Iowa City West’s Nelson Brands ready for shot at second state title

DES MOINES - Nelson Brands recalled his first wrestling tournament.

He was in sixth grade and loaded into an SUV with his father, University of Iowa associate head coach Terry Brands, listening to music and relaxing on the way to Williamsburg.

The fear of losing set in and Nelson Brands became emotional. His dad helped soothe him and everything worked out well.

'I was bawling my eyes out,” Brands said. 'I ended up winning it actually. I pinned my way through the tournament. I was still crying afterward, because I was so nervous. Those nerves didn't go away until seventh or eighth grade.”

Now, it is hard to picture Brands is anything but cool, calm and making his opponents want to cry.

The top-ranked Iowa City West junior will attempt to win his second straight title at the Class 3A state wrestling tournament Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena, beginning at 9 a.m. Brands (50-1) faces with Johnston's Elliot Pohlmeyer (36-13) in the first round at 152 pounds.

Even though Brands seemed predestined for moments like this, he didn't seek it out until later than most wrestlers. He said he hung around Hawkeyes wrestlers, like Olympian Daniel Dennis and heavyweight All-American Bobby Telford, and decided to try the sport. Starting on his own terms helped.

'My dad didn't pressure me into it at all,” Nelson Brands said. 'It was when I wanted to and I decided in sixth grade that I wanted to wrestle.”

The only time nerves resurfaced was last season during the Grand March before his 6-5 victory over Cedar Rapids Xavier's Clint Lembeck for the 138-pound title. Brands said he was awed by the large crowd with all eyes focused on just three centered mats. The butterflies disappeared once he began to warm up for his match.

West Coach Mark Reiland said Brands has evolved to where he seems unfazed by tense situations. He is not a carbon copy of his dad and uncle, Iowa Coach Tom Brands.

'I don't think pressure is in his vocabulary anymore, to be honest,” said Reiland, who wrestled with both Terry and Tom in college. 'He's a completely different animal than his dad and uncle were.

'He's got a lot more jokes and relaxation to him than they did. There are a lot of different ways to skin a cat, as Terry would say.”

Success has come fairly quickly, considering he's only been competing for six seasons. The biggest disappointment is what seemed to propel him the most.

Shortly after beating the sixth, seventh and eighth ranked wrestlers en route to the first of three Mississippi Valley Conference titles and Outstanding Wrestler awards, Brands failed to advance to state as a freshman. He was disappointed with his finish.

'Something clicked that summer where I was like I wanted to be the best,” Brands said. 'I want to keep working.

'I asked my dad. I asked Mark. I was like, ‘Push me.' I get pushed hard in this room. I push myself. That's the key.”

Reiland said Brands became more consistent in all phases of wrestling, including his training and nutrition, which impacted competition. He went from 35-15 his first varsity season to 54-3 last year.

More strides have been made from a year ago. Brands has given scoreboard operators carpal tunnel symptoms, trying to keep up with his scoring total. He has 454 takedowns this season, obliterating the record of 321 he set last year. Brands racked up 53 total points in the final two rounds at the MVC tournament.

'He's gotten kids to the point where they don't want to get back up,” Reiland said. 'He's physical and strong. Most kids will take a break in a match where he doesn't. That's when kids crumble with him. They are fighting things off constantly and then they can't do it anymore.”

Brands said he thinks he could score 40 takedowns in a match if the technical fall rule (match termination when a wrestler builds a 15-point lead) wasn't in place and the wrestler broke. West assistant Kody Pudil challenged him to hit 500 takedowns by the end of the tournament, which equates to a little more than 11 a match.

'Mark says it best that I'm not the greatest pinner and I can agree with that,” the Trojans' junior said. 'You have to take them down until they quit and then you pin them. If I have to do that every single match that's what I'm going to do.”

A defending state champion puts you in the crosshairs of opponents, wanting to knock you off the top of the podium. Add the Brands name to that and the bullseye becomes even bigger.

Brands is oblivious to that pressure, too.

'I'm sure the target is huge, but I'm not worried about that. I'm focused on myself.

'I'm very excited. It's about getting through the tournament as quick as possible.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@thegazette.com