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Title Contending Teams Lineup Comparison

LaxHawk174

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Jan 15, 2014
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From what I understand the contending teams lineups will be Iowa/PSU/OKST/tOSU (Mich/Mizz/VT/Cornell fighting for 5th spot IMO)

Returning All-Americans in Bold
Returning R12 finishers in Italics.

Iowa

125 Thomas Gilman 4th
133 Cory Clark 5th, 2nd
141 Brody Grothus
149 Brandon Sorensen 4th
157 Edwin Cooper/Patrick Rhoads
165 Burke Paddock
174 Alex Meyer
184 Sammy Brooks R12
197 Nathan Burak 8th, 7th
285 Sam Stoll


PSU

125 Nico Megaludis 2nd, 2nd, 3rd
133 Jordan Conaway 8th
141 Jimmy Gulibon 5th
149 Zain Retherford 5th
157 Jason Nolf
165 Shakur Rasheed/Garrett Hammond
174 Bo Nickal
184 Matt McCutcheon R12
197 Morgan McIntosh 7th, 3rd
285 Nick Nevills


OKST

125 Eddie Klimara 7th
133 Wayne-Harding
141 Dean Heil 4th
149 Anthony Collica R12
157 Chance Marsteller
165 Alex Dieringer 3rd, 1st, 1st
174 Kyle Crutchmer 5th
184 Nolan Boyd
197 Austin Schafer
285 Austin Marsden 8th


tOSU

125 Nathan Tomasello 1st
133 Johnni DiJulius
141 KeyShawn Hayes
149 Hunter Stieber 6th, 3rd
157 Micah Jordan
165 Bo Jordan 3rd
174 Myles Martin
184 Kenny Courts 5th
197 Mark Martin/Kollin Moore
285 Thomas Haines/Nick Tavanello R12

Michigan returns 5 AA's 1 Finalist (Connor Youtsey, Rossi Bruno, Brian Murphy, Max Huntley, and Adam Coon)
Virginia Tech returns 4 AA's (Joey Dance, Nick Brascetta, Zach Epperly, and Ty Walz)
Mizzou returns 3 AA's 1 Former champ (Lavion Mayes, Willie Miklus, and J'den Cox)
Cornell returns 3 AA's, 2 Finalists 1 champ (Nahshon Garrett, Brian Realbuto, and Gabe Dean)

They have strong teams, i just don't feel enough overall strength to contend with the top 4.

The order I listed the top 4 is also my prediction on how they will finish at NCAA's. :D:p
 
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Isn't Gabe Dean taking Oly Redshirt?

I thought it was only rumor but had not yet been confirmed, if so, that just makes Sammy Brooks' chances of standing on top of the podium that much better for this season. (As I believe he is the best 184 of any of the title contending teams, and had wins over the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 8th finishers last season. Losses to 1st and 4th)
 
It might be rumored. I wasn't sure. Oly Redshirt for Greco right?
 
I'm not sure if he's planning on training for GR or FS, I have heard rumors that he is considering switching to Greco, but his OLY Redshirt criteria is met by his Bronze Medal at JR worlds FS at 84 kg.
 
Win, lose or draw as wrestling fans you just have to be excited about these stacked teams mentioned classing during the upcoming season. Personally I think the BIG schedule makers do the sport a disservice by not giving some cosideration to helping matches like Iowa/PSU happen. Even with the National Duals set up it doesn't appear that PSU will happen.
 
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From what I understand the contending teams lineups will be Iowa/PSU/OKST/tOSU (Mich/Mizz/VT/Cornell fighting for 5th spot IMO)

Returning All-Americans in Bold
Returning R12 finishers in Italics.

