Grades:
125- C. Strickenberger is a good wrestler, but that is a match Kysen has to win. I thought he wrestled hard for 6:58 of the match and was in on some good shots, just couldn't finish. The last 10 seconds of the match were just frustrating and Kysen trying to do too much and then giving up with 2 seconds left. Kysen will qualify for nationals, but is probably a 1-2 or 2-2 best case in Philly.
133- A. Competition wasn't great, but it was extremely encouraging to see Evan wrestle like he did first match right off the scale. I thought the movement and energy from Evan might have been the best I've seen from him this year. I thought I read or heard from Dresser that he was dealing with an illness the first half of the year that might've been impacting his energy, and as he gets healthier, he will be dangerous in March. AA contender in Philly.
141- B. I thought Jacob wrestled a solid match and was the aggressor most of the match. Got JO'd for a takedown in the 1st, but battled back for a couple of his own. Needs to wrestle smarter the last 20 seconds, but I thought he was clearly the better wrestler than Titus (who was ranked top 15 for most of the year last year). If Ech can get healthy and go 141, he has a higher ceiling than Jacob, but I am fine if we roll with Jacob the rest of the year. I think Jacob's ceiling is low AA to BR in Philly.
149- A+. Might be the best Paniro has looked as an Iowa State wrestler as far as being the aggressor the entire match and not sitting back waiting to counter the other guys moves or wait for a last second takedown to win the match. Hillegas was a pretty highly ranked recruit out of high school and is a solid wrestler and Paniro dominated the entire match. This version of Paniro can wrestle on Saturday night in Philly, it just comes down to consistency with him.
157- B. I know Cody got the pin, but that was a really sloppy 1st period. He will always wrestle hard, now we need to have him wrestle smarter. I think as he gets more matches this year, he will continue to improve. To me, Cody's ceiling in March is probably 3rd place, but I expect him to improve on last years performance and at least be wrestling Friday Night in the BR.
165- C+. The 2nd period was promising from Riggins as he got in on Hall's legs multiple times. I am still not expecting much here, but hoping Aiden proves me wrong with the weight change. He still makes dumb mistakes during the match, but he will always give you 100%.
174- D. Conley is a fine wrestler, but that was a disappointing match from MJ. He looked small and got horsed around a bit, and if you are going to just try to launch the guy, being small will not work. I hope MJ bounces back this weekend and attacks the legs- look for that high-C, get in on single legs, just get something going from neutral. Weight mismanagement for MJ is probably my biggest frustration from this season, but we will see how he finishes the season. Ceiling is probably low AA in March (MJ is still a very talented wrestler), floor is not even qualifying and being in Philly. This weight could end up being the difference between being top 10 at NCAAs and struggling to crack top 15.
184- A-. Really solid match from Evan against a pretty good wrestler from WVU. Evan always seems to be in solid position and he's opening up more than his UVU days. I think there is still another gear there and he can separate himself further to put him squarely in the AA conversation. 184 is tough this year, but I think Evan's ceiling is a 5-6th place finish, floor is R16. Need him to be on the attack and get bonus for us in March.
197- D-. No comment on that effort. This weight overall has been the most disappointing this year. Hopefully when Carroll gets back in the lineup, we see a new Christian that is motivated and hungry to dominate. If we don't get that version of Carroll in the lineup, I doubt we see this weight in Philly.
Hwt- D+. Wolfgram is a fine wrestler, but Herrera should not have lost that match. He made a freshman mistake at the end of the 2nd period and completely gassed in the 3rd. This might be a harsh grade for a freshman, but I have high expectations for Daniel and he should not be gassing like that. Weight cutting certainly isn't an excuse. If Yonger is out for the year, ceiling for Daniel is probably 1-2 in March, but not qualifying is also a strong possibility. Hopefully we keep seeing improvements here- Daniel has the talent and skill, need to see smarter wrestling and better conditioning.
Overall, this team is probably going to be a better tournament team than dual team this year. Just massive holes at 165 and 197 right now and disappointing wrestling from 174 and Hwt. I still have very high hopes for the Frost brothers, Paniro, Cody, and Bockman. MJ has time to turn the season around, but I am nervous about how small he looks. Kysen is what he is- a good wrestler, but won't challenge for AA. Herrera is a true freshman and should get invaluable experience this year. Need to see more out of 165 and 197. No matter what, I'll be there cheering the team on and buying Blood Round from West O to support them.
