Beat the Streets and NLWC on Rokfin: Preview and Picks
Photo by Justin K. Aller/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The 2020 Beat the Streets wrestling exhibition will take place on Thursday, September 17, with a six-match card. The event is part of a fundraiser for Beat the Streets, a non-profit organization that gives middle and high school students in several large American cities the chance to wrestle. The event typically features top US wrestlers against international opponents; the pandemic and resulting travel restrictions has limited this, but we still have a fun set of matches.
Following BTS is Saturday’s sprawling card (at least twelve matches) featuring wrestlers from the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, the international styles arm of the famous Penn State wrestling program. It will be the first event streaming on Rokfin, a new company that’s been at the center of controversy in the wrestling world related to former Flowrestling editor Willie Saylor. The Nittany Lion wrestlers are taking on opponents from Michigan’s Cliff Keen Wrestling Club and other training centers in the US.
Vladimir Khinchegashvili vs. Yianni Diakomihalis
Khinchegashvili, a 2016 Olympic champ and five-time world/Olympic medalist, is the lone international wrestler at the event. Although he represents the country of Georgia, he currently trains at the New York City RTC with coach Kendall Cross.
Khinchegashvili’s success mostly comes from his right-handed single leg to his opponent’s left leg. He can get there from head snaps, from arm drags, and most commonly from dropping straight in when their hands come up. He generally works from longer space, such as wrist ties or shoulder posts, though he also likes a left hand collar tie. He also has a good high crotch shot to the opponent’s right leg, which he often turns to when the single leg isn’t working. He finishes both very well, slowly pulling the leg in and shelving it without offering any chance to counter or scramble. He also transitions into a leg lace very well off of his takedowns, and has a good gut wrench even when his opponent has time to get set defensively. Khinche has quick go-behinds when opponents shoot, and a very dangerous chest wrap if they manage to get in deep. He also has great escapability, finding his way to avoid getting scored on when he’s all but taken down; this often involves going to the rear standing position, a dangerous place to be if the opponent can lock his hands, but fine if you’re a step ahead and can seal off one side of your body.
Khinchegashvili has a reputation for creativity and motor, able to flurry and create action when necessary. This makes sense when you consider his dramatic comebacks in the 2015 world final, the 2017 European final, and near-miss in the 2017 world semis. On review of the tape, I’m a little bit skeptical that that will matter in this match. He does have a few tricks like the ones he showed in those matches, but it seems strange that he’s never done anything like that any other time in his career. He does a good job of increasing his attack rate when trailing without his defense suffering too much. Even if he does allow more openings for his opponent to score, it also allows them more chances to walk into his chest wrap.
In the past few years, though, his pace has slowed. Since his move from 57 kg to 61 and then 65, but there’s been a marked drop-off in both his output and his results. He struggles to control the handfight, and seems to have lost his ability to time shots from the outside, as his opponents are now both stronger and longer. He doesn’t control the center as well as he used to, and his top game isn’t quite as dangerous. He also doesn’t seem to turn the pace up late in a match; more often, he just looks out of ideas (see his loss in the early rounds at the European Championships in February).
Diakomihalis, usually known as Yianni because his last name is a pain in the rear to spell and pronounce, is one of the most popular and exciting wrestlers in the country. A two-time national champion, he took an Olympic redshirt in the abbreviated 2019-20 season, which kept him on track to win four NCAA titles. Internationally, he was a cadet (U17) world champ in 2016 and has wins over world medalists Ismail Musukaev and Bajrang Punia. He took the domestic freestyle scene by storm in 2019, winning the US Open over a loaded field. He’s since come back to earth slightly, losing the wrestle-off with Zain Retherford for the world team spot and then finishing third at Senior Nationals in December.
Yianni is known for his scrambling ability and wild matches. He’s great at turning his opponents shots into his own points, thanks to his flexibility, vision, and willingness to take risks. When opponents get to his legs he likes to attack their far ankle or hamstring and head for a crackdown-type position. The value of flexibility is not just that he can get to positions other people can’t, but that he can be comfortable and mobile from those positions; in particular, he’s able to step his free leg up right next to his hip, giving him more ability to lift or drive. He’s also willing to go to great lengths to keep the scramble going when his position is worse, most notably by posting on his head to free his arms to pick the opponent’s ankle when they have his leg in the air. To get a feel for his defensive skills, watch his win last year over Jordan Oliver:
On the more conventional side, Yianni has decent offense off of elbow control and can shoot to both legs. He’s a pretty good finisher, though not quite on the level of the world elite. He also has lightning-quick reattacks, especially to the right leg. He doesn’t have much on top, though he can sometimes catch a lace in transition, and his par terre defense is solid.
