tOSU dual of the century - deja vu

Random4598375

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Jan 10, 2020
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February 13 can’t come soon enough. We’ve got one guy from Buckeye Nation on Intermat fantasizing about the chess master Tom Ryan bumping his guys all the way through 149 so it would be McGrone, Bouzakis, Davino and Mendez. And wanting to see Mendez “smash” Van Ness.

Please do this Tom.

Van Ness would wear Mendez out
That's a good way to find a way to lose every one of those weights. LOL. Although, I think Davino probably would still beat Davis, but it's not a given like Mendez would be.
 

CarolinaFan1

Senior
Jun 7, 2025
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February 13 can’t come soon enough. We’ve got one guy from Buckeye Nation on Intermat fantasizing about the chess master Tom Ryan bumping his guys all the way through 149 so it would be McGrone, Bouzakis, Davino and Mendez. And wanting to see Mendez “smash” Van Ness.

Please do this Tom.

Van Ness would wear Mendez out

How about we start at 141 and send out Blaze against Mendez and then close with 133 by sending Blaze out again against Davino.
 

Goggles Paisano

All-Conference
Feb 6, 2018
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February 13 can’t come soon enough. We’ve got one guy from Buckeye Nation on Intermat fantasizing about the chess master Tom Ryan bumping his guys all the way through 149 so it would be McGrone, Bouzakis, Davino and Mendez. And wanting to see Mendez “smash” Van Ness.

Please do this Tom.

Van Ness would wear Mendez out
Ohio St v Nebraska happens this weekend, and it could (and I think will) prove really ugly for Nebraska (again).

On the heels of that drubbing, I think we can expect the whole of Ryan nation at a fevered pitch all the way until the 13th.

On paper it does look somewhat close and one or two big upsets could topple the apple cart. The problem for tOSU, is they have read this story before. Cael has a way and so too our kids when it's all on the line. Not to mention this is probably our best team ever

I expect Feb 14th will once again be a day of mourning in Ohio, and in parts of Flo.
 

Joejitsu

Junior
Jun 10, 2025
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Is this the same cannon that kasak horsed all over the mat last year?
Kasak beat him 7-2 in Bigs and 12-2 in regular season i believe
It i also the guy who lost to a HS kid in Melvin Miller this season
but he has reeled off 12 straight wins since his loss to MM...and some impressive wins at that....

he won all 12 by bonus
including 2 falls, 5 TFs and 5 MD including MD wins over Millard, Vonovich, Jackson Arrington and Antrell Taylor this season....


so... I don't believe this is going to a walk in the park for PJ... but it is also a good measuring stick for PJ
I believe PJ wins but this one will be close
 

District 4

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I was on a short vacation to RBY’s hometown, Tucson, at that time. Listened to the dual on headphones in the resort bar where, as luck would have it, a U of A sorority was having its winter formal. It was like a parade of Livvy Dunne-esque fitness model types. My internal monologue on repeat was saying to a younger me - “why did you go to a cold weather school, dumbass?”
What was your answer? Lmfao
 

o_BruceK-PSU83

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Oct 31, 2021
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Yes, and he didn’t look very good last night against Millard from Minny. PJ has too much horsepower for Cannon. 💪
Cannon looked alright to me against Milliard, winning 12-6. Looked like Cannon might have tweaked a knee when he gave up a TD to Milliard, but he finished strong. And Cannon has some good wins this season, including major decisions over Andrell Taylor and Jackson Arrington.

PJ should win easily.
Easily? I would not underestimate Cannon. I expect a pretty close bout.
 

Nitlion1986

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Cannon looked alright to me against Milliard, winning 12-6. Looked like Cannon might have tweaked a knee when he gave up a TD to Milliard, but he finished strong. And Cannon has some good wins this season, including major decisions over Andrell Taylor and Jackson Arrington.


Easily? I would not underestimate Cannon. I expect a pretty close bout.
I expect Cannon to wrestle tough, but as the 7th minute approaches there will be a significant point differential
 

Goggles Paisano

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Feb 6, 2018
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I think PJ is ahead of schedule for this point in his true freshman year. Against the kids where he knows there is a gap, he is a killer. Against stronger ranked opponents he is showing both respect and patience. I am impressed that he is as much a strategist and tactician as just blindly aggressive when he feels it.

