Aspiring to second this time

Second place at the Midlands tournament would be a good thing for a change with Iowa State's rebuilding wrestling team.

The Cyclones have gone home with three straight runner-up finishes at the annual two-day tournament in Evanston, Ill., with a much deeper and dynamic lineup. ISU (4-1) goes into today's opening matches ranked 20th by Intermat and trying to determine the strength of its lineup.

“Where we are ranked right now, no one is expecting us to finish second this year,” ISU Coach Kevin Jackson said. “We feel like we have a better team than most people think we do, but we have to prove it. Our goal is to win every tournament we are in. It's going to be a challenge with the teams that are competing.”

That list includes Iowa, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Illinois, Nebraska and Lehigh.

“Pretty much the top teams in the country,” Jackson said.

It's been nearly a month since the Cyclones competed, a 22-13 loss Dec. 3 at Iowa.

Wrestlers had time off for Christmas, then returned to campus Sunday to begin preparations for Midlands. Jackson hoped they hadn't lost much of their edge.

“You always wonder what they are doing and hope they don't have too many Christmas cookies or cake,” he said. “You could tell they had been on break for a few days.”

One guy Jackson rarely worries about is senior Jon Reader. He's always been prepared at this event, and has finished second each of the last three years. Last year was a devastating, 3-1, overtime loss to NCAA champion Andrew Howe of Wisconsin.

Reader moved up to 174 this season, and enters as the top seed with a 13-0 record.

“This is a tournament that is a must-win for Reader,” Jackson said. “He's had a dominating season to this point, and we are looking for that trend to continue. It's going to boost his confidence if he's able to win this. It's important to him that he performs at a high level.”