UNI heads to Grapple in the Garden

Independence and New York City don't share a lot of commonalities.

University of Northern Iowa heavyweight and former Mustangs prep Blaize Cabell will have the chance to compare wrestling in both places.

Cabell and his Panthers teammates will wrestle at one of the most hallowed venues of all of sports when they head to Madison Square Garden in New York City for the third annual Grapple in the Garden on Sunday.

UNI is scheduled to face Duke, Drexel and third-ranked Cornell University, beginning at 7 a.m. (Iowa time).

'It's a great place to compete,” Cabell said. 'I'm real excited to get out there.”

Cabell is familiar with MSG's spot in sports lore. He associates the arena with some boxing matches featuring legendary Muhammad Ali. More important than the past events, Cabell said he is focused on the future at MSG.

'The second thing that comes in is that NCAAs is going to be out there the next year,” said Cabell, referencing MSG as host of the 2016 NCAA Division I national tournament. 'It will be nice to get a little acclimated to that and it won't be our first time out there for next year.”

UNI will take a 2-1 overall dual record to the Grapple in the Garden, beating Indiana Tech and Iowa Central Community College, but had its 14-dual win streak snapped in a loss to Purdue.

The Panthers hosted the UNI Open Saturday. They had 15 medalists, including five finalists. Cabell sat out the home tournament, along with a handful of teammates, to rest up after a two-day grind at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He placed eighth.

'Vegas was a little rough on three or four of us, wrestling five to six matches with some top guys,” Cabell said. 'You get a few dings. It was nice to have that little week.

'It's a long wrestling season, so you don't get a lot of time to get a break or rest up. Anytime you can take an opportunity like that it is not a bad thing.”

The junior is 11-4 with four pins. He said he is continuing to improve in practice. Cabell is confident, heading into this weekend's duals.

'I feel good for myself and the team,” Cabell said. 'Obviously, there are a lot of things that I can work on. I need to get my offense going a little bit more.”

Action will conclude with co-main events featuring international wrestlers. The United States' Tervel Dlagnev, a former University of Nebraska-Kearney national champion, will take on Khadzhimurat Gatsalov in a freestyle match. Cornell's four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake will battle Arsen Julfayakyan in a Greco-Roman bout.

The event will include NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NJCAA, club, high school, middle school and elementary school competition.

The University of Iowa competed in the inaugural event at MSG in 2012.

FORMER WEST PREP AT OREGON STATE

Former Iowa City West state champion and four-time state medalist Jack Hathaway is competing for the Oregon State University and head coach Jim Zalesky.

Hathaway, who won the 2011 Class 3A 125 state title and finishing third or better each year for the Trojans, has posted a 10-5 record, including six pins, so far this season, starting at 133 pounds. He is 3-0 in dual competition, helping the 17th-ranked Beavers to a 3-0. He also earned a runner-up finish at the Mike Clock Open.

Hathaway, a red-shirt freshman, was 20-11 last year with a team-high 12 pins. He had 15 overall bonus point wins during his red-shirt season.

NORSE REBOUND

After a disappointing loss at Cornell a week earlier, 13th-ranked Luther defeated No. 6 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 22-14, last Wednesday in Decorah.

The Norse reeled off four straight wins to eclipse a 10-6 deficit about the midway point of the dual and build a 19-10 edge. Luther won six matches, sealed by former Cedar Rapids Jefferson prep Conner Herman's 3-1 overtime win at heavyweight.

Reed Van Rooy (157) won by major decision, 184-pounder Jayden DeVilbiss added a decision and Blake Letney upset No. 6 Tyler Schneider, 7-3, at 165 to lead the Norse, which improved to 2-1.

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