Jordan Burroughs and Coach Gibbons did a great job with color commentary throughout the tournament ... Cormier, Burroughs, Gibbons would be awesome combo. Congrats to both wrestlers for a great tourney.
Austin wanted it this year no question. I'm so glad to see him back on top again after last year. This was the best tournament I've seen since Kyle Dake and David Taylor's era.
Oh, did he want it then? 6 years in and he wanted it more this year? Hey O'Conner, graduate already and get a job! You're grand-children miss you! **insert eye roll**
@@PApatriot I mean college is for adults, can’t really complain about age. Just look at how many college football players are older than 21 and play until mid 20s. Sucks for the young guys but they know the comp
One of the best tournaments I've ever seen so many upsets including the biggest upset in the world of college wrestling. How Spencer got PINNED still has me shook
@@bc5208 still. Lee won with no acls, last year. Sadly not sure Lee can have much of a post college career unless he does some major rehab on his legs
@@McRarity So he was healthy enough to wrestle for himself & his own individual championship but the second his goal was out of reach he completely abandoned his team. Bro they were 2nd in team points and he just bails ???? Embarrassing.
I really didn't understand just how injured Austin O'Connor was last year. That's why when he lost in the first round in 2022 and still wrestled back to get AA status, it's even more impressive to me than this second championship. That's one tough man.
@npierce14 Yeah, he's an excellent wrestler. If he had been at 100% last year, the 157 lbs bracket with him, Deakin, and Carr would've been even more fun to watch.
@@davidgutierrez4606you forget that a new wave of freshman will come and that there is still tough competition at 157. Bryce Andonia for example, even though he lost he had a huge lead that he blew
@David Gutierrez I predict he'll win the next 3, but Andonian and Franek are good competition. I'm rooting for Levi, though. He seems like a great dude, and he's obviously a great wrestler.
He just might he is a great wrestler..but let's not call him a true freshman. He wrestled 41 college matches last year and trained at Penn St. Which is basically a red shirt year.
Any Penn State fans complaining about 6 years of eligibility. Max Dean was a 6th year and he didn't even win back to back titles. Second of all it's normal with red shirt, Olympic red shirt, medical red shirt, and gray. Lastly Michael Kemerer; wrestled 7 years taking his freshman red shirt, an injury red shirt, he wrestled his covid year, and still had 4 more years of wrestling. For a guy that was injured last year, he technically could have did what Kemerer did and taken a medical red shirt and come back for 23-24. There are other 7 and even 8 year examples if you look it up, because some guys took 2 Olympic red shirts in years past. Myles Amine (7), Steven Micic (8 years, 7 for MI 1 at NW)
@@dormilon36 oh absolutely but I’m talking just off of a experience standpoint it would help it can work in your favor or against it an example would be Iowa’s team last year half of the team was 25 and up and injuries Came at the worst time
O'Connor's style is gritty as hell. He'll just grind you into the dirt until you're done for. That being said, Haines was very tough here and never gave up.
Hope this is the start to UNC really having a great program. With the history at that college, them being a wrestling power house would be awesome! Also the cleanest singlets in the game.
@@karlmanning2603 that has about zero bearing on this. You get 5 yrs of eligibility. He’s in his sixth. Got a covid year. I know a lot of wrestlers intentionally get held back at a young age to mature also.
How is Austin in his 6th year? I know Covid gave 1 year eligibility but how’s he in his 6th. Can definitely tell the size difference between austin and Levi. Levi is a true freshmen and Austin is a fully grown man at this point LOL. Not taking anything away from Austin though.
Red shirt. In college you can gray or red shirt to add years. A gray shirt is taking a year after high school, some kids who graduate at 17 do this. Then there are two red shirt years, one for injury, and another for development where you can only compete unattached or if you're a freshman for 7 events (dual matches or tournament)
Levi will be multiple x champion. Fun to watch, he is a bit unorthodox, but a tough out for sure ...... good for Austin, glad he was able to get another
Are people suggesting Haines isn't special or really good. Covid happened, guys got an extra year, oh well. Age has never mattered in college sports. Chris Wienkie won the Heisman when he was 28. Matt brown won his title at PSU when he was around 26 or so.
Any opinions on how this turns out if Haines takes neutral instead of down in the second period? “AOC still wins “ is a fair answer, but I wonder if it ends 1-0?
I'm glad this ended the way it did. Austin is a senior. Haines still has 3 more chances to be National Champion. And as good as he looks here he could get at least 1 or 2.
2nd period...O'Connor holding Haines down, just pinching legs, every time Haines stood or quad-podded, making no effort to break down to turn Haines, was textbook stalling and ungodly boring wrestling. They have a rule against guys doing this on the ankles for 5+ seconds, but apparently it's okay if the stalling ride is higher on the legs.
Allowing 6th seasons is openly ridiculous. A guy who shouldn’t be in college against a true freshman. Levi was probably in elementary school when Austin set foot on campus.
Even before Covid this was normal, 7 years is not but now we have 7 years because covid. Plenty of 6 year NCAA athletes. Lookup, redshirt, medical redshirt, Olympic red shirt, gray shirt
it was a stall fest, if he was hit with one stall like he should of it would been a better match. you can't just hold someone down with out trying to do anything else.
Well...after 6 years, he can now go enjoy his grand-children. Move on dude! Thankfully for all of us, he didn't lose and find another year for some reason.... Do better NCAA !!!!!
2021-2025 are going to be massively distorted because of an unprecedented influx of 6 year wrestlers. In 2026 we’ll return to normal but dozens of titles have and will have changed hands as a result. How many guys will be blocked by that rule? How many legends lose a legacy altering title to a senior citizen. How many guys never win that one title or make all American because of this. Levi is likely a true freshman champ without this special rule. He won’t be allowed to compete for 6 years.
Technically Austin could have taken an extra medical red shirt last year which some have, there are actually guys who have had 7 years. So 6 is still normal even before Covid. Only difference is they could grab 5 years of wrestling participation. Also we did not have a national championship in 2020.
