Exciting Times
Before jumping into the wrestling, Matt inquires about Ben’s rather hectic week. Askren was hard pressed for free time with multiple photo shoots, appearances, interviews, and several camps. Ben’s debut fight for the UFC, originally scheduled for January 26th, had to reschedule for March 2nd. This was due to canceled fights for injuries and an overall lack of fights to fill the card. With the postponement of his fight and the likelihood of his press conference moving Ben has an opportunity to potentially jump back into Midlands at the end of the year.
Scoring in Folkstyle
Moving into wrestling Ben Askren begins with a little rant. Willie Saylor and Christian Pyles of FloWrestling Radio Live have repeatedly taken a position that scoring in folkstyle wrestling is bad. In complete disagreement, Ben lays out a scenario looking at 100 matches. How often would you say the “wrong” guy won because of incorrect scoring. This isn’t when one guy is up in a match and then gets thrown to his back and is pinned. This is late period escapes that keep a match close. For example, 2-1 or 4-2 and the better wrestler gives up an unfortunate takedown and loses the match. This system in Ben’s eyes is not flawed though. If a wrestler is giving up late period escapes allowing the match to stay close it is because he is deficient in his riding abilities. Short time ride outs are critical. A good coach should emphasize that to all of their wrestlers. Willie and Christian are talking about discounting certain positions. They’re debating the value of a takedown versus the value of an escape. If you logically break down a specific match, the scoring system makes sense.
Wrestling Is a 3 Position Sport
Ben and Matt specifically break down the match between Nick Reenan vs Taylor Venz. Reenan is far superior on his feet, but lacking in his on the mat abilities. Reenan gets three takedowns scoring 6 points and Venz gets 4 escapes for 4 points. For a 3 takedown to none match, 4-6 is unexpectedly close. The disparity between abilities keeps the match close as he is only superior in 1 of 3 positions. If he were superior in all 3 positions it would make for a much larger point spread, as it should. The system ensures that athletes must be good all around in all positions in order to be successful. If you look at the best wrestler at every weight class you see that they are all superior on top and bottom, it is crucial to develop those skills as wrestling is a 3 position sport.
Arizona State vs Penn State
Transitioning into the Arizona State vs Penn State dual. Ben brings up a tweet stating Cael Sanderson and Penn State only win because Sanderson gets the best recruits. After the Penn State performance against Arizona State, we can clearly see this isn’t true. Arizona State’s current junior class was the highest ranked recruiting class in the country that year. Penn State walked through them without breaking a sweat, winning the dual 41-3. There was really only one win for Penn State that was competitive and that was No. 2 ranked Mark Hall against No. 1 ranked Zahid Valencia. Even still the match was dominated by Hall, riding out Valencia for most of the match. The final score was 4-0 with a big upset by Hall. Some can speculate the infamous Rec Hall and the Penn State fans filling it played a factor in the outcome of the match.
How Good is RBY?
True freshman Roman Bravo-Young made his rankings debut at No. 18 at 133 lbs after his defeat of Arizona State’s No. 7 ranked, 125 lbs Ryan Millhof. This all comes after an exciting flying squirrel move RBY pulled off during Penn State’s dual vs Lehigh University. Ben states that RBY is good everywhere and wrestles with an incredible pace. He believes he has truly inserted himself into the top of the 133 lbs weight class. He’s not saying RBY is going to beat top guys like Daton Fix or Seth Gross but that possibility is not out of sight. RBY will get an opportunity to show exactly where he stands in this phenomenal weight class at the 2019 Southern Scuffle.
Time Flies
After long discussions about the exciting Arizona State vs Penn State Dual which was on ESPN, the pair didn’t get to talk about a few recent events. They are going to have to save Cornell vs UNI, Brandon Womack, 184 lbs weight class and much more for the next episode.
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.
