Wrestling 2019-20

[ugarte]

Berreyesa started hot but now that it's clear that his game is upper body throws, he is not doing that well.

From the little I know of wrestling it does seem Berreyesa is a one-trick pony who needs to expand his repertoire.

easier said than done: he's a world class greco-roman wrestler and the rules are just different in freestyle. it's like introducing a boxer to MMA and telling him, as he ices his face from getting kneed in the chin, that he's got to avoid knees.

Really shows how the Big Red caught lightning in a bottle the year the JJ Chavez became an All-American.

I was just going to cite Chavez, whose folkstyle skills were pretty darned good.  I watched that throw against Buffalo many times.  See about 1:26 into this!

[video]https://youtu.be/Uokcj4lk_fE[/video]

Chavez was a much better freestyle wrestler than AB. Hell, he's had more successful Senior GR success too.

[mountainred]

We still don't know much about Womack's condition.  In addition, I still find it very strange that Berreyesa gave up his ORS just so he could do a few duals:  I guess he might have been insurance in case Womack couldn't come back.  But in that case, who cares?  Cornell isn't winning EIWAs even if Womack wins at 174.  A part of me is holding out hope that Berreyesa goes 165 in two weeks...

I don't find it quite so strange when you look at the guys joining or rejoining the team next year.  Foca coming in at 174 and Dean coming back at 184 (plus Loew).  Berreyesa is a competitor, but if you can help the team in a bad spot and give yourself maybe the best window for a trip to Nationals, why not?

And I wouldn't mind seeing Andrew give it a go at 165, but would he be eligible?  I guess if he was a light 174 pounder it would be possible (and would also help explain the meh performances over the last couple weeks).

[klehner]

We still don't know much about Womack's condition.  In addition, I still find it very strange that Berreyesa gave up his ORS just so he could do a few duals:  I guess he might have been insurance in case Womack couldn't come back.  But in that case, who cares?  Cornell isn't winning EIWAs even if Womack wins at 174.  A part of me is holding out hope that Berreyesa goes 165 in two weeks...

I don't find it quite so strange when you look at the guys joining or rejoining the team next year.  Foca coming in at 174 and Dean coming back at 184 (plus Loew).  Berreyesa is a competitor, but if you can help the team in a bad spot and give yourself maybe the best window for a trip to Nationals, why not?

And I wouldn't mind seeing Andrew give it a go at 165, but would he be eligible?  I guess if he was a light 174 pounder it would be possible (and would also help explain the meh performances over the last couple weeks).

That makes some sense (nowhere to hide the next few years between 165 and 285!).  Given he goes at 77kg for greco, that's 4.4 pounds over 165.  Wish there was a way to know what people weighed in at.

[ugarte]

We still don't know much about Womack's condition.  In addition, I still find it very strange that Berreyesa gave up his ORS just so he could do a few duals:  I guess he might have been insurance in case Womack couldn't come back.  But in that case, who cares?  Cornell isn't winning EIWAs even if Womack wins at 174.  A part of me is holding out hope that Berreyesa goes 165 in two weeks...

I don't find it quite so strange when you look at the guys joining or rejoining the team next year.  Foca coming in at 174 and Dean coming back at 184 (plus Loew).  Berreyesa is a competitor, but if you can help the team in a bad spot and give yourself maybe the best window for a trip to Nationals, why not?

And I wouldn't mind seeing Andrew give it a go at 165, but would he be eligible?  I guess if he was a light 174 pounder it would be possible (and would also help explain the meh performances over the last couple weeks).

I don't think he can wrestle enough for an at-large but if he makes weight he could earn a bid at EIWA.

I also think there's a real chance he gets squeezed out of the starting lineup next year so pulling his shirt to help the team and get starting time makes sense.

klehner, I think there is a site that compiles the information about weighins and certification (there are people on the mat forum that sometimes reference it) but I keep forgetting to ask for a link. gimpeltf and jdalu probably know.

[ugarte]

The Automatic Qualifier allocations are out. Here's each weight class, the conference allocation for the EIWA tournament and whether we earned one.

125: (7) - We didn't earn one but Dom LaJoie has a win over one of the guys who did, so with 7 bids on the line, he could pull it off. I don't think he has a chance at an at-large otherwise.

133: (2) Chas Tucker earned one of these bids and even if he falters before the finals it is inconceivable that he doesn't get an at-large bid.

141: (5) Noah Baughman was close but didn't earn a bid. If he finishes in 6th I can see him possibly getting an at-large but it will be tough. He'd have to move up the rankings because any scenario where he doesn't finish top 5 also guarantees he won't have the winning percentage. He has beaten two of the guys who earned bids, so a top five finish is definitely doable.

149: (4) Hunter Richard earned an allocation here. He's got a great chance to hold it. Good shot at an at-large if he finishes in 5th, especially if Bucknell is the school that steals his slot (it's complicated).

157: (3) Tough road for Adam Santoro here. Only 3 bids in a conference with three clear candidates and a bunch of bubble guys including one who if he returns from injury is a better candidate to steal. Will not get an at-large.

