The past 10 years

[Mr Deeds]

For fun I thought I would pull up the top 6 champions IMO, over the last 10 years. If these wrestlers competed in a tournament, who would you take? This is based on their college performance, not post.

125
Troy Nickerson
Matt McDonough
Anthony Robles
Jesse Delgado
Nathon Thomasselo
Nico Megaludis

133
Coleman Scott
Jayson Ness
Jordan Oliver
Logan Steibler
Tony Ramos
Nashon Garrett

141
Jeff Jaggers
Kyle Dake
Kellen Russell
Kendric Maple
Logan Steibler
Dean Heil

149
Brent Metcalf
Darion Caldwell
Kyle Dake
Frank Mollinero
Jason Tsirtsis
Zane Reitherford

157
Trent Paulson
Jordan Burroughs
Bubba Jenkings
Kyle Dake
Isaiah Martinez
Jason Nolf

165
Mark Perry
Andrew Howe
Jordan Burroughs
David Taylor
Kyle Dake
Alex Deiringer

174
Ben Askren
Keith Gavin
Jay Borschel
Jon Reader
Chris Perry
Matt Brown

184
Jake Herbert
Max Askren
Quinten Wright
Steve Bosak
Ed Ruth
Gabe Dean

197
Josh Glen
Jake Varner
Dustin Kilgore
Quinten Wright
J'Den Cox
Kyven Gadsen

HWT
Cole Konrad
Mark Nelson
David Zabriskie
Tony Nelson
Nick Gwiazdowski
Kyle Snyder

 

[JohnBasedow]

For fun I thought I would pull up the top 6 champions IMO, over the last 10 years. If these wrestlers competed in a tournament, who would you take? This is based on their college performance, not post.

125
Troy Nickerson
Matt McDonough
Anthony Robles
Jesse Delgado
Nathon Thomasselo
Nico Megaludis

133
Coleman Scott
Jayson Ness
Jordan Oliver
Logan Steibler
Tony Ramos
Nashon Garrett

141
Jeff Jaggers
Kyle Dake
Kellen Russell
Kendric Maple
Logan Steibler
Dean Heil

149
Brent Metcalf
Darion Caldwell
Kyle Dake
Frank Mollinero
Jason Tsirtsis
Zane Reitherford

157
Trent Paulson
Jordan Burroughs
Bubba Jenkings
Kyle Dake
Isaiah Martinez
Jason Nolf

165
Mark Perry
Andrew Howe
Jordan Burroughs
David Taylor
Kyle Dake
Alex Deiringer

174
Ben Askren
Keith Gavin
Jay Borschel
Jon Reader
Chris Perry
Matt Brown

184
Jake Herbert
Max Askren
Quinten Wright
Steve Bosak
Ed Ruth
Gabe Dean

197
Josh Glen
Jake Varner
Dustin Kilgore
Quinten Wright
J'Den Cox
Kyven Gadsen

HWT
Cole Konrad
Mark Nelson
David Zabriskie
Tony Nelson
Nick Gwiazdowski
Kyle Snyder

McDonough
Steiberly
Strieber
Zain
Dake
Dake
Askren
Ruth
Cox
Snyder

 

[TNTwrestle]

McD
Scott
Streibler
Zain
JB
Dake
Big Ben
Herbert
T Varner/Cox
Snyder

 

[nitlion6]

For fun I thought I would pull up the top 6 champions IMO, over the last 10 years. If these wrestlers competed in a tournament, who would you take? This is based on their college performance, not post.

125
Troy Nickerson
Matt McDonough
Anthony Robles
Jesse Delgado
Nathon Thomasselo
Nico Megaludis

133
Coleman Scott
Jayson Ness
Jordan Oliver
Logan Steibler
Tony Ramos
Nashon Garrett

141
Jeff Jaggers
Kyle Dake
Kellen Russell
Kendric Maple
Logan Steibler
Dean Heil

149
Brent Metcalf
Darion Caldwell
Kyle Dake
Frank Mollinero
Jason Tsirtsis
Zane Reitherford

157
Trent Paulson
Jordan Burroughs
Bubba Jenkings
Kyle Dake
Isaiah Martinez
Jason Nolf

165
Mark Perry
Andrew Howe
Jordan Burroughs
David Taylor
Kyle Dake
Alex Deiringer

174
Ben Askren
Keith Gavin
Jay Borschel
Jon Reader
Chris Perry
Matt Brown

184
Jake Herbert
Max Askren
Quinten Wright
Steve Bosak
Ed Ruth
Gabe Dean

197
Josh Glen
Jake Varner
Dustin Kilgore
Quinten Wright
J'Den Cox
Kyven Gadsen

HWT
Cole Konrad
Mark Nelson
David Zabriskie
Tony Nelson
Nick Gwiazdowski
Kyle Snyder

