2023 Final X

Both of the last 2 Michigan heavyweights lost at just about the same time. Coon lost to Schultz in GR 5-1 off a 4 point move with about 30 seconds left. 2 seconds later - Parris loses to Steveson 5-0.
 
And Jordan Burroughs loses to Chance Marsteller 8-3. I can't even believe the 74kg match. That first match should have been Chance Marsteller's, feel really strongly that the 3rd match should have been Jordan Burroughs. Exchange on the edge late leads to a reversal from 4 points for Burroughs to 4 points for Marsteller, I really think it was Jordan's move but I can see how Marsteller got the points. I guess in the end I feel the better wrestler won the series, but it was an all-time weird series.
 
2023 Senior Men's Freestyle World Team:
57kg- Zane Richards
61kg- Vito Arujau
65kg- Nick Lee
70kg- Zain Retherford
74kg- Kyle Dake
79kg- Chance Marsteller
86kg- David Taylor
92kg- Zahid Valencia
97kg- Kyle Snyder
125kg- Gable Steveson

Half of the team will be competing in their first senior world championships. A group with a lot to prove and a big job ahead of them. Congrats to everyone who made the team, was a really fun 19 matches.
 
Yankeefan33 said:
I'll post a bigger women's update later, but Adeline just pinned Kennedy Blades with a minute left. Blades, in both matches, got out to a nice lead, but Adeline wore her down and really showcased her strength in both matches to turn Blades. Gimme Kennedy next year!
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I think Blades is about the most athletically gifted woman, but I fear she has too many mental hurdles to get over. Just seems very fragile since the concussion. I hope she gets past it all, as she could dominate that weight.
 
Yankeefan33 said:
2023 Senior Men's Freestyle World Team:
57kg- Zane Richards
61kg- Vito Arujau
65kg- Nick Lee
70kg- Zain Retherford
74kg- Kyle Dake
79kg- Chance Marsteller
86kg- David Taylor
92kg- Zahid Valencia
97kg- Kyle Snyder
125kg- Gable Steveson

Half of the team will be competing in their first senior world championships. A group with a lot to prove and a big job ahead of them. Congrats to everyone who made the team, was a really fun 19 matches.
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I'm very conflicted in my thoughts about the chances for this team. Team USA has been nipping at RUS's heels and winning it all when RUS doesn't show. We're in the glory years for USA wrestling. The guy who led USA MFS back,* the GOAT, may now be gone. He'll be missed. I'm not sure Marstellar is up to the task. Hopefully, I'm wrong. I feel Father Time beat JB more so than Chance. We swap World champ, Cox, for an undersized Zahid. And we have another World champ sitting home at 57. I think Gilman was struggling w/ weight. He went 61 at an international tourney earlier this year and wasn't effective. Like JB, his exit may be more a factor of his struggles than Zane's talent. IMO, Zane Richards is not the future at 57. I think he's a placeholder, at 29 years old, but hopefully good enough to medal. More likely, he's a longshot. We have 2 silver medals sitting home at 61 & 65. At 61 I think Vito is the future and has proven he is ready to compete with the best in the World. At 70 I think Yianni's funky style was an advantage. Guys didn't see a lot of wrestlers like him. Nick Lee may be the future and is really good, but his style is more like everyone else. He's unproven on the World stage. Hopefully, he'll prove to be there with the best. At the 2022 Worlds we brought home 4 golds and another 4 silvers. This year I'd put the over under for total medals at 6.5 and I'd bet the over.


The guy who brought USA MFS back
*From Flo:
"Burroughs has stacked up his seven titles in 12 years. In the 12 years prior to his Senior-level debut, the United States won a total of five men’s freestyle World and Olympic titles — Stephen Neal (1999), Brandon Slay (2000), Cael Sanderson (2004), Bill Zadick (2006) and Henry Cejudo (2008)."

Team USA placed 9th in the 2008 OLY, 7th in the 2009 Worlds, and 22nd w/ no medals in 2010. He brought USA wrestling back. I'm not saying he is responsible for the success that the team has had or the success that Dake, Taylor, Snyder & Cox have had. But his era, while logically approaching the end, has been and still is a great one for Team USA w/ World titles in 2017 & 2022. And speaking of Dake and Taylor, if you think you are a World class wrestler and get beat domestically, you get better or you quit. Both got better.
 
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Taking nothing away from the winners. Some had years to figure out how to be competitive and beat the number one guy. That was their goal.
You don't have years to figure out the field at The World Tourney. The guys that won deserve their chance, but I believe some lack of experience may thwart them along the way. I don't think Lee, Valencia/Macc or Marstellar are the answer but they did their job and I'll be happy to be proven wrong.
USA! 🇺🇸
 
MPhillips said:
Taking nothing away from the winners. Some had years to figure out how to be competitive and beat the number one guy. That was their goal.
You don't have years to figure out the field at The World Tourney. The guys that won deserve their chance, but I believe some lack of experience may thwart them along the way. I don't think Lee, Valencia/Macc or Marstellar are the answer but they did their job and I'll be happy to be proven wrong.
USA! 🇺🇸
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That's the biggest thing with Richards and Lee for me. No offense to Chance/Zahid, but those are non-Olympic weights. I obviously would love to see winners, but it doesn't impact the biggest tourney of every four years. Richards and Nick Lee just haven't done it internationally and don't have the feel of the foreign guys usually needed to compete. 57kg and 65kg are going to be insanely tough the year before the Olympics- I have doubts either one medals.
 