165: (6) Whoever our 165 is has a tough road even with 6 bids on the line. No at-large coming.

174: (4) If Brandon Womack is healthy I think he holds the bid he earned. If he's not, the conference loses the allocation and I have a hard time seeing Andrew Berreyesa finishing top 3. Not sure if Womack will have the resume for an at-large if he loses enough to place 5th.

184: (4) Jonathan Loew just missed earning an allocation and if he finishes 5th an at-large bid isn't impossible. There are a lot of guys in a similar situation in the conference, though, so it'll be tough. He can finish top 4... but that will also be tough. It's a deep weight for only 4 bids.

197: (6) If Ben Darmstadt doesn't finish top 6 I'll eat ... I don't know. I don't want to compound the misery of Darmstadt not finishing in 5th by eating a hat. I'll be upset, though. He'd almost certainly get an at-large even if he had a bad tournament. He'll hold his allocation, though.

285: (3) Really hard to see Brendan Furman finishing in the top 3 here. He's 0-3 against the guys who earned the bids and there are other wrestlers with similar resumes as his. No chance at an at-large.

[ugarte]

Today was the National Collegiate Open - a pre-conference-tournament tournament for redshirts, greyshirts and backups. For what it's worth, we sent three of our top incoming freshmen (165 Ramirez; 174 Foca and 197 Cardenas) and Max Dean (still at 184) and all of them won. I don't really know how good the field was but none of them even had a close match. Dean hasn't missed a beat - 4 pins and a tech on his way to the trophy.

[klehner]

Today was the National Collegiate Open - a pre-conference-tournament tournament for redshirts, greyshirts and backups. For what it's worth, we sent three of our top incoming freshmen (165 Ramirez; 174 Foca and 197 Cardenas) and Max Dean (still at 184) and all of them won. I don't really know how good the field was but none of them even had a close match. Dean hasn't missed a beat - 4 pins and a tech on his way to the trophy.

I'd say the competition was rather lame this year, IIRC from previous years.  Ramirez went F/D/D/TF/F, Foca went F/TF/D/F, and Cardenas went D/TF/D/MD.

165 through 197 looked a lot like what we'll see next year (197 will be interesting).

[George64]

Yianni's younger brother and future Cornellian, Greg, wins unprecedented 5th NY HS championship.

[mountainred]

Today was the National Collegiate Open - a pre-conference-tournament tournament for redshirts, greyshirts and backups. For what it's worth, we sent three of our top incoming freshmen (165 Ramirez; 174 Foca and 197 Cardenas) and Max Dean (still at 184) and all of them won. I don't really know how good the field was but none of them even had a close match. Dean hasn't missed a beat - 4 pins and a tech on his way to the trophy.

I'd say the competition was rather lame this year, IIRC from previous years.  Ramirez went F/D/D/TF/F, Foca went F/TF/D/F, and Cardenas went D/TF/D/MD.

165 through 197 looked a lot like what we'll see next year (197 will be interesting).

Dean against that field was unfair.

[mountainred]

Just because I wanted to "scoop" ugarte once this season. ;-)

EIWA pre-seeds are out.  The pre-seeds are the starting point for seeding this weekend's qualifying tournament, though the coaches can change things at their meeting on Thursday.  Of note to me:

Tucker is #1 at 133, of course.

Baughman is the #5 at 141.  If he hits that seed, he finally qualifies for nationals.

Hunter Richard is #3 at 149, ahead of Princeton's Kolodzik who was doing the Olympic red-shirt thing until the Cornell dual.  The coaches may change that.  Still, four go to nationals.

Bama is #4 at 174, which is right on the line.  If he's healthy, that's doable.

Loew is #5 at 184, one ahead of Princeton's Stefanik.  Only 4 go.

Darmstadt is #4 (?!?) at 197, which just seems wrong considering he overpowered Princeton's Brucki who is the top pre-seed.

Furman is #4 at 285, but only three go.

LaJoie, Santoro and the 165 of the day are unseeded.  As ugarte said, only Dom has a decent chance of making nationals since the EIWA qualified 7.

If everything goes right, the Big Red could send 7 to nationals (Just don't see a plausible path at 157, 165 or 285, unless there is an injury).  But when does everything go right?  Five is probably the more realistic goal.

[ugarte]

Yianni's younger brother and future Cornellian, Greg, wins unprecedented 5th NY HS championship.

Not to diminish an incredible accomplishment, but while it is unprecedented for a wrestler from Section V to win 5 New York state titles, Greg won't even be the first Cornell wrestler to win 5 New York state titles. Yianni missed his shot at 5 when, if i remember correctly, he needed elbow surgery his senior year. To give a sense of the depth of the competition in different states... Brandon Womack won *six* state titles in Alabama.

In other Cornell wrestler sibling news, Vito Arujau's younger brother George Ourudjov (who spells his name like their father, a 2x world champion for Russia) finished in second place as a sophomore at 126.

