Alex Marinelli’s status this season remains undecided

EVANSTON, Ill. — This tournament expected to be an indicator as to whether Alex Marinelli was ready to officially step into the University of Iowa.

The same event that the likes of Derek St. John, Brandon Sorensen and Michael Kemerer did well in as true freshmen and maintained their redshirt seasons.

Marinelli wrestled for third place at 165 pounds in the 54th Midlands Championships on Friday night at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. As an unattached competitor, he defeated nationally-ranked wrestlers to reach the podium. The verdict still is out about the rest of the season.

'As far as redshirting, I don't know yet,' Marinelli said. 'I know every guy wants to be a national champion, and I want to put myself in that best position to win a national title or if it comes down to it to help the team win a national title. We'll see what we do from there on.'

Iowa Coach Tom Brands echoed Marinelli's sentiment about the next step.

'We'll figure it out,' Brands said. 'The decision we make will be determined later for us.'

Whether or not it leads to Marinelli donning the black-and-gold singlet this season, the Midlands was a learning experience. Coaches were able to point out things he needed to work on and he received tutelage from former Hawkeyes Matt McDonough and Mike Evans, who served as his coaches since staff couldn't.

'It's big to see how I do with guys with more caliber and tougher,' Marinelli said. 'I think I need to move my feet a little bit more and there are things I need to work on.'

Marinelli also learned some intricacies away from and getting ready for competition. Little things can make a difference at this level.

'I think preparation is a key here,' Marinelli said. 'In between matches, getting in dry clothes. Just things the coaches taught me help me a lot. In high school, I didn't do that. I kept my shoes on the whole tournament. In college, you have to take your shoes off and relax. Get focused and move on to the next match.'

Brands witnessed more complete performances the second day of the tournament, including a 5-1 consolation semifinal victory over Cal State-Bakersfield's Lorenzo De La Riva.

'That last match is more what we want to see,' Brands said. 'We want to see total matches.'

Marinelli wasn't the only Iowa true freshman who earned a medal at 165. Kaleb Young wrestled for fifth place, beating seeded wrestlers along the way. It came as no surprised to his teammate.

'Kaleb's tough,' Marinelli said. 'I've wrestled him in practice a lot. He's tough on top. He's a striver. He loves to go get the takedown and that's what you need in practice rooms.

'I think Kaleb Young needs to improve. I need to improve, too. We'll both help each other work and improve together.'

STORR PLACES FOR CYCLONES

Kanen Storr became the first Iowa State true freshman to place at the Midlands Championships since Tanner Weatherman was fifth in 2011. Storr started the tournament unseeded and knocked off Nebraska's No. 4 seed Colton McCrystal and Ohio State's No. 8 Luke Pletcher in the consolation.

'It's pretty cool,' Storr said. 'I feel like it's a really good accomplishment. I'm pretty proud of what I've done.'

His early losses were to the second and third-seeded wrestlers before the fifth-place match against Chad Red, a true freshman from Nebraska wrestling unattached as well.

'I feel like I could have competed better and maybe prove myself a little bit more,' Storr said. 'I'm happy with where I'm at but not satisfied.'

LONG ROAD, SHORT TIME

Eastern Michigan heavyweight Gage Hutchison lost his first match of the tournament. The unseeded sophomore overcame a long road to reach the podium, but he did so quickly.

Hutchison advanced through six straight consolation rounds, wrestling a total of 50 seconds in the three immediately before his third-place bout with Iowa's Sam Stoll.

Hutchison, who headlocked Stoll for a 51-second fall in his first Midlands match of his true freshman year, recorded consecutive pins in 10 and 50 seconds. He received a medical forfeit to move into the top four.

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