Travis Wittlake and Trent Hidlay are facing off in a 170lb matchup at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic this Sunday. The two haven’t been in the same circle together since Fargo back in 2015, where Wittlake won by tech 11-0 in Greco and 7-3 in freestyle. 

However, before you start jumping to conclusions, you should know that most of the techniques that Wittlake used to score do not translate to a folkstyle setting (front headlock roll throughs and step-outs).

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Hidlay

#3 at 170lb | Team PA | NC State commit

Hidlay has a great righty underhook to a far leg attack. Everyone in the country knows it’s coming, but not many people can stop it. If you’re a "Hoagie" fan and you're rooting for him to run one of those patented far-knee taps down, I’ve got good news and bad news for you. 

The Good News 

Wittlake has a taller than average stance. If you’re looking to take a ride on the Hoagie train having a high stance is like buying a ticket. Julian Ramirez dragged Hidlay into overtime at the last Who’s #1 by staying on his left knee and keeping his right leg (the one that Hidlay would hit with the far-knee tap) back. It wasn’t until overtime that Ramirez became a little complacent, squared his feet up, and tried to hit a lat drop that allowed Hidlay to get a takedown. 

The Bad News

Wittlake is a natural left-foot lead. That does not bode well for Hidlay’s preferred attack. There is something that is very different about a guy who puts himself in a specific type of stance as a counter and a guy like Wittlake who spends most of his time wrestling out of that stance. Your instincts are far more honed from your natural stance. That said though, while Wittlake’s stance is naturally lefty, it’s not a very exaggerated staggered stance. In other words, if Hidlay’s goal is to hand fight enough to get Wittlake to square his feet up it shouldn’t be terribly hard (in theory). 

Wittlake

#1 at 170lb | Team USA (Broadbent, OR)| OK State commit

If Hidlay is the epitome of the “Do one technique 10,000 times” philosophy, Wittlake’s approach is much more diverse. The future Cowboy can score a number of different ways, attacking each hemisphere of the body in the process.

Jack Of All Trades 

Let's take a look at a common opponent, Julian Ramirez. Wittlake and Ramirez met in the quarterfinals of Akron, with Wittlake scoring a late takedown to break a 10-10 tie. Wittlake spent a good portion of the match stabbing at inside-reach low singles (scoring on the first one), then he hits a seemingly effortless go-behind (more on that later). After giving up a few four-pointers, Wittlake and Ramirez were knotted at 10 and Ramirez had a criteria advantage with less than 30 seconds left. With 22 seconds left, Wittlake rips off a beautiful super duck to take the lead. Now, was the super duck flawless? Yeah, pretty much, but that’s not the real reason that it worked. The reason that it worked was that Ramirez was leaning forward with both legs back, anticipating the inside reach singles that Wittlake had feinted at for the last 5:38 of the match. 

Lefties Are Weird

Have you ever wonder why lefties are so difficult to wrestle? One reason is that they see things from a slightly different angle and therefore react to them differently. Take, for example, the go-behind that Wittlake hit in Akron against Ramirez. Looks effortless, doesn’t it? So does that mean that Ramirez conceded the takedown? I don’t think so. 

Ramirez attacked Wittlake’s left leg…. Wittlake was “supposed” to circle right if he wanted to hit a go-behind. Instead, he circles left and by the time Ramirez realizes it’s too late. The rule of thumb is if someone shoots to your left leg, you circle right. If they shoot to your right leg, you circle left. Unless you’re a lefty, then you make up your own damn rules.