Grades: Okie State

[Azchief32]

125: Gilman-Many said that the last major was an outlier...Gilman proves them wrong with a near flawless victory. A
133: Clark-I expected more here...nearly had the pin and probably should have finished it. B
141:Ryan-Wrestled their guy tough, many expected a MD. Good job to Logan. B
149:Sorensen-Quite a few predicted Sorensen would lose to Collica. Brandon is just an all day tough kid and nobody is going to beat him if they show up out of shape/unprepared. Felt he could have gotten the major. A
157:Cooper-Ugh...this and 174 are the ones that got away. I actually feel bad for Marstellar...don't think Smith should be wrestling this kid. C
165:Rhodes-Did his job and didn't get teched...this is the second time Rhodes has held serve on the best guy in the nation. B
174:Meyer-Spotted an AA a five point lead and still should have came back to beat him. Not too worried but he lets guys in on his legs to easily and one would think that after four years in a college room, he would have a ride that is worth a crap. C
184:Brooks-Slammin Sammy was on fire today...great show. A+
197:Burak-This is who Burak is...against a finalist or a dude moving up from 184. Was disappointed in him that he couldn't get more TDs. C
HWY:Stoll-I was really nervous because I haven't seen Sam wrestle that much. He came out and initiated all the ties and wants to be the aggressor. If he can develop that underhook, nudge to a snatch single, he is going to be tough in the future. Decent tank for a big'un too. B

Coaching: Our guys were ready to go and aggressive for the most part. Also, notice our guys were very aware of the "backing out" rule. Preparation was awesome. To be charitable, OSU's was not. A

University of Iowa/Fans: All I have to say is Wow! This was quite the show and the support in the state of Iowa for a niche sport is second to none. Wish I had been there. This only could have helped recruiting. A+

 

[255]

I agree with the grades for the most part and all comments were fair.
Sorenson wrestled a tough guys an majors are tough against a good opponent. I grade Clarke a little higher.

The thing I saw was much more scoring attempts by the team and points scored in the first. Huge improvement from past couple years. They looked a little bigger and I totally agree with the prepared comment.

 

[so cal hawkfan]

It seems to me that the Hawks understood the importance of competing well in this event. Our boys were fired up to be sure. Kudos to our coaching staff for having them better prepared mentally and physically than the pokes. Hopefully, the Hawks can keep this intensity going as the year progresses. All those slaps who have been spouting on here that nobody want to wrestle for the Brands may have to eat there words very soon.

Go Hawks!!!!!!!

 

[AFHawk86]

Azchief - You're an easy grader! You can't hand out high grades like candy at the beginning of the season or the Hawks won't have anything to work for. Good effort overall though. Most importantly it was an awesome day for the U of I with 42,287 and 10-0!

 

[Omahahawk86]

Crutchmer was an absolute joke. If your under attack and you back out of bounds that is stalling. The ref did an excellent job calling it the whole meet except in this match. He ate his whistle in the last five seconds. I hope we don't see that again where if it's short time they won't call it.

 

[Vallholl]

In honor of the return of Kwood, I added so color to your grades for the winning wrestlers.

125: Gilman-Many said that the last major was an outlier...Gilman proves them wrong with a near flawless victory. A

133: Clark-I expected more here...nearly had the pin and probably should have finished it. B

149:Sorensen-Quite a few predicted Sorensen would lose to Collica. Brandon is just an all day tough kid and nobody is going to beat him if they show up out of shape/unprepared. Felt he could have gotten the major. A

157:Cooper-Ugh...this and 174 are the ones that got away. I actually feel bad for Marstellar...don't think Smith should be wrestling this kid. C

"Hey, Ref, nice work"

184:Brooks-Slammin Sammy was on fire today...great show. A+

197:Burak-This is who Burak is...against a finalist or a dude moving up from 184. Was disappointed in him that he couldn't get more TDs. C

University of Iowa/Fans: All I have to say is Wow! This was quite the show and the support in the state of Iowa for a niche sport is second to none. Wish I had been there. This only could have helped recruiting. A+[/QUOTE]

 

[so cal hawkfan]

How'd you do that? My emojis are not nearly that exciting!

