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Iowa faces tough task at Big Ten Wrestling Championships | TheGazette
IOWA CITY — Most years the University of Iowa wrestling program has been on top of the Big Ten hill looking down at the competition. Not looking to climb past others just to attempt to knock the king off the mound, especially after winning three straight titles in Tom Brands’ first four years as head coach.
The Hawkeyes will have their work cut out for them to advance through a tough Big Ten Wrestling Championships field to dethrone top-ranked and defending champion Penn State this weekend at Purdue’s Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. The first round begins Saturday at 9 a.m.
Penn State and Minnesota enter with three No. 1 wrestlers in tournament pre-seeds, while two-time Big Ten and NCAA finalist and defending 125-pound conference champ Matt McDonough is the lone top pre-seed for the Hawkeyes, who own 34 Big Ten team titles.
“I don’t know if it feels like, to the fans, we’re underdogs,†Brands told media Wednesday at the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “It doesn’t matter. I know what they expect and I know what we expect.â€
Iowa, ranked third by InterMat, can expect a knockdown, drag-out fight throughout the two-day event. The Big Ten has eight teams ranked in the top-25 and more than 60 ranked wrestlers, vying for 74 berths to the NCAA Championships on Mar. 15-17 in St. Louis, Mo.
“We’ve been in some wars and we’ve come out on both ends of those wars. We’re going into another war,†Brands said. “It’s going to be up to individual performances to see where we fall.â€
Tony Ramos (133) and Mike Evans (165) are pre-seeded second, respectively. Montell Marion (141), a 2010 NCAA finalist, and 174-pounder Ethen Lofthouse are third. All-Americans Derek St. John (157) and Grant Gambrall, who is now at 184 after wrestling most of the year at 197, are in the top six, as is freshman heavyweight Bobby Telford.
The talent exists and Brands said they need to be competitors who expect to win championships, regardless of past results.
“We have guys that have positioned themselves pretty well,†said Brands, noting McDonough, Ramos, Marion, Lofthouse and Evans. “You also have some guys that people are maybe counting out. The thing about the program is, philosophically, you’re not counting yourself out and the program’s not counting you out.â€
St. John improving
The health of Derek St. John will influence much of the Hawkeyes’ postseason success.
The sophomore 157-pounder and returning All-American opened the season ranked second. He has dropped in the rankings and is sixth in the conference pre-seeds after a rough return from a knee ligament injury suffered Dec. 8. St. John, who jumped to an 11-0 start, has won his last two matches since a second return that followed a 1-2 stretch.
Physical problems have to be disregarded this time of year.
“There’s really no time for injuries,†Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. “We’re not talking about putting people in harm’s way where they might be crippled for life if they go.
“We’re talking about it is time that there are no more owies.â€
St. John missed a month of the season before wrestling one match, where he aggravated the injury. He was out of competition more than two more weeks. Brands has seen St. John improve and expects it to continue from midweek to Saturday and from then to the NCAAs.
“I can see St. John feeling more comfortable, because of things he has done (and) things that have come into place for him,†said Brands, noting the injury is not as bad as the broken foot suffered by 197-pounder Chad Beatty in 2010, causing him to wrestle with screws in his bone and default out of the conference tournament when he secured an NCAA berth. “Everyday he gets better.â€
Revenge for Ramos?
Tony Ramos has avenged one loss already this season, and he didn’t disguise the fact that he’d like to avenge his only other setback so far this season.
Ohio State freshman Logan Stieber handed Ramos his worst loss, blanking him 7-0 in January. Second-ranked Stieber is the top pre-seed at 133, while third-ranked Ramos is pre-seeded second, meaning a rematch could have the Big Ten title at stake.
“I’m aware of it,†Ramos said. “I’m working toward it and I’m ready for it.â€
Ramos (26-2) was dominated by Stieber, and he said he has to increase the pace of the match. He said neither is assured a spot in the finals, pointing out possible tough matches with Nebraska’s Ridge Kiley and B.J. Futrell of Illinois and Stieber loss to Minnesota’s Chris Dardanes. It still isn’t enough for him envisioning a shot of redemption.
