RUDIS Wrestling Podcast

On this special episode, Ben Askren and Matt Dernlan are in the wrestling room to breakdown the Final X matchups between Yianni Diakomihalis vs Zain Retherford, Gable Steveson vs Nick Gwiazdowski, Bo Nickal vs J'Den Cox, and the postponed match Kyle Dake vs Alex Dieringer. Tune into our YouTube Channel: RUDIS or the Media Page on therudis.com to view the breakdown step by step and keys to victory.

Anthony CassarOn this episode, Ben Askren is in the studio with Matt Dernlan as they discuss some recent events such as the UWW Cadet & U23 Nationals, collegiate wrestling news, and. They kick off by talking about big news for Penn State, Anthony Cassar was granted two years of eligibility by the NCAA if he so wishes to compete. Judging off the quotes from Cassar he doesn't sound unequivocal about a decision to utilize both of those years wrestling in college. Dernlan talks about how hard a college wrestling season is and it is sure to drain anyone. Cassar has also had about three major surgeries. Askren brings up the school aspect of the decision as well. Grad school will take a lot of dedication in of itself. That being said, when Cassar sits down with Cael Sanderson and they discuss Cassar coming back it will be a very convincing argument from Sanderson and Askren believes Cassar returns for one more year of college wrestling. (13:30)133 lbs Seth Gross officially transferred from South Dakota State to Wisconsin for his 6-year Senior season. Gross won the NCAA title in 2018 but missed last season due to a back injury. The 133 lbs division, especially in the BIG 10, was the most talked about, action-packed division. Adding Gross back into the mix will only make this division even crazier. They go on to discuss how difficult it is to win a team trophy and why it takes such strategizing to even put yourself in the conversation of possibly winning. U23 Nationals (20:03)Askren talks about how for whatever reason the U23 team isn't as sought after as the UWW Juniors or UWW Cadets. Askren guesses that the reason might be due to the fact that the best 23 and under wrestlers are making the senior world team or in strong contention. For example, Yianni Diakomihalis, Daton Fix, Gable Steveson, Zahid Valencia, Mark Hall, Jason Nolf. In order to get the best representatives at U23, Askren suggests having a special wrestle-off for athletes that place at the U.S. Open or World Team Trials. Heavyweight (29:43)Daniel Kerkvliet beats Lehigh's Jordan Wood in a best of three championship. Askren and Dernlan were impressed by Kerkvliet's tech fall 10-0 over Aj Nevills in the semifinals. He still has a lot to learn as you can tell by him throwing a body lock the wrong way in the first match of his round-robin with Wood causing a cut on his face as well as on Wood's chin. Overall, it's positive Ohio State has a young promising heavyweight. 61 kg (33:04)Charles Tucker doesn't allow Micky Phillippi to score any points in their two matches and gets the win. Askren found this interesting because Phillippi had a better season last year. Another exciting match from this bracket was the third place match between Josh Kramer and Louie Hayes with an outrageous score of 33-22 in Hayes favor. 65 kg (35:44)Jaydin Eierman beats Luke Pletcher in two of their three matches to get the win. Askren talks about how insane these matches were and how difficult they are to officiate. 74 kg (37:28)Brady Berge hammers through this division with a finals win over Philip Conigliaro. 79 kg (38:06) Muhamed Mcbryde beats Anthony Mantanona in a close first match and a tech fall in the second. 86 kg (38:45) Matt Dean beats Devin Skatzka in the finals in dominant fashion. 92 kg (39:32) Oklahoma's Jakob Woodley beats Christian Brunner in the finals. UWW Cadet (40:25) Askren describes this as the toughest High School tournament. Dernlan talks about how interesting it is to see these athletes compete throughout the years because of the difference in maturation that happens. Dernlan also talks about the officiating at this level and what that means for coaches and athletes and how you navigate bad calls. Cadet Results (46:00) 41 - 45 kg: Blair Academy's Marc-Anthony Mcgowan is really promising. Askren was really impressed with him. 48 kg: Stevo Poulin tech falled his way the entire tournament. 51 kg: Richard Figueroa ll has a good chance of being a world medalist. 55 kg:

