Can you say...IMPROVEMENT! Badgers send 7, maybe 8 to the NCAA's!

[stbird]

I saw Sabatello's RPI was 19 and JT was 31.  JT stomped him pretty good yesterday. 

My case for JT to get a bid

7-2 in last 9 matches

the two loses where both matches that where up in the air in the 3rd period... one was against a wrestler that was 28-0 and the other to a wrestler that was 23-7

Had an 18-6 decision over a 22-11 wrestler in last match

is 20-13 with all loses coming against wrestlers ranked during the season.

how do you not let him in?

[jaguarwrestler]

I'm glad all you guys are happy with placing 7th out of 12 teams. I guess it doesn't take a lot to satisfy you. 7 qualifiers is great and I wish them the best of luck. 

what place did they take in the dual season?

how did they do compared to last year when they finished 10th?

[stbird]

Anybody thinking rational can see that an increase from 3 to 7 or 8 national qualifiers is a huge improvement. 

I'm glad all you guys are happy with placing 7th out of 12 teams. I guess it doesn't take a lot to satisfy you. 7 qualifiers is great and I wish them the best of luck. 

what place did they take in the dual season?

how did they do compared to last year when they finished 10th?

[BuckyMatt]

#4 here. So UW is sending 7 to the NCAA's. Is that an improvement over last year, yes but they still finished 7th in the big 10. That's like saying its acceptable for the Packers to take 3rd in the division because they sent 8 guys to the pro bowl.
The fact is that UW placed 4th at the big 10"s in 2011, Pritzlafs last year here and they have been in the bottom half ever since

What place did Pritzlaf's team place at the tournament yesterday??

How did Pritzlaf's team do in a head to head dual against the Badgers last year?

[dad 2 5]

Numbers, are you also satisfied with performances that range from Poor to mediocre. It sounds like you are

I don't think anyone is satisfied with being average in the Big Ten, but having 2 qualifiers in 2012, 3 in 2013, and now 7 or more in 2014 is solid improvement.  And average in the Big Ten is Top 20 in the Nation. And in 2 weeks, I think we will make some serious noise at the NCAA's.  4 Badgers Wrestlers should be seeded in the top 8 at their weights  !!  

Adding Mitch Hull, developing a Regional Training Site in Madison, having the World Team Trials in Madison this, adding quality recruiting depth,
bringing back the Badgers camps - quite a few good things are being started/are ongoing/will occur in the future.

+1

I thought the team wrestled pretty good this weekend. We were a point away from several wins. Timmy improved a bunch. Graff would like a few seconds back in his finals. Lubeck! Huge! Jesse is very close and improving on the mat but has a long ways to go. I know he will continue to improve. Zeke looked good but I wonder if he is a little banged up. Ryan had a good tourney and it will be good to see where he ends up at NCAA and for next year. Connor needs to improve and find that mentality of last year that he knew he could beat anyone. Thanks Jackson for what you did for the Badgers. He was really banged up this year. Need to find at 65 pounder for next year.
Looking forward to the NCAA's
Go badgers!

[Gutwrench]

Numbers, are you also satisfied with performances that range from Poor to mediocre. It sounds like you are

I don't think anyone is satisfied with being average in the Big Ten, but having 2 qualifiers in 2012, 3 in 2013, and now 7 or more in 2014 is solid improvement.  And average in the Big Ten is Top 20 in the Nation. And in 2 weeks, I think we will make some serious noise at the NCAA's.  4 Badgers Wrestlers should be seeded in the top 8 at their weights  !!  

Adding Mitch Hull, developing a Regional Training Site in Madison, having the World Team Trials in Madison this, adding quality recruiting depth,
bringing back the Badgers camps - quite a few good things are being started/are ongoing/will occur in the future.

+1

I thought the team wrestled pretty good this weekend. We were a point away from several wins. Timmy improved a bunch. Graff would like a few seconds back in his finals. Lubeck! Huge! Jesse is very close and improving on the mat but has a long ways to go. I know he will continue to improve. Zeke looked good but I wonder if he is a little banged up. Ryan had a good tourney and it will be good to see where he ends up at NCAA and for next year. Connor needs to improve and find that mentality of last year that he knew he could beat anyone. Thanks Jackson for what you did for the Badgers. He was really banged up this year. Need to find at 65 pounder for next year.
Looking forward to the NCAA's
Go badgers!

