Wrestlers Can Wrestle

Ian McCutcheon

FloWrestling 

The headline of this article seems pretty self explanatory.  Yet a whole host of people don’t seem to get it.  This summer, there was a lot of negative buzz David Taylor of St. Paris Graham skipped Fargo Junior Nationals so that he could focus on bulking up.  There was even more of a gasp in the wrestling community when he committed to Iowa State, and was projected by their coaching staff as a 141/149 pounder.  He announced he was planning on wrestling 135 during his senior year.  After winning state titles in Ohio at 103 and 112, this obviously was an out of the blue statement.  And with this huge jump in weight class came a firestorm of critics.  All the time, 103 and 112 are flamed for being classes filled mostly with freshman and sophomores.  I myself even wrote last season that a freshman’s accomplishments were more impressive than others because he did them against the “big boys” and 171 pounds rather than a light weight class.  Critics sat back and were ready to pounce on Taylor if he struggled at 135 as proof that he merely made a career of beating up little kids at 3 and 12 and isn’t worth the hype. After this weekend’s Super 32, I think that question has been answered. 

Taylor rolled through Super 32, advancing to quarters by a combined score of 53-10, with a thirty second fall mixed in for good measure.  He then impressively defeated Virginia State Champ Ian Squires, New Jersey Runner-Up Kodie Silverstri, and Pennsylvania and Fargo Runner Up Josh Kindig in consecutive matches, all in the same day, to earn the Super 32 Belt.  The only points scored on him in those three matches were two escapes by Silverstri.  In his first real test, Taylor passed with flying colors.  He defeated accomplished wrestlers, who all have had success in top notch wrestling states and have also been competitive on a national level.  Each wrestler has always wrestled at weights much higher than Taylor.  I think he might be successful up a weight.  And I have no idea why wrestling people are at all surprised. 

This is where I get back to my headline.  Wrestlers can wrestle.  No matter what weight class he’s in, guys like David Taylor will be successful.  Just because Taylor’s body matured and he hit a natural growth spurt is not going to negate the fact that he is uber-talented.  It’s not like he’s wrestling 135 while weighing in at 115.  He made the jump up because he’s physically bigger, so why would his skill set suddenly change because his body has?  His growth spurt didn’t change his body type; he’s still long and lean.  He’s fundamentally sound on his feet, has a go-to ankle pick, defends his legs incredibly well, and is a leech on top.  He’s never relied solely on strength to win.  Most importantly, he knows how to wrestle.  He has an uncoachable mat savvy.  He’s wrestled the top competition at his weight that he can find since he’s been old enough to be on the national scene.  The strategy, rules, and technique don’t suddenly change because he has an extra 23 pounds on his frame.  Winning Super 32 shouldn’t be headline news, and being heavier is not a reason that he wouldn’t still be elite.    

I guess what I’m trying to hammer against is the misnomer that smaller is always better.  From junior high up to college, too many guys get sucked in to wrestling culture where there is something glorious about cutting weight to get as low as you can go.  The common logic seems to be that if a guy is dropping a class from the previous year that he should do much better, since he will be bigger and stronger than the competition, while guys moving up are serious question marks until they prove themselves.  From my novice observations, it looks like the opposite is true.  Guys always look more comfortable when they move up, and frequently guys that drop struggle to stay healthy and gas early.  Look at a guy like Chad Mendes last year, who went from being a sucked down afterthought at 125 to an NCAA finalist at 141.  If you can wrestle you can wrestle, weight class shouldn’t matter all that fire much.  I can’t deny that size and strength aren’t important skills, that would just be ignorant, but I think we take too much stock in how much moving up hurts guys.  I know David Taylor would agree with me.