General 2012-13 Wrestling thread

[Swampy]

That was the best goddamn match I've ever seen. Despite being jobbed by the ref TWICE, Dake dominated Taylor in all aspects of the match. He won 5-4 but it wasn't that close. Dake escaped quickly, he rode hard, he got a takedown when he needed to and he earned that win.

Kyle Dake: first wrestler to win three titles in three years without a redshirt year; first wrestler to win four titles in four different weight classes; undefeated his junior and senior years. 2010 National Champion at 141; 2011 National Champion at 149; 2012 National Champion at 157; 2013 National Champion at 165. And when they look back at this, they will see that in the 2013 finals he beat a two-time national champion in David Taylor, because without Kyle Dake in his way, Taylor is going to blow through college wrestling next year and make all of this seem even more impressive in retrospect.

I am so happy to have gotten to watch him wrestle.

Cornell finishes in 5th place, they AGAIN have four All-Americans and the incoming freshman class looks top-notch. Get on the Cornell Wrestling bandwagon, everyone. It's a fun ride.

Ugarte, as the resident wrestling expert, can you explain the stall warnings to someone who just watched her first wrestling match? Thanks.

It sounds like just what it is: you aren't allowed to just run out the clock, you have to engage and try to score. This is true whether you are on top (you can't just lie on top like a sack of potatoes, you have to try to turn your opponent), at neutral (you can't run away) or on bottom (you can't just flatten out and keep from getting turned, you have to try to get up and out). The first stall warning was given because the ref thought that Dake wasn't trying to score; I thought it was a nonsense call - Taylor kept getting up and Dake would return him to the mat and he even got position to try to turn his back, though he never succeeded. The second stall warning was a little more legit; Taylor had escaped and Dake WAS more or less backing up and counting down the clock. A second stall warning gives the opponent a penalty point. There wasn't enough time left on the clock for Dake to get hit with another stall call, so Taylor knew it was over (the ESPN clock seemed to be consistently behind the official clock by a full second).

I watched the game with a friend who at one time was a nationally ranked wrestler (i.e., invited to tryout for the Olympics). Before the second stall warning, he said Dake should be willing to give up a second stall point because he had over a minute of riding time, which would add an extra point to Dake's score at the end. So perhaps we should interpret the "stalling" as a strategic decision by a sly, crafty wrestler rather than a move out of exasperation by someone hanging on for dear life.

Overall, today was a pretty good day for Cornell fans. After disappointing football, basketball, and hockey seasons, we needed that! Thanks, Kyle!

[ugarte]

I watched the game with a friend who at one time was a nationally ranked wrestler (i.e., invited to tryout for the Olympics). Before the second stall warning, he said Dake should be willing to give up a second stall point because he had over a minute of riding time, which would add an extra point to Dake's score at the end. So perhaps we should interpret the "stalling" as a strategic decision by a sly, crafty wrestler rather than a move out of exasperation by someone hanging on for dear life.

Oh, that's exactly right. I didn't mean to make it sound any other way!

[KeithK]

One other point about Dake's accomplishment that someone on the wrestling forum made:

In 2010, Dake beat Montell Marion in the 141 finals. Marion returned to the 141 final in 2011.
In 2011, Dake beat Frank Molinaro in the 149 final. In 2012, Molinaro won the 149 title.
In 2012, Dake beat Derek St. John in the 157 final. In 2013, St. John won the 157 title.
In 2013, Dake beat David Taylor in the 165 final. David Taylor was the returning 165 champion and 2011 finalist at 157.

He beat no cupcakes. He beat the best. Amazing.

So all of his finals opponents stayed in the same weight class for mltiple years. Why exactly did Dake switch to a different weight class every year when other guys don't? Fothe challenge? (I may be asking you to speculate here vut if so please just label your answer as speculation.)

[reilly83]

When asked during an ESPN interview Dake said it was his natural growth progression.

[Robb]

One other point about Dake's accomplishment that someone on the wrestling forum made:

In 2010, Dake beat Montell Marion in the 141 finals. Marion returned to the 141 final in 2011.
In 2011, Dake beat Frank Molinaro in the 149 final. In 2012, Molinaro won the 149 title.
In 2012, Dake beat Derek St. John in the 157 final. In 2013, St. John won the 157 title.
In 2013, Dake beat David Taylor in the 165 final. David Taylor was the returning 165 champion and 2011 finalist at 157.

He beat no cupcakes. He beat the best. Amazing.

So all of his finals opponents stayed in the same weight class for mltiple years. Why exactly did Dake switch to a different weight class every year when other guys don't? Fothe challenge? (I may be asking you to speculate here vut if so please just label your answer as speculation.)

I speculate that it was all the beer and blow.  

[dag14]

His Olympic coach or mentor encouraged him to go to 165 to face the challenge of wrestling Taylor who Dake acknowledged would be the best collegiate wrestler this year [other than himself].

[ugarte]

His Olympic coach or mentor encouraged him to go to 165 to face the challenge of wrestling Taylor who Dake acknowledged would be the best collegiate wrestler this year [other than himself].