When considering how these two match up, there are a few specific things that help Khinchegashvili. For one, he almost always gets in deep when he shoots and doesn’t allow any opportunity for a reshot, which limits Yianni’s chances to score. He also likes to shoot to the left leg, where Yianni’s defense is probably not quite as good. Finally, Yianni sometimes hangs on to scrambles too long and gives up unnecessary points, something Khinchegashvili is good at capitalizing on.
More broadly, though, Yianni is at an advantage in this match. His attack rate will probably be higher, and his wins over Musukaev and Bajrang are a testament to his gas tank. We often see a dynamic in exhibition or offseason matches like this one where the US wrestlers are in much better condition and seem more determined to win than their international opponents. Khinchegashvili may win some exchanges, but I don’t think he’ll score consistently enough to really put Yianni away. Additionally, Yianni is still just 21 and has been improving, especially his leg attacks. Khinchegashvili, on the other hand, is on the downslope of his career, and I doubt he’ll look better now than he did at the world championships a year ago. My pick is Yianni Diakomihalis.
Emily Shilson vs. Charlotte Fowler
The opening match at Beat the Streets is a women’s freestyle match between past U23 world team members for the US in Emily Shilson and Charlotte Fowler. Flowrestling has been widely criticized for the way it has handled women’s wrestling, so it’s nice to see two women’s matches on this card.
Shilson was originally scheduled to wrestle Felicity Taylor, another U23 world team member and a WCWA runner up for McKendree University. The day before the match, the McKendree athletic department determined that wrestling at an exhibition event that fell during the academic year but outside of the sanctioned college wrestling season would be an NCAA rules violation and could jeopardize her eligibility for the college season. I was excited for that match, because I thought Taylor was well-equipped to pull the upset over the more credentialed Shilson. Taylor was replaced by Charlotte Fowler, a WCWA All-American for Campbellsville and 2018 U23 world team member. Coincidentally, Fowler actually presents some of the same stylistic problems that Taylor did, and I’m still excited for the match.
Shilson was a 2018 cadet world champion and won the 2020 WCWA championship at 109 lbs as a freshman for the fledgling Augsburg program. She’s quick and has a good low single to her opponent’s right leg. She also likes to work a two on one on the opponent’s left arm, and uses it to set up both a single leg to that side and a misdirection back the other way. On top, she’s devastating with a low gut and can rack up the points after a takedown.
On the other hand, Shilson has struggled quite a bit against bigger and stronger athletes. She’s still small for 50 kg, the lowest weight class in women’s wrestling, and can get pushed around by more physically mature opponents. She gets moved out of position or snapped to the mat too easily, and her top game has been much less effective at the senior level. She also struggles to finish her shots against top competition and often gets stuck underneath, more likely to concede points than score them. She’s still improving, and with time she should put on size, but for now it’s a major factor.
Fowler likes to work underhooks and two on one ties, especially on the opponent’s right side. She doesn’t attack much from those positions, but she completely shuts down her opponent’s attacks and can push in until they get uncomfortable and make a mistake. Fowler does have a decent shot from space, but doesn’t hit it much. Instead, she sticks with the positions where she’s comfortable, for better or worse.
Fowler’s forward motion and high hands mean that opponents get to her legs on a regular basis. She defends very well when they do, getting her hips back, staying square, and keeping her feet on the ground. She has a decent chest wrap to score exposure points, and is good at breaking the opponent’s grip to score a go behind. When she gets on top, she’s nasty with both the leg lace and gut wrench.
As the more credentialed wrestler, some outlets have Shilson as a heavy favorite. She’s the more skilled wrestler, and has a higher ceiling in the long term, but I think this matchup poses major problems for her. For one thing, she’s giving up a lot of size. Fowler is pretty big 53 kg, while Shilson is still growing into 50. She still struggles to win the handfight battle with stronger wrestlers, and anyone who works control ties can really slow her down. She also doesn’t always finish cleanly on her shots, and Fowler is solid with opponents in on her legs. Fowler is also a left leg lead, but Shilson mainly shoots to the right leg. Finally, there’s the par terre game. Maybe I’m overestimating the importance of the size advantage, but I don’t think Shilson is likely to turn Fowler. If Fowler gets to work on top, though, she might put the match out of reach.
