Wrestling: ‘It’s zero hour’ as Iowa opens competition

Iowa again is the wrestling program everyone loves to hate, and nothing pleases the Hawkeyes more.

Fresh off its third straight Big Ten tournament title, Iowa on Thursday at 11 a.m. begins pursuit of its third straight NCAA championship and 23rd overall at sold-out Qwest Center Omaha.

Dual victories are nice. Conference titles are great. But in the Hawkeyes’ eyes, only national championships define them. And when you’ve won 22 of the past 35 NCAA crowns, clearly, you are performing your best when others are doubting themselves.

“It’s zero hour — it’s time to go,’’ Iowa coach Tom Brands said. “It’s the time of year where you want to be at your best. We’ve done what we set out to do at the beginning of this year, and we have to continue that.’’

Iowa has been the consensus No. 1 team from the outset of the season. At the Big Ten championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., on March 6-7, the Hawkeyes put together a string of 17 consecutive victories to start the tournament. Later, every time a Hawkeye lost, fans from the other 10 schools cheered.

After the meet, Iowa coaches and wrestlers said that if there’s that much desire to beat them, they’re doing their job.

A year ago in St. Louis, many of the Hawkeyes left with a hollow feeling even though they repeated as national champion. For just the second time in its 22 title runs, Iowa failed to crown an individual winner. Only one Hawkeye placed above his seeding.

This year, Iowa brings a veteran group to nationals. Seven of the 10 qualifiers are seniors: No. 2 seed Daniel Dennis (133 pounds), No. 2 Brent Metcalf (149), No. 7 Ryan Morningstar (165), No. 2 Jay Borschel (174), No. 9 Phillip Keddy (184), No. 9 Chad Beatty (197) and No. 5 Dan Erekson (285).

The others are No. 3 freshman Matt McDonough (125), No. 6 sophomore Montell Marion (141) and unrated junior Jake Kerr (157).

No Hawk enters with a No. 1 seed. That never changes the mentality.

“We want everybody to be at the top of the stand,’’ Brands said “That’s what we’re here for. This is what you are about. We’ve got to get 10 guys ready to go.’’

Two of Iowa’s intriguing story lines surround Metcalf and Morningstar.

In 2008, Metcalf won a national championship and was the Dan Hodge Trophy winner as the country’s top wrestler. He was also the Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year.

Last year, North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell ended Metcalf’s 69-match winning streak with an 11-6 decision in the finals. At this year’s Big Ten meet, Ohio State junior Lance Palmer overcame a 3-1 deficit after two periods to beat Metcalf 9-3.

Palmer is the No. 1 seed in this week’s tournament. Ohio State coach Tom Ryan, a former Hawkeye All-American himself, talked about last week’s win over Metcalf.

Palmer, he said, “had a great win last weekend against an incredible competitor, one of the great competitors we’ve seen in the sport in quite some time,’’ Ryan said. “He has tremendous respect for Brent Metcalf.’’

Brands was asked about Metcalf’s mind-set.

“There’s an urgency there,’’ he said. “The apple cart was upset. He’s about overcoming a lot. He’s overcome a lot more than a loss in a wrestling match, and he’s overcome big losses in wrestling matches before.’’

At 165, Morningstar will make his fourth appearance in the national meet. The Lisbon, Iowa, native, who was third at nationals last year, injured a knee at the Big Ten championships but has said he’ll be ready to compete.

Brands wasn’t about to deliver any additional information on the eve of the national meet.

“In my mind it’s a silly question. In everybody else’s mind, it’s a good question,’’ he said. “You demand a lot out of these guys, and guys demand a lot out of themselves. ... When you look at it from people who want to know the status, it’s a good question that probably isn’t going to be answered the way you want it to be answered.

“So we like where he’s at. The most important place — and I’ve said it over and over again — is his head. And that’s where we feel good about him.’’

Contact the writer:

444-1055, kevin.white@owh.com

« Sports - Main

Share