Team Work Makes the Dream Work This episode Cary Kolat, and Matt Dernlan continue onto Ch. 2 "You Can't Go It Alone" from the book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. The name of this chapter says it all, you need people in life to help you through difficult times, motivate, and support you. Dernlan talks about how many people think they are capable of getting through and accomplishing their goals without anyone's help and that's just unrealistic. Kolat says he was very self-sufficient when it came to training and pushing himself when no one was around to do so. You can only do so much on your own, Kolat tells his team to find a partner on the team that can be their go-to guy for training.  Trust and Comradery (3:45) From Kolat's first year at Penn State, Sanshiro Abe was his guy, they trained, worked out, motivated, and coached each other. After Abe retired Kolat struggled to find another deep connection with a training partner that could help him in the same way. This is when he realized how much he depended on the people around him. In the book, McRaven gives the example of a Navy Seal training tactic where they make trainees all carry a rubber boat. They know someone will either get hurt or sick and they want to see if the team turns on them or helps them and carry his load. Kolat says this is exactly like a wrestling dual meet. Sometimes a guy the team usually relies on isn't performing and everyone else needs to step up and pick up the slack. Coaching (11:45) Kolat says a lesson he learned early on in his coaching career was that you have to let your assistant coaches, coach. You can't micromanage and allow them to create wins for the program but also make mistakes and learn. Another thing is keeping your number two guys in check. You never know when the starter will suffer an injury or get a skin infection day before the dual. The backups have to be ready to go and understand the starter needs someone behind them pushing and chasing them. Kolat builds unity and commitment through team bonding so when one person achieves something the whole team feels it. Wrap-up (17:05) If you're an athlete you need to find a like-minded partner. Kolat says sometimes you have to create that partner. Hold someone accountable and ask they do the same for you. Another key lesson from this chapter is understanding a team can't rely on a few key guys. It takes everyone's full effort. You never know what's going to happen.

Team Work Makes the Dream Work This episode Cary Kolat, and Matt Dernlan continue onto Ch. 2 "You Can't Go It Alone" from the book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. The name of this chapter says it all, you need people in life to help you through difficult times, motivate, and support you. Dernlan talks about how many people think they are capable of getting through and accomplishing their goals without anyone's help and that's just unrealistic. Kolat says he was very self-sufficient when it came to training and pushing himself when no one was around to do so. You can only do so much on your own, Kolat tells his team to find a partner on the team that can be their go-to guy for training.  Trust and Comradery (3:45) From Kolat's first year at Penn State, Sanshiro Abe was his guy, they trained, worked out, motivated, and coached each other. After Abe retired Kolat struggled to find another deep connection with a training partner that could help him in the same way. This is when he realized how much he depended on the people around him. In the book, McRaven gives the example of a Navy Seal training tactic where they make trainees all carry a rubber boat. They know someone will either get hurt or sick and they want to see if the team turns on them or helps them and carry his load. Kolat says this is exactly like a wrestling dual meet. Sometimes a guy the team usually relies on isn't performing and everyone else needs to step up and pick up the slack. Coaching (11:45) Kolat says a lesson he learned early on in his coaching career was that you have to let your assistant coaches, coach. You can't micromanage and allow them to create wins for the program but also make mistakes and learn. Another thing is keeping your number two guys in check. You never know when the starter will suffer an injury or get a skin infection day before the dual. The backups have to be ready to go and understand the starter needs someone behind them pushing and chasing them. Kolat builds unity and commitment through team bonding so when one person achieves something the whole team feels it. Wrap-up (17:05) If you're an athlete you need to find a like-minded partner. Kolat says sometimes you have to create that partner. Hold someone accountable and ask they do the same for you. Another key lesson from this chapter is understanding a team can't rely on a few key guys. It takes everyone's full effort. You never know what's going to happen.

