ISU's Sorenson dreams of gold at NCAAs

Andrew Sorenson's top-of-the-medal stand moment already resides in his mind's eye.

The Iowa State 165 pounder - and the Cyclones' best hope for individual gold Thursday-Saturday at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships in St. Louis - is a big believer in the power of visualization.

If you can see it, you can be it.

And Sorenson, a senior from Woden who missed the NCAAs last season because of a shoulder injury, has examined what it takes to win from every conceivable angle.

“I've been visualizing that blue mat and wrestling in that finals match,” said Sorenson, who stands 26-2 and earned the No. 3 seed at his weight. “Right now it's breaking down my visualization into matches; making sure I can visualize for seven minutes and stay focused throughout the entire match.”

The former Forest City standout enjoys some Cardinal and Gold company.

Other Cyclones seeking all-America status or better: Ryak Finch (125); Luke Goettl (141); Boaz Beard (184); and heavyweight Matt Gibson, who won a Big 12 title 11 days ago.

Gibson's long and lean for a heavyweight.

He's seeded 12th - and has been impressive since facing a make-or-break moment in late December at the Midlands Championships.

Gibson lost early and told ISU coach Kevin Jackson he wasn't sure he wanted to compete anymore.

A heart-to-heart talk ensued.

“He ended up going through the Midlands winning, I think, seven matches in the wrestlebacks, getting bonus points in five of them and finishing third,” Jackson said. “Finally we had our individual meetings when we got back from a road trip to Arizona and he said, ‘Coach, I made a mistake. I just was feeling this way,' and so on and so forth.

“So I said, ‘What changed Matt? What is the change so we can get some of these other guys to buy into it?' He said, ‘I just decided to go out there and wrestle as hard as I could and if the guy was better than me he was better than me.' I really think that was the key.”

Now Gibson (25-8) exudes confidence and enthusiasm.

“I've never felt this good before about a wrestling tournament, about my conditioning, about my skill level and my coaching staff,” Gibson said. “I have a lot of faith in them, too. I think all the chips are in the right place. All that's left for me is to compete.”

Same goes for Sorenson, who received a jolt at the Big 12s by falling 3-2 in the final to Missouri's Zach Toal.

Sorenson beat Toal by major decision in the regular season.

“It didn't really set in until there were about six seconds left in the match that I could actually get beat,” Sorenson said. “So it's better to happen there than at nationals.”

Sorenson's already been on that stage mentally, ascending the podium, grabbing the gold.

The mind's a powerful thing.

So are its dreams - first imagined, then achieved.

“Just make sure you've played through all the scenarios in your head - and every time the match is over, you're on top of the medal stand and you're happy,” Sorenson said. “You can feel it.”