After seeing Kerk take out Parris, Penn St looks like they have 5 likely finalists. And Max Dean has a shot as well. We will have to wrestle almost a perfect tourney to compete. But things can change in the next 8 weeks. Hopefully our guys start rounding into form.
Iowa / tOSU PBP
- Thread starter Vallholl
- Start date
Edited to correct my brain farts on who wrestles at what weight.
Grades? Not all bad, honestly.
125: B. Heinselman wrestled very tough, earned that win. Either scouted Ayala well or just a tough style match-up. Heinselman leans way over, doesn't let opponents close to his legs. Susceptible to snaps, maybe? Don't know. Good fight by Ayala, never gave up. Figure it out and move forward.
133: A. Let the speculation continue, but ADS was back and looked tough. Embodies the real Iowa style.
141: C. Yawn. Pretending to be Randy Lewis without scoring any points.
149: A. Murin was :16 away from stealing that match from a very tough dude. I thought he was going to get reversed before then, and I was impressed with his scrambling.
157: B. So easy when he shot. But only shot twice.
165: B. Karchala is tough. Bull wrestled him tough. But he deserved to lose because he stopped wrestling and for the 75th time in his career tried to eke out a 1-point win. Dude, you gotta know that guy's coming.
174: A-. Toughest opponent so far this year for Kem. Solid performance, got a bit tired.
184: B. Romero very tough, hard to penetrate. Assad hung in there, kept shooting even though he couldn't get within a foot of Romero's legs. I think Romero wins that 3 or 4 times out of 5. But...gotta find 5th gear, gotta find a way or you're not on the podium.
197: F. Got a slick, easy takedown in the first :30 and completely shut down. Never tried to turn the guy. Constantly dragged his toes out of bounds like all he wanted to do was burn time off the clock. 2:30 in riding time--for what? Guys, he deserved all 3 of those stall calls. Zero shots in the 2nd and 3rd. Pathetic, sad, anti-everything that Iowa Wrestling stands for, anti-everything that Tom Brands preaches and Gable preached before him. A giant sack of vomit. Ask me how I really feel.
285: A. Kudos to Orndork for that sweet arm spin. But a nice performance by Cass, always moving, always looking to score from the feet, always looking to score from the top.
A few guys want to wrestle and the rest want money for nothin and the chicks for free.
Grades? Not all bad, honestly.
125: B. Heinselman wrestled very tough, earned that win. Either scouted Ayala well or just a tough style match-up. Heinselman leans way over, doesn't let opponents close to his legs. Susceptible to snaps, maybe? Don't know. Good fight by Ayala, never gave up. Figure it out and move forward.
133: A. Let the speculation continue, but ADS was back and looked tough. Embodies the real Iowa style.
141: C. Yawn. Pretending to be Randy Lewis without scoring any points.
149: A. Murin was :16 away from stealing that match from a very tough dude. I thought he was going to get reversed before then, and I was impressed with his scrambling.
157: B. So easy when he shot. But only shot twice.
165: B. Karchala is tough. Bull wrestled him tough. But he deserved to lose because he stopped wrestling and for the 75th time in his career tried to eke out a 1-point win. Dude, you gotta know that guy's coming.
174: A-. Toughest opponent so far this year for Kem. Solid performance, got a bit tired.
184: B. Romero very tough, hard to penetrate. Assad hung in there, kept shooting even though he couldn't get within a foot of Romero's legs. I think Romero wins that 3 or 4 times out of 5. But...gotta find 5th gear, gotta find a way or you're not on the podium.
197: F. Got a slick, easy takedown in the first :30 and completely shut down. Never tried to turn the guy. Constantly dragged his toes out of bounds like all he wanted to do was burn time off the clock. 2:30 in riding time--for what? Guys, he deserved all 3 of those stall calls. Zero shots in the 2nd and 3rd. Pathetic, sad, anti-everything that Iowa Wrestling stands for, anti-everything that Tom Brands preaches and Gable preached before him. A giant sack of vomit. Ask me how I really feel.
