***Official Olympic Wrestling Trials Thread***

[Clone83]

Here is the delayed broadcast television schedule of Sunday's finals, tomorrow (2-5 PM Central Time, it appears):
TV coverage of Wrestling Olympic Trials - Wrestling News | NBC Olympics

I guess the NBC Sports Group channel was previously Versus.

Below are two articles about the guy Travis is wrestling, Jake Herbert, who was one of the best (149-4) and a Hodge Trophy winner (outstanding college wrestler) when he was at Northwestern. He won silver at the world championships in 2009.

When Cael decided not to compete, Herbert became the favorite in this weight class:

Jake Herbert looks to sieze opportunity at 84kg - Wrestling News | NBC Olympics

InterMat Wrestling - One-on-One with Jake Herbert

 

[Judoka]

This would be a huge upset. It'd be nice to have two Cyclones on the Olympic Team this year, especially since a lot of the Varner coverage will be more Penn State focused.

 

[Clone83]

This would be a huge upset. It'd be nice to have two Cyclones on the Olympic Team this year, especially since a lot of the Varner coverage will be more Penn State focused.

Absolutely. That one article said Travis hasn't competed in a tournament in over a year. I'm not positive, but I think I read on the other board that he was injured.

 

[Clone83]

Per ISUChip, here is how Jon finished out:

Re: Olympic Trials - Sunday
84kg - Jon Reader
R16: Joe LeBlanc - W 6-0 2-1
QF: Phil Keddy - L 0-1 0-1
Cons2: Tyrel Todd

Reader beat Todd in Cons2 (6-0 0-1 6-0), then lost to Max Askren in Cons3 (3-1 1-2 0-4)

Disappointing to Jon I'm sure, but like Big Z, these guys are young and it is good to see them get some wins. I didn't see it, but that loss to Keddy 0-1 0-1 in the quarterfinals surely hurt.

 

[Judoka]

Yeah, it certainly sucks but Reader at least and likely Z will be around for another Olympic cycle. For the Paulsens this is it.

 

[Clone83]

Herbert takes the second match 4-2, 3-2.

Winner takes all the third match (it will be awhile again).

 

[Clone83]

Travis' match is coming up.

 

[cyclonesurveyor]

got back from today's morning session (didn't go to finals, 2 kids under 5 were tired and ready to go home). even though it was at Carver , it was an awesome time with a full house and a lot of great wrestling (including a female backwards body slamming another female for the pin).

sad moment when henry cejudo retired after his loss.

Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo calls it quits after losing in semifinals at trials - The Washington Post

 

[Clone83]

got back from today's morning session (didn't go to finals, 2 kids under 5 were tired and ready to go home). even though it was at Carver , it was an awesome time with a full house and a lot of great wrestling (including a female backwards body slamming another female for the pin).

sad moment when henry cejudo retired after his loss.

Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo calls it quits after losing in semifinals at trials - The Washington Post

Sounds good. Did you see your cousin wrestle?

Travis' match has started.

 

[Clone83]

Well, Herbert wins it all, 3-0 2-1, the second match out of three.

Kinda sucks obviously but Travis had a good tournament, and Herbert is tough and hopefully wins the gold.

 

[cyclonesurveyor]

Sounds good. Did you see your cousin wrestle?

Travis' match has started.

yep, he did good for his second freestyle tournament (he won the qualifier tourney in cedar falls).

he won his first match. lost to Steve Mocco in second round. had a pin on the consi side then lost again so he was done.

 

[Clone83]

yep, he did good for his second freestyle tournament (he won the qualifier tourney in cedar falls).

he won his first match. lost to Steve Mocco in second round. had a pin on the consi side then lost again so he was done.

Yeah, I looked him up in the brackets and saw he won twice. He must be a stud. Good deal.

The World-Herald had a big article on the winner, Dlagnev. With all the big name college heavyweights like Mocco, it was guys from University of Nebraska Kearney and University of Nebraska Omaha in the finals.

Dlagnev earns Olympic spot - Omaha.com

The former University of Nebraska at Kearney standout shut down his UNO counterpart in the finals 3-0, 4-0 and 1-0, 2-0 Sunday night for the best-of-three matches victory at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials. ...
... Dlagnev went out of his way to acknowledge Sigman, who beat a younger, lighter and less experienced version of himself in all nine of their college matches. The two-time NCAA Division II champion at UNK believes Sunday's result evens their head-to-head freestyle record at 5-5.
“We've wrestled almost 20 times in referee competition,â€￾ Dlagnev said. “We've probably wrestled 80 times in simulations and practice. A lot of matches.â€￾

 

[Clone83]

Here are articles from the Register and the World Herald (WH's includes Metcalf).

