[Wrestling] NCAA Championships

ugarte · March 19, 2011, 02:13:06 PM

Cam Simaz wins 5-2 over Brandvold of Wisconsin to finish third. This is Cam's third straight All-American finish. He finished 7th in 2009 and 3d in 2010 and 2011. Congratulations, Cam. Bring it all home in 2012.

nyc94 · March 19, 2011, 02:13:51 PM

Quote from: ugarteSteve Bosak loses to Grant Gambrall of Iowa and finishes in 4th place and gets his second All-American finish in two years. Congratulations, Steve.

I have to say, watching the disappointments pile up is rough.

This weekend is the opposite of last year due to our high expectations of wrestling and women's hockey. And no basketball.

css228 · March 19, 2011, 04:14:30 PM

The only thing that could redeem this weekend even somewhat is if the men's icers take down Yale

gjk22 · March 19, 2011, 05:33:30 PM

Whats the point reward for winning in the championship match?

We're down by 14. Any chance that Cornell 1-0, and PSU 0-3 could result in us winning?

Al DeFlorio · March 19, 2011, 06:09:07 PM

Quote from: gjk22Whats the point reward for winning in the championship match?

We're down by 14. Any chance that Cornell 1-0, and PSU 0-3 could result in us winning?

No.

ugarte · March 19, 2011, 07:51:00 PM

Quote from: gjk22Whats the point reward for winning in the championship match?

We're down by 14. Any chance that Cornell 1-0, and PSU 0-3 could result in us winning?

Winning the championship would net 4 points. Officially, first place is worth 16 but our score already factors in the 12 points Dake has received for finishing in, at worst, second.

However, with Iowa losing their only chance at an individual title - at 125 - Cornell locks up second place for the second year in a row.

ugarte · March 19, 2011, 08:37:55 PM

All is amazing. Kyle Dake is the NCAA 149lb Champion.

#4 Dake absolutely dominated #2 Molinaro in the finals, taking an 8-1 decision. He had a quick takedown in the first period and rode Molinaro for over 2 minutes. In the second, Molinaro overruled his coaches and elected to start on bottom. Dake rode him for the entire second period and tilted him for an additional 3 points. In the third, Dake started on bottom, immediately got the reversal and AGAIN rode Molinaro for the entire period. In the end, Dake racked up 6:17 in riding time. The only point Molinaro scored was a penalty point, awarded in the first, because the ref thought Dake was putting illegal pressure on Molinaro's knee.

In 5 NCAA tournament matches, that penalty was the only point scored by an opponent. I think he's a long-shot but that isn't a bad resume for Most Outstanding Wrestler.

This is Dake's second national championship in two years. In 2010, Dake won the title at 141 pounds as a freshman. I can't believe that we get two more years of this guy. If wrestling were basketball he'd be in the WWE next week.

dag14 · March 19, 2011, 09:21:13 PM

How can anyone but Anthony Robles be the Outstanding Wrestler? He dominated his 125 lbs match...and he only has one leg. I have never seen anything like it. This young man is an inspiration to anyone with a disability.

David Harding · March 19, 2011, 10:07:16 PM

Thank you for the running reports and commentary.

ugarte · March 19, 2011, 10:25:13 PM

Quote from: dag14How can anyone but Anthony Robles be the Outstanding Wrestler? He dominated his 125 lbs match...and he only has one leg. I have never seen anything like it. This young man is an inspiration to anyone with a disability.

There were a lot of dominating performances. I think Burroughs is going to win it, actually. He destroyed people all tournament and even got a MD in the finals. If you want to see something nuts, check out the transcript of his QF win over the 8 seed - he got a TF by spending the whole match toying with his opponent, catch and release. At the end of the first period the score was 10-4: 5 TDs with escapes in between.

Robles' accomplishments are indeed impressive - though I confess that I often wonder whether his disability-in-life is actually an advantage on the mats. His resulting style is highly unorthodox and - as crude as this may sound - any weight that otherwise would have been in his leg, is in his upper body. I should be clear: the amount of work that he had to put into becoming a world-class athlete despite his handicap must have been staggering and he deserves all of the praise he gets. But he didn't dominate 125 the way Burroughs dominated 165.

Al DeFlorio · March 20, 2011, 12:12:02 AM

Quote from: ugarteRobles' accomplishments are indeed impressive - though I confess that I often wonder whether his disability-in-life is actually an advantage on the mats. His resulting style is highly unorthodox and - as crude as this may sound - any weight that otherwise would have been in his leg, is in his upper body. I should be clear: the amount of work that he had to put into becoming a world-class athlete despite his handicap must have been staggering and he deserves all of the praise he gets. But he didn't dominate 125 the way Burroughs dominated 165.

I agree with all your points. Robles has the upper body of a 141 if not 149 pound wrestler. His biceps appeared to be twice the size of McDonough's. I'd have voted for Burroughs.

Jordan 04 · March 21, 2011, 09:33:16 AM

Nice article in the WSJ this morning on Robles. I don't think I can link directly due to WSJ's subscription filter, but a Google search should get you there just fine.

nshapiro · March 21, 2011, 10:55:22 AM

Did anyone else feel that Bosak managed to learn nothing from his previous two bouts with Hamlin? Hamlin consistently scored his points countering Bosak's shots. Bosak was able to ride Hamlin for an entire period. If he had just waited 20 more seconds in the first overtime, he could have won in OTs 2/3 by escaping and riding out Hamlin.