Iowa State's Earl Hall gunning for Big 12 crown

AMES — Iowa State senior Earl Hall knows the road to Big 12 and NCAA wrestling titles is challenging, so he had a conversation with his mother about how to get comfortable with the faces he'll see.

When Hall finally does look into the eyes of his opponents in the coming weeks, the 133-pounder knows he'll be ready because of that talk.

'What I've been doing is putting the pictures of all the guys I might face in the finals or in the tournament up in my room just so I can see them,' Hall said. 'They're right in front of me and I can just say, 'I've got you.'

'Most of the time I have dreams of them when I take naps or at night. I just see every match playing out. I just see myself dominating every time and I feel like with the work I've been putting in, I really feel like it can happen.'

Before any NCAA berths, Hall and the Cyclones will take the mat at the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City in the newly expanded conference. The Big 12 added six affiliate members to join Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia for conference duals and championships.

The conference tournament, which is being held in Kansas City for the first time, will be seeded for the first time since 2012 and will expand the competition from one day to two. Senior Tanner Weatherman said while the expanded format changes how the wrestlers approach the competition, it was a change welcomed with open arms.

'In the past two years it's been two matches so you win your first one and you're basically in the finals,' Weatherman said. 'It's hard to take a format like that serious when it's only a six-hour tournament and it's done in a day whereas this is a big deal. You've got 10 teams, a lot of good kids and a lot of good teams.'

Hall and Weatherman will have their last go-round for the chance to call themselves champions, and both could face defending NCAA champions. No. 10 Weatherman will likely meet No. 1 and unbeaten Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State while No. 7 Hall could see No. 4 Cody Brewer of Oklahoma.

'They've had good years, but they haven't had their best match yet,' Iowa State Coach Kevin Jackson said of Weatherman and Hall. 'They're looking for their best match at the right time. It's not going to be easy to get to that championship final.

'They're working as well as they have all year long and all season and since they've been here. They're as focused as I've seen them in the last couple years.'

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