Sesker's Slant: Talking Schultz Memorial, Iowa-Minnesota and more
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
Jordan Oliver (right) battles Reece Humphrey in the Dave Schultz Memorial finals. John Sachs photo.
What a great weekend of wrestling!
The dual between the nation’s top two college teams, Iowa and Minnesota, was going on at the exact same time as the men’s freestyle finals at the Dave Schultz Memorial International.
I was able to watch the Schultz finals in Colorado Springs while covering it in person for USA Wrestling. And when I got home, I watched the recording of Iowa’s win over Minnesota.
The three-day Schultz extravaganza was another great event at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
The biggest story was the return of Tyler Graff, who capped a superb run by defeating the returning Schultz champion from Russia in the finals. Graff also knocked off 2011 World fifth-place finisher Nick Simmons and 2013 World fifth-place finisher Angel Escobedo en route to the finals.
The first time I saw Graff compete, I came away impressed when he battled Henry Cejudo in the 2006 Junior World Team Trials. Cejudo went on to beat Franklin Gomez in the finals. Gomez went on to win an NCAA title and a 2011 World silver medal for Puerto Rico
Cejudo, of course, went on to win the 2008 Olympics after earning a silver medal at the 2006 Junior Worlds and making the 2007 U.S. Senior World Team.
Graff has made U.S. Junior and University World Teams, and he is a very strong freestyle wrestler who is very slick on his feet.
Graff suffered a crushing overtime loss to Iowa’s Tony Ramos in the 2014 NCAA finals, and took some time away from competition. He has returned with a vengeance. His competitive fire is back. We’ve seen a lot of wrestlers who fell short of their college goals bounce back to excel internationally.
Graff has stamped himself as a legitimate contender to make the World Team this year at 57 kg/125.5 lbs.
The World Team Trials return to Madison, Wis., this year and it will be a homecoming for Graff, who was a four-time All-American there for the University of Wisconsin.
The day after Graff won the Schultz, Ramos won the Grand Prix of Paris. Ramos made the 2014 World Team and he remains the favorite to make the U.S. team this year. He’s gained considerable international experience already this season.
Joe Colon also has emerged as a top contender at 57 kilos after winning the Bill Farrell International this season.
Ramos, Graff and Colon finished 1-2-3 at the 2014 NCAAs at 133 pounds. It will be fun to watch those guys knock heads in Madison, along with other top competitors like Simmons, Escobedo, Sam Hazewinkel, Matt McDonough, Brandon Precin, Frank Perrelli, Nico Megaludis, Dan Mitcheff and Zach Sanders.
The battle at the lightest freestyle weight class is going to be fun to watch.
The battle at the lightest women’s freestyle weight class also will be entertaining again.
Victoria Anthony won a loaded Schultz class at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
2008 World champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Clarissa Chun has come back strong this year and earned a hard-fought semifinal win in the Schultz event over two-time World bronze medalist Alyssa Lampe.
In the finals, Anthony scored a decisive 8-0 win over Chun. Anthony, a past Junior World champion, continues to progress and impress.
Anthony came within an eyelash of making the finals of the 2013 Worlds despite competing up a weight class.
Anthony has become bigger and stronger after being undersized in the 48 kg weight class. She’s very powerful and explosive, and is a dangerous wrestler with an arsenal of big throws.
She’s working with Coach Valentin Kalika in California now, and it is paying off for her. Kalika also coaches World champion Elena Pirozhkova along with Cadet World champion and Junior World silver medalist Aaron Pico.
Lampe has beaten Anthony to make the World Team the past two years, so it’s going to be fun to watch who makes the U.S. squad this year.
Whoever makes the American team at 48 kilos will be a threat to win a medal at the 2015 Worlds in Las Vegas.
Exciting battle between Iowa and Minnesota at Williams Arena
The battle between No. 1 Iowa and No. 2 Minnesota certainly was exciting with over 13,000 fans packing the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena this past Friday night.
It’s great to see college arenas packed with energetic wrestling fans.
The first two matches basically decided the dual. Iowa’s Nick Moore scored a huge pin at 165 pounds before teammate Mike Evans followed with a big overtime win over Logan Storley at 174.
Evans scored a controversial takedown in sudden victory where he double-legged Storley to his back before Storley countered to turn Evans to his back.
