Caleb Spires

Finalizing 285 as we speak!

Nope, I had I double at work after falling asleep on the couch mid-trackwrestling-scavenging last night lol. But they’re dangerously close to finalized, sadly doubt Joe will still be awake to post them but I’ll be personally done in a little over a half hour and can post them in this thread for any night owls.

It’s a valid question, I’ve intended on having it out basically every day since Tuesday but have been battling a flu as Joe said and was too physically/mentally exhausted to do damn near anything for a few days. Cramming every result I can possibly find tonight for a new set tomorrow, and from there will try to be getting on a schedule of no later than about every week and a half. Thank you all for your patience, I promise it gets much better from here on out.

I’m calling BS on this one. Us Michianaians love our bacon. It’s pretty rare to find somebody in the Mishawaka/Elkhart/SB region who doesn’t love the pig strips.

What do you think of my P4P ranking? I think I’d slot him in around #27.

Yeah, I owe you guys all an apology. These should have been out early in the week, then yesterday before I went to work at the latest. I’m admittedly dealing with some personal issues, but I’ve had plenty of time and it’s not a proper excuse. You have my word they’ll be finished today(meaning before I go to bed), and tomorrow I will try to write a preview as well, as a little “sorry I made you all wait so long.” Side note: to the coaches who have messaged me this week with some weight verifications that I hadn’t yet responded to, thank you very much for the info. It’s much appreciated.

The rumor I’ve heard is that if the staff has already decided that Jesse is going at 133 and Bouzakis is redshirting, there’s no benefit to having them wrestle each other for the public. Which would also check out as to why Bouzakis didn’t have a challenge match. Jesse is going to start his career off with a bang with a win over Byrd.

Of course Penn State is always an amazing option for the elite wrestlers, but I remember in his commitment video he said Ohio State’s strong recruiting class was a big reason for going and he wanted to help build a dynasty. And it’s hard to blame him, as the Buckeyes could be rocking a lineup full of AA threats from top to bottom(sans 184) as early as next year. One of he or Bouzakis will absolutely end up at 141 next year(unless Jesse redshirts while Bouzakis goes at 133), and just my guess that has no bearing in reality, it will likely be Jesse as his frame looks more “fill-outable” than Nic’s. Wasn’t Jesse originally recruited as a 141?

As one of the few diehard Buckeyes fans on this board, I’ve been speculating a lot about their future with all of these recruits and the redshirt situation starting next year. Feldman has stated in a couple interviews that the plan is for him to redshirt, and if he doesn’t go next year I’d be shocked if Mendez or Bouzakis go right away… Unless, an idea I think could work well, Jesse goes next year at 133 while the other two redshirt, then the next season Bouzakis slots in at 133 while Jesse redshirts and bulks to 141(or vice versa depending on who seems to be getting heavier). It would give all three a redshirt year, keep them together for the same class, and be competitive at 133 next year while giving Nic and Jesse time to work out the weights they’ll intimately settle into. All this said, obviously the coaching staff and to an extent the wrestlers will have the final say on what they do next year. The Feldman interview was a while back, so the plan may not be to redshirt him or the bunch anymore after seeing him dog college studs, as well as Jesse’s continued emergence. I have full confidence that next fall Feldman will come into the room and no less than major Orndorff a majority of their matches. While I agree with SWINfan that the Buckeyes are still likely at least a couple seasons off from real contention, I think it wouldn’t be fair to their team to NOT go all in for a trophy finish when you have 3 starters returning for a senior+ season. The difference in this team’s finish with or without Heinselman, Ethan Smith, and Kaleb Romero is incredibly substantial. If those three are coming back when they could be moving on, you have a true freshman heavyweight who could very legitimately AA out of the gate, and you have that potential option of alternating Bouzakis and Mendez the next two years, I say go for the best finish you can. Especially when you have AAs like Sasso, Kharchla, and Hoffman returning as well. Whatever decisions are made this upcoming season, this is going to be one hell of a fun team moving forward.

That Ty Mills match is one of my favorites out of an Indiana wrestler. Even down 0-4 before the pin, he was wrestling confidently, going non stop on offense, and was being a hammer on top.

You’re absolutely right. I was thinking of 2020 as his sophomore season instead of junior for some reason.

125 - Malik Heinselman (Sr+) (4x national qualifier) 133/141 - Jesse + Nic Bouzakis 149 - Sammy Sasso (Sr) (“3rd” in 2020, 2nd in 2021, & 5th) 157 - Paddy Gallagher (Fr) (#1 Flo P4P Class of 2021) 165 - Carson Kharchla (So/Jr depending on potential medical redshirt) (7th) 174 - Ethan Smith (Sr+) (4x national qualifier, 5th in 2021) 184 -Kaleb Romero (Sr+) (3x national qualifier, “6th” in 2020, & 7th) 197 - Gavin Hoffman (Sr) (6th) 285 - Nick Feldman (Fr) That lineup competes with any team not named Penn State imo.

Let’s also keep in mind that Nick was the #2 seed that split matches the #1 seed in 2020 when the tournament got canceled. And I’m very confident that Nick and Cael would have made the adjustments to avenge the B1G championship loss to Pletcher. If Covid had held off one more week, we could very well be talking about a 3x NCAA champion.

tOSU already has Dylan D’Emelio at 141, I don’t know if Jesse would be significantly better off the bat(I would take him in a wrestle-off, but probably with a close enough score that redshirting still makes sense). As a diehard Buckeye fan, I think next year should rely on if both Ethan Smith and Kaleb Romero return for their senior+ seasons. If they do, I think it would be foolish of Ohio State not to run out their best lineup, regardless of if they’re freshman or not. If even one of those two moves on though, redshirt them all and focus on gold a year or two later.

I don’t think Chad had a disappointing career by any means. 3x(somewhat 4x) AA is a hell of an accomplishment, no matter what high school hype you had coming in.

One notch below that extreme, Jimtown won semi state a few years ago without winning regionals or even sectionals I believe.

If you’re asking if I know who his partner will be, that’s a no. If you’re asking if I will be his partner, that’s a remarkably more emphatic no as I fight back tears at the mere thought of taking that blast double.

Veazy could very well capture a title for the Wayne as early as next year. I’m not counting out Mitchell Betz either. Going from 19-8 and a regional exit as a freshman to 45-2 and 6th in the state as a sophomore is a pretty substantial growth.

I’ve never had a joke age so well in my life.

You could also just let them know who your kid is, the proper spelling, and what weight he’ll likely be at.

Pretty sure Brendan Black and Kris Rumph did in 2017.

I can only speak for what I’ve seen since 2010, but I would say yes, though multiple others from that time alone have a case. Chad Red was an undefeated 4xer and had possibly the largest victory in IN history. Jason Tsirtsis did lose twice as a freshman, but recovered for a title and then didn’t give up an offensive point his final three seasons if I remember correctly. It sounds crazy at the surface to say a 1xer could be the best, but you could also argue Nick Lee was by grade. A freshman loss to a senior Micic can mostly be excused, and nearly giving Red his only loss as a junior recovering from injury is as “good” as a loss can be. That said, catch weight as seniors, I would slightly take Jesse over the bunch. That would be fun little 4-man bracket.

Sprunger is a damn pick em’s cyborg.

Every other team next year.