NCAA Championships Day 1 Session 2

[Oracle]

In my opinion all of Lehigh's quarterfinal matches are toss ups.

Crookham vs. Bailey: this is a bad style match up for Ryan, Bailey is quick as a cat.

Beard vs. Elam: stay off bottom, Elam is a tough rider.

Taylor vs. Schultz: at some point Nathan will have to commit to a shot...high risk, high reward.

>>>>>>>>>>>> IMO, the recipe against Fat Boy is to shoot low early from an angle -- like Gable Steveson did. He toppled over pretty quickly. Of course, Gable was as strong as they get, but the strategy worked. Taylor did a magnificent job early against Doucet, then rode tough. He won it in the first 15 seconds. Just watch out for the foot sweep and Polish Throw. This guy knows Greco.

[The Kid]

Santoro hit the nail on the head, “You take nine shots and get four and in you in a good spot, you take one and miss and you are not.”

[legger]

**** Like everyone else, I am disappointed how things worked out yesterday. But we still have 4 strong men wrestling. The next matches are critical and not easy by any gauge.

Stanich: He has a long/tough road ahead of him. He is a good hand fighter, but he seems to be content to just hand fight and not just take shots. He needs to find the aggression and attack mode he showed earlier in the year. His opponent Peterson is no slouch. Force the action and take his attack game away from him is key. If Luke can get early take downs, his riding ability will factor big.
Crookham: Will have his hands full with Bailey, like Mookie said, with his speed. However, Ryan is one of The Best at counter wrestling like he has proved 2x with Arujau. The trick will be his ability to "chain wrestle" and score off of Bailey's aggression. This is not an easy task. It will depend on Ryan's ability to keep his poise and make the most of any openings that he can find.
Beard: This will be a real battle. Elam is seasoned and tough, but he has been hurt earlier in the season, (is he 100%)? Bearn Must Score Early and not get behind, since Elam is a really tough rider and it will not be easy to fight back from an early deficit. If Beard can get his offense working and score, he can win this.
Taylor: Nate is very strong, but he should not try to lock up upper body with The Mountain, who is just too experienced that way (Greco). Like Oracle said, the key will be attacking low (especially ankle level), where Schultz's big upper body and high center of gravity will work against him. Nate must stay poised and not get flustered as Schultz is well seasoned and will use Nate's relative inexperience against him.

[The Kid]

Thanks for the insights, legger.