A Family Business On this special episode, Matt Dernlan sits down with 4x WCWA National Champion, 3x U.S. Open Champion, 2x Junior World Medalist and recently signed RUDIS athlete Kayla Miracle. Coming off a U23 World Team Trials win and a Senior World Team Trials win, Miracle is heading to Final X Lincoln to earn her spot on the senior world team. Dernlan grew up wrestling with Miracle's dad Lee Miracle who is currently the head coach at Campbellsville University. Kayla grew up going to her brother's practices while her dad coached and after some time, she asked if she could wrestle too. Mark Perry (7:05) Even with all the success she had up until and throughout college, Miracle says making the decision to train with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club was when she truly dedicated everything to the sport. Miracle talks about Hawkeye Wrestling Club Coach, Mark Perry and his ability to recall specific moves or outcomes from his vast memory of matches. Dernlan affirms this about Coach Perry as well and speaks about just how unique he is and how lucky the Hawkeye Wrestling Club is to have him. Small Circles, Big Impacts (14:55) Miracle speaks about her friendship with Sarah Hildebrandt. In a growing sport where your hometown may not have many women wrestlers especially at the caliber these two were at it you cherish the friendships you make. It's a testament to the common saying of surrounding yourself with like-minded, supportive, and motivated individuals. HWC (17:55) Dernlan asks Miracle about her beginnings with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. She was invited to train with Lauren Louive, Alli Ragan, Michaela Beck, and Forrest Molinari and after a training camp was proposed with joining as a full-time resident athlete. Miracle says out of all the things that she's improved upon after making that commitment the biggest is her mental game. She believes now looking back the only thing that potentially held her back in the past was having some self-doubt in herself at the senior level. You're always your biggest critic but Miracle has turned a new page this past year and seems more than ready to go out and show everyone she's the best in the world. Outside Wrestling (31:55) Miracle says the people in wrestling is what makes it the best sport in the world. One thing about wrestling at the level Miracle is on, you travel the world. These are business trips first and then if you have time you can explore the culture. Miracle says one of her favorite trips was Japan for last years World Cup. But, the best meal she ever had internationally was from a small restaurant in France.

Download the full scoring breakdown here: https://therudis.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019-us-open-report.pdf Current Events This episode Ben Askren and Matt Dernlan present detailed statistics pulled from data collected by Askren and his team of the 2019 U.S. Open. Before getting into the numbers Askren talks about the sad news that hit the wrestling community this week, David Taylor will not compete at Final X as he recovers from an injury suffered at Beat The Streets. This gives Pat Downey the nod to take the 86 kg spot on Team USA. Askren talks about the importance of Taylor taking the time to heal because although it seems far away, the Olympic Trials are only 10 months away. Askren did think that if David Taylor was hurt we would have seen Bo Nickal drop down to 86 kg and take his chances beating Pat Downey over staying at 92 and facing J'Den Cox. When Nickal didn't drop down, Askren thought Taylor wasn't hurt. How to Compare (13:26) Askren and Dernlan will breakdown scoring statistics taken from the 2019 Men's Freestyle U.S. Open. Dernlan mentions if you're comparing the U.S. Open Stats to the 2018 World Championships Stats you should compare the percentages over the amount. Askren recorded more matches from the 2019 U.S. Open than he did from the 2018 World Championships. There are more points scored in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open. Askren says this could be due to the U.S. being more offensively aggressive but most likely it's because the defense at the international level is better. Trends (19:20) The two categories that scored the most points in both sets of data by a long shot is Shots and Shot Defense. Knowing how to get to the legs and finish and knowing how to defend against them getting to your legs are still the best ways to score. Another similarity is that there isn't a trend in techniques or ways of scoring by weight class. One thing Dernlan points out is that when you're looking at the wrestlers competing at the U.S. Open most of them don't have international experience and their freestyle is limited to their domestic experience. Defensive Scores (27:58) The number one biggest difference for Askren comes in defensive scores. At the World Championships, the number four shot defense was a dump whereas dump at the U.S. Open was number one. This shows the international wrestlers aren't as familiar with folkstyle defense. It also shows wrestlers with a folkstyle background fresh out of or currently competing in college are less dialed into and more loose with their defense not worried about giving up back exposure.

