JVStateChamp

This seems eerily similar to freestyle. It's just another step in the direction to eliminate mat wrestling.

I would say that a combination of factors contributed to Blaze's loss. Brayden Palmer came into the season ranked #10 at 133 pounds, and he is now ranked #20 at 125 pounds (which could change after this weekend). Blaze is an amazing wrestler, but it is really hard to win two matches against high-ranked college wrestlers, especially when he had to beat Jax Forrest just to get to the finals. Palmer is a very good wrestler, and he is very difficult to score on, as well as being very good at controlling opponents on top. Palmer pinned Nagao last year at the Southern Scuffle, so overall I would say that Blaze's loss was not a case of "weird stuff happens."

Initial reactions to this event are kudos to both Army and Campbell. The pageantry and production brought a lot of attention to two programs that are not typically seen as "must-watch." The teams did a great job marketing the event through Twitter, and both seemed to fully buy in to promoting something that is unique to the sport of wrestling. Also, a lot of credit must be given to Coach Sentes, as Campbell has not seemed to lose a step with the departure of Kolat. The Camels came to wrestle and had some sharp-looking singlets. Hopefully, more lesser-talked-about programs can attempt to replicate and add their own twist to something like this event.

I thought the new redshirt rules were only true freshmen get 5 weigh-ins before it uses a year of eligibility.

Not positive on this but I believe the all-star classic is not an official match. I would assume then Haines would be eligible to wrestle in this match and still have his redshirt in tact if that is the route PSU decides to go.

I interpreted his point of view as believing that before the NCAA or powers that implement anything including mat-side weigh-ins, they need some evidence or data that it will benefit the sport. So I believe to gain that data you must start it on a smaller scale before jumping the gun on mat-side weigh-ins. I also am in the belief that mat-side weigh-ins can clearly work, but what evidence is there that it would be beneficial to the sport from an athlete's perspective as well as a logistics and spectator perspective? It is clear that this is a more difficult matter than it may seem and needs to be treated as such.

Bagaev did not look very mediocre there. Good win for Brooks

Not arguing that this could definitely work. Considering that they are wrestling or supposed to be wrestling at their natural weight is it safe to assume then there would not be a pound allowance for the second day weigh in?

The belief is that if you do one weigh in per tournament the most elite high school(not as much college) wrestlers will still cut the same amount of weight due to the fact they will be wrestling a lesser opponent in the first round of a big tournament. But yes this could be a compromise for both sides.

This will induce more forfeits at all levels. For college coaches, finding a 20-year-old wrestler who naturally walks around at 122-123 will be very challenging. If the NCAA decides to go towards this change, weight class changes will be needed. Also, where do you see the biggest negative impact on the weigh-in process right now in Division 1 wrestling?

This feels like we're heading towards madison weight classes. For dual meets, you show up, step on the scale and whichever wrestler weighs closest to that weight you wrestle that opponent on the spot. Obviously, I am being dramatic, but schools have taken steps towards limiting poor weight cuts. I believe doing mat-side weigh-ins is actually going to have a negative impact on people fixating on their weight. Let me check my weight 5 times a day to ensure I am able to wrestle and if I am 1 pound over because I drank an extra Gatorade after my last match I need to run it off before my next.

I would say obviously depends on the individual even when not dehydrated an athlete is still going to want to drink water and possibly a Gatorade, then if they want to eat say a bagel. I think someone's weight could fluctuate depending on how much they sweat throughout the match roughly 2-3 lbs. Maybe a little less depending on the individual, but doing this throughout the day, especially with morning weigh-ins someone's weight could fluctuate enough to cause impact.

Besides ankle bands, Wrestlers still need to report to the head table and check in, then meet the ref at the scale that is mat-side then go to the center of the mat. Boom, that's where the extra time comes from. There is still time in between matches between check-in and getting the wrestlers to the center of the mat. Again, as I said at lower levels I agree that mat-side weigh-ins would be a great idea to help with retention/burnout. At the highest levels like D1 athletes, I do not see weight cutting being a huge issue, and is actually managed very well with 1-hour weigh-ins. I would be all for 30-minute weigh-ins if people are of the belief weight cutting is a huge issue in D1 wrestling.

