Iowa Hawkeyes begin tough stretch of wrestling duals

The new year ushers in the heart of the Iowa's dual season and tougher tests.

Any questions that remain will be answered in the upcoming competition against some of the top teams in the country.

The stretch begins Friday when third-ranked Iowa begins a northern swing with Friday's dual against No. 15 Michigan at Ann Arbor, Mich. The Hawkeyes will face Michigan State at East Lansing, Mich., on Sunday.

A road dual at top-ranked Oklahoma State and home contests with No. 2 Penn State and No. 3 Ohio State loom, but first things first, which is the Wolverines.

'We're going to know a lot more about this team after these next five events,' Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. 'The old saying that you just take care of what's in front of you still holds true, so that's what we have to do.'

The Hawkeyes are coming off their 26th Midlands championship, getting titles from top-ranked Thomas Gilman (125), Brandon Sorensen at 149 and 157-pounder Michael Kemerer. More importantly, four battled back from losses to contend for third place and seven won placing matches.

'I think there are a lot of things that you can look at about this team that are encouraging,' Brands said. 'From my point of view, we want to make sure that stays consistent. We want to give them the message that we have to keep getting better and keep doing the right thing.'

Kemerer won a thriller against Nebraska's highly-ranked Tyler Berger in the Midlands final, climbing to second in trackwrestling.com's national rankings. He will remain under fire, facing three top-nine foes including Michigan's No. 9 Brian Murphy.

'I'm in the practice room, focusing on getting better everyday and improving the things I need to improve,' said Kemerer, who could face Oklahoma State's No. 5 Joe Smith and Penn State's top-ranked Jason Nolf this month. 'When it's time to go out and compete just letting it go, relax and just wrestle hard. Ultimately, that's fun anyway.'

Kemerer's sights are fixed solely on Murphy and Michigan. He said the program does a good job of addressing the immediate challenge.

'Fans see it and there's a lot of attention drawn to the duals,' Kemerer said of the upcoming schedule. 'As a competitor, for me, it's just focusing on what's at hand, focusing on today's practice and focusing on the next competition. Keeping it simple.'

Iowa 141-pounder Topher Carton finished seventh at Midlands and has found himself in the national rankings. Carton is 13th and will have Michigan State's No. 16 Javier Gasca on Sunday. He doesn't put much stock in the new acknowledgement.

'It's always nice to have someone recognize your hard work, but every day the coaches in here and my teammates have my back,' Carton said. 'They know what I can do.'

Carton said Midlands was a good test and the success he did have could propel him into the next competitions. He said he received a confidence boost and he saw progress in his offense.

'It went positive,' Carton said. 'It didn't go the way we wanted, but it was a good stepping stone, especially with the stretch of dual meets coming up.'

Brands said top-ranked 133-pounder Cory Clark will make the Michigan trip, He is listed in the probable lineup with teammate Phil Laux.

l Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@thegazette.com