Keep it Simple Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan introduce a new book they will be discussing, Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. This episode they will discuss Ch. 1 "Start Your Day with a Task Completed". McRaven gave a commencement speech at his alma mater The University of Texas at Austin and Dernlan explains this is where the genesis of this book originated. The clip of this speech went viral of McRaven summarizing his military career and everything he learned from his 37 years of service in 10 simple points. Kolat and Dernlan agree when people are searching for solutions they often over complicate matters when in reality a simple approach is probably the best.  Wake Up, Get Better This chapter talks about the best way to start your day is with a completed task. This way you begin your day with a positive frame of reference and know you're doing something productive right from the beginning. It's a reminder that at the end of the day you've done something well and to be proud of no matter how small the task. It kicks off the mentality you start your day with, doing something right and perfect. Kolat says every athlete should start their day with something similar. For example, if you start your day with a run you feel like you're starting off being productive, doing what others aren't, getting ahead of the competition, etc. Kolat breaks down the importance of trust and comfortability between coach and athlete. Kolat and his coaching staff start the day now that it's not wrestling season by getting in contact with their wrestlers. If you're not getting to know your athletes on a personal level then you can only build so much trust. It also helps you understand how to help them improve.  Don't Just Do the Work. Do it Right. Dernlan talks about how most people working towards a goal are seemingly doing all the major things right. The difference is not just going through the motions but really being intentional and holding accountability to yourself even during the most mundane things. The attention to detail is everything. When you can condition yourself to do the little things right the bigger ones fall into place.  Above and Beyond Expectations. Kolat dives into discussing that you shouldn't expect to get a pat on the back for doing what's expected. The way you train and the way you work is what motivates everyone around you. That's when you get a pat on the back. Dernlan talks about how well informed and misinformed this day in age everyone is with the spread of information on the internet. He urges to be dialed in and disciplined on what's beneficial for your end game. If it's a distraction, distractor or takes away from your primary focus you need the discipline to stop. Pay attention to the small things and they won't steer you wrong.

Keep it Simple Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan introduce a new book they will be discussing, Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. This episode they will discuss Ch. 1 "Start Your Day with a Task Completed". McRaven gave a commencement speech at his alma mater The University of Texas at Austin and Dernlan explains this is where the genesis of this book originated. The clip of this speech went viral of McRaven summarizing his military career and everything he learned from his 37 years of service in 10 simple points. Kolat and Dernlan agree when people are searching for solutions they often over complicate matters when in reality a simple approach is probably the best.  Wake Up, Get Better This chapter talks about the best way to start your day is with a completed task. This way you begin your day with a positive frame of reference and know you're doing something productive right from the beginning. It's a reminder that at the end of the day you've done something well and to be proud of no matter how small the task. It kicks off the mentality you start your day with, doing something right and perfect. Kolat says every athlete should start their day with something similar. For example, if you start your day with a run you feel like you're starting off being productive, doing what others aren't, getting ahead of the competition, etc. Kolat breaks down the importance of trust and comfortability between coach and athlete. Kolat and his coaching staff start the day now that it's not wrestling season by getting in contact with their wrestlers. If you're not getting to know your athletes on a personal level then you can only build so much trust. It also helps you understand how to help them improve.  Don't Just Do the Work. Do it Right. Dernlan talks about how most people working towards a goal are seemingly doing all the major things right. The difference is not just going through the motions but really being intentional and holding accountability to yourself even during the most mundane things. The attention to detail is everything. When you can condition yourself to do the little things right the bigger ones fall into place.  Above and Beyond Expectations. Kolat dives into discussing that you shouldn't expect to get a pat on the back for doing what's expected. The way you train and the way you work is what motivates everyone around you. That's when you get a pat on the back. Dernlan talks about how well informed and misinformed this day in age everyone is with the spread of information on the internet. He urges to be dialed in and disciplined on what's beneficial for your end game. If it's a distraction, distractor or takes away from your primary focus you need the discipline to stop. Pay attention to the small things and they won't steer you wrong.

