Wrestling 2023-24

[ugarte]

The new roster is up, so a new season thread has arrived. I'm not ready to do a season preview yet but there is news.

Meyer Shapiro* '27 won his second age-group world title today, taking gold at the U20 tournament in Amman.** In 2021, he was the world U17 champ, which is why he was considered the top recruit in this year's freshman class. He spent his senior year of high school in Ithaca training with the greyshirts at Spartan Combat RTC.

We also have two Cornellians going for gold at Senior worlds in Bucharest a month from now: Kyle Dake '13 at 74kg and Vito Arujau '24 at 57kg. Alas, Yianni D. '23 was upset at Final X and isn't returning to Worlds unless Nick Lee gets hurt. He is an assistant coach for us, though, and was with Shapiro in Amman along with Mike Grey.

Season preview soonish, but of course anyone who wants to write their thoughts doesn't need my permission to go ahead. I'm looking forward to the season for sure: Returning All-Americans in Vito, Chris Foca, Jonathan Loew ('22) and Jacob Cardenas plus three R12 guys (Brett Ungar, Julian Ramirez (2x) and Lewis Fernandes ('22)) plus top-10 Vince Cornella and frosh Meyer Shapiro. Only real question marks are the starter at 149/157 that isn't Shapiro and whether Loew and Fernandes are healthy.

* Pronounced ShaPYro.
**This tournament was originally scheduled for Poland, but they wouldn't grant visas to Russian or Belarussian athletes (who are officially wrestling as independents).

[upprdeck]

anyone catch the story of sammy sasso being shot this weekend?

[ugarte]

anyone catch the story of sammy sasso being shot this weekend?

yeah apparently shot in the stomach during a stickup at a gas station but i don't know if the main target was him, as an individual, or the gas station. stable condition, might even wrestle again, but i don't think tOSU is going to see him. horrible news.

(2x NCAA finalist at Ohio State and was going to be the USA rep at 70kg for U23 worlds, for those who don't know who sasso is)

[David Harding]

anyone catch the story of sammy sasso being shot this weekend?

yeah apparently shot in the stomach during a stickup at a gas station but i don't know if the main target was him, as an individual, or the gas station. stable condition, might even wrestle again, but i don't think tOSU is going to see him. horrible news.

(2x NCAA finalist at Ohio State and was going to be the USA rep at 70kg for U23 worlds, for those who don't know who sasso is)

Carjacking.  https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2023/08/21/ohio-state-wrestler-sammy-sasso-was-shot-during-a-carjacking-witnesses-told-police/70642357007/

[scoop85]

anyone catch the story of sammy sasso being shot this weekend?

yeah apparently shot in the stomach during a stickup at a gas station but i don't know if the main target was him, as an individual, or the gas station. stable condition, might even wrestle again, but i don't think tOSU is going to see him. horrible news.

(2x NCAA finalist at Ohio State and was going to be the USA rep at 70kg for U23 worlds, for those who don't know who sasso is)

Carjacking.  https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2023/08/21/ohio-state-wrestler-sammy-sasso-was-shot-during-a-carjacking-witnesses-told-police/70642357007/

Trying to run over a rat near an alley? The story seems a bit sketchy.

[ugarte]

anyone catch the story of sammy sasso being shot this weekend?

yeah apparently shot in the stomach during a stickup at a gas station but i don't know if the main target was him, as an individual, or the gas station. stable condition, might even wrestle again, but i don't think tOSU is going to see him. horrible news.

(2x NCAA finalist at Ohio State and was going to be the USA rep at 70kg for U23 worlds, for those who don't know who sasso is)

Carjacking.  https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2023/08/21/ohio-state-wrestler-sammy-sasso-was-shot-during-a-carjacking-witnesses-told-police/70642357007/

Trying to run over a rat near an alley? The story seems a bit sketchy.

yeah idk no comment lol

[ugarte]

anyone catch the story of sammy sasso being shot this weekend?

yeah apparently shot in the stomach during a stickup at a gas station but i don't know if the main target was him, as an individual, or the gas station. stable condition, might even wrestle again, but i don't think tOSU is going to see him. horrible news.

(2x NCAA finalist at Ohio State and was going to be the USA rep at 70kg for U23 worlds, for those who don't know who sasso is)

Carjacking.  https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2023/08/21/ohio-state-wrestler-sammy-sasso-was-shot-during-a-carjacking-witnesses-told-police/70642357007/

His family has posted a gofundme - the injury is worse than the original rumors/reports. Nerve damage, will have to rehab to be able to walk again.