285: A. Kudos to Orndork for that sweet arm spin. But a nice performance by Cass, always moving, always looking to score from the feet, always looking to score from the top.
A few guys want to wrestle and the rest want money for nothin and the chicks for free.
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Watched both meets back to back, I’m not gonna sugar cost it, next week is gonna be an ugly place on this board. PSU wrestled incredibly smart and dominated Michigan. Iowa hung on vs a much weaker tOSU team. PSU should be heavily favored next week. Not sure how Eirman gets past Lee. Dean looks like a national finalist. Kerk tactically picked apart Paris, and buff Tony looks worse than fat Tony. Iowas gonna need big bonus points and they haven’t yet shown they can deliver them. Could b a loooong night next week.
I really don't think that's the m.o. of Iowa wrestling. I've heard the phrase "wake up call" etc., but that is not a Brands era phenomenon, imo.
We have what we have, and we usually know it plenty ahead of time.
Tarp I think you may have been imbibing a bit too much tonight, lol.
Murin at 141? Assad at 197? Warner at 184?
Blaming everything on Warner
I can't remember the last time I've been this ticked off watching Iowa wrestle. Maybe the dual against Okie where Perry jacked around and lost to a nobody costing us our long winning streak.
Too many last second losses, some weird stalling/non-stalling calls, not enough attacking and Bull reverting to his NCAA quarter-final form.
What's tonight's excuse? Looking ahead, training through, bug in the room or just some poor effort overall?
Nice to see ADS on the mat doing his thing and huge effort from Murin but a repeat effort from the team next weekend is going to get us a first class butt kicking.
Too many last second losses, some weird stalling/non-stalling calls, not enough attacking and Bull reverting to his NCAA quarter-final form.
What's tonight's excuse? Looking ahead, training through, bug in the room or just some poor effort overall?
Nice to see ADS on the mat doing his thing and huge effort from Murin but a repeat effort from the team next weekend is going to get us a first class butt kicking.
That's pretty much how I saw it too, FWIW. Now then...an injury to a key guy or two in the next 2 months could really shake things up. But barring that...I think you have to say that PSU is the fave right now. But it is not out of reach or anything.
Ok , here comes all the doom and gloom , I will read the sky is falling and TNT should be fired crap tomorrow. I’m out
He doesn't have top end TD defense and I have noticed while in RS he was wrestling loose and taking a lot of different shots. Since coming out a lot more tentative, too much so IMO. His game needs to be get after it not hand fight, hand fight, ride. Tim Johnson said tonight sometimes guys get caught up hand fighting and and don't get to their shots. That IMO is one of the biggest problems on this team. Too much hand fighting and not enough shooting and I think Drake is getting caught up in that. He also gassed a bit tonight.
D'emillio did more hand holding than kids at an 8th grade dance.
IOWA vs F*** st Will be a good one. We will need a little of that Caver Magic but we can win at just about every weight! We have a legitimate shot at winning 125, 133, 141, We should win at 149, 157, and 165. We have a shot at 174, I think 184 we would need a bit of a miracle. 197 and heavy both have a shot.
I believe now we are underDawgs at all but 149, 157, 165? Airmen has beaten Lee but has not looked right all year? KemDawg looks very good and I like him in this match!
Warner frustrates the hell outa me but if he is ready from the opening whistle and wrestles smart using his height advantage, he may be able to win. I hope that our coaches do a little scout work on the Kirk. Big Cass has to watch that single.
125, teams maybe watching tapes on Alaya. Ref let ohio st kid run for most of match, do not see that happening in Carver. DeSanto can beat everyone IF he keeps his cool. Have to add-Still do not get the shirt pulled thing?
I believe now we are underDawgs at all but 149, 157, 165? Airmen has beaten Lee but has not looked right all year? KemDawg looks very good and I like him in this match!
Warner frustrates the hell outa me but if he is ready from the opening whistle and wrestles smart using his height advantage, he may be able to win. I hope that our coaches do a little scout work on the Kirk. Big Cass has to watch that single.
