best US freestylers, pound-for-pound

[Matburn155 3]

I think Ruth will be on this list as well, and he already would be if he had some international wins, which will come as soon as he gets to some tournaments. Anyway, if he beats Foster at WTT, which I think he will, he moves up the list quite a bit. Thanks for the vote of confidence in my list btw!

[steamboat_charlie 727]

What's with all the love for Scott? Sure... he won a medal but since then Kennedy has been the much stronger wrestler, internationally and domestically. Not to mention they literally just wrestled and we know how that went.

 

I, like probably all of us, have no idea what the hell to think about Foster. I had to go back and watch his big wins from the world cup to believe that they happened after seeing Ruth get to his legs effortlessly about 8 times during their match. Obviously he's capable of knocking off some of the top guys but I'd be concerned about an early exit to an unknown wrestler if her were our guy this year.

 

Where is Marable? Has everyone forgotten the year he's had? Even if you discount the win against Burroughs, he's had arguably the best year of any of our wrestlers.

[cbg 27]

Pico is one of the very best freestyle wrestlers in the USA a very young age for a variety of reasons.

1. He has a great wrestling coach and they are using a tried and true Russian training system.

2. E.J. "Doc" Kries is considered by most to be one of the top 5 strength & conditioning coaches in the world & he has been credited with working out Pico. Kries worked with the USSR & Bulgarians during the cold war years to learn how they trained athletes.

3. At the present time everyone around Pico is checking their personal ego at the door and trying to do what is best for the athlete.

4. Pico not only works with some of the best USA wrestlers but he also travels to Russia and works with some of the best athletes in the world. When you combine what the best Russian & USA wrestlers do it is a deadly combination.

5. So far he has established a training plan and has not deviated from that plan. At this point in his career Pico appears to be doing much more training & drilling than competition.

6. He is only focused on freestyle and is not switching back and forth between folkstyle & freestyle.

[The_Education 24]

Pico is one of the very best freestyle wrestlers in the USA a very young age for a variety of reasons.

1. He has a great wrestling coach and they are using a tried and true Russian training system.

2. E.J. "Doc" Kries is considered by most to be one of the top 5 strength & conditioning coaches in the world & he has been credited with working out Pico. Kries worked with the USSR & Bulgarians during the cold war years to learn how they trained athletes.

3. At the present time everyone around Pico is checking their personal ego at the door and trying to do what is best for the athlete.

4. Pico not only works with some of the best USA wrestlers but he also travels to Russia and works with some of the best athletes in the world. When you combine what the best Russian & USA wrestlers do it is a deadly combination.

5. So far he has established a training plan and has not deviated from that plan. At this point in his career Pico appears to be doing much more training & drilling than competition.

6. He is only focused on freestyle and is not switching back and forth between folkstyle & freestyle.

 

With Marsteller and Synder graduating, I think Pico is clearly the best high-school-age wrestler in the country. I also like that he's able to focus on freestyle, then jump into MMA. I think it's great. But he doesn't have enough of a track record at the senior level to confidently say where he's at. He's going to need more senior-level matches before I start thinking where he ranks among the other senior-level guys.

[T-nigs23 90]

No doubt this list will be controversial, but I am not looking so much at credentials as where they are today in my view....

 

1. Burroughs- enough said

 

2. Kyle Dake- big wins over Tsargush and Shebenau. Also big wins stateside over Taylor, Howe, Marable, and Paulson. Came damn close to beating the man himself, after having wrestled three big matches already that day. And the end of the day, Dake is Dake, only a fool would doubt him.

 

3. David Taylor- my belief is that the razor close match between Taylor and Burroughs reflects where they are at relative to each other today. If true, then how can Taylor not be top three? Look at how he dominated Marable and Howe last year. Also looked good at University Worlds. Not sure I see him taking 2 of 3 from JB, but a "W" would not surprise me in the least.

 

In short, I can't help but notice that Dake and Taylor wrestle JB tougher than anyone has at the Olympics or worlds the past two years, and think either would be a contender if they were healthy and on the team.

 

4. Jake Varner- may seem too low, but the jury is out on Varner for me. Is he the same guy he was in 2012? Not so sure of this- yes he won, but other than possibly Bergman, nobody in the US at this weight remotely compares to the about a half dozen of the monsters coming out of Russia and/or former Soviet Republics.

 

5. Tervel Dlagnev- Tervel has been the guy at this weight for like five of the last six years, as unbeatable of a heavyweight as we've had stateside since at least McCoy, and maybe since Big Bruce himself. He owns a win over THE MAN, Artur Taymazov, hands down the most impressive freestyle heavyweight I've ever seen. I love his mobility and leg attacks, so impressive to see a man of this size shooting a low single. I feel like in the past he's often been a victim of the ball draw- with these new rules, this could be his year.

