wrestle above your seed

[CycloneOmaha]

ISU needs to get into the mentality of getting the timely upset when it counts. Throughout this year nu, mu, and cornell have been getting it done and producing more out their team than may have been expected.

Cael needs to determine individually what will fully motivate each wrestler to get mentally prepared to get that upset, get every last point possible. Important matches in the wrestle backs for 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc are critical. Just yesterday a wrestle back win for 3rd or 5th would have given ISU the outright championship.

Two weeks is a long time, and hopefully will be fully utilized to sharpen their mental game so they can go out there and domintate (and I mean from the opening whistle, not just a 3rd period flurry to despirately get back into the match). He needs to rally this team together and create an "us versus the world" mentality, where nothing else matters.

Cael will change the culture of ISU wrestling back to winning, as it was in the 60's and 70's. That opportunity is here right now (stop waiting for next year), and I am confident that ISU could be NCAA champs in 2 weeks.

 

[CycloneDaddy]

I wish I was as confident as you in regards to us having a chance to be NCAA champs in 2 weeks. For some odd reason this group of young men just don't seem to have the fire in their belly to wrestle above their seed. I hope and pray they prove me wrong.

 

[PolkCityClone]

Yeah, I agree they aren't trying to win...not Have you ever wrestled? Wow, that is quite a statement. How about you go tell Varner that at practice tomorrow?

 

[CycloneDaddy]

Yeah, I agree they aren't trying to win...not Have you ever wrestled? Wow, that is quite a statement. How about you go tell Varner that at practice tomorrow?

My chicken legs never looked good in a singlet :biglaugh: so I gave up wrestling many moons ago.

Trust me I know they are trying to win but for whatever reason this team (in my non expert opinion) has a problem winning big matches.

In 2 weeks I will be living and dying by every match that the Cyclones wrestle.

 

[MidwestZest]

Just on the face of it - I think I have to agree with Omaha. Just in that, two tournaments (nationals and B12) have been well within our grasp and we've lost our large lead in both in the championship matches. Which is a different problem than we've had in the past. The lack of good wrestle-back points have killed us in years past, and that's not the case this year. But I also have know doubt that our wrestlers know this. They're smart, competetion driven guys.

 

[Cyclone62]

To put a different spin on this, I got this email from Casey Cunningham earlier today:

Hello Again Cyclone Wrestling Fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It has been two weeks since I last wrote because we had no competition just preparation for the postseason. As most of you know we brought home our third consecutive Big 12 title. Big thanks go to all of the Iowa State Fans who made it in person to cheer us on in Lincoln over the weekend. It was a CO-Championship but it was still a championship. Overall as a team we did not compete to our full potential and that has to change before Nationals but you can still look at it one of two ways. The pessimistic person would say they were just co- champs, they did not perform like they could have, and they have no shot at a National Title. The optimistic person would say we just won the toughest conference tournament in the country, the tournament that sends more wrestlers than any other conference in the country percentage wise to the National tournament, the conference with more National Titles than any other conference in the country, and we did not perform to our full potential. Now that is exciting to say, we can do better! There is no doubt in people around the country’s minds that we are a huge underdog to win the National Title this year but that is not what we think. We have trained all year and some of these guys for four years here including their redshirt to win a National Title as a team this year. Our goals have not changed and that is to wrestle and train to the best of our ability every time we step on the mat, to focus on effort (not outcome), and if we do that we will win a NCAA TITLE.
Because I have so much free time on my hands J I figured I would do a little research on the History of Iowa State Wrestling. Winning the conference title for the third straight year was the first time in our school history that it has been done. The Cyclones had won back to back titles before last year’s team accomplished it and that was in the1979 and 1980 seasons. Until the 2006-07 season the conference was last won in 1987 and it was a CO-Championship. For you cyclone faithful you know how the team finished in the 1987 National Tournament. Since the Big 8 became the Big 12 in the 1996-1997 season there have been three Big 12 titles won. We have had twenty-two National Champions, two Olympic Champions, fifteen world team members, twelve top 3 National Team finishes, and twenty-three top 6 Team finishes in the past 30 years at Iowa State but we have only had six conference team championships(including the last three) and one National Team Title in that time. I did this research because it is easy for us as a coaching staff to walk away from this past weekend when history was made and forget what these guys just accomplished. Are we satisfied as a coaching staff-definitely not. Are our wrestlers completely satisfied with their performances-definitely not. Do we need to make some adjustments before the Nationals to accomplish our goals-absolutely. However when you look at the rich history of the program and the awesome teams that have come through Ames it gets you excited because you can still see the progress that is being made and where this program is headed, but we will still not be satisfied until the National Title comes through Iowa State every year.
We now have eleven days until the start of the NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP. We will get back to work and look forward to seeing all of the Cyclone faithful in St. Louis.
Thanks and
GO CYCLONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We do need to wrestle above our seeds (as always), but I think the fact that we have never won the conference 3 times in a row is worth something as well.

 

[CycloneOmaha]

To put a different spin on this, I got this email from Casey Cunningham earlier today:



We do need to wrestle above our seeds (as always), but I think the fact that we have never won the conference 3 times in a row is worth something as well.

Love the post and the encouraging email from the coach. Historically ISU has tremendous tradition that has also spawned other great wrestling traditions (Iowa fans, your welcome).

I believe we are at the door of a new era in wrestling domination. ISU just needs to believe it so, open the door and walk on through. :smile:

 

[SuperCy]

I hate to tell you this, but ISU not wrestling to their seeds is nothing new. It's one of the many things that drove me up the wall about Bobby Douglas' squads.

 

[CycloneOmaha]

I hate to tell you this, but ISU not wrestling to their seeds is nothing new. It's one of the many things that drove me up the wall about Bobby Douglas' squads.

Well, fortunately BD is not in the drivers seat anymore. Cael will need to find out if he can get these current and future wrestlers to run through a brick wall for him.

Thanks for the buzz-kill of my ISU domination rant

 

[Cyclonestate78]

Well, fortunately BD is not in the drivers seat anymore. Cael will need to find out if he can get these current and future wrestlers to run through a brick wall for him.

Thanks for the buzz-kill of my ISU domination rant

I liked the email there from the coach. It is always great to have strong tradition to build on and ISU wrestling definitely has that. The title of this thread is right on the money... wrestle above your seed. It is such a simple concept. I hope our guys don't dwell on what happened in the Big XII championship meet and just take it for what it is worth and move on with a greater focus. Even our guys that are highly ranked need to wrestle above their seed like Varner and "Z". Even as the #1 seed if you don't wrestle above and beyond your seed you end up just like Varner did on Saturday night and that is on the short end of an upset. I hope these guys head to St. Louis with a new found attitude that the only thing that can stop them from bringing home a National Championship is themselves. I have seen our guys wrestle enough to know that when they don't have their "A" game they can still be a tough draw for anyone at anytime because they are mentally tough. I hope they bring that swagger and that attitude with them to St. Louis.