Among the team entries will also be a slew of individual athletes in redshirt, including Spencer Lee of Iowa (headed to the Midlands) and Daton Fix of Oklahoma State (headed to Southern Scufle). Should both wrestlers enter their respective 125-pound brackets the question will be whether their performances will impact the decision to pull their redshirt or keep them in redshirt.
For Lee, the Midlands bracket is filled with potential challenges, including Ryan Millhof (Arizona State), Sean Russell (Edinboro), Luke Welch (Purdue) and undefeated local upstart Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern). However, no matchup would be more compelling to fans (and Tom Brands) than a potential scrap with No. 2 Nick Suriano of Rutgers. If Lee can scrap past that field, and put a decisive win up against Suriano, it could be the motivation Coach Brands needs to put Lee into the lineup for the Big Ten season. Should Lee fall short, or otherwise underperform, it could give Coach Brands the confidence to keep Lee sidelined until next November.
Fix, who is coming off a Reno TOC title, will face a field at the Southern Scuffle that includes defending NCAA champion Darian Cruz of Lehigh. Fix won a tight match over NC State's Sean Fausz in the Reno finals. A matchup with Cruz would give Coach Smith and the Oklahoma State staff a much clearer picture on where Fix stands in the 2018 field.
No matter the immediate outcome, it will be a treat for fans to see how these rising stars fair against the establishment at 125 pounds.
To your questions …
Q: I've heard from both Coach Gable and J Robinson who each say that Joe Russell was the best high school wrestler they ever saw. You mention Smith. Joe's brother Dan defeated Smith and was himself a four-time Division II champ and multiple-time Division I All-American. Joe teched him as a high school junior. It's funny, in Gables exchange with me, he says, "I think I know as I've seen them all."
-- John L.
Foley: Interesting anecdote! So maybe this is a settled topic?!
Whenever cross-generational battles are offered up by fans, I'm reminded of something Coach Koll told me a few years ago during a similar discussion. No matter the progression of moves, or the perceived lack of athleticism of one generation versus the next, winners find a way to win. In Koll's theory a winner from one generation would do just as well in any other time period, because the real intangible is attitude, not a specific move or style.
I'm not sure that's a fool proof theory, but mental toughness and ability to win in adverse situations are certainly factors to consider.
Q: Like Mark Hall, Pat Smith won the first of his four titles as a true freshman. I believe that Pat would have given a match to Hall in high school, simply because he was training with the great Ronnie James his senior year. Coach James was a four-time NAIA All-American and three-time NAIA champion. He could have been the first four-timer in any division but placed third as a senior. He is the brother of David James and graduated from Del City where he placed third in high school once. He was also my coach and still one of the toughest people I know. But from what I've heard Mark was the best out of all of the Smiths in high school. I always look forward to Friday since I work the night shift and your article comes out. Thank you!
-- Orlando R.
Foley: Another cool anecdote! Thanks for reading!
Q: While watching the dual between Oklahoma State and Wyoming it was hard not to notice how out of shape the Oklahoma State wrestlers looked, when compared to many of the Wyoming wrestlers. This is only a simple observation, so I can be greatly mistaken. However, during an interview, Bryce Meredith stated that he has been on the grind and Dean Heil has been missing in action and that was a contributing factor to Dean not being able to fight until the end and was one of the reasons Bryce was able to break Heil as he put it.
Many of the Oklahoma State wrestlers have not been competing in tournaments. From what I've read Oklahoma State will not be taking its starters to the Southern Scuffle. Do you believe this will affect their performance come Big 12s and NCAAs?
-- Uriel C.
John Smith talks to 125-pounder Nick Piccininni (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Foley: I covered this a bit last week, but I really think that the elevation played a major role in the perception that the Cowboys were in poor shape. I was in Ecuador last week (9,000 to 13,000 feet) and was so oxygen deprived I had trouble sleeping the first few nights. Wrestling -- arguably the most difficult aerobic/anaerobic combo workout in sports -- is certain to drain even the top athletes when put at an elevation with significantly less oxygen.
I think that every team has their own periodization scheme and Oklahoma State follows one that has always prioritized March and learning early. Coach Smith once said that they spend a majority of the first semester on techniques and drills rather than conditioning and live go's. I'm sure they do a mixture, but focusing on the technical side of the sport has always been a wining method for Coach Smith.
All the more reason to see how Fix and the backups do at the Scuffle!
Q: Will InterMat be posting information on options for viewing live or taped Midlands matches? I assume Flo and perhaps Trackwrestling will offer that service.
-- Russ T.
Foley: Midlands will be on Flo and BTN Plus.
Q: I am a huge wrestling fan. I read columns and articles and websites every day. But I am having a hard time understanding this animosity I see in many comments here and elsewhere. Where is it coming from? Obviously, I missed something somewhere, but as a loyal follower and in several cases, paid subscriber, I find this RIDICULOUS. As adult journalists and commentators and website operators -- and followers -- this is coming off like spiteful teenagers harassing each other. I notice that you seem to bear the brunt of this, and I don't know why, but to ALL of you out there -- knock it off. Don't bring this noble sport down by such pettiness.
-- Nancy W.
Foley: I agree that the comments section for this article can sometimes be a breeding ground for trollish behavior and comments. As bad as the comments get they haven't quite reached the level of YouTube where even a video of German Shepard puppies can elicit a terrible response.
The anonymity of the internet and the space between one person and another is so dependable and far reaching that it emboldens the crass amongst our community. For all the talk of faith and goodness in the wrestling community there sometimes feels like an outsized amount of bigotry, hatred and sexism. My hope has always been that it only feels that way because those who harbor these feelings tend to comment more, but sometimes I worry that our community has taken a hard turn toward the hateful and shortsighted.
If so, there isn't much that you and I can do to directly change their beliefs. The goal, as always, is to inform and entertain, and I will continue to do it without personal attacks or hateful language, and appreciate all the readers who do the same.
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