Very impressive kid. So is he related to Logan and Max Thomsen? I didn't see Alex's name listed on Logan's personal bio info where it lists his siblings. Cousins maybe?
Conflict Thread
- Thread starter Azchief32
- Start date
That's why I thought it could have gone the other way,the push out rule killed him
I'm guessing his 12 year old whipped up on him once.
Sounds like Happen cost himself some money last night. If I'm T and T I revise that offer made to him. Iowa can definitely live without him. Solid freestyle wrestler but hasn't wrestled a high level folkstyle schedule and that was exposed last night. Plus he's old for his great. I don't see a high ceiling with him at all.
I'm not sure I would dismiss him that quickly. One pre-season event, and he's had success at national events in the past. I would guess that the coaching staff has had plenty of chances to see him compete, and will base any offer accordingly.
Happel's had a lot of built in advantages compared to a lot of other high level recruits. He's been in the Iowa room rolling around with multiple hawks over the years. Getting a lot of one on one with a few of the coaches as well. Do you think Degen or Phillipi has had that luxury? I know he's an Iowa boy and his dad was a career back up and all but people need to take their blinders off concerning him. He's absolutely a D1 wrestler and hopefully has AA potential. But I just don't see the upside that a lot of people do. He's be a nice addition to the room if the price is right. Like no more than a third of a ride. Bank the money and throw it at someone with more upside. There are a lot of young bucks coming up in this state. And I personally think young Mr. Devos from Waukee could be the best of them all not named Alex Thomsen.
The "old for his grade" stuff is a tired old message board argument.
College coaches don't evaluate kids off 1-2 matches.
I don't have an opinion on Happel. I don't know the kid and I've only seen him wrestle once.
For me the concern comes down to folk vs free. Happel's rankings are based off of freestyle accomplishments. His 10 best career wins are probably all in freestyle, and he hasn't had that same type of success in folkstyle. If he gets in the room and focuses on folk I do think he'll take off, but there are other guys still out there that are just as good if not better (Degen). I'd still go after Happel
EXTREMELY disappointed with Happel last night. Don't know what to think about his performance last night. Do I still want him to a Hawk.... HELL Yeah I do!! But last night was a good night. Wa EXTREMELY impressed with Reeves, Thomsen & Teske. Love all 3 hoping they spread out a bit and the Hawks get all 3. Pleasantly surprised with Young. He is going to be pretty good. Now for Marinelli. He might be the next Metcalf for us. Love his motor and his attacking style. Young man is the real deal!!
Mat side last night. Happel is still a good recruit. The guys he wrestled our very good. I didn't like how he gave up in the third period last night against Phillippi. Still hope he is a Hawkeye. Wasn't impressed with Portillo's last night. Reeves is very good. Portillo had to stall his way to that win by holding Aden's left elbow. Andersen looked great, Mizz got a good one. Gannon looked good also, both guys hitting low singles was impressive for big men. Teske wrestled real well. Just couldn't get out of that Russian tie. Rathbun looked good on his feet and on top. Needs work on bottom. Thompsen total beast mode. At times he looked like he wasn't even trying. Sitting next to JRent's family and he kept looking at his dad saying "I got this" Its like he was out there trying new things. I really think he is just now scratching the surface of his talent. Working Freestyle and Greco this summer is showing his versatility. Young is a monster, he looked bigger then Marinelli. No way he wrestles 157 in college. I'm thinking 174 in two years. Marinelli is the real deal. Absolutely destroyed that kid with multiple attacks. Watters just got caught. She was the better wrestler. Bumped about West's match, it looked like it was gonna be a real fun one to watch. Bisconglia is good, but not much happening that match. Leisure couldn't get past Storr head hands defense.
Real fun Night. Nice job IA wrestle
Two things I overheard. Clingenpeel is between Iowa and UNI and Wilcke is under 195, so looks like he is one his way down to 184.
Real fun Night. Nice job IA wrestle
Two things I overheard. Clingenpeel is between Iowa and UNI and Wilcke is under 195, so looks like he is one his way down to 184.
For those who think Happel just had one bad night, should think again. He has lost 9 matches in the past year. Yes 9. Noah Hanu, Saavedra, Marko, Kolodzik, Llewellan (twice), Moran, Degen and Phillipi. Most of them are decent wrestlers, but Hanu was a head scratcher. Not only has he lost 9 times in the past year, but over the past year he hasn't beaten a single highly ranked national wrestler. And yes it matters that he is a year older for his class.
What?
He probably would have signed with his favorite school a long time ago if the offer were that high. I hope he walks on since that would give him a chance to earn more than 1/3..It's nice to hear good things about Young. He's seems like the forgotten recruit lately.
A lot of nice reports from NOC, so hopefully this will be an annual thing.
A lot of nice reports from NOC, so hopefully this will be an annual thing.
Don't forget he lost to Marko at Northern Plains. However, the kid is still stud. Losses to other top kids are not a negative. You want to go after the kids that seek out the toughest competition yet, are still successful. Happel clearly meets that criteria. There are many that avoid potential losses by ducking competition. College coaches aren't as concerned about who you lost to as much as they are concerned with who you have beaten and where you competed. They know state wide results are iffy at best. Happel can't be criticized for wrestling in the small school division because he competes on the national stage. Very few top guys abstain from freestyle (Meija) and therefore most coaches put more stock in Fargo results vs state high school results. Long winded post, but Happel's recent losses really won't hurt his stock or potential. However, those that beat him certainly helped their cause.
Last edited:
Thanks and glad you had a good time.
