Well, that was somethin’, ay!
The Super 32 was filled with exciting moments and a bevy of ‘upsets’. For me, sitting back and watching it unfold signaled two things: there’s a heckuva lot of talent, and there is a great deal of parity (and parity is good for the sport). The level the kids are at these days...sheesh!
Because of the volume of changes and research involved (and my travel schedule), weight class rankings will be released next week. But I wanted to give y’all something, so...
In the pound-for-pound...
A lot of people - from industry insiders to parents around the country - said ‘don’t punish Daton Fix too hard in the rankings. The kid puts it on the line as much as anyone.’
Here, here! I love that. It’s true that no one wrestles in more top events than Daton. And it’s also true that Daton has more elite wins than anyone this side of Mark Hall. Heck, he probably has double the amount of elite wins than, say, Alex Marinelli or Gable Steveson.
But he has to take a hit. Losses to Arajau and Karam aren’t bad (as you can see, they have the ledgers to make P4P) but they’re still losses.
Karam and Arajau man the last two spots. Why Karam over Arajau? With two P4P wins (and two more over Gfeller), Vito is probably better on that side of the ledger, at least recently. However, Arajau has the most recent ‘bad loss’ in a May tech fall to unrankable Tim Kane. We’re splitting hairs here, but that’s the deciding factor for me.
And let’s not forget...while Karam isn’t known as a superstar (till now) he’s been 2nd and 3rd in Fargo, a two-time Beast (loss to Suriano) and 2x S32 finalist (losses to Yianni and Suriano) and a 3x state finalist/2xchamp. That resume stacks up versus some of the best.
Why Isaiah Out?
Largely due to inactivity. But he also lost to two non-P4P in David McFadden (2x’s) and Joe Smith. While those losses aren’t as bad as Vito’s (Kane) or Karam’s (Cefolo, Solomon), Isaiah’s last elite win was Vincenzo Joseph nearly a year ago.
The good news is, he’s the first guy in and with his schedule, he’ll get a crack at elite win opportunities, namely, Manville and/or Marinelli at Ironman.
Visit the new ASICS P4P Rankings
The Super 32 was filled with exciting moments and a bevy of ‘upsets’. For me, sitting back and watching it unfold signaled two things: there’s a heckuva lot of talent, and there is a great deal of parity (and parity is good for the sport). The level the kids are at these days...sheesh!
Because of the volume of changes and research involved (and my travel schedule), weight class rankings will be released next week. But I wanted to give y’all something, so...
In the pound-for-pound...
A lot of people - from industry insiders to parents around the country - said ‘don’t punish Daton Fix too hard in the rankings. The kid puts it on the line as much as anyone.’
Here, here! I love that. It’s true that no one wrestles in more top events than Daton. And it’s also true that Daton has more elite wins than anyone this side of Mark Hall. Heck, he probably has double the amount of elite wins than, say, Alex Marinelli or Gable Steveson.
But he has to take a hit. Losses to Arajau and Karam aren’t bad (as you can see, they have the ledgers to make P4P) but they’re still losses.
Karam and Arajau man the last two spots. Why Karam over Arajau? With two P4P wins (and two more over Gfeller), Vito is probably better on that side of the ledger, at least recently. However, Arajau has the most recent ‘bad loss’ in a May tech fall to unrankable Tim Kane. We’re splitting hairs here, but that’s the deciding factor for me.
And let’s not forget...while Karam isn’t known as a superstar (till now) he’s been 2nd and 3rd in Fargo, a two-time Beast (loss to Suriano) and 2x S32 finalist (losses to Yianni and Suriano) and a 3x state finalist/2xchamp. That resume stacks up versus some of the best.
Why Isaiah Out?
Largely due to inactivity. But he also lost to two non-P4P in David McFadden (2x’s) and Joe Smith. While those losses aren’t as bad as Vito’s (Kane) or Karam’s (Cefolo, Solomon), Isaiah’s last elite win was Vincenzo Joseph nearly a year ago.
The good news is, he’s the first guy in and with his schedule, he’ll get a crack at elite win opportunities, namely, Manville and/or Marinelli at Ironman.
Visit the new ASICS P4P Rankings