ZANE RICHARDS IS PAN AM GAMES CHAMPION! KAMAL, ZAC & JOE NEXT!
This video contains highlights from Zane Richards' Gold Medal winning match. He wrestled Olympian and 2x (now 3x) Pan Am Silver medalist Oscar Tigreros of Colombia. It turned out to be a two-minute and two-second techfall, 10-0. In the semifinals, Tigrero beat the Cuban. Richards beat former NCAA champion Darian Cruz, wrestling for Puerto Rico. The score of that match was 8-2.
Here is Zane's interview with USA Wrestling following the championship match:
All four Americans won a Gold Medal on the day, and there were Cubans in each of the brackets. Una mal día para Los Cubanos. It did seem that, among the Americans, Richards had the toughest final two opponents. Yet, he scored 18 and gave up only 2. What was extraordinary in these matches from Zane was his focus and ...
1. His Turns. Zane managed to hit multiple gut wrenches and a leglace against very good opponents. That's not something Americans have been noted for in recent years. It certainly adds a strong weapon to his arsenal. Even the threat of a turn can come in handy one day. Refs will give him more time on top because he's shown he can score from there. Opponents have to spend time practicing their turn defense. Then,
2. His Defense. Very strong in position. Absolutely flattening sprawls. The hand-fighting was on point, and the underhook, which he jammed in, controlled his opponents. The only two points he gave up were to the former NCAA champ, and Zane probably could've fought it off but made the smart decision while up big in the waning seconds to give up the takedown and trade time for two points while not risking more. That leads to number three.
3. His Mat, Clock and Positional Awareness. It was a veteran move to give up the takedown. Zane also flew into a leglace on the fly, one continuous motion. He was ready when an angry opponent sought to jump the whistle. Zane also kept wrestling until the final whistle. Finally, there's ...
4. His Offense. This is now a given with Zane. We expect him to take down everybody. That's why it was so good to see the other aspects of his game rise to the occasion. Still, it has to be noted that he was able to get to legs and convert when he had the opportunity. That is key.
Below are three short videos that Zane provided to The ILLINI Wrestling Blog & Forum & Beyond before he left for Chile:
KAMAL, ZAC & JOE ARE ON DECK AND IN THE HOLE
You get juicy ILLINI versus SIUE goodness today at State Farm Center and on BTN+, then you have Greco at the Pan Am Games. This is the schedule for the ILLINI, IRTC and IRTC-adjacent wrestlers:
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