Streicher proud of former prep wrestlers

It was a moment Doug Streicher wouldn't have considered missing.

The current Linn-Mar head wrestling coach and former University of Iowa All-American sat in the crowd as two of his former wrestlers were on college wrestling's biggest stage.

Streicher watched as former Lions Jay Borschel and Matt McDonough captured two of the 10 individual crowns, helping the top-ranked Hawkeyes win their third straight national title at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Saturday at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.

“It was a blast,” Streicher said. “It's pretty remarkable. It was a great weekend.”

McDonough, a red-shirt freshman, won the 125-pound title, ending his first season of competition with a 37-1 record. Borschel capped an undefeated season at 37-0, winning the 174-pound title. Streicher attended with Linn-Mar assistants Ryan Gotto, Jason Haag and Mike Geers.

The experience was rewarding to witness all of their efforts over the years culminate in the championship moment. Streicher said he was amazed he had the chance to be there and have them as a part of the Lions program.

“I'm thankful they're reaching their goals because I know how hard both of them worked,” Streicher said. “I know how much time their families put in and invested for them to get to this point.”

Borschel and McDonough were honored briefly during one of the home duals this season. The two were teammates at Linn-Mar for the 2004-05 season. Borschel won the last of his four state titles, becoming the Metro's first and just the 16th in Iowa history and making remarkable weight jumps winning at 103, 125, 152 and 171 pounds. McDonough placed sixth at 103 as a freshman before winning three straight state crowns.

“They made our program better,” said Streicher, who joked that a trained animal could have sat in their corner in high school and they would have still won. “Jay put us on the map and Matt kept us there and now they both have really re-energized our community about wrestling.”

Streicher received a number of congratulatory remarks from people about his former wrestlers winning gold. He was quick to credit Gotto and Haag for working out each day with McDonough and Borschel, respectively.

“Ryan was Matt's main workout partner for four years in high school,” Streicher said. “Jason was one of Jay's main workout partners. That's where they got where they did in high school. That's why they got where they were because they had college-type guys as their coaches. They had a special place this weekend, too.”

Current Linn-Mar wrestlers have been a little reserved about the feat. They have grown accustomed to pair being successful, so Saturday night was nothing new.

“People know who they are and know what they're doing,” Streicher said. “It's almost like they expect that out of them because that's all they've ever seen them do. I don't know if most of these kids can put it in perspective that two out of the 10 best kids in the country are kids you know, live in your community and walked your halls at one point.”