The Future of Heavyweight This episode of the RUDIS Wrestling Podcast, Ben Askren and Matt Dernlan breakdown the World Team Trials Junior’s tournament. Askren really enjoys watching the Junior tournament because it gives you a sneak peek on the talent that is entering college. One standout performance during the Greco-Roman tournament was heavyweight high schooler Cohlton Schultz who beat Olympian 32-year-old Robert Smith in the finals. To have this amount of success at the senior level while in high school is extremely impressive. There is an enormous amount of young talent at heavyweight which has Askren and Dernlan excited for the college season. Juniors 57 kg (6:05) Vitali Arujau tech falls Michael Colaiocco in the finals of the mini-tournament and then is very dominant in his two wins over Malik Heinselman. Arujau showed he can compete at the senior level in the U.S. Open and according to Dernlan made the right choice by dropping down to the junior division and was able to get the win. Juniors 61 kg (9:28) Askren says the story of the mini-tournament is Roman Bravo-Young. During the U.S. Open, he lost to high schooler Gabe Tagg and in this tournament, he loses to 10-5 to Jaime Hernandez. Askren brings up something off topic, all Iowa Hawkeyes wrestlers didn’t participate in the Juniors World Team Trials. Juniors 65 kg (15:16) Keegan O’Toole wrestling out of Askren Wrestling Academy had an extremely dominant road to the best of 3 finals including 2 tech falls and an 11-6 decision. He then drops to Yahya Thomas in the finals. Askren may be biased in his opinion but tells everyone to keep and eye on O’Toole these next few years as he makes huge level changes. Juniors 70 kg (17:57) Brayton Lee is the story of this weight class. He went down in each match and battled back tremendously each time. Dernlan talks about how maybe the strategy for his opponents should be to keep it close don’t go up too much because Lee will start dominating. Lee beats Sam Sasso in the best of three finals. Askren says Lee is right there at the top of the heap to compete for an NCAA title next year. Juniors 74 kg (22:14) Someone who wasn’t on Askren’s radar in high school was Shane Griffith who tech falled his way to the finals but lost to David Carr in the best of three finals. Juniors 79 kg (23:50) Another wrestler out of Askren Wrestling Academy makes the finals. Parker Keckeisen who loses to Aaron Brooks in the best of three finals. Dernlan thinks Brooks ready and good enough to compete at the senior level but Askren needs some convincing. That being said Brooks is the most likely to not only medal this year but win gold on the junior team. Juniors 86 kg (27:28) Fourth seed Victor Marcelli makes the finals but doesn’t have quite enough to beat Trent Hidlay in the best of three finals. Juniors 92 kg (28:43) Askren could see the champ Lucas Davison getting a world medal this year. Juniors 97 kg (30:41) Tanner Sloan gets the win at 97 kg and Dernlan talks about how well the national team coaching staff is at getting guys ready to win medals. Juniors 125 kg (31:51) Mason Parris beats Trent Hillger. Askren and Dernlan bring up just how good heavyweight is looking.

Keep it Simple Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan introduce a new book they will be discussing, Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. This episode they will discuss Ch. 1 "Start Your Day with a Task Completed". McRaven gave a commencement speech at his alma mater The University of Texas at Austin and Dernlan explains this is where the genesis of this book originated. The clip of this speech went viral of McRaven summarizing his military career and everything he learned from his 37 years of service in 10 simple points. Kolat and Dernlan agree when people are searching for solutions they often over complicate matters when in reality a simple approach is probably the best.  Wake Up, Get Better This chapter talks about the best way to start your day is with a completed task. This way you begin your day with a positive frame of reference and know you're doing something productive right from the beginning. It's a reminder that at the end of the day you've done something well and to be proud of no matter how small the task. It kicks off the mentality you start your day with, doing something right and perfect. Kolat says every athlete should start their day with something similar. For example, if you start your day with a run you feel like you're starting off being productive, doing what others aren't, getting ahead of the competition, etc. Kolat breaks down the importance of trust and comfortability between coach and athlete. Kolat and his coaching staff start the day now that it's not wrestling season by getting in contact with their wrestlers. If you're not getting to know your athletes on a personal level then you can only build so much trust. It also helps you understand how to help them improve.  Don't Just Do the Work. Do it Right. Dernlan talks about how most people working towards a goal are seemingly doing all the major things right. The difference is not just going through the motions but really being intentional and holding accountability to yourself even during the most mundane things. The attention to detail is everything. When you can condition yourself to do the little things right the bigger ones fall into place.  Above and Beyond Expectations. Kolat dives into discussing that you shouldn't expect to get a pat on the back for doing what's expected. The way you train and the way you work is what motivates everyone around you. That's when you get a pat on the back. Dernlan talks about how well informed and misinformed this day in age everyone is with the spread of information on the internet. He urges to be dialed in and disciplined on what's beneficial for your end game. If it's a distraction, distractor or takes away from your primary focus you need the discipline to stop. Pay attention to the small things and they won't steer you wrong.