125 Robles
133 Oliver
141 Steibler
149 Dake
157 Burroughs
165 Taylor
174 Askren
184 Ruth
197 Varner
HWT Snyder

I intentionally took a champion only once.

 

[Hawk3+1]

Robles
Steibler
Dake
Reitheford
Nolf
Burroughs
Askren
Herbert
Varner
Snyder

 

[Dagboi]

Still think 2008/9 Metcalf finds a way to beat Zain, prime vs prime. The dominance vibe felt slightly greater back then, though it’s hard to remember in today’s context of so much Retherford-Nolf superiority.

 

[rossel 33]

Using a champ only once...

McD
Scott
Stieber
Reth v Metcalf
Dake
Taylor
Askren
Ruth
Cox v Varner
Snyder

125 is tough because Robles was such a unique opponent with unusual advantage in strength and limitations that allowed him to stay down on mat while in neutral, and not get called for it. Against any regular 125'er, no question it's McD.

149 and 197 are tossups, with two guys worthy.

Strange to not include Burroughs, but strictly on collegiate level, hard to put him ahead of Dake or Taylor.

 

[WDuck5217]

125: McDonough (fav hawk wrestler, stud when healthy, Robles weird matchup)
133: Ramos (beat steibler)
141: Steibler (4X)
149: Retherford (loved Metcalf but Retherford is so tough on top, and just overall dominant, best match)
157: Imar (when he's on he's on)
165: Burroughs (this is when Burroughs was becoming Burroughs)
174: Borschel (go hawks baby)
184: Ruth (freak of nature)
197: Cox (freak of nature part 2, great singer, Olympic medalist while in college)
285: Snyder (freak of nature part 3, might become the GOAT of USA wrestling)

 

[WDuck5217]

Good thread, I like threads like these a lot. Kudos

 

[6relpparg]

The Snyder vs Konrad matchup intrigues me so much. My head still goes Snyder, but in a folk style match Konrad could roll with Snyder IMO.

 

[Grip220]

125- McD vs Robles , McD wins a tight match I think in his prime before injuries he was strong enough to keep Robles from turning him multiple times.

133- Scott vs Stiebler , I have Steibler with the win .

141- Steibler vs Dake , I have Dake here although if there was someone that could take Dake out in college it would be Steibler

149- Dake vs Zain , I have Dake based on FM went toe to toe with Zain in the world team trials this year. Very tough to keep Metcalf out of this I think him and Zain are tied for second I just don’t know that either would be able to take out Dake who knows it would be epic.

157- Dake vs Nolf , I have Dake here again who would win Nolf or JB not sure but Dake beats both. If you asked this next year it could be Nolf but not yet.

165 - Dake vs JB , I have JB the field is to tough to have Dake win it 4 times and JB Was just about peaking at this point.

174 - Askren vs Borschel , #2 is a toss up here but
I think Ben has to be the pick here

184- Ruth vs Herbert , I have Ruth here one of the best at his peak in college.

197- Wright vs Cox , toss up here between these guys and Varner I guess
I take Cox but I don’t think it’s a lock at all.

Hwt- Snyder vs Konrad , if Snyder was 30lbs bigger there would not even be a debate but Conrad’s size and strength was impressive I still take Snyder.

Side note this was fun you could make many different arguments.

