Iowa’s Cory Clark says he feels good after return to competition

IOWA CITY — Iowa's Cory Clark returned to competition for the first time in 40 days.

The top-ranked senior 133-pounder and two-time NCAA finalist picked up right where he left off after a shoulder injury sidelined him in December.

Clark improved to 9-0, blanking Michigan's No. 7 Steve Micic and Michigan State's Austin Eicher last weekend in his first matches since a shutout victory at Purdue on Nov. 27. Clark is expected to face Oklahoma State's sixth-ranked Kaid Brock (14-0) on Sunday.

'I feel good,' Clark told media before Wednesday's practice at Dan Gable Wrestling Complex in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 'It was nice getting on the mat for the first time in a while and ready to keep getting on the mat.'

Rumors ran rampant about the type of injury and severity of it. Iowa Coach Tom Brands had said Clark could have wrestled in previous events, but they were being conservative in getting back on the mat. Clark addressed why he was out of the lineup.

'I don't think it really matters but I dinged my shoulder up a while ago,' said Clark, a three-time All-American. 'It didn't feel like the time of year to be pushing it and putting myself in a position to hurt it worse.

'I felt like coaches and I both felt it was best to get it back to where I could feel comfortable and strong rather than worrying about it.'

Clark didn't wrestle until he was strong enough to get back on the mat, maintaining his stamina and conditioning the whole time. He wanted to compete and didn't allow the situation to frustrate him.

'It's not really the way I've dealt with it,' Clark said. 'I tried to stay positive and get as much done with where I was at with my training.'

Clark has not allowed a point in three Big Ten duals. He said there are some aspects he would have done at this point of the season that he still has to address. He said he would have liked to move his feet more and pull the trigger on his offense.

Brands said Clark performed well, but needs to be more patient in some match situations.

'He's a confident fellow,' Brands said. 'He's not a happy, satisfied fellow very often and he certainly wasn't happy or satisfied about his performance, but he was able to overcome not being on the mat.

'We weren't worried about that at all.'

CORRALLING COWBOYS

Iowa's Thomas Gilman didn't hold back when asked about the characteristics he can expect from an Oklahoma State opponent when the third-ranked Hawkeyes travel to Stillwater, Okla., to face the top-ranked Cowboys on Sunday.

'Stalling,' said Gilman, who is top-ranked at 125 and will have No. 12 Nick Puccininni. 'They have a small mat down there. They don't like to wrestle hard. They'll fool you. They'll say they want to wrestle hard … they want to play the edge and run around. They like to dance around and grab and twist your ankle.

'You've got to grab a hold of guys like that that dance around. You have to throw them down hard.'

Iowa has three straight victories over Oklahoma State, winning last season's 'Grapple on the Gridiron' at Kinnick Stadium and beating the Cowboys 30-7 two years ago in Stillwater. The Hawkeyes have also won 21 straight road duals.

Gilman said he doesn't focus on the rivalry and history.

'We're going to go down there,' Gilman said. 'We're going to invade them. We're going to kick the crap out of them and that's going to be that. We've done that ever since I've been here.'

RANKED MATCHUPS

Oklahoma State is represented in the national rankings at all 10 weight classes. Iowa has eight. On paper, each is favored in five, depending on which rankings are considered.

Bonus points, or preventing them, could be the deciding factor in Sunday's dual.

'They've got some guys that they like for bonus-point potential,' Brands said. 'We definitely have some guys we like for bonus-point potential but it's not going to be running out there in a mismatch.

'They're well-coached. It's serious business down there. You're going to have to earn it.'

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