[ugarte]

Wrestling media has started posting preseason Rankings. I'll probably write more later today, and fill in the WIN info when it comes in, but the team is getting an incredible amount of early respect. Flo has 5 projected AAs (top and 9 ranked for NCAA qualifiers; Intermat has 5 projected AA with 8 ranked. Unstated is that Shapiro, who just took Gold at Junior Worlds and went 15-0 last year in college matches as a high school senior, has a ranking based entirely on being a frosh who wrestled last year at 149. I think he's generally considered a title contender right out of the box. Should be a fun year if everyone stays healthy.

Code Select Expand


WIN Flo Intermat   WrestleStat (ELO)
125: Ungar xx 7 10          9
133: Arujau xx 1 1          1
141: Cornella xx 11 14         18
149: ??? xx NR NR         ??
157: Shapiro xx 24 NR        206
165: Ramirez xx 7 7          5
174: Foca xx 2 2          2
184: Loew xx 16 8         10
197: Cardenas xx 7 6          9
285: Fernandes xx 11 11         16
TEAM DUAL: xx xx 2          8
TEAM NCAA: xx 5 4          8


I don't know who is going to start at 149; Wrestlestat predicts Handlovic (who started most of last year) but Josh Saunders is a strong possibility as well. Saunders' pre-college record suggests he'd have a higher ceiling; his college performance, less so. Colton Yapoujian may also be in the mix but he's been plagued with injuries for the last two years and 149 would be a tough, maybe impossible, cut; he was wrestling at 157 as a greyshirt in 2018.

[CAS]

Rob Koll leaves Stanford for UNC.

[ugarte]

Rob Koll leaves Stanford for UNC.

back to his alma mater

[ugarte]

Coming up 9/16-24 are the Senior World Championships with two three Cornell representatives. I've talked about Vito Arujau '24 (61kg, unseeded) and Kyle Dake '13  (74kg, 2 seed) but to my surprise, another Big Red alum is going to be in Belgrade.

Ben Honis '19 will be wrestling for Italy at 97kg and I guess he's been competing in all the ranking events because he's seeded #5. Team Italy has another Cornell connection, as Brian Realbuto's little brother, Colin, will also be wrestling for Italy. Colin started at Brown and will be a senior at Northern Iowa this year. He isn't as talented as Brian was, but his knee did not get wrecked his junior year. As far as I can tell, Brian left his shoes on the mat after graduation.

[billhoward]

If any school has the money to support any and all athletic teams, it would be Stanford. Whether Koll stayed at Stanford or rejoined the Tar Heels, he's in the ACC. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, these Stanford sports go to the ACC: Football, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, women's lacrosse, wrestling, women's gymnastics, cross country, golf, tennis, track & field, swimming and diving, and women's rowing.


https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/11201611-rob-koll-leaves-stanford-to-take-over-at-north-carolina

Rob Koll's image hangs over the mats inside the North Carolina wrestling room.

It was Chapel Hill where Koll made his first major impact on college wrestling. He won an NCAA title for the Tar Heels in 1988. He became the school's first four-time All-American. Even as he's coached elsewhere, Koll has been a longtime supporter of the North Carolina program.

Now he's taking another title with the Tar Heels — North Carolina head coach.

Koll is headed back to his alma mater to lead the Tar Heel program, the school announced.

After turning Cornell into a perennial contender during his 28-year stay in Ithaca, Koll spent the past two seasons at Stanford, where he was replenishing a roster with high-level recruiting classes. There were hints, however, that he wasn't fully enchanted with Stanford.

Koll flew to Oklahoma in the spring to check out what the Sooners had to offer when their head coaching position was vacant. He ultimately opted to stay at Stanford.

But North Carolina offered something that no other program could — the allure of an alma mater, which is also what created a vacancy in Chapel Hill.

Former North Carolina coach Coleman Scott departed in mid-August to go back to Oklahoma State, where he, too, was a four-time All-American and NCAA champion. Scott spent eight seasons leading the Tar Heels, highlighted by a 12th-place finish in March at the NCAA Championships — the highest finish for North Carolina in 28 years.

Two-time NCAA champion Austin O'Connor accounted for half of the Tar Heels' 42 points at the national tournament in March during his final appearance in a North Carolina singlet. But Koll inherits a roster with two returning All-Americans — 141-pounder Lachlan McNeil and 184-pounder Gavin Kane.

