Good thing we're not at 7220 tonight.
Good thing we're not at 7220 tonight.
The score could be a lot closer.
Yikes. Bring on Iowa State.
What a pathetic performance tonight. Outside of Franek, nobody should feel good about their performance.
I think the night can be summed up in two quotes I heard from each head coach:
In the 149 match, there were 10-15 seconds left after a restart, coach Kish said "I just want you to stand up" with exasperation dripping on every word. To be fair Van Maanen hadn't even really been close to standing up and had been getting controlled in a close match.
At 174, after De La Riva picked down, coach Branch said "This is where we dominate, go to work right away". Soon later, De La Riva was pinned and the dual was effectively over.
I don't like that Wyoming is the clearly superior program.
133- Cam got broke. He led after the first period and then it was all Bridges after that. Still, if Cam cleaned up his top game just a little, that match goes differently. He gave up a bad reversal and then an escape straight into a takedown, and those were the differences in the match. Didn't like the effort on bottom in the third either.
141- Degen has no offense. The kid puts maximum effort into his matches, and clearly cares, but he won't score enough. Branch threw the backup out there knowing that he presented a better matchup against Degen. Kish could've thrown Droegemuller out there, but didn't.
149- Effort and concentration lapses. He didn't do anything for a huge chunk of this match. He almost gave up a cheap takedown at the end of the first and Kish said something to the effect of stop being lazy. He really needs to work on moving his feet. He'll never be Jason Nolf or Zain Retherford, but go throw on some of their tape and try to imitate their foot movement.
157- Really good match against a dangerous opponent. Franek is everything that the lineup usually lacks. He has multiple shots he can score off of, he has a frenetic pace, a good gas tank, and is active on bottom. Dewey Krueger pinned Cordell Eaton in a dual at 197 a couple years ago.
165- What happened to Weber's gas tank? He could have easily finished a couple more takedowns that he was deep on but he just stopped due to exhaustion. Also, terrible decision to have Weber cut Moody when he was clearly gassed. I get the rationale, but with the energy level he was showing, it didn't make sense.
174- Got dominated. The second time Hastings hit his rollthrough bar/half, he telegraphed it and De La Riva still had no clue it was coming.
184- He was completely overmatched. I like his effort level but he has a very long ways to go. Third period was brutal to watch too. Just lunging wildly and out of gas.
197- Terrible late match strategy and execution. Another match where his complete lack of any top game killed him. He rode Buchanon for a whopping 3 seconds in the third period and then gave up the winning takedown with five seconds left. Any ride at all, and maybe that match ends differently. A good ride can just exhaust your opponent. He's a fifth year senior, so if it hasn't developed yet, it probably won't.
HWT- Andrews is just a lot better.
125- I don't have a problem holding Midkiff out of this one. Pretty much nothing went well and if he still isn't 100%, might as well not risk it.
Any momentum from a solid Southern Scuffle performance is gone. That was a truly terrible performance.
Last 5 years
Season Score Winner
2020 34-6 Wyoming
2019 29-6 Wyoming
2018 32-6 Wyoming
2017 24-16 NDSU
2016 27-13 Wyoming
All Americans
2019 NDSU 0
2018 NDSU 0
2017 NDSU 0
2016 NDSU 0
Meanwhile, the Jacks stole one from the West gym. Yuck.
On the bright side, Mike Nelson won the Ridgewater open today...Only half joking.
I'm really looking forward to him at 197 next year. 125/133 (whichever Mac isn't at), 141 (I think Doregemuller is the better answer, but he's unproven), 149 (JVM hasn't put it together yet), 174 (Noel? Brenner?), and 184 (Current guys haven't shown much) are all huge question marks next year.