Improvement made, but more work remains for Iowa’s Clark

COLUMBUS, Ohio - University of Iowa's Cory Clark was in a better place than he was the last time he visited Ohio State.

He still isn't where he wants to be, but he has gotten closer.

'Improvements have been made, but there still is work to do,” Clark said. 'There's not a lot of time left in the year, but it's not a lot of work left to do.”

Clark claimed third place at 133 pounds in the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Sunday at St. John Arena. Clark returns to the NCAA Championships where he placed fifth at 125 last year.

'I feel like I have got what it takes to win a national title,” Clark said. 'Anything less than that I'm not satisfied with.”

He beat the Buckeyes' Johnny DiJulius twice during the tournament, including a 2-1 victory in the final round. DiJulius handed Clark his first loss of the season in January dual hosted by Ohio State. That loss started a rare stretch for Clark, who lost four in a stretch of seven matches.

Clark addressed his mental approach and how he worked into matches. He went 4-1 to finish third, two spots above his seed.

'It's more or less me going out there and doing what I can do, and really having faith and getting my head straight before the match,” Clark said. 'There were three or four matches in a row I was coming out real slow and working into the match.”

Iowa Coach Tom Brands remained confident in Clark.

'We have a competitor there,” Brands said. 'We like what we see in that wrestling room.”

Brands said that when the Hawkeyes are focused and dialed in for competition they are hard to beat.

'That is true for everybody, but that is especially true for Cory Clark,” Brands said. 'When there is a gleam and a glint in his eye and it's all on, then he's going to be at his best.”

The wins over DiJulius and a decisive consolation win over Illinois' Zane Richards, who split with Clark, showed the progress. Clark expects more in the coming weeks.

'I came here and wrestled hard,” Clark said. 'Nothing against him, but I expect to beat him. I expect to beat everybody. It feels good, but it's nothing for me to celebrate because the only thing you should be celebrating is a national title.”

KELLY, MOORE PLACE NINTH

Iowa seniors Mike Kelly and Nick Moore were not finished when they were officially eliminated from the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday.

The duo competed in a four-man bracket to determine ninth-place in their respective weights that were allocated eight automatic berths to the national tournament. The position impacts their chances for an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships March 18-21 in St. Louis, Mo.

Kelly defeated Penn State's Luke Frey, 7-3, to get ninth at 157. Moore used a rideout and takedown in the first overtime tiebreaker to beat Penn State's Garrett Hammond, 6-3, for ninth at 165.

Their wins did not count toward team points, because it was not part of the official tournament.

FOUR FOR STIEBER

Ohio State's Logan Stieber joined a select group of wrestlers from the country's toughest wrestling conference.

By claiming the 141-pound championship, Stieber became the 14th four-time Big Ten champion in conference history. He won his first two titles at 133 and the last two a weight bigger. He is the first to accomplish the feat since Penn State's David Taylor and Ed Ruth both did it last year.

He was able to cap it in front of his home crowd.

'I couldn't have written it any better with it being here at home,” Stieber said. 'It's been the best experience ever.”

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