 

6. Logan Stieber- a controversial pick for sure- but this pick is based on where I think Stieber ranks if he were at his true weight class of 134 (I think we all understand that with weigh in rules, 134 is 141 college, so in effect, he's wrestling up a weight because it's an Olympic Weight. Logan at 134 I think would have an excellent chance to get a medal, and as I understand it, he'll get the chance to try out there if he doesn't make the team at 143.

 

7. Brent Metcalf- I may have him too low- but to me, Metcalf is a guy that when he can beat you, he looks like a god doing so as he did this weekend because he breaks guys mentally, but when he meets the best of the best, suddenly he looks quite human. No doubt the new rules help him and he does have some nice international wins this year. If he's on the team it sure would be nice to see him medal, he's paid his dues.

 

8. Clayton Foster- No idea what to do with this guy. How do you have the showing at World Cup he had, and basically lose twice this weekend? (I thought Ruth beat him). Foster also did very well at an international tournament last fall. My view is that he will emerge as our best guy at World Team Trials- though holding off Ruth for two more years seems unlikely.

 

9. Reece Humphrey-How quickly he is forgotten. Let's keep in mind that Reece was a hair away from being on the last three world teams. If he had wrestled 134, my guess is he'd have won (though it's like a 51-49 thing with Kennedy and Coleman Scott).

 

10. Jordan Oliver- Very controversial to rank him ahead of Russell, I understand. However, it my completely irrelevant opinion, Russell just has his number, but Oliver would likely fare better if they were both in the bracket at Worlds, for instance. Oliver of course beat Metcalf last year- who currently has outscored Russell like 30-0 in their series. He also beat the Russian who took bronze at the worlds. I believe Russell's best international win is over Emeev, who Pico teched.

 

10. Aaron Pico- It's difficult to know where to put him right now, but make no mistake, Aaron Pico is THE ONE. The speed and crispness that he finished his takedowns against Retherford....unbelievable. People keep saying that maybe the Russian Emeev was out of shape (though he beat Molinaro like a week before easily and nearly beat Russell), maybe he wasn't trying (evidently he likes to get beat by high school kids), maybe he stubbed his toe...well, maybe Pico is just that good. Am I correct to believe he also teched either the Jr. World Champ or Runner-up recently? Honestly, I think this is a world class wrestler right now, and it's only out of respect for these more proven guys that I don't have him higher. If this is not a future Olympic Gold Medalist, I've never seen one.

 

Alternates- Ed Ruth- A world of potential, but at this point Ruth is OVERRATED (in freestyle). I feel like in every match there is a sequence where he gives up six exposure points off his shot. The new rules are a GODSEND for him (no more one point takedowns) but he needs to tighten things up.

 

Kellen Russell- discussed above.

 

Coleman Scott- His Olympic Run in 2012 was epic, but just has not been the same guy since.

 

Jimmy Kennedy- Possibly should be on this list- just keeps getting better and better. Even if Logan and Reece eventually drop as expected, I could see him being the guy.

 

Keith Gavin- Doesn't get a lot of love on the forums, but he sure does get his hand raised a lot (at least in the US).

 

JD Bergman- Another guy the fickle fans of on the forum have quickly forgotten. Just a week ago, everyone was sure that Bergman was going to beat Varner yet again, now Varner is the Olympic Gold Medalist again and Bergman is just some also-ran. Wouldn't bet on that.

 

Just a few things you said in your Pico paragraph. Molinaro barely beat Emeev of Russia in the finals of a tournament. So to my knowledge Emeev lost to three Americans on his visit here. I have a feeling that the reason Pico was able to tech him him is cause i think Emeev is around 20 years old so hes not a fully grown and mature man yet. Pico is probably one of the best in the world for his age, imo he is just that much better than the Russian. I think a rematch would be a few points closer but Pico would prevail. The point im trying to make is i think Aaron is that much better with freestyle technique that he dominated a person that was taking it to Russell and Molinaro, even with their size advantage.

[RetiredPoster 87]

To the subject.....

 

Note to Pico haters, he's not on my list.

 

 

One question...If Pico is already so dominant, why didn't he enter the Open? Please just answer this for me.

 

Let's talk today....

 

"Potential, doesn't mean a thing. You've got to do it."

[PRyan2012 347]

Anyone know, Mr Zadick or Mr Slay? Can Pico beat Metcalf? Can Snyder beat Varner or JD? If the answer is yes then I think they would have been wrestling seniors correct? Snyder trains with JD and pico has wrestled live with the seniors also. If they can beat our best guys now why in the world would you not have them wrestle seniors-they have already won jr world titles. Who cares about a 2nd jr world title, right? You never see a russian after they win a jr world title wrestling juniors anymore.

[VakAttack 3,972]

Didn't Tsargush beat Taylor at University Worlds? IS that considered a Senior level event?

[GranbyTroll 452]

Didn't Tsargush beat Taylor at University Worlds? IS that considered a Senior level event?