[ugarte]

Just because I wanted to "scoop" ugarte once this season. ;-)

ha!

EIWA pre-seeds are out.  The pre-seeds are the starting point for seeding this weekend's qualifying tournament, though the coaches can change things at their meeting on Thursday.  Of note to me:

Tucker is #1 at 133, of course.

Baughman is the #5 at 141.  If he hits that seed, he finally qualifies for nationals.

Hunter Richard is #3 at 149, ahead of Princeton's Kolodzik who was doing the Olympic red-shirt thing until the Cornell dual.  The coaches may change that.  Still, four go to nationals.

Bama is #4 at 174, which is right on the line.  If he's healthy, that's doable.

Loew is #5 at 184, one ahead of Princeton's Stefanik.  Only 4 go.

Darmstadt is #4 (?!?) at 197, which just seems wrong considering he overpowered Princeton's Brucki who is the top pre-seed.

Furman is #4 at 285, but only three go.

LaJoie, Santoro and the 165 of the day are unseeded.  As ugarte said, only Dom has a decent chance of making nationals since the EIWA qualified 7.

If everything goes right, the Big Red could send 7 to nationals (Just don't see a plausible path at 157, 165 or 285, unless there is an injury).  But when does everything go right?  Five is probably the more realistic goal.

Some of these preseeds are wild and nobody is revealing the criteria. I think it's largely smoke-filled room. Kolodzik and Darmstadt (and Womack, frankly, if he's healthy) are obviously too low and it's probably because they have so few matches. Kolodzik spent most of the year on a redshirt, Darmstadt spent half the year at 184 instead of 197 and Womack hasn't wrestled a real match since getting injured in December. I feel better about LaJoie and Baughman stealing a bid than Loew but all are capable of pulling it off. I have no idea how we can get there at 157, 165 or 285 but it would be cool as hell.

[scoop85]

Yianni's younger brother and future Cornellian, Greg, wins unprecedented 5th NY HS championship.

Not to diminish an incredible accomplishment, but while it is unprecedented for a wrestler from Section V to win 5 New York state titles, Greg won't even be the first Cornell wrestler to win 5 New York state titles. Yianni missed his shot at 5 when, if i remember correctly, he needed elbow surgery his senior year. To give a sense of the depth of the competition in different states... Brandon Womack won *six* state titles in Alabama.

In other Cornell wrestler sibling news, Vito Arujau's younger brother George Ourudjov (who spells his name like their father, a 2x world champion for Russia) finished in second place as a sophomore at 126.

So the kid who be Ourudjov, Zack Ryder, is an 8th grader. If he's a decent student you would hope Koll and company will be kicking the tires.

[ugarte]

Yianni's younger brother and future Cornellian, Greg, wins unprecedented 5th NY HS championship.

Not to diminish an incredible accomplishment, but while it is unprecedented for a wrestler from Section V to win 5 New York state titles, Greg won't even be the first Cornell wrestler to win 5 New York state titles. Yianni missed his shot at 5 when, if i remember correctly, he needed elbow surgery his senior year. To give a sense of the depth of the competition in different states... Brandon Womack won *six* state titles in Alabama.

In other Cornell wrestler sibling news, Vito Arujau's younger brother George Ourudjov (who spells his name like their father, a 2x world champion for Russia) finished in second place as a sophomore at 126.

So the kid who be Ourudjov, Zack Ryder, is an 8th grader. If he's a decent student you would hope Koll and company will be kicking the tires.

he finished in second place last year, losing a 1 point decision to now 3x champ stevo poulin. i assume a lot of people are noticing him. there's also a 7th grader who won the title at 99, so he's a potential 6x, though obviously there's a lot of road ahead.

[scoop85]

Yianni's younger brother and future Cornellian, Greg, wins unprecedented 5th NY HS championship.

Not to diminish an incredible accomplishment, but while it is unprecedented for a wrestler from Section V to win 5 New York state titles, Greg won't even be the first Cornell wrestler to win 5 New York state titles. Yianni missed his shot at 5 when, if i remember correctly, he needed elbow surgery his senior year. To give a sense of the depth of the competition in different states... Brandon Womack won *six* state titles in Alabama.

In other Cornell wrestler sibling news, Vito Arujau's younger brother George Ourudjov (who spells his name like their father, a 2x world champion for Russia) finished in second place as a sophomore at 126.

So the kid who be Ourudjov, Zack Ryder, is an 8th grader. If he's a decent student you would hope Koll and company will be kicking the tires.

he finished in second place last year, losing a 1 point decision to now 3x champ stevo poulin. i assume a lot of people are noticing him. there's also a 7th grader who won the title at 99, so he's a potential 6x, though obviously there's a lot of road ahead.

Down here in Section 9 there are not many big-time football or basketball recruits, but we've churned out some pretty good wrestlers over the years--including the Banach twins who both won multiple NCAA championships at Iowa and then both won gold at the 1984 Olympics (albeit without the Soviet Bloc countries)