goheels1812

He’s gone through a lot. Last year he tore his ACL and MCL and gutted out the season to still all American. I heard it was a hard decision to come back, but he wanted to prove himself at 157 and boy did he do it. So happy for the guy.

TJ Jaworksy had 3 and is still the best UNC wrestler ever. O’Connor is 2nd for me now.

Really happy for Austin O’Connor. Guy is a warrior. I’m glad he took over from neutral in the 3rd so I didn’t have to hear about the second round ankle ride lol

Haven’t seen it posted, but starting at 157. I’ll know by 7:15 ET if I’m going to be in a horrible mood for the rest of the finals or in a great mood.

This is a really good, level headed post that should land for everyone regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.

I’ve watched AOC wrestle every match in his career at UNC and if you asked me to tell you a bad style for him to match up against, I wouldn’t be able to. He’s so positionally sound from all 3 phases of wrestling. He never overextends and he can execute a game plan to perfection. Personally I’m very nervous, because it’s penn state in a national championship. There’s a very real chance O’Connor loses, but I can’t imagine it’s a style thing. No specific style really bothers him or throws him off what he is going to do in the match.

I think Gadson says it better than I could have. Maybe not “sore loser,” but bigger than 6th place is a better descriptor.

Wrestling is a cruel sport that gives and takes. If Spencer doesn’t show to the podium I’ll remember his college career as him being graceful when it gave to him and a sore loser when it took from him. I genuinely feel bad for him that what is probably an impulsive decision will leave a stain on his legacy. Edit: if Spencer is still at the BOK and takes the podium, disregard my post. His legacy as one of the best to ever step on the mat won’t change in any way to me.

Something tells me there’s not a lot of enjoyment for him in the coming days and weeks…

UNC fan coming in peace. O’Connor completely lost his brain at the end of the match (which is so rare for him). I genuinely would’ve been ok with the refs ruling that as stalling for 1 and an escape for 1. I do think O’Connor earned the win, but he also almost blew it at the end by just letting go of Humphreys leg. It would’ve been totally justifiable for the refs to send that one to OT and have them decide it there. Humphrey’s is a hell of a wrestler and I’m glad you guys got to watch him place 3rd this year. I do hate there was some controversy at the end of the semi’s match though.

I think Mekhi can be added to the long list of guys whose bodies just can’t handle the nonstop grind. Which is unfortunate because his talent is undeniable. But he’s essentially been hurt nonstop for what, 3 years now? He just can’t get his body fully healthy at this point. It might do him some good to take a full year off before deciding if he wants to pursue the national team.

He’s the first dude O’Connor has wrestled all year that made me wonder if O’Connor is a small 157. I was looking at that dude last night like this

Bartlett is a stud. I thought when McNeil got to the leg in the 3rd he would be in business. Then Bartlett all of a sudden ends up on top and rides McNeil out.

I know it’s popular to dump all over Shane Sparks, but I’m in the opposite camp. He’s a guy that was forced into this by espn. He could’ve puckered up and did a crappy job with it, but instead he’s invested himself in wrestling and he’s become a fan of the sport. I’ll be the first to admit some of his interviews are awkward (and I’m sure espn makes him do them), but I’ll take it over someone being forced to do it and not caring about wrestling at all. I respect that Sparks took this in stride and decided to become one of us.

As long as Spencer takes the podium with the other 125s I have no problem with any of it (not that my opinion really matters in the grand scheme). Now if he big times the podium tonight… that’s a tough look.

Man what a tournament for Lachlan McNeil. I never thought he’d be wrestling for 3rd (especially knocking off Brock Hardy to get there). Really happy for him to be in this position as a redshirt freshman. Should be 3 more fun years after this.

Yeah, he may be because by all accounts he’s a good guy that cares about the right things. Wasn’t Mueller a finalist in like 2018 ish too? I don’t think they’ve had anyone else relevant to that extent on a national stage since Mueller. I still think they should be a least a little more competitive on the mat, but I also realize there are bigger things in life than wrestling and Steve seems to get all of those things right.

I’ll tell you what, matchups can be SO weird. Lachlan McNeil has had absolutely nothing for Ryan Jack every time they have ever wrestled. It’s been completely one sided. Hines smoked Jack. Then McNeil followed that up with a nice controlled win over Hines (I wouldn’t call it dominance or anything, but just a solid win). I’m almost positive if that was Ryan there, McNeil wouldn’t have had anything for him again.

I may enter myself into witness protection because I’ve been known to lay a good sports jinx… this is probably my fault. edit: I also had Ryan Jack as my highly confident pick to all American on the backside. Whoops.

I never want to draft first again lol. If I get the 1st pick it’s immediately for sale.

Hmmm. Respect your opinion but hard disagree. Virginia Tech doesn’t really care about anything other than football, other than having a little bit of individual success in track and field here and there. The stereotype they are known for is they could care less what basketball and non revenue sports do. I’m sure they’re fine with wrestling being solid, but wouldn’t care if wrestling wasn’t great. Virginia, on the other hand, heavily invests in non revenue sports. You can start with the baseball team being at the top of the ACC yearly, the 2019 and 2021 men’s lacrosse national championship, the 2021 and 2022 women’s swimming and diving natty, and the 2022 men’s tennis national championship. So you’re telling me Virginia gives all those non revenue sports ample resources to compete nationally, but tells wrestling to kick rocks? Not sure I can buy into that.

Stave Garland’s seat should at least be a little toasty. Virginia is terrible. Their “rival” VT is lightyears ahead of them. Since Jack Meuller they haven’t had any wrestler contending at a high level nationally (that I can remember at least).

Good call! Sounds like Glory is going to deck Ramos lol.

In my opinion the way he wrestles just isn’t sustainable in a tournament format. It’s more geared for a dual once a week. He spends 7 minutes trying to upper body manhandle ridiculously strong 157 pounders and he wrestles balls to the wall (for lack of a better term). It’s not like he’s waiting for the 3rd period with 10 seconds left to try his first throw of the match. He’s going for it right off the whistle. Couple all of that with not really having any consistent leg attacks in his arsenal and there’s your bad formula for dying on the mat in the 3rd period.

I genuinely do wonder where Glory is at mentality now. I don’t care what anyone says about just wrestling the next match, I know all he’s been thinking about is getting to the finals and stopping Spencer from getting his 4th. Now he steps into wrestle Ramos, who did what Glory was planning to do. I’m almost positive Glory decks him, but there’s a small part of me that thinks there could be a little bit of a let down.