Dziewa's big move highlights strong Iowa performance

EVANSTON, Ill. – Josh Dziewa was forced to try something big.

And like most of what the University of Iowa wrestlers did last night, he did it with success.

Dziewa used a five-point throw for a 6-1 win over Franklin and Marshall's second-seeded Rick Durso in the quarterfinals of the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. He was one of 10 semifinalists with Hawkeye connections, as the Hawkeyes were first with 112 points, leading Illinois 57.

Dziewa (141) and Durso were tied when he created a buzz from the crowd with the impressive throw, dropping Durso on his back on the edge of the mat and remaining in control until time expired. He certainly wasn't celebrating.

“He was the one who made the move, going for the win,” Dziewa said. “I'm not happy with that. I caught him. He over-pursued and I had to I had to wing a big move or I was going down. That is not the way I want to win.”

Those big moves are something the Hawkeyes have seen in the practice room.

“That's Dziewa,” Iowa 133-pound senior Tony Ramos said. “I've seen him throw some wild stuff.”

Seventh-seeded Dziewa produced the only upset, on paper, as Hawkeyes went 10-1 in the quarterfinals. He showed some of the promise that accompanied his move into Iowa's starting lineup. Dziewa was effective, opening with two decisions, but expects a lot more of himself, especially in the upcoming rounds.

“I'm in the semifinals of the Midlands and I'm having the worst tournament of my life,” Dziewa said. “Hopefully, (Monday) I'm on my feet better and ready to rock.”

The win came on the heels of Ramos notching his second major decision of the tournament. Ramos advanced to the semifinals at 133, handling Cal Poly's Devon Lotito, breaking open a 5-1 match to start the third. He also had a technical fall, highlighting an increase in bonus points for Iowa.

“You want more than that,” Ramos said. “It is bonus, but I have to do, score and find more ways to pin guys.”

The Hawkeyes tallied 15 bonus-points wins in the first three rounds of the opening session, receiving two pins apiece from 133-pound red-shirt freshman Cory Clark and top-seeded Mike Evans at 174. It was a welcome sight to Iowa Coach Tom Brands as the Hawkeyes.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Brands said before the quarterfinal round. “We saw some good things. Now, we're in a position to put those good things in tougher matches. Let's keep it going.”

Five of the top-seven ranked wrestlers were in the 133-pound bracket. It is a good test for the second half of the season.

“It's exciting,” Ramos said. “It's a good primer of what I need to work on, where you're at and where you need to widen the gap. There are some leg-riders and some guys that are good on top, so I'm going to see where my skills are and see where I need to work on things.”

The Hawkeyes received a spark from Clark and Thomas Gilman, another red-freshman at 125 for Iowa. Gilman recorded a decision over UNI's Dylan Peters, joining Clark in the semifinals.

“I don't know if it's a matter of talent, but a lot of hard work,” Gilman said. “We've got two of the best guys in the country.”

Derek St. John (157), Nick Moore (165), Evans, Ethen Lofthouse (184) and top-seeded heavyweight Bobby Telford were perfect, assuring a top-six finish. Moore opened with two major decisions, scoring a whopping 27 points before his 7-4 quarterfinal win over Northwestern's Pierce Harger.

The Hawkeyes wrestled closer to their high standards.

“It's expected,” Dziewa said. “We expect for every single kid in the lineup to win every single time. It's absolutely possible.”

The team took the Penn State performance to heart. Many had to take a long look at themselves.

“We got back from break and some of the guys had to do some soul searching, figuring out where they want to be, if they want to win, dominate or if they' want to go out there and try to keep it close with the top guys,” Ramos said. “I think things are looking pretty good right now, but I think we could do more. All of us.”

UNI had two semifinalists, getting quarterfinal wins from Joe Colon (133) and 165-pounder Cooper Moore.

Colon faced Wisconsin's Tyler Graff, who placed third at the NCAA Championships last year, and beat him for the second time this season. He used two sets of nearfalls for five points in the third to notch a 6-3 win.

It was similar to his previous win over Graff, winning it on top.

“I stuck to where I was good at and maybe wore him out a little bit,” said Colon, noting Graff was confident after an escape gave him a 3-0 lead in the second. “When the referee called that stall call, he relaxed for a second; I pulled him right back and never relaxed I kept going forward.”

Colon will wrestle top-seeded and second-ranked A.J. Schopp of Edinboro.

“I have to go out tomorrow with a little more intensity,” Colon said. “I need to get after and get more leg attacks in there and be smarter on the edge of the mat.”

Cooper Moore defeated Illinois' fourth-seeded Jackson Morse, 5-2. He has North Dakota State's No. 1-seed Steven Monk, who has split with Moore this season.

The Panthers tied Wisconsin for sixth in the team standings with 39, five points back of fifth-place Michigan. UNI has four wrestlers alive in consolation matches, including heavyweight Blaize Cabell, Basil Minto at 197 and Levi Wolfensperger, who is also competing at 133. Cabell, a former Independence prep, went 3-1 the first day.

Grand View, the defending NAIA champion, started strong and had two alive in the consolation rounds, including heavyweight Eric Thompson, who lost a decision to third-seeded Adam Coon, of Michigan, in the quarterfinals. The Vikings were 21st with 14 points.

Cornell's Alex Coolidge won his opening bout, dropping a decision to Maryland's second-seeded finalist Christian Boley at 197. He rebounded, advancing through two rounds of consolation to remain in the hunter for a top-eight finish Monday.

Luther's Jayden DeVilbiss (184) earned two wins, including a fall, but all three Norse wrestlers were eliminated after the first day. Wartburg NCAA Division III champion Landon Williams posted a 1-2 record and was eliminated.