125, teams maybe watching tapes on Alaya. Ref let ohio st kid run for most of match, do not see that happening in Carver. DeSanto can beat everyone IF he keeps his cool. Have to add-Still do not get the shirt pulled thing?
Save it, dude. Nobody's fleeing the vessel; we're just saying that we have a vessel with a shitty engine and only one prop. And yes, some bright spots but just as many WTF spots.
While I absolutely agree that Jacob earned all his stall calls, that ref did not call stalling like that the rest of the meet.
Generally, I wish they'd call stalling more as a whole, for any team including ours.
Marinelli shot a bunch first period and there wasn't even a warning!
All your grades seem fair and I mostly agree, have a hard time giving a guy who won an F though, I'd go with a D... - 😅
Leads me to believe Austin might have been a head or disciplinary thing.
He came out possessed, whatever the issue glad to see him back!
Looked like a man on fire.
I think you're pretty spot on with those grades, Tarp. The only one I can't get behind is the B for Alex. I know the OSU kid was tough but Alex really did nothing the entire match other than ride hard to get RT and then hold on tight in hopes of getting the one-point win. I feel like Alex is much like Jaydin in that their competition is figuring them out and not letting them do the things they used to be able to do....or they're are not trying as hard to do those things they used to do. Jaydin used to be a pinning machine, but now is very boring, very non-offensive and quick to settle for a decision. And of course Alex is completely non-offensive and quick to settle for any kind of win. 65 is no joke as seen by Alex losing to the 7 seed tonight, which means he could be right back at the lower end of AA where he's been before. And 141 is certainly no picnic either. Wrestling like they have been it's not a very big reach to see one or both of them getting shocked in the NCAA quarters, after which anything could happen. They're both killing me because along with Kem and Spencer, these were the guys I could easily see vying for a championship. Sure hope they right the ship sooner rather than later. I used to love watching those Alex M - V Joseph matches where there were always big time fireworks...but as of late Alex hasn't even been pulling out the sparklers. Where's the Bull?
PS. I love the way Kem is improving each week. I don't think anyone will touch him this year except perhaps Star during the regular season. Come March I think he'll be taking them all down, whether it be Star, Lewis, Hidlay or anyone else. As his conditioning continues to improve he is going to be a bad ass wrecking ball!
Romero is going to lose next time these boys face off. AA is really coming together...
Austin is always a stud against guys he should easily beat. Will be interesting to see how he approaches RBY next week!
I think he's ready, going to be a great match to watch.
I get kharchla was ranked 7th, but that guy is a title contender no less.
tarp don’t say mean things! It hurts their people’s feelings 😏
It sucks that Bull wasn't able to score, and say what you will about the last two periods, but Alex took four legitimate shots and was looking for more that first period, as kharchla backed his ass to the edge of the mat and used his strength to block off constantly. Kharchla took one legitimate shot with about 20 seconds left, at the edge of the mat as Marinelli was pushing into him, which was clearly their strategy. I just rewatched it before making this post.
Alex wanted to score, but that guy was big and strong and blocked off with a ref refusing to call stalling.
I don't know if Alex still can do it but taking the match to deep water and being the better swimmer might be his best strategy.
It’s January. While that was not a great performance, it is January and there are a lot of lessons to be learned from that duel (are we purposely misspelling that now? Hard to keep up sometimes).
Ayala lost one to a vet that constantly backed up and chose his moments to shoot when Drake was too aggressively coming forward. He needs to figure that out. Hopefully he can and will, because he may see a lot more of that.
DeSanto looks great. Not sure what his issue was, but stay on the mat, stay healthy, and destroy everyone in your path.
Eierman just keeps winning. I’m not sure if something is wrong or if he just isn’t motivated. I guess we find out next week.
Murin looks great and is figuring out how to beat the top guys like Yahya and Sammy. A few little tweaks/breaks and he will be a really hard out.
Young is coming around and looks very solid
Bull is a bit underwhelming. He needs to find his fire and get after it. Maybe losing is what it takes.
Kem looks great. Keep it up big dog.
