The NCAA Division I wrestling season will start in earnest this week, with several programs competing in dual meets, triangulars and quadranglers. The goal of the meets is to limit the amount of cross-contamination of possibly COVID positive wrestlers, while also allows for the maximum number of matches and fewest number of travel dates.
For those in folkstyle wrestling withdraw it will be a fun week of action.
The qualification process for the NCAAs is (to put it mildly) confusing. The system will consist of a five-year historic review of the conference to determine how many spots can be pre-allocated to the conference, above and beyond the conference champion allocation (70 in total). The number of these pre-allocated spots will range from 170 to 240 depending on the number of athletes the NCAA will allow to compete at the tournament. There will also be 40 at-large selections made by the committee.
You can find the full allocation review at the NCAA website here.
While many are happy to have the season returning, there should be a collective acknowledgement of the dangers the season will present to wrestlers, coaches, administration, and support staff -- to say nothing of the sport in general. Each known instance of COVID transmission from the NCAA football season was well-documented. Their benefit was that with so many people on the field the contact tracking wasn't as obvious as it will be if an outbreak happens during a meet. Should that occur we should expect media scrutiny about the safety of wrestling during a raging pandemic. When there is an outbreak, I'm fearful for both the health of the athletes and the negative perception of the sport it will cause.
The NCAA and its member institutions seem prepared to take on that challenge and I'm optimistic that they will have sanitary controls that encourage distancing and the limitation of unnecessary risk. However, as I've seen in seven years of traveling to various countries to attend wrestling events, no standard is so well-written as to not be willfully ignored.
Also, a reminder from my sardonic Algebra teacher who wrote dark witticisms on the chalkboard each day to greet students, "Smile. Tomorrow will be worse."
To your questions …
Adeline Gray and Tamyra Mensah-Stock at a Beat the Streets event in 2017 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: What do you think of the Adeline Gray vs. Tamyra Mensah-Stock match on Jan. 9? How do you see it going?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I think Adeline Gray would only accept a match she was confident she could win via leg lace. Which, to be fair, is basically any match.
Adeline is the type of match that Tamyra needs to remind her to improve her par terre defense. Two years ago Tamyra would lose because she didn't trust her offense and made mistakes on the edge of the mat. Heading into the Olympic Games her biggest obstacle might be a lack of focus when in par terre almost BECAUSE she's so good on her feet and trusts her ability to score there.
For Adeline, preparing for Tamyra is great preparation for the Olympic Games. She fell short in 2016 but not because she was outwrestled -- she just didn't meet the moment. In facing someone as talented as Tamyra on a site with all her fans watching it'll give Adeline a feel for that big pressure moment she'll need to master come Tokyo this summer.
I think she'll meet the moment next week and in Tokyo. As will Tamyra.
Q: What was the biggest wrestling story of 2020?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Tough to see any story outstripping COVID and the impact it has had on two NCAA wrestling seasons. The loss of the 2020 NCAA Championships and the truncated 2021 schedule is a once-in-a-century type of occurrence. The last postponement of the NCAA championships was in the 1940's due to World War II. Let's hope that with vaccinations we can get to a 2021-2022 with a stable schedule and fans back in arenas.
The important thing to remember is that the vaccinations only work when we as a society choose to take them. Do your best to avoid the false information spreading about the vaccines and put trust in the incredible doctors and researchers who've performed a miracle in creating a safe, effective vaccine in record time.
Don't be these people.
Q: Who do you think will be the breakout star of the college wrestling season?
-- Mike C.
Foley: The Cubans. They have tremendous talent, resources at their disposal, and are both ready-made media stories for the press come March 18.
From our staff article this week:
Yonger Bastida (Iowa State, 197)
Bastida, a native of Cuba, won a silver medal at the 2019 Junior World Championships in freestyle. He has notched wins in his freestyle career over the likes of NCAA champion Kyven Gadson, two-time-All-American Hayden Zillmer and three-time NCAA qualifier Blaize Cabell.
Anthony Echemendia (Ohio State, 141)
Like Bastida, Echemendia is an immensely talented freestyle wrestler from Cuba. He has more folkstyle experience than Bastida having competed as a high school senior in Arizona. Echemendia posted a perfect 52-0 record and won a state championship in 2019.
The article also mentions A.J. Ferrari who I'd agree will be a breakout performer this year, though I don't think he has as much ability to penetrate the mainstream as the Cubans will. Still he's a top five finisher with an unintentionally hilarious trove of social media posts, with more sure to come.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Wowza
Kudukhov vs. Gomez
Q: Will fans be permitted to attend the college postseason events (conference championships, NCAAs)?
-- Mike C.
Foley: My guess is you'll see some limited attendance at the conference championships, but only a family-based attendance at the NCAAs. There isn't much logic in cramming people into the arena. Our demographic is dramatically older than you'd expect and with that will come increased vulnerability to COVID.
Best guess? The NCAA will allocate the same division of tickets to each school, but only give them a percentage of their full allocation. There would also need to be distancing protocols, masks, and other sanitary conditions met.
Q: What are your thoughts on the Captains' Cup in mid-February?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Amazing format. Perfect for women's wrestling, which doesn't have as deep of rosters in their RTC's, but has plenty of competitors. Allowing for a captain's choice model will generate plenty of discussion about the talents of each athlete and how they might match up at each weight class and against their Canadian opponents.
We've been blessed with plenty of innovation in 2020 and I'm happy to see that extending into the New Year with the Captains Cup.
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