Iowa boys’ state wrestling notes: Xavier’s Jean Ngoma makes big gains, Doug Schwab is a wise wrestling dad

DES MOINES — On paper, Cedar Rapids Xavier’s Jean Ngoma has added roughly 35 pounds to his body.

In practice, the junior 215-pounder’s 12-month transformation is far more remarkable.

“I grew a lot mentally and physically,” said Ngoma, who wrestled junior varsity at 170 pounds last season, but is now a state quarterfinalist. “I thought if I couldn’t be on varsity, somebody else would do it, so I thought it was just — anything’s possible, you know?”

Ngoma, the No. 9 seed in the Class 3A boys’ state wrestling tournament, pinned his first-round foe Wednesday and scored a takedown in sudden victory to win his second-round bout, 3-1.

And no matter how the rest of the state meet turns out for Ngoma, he’s set himself up for even bigger gains heading into next season.

“His transformation is second to none,” Xavier head coach Ryan Chambers said. “He’s not probably close to 7 percent body fat and does more pulls than anybody in the room, so it’s really good weight he put on. So his transformation is great.

“He became a student of the sport in the offseason. He put a lot of time in the weight room, obviously, and just did a really good job. He did it the right way.”

Ngoma, Chambers added, is only wrestling at about 205, so there’s plenty of room for greater growth.

“I tell him (jokingly) every day to go catch rabbits and squirrels on the way to school and eat ‘em raw,” Chambers said. “So, it’s all having fun.”

Ngoma chuckles at his coach’s protein-based exhortations, but takes the sentiment behind them seriously.

“He just wants me to be the craziest guy,” said Ngoma, who beat two higher-ranked wrestlers in districts to advance to his first state meet. “Because he thinks I’m pretty crazy (and) I could beat anybody if I (try). I’ve just got to do it and make it happen, you know?”

Ngoma did just that on Wednesday — and is now one win away from becoming a first-time state medalist.

“It feels good,” he said after sweeping the first two state tournament matches of his life. “Just gotta move on and get better.”

Doug Schwab: Wise wrestling dad

“You have to let them struggle.”

That, in a nutshell, defines Northern Iowa head wrestling coach Doug Schwab’s approach to guiding his young sons through the inevitable ups and downs on the mat.

“I think about it like a boat,” Schwab said during his weekly news conference in Cedar Falls. “If they start drowning, OK, we’ll pull them in. (If) they flail around a little bit, that’s really important. I think they need that.”

Schwab’s oldest son, Hayden, hasn’t struggled much — if at all — as a first-year high school wrestler. The freshman 106-pounder for Don Bosco is the top seed at his weight in the Class 1A state wrestling tournament and entered Wednesday with a sterling 34-0 mark.

“I can tell you what we’ve graded our sons on from when they started wrestling,” said Schwab, a three-time All-American at Iowa and 1999 NCAA champion at 141 pounds. “It’s never been about wins and losses. And it really started in our basement, and it was about effort, emotional control, being able to get your focus back, how they respond to their coaches, being coachable, (and) what kind of teammate they are.

“That’s what we’ve graded our sons on from the start.”

State wrestling 4-timer watch

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Carter Freeman of Waukee Northwest and Maximus Magayna of Waterloo East remain on track to become the state’s 33rd and 34th four-time champions after Wednesday’s Class 3A action.

Freeman, the top seed at 138, pinned his first foe at state. Magayna, the top seed at 175, did the same in his opening match.

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