US Open - Cleveland, OH - Friday, April 23rd

Today was a very successful day for the NYAC women's team. The girls wrestled a total of 10 matches throughout the day and won all of them, placing six girls in the semi-finals tomorrow.

It's difficult to say how everyone will do tomorrow. The schedule is set in a way that gives the girls a very long break each day. It seems like no one is able to develop momentum or to get on roll. I think this will help the best wrestler win the tournament instead of rewarding the athlete who has the best day.

During the break, I walked to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. I didn't know what to expect and as a result, I didn't give myself enough time. It wouldn't have been very cost effective to purchase a ticket for less than an hour in the museum. I'm a history buff and the history of music is one of my keen interests. I want to be sure I get my money's worth if I go in the museum. Maybe I'll find time Saturday afternoon.

To follow up with a few stories I touched on earlier this week, Jesse Thielke did not place in the Senior Greco-Roman Open (he took 1st in FILA Junior Greco-Roman), Ryan Shapert didn't make it into the arena and TJ Hill defeated Jesse West.

Thielke is a special athlete. He has the talent to be the best in the world. This tournament was great for him to see that there is a very large gap in competing at the junior and senior levels. He'll be ready in the future, but this isn't his time yet. The senior level is a game of inches. The basic skills are very important and the athletes who win at the highest levels are the ones who are most proficent in the basic skills. Foot movement, head postion and hand position is where national champions are made. It comes down to a lot of tedious work and repetition while paying close attention to detail.

Poor Ryan Shapert didn't make it to the tournament because the night before (staying with TJ Hill, mind you) he had an encounter with the police. According to Hill, he was tazed three times. He pulled the barbs out of his skin after the first two attempts. It's been a very entertaining and comical story, but also very sad. Why was he hanging out with TJ Hill?

TJ Hill attempted his sixth or seventh comeback from retirement, but it ended prematurly after he lost his composure and cursed out an official and threw water bottles across the arena floor. At the Sunkist Open in 2005, Hill took his shoes off and set them in the middle of the mat after his third place match signifying his retirement. It's an honorable gesture done by some the world's best wrestlers, including Rulon Gardner, but not intended for someone like Hill. To cap of that gesture, he wrestled a few weeks later at the NYAC Open. It hasn't stopped since, but it has to. It's getting old.