Meet The Contenders: Jacob Decatur vs Richie Figueroa
Meet The Contenders: Jacob Decatur vs Richie Figueroa
To prep for this year’s event we are going to dig into the resumes of each matchup to give a little insight about the competitors.
Another year of amazing matches is set for the Snakepit.
This year’s event will feature a great deal of competitors that are incredibly solid. But how did they get to Who’s #1, and what have they done thus far that warrants a shot at being the #1-ranked competitor in the country?
Well, we’ve got those answers. To prep for this year’s event we are going to dig into the resumes of each matchup.
So let’s get to it and start with the lowest weight.
At 106 we have a rematch between Cadet World runner-up Richie Figueroa and two-time Ohio State champ Jacob Decatur.
Sidenote: These two will extend the list of siblings who have wrestled at WNO. Jacob's brother Jordan, who will be making his second appearance this year, was victorious in 2016 against Gavin Teasdale. Richie's sister was the first-ever female wrestler to notch a victory at WNO when she defeated Macey Kilty at last year's event.
Anyway . . . these two met last year at Ironman and Decatur was the one to come out on top (4-3) before going on to win the title. Figueroa ended up fourth. But let’s take a look at Richie Figs’ resume a bit more.
#1 Richie Figueroa
- Ironman 4th
- Doc B Champ
- California State Champion
- Cadet World runner-up
It’s obvious that he’s done a lot of winning. But the impressive part is that he’s been pretty dominant in the process. On the way to his state title he recorded three straight pins to make his way to the semifinals where he collected another win of Jonathan Prata, who he defeated in the Doc B semis as well. Even at Worlds, he flexed on the competition all the way to the finals with a 54-second pin and a 10-0 tech in the first two rounds. His finals-clinching win came over the Ukrainian wrestler who had two techs and didn’t give up a point. He ultimately finished as a runner-up but the proof that he is the real deal was already there.
#4 (at 113) Jacob Decatur
- Ironman Champ
- Two-time Ohio State Champ
- Ohio State commit
While his opponent excels in both freestyle and folkstyle, Decatur has stuck to folk and has grinded his way to some impressive finishes. While his run at Ironman wasn’t a high-scoring display it proved that he has the "it factor" to get the job done, which included notching a win of Figueroa in the process. And by the way, he’s got a pretty strong double that can take just about anyone off their feet.
Check out how things went down when they met at Ironman:
How do they matchup?
A year is a long time and what we've see is that a lot has changed with these two. Figueroa has become a lot more active on his feet. Decatur, who we haven't seen since the regular season ended, looked to be more aggressive when we watched his state title run. Figs may have made the needed changes to get the job done this time around.