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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Ben Golden added to this discussion on April 20, 2024
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Another thing about the Brooks/Zahid match… why did Brooks get his third point—and extra point after the step out?
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Casey Talbott added to this discussion on April 20, 2024
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Mendez steamrolls Garrett, 11-0.
Now, rematch with McKenna for 3rd.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Chris Thomas added to this discussion on April 20, 2024
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Does anyone feel that KS has developed a better skillset since leaving Columbus? Will his style give him a better chance to beat international competition? He seems to take a lot fewer risk now.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Chris Thomas added to this discussion on April 20, 2024
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Brooks a hammer! Boy he is tough to score on.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Ben Golden added to this discussion on April 20, 2024
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Quote from Chris Thomas's post:
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"Does anyone feel that KS has developed a better skillset since leaving Columbus? Will his style give him a better chance to beat international competition? He seems to take a lot fewer risk now."
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Tough to say. Certainly not a night and day difference, but I imagine he's improved in some ways. Hasn't been anything that's made a big difference in his wrestling outcomes, though.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Rex Holman added to this discussion on April 21, 2024
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Brooks is ready to win the Olympics.
He's that good. Down 0-4 against Dieringer and scores within 4 seconds of the start of second period. Then goes onto score 4 more.
His offense and defense are great. That he wrestled through the mini tournament and had a close to even match with Zahid was kind of to be expected. Zahid was world medalist at 97 kg and can take anyone down at least once.
Brooks is so aggressive that he occasionally gets caught while digging an underhook or moving forward. But he recovers and goes on to score more. The only thing that could trip him up is he gets pinned out of an exchange.
Otherwise, he's your 2024 Olympic Champion.
I'm biased as he is the one guy I love watching wrestle who represents and resonates greatness and humility.
If I were young and trying to emulate someone, he would be my example.
The Olympic Trials was a mini Olympics in itself. Think about it. Dieringer, Valencia and Taylorx2.
No one is in better physical condition that a college wrestler that competes in the Olympic Trials. They go from a brutal grind to less demanding training. But the foundation for being able to push 7 minutes has been established. Plus, they are young. Older guys just aren't conditioned to that same level of intensity.
Compare that to J'Den Cox or Jordan Burroughs who were not in prime condition. J'Den was more Bro Thor than Neo from the Matrix and Jordan adjusted the sock every time they went out of bounds. I don't blame them, and it is not to speak bad about them but being a veteran works if you can slow the pace down and make it a technical battle. I think Jordan Burrough is one of the best ever, but his age and humility were tested at this event. He had to run through a brutal gauntlet to attempt to make the team. The matches with Messenbrink and Nolf were going to be ugly sprints.
My point being is that the eye on the prize is valued so much that we forget the human side to things. The PSU fans were awful to him. He was upset and jawed them back. It was ugly.
I love the offense out of Messenbrink but I think some of his tactics are bush league. They got under JB's skin and again ugly.
I watched Aaron Brooks compete like a champion and I am fairly certain that regardless of outcome he would've walked away knowing that he did everything he could and left the result in the hands of the Lord. That strength, power, conviction is like nothing else.
Whether people were hurling insults or if he just didn't measure up, things would've been 'ok'.
That mindset is being present and attending to actions and being at peace with everything. If you caught it, he was looking at his corner and nodding with complete confidence during restarts. It was awe inspiring.
Regarding Burroughs and Cox; when you line up across from that guy and your body isn't working like what you want, that becomes the distraction, and the performance and actions reflect it.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Chris Thomas added to this discussion on April 21, 2024
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Quote from Rex Holman's post:
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"Brooks is ready to win the Olympics.
He's that good. Down 0-4 against Dieringer and scores within 4 seconds of the start of second period. Then goes onto score 4 more.
His offense and defense are great. That he wrestled through the mini tournament and had a close to even match with Zahid was kind of to be expected. Zahid was world medalist at 97 kg and can take anyone down at least once.
Brooks is so aggressive that he occasionally gets caught while digging an underhook or moving forward. But he recovers and goes on to score more. The only thing that could trip him up is he gets pinned out of an exchange.
Otherwise, he's your 2024 Olympic Champion.
I'm biased as he is the one guy I love watching wrestle who represents and resonates greatness and humility.
If I were young and trying to emulate someone, he would be my example.
The Olympic Trials was a mini Olympics in itself. Think about it. Dieringer, Valencia and Taylorx2.
No one is in better physical condition that a college wrestler that competes in the Olympic Trials. They go from a brutal grind to less demanding training. But the foundation for being able to push 7 minutes has been established. Plus, they are young. Older guys just aren't conditioned to that same level of intensity.
Compare that to J'Den Cox or Jordan Burroughs who were not in prime condition. J'Den was more Bro Thor than Neo from the Matrix and Jordan adjusted the sock every time they went out of bounds. I don't blame them, and it is not to speak bad about them but being a veteran works if you can slow the pace down and make it a technical battle. I think Jordan Burrough is one of the best ever, but his age and humility were tested at this event. He had to run through a brutal gauntlet to attempt to make the team. The matches with Messenbrink and Nolf were going to be ugly sprints.
My point being is that the eye on the prize is valued so much that we forget the human side to things. The PSU fans were awful to him. He was upset and jawed them back. It was ugly.
I love the offense out of Messenbrink but I think some of his tactics are bush league. They got under JB's skin and again ugly.
I watched Aaron Brooks compete like a champion and I am fairly certain that regardless of outcome he would've walked away knowing that he did everything he could and left the result in the hands of the Lord. That strength, power, conviction is like nothing else.
Whether people were hurling insults or if he just didn't measure up, things would've been 'ok'.
