'26 Senior World Championships (10/24-11/1) thread

Tom McAndrew · 2026-11-02T10:43:13-0600

Today's edition of BaschAMania is primarily focused on the World Championships, so I'm placing it in this thread.

0:00 - What a Week
04:45 - Team USA’s Historic Performance
07:00 - Spencer Lee Gets His Title
14:45 - Blaze Bounces Back for Bronze
19:55 - Zain gets Bronze, NLWC Goes 6-for-6
26:50 - Levi Gets It Done
30:35 - Dake Wins His 5th Title
38:40 - Trent Hidlay Got Robbed
49:35 - Wyatt Wins Bronze
55:45 - Russians at RAF
01:01:55 - Oklahoma State Invitational
01:15:45 - Ohio State at Clarion Open, Notable Results
01:22:05 - All-Star Classic & National Duals Invitational

Lil Nicky Scarfo · 2026-11-02T12:14:07-0600

Made the mistake of going over to HR. Lee’s gold has made a lot of them angrier the day after for some reason. Looking everywhere for enemies to attack.

And then you’ve got your Intermat posters who are slavering to hear what profanity Spencer yelled at Nick Lee - as if yelling at one of the nicest guys in wrestling is a positive trait.

Makes me even more ready for Cael to try and ring up 200 points this year

Goggles Paisano · 2026-11-02T16:35:17-0600

Dogwelder said:
Spencer keeps his ACLs in a shoebox on the shelf. Before every tournament, he tears one with his hands for good luck. #toosoon?

Dren007 · 2026-11-02T16:36:06-0600

You mean the guy that was getting decked until the other guy had a huge brain fart. It has to hurt that crue that their best teams the past 8 years were driven by Pa guys who may not have made the PSU lineup.

AgSurfer · 2026-11-02T17:06:58-0600

Lil Nicky Scarfo said:
Made the mistake of going over to HR. Lee’s gold has made a lot of them angrier the day after for some reason. Looking everywhere for enemies to attack.

And then you’ve got your Intermat posters who are slavering to hear what profanity Spencer yelled at Nick Lee - as if yelling at one of the nicest guys in wrestling is a positive trait.

Makes me even more ready for Cael to try and ring up 200 points this year

A shutout in the BJC would be a little more direct.

District 4 · 2026-11-02T18:41:55-0600

Lil Nicky Scarfo said:
Made the mistake of going over to HR. Lee’s gold has made a lot of them angrier the day after for some reason. Looking everywhere for enemies to attack.

And then you’ve got your Intermat posters who are slavering to hear what profanity Spencer yelled at Nick Lee - as if yelling at one of the nicest guys in wrestling is a positive trait.

Makes me even more ready for Cael to try and ring up 200 points this year

After watching the post match interview of lee i can positively say that lee is not having fun. I never heard someone who gave so much effort in caring what other people think that mentality has brands written all over it and it was clear with the " **** what you think" t shirts that iowa wrestles with a mentality that produces extremely stressful expectations. It's no wonder they struggle in march wtf. That was the saddest interview ever of what was supposed to be a guys happiest moments

RockySmith · 2026-11-02T19:02:14-0600

District 4 said:
After watching the post match interview of lee i can positively say that lee is not having fun. I never heard someone who gave so much effort in caring what other people think that mentality has brands written all over it and it was clear with the " **** what you think" t shirts that iowa wrestles with a mentality that produces extremely stressful expectations. It's no wonder they struggle in march wtf. That was the saddest interview ever of what was supposed to be a guys happiest moments

I hadn’t watched until I saw your post.

Compare Spencer’s reaction with someone like Mitchell’s when he wins. Clearly winning worlds was Spencer’s major life achievement and goal- his identity is wrapped up in it.

I‘m sure Spencer thinks he is having fun. It‘s a lot of emotion now, clearly.

El_Jefe · 2026-11-02T19:17:52-0600

RockySmith said:
I hadn’t watched until I saw your post.

Compare Spencer’s reaction with someone like Mitchell’s when he wins. Clearly winning worlds was Spencer’s major life achievement and goal- his identity is wrapped up in it.

I‘m sure Spencer thinks he is having fun. It‘s a lot of emotion now, clearly.

Honestly though -- while his entire career has been with the public attitude that winning is expected and more of a relief than an accomplishment ...