 

[jvclark]

125: McDonough (fav hawk wrestler, stud when healthy, Robles weird matchup)
133: Ramos (beat steibler)
141: Steibler (4X)
149: Retherford (loved Metcalf but Retherford is so tough on top, and just overall dominant, best match)
157: Imar (when he's on he's on)
165: Burroughs (this is when Burroughs was becoming Burroughs)
174: Borschel (go hawks baby)
184: Ruth (freak of nature)
197: Cox (freak of nature part 2, great singer, Olympic medalist while in college)
285: Snyder (freak of nature part 3, might become the GOAT of USA wrestling)

I would pay good money to have seen Metcalf and Retherford wrestle while in their prime. Zain is a bitch on top, no doubt. But I just cant see him riding Brent long enough to make a difference. Metcalf got to his feet so fast and often, I would bet money Zain would have ended up cutting him.

Would be a blast tho.

 

[Chopper25]

For fun I thought I would pull up the top 6 champions IMO, over the last 10 years. If these wrestlers competed in a tournament, who would you take? This is based on their college performance, not post.

125
Troy Nickerson
Matt McDonough
Anthony Robles
Jesse Delgado
Nathon Thomasselo
Nico Megaludis

133
Coleman Scott
Jayson Ness
Jordan Oliver
Logan Steibler
Tony Ramos
Nashon Garrett

141
Jeff Jaggers
Kyle Dake
Kellen Russell
Kendric Maple
Logan Steibler
Dean Heil

149
Brent Metcalf
Darion Caldwell
Kyle Dake
Frank Mollinero
Jason Tsirtsis
Zane Reitherford

157
Trent Paulson
Jordan Burroughs
Bubba Jenkings
Kyle Dake
Isaiah Martinez
Jason Nolf

165
Mark Perry
Andrew Howe
Jordan Burroughs
David Taylor
Kyle Dake
Alex Deiringer

174
Ben Askren
Keith Gavin
Jay Borschel
Jon Reader
Chris Perry
Matt Brown

184
Jake Herbert
Max Askren
Quinten Wright
Steve Bosak
Ed Ruth
Gabe Dean

197
Josh Glen
Jake Varner
Dustin Kilgore
Quinten Wright
J'Den Cox
Kyven Gadsen

HWT
Cole Konrad
Mark Nelson
David Zabriskie
Tony Nelson
Nick Gwiazdowski
Kyle Snyder

McD
Oliver
Steiber
Metcalf
Dake
Dake
Askren
Ruth
Varner
Snyder

 

[Grip220]

I would love to see a Goat list for each weight I know the weights changed but that would be cool also I just don’t have enough knowledge to even attempt it.

 

[Dagboi]

I would love to see a Goat list for each weight I know the weights changed but that would be cool also I just don’t have enough knowledge to even attempt it.

I'll start it: Gable.

 

[MARION_HAWK]

McDonough
Scott
Striebler
Metcalf
Dake
Taylor
JayBo
Ruth
Cox
Snyder

 

[anon_0pi0cv8t1ggvb]

Good thread, I like threads like these a lot. Kudos

Agreed. Interesting thread.

 

[jammenz]

125) Robles
133) Ness
141) Dake
149) Dake
157) Dake
165) Dake
174) Askren
184) Ruth
197) Varner
hvy) Konrad

 

[saluki211]

125 - McDonough - Jr. year McDonough was the best of this bunch...

133 - Ness - Sr. year Ness is the class of this bunch. Yeah Dennis had him dead to rights but Ness did what champs do and found a way to win...

141 - Stieber

149 - Retherford - My heart wants to say Metcalf, but I think Zain is better...

157 - Dake - Gotta give at least one weight to Dake...

165 - Burroughs - Burroughs at 165 was about as good a college wrestler as we will ever see. Just untouchable...

174 - Askren

184 - Herbert - Ruth was great, but I think people forget how freakishly good Herbert was...

197 - Cox - Probably the toughest choice between him and Varner...

285 - Snyder

 

[Grip220]

125 - McDonough - Jr. year McDonough was the best of this bunch...

133 - Ness - Sr. year Ness is the class of this bunch. Yeah Dennis had him dead to rights but Ness did what champs do and found a way to win...

141 - Stieber

149 - Retherford - My heart wants to say Metcalf, but I think Zain is better...

157 - Dake - Gotta give at least one weight to Dake...

165 - Burroughs - Burroughs at 165 was about as good a college wrestler as we will ever see. Just untouchable...

