Hawkeyes vie for third straight Midlands title

EVANSTON, Ill. - University of Iowa Coach Tom Brands described the Midlands Championships as a good barometer A chance to see how the wrestlers compare.

But, not only does that pertain to the competition within the Hawkeye wrestling room at a few weights, but most importantly how they prove themselves against the rest of the college field.

The top-ranked Hawkeyes will attempt to win their third straight Midlands team title today and Wednesday at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena.

“I think the biggest thing is it's a chance for guys to separate themselves from the rest of the nation as far as I look at it,” Brands said. “That will speak a lot individually at each weight class, but most importantly we're separating ourselves from the rest of the nation.”

Iowa has been out of competition since thumping Northern Iowa, 48-3, on Dec. 10. The top-level competition at the Midlands is a good wake-up call to get them right back into competition mode after training against one another for almost the last three weeks.

“They're coming back from a break so their sense of urgency is up and it's a situation where you have to be right back on your game,” Brands said, “because of the nature of the competition.”

The last two titles have come in different fashions. Last year, the Hawkeyes used a 7-2 final round and received some help to eclipse a deficit to edge Iowa State by three points. That followed one of the most dominating performances in the event as Iowa crowned four champions with five finalists and a whopping 185 points in 2007.

“We want to get back to where we were in 2007 where we set records,” said Iowa's Ryan Morningstar, the defending 165-pound Midlands champion. “That's kind of the emphasis right now.”

Morningstar and top-ranked Brent Metcalf at 149 will look to defend their titles, while 184-pounder Phil Keddy tries to improve on his runner-up finish from last year. Both of the previous two wins are indicative of the Hawkeyes ability to show dominance and to tough out a win. They prefer dominance.

“When it's time to get after it and it's on the line we get the job done,” Morningstar said. “We don't want to put ourselves in that position like we did last year, but when push comes to shove and we have our backs are against the wall we've always done a good job of fighting through it.”

The tournament should be a good gauge as to who takes control of a couple spots in the Hawkeye lineup, including 141 and 157.

With the expectant return of 2008 NCAA runner-up Joe Slaton, a logjam of talent exists at 141 with former national qualifier Dan LeClere and Montell Marion.

“It's another gauge of where everyone's at,” said Slaton, who has been ineligible and is wrestling unattached. “So, having a good performance that could help.”

Many eyes will be fixed on the results of the weight and of Slaton's finish, but he's not focused on that aspect. He's looking to reclaim a Midlands title. Slaton, who has experienced grade, legal and weight-cutting issues the last year and a half, won the 133-pound title two years ago.

“It's a prestigious tournament. There's a lot of tough competition,” Slaton said. “It means a lot when you win it and I'm ready to roll.”

Second-ranked Iowa State will battle the Hawkeyes. Top-ranked 197-Jake Varner will lead the way for the Cyclones. Varner, who won a Midlands crown in 2007, finished runner-up last year, dropping a decision to Dallas Herbst.

UNI and Luther are also expected to compete. Univer