500 wrestler

Some very dumb predictions that I don't fully agree with: 125: Ramos over Ayala 133: Fix over Arujau. Arujau figures out Crookham but Fix finally gets it done 141: Mendez over Bartlett. Similar to B10 finals match. 149: Lovett over Parco. Chalk. 157: Haines over Teemer. Shapiro loses a close one in the semis. 165: Carr over Messenbrink. Nothing in the B12 finals showed me that Carr is able to do beat KOT, but just a hunch. 174: Starocci over Devos. Starocci majors his way through the field. 184: Keckeisen over Truax. 197: Hidlay over Brooks. This is just a dumb, dumb prediction. But if I am right I look like a genius. Hwt: Kerkvleit over Hendrickson. Much closer than all star match

125 | Stevo Poulin 133 | Kade Moore 141 | Cole Matthews 149 | Graham Rooks 157 | Chase Saldate 165 | Caleb Fish 174 | Peyton Mocco 184 | Ryder Rogotzke 197 | Luke Surber 285 | Dayton Pitzer

Yes KOT was solid in his answers. I always appreciate when the winner gives a shout out to their opponent. Unfortunately due to time constraints and conflicts I just got through Big 10s today. Then watched selected big12 matches, starting at 165. And that's the only interview Big12 interview I had time to watch. We'll see what the NCCA champion interviews bring. Still waiting for something that rivals Sammy Brooks from his Big 10 championship.

True. But prepared/poised respondents will find a way to answer a difficult question, not look like a deer in the headlights. Not saying it is easy. And remember, these are the official rankings. I'm just reporting them.

Kerk's saving grace was the inherent humility in his religiosity. That aside, He was probably the worst. But Davis was as ill-prepared as Nuke LaLoosh before Crash taught him how to use cliches.

Davis? He didn't show any humility at all. Talked about all of the 5-6 year guys can't handle him.

I believe post-match interview performances are a factor in NCAA seedings, so here are the official rankings. First, an explanation of the criteria: Charisma/Poise (1-5): is the wrestler comfortable, and can they communicate well? Gratitude (1-5): Did they express gratitude? Admittedly this depends somewhat on the questions asked. Emotion (1-5): How much emotion do they express? Any emotion (except for boredom, Greg) Humility (1-5): How humble are they? Negative points for arrogance (I'm talking to you Jesse) I also deduct a point for each Cliche, for example: I trust in my training We have the best coaching staff All glory to god I have a great support system I just have to wrestle through positions Here are the final, purely objective rankings: Wrestler Charisma Gratitude Emotion Humility Cliché Score Ruth 5 5 3 5 0 18 Lovett 5 3 5 4 0 17 Haines 4 4 5 5 -1 17 Mesenbrink 5 3 3 5 -1 15 Shawver 4 3 4 4 -1 14 Brooks 2 4 2 5 -2 11 Salazar 3 1 4 2 -3 7 Mendez 3 1 3 1 -2 6 Kerkvliet 1 1 1 5 -2 6 Davis 1 1 2 1 0 5 Congratulations to Edmond Ruth for being the champion of champions (I didn't even count his pre-hand raise dancing), and good effort from Lovett and Haines. On the flip side, Braeden Davis needs some works.

I’d put Sammy Sasso at 6. Even before stellar performance at US open. And his trajectory seems up as opposed to Lewis and Fix.

What a strong ending to his career (I think he’s done) from 10 seed to 3rd in a tough 125. Last 3 years 2nd, 6th, 3rd. Not so long ago is seemed that many were calling for Figueroa to take his spot. Glad ASU stuck with him, he earned their loyalty. Figs is good but no way he would have done better than Courtney did at NCAAs this year.

What odds would you have taken for neither Lee nor RBY take 1st? Never saw that happening.

He already beat Noto and Ventresca this year so R12 sounds reasonable. Of course no guarantees. Heard on Flo podcast that if Sasso beat Yanni then tOSU passes Cornell. So it was close and maybe that makes the difference.

Probably bad form to create new topic instead of adding to old, oh well... First contest: AA Overachievers Biggest individual scorers: 27 seed Eddie Ventresca & 28 seed Killian Cardinale (selected by many) with 20 points each. There were no other double-digit scorers. Weights with most overachievers: 125 and 141 (6). 141 had 4 double-digit seeds AA. Weight with fewest overachiever: 174 (2). 157 had 3 but only one seeded lower than 8 – Returning AA and 9 seed Will Lewan. Top 3 Most Points: 500 Wrestler (24), Dirtbea Frou (23), hld0017 (13) Second contest: Top 8 seed non-AA Biggest individual scorer (highest seed to not AA): 141 #3 Cole Matthews, 5 points ☹, selected by DiverDownBrian and hld0017 Weight with most top 8 non-AA: 141 (4) Weight with fewest top 8 non- AA: 133, 157, 174 (1). Top 2 Most Points: Tie: 500 Wrestler and hld0017 (13), DiverDownBrian (11) Third contest: First Round Upsets Biggest individual scorer: 29 seed Caleb Fish with 13 points, selected by 500 Wrestler Weight with most first round upsets: 125 with 6; also 184 with 5 Weight with fewest first round updates: 197 with zero (!); also Hwt with only one, 17 seed Taye Gahadiali Top 2 Most points: Tie 500 Wrestler and Major Kong (27), Dirtbea Frou (25) Top five point winners: 500 Wrestler: 64 (I’d like to thank Dylan D’Emilio, Shane Van Ness, Killian Cardinale, and Caleb Fish who earned me 43 of my points) DirtBea Frou: 53 Hld0017: 45 DoverDownBrian: 41 Major Kong: 39 It’s nice to win something since I had Duke winning in my NCAA basketball pool (my wife went there) Thanks to those who participated. I hope to do this next year. I may eliminate 2nd contest as in retrospect I don’t like the idea of predicting someone not doing well. Seems like bad juju.

I thought Nino looked undersized at 197. This photo seems to say otherwise.

Where was Austin O’Conner? oops didn’t notice question was already asked

Seems to me far too many people lost the thread of this thread. The original post was dead on. I cringed when I heard Brooks say that, it was very uncool. Just finished watching the late this morning today so well behind the curve here. I'm not a religious person, but as far as I'm concerned the winner can thank whoever/whatever they want, and make a shout out to their faith. Obviously many of these athletes believe that their faith is a huge part of their success. Who am I to question that. I suspect faith helps you put things in perspective and helps you deal better with all the highs and lows. But that is not what this post is about. It's about Brooks disparaging the Muslim faith, plain and simple. One more thing: For most religions (there may be exceptions), if you are very religious then I think it's safe to say that you think your religion is the one truth and followers of all other faiths are just plain wrong. Otherwise, it's just a matter of choice, right? And if it's a matter of choice, it can't be the only truth. So I would speculate that most very religious people in their hearts agree with what Brooks said. But it's an unwritten rule that in a society such as ours that purportedly welcomes all religions, you just don't say things like that. Brooks is a young man, but old enough to know better.