 

[Vallholl]

I literally "freed" the smileys. Went to the link and cut and paste. Too easy. BTW- there are some inappropriate emojis here (which I fully expect some yahoo here to add to a thread in the future). http://www.freesmileys.org/

 

[so cal hawkfan]

Hmmmm let's try this.

Right on it worked!

Vallholl you're a genius! Give me a hug man!

Three cheers for Vallhooll!!

And finally

Kwood'll be pumped!

 

[texas twister]

In honor of the return of Kwood, I added so color to your grades for the winning wrestlers.

125: Gilman-Many said that the last major was an outlier...Gilman proves them wrong with a near flawless victory. A

133: Clark-I expected more here...nearly had the pin and probably should have finished it. B

149:Sorensen-Quite a few predicted Sorensen would lose to Collica. Brandon is just an all day tough kid and nobody is going to beat him if they show up out of shape/unprepared. Felt he could have gotten the major. A

157:Cooper-Ugh...this and 174 are the ones that got away. I actually feel bad for Marstellar...don't think Smith should be wrestling this kid. C

"Hey, Ref, nice work"

184:Brooks-Slammin Sammy was on fire today...great show. A+

197:Burak-This is who Burak is...against a finalist or a dude moving up from 184. Was disappointed in him that he couldn't get more TDs. C

University of Iowa/Fans: All I have to say is Wow! This was quite the show and the support in the state of Iowa for a niche sport is second to none. Wish I had been there. This only could have helped recruiting. A+

[/QUOTE]
You put a whopping on Kirkwood. He needs to redeem himself. Those cheesy emoticons he used were second rate. The bar has been raised.

 

[Vallholl]

Somewhere, KWood's head exploded.

 

[Azchief32]

In honor of the return of Kwood, I added so color to your grades for the winning wrestlers.

125: Gilman-Many said that the last major was an outlier...Gilman proves them wrong with a near flawless victory. A

133: Clark-I expected more here...nearly had the pin and probably should have finished it. B

149:Sorensen-Quite a few predicted Sorensen would lose to Collica. Brandon is just an all day tough kid and nobody is going to beat him if they show up out of shape/unprepared. Felt he could have gotten the major. A

157:Cooper-Ugh...this and 174 are the ones that got away. I actually feel bad for Marstellar...don't think Smith should be wrestling this kid. C

"Hey, Ref, nice work"

184:Brooks-Slammin Sammy was on fire today...great show. A+

197:Burak-This is who Burak is...against a finalist or a dude moving up from 184. Was disappointed in him that he couldn't get more TDs. C

University of Iowa/Fans: All I have to say is Wow! This was quite the show and the support in the state of Iowa for a niche sport is second to none. Wish I had been there. This only could have helped recruiting. A+

[/QUOTE]

Thanks for translating Vall!

 

[Vallholl]

No problem.

Clearly, Kwood is somehow not on the internet today.

 

[DayHawk18]

Meyer isn't gonna beat Crutchmer come nationals. He also won't beat Epperly, Bo Nickal, or Bo Jordan if he's there...he is who he is; a tough kid who is slightly limited athletically but at least he goes after people. I can live with that.

All in all, it looked like a team good enough to get 2nd/3rd at Nationals as unfortunately I don't think anyone is beating Penn State this year.

 

[Azchief32]

Meyer isn't gonna beat Crutchmer come nationals. He also won't beat Epperly, Bo Nickal, or Bo Jordan if he's there...he is who he is; a tough kid who is slightly limited athletically but at least he goes after people. I can live with that.

All in all, it looked like a team good enough to get 2nd/3rd at Nationals as unfortunately I don't think anyone is beating Penn State this year.

How do you figure? Meyer spotted Crutchmer a six point lead and at one point came back to take the lead. He should have won.

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

I agree, chief. Let's not be so definitive about who our guys are our aren't going to beat. Nobody saw Meyer beating two highly ranked guys in dual meets last year, either, and he beat them both. Meyer may not be flashy, but he's capable of beating anyone at 174. Do I expect him to win a national title this year? No, but I do expect him to AA, and he might end up a heck of a lot higher on the podium than some people think. I fully expect him to pull an upset or two in the process.

