Wrestling [2016-2017]

[ugarte]

Dean just started his match live on ESPN right now

i don't want to talk about it. sigh. i'll write more tomorrow.

[ugarte]

I still don't really want to write about it but here you go anyway.

After an amazing string of wins in the quarterfinals, it went pretty much all to hell. There were a couple of bright spots but ... it was pretty bad.

157: Dylan Palacio finishes a strange and fascinating career at Cornell with a second trip to the podium as an All-American. His stunning pin over the 2 seed in the quarterfinals was amazing but it set up everything that followed. For the rest of the tournament, against the very top guys, being prepared for Palacio's counterattacking style was enough. He lost in the semis to the #3 seed 8-5, because he gave up leg attack after leg attack and only converted his classic countering move once. I thought the reffing was ungenerous to him (he should have had 2NF points and twice it seemed like he was on the verge of scoring when stalemate was called because of a dangerous position) but Lavalley was able to finish three takedowns and that was enough. In the consolation semifinal he faced the #5 seed - who he had beaten twice last year (including once by a pin like he got in the QF); this year he lost 10-0. I had a feeling that after losing in the semis, he'd have very little left in the tank emotionally and I think that was the case. He lost again in the 5th place match, 6-3 to the #4 seed, getting one takedown that was immediately reversed.

Palacio was amazing to watch from his first day on the mat. He was a high-wire act unlike anyone else, willing to get into catastrophic positions because he had the strength to turn them around and the advantage of being crazy enough to try. As both a freshman and sophomore he was wrestling insanely well - as a 165 pounder - at the tournament when he was injured, knocking him out before he could get the AA he deserved. Sophomore year, in particular, effectively wrestling on one leg, he was in a stalemate position with the lead mere seconds away from the end of the match when the ref decided it was actually a takedown. That victory would have been his first AA. He came back from his tournament injuries down at 157, and rallied from an early NCAA tournament loss to take 4th place as a junior. This year, he had to deal in the first semester with the untimely death of his best friend before facing the more quotidian issue of making weight. He briefly bumped Womack from his spot at 165, but after a loss at Brown decided the better path - for him and the team - was at 157. It worked out for everyone.

I'll miss him. I hope he does take a shot at international glory. I'll cheer for this Long Island kid even if he's carrying the Uruguayan flag at the Olympics.

165: Brandon Womack came to Cornell from the not-a-wrestling-hotbed of Alabama, albeit as a 6 time state champion. He came into this season as the expected backup at 165 to elite recruit Dillon Artigliere. Instead, Womack outperformed him at the early season tournaments, including two wins against him. He clearly stole the starting job and then didn't stop winning, finishing the year with 11 Falls. His pinning had people very excited, very quickly, and it seemed like maybe we got ahead of ourselves at the Vegas tournament in December - he lost three times against the top competition, including two blowout losses to Arizona State freshman Valencia and Edinboro's Matthews. After resolving the weight class issue with Palacio, fixed as the starter, he won Easterns, earned a 13 seed and then, at the tournament, avenged both of his Las Vegas losses. He pinned Matthews in the Consolation QF and then won a wild match against Valencia - both seeded higher than him - to get to the podium. He fell to seventh with losses to the #6 and #5 wrestlers in the country, but Bama certainly made it known that he is going to be a contender for the next three years.

174: Brian Realbuto, like Palacio, had a career built on raw strength and risk taking.  For his first two years, when he was wrestling at 157, he had his share of tournament controversy. As a freshman, he reached the semifinals after dominating the #2 wrestler in the quarters. In the semis, he was wrestling incredibly well against #1 Alex Dieringer when he wrecked his knee, costing him the match and leading to a pair of forfeits to finish in 6th. As a sophomore, his QF match will be talked about for years, as an error at the scorers table sent a match to overtime at 9-9 when actually Miller had a one-point lead. There's a butterfly effect to this, though, as Realbuto may have scored back points in the closing seconds if it mattered AND if he knew he had that extra point Miller probably would have wrestled differently. Be that as it may, Realbuto got the win then won his semifinal match as well, finishing in second for back-to-back All America honors. His junior year, despite moving up to 174, was an amazing run, with only 3 losses heading into the NCAA tournament. At the tournament, though, he had trouble in the first round with a much taller wrestler, took a chance more characteristic of his frosh year, and found himself losing by a lot, early. His attempt to come back ended when he basically shredded his own knee, trying to use his leg as a fulcrum to turn his opponent. I thought there was a chance that he was done for good but not only did he come back to wrestle in his consolation bout (he lost but only barely, despite limping around with a massive brace), but he returned this year as strong as ever. He beat then-#1 Bo Jordan in a dual meet to move up to #2 in the country and entered the tournament as a 2 seed. His loss to Jordan - after leading by 3 with under a minute to go - will stay with me for a while. I think he's the better wrestler and he shifted to a combination of extra-cautious and extra-risky and both backfired, leading to a stall call for backing up and then getting himself pancaked for the losing points with time running out while attempting a big throw.

