Brands on wrestle-offs, St. John and McDonough

The University of Iowa Hawkeyes held their opening wrestle-offs last weekend and what head coach Tom Brands was a squad of wrestlers not resting on previous accomplishments and battling to be in the Hawkeyes lineup.

"I learned that there's a lot of our guys that aren't content," Brands said. "Which is good."

Brands said the approach to wrestle-offs was "it means a lot and it doesn't mean anything." One can only assume he was saying the final results weren't necessarily what was important but how the guys performed and battled during them did hold weight. Brands was impressed by the competition and depth in the room - a staple for many of the Hawkeyes' teams.

"We saw some good potential and depth in a lot of places," University of Iowa Head Wrestling Coach Tom Brands said in a press release. "This was a chance for our guys to weigh-in, have a competition and shake some of the cobwebs out. The results mean a lot and mean nothing at this point. We have a lot of depth and competition in our room, which is no secret, but in order for us to win championships we need guys to wrestle well at every competition."

In one of the weight classes, freshman Derek St. John ran the table at 157 pounds, going 3-0 against older wrestlers. St. John opened with a 10-5 win over Brooks Kopsa last Thursday. He then topped Matt Ballweg, who went 13-19 as Iowa's starter at that weight last year, 7-4, on Friday. He won by injury default over Aaron Janssen on the final day, leading by a point in the second period when it was called. 

There is no rush to decide whether or not St. John will take the mat immediately for the Hawkeyes.

"That's one day at a time," Brands said. "There's a lot of wrestling to do. I think he's excited and I think he'll be fine."

St. John, a four-time state placewinner and two-time state champion who holds Iowa City West's record for career wins with a 182-9 prep mark, remains patient and has an open mind about red-shirting, according to Brands. Whether they decided to shed the red-shirt or allow a full season to adjust and improve will be decided as a group.

"Those types of decisions are decisions you always make together and you talk it through," Brands said. "Communication has got to be at a high level. It's not just hard line one way or the other."

Red-shirt Matt McDonough has certainly improved and seems to be making a good transition to 125, dropping from 133 last season. McDonough, a three-time state champion for Linn-Mar High School, beat Tyler Clark, an Iowa State transfer who was a national qualifier last year, 5-1, in his opening bout. He added a 10-3 decision over J.J. Krutsinger on Saturday.

"He's disciplined," Brands said about McDonough. "When you're talking about getting better every day I suppose he lives that as good as anybody."

Full results are below:

125 -Matt McDonough dec. J.J. Krutsinger, 10-3

133 -Daniel Dennis dec. Nate Moore, 5-3

141 -Montell Marion dec. Dan LeClere, 11-7

149 -Brent Metcalf tech. fall Phillip Sheridan, 21-4 in 6:10

157 -Derek St. John won by injury default over Aaron Janssen, 3:35

165 -Ryan Morningstar maj. dec. Joe DuCharme, 12-3

174 -Jay Borschel dec. Ethen Lofthouse, 8-3

184 -Phillip Keddy dec. Grant Gambrall, 6-2

197 -Chad Beatty dec. Luke Lofthouse, 7-3

Hwt - Jordan Johnson dec. Blake Rasing, 3-2

125 -J.J. Krutsinger maj. dec. Nick Trizzino, 16-5

125 -Matt McDonough dec. Tyler Clark, 5-1

133 -Nate Moore dec. Mark Ballweg, 13-7

149 -Phillip Sheridan pinned Jeret Chiri, 4:59

149 -Brent Metcalf pinned Stew Gillmor, 2:17

157 -Aaron Janssen dec. Jake Kerr, 6-2

157 -Derek St. John dec. Matt Ballweg, 7-4

165 -Joe DuCharme dec. Ruffin Tchakounte, 4-3

184 - Phillip Keddy maj. dec. Tomas Lira, 16-5

184 -Grant Gambrall dec. Vinnie Wagner, 6-4

149 -Stew Gillmor dec. Ethan Sebert, 2-1

157 -Derek St. John dec. Brooks Kopsa, 10-5