McIlravy stormed back to drop Abas

University of Iowa's Lincoln McIlravy was the second true freshman to become an NCAA national wrestling champion. The way he captured the title remains one of the top moments in Hawkeye wrestling lore.

McIlravy stormed back from an early deficit to beat Fresno State's Gerry Abas with a takedown in the waning seconds in a wild 16-15 match to win the 142-pound NCAA title in 1993 at Ames.

“Both Abas and McIlravy were good at both scoring and flurrying,” said former Iowa Coach Dan Gable. “It made for a very good match.”

Things didn't go his way to start the match. Abas tallied four takedowns in the opening period to build an 8-3 before it was over.

After the match, McIlravy expressed his doubt while trailing.

“I was scared,” McIlravy said after that match as a freshman. “I thought I was blowing it.”

Instead it set up a tremendous comeback.

McIlravy trimmed the lead to 9-8 at the end of the second, tying it 8-8 with a takedown.

The final period accounted for almost half of the score, but like the opening Abas had the upper hand, increasing his lead to 12-8 with an escape and takedown. Gable said McIlravy looked deflated after surrendering the points, but received a boost from his corner who still believed in him.

“He saw us on our feet, cheering him on and encouraging him,” Gable said. “He said OK if the coaches want me to still try and win this match I will, so he kept after him.”

McIlravy's march began, scoring eight points including three takedowns in a little more than a minute left.

McIlravy's winning takedown, the second straight “boot scoot” - term given to the duck-under that became his signature move - came with four seconds to go.

“Lincoln was phenomenal in making things happen,” said Gable, comparing him to former Hawkeye Mike DeAnna. “They had these moves that were slick and he could pressure people.”

Gable removed McIlravy's red-shirt late in the season. McIlravy's father opposed the move but Gable made the call based on McIlravy's attitude.

“Lincoln McIlravy didn't' seem to waiver,” Gable recalled. He was fine with it.”

Penn State posed a challenge in its first year in the Big Ten. Troy Steiner cut to 134 to make room for McIlravy to solidify the lineup.

Gable chose the Northwestern meet for McIlravy's debut, but that resulted in a loss. There was no turning back now that McIlravy had hit the mat in a Hawkeye singlet.

Gable said he set up matches for McIlravy against teammates with a referee on the floor of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, inviting the public to watch and simulating crowd noise to get McIlravy used to the experience.

“It was like he was gaining valuable experience real quickly,” said Gable, noting McIlravy rebounded with a good overtime win against an Arizona State foe. ”The bottom line is he did a good job in those matches.

”He came out and wrestled well once he got that first initial pressure off him.”

McIlravy, a four-time NCAA finalist with a 96-3 career record, was a scoring machine in the national tournament, posting double-digit totals in all but one bout. Even in the one he didn't, McIlravy posted an 8-7 second-round win over Millersville's Tom Barley.

“It's unbelievable,” McIlravy said following the tournament and his first of three titles.