Jesse Mendez

[smitty11]

Nice come from behind win on the road! Should secure a 2 seed at the big tens if he beats Burwick next week. 

[Guest]

Jesse is one tuff cookie /133 is a very tough 2-10 not much separation. Think about how tough Andrew Howe was his true freshman year to finish 2nd. Gonna be Mitty interesting!

[smitty11]

On 2/5/2023 at 11:30 AM, Sig40 said:

Ohio state vs Northwestern at 2pm central time at Northwestern. Several region wrestlers going at it. If you haven’t had enough wrestling this weekend come get your fill.  Pretty cheap entry tickets for general admission. 
 

Mendez will have Cannon. This is rubber match from the U23 finals 2 years ago when Jesse got hurt. You will also get the Davison brothers, Bates, and Yahya. Region Wrestlings Finest. 

 

Does Jesse still have one more year to qualify for junior worlds? Or is his eligibility up? If so 60kg should be perfect for him this year.  Good luck to him at big tens and ncaa's!

[maligned]

13 hours ago, smitty11 said:

 

Does Jesse still have one more year to qualify for junior worlds? Or is his eligibility up? If so 60kg should be perfect for him this year.  Good luck to him at big tens and ncaa's!

Yeah, 61kg/134.5lbs is perfect for him at the moment. But his camp has hinted at him taking the Olympic or regular redshirt next year and prepping for Trials 2024. If so, 61kg isn't an Olympic weight of course and he may start building/training toward that 65kg/143lb run as soon as he's done with NCAAs and some rest.

[BrodyHardcastle]

7 minutes ago, maligned said:

Yeah, 61kg/134.5lbs is perfect for him at the moment. But his camp has hinted at him taking the Olympic or regular redshirt next year and prepping for Trials 2024. If so, 61kg isn't an Olympic weight of course and he may start building/training toward that 65kg/143lb run as soon as he's done with NCAAs and some rest.

Ryan has been really vocal about Jesse moving up in weight in the near future, basically said he never be 133 again. 

[MattM]

1 hour ago, bigballerb said:

Ryan has been really vocal about Jesse moving up in weight in the near future, basically said he never be 133 again. 

Still wondering if that bunches him up with Bouzakis in the next couple years.  With that kids muscle build I'm not sure he's going to maintain 133 forever, at least not without sucking down a ton which may negatively impact his performance.  Hate that one of these guys may be the odd one out and have to bump another spot higher or suck to much down, neither being optimal for their or the teams performance.  

[BrodyHardcastle]

50 minutes ago, MattM said:

Still wondering if that bunches him up with Bouzakis in the next couple years.  With that kids muscle build I'm not sure he's going to maintain 133 forever, at least not without sucking down a ton which may negatively impact his performance.  Hate that one of these guys may be the odd one out and have to bump another spot higher or suck to much down, neither being optimal for their or the teams performance.  

Bouzakis is super short if I recall, I don't think he as the frame to put much more weight on imo. Tom said in an interview he wouldn't be surprised if Jesse was up two weights next year ( I don't think that happens but I think it does show how much weight Jesse is cutting and the possibility of jumping up weights in the future.)

[SWINfan]

22 hours ago, regionrat1 said:

Jesse is one tuff cookie /133 is a very tough 4-10 not much separation. Think about how tough Andrew Howe was his true freshman year to finish 2nd. Gonna be Mitty interesting!

FIFY

Daton Fix #2
Vito Arujau #3

Break the top 3 and Jesse can consider this a Monster year.  Anything between 4-12 is where he slots now.  He's had some wins in that group, but beating some of those guys in March is a different story.  Regardless, he's having a great freshman campaign and has a bright future ahead.  Looking forward to seeing how he finishes!
 

[maligned]

10 minutes ago, SWINfan said:

Daton Fix #2
Vito Arujau #3
 

Contrary to RBY...Fix can struggle offensively and Arujau can be scored on and get drawn into shootouts where he fades a bit. I would LOVE to see Jesse in an NCAA quarter or semi against one of these two. He would not be out of his element by any stretch.

[ReformedPoster]

2 hours ago, SWINfan said:

FIFY

Daton Fix #2
Vito Arujau #3

Break the top 3 and Jesse can consider this a Monster year.  Anything between 4-12 is where he slots now.  He's had some wins in that group, but beating some of those guys in March is a different story.  Regardless, he's having a great freshman campaign and has a bright future ahead.  Looking forward to seeing how he finishes!
 

Somewhat true regarding Fix.  he's only really had problems scoring on guys named Suriano, RBY, Pletcher and Desanto at NCAA's.  Other than that he's show good offense.  I don't see Mendez taking out a guy like him just yet. 

 

 

[SIACfan]

There is no doubt that 133 is a brutal weight class this year, but Jesse has proven he belongs in the mix.

[Sig40]

On 2/6/2023 at 6:11 PM, smitty11 said:

 

Does Jesse still have one more year to qualify for junior worlds? Or is his eligibility up? If so 60kg should be perfect for him this year.  Good luck to him at big tens and ncaa's!

Yes, Jesse has another year at juniors.  The plan is to wrestle in the US open at 61 kilos.  Jesse is making weight with ease this year, but plans on getting bigger for 65 kilos.  He is going to wrestle junior trials at 65 in preparation.  Use the rest of the year to put muscle on and be a full size 141.  I doubt he ever takes a shirt.

 

Also he will wrestle Vito on Flo this Saturday at 12CT.  

[smitty11]

4 minutes ago, Sig40 said:

Yes, Jesse has another year at juniors.  The plan is to wrestle in the US open at 61 kilos.  Jesse is making weight with ease this year, but plans on getting bigger for 65 kilos.  He is going to wrestle junior trials at 65 in preparation.  Use the rest of the year to put muscle on and be a full size 141.  I doubt he ever takes a shirt.

 

Also he will wrestle Vito on Flo this Saturday at 12CT.  

Great to hear!  Good luck to him.  Been a lot fun watching him wrestle.  

[navy80]

56 minutes ago, Sig40 said:

Yes, Jesse has another year at juniors.  The plan is to wrestle in the US open at 61 kilos.  Jesse is making weight with ease this year, but plans on getting bigger for 65 kilos.  He is going to wrestle junior trials at 65 in preparation.  Use the rest of the year to put muscle on and be a full size 141.  I doubt he ever takes a shirt.

 

Also he will wrestle Vito on Flo this Saturday at 12CT.  

Thanks for the update! Im curious why he likely won't take a redshirt? So he would wrestle four straight years and then be done and focus on the Olympics? MMA? Just curious of the strategy behind it. Especially when you have some guys wrestling for 5,6,7 years.