1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - What is driving moves in wrestling transfer portal?: April 16th, 2026, 12:25pm

Episode Date: April 16, 2026

Overview of the NCAA Wrestling Transfer Portal. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

BetMGM is an official sports betting partner of the National Hockey League and has everything for the action on the ice. Hockey fans in Canada can place live bets, create same game parlays, take player props on their favorite skaters, and bet on the 2026 Stanley Cup champion, including if that team will be from Canada or the USA. BetMGM also has original bets, which are hockey markets you can't find anywhere else. And it's not just about what you can do on game day. The BetMGM app has improved its lineup this season to include instant withdrawals, data insights, and a brand new rewards hub. Download the BetMGM app today and enjoy the NHL like never before. Betmgmgm.com for terms and conditions. 19 plus to wager, Ontario only.

Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1866-531. 2-6-00. To speak to an advisor, free of charge. BetMGEM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming, Ontario. Back to one-on-one with D.P. Sponsored by the Downtown Lincoln Foundation on 93-7 the ticket.

Welcome back. National Champion Ridge, Love it, in the building. Walk us through this thing so that you're going, you're preparing the weight loss in preparation for your next two weeks. Where are you weight-wise, where do you need to get to, and then what kind of training and schedule are you on? Yeah, we're training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. And it's been a lot of quite a bit alive the past couple weeks,

getting into that, you know, competition mindset, getting ready to go, longer goes, because freestyle is two, three, minute periods. So it's been all three minute goes, lots of situation. And it's a little different top and bottoms. We've been, you know, trying to get ribs, ribs hard. So you can't, can't go in there with soft ribs. Those dudes, you get squeezed on picked up. No good. Um, so lots, lots of live, lots of top bottom focus. Um, weight 70 kilos, which is 153 and a half. Right now I was, I was 64 after practice today. So we've got a little bit of weight to go, but that that'll fall right off. We're not really worried about the weight. Been eating right, living right. So it'll, we'll drop right

down. Yeah, I put the dessert away, bro. I know. It was the cookies. I was like, no, Rich. Yeah, my girlfriend was baking cookies last week. I was like, uh, I can have one. She's like, oh, I want you try this one? I'll have one. Took him home. Vincent Robinson was going ham on him. It was good. Who else was going? Who else was competing in this? Liam, Tronon will be at 57 kilos, which is 125 and some change. Then we'll have me at 70. We will have James Green at 74 kilos, which is right around 165. And I believe that'll be it for senior level.

Antrell was going to go, but they decided take the summer off. We're focusing folk style. Let's get back on top of the podium. Right. And that's kind of the same thing that I did, uh, years ago. It was like summertime came. I was like, you know what? No freestyle. I'm not going to go train a different style of wrestling. I'm just going to focus on what I'm doing. Got a couple spots we need to get better. So he's going that route. Then we'll have some of the young bucks

going. The U-20s. So I know that Nickade Zinking will be there. Hockaday will be there. I don't think Vandee's going. Well, U-23s will be later. So like the ones, soft, If you're a young sophomore, you can go U20. Most of the time you're U23s. That'll be at a later date in Geneva, Ohio, Spire Academy. A lot of fun going to that one. Oh my goodness. Getting there or staying there.

All of it. That one's a trip for sure. But yeah, we're going down to Vegas. A lot of us have wrestled at the tournament before. For me, it's been a couple years. But guys, I don't know if there's any other U20 guys going. I think Zayola will be wrestling as far as I know. I know Cam McDaniel will be U-23s and some of those other guys.

We have some of the dudes who are banged up. We also have the dudes wrestling for other countries. Like Omar Ayub is already on the world team for Puerto Rico. Caleb Smith's on the world team for Puerto Rico. LJ is on the team for Brazil. I think that's what we got for wrestling for other countries. And how's the health management? Because everybody is just coming off of getting better.

All the things that have to happen. Everybody's going through there. Brock Hardy, I don't know if he's 100% going live yet, but he's back on the mat. I know he's doing rehab before practice every day. L.J. is back resting live. His knees healed up nicely. He's feeling good, doing well.

