Which team peaks the best??? Edition 3
So I started this article 3 years ago and have now been updating it yearly with new information! I think this is a topic that interests a lot of people, especially those that are interested in the science of peak performance. I am not making judgements about why teams consistently wrestle above or below their seeds at nationals, just pointing out that some do and some don’t. I think the list of factors is long and actually we are going to devote a segment of todays T-Row and Funky Show(episode 16) to this exact topic. So without any further hold up here are the stats.
| Penn St | Minn | Iowa | OK St | Cornell | Mizzou | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | -.5 | 2 | -4.2 | -2.7 | -.7 | -1.1 |
| 2010 | .2 | -3.1 | .5 | -2 | -.4 | -.7 |
| 2011 | -.1 | -.25 | -1.2 | -2.2 | -1.8 | -.6 |
| 2012 | 1.1 | .33 | -1.7 | -1.1 | 1.66 | -1.1 |
| 2013 | -.6 | 1.3 | -1.4 | .2 | 1.4 | .5 |
| 2014 | -.2 | .3 | -2 | .1 | -.7 | .1 |
| 2015 | .6 | -1.7 | -2.1 | .9 | -1.5 | -1.7 |
| Total | .07 | -.16 | -1.72 | -.97 | -.3 | -.65 |
| Years above seed | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Years below seed | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
So how does this affect the yearly races
2009 – Iowa despite being -4.2 to their seed edges Ohio St by 4 points. Ohio State had every wrestler come in at or above their original seed except Colt Sponsellor. Notable Iowa seed drops were Borschel(#4), Tsirtis(#4), and Falck(#5) all DNPing.
2010 – This team race is uncompetitive as Iowa blows out the field by 44 points, also the only year since 2009 they have wrestled above seed.
2011 – The Nittany Lions win their first national title by essentially wrestling to seed(-.1), they beat Cornell by 14 points and Iowa by 21. Dake wrestles from a #4 seed to win the national title at 149lbs.
2012 – Penn State blows out the field by 26 and wrestles above their seeds by 1.1(Helped in large part by Quentin Wright wrestling way above his seed) which is the 3rd highest margin of anyone listed in the table. I think it is important to note the Minnesota wrestled above their seeds, but didn’t have enough fire power to get the job done.
2013 – This is one of the better team races in recent history as it came down the last session, where Penn St had Ed Ruth and Quentin Wright win titles to secure the title over Ok State by 4 points. Ok. St wrestled above their seeds(+.2), Minnesota also blew away their seeds(+1.3) to try to get into the team race, they finished 13 points behind.
2014 – Another tight team race that Penn State wins(109.5 to 104) by essentially wrestling to seed while challenger Minnesota drops the ball as the Dardanes brothers go from #6 and #2 seeds to DNP finishes, everyone else on the Gophers wrestles to or above seed.
2015 – Ohio St wins despite wrestling -1 to their seeds, because Challengers Mizzou(-1.7) and Iowa(-2.1) wrestle even worse!