Mongolia Day 3 (men's freestyle)...draw & discussion

[TripNSweep 465]

Cox ahead 2-0 on a shot clock and a pushout. 

[Grecojones 81]

Cox takes it 6-0

[TripNSweep 465]

Cox wins 6-0, 2 takedowns in the 2nd period clinched it. 

[BigTimeFan 953]

Good morning ... My hat's off to everyone who stayed up to cheer on J'Den in the semis and double hat-tip to those who stuck it out through the finals. 

 

My first thought is that it's a relief we have one more spot qualified for Rio and it's terrific that Cox got out there and got the job done. The semis and finals aren't posted yet so I haven't see the matches but from the commentary it sounds like he impressed. That being said, the highest level guys weren't present at 86kg; 65kg was another story. 

 

Just how weak was 86kg anyhow? Who of Dake, Taylor, Ruth, Gavin, Herbert could also have won? 

[tec87 349]

Just how weak was 86kg anyhow? Who of Dake, Taylor, Ruth, Gavin, Herbert could also have won?

well the Venezuelan that Cox beat in the finals 6-0 is the same one that Herbert beat 9-7 in the quarter finals of the Pan Am qualifier.

[Shiraz123 611]

Good morning ... My hat's off to everyone who stayed up to cheer on J'Den in the semis and double hat-tip to those who stuck it out through the finals. 

 

My first thought is that it's a relief we have one more spot qualified for Rio and it's terrific that Cox got out there and got the job done. The semis and finals aren't posted yet so I haven't see the matches but from the commentary it sounds like he impressed. That being said, the highest level guys weren't present at 86kg; 65kg was another story. 

 

Just how weak was 86kg anyhow? Who of Dake, Taylor, Ruth, Gavin, Herbert could also have won? 

 

It was weak but those guys might not have done it, Cox is the best of the bunch definitely. Btw it is way too soon to call him medal calibre, his first good test is if he wrestles in times square next month against Jokar who is a top 86. 

[BigTimeFan 953]

The UWW database (fantastic!) has info on Cox's opponents. Here's a little bit of on the Caballos Fuentes, the guy Cox beat in the finals last night. 

 

Ceballos Fuentes (VEN): 10th in the 2014 and 2015 world championships.

 

In the 2015 world championships 

• Ceballos Fuentes beat Salas (CUB) 4-4 in the round of 16.
• He beat the Swiss guy Riesen 6-3 in the round of eight
• He lost to Yasar from Turkey 10-0 in the quarters.
   
• Yasar then beat Khatiyev in the semis and then Sadulaev beat Yasar 6-0 in the finals. 

 

Ceballos Fuentes faced the Georgian Aminashvili in the first repechage and lost 5-3. Aminashvili ended up with a bronze and ranked 3rd. I don't know why he was ranked third and the other bronze fourth. I also don't know why Ceballos Fuentest was ranked 10th and not, say 5th.

 

I watched the match where Yasar teched Ceballos Fuentes 10-0. It's worth a watch to get a sense. Here's the link:

 

https://unitedworldwrestling.org/match?options[nodeId]=1124&options[arenaId]=47c6c079-5822-11e5-a1ef-0800275a62ce

 

Yasar get a takedown and leg lace early on and went up 6-0. Two pushouts (I think) took it to 8-0 after the first period. Fuentes was not completely overmatched. He fought hard to stay but two more pushouts ended it at 4:15. He looked a little small.

Edited April 24, 2016 by BigTimeFan

[BigTimeFan 953]

Here's the match of Ceballos Fuentes (Cox's finals opponent from last night) vs the Georgian Aminashvili, the eventual bronze medalist, in the 2015 world championships:

 

https://unitedworldwrestling.org/match?options[nodeId]=1124&options[arenaId]=499cc764-5822-11e5-a1ef-0800275a62ce

 

He lost 5-3. He was down 5-0 in the first and the Georgian gassed pretty badly. A takedown and a pushout in the second period put Ceballos Fuentes one td away from winning it. I don't think it's likely he would have beaten the Georgian but still.

Edited April 24, 2016 by BigTimeFan

[BigTimeFan 953]

One more Ceballos Fuentes match:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ntyTCWkyVo

 

vs Herbert this year. Herbert won 9-7.

[lu_alum 690]

Is it too late to just give our team spot to David Habat?

Did you notice the University of Michigan logo and Cliff Keen signature on the front of his singlet?

[Flying-Tiger 614]

Good morning ... My hat's off to everyone who stayed up to cheer on J'Den in the semis and double hat-tip to those who stuck it out through the finals. 

 

My first thought is that it's a relief we have one more spot qualified for Rio and it's terrific that Cox got out there and got the job done. The semis and finals aren't posted yet so I haven't see the matches but from the commentary it sounds like he impressed. That being said, the highest level guys weren't present at 86kg; 65kg was another story. 

 

Just how weak was 86kg anyhow? Who of Dake, Taylor, Ruth, Gavin, Herbert could also have won? 

+1. Passed out right after Cox's second match. It was nice to wake up this morning and read a timeline of what I missed. Looks like we have another young up-and-comer in the international world. Way to go J'Den!!

Edited April 24, 2016 by Flying-Tiger

[nom 797]

Congrats to J'Den!!!!  Really looking forward to watching this young man further mature.  I wish him the best in finishing out his Junior year at school strong, even though he's going to be a bit distracted.  And I'm really hoping his training goes well.