 

Not sure if you can call it a "Senior" event, but Tsargush teched him 8-0.

[2td3nf 582]

Revising my list; putting Dake on the shelf (expecting he'll be back in top 5 this time next year), moving Tervel up, and gotta throw in Synder somewhere here. (Again, I have no clue who beats who in the wrestling room.)

 

1. JB

2. Varner

3. Taylor

4. Metcalf

5. Pico

6. Dlagnev

7. Foster

8. Steiber

9. Kennedy

10. Synder

 

Honorable mention: Gavin, Oliver, Marable, Russell, Haze, Ruth, Reader

[VakAttack 3,972]

How in the world is David Taylor being put in the top 3 for the USA? Because he wrestled Burroughs tough (and gave up a big lead in 10 seconds)? Who is his best WIN (note: not really close loss) domestically? Howe? WHat about internationally? I have no idea. Can we calm down on the hyperbole a little? I mean, you have people putting him over guys like Varner (Olympic gold and completely dominated the field at the US Open), Dlagnev (World Bronze and dominated his field), and Metcalf (won and medaled at several major international events and, you guessed it, completely dominated his field going unscored on). Hell, Jimmy Kennedy has much better results, too, and also dominated his field at the US Open. He can't be in front of any of those guys or Dake, at the very least.

[2td3nf 582]

Vak, my picks are gut feelings only. I'm not privy to the wrestling room, don't know who's banged up, who's cutting what weight, or who's beating who in the wrestling room.

 

Just going on what I see on the mat. IMO, the Magicman is one of USA's best.

[VakAttack 3,972]

Vak, my picks are gut feelings only. I'm not privy to the wrestling room, don't know who's banged up, who's cutting what weight, or who's beating who in the wrestling room.

 

Just going on what I see on the mat. IMO, the Magicman is one of USA's best.

 

And what have you seen on the mat? He took second to Burroughs in a field that had nobody else of real note participating. No Dake, no Howe, no Marable, etc. That's my point. Those other guys have international results and domestic results behind them, Taylor has a close loss to Burroughs...and that's it.

[2td3nf 582]

Taylor took bronze at University World's. Yeah, Tsargush caught him, but DT crushed the rest of the world there.

[RetiredPoster 87]

Snyder and Pico on your list? What a joke....

[2td3nf 582]

Snyder and Pico on your list? What a joke....

 

If you're in the wrestling room, I'll respect your post.

[RetiredPoster 87]

I am sure they are excellent "room" wrestlers....When they get the job done on the grand stage, then you can all start talking....

[tuggerjug 0]

Pico and Snyder weren't allowed by rules to wrestle seniors - they had to wrestle juniors

[2td3nf 582]

I am sure they are excellent "room" wrestlers....When they get the job done on the grand stage, then you can all start talking....

 

 

Both Pico and Synder have World Championship Gold medals.

[Cmikes 0]

Snyder has a Junior World Gold and Pico has a CADET world gold. Very different than seniors. Neither of those two can win against top senior athletes in the US. They would be competitive for sure but they wouldn't win. People on here are asking if Snyder beats JD/Varner...no he doesn't. And Pico doesn't beat metcalf. These kids are a special talent and I believe they will be top of the US Seniors someday but right now they belong in juniors. Also Taylor hasn't wrestled in any SENIOR level tournament other than the US open in which he had a close match with JB. How he is so high on some of your guys list is just silly.

[RetiredPoster 87]

Pico and Snyder weren't allowed by rules to wrestle seniors - they had to wrestle juniors

 

 

What rule is that?

[RetiredPoster 87]

I am sure they are excellent "room" wrestlers....When they get the job done on the grand stage, then you can all start talking....

 

 

Both Pico and Synder have World Championship Gold medals.

 

Yes, they have both been great Junior and Cadet wrestlers.......when they start defeating our top, senior-level guys, then start putting them on your list.......TODAY, they don't beling on any list, because they are not taking on Senior talent.....Today, Snyder isnt beating a number of our top guys...Pico, is not beating Metcalf, Oliver, Russell, Kennedy and whomever else is on the list at that weight. AS stated in other posts, Pico is growing....This is going to be a big, big jump for him....So boys, relax with the speculation.

 

You don't understand this logic??

[Matburn155 3]

All of you guys who are criticizing, and haven't made a list, need to try it or be quiet. It's not very easy considering all variables. If our lists are so off then please, show us how it's done.

[davidtaylorgangordie 10]

Pico could not wrestle seniors due to only being 17. FILA rules state you must be 18 to wrestle seniors. I am not sure about how old Snyder is

[RetiredPoster 87]

Pico could not wrestle seniors due to only being 17. FILA rules state you must be 18 to wrestle seniors. I am not sure about how old Snyder is

 

Didn't know that...Thanks for the correction.