Iowa

125 Thomas Gilman 4th
133 Cory Clark 5th, 2nd
141 Brody Grothus
149 Brandon Sorensen 4th
157 Edwin Cooper/Patrick Rhoads
165 Burke Paddock
174 Alex Meyer
184 Sammy Brooks R12
197 Nathan Burak 8th, 7th
285 Sam Stoll


PSU

125 Nico Megaludis 2nd, 2nd, 3rd
133 Jordan Conaway 8th
141 Jimmy Gulibon 5th
149 Zain Retherford 5th
157 Jason Nolf
165 Shakur Rasheed/Garrett Hammond
174 Bo Nickal
184 Matt McCutcheon R12
197 Morgan McIntosh 7th, 3rd
285 Nick Nevills


OKST

125 Eddie Klimara 7th
133 Wayne-Harding
141 Dean Heil 4th
149 Anthony Collica R12
157 Chance Marsteller
165 Alex Dieringer 3rd, 1st, 1st
174 Kyle Crutchmer 5th
184 Nolan Boyd
197 Austin Schafer
285 Austin Marsden 8th


tOSU

125 Nathan Tomasello 1st
133 Johnni DiJulius
141 KeyShawn Hayes
149 Hunter Stieber 6th, 3rd
157 Micah Jordan
165 Bo Jordan 3rd
174 Myles Martin
184 Kenny Courts 5th
197 Mark Martin/Kollin Moore
285 Thomas Haines/Nick Tavanello R12

Michigan returns 5 AA's 1 Finalist (Connor Youtsey, Rossi Bruno, Brian Murphy, Max Huntley, and Adam Coon)
Virginia Tech returns 4 AA's (Joey Dance, Nick Brascetta, Zach Epperly, and Ty Walz)
Mizzou returns 3 AA's 1 Former champ (Lavion Mayes, Willie Miklus, and J'den Cox)
Cornell returns 3 AA's, 2 Finalists 1 champ (Nahshon Garrett, Brian Realbuto, and Gabe Dean)

They have strong teams, i just don't feel enough overall strength to contend with the top 4.

The order I listed the top 4 is also my prediction on how they will finish at NCAA's. :D:p
 
For you recruiting gurus, from the line-ups listed, which guys per team were considered blue chip, overall "TOP 20 type" recruits?
 
I used Earls d1 college wrestling, as its free and usually pretty good info there.

Iowas top 20 guys:
Gilman, Brooks, Stoll, (Clark was 23)

PSU's:
Megaludis, Gulibon, Retherford, Nolf, Nickal, McIntosh, Nevills

OSU:
Heil, Marsteller, Dieringer, Crutchmer, (Collica was 21)

tOSU:
Tomasello, Hayes, Stieber, Jordan, Jordan, Martin, Courts, Haines

edit: removed Snyder because he is not in the lineup this year, but added Myles Martin who i forgot :p
 
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Michigan is in title contention.

125) Youtsey
133) Bruno
141) Fisher/Hall
149) Pantaleo
157) Murphy
165) Massa/Sutton
174) Mahomes/Massa
184) Abounader
197) Huntley
hvy) Coon
 
PSU looking to be better. Enough to make up 6 points?


Weight higher potential v last year:
125 Nico Megaludis 2nd, 2nd, 3rd (vs Conaway)
141 Jimmy Gulibon 5th (vs Moss)
149 Zain Retherford 5th (vs Beitz)
157 Jason Nolf (vs D.Alton)
165 Shakur Rasheed (vs Hammond, big maybe, working on rumors only)
285 Nick Nevills (vs Lawson/Gingrich, another maybe, better potential but hurt all last year)

Lower Potential
133 Jordan Conaway 8th (vs Gulibon)
174 Bo Nickal (but still good shot at AA) (vs Matt Brown)

Same
184 Matt McCutcheon R12
197 Morgan McIntosh 7th, 3rd
 
There are 5 or 6 teams with the potential to score 85 points. This is what's so frustrating--the titles are there for the taking, we just haven't had enough big guns to lift us above the fray like we used to. We'll need some magic from the new guys like we got from Sorensen last year.
 
Here's a look at how our recruiting strategy has differed from Penn State's over the past 5 years. Ranking is P4P HS senior class, per D1W.

Iowa:
#16 Gilman
#23 Clark
#108 Grothus
#27 Sorensen
#30 Cooper
#63 Paddock
#41 Meyer
#20 Brooks
NR Burak
#14 Stoll

PSU:
#3 Megaludis
#109 Conaway
#3 Gulibon
#3 Retheford
#4 Nolf
#43 Rasheed or #41 Hammond
#7 Nickal
#32 McCutcheon
#1 McIntosh
#5 Nevills

We may beat PSU with this line-up, so it's more a comment on the strategy itself than the effectiveness (although my pov is clear). Note also that we have #8 Kemerer, #4 Marinelli, #16 Mejia, and #19 Renteria coming in, so whether that signals a strategic shift or just opportunity, I don't know, but I like it.
 