 

Who are his main freestyle coaches?   Will he train with other top 86Kg guys in the U.S.?

 

 

Also want to wish the best for Frank Molinaro.  I think his offense can win these matches but he'll need to step it up and fire.  His opponents have that savy with the OOB line, need to be careful.  And they will be willing to tie up and work for advantageous holds ... have to watch that shot clock.  Now, that is based on watching the match with the Turk.  My advice may be full of crap.  Regardless,  there is some real strategy Frank and his coaches have to work on here.    Good Luck Frank!!

[Shiraz123 611]

Worth remembering the Georgian won his world bronze through injury default 

[2td3nf 536]

Way to go J'Den! Looked so composed out there.

[maligned 455]

Or Boris Novachkov?

Slow down the Novachkov or Habat drooling...the grass is always greener.  

 

Habat just finished fourth behind Ness, Futrell, and Kulchytsky, getting teched twice by Kulchytsky at the Schultz tournament a couple months ago.

 

Novachkov, competing under his other family name Stefanov, got teched by Pico and Kellen Russell on his way to not placing at the Farrell.  He finished behind Oliver, Stieber, Pico, Molinaro, Pami, Russell, Chamberlain, and Kulchytsky.

 

Both, especially Novachkov, looked good last night, but any of at least Molinaro, Stieber, Pico, and Metcalf would be better options if we had the choice.

 

As much as some of us may have more confidence in some others, Molinaro still has a shot.  Getting Batirov, Gor, and the Georgian (sp?) out of the way opens things up a bit more.  He'll need a couple solid wins, but he's clearly right in the mix with about 5 guys as the favorites to claim the last 2 spots.

Edited April 24, 2016 by maligned

[redblades 322]

Fantastic run by J'Den, great news to wake up to! Thanks, all, for the commentary!

[KCMO2 595]

he wrestle in folskyle, if he trains only in fs and no one know about him, maybe he can make surprise in Mongolia, but he is a typical american folkstyle wrestler, not technique, only double legs, very powerful.... we will see that it :D

 

Where's this guy?

[LkwdSteve 141]

Why no shot clock in the 2nd period? I thought it was required in any period that had no scoring.

Bump

[tec87 349]

Where's this guy?

he responded in the cox is better than Dake thread.

[Katie 723]

Good morning ... My hat's off to everyone who stayed up to cheer on J'Den in the semis and double hat-tip to those who stuck it out through the finals. 

 

My first thought is that it's a relief we have one more spot qualified for Rio and it's terrific that Cox got out there and got the job done. The semis and finals aren't posted yet so I haven't see the matches but from the commentary it sounds like he impressed. That being said, the highest level guys weren't present at 86kg; 65kg was another story. 

 

Just how weak was 86kg anyhow? Who of Dake, Taylor, Ruth, Gavin, Herbert could also have won? 

 

Well, nobody had yet qualified 86kg for Rio. So there's that. 

 

Also, Cox's toughest match was against Poland. Have any of our guys wrestled him before?

[BigTimeFan 953]

Worth remembering the Georgian won his world bronze through injury default

Ahah. This I did not know. Changes things a bit. There's no question Cox wrestled at best the second rung of the world championships, the numbers eight to infinity. No one in the tournament stood out as a serious medal threat at 86kg. That being said, Cox beat all comers and that is good experience.

[Katie 723]

Ahah. This I did not know. Changes things a bit. There's no question Cox wrestled at best the second rung of the world championships, the numbers eight to infinity. No one in the tournament stood out as a serious medal threat at 86kg. That being said, Cox beat all comers and that is good experience.

 

Cox just went through the full grind of a long D1 season. Ends up winning a D1 title. Then decides on the fly to think about freestyle. Trains less than two weeks before OTTs. Wins that over our best full-time 86kgers. 

 

Then while he's still taking classes flies out to Mongolia and qualifies the weight -- something none of our guys had done yet. 

 

I think he's a fantastic rep for us at Rio. 

 

If you missed Cox's matches last night, his ref against Uzbekistan was horrible. Cox had all the offense, yet he put Cox on the shot clock twice. And those were the only two points the Uzbek got. Even so, Cox stayed calm throughout the match despite the score being close most of the way. He didn't put it away until the end. That's what I like to see. A guy with all the physical, technical, AND mental tools.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Katie

[CA_Wrestler 239]

Cox looked really good the entire tournament.  A lot of action, trying to get angles and initiating offense ALL the time as well as very good D.  Very excited to see him as our rep in Rio!

[mlbruem 131]

J'den Cox = Tiger Style

 

Missouri made - way to go J'den

you have trilled all Tiger fans

and helped make a lot of new ones!

[AnklePicker 521]

Bump

Not positive but I think it's only required in the first period if there is no scoring at all? After that there can be no tie.

 

I watched all the U.S. matches last night aside from Cox's final. The most impressive moment and display of freak athleticism was when Cox got ankle picked in his first match right to his butt yet somehow got back to his feet and then didn't even give up a point. Unreal.

 

Molinaro has to develop more than his hi c and chest lock. He also needs to trust his abilities. Once he knew he had to score vs the Turk he looked great. His matches need to start with more urgency.