Wrestlers prep for IIAC Championships

Cornell head coach Mike Duroe expects the competition to be fierce when matches get underway Friday morning for the 60th running of the Iowa Conference Wrestling Championships held at Coe College in Cedar Rapids.

Wrestlers from nine schools will battle it out for 35 individual berths to the NCAA Division III Championships March 9-10 at UW-La Crosse. The top three placewinners in each weight class, in addition to two at-large selections voted by the IIAC coaches will be awarded spots in the national tournament.

A full day of wrestling starts with the IIAC JV Championships at 9 a.m. The varsity tournament begins with preliminary matches at 10:30 a.m. The championship finals start at 7 p.m. and will be carried live state-wide by Iowa Public Television (IPTV).

This year's tournament field features five teams and 28 individuals ranked in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Poll released Feb. 7.

Duroe's sixth-ranked Rams have five rated individuals and are coming off a strong 11-4 dual campaign in which they placed third in the IIAC with a 6-2 mark.

"Now we have to be that much better at the IIAC Championships," said Duroe, who has landed 24 national qualifiers in his first six seasons on the Hilltop. "This year's conference tournament is probably tougher than any I've been a part of here. We're going to be in a hostile environment. It's going to be a definite advantage for Coe."

The toughness of the tournament can be summed up by senior Timothy Hood's fifth-place IIAC finish a year ago. He qualified for nationals as an at-large entrant and wound up an All-American by taking eighth at the 2011 NCAA Championships.

The third-ranked Hood (22-6) is among four 125-pounders rated in the top six in his weight class. The Rams have four other rated individuals in No. 9 Tigue Snider (24-10) at 133, No. 9 Nicholas Loughlin (25-7) at 157, No. 5 Joe Hambleton (30-5) at 165 and No. 8 Alex Coolidge (21-8) at 197.

Cornell's lineup includes Michael Buhr (16-10) at 141, Jacob Schwebke (19-16) at 149, Brent Hamm (13-19)/Patrick Loughlin (4-16) at 174, Andrew Roberts (17-17) at 184 and Carl Gaul (23-21)/Wyatt Bauman (17-14) at heavyweight.

Loughlin is a two-time national qualifier and 2010 IIAC champion. He placed second at last year's IIAC Championships. Snider was IIAC runner-up in 2011.

The Rams had seven national qualifiers last year, the most since joining the IIAC in 1997-98. Six of the team's 2011 national qualifiers will get another chance Friday in seniors Hood, Snider, Schwebke, Loughlin, Hambleton and Roberts.

Cornell finished fourth in the 2011 IIAC team standings with 114.5 points, one point behind third-place Dubuque. The Rams earned a school-best third-place showing in 2010, and scored a program-best 123 points in 2009.

Top-ranked Wartburg is the defending IIAC and NCAA team champion. Coe is ranked third, Luther 10th and Dubuque 21st.