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Here's a look at how our recruiting strategy has differed from Penn State's over the past 5 years. Ranking is P4P HS senior class, per D1W.

Iowa:
#16 Gilman
#23 Clark
#108 Grothus
#27 Sorensen
#30 Cooper
#63 Paddock
#41 Meyer
#20 Brooks
NR Burak
#14 Stoll

PSU:
#3 Megaludis
#109 Conaway
#3 Gulibon
#3 Retheford
#4 Nolf
#43 Rasheed or #41 Hammond
#7 Nickal
#32 McCutcheon
#1 McIntosh
#5 Nevills

We may beat PSU with this line-up, so it's more a comment on the strategy itself than the effectiveness (although my pov is clear). Note also that we have #8 Kemerer, #4 Marinelli, #16 Mejia, and #19 Renteria coming in, so whether that signals a strategic shift or just opportunity, I don't know, but I like it.
Certainly puts some things into perspective. Go Hawks
 
Here's a look at how our recruiting strategy has differed from Penn State's over the past 5 years. Ranking is P4P HS senior class, per D1W.

Iowa:
#16 Gilman
#23 Clark
#108 Grothus
#27 Sorensen
#30 Cooper
#63 Paddock
#41 Meyer
#20 Brooks
NR Burak
#14 Stoll

PSU:
#3 Megaludis
#109 Conaway
#3 Gulibon
#3 Retheford
#4 Nolf
#43 Rasheed or #41 Hammond
#7 Nickal
#32 McCutcheon
#1 McIntosh
#5 Nevills

We may beat PSU with this line-up, so it's more a comment on the strategy itself than the effectiveness (although my pov is clear). Note also that we have #8 Kemerer, #4 Marinelli, #16 Mejia, and #19 Renteria coming in, so whether that signals a strategic shift or just opportunity, I don't know, but I like it.


So what exactly is the strategy other than not getting top 5 overall recruits?
 
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So what exactly is the strategy other than not getting top 5 overall recruits?
If the strategy is to spread the money around, and thus the risk, it works. Considering the program's history, commitment, resources and coaching ability of the current regime, a Top 5 Finish is very likely using this approach. But, it's obvious it also limits the upside. So, when we are risk averse and spend money on 3 guys 30-60 vs 1 Top 10 guy we have a better chance at getting at least one quality starter and potential AA, but unless the stars align a NC contender would necessarily imply a great improvement by this type of wrestler.

When our goal is to get the top spot YOU HAVE TO TAKE RISKS in this current recruiting environment. This is not 1970, 1980 or even 1990. There is a huge amount of comparative results and film on the recruits before they step on a college mat. IMO risk must be embraced in this environment if the team is to reach the highest levels.

[This assumes we are currently spreading our scholly dollars around and choosing not to extend full boat scholly's to the Top 10 recruits. If we are extending these offers and the recruits are choosing to go elsewhere, then we have a different sort of problem.]
 
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As all recruiting money talk is speculation, so is this, but I'm not sure that other top teams - PSU, OK State, tOSU, Minny - aren't choosing NOT to extend full schollies to top 10 recruits also. PSU - there has been a lot of talk about top guys that aren't getting full schollies, I know Nevills is on record as being 60%, he's out of state and elite 285 recruits are highly coveted. OK State has a host of elite recruits in the last few classes so I think it probably is the same there. Geography, wrestling style come into play with where these kids are going also - you look at Iowa's top kids this upcoming year and they are from Iowa's recruiting strength in terms of geography.

I think it may just be a combination of things - Iowa HS wrestling has been down, Cael & Ryan have emerged as big threats on the recruiting front. Brands & Co. probably needed to react to some of these changes and that may be what you're seeing with the 2015 and beyond recruiting classes. It's just a more difficult landscape to recruit in from an Iowa perspective now and cherry picking elite recruits from other areas is going to have to be a priority. I'm not sure it comes down to money with these types of recruits as a be all, end all in a lot of situations.
 
