different story. They did crap back then to draw fans in that was BS. They would tape an X on the mat for the spot where Wade would pin his opponent on.

 

[Nitlion1986]

I talked to guy a couple of weeks ago who truly is a fan of wrestling. His son was a dominating high school wrestler who had a decent college career. He goes to a lot of Lehigh matches. He said he thought that Penn State has really hurt the sport overall with it dominance. He truly doesn't have any issue with Penn State but said part of the enjoyment of watching any sporting event is the idea that there could be a team pulling off an upset and winning.
I know us Penn State fans are enjoying it , however I can see an outsider having those feelings.

If the sport is being hurt it isn't Penn State doing the hurting. The other programs who have failed to step up to the challenge are the ones failing. At the beginning of this Penn State run (2009-10) Iowa, Cornell, Minnesota, Ohio St and Oklahoma St were dominant programs initially and significantly ahead of Penn State. As Penn St started to win titles they all took turns making legitimate runs at snatching titles from PSU's grasp. PSU has gone from finishing 9th to winning close team races. They have gone from having punt years to effectively reloading annually to so they are now consecutively setting team scoring records.
Ohio State and Oklahoma St seem to be the only programs not willing to go quietly into the night.
When Lehigh decided to endow their wrestling program it took less than a month to raise the money. Lehigh has a very wealthy and generous alumni. There is no reason in the world why Lehigh doesn't challenge for the top of the wrestling world occasionally.

It isn't PSU. Iowa, ISU, Cornell, Princeton, Penn, Michigan, Illinois, Lehigh and others with the resources need to step up, not lay down and whine. I would have included Pitt in my rant, but lying like a whimpering, whiney dog is a picture of Pitt I think fitting.

 

[Spykers Secretary]

Certainly brought the heat but I'll bet its the last time they do that with the flames. 1953 banner began to melt and black particles began to float down. The side of the banner was a mess.

Fire will continue. Just move the locations.

 

[mh-larch]

What goes up must go down. Stay humble my Penn state fans! One day you’ll be the Iowa fans. Until then, congrats on all your successes and decades of dominance.

While this is true, tell that that to coach in waiting Nick Lee. I don't see the PSU coaching staff taking their foot off the gas anytime soon. I do agree with your general sentiment and I always say savor this, appreciate it, and be grateful for what we are experiencing as a fanbase. While things will tighten up with what DT is building at OSU, this isn't ending anytime soon.

 

[Atrain83]

Hard to complain about anything from last night. Rocco might have been training through this week don’t see anyone riding him like that. He gutted it out and still broke his opponent late.

Luke was wisely cautious, I think he can open it up more next time he faces Nic. As long as he avoids giving up the big move, not sure Bouzakis can score on him.

133 will probably look that way most times they wrestle. Hoping to see that matchup a couple more times this season.

Mirasola really is finding his groove. His pace can win him a lot of matches even when he’s giving up some weight.

 

[Nitlion1986]

That was bizarre. 4 restarts without apparently even trying to gain wrist control. Not many escapes happen without it.

A lot of PSU guys use the get to your feet, stay away from giving up the hands, and wait they will let you go instead of getting dinged for a stall. Problem was when it became apparent Fishback wasn't going to just let go to avoid the stall and the ref wasn't going to call the stall - then grab hand control and get out.

 

[Nitlion1986]

This is what I am saying in an earlier post. The lack of the three starters is a fact of the story. But the fact is in order for OSU to win, they had to win 125,133 and HWT.

the match was over before Shayne Ness took the mat. THATS the story. 3 bouts in and our streak was alive.

Great post.

 

[Nitlion1986]

In other words how do you win 5 natty's and zero hodges.

Wear a Penn State singlet.

 

[lionlover]

There's another side to that coin. Wife and I went to the 1972 NCAA's in Maryland. My wife ran into Wade's mother in the restroom. Wade had sucked down to 150# to wrestle in the tourney and Wade's mother said, if you can believe my wife, never again, he was miserable to live with.

Not saying that Wade was ducking anyone but Stan the man Dziedzic was at 158#. Back in 1969 at the Pa. Federation Open Stan beat Wade 23-5. Dziedzic finished 2nd at Nationals that year to Carl Adans of Iowa State.

Wade did win the OW at 150 with a pin in the finals. His teammate Gary Barton won at 134 with a huge upset over Phil Parker from Iowa State. We were sitting next to Barton's family and after he won his semis he was so excited because he said he can beat Parker's style of wrestling, he did. So a trivia question answer, Gary Barton was Clarion's 1st NCAA champ.

Penn State's Andy Matter won the 167# title that year and no other Penn State wrestler finished 6th or better, back then they only placed 6 All Americans. I was just tickled as hell that I got to see 1 Penn State wrestler win. Did I mention my wife graduated from Clarion?

Great anecdote! Thanks for sharing.

 

[psugrad85]

Rocco may have gassed Fishback from the bottom.
Probably wasn't the plan, but it worked out.

Is this like Thomas Gilman vs. Ethan Lizak?

 

[lionlover]

Only had to go back 50 years.

That said Desmond is not really going up 2 weights. He is over 133. I think the coaches said he was not going to see 125 again. He will be a 141 before he graduates.

Only the best for my guys!