Expressing Appreciation Is A Powerful Phenomenon
The podcast kicks off with a brief discussion about Ben’s most recent Mental Monday: “Develop A Sense of Gratitude”. The concept of having gratitude and how a lot of high school kids hold onto a “Me Vs. The World” mentality but, if you retain that chip on your shoulder as you get older it is very negative for your life. Doing so pushes positive, motivating and supporting people away and attracts negative, angry people into your life. It’s easier to rationalize mediocracy than push yourself to go above and beyond. Leading by example Ben and Matt express their gratitude for their platform that gives them the opportunity to talk about wrestling, do something they love to do, and give back to the world of wrestling.
What Will It Take To Beat Penn State?
The conversation transitions into the topic of collegiate wrestling and specifically the question of what teams such as University of Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State have to do to beat Penn State. Penn State has a strong chance of finishing with 3-4 NCAA finalists, compared to the top opposition who has a chance of 1-2 finalists. Penn State continues a history of wrestling above their seed. That being said, Matt tackles the question with pointing out the few of Penn State’s vulnerabilities, specifically, their lower weight classes. Talking about wrestling above your teams’ respective seed Ben breaks down seven years of data he has accumulated. Tracking teams that have wrestled above or below their seed at Nationals. Ben also previews an article he is working on, a statistical breakdown of all the scoring at the world championships. From round 16 on, some surprising statistics have come out of his exploration.
Oklahoma State vs. Wyoming
Ben discusses Oklahoma coach John Smith. Smith was not happy with the outcome even though they were able to secure the win. Ben agrees with coach Smith reflecting on the lackluster performances from wrestlers such as Kaid Brock. Matt gives credit to Wyoming. While being outmatched in a number of weight classes, Wyoming didn’t allow that to affect their motivation. Ben’s opinion is that Oklahoma State has the potential for 10 All Americans – one from every single weight class. Discussions move forward speculating which weight class Joe Smith will compete in.
Iowa Vs. Purdue
Jumping right in, Ben brings up the topic of Iowa’s lineup and the difficulties they are facing with injuries. A number of Iowa’s wrestlers are not in the lineup and they were forced to call upon five backups. Even so, the team secured a dominant 26-9 win. Highlighting DeSanto’s improvements in his top game is a break down of Austin DeSanto vs. Ben Thornton. Quickly wrapping up discussions on Iowa vs. Purdue, Ben expresses his excitement for upcoming Iowa duals against Iowa State and Lehigh.
Timestamps:
- Developing Gratitude – 0:00
- Penn State – 5:33
- Oklahoma State Vs. Wyoming – 24:40
- Iowa Vs. Purdue – 39:30
Where to find the RUDIS Wrestling Podcast
The RUDIS Wrestling Podcast is hosted by Ben Askren and Matt Dernlan. Ben Askren, World Champion, and Olympic wrestler joins RUDIS from the T-Row & Funky Show in an official partnership as a content provider for all things RUDIS. Matt Dernlan joins from a D1 college coaching background with family roots grounded in Ohio wrestling with a collective 10 state titles on the shelf.