U.S. Wrestling Trials: Herbert dashes Paulson's Olympic hopes | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com

Former Iowa State wrestler Travis Paulson, right, lost 2-1 against Jake Herbert in the 185-pound final Sunday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. / BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER

IOWA CITY, IA. — Travis Paulson and Jake Herbert shared housing and Olympic dreams.

There’s only room for one of them after Sunday.

The former roommates reunited in the 185-pound freestyle final at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Herbert defeated Paulson, a three-time all-American wrestler at Iowa State, and clinched a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.

“It was hard because he’d always get the best of me in practice,” Herbert said.

This one, the biggest one, went to Herbert.

The two competed against each other at the Cerro Pelado International in Cuba and as teammates on the World team in 2010. They got even closer when they lived together at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

The pair shared a house with Paulson’s twin brother, Trent, and another teammate.

“He’s a real goofy guy,” Paulson said of Herbert. “He laughs a lot. He always likes to keep a light mood. He’s joking around right before he walks onto the mat.”

There was no joking around on this day.

Paulson took the first match of the best of three competition. But Herbert, a 2009 World silver medalist, rallied back, winning 4-2, 3-2 in the second match and 3-0, 2-1 in the third. ...

Former Iowa college stars come up short at Trials - Omaha.com

Iowa State graduate Travis Paulson and former Iowa grappler Brent Metcalf each came up painfully short in their freestyle finals of the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday evening. Paulson went the distance in the best-of-three-match final against top-seeded Jake Herbert before succumbing 3-0 and 2-1 in the third contest. Metcalf lost in two matches — both of which went the full three periods — to fifth-seeded Jared Frayer.
"I was ready to make that team," Paulson said. "But, I don't know, it just didn't happen."
The Council Bluffs Lewis Central product jumped to an early lead with a 0-1, 2-1, 1-1 victory in the initial bout at 84 kilos (185 pounds). He won the pivotal third period because he was the last wrestler to score.
But Herbert stormed back against the No. 6 seed 4-2, 3-2 and held Paulson to a single point in the last match of the evening. The two men had been roommates in the past at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"It was hard because he'd always get the best of me in practice," Herbert said. "From '07 all the way through, I always knew wrestling a Paulson was going to be a day that I gave up a lot of points. I was glad to be able to shut it down and get it done here."
Metcalf, who won NCAA titles at Iowa in 2008 and 2010, couldn't give the near-sellout crowd what it wanted at 66 kilos (145.5 pounds). The 25-year-old fell to his 33-year-old opponent 5-1, 1-4, 6-0 and 2-1, 0-1, 2-2. In the last period of the second match, he scored what fans believed was a winning takedown in the last five seconds. But Frayer prevailed by virtue of scoring on a two-point move as opposed to Metcalf's two one-point actions.
Frayer, now an assistant at Oklahoma, spent the 2008-09 season at Iowa and worked extensively with Metcalf for a year. Metcalf has struggled in competition against his former coach, with the notable exception being a three-match result at the 2010 World Team Trials in Council Bluffs.
"I coached him for about nine months and we had a lot of fights in here," Frayer said. "They say he's never lost in here, but I guarantee he's lost in that wrestling room a couple times." ...

 

[Judoka]

The Paulsen's are probably done and Reader will likely be in his prime in 2016. But has Zabriskie indicated if he is going to continue competing?

 

[kberyldial]

I'm a casual wrestling fan and it's amazing to me the level of competition to make the Olympic team. There are awesome wrestlers like Taylor from Penn State that can't compete at this level. It's crazy. Varner is just an animal. Good to see ISU represented at the highest level.

 

[cyclonesurveyor]

I'm a casual wrestling fan and it's amazing to me the level of competition to make the Olympic team. There are awesome wrestlers like Taylor from Penn State that can't compete at this level. It's crazy. Varner is just an animal. Good to see ISU represented at the highest level.

Taylor is just a sophmore and varner has been out of school full time training for a couple of years. big difference.

 

[kberyldial]

Taylor is just a sophmore and varner has been out of school full time training for a couple of years. big difference.

I get it that those are MEN winning those matches and joining the Olympic team. I'm just amazed at the level of competition. Taylor walked through the NCAA's. I certainly wasn't trying to compare Varner to Taylor.