Did Pico Hit His Wrestling Ceiling?

[Tofurky 590]

I am reading this info about Jordan Oliver and his suspension and the relation to putting the best US Team on the mat for the coming World Championships. That had me thinking about Aaron Pico. Quite obviously that ship has sailed for him and his ambitions, but as he was transitioning from Freestyle to MMA, was he peaking in terms of his wrestling abilities or was his jump premature? He is clearly crucial in creating depth at 65 kilos, but would he have become the best option for the US at this weight had he decided to stick around for another four years or were other guys at that weight surpassing him?

Edited May 2, 2018 by Tofurky

[steamboat_charlie 727]

No, he did not hit his wrestling ceiling.  Yes, he would likely be our rep at 65kg or potentially 70kg if he were still competing.  

[Lurker 1,305]

I don't think he was peaking yet. Don't think he was near his peak....on his way up. MMA had always been his end game. In my opinion if that weren't the case he'd be our guy in the spot.

[maligned 455]

I don't think he was peaking yet. Don't think he was near his peak....on his way up. MMA had always been his end game. In my opinion if that weren't the case he'd be our guy in the spot.

Totally agree

[GranbyTroll 414]

Oh good, another Pico thread. 

[spladle08 703]

Oh good, another Pico thread. 

 lol 

 

But naw he would've consistently been our rep as long as he wanted to be. (Def hadnt "peaked")

My gut always says "he would have done better than Molinaro at the Olympics"

However Monlinaro did lose to Asgarov and Chamizo... not slouches,

Like GrandbyTroll says though, pointless discussion nowadays, we have more important things to talk about like how Dake's mind may implode when RInger takes 2 of 3

[Tofurky 590]

Does he make a run in 2019 and then for 2020?

[LJB 1,379]

my guess (and it is purely a guess) is no...

 

he always preferred fighting to wrestling... that was always his ultimate goal... he is proving that he has a future in MMA...

 

now, if somehting were to happen and he was to lose his next fight badly and maybe the next, he could possibly put that on hold while preparing for 2020, but, i dont see this happening at all

[Perry 1,175]

No, he didn't, and that's kind of a scary thought. He was destined for "bigger" things (at least as far as he saw it) and you can't fault him for making that jump. It would be nice to see him make a run at 2020 or even 2024.

[swoopdown 446]

Nowhere near his fantasy match ceiling

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I467 using Tapatalk

[de4856 357]

Well if it's true that the Zain Train is truly out for this Freestyle season, I certainly wish that Pico was still wrestling. I have to think that Pico, a highly decorated junior wrestler who was just starting his senior run, would have certainly been able to improve if he continued to wrestle on the Senior level. I guess the real question is, just how much would he have improved.

[wrestlingphish 619]

No way Pico wrestles 65KG with the new weigh in rules. He’d be competing at 70KG minimum.

[maligned 455]

Well if it's true that the Zain Train is truly out for this Freestyle season, I certainly wish that Pico was still wrestling. I have to think that Pico, a highly decorated junior wrestler who was just starting his senior run, would have certainly been able to improve if he continued to wrestle on the Senior level. I guess the real question is, just how much would he have improved.

 

Yeah, it seems we have very short memories. It was only in the 6-8 months previous to the trials that Pico jumped from having a lot of potential but losing to bigger/stronger senior-level guys to then coming within an eyelash of being our guy at such a young age. He was on a steep progress incline and stopped mid-rise.

 

I definitely agree that there's absolutely no way we would have seen him at 65kg in any non-Olympic year and possibly not even in an Olympic year.

 

He always talked like he wasn't done with wrestling, though. Has anyone heard him say for sure that he won't come back and make a run at the 2020 games?

[GranbyTroll 414]

My gut always says "[Pico] would have done better than Molinaro at the Olympics"

However Monlinaro did lose to Asgarov and Chamizo... not slouches,

 

 

Molinaro was about 0:03 from an Olympic Bronze. So you're saying that Pico would have gotten it done vs Asgarov or Chamizo? 

[mspart 184]

Pico wanted the money in MMA.  So he went MMA.  Hopefully he can make money there.

 

mspart

[Lurker 1,305]

Molinaro was about 0:03 from an Olympic Bronze. So you're saying that Pico would have gotten it done vs Asgarov or Chamizo?

Hell not even three seconds, he was, run straight backwards" from a medal. If he goes straight backwards with the legs wrapped up like that, chamizo falls flat on his face...

[BigTimeFan 943]

I want to go back to Pico’s freshman year in high school and talk about the quality of competition that year at states. And his loss to Heil. Doesn’t that prove something about something related to the current status of USA wrestling?

[BigTimeFan 943]

Pico was like so many super elite, super advanced high schoolers over the ages. He was way ahead of almost everyone his age but still young physically and still relatively inexperienced at the senior level, both suggesting he had much more runway.

 

As examples Dave Schultz and Cary Kolat were both stellar in high school. As we know Kolat took third at Midlands as a sophomore and fourth at the US open as a junior and as a senior beat NCAA champs at the 1992 Olympic trials. Fact I didn’t know—he took fourth at those trials and lost to Steve Knight and he was leading with three seconds to go. Got taken down right at the end (think Steveson vs Dom Bradley). Colat was at a similar level to Pico as an eighteen year old — had beaten top senior guys, had placed high in some international tournaments (he won the Henri Delign or whatever it is called). Yet he was nowhere near his ceiling.

 

Two article on Colar from the around his time:

 

 

https://www.si.com/vault/1992/04/06/126276/the-best-there-ever-was-with-a-137-0-record-and-four-pennsylvania-state-titles-cary-kolat-closed-out-a-high-school-career-of-formidable-achievement

 

http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/262/One-on-One-with-Cary-Kolat