Review of the Lindenwood Open

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.  There were no starters here except for Joe Roberts and, of course, Danny Pucino and We Rachal, who've had spot starter duties in the past. The bad news is that Baan Rachal, Eddie Ordonez and Caden Ernd may have been injured. Hopefully, nothing significant. 

The good news is that the freshmen and sophomores there looked really good, and that despite the absence of one Maximo Renteria, who would've chewed up this field at 125. The Oscar nominees for best entertaining wrestler in a starring role include: Danny Pucino at 141; Joey Braunagel at 197; and Dylan Connell at 184. 

These guys are popcorn destroyers!

The video streaming sucked very badly for the first couple of hours. I called it the worst failed video stream I've seen since 1998. Trackwrestling and the video providers did not get on the same page regarding mat assignments vis-a-vis the cameras. But the major problem is that many of the cameras provided the same mat. That was corrected for the last couple of hours of the Open. Still, a lot of ILLINI matches were missed because the cameras weren't providing a live stream. 

Pucino and Roberts both earned fourth place in the Open division. Joey Braunagel made it to the semis of the Frosh-Soph division and missed the finals by an erg. He ended up with a fifth place. Caden Ernd MFFed out. Jake Reicin placed. Bosco and Connell made it to their finals match. Bosco won, while Dylan came up just short in overtime. 

SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE MATCHES.  Below are short summaries of some of the matches. As stated previously, a number of matches were missed because of the streaming quality. Some were missed because too many ILLINI were wrestling at once. 

We Rachal with a nice 5-2 win in the first round. Words of advice: If you've been called for stalling and have an underhook during the third period, feign a leg sweep. Keep the ref off your back! 

Maximo Renteria marked down as absent. Looks like he was sick at the MSU Open. He's a precious talent, so you want to get him completely healthy before he competes. 

Pucino with a takedown six seconds in his first ILLINI match of the season. Second takedown in first, riding turk then legs in. Third takedown at the end of first period. Two more takedowns for Pucino's mustache in the second, and by this time, the ref has left about 3,000+ danger points on the mat that Danny earned. 17-4 major for Pucino, adding to his great career bonus rate. 

Baan Rachal injury defaults a minute into his first match. Not a pleasant thing for ILLINI fans. 

Eddie Ordonez up 4-0 with over 2 minutes of riding time heading into the third. Unfortunately, that mat's camera is playing another mat's wrestling match. Ordonez wins 9-2, and I didn't get to see :01 of that match! Unjust! Unfair! 

Trey Piotrowski had a tough customer in round one, Dusty Hone of Okie Light. It didn't end well. For some perspective, the Cowboy was an NWCA Honorable Mention All American two years ago and has started two seasons for OSU. He's also a 6th-year Senior.

Dylan Connell versus Mason Diel of D1 Arkansas Little Rock gets a sweep single very quickly. Goes behind and mat return. Gets back points. Four more back points in the first period. 8-0 at beginning of second period. Uses perfect, basic sitout for an escape, then gets special mention for the leg sweep attempt. Gets a double leg takedown for an 11-0 lead. Heading into period three, Connell has four hours of riding time. Mason Diel now becomes one of my hated wrestlers, as he's getting crushed and pushes Connell into the scoring table. Injury time. 14-2 final, another bonus point win for Dylan. 

Zac or Danny sighting! Don't know which. There now just playing with my head. 

Danny Pucino versus Nate Keim of Central Oklahoma in the second round. And video freezes. Track shows a takedown for the good guys, escape from the dark side. Heim deep on a single, and Pucino does the "Delgado duck" and secures a leg and almost the takedown as time expires. It got dicey in the third, but Pucino with a late reversal seals the 5-3 win. (The quickest way to get Coach Poeta pissed off is for a ref to get a call wrong against the ILLINI. Haha!). 

I think I've missed two matches from Rasmussen and one each involving Renshaw and We Rachal because of video issues. 

Trey Piotrowski with a big match against Colt Newton of Oklahoma State in the consolations of the Open division. Can't watch because video is frozen. Track showed the dark side winning 5-4 going into the third. Pio escaped got a takedown and rode him out for the 9-5 win. I knew that Okie was gonna gas. 

Just missed a Caden Ernd takedown that showed up on Track. Watching "stick men" now, I guess. Caden leading 2-1 going into the third with 3:28 of riding time--according to Track. The match is against Austin Raynor of Lindenwood. The Force with an escape in the third, 3-1 with riding time. Then a quick takedown and escape, with the good guy leading 5-2. It's 6-2 with the riding time. 

Now missing my third Luke Rassmussent (spelling provided by Lindenwood and Trackwrestling) match. This is the worst video fail since 1998. 

Joey Braunagel had a DI kid from Chattanooga that he pinned in 1:11. Nice start! Mike Bosco got the pin in :26, though, so he gets braggin' rights!

