Hawkeyes train tough through early duals

IOWA CITY - The University of Iowa is almost a month in from its first competition.

The Hawkeyes opened with the memorable Grapple on the Gridiron, beating then top-ranked Oklahoma State, 18-16, at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa's recent win was a 28-15 victory over South Dakota State. It is just one of three competitive dates during December, which includes Thursday's home dual against Rutgers and the Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30.

Competitions are sparse with finals next week followed by a holiday break. Training can be more intense and a grind through these two duals.

'It might be a little tougher, a little more intense, a little more conditioning, a little more strength (and) maybe longer practices,” Iowa's second-ranked 125-pounder Thomas Gilman said. 'It's no different. You have to come in ready to go every day, whether we have a competition every week or not.”

Iowa managed just nine takedowns in the win over the Jackrabbits. Only four Hawkeyes posted first-period takedowns and three bouts were scoreless after the first three minutes. Occasionally, raining phases can impact performance, slowing a wrestler down. Sammy Brooks wasn't buying it.

'That could be said or you could just say some guys didn't come out ready,” said Brooks, who scored a first-period pin at 184. 'You're never going to feel your greatest when you're going out there unless you're mentally feeling like that, so you have to get yourself up no matter what training you did this week.

'If you climbed a couple mountains and then swam in lava and then had to go out and wrestle, you'd have to get yourself mentally ready for that.”

As the season progresses, workouts might change. The emphasis may turn to more individualized work. Conditioning is always key, but that becomes less of a focus as wrestlers peak at the end of the season, building stamina over the course of the year. The grind is slightly less when the schedule is busier with duals.

'The more competitions we have in a week we're going to have less workouts that are drop-down, drag-out workouts where you're really feeling it for a couple days,” Brooks said. 'It changes to where they are more short and sweet, and you feel crisp and good later in the year, I think.”

The Hawkeyes still have Rutgers before a 19-day layoff until their next competition - the longest stretch of the season. The Scarlet Knights have six ranked wrestlers, including No. 3 Anthony Ashnault at 141 and sixth-ranked heavyweight Billy Smith.

'We're getting ready for a good team coming in here, and we aren't looking at anything other than that,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. 'There is a break coming up. These guys are all about the business, getting ready for another ranked team coming in that's a pretty good team.”

Burak back?

Iowa two-time All-American Nathan Burak did not wrestle last Friday against South Dakota State. The Hawkeyes forfeited the 197-pound weight to the Jackrabbits, despite Burak weighing in before the dual.

Iowa Coach Tom Brands would not elaborate on the reason, noting that he does everything right on and off the mat, leading to a reasonable assumption that Burak was injured.

'Burak will be in the lineup,” Brands said. 'We were careful with him last time. We didn't need him. He could have went, but he will definitely be in the lineup this week.”

The second-ranked Hawkeyes host No. 11 Rutgers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, beginning at 7 p.m. The dual time changed from its original start time.

RAMS TOP LUTHER

For the second straight year, Cornell has handed Luther an early-season loss when the Norse were ranked eighth in the nation by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. This time, 19th-ranked Cornell won six of 10 matches for a 23-19 win in Decorah.

The Rams bolted to a 13-0 lead after the first three matches, receiving a major decision from 125-pounder Scott Smith, a fall from No. 7 Phillip Opelt (133) and a decision from former Iowa City Regina prep Nathan Shank at 141.

'Our first three guys set the tone for the night,” Cornell Coach Mike Duroe said in an online post by Cornell Sports Information. 'We didn't finish some of the other matches and could have won a couple more. But this is a good victory for our team in building confidence. This is a good win for our program over a nationally-rated team.”

Aaron Engle (157) and 165-pounder Ben Hewson had consecutive wins to give the Rams the lead for good. Aburough Abegesah (197) added a decision at 197.

Luther was without top-ranked 141-pounder Drew Van Anrooy and Cornell's No. 4 Trevor Engle did not wrestle at 149.

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