Salas Alred in the room every day doing rehab. He's non-weight-bearing. Silas needs to listen to his doctor's a little bit better. But he's doing the right stuff. What do you mean? Silas R. Red isn't paying attention that Silas R. is a dog

just wants to work through run through the wall. Yeah, he came walking into the locker room yesterday. I was like, are you supposed to be? He was like, I have three plates and six screws. This thing's going nowhere. I was like, hey, you got it, bro. You got it, big duck. But he's been in there every day with Wita,

getting his ankle better, doing lots of rehab stuff, strengthening his calf, hamstring, just getting that. What are you thoughts on the pool work? Oh, I have some pool stories. I've always been okay in the pool. Yeah. But when I live with Mikey Labs,

I've never heard someone curse Wita out more than that. But he was, he was going to go back the next day and try to end weed his life. Like, please do not put me back in there to do this, the type of training. What do you do in the pool? What for wrestlers? What is it recovery?

Is it resistance? A little bit of both. Right? It's easy on the body, but you can still work pretty hard, get full range of motion, do that kind of stuff. Um,

I struggle when we have to do like little paddle boards. I sink like a rock. So it's like when I can't use my hands to stay up, it's like that back end starts going down. Oh, no, I need my arms, Rita. But lots, they've been in the pool quite a bit. Better for core work. Yeah. And just it's, it's easy on your body.

You can do a lot of work in there without putting a lot of like strain on your body. And then what do they do for the veterans, for the senior folks, when it comes to helping with meals and nutrition? What can they do legally? we will we have full access to ron if if we need ron and we need to ask him a question he is more than more than equipped to help us and then training table what do they say you can and can so we are affiliates of the university so like i have like a little card like a punch card so you can get a meal a day rather than i i can i think i can get all three but each one is seven dollars

like once it once it like works out it's like 160 for the card and you get 21 meals on it that's something we need to talk about. That may be a thing that that, that, to get folks to help sponsor, uh, that sort of work because there's greater good. I mean, when people talk about how to help wrestling programs, that's how they take care of the staff in the minimal ways. We're not talking about it. But if they knew the numbers, they would help. Yeah. They just don't know the number. Yeah, but I mean, shoot, even, even still $7 for training table, getting a meal for $7 is hard. And then when you eating at training table, like, oh, yeah, this. The $7 part out loud.

Like, that's a number. Like that, you've done well. 100%. As a matter of fact, Manning texted me last night. There's a big event Saturday night. Yeah. Talk to me about this banquet.

Yeah, team banquet. They're going to be giving some awards out. I was joking with them yesterday telling me who was winning. I was like, hey, tell me who's winning the awards so I can tell my Twitter burn. BetMGM is an official sports betting partner of the National Hockey League. and has everything for the action on the ice. Hockey fans in Canada can place live bets, create same game parlays,

take player props on their favorite skaters, and bet on the 26 Stanley Cup champion, including if that team will be from Canada or the USA. BetMGM also has original bets, which are hockey markets you can't find anywhere else. And it's not just about what you can do on game day. The BetMGM app has improved its lineup this season to include instant withdrawals,

data insights and a brand new rewards hub. Download the BetMGM app today and enjoy the NHL like never before. Betmgmgm.com for terms and conditions. 19 plus to wager, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1866-531-260. To speak to an advisor, free of charge.

MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Right. They can start posting this stuff. Right. But yeah, it'll be team MVP. They have like leadership awards, like heart character awards. And, you know, it's just a family's get to come in. We get to kind of chat amongst ourselves, get to hang out, meet people's families.

And it's, it's good. It's good for like team building. And it's just like, you know, good little send off. seniors get to give speeches so i'm excited excited for the speeches this year this year um this is where the transfer portal gets interesting right uh welcome and thanks uh it it's it's interesting space um who who would be if you went through the way classes for this event who would be the favorite in each of these weight classes in your mind, who are the people that, and they're streaming the whole thing.

The whole tournament will be on flow wrestling. Right. So you'll be able to do that. But if you said, okay, here's kind of the preemptive favorite at each of these weight classes. And I'm told by the folks in flow wrestling that you are on the list. Yeah, I'm up there. I'm happy to be on there. In my way, it'll be Caleb Henson, who I wrestled in the finals of the national tournament.

we're two and two, so I got to get this rubber match. Alec Pantelio, Michigan guy, he's been around for a while. He's tough. He had a good year. Yeah, good year. John Milner, App State guy. That's Caleb's boy. I was talking trash on the phone the other day.

He was on the phone with Caleb. He was, hey, like, is your boy Lamer going to the tournament? If so, you better watch out. I'm coming for him. I was like, you better watch out for me, buddy. Hey. I'm coming after him. Hey.

That's also a program that has some interesting. transfer portal situation. They, they, they can, they can build some dudes up. Yeah. Appreciate them. I see smooth. And they get pulled out of there like that. I feel bad for Amstate.