I think the sky is the limit and until I see it play or differently, I am quite confident he can run the table, throttling it back where and when he needs to be careful.

My money is the Cannon match will be controlled but PJ will look in control the whole way to a decent victory.

PS - Did any of you hear that complete stooge of a guest on BEG this week, who wasn't impressed with Duke this year? I have a feeling he had only seen the Iowa match. What a buffoon.
 
Jan 24, 2026
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This is going to be a great dual, but no way Ohio state is getting close. Penn state is just that dang good!

I see it going 8 matches Penn state, Ohio state 2 (if that). Mendez and maybe another lucky one sneaking in. I think Van Ness is more susceptible to a loss than people give him credit for.
 

OzarkLion

Senior
Oct 11, 2021
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This is going to be a great dual, but no way Ohio state is getting close. Penn state is just that dang good!

I see it going 8 matches Penn state, Ohio state 2 (if that). Mendez and maybe another lucky one sneaking in. I think Van Ness is more susceptible to a loss than people give him credit for.
The Van Ness that put up 30+ points in a period and a half is a better indicator of the wrestler we will see the rest of the season than the Van Ness that got too aggressive going for a TD that he gave one up and ended up on his back. Even when he was in the cradle, he never looked concerned or felt in danger. He kept elbows under him, fought hands, broke the lock and got to his feet. Then, he opened the floodgates with an offensive onslaught against a quarterfinals-type opponent that I am not sure I have seen before. I think the recency bias of seeing him on his back make him seem more susceptible.
 

a_mshaffer

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Dec 8, 2014
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This is going to be a great dual, but no way Ohio state is getting close. Penn state is just that dang good!

I see it going 8 matches Penn state, Ohio state 2 (if that). Mendez and maybe another lucky one sneaking in. I think Van Ness is more susceptible to a loss than people give him credit for.
I think all of our guys will still wrestle for fun and try things. I think every one of our guys - maybe not our HWY - would win a handful of matches if each were the best of 10. Thus, I expect our guys to win but realize big10s and ncaa's is looming after duals.
 
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WV lion

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Oct 17, 2021
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The Van Ness that put up 30+ points in a period and a half is a better indicator of the wrestler we will see the rest of the season than the Van Ness that got too aggressive going for a TD that he gave one up and ended up on his back. Even when he was in the cradle, he never looked concerned or felt in danger. He kept elbows under him, fought hands, broke the lock and got to his feet. Then, he opened the floodgates with an offensive onslaught against a quarterfinals-type opponent that I am not sure I have seen before. I think the recency bias of seeing him on his back make him seem more susceptible.

He put up 35 points on the #7 kid in the country
 

J.E.B

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The winning streak will be tested in the sense that we could lose multiple weights instead of 0 or 1. I don’t see a real threat, though.

125 Lille MD Bouzakis. It’s pin or get majored for Bouzakis. He can’t actually wrestle with Lille
133 Blaze dec Davino. This is really very close to a 50-50 match and probably the single match I’m most looking forward to in the entire dual season, which means TanTom will probably have Davino duck the match. I hope Blaze rips McCrone limb from limb if TanTom ducks Blaze.
141 Mendez TF Davis. Hopefully, Davis can hold this to a regular decision or even a major, but Mendez is next level. Davis has a better chance to shock the world in March.
149 SVN MD Stiles. Stiles isn’t the same tier as SVN.
157 Duke dec Cannon. Duke takes over #1 for good.
165 Mesenbrink TF Paddy. #1 overall big board recruit vs #70. Wait, what?
174 Levi dec Kharchla. Could be MD, but Kharchla is good defensively.
184 Rocco dec Fishback. Rocco is just starting to explore his powers in the PSU room.
197 Barr TF Geog. Next question.
285 Feldman dec Mirasola. Cole could win if the match score is really 25-5 at that point and momentum is in our side, but in a vacuum, Feldman is the favorite.

25-8. sweating bullets.
Hard to argue with. Winning 8 out of 10 is dominant.
 
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AgSurfer

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Just saw a Facebook post that both Cannon and Gallagher are out for a bit. Whether they’ll be ready for the Penn State dual remains to be seen.
 
