Originally Posted by
Big Bird
The Dak was interesting as it had almost exclusively D1 guys, but was missing pretty much all of the NDSU and SDSU starters. Good test for the freshmen and depth guys, with a mixed bag of results.
125- I would've loved to see any or all of the 125s in action. They all need experience and 125 was a deep weight, but without an overwhelming guy. Could've been a bunch of good matches for the youngsters.
141- My eyes tell me Watts is better than Schumm, but Schumm is 9-5 (ranked 41st by WrestleStat) and Watts is 2-6 (ranked #266 by WrestleStat), so my eyes are most likely wrong. Schumm being ranked 41st at the weight by WrestleStat is shocking, when compared with Droegemueller at #35. I think Watts needs to get a lot stronger and looks small for 141, while Schumm looks pretty big at 141. Schumm notched some really nice ins by beating Sjomeling of Nebraska, Fox of UNI, and Basille of UNI.
149- Radenz had his moments and very nearly pinned national qualifier Lara at the buzzer in a wild 15-13 loss. Obviously D1 is a big step up ND HS wrestling, so I'm cautiously optimistic he can contribute down the line. He's certainly physically ready, just needs more high level experience. Radenz is currently #100 by WrestleStat, while 5th year senior Van Maanen is #89.
157- Mike Weber does a lot of things well and has good hips, but doesn't have much offense. Good win over Kenny O'Neil and he wrestled Peyton Robb tough.
165- Caliendo was the star of the tournament for NDSU. WrestleStat now has the freshman ranked #17 (and NDSU starter Luke Weber at #18). The match vs Cook was damn near perfect and the blueprint for how you beat him. I loved his doubles where he got in deep, and locked his hands, effectively negating Cook's ability to get power from his lower half to try to funk Caliendo to his back. His day was more than the one match though, as he beat a ranked Austin Yant of UNI, a quality 6th year sr with a 70-40 career record in Kraisser of Iowa State, and another quality Iowa State guy in Stotts. The one thing I hope we see growth in from Caliendo is on top. He can ride, but hasn't been able to turn much, and I'm not sure what his go to move on top is.
174- Kudos to Habisch on beating Brenner this time around. Brenner had a bad day losing 3 times to guys he can beat, while Habisch lost to Bailee O'Reilly twice (who Brenner beat last week). Not sure who the guy is going forward, but I'd like to see Brenner at 174 and Habisch at 184. Brenner is ranked #54 while Habisch is #70.
184- I don't think they can keep going with Nelson. He's 2-6 and 0-6 against D1 guys, and it's getting uglier by the match. He went 0-2, lost badly to a guy Parker crushed, and has now lost to 3 different SDSU backups. Parker was a bit of a mixed bag, but I'm still convinced he's a star. I love his quickness from neutral and his ability to trap an arm off a takedown and go directly into a quality, tight tilt. Big guys don't normally do that. He needs to get a little stronger and in a little better shape, but he's basically coming off not having a season last year, so I'm still expecting further growth. Parker is currently only #88, but that will go up with more data.
197- Mooberry isn't strong enough. He looks like he knows what to do and just isn't physically strong enough to execute at times.
HWT- Hopefully a humbling experience from Mora that causes some adjustments to his tactics/mindset. Went 0-2 and Schuyler pummeled him and lost a match to Schuyler's backup that he should've won. Need to be more confident in his offense and be more aggressive. He likes his hi-c off of an underhook, but has become more tentative with each tournament. He's ranked #73 right now, and IMO, stuck between a very good D2 starter and an average D1 starter. Nothing wrong with that, but to get to the next level, he needs to make meaningful changes to his tactics and mindset, because he has the physical tools to be significantly better.
Overall, another good test for the young guys. I'm still convinced Caliendo and Parker are going to be outstanding, but maybe I need to give Schumm more credit. California didn't have a HS season last year and he's still winning matches I didn't expect. Mora is going to be fine, it's just hard to get a read on his ceiling right now. Would've liked to see Negrete in action, and I think he will be the one that determines how great this class turns out to be.