Pan Am Qualifier

Gwiz 10-0 tech, qualifies the weight, and will be in the finals at 125kg in the trials!

One bad match all weekend for Team USA, and it really took the wind out of the sails. Despite Zain getting pinned, Team USA has qualified 15/18 weights, which is one more than 2016 already. That will probably be our final total however, unless Yianni/JO can beat Zain and get a good draw at Last Chance.
 
15/18 is really good. Hopefully, we can add another spot or 2 at Last Chance. If 65kg doesn't get Q'ed, and/or Zain isn't the guy or doesn't place at Olympics, it will be 8 years since Zain won a World medal (2012 Cadet gold). IMO, we need to see Yianni or JO at 65 for Team USA.
 
And the other 3 continental qualifiers all are postponed, as well as the last chance. So we'll need to wait for the continentals to play out to see who the competition is for 65kg and the 2 GR weights.
 
And not to be harsh about our chances at 65kg and the Last Qualifier, but 6 guys Q'ed at the 2019 Worlds, 8 more at the continental Q's, and 2 more will Q at the Last Chance. If Zain, JO or Yianni, whoever reps us at the Last Chance, can't get a spot, among the top 16 guys in the world, then we obviously don't deserve a spot. I'm sure there are some continental guys (Africa and Asia maybe) who aren't as tough as guys who don't make it in Europe, but Zain placed 26th out of 44 guys at last years Worlds. And he was our best guy last year. If you're good enough, Zain, Yianni or JO, get it done at Last Chance or sit home and eat popcorn.
 
And certainly congrats to Gilman, DT3, & Gwiz. And congrats again to the 6 ladies and 4 GR guys.
 
bdhof said:
And certainly congrats to Gilman, DT3, & Gwiz. And congrats again to the 6 ladies and 4 GR guys.
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Overall, I don't think whoever we send at 65kg will do much, but it's still a great opportunity. Our hopes lie in 74kg, 86kg, and 97kg, where we should be medal threats no matter who goes.
 
bdhof said:
15/18 is really good. Hopefully, we can add another spot or 2 at Last Chance. If 65kg doesn't get Q'ed, and/or Zain isn't the guy or doesn't place at Olympics, it will be 8 years since Zain won a World medal (2012 Cadet gold). IMO, we need to see Yianni or JO at 65 for Team USA.
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Man the US’s struggles at 65 continues, when was the last time we medaled at that weight? Been a while, was it Zadick like 10-15 years ago? A medal that came out of nowhere and wasn’t close to repeated again? I’m still amazed Metcalf for all of his folk style success wasn’t better at free internationally, though I do think if he’d had his entire career under the current rules he might have got one.
 
I'm almost ready to suggest that the U.S. move toward some sort of "alternative selection criteria" for choosing world team members. Zain is not likely to lose a wrestle-off in the Trials, but both JO and Yianni perform better than Zain in international competition. I know in the U.S. the mantra is "you gotta beat the guy on the mat" to earn the spot, but look at all the college coaches, as well as international coaches, that do not select their lineups with direct wrestle-offs.

I suppose that's a can-of-worms for another day. I'll hold out some hope that something breaks favorably for Zain in the LCQ, but I'm not holding my breath.

Seems like Coon might have a shot? I don't know Greco and I'm not a fan of HWTs, but he's had world-level success before, so maybe he can get on a roll an qualify.
 
Blast82.5 said:
I'm almost ready to suggest that the U.S. move toward some sort of "alternative selection criteria" for choosing world team members. Zain is not likely to lose a wrestle-off in the Trials, but both JO and Yianni perform better than Zain in international competition. I know in the U.S. the mantra is "you gotta beat the guy on the mat" to earn the spot, but look at all the college coaches, as well as international coaches, that do not select their lineups with direct wrestle-offs.

I suppose that's a can-of-worms for another day. I'll hold out some hope that something breaks favorably for Zain in the LCQ, but I'm not holding my breath.

Seems like Coon might have a shot? I don't know Greco and I'm not a fan of HWTs, but he's had world-level success before, so maybe he can get on a roll an qualify.
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I think their qualification is fine, they just arent talented enough at 65kg. No matter who they send, they havent medaled in 15 years. That's not a sign they need a new process, it's a sign our guys arent good enough. And to be fair, our best guy in the last 10 years at 65kg in my opinion was Aaron Pico, who obviously hasn't been wrestling for the last four years.

It's hard to predict how our last three guys will do since Pan Am has been the only qualifier. 130kg in Greco is rather tough, but a quick look makes it seem possible. Cuba, Turkey, Georgia, Estonia, Germany, and Iran qualified at worlds. Brazil and Chile just qualified. Gotta think Russia qualifies at Euros, and a mix of China/South Korea/Uzbekistan/Kyrgyzstan at Asians. That's still a bit of talent out there to qualify the weight- it's a tough task for any country.
 
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