Super Noob honest question

Also, Cuba is probably one of the few places where the elite wrestlers are willing to transplant elsewhere as the country doesn't support the sport very well. In other countries, they compensate the best wrestlers well enough that I'd be surprised to see any leave.

This is the real answer to the original question. There are always a handful of guys who started internationally that have success in folkstyle. Michigan has been pretty successful with it. However, in a lot of countries wrestling is much bigger than it is in the US. Why come to the US and get your butt whipped while learning a new style, when you can make bank and train internationally at home?
 
They'd have to be elite on their feet and even then you're playing with fire because all it takes is being taken down once and they'll be at the mercy of their opponent on the mat.
You don't even have to be taken down. The other wrestler can choose top when it is his option. If he can ride the whole period as well as get back points you might be in a bad, bad way. Also someone who has little experience on the bottom and spends the whole period trying to avoid getting turned is likely to draw a couple stalling calls. It could all snowball...
 
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I mean I know why they aren't good on their feet, but some of them are obviously good enough to compete in folkstyle. I guess I think it would make sense to me for somebody to target them, then build a coaching philosophy around their strengths and try to shore up their weaknesses.

The format forces them to the mat too much. If all periods started neutral it’d make a difference.

It isn’t a bad idea and trust me, coaches and teams try. There was a phenomenal athlete and wrestler from Cuba who cyclones were trying to recruit but he ended up at Ohio state. Much time, money and resources have been poured into the kid I’m sure and he isn’t even close to making their line up at a weak weight. It is so hit and miss with international guys. They don’t train like we do, they don’t know English for the most part and have to learn it. They have to take on the academics and can struggle big time. They aren’t used to the grind: they compete a couple times a year in other countries. So many reasons why all the time, money, and efforts can fail.

Its not like basketball where the hotbed talent countries are EU, Canada, Australia that have little to zero cultural and language issues.
 
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You don't even have to be taken down. The other wrestler can choose top when it is his option. If he can ride the whole period as well as get back points you might be in a bad, bad way. Also someone who has little experience on the bottom and spends the whole period trying to avoid getting turned is likely to draw a couple stalling calls. It could all snowball...
Not to mention expend a ton of energy.
 
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Another noob question. The dual with Utah Valley was ppd. On the schedule there was 2 duals back to back on the same day. Is that a regular occurrence? Seems like alot to have some wrestlers have 2 matches in a day?
 
Another noob question. The dual with Utah Valley was ppd. On the schedule there was 2 duals back to back on the same day. Is that a regular occurrence? Seems like alot to have some wrestlers have 2 matches in a day?

In tournaments, they can wrestle up to 6 matches in a day. 2 matches, 2 hours apart, is nothing in comparison.

Wrestling is limited to certain number of "dates" of competition. Multi-team/multi-dual events are common. Depending on the number of teams competing, you can get 2-4 matches in while only using 1 "date".
 
In tournaments, they can wrestle up to 6 matches in a day. 2 matches, 2 hours apart, is nothing in comparison.

Wrestling is limited to certain number of "dates" of competition. Multi-team/multi-dual events are common. Depending on the number of teams competing, you can get 2-4 matches in while only using 1 "date".

Thanks for the info. I have my something learned for the day.
 
There was a lot of good discussion in a recent thread -- both about the match (as there has been a lot of late!), and about youth wrestling, including girls wrestling:


I'll post a couple of comments.

First, issues Bastida and Attasauov have with mat wrestling are comparable to high school kids who get a late start.

I agree with a comment I heard today by the former Griswold coach and now KMA announcer, Steve Baier, during the heavyweight final at the John J. Harris tournament in Corning. I don't believe kids are much behind if at all if you get started in 7th or 8th grade (and didn't do the youth thing). And it depends on the individual. Some get started in high school.

To add a little more context though, this discussion came up with respect to the Clarinda heavyweight, who won the tournament, and who got a very late start to wrestling, IIRC. His high school football and wrestling coach at Clarinda, Collin Bevins, encouraged him. Bevins was a Cyclone football player -- that many here likely recall -- before transferring and playing football at Northwest Missouri State.

Second, KMA Radio out of Shenandoah was doing high school meets before, and I might be wrong, but I think this is the first year they are doing live stream video feeds of tournament finals on YouTube. I'm not sure if high school meets in other parts of Iowa are being broadcast similarly. But I find them really good to watch for anyone trying to learn the sport, the various moves and holds and so forth. It helps to know the names. Obviously not everyone is interested in southwest Iowa, though the tournaments include schools like Humboldt, Winterset, Bondurant-Farrar, and Sergeant Bluff-Luton. And it helps if your school is a participant. But again, for all I know there are similar broadcasts in other parts of the state. I find the ones on KMA informative.

