2016 Wrestling Speculation and Nonsense

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And, re: Corbett vs Pascua. That was a fantastic match (pardon my French, but for those of you who thought it was boring, you don't know sheeet about wrestling). Although I wish the ref had kept himself out of the spotlight, HUGE props to Corbett for cutting the weight (bonus: making room for his friend at 160) and wrestling Pascua.

That double at the end was clutch (wrestle til the whistle, KJ!). Ironically, if Ray had awarded the takedown earlier like he should have, Pascua might have used that extra time to get his escape. Overtime with those two "hammahs" would have been absolutely insane.

Mahalo, Liam Corbett, for that epic match. Enjoy your title & good luck in college.

[_sportcourt]

And, re: Corbett vs Pascua. That was a fantastic match (pardon my French, but for those of you who thought it was boring, you don't know sheeet about wrestling). Although I wish the ref had kept himself out of the spotlight, HUGE props to Corbett for cutting the weight (bonus: making room for his friend at 160) and wrestling Pascua.

That double at the end was clutch (wrestle til the whistle, KJ!). Ironically, if Ray had awarded the takedown earlier like he should have, Pascua might have used that extra time to get his escape. Overtime with those two "hammahs" would have been absolutely insane.

Mahalo, Liam Corbett, for that epic match. Enjoy your title & good luck in college.

It was a very boring match, IMO and I will elaborate.

Props for making weight? Wrestlers do not get props for making weight, it is expected!
Making room for his friends? There is no friends between the lines, it is a battle (In college you do it for your team not because you are "ME" guy for your friend)
Clutch? One take down the entire match and you are calling that clutch, more like a fail at the HS level. Neither wrestler is nationally ranked and could only muster one take down and one escape between the both of them.
That double at the end was desperation

If it was a college match it would have gone to over time because of riding time, college coaches do not think much of riding ability at the HS level (sans East Coast) and if you can't get out of bottom at HS level, you will have HUGE issues in college.

Can't discredit the wrestlers for their effort but it was not a Great match, I would bet they both would want that match back. Definitely don't show them that match for recruiting but I do feel he can compete and maybe medal in NAIA his JR,SR year.

Not sure if you have been to the states to watch, experience or participate in wrestling but it is an entire different animal if you are basing your claim on Hawaii standards...than maybe its you who dont know ......

[miyagi]

That's what I figured you were looking at, but just wanted to put something else out there. After rereading I also realized that Kato should probably be higher with a win over Terukina. I would probably put him 1st and bump everyone down one.

Using just this year and what you were looking at I would probably put them like this(remembering that some did wrestle P4P matches this season):
1. Kato 2. Terukina 3. Corbett 4. Ilabon 5. Pascua 6. Nakasone( he is amazing on top and was a lot of fun to watch this year, but I don't think it would have manifested itself in matches against these wrestlers). If he had wrestled a healthy Pagurayan(both shoulders already busted) in the semis I don't think it would have resulted the same way. I just think his neutral game wouldn't have held against the other wrestlers and it would have been a push on the mats. None of those guys had been turned or ridden out from top position in a long time.

I'm with you on this. Nakasone bumps up he would get slaughtered by Kato, he bumps down I don't think he beats either finalist.

I'm ok with Kato & Terukina.

Re: Nakasone - he actually did wrestle Kato (mainland tourneys during the summer & during the preseason). And they were close, tough matches; definitely not the "slaughter" you predicted. Kato is one of the most well-rounded wrestlers in the state, and Nakasone is an absolute terror top/bottom. Always great matches and fun to see the contrast in styles. 

Does he belong in the top-5 p4p discussion? ABSOLUTELY. He wrestled Terukina tough every time they've matched up over the years. Close 9-8 loss to Shanden in last year's state semis. Wins against studs like Ruiz & Saribay. 

This year he decimated a tough 120-lbs weight bracket @ Officials (including pins against Cabanban & Estrella). Nakasone bumped up during the dual season and destroyed everyone except Kato at 126. And he rolled through his weight class at States. 

So why the doubt and disregard? How many kids make 99% of their opponents give away points to choose neutral? He's a 4x placer and a State Champ. Nakasone's a unique talent that should be celebrated. 

That being said, he's probably #5 in my top-5 p4p.

