Hawkeyes earn top spot in WIN rankings

After sweeping all 10 weights in the elite division of the Luther Open during its first competition of the 2013-14 college wrestling season, University of Iowa moved into the top spot of the WIN Tournament Power index, based on individual rankings, according to a news release Monday afternoon.

The Hawkeyes had nine ranked wrestlers, including top-ranked Tony Ramos at 133 and 157-pounder Derek St. John. Senior Ethen Lofthouse is ranked second at 184. Heavyweight Bobby Telford, who had five pins in Saturday's tournament, is third. Mike Evans is sixth at 174. Freshman Cory Clark (125) debuted in the rankings at seventh, matching Nick Moore's rankings at 165. Nathan Burak (197) is 10th and Mike Kelly, who won the 149-pound bracket at Luther is 16th.

Iowa State is 11th. Michael Moreno (165) and Kyven Gadson (197) lead the Cyclones, sitting in third of their respective weights. Boaz Beard is eighth at 184 for Iowa State.

UNI is 17th in the team listing. Ryan Loder is fourth at 184 and Joe Colon is eighth at 133. Joey Lazor is 10th at 141 and Bart Reiter is 20th at 149.

Here is a news release on the Luther Open from UI SID:

Telford leads Iowa sweep at Luther Open

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa wrestling team opened the 2013-14 season winning 12 individual titles Saturday at the Luther Open.

Iowa swept 10 weights in the Elite Division and added a pair of titles in the Freshmen Division.

Bobby Telford led the Hawkeyes with five falls, navigating the 285-pound bracket in a combined time of 7:32. It was Telford's first appearance since leaving last year's national tournament due to injury.

“I'm feeling good right now,” said Telford, “I always felt good with my training, so it was just great to get out there. There was never a concern, never a doubt. I'm feeling strong and now we just keep going.”

Iowa's 10 individual champions combined for 21 pins, and the entire Iowa lineup totaled 48 falls.

“I like that we won 10 weight classes and I like that we were wrestling guys in the finals,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “There are always things to work on. We need to get healthy and we need to eliminate some things, but we'll move forward and we'll continue to build. We have a lot of guys feeling good about today and that's a good thing.”

Returning All-Americans Tony Ramos, Derek St. John, Mike Evans and Ethen Lofthouse were among the tournament champions. Ramos scored three falls and a major decision en route to the 133-pound title, and Evans used three pins and two technical falls to win the 174-pound bracket.

St. John and Lofthouse both wrestled teammates in their respective finals. St. John won the 157-pound title with a 9-2 win over Brandon Sorensen, and Lofthouse defeated Sammy Brooks, 3-2, in the 184-pound finals.

Two other weight classes featured all-Iowa finals. Cory Clark defeated Thomas Gilman, 4-0, at 125, and Josh Dziewa blanked Topher Carton, 4-0, at 141. Clark and Gilman combined for five pins and one tech fall before meeting in the finals.

Other Hawkeye champions included Michael Kelly at 149, Walt Gillmor at 165, and Kris Klapprodt at 197.

The Hawkeyes swept the top four spots at 184. Lofthouse and Brooks placed 1-2, and Jeremy Fahler and Alex Meyer placed third and fourth, respectively.

Matt Gurule (125), Ethan Owens (141), Brody Grothus (149), Patrick Rhoads (157) and Tomas Lira (197) each won their respective consolation brackets to place third.

Phillip Laux and Broc Berge won titles in the Freshmen Division. Laux won the 125-pound bracket, and Berge won the 197-pound class.

The Hawkeyes return to the mat Friday, Nov. 22, at the Iowa City Duals. Iowa hosts Baker University, Cornell College and Iowa Central on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena beginning at 10 a.m. (CT).