No. 2 Iowa trounces Indiana

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

A warm welcome from the home fans and couple of wins over ranked opponents marked a couple of those individual moments that helped No. 2 Iowa thump Indiana, 35-6, in a Big Ten dual Friday 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 Iowa faithful with consecutive falls at 125 and 133, but a bigger ovation came at the following 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 of Penn State. He was excited to be competing in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“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 that we've got.”

Iowa Coach Tom Brands said he wasn't sure if they were cheering for Montell or a promotion for free T-shirts. It was a deserved response for someone who has worked his way back into the lineup.

“I don't know what all the pageantry was going on,” Brands said. “If it's about Montell then it's a good tribute to him.”

Marion scored a 13-5 major decision over Mitchell Richey at 141, scoring three takedowns. Marion was in a 4-4 tie in the second before closing the second with an escape and then tallying a 7-1 advantage in the third, adding a riding-time point. It put Iowa up, 16-0.

Derek St. John did his best to provide a 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.

“St. John capitalized in some areas,” Brands said. “and put the guy away.”

St. John had scored a pair of takedowns and seem to control the match after the opening minutes.

“It's something that I have to do with everybody,” St. John said. “I feel like in the past I didn't do so much of it, so I'm trying to turn it around right now.”

Senior Luke Lofthouse showed some rare emotion after he notched an impressive 10-5 victory over fifth-ranked Matt Powless. Lofthouse pumped his arms, like an exaggerated shoulder press, than ran off the mat giving a yell and slapping a teammate's hand on the way in the tunnel. It was a key win this time of year as the conference and national tournaments approach.

“I think it's partially because you know you're wrestling well,” Lofthouse said. “It's energy. It's excitement from me, personally, because things are started to click for me.

“I'm starting to feel really well in my wrestling.”

Lofthouse said the high pace of the match favored him as it progressed. He scored four takedowns, finishing at will, including one as time expired distancing himself even after the win was in hand. Lofthouse has shown a strong attack, but finishing the move for a score has been troublesome at times.

“It's just repetition,” said Lofthouse, crediting the help of Iowa assistant Terry Brands. “In practice, getting there more and more and more. Drilling, just getting there and getting through it faster.”

it was another example of the Hawkeyes' domination of the Hoosiers (10-6, 0-5). Iowa held a 32-5 takedown advantage and outscored Indiana 92-39 in match points.

Aaron Janssen (165), Jake Kerr, who filled in at 174, and Grant Gambrall (184) added wins for the Hawkeyes, who face Purdue at Mishawaka, Ind., on Feb. 11.