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And here I thought it was the NLWC.
cigar+money.jpg
 
It maybe as simple as the recruit that was offered the full boat scholly just felt more comfortable at another school and had nothing to do with anything else.
 
This is how I predict the top guys will perform/score points at NCAA's.

125: 1. Megaludis, Penn State; 2. Tomasello, tOSU; 3. Gilmanm, Iowa; 4. Klimara, OSU (Gilman/Tomasello placing could go either way, but Tomasello scores more bonus IMO. Neither one beats out Mega for gold. Klimar is a distant 4th here atm)
133: 1. Clark, Iowa; 2. DiJulius tOSU; 3. Conoway/Harding tie Penn State/OSU (Clark in the drivers seat in the top teams at 33, but I can't see him beating Brewer if he is anything like he was last season at NCAAs. Big drop off in the other top schools after Clark, but DiJulius can sometimes surprise. Conoway up a weight and Harding being slightly above average are about the same)
141: 1. Heil OSU; 2. Gulibon, Penn State; 3. Hayes, tOSU; 4. Grothus, Iowa (I'm sure I'll be attacked here by some. Heil should have the #1 ranking at easily the weakest weight this season. Gulibon in 2 with the true freshman at 3 for Ohio State. I know a lot of you are high on Grothus but I just don't see it. If he became a fringe AA I would be impressed but I think he'll go the same way as Jeva)
149: 1. Retherford, Penn State; 2. Collica, OSU; 3. Sorenson, Iowa; 4. Stieber, tOSU (Retherford is the man, and I don't see anyone beating him at 149 this season. Collica looked great post season and beat Sorenson in solid fashion. Sorenson needs to pick his offense up if he wants to improve, this field of 149 will be better and more aggressive than the past couple years' showing IMO. Stieber could be the #1 guy or go 0-2. No telling how his surgery/recovery is going or if he even has a fire anymore at this point in his career)
157: 1. Nolf, Penn State; 2. Marstellar/Jordan, OSU/tOSU; 3. Cooper, Iowa (going to go with Nolf as the top of this bunch. Marstellar could be great if he has a tank and can handle the cut, and Jordan is nails but we haven't seen much of him in his RS year (similar to brother, BO - albeit not as good IMO) and Cooper trailing at this weight. Could be a dark horse come March, though?)
165: 1. Dierringer, OSU; 2. Jordan, tOSU; 3. Paddock, Iowa/Rasheed, Penn State (an obvious number 1/2 combo here, unless Bo moves up to 174 this season. Iowa and Penn State with solid guys who haven't shown anything yet, not sure who to put ahead of who atm)
174: Lots of parity. If I had to pick based on opinion, I'd go 1. Nickal, Penn State; 2. Crutchmer, OSU; 3. Meyer/Martin (lots of parity at 174/184 - could go a number of ways so just going with judgement based on what I've seen in the past here)
184: Again, lots of parity. I'm not going to even rank this weight as I don't think anybody here stands out over anyone else. A lot of people here like Brooks who has some good wins, but I never saw any offense from him to make me think he would distance himself from this pack. Flip a coin at who finishes where. Courts did well last season at NCAA's, but I honestly think that was somewhat of a fluke.
197: 1. McIntosh, Penn State; 2. Burak, Iowa; 3. Martin, tOSU; 4. Schaeffer, OSU (not much to say here, McIntosh the clear number one with Burak a solid 2)
285: 1. Marsden, OSU; 2. Nevills, Penn State; 3. Stolll, Iowa; 4. Haines/Tavanello, tOSU (good pick of heavies out of these teams. Marsden fell a bit short at NCAA's last year but he always impresses me. Stoll and Nevills should be a good dual and I have the tOSU heavies just a little behind)

Based on these picks I see the final team standings as: 1. Penn State 2. Iowa 3. Okahoma State 4. Ohio State. Ohio State may have an edge if Snyder returned, which we know he's not. Penn State's reload is the real deal, but will need Nickal and Nevills to perform well. Iowa needs their freshman to do what Ohio State's did last season if they want to win. Oklahoma State has some power, but too many fringe AA's to be a favorite. tOSU will need some magic to win, but it's definitely doable. Sorry for the wall of text...
 
