'25 U20 World Championships, 8/17-24
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
Quite a dramatic disparity between American success in the two styles!
I just re-watched all of Marcus' U20 matches. I agree with zzs006 that Marcus was one of if not the best of all the U20 wrestlers in the tournament. He really does have it all: top conditioning, superior positioning and hand fighting, great quickness, the ability to get to the corners quickly and efficiently, mental toughness, high mat IQ, and to top it off his par terre game has jumped levels recently with that awesome gut that supposedly Ono has been working with him on. His ability to turn opponents is what really separates him from other U.S. wrestlers. Hopefully all of the U.S. wrestlers will continue to get better from par terre, not only offensively but also defensively. Par terre wrestling almost came back to bite a few of the U.S. wrestlers. Given the edge most U.S. wrestlers seem to have on their feet, upping their par terre wrestling will make them that much more difficult to beat.
Last edited:
Marcus is beating Ono in the room!
Let it begin
Let it begin
I'm as high on Blaze as anyone, but he just got pinned by Gross and beat by Mendez.
Those bums beat him? Oh crap, we’re in trouble at 133!
If Blaze ends up at 141 I’m putting it out there that he beats Mendez multiple times during the year and definitely when it counts the most.
IMO just need to slow the roll. There are certainly a few current 133/141 guys in the NCAA who could beat Blaze any given match and even a guy in the next recruiting class who he may have to contend with. Blaze is incredible, but don't be disappointed if he isn't the best on the planet at 18.
lol. You mean 29 yr old seasoned vet Gross? And 23 yr old national champ Mendez? Yeah, that’s probably about where a 18 yr old, no matter how good they are, should be. Thankfully, Gross is out of eligibility at 29. But not by much by today’s standards.
Last edited:
Free, April and May of this year, Gross at the US Open and Mendez at world team trials.
Blaze also has a win over Gross, but he was 17 at the time. He’s clearly regressing….
Clearly Blaze isn't regressing based upon his U20 performance. But, he has recent losses (yes, in freestyle) against a guy who may be in his weight class this upcoming season and another guy who got completely dominated by a young man who will still be in high school next year (and who Blaze may have to face in college) in his next match. At 18, he's still human. Blaze is one of the top recruits/prospects in the last decade, but crowning him a certain non-redshirting undefeated 4-timer before he has wrestled a single match in college (which has been done multiple times recently on this board) is a little premature.
Last edited:
Hmm, must’ve missed those posts.
Oh the humanity!
I see a Win Win here. Blaze can slowly improve to where he might become a starter by his fifth year and Cael finally proves to the naysayers that he can coach.
Or
This run is going to be as fun as hell with Marcus - Just like the others guys before him..
Didn't the reigning U20 world champion lose 3 matches and place 3rd at NCAAs for PSU, last season? Blaze will likely have to deal with the reigning U.S. senior champion and someone who just beat him, just two people who could potentially beat him at some point in his collegiate freestyle wrestling career, and it wouldn't be some upset or discount that he's one of brightest young stars in U.S. wrestling.
Ease up on the homerism and let him be an 18yr old phenom with a great future. If he losses a match or two in NCAAs, like all but one person in history has, are you going to be disappointed?
Last edited: