QTR. Finals last night was a little boring

will-I-am · #1 12-30-2008

every wrestler looked really slow and and sluggish, anybody else notice this?

Sputnik · #2 12-30-2008

Did not see the quarters. Here are my observations after watching the 1st round/round before quarters:

Was not impressed with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Metcalf, Falck and Dennis were very aggressive and looked good, but Leclere, Tsirtsis and Morningstar didn't seem to do much against unseeded opponents. I didn't have a chance to watch Borshcel or Keddy. The Hawks are winning in team points, so you can't argue with the results, I just didn't think they lived up to the hype. Brands may have lit into them before the quarters because I checked the brackets later last night and saw that they had 7 in the semis.

Freshman Jason Welch of Northwestern and Andrew Howe of Wisconsin were very impressive. They do not wrestle like freshman. They keep the pressure on the entire match and seem to be in excellent condition. I was also impressed with Jordan Blanton of Illinois. He's not on the same level as Welch and Howe, but he doesn't wait around and try to win the match 3-2. I think Blanton will continue to improve and may challenge for a National Title some day.

On the other hand, Jerome Ward of Iowa State did not look very good. He doesn't seem to have any offense. Either that or he's not ready to pull the trigger at this level. I have to give him the benefit of the doubt, since he missed the entire season last year. If he doesn't open up offensively I don't see him starting for the Cyclones for 4 years.

John Dergo of Illinois was up and down. I think this is his first competition this year, so he should also be cut some slack. He seems overly reliant on that low single/ankle pick. He was losing his match, but made a nice comeback for the win, which was great to see. He was one of the best high school athletes I have seen, and I would like to finally see him have some college success.

Some Illinois kids who don't get a lot of attention but looked really good Monday afternoon were Emannual Brooks of Missouri and Nick Bertucci of Purdue. Eric Kruger of Central Michigan looked great in upsetting the #5 seed, but then I saw he lost to an unseeded wrestler in the quarters. Kruger continues to be a mystery at the college level.

I was surprised at how big Smith-Bergsrund of Illinois and Battaglia of Northwestern were. They definitely have filled out since high school. Neither seem like they have enough offense to compete with the big boys.

133 is a great weight class for Illinois wrestlers. I predict Fanthorpe over Kennedy in the finals.

There's my 2 cents. If anyone can post updates during todays afternoon session, that would be great.

MR TWISTER · #3 12-30-2008

Sputnik...that was a great report. Thanks.

Also don't forget the finals are on Big Ten Network so we can all see for ourselves.

Formerwrestler · #4 12-30-2008

Iowa State has to be disappointed with Gallick, Burk and Zabriskie. Iowa State and Iowa both have 5 in the semis. Although Iowa State has the upperhand considering they only have one weight class that is out of the tourney.

wrestlingfan1221 · #5 12-30-2008

[quote=Sputnik;187895]

133 is a great weight class for Illinois wrestlers. I predict Fanthorpe over Kennedy in the finals.

[\quote]

I was pulling for Hutter so we could have been blessed with an all Illinois Semi-Round. Today I'm hoping for an all Illinois 125 and 133 to start my night tonight!

admin · #6 12-30-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Formerwrestler

Iowa State has to be disappointed with Gallick, Burk and Zabriskie. Iowa State and Iowa both have 5 in the semis. Although Iowa State has the upperhand considering they only have one weight class that is out of the tourney.

I may be biased, but I'm not sure how you could be disappointed with Burk. He separated his shoulder and had to injury default out of the tournament. Not really his fault.