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A couple thoughts/areas we disagree on:

I don't think Megaludis is above Tomasello or Gilman at this point, I think they are on a pretty level playing field.

Clark is a lot closer to brewer than many think, he has good shots and he can execute as shown in the finals if he sets them up. Brewer scored 2/5 TD's in the finals off of Clarks errant shots with no setups. Also when Clark was on top he rode the snot out of him like he does with most people in the weight class.

A lot of people are sleeping on Grothus, I'm not one of those people, I think he'll do big things at 141.

I don't think Collica's win was really 'solid', Sorensen had him dead to right at the end of the match, and he escaped by the hair on his chin, he won, but in Folkstyle that position is a takedown. I do think Collica will be a top 6 guy, but i would put Tsirtsis, Retherford, and Sorensen ahead of him until they wrestle in folk.

I would put Meyer at #1 here, Nickal hasn't proven anything as of yet in this weight other than a close loss to his practice partner Matt Brown. Meyer beat Crutchmer last year as well as other top 10 guys in the weight. He had one bad loss to Frank cousins last year and his other loss to Willie Miklus in a barn burner when he bumped up in the Mizzou dual (and to Evans as well).

Brooks definitely has a lot of offense, and very diverse for an upper weight. Especially in the first half of the season he had a lot of trips and throws he was hitting, as well as a variety of leg attacks. He stuck to more basic offense it seemed in the latter half of the season it seemed to me, but still had good offense, tightened up at times though, and he injured something either his hamstring or knee i believe at the National duals and was wrestling hurt the rest of the season. He will also do big things this year and i'd put him at the top guy here. I'd even say he has a chance to win the whole dang thing if Gabe Dean is taking his OLY RS, but even so Sammy has been right there with Dean in both of their matches.
 
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Collica looked great post season and beat Sorenson in solid fashion.
You do realize that had it been a folkstyle match Sorenson would have won? Brandon was on his back with both of Collica's hands on the mat but wasn't able to belly him out as time expired. It was also wrestled at 154 under freestyle weigh in rules and not at 149. I don't think there is much justification to rank Collica ahead of Sorenson when his freestyle win essentially means squat.
 
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Definitely fair points. At 125 I have Mega ahead based on his last match I saw with Gilman, which while a low scoring affair was definitely controlled by Mega. That said, there's no telling if Gilman and Tomasello's growth stayed the same as Mega's. I could see any of the three coming out #1 in March, though.I think for Iowa to win it all they will need at least 2 of their new guys making it to a decent spot on the podium this season. If Gabe Dean is out then that would be good for Brooks' chances.
 
At first I thought these were the worst predictions I had ever read, but then I realized it is a parody. Well done, sir.
Let me guess, you'd have Grothus, Meyer, Brooks, Burak and Stoll all on top? How well did your total homer picks work out for you last season with Jeva and Moore?
 
Let me guess, you'd have Grothus, Meyer, Brooks, Burak and Stoll all on top? How well did your total homer picks work out for you last season with Jeva and Moore?
I think you guys both shot cannonballs right past each other's ears.

Jammenz may have missed that you were just ranking the guys for the top teams - not overall.

I think you missed that Jammenz is such a Minnesota homer that his skin is a shade of gold.
 
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Don't you mean "burgundy and yellow"?

Jammenz...off topic but TShirt making related. When Gable Stevenson goes to Minnesota, you have some excellent opportunities for some cool TShirts (I say this not being a smartass).
 
This is how I predict the top guys will perform/score points at NCAA's.

