Hawkeye trio make Big Ten Championships debut

Experience preferred, but definitely not required.

Even though their college resumes do not include the Big Ten tournament, three University of Iowa underclassmen are expected to contend for individual wrestling crowns.

Hawkeye sophomores Thomas Gilman and Sammy Brooks and freshman Brandon Sorensen earned the top preliminary seeds for this weekend's Big Ten Championships at Ohio State's St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Action begins today at 9 a.m. (Iowa time) with the finals set for 2 p.m. on Sunday.

They are making their conference tournament debut, but they have competed on big stages in the past.

'I've been wrestling in big tournaments my entire life,” Brooks said. 'Yeah, this is one I really want. I am going to go out there. Every match I am going to do everything I can to get to that next round.”

Sorensen, who was a four-time state champion at Denver-Tripoli, will approach it like any other competition. He admitted it is bigger than most.

'You have to get up for it,” said Sorensen, who is 31-3 overall, including a 10-0 mark against Big Ten foes. 'It will be fun. It will be exciting.”

Gilman, ranked fourth nationally at 125 pounds, is undefeated in conference duals this season and is 11-2 against the tournament field. Brooks (184) is 11-1 against wrestlers in the bracket, splitting two matches with Michigan's 10th-ranked Domenic Abounader the last two seasons.

Iowa Coach Tom Brands downplayed the pretournament distinction. Seeds don't matter with the path set to a title and NCAA Championships berth. The focus is solely on the immediate opponent.

'My bracket is laid out for me and its one match at a time,” Brands said. 'You have to go to work.

'They did their job enough during the year to get the No. 1 seed and now they can help themselves further to get in position for better accolades. Let's take care of business in the Big Ten.”

Brooks and Gilman experienced the Big Ten tournament in Madison, Wis., from the sidelines. They traveled with the team, helping teammates prepare after coming up short in competition for starting spots.

Gilman watched teammate Cory Clark, the No. 5 seed at 133 this year, begin his path to an All-American finish at 125. Gilman is driven most to be the best but he was pushed by being a spectator.

'It stings in the bottom of your gut, seeing a guy wrestle at your weight on your team,” Gilman said. 'I felt like I should be out there wrestling but I wasn't, so it is a motivating factor as well.”

Brooks went through pre-match routines, helping teammates, but watched someone else take the mat. It did expose him to the atmosphere, but he wanted to participate.

'You don't get what you want and it sort of kicks you in the ass,” Brooks said. 'It lights that little fire. You don't dwell on it. You didn't get it but you want to use it in a positive way and I think I did.”

For Brooks, the bigger disappointment was Iowa's runner-up finish to four-time defending champion Penn State.

'I wanted the team to win pretty badly,” Brooks said. 'I think we had the opportunity. We were close. Hopefully this year we do what it takes.”

They have a direct opportunity to help Iowa to its first conference crown since 2010 and 35th overall.

'It was frustrating last year, but it got me excited for this year,” Gilman said. 'I'm able to go out there and score points, helping my team on the scoreboard. I am looking forward to that.”

Brands said neither wallowed in self-pity. They filled a role they didn't want, but transformed it into a positive.

'That is leadership,” Brands said. 'It will help us. It helped them.

'It wasn't fun. They remember it. Now, here they are (and) they are the man, so to speak.”

Sorensen has ascended the national rankings, beating some of the nation's top competitors. He returns to the site of his first marquee win, which was a come-from-behind 9-7 decision over Buckeyes' All-American Hunter Stieber.

Sorensen has beaten Northwestern's defending national champion Jason Tsirtsis and last year's NCAA runner-up Josh Kindig, of Oklahoma State. He is coming off a loss to Missouri's No. 2 Drake Houdashelt. He has not peaked.

'Sorensen is an able competitor,” Brands said. 'He hasn't reached his potential. He has a lot of scoring ability. He puts points on the board and wrestles in his position in every on the mat, whether there is little time or a lot of time left.”

The Hawkeyes will battle the host Buckeyes, Minnesota and Penn State for the team title. Iowa has all 10 wrestlers pre-seeded seventh or better.

Senior Mike Evans, a three-time conference finalist, is seeded third at 174, setting a possible rematch in the semifinals against Penn State's Matt Brown, who is the only wrestler to beat Evans (24-1) this season. Nathan Burak (197) and heavyweight Bobby Telford are seeded fourth.

Josh Dziewa is sixth at 141 and Mike Kelly and Nick Moore are both seventh at 157 and 165.

The goal is to compete at your best this time of year. A strong Big Ten tournament performance can put them in good position for the NCAA tournament.

'Right now, it's the same getting better mentality but it's the peak of the season,” Brands said. 'That's where your mind-set takes you.”

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