The announcers for KMA are Trevor Maeder, who is knowledgeable and does other sports as well, and Steve Baier, who is retired as a coach. Coach Baier -- who is after my time?!? o_O -- started at Griswold in the early 1980s and coached them to the state championship in 1984. They were good when he got there, also. In the late 1970s I think they might have finished 2nd at state once, but were good year after year. One of Coach Baier's wrestlers at Griswold, Brad Hildebrandt — I think on that 1984 team — went on to coach Omaha Skutt to 17 state championships.

Anyway, I find the announcers well informed, and that they provide solid commentary, which helps people better understand what is going on. It makes it easier to familiarize yourself with the names of particular moves (like whizzer, sit out, chicken wing, and so on).

The tournaments they live-streamed are available for viewing later at the KMA Sports YouTube channel:

Third, it was announced today that the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union will officially sponsor girls wrestling beginning in 2022-23:


The first two finals matches from the Western Iowa Conference tournament in December are good examples of quality matches on the KMA broadcasts; and the first had a really good girls wrestler, Molly Allen of Underwood, who is just a freshman.



Molly's match starts at 9:40. She wins the conference title — on the boys team — against a good opponent (with a record of 12-4 entering the match). You can see that she knows a lot of moves and executes well.

She is wrestling today at the girl’s state tournament in Coralville, and is in the finals.

105 pounds
Molly Allen (Underwood) vs. Hannah Davis (Council Bluffs Lincoln)
- A freshman-senior matchup here. "Miss Molly" Allen, a freshman, went pin, technical fall, pin, pin to reach the finals. Davis outscored her four opponents 23-1 to reach the finals.

Next year, with girls wrestling an officially sponsored sport, girls will not be able to wrestle on boys teams (unless it is exclusively boys, I believe, it's one or the other but not both -- 1/30/22 edit).

After Molly's match and a brief commercial, is another good match at 113, between Eli Becerra of Missouri Valley and Corbin Reisz of Logan-Magnolia. Becerra, a sophomore, finished 2nd at state last year, and is ranked 1st this year. Corbin Reisz, a freshman, was ranked 8th at the time of this match. These guys really go at it.

When I saw Becerra throw a cradle, it brought to mind former Cyclone Dalton Jensen -- also from Missouri Valley -- as it might to some others here. The end result wasn’t the same as Jensen’s cradles, which often even typically ended the match. Becerra has an interesting “leg cradle” o_O though, in the second period, and scores back points with it.

Finally, I see that Molly Allen of Underwood did win the girls state championship today in Coralville.

 
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IAWrestle came out with their final state rankings of the 2021-22 regular season.

Of the wrestlers in the two videos I highlighted above, freshman Molly Allen of Underwood is ranked 12th. In the second match, sophomore Eli Becerra of Missouri Valley is still ranked 1st, and freshman Corbin Reisz of Logan-Magnolia is now ranked 4th.

Cyclone football commit, preferred walk-on Easton Eledge of Underwood, is ranked 7th at heavyweight.

 
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As to the 2022 boys state tournament results, in the two matches I highlighted above (KMA video) of young but clearly experienced wrestlers:

FIRST MATCH
Molly Allen (freshman, 106), of Underwood, also made it to the boys state tournament but lost both matches. You wouldn’t necessarily have thought the guys she wrestled were that great, both sophomores and with 10 and 13 losses, but they finished 5th and 6th, so pretty high finish.

Gavin Kiger (sophomore, 106), of Logan-Magnolia, her opponent in the above video, also made it to state, and won one match there but did not place.

SECOND MATCH
Eli Becerra (sophomore, 113), of Missouri Valley, after finishing 2nd at state last year, finished 1st this year.

Corbin Reisz (freshman, 113), of Logan-Magnolia, finished 3rd at state — after losing 5-4 to Becerra in the second round, then winning the rest.

Furthermore, heading into sectionals, Becerra was ranked 1st and Reisz, 4th. After Reisz defeated Becerra at sectionals, Reisz was ranked 1st and Becerra was ranked 2nd, going into districts. Becerra defeated Reisz at districts. They met again at state in the second round, where Becerra defeated Reisz, 5 to 4. None of their other matches at state were as close, with Becerra in the championship bracket, and Reisz in the consolation bracket, on to 3rd:

Becerra’s matches:
Fall, 1:27
Won, 5-4
MDec, 9-1
Fall, 3:05, for 1st

Reisz’s matches:
Fall, 2:47
Lost, 4-5
Consolations:
Fall, 1:57
Fall, 3:06
MDec, 17-6
Fall, 1:56, for 3rd
 
As long as we're asking noob questions, why is the B12 adding California Baptist, meanwhile Arkansas-Little Rock is a member of the P12? Wouldn't it make more sense for those affiliations to be flipped?
 
Molly Allen goes from winning the conference championship, reffed by my old buddy and neighbor whose mom drove the school bus, to winning a national freestyle championship.