It was a very tough call, when you have to take into consideration that the match is over after the first wrestler scores.
Minnesota fans definitely had reason to be upset. I’m just glad I wasn’t out there officiating in that match. It certainly could have gone either way.
Regardless of that call, Iowa is the team to beat right now. The Hawkeyes don't have a weak weight in their lineup and should qualify all 10 wrestlers for the NCAA tourney.
We could see an Iowa-Minnesota rematch at the National Duals later this month at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
Iowa and Penn State, teams that have combined to win the last seven NCAA titles, will meet before a sold-out crowd at 1 p.m. Sunday in State College, Pa. The dual will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
The Nittany Lions lost superstars Ed Ruth and David Taylor from their run of four straight national titles, but they are still very strong even though Penn State studs Nico Megaludis and Zain Retherford are redshirting.
It’s another great Big Ten dual you won’t want to miss.
High school postseason is here
The high school postseason actually begins in some states this weekend.
During my days as a newspaper sportswriter, I covered the Iowa and Nebraska state tournaments numerous times and it was always a great event. I’ve also been to the Colorado state tournament in Denver. There’s always something special and magical about the postseason, no matter which level you are competing at.
Sectional tournaments will be held in my home state of Iowa on Saturday, with the top two finishers in each weight class advancing to districts the following weekend.
One of my favorite personal memories was winning a Class 2A Sectional title despite being the No. 4 seed after my injury-riddled senior season in 1984. Yes, I’m old!
Good luck to all of the high school wrestlers around the country during their postseason tournaments this month!
BTN Student U strikes again
I know I pick on the Big Ten Network quite a bit in my blogs, but I have to mention the gaffe I saw during the BTN Student U broadcast of the Illinois-Northwestern dual.
The camera focused in on Illinois coach Jim Heffernan and a graphic popped up on the screen. It read Jeff Heffernan. The student announcers then promptly mentioned that viewers were looking at Illinois coach “Jeff” Heffernan.
Ouch.
It’s not like Jim Heffernan is new to wrestling. He won an NCAA title for Iowa, and is in sixth season as the Illinois head coach after nearly two decades as a college assistant.
Do your homework kids!
Feel free to provide any feedback to me at csesker@usawrestling.org or to my Twitter account @csesker
What a great weekend of wrestling!
The dual between the nation’s top two college teams, Iowa and Minnesota, was going on at the exact same time as the men’s freestyle finals at the Dave Schultz Memorial International.
I was able to watch the Schultz finals in Colorado Springs while covering it in person for USA Wrestling. And when I got home, I watched the recording of Iowa’s win over Minnesota.
The three-day Schultz extravaganza was another great event at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
The biggest story was the return of Tyler Graff, who capped a superb run by defeating the returning Schultz champion from Russia in the finals. Graff also knocked off 2011 World fifth-place finisher Nick Simmons and 2013 World fifth-place finisher Angel Escobedo en route to the finals.
The first time I saw Graff compete, I came away impressed when he battled Henry Cejudo in the 2006 Junior World Team Trials. Cejudo went on to beat Franklin Gomez in the finals. Gomez went on to win an NCAA title and a 2011 World silver medal for Puerto Rico
Cejudo, of course, went on to win the 2008 Olympics after earning a silver medal at the 2006 Junior Worlds and making the 2007 U.S. Senior World Team.
Graff has made U.S. Junior and University World Teams, and he is a very strong freestyle wrestler who is very slick on his feet.
Graff suffered a crushing overtime loss to Iowa’s Tony Ramos in the 2014 NCAA finals, and took some time away from competition. He has returned with a vengeance. His competitive fire is back. We’ve seen a lot of wrestlers who fell short of their college goals bounce back to excel internationally.
Graff has stamped himself as a legitimate contender to make the World Team this year at 57 kg/125.5 lbs.
The World Team Trials return to Madison, Wis., this year and it will be a homecoming for Graff, who was a four-time All-American there for the University of Wisconsin.
The day after Graff won the Schultz, Ramos won the Grand Prix of Paris. Ramos made the 2014 World Team and he remains the favorite to make the U.S. team this year. He’s gained considerable international experience already this season.
Joe Colon also has emerged as a top contender at 57 kilos after winning the Bill Farrell International this season.
