Wrestling: Hawks thump Hoosiers

IOWA CITY - Wrestling is an individual sport, and a number of individual feats led to a dominant University of Iowa victory.

A warm welcome from the home fans and couple of wins over ranked opponents helped No. 2 Iowa thump Indiana, 35-6, in a Big Ten dual last night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in front of 7,067 fans.

The crowd had plenty to cheer about as the Hawkeyes (12-0-1, 5-0) won eight of 10 bouts. Matt McDonough and Tony Ramos ignited the faithful with falls at 125 and 133, but a bigger ovation came at the next weight.

The crowd roared when Montell Marion competed at 141 in his first home dual since being suspended in May. He was reinstated in January and returned to the lineup Sunday with a come-from-behind win over highly-rated Andrew Alton at Penn State.

“I wasn't able to hear the ovation, but I tell you what, I know there are a lot of fans in Iowa City for me,” Marion said. “I appreciate every single one of them. I love this city. I love this environment. I love the teammates and the firepower we've got.”

Marion scored a 13-5 major decision over Mitchell Richey, scoring three takedowns. Marion was in a 4-4 tie in the second period before closing the second with an escape and then tallying a 7-1 advantage in the third, adding a riding-time point. The win put Iowa up, 16-0.

Derek St. John did his best to provide more spark for the fans. St. John, ranked ninth at 157, faced his third top-10 foe in a week in Indiana's No. 5 Paul Young. St. John scored his second win over that stretch, pinning Young in 6 minutes, 20 seconds. St. John built a 5-0 lead, catching Young on his back, which sent the crowd into a frenzy.