Agree with dad 2 5.  I thought the Badgers competed extreamly well this weekend. The young core of wrestlers is impressive.

[MNbadger]

Yes, How can some still be lamenting the bailing of old staff?  You beat them head to head in a dual and finished ahead of them in the Big 10 Tournament.  Do you really want to trade places?

[jets152]

I was pretty happy with the way the Badgers wrestled this weekend also. What will next year's lineup look like? Obviously the NCAAs has to happen this year yet, but with so much young talent on the roster it's tough not to be excited about the years to come.

125--Taylor
133--Can Thielke drop? People in my section were commenting a lot that he might be a bit undersized to wrestle at 141.
141--Crone? Or would the strongest team come from keeping Thielke here and maybe putting Jimenez at 133?
149--Lubeck
157--Jordan
165--Cox
174--?
184--?
197--Robertson? Or does McCall keep the spot?
HWT--Medberry

[mkm13]

125 - Taylor
133 - Thielke
141 - Crone
149 - Lubeck
157 - Jordan (If Jordan decides to move up to 65 then Ruschell)
165 - Liegel
174 - Cousins/Cox/Stilling/Iczkowski
184 - Robertson
197 - McCall
Hwt - Medberry

This is assuming Liegel can beat out our current guys at 165.  This also assumes Jordan stays at 157.  I believe Kelliher still goes to school at UW, anyone know if he has any interest in coming back, or is he done for good?  He would be an option at 41 as well if he decided to come back.

[stbird]

Word on the street is that Thielke is staying at 141.  Wonder if Jiminez is going to redshirt?  If not he could go 25 and Taylor 33. 

[hammen]

Usually don't like discussing these things until after NCAAs, but all I've heard is that he will be 133 next year. This would make sense given the new Greco weight as well.

[dad 2 5]

There should be a lot of good competition in the room. Go we are bringing in a couple of light guys to keep pushing things.

Go Badgers at NCAA!

[whatever]

I think it's silly for some posters to make the claim that this Badger squad is mediocre and will continue to be mediocre.

In the meatgrinder that is known as the Big Ten wrestling conference, these Badgers more than held their own.

While losing Graff is a big loss, bringing in young new talent like Ricky Robertson, Seth Liegel and Andrew Crone makes me believe the Badgers are on the verge of climbing into the top 3rd of the conference.

NOTE* By top 3rd, I mean top 4 or 5 in the Conference.  That is definitely something to be excited about.

[TLV]

What an AWESOME weekend of wrestling....

Shout-outs go to:

All the staff and volunteers that made for a silky-smooth tourney. Several of us commented on this.

Justin Tritz- In our booth, we all agreed he and his staff have improved wrestling tournaments across the country.... start writing down what we now take for granted related to running a tournament and as a fan following compared to 10-15 years ago. Isn't is a bit crazy that soon much of the wrestling population will just think that "is just how it has always been"- dating myself here:)

Officials- thought they did very well.

Badger Wresters- I'm proud for them. Thought they wrestled very well. Best wishes to all of them in less than two weeks.

David Taylor- first 4-time undefeated wrestling in Big Ten competition history? I feel lucky to be able to watch such a talent. Hope he hits the weights (more) and represents USA at 185 (or whatever it is). I can dream, right?

Hawkeye fans- Don't always agree with them, but they know how to make noise and support their wrestlers. I thought we did well too, but have some work to do to reach their level:)

All in all, I am deeply humbled by the greatness (and the incredible work that it takes) of the young men I watched this weekend. Bravo. Thank you. Best wishes as you all strive for your goals at the NCAA's.

Very nice. Thank you.

[billymurphy]

The lower weights (125-157) scored 53 team points.  The Upper weights (165-Hwt) scored 20 points.
Having two stud freshman (Taylor and Jordan) give the program great hope for the future.
Lubeck, Thielke, Medbery, Robertson and Seth Liegel appear to all be likely key starters next season.

125 Taylor 12.5
133 Graff   15
141 Thielke 5.5
149 Lubeck 7.5
157 Jordan 12.5
165 Cox       0
174 Liegel   7
184 Hein     0
197 McCall  5.5
Hwt Medbery 5.5