Kevin Jackson: Pressure is to perform to potential, not just beat Iowa

IOWA CITY — Iowa State Coach Kevin Jackson knows the expectations that come along with the job.

He has been part of the Iowa State tradition as a competitor and as the head Cyclone, so he knows the stress involved.

Iowa State remains unranked, falling to third-ranked Iowa, 26-9, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday night. Iowa increased its lead to 63-16-2 in the Cy-Hawk Series and won its 13th straight against the Cyclones.

The Hawkeyes dominance extends well before Jackson took the reins in 2009. Over the last 40 years, legendary coach and former Iowa State two-time NCAA champion Dan Gable, Jimmy Zalesky and current coach Tom Brands own a 58-7-1 edge in the series. Those wins also came against former Iowa State coaches Cael Sanderson, Bobby Douglas, Jim Gibbons and even Dr. Harold Nichols.

'I don't feel the pressure having to beat Iowa,' Jackson said after Saturday's dual. 'If you look at the history, they have a lot more wins in this series than we do but I just feel the pressure from an athletic standpoint that I feel like the guys on our team can compete with these guys and they can beat them.

'Unfortunately, we lost some close matches (Saturday).'

The Cyclones fell to 1-4, suffering losses to South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Wyoming. The lone victory was a 19-16 win at Northern Colorado. They have been without their full lineup, including All-American Pat Downey, who is ranked ninth at 184 by trackwrestling.com.

'There's pressure all the time, but is it the kind of pressure that's going to keep me up at night or make me think that I've got to go into (Iowa State Athletic Director) Jamie's (Pollard) office tomorrow morning to discuss a 1-4 season at this point? It's not that kind of pressure,' Jackson said. 'It's the kind of athletic performance pressure that I put on myself and the expectation that I see the potential in these guys. I see that if they really put their hearts and souls into the match and go to war, they have a great chance to win.'

Jackson said Iowa State has talent coming through the program that could give the Cyclones the best chance to become a factor in the series and make it a 'legitimate rivalry' again. The task at hand is to tap the potential in the current team with Midlands Championships, big duals with Arizona State and Oklahoma State and the postseason in the future.

Jackson said he has to get the Cyclones to wrestle their best and that may come as the season progresses, but he wants to get there immediately.

'It's a process to get there, but I expect my seniors and juniors to be a little bit ahead of that,' Jackson said. 'That's why I was a little disappointed we didn't get off enough attacks.'

Stoll returning soon

Iowa Coach Tom Brands gave a projected return for heavyweight Sam Stoll. The redshirt sophomore has been recovering and rehabbing from knee surgery in March, repairing a ligament injury suffered toward the end of last season.

Stoll's status for the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30 is uncertain, but he is expected to return after the break.

'We don't know yet. If we do, it will be limited,' Brands said about Stoll competing at Midlands. 'I just don't know what we're going to do there, yet. We're going to have him for Michigan, for sure.'

The dual at Ann Arbor, Mich., is set for Jan. 6. The weekend includes a dual at Michigan State on Jan. 8. Stoll was an NCAA qualifier with a 22-6 mark as a freshman. He is ranked fifth, even though he has yet to wrestle a match this season.

'He's ready,' Brands said. 'He's chomping at the bit. He's ready but we have to do the right thing.'

Top-ranked duo

Two Iowa Conference wrestlers boast top rankings in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association NCAA Division III individual poll released this month.

Wartburg's Logan Thomsen, who previously wrestled for Union and Iowa, is No. 1 at 157. Luther's Justin Kreiter owns the top spot at 184 pounds.

Coe's Ryan Harrington is second at 165, while Cornell's Josh Martin is fourth at 141.

Wartburg is first in the team rankings with Central coming in 10th. Coe is ranked 13th and Cornell is 21st.

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