Tim Hands of Five Point Move talks to anonymous scouts to get the inside scoop on our Final X: Rutgers Greco competitors.

We could hype the Final X Greco match-ups all day long and illustrate different strengths, weaknesses, and paths to victory for each competitor. We can do that, and we’ll continue to. However, it’s hard to mess with the accuracy of those who have actually been in the trenches with or against these guys. 

Hence the need for an Anonymous Scout.

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Sat. June 8 | 12:00 PM & 6 PM Eastern

For both Final X dates (June 8th at Rutgers University and June 15th at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln), we have gathered a few Greco athletes and coaches in an effort to glean their insights regarding what each combatant brings to the table. They see things from a more intimate perspective, which hopefully provides further value (and excitement) to the audience. 

Their anonymity is designed to allow for a fuller, non-objective scope of information. Should one of our scouts choose to reveal who they are, that’s on them. The one item we can disclose is that each athlete behind the curtain is still active and has either trained with or competed against the Final X entrants of whom they speak. 

FINAL X: RUTGERS

55 kg: Max Nowry (Army/WCAP) vs Brady Koontz (TMWC/Ohio RTC)

Scout 1: “I know that Koontz surprised people by winning the Trials, but I wasn’t. He is one of those skinny guys, like (Dalton) Roberts, who are way stronger than they look, plus he pushes hard as hell. None of those dudes (in Raleigh) had an answer on bottom for that gut because he locked it up so deep and ran his legs. But can he do that to Max? I don’t know. I wrestled Max at 59 (kilos) and his defense was strong then. Plus, his movement. Max hits those drags and reach-arounds and it’s tough to pick up where he’s going to be. Koontz is going to be really good but I’ve got Max here, especially in a two of three situation.” 

Scout 2: “Max has been in an Olympic Trials final, has made what, how many National Teams, and won a World title. With WCAP, everyday he is working with all of the best lighter weight guys in the country. What hasn’t he seen before? That kind of experience on a big stage really matters, and I know that Koontz made the Junior (World) Team last year and all that, but it’s different. They’re talking about Koontz’s gut and there’s no doubt it is a good one. But is it a Senior-level gut? I’m not sure it is. And that is assuming this comes down to par terre, which I’m not sure it even does. 

“You have to frustrate Max and get him reaching, but if you lean over him, he’s got his arm throw or he can wear you out by constantly using his footwork. Then again, who knows what the officials wind up doing? But technically and experience-wise, I can’t pick against Max. If he makes it, he can win a medal.”

Coach: “I really liked watching Brady Koontz in the Challenge Tournament. He was getting after it and he knew what he wanted to do. He’s got the fight in him. As for Nowry, I don’t know. Nowry has so much more experience and has come back from injuries, so he is not going to take this for granted. He has to go back up in weight next year, so he’s definitely going to be fired up to make this World Team at 55 kilos.”

67 kg: Ellis Coleman (Army/WCAP) vs Jamel Johnson (Marines)

Scout 2: “Ellis is working with a lot of confidence. He has that attitude that says ‘I’m the best and I know it’, and it’s not cocky or anything like that. You look around this weight class, and aside from (Alex) Sancho, who is even close to him? This is a guy who has been to the Olympics and made a bunch of World Teams, and personally, I think is better than he ever was before. You see him in a camp or something like that, and he works so damn hard, and he works on all the right things for his game, making little tweaks and whatever. He darts in and out and changes direction in the pummel, so even if he can’t score, he is tiring you out until you make a mistake. 

“Maybe Jamel can hang in there in the pummel and get Ellis’ arms tired the longer it goes. From par terre, the edge has to go to Ellis, though. He can gut and has a lift that Jamel will have to stop.”

Scout 1: “This sucks because I like both guys and it’s tough for me to choose one over the other. But they’ll probably be at it again next year. I like what Jamel has done, he is a class act all the way. The one reason why I don’t think Ellis just goes and sweeps two matches is because Jamel looked different in Raleigh with how he attacked (Hayden) Tuma on the feet. I used to think Jamel was vulnerable there against those guys, but not anymore I guess. You have to think that par terre is going to decide at least one of these matches, and in that way, I definitely veer towards Ellis. He gutted Jamel out at Armed Forces. Ellis’ par terre offense is one of the best in the country and if he has to score there, he’s probably going to.” 

Coach: “The Trials finals is a different experience for every guy, but if you have been there before, you know what to expect. You know how to come down after the first match and regroup whether you win or lose. You know how to absorb what your coaches have to say. That is a big edge you might think and Ellis has been in a bunch of these situations before. I actually think this is a close series, regardless if it goes two or three matches. They know each other well, trained together, competed against each other. It might be tight, but I definitely think it will be exciting.”

77 kg: Kamal Bey (Sunkist, World #5) vs Patrick Smith (Minnesota Storm)

Scout 3: “Kamal has the big moves and Pat doesn’t. I see that as a big advantage. When you wrestle Kamal, it is like a waiting game because he doesn’t have to just get to a textbook position to throw you. Believe me, I know what that feels like. He doesn’t need to work to, say, an over/under bodylock. You’ve seen what he does, he can just rush in with his hips out and then set his feet. What Pat does better though is make you wear him. He gets in your face and pummels you to death. His two-on-one is hard to get away from and he can move you around with it. You saw that when they wrestled in Vegas. Even when Pat struggled to get to that (the two-on-one), he still kept going towards his ties and challenging Kamal to step into him. I didn’t expect Pat to be this tough at 77 just yet, but he is. All that being said, Kamal can get four from just about anywhere, so Pat has to wear him down.” 