174 - Askren

184 - Herbert - Ruth was great, but I think people forget how freakishly good Herbert was...

197 - Cox - Probably the toughest choice between him and Varner...

285 - Snyder

I’ll maybe agree with Herbert over Ruth but Ness I have second to last in that group only above Garrett and 149 just a toss up really who would have the best tournament between Dake, Metcalf , Zain

 

[pumpdog20]

For fun I thought I would pull up the top 6 champions IMO, over the last 10 years. If these wrestlers competed in a tournament, who would you take? This is based on their college performance, not post.

125
Troy Nickerson
Matt McDonough
Anthony Robles
Jesse Delgado
Nathon Thomasselo
Nico Megaludis

133
Coleman Scott
Jayson Ness
Jordan Oliver
Logan Steibler
Tony Ramos
Nashon Garrett

141
Jeff Jaggers
Kyle Dake
Kellen Russell
Kendric Maple
Logan Steibler
Dean Heil

149
Brent Metcalf
Darion Caldwell
Kyle Dake
Frank Mollinero
Jason Tsirtsis
Zane Reitherford

157
Trent Paulson
Jordan Burroughs
Bubba Jenkings
Kyle Dake
Isaiah Martinez
Jason Nolf

165
Mark Perry
Andrew Howe
Jordan Burroughs
David Taylor
Kyle Dake
Alex Deiringer

174
Ben Askren
Keith Gavin
Jay Borschel
Jon Reader
Chris Perry
Matt Brown

184
Jake Herbert
Max Askren
Quinten Wright
Steve Bosak
Ed Ruth
Gabe Dean

197
Josh Glen
Jake Varner
Dustin Kilgore
Quinten Wright
J'Den Cox
Kyven Gadsen

HWT
Cole Konrad
Mark Nelson
David Zabriskie
Tony Nelson
Nick Gwiazdowski
Kyle Snyder

125: McD - he always does better after seeing someone again
133: Oliver - with today's rules Oliver wins against Stieber
141: Stieber - LS' neutral game is a little better than Dake's defense
149: Dake - KD too strong at this weight, no one has the neutral offense to score. Dake and Zain may trade ride outs
157: Dake - too strong for Burroughs at this weight...
165: Burroughs - the quickness advantage comes into play as Dake starts to get bigger
174: Askren - might be the most lopsided weight
184: Herbert - too strong and just athletic enough to beat Ruth
197: Cox - probably just athletic enough to top Varner
HWT: Snyder - just too much pedigree to go anyone else

 

[pablow]

I’ll maybe agree with Herbert over Ruth but Ness I have second to last in that group only above Garrett and 149 just a toss up really who would have the best tournament between Dake, Metcalf , Zain

Ness was lucky that Dennis kept knocking Franklin Gomez out of his way.

 

[rider976]

125 Robles
133 Steibler
141 Dake
149 Metcalf
157 Dake
165 Burroughs
174 Askren
184 Ruth
197 Cox
HWT Snyder

 

[YoungGun07]

125- McD is the standard here.
133- Oliver vs Stieber is a heck of a match, I choose Oliver
141- Senior Stieber beats freshman Dake, I don't think its super close
149- Zain beats Metcalf in the match of the night
157- IMar, barely ahead of Nolf/Dake
165- Burroughs beats Dake in OT with a blast double
174- Homer pick- Borschel was so tough as a Sr.
184- Ed Ruth
197- Fun weight, Cox beats Varner
285- Snyder beats Conrad

I hate not picking Dake at any of the weights... My thought process is below

141- Can't hang with Stieber, especially senior v freshman. If Slaton would have been eligible, Dake isn't a 4-timer IMO
149- He beat Molinaro 8-1, Metcalf and Zain are both better. Especially Sr. v Sophmore
157- His best chance to win it. He beat St John 4-1, IMar by a nose here. This was the hardest weight for me to pick, I could easily be talked into Dake here.
165- Dake v Taylor in real life was epic. I think Burroughs is too quick for Dake at this weight.

 

[IAChief32]

For fun I thought I would pull up the top 6 champions IMO, over the last 10 years. If these wrestlers competed in a tournament, who would you take? This is based on their college performance, not post.

