Hawkeyes try for fourth straight NCAA title

PHILADELPHIA - University of Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands comments were short and sweet.

It could be he didn't have much to say or it could just be that time for talking is over and its the time to start doing is here. If Brands is fielding questions from the dais Saturday then that would be a good thing.

“The idea is to be in this position at the end of the tournament where you're answering questions that are fun to answer,” Brands said. “I'll leave it at that. We have work to do. Zero hour is upon us.”

The time has come for the second-ranked Hawkeyes to try and win its fourth straight national title at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center. Competition begins Thursday at 10 a.m. with pigtail and first-round matches.

The Hawkeyes enter the final tournament with nine qualifiers and a contender for another crown. They've already proved naysayers, who thought this was going to be a rebuilding year and had them ranked as low as 11th in the preseason polls, wrong, however, only two have NCAA tournament experience and just two are seniors.

Defending 125-pound NCAA champion Matt McDonough and Montell Marion, a national finalist at 141 last year, are the only ones who have performed on this stage, but Brands made no mistake that isn't an issue with this team.

“The generic answer says they are ready because they've been getting ready for big competition,” said Brands, noting they have wrestled in big events like state and national high school tournaments. “What do I expect? The same ferocious competitor, tough in mind and body and spirit. Battle. Does that guarantee automatic results in our favor? No, but it ups our chances.”

Six of the Hawkeyes are projected to be All-Americans, according to seeds. McDonough (23-1) is the second seed at 125 pounds and the highest-seeded Hawkeye. Marion (9-3) and senior 197-pounder Luke Lofthouse are seeded fifth. red-shirt freshmen Tony Ramos (21-4) at 133 and 157-pounder Derek St. John (19-4) are sixth. Big Ten champion heavyweight Blake Rasing (17-5) is seeded seventh and opens with Iowa State's Kyle Simonson. Senior Aaron Janssen (11th at 165), Ethen Lofthouse (ninth at 174) and Grant Gambrall (12th at 184) are also in the field for Iowa. 

Brands said the wrestlers train to battle every time on the mat in any competition. The national is no different. The Hawkeyes want to win every weight class. He also pointed out that he wrestled for former Hawkeye coaching legend Dan Gable, who always had lofty goals, so the same goes for his Iowa squad. 

“Our expectations are high,” Brands said. “We expect a lot. Our guys live the way they live to get the results they want. Now is the time to see it all shake out.”

The way things might shake out is a mystery to many. A clear favorite hasn't surfaced in the team race. Boise State, coached by former Hawkeye All-American and four-time Mount Vernon state champion Randall, and Oklahoma State each qualified all 10 wrestlers. Penn State, ranked fourth, is fresh off a one-point win over Iowa in the Big Ten championship and looking to add a national championship trophy to its haul.

“You don't know what's going to happen ever. You could have a high-powered team and you don't know what's going to happen,” Brands said. “It comes down to being ready to go. … Battle, be ready, do what you do best, those types of things and routine.

“We feel good if our guys do what I just described.”

Cornell enters as the top-ranked team. The Big Red are looking to become the first Ivy League school to capture an NCAA championship. Koll said his team enters No. 1 and would like to exit the same, but somewhat echoed Brands' comment about the unpredictably of the meet.

“I talked to our kids earlier. I said the only thing you can count is you don't know what to count on,” Koll said. “That's pretty much the forgone conclusion.”

Randall joked it would be nice to know what was going to happen and you could be national champions every year. he stressed the importance of competing at the top of your ability and sticking with the things that got you here.

“That's about the only thing you can do,” Randall said. “That's about the only thing you can count on is having your wrestlers compete at the highest level and wrestle to win.”

Boise State is led by four seeded wrestlers, including top-seeded 157-pounder Adam Hall and No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser at 133. Jason Chamberlain is sixth at 149 and Kirk Smith is 11th at 184.

Randall has built a solid top-10 program in Idaho. He credited the recruiting of top athletes in nearby states that don't have Division I wrestling and keeping in-state recruits home. The Broncos, ranked sixth by InterMat and tied for ninth by the national Wrestling Coaches Association, have become the top team in the West.

"That's a good place to start, but now we're here at the national tournament and hopefully we can prove that we're here and here to stay," Randall said. "I'm looking to this weekend and bringing the best team out West out East."

Iowa State has five NCAA qualifiers led by top-seeded Jon Reader (34-0) at 174. Jerome Ward is seeded 11th at 197. Chris Drouin (141) and Cole Shafer (184) reached the tournament.

The University of Northern Iowa advanced three to the national tournament in the first year for head coach Doug Schwab. Ryan Loder (27-9) is the highest-seeded Panther with a sixth seed at 184. Heavyweight Christian Brantley is making his third NCAA tournament appearance and David Bonin qualified at 157.

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