Iowa’s Alex Marinelli goes for 4th Big Ten wrestling title while keeping bigger goal in mind

The tinkering has been done and adjustments made.

The fluids are topped off, and at this point of the season, it is a matter of making sure everything is in peak working condition.

Alex Marinelli’s mind and body are revved up and raring to go for a weekend that he has thrived during the last three years.

“It’s kind of like how you fine-tune a car to go on a long trip,” Iowa’s 165-pounder said. “We’re going to battle, so we have to make sure every little thing is right so it’s running the most efficient way and taking care of business.”

Marinelli will attempt to win his fourth conference crown, while the second-ranked Hawkeyes vie for their third straight team title at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships this weekend at Nebraska’s Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. Competition begins Saturday at 10 a.m. with the finals set for Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Marinelli has won the 165-pound title the last three seasons. So, what kind of car does the physical Hawkeye with a powerful style that earned him “The Bull” nickname consider himself?

“I drive an EcoDiesel (engine),” Marinelli said. “I think that’s the way you could describe it.

“It’s not a Hemi. A Hemi is going to go right away. Boom. But, an Eco Diesel is slow and powerful. It’s got that torque, but it also has that horsepower. It’s a big truck, so it’s going to hit you hard. When it’s firing and running right, it’s hard to stop.”

The Hawkeyes have all 10 wrestlers seeded sixth or better and eight are in the top four of their respective weights. Marinelli is one of five Hawkeyes seeded second, joining Austin DeSanto (133), Jaydin Eierman (141), Kaleb Young at 157 and heavyweight Tony Cassioppi.

Mark Ironside is the last Iowa wrestler to win four titles, completing the feat in 1998. Before that, Jim Heffernan finished off his four championships in 1987. Joe Scarpello was the first to do it from 1947-50.

The national title that has eluded Marinelli remains the main goal, but he acknowledged how special it would be to win four in the country’s toughest wrestling conference.

“Knowing that the Big Ten is a stacked conference, it is a tough thing to do,” said Marinelli, a three-time All-American. “I’m not really downplaying that but also knowing that everyone remembers the national champ. Not a lot people can name every Big Ten champ there was if they don’t perform that well at nationals.

“You have to go out there and win the Big Tens but also end it the right way. Yeah, I want to be a four-time Big Ten champ but I haven’t gotten what I ultimately want, which is a national title.”

Marinelli is 18-1 this season with his only loss coming to Ohio State’s top-seeded sophomore Carson Kharchla, who scored a last-second takedown for a 3-2 decision. Otherwise, Marinelli has handled seven other conference foes and has seven total bonus-point victories this season.

“Just moving my hands and my feet,” Marinelli said about when he is most effective and efficient. “When I’m doing that, I’m dangerous. When I’m staying stagnant and maybe not attacking as much or not moving my hands and feet, that’s where these guys can slow me down. I’ve shown that in my wrestling.

“The match that I lost this year, it wasn’t me. That’s just not how I wrestle. If I’m moving my hands and feet and keeping it simple, right. (Associate head coach) Terry (Brands) is always telling me to keep it simple and go out there and do your job.”

This is the last go-around for a key part of the program from the first match he wrestled as a Hawkeye. He realizes this will be different but he’s treating it like any other event and focusing on the match immediately ahead of him.

“This is my last one, so it is a little different, but I’ve wrestled my whole life,” Marinelli said. “I have gone to a lot of big matches and big tournaments. I have a lot experience there, but also knowing it is my last time, it is a little more special, but not getting wrapped up in that.

“Just going out there and wrestling and taking care of business. It would be awesome to be a four-time Big Ten champ and then a national champ. That’ll be great.”

Iowa’s Michael Kemerer is the fourth seed at 174, but the defending 174-pound titlist. Max Murin (149) and 197-pounder Jacob Warner are also pre-seeded at No. 4 and Abe Assad is fifth at 184. Freshman Drake Ayala, who removed his redshirt to replace three-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee and missed time before returning for the regular-season finale at Nebraska, is seeded sixth. If all 10 Hawkeyes wrestle to their seeds it will result in 10 automatic berths to the NCAA Championships March 17-19 in Detroit.

“We’re excited and fired up and everything else that competitors feel and the emotions that run through their veins when you’re getting ready for the most important time of the year,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. “We’re there.”

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