125
Troy Nickerson
Matt McDonough
Anthony Robles
Jesse Delgado
Nathon Thomasselo
Nico Megaludis

133
Coleman Scott
Jayson Ness
Jordan Oliver
Logan Steibler
Tony Ramos
Nashon Garrett

141
Jeff Jaggers
Kyle Dake
Kellen Russell
Kendric Maple
Logan Steibler
Dean Heil

149
Brent Metcalf
Darion Caldwell
Kyle Dake
Frank Mollinero
Jason Tsirtsis
Zane Reitherford

157
Trent Paulson
Jordan Burroughs
Bubba Jenkings
Kyle Dake
Isaiah Martinez
Jason Nolf

165
Mark Perry
Andrew Howe
Jordan Burroughs
David Taylor
Kyle Dake
Alex Deiringer

174
Ben Askren
Keith Gavin
Jay Borschel
Jon Reader
Chris Perry
Matt Brown

184
Jake Herbert
Max Askren
Quinten Wright
Steve Bosak
Ed Ruth
Gabe Dean

197
Josh Glen
Jake Varner
Dustin Kilgore
Quinten Wright
J'Den Cox
Kyven Gadsen

HWT
Cole Konrad
Mark Nelson
David Zabriskie
Tony Nelson
Nick Gwiazdowski
Kyle Snyder

Good stuff Mr. Deeds

McD-Should have been a three timer, injury didn’t get him there. Yea, Robles beat him in a finals but McD was top tier his whole career except the last part of his senior year.

Streibler 133 and 141- I could argue against a four timer but he was so dominant in all positions.

149-Metcalf won one of the toughest brackets ever. Metcalf never had an “easy” bracket. 149 for Zain has been relatively weak. But Zain is so dang dominant. I would love to throw Zain in the 2008 bracket to see how he does. I’m going with Metcalf because he’s a Hawk....would not laugh if a PSU Guy went with Zain.

157-Nolf...The reason I’d have him over Dake is dominance of his opponents. Plus, Nolf is tougher than DT.

165-Dake. Owned DT. One could make the case for JB his senior year...people forget that he was undefeated and bonuses his way through the tourney and then won a world title a few months later.

174-Askren.
184-Ruth-Ruth could turn it on at anytime.
197-Cox-Got knocked out of the winners bracket by Snyder in 2015 IIRC. Both go into win multiple world medals and both will have three NCAA titles.
Hwy-Snyder. Poor Gwiz. Probably the best HWY we’ve seen in a long time until Snyder decides to bump.

 

[6relpparg]

Ness was lucky that Dennis kept knocking Franklin Gomez out of his way.

Ness had beaten Gomez a couple times as well.

 

[Exo]

Good stuff Mr. Deeds

McD-Should have been a three timer, injury didn’t get him there. Yea, Robles beat him in a finals but McD was top tier his whole career except the last part of his senior year.

Streibler 133 and 141- I could argue against a four timer but he was so dominant in all positions.

149-Metcalf won one of the toughest brackets ever. Metcalf never had an “easy” bracket. 149 for Zain has been relatively weak. But Zain is so dang dominant. I would love to throw Zain in the 2008 bracket to see how he does. I’m going with Metcalf because he’s a Hawk....would not laugh if a PSU Guy went with Zain.

157-Nolf...The reason I’d have him over Dake is dominance of his opponents. Plus, Nolf is tougher than DT.

165-Dake. Owned DT. One could make the case for JB his senior year...people forget that he was undefeated and bonuses his way through the tourney and then won a world title a few months later.

174-Askren.
184-Ruth-Ruth could turn it on at anytime.
197-Cox-Got knocked out of the winners bracket by Snyder in 2015 IIRC. Both go into win multiple world medals and both will have three NCAA titles.
Hwy-Snyder. Poor Gwiz. Probably the best HWY we’ve seen in a long time until Snyder decides to bump.

133- Surprised we haven't heard any of thatdudeJO yet.

2008 149 was indeed the toughest bracket I've ever seen. So many national champs.

While I agree with Dake at 65, he did not Own DT. He won 2 very tight matches that year and gave up the first TD in the finals.

 

[saluki211]

While I agree with Dake at 65, he did not Own DT. He won 2 very tight matches that year and gave up the first TD in the finals.

