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OSU Wrestling: Five Thoughts on the NCAA Tournament

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The Cowboys closed out their NCAA Saturday morning crowning four All-Americans. Here are some of my thoughts.

1. It wasn’t good

This almost goes without saying, but the Cowboys had their second-worst NCAA tournament finish in the John Smith era finishing 13th. They had one former All-American get beat out, another injury default out, and a two-time NCAA champ didn’t even place. That’s not what you want.

2. The finish itself isn’t indicative of where the program really is this year

Preston Weigel’s tournament and season ended early with an injury in his first match. Preston comfortably beat both semifinalists that were on his side of the bracket including the eventual NCAA champ. That’s no guarantee that a healthy Weigel would have won the whole thing, but he would’ve had a shot. Just those points would have pushed OSU up to 6th. Also, there’s a lot of talent waiting in the wings for the Cowboys that will change the game a bit next year.

3. Dean Heil’s Finish

It was hard to see Dean Heil go out like he did, but it wasn’t quite the huge fall from grace as some see it. That weight has always been very deep and very good and Dean has always managed to scramble his way to the top. The rule change hurt him and I think the staff changes stung him a little as well, though I do believe the staff changes are for the best long-term. But even through all of that, he still came closer to beating the eventual champ than anyone else. After that emotional loss, it’s tough mentally for guys to come back, so it’s not a huge shocker that he didn’t. Especially with OSU out of contention for a team trophy.

4. Don’t hit the panic button

I’ll do some write-ups on the topic in the next week or two, but every year a few fans that don’t follow wrestling closely see that OSU didn’t win the tournament and come out with pitchforks questioning Smith and wondering if he’s the reason? He’s not perfect or above questioning some of his moves, but he’s basically the only thing keeping the program in the top five of the country. There are so many other external factors outside of what’s going on in the room working for these other schools that it’s incredible that OSU even remains as good as they are.

5. Kaid Brock needs to stop trying to throw guys

Brock lit the wrestling world on fire in his college debut pinning NCAA champ Cody Brewer with an inside trip. It was awesome.

But he’s gotten himself into a lot of trouble since then when hitting throws. Brock lost in the Wyoming dual because he tried to throw Montorie Bridges and found himself on his back and couldn’t come back from the early deficit to win. You could argue similarly for his match with Tariq Wilson in the quarterfinal — though Wilson was on fire the whole tournament. So it may have been more than that. But Brock just kept trying throws and they didn’t work. He’s got a ton of offense on his feet and that’s just not what seems to work best for him and something he may want to avoid going forward.

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