Keep it Simple Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan introduce a new book they will be discussing, Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. This episode they will discuss Ch. 1 "Start Your Day with a Task Completed". McRaven gave a commencement speech at his alma mater The University of Texas at Austin and Dernlan explains this is where the genesis of this book originated. The clip of this speech went viral of McRaven summarizing his military career and everything he learned from his 37 years of service in 10 simple points. Kolat and Dernlan agree when people are searching for solutions they often over complicate matters when in reality a simple approach is probably the best.  Wake Up, Get Better This chapter talks about the best way to start your day is with a completed task. This way you begin your day with a positive frame of reference and know you're doing something productive right from the beginning. It's a reminder that at the end of the day you've done something well and to be proud of no matter how small the task. It kicks off the mentality you start your day with, doing something right and perfect. Kolat says every athlete should start their day with something similar. For example, if you start your day with a run you feel like you're starting off being productive, doing what others aren't, getting ahead of the competition, etc. Kolat breaks down the importance of trust and comfortability between coach and athlete. Kolat and his coaching staff start the day now that it's not wrestling season by getting in contact with their wrestlers. If you're not getting to know your athletes on a personal level then you can only build so much trust. It also helps you understand how to help them improve.  Don't Just Do the Work. Do it Right. Dernlan talks about how most people working towards a goal are seemingly doing all the major things right. The difference is not just going through the motions but really being intentional and holding accountability to yourself even during the most mundane things. The attention to detail is everything. When you can condition yourself to do the little things right the bigger ones fall into place.  Above and Beyond Expectations. Kolat dives into discussing that you shouldn't expect to get a pat on the back for doing what's expected. The way you train and the way you work is what motivates everyone around you. That's when you get a pat on the back. Dernlan talks about how well informed and misinformed this day in age everyone is with the spread of information on the internet. He urges to be dialed in and disciplined on what's beneficial for your end game. If it's a distraction, distractor or takes away from your primary focus you need the discipline to stop. Pay attention to the small things and they won't steer you wrong.

#58: World Team Trials Mini Tournament Recap by RUDIS Wrestling

Heavy Weight On this episode, Ben Askren and Matt Dernlan will break down the Finals of the World Team Trials. Askren doesn't waste any time jumping right into his opinion on Gable Steveson vs Adam Coon in the Heavy Weight Finals. some people picked Steveson to beat Coon but not in the dominant fashion he did. Dernlan says if you had no frame of reference you would think Coon was the 18-year-old college wrestler and Steveson was the recent graduate who has proven their abilities at the senior level. Coon felt the most comfortable wrestling upper body with Steveson but once he sensed danger he tried to get out of bounds. Overall Steveson ran through the World Team Trials in such a way no one could have predicted.  97 kg (8:36) Kyven Gadson took on Ty Walz in the best 2 of 3 finals with Gadson getting the win in two close matches. Askren and Dernlan agree Gadson has proven himself to be a clear number two at this weight class as Kyle Snyder has proven himself a clear number one.  92 kg (10:29) Bo Nickal beat Michael Macchiavello first match by tech fall and second match 5-0. Dernlan talks about how Macchiavello attempted to slow it down in the second match but still couldn't get any offense going. The set up of Nickal vs J'Den Cox at Final X is one of the most anticipated and exciting match ups. 86 kg (14:39) Pat Downey gets a flurry at the end of match number one and then holds off Nick Heflin in the second match to get the win. 79 kg (16:13)  Alex Dieringer dominates NCAA Champ Zahid Valencia getting two tech falls in the finals. Dernlan talks about how Dieringer was definitely injured last year and how he made a big-time statement this year with his dominance. Askren thinks 100% Kyle Dake vs 100% healthy Dieringer will be a scrap and it'll be super interesting to see how these two approach their Final X match up.  74 kg (18:10) One of the most anticipated finals came at 74 kg Isaiah Martinez vs Jason Nolf. Imar dominated the first match and the majority of the second match but Nolf was able to get a head pinch at the very end and come up big to send it to a winner take all third match. Imar wasn't rattled and remained focused and got the tech fall in the third match.  70 kg (23:30) Anthony Ashnault goes down in the first match and is forced to injury default out of the second giving James Green the win. James Green was on a mission throughout this tournament to show the separation he has from the rest of this weight class and just how good he is. 65 kg (24:16) Zain Retherford beats Jordan Oliver in two 7-6 matches. Askren talks about the strategy behind deciding when to challenge a call and when to not. Overall these two matches were so high level and technical by both guys especially during the first period it is hard to believe Oliver won't be moving on to Final X. 61 kg (30:48) Tyler Graff beats Cody Brewer in this high scoring final. Askren breaks down the controversial referee calls. Dernlan talks about something they've talked about all Folkstyle season which is the importance of the referees understanding wrestling and not just making black and white calls. 