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Misalorales

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The winning streak will be tested in the sense that we could lose multiple weights instead of 0 or 1. I don’t see a real threat, though.

125 Lille MD Bouzakis. It’s pin or get majored for Bouzakis. He can’t actually wrestle with Lille
133 Blaze dec Davino. This is really very close to a 50-50 match and probably the single match I’m most looking forward to in the entire dual season, which means TanTom will probably have Davino duck the match. I hope Blaze rips McCrone limb from limb if TanTom ducks Blaze.
141 Mendez TF Davis. Hopefully, Davis can hold this to a regular decision or even a major, but Mendez is next level. Davis has a better chance to shock the world in March.
149 SVN MD Stiles. Stiles isn’t the same tier as SVN.
157 Duke dec Cannon. Duke takes over #1 for good.
165 Mesenbrink TF Paddy. #1 overall big board recruit vs #70. Wait, what?
174 Levi dec Kharchla. Could be MD, but Kharchla is good defensively.
184 Rocco dec Fishback. Rocco is just starting to explore his powers in the PSU room.
197 Barr TF Geog. Next question.
285 Feldman dec Mirasola. Cole could win if the match score is really 25-5 at that point and momentum is in our side, but in a vacuum, Feldman is the favorite.

25-8. sweating bullets.
Flowrestling had messenbrink 18th on the big board out of highschool. The point remains but he certainly was not nearly that low of a recruit.
 
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Goggles Paisano

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Well some of the luster has come off the tOSU pin chains today.

PS - That AJ Ferrari is an offensive juggernaut!
 

zzs006

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Flowrestling had messenbrink 18th on the big board out of highschool. The point remains but he certainly was not nearly that low of a recruit.
He was #53 in FLO’s 2nd to last big board of the 2022 class. He only jumped all the way to #18 after his great summer of freestyle. He won the US open at U20’s that spring. He was absolutely that low of a recruit his entire hs career. He wasn’t even in FLO’s top 100 during his junior year. Jumped levels after the hs folk season was over and long after committing to Cal Baptist.

I can’t think of anyone that has a growth curve like Mitchell. He was good but not elite and then at some point after his senior year something clicked and it’s been arrow straight up ever since. Not even top 100 for his class as a junior to #53 as a senior to #18 before college started. Then making U20 teams and becoming a world medalist followed by making the NCAA finals as a redshirt freshman. I’ve never seen anything like it
 
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Misalorales

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He was #53 in FLO’s 2nd to last big board of the 2022 class. He only jumped all the way to #18 after his great summer of freestyle. He was absolutely that low of a recruit his entire hs career. Jumped levels after graduation and long after committing to Cal Baptist.
Okay well I don't care all that much either way but when you refer to someone as a recruit you say their final ranking...He certainly has performed as the #1 or 1a guy from that class
 

zzs006

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Okay well I don't care all that much either way but when you refer to someone as a recruit you say their final ranking...He certainly has performed as the #1 or 1a guy from that class
That’s fine but when he was recruited he was that low. No doubt that in hindsight he has performed as #1. Pretty sure the OP was talking about the absurdity of rankings where Paddy was the big dog and Mitchell was an afterthought. Things changed quickly
 

Misalorales

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He
That’s fine but when he was recruited he was that low. No doubt that in hindsight he has performed as #1. Pretty sure the OP was talking about the absurdity of rankings where Paddy was the big dog and Mitchell was an afterthought. Things changed quickly
Ya just that Gallagher was a year earlier as a recruit. 2022 Chittum made it rough back to back years to take the #1 guy. 2022 worked well for Penn State. Bring in Haines then transfer in messenbrink and our perform all the together top recruits combined.
 

Nitlion1986

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As far as a recruit goes, when people were recruiting kids Mitchell was way down the list. Cal Baptist was the destination because they were so high up on the list of best programs. Askren spent the winter and spring trying to convince Cael that Mitchell was one of those kids whose trajectory was just starting to spike and he needed to take him now. The nits had Facundo and weren't listening, right up to the U20 trials and Mitchell beating Levi.
 

Sunshine88!

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SVN better look sharper than he has lately. Hes been on his back in the last couple of weeks. That’s going to cost him against a really good wrestler. Hopefully he makes the adjustments soon. Love to see him win it all but he must wrestle sharper.