I do not see how this is beneficial for the wrestlers or especially the viewers. Weighing in 4 times in one day seems very extreme. No one wants to see a tournament decided because Wrestler A misses weight in the finals after making it 3 previous times. Another issue is that you are adding roughly 3 minutes per match. At the high school level, I think the idea of spending 10 hours in a gym on a Saturday is a real deterrent to participating in the sport.

I don't see this happening at the college level anytime soon. The nightmare of running tournaments in a timely manner could be challenging. The other aspect to consider is that there may have to be a weight class realignment. I would like to see this happen at a high school off-season tournament to see how it actually plays out before implementing it full-time. I am definitely in the minority, but I do not see weight-cutting as a huge issue at the collegiate level.

My guess at 165 would be Tony Negron, wrestled a good amount of matches for them last year and has a good ability to keep matches close with some of the better wrestlers in the country.

The first couple of competitions are always a crap shoot on who is in the line up and who is not. Still refreshing to have some college wrestling to talk about. Both teams I believe will put out what they think is their best possible line-up (fingers crossed)

I think we may see a resurgence similar to NC State and how they have turned their dual meets at Reynolds into an event. I am also looking forward to a possible rivalry between UNC and NC State starting. I may be getting way ahead of myself because growth to be competitive with NC State may take some time but exciting things are happening for the state of North Carolina wrestling.

I think one of the more off the mat interesting talking points in this dual is that its the first dual at UNC for Rob Koll. I am very curious to see how the fan and support turnout is. I have been to several UNC duals in the past where the crowds were bleak, Koll has a good track record of bringing attention and fanfare to his programs.

I am not positive on the 9.9 but Campbell has always (since Kolat) done a good job of retaining their wrestlers as well as had unusually large roster. Some years Campbell had closer to 40 members listed on their team roster. Seems like their strategy is to cast a big net.

In this hypothetical match, I would give the upper hand to Kerk but to say anyone would manhandle Ferrari whether you like him or not is definitely a stretch. I think the most advantage Kerk has is if he is able to use a high thigh ride on top to try and take some of the steam out of Ferrari. I guess the mystery is how much rust will Ferrari be shaking off and how much will the size impact Ferraris ability to score.

Recent pictures on Twitter X have indicated that Robb is back to training. To what level is still somewhat a mystery but it was a pleasant surprise seeing pictures of him rolling around with James Green which is a positive indication that he may be able to make his return sooner rather than later. I do not believe there is yet a (public) time frame for his return to competition.

This event is super cool and brings an excitement of firepower in the early stages of the season that fans cant see elsewhere. It is always scary to assume but with the location being in State College is it safe to assume their will be a high dose of PSU wrestlers? Also, out of my own selfishness I wish this event was not on a tuesday night so I could make a trip adn weekend out of it. Guess Ill just have to be happy its happening.

I can definitely agree with you on the fact that the NCAA has been negligent in maintaining consistency in its own gambling policy which is what makes this argumentative. And I actually do not have any argument with what you're arguing I believe we just have different viewpoints. From my perspective, I have been in those compliance meetings not all that long ago (although at a much smaller institution than Iowa) and they make it very clear about the standards of gambling as well as the consequences. In my case, the compliance officer even went into detail about the dangers of being involved in fantasy football leagues that were for money. The other side is that it was originally ruled a year suspension which for some of the wrestlers was their last year of eligibility which is unfortunate. In some instances, if you play with fire you get burned, and if the NCAA does give a slap on the wrist then they must be consistent in the future with that ruling. This topic is definitely not as black and white as I previously stated, my frustration is the obvious ignorance of not being sorry that it happened but sorry they got caught.

Or you could look at it this way... All college athletes have the privilege of being able to represent their university which comes with perks that the average student does not. Student-athletes are provided with food, free tutors, discount tuition, and more. Student-athletes also have to follow particular rules that are well documented and educated about yearly. The NCAA giving them a slap on the wrist is setting a precedent that can't be overturned if and when the next gambling scandal comes around. It is pretty simple, the athletes knew they were not allowed to gamble because of clear NCAA rules and chose to ignore those rules. We are enabling the blatant ignoring of the rules with a slap on the wrist, if you are on a college roster and feel you would rather gamble than be part of that sport then quit and become a normal student. Sometimes you can't have it both ways whether you (or anyone else) thinks it's fair or not.