Iowa Hawkeyes win third straight NCAA wrestling title

OMAHA, Neb. - Jay Borschel is a character with a lot of things floating around in his head.

One of the things you won't find in that unique personality is quit, and that came in handy last night.

The University of Iowa 174-pound senior trailed by as many as six points in the second period of a semifinal bout against Virginia's Chris Henrich. No quit, no worry. Borschel battled back, scored a takedown with 45 seconds left to tie the score and rode Henrich the rest of the match to earn a decisive riding time point for a 10-9 win.

Borschel's comeback capped a fantastic round that let the top-ranked Hawkeyes clinched their third straight team title in the NCAA Division I wrestling tournament at the Qwest Center.

“Usually I don't celebrate or whatever after a match, but I just couldn't help it,” said Borschel, who flexed both arms above his shoulders. “What a

feeling to come back from that and pull it off.

“He had a pretty convincing lead there, It's just not in my mind to quit or get down about that.”

Henrich scored the opening takedown then caught Borschel on his back for three nearfall points for a 5-0 lead. After a reversal, Henrich added an escape and a second takedown for an 8-2 lead.

As the hole got deeper, Borschel stayed levelheaded.

“You stay calm, but intense at the same and get those points back one at a time,” Borschel said.

He did exactly that when Henrich increased his lead to 9-3 with a second-period escape, Borschel trimmed the lead to four with a takedown, and then amped up the pressure in the third.

He had an escape and forced a second stall call for a point, pulling within 9-7 before the winning score and ride out.

Borschel doesn't normally notice the crowd but their crescendo was hard to ignore.

“I felt them there in that last period. I was coming on strong and they were getting louder and louder,” Borschel said. “I thought maybe I might have killed half of them with heart attacks or whatever.”

The Hawkeyes' perfect semifinal round gave them five finalists and 120 1/2 points. Cornell is second with 75 and Iowa State third with 67.

Red-shirt freshman Matt McDonough began the night with a 14-3 major decision over Purdue's Cashe Quiroga. McDonough scored a takedown just 17 seconds into the match, cinching up a cradle later in the period.

“Well you take one match at a time, don't worry as much about who you're wrestling but how you're wrestling, and battling for seven minutes every match,” said McDonough, who became Iowa's first freshman finalist since Mark Perry was a runner-up in 2005. “I came into the tournament with a lot of confidence. I just kept working my skill and it paid off.”

Daniel Dennis followed with his third win over Michigan State's Franklin Gomez, moving on to the 133-pound final with a 5-3 overtime victory.

“This is what my college career has culminated to,” Dennis said. “We can go back further when my parents put me in wrestling. It's what it really is coming down to.”

Dennis stalked Gomez the entire match, but held a 3-2 lead after the second thanks to two escapes and a stalling point.

After the two ended regulation tied at 3-3, Dennis' aggressive pressure paid off, countering a takedown attempt by spinning around for the winning two points.

“I'm anticipating a shot every time he's backing up,” Dennis said. “I'm acknowledging it. Not overreacting, but I‘m aware that he can fire in and that's most likely where he's going to be firing his offense.”

Sophomore Montell Marion has had an up-and-down season but peaked for the year-end event. Marion reached the 141 championship match with a 7-6 win over Pittsburgh's Tyler Nauman.

“It feels great,” Marion said. “I've been dreaming about this for a very long time. It keeps me up at night.”

Marion is the highest-seeded Hawkeye to reach the finals. he said he didn't surprise himself.

“I knew I had it in me,” Marion said.

The Hawkeyes' Brent Metcalf, a 2008 NCAA champ and finalist last year, is the lone Hawkeye returning to the finals. Metcalf broke open a tight match with a four unmatched points in the final period to defeat Kyle Terry, 6-3, at 149.

He'll get a chance to avenge his only loss of the season in the finals against Ohio State's lance Palmer.

“I'm excited,” said Metcalf, who lost to Palmer in the Big Ten finals March 7. “It's an opportunity to correct a wrong. I've been waiting the past two weeks to get to this point, and we both had to do our jobs and we have. It's time to go out and compete.”

The Hawkeyes own a 45½-point lead with five finalists. It's a nice turnaround from last year where they managed one finalist and no champions.

“I think the firepower has always been there,” Metcalf said. “I think it talks a lot about our guys getting ready to perform this year.”

It's pretty impressive to clinch the school's 23rd national crowd with a day of competition remaining. It's a sign of flexing a little muscle, according to Iowa Coach Tom Brands.

“It shows you're in control,” Brands said. “It shows you've wrestled well as a team.”

The only other schools with multiple finalists are Iowa State with three and Cornell with two.

Iowa State red-shirt freshman Andrew Long knocked off top-seed and 2008 NCAA champ Angel Escobedo of Indiana, 7-4, at 125.

I feel real good that I can compete with all of these guys,” Long said. “and that my talent is equal.”

Long will meet McDonough in the finals. It's the first Iowa/Iowa State finals tilt since Eric Juergens beat Cody Sanderson in the 2000 133-pound final. McDonough has won the previous three meetings this season.

“Definitely it is going to be a big clash,” Long said. “We always have close matches that are really entertaining so it is going to be fun to get out there to wrestle him and know what to expect.”

Top-seeds Jake Varner at 197 and heavyweight David Zabriskie advanced to the finals for the Cyclones.

Varner beat Cornell's Cam Simaz, 6-0, fighting a lack of offense from Simaz. He became the school's second four-time finalist, joining former coach and four-time NCAA champ Cael Sanderson.

“The tournament is not over,” said Varner, who faces No. 2 Craig Brester of Nebraska. “My goal isn't finished. This is just a steppingstone. (Tonight) at 6 o'clock is when the real fun begins.”

Zabriskie avenged last year's semifinal loss to Duke's Konrad Dudziak. Zabriskie advanced to the heavyweight final with a 6-5 win.

University of Northern Iowa has an All-American in 174-pounder Jarion Beets, who beat Edinboro's Philip Moricone, 5-3, to lock up a spot on the podium. The feat served as validation for never winning a state title for Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

“It's a huge dream,” Beets said. “I feel like the weight of the world just got lifted off my shoulders.”

Photos by Brian Ray

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Quarterfinals

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Day 1

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