Dake beat Taylor 3x that year (All-Star, Scuffle, NCAAs).
He's also beaten Taylor a bunch of times in freestyle since then.
Dake owns DT...

 

[pablow]

Ness had beaten Gomez a couple times as well.

I think in 2007 and 2009. Don't think they wrestled in 2010. Gomez was lights-out in 2010 absolutely slaughtering Jordan Oliver in the 3rd place match.

 

[sstark46]

That 165 bracket would be worth the price of admission by itself. Burroughs is the only non 4xAA in that list (but we all know how great he was!) and outside of Burroughs' freshman year, none of them ever finished worse than third at NCAAs. Not to mention 5 Hodge trophies in there.

 

[pablow]

How in the hell does someone leave Dake off?

 

[The Vak]

125
Anthony Robles

133
Jordan Oliver

141
Logan Steibler

149
Brent Metcalf

157
Kyle Dake

165 (Toughest weight to pick by far)
Jordan Burroughs

174
Ben Askren

184
Ed Ruth

197
Jake Varner

HWT (although I have no idea how he would do against King Cole, who was ENORMOUS)
Kyle Snyder

 

[JohnBasedow]

How in the hell does someone leave Dake off?

The internetz has picked Dake to lose 99% of his matches since he was born. That is a scientific fact.

 

[TNTwrestle]

Since everyone seems to be explaining their picks, I'll go back and justify mine;

McD; If Robles hadn't ducked him at Midlands, and McD had seen him twice, that would have been a different outcome. When healthy, he was dominant, and by far the best in this group.

Scott; Steiber really lost to Oliver in the finals at this weight. Saved by a bad call (even though I wanted him to win that), then the same against Ramos. Ramos beat Oliver once, but lost multiple times to this group. Scott only one not to lose to others in group and very dominant when he did win.

Stieber; Dake loses to Montell with a decent ref, so he doesn't get it at this weight. Same with Russell. Jaggers always turned it on at tournament time, but was very beatable during most seasons. Steiber was dominant at this weight for two years, except for one hiccup against Zain, when I think he was sick

Zain; This was a tough one. Metcalf won the toughest bracket in years at this weight, but was less than great as a junior and senior at NCAAs. Dake had his best finals at this weight, but it was a watered-down bracket. I'd like to see Zain-Metcalf at their peaks, but I think Zain pulls out a close one, like 16-15.

Burroughs; Dake stalled his way to title over StJohn, so he doesn't earn this weight either (he earned the TD, then shut down and stalled). Burroughs wasn't as good here with his first title as at 165, but was best of this group, and Dake over DT at 165 trumps him there, so I'm giving JB this one.

Dake; 4-timer, owned DT, found a way to win no matter what. Not as dominant as JB or Derringer at the weight, but tougher bracket than either of them.

Askren; Maybe a dick to Iowa fans, but the funk- master was dominant. Went up a weight and beat a highly ranked guy. I know this was after college, but destroyed Herbert in exhibition at Midlands. Just couldn't pick any of these guys over him.

Herbert; This was tough. Ruth was a freak, and could be dominant almost any time he decided to, but, at his peak, I think Herbert would take him.

TIE- Varner/Cox; Obviously, this one too tough to call. Watching Varner was like watching paint dry, but he always won. Cox could be fun to watch when he wanted to be, and was an olympic medalist while in college, but I just don't know which one would win head-to-head at their peak.

Snyder; Konrad was a monster, but even with his size, I don't think he could hang with Gwiz. Gwiz was great, but couldn't quite get it done against Snyder, even with a big size advantage. Snyder wins the worlds after soph year of college. Dominance at its best.

 

[pablow]

The internetz has picked Dake to lose 99% of his matches since he was born. That is a scientific fact.

 

[MSU158]

I’ll maybe agree with Herbert over Ruth but Ness I have second to last in that group only above Garrett and 149 just a toss up really who would have the best tournament between Dake, Metcalf , Zain

I guess this is what is great about these topics. It makes for a wide range of opinions.

I think Garrett his senior season wins the whole thing. The way he took apart Brewer was super impressive and even though Clark scrapped hard with him Garrett controlled that match. He was just too quick for everyone on that list and worked from space which would have given everyone on that list(except Oliver) fits. He was also deceptively strong.

