Dake vs Taylor at 165

[arm-spin]

Arm-spin--I know you and Quinn are having a much broader/deeper discussion on FS vs folkstyle. I'll limit my comment on JO's weight choice. Could it be that JO decided to compete at a weight where the US was guaranteed a place in the olympics? He could have won the spot at 60 kg and not qualified. I suspect you will say that if he earned US team spot he could have earned the olympic qualification himself prior to the olympics. But wrestling for a guaranteed spot may have been a draw as well as the weight cut issue.

Good point. He might also have been doing teammate Coleman Scott a favor, or gotten sick of losing to him in practice. However, this isn't the first time for Oliver. As defending jr. world bronze medallist at 60 kg, he chose to go up to 66 for the next year's trails and didn't make the team.

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[quinn14]

This isnt just a 74 kg thing either. What does it say when a top prospect like Jordan Oliver, with a legitimate chance of actually making the Olympic team, won't make the weight (under easier conditions) that he's been willing to make for comparatively unimportant dual meets throughout the season

One thing that you have to realize is that making weight for folkstyle matches is what pays for college. Olympic medals do not. OSU costs over ,000 per year for out of state students. That's a lot of money being saved by making weight for those matches. I really don't know enough about him to know his future aspirations, but if he does want to be an Olympian one day, then he will probably make a more serious run at it for 2016. Then he will not have to keep sucking weight all year.

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[kr1963]

Fair enough quinn, but it's still a bit odd to hear. It's like watching Manning play in the Superbowl and saying "well, let's see him try that in college."

Let's see him try that in the CFL!

[kr1963]

Fair enough quinn, but it's still a bit odd to hear. It's like watching Manning play in the Superbowl and saying "well, let's see him try that in college."

the problem (IMO) goes beyond just favorite styles. It's about preeminence of the college season over all else. What point is there to Taylor and Oliver (among others) curbstomping 40 inferior opponents a year, sucking weight all the while? Why not wrestle less NCAA dual meets and enter the Schultz and NYAC to get some higher level competition? Or, if that is too much, why not set up matches between Dake, Taylor, Ruth and so on during the season instead of worrying about undefeated records? You get better by challenging yourself, not by running roughshod over guys that don't have hte talent to compete with you.

I don't want to seem like I'm picking on Taylor. Great wrestler who had a tough tournament adn will probably tear it up at the next Olympic trials. My problem is with the system. Guys get so focused on, and burned out during, the NCAA season that trying out for the friggin' Olympics becomes an afterthought. Yes, there are those guys who can wrestle all year round at a high level and never seem to need a break (Stieber and Howe come to mind). Howver, most guys have only so much gas in the tank. Sevceral NCAAd idn't even enter the trials. Spend it all on college competition and when the friggin' Olympics- the most prestigious sporting even on the planet- comes around there is noting left.

Good point ont he physical but I would also stress that once you get to a certainlevel in athletic competition a lot of it goes MENTAL & being focused. Intention has much to do with it. Getting into a groove a rhythm a pattern does as well. It appeared to me that guys like DT were so focused upon winning the NCAAs that gear-shifting they had to do in their minds caused them to be physically sluggish. In most cases all the good folkstyle wrestlers who had been focusing upon FS the past year did FAR better then all the guys just coming off of successful NCAA seasons, (save Logan which actually has me excited to see what he does in his FS career).

I personally found that just b/c I was successful in one did not translate into direct & immediate success in a similar field. There was always curve. I mean who remembers the beat Cyler put on DT a mere 28 months ago? I think after 2014 many of these guys will get a year of FS under their belt & kick some @$$.

[BlueBloodLion]

Koll's original quote on Dake moving up was that they would review it throughout the year. Do we think Dake will stay up, or is still a possibility of him going 157?

“As Kyle goes for a fourth title, whether it’s at a fourth different weight, it is historical, regardless,” said Koll, who added they came to this decision when they realized it would make the Big Red a stronger team.

“We looked at the cast of characters that we had. Kyle had been cutting a lot of weight and he is confident whatever way he goes,” said Koll, adding that Dake has certified to compete at 157 pounds this year and could still drop down when it comes to the postseason next March.

“If he’s weighing 157 pounds at the end of the year, he’s not going to stay up at 165 to prove a point. It’s about where we have our best team and where he feels best wrestling. If he’s training and he comes down to 160 pounds, then certainly he will be going 157. We will see. He likes to eat too.”

[goferphan]

I like the situation for him.

I think CKLV will tell him alot about whether or not he belongs at 165 or 157. Just like Oliver after some match-ups with some big boys.

[Gantry]

I think beating David Taylor already proved that

[TomWright25]

I would certainly agree that his win over Taylor shows he is a strong contender at 165 (which we knew beforehand). His OT win doesn't show that he is a prohibitive favorite to win his 4th title though. But, I don't think that will play into Dake's thinking. He's got plenty of confidence in himself and will wrestle where he feels best and where is best for the team. But, IMO it's far from a foregone conclusion that he is a 4-time NCAA champ if he wrestles at 165. And, as others have noted, Caldwell is in the mix as well.

[Flop The Nuts]

I think Dake belongs wherever the hell he thinks he belongs.