Dake wrestles at 163 in international competition, so it is a natural weight for him. As dag said, his mentor encouraged him to rise to the challenge of facing Taylor and making history with four titles in four different weight classes. The earlier weight changes were because he grew out of those weights. For Dake to get down to 141 today would require a shipwreck.

[kingpin248]

Not sure if this merits its own thread, so putting it here: Pete Mesko arrested, charged with first degree rape.

[ugarte]

And, then, after the season, Cornell wrestling gets back in the news in the worst way: Pete Mesko '13, a backup, was arrested for rape.

[Jerseygirl]

Not sure if this merits its own thread, so putting it here: Pete Mesko arrested, charged with first degree rape.

Oh and there I went, reading the comments. YES HOW DARE THE SUN ADHERE TO STANDARD JOURNALISM PRACTICE AND NAME THE SUSPECT. I hate people. Really, truly. Except for maybe like four or five of you.

[ugarte]

Not sure if this merits its own thread, so putting it here: Pete Mesko arrested, charged with first degree rape.

Oh and there I went, reading the comments. YES HOW DARE THE SUN ADHERE TO STANDARD JOURNALISM PRACTICE AND NAME THE SUSPECT. I hate people. Really, truly. Except for maybe like four or five of you.

I don't want to blame the victim here but you really shouldn't let your eyes wander like that. They're bound to get assaulted.

[Jerseygirl]

Not sure if this merits its own thread, so putting it here: Pete Mesko arrested, charged with first degree rape.

Oh and there I went, reading the comments. YES HOW DARE THE SUN ADHERE TO STANDARD JOURNALISM PRACTICE AND NAME THE SUSPECT. I hate people. Really, truly. Except for maybe like four or five of you.

I don't want to blame the victim here but you really shouldn't let your eyes wander like that. They're bound to get assaulted.

I know. I don't know what I was thinking, having the audacity to just read those comments like that. I was totally asking for it. I could have avoided all of this by never venturing onto the internet. Heck, I shouldn't have even learned to read.

[KeithK]

Not sure if this merits its own thread, so putting it here: Pete Mesko arrested, charged with first degree rape.

Oh and there I went, reading the comments. YES HOW DARE THE SUN ADHERE TO STANDARD JOURNALISM PRACTICE AND NAME THE SUSPECT. I hate people. Really, truly. Except for maybe like four or five of you.

I don't want to blame the victim here but you really shouldn't let your eyes wander like that. They're bound to get assaulted.

I know. I don't know what I was thinking, having the audacity to just read those comments like that. I was totally asking for it. I could have avoided all of this by never venturing onto the internet. Heck, I shouldn't have even learned to read.

The situation does suggest that one should avoid reading internet comment threads on anything even remotely controversial.  I mean, look how contentious arguments about much less important things get on this site when we all share a common allegiance and half of us know ach other personally.  A situation like this one pops up and folks who ve no actual connection or knowledge of the case use it as an opportunity to get on the soap box and push their own abstract ideas.

[KeithK]

The situation does suggest that one should avoid reading internet comment threads on anything even remotely controversial.  I mean, look how contentious arguments about much less important things get on this site when we all share a common allegiance and half of us know ach other personally.  A situation like this one pops up and folks who ve no actual connection or knowledge of the case use it as an opportunity to get on the soap box and push their own abstract ideas.

...a pasttime which I have been known to indulge in from time to time. So save yourself the time and aggravation and choose not to read anything I write. :-D

[Jerseygirl]

Not sure if this merits its own thread, so putting it here: Pete Mesko arrested, charged with first degree rape.

Oh and there I went, reading the comments. YES HOW DARE THE SUN ADHERE TO STANDARD JOURNALISM PRACTICE AND NAME THE SUSPECT. I hate people. Really, truly. Except for maybe like four or five of you.

I don't want to blame the victim here but you really shouldn't let your eyes wander like that. They're bound to get assaulted.

I know. I don't know what I was thinking, having the audacity to just read those comments like that. I was totally asking for it. I could have avoided all of this by never venturing onto the internet. Heck, I shouldn't have even learned to read.

The situation does suggest that one should avoid reading internet comment threads on anything even remotely controversial.  I mean, look how contentious arguments about much less important things get on this site when we all share a common allegiance and half of us know ach other personally.  A situation like this one pops up and folks who ve no actual connection or knowledge of the case use it as an opportunity to get on the soap box and push their own abstract ideas.

To be honest (and sincere), my outrage and exasperation at the tone of the comments on the article extend to the way society views sexual assault in general. What makes me hate people in this case is that most of the commenters have a presumed affiliation with Cornell, which should, SHOULD, indicate that they would have a basic fucking clue that the Sun in no way acted controversially by printing the suspect's name. They're reading a newspaper. When writing about crime, newspapers name suspects. I guess in this case, subbing in a fresh-faced, corn-fed athlete from their alma mater for your usual common criminal was too much to comprehend, so it couldn't have been straight reporting, it must have been sullying this young man's reputation before all the facts came in.