Ramos, Graff and Colon finished 1-2-3 at the 2014 NCAAs at 133 pounds. It will be fun to watch those guys knock heads in Madison, along with other top competitors like Simmons, Escobedo, Sam Hazewinkel, Matt McDonough, Brandon Precin, Frank Perrelli, Nico Megaludis, Dan Mitcheff and Zach Sanders.
The battle at the lightest freestyle weight class is going to be fun to watch.
The battle at the lightest women’s freestyle weight class also will be entertaining again.
Victoria Anthony won a loaded Schultz class at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
2008 World champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Clarissa Chun has come back strong this year and earned a hard-fought semifinal win in the Schultz event over two-time World bronze medalist Alyssa Lampe.
In the finals, Anthony scored a decisive 8-0 win over Chun. Anthony, a past Junior World champion, continues to progress and impress.
Anthony came within an eyelash of making the finals of the 2013 Worlds despite competing up a weight class.
Anthony has become bigger and stronger after being undersized in the 48 kg weight class. She’s very powerful and explosive, and is a dangerous wrestler with an arsenal of big throws.
She’s working with Coach Valentin Kalika in California now, and it is paying off for her. Kalika also coaches World champion Elena Pirozhkova along with Cadet World champion and Junior World silver medalist Aaron Pico.
Lampe has beaten Anthony to make the World Team the past two years, so it’s going to be fun to watch who makes the U.S. squad this year.
Whoever makes the American team at 48 kilos will be a threat to win a medal at the 2015 Worlds in Las Vegas.
Exciting battle between Iowa and Minnesota at Williams Arena
The battle between No. 1 Iowa and No. 2 Minnesota certainly was exciting with over 13,000 fans packing the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena this past Friday night.
It’s great to see college arenas packed with energetic wrestling fans.
The first two matches basically decided the dual. Iowa’s Nick Moore scored a huge pin at 165 pounds before teammate Mike Evans followed with a big overtime win over Logan Storley at 174.
Evans scored a controversial takedown in sudden victory where he double-legged Storley to his back before Storley countered to turn Evans to his back.
It was a very tough call, when you have to take into consideration that the match is over after the first wrestler scores.
Minnesota fans definitely had reason to be upset. I’m just glad I wasn’t out there officiating in that match. It certainly could have gone either way.
Regardless of that call, Iowa is the team to beat right now. The Hawkeyes don't have a weak weight in their lineup and should qualify all 10 wrestlers for the NCAA tourney.
We could see an Iowa-Minnesota rematch at the National Duals later this month at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
Iowa and Penn State, teams that have combined to win the last seven NCAA titles, will meet before a sold-out crowd at 1 p.m. Sunday in State College, Pa. The dual will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
The Nittany Lions lost superstars Ed Ruth and David Taylor from their run of four straight national titles, but they are still very strong even though Penn State studs Nico Megaludis and Zain Retherford are redshirting.
It’s another great Big Ten dual you won’t want to miss.
High school postseason is here
The high school postseason actually begins in some states this weekend.
During my days as a newspaper sportswriter, I covered the Iowa and Nebraska state tournaments numerous times and it was always a great event. I’ve also been to the Colorado state tournament in Denver. There’s always something special and magical about the postseason, no matter which level you are competing at.
Sectional tournaments will be held in my home state of Iowa on Saturday, with the top two finishers in each weight class advancing to districts the following weekend.
One of my favorite personal memories was winning a Class 2A Sectional title despite being the No. 4 seed after my injury-riddled senior season in 1984. Yes, I’m old!
Good luck to all of the high school wrestlers around the country during their postseason tournaments this month!
BTN Student U strikes again
I know I pick on the Big Ten Network quite a bit in my blogs, but I have to mention the gaffe I saw during the BTN Student U broadcast of the Illinois-Northwestern dual.
The camera focused in on Illinois coach Jim Heffernan and a graphic popped up on the screen. It read Jeff Heffernan. The student announcers then promptly mentioned that viewers were looking at Illinois coach “Jeff” Heffernan.
Ouch.
It’s not like Jim Heffernan is new to wrestling. He won an NCAA title for Iowa, and is in sixth season as the Illinois head coach after nearly two decades as a college assistant.
Do your homework kids!
Feel free to provide any feedback to me at csesker@usawrestling.org or to my Twitter account @csesker
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