Post by gostanford on May 11, 2015 2:53:54 GMT -5
I believe many heads were turned this weekend by the talent showcased in Vegas. Here are my 10 biggest takeaways:
1. The biggest story is Kyle Snyder going through a deathrow bracket and upsetting 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Jake Varner. Here were his opponents from the quarters through the finals:
QF: Dustin Kilgore
SF: J'Den Cox
Finals: Jake Varner
Those 3 guys hold 4 D1 NCAA Titles between them and Cox is only going to a true Junior this upcoming season. If this doesn't set Snyder as the favorite to win 197 next year, I don't know what will.
2. High school senior Anthony Valencia placed 3rd at the Senior level, only behind David Taylor and Andrew Howe. Not bad, eh?
Valencia blitzed through Tyler Caldwell for the 3rd/4th place match, after taking a 7-4 loss to Howe in the semis.
This certainly is indicative of Valencia's maturity and shows he is college-ready and would instantly be a candidate for the 165 or 174 (a heart breaker for me since he will be in the Pac 12). Perhaps his demolition of Martinez weren't flukes afterall to the doubters who thought so.
3. Mark Hall made easy work of a 74kg Junior field that consisted of many phenominal high school wrestlers who have yet to truly showcase their skill on the college level. That bracket consisted of Logan Massa, Jon Jay Chavez, Jason Nolf, Joseph Smith, and Chance Marsteller. Some others in the field were Mizzou's redshirt freshman Daniel Lewis who had an impressive redshirt season and PSU's Garrett Hammond.
4. He's only going to be a high school junior next season, but Oklahoma's Daton Fix made easy work of a 55kg Junior bracket. He made easy work of Stevan Micic of Northwestern--who had a solid redshirt season and many believe is going to be an instant contender to be on the podium next year at 125.
5. RS Frosh Archie Colgan of Wyoming dismantled Ohio State's Micah Jordan and Michigan's Alec Pantaleo at 70kg. Look for Colgan to make some noise at 157 next year.
6. PSU's Jason Nolf defeated OK State's Chance Marsteller in the QF . Perhaps a "dream match" many would want to take place in the future of D1 college wrestling.
7. Zahid Valencia made easy work of an underwhelming 84kg bracket---but making his series 3-0 against Ohio State's Myles Martin in the process.
8. Stanford's own Nathan Butler looked impressive in his domination of the 120kg junior bracket.
9. 2015 NCAA Champion Nathan Tomasello was downed by 4x All-American Tyler Graff and former 2x NCAA Champ Matt McDonough. Not bad losses, but I was hoping to see Tomasello vs. Ramos in the upperbracket.
10. Stanford's Joey McKenna was downed by 2x All-American Daniel Dennis and 4x All-American (and 1x Champ) Coleman Scott.
Look out for whichever schools Hall and Fix commit to because these guys are the real deal.
And imagine this: some outlets have Fix ranked 4th in his weightclass, and he dismanteled Micic, Lizak (Minnesota), and Bresser (Oregon St.). Fix is currently a Sophomore and ranked behind Spencer Lee, Nick Suriano, and Yanni D. (verbaled to Cornell). I'm sure all power house programs are knocking on their doors.
1. The biggest story is Kyle Snyder going through a deathrow bracket and upsetting 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Jake Varner. Here were his opponents from the quarters through the finals:
QF: Dustin Kilgore
SF: J'Den Cox
Finals: Jake Varner
Those 3 guys hold 4 D1 NCAA Titles between them and Cox is only going to a true Junior this upcoming season. If this doesn't set Snyder as the favorite to win 197 next year, I don't know what will.
2. High school senior Anthony Valencia placed 3rd at the Senior level, only behind David Taylor and Andrew Howe. Not bad, eh?
Valencia blitzed through Tyler Caldwell for the 3rd/4th place match, after taking a 7-4 loss to Howe in the semis.
This certainly is indicative of Valencia's maturity and shows he is college-ready and would instantly be a candidate for the 165 or 174 (a heart breaker for me since he will be in the Pac 12). Perhaps his demolition of Martinez weren't flukes afterall to the doubters who thought so.
3. Mark Hall made easy work of a 74kg Junior field that consisted of many phenominal high school wrestlers who have yet to truly showcase their skill on the college level. That bracket consisted of Logan Massa, Jon Jay Chavez, Jason Nolf, Joseph Smith, and Chance Marsteller. Some others in the field were Mizzou's redshirt freshman Daniel Lewis who had an impressive redshirt season and PSU's Garrett Hammond.
4. He's only going to be a high school junior next season, but Oklahoma's Daton Fix made easy work of a 55kg Junior bracket. He made easy work of Stevan Micic of Northwestern--who had a solid redshirt season and many believe is going to be an instant contender to be on the podium next year at 125.
5. RS Frosh Archie Colgan of Wyoming dismantled Ohio State's Micah Jordan and Michigan's Alec Pantaleo at 70kg. Look for Colgan to make some noise at 157 next year.
6. PSU's Jason Nolf defeated OK State's Chance Marsteller in the QF . Perhaps a "dream match" many would want to take place in the future of D1 college wrestling.
7. Zahid Valencia made easy work of an underwhelming 84kg bracket---but making his series 3-0 against Ohio State's Myles Martin in the process.
8. Stanford's own Nathan Butler looked impressive in his domination of the 120kg junior bracket.
9. 2015 NCAA Champion Nathan Tomasello was downed by 4x All-American Tyler Graff and former 2x NCAA Champ Matt McDonough. Not bad losses, but I was hoping to see Tomasello vs. Ramos in the upperbracket.
10. Stanford's Joey McKenna was downed by 2x All-American Daniel Dennis and 4x All-American (and 1x Champ) Coleman Scott.
Look out for whichever schools Hall and Fix commit to because these guys are the real deal.
And imagine this: some outlets have Fix ranked 4th in his weightclass, and he dismanteled Micic, Lizak (Minnesota), and Bresser (Oregon St.). Fix is currently a Sophomore and ranked behind Spencer Lee, Nick Suriano, and Yanni D. (verbaled to Cornell). I'm sure all power house programs are knocking on their doors.