SDSU up to 3 All Americans after Kocer wins in OT...
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SDSU up to 3 All Americans after Kocer wins in OT...
Watching the semis on ESPN, wish the Bison were as aggressive as these top guys.
157 is on now....Ream, our best wrestler, isn't even close to these guys. NC State guy is a freshman and he's going to the finals.
Freshmen keep getting better and better. It is unreal how much better high school kids are now compared to 5 years ago. That isn't a knock on the kids from 5 years ago, as they are better than kids were 10 years ago.
There are 2 true freshman in the finals already, in Yanni Diakomihalis and Spencer Lee. Lee destroyed one of the best 125 pounders of the past decade, in 4 x AA and former national champ Nathan Tomasello.
The skill level is showing up tremendously at the World Level. Last year, we won the Senior and Junior Freestyle World Championships and placed second at the Cadet level. The influence of wrestlers like Cael Sanderson and the emergence of Regional Training Centers have been a big difference in helping us become a more skilled country instead of the physically style we had with the Brands/Iowa-style of wrestling.
Not to be degrading to the Iowa-style, but after the Brands brothers in the early 90s, the Russians and former Soviet Republics got tired of being tired and having their heads beat-in from wrestling us Americans. This caused them to be more dedicated to being in shape (no smoking or drinking between matches) and being more physical themselves.
With an inferior skill set due to too many coaches in this country being stuck on teaching the Iowa-style, we were set back for the better part of the past twenty years. Thankfully, over the past decade, the younger coaches and wrestlers realized the importance of wrestling, especially at the World-level, being more than just beating the heck out of your opponent.
Here's what I wrote after the SDSU dual:
From a former NDSU, it's mind-boggling to see how much the program has changed in regards to culture. Outside a few weight classes, SDSU wrestlers looked a lot more physically fit and brought a sense of hunger, intensity and confidence. Some of our guys started strong, but once they got down, the desire to fight wasn't there.
Again, this needs to change. It's not something that comes just from the coaches, but also the athletes. They need to push each other harder and not just during the season, but the whole year. Hopefully, ever wrestler in the program plans to compete at the Senior, UWW Junior and UWW U23 events this Springs, Summer and early Fall.
Clay Ream wins his 3rd Elite 90 award. Congrats!
Well the Jack's got a division one national champion.
Wyoming has a great chance to get a national champion here now too.
I think Yianni is the better wrestler, but it seems this is Meredith's year
Man, these true freshmen are special