I have lots to say about the season that is suddenly upon us. I try to stay positive in my hopes for the season, but the last 20+ years have made me a realist, not an optimist. In the 50 years I've followed Iowa wrestling pretty closely, we've seldom been the best team in November and fairly often been a much different team come March. Unfortunately, we have underperformed compared to other teams in March for at least the past 20 years. Peaking in March seems to have ended with Gable. Whether that's coaching, injuries, or personalities, I'm not going to speculate.
Yesterday's meet had some encouraging results and some disappointing ones. From what I saw yesterday, I'm not optimistic about next Sunday. I'm sure as the season progresses some of the disappointing things will be addressed, and hopefully fixed. Possible changes second semester (if they pan out) could help some, but I'm still a little cautious about their long-term effect.
This; is what I see as of right now about the outlook;
125 - Ayala has a lot of potential but is currently rusty and he needs mat time. He has to clean up tactical miscues like yesterday's, and he needs to stay healthy, which has been problematic in the past. He also needs to keep the pace high to be successful. He can't let guys hang around and steal matches. I could see him as a high AA or 2-2 at NCAAs, depending on his progression. He needs to stay healthy though, because we're screwed at this weight if he goes down.
133 - Teske is a lot of the same. Needs to stay healthy and he needs to be ready every time he steps on the mat. He has a history of getting taken down first a lot, and he can't do that against the top guys and expect to come back. I wish I could say I thought he could be a high AA, but I think fringe AA is his ceiling based on past years. I hope he proves me wrong.
141 - We should have a champ here, if he keeps his head on straight and his body healthy.
149 - I'm sorry, but watching VV3 is like watching paint dry, and he needs to learn how to beat a whizzer. I had hopes Rathjen would be good, but maybe he never will until he lives the "lifestyle", or maybe never. I'm hoping at this point Ferrari shakes the rust off and is able to take it up a notch. We need a mid-AA at least to be in the hunt for a trophy. I think VV is a fringe AA to rd of 16. I hope Anthony is better than that.
157- I think we're OK with Franek, He should be mid to high AA, and could be a finalist. He keeps good position and generally wrestles smart. We need him healthy too, because, unless PK could go down (which I highly doubt, unlike many on here) we have no back-up, as well as a big question mark for next year.
165 - I think we're good here. I think Caliendo is a mid-AA type and Kennedy could be as well. With this weight class, top 4 is highly unlikely for either, but 4-12 is wide open. Next year the weight will clear out some, so the future is bright. Of course, we don't want to see any, but an injury wouldn't be as devastating here as most weights because we have two strong contenders here.
174 - I wish we had Nelson back, but looking behind won't get us anywhere. I think PK is small for the weight, but he would probably win a match or two at NCAAs. Riggins hasn't showed me anything yet to make me think he could do much at NCAAs, but I haven't seen enough of him to pass judgment. Gabe's sample size is pretty small too. I think he could be an AA. I think he could eventually be a NC, but it's too soon to say. I think he's our best chance at placing high, but I really hate to see him go if he could get better with a RS. Lots of possible choices here, but not sure I like what they are.
184 - I like Swafford's attitude and guts, but until he shows me more than he has in the past, I just don't see us scoring anything here. I don't even know if we have any depth here, and he's had some injury problems in the past as well.
197 - Glazier is gritty, but not really AA potential. Maybe he'll surprize me, but... I haven't heard anything about Franklin, so that is a huge question mark. If AJ comes, and can make the cut, we have a potential finalist, and that's the only way we get a team medal.
285 - Hill seems to work hard, but he's small and not as talented as what we need. From what I've seen so far, he'll be lucky to be .500 in the B1G. Kueter has tons of talent, but is also undersized and two months of wrestling practice doesn't bode well. Mark Sindlinger was as good as anyone in his day, but starting practice in January didn't work out the best for him. B1G conference heavies don't tend to be pushovers, so it's going to be an uphill battle. If there was a 230 division, I'd be more optimistic. If AJ comes, and can't make 197, he might be the best option, although he'll be undersized as well.
