Every Time Kyle Dake Has Wrestled Alex Dieringer
Every Time Kyle Dake Has Wrestled Alex Dieringer
Watch all four times that Kyle Dake and Alex Dieringer have wrestled each other on the senior level.
Kyle Dake and Alex Dieringer will wrestle for the 79kg world team spot on August 17, in Austin. But what have their previous matches looked like?
Watch Dake vs Dieringer Wrestle-Off Live On Flo
Saturday, August 17 | 1:00 PM Central
The four-time NCAA champ from Cornell is 4-0 in the series, but the three-time national titleist from Oklahoma State has made it closer and closer each time.
They have wrestled four times in total, starting overseas in January of 2017. Few months later they met in the the U.S. Open semifinals that April. Next up the World Team Trials in Lincoln, Nebraska that June.
So they met three times in 2017 at 74kg, before moving up to 79kg the next year. In the finals of the Open last April, they had a 5-5 criteria thriller in Las Vegas. That was the last time they faced off.
Since then, Dake went unscored upon at the world championships and Dieringer has teched and/or shutout just about every other major player at the weight. These guys have pretty clearly established themselves as gold medal threats, if not favorites, at the world championships in Kazakhstan this September.
Below are every one of their matches, in chronological order.
2017 Paris Grand Prix Finals
Dake completely dominated their finals match in Paris, teching Ringer 10-0. He scored shooting a single leg, defensively off a crotch lock, and hit a transition from a double into a lace. Essentially, Dake dominated in every position.
2017 U.S. Open Semis
Their second match was much closer. Three months after their initial bout, Dake once again pitched a shutout and did an excellent job keeping Ringer off his legs, but only won 3-0 on a couple stepouts and a shot clock.
2017 World Team Trials
Their next match was in June, the last time they would meet at 74kg, and probably the last if Dieringer goes up to 86kg for the Olympic year as expected. Dake scored off Ringer's shot in the first 30 seconds, but didn't score again the rest of the way. Also, after 15 minutes and 23 seconds of wrestling, the Cowboy finally picked up his first point against Dake with a shot clock point in the final minute.
2018 U.S. Open Finals
This was by far their best (and most controversial) match. Dake wound up winning 5-5, but there is an argument that the exchange in the final 30 seconds could have just gone Dieringer's way. It gave Dake the bye into Final X, and Zahid beat Ringer at WTT so they never got a chance to run it back. Until this year.