But let's forget that momentarily and focus on just this one event: he blew out his knee for the 4th time and will need surgery. He hadn't won Worlds yet, and it had to have crossed his mind that he might never get a better shot at a gold. I can't fault him for whatever reaction he had this time.

nerfstate · 2026-11-02T19:20:18-0600

Yeah, I’m not wishing ill will on Spencer at all, but my first thought after seeing him win was legitimate concern for him over the inevitable letdown he’s going to be facing. Hope I’m wrong and it’s more of a monkey off back situation.

AgSurfer · 2026-11-02T19:43:51-0600

nerfstate said:
Yeah, I’m not wishing ill will on Spencer at all, but my first thought after seeing him win was legitimate concern for him over the inevitable letdown he’s going to be facing. Hope I’m wrong and it’s more of a monkey off back situation.

I’ve mentioned this before in another post but I have a friend who is really involved with USA Wrestling. He has gotten to know Lee quite well and he told me that Lee’s biggest and sternest critic is himself. He has set the highest expectations for himself and lives by the creed of “anything less than winning it all is complete failure.” Now I wonder who put that idea in his head. Any guesses?

BriantheLion · 2026-11-02T20:05:42-0600

AgSurfer said:
I’ve mentioned this before in another post but I have a friend who is really involved with USA Wrestling. He has gotten to know Lee quite well and he told me that Lee’s biggest and sternest critic is himself. He has set the highest expectations for himself and lives by the creed of “anything less than winning it all is complete failure.” Now I wonder who put that idea in his head. Any guesses?

I can think of someone who could have put it OUT of his head!

Corby2 · 2026-11-02T20:18:50-0600

AgSurfer said:
I’ve mentioned this before in another post but I have a friend who is really involved with USA Wrestling. He has gotten to know Lee quite well and he told me that Lee’s biggest and sternest critic is himself. He has set the highest expectations for himself and lives by the creed of “anything less than winning it all is complete failure.” Now I wonder who put that idea in his head. Any guesses?

His mom and dad who were high level judo athletes themselves and his dad a judo coach

PSUPetch · 2026-11-02T20:58:42-0600

AgSurfer said:
I’ve mentioned this before in another post but I have a friend who is really involved with USA Wrestling. He has gotten to know Lee quite well and he told me that Lee’s biggest and sternest critic is himself. He has set the highest expectations for himself and lives by the creed of “anything less than winning it all is complete failure.” Now I wonder who put that idea in his head. Any guesses?

My wife and I saw his post match interview and we both felt that he could really benefit from some proper counseling. No gratitude or perspective of what’s truly important. Very sad to see this. I can’t imagine what he would’ve done if he lost in the semis.

We are so lucky to have the coaches (and athletes) we do.

Tom McAndrew · 2026-11-02T21:13:14-0600

Tom McAndrew · 2026-11-02T21:16:21-0600

The World Championships were a major focus of today's FloWrestling Radio Live, so I'm placing this in here.

(0:00) fun and easy banter
(2:45) Spence Lee wins Worlds on a torn ACL
(11:30) Levi Haines
(13:00) Trent Hidlay was robbed
(18:20) a challenge for USA fans next year and other World Championship notes
(25:00) exactly what happened in Stillwater this weekend?
(1:14:00) other notable college results from across the country this weekend
(1:26:30) MAJOR NEW SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT
(1:29:30) questions from friends

El_Jefe · 2026-11-02T21:31:01-0600

AgSurfer said:
I’ve mentioned this before in another post but I have a friend who is really involved with USA Wrestling. He has gotten to know Lee quite well and he told me that Lee’s biggest and sternest critic is himself. He has set the highest expectations for himself and lives by the creed of “anything less than winning it all is complete failure.” Now I wonder who put that idea in his head. Any guesses?

Maybe?

Lil Nicky Scarfo · 2026-11-02T21:52:39-0600

Tom McAndrew said:
The World Championships were a major focus of today's FloWrestling Radio Live, so I'm placing this in here.

(0:00) fun and easy banter
(2:45) Spence Lee wins Worlds on a torn ACL
(11:30) Levi Haines
(13:00) Trent Hidlay was robbed
(18:20) a challenge for USA fans next year and other World Championship notes
(25:00) exactly what happened in Stillwater this weekend?
(1:14:00) other notable college results from across the country this weekend
(1:26:30) MAJOR NEW SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT
(1:29:30) questions from friends

Interesting discussion about the Swiderski-Lockett match.

