Gallick: ISU can win wrestling title without me

AMES – With him, Iowa State's shot at an NCAA wrestling title was as good as anybody's.

Without two-time All-American and top-ranked 141-pounder Nick Gallick, the Cyclones' odds of ending a 23-year championship drought are longer.

Gallick and his surgically-repaired hip will be matside this week cheering on teammates starting Thursday at the national tournament in Omaha, Neb.

“Me being gone could take a toll, but it hasn't so far,” Gallick said. “I think this is definitely a national championship team. This is the most mature and confident team we've had our whole career.”

More than anything, the senior wishes he could be out there helping ISU's cause.

Instead, he'll continue daily rehab sessions following January surgery to remove a bone spur from around his right hip. Tests, scans, X-rays – all brought Gallick and team trainers to the conclusion that surgery was the only option.

“They got in there and it was a lot worse than they thought,” Gallick said. “It was real bad.”

The pain started after last season and continued through the summer.

He wrestled five times this year, but could never shake the pain.

His final match was a gutty overtime victory over Iowa's Dan LeClere Dec. 6 at Hilton Coliseum, where by the end of it Gallick said he was at barely half-strength.

He finally is free from the crutches he spent weeks with. Next is several months' worth of rehabilitation with an eye towards a return to team for the 2010-11 season.

“I'm still down about it,” said Gallick, who took fifth and third, respectively, at the last two NCAA meets. “I felt like it was my year. Hopefully next year will be.”

ISU is petitioning the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility.

If it is denied, he'll look ahead to freestyle training for the Olympics and international competition.

“I think we have a shot just listening to our compliance people talk about it,” Gallick said. “I definitely want to come back, but it's not up to us. I wish it was. This really didn't end how I wanted it to.”

For the fourth-straight year the Cyclones qualified all 10 wrestlers for nationals.

Defending 197-pound champion Jake Varner and heavyweight David Zabriskie are No. 1 seeds at their weight class. ISU finished a close second to Oklahoma State at the Big 12 Tournament and was 13-2 overall in dual meets, losing only to two-time defending champion Iowa.

Gallick thinks his guys can unseat the Hawkeyes.

“I see big things out of them,” he said. “Hopefully you'll see me on the mat next year.”