We Rachal versus Eddie Bolivar of Indiana. We gives up an early takedown, but gets two of his own off a beautiful shrug-by and some wonderous scrambling. The shrug-by got some "oohs" and "aaahs" at the scoring table. Another beautiful takedown, but he tried a cross-wrist tilt that wasn't secure, and Bolivar turned it into a headlock fall. 

Trey Piotrowski versus Noah Mis from Northern ILLINOIS. The Huskie gets the takedown and gives up the escape. 5-1 going into the third, as Pio gives up an escape and takedown. Coaches Poeta and Ruth in the corner looking dapper. It ends 8-1 dark side. 

Dylan Connell with the easy 11-0 win in the next round. Couldn't watch it because the Mat 7 camera was never turned on. Not ever. 

Joe "Bulldog" Braunagel with a wonderful rough-and-tumble first period and one of the best matches for entertainment value you can have. Brawny hits a spladle, but the ref was on the other side. His opponent reverses him, and then they throw each other around until, with a 6-3 lead, Brawny hits a headlock for the fall. Haha! 

Joe Roberts with an SV win over Oklahoma State, but video wasn't working for that mat. 

Danny Pucino also had a bad time with Oklahoma State's Dusty Hone. For some perspective, the Cowboy was an NWCA Honorable Mention All American two years ago and has started two seasons for OSU. Again, the kid's a 6th-year Senior and keeps his dentures in a jar next to his bed. 

Caden Ernd with a scary knee tweak in the third, but seems himself after injury time. He comes back to beat Michigan State in overtime. 

Mike Bosco with another quick pin. He's been listening to Coach Ruth, as he hit two double legs in the first period before a cradle and the fall. That was the Lindenwood heavyweight who looked pretty quick. 

Jake Reicin with a takedown-fest against Maryville. Nice to see! 

Danny Pucino walks through Noah Mis of Northern ILLINOIS. Lots of Pucino takedowns, and he has mastered the art of letting a guy ride legs, then standing up with that guys leg, putting him in position to finish a single. Nice technique!

Chase Waggoner not only has the best ILLINI name, but he's also a tough grinder who can take people down. 

Devonjae Hudson of Northern ILLINOIS presented himself to Dylan Connell in the quarterfinals. This was a rematch from the MSU Open and from schoolboy days, and it ended like the others with a tilt fest for the winner, Connell. 

Joey Braunagel had a Joey time doing Joey things with the Liberty wrestler in the quarterfinals. He was actually down late, but those Joey things reared their beautiful Joey heads, and he ended up winning Joey-6. 

Mike Bosco had Ryan Skilling of Maryville in the semis and showed some versatility and strength in the first period. He took an "ankle single," picked it up and shelved it before taking his opponent down. Then, he hit a double. With his long arms, he's always looking to cradle. The match is 5-1 to start the second. Bosco escapes quickly. "Go Bosco" rings throughout the arena! Maryville chose neutral in the third. He chose poorly. Bosco with the three second takedown (a double). This guy was a two-time finalist and one-time champ in Missouri and has been in the Maryville program for a year or two. But he's never been asked to climb Mount Bosco! 

Dylan Connell wins his semi by techfall 17-0. He is a master of the cross-wrist tilt. 

Bulldog Braunagel's final was against three-time finalist and two-time Oklahoma state champ Emmanuel Skillings. This thing could've gone either way, as they both threw haymakers the whole time. This match drew a crowd. Brawny was in his face the whole time. He is very good at pressuring his opponent. The final throw and fall came at 6:27 for the **** Okie. Side note: Before his matches, Bulldog does the full splits both ways, and not just splits, but Olympic gymnastic team splits. 

Caden Ernd had to take an injury loss and then MFF out. 

Mike Bosco had Matthias Ervin in the finals. He's a three-time Kentucky champ, and, of course, the brother of Caleb Ervin. (One day, every wrestler in the NCAA tournament will be named Ervin. It's evolution.). Matthias is a freshman at UT-Chattanooga. Bosco wins it with a quick escape in the second and riding time in the third! 

Joey Braunagel had the first takedown, but then after an escape, he did a little too much rolling and landed on his back. Don't get me wrong, this was very entertaining. Brawny is near fall waiting to happen for somebody. Why not be aggressive your redshirt year? He ended up losing to Sarasua of Northeast Oklahoma, who is in his third year at that school. (Cheating! In the Frosh-Soph division!). Joey went on to win his fifth place match by MFF. 

Dylan Connell lost his finals match against Okie State's top recruit (until Carter came from Northwestern) in overtime. A great match, with Dylan grabbing the first takedown. The match ended up with one takedown apiece, but Okie Light got the riding time. Kudos to some great corner work by one of the Braunagels (possibly Zac) as he kept a count of stall warnings that moved the match into overtime.