That mindset is being present and attending to actions and being at peace with everything. If you caught it, he was looking at his corner and nodding with complete confidence during restarts. It was awe inspiring.
Regarding Burroughs and Cox; when you line up across from that guy and your body isn't working like what you want, that becomes the distraction, and the performance and actions reflect it."
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Rex, I totally agree in respects to Brooks. However, JB and Cox situations are totally different imo. One guy (JB) I believe father time has caught up to him through the grind and injuries. JB just looked a few steps slower through out the tourney. His re-attacks and putting more than one move together were almost nonexistent imo.
Cox looked slower and couldn't put moves together either. So what is the disagreement? Cox is 29 yrs old with much less wear on his treads than JB. I feel he came to wrestle uninspired and unprepared. Ultimately, both had similar outputs I just think they both reached the end of their careers for different reasons.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Drew Taylor added to this discussion on April 21, 2024
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David Taylor was not in peak shape for the trials. He wasn’t as chiseled as we normally see him. He looked to me to have an offseason bod.
Anyone else notice?
Rex is absolutely correct about the advantages of NCAA wrestlers. They are in excellent shape. Brooks hardly breathes after long exchanges.
As an aside, Mason Parris is underrated. He is damn good.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Rex Holman added to this discussion on April 21, 2024
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Chris-
I'm not in disagreement with you. I lumped them together because parts of their game were less or missing.
The mileage on the machines matters; Cox hasn't been atop his game for a while. Reports have said or hinted to some mental health reasons. That he came back and competed at a high level is courageous.
Contrarily, JB has been prolific and a medal earning machine recently. He holds the record. Two very different things, but both competing at way less than prime.
I think Aaron Brooks just made David Taylor look bad. Taylor tried to go beast mode and overwhelm him; not so much. Aaron Brooks is the new king of USA wrestling.
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Last edited by Rex Holman on April 22, 2024; edited 1 time in total
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Brady Hiatt added to this discussion on April 21, 2024
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Quote from Rex Holman's post:
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"I think Aaron Brooks just made David Taylor look bad. Taylor tried to go beast mode and overwhelm him; not so much. Aaron Brooks is the new king of USA wrestling."
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I love watching AB compete (except when Kaleb had to line up across from him -- and makes Kaleb's 3-2 match with him last year look even better) -- but AB is so easy to like.
I'm not ready to say he, a guy with no Sr. Level medals, is the King of USA Wrestling. To me, that's still Kyle Snyder. TEN straight Sr Level teams and has medaled in the previous 9 straight. Who from the US will dethrone him anytime soon?
That is GOAT level stuff.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on April 21, 2024
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Regarding Taylor vs Brooks, isn't it likely that familiarity played a role in the outcome? Brooks looked spectacular against Taylor and appeared wise to all his offensive tricks.
The NLWC is currently a force of nature in the wrestling world. But we could see it splinter as certain wrestlers will decide that training with rivals is a bad idea.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Rex Holman added to this discussion on April 22, 2024
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Jordan Burroughs was the face/king of USA wrestling for the past decade. Debatable? Sure. Just my opinion.
Penn State faithful trying to cancel him is an interesting dynamic, especially considering the polarization that takes place with social media. For all the good Penn State does, there are some negatives that go along with.
Also, my opinion, Aaron Brooks is the new face of USA Wrestling after this Olympic cycle if he wants to be. He is the penultimate position to take on that role. He needs to check that Olympic box and he has the tools to do so. He is Tim Tebowesque except rather than plateauing in college, he will be excellent at the next level. Like Chris Campbell, he will be crowned the world's most technical wrestler.
Helen Maroulis is the face of Womens USA Wrestling. If they really want to promote the sport. These are your brand ambassadors.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Brian Mathews added to this discussion on April 22, 2024
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Quote from Rex Holman's post:
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"Jordan Burroughs was the face/king of USA wrestling for the past decade. Debatable? Sure. Just my opinion.
Penn State faithful trying to cancel him is an interesting dynamic, especially considering the polarization that takes place with social media. For all the good Penn State does, there are some negatives that go along with.
Also, my opinion, Aaron Brooks is the new face of USA Wrestling after this Olympic cycle if he wants to be. He is the penultimate position to take on that role. He needs to check that Olympic box and he has the tools to do so. He is Tim Tebowesque except rather than plateauing in college, he will be excellent at the next level. Like Chris Campbell, he will be crowned the world's most technical wrestler.
Helen Maroulis is the face of Womens USA Wrestling. If they really want to promote the sport. These are your brand ambassadors."
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For sure Burroughs was the face of USA wrestling from 2011 - 2022. Over the past two years, I would say D.T. eclipsed him for that title.
Brooks I view as very similar to Snyder. Neither has the personality or desire to take up that mantle.
If he wins gold in Paris, I think Spencer Lee is your next face of the (Men's) program. Despite others perhaps being more deserving based on accomplishments, Lee is a lightning rod for intrigue and I only see that accelerating if he wins.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on April 22, 2024
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"If he wins gold in Paris, I think Spencer Lee is your next face of the (Men's) program"
If Lee wins Gold after shredding both knees on multiple occasions, he deserves to be regarded on a short list of the all time greatest American wrestlers.
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Discussion Topic: 2024 Olympic Team Trials
John Drumm added to this discussion on April 22, 2024
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On the Greco side, Joe Rau was very inspirational finally punching his ticket to the Olympics on his 3rd try. 2016 won trials but weight not qualified. 2nd attempt he qualified the weight, but lost in finals. No quit in Joe Rau.
Any thoughts from the group how the Greco team looks headed for the Olympics?
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