2017 Dave Schultz Memorial InvitationalNov 2, 2017 by Nomad Lobdell
The 20th Schultz Is WTT Quality At 61kg
The 20th Schultz Is WTT Quality At 61kg
The 61kg bracket at the 20th Schultz is so stacked, it might as well be a preview of the World Team Trials.
If you haven't cleared your Friday morning schedule, you might want to. The 61kg bracket is going to be an early preview of next summer's World Team Trials.
The 20th Dave Schultz Memorial International is the first senior level tournament in the world with the new weigh-in rules, so there's no other place to see this many hammers until January.
Complete entries for all weights can be found on FloArena, but let's take a peek at the 61kg field:
Joe Colon, Titan Mercury/Viking WC
Chris Dardanes, Titan Mercury/Hawkeye WC
Nick Dardanes, Titan Mercury/Hawkeye WC
Daniel Deshazer, Minnesota Storm
Johnni DiJulius, NYAC/Scarlet Knight WC
Nahshon Garrett, Sunkist Kids
Yosuke Kawano, Japan
Sung-Gwon Kim, Korea
Darrius Little, /Lehigh Valley WC
Shelton Mack, Titan Mercury/Cavalier WC
Jon Morrison, NYAC/Cliff Keen WC
Sang-Min Park, Korea
Tony Ramos, Sunkist Kids/Tar Heel WC
Josh Rodriguez, Nittany Lion WC
Stacked. And the fly in the ointment could be Volodya Frangulyyan of Armenia, a European bronze medalist earlier this year.
The one seed should go to Cody Brewer, who tries to break the scoreboard every time he wrestles. Between WTT and the Open, he averaged 10 points a match, along with a pin. He also went full predator mode in a 12-0 win over Tony Ramos at Who's #1 last year.
The two and three seeds should be split between Ramos, a two-time world teamer who made four consecutive trials finals at 57kg, and Chris Dardanes, who was pinned by Brewer in the challenge tourney third place match.
Ramos has wrestled 61kg a few times, but never on same day weigh-ins. This will be his first time up that high like this since his 2014 NCAA title. We've covered Ramos' clutchness before, and he might need some more of that Ramos magic to come out on top here.
Surprisingly registered at the same weight is Nick Dardanes, who was previously at 65kg on day before weigh-ins. It is assumed the two brothers will be separated.
The other two main title threats in this bracket are Joe Colon, who lost to Ramos in the 2015 trials finals, and Nahshon Garrett, who lost to Ramos in the Open finals earlier this year. The last iteration of the Schultz was in February, and Garrett had a rough day, including a 14-4 loss to Colon down at 57kg (video below). Colon wound up third in that bracket, and between trials and the Open, his only loss to someone in this field was to Brewer.
But besides the main title threats, there's a couple guys who will almost definitely be good for an upset tomorrow. That includes Daniel DeShazer, who earlier this year beat Chris Dardanes as well as two-time Open finalist Andrew Hochstrasser, and Johnni DiJulius, who beat the Open's top seed Jayson Ness in Vegas.
It still goes deeper though. There are some guys who make you groan when the draws are released, the Shelton Mack, Darius Little, Jon Morrison types. Those guys are more than just a pain to wrestle, and never a fun way to start your tournament.
Rounding out the entries are some quality foreigners from Japan and Korea who are the very definition of wildcards.
Turn on your FloArena alerts for your favorite wrestler in this field, and get ready for fireworks. Over the course of last season, no weight was more exciting, unpredictable, or higher-scoring than 61kg. The new weigh-in rules haven't changed anything at all.
The 20th Dave Schultz Memorial International is the first senior level tournament in the world with the new weigh-in rules, so there's no other place to see this many hammers until January.
Complete entries for all weights can be found on FloArena, but let's take a peek at the 61kg field:
61kg Entries
Cody Brewer, Titan Mercury/Chicago RTCJoe Colon, Titan Mercury/Viking WC
Chris Dardanes, Titan Mercury/Hawkeye WC
Nick Dardanes, Titan Mercury/Hawkeye WC
Daniel Deshazer, Minnesota Storm
Johnni DiJulius, NYAC/Scarlet Knight WC
Nahshon Garrett, Sunkist Kids
Yosuke Kawano, Japan
Sung-Gwon Kim, Korea
Darrius Little, /Lehigh Valley WC
Shelton Mack, Titan Mercury/Cavalier WC
Jon Morrison, NYAC/Cliff Keen WC
Sang-Min Park, Korea
Tony Ramos, Sunkist Kids/Tar Heel WC
Josh Rodriguez, Nittany Lion WC
Stacked. And the fly in the ointment could be Volodya Frangulyyan of Armenia, a European bronze medalist earlier this year.
The one seed should go to Cody Brewer, who tries to break the scoreboard every time he wrestles. Between WTT and the Open, he averaged 10 points a match, along with a pin. He also went full predator mode in a 12-0 win over Tony Ramos at Who's #1 last year.
The two and three seeds should be split between Ramos, a two-time world teamer who made four consecutive trials finals at 57kg, and Chris Dardanes, who was pinned by Brewer in the challenge tourney third place match.
Ramos has wrestled 61kg a few times, but never on same day weigh-ins. This will be his first time up that high like this since his 2014 NCAA title. We've covered Ramos' clutchness before, and he might need some more of that Ramos magic to come out on top here.
Surprisingly registered at the same weight is Nick Dardanes, who was previously at 65kg on day before weigh-ins. It is assumed the two brothers will be separated.
The other two main title threats in this bracket are Joe Colon, who lost to Ramos in the 2015 trials finals, and Nahshon Garrett, who lost to Ramos in the Open finals earlier this year. The last iteration of the Schultz was in February, and Garrett had a rough day, including a 14-4 loss to Colon down at 57kg (video below). Colon wound up third in that bracket, and between trials and the Open, his only loss to someone in this field was to Brewer.
But besides the main title threats, there's a couple guys who will almost definitely be good for an upset tomorrow. That includes Daniel DeShazer, who earlier this year beat Chris Dardanes as well as two-time Open finalist Andrew Hochstrasser, and Johnni DiJulius, who beat the Open's top seed Jayson Ness in Vegas.
It still goes deeper though. There are some guys who make you groan when the draws are released, the Shelton Mack, Darius Little, Jon Morrison types. Those guys are more than just a pain to wrestle, and never a fun way to start your tournament.
Rounding out the entries are some quality foreigners from Japan and Korea who are the very definition of wildcards.
Turn on your FloArena alerts for your favorite wrestler in this field, and get ready for fireworks. Over the course of last season, no weight was more exciting, unpredictable, or higher-scoring than 61kg. The new weigh-in rules haven't changed anything at all.