Assad is rounding into shape. He looks great - similar to Murin
Warner is really good in all positions. He has the tools to be awesome. As most here, I wish he would be more aggressive and turn his matches from 1-2 TD matches into 3-5 TD matches and he would be even more successful. There isn’t anybody at this weight that he can’t beat (especially if the refs ever develop the balls to call Ferrari for stalling).
Tony is awesome. Unfortunately, Gable, Parris, and Kerk are as well. He needs to get bonus points for us and catch fire and nationals and pull an upset or two and finish as high on the podium as possible. Kerk will be a real challenge for him.
So I am not as down as a lot of you. One learns a lot more from close losses than you do from close wins. Hopefully we learn our lessons before Big Tens and NCAAs and find the fire and peak at the right time.
It’s January.
Ayala lost one to a vet that constantly backed up and chose his moments to shoot when Drake was too aggressively coming forward. He needs to figure that out. Hopefully he can and will, because he may see a lot more of that.
DeSanto looks great. Not sure what his issue was, but stay on the mat, stay healthy, and destroy everyone in your path.
Eierman just keeps winning. I’m not sure if something is wrong or if he just isn’t motivated. I guess we find out next week.
Murin looks great and is figuring out how to beat the top guys like Yahya and Sammy. A few little tweaks/breaks and he will be a really hard out.
Young is coming around and looks very solid
Bull is a bit underwhelming. He needs to find his fire and get after it. Maybe losing is what it takes.
Kem looks great. Keep it up big dog.
Assad is rounding into shape. He looks great - similar to Murin
Warner is really good in all positions. He has the tools to be awesome. As most here, I wish he would be more aggressive and turn his matches from 1-2 TD matches into 3-5 TD matches and he would be even more successful. There isn’t anybody at this weight that he can’t beat (especially if the refs ever develop the balls to call Ferrari for stalling).
Tony is awesome. Unfortunately, Gable, Parris, and Kerk are as well. He needs to get bonus points for us and catch fire and nationals and pull an upset or two and finish as high on the podium as possible. Kerk will be a real challenge for him.
So I am not as down as a lot of you. One learns a lot more from close losses than you do from close wins. Hopefully we learn our lessons before Big Tens and NCAAs and find the fire and peak at the right time.
It’s January.
Maybe he knew he was gassing? Would it be better to be offensive and gas earlier and almost certainly lose? I cannot give an F to a guy who had the self awareness and match management skill to pull off the win despite gassing. I am not trying to troll (today), I would like your opinion.
This.. So much this. Reminds me of the Hang on the head and wear them out days....vomit.
No, we're not shooting enough. We're back to the ole push em around and look busy strategies of the pre-Kem Era. It's bad wrestling and psu will kill us if we wrestle like this Friday.
Speaking of Johnson he was as bad as I've ever heard him last night. He was flat out lost in the Ayala match and made numerous other mistakes throughout the night.
And Flores is dog 💩
Is it possible the Iowa guys are “training through” right now in preparation for March? I know over at BWI it’s a yearly January tradition to lament that the team looks flat and unprepared - there is almost always a “dip” in performance as the guys are going through a particularly grueling period of training.
I wouldn’t assume the sky is falling.
I wouldn’t assume the sky is falling.
As I told my B-I-L today, in 40+ years of watching Iowa wrestling, the Hawks have seldom been the best team in January, but have often been the best in March. What PAHURDLER said above has a lot of validity.
That being said, most of those years were in the Gable era. I'm not ragging on TnT, but they never have gotten the whole peaking and overperforming thing down like Gable had it. Not once in their tenure have we overperformed as a team at NCAAs. We've had a few guys overperform, but we've also had many under-place their seeds. I hope this is the year that all that ends. I'm not a "sky is falling" kind of guy, but color me worried after those two meets last night.
That being said, most of those years were in the Gable era. I'm not ragging on TnT, but they never have gotten the whole peaking and overperforming thing down like Gable had it. Not once in their tenure have we overperformed as a team at NCAAs. We've had a few guys overperform, but we've also had many under-place their seeds. I hope this is the year that all that ends. I'm not a "sky is falling" kind of guy, but color me worried after those two meets last night.
