The Phenom: Mark Hall
Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images
Storied wrestler Mark Hall was set to begin the next phase of his career on Sunday at the inaugural Wrestling Underground event. Sadly, he was injured in training and was replaced by his teammate David McFadden, who defeated Tommy Gantt 8-4. WUG was the first pure wrestling event to take place inside a cage like MMA; for a full recap, check out The Fight Site’s post-fight show. This article was originally a preview of his bout, but I’ve reworked into something of a career overview.
The Phenom
Mark Hall has been one of the most scrutinized wrestlers in the United States from a very young age. His family made major life decisions to bolster his wrestling career, moving from Michigan to Kentucky and then Minnesota because they thought it would be best for his wrestling career; controversially, they had him repeat seventh grade so that he would be more physically and emotionally developed when he began college and international wrestling. He earned national-level accolades from the beginning of his high school career, and was one of the most coveted recruits in recent memory. After ultimately deciding to attend Penn State University, the wrestling world was full of speculation over whether he would redshirt his freshman season or compete immediately. Coach Cael Sanderson inserted him into the lineup for the first time on the biggest stage possible, in front of fanatical crowd of over 14,000 at Carver Hawkeye Arena for a dual meet against Iowa. Hall lost that match, but still put together a strong season and earned the #4 seed at the NCAA tournament in March. There, he won the 174 lb national title, but his wins over Zahid Valencia and Bo Jordan included some hotly-debated calls from the officials.
The reason for all the hype and the incessant coverage, of course, was that he’s an incredible wrestler. He won a cadet (U17) world championship and then two titles at the junior (U20) level, and qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials before graduating from high school. He was a national champion as a true freshman in college, then finished second the next two years behind longtime nemesis Zahid Valencia, and earned the top seed at the ill-fated 2020 NCAA championships. And he did things like this on the mat:
Hall’s game is one of the most varied that you’ll see in the United States. This can sometimes make him look formless, as though there’s no one thing that he’s working toward. It works, though, because he truly can do it all. As Mike Malinconico of Flowrestling pointed out, in his dominant four-match run to reach the 2018 NCAA final, he never hit the same technique twice. He can shoot and finish multiple attacks very well to both sides of the body. A prime example of this breadth of skill paying off came in his 2017 Big Ten final with Bo Jordan. Hall got in on a right-handed single, which Jordan countered by throwing the head to the outside and turning it into a left-handed high crotch position. Most right-handed wrestlers are lousy finishing head-outside on their weak side, but Hall easily converted the takedown.
In addition to his shots, he has a great duckunder and slide-by to counter pressure. He works very well from the front headlock and was deadly in college with the cement mixer; in freestyle, he can score big with a head pinch. Hall is also a good upper body wrestler, surprising opponents by taking them straight to their backs with the inside trip and double-overhook throws.
Even more impressive than his attacks are his defense and scrambling. His first line of defense is good, and he’s good at downblocking the initial shot and chasing down a go-behind or reattack for a quick takedown. When opponents do get to his legs, he’s good at keeping his hips free and continues to wrestle rather than holding on. He’s great at basically all the major positions and starting points of freestyle scrambling, including far ankle scrambles and both sides of the seatbelt-whizzer position. He combines technical knowledge, feel, and athleticism to do some of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen on a wrestling mat.
Setbacks
For all his greatness, Hall did not tear through college wrestling the way fans might have expected. He did not reach the top of the podium at NCAAs after his freshman year, and he was never a serious contender for the Hodge trophy (the award given to the top competitor in all of college wrestling). The biggest reason was rival Zahid Valencia of Arizona State, who beat him in the 2018 and 2019 national finals. Valencia is a great wrestler in his own right who will be a serious contender at 86 kg. Hall officially went 2-2 against the Sun Devil in college, but he also lost in a preseason exhibition match in 2017 and in freestyle in 2019.
Valencia’s length played a big role in those results, as he was able to attack without pressing in too hard and allowing Hall to create his own offense. His combination of size and speed also let him play his low-level shot and the snapdown off each other. He also showed Hall’s struggles with wrestling from behind; while he’s very good at everything, what makes Mark Hall elite is his scrambling and defense, not his attack rate and ability to get to the legs on demand.
Some of these problems hurt him against other college wrestlers, too. Opponents wrestled him very conservatively, more concerned with limiting the damage than actually beating him. For a wrestler whose hallmark is scrambling and counters, this made it hard to impress, even if he still won. A lot of his college opponents also seemed to outsize him considerably, and he struggled to work his way into close enough range to take them down. Hall’s superior skill was enough to win those bouts, but they weren’t always clean. The collegiate rules hurt him as well, prioritizing mat wrestling while not awarding any points for doing things like this:
Looking Ahead
Beyond this weekend, I’m really looking forward to Hall’s career. He has left State College for the Pennsylvania RTC in Philadelphia, a growing program that five-time world and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs will also join after 2021. For the Olympic year, with a reduced lineup of weight classes, he is stuck between 74 and 86 kg. To make a run at the Olympic team, he’ll probably have to take on some massive size mismatches up at 86. Beyond 2021, 79 kg could be wide open, depending on who moves up or down into the non-Olympic category. I suspect Zahid’s time there is done, and internationally the weight is primarily castoffs from 74. This could allow Hall to wrestle matches in closer and at a higher pace, where he shines. Depending on how he progresses on the senior level, he could very well end up being a world title contender.
On a technical level, Hall will need to find ways to get to his opponents’ legs more, and to wrestle more aggressively without opening up his legs. Against the highest level, he tends to score mainly from his opponents’ shots. Moreover, his best attack has been his duckunder, which requires an opponent pushing into him. As I discussed in my article on the James Green-Nick Marable matchup, the wrestler who is trailing often has fewer options and has to be dynamic and create scoring exchanges. The ability to come from behind is a crucial skill for capturing a world title; without it, a match that doesn’t go according to plan in the first four minutes or so becomes unwinnable. At the junior level, he innovated the far side dive single leg and it worked well for him. Against stingier senior opponents, though, it seems risky, especially since they’ll be doing more to scout Hall.
He also had a brutal top game at the junior level. He could score on very good competitors with both a gut wrench and a leg lace, and could score both as a transition directly from his takedowns and more methodically when they got set in par terre. At the senior level so far he hasn’t had that success, but physical maturity probably plays a role there. Reliable offense on top would go a long way toward increasing his scoring output and make up for a lower quantity of takedowns.
Penn RTC is very much a professional club focused on winning on the international level, rather than an appendage to a college program, and has a solid track record with wrestlers like Richard Perry, BJ Futrell, and Chase Pami. My impression has been that they have done more to sharpen their athletes’ existing skill sets than add new pieces, but maybe Hall can reach new heights without making wholesale changes.
There is a real chance that he’s a bit burned out from being a world class wrestler from such a young age and will retire early to focus on coaching. Chandler Rogers, another favorite of ours here at The Fight Site, recently admitted that he might be done wrestling. As long as Hall stays in the game, though, I’ll be excited to watch him compete.