125: 1. Megaludis, Penn State; 2. Tomasello, tOSU; 3. Gilmanm, Iowa; 4. Klimara, OSU (Gilman/Tomasello placing could go either way, but Tomasello scores more bonus IMO. Neither one beats out Mega for gold. Klimar is a distant 4th here atm)
133: 1. Clark, Iowa; 2. DiJulius tOSU; 3. Conoway/Harding tie Penn State/OSU (Clark in the drivers seat in the top teams at 33, but I can't see him beating Brewer if he is anything like he was last season at NCAAs. Big drop off in the other top schools after Clark, but DiJulius can sometimes surprise. Conoway up a weight and Harding being slightly above average are about the same)
141: 1. Heil OSU; 2. Gulibon, Penn State; 3. Hayes, tOSU; 4. Grothus, Iowa (I'm sure I'll be attacked here by some. Heil should have the #1 ranking at easily the weakest weight this season. Gulibon in 2 with the true freshman at 3 for Ohio State. I know a lot of you are high on Grothus but I just don't see it. If he became a fringe AA I would be impressed but I think he'll go the same way as Jeva)
149: 1. Retherford, Penn State; 2. Collica, OSU; 3. Sorenson, Iowa; 4. Stieber, tOSU (Retherford is the man, and I don't see anyone beating him at 149 this season. Collica looked great post season and beat Sorenson in solid fashion. Sorenson needs to pick his offense up if he wants to improve, this field of 149 will be better and more aggressive than the past couple years' showing IMO. Stieber could be the #1 guy or go 0-2. No telling how his surgery/recovery is going or if he even has a fire anymore at this point in his career)
157: 1. Nolf, Penn State; 2. Marstellar/Jordan, OSU/tOSU; 3. Cooper, Iowa (going to go with Nolf as the top of this bunch. Marstellar could be great if he has a tank and can handle the cut, and Jordan is nails but we haven't seen much of him in his RS year (similar to brother, BO - albeit not as good IMO) and Cooper trailing at this weight. Could be a dark horse come March, though?)
165: 1. Dierringer, OSU; 2. Jordan, tOSU; 3. Paddock, Iowa/Rasheed, Penn State (an obvious number 1/2 combo here, unless Bo moves up to 174 this season. Iowa and Penn State with solid guys who haven't shown anything yet, not sure who to put ahead of who atm)
174: Lots of parity. If I had to pick based on opinion, I'd go 1. Nickal, Penn State; 2. Crutchmer, OSU; 3. Meyer/Martin (lots of parity at 174/184 - could go a number of ways so just going with judgement based on what I've seen in the past here)
184: Again, lots of parity. I'm not going to even rank this weight as I don't think anybody here stands out over anyone else. A lot of people here like Brooks who has some good wins, but I never saw any offense from him to make me think he would distance himself from this pack. Flip a coin at who finishes where. Courts did well last season at NCAA's, but I honestly think that was somewhat of a fluke.
197: 1. McIntosh, Penn State; 2. Burak, Iowa; 3. Martin, tOSU; 4. Schaeffer, OSU (not much to say here, McIntosh the clear number one with Burak a solid 2)
285: 1. Marsden, OSU; 2. Nevills, Penn State; 3. Stolll, Iowa; 4. Haines/Tavanello, tOSU (good pick of heavies out of these teams. Marsden fell a bit short at NCAA's last year but he always impresses me. Stoll and Nevills should be a good dual and I have the tOSU heavies just a little behind)

Based on these picks I see the final team standings as: 1. Penn State 2. Iowa 3. Okahoma State 4. Ohio State. Ohio State may have an edge if Snyder returned, which we know he's not. Penn State's reload is the real deal, but will need Nickal and Nevills to perform well. Iowa needs their freshman to do what Ohio State's did last season if they want to win. Oklahoma State has some power, but too many fringe AA's to be a favorite. tOSU will need some magic to win, but it's definitely doable. Sorry for the wall of text...

What happen to IMAR at 157 is he hurt did I miss some news ?
 
What happen to IMAR at 157 is he hurt did I miss some news ?
He's only picking the guys from what he considers the Top 4 Team contenders I believe, not The Field. (I didn't read it all, just glanced, but that's what it appears to be)
 
He's only picking the guys from what he considers the Top 4 Team contenders I believe, not The Field. (I didn't read it all, just glanced, but that's what it appears to be)

My bad pay attention lol thanks for waking me up sloe :)
 
That's a great article about Cornell. I'm impressed with the team's perspective of being a family, making sacrifices for one another, and performing unselfish acts. I would like to see this same attitude permeate the Hawks.
 
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