Iowa and Iowa State experience mix of drama and domination as NCAA wrestling roller coaster begins

TULSA, Okla. — Iowa coach Tom Brands emphasized the need for consistency as the tournament progresses.

Iowa State Coach Kevin Dresser noted the importance for a steady climb through each round.

Both have immeasurable experience as wrestlers and coaches at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and the emotional and intense roller coaster that runs during the three-day, six-session grind of an event.

The second-ranked Hawkeyes enjoyed more ups than downs during the first session of the national tournament Thursday at the BOK Center. Iowa won eight of 10 bouts and was in third place entering the second session Thursday night.

“You’re steady because it’s a long process,” Brands said. “We have half a day and we have 2 1/2 days to go out of three.

“We have a lot of wrestling left. (Be) steady. You’ve got to right the wrongs, too. Keep getting better as the tournament gets deeper.”

Spencer Lee ignited the Hawkeyes in a blink-of-an-eye bout that many wrestling fans have come to expect. Top-seeded Lee (18-0) took down Air Force’s Tucker Owens and tilted him for nearfall. Lee turned him again for a pin. All in 36 seconds of the 125-pound bout.

The three-time NCAA champion and two-time Hodge trophy winner continued his dominance into the second round, posting a 16-0 technical fall over Michigan’s Jack Medley. Lee scored a takedown and tallied five turns for 14 nearfall points, ending the match in just 2:30.

Lee, who is looking to join four other four-time NCAA champions and become the first Hawkeye to accomplish the feat, won his 57th straight match, giving him 97 career victories.

Real Woods is Iowa’s other No. 1 seed and he produced bonus points as well. Woods scored 10 points in the opening period and trounced Maryland’s Kal Miller, 13-1, in the first round.

Senior Max Murin followed with a hard-fought 6-3 decision over SIU-Edwardsville’s Caleb Tyus, scoring two takedowns and earning a riding-time point.

The Hawkeyes closed with five straight wins, including heavyweight Tony Cassioppi’s 10-0 major decision over Maryland’s Jaron Smith. Patrick Kennedy (165), Nelson Brands at 174, Abe Assad (184) and 197-pounder Jacob Warner all won decisions.

“If they came out of the gate slow, make adjustments,” Brands said. “If they’re where they want to be, we have to keep getting better as the tournament goes on. A very simple philosophy.”

Nelson Brands’ finish was the most dramatic. He was down one with the match winding down. He continued to work with North Carolina State’s Alex Faison on his side. Brands maintained the pressure and scored the decisive takedown with five seconds remaining. He also added two nearfall for a 6-3 win over the Atlantic Coast Conference runner-up.

“We’ve got to keep winning tough matches,” Brands said.

Dresser said the tournament is much tougher on coaches. Wrestlers have an actual say in the outcome, getting prepared and experiencing one battle per round. Coaches go through it with each competitor.

“It’s a lot harder as a coach,” Dresser said. “It was easy when you wrestled. When you’re a coach, you have to live and die eight times every round. I’m ready to go work out or take a nap.”

Iowa State posted a 6-2 record and its results ran the gamut as well. NCAA champion and two-time All-American David Carr (165) and All-American Marcus Coleman (174) led the way with major decisions. Zach Redding (133), Paniro Johnson (149), 197-pounder Yonger Bastida and heavyweight Sam Schuyler posted decisions.

“If you look at seeds and what was supposed to happen that round, it went status quo,” Dresser said. “We were supposed to win six and lose two and that’s what happened.”

Coleman thumped Hofstra’s Jacob Ferreira, 12-3. Carr handled Harvard’s Josh Kim, 10-2, with four takedowns.

“David was awesome, confident and had a guy that really fought him hard at first,” Dresser said. “That’s what happens. Guys fight you hard at first. Then, he took over, got him tired, broke him and got the bonus points.”

Johnson had Iowa State’s tensest match of the first round. He edged Ohio’s Alec Hagan, 3-2, in tiebreaker-1. The winning point came from a 30-second advantage in riding time. Dresser said it wasn’t pretty but the tournament is about surviving and advancing.

“He’s got to figure out how to open guys up more,” Dresser said. “Obviously, Paniro is really hard to score on but when you don’t go get takedowns you let everybody in a match. That’s what happened. We’ve seen it before.”

Iowa State was in a clump of schools on the verge of the top 10.

“I think it takes an incredible amount of mental toughness,” Dresser said. “I think you have to expect the highs and the lows. The lows almost kill you. You have to expect those. We need to keep the roller coaster up (Thursday night) and (Friday) morning and if we do that we’ll like what we get.”

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