Photo // Tony Rotundo, 2022
April 28-30, Las Vegas NV | Follow @the_rudis and @rudisplus for more related content
KENDRIC MAPLE BET, AND WON, IN VEGAS
LAS VEGAS, NV- Missouri Tigers assistant coach Kendric Maple’s performance in Vegas was, to say the least, impressive. Consecutive wins over Luke Pletcher, Pat Lugo, and Matt Kolodzik are commendable enough, but to run that gauntlet five years removed from his first U.S. Open title is something else entirely.
The events that led to the 2013 NCAA champ’s return to competition are even better.
Maple made a bet with Tiger breakout freshman Keegan O’Toole, that if he won a Junior World Championship in August, “Coach” Maple would enter the bracket at the U.S. Open.
A fun observation, both Maple and O’Toole are cradle specialists. What move did Maple use to end his title match with Matt Kolodzik in a mere 54-seconds? It was the same cradle that O’Toole has found so much international and domestic success with this last year.
Kendric Maple won a well-deserved OW award in addition to his second stop sign, but that’s not to say that other performances weren’t deserving of the term “outstanding”.
KAYLA MIRACLE WASTED ZERO TIME
Photo // Tony Rotundo, 2022
166 seconds.
That’s the time 2020 Olympian Kayla Miracle spent on the mat this past weekend. 2 minutes and 43 seconds; in three matches, Kayla didn’t even wrestle a full first period.
Kayla clearly has her sight set on gold in Serbia. As a returning medalist, she’s already reserved a valuable spot at Final X NYC. The winner of the World Team Trials challenge tournament can expect to have their hands full in New York.
There’s no question that Miracle is one of the best in the world at 62kg, and her performance at the U.S. Open was on par with what the wrestling world expected out of the returning silver medalist.
PENN RTC PUT ON A SHOW
Photo // Tony Rotundo, 2022
With All-Stars Mark Hall, Joey Mckenna, David Mcfadden, and of course, Jordan Burroughs, Penn RTC certainly passes the eyeball test. With Mckenna and JB en route to the Pan American championships, Hall and Mcfadden took on the responsibility of representing Penn in Vegas.
…and boy, did they represent.
Hall, in his first action back since taking out Myles Martin in an absolute nail-biter at Super Match, torched his way through to the 86kg title. In five matches, Hall gave up only a single pair of points and didn’t have one match go all six minutes.
David Mcfadden’s path to his first U.S. Open title was long and hard-fought. He defeated Quentin Perez, Isaiah Martinez, and Chance Marstellar before facing off against another out-of-the-corner surprise finalist, Vincenzo Joseph. Mcfadden eventually came out on top in a wild match that saw a successful challenge, multiple lead changes, and a last-second crotch lift for the win.
With a pair of Open titles and Mckenna and Burroughs preparing to hit the mat in Mexico, Brandon Slay has to feel great about the team he’s assembled in Philadelphia.
Follow @rudisplus and @the_rudis for more
Subscribe to RUDIS+ here.
READ:
Kayla Miracle Wins Fourth U.S. Open Title
