Kendric Maple is wrestling at the U.S. Open in May.
That on its own is of note. The 2013 NCAA Champion has been laying low competition-wise since his 8th place finish at 149 pounds in 2014. Now the 3 time All American has his sight sets on Vegas.
The most interesting part of this is that Kendric is registered to wrestle at 61KG! Kendric has not wrestled at a weight this light since his true Freshman season at Oklahoma when he wrestled at 133 pounds (Here's his 133 lb match with Nick Fanthorpe).
Now the Sooner Coach will be slimming down to 134.5 pounds. Maple will bolster the 61KG field and is an instant contender at a weight that could use some depth. While Coleman Scott and Reece Humphrey (provided Reece goes down) are likely favorites at 61, considerable upside may lie with Kendric. That being said, as far as I could tell the last Freestyle match Kendric wrestled was when he won a FILA JR National title at 63KG.
With 61KG no longer being an Olympic weight, the United States has seen an exodus from the field. Jimmy Kennedy, Reece Humphrey, Jordan Oliver and Logan Stieber at one point were all mainstays at 65KG. Now they spend their time at 65 for the most part. Maple slimming down to this weight is a rarity.
Maple has tremendous strength and length as well. He can get to legs with ease, has the power to turn errant shots into pins and has great hips. I know nothing of his par terre offense or defense, and often with Freestyle rustiness we can see this area of weakness lose matches for guys. If his par terre defense is adequate, he could be a force at 61.
Check out Kendric's 141 All Star Match with another 61KG hammer, BJ Futrell!
That on its own is of note. The 2013 NCAA Champion has been laying low competition-wise since his 8th place finish at 149 pounds in 2014. Now the 3 time All American has his sight sets on Vegas.
The most interesting part of this is that Kendric is registered to wrestle at 61KG! Kendric has not wrestled at a weight this light since his true Freshman season at Oklahoma when he wrestled at 133 pounds (Here's his 133 lb match with Nick Fanthorpe).
Now the Sooner Coach will be slimming down to 134.5 pounds. Maple will bolster the 61KG field and is an instant contender at a weight that could use some depth. While Coleman Scott and Reece Humphrey (provided Reece goes down) are likely favorites at 61, considerable upside may lie with Kendric. That being said, as far as I could tell the last Freestyle match Kendric wrestled was when he won a FILA JR National title at 63KG. With 61KG no longer being an Olympic weight, the United States has seen an exodus from the field. Jimmy Kennedy, Reece Humphrey, Jordan Oliver and Logan Stieber at one point were all mainstays at 65KG. Now they spend their time at 65 for the most part. Maple slimming down to this weight is a rarity.
Maple has tremendous strength and length as well. He can get to legs with ease, has the power to turn errant shots into pins and has great hips. I know nothing of his par terre offense or defense, and often with Freestyle rustiness we can see this area of weakness lose matches for guys. If his par terre defense is adequate, he could be a force at 61.
Check out Kendric's 141 All Star Match with another 61KG hammer, BJ Futrell!