Also posted the other day on Clingenpeel between Iowa and UNI. He's visited UNI and yet to take the Iowa visit http://iawrestle.com/2015/10/08/top-iowan-seniors-left-uncommitted/
Us too. It was a great first run and already planning bigger and better for 2016
By virtue of placing 5th in Fargo las summer, his stock has not decreased by much. The summer before when he won the cadet WTT it was in a bracket that included Mitch McKee, Bierdumpfel, Taylor Lamont etc...
Which one of those kids did he beat?
I will ask the question again. What are his big wins?
To answer, 2 years ago against Jonathan Ross and Robert Lee....
I'll still take him. The thing is, Carter has shown he is capable...just not consistent or elite. Throw him in the mix and see what happens. At this point, he is not a need like some of us have thought...however, I was once told by somebody on here when I was critical of us picking Jake Marlin up...It's bad for business for Iowa to not pick up in state 4 timers.
That said, I don't know how much $$$ he will get out of Iowa. He wrestles out of Carver so I think our guys have a good idea of his capabilities. Would really like to see him go to Super 32 to see if he can get some redemption.
That said, I don't know how much $$$ he will get out of Iowa. He wrestles out of Carver so I think our guys have a good idea of his capabilities. Would really like to see him go to Super 32 to see if he can get some redemption.
I don't think he has wrestled Lamont (or at least not in the past 3 years). I'd say his best wins were against Gabe Townsell and Nick Lee in 2014 and against Will Clark in 2013.
It's not "bad for business" to not take all the states 4 timers. They are not created equal, and that's been proven time and again at the next stage. IIRC, in Marlin's case he was a pinning fool, hard to not recognize that and see what you can do with that talent. Didn't work for him at Iowa for whatever reason.
At any rate, I presume our Coaches know the difference in the 4 Timers and what they bring to the the table. In Happel's case, they have to determine what he's capable of, what's he worth to bring in, etc. I have little doubt had they "wowed" him with an offer he'd have signed on the dotted line a long time ago. At this point he doesn't appear to be a "must get", just the same I'd hate to pass up a kid just down the road who's on pace to be a 4 Timer. But he has to do what's best for him and Iowa has to do what's best for them. Hopefully they can meet in the middle somewhere and make it happen. Whether he heads to Iowa City or Cedar Falls, he'll get Coached up and see what happens. He just might get better........................
Actually just checked. He was last year but not on this year's roster. Also don't really know why I care on a Sunday afternoon either. Oh well wish him future success.
Back then, Marlin had one tough out of state match his senior year which was in the finals at KC Stampede against Daniel Lewis from Missouri...he got pinned. While Happel isn't a world beater, he has at least gone out of state to wrestle tough competition in both freestyle and folk. He's won some, lost some...but has two national titles to his name. I just don't think we should discount that based on results in a preseason dual. Carter has some work to put in and last night cost him but I think he has the talent to do something on the next level.
Finally got a chance to watch the matches on Flo. Marinelli and Thomsen had the best performances; Young not far behind.
Re Happel: the reason I've been high on Happel recently is that he has perpetually seemed like a kid on the verge of greatness, and seemed like he was really coming into his own this spring and summer. Someone else made the comparison to Sorensen, and that's when I thought, okay, I get it now, I can see that. I thought that, like Holloway at 195, here was a kid who was gonna suddenly break through to that elite echelon. The high ranking from Flo also got me a little giddy.
My interest was bolstered by the fact that we need a blue-chip stud at 141-149. I thought Happel might be that guy.
What I saw in both of his Carver matches was a kid who, unfortunately, still seemed on the verge. He was in both matches up until the second periods and then just faded in both. I thought he looked good for two minutes, but that's only useful in an 800-meter race. Nerves or conditioning or not quite enough talent, or some combination?
Phillippi was much more offensive than the other match I've seen of his. He looked like a #2 ranked kid should look. Kudos to him. He showed the kind of improvement I hoped to see in Happel.
Bottom line, I was a little over-eager in my assessment of Happel. He's still not quite there, and that doesn't mean he won't get there, but it's obviously a risk at this point. I'd feel better if he were a junior, the same way I feel at the moment about Renteria--he's also still on the verge of greatness, but he's got another year to adjust to 126 (and then hopefully 133).
Thomsen is definitely a kid to get a line on. Extremely slick for a sophomore. Give him a haircut so he doesn't have to keep brushing the hair out of his eyes and he scores another 4 points per match
Re Happel: the reason I've been high on Happel recently is that he has perpetually seemed like a kid on the verge of greatness, and seemed like he was really coming into his own this spring and summer. Someone else made the comparison to Sorensen, and that's when I thought, okay, I get it now, I can see that. I thought that, like Holloway at 195, here was a kid who was gonna suddenly break through to that elite echelon. The high ranking from Flo also got me a little giddy.
My interest was bolstered by the fact that we need a blue-chip stud at 141-149. I thought Happel might be that guy.
What I saw in both of his Carver matches was a kid who, unfortunately, still seemed on the verge. He was in both matches up until the second periods and then just faded in both. I thought he looked good for two minutes, but that's only useful in an 800-meter race. Nerves or conditioning or not quite enough talent, or some combination?
Phillippi was much more offensive than the other match I've seen of his. He looked like a #2 ranked kid should look. Kudos to him. He showed the kind of improvement I hoped to see in Happel.
Bottom line, I was a little over-eager in my assessment of Happel. He's still not quite there, and that doesn't mean he won't get there, but it's obviously a risk at this point. I'd feel better if he were a junior, the same way I feel at the moment about Renteria--he's also still on the verge of greatness, but he's got another year to adjust to 126 (and then hopefully 133).
Thomsen is definitely a kid to get a line on. Extremely slick for a sophomore. Give him a haircut so he doesn't have to keep brushing the hair out of his eyes and he scores another 4 points per match
+1 for this!Give him a haircut so he doesn't have to keep brushing the hair out of his eyes and he scores another 4 points per match
Similar threads