#56: World Team Trials Preview by RUDIS Wrestling

Spreading the MessageOn this special episode, Matt Dernlan sits down with Olympic Gold Medalist, 3x World Champion, and International Coach, Anatoly Beloglazov as well as Anatoly's son Alex for an exclusive interview. Beloglazov is currently in the middle of his second tour around the USA putting on world-class wrestling clinics. Dernlan starts by asking Beloglazov what his overall goal is and why he's willing to travel across the world to share his knowledge. Beleglazov says he wants to promote wrestling around the world. He enjoys working with and teaching all levels of wrestlers.How it All Began (4:20)Dernlan asks how most kids are introduced to wrestling in Russia. Beloglazov says it is very similar to the USA but Russia doesn't have many brands that represent, sponsor, and uplift wrestling like other sports have. From an outsiders perspective, it seems wrestling is the premier sport of Russia but Beloglazov says this is far from reality. There are pockets of Russia such as Dagestan where wrestling is entrenched in their traditions and culture. Beloglazov talks about schools in Russia where athletes live, learn, and train and how every sport not only wrestling has that. The recruiting process for these schools is similar to the college one in the USA. The athletes are fully funded and paid for also similar to college athletes. Beloglazov was walking home from soccer practice and happened upon a building where they were having a wrestling practice. He was invited in and enjoyed it so he brought his brother back with him the next day.Build the Foundation (14:58)In Russia, after young wrestlers learn the basics, coaches start to introduce more difficult and technical techniques. Beloglazov says the older you get the more individualized your training becomes and you get put together with others on your level. He says in the USA he has many more parents asking him to have their very young wrestlers go live instead of technique drilling. This is different than in Russia where parents and coaches don't push inexperienced wrestlers in that way. Beloglazov's parents were very hands off when it came to wrestling and never saw a single match of his.Sports Academy (25:45)Circling back to the topic of sporting schools and the process that system entails, Dernlan asks about what the next step after an athlete has been at the school for 3-4 years. In Russia, College is between high school and University and you can get a 2-year education before moving to University. There are sporting Universities where they specialize in careers within athletics. For example, Beloglazov was a wrestler and his other classes were sports science, nutrition, history all geared towards wrestling. a difference between the USA and Russia is that most of our coaches are elected because of their accomplishments as an athlete competing in the sport. In Russia, this is not the case and to be a high-level coach you must get certification via a degree.Wrestling Then vs Now (55:08)The conversation shifts to how Russian wrestlers make money by wrestling in different countries, wrestling leagues. In the United States, we have regional training centers and high-level athletes can get paid to train there. This is not state sponsored but rather community sponsored through donors who are passionate about wrestling. While Beloglazov was coming through the ranks he was not allowed to go wrestle for another country that is no longer the case. This brings up how when the Soviet Union broke apart into different republics it was easier for Russians to make their respective national teams but harder for the USA because instead of wrestling against one super team we had to defeat up to fifteen wrestlers representing their country. Beloglazov says it was harder to make the national team than to win Worlds. Beloglazov gives insight on how the world team selections are made. Even if you're the number one ranked wrestler or win nationals it doesn't mean you make the team. If coaches d