Originally Posted by
Big Bird
Pretty decent day for the wrestling team. Destroyed Cal Baptist 43-3 in the opening dual and the freshmen wrestled at Concordia and did alright.
For the dual:
True Freshman Colby Evans got the start at 125 and came away with an overtime fall. He scrambled well and won the takedown battle. Great job stepping up in this one, although I don't see him as the answer at 125.
March was just ok IMO. He looked a bit sloppy, but I'm not overly worried.
Droegemueller looked good. Nice tilts and was able to generally keep his hips tight and get consistent nearfall, which he he hasn't done often in the past.
Great job by Van Maanen to battle back, but man that was concerning. He was getting ridden and turned, which has always been an issue.
Franek was very solid. A lot more turns than we're used to seeing out of him.
Weber was good.
Brenner was solid. Like his pace a lot, just needs to make sure he is setting his shots up effectively.
Nelson had the lone loss and didn't look great early. Still not a great scrambler and needs to come up with a better plan of attack on top. He was getting the legs in, but unable to get close to a turn. If you're chasing several points, have to switch it up.
Pentz was great.
Metz was solid. Should've had 1 or 2 more points off of the other guy backing out of the underhooks.
Overall, they did what they should to Cal Baptist. Nice of them to honor Pentz' 14 year old brother who passed away this last year too.
I only stayed through half of the semifinal matches at the Cobber Open, but it was nice to see some of the freshmen.
125- Negrete was as expected. He looks like a 125 lifer and he has great quickness. He lost against the SCSU starter, but you do see those things happen pretty regularly early in the season. First college action, coming off a year when California didn't have a HS season, facing a kid who is in his third year in college and started for the best D2 team in the country. Negrete got to the legs pretty well, but was shooting from too far away and without good setups. The SCSU kid shot way less, but when he shot, they were well set up and he converted. Overall, Negrete showed his physical tools, and they are impressive, but he needs some refinement. A redshirt makes sense, but I'd be surprised if he isn't the best guy in the room at 125. Perez wasn't competitive against anybody.
141- Schumm went 3-1 and took third and Watts went 0-2 and didn't place...and I was way more impressed with Watts. He was up big and lost on an awful, BS defensive fall, where he was in control and one shoulder was a good 6 inches off that mat. He also gave Joey Bianchini all he could handle, and Bianchini is a 2 time D2 AA and national runner up. Watts was solid in both his matches.
149- Radenz looked solid when I saw him. Aggressive and physical. He got teched by Sax in the finals, which I din't see. Sax was great on top all day, but needs work from neutral and bottom. He's a good scrambler, but I didn't see anything that would constitute a "go-to" shot. Velazquez really struggled.
165- Caliendo was very good, especially from neutral. Hopefully he develops his top game this year. Gode looks a little like fogarty out there, but has a long ways to go.
174- Morgan was ok, just not super athletic.
184- DJ Parker is going to be really good. He legitimately had a takedown just prior to 2 seconds coming off the clock and is gifted. He's fast, has room to add to his frame, and is really skilled. I didn't see his championship match, but I'm very surprised to see it went to OT. I'm really excited about him.
197- Only got to see one quick match from Mooberry and he looked good. Not surprise to see him lose to Kaylor, as Kaylor is very strong and Mooberry is very thin. Duda looked ok, but he needs to work on finishing moves. He gets into favorable positions and immediately transitions to something else, even though he should be able to finish. Not the worst thing, but something to work on.
HWT- Mora is powerful and has quickness. I think he'll really benefit from a redshirt though. He always looks for an underhook into a hi-c, and it is very effective, but if guys control the ties, he is stymied. He beat 3 very good D2 heavyweights today, which is very promising to see in his first action.
Overall, the core of Negrete, Caliendo, Parker, and Mora looked very promising. Sax, Radenz, Mooberry, and Watts all showed some promise too.