In Shilson’s favor, she’s been getting better in the handfight, as her performance at 2019 Senior Nationals showed. She also has a sneaky headlock that could bail her out if Fowler tries to force upper body situations. Fowler’s lack of firepower means that Shilson doesn’t need to score on all of her shots, she just has to score a couple times and avoid giving up go behinds. It should also help that she’s been preparing to wrestle Taylor, since the same gameplan will apply pretty well to a match with Fowler. It won’t be easy, she’s shown she can dig deep and score in tough matches. I’ll take Emily Shilson to pass this test.
Beat the Streets airs Thursday, September 17 at 7:30 pm eastern on Flowrestling.org
Alex Dieringer vs. Bo Nickal
The main event of the Saturday card features Bo Nickal of NLWC against Alex Dieringer from Michigan’s Cliff Keen Wrestling Club. Both wrestlers are at interesting places in their careers, and this match could tell us something meaningful about both their futures.
Bo Nickal won three NCAA championships and a Hodge trophy for Penn State, and kicked off his senior level career last year with a Final X birth and U23 world title. He’s also committed to launching his MMA career after the Olympic trials, currently scheduled for April 2021. Nickal is tall and lanky, with a great feel for wrestling. He leads his left leg and likes to work right hand collar ties and left hand underhooks. He has the typical snapdown-ankle pick game of a Penn State wrestler, and complements it with a great duckunder and high crotch to the opponent’s left leg. He’s a good upper body wrestler, with throw-bys and knee taps off the underhook and throws off the overhook. As his career has progressed, though, he’s looked upper body less and less and gone more for head snaps and leg attacks.
As you might expect from a world-class wrestler, and a Penn State wrestler at that, Nickal is a great scrambler who is very difficult to finish on and has a knack for coming out on top. His length helps him reach the far ankle whenever he needs to, and he’s very dangerous with his cradle and spladle.
He’s also very good from par terre. Unlike some of the wrestlers I’ve discussed, who specialize in one turn in particular, Nickal is capable with a standard gut wrench, a leg lace, a trap-arm gut, or a college-style two on one.
Alex Dieringer also won three NCAA titles and a Hodge, though he did it for Oklahoma State. He became one of the top 79 kg wrestlers in the world, pushing Kyle Dake and picking up big overseas wins like Alan Zaseev and Rashid Kurbanov. He’s struggled a bit in his move up to 86 kg and is clearly part of the pack chasing David Taylor, rather than neck-and-neck with him. He recently left Oklahoma State, his home since 2012, for Michigan. Although that decision was mostly for non-wrestling reasons, coach Sergei Beloglasov is great at getting wrestlers to make jumps.
His wrestling is very solid, built around elbow control on the opponent’s left side. He can clamp down to hit a fireman’s carry or near arm-far leg, or pull it over for a high crotch. He also works well off collar ties and an elbow post into his high crotch or double leg. He attacks high on the leg and has good drive on his finishes. His handfighting skills prevent opponents from getting to his legs too often, and he has a strong gut on top.
The biggest downside to Dieringer’s game is his susceptibility to wrestlers who can create angles for reattacks. Because he attacks so high on the hip rather than dropping down and covering distance with his body, if the shot isn’t successful, the opponent is completely free to move. This helps him avoid the chest wraps and crotch lifts that give trouble to other wrestlers, but it leaves him open to a quick single leg or underhook throw-by in return. This is what cost him in recent losses to Zahid Valencia and Myles Martin, wrestlers he had previously beaten. Compared to 79 kg, the wrestlers at 86 are taller, longer, and tend to be tougher to score on, and he still has some work to do to adjust.
Nickal sometimes seems a bit loose in his wrestling, as though he’s not disciplined enough with his first lines of defense to keep guys off his legs. He almost never pays for it, since he has the skill and the athleticism to beat almost everyone from every position, but it’s something that could allow someone like Dieringer a path to victory.