We underestimate Alex Meyer at our own peril. He reminds me a little bit of Ryan Fulsaas in a way. Tough kid who just never gives up, and he can beat supposedly more talented opponents on sheer will and conditioning. Nobody in their right mind ever saw Fulsaas beating Damien Hahn or making the NCAA finals as a senior. . . but he did. Shoot -- Meyer had the #1-ranked guy dead to rights yesterday until he started protecting his lead and gave up the late score. Not many probably gave him a chance in that one, either.

 

[DayHawk18]

When crutchmer wanted to score, he did. He got to the legs at ease and he was in nowhere near top shape. I think the gap only widens from here.

 

[LaxHawk174]

Meyer looked like he was trying to defend his lead in the last period leading up to getting taken down. It seemed as if he felt he had already completed the comeback and the victory was his. Its a learning experience.

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

When crutchmer wanted to score, he did. He got to the legs at ease and he was in nowhere near top shape. I think the gap only widens from here.

I disagree. Are you implying that Crutchmer only wanted to score on a throw early and a last-second takedown? I'm going to guess he would have preferred to have scored at some other junctures in the match.

You could just as easily say that Meyer spotted him a huge move to start the match and controlled it from there until he gave up the late score.

Careful about underestimating Meyer.

 

[pumpdog20]

When crutchmer wanted to score, he did. He got to the legs at ease and he was in nowhere near top shape. I think the gap only widens from here.

And how could Meyer be in top shape in the first match of his season? At least Crutchmer has had a couple of matches already.

 

[Azchief32]

And how could Meyer be in top shape in the first match of his season? At least Crutchmer has had a couple of matches already.

+1 Pumpdog

 

[artradley]

Fans? No "Spencer Lee" chant.

C+

 

[DayHawk18]

+1 Pumpdog

Did Iowa as a whole not look in way better shape than Okie St? But then at NCAA's there's a very marginal difference in the conditioning level of the two teams. I still think we can beat them at NCAA's

 

[sloehawk]

When crutchmer wanted to score, he did. He got to the legs at ease and he was in nowhere near top shape. I think the gap only widens from here.

I agree with you, sort of................. I think Meyer will widen the gap, as soon as he learns how to win a 1st period.

Alex Meyer was my biggest disappointment of the day. I fully expected him to win this match before it started, and nothing changed in that regard while it was going on. He puts himself in a 5 point hole and controls the rest of the match, then fell asleep at the end when he should have been initiating the offense and looking to put a dagger in to end it. Those matches are seed and rankings changers. You can't have those kind of outcomes on your Home Mat if you're looking to win Individual and Team Titles. Just can't happen.

Crutchmer doesn't bother me in the least for future encounters with Meyer. This was a match he should have won and there is no reason to think he can't or won't win any future matches with him.

 

[mike tognetti]

I agree with you, sort of................. I think Meyer will widen the gap, as soon as he learns how to win a 1st period.

Alex Meyer was my biggest disappointment of the day. I fully expected him to win this match before it started, and nothing changed in that regard while it was going on. He puts himself in a 5 point hole and controls the rest of the match, then fell asleep at the end when he should have been initiating the offense and looking to put a dagger in to end it. Those matches are seed and rankings changers. You can't have those kind of outcomes on your Home Mat if you're looking to win Individual and Team Titles. Just can't happen.

Crutchmer doesn't bother me in the least for future encounters with Meyer. This was a match he should have won and there is no reason to think he can't or won't win any future matches with him.

Two very close wrestlers, but to say Crutchmer doesn't bother you in the least for future encounters

 

[wasdt21]

doesn't bother me either .we don't wrestle you again this year do we. what the heck are you doing up at 3 in the morning

 

[sloehawk]

Two very close wrestlers, but to say Crutchmer doesn't bother you in the least for future encounters

The guys that "bother" me are the ones we can't beat. Guess it wasn't as obvious as I thought.........

 

[mike tognetti]

doesn't bother me either .we don't wrestle you again this year do we. what the heck are you doing up at 3 in the morning

You will at Nationals when it counts. As for 3 in the morning, early riser. I wake up between 3 to 5 everyday. I find I get my best trolling early in the morning, plus gives me time to change what I post before all that hate reply comes my way!