[Swampy]

If any school has the money to support any and all athletic teams, it would be Stanford. Whether Koll stayed at Stanford or rejoined the Tar Heels, he's in the ACC. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, these Stanford sports go to the ACC: Football, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, women's lacrosse, wrestling, women's gymnastics, cross country, golf, tennis, track & field, swimming and diving, and women's rowing.

If I had to bet, Stanford's men's lacrosse will not be far behind. They're currently a club team, but with a professional web site and 38 team members! There's lots of talent on the West Coast, and I think the only DI ACC team there will be able to attract some very good players.

Of course, there's travel expenses & Title IX. But this is nothing a bit of $$$$ can't fix.

[Weder]

If any school has the money to support any and all athletic teams, it would be Stanford. Whether Koll stayed at Stanford or rejoined the Tar Heels, he's in the ACC. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, these Stanford sports go to the ACC: Football, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, women's lacrosse, wrestling, women's gymnastics, cross country, golf, tennis, track & field, swimming and diving, and women's rowing.

If I had to bet, Stanford's men's lacrosse will not be far behind. They're currently a club team, but with a professional web site and 38 team members! There's lots of talent on the West Coast, and I think the only DI ACC team there will be able to attract some very good players.

Of course, there's travel expenses & Title IX. But this is nothing a bit of $$$$ can't fix.

It was only a few years ago that Stanford cut like a dozen varsity teams, then brought them back after a bunch of fundraising. They don't get a full share of the ACC money for a decade, so I'd be surprised if they're adding many sports off the bat.

[billhoward]

It was only a few years ago that Stanford cut like a dozen varsity teams, then brought them back after a bunch of fundraising. They don't get a full share of the ACC money for a decade, so I'd be surprised if they're adding many sports off the bat.

And a LOT of pushback from alumni of those sports plus parents of then-current players. Some of quote minor sports such as rowing or squash send a lot of alumni on to Wall Street or Sand Hill Road.

See the 2020 story on affluent, college-obsessed, sports-mad parents in The Atlantic, since disavowed and sort of retracted but there is still a PDF of the original story. IMO, there were factual inaccuracies and author Ruth Shalit Barrett turned out to be closer to the story than a reporter-analyst should be. What can't be discredited is the obsession affluent parents have in getting their kids into first class colleges via athletic prowess.

From the story about how Connecticut gold coast parents talked about a plan to endow a $20 million program to start Stanford varsity lacrosse, and also about their misgivings when their kids, some of them, were not good enough to make the lacrosse teams at top academic schools:

Before the pandemic, determined lacrosse families from New Canaan, Greenwich, and Darien had put their heads together to try to address the dearth of college-lacrosse spots, with a twist on Sharadin's approach to water polo. • eir inspiration: the JetBlue founder and New Canaan resident David Neeleman, whose $15.6 million donation helped establish a Division I lacrosse team at the University of Utah—his son Seth is a star defender and team captain.
"We've been looking into what is the ticket price to start a men's [varsity lacrosse] program" at Stanford, one parent told me. "We could create lacrosse at Stanford with $20 million. If we could just and $20 million, we could make this work."
One Greenwich parent told me she believes that, far from being a glide path to the Ivies, lacrosse had actually hurt her older son's college prospects. As team captain and a straight-A student with stellar test scores, he would have been a credible applicant to NYU or Columbia— but these schools lack varsity-lacrosse programs, and he'd fallen in love with his sport. "There were eight or 10 strong academic schools we couldn't even look at, because they didn't have varsity lacrosse," she said. Her kid just completed his freshman year at a not-so-fancy college in the South, and, according to his mom, he's happy enough. But she feels bitter, and wonders if her younger boy should quit club lacrosse.
"The guys who get recruited to the Ivies—it turns out these guys are beasts," she said. "I saw them at showcases. They were like stallions." [But: Gavin Adler, 5-8, 180--ed.]
She and her husband feel hoodwinked by the directors of her son's club-lacrosse program, which happily stoked her fantasies while stockpiling her money: $10,000 a year for 11 years.
"They were talking Notre Dame for him," she said. "Our eyes were glistening ... We went to 16 showcases last year. I can't believe the money we spent to see our son rejected 16 times."

Gossipy but fun: The author was accused of plagiarism while writing for the New Republican in the 1990s. But, The Atlantic said in a editors' note after the 2020 sports article, "We decided to assign Barrett this freelance story in part because more than two decades separated her from her journalistic malpractice at The New Republic and because in recent years her work has appeared in reputable magazines."

PDF the 2020 article which The Atlantic to its credit kept alive: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/files/20201101_nichesports.pdf