MAX NOWRY, ZANE RICHARDS & TANNER FARMER AT FINAL X

DAMN STRAIGHT!

The men from the IRTC continue to put on a show. Three of them were in battles at Final X yesterday. Two came away as winners, but they all made the USA World Team. The ILLINI Regional Training Center is now assured of having four wrestlers on the National Team. Here they are:

MAX NOWRY

The IRTC athlete won his best of three Final X showdown 2-0. It was pretty close, though, as both matches ended 1-1. Brady Koontz is a tall drink of water, very wiry. The OSU wrestler kept a square stance and defended well in both matches. 

Nowry estimated that Koontz and he had wrestled at least eight times, maybe nine. So, there were some familiarity issues. In fact, the two will train together over the Summer. That will help Max if he faces the tall, wiry type at the World Championships. 

Although offensive scoring successes were lacking, the man from Wheeling, ILLINOIS did express himself on at least one occasion in much the same way that the Incredible Hulk greeted Loki in The Avengers. 

That also reminded me of his shrug by in the semifinals of the WTT, when he threw his opponent eight yards across the mat. In the instance above, however, Max just threw Koontz down. He could've covered for the takedown, but I don't think that he knows his own strength! 

In his interview after winning the spot, Nowry talked about the Army program and the IRTC:

A: "Then I get to go out to Champaign, ILLINOIS to train with Coach Medlin and Zane Richards. I'm very appreciative of the things that Coach Medlin does. 

...

A: I want to put points on the board. I'm very upset about that.... I want to keep firing off attempts." 

I for one enjoy the Nowry Show, especially when he goes Incredible Hulk. 

ZANE RICHARDS

Zane had Jacob Camacho in a true-third match at Final X to see who would take the final spot on the World Team at 57kg. It ended in a tech fall for the good guy, 10-0, with :21 left in the first period. Zane got a takedown after Camacho had his leg up in the air early on. He put a foot behind one of Camacho's feet and leveraged him down on his own terms. 

After the takedown, Zane used two gut wrenches to gain a 6-0 lead. Later in the first period, this happened:

As you can see, Zane was moving quickly, as his body is a blur. Camacho's is pretty static. Richards posted the elbow and hit his world famous high crotch, finishing with a single. After that, he threw in a gut wrench for the final 10-0 score. 

In his post-match interview on Flo, the ILLINI Regional Training Center stalwart showed why everybody loves Zane Richards: 

A: "I love the sport. I give everything I've got to it. So, it could be in a dungeon somewhere. The lights are out, with knights dueling in the background.... This is what I do, and I love it.

Q: Zane, you're obviously an ILLINOIS guy. With that being said, what's it like to still stay there and train there with these guys, especially with having Tanner in your corner. 

A: It means a lot, guys like Tanner being around, and being from the state, it is something. I grew up there, born and raised. I'm representing the state where I was born and raised.... [and on another note] Bryan Medlin, my coach [is] probably the most under-rated coach in America right now."

TANNER FARMER

There is no doubt that Tanner Farmer is a big guy, but Cohlton Schultz is a large mammal. My guess is that he cuts a lot of weight and puts on about five to ten pounds after weigh-ins. To gain some perspective, I looked up some things that weigh about 130 kilograms. Here's a few of them: A refrigerator, an adult Black Bear, a vintage piano and a female Grizzly Bear. 

So, wrestling a Greco heavyweight means that for six minutes you have to push around a refrigerator ... that pushes back. 

Farmer lost 0-2 in the best of three series versus the Arizona Frigidaire, with the first round ending 1-5. That one point was a very slick reversal that came out of nowhere. In the second round, Tanner scored first by driving Schultz out of bounds as if he was a blocking sled. 

That had to take a lot out of Farmer, as he did part of that on his knees. The ref would then call him for passivity, and Tanner (like me) questioned the call. That also happened in the first round. At best, taking all action in the light most favorable to Cohlton Schultz, they were both equally active, and in this second round, Farmer had just scored an all-out-effort push-out! 

With that passivity point and two gut wrenches, the Arizona Amana took a 5-1 lead. Farmer got a passivity point to make it 5-2, and that's how it ended. The good news is that second prize is making the World Team with all of the benefits that that brings. 

YOU HAVE TO LOVE THESE GUYS!

The folks at the ILLINOIS Regional Training Center have worked their butts off and now can enjoy some of the glory. I don't know how you can't love the athletes and their coach. Purposeful, hard-working, personable and determined. 

And we're not done yet: Kamal Bey will be center stage on June 8 in New York for Final X part two! 

THE YOUNG-UNS AT U20 AND U23

Don't forget that there'll be more action in Ohio this morning as Freestyle takes the stage in the U20 and U23 World Team Trials. There will be a sizeable group of ILLINI athletes attempting to make a World Team, including at least two Brawlnagels, Jake Reicin, Maximo Renteria, Jake Harrier and Edmond Ruth. 

Can't wait to see what those men can do!