57KG Spencer: Throughout this whole process, about as good a result as one could hope for except for getting the W against a tough opponent. No knee issues, no weight cut issues...just a chance to wrestle the best at the top of his game and he lost a close one. I mentioned earlier that this is just how he is wired. I also think that his body has betrayed him in one form or another since he was a junior in high school. I don't know that Spencer has had a year where he wasn't rehabbing something. As far as I know, this was it. And we could tell...he got bigger and looked great. But as far as he knows, this was his shot; it's a heckuva lot easier to be grateful when you've accomplished your goals or have a clear cut place in this sport for the next 4 years. To this fan, Spencer did great and I hope he finds peace with it.
57KG RBY: I think the cut hurt him but I also think his style does as well. He might of been the quickest (him or Higuchi) at the weight but needs to be able to apply it like Higuchi can. We've seen that he can be good at freestyle. I'd like to see him at his normal wt next year before making an informed decision
65KG Zain: There are reports today of a concussion in the first match? I do think cutting a crap ton of weight didn't help. Would have loved to see Zain go out with a medal. Injuries, weight issues etc has really made me appreciate John Smith's 6 year run.
65KG Rivera: Great run for Seabass. He gave the eventual winner (Japan) all he could handle before losing by 2 and then wrestling back for 3rd.
74KG Dake: Is this the last run for Kyle? If so, he has been one of our GOATS...just ask JB who said as much on the broadcast. I do think Dake somewhat forgot what got him here...his elite defense. He just didn't seem ready for Japan because his guy was ready for him. We got out coached here and didn't make adjustments in the second in relation to going for the chest wrap. Just an odd situation...he looked like the 20 year old Dake we all know and love in the match before that and suddenly looked his birth certificate age against Japan. IMO, that was perhaps the most shocking result of the men's tourney.
86KG Brooks: Aaron had a great tourney except for maybe a lapse in the last minute or two of his semis match. Rumor is he is going up to 92KG to eventually make 97 for LA. He will do well but it will be tough wrestling taller guys that are just as powerful or more than he is. He may end up being a tweener like Cox.
86KG Amine: I know he didn't medal but love this guy's fight.
97KG Snyder: I started writing a whole thing about KS dropping levels and is now the really tough "gate keeper" that finalists have to get through to win gold. But this is just an overreaction to the Iranian loss and not placing on my part because I remembered that this is his first senior tourney where he didn't medal since 2015. He has earned a mulligan.
125KG Parris: He had about a good a draw as you could ask for but the Olympic lights shine pretty bright. MP looked totally gassed in the first period...almost like an adrenaline dump.
Overall, not our best year to say the least. We medaled at only 3 weights with no gold and this was without the Russian team (no lack of Russians tho). Japan and Iran looked great Japan's depth at 57KG and 65KG is crazy considering that they have world golds there. Iran hit a lull for a few years but it looks they are more complete.
Reffing sucked and I'm not just talking about American matches. It seems they were missing basic stuff. In Spencer's semis match, they gave Spencer 4 to end it. As quick as the sequence was, I was sitting at home thinking it wasn't his 4 even before the replay. Got texts from others saying the same. A few other guys got robbed. I wonder if there will be stats on how many times a challenge was won because it seemed like a lot. The one positive is that reviews were fairly quick.
57KG RBY: I think the cut hurt him but I also think his style does as well. He might of been the quickest (him or Higuchi) at the weight but needs to be able to apply it like Higuchi can. We've seen that he can be good at freestyle. I'd like to see him at his normal wt next year before making an informed decision
65KG Zain: There are reports today of a concussion in the first match? I do think cutting a crap ton of weight didn't help. Would have loved to see Zain go out with a medal. Injuries, weight issues etc has really made me appreciate John Smith's 6 year run.
65KG Rivera: Great run for Seabass. He gave the eventual winner (Japan) all he could handle before losing by 2 and then wrestling back for 3rd.
74KG Dake: Is this the last run for Kyle? If so, he has been one of our GOATS...just ask JB who said as much on the broadcast. I do think Dake somewhat forgot what got him here...his elite defense. He just didn't seem ready for Japan because his guy was ready for him. We got out coached here and didn't make adjustments in the second in relation to going for the chest wrap. Just an odd situation...he looked like the 20 year old Dake we all know and love in the match before that and suddenly looked his birth certificate age against Japan. IMO, that was perhaps the most shocking result of the men's tourney.
86KG Brooks: Aaron had a great tourney except for maybe a lapse in the last minute or two of his semis match. Rumor is he is going up to 92KG to eventually make 97 for LA. He will do well but it will be tough wrestling taller guys that are just as powerful or more than he is. He may end up being a tweener like Cox.
86KG Amine: I know he didn't medal but love this guy's fight.
97KG Snyder: I started writing a whole thing about KS dropping levels and is now the really tough "gate keeper" that finalists have to get through to win gold. But this is just an overreaction to the Iranian loss and not placing on my part because I remembered that this is his first senior tourney where he didn't medal since 2015. He has earned a mulligan.
125KG Parris: He had about a good a draw as you could ask for but the Olympic lights shine pretty bright. MP looked totally gassed in the first period...almost like an adrenaline dump.
Overall, not our best year to say the least. We medaled at only 3 weights with no gold and this was without the Russian team (no lack of Russians tho). Japan and Iran looked great Japan's depth at 57KG and 65KG is crazy considering that they have world golds there. Iran hit a lull for a few years but it looks they are more complete.
Reffing sucked and I'm not just talking about American matches. It seems they were missing basic stuff. In Spencer's semis match, they gave Spencer 4 to end it. As quick as the sequence was, I was sitting at home thinking it wasn't his 4 even before the replay. Got texts from others saying the same. A few other guys got robbed. I wonder if there will be stats on how many times a challenge was won because it seemed like a lot. The one positive is that reviews were fairly quick.
