Iowa shares conference crown

COLUMBUS, Ohio - the University of Iowa had its chances to wrap their fingers around the Big Ten team title.

The only thing is Ohio State was able to get its hands on the prize.

In Sunday's wild final session that had four lead changes, Iowa and Ohio State finished in a tie atop the team race, sharing co-champion honors in the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at St. John Arena. Both teams finished with 120 points, marking the first championship tie since 1932. It is Iowa's first Big Ten tournament title since 2010.

'I think it stings any time you share the hardware,” Brands said. 'We did enough to win a team championship and share it. We didn't do enough to grab it and run with it.

'You can look at it from their point of view as well (and) what they could have done in their mind.”

The two teams traded leads until Iowa's Sammy Brooks received a medical forfeit for third provided to bonus points and tied the score. Each team had its share of successes and failures to gain points. The key is for each wrestler to win his battle and then the team will win the war.

'Our individuals will take care of that,” Brands said. 'There is no other way around it in a sport like wrestling.”

Brands and Ohio State Coach Tom Ryan have won team titles together as teammates under former Iowa Coach Dan Gable.

'There is a lot of history there, being on the same team, same classmates,” Brands said. 'My brother (Iowa assistant Terry Brands) and him roomed together for three years.”

Telford took the mat with one final chance to capture sole possession of the team title for Iowa and his first conference crown. Things looked promising when Telford grabbed a 3-0 lead with a second-period escape and takedown against Northwestern's Mike McMullan.

McMullan answered with his own escape and takedown before that period ended and then used a third-period escape for a 4-3 win at heavyweight.

'He's a very accountable heavyweight,” Brands said of Telford. 'He's a very accountable athlete. He knows he can't change the way he wrestles.

'It happened and you don't want it to happen again.”

McMullan received a loud ovation from the home crowd, preserving the tie and a fifth lead change between the co-champions on the final day. Brands said his focus was on each match and wasn't aware of the team finish initially.

'There was a big cheer when we lost,” Brands said. 'I thought Ohio State won the team title. I guess they were cheering against our heavyweight.”

Northwestern and Ohio State joined together to cause Iowa to go 0-for-4 in the finals.

'I think where the points were left off the board was in the finals,” Brands said. 'Those are four-point matches.”

The Buckeyes' Nathan Tomasello and Logan Stieber posted two key wins that gave the Buckeyes a lead midway through the finals.

Tomasello impacted the team race when he knocked off Iowa's top-seeded Thomas Gilman.

Tomasello notched 3-2 victory, using a first-period takedown and effective defense for the 125-pound title. Gilman said the decisive takedown was a combination of a smart move by his foe and him being too aggressive.

'He snagged me on the edge in short time of the period,” Gilman said. 'I tried to snag his ankle and turn it into my offense. I got off-balance and he came up on top for the two.”

Gilman attacked the rest of the match, but Tomasello's defense prevented any serious threat for a score.

'I was pushing him away a little too much,” Gilman said. 'I needed to pull him in and shoot.”

It was a setback Gilman won't dwell on while preparing for nationals.

'I have to learn from it,” Gilman said. 'I have to watch the film, I have to talk about it and then I have to put it behind me.”

Stieber posted a second-period technical fall over Iowa's Josh Dziewa in the 141-pound final, giving the Buckeyes a 119-116 lead. He became Ohio State's first four-time conference champion. He knew the team could use extra points, but his top priority was coming out on top.

'I do a little bit,” Stieber said. 'One thing with our coaches, it's stressed both ways … at the end of the day winning is the most important.”

Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis joined his teammate in impacting the team race. He avenged a loss to Iowa freshman Brandon Sorensen, winning the 149-pound crown with a 2-1 victory with riding time.

'I'm disappointed, that's for sure,” Sorensen said. 'I have to look forward to nationals and I want to win that. It is the next big thing.”

The Hawkeyes took a 5 ½-point lead into the final matches, sweeping their consolation semifinal matches. Cory Clark (133), Mike Evans (174), Brooks and Nathan Burak at 197 opened the day with consecutive wins. Clark and Evans finished third, while Burak was fourth.

'We did some work on the backside,” Brands said. 'We won four straight matches (Sunday) morning to start. That put us in contention.”

Iowa has eight automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships March 18-21 in St. Louis, Mo. Mike Kelly (157) and Nick Moore (165) could receive at-large bids, so the sights quickly change to the season finale.

'This isn't the culminating event of the year,” Brands said. 'The culminating event of the year is in St. Louis, Missouri.

'We have a Big Ten championship as a team and that's where we're headed.”

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