I know much of this sounds pessimistic, but until some of these guys show me more than they have, this is what I see.
I live for wrestling season, so I hope we get the most we can out of what we have. We have to start beating F*n St. out of some recruits and portal guys.
GO HAWKS!
Yesterday's meet had some encouraging results and some disappointing ones. From what I saw yesterday, I'm not optimistic about next Sunday. I'm sure as the season progresses some of the disappointing things will be addressed, and hopefully fixed. Possible changes second semester (if they pan out) could help some, but I'm still a little cautious about their long-term effect.
This; is what I see as of right now about the outlook;
125 - Ayala has a lot of potential but is currently rusty and he needs mat time. He has to clean up tactical miscues like yesterday's, and he needs to stay healthy, which has been problematic in the past. He also needs to keep the pace high to be successful. He can't let guys hang around and steal matches. I could see him as a high AA or 2-2 at NCAAs, depending on his progression. He needs to stay healthy though, because we're screwed at this weight if he goes down.
133 - Teske is a lot of the same. Needs to stay healthy and he needs to be ready every time he steps on the mat. He has a history of getting taken down first a lot, and he can't do that against the top guys and expect to come back. I wish I could say I thought he could be a high AA, but I think fringe AA is his ceiling based on past years. I hope he proves me wrong.
141 - We should have a champ here, if he keeps his head on straight and his body healthy.
149 - I'm sorry, but watching VV3 is like watching paint dry, and he needs to learn how to beat a whizzer. I had hopes Rathjen would be good, but maybe he never will until he lives the "lifestyle", or maybe never. I'm hoping at this point Ferrari shakes the rust off and is able to take it up a notch. We need a mid-AA at least to be in the hunt for a trophy. I think VV is a fringe AA to rd of 16. I hope Anthony is better than that.
157- I think we're OK with Franek, He should be mid to high AA, and could be a finalist. He keeps good position and generally wrestles smart. We need him healthy too, because, unless PK could go down (which I highly doubt, unlike many on here) we have no back-up, as well as a big question mark for next year.
165 - I think we're good here. I think Caliendo is a mid-AA type and Kennedy could be as well. With this weight class, top 4 is highly unlikely for either, but 4-12 is wide open. Next year the weight will clear out some, so the future is bright. Of course, we don't want to see any, but an injury wouldn't be as devastating here as most weights because we have two strong contenders here.
174 - I wish we had Nelson back, but looking behind won't get us anywhere. I think PK is small for the weight, but he would probably win a match or two at NCAAs. Riggins hasn't showed me anything yet to make me think he could do much at NCAAs, but I haven't seen enough of him to pass judgment. Gabe's sample size is pretty small too. I think he could be an AA. I think he could eventually be a NC, but it's too soon to say. I think he's our best chance at placing high, but I really hate to see him go if he could get better with a RS. Lots of possible choices here, but not sure I like what they are.
184 - I like Swafford's attitude and guts, but until he shows me more than he has in the past, I just don't see us scoring anything here. I don't even know if we have any depth here, and he's had some injury problems in the past as well.
197 - Glazier is gritty, but not really AA potential. Maybe he'll surprize me, but... I haven't heard anything about Franklin, so that is a huge question mark. If AJ comes, and can make the cut, we have a potential finalist, and that's the only way we get a team medal.
285 - Hill seems to work hard, but he's small and not as talented as what we need. From what I've seen so far, he'll be lucky to be .500 in the B1G. Kueter has tons of talent, but is also undersized and two months of wrestling practice doesn't bode well. Mark Sindlinger was as good as anyone in his day, but starting practice in January didn't work out the best for him. B1G conference heavies don't tend to be pushovers, so it's going to be an uphill battle. If there was a 230 division, I'd be more optimistic. If AJ comes, and can't make 197, he might be the best option, although he'll be undersized as well.
I know much of this sounds pessimistic, but until some of these guys show me more than they have, this is what I see.
I live for wrestling season, so I hope we get the most we can out of what we have. We have to start beating F*n St. out of some recruits and portal guys.
GO HAWKS!
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