Another amazing career - 3X All-American, national finalist - that could have been even better without injury. I'll miss him too most of all.

184: Gabe Dean was a monster from the moment he started wrestling for Cornell. As a freshman he shocked the world by beating the consensus #1, Senior Ed Ruth, handing him (IIRC) his first loss in two and a half years. His only losses that year were to Ruth and the other national finalist, finishing in third as a freshman. He won national titles as a soph and a junior. He lost three as a freshman, two as a sophomore and one as a junior, with the latter three losses all coming when it seemed like he probably had the flu. This year, he avoided his Christmas bug and steamed into NCAAs looking unstoppable. At the tournament, though, he looked very stoppable. Facing the same guy he'd thrown around the mat in the Eastern finals, Dean struggled, gave up offensive points, and while he won comfortably, he looked anything but comfortable. His second round was the same - he won by major decision, but he just didn't look like the same guy we'd seen all year. In the QF, facing a top 10 wrestler, he barely escaped with a controversial one-point win. Finally, in the SF he looked like himself, dominating a top-flight opponent, and the prospect of a third straight title seemed possible again. In the final, facing Bo Nickal - a truly great opponent, he scored the first points of the match, and it looked like he would reassert himself as the champ but it wasn't to be. Near the end of the first period, Nickal took a shot and grabbed one leg and, while sprawling out to protect his other leg, Dean reached back - maybe to try a similar move to Palacio's - and instead put his secondleg close enough to Nickal, that Nickal was able to wrap his own leg around it to score two. Without anyone scoring any more takedowns the rest of the way, that was enough to cost Dean the match. I can't say for sure that Dean was sick - and while he's hinted that it's true he's also made clear that he'll never come out and admit it - but he sure looked off. It was an unfortunate end to one of the best college careers I've gotten to witness.

Realbuto and Dean are apparently going to be sticking around to coach the greyshirts at Finger Lakes Wrestling Club next year. I don't really see an international future for Realbuto but I'd love to see Dean at the Olympics for the USA. Fingers crossed. I want to see Dean keep wrestling.

Four All-Americans and an eighth place finish is a strange thing to be disappointed in, but with three of those All-Americans graduating, it is. All signs point to a great future for the team - I'll talk about the incredible recruits in our future another time - but this senior class won't be forgotten soon, nor will how close they came to something truly amazing.

[semsox]

Really great write-up ugarte. Thanks for taking the time all season with providing your thoughts and insight.

[CU77]

Agreed, many thanks!

One question: did you agree with the TD call against Dean, the one that was changed after review?

[ugarte]

Agreed, many thanks!

One question: did you agree with the TD call against Dean, the one that was changed after review?

Yeah, I guess, but it was a cheap two. Like Capone going down on a tax charge.

[nshapiro]

Palacio was amazing to watch from his first day on the mat. He was a high-wire act unlike anyone else, willing to get into catastrophic positions because he had the strength to turn them around and the advantage of being crazy enough to try.

Only wrestler I remember that was a bigger risk-taker than Palacio was Cary Kolat from Penn State and then Lock Haven.  His opponent would have one of Cary's legs up high, and Cary would do basically a back flip with a half twist, and get a double on his opponent's legs while suspended upside down.  


Thanks for the great write-ups.  Do you think that coach Koll feels as disappointed with the results as we do?