I guess I am no obligated to do this since I gave my 2 cents for 133.

125:If you only got 1 shot at Robles, he beats the field. Even then, I would still call him the favorite. Getting a takedown on him was ridiculously hard and he was turning EVERYONE. Plus, refs allowed him to have that tripod neutral style that basically let him stall from neutral and forced his opponent to tie up with him and play right into his strengths.

133:See above

141:Stieber was too much for anyone his senior year. But, I could see a peaked Jaggers stealing a match because he was so dynamic and Heil is also hard to count out if he goes undefeated and wins it again this year. He does nothing flashy, but 90ish and 1 over his last 3 seasons means he is doing something right.

149:What a sick field. Caldwell at his peak is too good on his feet for this field. How he blitzkrieged Metcalf that year literally shocked me. I was absolutely dumbfounded. Now, that may have been a once in a lifetime thing, sort of like, Moisey's run a couple of years ago. So, if you disregard it that way, I would have to flip a coin between Zain and Metcalf. Finally, Dake was still a bit raw and beatable at this weight, the following season is when he truly became "the guy".

157:I have a hard time here. By default, I think you have to go with Dake because his will to win was 2nd to none. But, Burroughs was becoming "Burroughs" going undefeated while beating some serious competition in Leen and Poeta. Hell that doesn't even include the monsters in IMar and Nolf that have only lost to each other at 157. So, I will stick with the default pick, but any 4 of those guys could beat each other about half the time.

165: It's between Dake and Burroughs again and I don't think anyone else is really close. Watching Dake consistently beat Taylor and adding in mat wrestling, I think a very slim edge is given to Dake. But, Burroughs is one of very few that I think could finish takedowns against Dake. To me, this is a 50.1 to 49.9 in favor of Dake and if you only want to pick a guy once, I would put Dake at 157 and Burroughs at 165.

174:Askren, although lucky for him, this list doesn't include Pendleton.

184:Herbert just barely over Ruth and with Dean the spoiler.

197:Varner's physical raw strength makes it hard for me to pick any of these against him. Cox and Wright could definitely steal one from him, but I would favor Varner 60+% of the time.

285:Konrad-I know Snyder is a World and Olympic Champ, but he has yet to have to wrestle someone like Konrad. As good as Mocco was Konrad surpassed him by a significant margin by the end of his career. He is just too big and strong for Snyder, let alone the fact that he was a very good wrestler.

 

[6relpparg]

The refs allowed Robles to stay in a tripod stance?! The dude had one leg, it is the only option for a stance haha.

I wish I was drinking when I read that so I could have spit it out laughing. Haha good times

 

[jammenz]

Ness was lucky that Dennis kept knocking Franklin Gomez out of his way.

Dennis was happy as hell to have Gomez in his bracket instead of Oliver.

 

[MSU158]

The refs allowed Robles to stay in a tripod stance?! The dude had one leg, it is the only option for a stance haha.

I wish I was drinking when I read that so I could have spit it out laughing. Haha good times

You can't stand on 1 leg? If you have a bad knee with a big knee brace can you just go down to a tripod? I know his condition well. The point was he was allowed to position himself in neutral in a way that would result in a slew of stall calls for the rest of the field. I understand why the concession was given, but it did a great deal to negate his weakness. You couldn't shoot on him and inevitably had to tie up with a guy with an upper body at least 4 classes above yours.

Hell, I never even argued that he shouldn't have been allowed to do so. I just pointed out that it allowed him to maximize his strength and minimize his weaknesses. I remember watching him thinking how hard it would be to game plan for him. I don't know what you would even try to use to take him down and once you went under him you were toast.

 

[Mtown_Hawk]

125-McDonough
133-Oliver
141-Stieber
149-Retherford (pains me not to say Metcalf)
157-IMAR
165-Dake
174-Askren (pains me not to say Borschel)
184-Ruth
197-Varner
285-Konrad*

*Konrad's brother is an old army buddy of mine, so I am a bit biased here. That being said, Cole was so big, so strong and remarkably athletic for his size. I think Snyder would have trouble finishing his shots on him.