Sunshine88! · 2026-11-03T04:05:32-0600

Lil Nicky Scarfo said:
Made the mistake of going over to HR. Lee’s gold has made a lot of them angrier the day after for some reason. Looking everywhere for enemies to attack.

And then you’ve got your Intermat posters who are slavering to hear what profanity Spencer yelled at Nick Lee - as if yelling at one of the nicest guys in wrestling is a positive trait.

Makes me even more ready for Cael to try and ring up 200 points this year

200 Points would be Awesome. Let’s make that the Goal. Need a Ton of Bonus Wins.

Sunshine88! · 2026-11-03T04:08:37-0600

District 4 said:
After watching the post match interview of lee i can positively say that lee is not having fun. I never heard someone who gave so much effort in caring what other people think that mentality has brands written all over it and it was clear with the " **** what you think" t shirts that iowa wrestles with a mentality that produces extremely stressful expectations. It's no wonder they struggle in march wtf. That was the saddest interview ever of what was supposed to be a guys happiest moments

Simply put Spencer is not a Happy Young Man at Iowa. No surprise it’s been going on for 20 years now under the Brands. Love to see Spencer come home. He was getting crushed in the Semifinals and got very lucky.

Cheat code · 2026-11-03T04:52:21-0600

Edited

amattaro · 2026-11-03T10:38:30-0600

Was brought to my attention this morning that it was Brandon Sorensen cornering Spencer. Good to see him appearing to be healthy.

nerfstate · 2026-11-03T10:53:05-0600

amattaro said:
Was brought to my attention this morning that it was Brandon Sorensen cornering Spencer. Good to see him appearing to be healthy.

When I first saw him, I thought he was Gilman, lol. I realized how ludicrous that would be and eventually figured it out.

Corby2 · 2026-11-03T11:11:38-0600

amattaro said:
Was brought to my attention this morning that it was Brandon Sorensen cornering Spencer. Good to see him appearing to be healthy.

He's now the HC of the HWC . Dennis is still around but he has a family and couldn't be around as much. Sorenson, Dennis, Chad Beatty( HWC executive director) and Dean Peterson as Spencers workout partner were in Astana with Spencer

Tom McAndrew · 2026-11-03T12:50:32-0600

Tom McAndrew · 2026-11-03T12:54:41-0600

@Kozak did pretty well in his predictions:

Tom McAndrew · 2026-11-03T12:55:15-0600

Tom McAndrew · 2026-11-03T13:00:24-0600

An Old Pair of Asics · 2026-11-03T17:48:46-0600

AgSurfer said:
I’ve mentioned this before in another post but I have a friend who is really involved with USA Wrestling. He has gotten to know Lee quite well and he told me that Lee’s biggest and sternest critic is himself. He has set the highest expectations for himself and lives by the creed of “anything less than winning it all is complete failure.” Now I wonder who put that idea in his head. Any guesses?

Seems like a self preservation tactic: You can’t be mad at me if I’m already madder. You can’t be disappointed at me if I’m already more disappointed in myself. I will set my standard at perfection so you cannot expect more than I expect and you will pity me for the punishment I will subject myself to for not meeting this unattainable standard.

BaccaFarmer · 2026-11-03T19:09:40-0600

An Old Pair of Asics said:
Seems like a self preservation tactic: You can’t be mad at me if I’m already madder. You can’t be disappointed at me if I’m already more disappointed in myself. I will set my standard at perfection so you cannot expect more than I expect and you will pity me for the punishment I will subject myself to for not meeting this unattainable standard.

Mind bending swirl of logic. One can only wonder what it would have looked like if Lee had stayed in PA. Seems that his inherent temperament combined with the TNT approach to training produced a toxic brew.

Dogwelder · 2026-11-03T20:40:12-0600

BaccaFarmer said:
… Seems that [Spencer’s] inherent temperament combined with the TNT approach to training produced a toxic brew.

The TNT Bowie Doctrine

El_Jefe · 2026-11-03T20:59:36-0600

BaccaFarmer said:
Mind bending swirl of logic. One can only wonder what it would have looked like if Lee had stayed in PA. Seems that his inherent temperament combined with the TNT approach to training produced a toxic brew.

He would've transferred to Rutgers.

'26 Senior World Championships (10/24-11/1) thread

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