“I don’t like losing,†said Ramos, who already reversed a loss to Virginia Tech’s Devin Carter. “If you can go back and get a second chance at it you’ve got to do it right. I just want to go out and make things right.â€
IOWA CITY — Most years the University of Iowa wrestling program has been on top of the Big Ten hill looking down at the competition. Not looking to climb past others just to attempt to knock the king off the mound, especially after winning three straight titles in Tom Brands’ first four years as head coach.
The Hawkeyes will have their work cut out for them to advance through a tough Big Ten Wrestling Championships field to dethrone top-ranked and defending champion Penn State this weekend at Purdue’s Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. The first round begins Saturday at 9 a.m.
Penn State and Minnesota enter with three No. 1 wrestlers in tournament pre-seeds, while two-time Big Ten and NCAA finalist and defending 125-pound conference champ Matt McDonough is the lone top pre-seed for the Hawkeyes, who own 34 Big Ten team titles.
“I don’t know if it feels like, to the fans, we’re underdogs,†Brands told media Wednesday at the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “It doesn’t matter. I know what they expect and I know what we expect.â€
Iowa, ranked third by InterMat, can expect a knockdown, drag-out fight throughout the two-day event. The Big Ten has eight teams ranked in the top-25 and more than 60 ranked wrestlers, vying for 74 berths to the NCAA Championships on Mar. 15-17 in St. Louis, Mo.
“We’ve been in some wars and we’ve come out on both ends of those wars. We’re going into another war,†Brands said. “It’s going to be up to individual performances to see where we fall.â€
Tony Ramos (133) and Mike Evans (165) are pre-seeded second, respectively. Montell Marion (141), a 2010 NCAA finalist, and 174-pounder Ethen Lofthouse are third. All-Americans Derek St. John (157) and Grant Gambrall, who is now at 184 after wrestling most of the year at 197, are in the top six, as is freshman heavyweight Bobby Telford.
The talent exists and Brands said they need to be competitors who expect to win championships, regardless of past results.
“We have guys that have positioned themselves pretty well,†said Brands, noting McDonough, Ramos, Marion, Lofthouse and Evans. “You also have some guys that people are maybe counting out. The thing about the program is, philosophically, you’re not counting yourself out and the program’s not counting you out.â€
St. John improving
The health of Derek St. John will influence much of the Hawkeyes’ postseason success.
The sophomore 157-pounder and returning All-American opened the season ranked second. He has dropped in the rankings and is sixth in the conference pre-seeds after a rough return from a knee ligament injury suffered Dec. 8. St. John, who jumped to an 11-0 start, has won his last two matches since a second return that followed a 1-2 stretch.
Physical problems have to be disregarded this time of year.
“There’s really no time for injuries,†Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. “We’re not talking about putting people in harm’s way where they might be crippled for life if they go.
“We’re talking about it is time that there are no more owies.â€
St. John missed a month of the season before wrestling one match, where he aggravated the injury. He was out of competition more than two more weeks. Brands has seen St. John improve and expects it to continue from midweek to Saturday and from then to the NCAAs.
“I can see St. John feeling more comfortable, because of things he has done (and) things that have come into place for him,†said Brands, noting the injury is not as bad as the broken foot suffered by 197-pounder Chad Beatty in 2010, causing him to wrestle with screws in his bone and default out of the conference tournament when he secured an NCAA berth. “Everyday he gets better.â€
Revenge for Ramos?
Tony Ramos has avenged one loss already this season, and he didn’t disguise the fact that he’d like to avenge his only other setback so far this season.
Ohio State freshman Logan Stieber handed Ramos his worst loss, blanking him 7-0 in January. Second-ranked Stieber is the top pre-seed at 133, while third-ranked Ramos is pre-seeded second, meaning a rematch could have the Big Ten title at stake.
“I’m aware of it,†Ramos said. “I’m working toward it and I’m ready for it.â€
Ramos (26-2) was dominated by Stieber, and he said he has to increase the pace of the match. He said neither is assured a spot in the finals, pointing out possible tough matches with Nebraska’s Ridge Kiley and B.J. Futrell of Illinois and Stieber loss to Minnesota’s Chris Dardanes. It still isn’t enough for him envisioning a shot of redemption.
“I don’t like losing,†said Ramos, who already reversed a loss to Virginia Tech’s Devin Carter. “If you can go back and get a second chance at it you’ve got to do it right. I just want to go out and make things right.â€