They did and Swalla lost both. I can't remember the scores for sure I know one loss was 0-1 on riding time and the second I think was 5-3 or something like that. I did notice that Bush lost to the Fresno kid that, if I am not mistaken, was the same kid Swalla beat at VIrgina Duals. I wonder if they will wrestle off before big 12s again? Interesting that you mention Dante and Degen, I have wondered the same thing. I am pretty sure that in that case, the open, head to head victory for Degen decided the spot. The coaches (with good reason) seem to really like Degen and his grit. I don't see Dante getting a shot at that spot anytime soon.
***Fresno State (2/9) and @ UNI (2/10) Duals***
- Thread starter Judoka
- Start date
I didn't ask how it would go. I asked if they would wrestle off.
These are the first wrestle offs of the season at any weights as far as I know. At least they are the first wrestle offs to have been reported. Both of these weights have been weak and we have struggled to find "the guy" so I am surprised the wrestle off and didn't happen sooner, but I think the coaches may have been waiting for one kid to really emerge as the clear favorite. Jennings wasn't even on their radar until he beat Skylar at that open, which lends some credit to the idea that maybe Brady isn't doing what he needs to do in practice to get noticed. I didn't see anyone insinuate that St. John or anyone else gets a wrestle off at any time, but I haven't read through all the posts. As I said, I think these may have been the first wrestle offs of the year.
To be clear, we don't know if Jennings would be a big improvement. But what we do know is he moved up a weight, beat St. John head to head by a major decision, took two losses to ranked opponents, beat one ranked opponent, and then got pulled from the lineup. We straight up have no idea how good or bad he'd be.
But what we do know is he his results at 165 are miles and miles above what St. John or Brietenbach have put together this season.
But what we do know is he his results at 165 are miles and miles above what St. John or Brietenbach have put together this season.
This is exactly why so many people questioned the decision to: a.) Start St. John against SDSU and b.) After St. John gets teched in the aforementioned SDSU match move forward with a wrestle off. This has not been the standard at other weights where head to head competition has taken place. That is all I was wondering about. The coaches must be seeing something we don't.
You forgot to add in the part where he lost TWO wrestle offs last week to St John. I want Jennings at 165 too because I think we are much stronger with him in the lineup than St John. And if he would have won at least one of the two wrestle offs last week, he'd be the guy there. He didn't get "pulled" from the lineup..he got beat out in practice.
I totally agree with you. There probably shouldn't have been a wrestle off (debatable though) but there was one..it was best of three and Jennings lost both last week.
I think that is what most people have an issue with. Several (including me) have aknowledged that Jennings didn't get it done in the wrestle off, period. I just don't get why they wrestled off in the first place when that hasn't seemed to have been the standard at other weights. He was "pulled" from the lineup (if that is the term to use) on Sunday against SDSU after posting a great win that Friday against NDSU. That is also a curious decision to many of us, but I guess that is why this staff gets paid the big bucks. It's a done deal now and St. John did pull through when the coaches asked him to. Time to move forward and hope for a strong finish from whatever team Is out there.
I actually agree with mostly everyone, but the "favoritism" card being pulled by some people on here is annoying.
I think Degen is having a fine freshman year and hope he continues, but I really don't get the over the top love he gets here. His 2 best wins by far are against Jeffries of OK who is ranked 26/27. Next best win is against Dante 5-3, so yeah, I could see a case to be made for a wrestleoff based on what we know from the outside looking in.
Of course we do not see what goes on in the room. Call it favoritism if you like, I prefer to say that both St. John's and Degen have the advantage of familiarity with the staff
Yes, and I think you can make some inferences based on that card being played. By insinuating “favoritism” and that other team members are noticing, that indicates a close relationship with the wrestler in question. Making these accusations on a message board is rather inapproriate and only serves to undermine the staff. If that kind of talk is going on in the wresting room, coaches are in tune to that. Most coaches don’t appreciate that kind of behavior.
The nepotism comments are laughable and ironic.
He also majored Maruca of Arizona State who I believe was top 15 at the time. He is not ranked now because Tsirtsis is now the starter and currently ranked top 10. I believe the reason fans like Degen is because he is relentless in scoring points no matter who he is going against. His style has entertainment value and is appreciated!
I watched the Fresno dual last weekend: Degen had a pretty good opponent (Olivias?) and fell behind early, 6-0. He rallied only to fall short, 14-13. Anyway, his opponent could hardly stand at the end of the match. He was spent. Degen was relentless. We like the effort.
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Degen is also the only guy who's hit the Silver standard and is sitting comfortable for an NCAA spot. He's also got the third best D-1 win percentage on the team, behind Parker (who is 2-0 at 141) and Jennings.
I respectfully disagree. As someone else already pointed out, as long he shares the same last name as one of the coaches and posts the kind of results he has, then this is probably something he will have to deal with--right or wrong. I worked for my dad for years, so trust me, I know first hand what it is like. It goes with the territory. And, if you think for one minute that coaches don't have "their guys" then you are nuts and if you think the kids don't notice and discuss it, you are delusional. Of course they do. You don't have to have a connection to anyone to know that. I am new here and a wrestling fan from afar. I joined because I was excited about this new era and hoped to glean some insight about the program and engage in discussion with other fans. One other conclusion you could "infer" from these comments is that sometines the folks that are the least connected can see things that those that are most connected can't.
Furthermore, if this horse ain't dead, let's kill it shall we? Jennings lost the wrestle off that the coaches deemed necessary and that is that. #beatingadeadhorse