In Nickal’s favor, he wrestles with a slipperiness that Dieringer seems to have a hard time with. He doesn’t allow opponents to get to good positions and go to work from there, instead clearing ties quickly and can punish forward pressure. Nickal’s reattacks, his ability to transition between upper body positions and low-ankle attacks, and his scrambling are all problematic for the former Cowboy.
One final consideration is Nickal’s training and motivation level. He already has an end date on his wrestling career, and he steadfastly refuses to cut weight. Ed Ruth, another legendary Penn State wrestler, is something of a cautionary tale. Ruth made the world team his first year out of college in 2014, then signed a contract to fight in Bellator after the 2016 Olympics. With one foot out the door, Ruth reportedly lacked motivation and commitment to his training. Instead of building on his success, his results declined every year, and his accomplishments in wrestling are nearly overshadowed by what feels like lost potential. Will Nickal’s MMA aspirations distract him from the remaining seven months (or eleven if he’s lucky enough to make the Olympics) in his wrestling career? I’m hesitant, but I’m still picking Bo Nickal to win this one.
Jennifer Page vs. Desiree Zavala
Of the two women’s matches in State College, this one is by far the more interesting one. These two 62 kg contenders actually wrestled already, at Senior Nationals in December 2019. Unfortunately, the match took place at the beginning of the morning session, and apparently the camera wasn’t in place in time to record it; all I know is that Page won 9-6.
Page is a veteran of the women’s freestyle scene, a 2014 junior world bronze medalist and former World Team Trials finalist. Page keeps a very low stance and likes to pressure into her opponents with control ties like underhooks and a right side two on one. Her best attack is a snatch single, where she can elevate the leg and finish the takedown or just walk to the edge and score a stepout point. When opponents shoot, she’s good at scoring exposures and go behinds. She also works well from the front headlock and has developed a good top game. These skills were on display in her run through the consolation rounds of Senior Nationals to qualify for the Olympic Trials.
The downside of her aggression is that she often walks herself into leg attacks. Her counters somewhat compensate for this, but against a clean finisher she can get picked apart. She also doesn’t take a lot of leg attacks, so she has a hard time scoring on opponents who can hang with her physically.
Zavala is a WCWA All-American who has continually improved over the past few years despite transferring schools, from Southern Oregon to Gray’s Harbor and then Wayland Baptist. In contrast to Page, she likes to work from the outside, and stands with her left leg in front. She likes to shoot double legs from space or from clearing her opponent’s tie. She also works from collar ties and a two on one, though less commonly. She has a decent single leg and carry that aren’t as good as her double, but she’s made clear improvements on those attacks in the past couple years. When she gets to her double, she can transition to a leg lace fairly well.
While she’s clearly still getting better, Zavala has shown some holes in her game. She keeps a fairly high stance and isn’t super disciplined with her lead hand, leading to easy shot entries for her opponents. She also backs up to keep her range, which often puts her on the edge of the mat. She does a good job pushing back into opponents and wrestling aggressively when they do get to her legs, and she has a good whizzer kick when opponents try to drive her out; still, those are things she’ll have to shore up to reach the next level with her wrestling. This match, from U23 world team trials, shows the best and worst parts of her game:
This matchup is interesting because they both seem to attack each other’s weaknesses but are vulnerable to each other’s strengths. Page marching forward and getting picked apart by an outside shooter? Zavala getting underhooked, pushed around, steadily giving up points? Both sound perfectly reasonable. One key could be how powerfully Zavala finishes. She’s quick to get to the legs, but doesn’t always have much drive to get through and score the takedown; if she gets stuck at the hips, she’s liable to give up some sort of exposure or an underhook throw-by. Another potential difference maker is the seatbelt-whizzer position, which is usually favorable to the wrestler with the seatbelt (Page) but where Zavala sometimes kicks her opponent over.
Part of the case for Zavala has to be her rapid development as a wrestler. She has made noticeable improvements between every major competition over the past three years, and if she can keep that up she might simply be on another level than Page. I just have a hard time assuming someone will be much better than what I’ve seen before, and the ongoing pandemic has probably affected her training. If anything, she may have been set back more by a disruption. She has less total experience and fewer total hours on the mat, and so it’s possible her skills erode more with time off. Her wrestling and her path to victory is also based more on timing, which is harder to pull off if you haven’t been competing. The margin is thin, but my pick is another win for Jennifer Page.
NLWC on Rokfin airs Saturday, September 19 at 7 pm eastern on Rokfin.com