Scout 4: “Stamina is a factor because in order for Pat to score, he has to get Kamal tired. I’m not saying that he can’t score without that happening. But the more tired Kamal gets, the more likely it is Pat can score. I think Pat has confidence from the Open, but he goes into each match with the same mindset. He’s a gamer, it doesn’t matter who the opponent is, it doesn’t matter if there’s a bad call against him, nothing phases him. He’s ice out there. He goes out to win. They are both super aggressive wrestlers in a very different sense. Pat is death by a thousand cuts while Kamal is like an atomic bomb. They are two prolific scorers who score in very different ways.”

Coach: “I don’t think their first match was the best moment in history for our officials. But with that said, you saw how their styles matched up. Kamal is more explosive in terms of getting to one or two techniques, but we all knew that. What was interesting was watching how Pat Smith used his tie-ups. He didn’t look like he was worried at all in there, the way other wrestlers wait for Kamal to react and then it’s too late. 

“Pat did a good job of staying in Kamal’s face even though it was messy. It was a messy match, but so exciting to watch. I actually think Pat may have more tools, not that Kamal is a one-trick pony or anything. Kamal can end matches quickly, all he needs are two throws and you’re done. I’m not sure where par terre figures in for either guy. Obviously, Kamal can lift and has really solid defense. But Pat does, too, and they were neck-and-neck. I don’t know who will win, I do know that I can’t wait to watch it happen.”

82 kg: Kendrick Sanders (NYAC/OTS) vs John Stefanowicz (Marines)

Scout 3: “If Kendrick is on, he’s so tough to beat. You have to question his endurance maybe. That is the equalizing factor. Stefanowicz doesn’t get tired, not that I have seen. If he does, he hides it really well. Stefanowicz is much more of a brawler and can set a pace that Kendrick has trouble with. At the Nationals though, Kendrick did a really good job of staying in position because he has great pummeling skills, too. I think people don’t give Kendrick enough credit for that. Then there is that reverse lift. Kendrick, and I have felt him do this, loads you up so fast that your only way out is to leg foul. Stefanowicz doesn’t have a lift like that, and that kind of matters in close matches, which is what I assume these will be.” 

Scout 4: “Kendrick deals with pressure by moving in and out. He’s there, but he’s not. It’s hard to reach him. And then you get to him, and he’s cutting an angle on you and hitting some slick stuff. He hits a juke to a reach-around and you’re not expecting it. He is a really good pummeler but he has to be moving side to side on John, because John wants you head-on so he can hit that arm throw. Kendrick’s edge from par terre is very definitive. He has so many ways he can score. Even if he doesn’t get his lift, he bumps in with his hip to expose the guy for two. He also has a pretty great front headlock. He has so many weapons top that for John to stop him, he’s got to move constantly and not have any lapse in his defense whatsoever. Otherwise, he’s going to get lifted or turned. 

“Stefanowicz has to push the pace and get on the head. If he can’t get his arm throw, he can get a push-out. But it’s hard to get a push-out on Kendrick because he’s like Kamal Bey in that he’ll let a guy push him to the edge and then at the last second he turns and pushes you out. Stefanowicz has to push the pace, but in a smart-enough way not to expose himself.”

Coach: “You want 20 Stefanowicz’s in your room. He is an incredibly hard worker who does everything possible to make sure he is prepared. That’s not a knock on Kendrick, he’s a really talented athlete, and if he is coming into Rutgers prepared, then look out. The key is that lift. Stefanowicz has surely been training to defend it, but Kendrick’s lift is so hard to defend because he pops it from different sides with equal power. Stefanowicz needs to sink his hip and sit the other direction. I’d say that this is a series that should definitely go all three matches.”

87 kg: Joe Rau (TMWC/Chicago RTC) vs Ben Provisor (NYAC/NLWC)

Scout 4: “I’m not sure that familiarity helps or hurts them because both of these guys can score at any time, though sometimes it doesn’t show up that way. You saw it in last year’s Open final. Joe almost tech’ed Provisor, Provisor storms back, and they wind up scoring astronomically high, whereas this year it was a 1-1 match. They’ll do whatever they need to do to win, which will be really fun to watch. We’re going to see underhooks from Ben and two-on-ones from Joe, and on top they both have great gutwrenches. They both have great par terre defense. They both probably have the best gutwrenches in the country. I couldn’t tell you who has the better one between the two.

“With Provisor, you’re always fighting to get lower, and with Joe, you’re fighting to get higher. They are both the strongest wrestlers I have ever faced in different ways. In terms of just sheer Irish strength, Joe might be the strongest human being I’ve ever laid hands on. At the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever felt the power Provisor has when he gets an underhook.”

Scout 3: “It’s not the Olympic Year yet, and that’s when Provisor turns it up it feels like. But he is so freaking strong. If Ben doesn’t want you to move somewhere, it’s really hard to. You try to pummel, and he punches his arm through and gets the underhook-and-wrist tie, and now you’re basically screwed. But he doesn’t score from it, and Joe knows that. What Ben does that is so hard to deal with is off-balance you. Because, he’s not going anywhere with his center of gravity. He pounds on your shoulder and you lose your footing, and the reason why that is bad is because everyone notices it, like the refs. 

“But Joe has competed a lot this year, tons, really. He had all those matches overseas, the camps. With Joe healthy and recovered, I think that is an advantage, but not the type of advantage where he tech’s him or something. We all know it’s going to be super close in each match.”

Coach: “What is it about these two? They’re so experienced and have such great guts, but yet neither can finish the other one off. That is because they both also have very good defense. I hate to sound cliche, but this is going to be about who wants it more in the second period. Forget about the officials. You can’t complain if you’re the ones letting them pick winners because you didn’t score. Not that the refs always know what they’re doing, because they don’t. But this is for a World Team spot, you have to attack the other guy. I don’t think either guy will take a big risk, but I do think the one who is actively attempting to score and not just battling for position is who will win the spot.”