Top-ranked Hawkeyes corral No. 4 Cowboys

IOWA CITY - University of Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands blew out a deep breath when he sat down to address media last night.

It was the result of his team's latest battle, leaving Brands a bit drained afterward.

The top-ranked Hawkeyes showed their toughness, beating No. 4 Oklahoma State, 19-16, in front of 10,697 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“Right now I feel like we came out of a scrap,” Brands said. “I'm not going to admit it but it's a little bit draining, because of where we come from.”

The Hawkeyes (14-0) came out on top, extending their school-record win streak to 52 duals and snapping the Cowboys four-dual win streak over Iowa in Iowa City. Brands pointed out that his team took down a very strong opponent.

“It was big for us,” Brands said. “It was a big statement for our program.”

The two programs scored five wins apiece, but Iowa notched more bonus points to drop the Coowboys (8-1-1).

Top-ranked Brent Metcalf scored a technical fall at 149 while red-shirt freshman Matt McDonough and Jay Borschel won by major decision at 125 and 174, respectively.

It was McDonough that provided a spark to start the meet for the Hawkeyes.

McDonough set the tone yet again, beating No. 9 Chris Notte, 13-4, at 125. McDonough, who improved to 20-0, has battled slow starts in some previous matches, but not last night.

McDonough scored a pair of takedowns in the opening period building a 4-1 lead. McDonough controlled the entire match and finished strong like he has all season, scoring three third-period takedowns to secure the major decision.

“I'll tell you what, I like a major decision handling it the whole way,” Brands said.

One of the biggest wins came at 141, a weight that's been a question for the Hawks. Montell Marion made a pretty good case for himself to be the man with a strong 4-0 win over fifth-ranked Jamal Parks.

After a scoreless first, Marion scored an escape and remained on the attack. Marion nailed a sweep single, elevating Parks' leg and bringing him down to the mat with a trip to take a 3-0 lead.

“That was a big time shot how he hit it,” Brands said. “That's Montell Marion firing on all cylinders.

Marion was tough on top, riding out Parks in the second and the entire third. He gave the Hawks a 7-3 lead.

“When he wrestled solid and focused and free and not trying to take on the whole world he's doggone tough,” Brands said.

Metcalf followed with another strong performance, dominating Quinten Fuentes, 21-5. The Hawks led, 12-3 and looked in control but Oklahoma State cut the lead to 12-10 with a major decision from Neil Erisman (157) and Alex Meade's upset over Ryan Morningstar at 165.

Borschel and Phil Keddy gave Iowa a lead for good with consecutive wins. Borschel dominated Mike Benefiel, 9-1, racking up two takedowns and 4:37 of riding time.

Keddy added a 3-2 decision.

“I feel like our guys, as a team as a whole, rose to the occasion,” Brands said. “I give them credit.”

Cowboys Coach John Smith wasn't happy with his team's showing, calling it disappointing despite Jordan Oliver's 3-2 win over No. 4 Dan Dennis with a last second takedown, and Alan Gelogaev (197) and Jared Rosholt wins to end the meet.

“Overall I didn't care for my team's performance,” Smith said.

125 pounds - Matt McDonough (I) major dec. Chris Notte, 13-4;

133 – Jordan Oliver (OSU) dec. Daniel Dennis, 3-2;

141 – Montell Marion (I) dec. Jamal Parks, 4-0;

149 – Brent Metcalf (I) technical fall Quinten Fuentes, 21-5;

157 – Neil Erisman (OSU) major dec. Aaron Janssen, 16-7;

165 – Alex Meade (OSU) dec. Ryan Morningstar, 5-3;

174 – Jay Borschel (I) major dec. Mike Benefiel, 9-1;

184 – Phil Keddy (I) dec. Clayton Foster, 3-2;

197 – Alan Gelogaev (OSU) dec. Luke Lofthouse, 3-2;

Hwt. – Jared Rosholt (OSU) dec. Blake Rasing, 7-5.