The Next Step For Hawkeyes? Going For A Big Ten Title
It’s been a season-long pattern, but it’s worked.
Iowa’s wrestling team was never going to look ahead, because coach Tom Brands wouldn’t allow it.
There was a tunnel vision for Brands. A win in December, he knew, didn’t mean anything in January unless the Hawkeyes were better.
The Jan. 31 dual against Penn State, the team that had dominated Big Ten and national wrestling in recent seasons, was seemingly circled by everyone except Brands, until that week arrived.
Thirteen dual meets were 13 wins, but also 13 steps. The team title at the Midlands Championships in late December was nice, but another step.
Some steps were easier than others. Iowa had back-to-back 41-0 road wins over Indiana and Purdue, then came home and in a 13-day period defeated Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State, all teams that ended up in the top five of the final NWCA Division I coaches poll.
When the regular season was over, Iowa was undefeated and still No. 1 in the national rankings.
The Hawkeyes head to the Big Ten championships in Piscataway, N.J., this weekend, the last step before the NCAA championships.
They go there as favorites. All 10 wrestlers are top-3 seeds.
Brands didn’t want to hear it. It’s about staying on message.
“I don’t know,” he said, “how we compare to others.
“It is about being ready, staying ready, and (doing) what you have done all year, except now it is another level because it is the next event and we have gotten better since the last one.”
The national rankings say the Hawkeyes are good. Eight wrestlers in Iowa’s lineup are ranked in the top five nationally. Undefeated 125-pounder Spencer Lee and undefeated 174-pounder Michael Kemerer are ranked No. 1. Pat Lugo (149) and Alex Marinelli (165) are ranked No. 2.
It’s a stacked lineup.
“Each individual doing their job, that’s the key,” Lee said. “If I do my job, and the other nine guys do their job, we should win, right? Because everybody did their jobs.”
“This is the time of year you work for,” Marinelli said. “You have to get ready to perform. You know that’s what the competition is doing.”
Iowa was 108-22 in individual matches during dual meets this season. The Hawkeyes’ closest dual was the 19-17 win over No. 2 Penn State on a boisterous night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, when Iowa needed wins by 197-pounder Jacob Warner and 285-pounder Tony Cassioppi to rally for the victory.
Iowa went 9-0 in winning the Big Ten duals title. Seven of those duals were against teams in the national rankings.
That’s a lot of talent the Hawkeyes will see again.
“I’m sure a lot of them look forward to a second chance,” Kemerer said. “We look forward to another opportunity.”
Lee, a two-time NCAA national champion at 125 who has finished second and third in his first two Big Ten championships, outscored his opponents 183-13 in 15 matches this season while also preparing for April’s U.S. Olympic trials. Three of Lee’s wins were by fall, eight were by technical fall.
“It’s about scoring points,” Lee said. “Don’t stop, no matter what. Even if the other guy doesn’t want to score points, you keep scoring points.”
Iowa hasn’t won a Big Ten title since 2015. The Hawkeyes haven’t won an NCAA title since 2010.
Going for a conference crown is just another step.
“Our best wrestling is in front of us,” Brands said. “That’s always how you operate. There are a lot of reasons to perform now and you will see your opponents’ best foot forward, so to speak. I think our guys do a good job of putting importance on each event.
“It matters what’s next, what is in front of you, how you get ready, how you prepare and how you have prepared.”