Wow. Congratulations, Molly!

Fargo nationals results of Iowa State interest are being tracked here:

I don’t believe they’ve started Greco yet.

 
There was a lot of good discussion in a recent thread -- both about the match (as there has been a lot of late!), and about youth wrestling, including girls wrestling:


I'll post a couple of comments.

First, issues Bastida and Attasauov have with mat wrestling are comparable to high school kids who get a late start.

I agree with a comment I heard today by the former Griswold coach and now KMA announcer, Steve Baier, during the heavyweight final at the John J. Harris tournament in Corning. I don't believe kids are much behind if at all if you get started in 7th or 8th grade (and didn't do the youth thing). And it depends on the individual. Some get started in high school.

To add a little more context though, this discussion came up with respect to the Clarinda heavyweight, who won the tournament, and who got a very late start to wrestling, IIRC. His high school football and wrestling coach at Clarinda, Collin Bevins, encouraged him. Bevins was a Cyclone football player -- that many here likely recall -- before transferring and playing football at Northwest Missouri State.

Second, KMA Radio out of Shenandoah was doing high school meets before, and I might be wrong, but I think this is the first year they are doing live stream video feeds of tournament finals on YouTube. I'm not sure if high school meets in other parts of Iowa are being broadcast similarly. But I find them really good to watch for anyone trying to learn the sport, the various moves and holds and so forth. It helps to know the names. Obviously not everyone is interested in southwest Iowa, though the tournaments include schools like Humboldt, Winterset, Bondurant-Farrar, and Sergeant Bluff-Luton. And it helps if your school is a participant. But again, for all I know there are similar broadcasts in other parts of the state. I find the ones on KMA informative.

The announcers for KMA are Trevor Maeder, who is knowledgeable and does other sports as well, and Steve Baier, who is retired as a coach. Coach Baier -- who is after my time?!? o_O -- started at Griswold in the early 1980s and coached them to the state championship in 1984. They were good when he got there, also. In the late 1970s I think they might have finished 2nd at state once, but were good year after year. One of Coach Baier's wrestlers at Griswold, Brad Hildebrandt — I think on that 1984 team — went on to coach Omaha Skutt to 17 state championships.

Anyway, I find the announcers well informed, and that they provide solid commentary, which helps people better understand what is going on. It makes it easier to familiarize yourself with the names of particular moves (like whizzer, sit out, chicken wing, and so on).

The tournaments they live-streamed are available for viewing later at the KMA Sports YouTube channel:

Third, it was announced today that the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union will officially sponsor girls wrestling beginning in 2022-23:


The first two finals matches from the Western Iowa Conference tournament in December are good examples of quality matches on the KMA broadcasts; and the first had a really good girls wrestler, Molly Allen of Underwood, who is just a freshman.



Molly's match starts at 9:40. She wins the conference title — on the boys team — against a good opponent (with a record of 12-4 entering the match). You can see that she knows a lot of moves and executes well.

She is wrestling today at the girl’s state tournament in Coralville, and is in the finals.



Next year, with girls wrestling an officially sponsored sport, girls will not be able to wrestle on boys teams (unless it is exclusively boys, I believe, it's one or the other but not both -- 1/30/22 edit).

After Molly's match and a brief commercial, is another good match at 113, between Eli Becerra of Missouri Valley and Corbin Reisz of Logan-Magnolia. Becerra, a sophomore, finished 2nd at state last year, and is ranked 1st this year. Corbin Reisz, a freshman, was ranked 8th at the time of this match. These guys really go at it.

When I saw Becerra throw a cradle, it brought to mind former Cyclone Dalton Jensen -- also from Missouri Valley -- as it might to some others here. The end result wasn’t the same as Jensen’s cradles, which often even typically ended the match. Becerra has an interesting “leg cradle” o_O though, in the second period, and scores back points with it.

Finally, I see that Molly Allen of Underwood did win the girls state championship today in Coralville.


I missed this post. KMA covers SWIA wrestling very well. Becerra & Reisz are likely done wrestling each other as Reisz will probably be 132 this coming year.
 
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I missed this post. KMA covers SWIA wrestling very well. Becerra & Reisz are likely done wrestling each other as Reisz will probably be 132 this coming year.
Yeah, KMA does an excellent job. I listened to the Western Iowa Conference tournament finals the prior year -- about the first KMA sports event for me in 40 years (mostly listening to Cyclone football games while doing farm work). I could be wrong but I don’t believe it was on YouTube. The team title came down to heavyweight and was exciting to listen to. This year, the tournament was about the time of the ISU-Purdue meet in Humboldt. I recall reading how Coach Dresser’s father used to broadcast wrestling meets, how he became interested in it.

This year I knew it was on YouTube, so I became interested in how they are doing that.
 
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