What separates Nakasone from other Hawaii wrestlers is his stone cold killer instinct. His wrestling is legal - but brutal, painful, and punishing. He has an innate mean streak, and has no qualms about hurting/injuring his opponents or training partners. I don't know if i would call it a "unique talent to be celebrated", but his style is definitely intimidating, effective, and cringe-worthy to watch. (a wrestling mom's worst nightmare)

[twnoexcuses]

And, re: Corbett vs Pascua. That was a fantastic match (pardon my French, but for those of you who thought it was boring, you don't know sheeet about wrestling). Although I wish the ref had kept himself out of the spotlight, HUGE props to Corbett for cutting the weight (bonus: making room for his friend at 160) and wrestling Pascua.

That double at the end was clutch (wrestle til the whistle, KJ!). Ironically, if Ray had awarded the takedown earlier like he should have, Pascua might have used that extra time to get his escape. Overtime with those two "hammahs" would have been absolutely insane.

Mahalo, Liam Corbett, for that epic match. Enjoy your title & good luck in college.

It was a very boring match, IMO and I will elaborate.

Props for making weight? Wrestlers do not get props for making weight, it is expected!
Making room for his friends? There is no friends between the lines, it is a battle (In college you do it for your team not because you are "ME" guy for your friend)
Clutch? One take down the entire match and you are calling that clutch, more like a fail at the HS level. Neither wrestler is nationally ranked and could only muster one take down and one escape between the both of them.
That double at the end was desperation

If it was a college match it would have gone to over time because of riding time, college coaches do not think much of riding ability at the HS level (sans East Coast) and if you can't get out of bottom at HS level, you will have HUGE issues in college.

Can't discredit the wrestlers for their effort but it was not a Great match, I would bet they both would want that match back. Definitely don't show them that match for recruiting but I do feel he can compete and maybe medal in NAIA his JR,SR year.

Not sure if you have been to the states to watch, experience or participate in wrestling but it is an entire different animal if you are basing your claim on Hawaii standards...than maybe its you who dont know ......

All of those things came down to one thing. The ref wouldn't let them wrestle and they didn't know what kind of attention hogging call was coming next. Changed the complexion of the match several times and just screwed the whole thng up.

[Switch]

My turn to elaborate! 

Props for making weight? Wrestlers do not get props for making weight, it is expected!
Making room for his friends? There is no friends between the lines, it is a battle (In college you do it for your team not because you are "ME" guy for your friend)

Props was for coming down to wrestle Pascua when he could have coasted to a second state title. And chill with the battle/honor/sparta stuff. Corbett wanted to make his mark by beating another stud and, hey, if it also cleared the way for his friend to win a state title - win, win. And, if you want to play the team-first angle, going head-to-head w/ Iolani's champ was a good strategy.

Clutch? One take down the entire match and you are calling that clutch, more like a fail at the HS level. Neither wrestler is nationally ranked and could only muster one take down and one escape between the both of them.
That double at the end was desperation

wtf does national ranking have to do with anything? Not every match is gonna a back-and-forth scoring orgy like Cooper/Bailey or Terukina/Illabon-Totten. Both these kids are amazing on their feet and it was their 1st meeting this season, so a scoreless 1st period wasn't a surprise. I'd be more shocked if either Corbett & Pascua gave up a takedown all season. 

21 seconds left, down 1. Did he have to attack? Of course; to either force a 2nd stall call to tie it or finish a clutch double to win it. You can call it desperation, but that's just being a hater. I'm a KJ guy and I still have mucho respect for Corbett for committing to that text-book double. Let's not ruin it by worrying about highlight videos or collegiate aspirations.

Not sure if you have been to the states to watch, experience or participate in wrestling but it is an entire different animal if you are basing your claim on Hawaii standards...than maybe its you who dont know ......

I've competed (in a couple) and watched (decades of) state title matches. Crowd-pleasing? Maybe not, but it was both tactically and technically satisfying to a lot of respected members of our wrestling community. 

Which brings us back to Ray. Maybe he, like you, wanted a scoring fiesta. But maybe, if he let the kids decide the match, we would have had another classic state final go into OT, which IMHO, is when you truly see what these kids are made of. 

[Hawaiianeye]

Now that the season is over, lets speculate on 2017 I heard that a lot of local wrestlers are going to the Reno Worlds. does anyone have any idea of who is participating?

[twnoexcuses]

Now that the season is over, lets speculate on 2017 I heard that a lot of local wrestlers are going to the Reno Worlds. does anyone have any idea of who is participating?

I think Referee Ray is putting on a clinic: "Refereeing in the TV Era: Bringing the Cameras Back to you with Stalling Calls"