Iowa pushes five into national quarterfinals

NEW YORK — Iowa Coach Tom Brands said a long road remains.

With two days of competition left ahead of them, the Hawkeyes aren't focused on some of the bumps they hit at the start.

Iowa advanced five to the quarterfinals, but sits in three-way tie for fifth after the first day of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

'There was some good,' Brands said. 'There was some bad. We're focusing on the good because the good is what is going to keep us in the ream race. It's going to keep us in the personal accolades race.'

The second round opened well with fourth-seeded Thomas Gilman (125), second-seeded 133-pounder Cory Clark and Brandon Sorensen at 149 tallying victories.

Gilman continued his impressive start with a 12-4 major decision over Nebraska's Tim Lambert. Gilman returned to the national quarterfinals with the victory, posting a 24-8 technical fall in his opening match.

He has maintained his aggressive style that has been evident in every match that has produced a 26-1 record.

'I keep my pace high,' Gilman said. 'I'm a dog fighter. I keep it a dogfight out there. When it's a dogfight, it's hard to strategize. When it's blow to blow, it's hard to strategize.'

Gilman recorded his fourth career win over Lambert, including two straight majors. He wasn't fazed by having to beat him three times this season.

'It's easy when you just go out there and just fight and let things fly,' Gilman said. 'There wasn't a lot of strategy in my match. My strategy is to score a lot of points.'

Gilman faces Oklahoma's Ryan Millhof in the quarterfinals, looking to get back to the semifinals and a possible matchup with top-seeded and defending NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello. He said he will have to be even tougher going forward.

'I have two different styles of wrestling in front of me,' Gilman said. 'I've got the real savvy guy from Oklahoma. Not that Tomasello isn't savvy, just that he's savvy in a different way. He's more like me. We're fires. We go out there and bang heads, so got to be ready to bang heads and it will be a show.'

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Clark used takedowns in the first and third for a 6-2 victory over Northern Iowa's Josh Alber. Sorensen scored the match's only takedown, beating Bucknell's Victor Lopez, 3-1.

Sammy Brooks and Nathan Burak followed the lighter trio into the quarterfinals. Brooks' 10-8 second-round win against Central Michigan's Jordan Ellingwood was indicative of the Hawkeyes' entire day.

He was down but not out, battling back after surrendering the first two takedowns. He regrouped, which the Hawkeyes will try to do in the upcoming rounds, and went to his strengths, controlling the last half of the bout.

'The thing about him is he does so many things well,' Brands said. 'He's got a lot of weapons he can score with and he showed that a little bit, but really with his scoring ability it's a matter of bailing yourself out.'

Burak overcame a slow start for an 8-2 victory over Jacob Smith of West Virginia. Burak survived his opener, scoring a takedown in the second sudden victory period to drop Northern Colorado's unseeded Trent Noon, 4-2.

'I got to the legs a little more,' Burak said. 'My finishes were more solid.'

Iowa finished the opening day with 17 1/2 points and seven wrestlers remaining. Penn State took control after day one with 27 1/2 points. Ohio State and Oklahoma State were tied for second with 24.

Part of Iowa's bad came at heavyweight when freshman Sam Stoll injury defaulted in his first match to Gardner-Webb's Boyce Cornwell. He medical forfeited his consolation match and is done. Stoll was leading the first-round bout, but his knee buckled, causing him to crumble and give up a takedown. He attempted to continue but coaches stepped in and the match was stopped. Stoll has been wrestling with an injured knee covered with a brace since a National Wrestling Coaches Association Dual Series loss to North Carolina State in February.

'Yeah, he's not ever going to make the call,' Brands said. 'He'll go until he doesn't have any legs.

'It's the smart thing to do right now.'

Iowa State was riding the high of an emotional roller coaster after the first day. The Cyclones had four of their six qualifiers reach the quarterfinals.

Iowa State's Pat Downey helped lead the way with two overtime wins over seeded foes. Downey stuck Virginia Tech's No. 6 Jared Haught in 8:45. He tried to create a scramble from underneath, during the last 30-second period of the first tiebreaker.

'I'm really not trying to go another overtime there,' Downey said. 'I went for it.'

After a move from 184 to 197 for the conference meet, Downey has found success at the higher weight. He improved to 8-2, which included a 3-1 sudden-victory win over Ohio's No. 11 Phil Wellington.

Downey, a senior transfer who has wrestled for Nebraska and Iowa Central, is making the most of his last chance with the Cyclones.

'I love it,' Downey said. 'I'm having so much fun. I'm living the dream.'

Two-time Big 12 champion Lelund Weatherspoon forced his way to the quarterfinals. After knocking off Cornell's second-seeded Brain Realbuto, he downed Army's Brian Harvey, 3-2.

Iowa State Coach Kevin Jackson said Weatherspoon didn't blink at the tough draw.

'He's really confident right now,' Jackson said. 'I think he's really beaten some high-ranked guys over the last month.'

Earl Hall (133) and 165-pounder Tanner Weatherman advanced to the quarterfinals. Hall is trying to become an All-American, placing in 2014 but failing to reach the podium last year.

Iowa State will attempt to keep momentum on their side.

'Our guys are wrestling pretty good, wrestling to their potential,' Jackson said. 'They are winning some close matches, riding hard and doing some things that you have to do to stay on the championship side.'

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UNI's Dylan Peters was also an All-American in 2014 who didn't place a year ago. He moved a win from a top-six finish with an overtime win over Missouri's Barlow McGhee. Peters won 3-1 in sudden victory.

McGhee won their bout in the MAC Championship.

'I thought Peters did a great job of turning a match around,' UNI Coach Doug Schwab said. 'He got picked apart pretty good in the finals of the MAC and sometimes you have to win a strategic match. He kept circling left and circling left to not be in front of the guy where he could blast him. He told me after the MAC tournament that the next time he faced him he was going to wrestle a match like that (strategic).'

UNI reviewed a call and it revealed McGhee had grabbed the brace on Peters' injured knee and the violation helped secure the win.

'That is the only time we were happy to see he had that brace on his knee,' Schwab said. 'He clearly grabbed it and you could see it pull away. The second referee saw it right away.'

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