This is the guy I mentioned above that was in the corner for Patrick Smith in GR at 77kg. At first look - when he walked out to the corner - I swore it was the reincarnation of John DuPont. Looked even more like him when you saw his thin frame and how he walked unevenly out to the mat. It was surreal - I had to look to make sure Smith wasn't tricked into wearing a Foxcatcher singlet. I'd have been nervous turning my back to him..
1686519008405.png
 
MPhillips said:
Taking nothing away from the winners. Some had years to figure out how to be competitive and beat the number one guy. That was their goal.
You don't have years to figure out the field at The World Tourney. The guys that won deserve their chance, but I believe some lack of experience may thwart them along the way. I don't think Lee, Valencia/Macc or Marstellar are the answer but they did their job and I'll be happy to be proven wrong.
USA! 🇺🇸
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Every one of the defeated ( Burroughs, Yanni , Gilman etc) changed their styles a bunch to adjust to the best Russians, Iranians also. So the “ feel” when wrestling them is a feel of how they were able to adjust and win big against some of the worlds best. Personally while Burroughs has had a lot of success, he also has been prone to some losses ( 2016) by guys who were just prepared to stuff his Bully double, Burroughs never really developed another legit attack from nuetral, and was never great on top. I cant stand Yannis style and predicted both he and Burroughs to lose. You cant win against the best consistently by waiting for their attacks and pray you can get a crotch lift to win …. Yanni has way to many close wins over his career by lack of offense. Only real surprise for me was Gilman.
 
Sorry I had to bale on Friday. My totals below. First column is confidence points. Second is tiebreaker awarding half of the confidence points for 3 round match-ups.

10 points: Steveson (over Parris) 10 10
9 points: Retherford (over Burger) 9 9
8 points: Gilman (over Richards) 0 0
7 points: Taylor (over Brooks) 7 7
6 points: Dake (over Nolf) 6 6
5 points: Kyle Snyder (over J'Den Cox) 5 5
4 points: Jordan (over Chance Marstellar) 0 0
3 points: Vito (over Nashon Garrett) 3 3
2 points: Valencia (Over Mike Macc.) 2 2
1 point: Yanni D. (over Nick Lee) 0 0

42 confidence points. 42 tiebreaker points. 7 correct picks.
 
I personally think both Chance and Zahid have a great shot to medal. Both in non-olympic weights, and both relatively unknown to the rest of the world. Chance has a good style for overseas imo, because he can stay in a strong position for the entire match, and has a really nice shot that he displayed on JB quite a few times this weekend. Keeps him out of danger, while allowing him to, at minimum, get push outs. He also has the strength to get a big move when needed. I do not see him as a weak link on the team at all.

Zahid is definitely a bit undersized, but he has plenty of strength to make up for that, plus now he is going to add another level of athleticism and speed to the mix, that a lot of the 92kg guys don't see as often. It's not a particularly deep weight class, I could definitely see him making a run at a medal. I am picking him to medal, and if he made his way to the final, I would not be the least bit surprised.

57 is a pretty deep weight, and I share the same opinion as many about Richards. I do not think he will medal. He may not win a match at worlds tbh, but if he does, you are looking at 1-2 maybe 2-2. He did his job and wrestling really well throughout the domestic process to make the team, but I just do not see where he competes on the biggest stage and wins. Hope I am wrong.

Nick Lee is a grinder and has a good wrestling head on his shoulders. He is high IQ and will push until the whistle blows. He has the talent to medal. He just has to avoid lapses like he had at US Open where he damn near lost in the semi to his teammate. I do not think he medals, but if he does, it would not be a huge surprise. Just a teeny tiny surprise.
 
Yankeefan33 said:
I'll post a bigger women's update later, but Adeline just pinned Kennedy Blades with a minute left. Blades, in both matches, got out to a nice lead, but Adeline wore her down and really showcased her strength in both matches to turn Blades. Gimme Kennedy next year!
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To me I wonder if Adeline’s loss the Kennedy was due to Gray having a baby and was just thinking she needed time to bounce back?
 
Joe Daugherty said:
To me I wonder if Adeline’s loss the Kennedy was due to Gray having a baby and was just thinking she needed time to bounce back?
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Definitely think that had a big part, and the thing I overlooked at the Open (and in picking Kennedy at Final X) was Adeline had lost some of her strength, which is a huge part of her skill. Not only was she able to get to TDs better, but she did so later in the match, where that conditioning and firepower really became important.
 
OCEagle said:
This is the guy I mentioned above that was in the corner for Patrick Smith in GR at 77kg. At first look - when he walked out to the corner - I swore it was the reincarnation of John DuPont. Looked even more like him when you saw his thin frame and how he walked unevenly out to the mat. It was surreal - I had to look to make sure Smith wasn't tricked into wearing a Foxcatcher singlet. I'd have been nervous turning my back to him..
View attachment 42502
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That’s Dan Chandler. Outstanding Greco Coach out of Minnesota. Has coach multiple World Team Members and World Medalists. He was a 2x Olympian as well. Has had athletes qualify for Multiple Olympics.
 
CoachA1317 said:
That’s Dan Chandler. Outstanding Greco Coach out of Minnesota. Has coach multiple World Team Members and World Medalists. He was a 2x Olympian as well. Has had athletes qualify for Multiple Olympics.
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I was just posting that for humor. I assumed he was an excellent coach given who he was coaching. But I honestly had to do a double take when he came up toward the mat and the corner chair. Only caught a glimpse of him - and there is no question he did not look at all like the typical coach heading over to the corner. I could actually see his neck and no cauliflower ears....
 
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