Sheerstress

As far as getting a new facility, MSU is actually building a huge new $200 million recreation center just south of the Breslin Center. It will supposedly house new swimming facilities in hopes that they can resurrect their swim and dive programs. Slated to open in 2026. This would probably be a golden opportunity for them to get a new wrestling facility to replace the room at IM West that they've used since the 1960s. Unfortunately, no word on whether this might happen.

https://www.tmz.com/2024/03/12/ufc-mark-coleman-hospitalized-saving-parents-house-fire-smoke-inhalation/

Cunningham would be the best hire, although unless he really has it in his heart to coach his alma mater, I'd think he'd probably leave well enough alone. He's in an excellent place at PSU as an assistant, and would be dealing with a lot less $$ at Central.

He's looked good all year, and is improving all the time, although one win doesn't necessarily mean he's a title contender.

I don't recall him in particular being the reason for the college division being excluded from the Div. I tournament. Personally, I liked seeing the D2 and 3 guys at the big dance, simply because it showed that whoever won it was truly the best NCAA wrester in the country. The people who didn't like it were probably the Div I coaches. Specifically, they didn't like it when guys like Haselrig, who were the best in their weight, but came from schools that had no chance of winning the team title, might knock one of their athletes into the consolation bracket or even out of the tournament, and significantly affect the team placings. As for his place among the great heavies, I thought he was very comparable to Baumgartner, who was about 6 years older than him. He had the same profile of a solid heavyweight who had amazing strength (someone once described it was like trying to take down tree trunks when getting to his legs), speed and overall athleticism. He won his first Div. I title as a sophomore in 1987 when he wasn't favored (Tom Erikson was the top seed but got upset by Dean Hall in the semis), and then went unbeaten for the rest of his career (only non-win was a draw to Joel Greenlee). He was a great competitor, but never had any truly epic collegiate matches. I believe he did enter the US Open at least once before deciding to go the NFL route where he was All Pro for years despite never having played college ball. So he should definitely be considered among the best collegiate heavyweight wrestlers of all time. I think he probably doesn't get quite as much attention as some others these days because no international career, more focus on football, and the substance abuse issues in the years following.

1988

Merry Christmas to everyone!

It will really depend on how the coaches bring along the wrestlers so they peak properly in March. Back in 2022, they did it perfectly with Suriano, giving him just enough mat time so he'd be ready for nationals but not so much that he'd rebel or lose focus. I think the situation will be similar for Gomez.

In 2021, he did a pretty good job of getting his weight under better control despite missing it. This time, I'd hope he would actually make the weight at least once before announcing that he wants to enter the trials.

My thoughts after just getting back: 125: DeAugustino looked game in all of his matches, unfortunately the trainers think he's probably dealing with an ACL injury Hopefully he can salvage his season if that's the case. 133: Tannefu filled in for an ailing Cannon, who will hopefully be back soon. 141: I've liked what I'm seeing with Lemley. Aggressive, great hand fighting and ties, seems to have some trouble against guys who can attack from middle and long range. Hopefully he'll continue to improve. 149: Gilcher definitely the future, but really should redshirt this year. 157: Lewan is well, Lewan. Just didn't turn up his game like he shoulda/coulda against Robb, who in contrast, has been wrestling every match like a man possessed. Considering he's the returning senior who's been here the longest, he absolutely has to step things up if there's any hope of improving on his previous finishes. 165: Amine was seconds away from winning in the semis when he let it get away. He could very easily have won the whole thing. 174: As disappointing a tournament as it was for Griffith, the talent is still there, and his problem is not that he isn't healthy. The coaches will need to bring him along carefully over the next few months. 184: Bullock was the guy who shined. Despite a 6th place finish, he fought his tail off in every match, and was real close against some top opponents. I've always liked his aggressiveness and being ready to compete. BTW, word is that Rylan Rogers will be good to go within the next few weeks and will be wresting at Midlands. 197: Striggow is Striggow. I spoke with his family at the tournament - great people. Unfortunately this weight needs a big shot in the arm. I'm thinking that between Bullock and Rogers at 184, the odd man out should get placed here. HWT: I was liking Davison's tournament until his finals match, in which he did practically NOTHING for the first two periods. He deserved to lose that match. I haven't had the chance to read through many of the other threads, as I was watching the action for much of the day. If this team wants to shine in March, someone has to step up to provide the spark. Rather than having a group of guys who are hungry to make the top of the podium in their last go, we've got a bunch of tired looking veterans appearing too often unsure as to whether they want to be out there, and it's setting a tone. Fortunately it's still early, and there's a lot more wrestling to be done over the next three months. Coaches have their work cut out for them.

Griffith's former teammate certainly gave him no respect

So far I like what I see, as it encourages wrestlers to open up their offense. It's a little early to see whether there will be any long term problems with the change.

Best finals matches seem to be 165 (Hamiti vs Fish) and 197 (Buchanan vs Bates).

Gilcher drops a hard fought match in OT against Wachter of CMU.

I wrestled in high school, and loved the experience and how it molded me. However I was never a champion, and never would have been considered college level material. So I was initially going to answer no to the thread's question, but now that I see people are including their intramural experiences, I guess I did have a brief collegiate experience the one time I entered the intramural tournament (I went 1-1).

Right now I don't think they're really doing much this year beyond informal room evaluations of the guys. All the high-level graduate transfers are probably automatic starters, and the remainder of the weights appear set except perhaps for 197. For now, look forward to the MSU Open in a few weeks to see how the new freshmen and everyone else is panning out.

Great development for the program. Given that Gomez competed here back in January under considerably different circumstances, this is irony at its finest!

I would hope that Gilcher gets to redshirt his first year. Any knowledge as to whether they've had any luck trying to get a certain CK athlete to use his remaining eligibility second semester? A real long shot at best, but would be the perfect answer for that weight.

Nice thorough analysis. Pretty spot on with what I am seeing right now, although I really don't like to speculate about how things will go in March, given how much can happen between then and now. All depends on whether everyone stays healthy, hungry for the top spot on the podium, and how 149 and 197 work out.

I recall a story back in the 1980s that when world champions David Gobejishvili and Aslan Khadartsev were the top super heavyweights for the Soviet Union, head coach Ivan Yarygin made them wrestle off in an insanely long match, like 20 or 30 minutes. Ultimately, it's probably whoever the coaches and the wrestling governing body in Russia thinks has the best chance of winning, and barring circumstances, that will almost always be the stars.

Amazing run for Micic! Went through the toughest guys to win it all!

I don't think KMF ever made it here. Tbar was here briefly after the old board ended, but hasn't been around for awhile.

The IOC earlier this year said that Russian wrestlers were to be allowed to compete in Serbia as "Individual Neutral Athletes." Most notably, Sidakov and Sadulaev were to be included. Does this change that at all?

A very strange turn of events. Really hard to read what's going on with Steveson. In spite of his dominance over Parris, I'd actually like to see him USE his talent while still in his prime, and rack up as many championships as he can. But Parris is in great condition, near the top of his game, hungry, and will definitely be under the radar at Worlds. If he manages to win gold in Serbia, and he's certainly capable of doing so, it will add all the more intrigue for next year's Olympics.

Hope they get another good CEO type coach who is as good with politics and promotion as he is in the room. Can't be losing another West Coast program.