Morningstar update

University of Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands fielded questions during a pre-tournament press conference of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Wednesday on the health of the Hawkeyes' 165-pound senior Ryan Morningstar, who suffered a knee injury during his third-place match at the Big Ten Conference tournament against Penn State's Dan Vallimont.

Brands asked about Morningstar's health and here is his response:

“That is a good question. In my mind it's a silly question, in everyone else's mind it is a good question because we demand a lot of these guys, these guys demand a lot out of themselves. It doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter when you look at it from that perspective. When you look at it from the people that want to know the status, then it's a good question that probably isn't going to be answered the way you want it to be answered here. We like where he is at in the most important place and I've said it over and over again, that's his head. That is where we feel good about him.”

He was then asked whether the Hawkeyes needed Morningstar to place to win a third straight title. Brands said:

“We want everyone to be at the top of the stand. That is what we're here for. I said it in my opening statement and everyone echoed basically the same sentiment. This it the one that you are about. We've got to get 10 guys ready to go, which is how many we have here. There are a lot of facts about our team; we don't have a number one seed. You can talk about a lot of facts. We're getting individuals ready to go and individuals are getting themselves ready to go.”

The Gazette's Marc Morehouse shared with Crossface Chronicles that sources close to the situation confirmed Morningstar suffered an MCL tear and other possible ligament damage. No official sources have confirmed the severity of the injury.