Flying back to Ohio on Wednesday and heading up to Cleveland early Thursday morning with my pops and some friends. To any other fans heading up, the university is trying to coordinate our colors for all sessions. The first session (Thursday) is black, the second session (Friday) is white, and the last day (Saturday) is scarlet. Should be a blast. Obviously we have to wrestle our best again to win this thing, but these are the 5 keys to me:
(1) McKenna needs to stay on a roll and place top 3 (preferably get in finals). A big part of winning the B1G like we did was Joey winning 141. At nationals, most of the top contenders are not from the B1G, so that is a major wildcard in the tourney versus last weekend. He HAS to perform at a high level. If he can get into the finals, I think that is a total game changer.
(2) Campbell wins 2 matches, maybe 3. I think he should win his first match, but loses the second. Get a couple back in consolations and that would be a huge contribution from Campbell at this point. He cannot go winless for us.
(3) Pletcher needs to take top 4. I personally think he could win it all if he wrestles well, but more realistically he needs to get in the semis and then fight his way into the 3rd place match (I don't see him beating Micic, although perfectly possible).
(4) Jordans also need to take top 4. Preferably, Bo gets in the finals and I think he can. But I think Bo goes down to Hall and Mic loses early on to LaValle, so both need to fight back and score in the consolations. Good news is that they almost always do that. I think Mic really needs to get on the podium for us and I think he does. I also could see either in the finals really (if Nolf is not at 100% at 157)...regardless, those two need to score a bunch of points for us.
(5) Bonus in the first two rounds. Aside from winning, we need bonus to keep up with PSU. We should be getting pins/techs/majors from 125, 141, 149 (maybe, at least the 1st round), 157 (again maybe, at least 1st round), 174, 184, 197 and Hwt. Those first 2 rounds are crucial to rack up the points. I also think we have a good chance to score bonus into the semis with 125, 184, 197 and Hwt. Need Snyder to carry the torch and will his way to techs and pins.
Should be a great tournament and I am going to have a tough time waiting for Thursday. Go Bucks!
(1) McKenna needs to stay on a roll and place top 3 (preferably get in finals). A big part of winning the B1G like we did was Joey winning 141. At nationals, most of the top contenders are not from the B1G, so that is a major wildcard in the tourney versus last weekend. He HAS to perform at a high level. If he can get into the finals, I think that is a total game changer.
(2) Campbell wins 2 matches, maybe 3. I think he should win his first match, but loses the second. Get a couple back in consolations and that would be a huge contribution from Campbell at this point. He cannot go winless for us.
(3) Pletcher needs to take top 4. I personally think he could win it all if he wrestles well, but more realistically he needs to get in the semis and then fight his way into the 3rd place match (I don't see him beating Micic, although perfectly possible).
(4) Jordans also need to take top 4. Preferably, Bo gets in the finals and I think he can. But I think Bo goes down to Hall and Mic loses early on to LaValle, so both need to fight back and score in the consolations. Good news is that they almost always do that. I think Mic really needs to get on the podium for us and I think he does. I also could see either in the finals really (if Nolf is not at 100% at 157)...regardless, those two need to score a bunch of points for us.
(5) Bonus in the first two rounds. Aside from winning, we need bonus to keep up with PSU. We should be getting pins/techs/majors from 125, 141, 149 (maybe, at least the 1st round), 157 (again maybe, at least 1st round), 174, 184, 197 and Hwt. Those first 2 rounds are crucial to rack up the points. I also think we have a good chance to score bonus into the semis with 125, 184, 197 and Hwt. Need Snyder to carry the torch and will his way to techs and pins.
Should be a great tournament and I am going to have a tough time waiting for Thursday. Go Bucks!
Upvote
0