Yeah. It's, because they're developing, but then people want to get into the pool. Who else would be favorite? I mean, I would imagine that J.G. is, is, is, is, he's on the list. I don't think. So if the last, if last year at the world championships, the rep at your weight, won a medal, they automatically. sit out to the finals.

Okay. So the winner of that tournament, there is no secondary tournament, last chance. They, you wrestle off the guy from who meddled last year. Liam will have some dudes in his weight. I'm assuming Penn State Kid will be there. Luke Lilly Doll,

National champ this year. Maybe some of the other, I don't, I don't really know for the 25-pounders who's going to be there. Anthony Knox from Rutgers, he was an age-level world medalist, maybe a world champ, he'll be there. But shoot, I like Liam.

Liam's freaking tough. Listen, I'm not sure there's anybody that we've mentioned in this entire hour who loves it more than me. Yeah, he lives and breathes it. He loves this. Like, student of it, obsessive, almost stalker. And all in the best ways possible. 100%. To be able to go through this thing.

What is the difference in style? So with freestyle, takedowns or two, now folks style is three. but the biggest thing is exposures. So it's like all the rolling around and everything in folks style, that's all eliminated. If you break 90 degrees and your back like exposes to the mat, two points. Like every time.

Feet to back is four. Right. So then you get all the crazy throws and all that stuff. There's really no illegal slams. So you get some bombs in there. There's some violence. And then with top and bottom and folks style hold them down and try to put them on they're back and freestyle, you got about 15 seconds to try to turn them.

If there's no turn or if a turn is not imminent, they bring you back up to your feet. You start back on neutral. And you're allowed to lock your hands and freestyle. Which style is more fan friendly? See, that's hard. I would say folk style because that's what Americans are most like comfortable with. But there's a big gray area in in both styles with. In America, I would say probably freestyle is the most, like, fan engaging.

You get the big stuff and you can kind of figure it out. Folks style with mainly just the stall calls and like the reaction time on takedowns. It's hard to get because even like even the kids on the team were like, was that a takedown? I don't know. Like they said no, but like I think it probably should have been. Like you have that little gray area. But freestyle internationally, no idea. No idea what's going on.

Those refs just give points however they feel that day. But in that part of the, the real wildest, card to this thing as the officiate. In folk style, you have one ref. Sometimes they'll have an assistant, so there'll be two. And in freestyle, there's three every single time. They have an on-the-mat official, so he will award points, and then it goes to a judge who sits on one side of the mat.

And then he will award his points, whatever he thinks it is. And if they contradict each other, they have a third ref to decide that. If he disagrees with both of them, they will stop the match. The refs will conference award their points. And then you get a challenge break as well. Every single match, you get a challenge in freestyle. Now, how does that happen? I understand that Manning, Burrow, Green, et cetera, Terrell,

all make themselves available as much as they can. J.G. now is competitive. And so he has his preference of people who walk with him. But how does that handle? How will you determine or how did you determine who's going to sit with you and take you through this tournament? Oh, it doesn't really matter to me. I have full confidence in all my coaches.

whoever's in the corner with me, like, it doesn't really make a difference for me. Just like, I've kind of adapted. I've got all their voices in my head now. It's like when everything's going on to the tournament and when they're talking, I can pick out that voice. So any of them, anyone on our coaching staff, whether it's Kochish, Manning, Snyder, Greasy when he's available, Tervel, does really matter to me. Yeah, I would imagine and hearing the voices, right?

Sometimes there is like an energy factor because, like, Greasy and Trevelle, a lot more chill in the chair. They're like, hey, like, doing good. Maybe try this next time. What do you think? Doc and Manning, don't sit down. They don't sit down there. So it's like, if it's a match where I'm going out there and it's like I might be a little too amped up,

probably prefer Trevelle and Greasy and kind of like, hey, like, good. You're doing good, buddy. I just keep doing what you're doing. It's awesome. If I'm not quite there, man, give me Coach Mo. You get me fired up. I'm fascinated by it through all of it and then the recovery. How many matches in a day, ideally?

That one, this tournament will probably be four matches day one, one or two, day two. And then recovery. Get at it. Okay, sir. We will continue on the deep dive. We'll talk about this coaching staff because this is a group. And I think it's important to highlight and remember constantly put out how fantastic this coaching staff is. We'll do that.

Ridge love it. Bot, D.P. We'll be right back.